After finishing his call with Maya, Yugen heated his dinner in the microwave, ate, and loaded the used dishes into the dishwasher. He then grabbed a change of clothes from his room and headed straight for the bathroom. He had received an email earlier from Tatsuya and the others letting him know that, given the late hour, they would eat out before heading back.
"Phew..."
Yugen soaked in the bathtub, letting himself relax. Usually, he maintained auditory control so as not to interfere with his daily life. At times like this, however, he disengaged it, allowing his senses to sharpen acutely as a way to hone his abilities.
No matter how great a power one possessed, it was meaningless if left unused. Reminding himself of this, Yugen confronted his heightened auditory perception and mastered the art of controlling it. Self-contained physical enhancement magic remained an undeveloped field in modern magic, and the breakthrough to advancing it was none other than Parasites—psion information bodies.
Before long, his sharp 'ears' picked up the presence of the three who had returned to the Shiba residence: Tatsuya, Miyuki, and Mizunami. He had left a note on the table, so they would likely understand the situation from that alone. Yugen let out a quiet sigh of relief knowing they had returned safely.
However, his peace was cut short the moment he sensed Miyuki dashing toward the changing room with absolute, single-minded urgency.
◇ ◇ ◇
The day after the meeting that gathered the young leaders of the Twenty-Eight Families, the Mitsuya family received a troublesome guest.
Her name was Tsukasa Toyama—a female officer in the Defense Army Intelligence Department, registered in the military roster under the name 'Tsukasa Tooyama.' It was not a pseudonym used for public affairs, but rather her officially registered legal name.
Under normal circumstances, this would be deemed a criminal act, exceeding a mere breach of military service regulations. Yet no one called her out publicly. Serving in the military while concealing the Toyama name was largely due to the intentions of powerful figures and military policy.
Her existence was meant to remain hidden from the citizenry, kept ready to move at a moment's notice for political elites whenever the need arose.
Meanwhile, aside from their duty as one of the Ten Master Clans in managing and operating the Third Research Institute, the Mitsuya family operated behind the scenes as arms brokers. They possessed a shadow persona that connected them to the world's underbelly—not as magicians, but as arms dealers. Consequently, with the government's tacit approval, members of the Mitsuya family negotiated with foreign powers and frequently traveled abroad in secret. The reason Yugen faced no interference from agencies other than Intelligence when accompanied by Gozo was largely due to this dynamic.
Beyond merely trading information, they occasionally supplied weaponry to foreign armed factions, functioning as a point of contact to orchestrate military actions desirable to the Japanese government.
The relationship between the Mitsuya family and the National Defense Forces was not an equal give-and-take; rather, the military gained far more from the arrangement. Even so, bound by the reality of being accomplices to the Defense Forces, the Mitsuya family was forced to accommodate the military's wishes.
Tsukasa was also a member of the Twenty-Eight Families. Since the Toyama family had never been selected as one of the Ten Master Clans (or rather, their role precluded them from ever being chosen), the Toyama family's official standing was lower than that of the Mitsuya family. Yet, the Mitsuya family could not afford to treat Tsukasa lightly, given her deep connections to the core of the Defense Forces. On the contrary, their relationship dictated that the Mitsuya family had to accede to her unreasonable demands to a certain extent. The acquaintance between Shina and Tsukasa was merely a byproduct of this connection.
However, the one who shattered that balance was the third son of the Mitsuya family—now the Chairman of the Master Clans Council and Head of the Kagurazaka family, Yugen Kagurazaka.
Under the guise of the Mitsuya family's intent, he had been in charge of developing and analyzing military equipment using magic technology for the Defense Army Weaponry Development Department. Five years ago, at the request of the Joint Staff Council during the Okinawa Naval Battle, he stepped onto the battlefield as an officially unacknowledged Strategic-Class Magician. Following that battle, he was assigned as a special officer to the newly established Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion of the 101st Brigade.
Upon learning this, Aona Todo—one of the Four Elders of the Senior Council and Yugen's uncle-in-law—moved to dismantle the relationship between the Mitsuya and Toyama families by giving the Mitsuya family's business an official, legitimate pretense. The Toyama family was displeased by this development, but foolishly, an Intelligence-led unit raided the residence of Gozo Kamiizumi—another of the Four Elders—earning Gozo's wrath and a severe reprimand.
Normally, given Yugen's circumstances, there was no reason for the Mitsuya family to cater to the Toyama family. Yet, whether aware of this or not, turning away a visitor outright would jeopardize their prestige as one of the Ten Master Clans. Thus, Gen Mitsuya instructed his son Genji to focus on the family business before facing Tsukasa.
"Thank you for making time during your busy schedule."
"Not at all. May I ask what brings you here today?"
Gen had already heard the details of the young leaders' meeting from Genji. Furthermore, having been informed beforehand that Mototsugu and Yugen would not attend, he could roughly predict what Tsukasa intended to say.
"I heard about yesterday's meeting. Are you aware of it, Lord Mitsuya?"
"My son informed me of the details. Is there an issue with the meeting?"
Gen felt like telling her to leave if she was only here to waste his time, but Tsukasa's tone suggested she had no intention of wrapping things up quickly. He had heard that the Toyama family was absent, yet setting aside the question of who told her, he waited for Tsukasa to continue.
"It seems everyone deepened their friendships in quite a harmonious atmosphere."
"So it seems."
"Regrettably, however, I heard someone disrupted that cooperative mood near the end. I also understand that your son was the one who initiated it."
"...My son merely raised a question when he felt the objective of the meeting was being derailed. He is not at fault."
In truth, someone from the Toyama family—who hadn't even attended the meeting—had no right to lecture them. That was the underlying meaning of Gen's response, though his guest showed no sign of caring.
"It seems Lord Yotsuba didn't even attend the dinner afterward."
"I was informed he had a prior engagement and was unable to attend."
In Gen's view, it was clear that Tsukasa—or rather, the Toyama family—was dropping hints of conflict with the Yotsuba family. Moreover, knowing her character all too well, the single word 'Yotsuba' made him immediately realize what Tsukasa and Defense Army Intelligence were plotting.
If Tatsuya's behavior was to be deemed uncooperative, then the Mitsuya, Mutsuka, Ichijou, Isshiki, and Shippou families—who also skipped the dinner—would all have to be singled out as problematic as well.
"We, too, share concerns regarding Shiba Tatsuya's uncooperative attitude."
"When you say 'we,' do you mean the Defense Forces?"
"Indeed. Our section feels it is necessary to test whether Shiba Tatsuya poses a threat to public order."
While she used the broad term 'Defense Forces,' Gen knew she specifically meant Defense Army Intelligence. After all, one of his biological sons was a senior officer in the Defense Forces.
Furthermore, Gen had met Tatsuya face-to-face during the Parasite incident. Leaving aside the events in Okinawa, Tatsuya did not seem like someone who would willfully disrupt order. Given his close friendship with Yugen, Tatsuya did not strike Gen as the kind of person Tsukasa's concerns implied.
"Shiba Tatsuya is not a soldier. The Defense Forces have no such authority. And naturally, neither the Ten Master Clans nor the Toyama family possess the authority to test a member of the Yotsuba family."
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