Mitsugu Kuroba was in Yokohama on legitimate business—his "front" job. When the phone in his hotel room began to ring, he tilted his head in confusion. He hadn't informed his business partners that he was staying here. Since he could be reached wirelessly at any time, there was no need to provide his hotel details. And if it were related to the "back" business, there was even less reason to go through the hotel front desk.
Still, seeing no reason to pretend he wasn't there, he decided to answer the audio-only call. As a precaution, he did not identify himself.
"Yes, hello."
"Mitsugu-san, is now a good time?"
The moment that voice flowed from the receiver, Mitsugu's spine snapped straight, reflexively stiffening with tension.
"Maya-san... Yes, of course."
To maintain enough self-control that his voice didn't betray his nervousness before the Head of the Yotsuba—that was the mark of the man who managed the family's intelligence network. Maya was technically his cousin. His mother was the younger sister of the previous head of the Yotsuba family, and his son was a candidate to be the next head. While the concept of a "direct line" didn't exist in the Yotsuba family in the strictest sense, by general standards, Mitsugu was extremely close to the main bloodline.
But it was precisely because that blood connection was so thick that Mitsugu understood, better than anyone, just how terrifying Maya Yotsuba truly was.
"This is an urgent matter, I assume? Please, do not hesitate. Tell me what you require."
"Say, Mitsugu-san... can't you do something about that theatrical way of speaking?"
"Oh, my beautiful cousin. To call it theatrical is quite unexpected. I am always entirely serious."
A weary sigh came through the phone, but Maya did not press the issue further.
"Shall we get to the main topic? Mitsugu-san, have you finished identifying the Parasite hosts?"
Mitsugu felt his expression tighten. This was neither front business nor back business—this was his true work. The role of the Kuroba family. Mitsugu knew his place well. Therefore, there was no negligence in his work, and certainly no inability to answer.
"There are twelve bodies in total. Four were disposed of by the US military. One was neutralized yesterday by Miyuki-chan and Tatsuya-kun. That leaves seven. We have identified the locations of all remaining targets."
"Fast work as always. I expect nothing less from you, Mitsugu-san."
"No, no. The Saegusa and Chiba clans did a fine job of drawing their attention this time. It saved us the trouble of smoking them out ourselves."
"You are being modest."
This time, Mitsugu didn't deny it. His previous statement had, as Maya noted, been mere humility.
"Actually, I received a prompt from our client this morning. They said, 'Do not let these filthy monsters do as they please in Tokyo any longer.'"
"That is harsh. Tokyo is not supposed to be under Yotsuba jurisdiction."
Mitsugu wasn't acting when he frowned. For the reason he just stated, moving Yotsuba pawns within Tokyo required an exhausting amount of care and political maneuvering.
"It seems the other side is being pressured from a different angle as well. Well, given the circumstances, please bring this matter to a close for the time being."
"By 'bring to a close,' you mean...?"
"Erase all the hosts."
Maya's voice was utterly casual. She wasn't suppressing her emotions, nor was she trying to sound cold. It was simply a mundane instruction.
"Not capture?"
"No. Elimination."
"However, when a host dies, the Parasite appears to fly off in search of a new host. It will take some time to track them down again if..."
"I don't mind. I want to know how the Parasite exits a deceased host. How far can it travel in its information form? How much time does it need to merge with a new host, and how long after that until it resumes activity?"
"You want me to observe and report on these factors?"
"It will likely provide valuable data. You can do it, can't you?"
Despite it being an audio-only call, Mitsugu bowed deeply while holding the receiver.
"As you command."
"Once the erasure is complete, please report in. We'll stop there for now."
"I would like until the day after tomorrow."
"That is acceptable. I'm counting on you."
Mitsugu reiterated his acceptance of the order, and the line went dead.
Mitsugu remained unaware of one crucial fact: Tatsuya had not actually killed the host he neutralized.
Tatsuya was currently seeking a new technology.
He wasn't looking for a way to snipe the information body by using its physical manifestation as a trace. He wanted a technique to snipe the information body within the information dimension itself. A means to directly attack the core of the Parasite drifting in the sea of information.
In the physical dimension, multiple material objects cannot exist at the same coordinates simultaneously. However, information is bound by no such restriction. Information bodies existing in the information dimension have no physical allocation limits.
Because of this, Tatsuya's psions—released from their compressed state at the "coordinates" overlapping with the isolated information body—simply diffused and vanished without affecting the target at all.
"Tch..."
Tatsuya clenched his back teeth, his frustration visible. Miyuki watched him with a worried expression. Beside her, Yakumo, who had been helping create targets for the practice session, spoke in his usual aloof, drifting tone.
"Even you are struggling with this one, I see. Well, this is the sort of technique that some people simply cannot do, no matter how hard they try."
At this dismissive remark, Miyuki shot a glare filled with genuine killing intent toward the monk. It was a testament to Yakumo's skill that his expression didn't change, though something resembling cold sweat seemed to bead on his temple.
"But considering you learned to project 'Far Strike' into the World of Reason within three days, I don't think you lack the aptitude entirely."
"Master, next one, please."
Yakumo had hurriedly added the compliment to smooth things over, but Tatsuya requested the continuation of his training, diverting Miyuki's attention away from the monk.
"Well, whether you have the aptitude or not is something you only know after the results are in," Yakumo mused. "Magic is a funny thing; what you can't do today, you might suddenly be able to do tomorrow. However, it is also a fact that we are in a situation where we cannot simply wait for 'someday.' Since you already know where to aim, I think devising an attack method different from Far Strike is a valid option."
Hearing this, Tatsuya let out a bitter laugh, knowing it was rude but unable to help himself.
"One does not simply 'whip up' new magic on demand. I admit I'm at a deadlock, but you are overestimating me."
"Is that so? You are certainly untalented in one specific aspect, but when it comes to the modification and development of magic sequences, you possess extraordinary talent, do you not? I don't think it's wise to narrow your own possibilities."
"He is right, Onii-sama! If it is you, surely you can realize brilliant ideas that no other person could even conceive of!"
Miyuki chimed in to encourage the reluctant Tatsuya. No, it went beyond encouragement; it was an affirmation. Miyuki's words did not even take the form of speculation.
"If I may be so presumptuous, I believe there is no need to give up on either path. Why not proceed with developing a new magic in parallel, while keeping direct attack via Gram Demolition as your primary countermeasure?"
Tatsuya couldn't answer Miyuki. Had anyone else said it, he would have brushed it aside. But faced with Miyuki's expectation—or rather, her gaze of foolishly absolute trust—it was impossible for Tatsuya to return a negative answer.
Beside him, Yakumo was holding his sides, laughing as if it were the funniest thing he had ever seen.
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