Volume 18, Chapter 7

February 6th. A night had passed since the terror attack.

It was drizzling even before dawn, but Tatsuya went to Kokonoe Temple, as per his routine.

He received a rough welcome from the disciples, as per his routine.

However, Tatsuya broke his regular morning routine today, acting oddly towards Yakumo.

"Please teach me how to break Ghost Walker.."

Although Tatsuya asked Yakumo to teach him, he wasn't exactly Yakumo's disciple.

Yakumo also wasn't paid anything.

Yakumo was basically only accompanying Tatsuya during his practice. Although originally he did it due to Kazama's request, recently Tatsuya's skills had been developing so well that he could serve as Yakumo's practice opponent.

During the Parasite Incident, when Yakumo cooperated to perfect Tatsuya's Far Strike, that was due to the fact that Yakumo couldn't stand aside regarding the parasites. Hence, they shared common interests.

Sometimes, Yakumo would help with the investigations for his own amusement.

Lending his temple's underground facility was also because he had no use for it.

"Tatsuya-kun, I've helped you in various ways, but I have never taught you a technique. I think you understand my reasons for doing so?"

"Of course I understand. I'm not a disciple of Kokonoe Temple."

Yakumo glared at him coldly, and Tatsuya shot back with a blank stare. He knew best what kind of relationship he had with Yakumo. Needless to say, he was well aware that Yakumo wouldn't falter even if Tatsuya asked him to do this. However, this was a necessary measure to catch his opponent who might be able to use Ghost Walker.

Tatsuya wouldn't miss anything once he saw it, Maya had said so herself. Even so, Tatsuya knew that she was overestimating his ability. Considering his current ability, Zhou Gongjin's Ghost Walker was impossible to crack with his own power.

Had Zhou Gongjin not fought with Nakura Saburou prior, Tatsuya would have missed him. He managed to break through Zhou's Ghost Walker because of the blood needles that Nakura Saburou had cast in exchange for his life.

The news didn't reach Lina nor Maya, but there is a high chance that Jiedo Heigu was instructing Zhou Gongjin. Jiedo Heigu was the mastermind of ‘Blanche' and ‘No Head Dragon', according to one of the ‘Seven Sages', Raymond S. Clark's recorded video. Then, Zhou Gongjin who had guided both ‘Blanche' and ‘No Head Dragon', without a doubt, was controlled by Jiedo Heigu as well.

A teacher isn't always better than his student, in fact, there are students who can master a technique better than their teacher. However, Tatsuya was not so naive as to think that the teacher couldn't do something that the student could. At the very least, he thought that he needed to prepare a countermeasure.

Tatsuya threw himself into the fire so readily, yet Yakumo had a rather bland reply.

"Well, you are not a wandering Buddhist monk, nor are you a true shinobi. Currently, you are but an outsider. I can't really teach a technique to an outsider."

"If the way to counter it isn't magic, would it still be counted as confidential?"

Confidential, what a modern word. Yakumo smiled as he heard that, however he immediately wiped that expression from his face.

"As long as I don't directly teach it to you, it wouldn't be counted as a breach.. anyways, Tatsuya-kun, do you plan on defeating Ghost Walker without using magic?"

Yakumo's stare penetrated his soul, but Tatsuya stared back at him, not shaken in the least.

"You know my magic is completely one sided, Master. Even if you teach me some complicated combat magic, unfortunately, I wouldn't be able to use it."

"I wouldn't think so, since you're handicapped in regards to Modern Magic. However, in terms of ‘spirit' you are on par with people who are much older than you. I think you have a high chance of being compatible with Ancient Magic."

"The operating principle of Ancient Magic and Modern Magic is the same though."

"The fact that magic rewrites event phenomenon is the same in both Modern and Ancient Magic. However, from our point of view, letting technology rewrite the events for us isn't a 'technique'. Within martial arts hides secrets besides just altering an event, such as control over the 'flow' and 'wave' caused by the 'spirit'. This can allow you to manipulate, disrupt, and terminate."

"..Master, by ‘spirit' you mean a Psion stream, right? ‘Wave' is the Psion wave.. And ‘flow' is the channeling of Psions?"

"Hmm, you've learnt well. That's about right."

Yakumo slightly opened his eyes which were sparkling mysteriously.

At that moment, Tatsuya found himself in a dimension without a discernable top or bottom, a foreign and weightless space with no orientation or identifiable directions.

"For us, there is a technique that can manipulate ‘spirit' in the arcane. To realize a technique that can break Ghost Walker, ultimately just needs to manipulate ‘spirit', too."

Yakumo's voice squeezed Tatsuya from all directions.

Without being able to discern a safe foothold in this space, Tatsuya would be unable to avoid an attack.

If you're unsure of your opponent's location, it would be impossible to dodge or even defend yourself.

He was able to see Yakumo. However, he couldn't trust his senses in this situation, thus resisting would be meaningless.

This time, his trust in Yakumo was irrelevant.

In front of an opponent who could decide his life or death, a strong sense of danger forced him to concentrate on his power.

Tatsuya focused on his body, his consciousness divided within.

His blood flowed as usual, and the sensation he felt was similar to a free- fall, but not quite the same. His head could feel gravity properly, and his feet were firm beneath him. Tatsuya's body was seized by a Psion wave before instincts kicked in, breaking away from the illusion of that non- oriented dimension.

The rest of his body could feel gravity acting on it again.

His legs were properly positioned, and his head faced the sky.

"Master, just now.."

"I didn't tell you anything. Well, well, I certainly don't expect that you would break through that illusion with your own strength."

Yakumo kept his mysterious expression while facing away from Tatsuya.

"Even Kazama-kun wasn't able to break through that at first."

"Was that Ghost Walker just now?"

Yakumo acted like he wanted to divert the conversation into idle talk, but he still answered Tatsuya's blunt question with "It's different".

"Ghost Walker is a technique that can affect ‘a squadron of troops'. What I showed you was a mere individual illusion technique."

Then, Yakumo wore a mischievous smile on his face.

"In the first place, it's hard to put you under an illusion, even for me. I managed to do it because I twisted it a little bit."

Yakumo didn't say what kind of twist he had applied. Tatsuya tried to ask him, but his attention was diverted to Yakumo's next sentence.

"In a general sense, that technique you just witnessed could be considered a primitive version of Ghost Walker."

Tatsuya concluded that Yakumo's slip of tongue just now was his answer to his request, ‘please teach me a way to counter Ghost Walker'.

Tatsuya still didn't know how to make use of the mechanism he had just figured out from that illusion, but if that was a primitive version of Ghost Walker, he had a good start. From here on, he could only practice on his own.

"——Master, thank you very much."

"I told you I didn't really teach you anything. More importantly, let's start sparring."

Yakumo prompted the usual routine of theirs. "I'm under your guidance."

Tatsuya bowed as he spoke, and took his stance as usual.

? ? ?

After all that happened, Tatsuya returned from his sparring with Yakumo to his daily routine.

As usual, he went to school. However, since he had received an order from Maya regarding the terrorist, he was also waiting for information.

Even so, his life passed smoothly until the lunch break.

Since Miyuki and Honoka's cold war had been resolved, Tatsuya and company were once again seen having lunch at the canteen. Today, as per the norm, the other members were making sure that Miyuki, Honoka, and Shizuku had their seats.

Just as they started their lunch, a large TV started to display urgent news.

"The Terrorist's criminal statement?"

Mikihiko muttered with furrowed eyebrows. In the meantime, the newscaster started reading a statement from his paper.

——Yesterday, the ones who struck the hotel in Hakone was us.

——We will wage a holy war in order to annihilate this demonic power called magic from Earth.

——Yesterday's attack was targeted towards the ringleaders of Magicians in this country, the Ten Master Clans.

——However, the despicable Ten Master Clans managed to escape while using civilians as their shields.

——We will continue to fight to liberate humanity from the control of these mutants who claim to be Magicians.

——Until the Japanese banish Magicians, victims will continue to fall. To summarize, the content of the elaborate statement was as such.

The caster then proceeded to conclude the damage status of yesterday's terror bomb attack.

Amongst the 89 guests of the hotel, 22 are deceased, and 34 were injured.

He mentioned that 33 people were saved, 27 of which were Magicians.

The caster added that no Magicians were killed or injured. He also included that the magicians should've prioritized saving human lives over escaping, and the casualties could've been kept to a minimum in that situation.

"What do they mean by saying that we should have prioritized saving the lives of others over our own."

Erika spitefully rebutted the politician covered by the news. Not that she was complaining to the TV —— she knew that the display was not a communication line —— it didn't have a two-way communication function.

"There are some professions where you must protect others first, but it's unpleasant to have that kind of ideology shoved down our throats."

Mikihiko had an unusually strong tone, showing that he couldn't tolerate the newscaster's stance.

"The terrorists consisted of about 50 people, right? How can they expect the Ten Master Clans to prevent something like that? Do they actually think we're some sort of super humans?"

Leo's face showed how appalled he was by the caster's comments.

"Helping each other is necessary in times of distress, yes, but they can't just shift the priority of people's lives around to get a heartwarming story. He implied that our lives, Magician's lives, aren't as valuable."

Tatsuya didn't stop at irony, he actually went on to criticize the newscaster with his flat tone.

The group fell silent, most likely wanting to avoid adding any more comments. They just continued to listen to the broadcast quietly.

The remarks from the politicians were full of terrorist-blaming. If they tried to blame the Ten Master Clans on their own at this moment, the fallout would've played directly into the terrorist's hands. Even considering just adding the politicians who were critical of the magic community, their forces had been increasing steadily due to the attack.

However, the words blurted by the newscaster a short while ago in his justice-laden tone, would reverberate in the future. When that happened, the terrorists would definitely capitalize on the magic-hating politicians. Not just Tatsuya, but the entire group's mood grew heavy as they recalled last April's incident, and how it could possibly happen again.

? ? ?

Tonight, Tatsuya had been invited to the Juumonji Family's manor.

Even if it was called manor, it was only a little bigger than a 21st century mansion. It was bigger than Tatsuya's current house, but it was incomparable to Shizuku's house. Although the yard was large enough that you'd never expect to see something like it in Tokyo.

"You've arrived. Come in."

Tatsuya pushed the doorbell by the gate, and Katsuto came out in person soon after. He already heard from Maya that Katsuto had taken over as the Juumonji Family's Head. Seeing that a family head greeted his own guest, Tatsuya was lost in his thoughts of whether Katsuto perhaps only had a small number of servants, or that he was regarded as an important guest. Whichever it was, Tatsuya decided that it was a favorable act and shelved his questions.

"Excuse me."

The entrance wasn't particularly grandiose, but it was plenty wide. It had about two times the size of the usual entrance you'd find in a house. There wasn't any special furniture, and the only thing that caught Tatsuya's attention were the well-arranged ladies heels.

According to the media, the Juumonji Family has a second son who is a secondary school sophomore, a third son who is a freshman in secondary school, and a 5-year-old daughter who is in primary school under Katsuto. Tatsuya thought that there was another guest who came before him. He felt that he might know who the person was, but he didn't voice out his deduction to Katsuto.

Katsuto guided him to their destination, but it was more like Tatsuya followed right behind him. Of course, as he had guessed, a girl was seated there to greet him.

"Good evening, Tatsuya-kun. You've come right on time."

Mayumi was sitting on the sofa, and she rotated in her seat to greet Tatsuya.

"Long time no see, Senpai. We haven't been in contact since the end of October."

"You're right. About 3 months maybe? Was it long, or short?"

"Let's not continue our conversation while standing. Shiba, please take a seat first."

Tatsuya accepted Mayumi's invitation to sit on the same sofa as her. Since the sofa was for three people, there was enough space for a single person between Tatsuya and Mayumi.

Katsuto didn't sit in front of Mayumi, but opposite of Tatsuya.

After the three had settled down, silence reigned over the room as they stared at each other to decide who would speak first. After a short moment, someone knocked on the door.

A 60-year-old-ish lady emerged from the other side of the door. "I've prepared the tea."

She neatly put a saucer and teacup in front of Tatsuya. She also refilled the teacups in front Mayumi and Katsuto before bowing and excused herself from the room.

"What an elegant lady."

Tatsuya voiced his thoughts. She wasn't a beauty when compared to his sister, but her actions and movements showed the experience she had. Miyuki couldn't even compare to this woman.

"Shiba, Saegusa, sorry for troubling you with coming down here today." Katsuto didn't reply to Tatsuya's murmur.

Although upon observation, it could be seen that he was being bashful.

Tatsuya felt that Mayumi, who was sitting beside him, seemed quite anxious.

"No, the distance between our places isn't that far"

In reality, Tatsuya's home and the Juumonji's household are about 30 km apart in straight line, but he was trying to cover up for Juumonji before Mayumi burst out in laughter. Tatsuya tried to create a serious atmosphere.

It seemed to work, as Mayumi switched to a more serious expression.

"Since Tatsuya-kun has already arrived, Juumonji-kun, would you mind proceeding to the main topic?"

After Mayumi asked this, Katsuto's expression seemed to be strained. This was the first time Tatsuya had seen him like this.

"I want to borrow your power to investigate yesterday's terrorist attack"

Tatsuya had expected this request from Katsuto. Yet, it was still quite surprising to hear from him.

"I have received an order to assist you from the Head of the Yotsuba, so I will definitely cooperate."

Tatsuya answered his part and glanced to Mayumi.

She was quiet, while Katsuto stared at her with an unreadable expression.

"However, why Saegusa-senpai as well? I heard that the Saegusa Family's first son is also conducting an investigation of the terrorist?"

"Shiba. Unfortunately, I cannot answer that question." Katsuto then looked at Mayumi's face.

"Saegusa. This is not a request from the Juumonji Family to the Saegusa Family's eldest daughter. It's a request as a friend. That's why you don't need to consider your family's situation. If you're not up to it, you may also decline my request."

Mayumi sighed softly. The nuance behind it hinted that she was amazed by his request.

"Juumonji-kun, that's not very fair. If you ask 'as a friend', how am I supposed to reject it?"

"Hmm, I see. Sorry."

"You don't look sorry at all though.."

"No, I don't have any such intentions to.."

Katsuto winced under the suspecting eyes of Mayumi. The scene before Tatsuya's eyes was so novel that it felt quite refreshing.

Katsuto realized that Tatsuya was staring at him and Mayumi, so he then cleared his throat.

"Then, what do you want me to do, Juumonji-kun? I can't accept with just ‘borrow your power'. If it's something I can't do, I won't be able to accept your request."

"Well, that's true."

Katsuto put his fingers on his chin, thinking of how to explain the situation to Mayumi.

"The investigation method of the recent terrorist attack has been decided to follow an untraditional system."

"I am aware. Juumonji-kun, you'll be responsible for carrying out the investigation, but my brother will be taking the lead, right? How inefficient. I don't think it's the right time to get involved with other houses."

It seemed like Mayumi understood well enough that in the Kantō region, the Juumonji Family and the Saegusa Family need to use such an irregular structure in order to coordinate between the two families.

There was another reason involved, but Katsuto had no way of telling this to her. Even though it was Mayumi, there was no way he could say 'this is all due to your father's disloyalty'.

"Yes. When Tomokazu-dono and my group acted independently, we'd inevitably both do the same work. For that reason, I'd want Saegusa to serve as a liaison to update both sides on the status of progress."

Katsuto didn't make any comment on Mayumi's speculation, and instead answered her with his request.

"I have no intention of keeping secrets from Tomokazu-dono regarding my progress. I doubt there is any concern on that from his end. Even so, there will definitely be classified intelligence coming into play for this.

Such intel can be hard to share with outsiders considering the sources it usually comes from, and also due to the nature in which it was obtained. Information like that has a possibility of being extrapolated."

"I understand. That's why you want me to liaise? So, basically, I will be a messenger to both sides."

"Yes. I don't mind if you exclude parts that may expose a secret of the Saegusa Family. You'll only need to update me on things related to the terrorist attack."

"That's quite the task.."

Despite her bitter smile, a hint of seriousness was mixed in. Katsuto knew that Mayumi may not mind filtering the information based on her judgement, but there was the possibility of being unable to properly convey what needed to be said by removing too much. It wasn't an easy job.

"..I understand. I will cooperate. I'm the most suitable to do this, as you've said."

"That would be helpful."

"Don't mind. It's also part of my house's problem after all"

Actually, Kouichi was the one who requested Mayumi's role to Katsuto. Although he didn't include a reason, Katsuto could guess that he wanted to increase the face-to-face time between Mayumi and Tatsuya.

It was true that someone needed to take the role of coordinator, but Katsuto was both annoyed and hurt that Kouichi would include him in his scheme. Despite that, Katsuto was still humbled as Mayumi didn't seem to notice her father's ploy.

"Then, how should we proceed? Should we request for a short absence from the university?"

"I wanted to talk about that now."

Katsuto then stared at Tatsuya with a 'but there's one of us here who doesn't need to' look in his eyes.

"We don't need to do something that drastic until we find strong clues. We just need to stay in close contact with each other. If possible, I would like us to be meeting in person, and we should update each other every day with any progress we have. Is that okay with you?"

This 'meeting in person' was practically a demand from Kouichi with Mayumi as a liaison. It was a very well thought out strategy.

"I don't mind."

‘That's good', Katsuto thought. It seemed like Tatsuya hadn't realized what was happening behind the scenes.

"I see."

He answered Tatsuya without hesitation in his facade before turning to Mayumi.

"How about you, Saegusa?"

"I can't promise every day, but as a general idea I don't mind it either."

"That's enough. Where should we meet?"

"If it's just between Juumonji-kun and myself, the Magic University would be ideal, but.."

Mayumi stole a glance at Tatsuya's facial expressions while her speech tapered off.

"No problem."

Tatsuya had his reply ready. He didn't hold back in front of senpai's either since meeting at the Magic University was quite convenient for him as well.

"However, is there any suitable place for us to meet around the Magic University?"

It was necessary for them to meet up instead of using a communication tool, but they still needed a measure against eavesdropping. Security in a normal residence was quite lacking.

"I'll arrange that. We'll begin our exchanges starting the day after tomorrow."

"Roger that."

"Understood. What time should be convenient for you?"

"..Hmm, the day after tomorrow at 1800 hours, come to the main gate of the Magic University."

Katsuto thought for a while before answering Tatsuya's question for the time and place they'd meet up.

'1800 hours, I can make it with a little rest if I skip Student Council activities', he thought.

"Understood."

Tatsuya quickly calculated the time in his head, and agreed to the proposal.

? ? ?

Somewhere far from Tokyo, Ichijou Gouki visited a local prestigious restaurant, not knowing of the meeting among Katsuto, Tatsuya, and Mayumi. There was no question about the taste of the food nor the service provided at this restaurant, but it was famous for being the place of ‘private conversation' among politicians.

Gouki himself already had around 4-5 meetings with politicians here in the past. Even though he hated doing such things, he couldn't avoid his duty as a one of the Ten Master Clans.

However, his companion today was not a politician.

The lady who sat in front of Gouki was Maeda Chizuru, Third High's principal.

"Maeda-sensei, sorry to call you at such a busy.."

"Ah, let's cut the unnecessary politeness. We're friends, right?"

..If someone heard this way of speaking, they wouldn't think of this lady as a teacher, let alone a principal, but she was unmistakably the principal of the Magic University Affiliated Third High School, which Masaki currently attended.

"..Chizuru-senpai, please act more becoming of your position. Your Magic High School is one of this country's assets."

"How silly, Gouki. You should know that how I act normally is pretentious."

Principal Maeda replied to Gouki's rebuttal with sarcasm.

"Moreover, Magic High Schools are just that, schools. It may belong to the country, but it still isn't a military institution."

She continued her sentence with a savage smile.

Gouki didn't have any intention to relate Magic High Schools to the military, but he didn't refute her comment. He understood what she was getting at with her military background.

Maeda-kouchou was in the military until her late 20's, and her last rank was Lieutenant. She caused a problem for her superior (reportedly, she had filed a sexual harassment case), hence, she needed to retire early.

She was then appointed as Third High's Principal due to her unique character, and, in turn, became a 40-year-old educator.

She was Gouki's senior by one year when they studied at Third High. She was a real heroine back then, shining at the top of the batch and unyielding to all including Gouki. To him, Maeda was a figure he would forever be respectful to.

"Well, Gouki. Let's hear it. It's quite rare for you to invite me to a place like this. Is it an important matter?"

"This is a private matter."

Gouki had expected this straightforwardness —— he answered her in a rather deviant tone.

"Hou.. don't tell me, you're concerned about your son's GPA or something like that?"

"It may be something similar"

Maeda was prompted to show a sharper gaze to him.

"You know about the terrorist attack in Hakone yesterday, right?"

"I know. It was a disaster."

"So, how about the statement issued by the Magic Association after the incident?"

"Of course I know. However, I doubt that has made any impact. It's a given to blame the terrorist, but it might not reduce the negativity from the non-magicians towards us."

Maeda continued,

"They also didn't say that the ones who bear the responsibility for it are just the targeted magicians."

Gouki interjected.

"We also have no intention to stop at condemning words only."

"Ah, I remember hearing about cooperating as much as possible to arrest the criminal. So that wasn't just sweet talk?"

"Masaki from the Ichijou Family will be involved in the investigation." Gouki nodded in silence after saying his piece.

Maeda didn't reply with ‘that's reckless'. "Then?"

Instead, she gave a why-did-you-tell-me-that kind of face to Gouki.

"The one leading the investigation will be Juumonji-dono, and they will start with the crime scene at Hakone. It might take a few weeks, possibly more than a month. That's why Masaki will be staying in Tokyo at our second house, and he will be on a long leave from school."

"You're saying that you want me to treat those days as a holiday instead of having him on leave of absence?"

"Yes. The Ten Master Clan's matters are, after all, not a public service. It's ultimately a private matter, so I realize that this is pushing my luck a little bit. Even so, I wish for my son to be able to carry out his duties with peace of mind."

Gouki lowered his head,

"Certainly, you're somewhat pushing your luck." Maeda coldly answered.

"Even if you are one of the Ten Master Clan heads, such a convenience isn't possible. My profession alone prevents me from giving special treatment to anyone."

"..I understand"

Gouki didn't say anything further. Maeda wasn't someone who stuck to the rules, and if Gouki were to describe her, it'd be 'an affectionate woman'. However, once she had decided on something, nothing would sway her decision.

"I've asked a foolish thing. Please forget about it."

"No, I can understand your position. I also know it's part of your clan's responsibility to stake out in Tokyo. Regardless, I can't give your son any special treatment. You can try asking for a favor from Momoyama- sensei though."

"Huh? Momoyama-sensei? Are you talking about the principal of the First High?"

Gouki didn't understand why Momoyama's name came up here, and he stared at Maeda with a puzzled expression.

"That's right."

"For what matter specifically?"

"To have your son at his school for a short term."

Maeda didn't mean to hide the details behind her statement, but Gouki had rushed her before she could get any further.

"Wa-wait."

Since it would take too long to explain her plan to Gouki, Maeda gave a signal with her mouth and hand to stop Gouki from talking.

"It wouldn't be a permanent transfer, but I can arrange it so your son can study in First High's theory classes. Magic High Schools have similar curriculums delivered through the terminals. Since both of these schools are affiliated with the Magic University, information exchange between the two is possible. Though physical and practical classes would be impossible, an empty month for Ichijou-kun shouldn't pose a problem."

"In other words, during this mission, he will attend First High as a part- time student?"

"He won't be on a full time stake out like a detective, right?" Gouki nodded, and Maeda continued to talk.

"In fact, he could technically take his lessons anywhere. The only problem with that is the data can only be accessed through devices that have been approved by the Magic University, since the data is from their end. Even though his surroundings and environment will change, I think he can -->>

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