Volume 17, Chapter 2

January 8th, the first day of the new semester. Tatsuya's group of three people went to school 30 minutes ahead of the usual time.

It wasn't because of some sort of opening ceremony. Even though the three of them were members of the Student Council, it wasn't because they needed to make preparations for an event related to the beginning of the new semester either.

The reason they were going there earlier was because they had received a direct message from school. Yesterday, Tatsuya and Miyuki received an e-mail asking them to come to the Principal's Office before the school opened.

The e-mail had arrived in the afternoon. At the time, even though Miyuki was still in the house, Tatsuya was already headed towards FLT. Therefore, it was only after dinner that they had a chance to talk about it, they immediately understood the reason behind the summons.

It would be hard to think of any other reason than the recent confirmation to the Magic Association about Tatsuya and Miyuki's positions about being a part of the Yotsuba Family.

A mix of questioning, and reprimand for reporting false information about their identities to the school and pressure to ensure that, despite the fact they were engaged, they would still act with moderation within the school grounds. These kinds of things were expected.

This prediction would prove to be spot on.

In front of Tatsuya and Miyuki was the Dean Yaosaka, and deeper into the office, behind an imposing desk, was the Principal himself, Momoyama Azuma. Meanwhile, Minami was in her classroom. The mail had been addressed to Tatsuya and Miyuki only.

"Then, you're saying that you never intended to report false information to the school?"

"Indeed. Since it was even recorded in the Family Registry, up until now, I too believed it."

Momoyama could have been frowning due to the militaristic tone of Tatsuya, or it could have been because of his composed attitude, devoid of any tension, that he felt was bordering on insolence.

Yaosaka had become quite perceptive of the Principal's mood changes over the years and he was starting to get nervous himself as he continued to interrogate Tatsuya.

"Then that means the Family Registry was falsified? In the eventuality that your custodians intentionally falsified official papers, there is a possibility of you being erased from the School Registry."

"About that, I have heard that you have already received a letter of apology from my father as well as documents explaining this whole affair."

"I certainly received such a letter. That there was a writing error from your departed mother on your birth certificate and that you had never noticed until now, was that it. However, I question the idea that it is impossible not to notice such a mistake for as long as 17 years."

"My father holds no interest in me. Now that I think about it, it might have been because I was never his biological son."

Even after hearing of a parent never caring about his son, Yaosaka's expression didn't particularly waver. That's because these sort of stories, whether in the present or the past, were not that rare.

Therefore, he did not think of Tatsuya's excuse as a lie.

"Principal, I do not think that Shiba-kun's explanation has any particularly strange points."

Momoyama did not return an answer immediately.

"The Public Data, including the Family Registry, has already been corrected. If we take their family's special circumstances into account, I do not think that there is a need for punishment, what do you think.”

"I understand the circumstances."

Momoyama was solemnly nodding. On the other hand, Yaosaka was showing clear signs of relaxation.

"Indeed, neither of you is responsible for this. It is not the place of the educational team to inflict punishment on the innocent party. However, even if your revocation from the school registry will be canceled this time, do not forget what such errors can bring about. Please transmit this important reminder to your parents."

"Understood."

In order to match the bowing Tatsuya, Miyuki made courteous bows as well.

"From here on, even though you are engaged, I will require that you act with moderation within the school's premises. With your special circumstances in mind, I don't plan on opposing your cohabitation."

"Thank you very much."

The siblings bowed to Momoyama once again.

"..Up until now there were a lot of things that were excused because you were siblings, however, do not forget that from now on you will be seen as engaged."

"Understood."

After Yaosaka brought this fact to their attention, the questioning and admonition in the Principal's Office came to an end.

? ? ?

The ‘sermon’ from the Dean and the Principal ended much quicker than expected. Still, compared to the usual time Tatsuya was a little late in going to Class 2-E.

"Ah, there he is."

That was probably the reason why Erika had been waiting by the window until he arrived.

"Yo, Tatsuya. Been a while."

It seems like Leo, after learning that Tatsuya hadn't yet arrived, had went back to his own classroom for a while. Leo greeted him from behind when he passed by Class-F.

"Erika, Leo, long time no see."

Tatsuya stopped in the hallway and answered them like this. By the way, the reason Erika's name was the first to come out of his mouth was because otherwise she would enter a bit of a sulking mood.

"Tatsuya-kun, when did you return from Tokyo?"

The moment Erika enquired so, Tatsuya recalled that he had made a promise to report as soon as his business was finished.

"Four days ago. Sorry about not keeping you informed."

Tatsuya wasn't the type to forget things. To be more precise, he was unable to forget things. However, this once, he didn't even have the spare time to remember it.

"It's okay. It must've been pretty tough right?"

"I know right, but anyway, it's probably going to be even worse from now on. I've already got past the initial shock so, no problem on my end."

Tatsuya felt a slight surprise at Leo's unexpected speech. It was no surprise at all for Erika to be aware of the latest letter from the Yotsuba Family to the rest of the Magic Association. The Chiba Family was included in the list of the various Families to which duplicates of said letter were sent to after all.

However, Leo's house had no relationship with the Japanese Magic Community. As a matter of fact, Leo's magical genes came from his grandfather who was a refugee originating from Germany, he has no blood ties to any other Magician Family that Japan exploits. That is why he shouldn't have the means to get information from the Magic Association nor even hear rumors from any of the Houses that are part of it.

Has the information about me, Miyuki and the Yotsuba Family's relationship already spread that far.. The answer to the question Tatsuya was asking himself was soon afterwards given to him.

As soon as he entered the classroom, all of his classmates' stares gathered on him, then immediately turned away.

"Good morning."

Tatsuya more or less understood what the others were thinking of him, still, he greeted Mizuki who was sitting next to him as usual.

"Ah, umm, good morning.."

As expected, Mizuki immediately averted her eyes after returning the greeting. It was made obvious that she had heard about Tatsuya and Miyuki's situation.

Tatsuya also turned his eyes away from Mizuki and ejected the terminal attached to his desk.

The two people who had talked with Tatsuya before he entered the classroom. Erika, who was resting her elbow on the window's bottom frame, and Leo who was right behind him, sent anxious looks his way.

Tatsuya met their gazes and wore an expression that said ‘don't worry’.

This morning, Mikihiko didn't appear in Class 2-E.

? ? ?

The morning classes came to an end. It looks like Tatsuya's classmates' way of dealing with him was to ignore him as much as they could.

Tatsuya typically didn't talk much with his classmates in the first place; however, it was the first time not even a single person addressed him for half a day. Despite the fact he had kept his distance, it had been a daily occurrence that people asked him for help when they had problems.

Tatsuya didn't care about his classmates' stares, even if they were filled with ill will or hostility. If they were ready to ostracize him then he would just have to shut out and deny their very existences.

It's not as if Tatsuya hated humans.

But at the same time, it's not like he particularly liked them. —— Himself included.

Tatsuya strongly felt that so long as Miyuki was near him, he didn't need anything else.

The existence of people other than Miyuki was of no real importance to him, although it was preferable to have people around in order to live a pleasant school life, it went no further than that. For that reason however, he wanted to maintain at least reasonably good relationships so as not to let them turn into clear hostile ones.

In the current atmosphere, it would be unpleasant to make the first step. That was what Tatsuya thought.

"Mizuki, I'm going to the Student Council Room, could you please relay so if anyone asks."

"Y-yes!"

Her voice to Tatsuya, Mizuki's reaction showed signs of fear.

So as to not lose Mizuki completely, it had been necessary to interact, even at the cost of scaring her.

Tatsuya wasn't lying when he said he was heading towards the Student Council Room. However he made a U-turn in front of the door.

That was because Honoka and Shizuku were inside.

Without opening the door nor using his ‘Elemental Sight’, he could understand this much, if they were only separated by a single door. It would be another story if they could make their presence difficult to notice like Tatsuya, for him, this had become an unconscious act, regular students however were unlikely to conceal their presence on the school grounds.

Since Honoka was a member of the Student Council it wasn't surprising that she was present. He was also used to Shizuku spending a lot of time there as well. However, the fact that the two of them were present on this particular day was indeed surprising.

Contrary to his expectations, Miyuki wasn't present in the Student Council's Room.

Tatsuya left the place as it was.

The reason Honoka and Shizuku were in the Student Council Room was to escape the curious glances they would be exposed to in the dining room. It was a pretty well-known fact in First High that they were close friends of Miyuki's. The number of girls in their second year who also knew about Honoka's feelings towards Tatsuya were not just a few.

For the same reason, Miyuki avoided the dining room. Even more so because she was the one who the rumors were talking about. As the Student Council President, Miyuki often ate her lunch in the Student Council's Room. Tatsuya thought it'd be the case today as well. If anything, Tatsuya thought that the one who would want to avoid Miyuki was Honoka, but it seems like it was the opposite.

Keeping in mind what the Principal told to them this morning, for the time being Tatsuya thought it would be best to avoid having lunch together. It seems like Miyuki thought this would be a necessity as well,

Tatsuya had come up with this proposition as soon as they came out of the Principal's Office, wearing a dissatisfied expression she had reluctantly accepted.

For that reason, they hadn't determined any particular meeting spot. However, by focusing his senses even just a little, Tatsuya would be able to immediately tell where Miyuki was. It wasn't that difficult to imagine what she was up to either, after confirming her position, Tatsuya headed towards the place she was.

The door to the rooftop was opened. And without a shadow of a doubt, Miyuki was there.

Even though snow hadn't fallen or anything like that, the temperature was still only in the first half of the single digit range. If you think about it, there really wasn't any other student who would come here with such cold weather. It was a good place for someone who wanted to be alone.

"Ah, Onii-sama. I've been waiting for you."

Well, it wasn't exactly ‘to be alone’ though more like ‘for the two of us to be alone’. It seems like that was Miyuki's plan from the very beginning.

"If you had told me I'd have come immediately you know?" Miyuki softly smiled at Tatsuya's answer.

"There is no way Onii-sama wouldn't know where to find me."

Befitting of the smile turned towards him, Tatsuya's body was being enveloped in a gentle warmth. It wasn't just his imagination. That was Miyuki's magic.

"Onii-sama, you still haven't had lunch right? Please sit over here."

Miyuki offered the seat next to her. She was currently sitting on a three- person bench, at the right end of it. Since Tatsuya had originally planned on sitting next to her, he accepted her offer without any reservation.

Miyuki took out two boxes of varying sizes from the insulated pack that was resting on her lap. The small one was left on her lap and she presented the bigger one to Tatsuya. Needless to say, they were bento- boxes.

"So you even prepared bento-boxes?"

"Yes, I prepared them after Onii-sama went to his morning training. I thought they would be useful today."

Now that she mentioned it, Tatsuya remembered that Minami was carrying a fairly large bag while they were headed towards the Principal's Office.

"I see. Thank you, Miyuki."

Tatsuya thought that it'd have been pointless to not express his gratitude beforehand. However that's not exactly what he should have said, or so he thought. Miyuki most certainly prepared the bento-boxes because she anticipated what would happen today. And the reason for keeping silent about them was probably that she didn't want him to realize how bad the situation would be.

"Don't mention it. Still, it looks like we'll end up having lunch together after all."

Tatsuya couldn't help but turn a wry smile at Miyuki's words mixed with a little scorn.

"If you had told me about the bento-boxes this morning I wouldn't have suggested we take our lunches separately."

"Oh my, is that true?"

Despite her dissatisfied tone Miyuki was in a cheerful mood. Probably because, setting the small details aside, they were having lunch with only the two of them.

However, in Tatsuya's eyes, a little bit of bravado might have been mixed in as well.

"Alright then. Then, allow me to dig in."

"Please, do so."

Receiving the authorization to, Tatsuya opened the lid of the bento-box.

Showing a mischievous smile, Miyuki held out a pair of chopsticks for Tatsuya.

"Anyway, there should be no problem in allowing me to feed you as well."

Maintaining her balance so as not to drop the bento-box on her own lap, Miyuki picked up a piece of Tatsuya's lunch with her own chopsticks. She then brought it near Tatsuya's mouth.

"Allow me."

Saying so without any sign of panic, Tatsuya moved his neck so as to eat what Miyuki was holding with her chopsticks without touching them.

Miyuki's face quickly reddened.

Miyuki rearranged her sitting posture in a panic and opened the lid of her own bento-box.

In other words, she had just performed a self-destroying move.

"The bento-box prepared by Miyuki is as expected, really delicious." While openly stating so, Tatsuya stole side-glances at Miyuki's face.

And, he estimated that the teasing should not go any further. To tell the truth he really wanted to follow up with a "Won't you feed me for a bit longer?" but restrained himself.

"..Being just the two of us is nice, however, having only the wintry sky as a scenery can get pretty depressing. If we could find a suitable, unused classroom I'd like to relocate there from tomorrow on."

Tatsuya didn't want this little joke to take a bad turn so he changed the subject, Miyuki, who was hanging her head down, looked up at him.

"Is it okay for us to.. eat together from tomorrow on?"

"I think it might be preferable to do it like this for a while. Although, the days when the Student Council has a lot of work will be different."

Even though that was going in the opposite direction from what they had planned this morning, Miyuki didn't object.

"Let's find one before the end of the day."

Clenching her hands into fists, Miyuki powerfully declared so.

"I'll search for one on my own as well, so don't push yourself too hard."

At Tatsuya's smile, the younger sister's burning enthusiasm calmed down.

"——How was Class-A?”

Tatsuya started this conversation after the both of them had finished their bento-boxes and cleaned up.

"I know it can't be helped but it's still uncomfortable. It looks like everyone is looking at me from afar and it feels like they're all talking behind our backs."

"No one addressed me either today."

"I wasn't even able to talk to Honoka or Shizuku." Hearing this, Tatsuya slightly frowned.

"..Were they angry?"

"As long as I was directly talking to them they responded but.. Yes. At the very least I got the impression that they were avoiding me."

Miyuki seemed a little lonely while answering.

"Won't it be alright even if we don't talk to them about it? I think these two will understand that we had no choice in the matter."

"..It would be great if that was the case." Miyuki’s smile had a tinge of sadness mixed in it.

"I think it'll be alright. There's no use worrying about something we can't do anything about."

Tatsuya put his hand on Miyuki's cheek. Miyuki pressed her own hand against his and shut her eyes.

"Understood."

"Time might settle all of this on its own. For now, it's not to a point where we should be pessimistic about it."

"I see.. However, that is the same for Onii-sama."

Miyuki turned a playful gaze towards Tatsuya.

"Since we're talking about Onii-sama, maybe your friends are thinking of leaving you alone ‘until time settles things’ as well? I think that occasionally, one should step up to solve these kinds of problems, don't you think?"

"You got me."

Tatsuya smiled wryly with a "touché" expression.

? ? ?

After returning home, Tatsuya called the direct number for the Yotsuba Family’s Head.

Even though Tatsuya wasn't allowed to directly call Maya up until New Year's Eve, their current relationship was officially that of a Mother and Son.

Miyuki was next to Tatsuya. Even though this was usually the time to start preparing dinner, Miyuki knew this matter took precedence. Tonight's dinner had been left in Minami's hands.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting. The timing on Tatsuya-san's report is excellent."

In fact, this call was the second. During the first call it had been Hayama that appeared on the screen. He asked them to call back in roughly 20 minutes, instruction that Tatsuya followed to a T.

"Do you have an order for us?"

"Would you let me hear your story first, Tatsuya-san?"

Even though Tatsuya was slightly anxious about what business she might have with them, he obediently followed her request.

"Today we were called by Momoyama, the Principal of First High."

Starting like this, Tatsuya reported what had been said during their meeting.

"Momoyama-sensei is pretty strict.."

Maya let out an amused tone for some reason. Judging by the way she was talking about him, they were probably acquaintances.

"In any case, thanks for reporting. Tatsuya-san doesn't need to do anything in particular."

"As you wish."

Tatsuya and Miyuki bowed towards the camera.

"There is something I need to inform you of, on my side." After the both of them looked up, Maya began explaining.

Apparently, they were about to receive a new mission. Thinking so, Tatsuya adopted the posture of someone listening with attention.

"Regarding the matter of the notification to the Magic Association about your engagement, it seems like we have received a formal protest from the Ichijou Family."

"Oba-sama, why would the Ichijou Family do something like this?"

Even though Miyuki's voice had remained calm on the surface, a strong resentment was hidden beneath it. Understanding this much wasn't that hard for Tatsuya and Maya.

"It's not easy to say but."

While that might have been true, Maya didn't keep it to herself and started explaining. It wasn't because she was sensitive about Miyuki's feelings that she hesitated, rather, it seemed like she was thoroughly enjoying the sight of Miyuki struggling to keep her emotions in check.

"The Ichijou Family’s argument is that the blood ties are too close. The talent of a Magician is a property of the Nation, it would do no good to have the next generation plagued by genetic abnormalities."

"Such."

"Surely this isn't all there is to it."

Interrupting a Miyuki that was about to shout, Tatsuya presented Maya with a question.

"The prevention of future generations' gene abnormalities is not a concern limited to Magicians. That is why the law might forbid a marriage depending on the degree of kinship."

"This might not be the only reason but it certainly makes up the largest portion of their objection."

"Conversely, the Ten Master Clans shouldn't have the power to question the validity of a lawful engagement. Surely the Ichijou Family had something else to say?"

Hearing Tatsuya's point, Maya expressed a satisfied smile and nodded. "It's exactly as you said. As expected of Tatsuya-san."

Tatsuya on the other hand didn't express any satisfaction at being praised.

"Then, just what exactly did they say?"

"Well, that is.. They proposed that their eldest son to become Miyuki- san's betrothed."

"Please decline!"

To Maya's answer, Miyuki's voice rose in a flash. "Miyuki."

"It's alright, Tatsuya-san."

Although Tatsuya was about to reprimand Miyuki for raising her voice like that, Maya showed tolerance towards her pleasant response.

"It is natural that Miyuki-san is angered. I also have a problem with the fact they replied with a notification of marriage with a marriage proposal of their own."

"In that case, the rejection answer..?"

Miyuki expectantly asked this.

"No, not yet, Miyuki-san. I don't plan on answering the Ichijou Family for a while."

However, contrary to her expectations, Maya's answer was a subtle ‘No’.

"If that is the case, won't our position suffer?

Maya answered Tatsuya's question with a nod carrying the meaning of an "I know".

"I do not intend to leave it as is forever. That's why the two of you shouldn't worry about it too much, alright."

"No imprudent moves, is it?"

"Indeed. You two just have to happily spend time together as usual."

To Maya's sentence who emphasized the word ‘Happily’, "Oba-sama.."

Miyuki looked away with an embarrassed expression. "Understood."

However, Tatsuya bowed towards the camera while keeping a serious expression.

? ? ?

Even though it was now the second day of the school semester, there was no change in the current life of Tatsuya and Miyuki at First High. The other students hesitated to approach them, yet but they were unable to hide their curiosity. Oh well, this isn't the kind of situation that can get better in just a single day after all. ——It could easily get worse in a single day however.

Originally, Miyuki had a tendency of being idolized in First High. Appearance, Ability, just because of those two traits of hers alone, she was hard to approach. And now, lineage was added to the mix. Not only her classmates and underclassmen but even her upperclassmen were nervous in her presence.

On the other hand, the number of people who deep in their hearts felt ‘fear’ towards Tatsuya were not just a few.

Fear. Horror. Anxiety. The kind of fear, dread and awe that an exceptional warrior would inspire.

And after they learned that Tatsuya was a part of "the" Yotsuba Family, these feelings were amplified. Getting closer is too scary and at the same time, they're too afraid to completely ignore him. This contradiction made it look like they were being cold towards him.

The interest they bore towards them, of course, wasn't only because of their youthful High School Student curiosity. Stars and Idols being the center of scandals was not something new. They couldn't help being curious about the story of the siblings that had too good of a relationship, were later revealed to be cousins, got engaged and are, even now, still living together.

Before the start of morning classes. Soon after arriving at Class 1-C, Minami was encircled by a crowd of people who seemed to be mainly composed of girls.

"Like I said already, nothing has changed from before."

Minami had been repeating this answer many times already since her arrival. Her responses sometimes varied between “They didn't do such a thing” to “I am not allowed to respond to this” or even “Sorry, I can't answer.”

"Eeh, but, you are together all day long right?"

"That means, when they're going to sleep as well.. right?"

A high-pitched shriek shot up from the crowd. Minami on the other hand emitted a discreet sigh.

"As I said already, Tatsuya-sama and Miyuki-sama never do these kinds of things."

Despite the fact that Minami was well aware that they wouldn't listen, she kept answering faithfully. She did so because they might take her silence as consent otherwise.

Maybe her perseverance won out in the end because the next questions were different.

"By the way Sakurai-san, up until December you were calling the Shiba siblings ‘Tatsuya-niisama’ and ‘Miyuki-neesama’ right? Could it be, Sakurai-san is also a member of the Yotsuba Family?"

The chattering of the crowd that was around Minami stopped immediately. What would she answer? They were waiting with bated breath for her response.

"I have been addressing them this way until now because it was a direct order from Tatsuya-sama. I am, well, I have a debt towards the Yotsuba Family, so.."

Her original answer would have sounded too much like the truth that ‘she is a being dedicated to serve the Yotsuba Family’ so she hurriedly changed it. However, due to this, she stumbled during her explanation, this really betrayed the given impression that ‘she's hiding something’.

"Hmm, really?"

"It is the truth."

Because it was a fact that she was lying, even the voice that she used to refute the others' doubts was pretty weak. If she had raised her voice and used a strong denying tone, it might have been easier to deceive the students.

"Eh.. So the Yotsuba Family also does these kinds of things."

There are plenty of dangerous things in a Magician's work. It wasn't that unusual to hear reports of Magician's sons and daughters dying while performing their work or accomplishing their duties. In First High. No, in this very Class-C classroom, there have been such cases already. That was the reason there wasn't any particularly awkward reaction at Minami's ‘they helped me’ explanation.

"However, since you actually received help from the Yotsuba Family, that means you can't be considered to have no relation whatsoever with them right?

That may be the case but was it natural to investigate by directly asking the concerned person persistently?

"No, not really.."

"Alright everyone, the lesson will begin pretty soon! If you don't go back to your seat as soon as possible you might lose a few points on your evaluation scores."

The person who had just saved Minami from the very inconsiderate questions from her classmates was the person who was pretty much the leading figure of this class.

"Saegusa-san? But we still have some time."

To Kasumi who had loudly interrupted the questioning from the back, a single female student had a look at her terminal to confirm the hour and answer back.

"The lesson will begin pre-tty soon right?"

However Kasumi countered her complaint by repeating the exact same phrase with a smile.

"I-I guess."

It wasn't because what Kasumi said was correct, but rather, there wasn’t a student who could resist the overpowering feeling that her smile gave off and thus, Minami’s surroundings slowly cleared as students were returning to their seats in groups of two or three.

Kasumi folded her arms and saw off the remaining students before proudly sitting at her own seat.

"Um, Saegusa-san. Thank you very much." Minami expressed her gratitude to her back. "Don't mention it. I-->>

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