or afterwards, your mission is to assassinate him. His plans will probably still be realized even if he is killed, but you need not worry about that. According to ‘The Seven Sages’, Heigu doesn't seem to be using aerial transports. If he is on the sea, you may use 'loud' means to get the work done. Do not allow the Japanese to capture him."

"Understood."

Faced with the image of a saluting Canopus accepting the duty bestowed upon him, Balance couldn't help but feel guilty.

"Forgive me, Major. Even though we understand this kind of dirty work isn't part of your duties, considering the possibility of our opponent being a peculiar Magician is high, we need to meet him with an eminent Magician of our own."

Canopus stopped saluting and without putting on a tough act, shook his head.

"You need not worry yourself, Colonel. If anything, I would like to express my gratitude for choosing me. I do not want the High Commander.. I don't want Lina to suffer the pain of assassination work, as much as I can help it."

Saluting once again, Canopus left the commander's room.

? ? ?

Canopus arrived at the Japan-USNA Joint-Base of Yokosuka on January 29th, 1800 hours, Japan standard time.

Due to the frequent wars throughout the world over a 20-year period, most countries decided to call back all their troops to their respective territories, thus, things like the U.S. Forces' Bases in Japan had disappeared. However, after the U.S became the USNA, the alliance between them and Japan had continued, but changed. Each country installed bases on their lands, bases that could be used freely by the other nation. The base of Yokosuka was one of those. (That being said, those bases' activities were close to non-existent).

Of course, the fact that the STARS First Unit Commander, Canopus, came to Japan remained a secret. Immediately after arriving, without even going out of the base, he went on a destroyer ship towards the sea.

The warship that Canopus was on headed south, towards the Sagami Bay, and it passed by a small cruiser of 20 meters in the middle of the sea area between the Boso Peninsula and Oshima. Canopus jumped from the destroyer to the small cruiser when the two were close enough. This boat had been camouflaged using Optical Magic which could reflect even infrared rays. Although a faint shadow would probably appear on stratospheric surveillance cameras, discerning its identity should be impossible. With this, Canopus could be smuggled into the country safely.

This small cruiser was originally something that the USNA embassy possessed for leisure purposes, thus, to use it for information gathering, its power output and the hull's outer armor had been reinforced. Of course, cutting-edge sensors had been installed as well. Despite the fact that this cruiser didn't have many weapons, so long as Canopus was on it, this wouldn't be a problem at all.

Canopus turned the cruiser towards Sagami Bay. The cruiser went south, following the Izu Peninsula, then at Cape Irozaki turned north towards the Suruga Bay. Due in part to the slow speed at which he sailed, it was already nearing midnight when he found the target ship.

It was a small freighter which had its deck entirely covered with solar panels. When sailing, the arms on each of the sides of the hull would open up, like a Tobiuo's wings, and the thin solar films would then increase the power generation. This auxiliary power source uses a photocatalytic hydrogen production model built into a regular fuel cell, and with nearly all the energy required coming from the sun, this type of freighter had become the main transport model in the latter half of the 21st century.

This freighter had been mentioned along with the presumed date at which Jiedo Heigu left the USNA. However, this ship was supposed to arrive yesterday in Japan. That is why the ship's inspection was unnecessary, so they decided to search the port at which it had anchored.

"Major, is it that ship?”

The captain of the ship who served as an officer in the USNA's Marine Corps talked to Canopus with a mix of awe and fear in his voice. As a temporary subordinate under his command for this mission, he had been told about Canopus' background. The STARS were already a unit whose reputation was close to that of legendary, and factor in that he was now talking to one of its best field officers, and you get that result. Albeit, this captain wasn't aware that ‘Canopus’ the Number 2, was right behind ‘Sirius’, so he didn't need to be that tense. If he had been aware of Canopus' rank, it was quite possible that he wouldn't have been able to focus on his work to begin with.

To the captain's question, Canopus expressed a bitter smile. Seeing this smile without an ounce of intimidation or malice, the captain's tension softened a little.

"My apologies but ships really aren't my forté. You guys should have much more expertise on this subject than I do, right?”

Understanding that Canopus implicitly asked “Isn't this something you of all people should bring answers to?”, the captain straightened his spine.

"Pardon me, Sir. There is no mistake that this is the ship in question."

"Of course, I will trust you on this matter."

Canopus adopted a serious look and nodded, and a breath of relief escaped from the captain's lips.

"Captain."

"Yes, Major?”

The captain answered with a tone fitting of the serious expression Canopus was wearing.

"Keep that ship under surveillance. Since Heigu brought this ship all the way from Yokosuka to Numazu, he might be tempted to use it again to escape."

"Understood. I will immediately contact local agents."

"We will continue observing the vessel tonight."

"Major, aren't you going to the mainland?”

"We're already past the planned time for landing. If we are to successfully complete this mission, we must avoid drawing attention as much as possible."

"Sir, yes, sir!”

Nodding silently, Canopus turned his attention towards the freighter.

? ? ?

Persuaded by Balance, Lina graciously decided to give up on going to Japan. She thought that sending Canopus wasn't a mistake. Thinking about it, if they were to exclude Heavy Metal Burst, he might even be stronger than her, Sirius, since he was a veteran combat Magician. Lina kept repeating to herself that he never failed his duties.

Still, Lina had come to a point where it was unbearable to not do anything.

"..It's true, I cannot do anything. I have to obediently remain here. However, if it's about warning a fri.. an acquaintance, then there should be no problem!”

Despite the fact that no one was listening to her monologue, she felt the need to hurriedly correct herself before she could utter the word ‘friend’. Looking left and right with a red face, no matter how you looked at it, it was her excessive self-consciousness.

Was she aware that her actions were a bit childish? Lina cleared her throat —— which was quite a cutesy act in and of itself anyway —— and looked towards the vision console.

It was currently two hours past midnight. In other words, that meant Lina had been worrying until that time, but it also meant that it was just six o'clock in Japan. Even though that wasn't planned at all, it was just what she hoped for.

Although she had decided to phone them, if she gave herself the time to hesitate, it would have been too late. Lina psyched herself up in front of the console and dialed Miyuki's number.

After five blips, the screen's light turned on. Looking at the display, her rival appeared, and compared to a year ago, her beauty had even further increased.

"My! Lina, it's been a while."

Neither envy, fear, reverence nor admiration transpired from her gaze, and she was only looking at the person named 'Angelina'. Lina remembered the illusion of the water concealing her heart melting away.

"Hello, Miyuki. It's been awhile indeed. Is everything going well?”

"Yes, thanks to you. Did you lose some weight I wonder? Are you alright? Aren't you busy with your work?”

Calling her role as the STARS' High Commander, the duty of the Sirius, as just 'work'. This spontaneous boldness gave Lina pleasant feelings.

"My weight actually increased you know? Maybe I became more muscular."

"Hmm.. It looks like you did shape up a bit. I'm a little jealous."

"Miyuki.. I told you that when someone such as yourself talks like that, it sounds like sarcasm. Moreover, what's up with you? Getting even more beautiful like that. When are you going to feel satisfied and stop?”

"I could say the same to you, it really sounds like sarcasm when you say such things.. If it seems like I look beautiful, then it's only because of Onii-sama."

Lina suddenly had dejected feelings. Really, if the situation had been different.. such thoughts wandered in Lina's head, feelings of disappointment.

"..Ah that's true, Miyuki is now engaged to Tatsuya, right. Congratulations."

"Thank you very much, Lina. Still, the news spread pretty fast it seems."

"Well, we're talking about the ‘Princess’ of the Yotsuba. It's normal to bear an interest."

"Is that true? Then could it be that Lina called to congratulate us?”

Lina was taken aback by Miyuki’s happy smile. And with this she remembered the purpose of her call.

"Umm, no, sorry. It's not really for that."

Hearing Lina's apology, Miyuki slightly cocked her head to the side, but rather than being ill-humored, she was puzzled.

"Oh my, in that case, is it an important matter?”

Lina wanted to ask why Miyuki would show her such a cutesy face, but refrained from doing so and swallowed her retort.

"Indeed. It's probably a very important matter."

"..Would it be better if I called Onii-sama I wonder?”

Thinking for less than a second, Lina nodded her head at Miyuki's proposal.

"Yes. It would be better for Tatsuya to hear this as well."

"Please, wait for a moment."

The screen entered suspension mode.

It took roughly three seconds for the display to turn on again, and for Miyuki's beautiful figure to reappear.

"Lina, long time no see."

"Yes, Tatsuya. It has been a long time."

Tatsuya was sitting next to Miyuki. To Lina’s surprise, the distance between Tatsuya and Miyuki wasn't zero.

"I guess this would be the time where we slowly talk about how things have been going around each other, but you seem to have important business to talk about. Let's leave the friendship talk for the next time, then. What did you want to consult us about.”

"You haven't changed, Tatsuya. I must say, I like that straightforward personality of yours."

Immediately after saying this, Lina thought ‘damn it’. Using ‘I like’ to qualify an aspect of Tatsuya while Miyuki is right next to him, isn't that like pouring fuel on the already lit fire that is called 'Miyuki's jealousy'.

However, once again unexpectedly, Miyuki remained calm and composed.

This was incredibly eerie to Lina.

"Umm.. Miyuki. Aren't you angry?”

"Eh, about what?”

Miyuki replied with a face that explicitly told she had no idea what Lina was talking about.

From Miyuki's point of view, it was natural that other women would be attracted to him, or at least find likeable points about him, so there was no reason to get angry about such trivial matters. Lina wasn't aware of that fact however.

"Well, let's forget about it."

If she doesn't care about it then there's no reason to press the issue. Thanks to that, Lina was able to get down to business.

"Tatsuya, Miyuki, do you remember about ‘The Seven Sages’?"

Tatsuya and Miyuki looked at each other. "We remember."

The one who answered was Tatsuya.

"Have you received some information from those Seven Sages?”

While picturing Raymond Clark's face, Tatsuya asked Lina this question. There should be no way for her to know about ‘The Seven Sages’ identity. Never mind that Raymond was one of them.

"Spot on."

As Lina didn't have any telepathy or unusual mind powers, she couldn't see what image went through Tatsuya's mind at the moment. Lina also didn't have observation powers on a level where she could see through Tatsuya's poker face.

"According to the information we received from them, remnants of Dahan have planned an act of terrorism in Japan."

Having received an answer to her own question, she answered Tatsuya's.

"The Mastermind is someone named Jiedo Heigu. His Chinese name is Gu Jie. He is a presumed surviving Magician from the Kunlunfang Institute.. What's wrong Miyuki?”

Miyuki was about to raise her voice but quickly held it in, and having seen that, Lina inquired for the reason of her response.

"The name Kunlunfang Institute holds a very special meaning for us.. Forgive me for interrupting you."

The truth was that they had heard this name already from Raymond, that he was another member of ‘The Seven Sages’, Miyuki quickly covered up with a lie as Tatsuya didn't have any reaction.

"Ah, I see.."

Lina knew about the connection between the Yotsuba and the Kunlunfang Institute. Considering it normal for the Yotsuba Successor to react vividly at the mention of a ‘Kunlunfang Institute Survivor’, Lina didn't press the issue.

"You might have already guessed, but we think that the possibility of the Yotsuba being Heigu's target is pretty high."

"I see. Indeed, this line of thought seems to be the most plausible. Is that the reason Lina contacted Miyuki?”

"W-well, yeah, that's how it is."

Hearing Tatsuya say ‘I think the same’, Lina started to blush without any particular reason.

"It's true that both Miyuki and I are related to this matter. There is also the possibility that Miyuki would be directly targeted."

"Tatsuya.. Don't talk as if it’s someone else's problem. There is a possibility that you could become a target as well."

To a Lina who stated so with an amazed voice, "It would be convenient if I was their target." Tatsuya answered with a fearless expression.

"..Well, I guess so. If they make you their target, I guess things would be wrapped up in short order."

Hearing his answer, Lina instinctively consented.

Even Lina didn't understand the extent of Tatsuya's true power. Even though, at first, she had thought that he was a Magician skilled in Mental-Interference Magic, she came to doubt that assessment during their final battle with the Parasites.

In a word, Tatsuya was, and still is a mysterious Magician. However, if anything, Lina couldn't question his ability. Lina couldn't even imagine how Magicians who had no choice but to rely on the little missiles they stole would go about dealing Tatsuya.

"Lina, what's wrong? You have the face of someone who just lost all her worries."

Lina violently jumped up at Miyuki casually revealing her thoughts.

Why was she feeling so relieved after confirming that Tatsuya wouldn't be done in so easily.

"No, well, you know."

Hampered by the noisy sound her heart was making, she couldn't form a proper sentence.

"You see, how should I say it.."

Looking at the wry smile of Tatsuya, Lina remembered how irritating it could be.

"Ah, geez! See, to sum up, I just wanted to."

To tell you about Heigu, was what she was about to say, but she managed to seal her lips right before saying it.

"I see.. In other words, you were in such a hurry to tell us about Heigu that once you did what you called for, you felt relieved, is that it?”

"Yeah, that's right!”

Lina showed quite the grand reaction to the figurative lifeboat that Tatsuya sent her.

"Ah.."

While Lina was rapidly getting redder, "I see. Lina, thank you very much."

Tatsuya ignored it and expressed his thanks to Lina.

"Y-you don't need to thank me! I just thought that if I didn't tell you guys I'd have trouble sleeping, that's all! Well then, Tatsuya, Miyuki, good night!"

Forgetting the time difference between their countries, Lina cut off the transmission after rapidly saying her goodbye.

She violently took off her clothes and slipped between the sheets without even putting on her pajamas.