"Even if the military considers you disposable, it makes no sense to throw away someone capable of Strategic-Class magic. Australia gains nothing by risking the exposure of their Strategic-Class secrets to a foreign power. Furthermore, if you threaten an economic giant like Japan—a country so geographically close—it's highly likely that Taiwan and the Southeast Asian Alliance would follow Japan's lead. No matter how self-sufficient Australia claims to be, you cannot afford to have your limited economic and cultural exchanges severed."
Yugen leaned forward, his eyes sharp. "Captain Jasmine Williams. I know better than anyone that you can use Ozone Circle. I also know that when I entered Australia years ago through legal channels, you were the ones tracking me. I didn't raise that attempted kidnapping as an international incident at the time, yet you return the favor with this? How 'shameless' of you."
It was the Australian military that had struck first years ago. Yugen had merely acted in self-defense. And now, they had escalated to using Strategic-Class magic against a war hero and his grandson.
"If you truly wanted this mission to succeed, the logical path would have been to ensure you had robust equipment and backup. More importantly, there was no reason it had to be Saika Shin-Island."
"...What are you implying?"
"I'll give it to you straight: Your mission was designed from the very start to fail. Jasmine Williams, you were meant to be a 'Trojan Horse.' They wanted to use your telepathic sensitivity to probe the Yotsuba—and me."
"...What did you say?"
In the original timeline, they had moved as mere pawns, ignorant of this truth. Yugen laid it bare: William Macleod of the UK had given them this mission knowing full well what would happen.
"That's impossible! Sir Macleod has contributed immensely to the training of our mages! He would never sell us out like that..."
"What guarantee do you have of that? If he were on your side, why didn't the British military or special forces move an inch? It's clear the UK pushed the role onto Australia to keep their own hands clean."
The essence of a nation that survives on "triple-tongued diplomacy" doesn't change easily. Even if a long-time benefactor was the culprit, it was hardly surprising in the world of international shadow-plays.
"Even if you had succeeded in your sabotage, Japan, the SSA, France, and the USNA would have all demanded reparations from Australia and the UK. Though, as you've noticed, I've taken the liberty of sealing your magic."
This was actually the result of Tatsuya's Gatekeeper, but Yugen saw no reason to reveal that. Given Jasmine's abilities, it was enough to let her believe he was the one capable of it. If they showed gratitude for him stopping an international incident, he would accept it; if they tried to bite back, he would simply crush them.
"...What do you want from us?" Jasmine asked.
"Jaz!?"
"James, we are powerless here. We have no way to verify if what he says is true or false."
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