Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei - Volume 12 - Double Seven Chapter

by Sato Tsutomu

  Preparing for the experiments tomorrow, it was a good change of pace. His sister had likely thought of that too, Tatsuya thought. He then suddenly remembered that he hadn't even untied the ribbon from the gift he'd received from Honoka.

  He took a long, thin box from his bag. Despite the size, it was rather heavy. Expecting it to be some technological product, he removed the ribbon and carefully peeled off the wrapping paper. What was revealed was a luxurious wooden box. Opening the lid, he saw a spring loaded antique pocket watch.

  "Wasn't this expensive......?"

  Muttering subconsciously, when he checked the manufacturer engraved inside he smiled subtly. Carved within was the mark of the corporation run by Shizuku's father. In other words, this had come from Shizuku.

  The back of the lid where a photograph went was empty. Shizuku would most likely have placed a photo of Honoka there, but Honoka herself seemed to have been less than enthusiastic.

  Imagining the scene playing out in his head, Tatsuya let out a chuckle.

  Through the sound of his laughter, he heard a knock on the door.

  "It's Miyuki. Onii-sama, may I come in?"

  Her voice barely reached inside the room, it was so quiet. Whatever her intent, it seemed she didn't want to disturb their housemate. Tatsuya likewise opened the door silently with this in mind.

  His sister stood there resplendent, regally dressed with a touch of makeup. Her one-piece dress was a robe decollete of pale cherry, with plenty of lace and boldly exposing the chest and back. Her flowing black hair had been tied back, revealing her blemishless skin, and its complex combed out form shone against her pearly back. The skirt, which reached her ankles, comprised strips of cloth of different length, and the shape of her flawless legs peeked out from the thigh down. Her charm now was even greater than in the morning when she had awoken him, and he was lost in her beauty for an instant.

  "Um, Onii-sama?"

  "Ah, sorry. Come in."

  Tatsuya had been entranced by her momentarily. Dazed and blocking the entrance, at Miyuki's puzzled voice he came to and moved aside, letting her in.

  Miyuki had not come empty handed. Her right hand held a bottle, a handbag dangled from her left elbow, and in her left hand were two glasses.

  Seeing both her hands full, Tatsuya softly closed the door. Miyuki lightly bent her knees in thanks, then placed the bottle down side by side with the glasses on Tatsuya's desk.

  "Is this Honoka's present?"

  Miyuki spotted the pocket watch still on his desk.

  "Yeah."

  "It's a very elegant design isn't it?"

  "It is."

  Miyuki herself probably held no ill intent, but Tatsuya felt bad somehow, and stowed Honoka's present away in a drawer.

  "So, what's all this?"

  Retrieving a spare chair from the wall storage for Miyuki, then sitting down in front of the desk himself, Tatsuya glanced over the bottle and glasses. Miyuki moved her seat, a wheeled stool without a backrest, next to Tatsuya and sat a distance away, smiling shyly.

  "Onii-sama, do you remember April 24th last year.......?"

  "Of course."

  Her question had absolutely nothing to do with his question, but it seemed that if he didn't answer this he wouldn't get an answer himself, so he thought back.

  "You suddenly appeared in a kimono."

  He had been stunned then as he was now by this dress — not that he said that aloud.

  "Right, that happened too."

  Miyuki murmured as she shifted herself out of sight slightly. She had been earnest back then, but looking back, it seemed even she was embarrassed.

  "Uhm besides that......last year, Onii-sama, it was just the two of us."

  "Yeah."

  Just what Miyuki wanted to say, Tatsuya already knew by this stage. As he smiled with love, Miyuki also returned a clear smile.

  "The year before, was celebrated with just us two as well."

  "I remember."

  "Minami-chan is with us this year, so we celebrated together but......"

  Pausing, Miyuki looked down in embarrassment.

  "In the end, I really......want some time alone too. For a little while, could we celebrate Onii-sama's birthday with just me......?"

  Leaning forward in his chair, Tatsuya reached for Miyuki's face.

  His hands brushed her cheek.

  Miyuki's shoulders were trembling.

  Gently held in Tatsuya's hands, Miyuki's head was brought up.

  Their eyes met.

  Miyuki's eyes were moist, and her face red.

  Suddenly, she turned away.

  To avoid her brother discovering the heat now emanating from her cheeks.

  "Onii-sama, a toast?"

  "Champagne?"

  Tatsuya quietly lowered his hands, but his eyes remained firmly fixed on Miyuki.

  "Yes, but it's alright. There's barely any alcohol in it."

  "Ah, I'll open it."

  Perhaps the cork was in tight; Tatsuya took the bottle from Miyuki's trembling fingers. Deftly removing the cork without sending it flying, he returned the bottle to his sister.

  "Thank you......please go ahead."

  She placed a half-filled glass in front of Tatsuya. Pouring into her own glass, Miyuki held it up with her right hand.

  Tatsuya took hold of his glass with his left hand, and held it near Miyuki's.

  A clear sound rang out.

  "Onii-sama......happy birthday. I'm thankful that Onii-sama is with me."

  "Thanks. I'm thankful that I could be your brother."

  The two of them tilted their glasses at the same time.

  On a side note, the present Miyuki had prepared was in the handbag. Within the box was a somewhat oversized locket pendant, exquisitely engraved with motifs of the sun, moon, and stars. A 3D photo of Miyuki in the dress she wore now had been placed inside. Earlier Miyuki had been regretting about 'letting Honoka take the initiative', but in these terms it seemed Miyuki was still in the lead.

  —And Tatsuya, unable to fathom his sister's intentions, worried continually for over an hour.

  Chapter 13

  Tuesday, April 24th. Today, Shippou Takuma spoke privately with the ally who shared his goal of “a new order”, Sawamura Maki, at the usual time before heading home.

  The time was already 2300 hours. In order to avoid troubling people at home (including the servants), he had dined outside and called ahead to inform his family that they didn’t need to wait for him. The servants living at his house should have already turned in for the night, so Takuma slipped in through the backdoor without ringing the doorbell.

  “Takuma-san.”

  As he was removing his shoes, a young man a few years his senior called out to Takuma.

  “Sensei is waiting for you in the study.”

  Sensei referred to the head of the Shippou Family, Shippou Takumi. The young man serving as his father’s assistant must have received orders from his father to wait here for Takuma. Despite thinking “how irritating”, Takuma couldn’t ignore this. After replying “Got it” to the young man, Takuma headed for the study.

  On the surface, the Shippou Family worked as investment advisors, especially in the field of weather derivative instruments. As a particular type of risk management tool, weather derivative instruments were broadly used to predict atypical weather hazards. As a financial tool, the value of weather derivative instruments was determined by various weather values such as temperature, humidity, condensation, etc. While industrialization of the food industry has decreased the efficacy of weather derivative instruments, the rise of solar energy as the principal provider of electricity in more developed countries has rendered the estimated time for sunshine a major indicator for earnings projections used by corporations. The reason why Shippou Takumi was referred to as “sensei” was because he was publicly acknowledged within the nation to be the authority on annual weather predictions.

  However, right now Takuma was facing the head of one of t
he 18 Replacement Clans, a Magician whose magical prowess rivaled that of the Ten Master Clans, Shippou Takumi.

  “Come in.”

  This phrase was spoken to Takuma as he entered the study, shortly before he sat on the set of sofas that were separated from the thick, heavy desk that his father used.

  Takumi rose from his office table and sat down while facing Takuma.

  “Takuma, how’s high school? Are you enjoying it?”

  Did you call me here at this hour to talk about this nonsense, that was what Takuma thought on reflex. Though he knew very well that this was just small talk, Takuma’s infuriated emotions were about to eclipse his rationality.

  “Father, I should have already said this a countless times before. For me, high school isn’t a place for fun and games.”

  In response to his son’s words, Takumi wore a “Seriously?” expression.

  “How stubborn you are. There’s no need to overexert yourself to this degree.”

  “Father, you’re the one who is too relaxed!”

  Seeing Takumi’s placid attitude, Takuma’s agitation finally exploded.

  “We obviously only have one more year until the next Ten Master Clans Selection Hearing. At this rate, those Saegusa wallflowers will once again seize our place in the Ten Master Clans while the Shippou will again suffer the indignity of being inferior to them!”

  “The Selection Hearing is something that selects 10 families out of 28 families.”

  The voice Takumi spoke towards Takuma was interlaced with a sense of futility.

  “Fixating only on the Saegusa Family is absolutely pointless. Even you, Takuma, should be aware of that level.”

  This was not the first time Takumi said these words. Rather, save for the days that he never interacted with his son, Takumi had the feeling that he said this to his son on a daily basis in the past year.

  “There is a point.”

  Furthermore, there was never an instance where Takuma came around to his father’s words.

  “The Saegusa Family is nothing more than one family among the 28.”

  “Those guys are different.”

  Today, Takuma’s attitude was as stubborn as ever.

  “Takuma.”

  “They’re not the same. The Saegusa are different.”

  Takumi heaved a sigh filled with exhaustion.

  “Who was it who implanted such a deeply rooted obsession in you?”

  “It doesn’t matter who it is! It is true that the Saegusa betrayed the name “3” and used the stolen “7” to win their place among the Ten Master Clans!”

  “Takuma…… The days where they were the “Saegusa (3)”[2] instead of the “Saegusa (7)” preceded the establishment of the Ten Master Clans. When Sensei proposed the Ten Master Clans system, the Saegusa had already become the “Saegusa (7)”. Furthermore, they do indeed possess the strength that towers above others in the 28 families.”

  “In terms of the strength that towers above others, that’s only the result of them secretly devouring the research results from the 3rd and 7th Research Labs. Plainly the final experimental body came from the 3rd Research Lab and broke away from the 3rd Research Lab before stealing the “Herd Defense” that was originally conceptualized and developed by the Shippou Family just as we were on the last phase prior to completion entirely for their own benefit. Not only our Shippou Family, but the Mitsuya, Mikazuki, Tanabata, and Nanase Families were all duped by the Saegusa Family! Father, how are you so calm even when this is clearly how the situation was!?”

  “Takuma. Like us, the Magicians from the Saegusa Family are also experimental bodies.”

  Hearing the sentences uttered by Takumi in such a bitter tone, even the excitable Takuma fell silent.

  “They are beings who have been constructed. The only difference is that, unlike the other 27 families…… no, the other 26 families content with their lot as experiments, they have chosen their own path. This is not something to rue, but is instead praiseworthy.”

  “…..So in essence, Father, you are saying that treachery and stealing a march are praiseworthy things?”

  Takuma managed to muster a response.

  “Aren’t you trying to steal a march on the Ten Master Clans right now?”

  “That’s……!”

  However, Takuma’s retort was like a boomerang that missed its target and came back to its thrower.

  Before his son, who had fallen silent with a sullen expression on his face, Takumi sighed slightly.

  “Forget it. I know you weren’t going to accept this regardless of what I say.”

  Takuma’s “accusation” and Takumi’s “persuasion” had not started today. Including this instance, father and son had retread the same conversation several dozen times. In spite of this, they still couldn’t help but argue with one another, which only proved that their bond as father and son could not be sundered.

  “I called you here today because I had something else to say.”

  “……At such a late hour?”

  Takuma threw in as much sarcasm as he could in his response.

  “That’s because it was absolutely necessary to tell you this today. Seriously, if I knew you would return so late, I would have arranged a meeting with you beforehand. This way, I could have spoken with you when you returned home from school.”

  Nevertheless, this was a self-destructive gesture on Takuma’s part.

  “……Sorry.”

  “You do not have to apologize to me. However, you do need to ask your mother’s forgiveness. She should still be awake.”

  Snap, without trying to hide his expression, Takuma’s eyes drifted all over the place as Takumi cut to the chase.

  “Takuma, take the day off from school tomorrow.”

  “Father? What are you saying all of a sudden?”

  Takuma’s shocked expression was not feigned. He was truly bewildered by his father.

  “Tomorrow, Congressman Kanda from the opposition party will be touring First High.”

  Takumi had predicted that his son would find this peculiar, so he directly started to explain his reasoning without wasting any time.

  “Congressman Kanda from the opposition party, as in Kanda the human rights proponent and anti-magic supporter?”

  “Correct. As well as his media underlings.”

  “For what reason?”

  Even though Takuma asked this, he really already guessed the answer. After taking into account Congressman Kanda’s recent statements that were highly publicized by the media, his purpose behind visiting First High was nigh apparent. Takuma’s question was merely for verification purposes.

  “He’s putting on a show about protecting adolescents from being forcibly stripped of their freedoms by magic.”

  “Civil rights!?”

  Even knowing this, Takuma couldn’t help but spit that out. “No need for you to worry” was written clearly across his face.

  “I understand what you’re trying to say, but our opponent is a national congressman. Causing an incident would be very problematic.”

  His father’s words caused an irate expression to appear over Takuma’s face for an entirely different reason than before.

  “Even if it’s an irritating opponent, I’m not going to pick a fight without paying attention to the consequences. I’m not that childish.”

  “Even if they are picking a fight with you?”

  “……Uh, of course. Would I be provoked that easily?”

  Takumi relaxed and leaned deeply back into the sofa.

  “Good. Since you speak so resolutely, then be prepared to bear responsibility for your words.”

  “I know that! That’s all you have to say, right?”

  Seeing these oft-repeated words and belligerent attitude, even someone other than Takumi would wonder if Takuma was truly “beyond provocation”.

  “Takuma, the situation is being handled by Saegusa-sama. Under no circumstances are you to do anything unnecessary.”

  Yet, th
is particular phrase from Takumi was not spoken out of concern for his son’s attitude, but carefully timed instead.

  “Saegusa!?”

  As expected, Takuma displayed an intense reaction.

  “Do not do anything unnecessary. You must bear responsibility for your own words.”

  Nonetheless, this was already after they had reached an accord.

  “The Shippou Family will not interfere with this incident. You heard me, Takuma. That is the decision.”

  It’s not like he could recant after all this,

  “—I know!”

  So Takuma had no choice but to reply in this fashion.

  ◊ ◊ ◊

  They were unexpected visitors for practically everyone at First High, though they were probably also unwelcome visitors for everyone affiliated with First High.

  Ten men and women disembarked from three pitch black limousines.

  They were composed of Congressman Kanda, his secretary, reporters working for the congressman, and bodyguards.

  During 4th period, the first class after noon, they suddenly demanded to meet with the principal. Of course, no appointment was made ahead of time. Generally speaking, they would be graciously rebuffed and sent to the door, but the status of a national congressman was such that they were able to do something tyrannical like this. In this regard, things had changed little from the previous century.

  With Congressman Kanda wholly ignoring decorum and demanding an audience, the Dean Yaosaka of First High could only greet them with a sour expression on his face.

  “Congressman Kanda, I have already said that Principal Momoyama is away on a business trip to Tokyo today. Please, would it be possible for you to come again when the principal is here?”

  “Ho. Are you trying to dismiss I, Kanda, like a child and tell me to come again?”

  “I dare not dismiss you like a child.”

  “Then the dean is fine as well. I wish to view the classes of your illustrious school in action.”

  “This is not something I can grant by myself. As I thought, you need to speak directly with the principal.”

  Kanda and Yaosaka were both in their fifties. At first glance and with a mind towards television appearances, Kanda appeared to be younger thanks to the efforts of makeup artists and plastic surgeons. However, upon closer inspection, Kanda also carried symptoms that befit his age. Though the two men were of the same age group, the sight of one overbearing side speaking with greater and greater fervor while the other side sweated and fretted away without daring to retaliate made for a hilarious sight despite its rather common frequency.