by Sato Tsutomu
—Not too long ago, his sister still favored pajamas.
—Was her current appearance the result of Shizuku’s recent appearance taking root?
Right now, the pressing issue was the style of Miyuki’s pajamas.
Objectively speaking, she was currently wearing a nightgown.
Technically, she had a small jacket draped over the outside and the gown was neatly fastened.
However, from the chest to the knees, the barest hints of snowy white flesh could be seen through the thin layer of silk, filled with mesmerizing temptation.
(Thankfully I’m the only one who saw that…… Isn’t she a little lacking in the self-consciousness that young ladies usually possess?)
As her brother, Tatsuya was highly concerned about his sister’s lack of wariness, --yet whether this was truly right or wrong, there was unfortunately no judge present to determine the outcome.
On the other side, Miyuki appeared to be highly pleased with her brother’s blank stare and an embarrassed smile graced her face. Still, that visage swiftly altered to one of seriousness.
"Have I interrupted Onii-sama from studying……?"
"Hardly. Miyuki, you know that such things are not necessary for me."
Anyone else would have felt a surge of disgust at those words, but there was no sign of envy, amazement or praise from Miyuki as she took those words as perfectly natural.
Tatsuya rose from his position before the table and walked to the bedside before taking a seat beside Miyuki. Of course, there was a definite distance between them. Yet, from the side and not the front came a look that clearly said "Did you have something to say?" that urged Miyuki onward to voice her hesitant, stuttering question.
"Onii-sama…… Miyuki is really conflicted right now."
"Conflicted?"
Despite knowing that something was on Miyuki’s mind, this was still a sudden question.
Tatsuya repeated part of Miyuki’s sentence and kept his eyes fastened on her, yet she failed to raise her eyes to her brother.
"Right now, I completely don’t understand, what magic is….. What we Magicians are……"
Bemusement covered Tatsuya’s face.
He was completely not expecting such a profound question. Rather than belonging to the field of magic studies, it may be more appropriate to say this came from the realm of psychology.
While he didn’t feel that he was unable to answer the question, Tatsuya didn’t have an option that was appropriate enough to answer Miyuki’s question.
"What makes you think that?"
Regardless, Tatsuya prompted her to continue speaking.
"From a fundamental perspective, magic and super powers are one and the same. Onii-sama knows this better than anyone else when it comes down to theory or practical application."
"I think knowing that better than anyone else may be a stretch…… But go on."
"Parasites – demons also know how to use magic. When comparing the magic they use with the ones we cast, there is nothing different besides the procedure."
"True."
Miyuki’s hands were tightly clasped on top of her knees, but she suddenly twisted around towards Tatsuya. Placing her hands in the space between Tatsuya and herself, she leaned forward towards Tatsuya.
Her eyes were filled with unease.
"I have been wondering whether that’s…… the result of demons possessing Magicians. Was the demon using the Magician’s mind to cast magic?"
Terror lay in the depths of that unease.
"Yet, after seeing the power Pixie used and Onii-sama’s ensuing explanation, I have found that I am in error."
"Are you referring to the psychokinesis from that time?"
"Yes."
There was another lull before the conversation resumed. Miyuki was afraid of verbalizing the rest. She was terrified of the idea that her theory would be reinforced if she transformed her speculation into words. That was the feeling Tatsuya got from her.
"Telepathy is the ability to communicate from one consciousness to another. The original Parasite that is akin to a spirit form was capable of this, so that’s nothing surprising. When I heard that she used psychokinesis to create facial expressions, I also thought nothing of that matter."
Tatsuya felt that Miyuki’s face was getting closer.
The wavering emotions in her eyes were becoming more obvious.
"Yet, that burst of psychokinesis…… While rough in design that definitely still was Move-Type Magic. And that magic was activated after resonating with Honoka, right?"
"……Yes."
Tatsuya answered with some hesitation. Though that answer was a little dubious, Tatsuya was practically certain that the phenomenon between Honoka and Pixie was nearly the same as what could happen between those with close blood ties, much like the "resonance" rarely observed in Magicians who are identical twins – a phenomenon that occurred when the magic calculation area of one of them is stimulated, the other one’s magic calculation area becomes more active as well.
"3H…… As a machine, it does not have the power to wield magic. However, Pixie’s psychokinesis was not the power of the host, but a power that came from the monster, the Parasite."
Miyuki lowered her head when she finished. Immediately, she brought her eyes back to him as if she was about to break into tears.
"Since magic is practically the same as psychokinesis, does that mean demons have the same power that we Magicians do?"
Tatsuya finally understood the root of his sister’s unease.
"Why is magic called magic? ……Could it be that our power originated from them?"
Miyuki’s face drew even closer.
She was close enough that he could feel her breathing. At this time, Tatsuya stood up from the bed.
Superficially, he looked to be avoiding Miyuki, but the reality was far different.
Kneeling in front of Miyuki, Tatsuya caught Miyuki’s eyes.
"Miyuki….. You’re overthinking this."
Miyuki rotated her soft, flexible body and used her arms to support her leaning body. She took in Tatsuya’s gaze – and stored it within her heart.
Gently taking hold of his sister’s shoulders, Tatsuya gradually shifted his sister’s leaning body to the proper position bit by bit.
"While magic is referred to as the 'law of demons' in Japan, the word magic in English contains the connotation for 'ability of sages'."
Miyuki gave a small "ah" sound.
"As to where the power of magic came from, that is currently unknown. Magic Sequences rewrite other information bodies to bring about phenomenon alteration, and though we understand this system, exactly why is this change possible and why the magic calculation area in the human subconscious is able to do so are still enigmas."
Tatsuya wore the confused expression of a master berating a student making a mental error despite being more talented than himself as he smiled.
"For that matter, we cannot even guarantee that magic is something created by Magicians. It would be too great a leap in logic to say that since demons can use magic, then there must be a connection between Magicians and demons."
"That’s true……"
"Furthermore, the real identity of the Parasite could be said to be independent information bodies that originated from the human psyche. Since they came from the human consciousness, then its power should come from humans. It would be far more appropriate to say the power of demons come from humans instead of saying that the power of Magicians come from demons."
"I see…… Onii-sama is completely right."
The anxiety in Miyuki’s eyes faded away into nothing.
Tatsuya got the impression that Miyuki seemed to have understood a tad too quickly, but this was still more constructive than doubt, so there was no reason to ruin her mood.
"You were thinking that you are kin to demons and not humans, and that is why you couldn’t sleep, right?"
Tatsuya’s words did carry any inflection that poked f
un at his sister.
However, as if a button had been pressed, Miyuki blushed even more furiously than usual. Frozen to the point that she forgot to even cover her face, Miyuki rebooted and swiftly turned to face the wall.
Splayed out over the bed in an odd position, she faced the wall without budging an inch.
There’s no need to be that embarrassed…… Tatsuya thought to himself, but he did acknowledge that his sister’s current state was adorable.
"In that case……"
He stealthily moved his lips next to Miyuki’s earlobe as he spoke softly.
"Until you fall asleep."
She was so adorable that it roused Tatsuya’s mischievousness.
As expected, Miyuki’s body gave a huge start.
It was as if she was ready to fly to the ceiling.
"Should I stay by your side?"
Miyuki slowly turned her head around, blushing the entire time. As she watched Tatsuya with abashed and tender eyes, she spoke in a feathery tone.
"……Can you hold my hand?"
Overdid it, Tatsuya thought.
Tatsuya had no authority to deny her.
Until Miyuki fell asleep, Tatsuya sat on the bed tightly clasping Miyuki’s pearly white hand.
Fortunately, Miyuki immediately departed for dreamland.
His sister’s happy, slumbering face was Tatsuya’s greatest reward. Even so, it was hard to hide his mental exhaustion.
Carefully walking away and turning off the light, Tatsuya left Miyuki’s bedside.
Silently closing the door, he walked towards his own room.
Halfway back, Tatsuya realized something.
Even Miyuki, who had received higher education as a Magician, had thought that there was a connection between Magicians and demons instead of focusing on magic alone.
She took Magicians for something inhuman.
If someone well versed in magic like Miyuki thought so, then those who were unfamiliar with magic and were not Magicians themselves could hardly be faulted for seeing Magicians as demonic.
It would hardly be surprising if they thought Magicians were not quite human, or frankly "something inhuman" altogether……
◊ ◊ ◊
The next morning.
When Tatsuya got to school, he immediately dragged Erika, Leo, and Mikihiko out of the classroom. Though he saw that Mizuki watched them with nervous eyes, he never gave her an opportunity to rescue them.
Their destination was the roof.
Not only was it the coldest time in the morning, not a single person was on the wind-exposed rooftop. Tatsuya didn’t want to stay too long himself.
"You guys have something to tell me."
The three people on the rooftop weren’t intentionally keeping quiet. However, seeing that their friend had specifically called them up here and spared them the small talk, no one could knock Tatsuya for losing his patience even if his tone was a little anxious.
The three of them glanced at each other and all wore resigned expressions. As their expressions clearly showed that they had given up, they wordlessly determined who was going to be their spokesperson with high speed.
"Tatsuya, um, actually……"
The one who spoke with trepidation, or maybe in a self-defeating manner, was Mikihiko.
"Are you saying that you guys let the Parasite get away?"
Though Tatsuya jumped the gun because he wanted to get this over with quickly, he couldn't help but sigh when he saw Mikihiko raise his head in shock as if he had heard of something impossible.
"I’m not going to be upset if that’s all it is. Although it’s going to be a little difficult to recapture….. But there’s nothing to be done if it already got away."
Though he didn’t hide his disappointment, this wasn’t a completely unsalvageable situation. Just as Tatsuya expressed his stance and was about to return to the warm classroom,
"No, that’s not it, Tatsuya!"
Mikihiko frantically grabbed a hold of him.
"Yeah, it’s not like they got away….. Well, technically they did get away……"
Based on those mutually exclusive words, his friends hadn’t gotten to the important part, so Tatsuya turned his gaze on to Leo.
"They were taken by someone else."
"Were they that strong?"
Tatsuya’s reaction to Leo’s answer was a little different than the usual approach to this situation.
However, the detail that Tatsuya cared about the most was precisely this one.
They had been in the same class for almost a year. In Tatsuya’s eyes, the three of them had the power now to match any frontline combat Magician and maybe even the members of the Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion.
Of course, they still couldn’t take on Kazama or Yanagi (without "Trident", even Tatsuya couldn’t defeat them), but they could definitely hold their own against the rank and file.
"It was unfortunate that we failed, but from a strength perspective, they weren’t particularly capable opponents."
"They did have exceptional gear. That’s the first time I ran into someone wearing a jacket that could numb an enemy on contact."
"They also had durable armor that scattered dust on impact. If only I had had a longer weapon yesterday."
"No wonder."
That sort of equipment was certainly unique, but then again, that made it easier to identify the enemy.
"In the end, they even got on a black airship and fled. That was frustrating."
"OK, we should be thankful that nothing more serious happened."
Hearing Tatsuya’s words, or more like after hearing Tatsuya’s words, Erika couldn’t help but turn a "Hm?" look on Tatsuya.
"Tatsuya-kun, don’t tell me you already know who they are?"
"Sort of. I never made direct contact with them before, but I think I can guess."
"Who are they?"
After considering the nature of the answer, it wouldn’t be strange that saying something and not saying something both held merit.
"JSDF Intelligence Department Counterintelligence 3rd Division. With that sort of interesting equipment and even a stealth airship for transport, it must be the 3rd Division."
Tatsuya’s answer was very direct. Nor did there appear to be any sign he was holding back. It may be that not only Erika, but even Leo and Mikihiko had become embroiled in his affairs.
"Does…… Tatsuya know that because he’s a member of the Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion?"
"Ah?"
Even so,
"I don’t recall telling Erika the unit I belong to……"
At someone pointing out something they didn’t remember, Erika shook her head.
"……I see, you heard from Miyuki."
"After seeing something like that, there’s no way I wouldn’t ask."
The item Erika was referring to was probably the Movable Suit. Despite uncovering Tatsuya’s identity, Erika still hadn’t connected Tatsuya to the "Scorched Halloween" yet.
"Since we were engaged in full blown combat with the invading force, a clearly differentiated chain of command couldn’t be avoided. Still, I do hope you will keep that a secret."
"I know. I don’t want to be arrested for espionage."
Compromising the National Secrecy Act was synonymous to being suspected of spying. The majority of the citizens protested that this invasion of privacy in the latter half of the previous century, so Japan had since returned to being a normal country.
"Hey, since you know who our opponents are, you wouldn’t happen to know where they carted those guys off to, right?"
Erika’s mood rebounded quickly as she asked in a hopeful voice.
Unfortunately,
"Without knowing their objective even I can’t be sure."
Tatsuya frankly shook his head. That was how reality was.
"True…… Our opponent is a government organization, so they must have multiple hideouts."
"That’s because there’s a budget, though it’s
not inexhaustible. Still, they’re probably like a wily rabbit that has three different hiding holes."
Just as Mikihiko said, this time their opponent was a government organization. In terms of fighting assets at their disposal, they were on a fundamentally different level than foreign forces that had illegally invaded their soil. They had always enjoyed home field advantage, but this time that was transferred to the other side.
"Meh, it’s not like we have to worry too much. This wouldn’t have ended even if you guys had taken care of the interlopers from last night. We also know that the Parasites are onto Pixie. We just have to lay a snare that cannot be stolen from us next time."
Tatsuya wore an evil smile as he reassured the three of them. –Despite the kind words, Erika, Leo, and Mikihiko all backed away fearfully from that expression, but Tatsuya seemed not to care.
"Let’s table this here. Lets hurry back to the classroom before we freeze here."
Though no one present would feel that this chill would be anything serious, at the end of the day, cold was cold.
None of the three raised any objection as they followed behind Tatsuya going indoors.
◊ ◊ ◊
Coincidentally, at the same time that Tatsuya and Erika’s group were having a chat on the rooftop, Colonel Libra also received a phone call on her end.
"I’m terribly sorry for bothering you so early in the morning, Ms. Virginia."
"It’s you again."
The image that appeared on the screen was the face she saw yesterday. The 15-year old young lady who claimed to be the spokesperson of the Yotsuba, Kuroba Ayako. This morning, she was still wrapped in silk and lace.
"School…… No, excuse me."
Except while she was fulfilling her duties, Colonel Barans was pretty much a moralist. That was why she was on the verge of telling off a young girl who plainly was of the age that she should be in school but was evidently engaged in non-school related activities this morning.
"Thank you for caring."
Keenly discerning what Virginia was thinking, Ayako revealed a perfectly polite smile.
"Still, Ms. Virginia need not worry. I have long since obtained the necessary credits to graduate."