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Chapter 7

August 3 rd , 2097.

The Ministry of Defense has been in a tense atmosphere since morning.

This was because, based on the current course ?of the USNA Navy’s landing vessel ‘Guam’, that departed in the morning of July 30 th ?(Japanese time) from Oahu island of the Hawaiian archipelago, they identified its final destination was definitely ?the Izu archipelago .

At first, neither the civilian nor ?military personnel of the Ministry of Defense believed the forecast made by the Tactical AI; however, they also couldn’t simply ignore it either. So, the military turned to the Navy Pacific Fleet command of the USNA with a request for information about the purpose of the ‘Guam’s’ voyage.

The USNA Navy’s response caused panic in the Ministry of Defense.

They replied: “‘Guam’ is in a secret operation and cannot answer the question”. And added : “We can’t find out their current location due to a malfunction in their information equipment”.

From that response, it was obvious that they were lying. It’s impossible for the USNA, which operates more military satellites than Japan, to not be able to find its own ship’s position ? even in the middle of the ocean. For them t o make such a lie without hesitation , it was a clear indication that they were planning something hostile.

In this case, the tactical AI results could no longer be dismissed as a simple ‘Calculation Error’. Among the military, there’s been an increasing number of people who expressed their opinion of the need to prepare against the USNA ship’s attacks on the Izu archipelago.

The naval officers held ?antipathy against the USNA from the start.

This was because of ?the sudden attack of the landing party, which landed from a transport ship onto Miyakijima , in the Izu archipelago, as if it were carried out alongside the invasion of the New Soviet Union.

Due to agreements between the Yotsuba, the actual island’s owners, and the Ministry of Defense, this incident was never officially recorded. However, it was known that the transport ?ship used for the attack was the ‘Midway’ which belonged to the USNA Navy .

It was difficult to determine whether this was an indicator of hostility, so the Japan-USNA allied relations still persisted. ?However, a surprise attack by the USNA Navy was nothing more than an act of betrayal of this relationship. Moreover, after the sudden attack failed, there wasn’t even any kind of explanation whatsoever, not even an apology. They acted as if nothing had happened.

For the military, the USNA’s attitude and behavior was making a fool of them. The opinion for immediate interception grew stronger among those that were field officers and lieutenant ranks.

In contrast to the military personnel, the prevailing opinion among the civilian employees of the Ministry of Defense was that armed conflict should be avoided at all costs.

Since November 2095, relations between Japan and the USNA have been slightly strained. After Japan defeated the Great Asia Alliance with unbalanced military power, the USNA unilaterally regarded Japan as a threat, which Japan couldn’t do anything about. Before the last World War, Japan could have reduced its own military power, but in the post-war situation, when it was no longer possible to count on the allies’ help in case of emergency, weakening oneself was equal to abandoning their responsibility towards their people.

Even so, that didn’t mean that relations between Japan and the USNA became overtly hostile . For Japan, the decision to enter into a full-fledged confrontation with the USNA due to a minor ?blow to their honor? would be tantamount to suicide. After all, it is already surrounded by hostile countries with the Great Asian Union in the west and the New Soviet Union in the north. National security cannot be upheld unless their friendship is maintained (at least formally) with the east. The era of the so-called ‘Prideful Isolation’ has passed.

In other words, civilian bureaucrats were in favor of ?giving up honor to get a result?. This meant that one should humbly suffer some damage in order to avoid a final breakdown in relations. That disharmony of intentions inside the Ministry of Defense had led to the delay in taking actions against the approaching foreign warships.

Because of that, they also failed to give any warning to civilians.

“Tatsuya-sama, there’s an incoming phone call.”

Minami came to notify Tatsuya about the call at the moment when dinner with their friends, who had come to visit after a long separation, had ended.

Since the news reported that Tatsuya was discharged from the hospital, Tatsuya has been receiving various phone calls from sales people, which were almost equivalent to fraud calls. No matter how much time he had, he wouldn’t be able to accept all phone calls.

As Minami also understood this, she filtered it first, but there were still many calls that she had to ask Tatsuya to decide whether to accept or not.

“From whom?”

Tatsuya asked, while thinking about who might possibly be calling.

“From Ichijou-sama of Third High.”

“From Ichijou?”

This option hadn’t even come to Tatsuya’s mind. Minami added ?of Third High? to distinguish between Masaki and his father, the head of the Ichijou family, Ichijou Gouki.

At this unexpected phone call, Tatsuya wasn’t the only one surprised. Miyuki also had a dubious expression, while his friends were whispering among themselves.

“..Fine. Is the call on hold?”

“Yes, in the 1 st ?reception room.”

They currently weren’t in the apartment that Tatsuya and Miyuki used as a temporary home. The room they were currently in was a small dining room for visitors. Next to it were several reception rooms for business meetings, and the first reception room had equipment for video conferencing so that one can participate in the Master Clan’s meeting online. Ichijou Masaki probably contacted him using the line for the Ten Master Clans.

As Tatsuya stood up, Minami headed towards the door to lead him, but he stopped her.

“Minami, take care of drinks for everyone.”

Although there were other waiters in this dining room, no one would complain if Minami helped, as she has sufficient skills to be Miyuki’s exclusive maid, which means to be the exclusive maid of the next head of the family.

“There are some people who also want to talk to you. After you’ve given everyone their drinks, could you talk to them?”

“..Understood.”

Tatsuya headed to the first reception room by himself, leaving Minami, who politely bowed, with a slightly unsatisfied expression.

“I’m sorry to have kept you waiting.”

Tatsuya apologized to Masaki , who appeared on a large monitor screen after releasing the hold status.

“No, I should be the one apoligizing for the sudden call.”

Tatsuya and Masaki were both people with common sense in that part of everyday life which didn’t involve magic . They were not insulting each other because of the suddenness ?nor did they unilaterally ?rush to state their business while ignoring greeting phrases .

“Do you have some urgent business? Has something happened?”

However, they weren’t good enough friends to gossip with each other. After the minimal amount of greetings, Tatsuya urged Masaki to get down to the main topic.

“Actually, my father told me that he heard something from an acquaintance in the military.”

“ Ichijou-dono ?did?”

The ‘dono’ is a suffix used when calling the head of another family among the Ten Master Clans. In this case, ‘Ichijou-dono’ referred to Masaki’s father, Ichijou Gouki, who is the head of the Ichijou family.

“Shiba, keep calm and listen.”

Rather than Tatsuya, it’s Masaki who actually needs to be calm from what Tatsuya saw on the display, but he didn’t interrupt him with ?I’m calm?.

“The USNA’s amphibious assault ship ‘Guam’ is heading to the Izu Islands, accompanied by two destroyers. Their target is probably you.”

“..Are you sure that they intend to attack, and it’s not for military exercises?”

“It seems that the USNA military didn’t answer the inquiry about the purpose of its voyage.”

“It’s certainly not an exercise then.”

“Three warships are heading straight to Miyakijima. Our military expects it will enter into the attack zone tomorrow morning.”

“What is the type of destroyer? Missile-type ship?”

“That information..”

“Ah, sorry.”

After seeing Masaki’s bewilderment, Tatsuya realized that what he asked was something unreasonable.

“Nah.” ?- Masaki recovered fast. - “Shiba, the military may not make a move .. Are you not surprised?”

Since Tatsuya was not upset at all when he was told that he would be abandoned by the military and kept his cool, Masaki was surprised and couldn’t help but ask him.

“The Yotsuba are currently having some trouble with the military.”

“.. Is that problem relevant at all in the current circumstance ? Our homeland is about to be attacked by a foreign power. Whatever the circumstance may be, it’s.. it’s the military’s duty to defend.”

“In theory, of course.”

Tatsuya partially agreed in order to pacify Masaki, whose face showed that he was barely restraining his anger.

On the surface, Masaki returned to a calm state , but his inner fire seemed to be rising.

“Shiba, do you need reinforcements?”

“I’m grateful, but it would be a bad move.”

Tatsuya did not misunderstand the intention of Masaki’s inquiry. Masaki has offered to join the defense of Miyakijima . Even after understanding that, he declined Masaki’s offer.

“Why? If you’re worried about worsening the relationship between the Ichijou family and the military..”

“That’s not it.”

It was natural that Masaki would be concerned ?when he heard that the Yotsuba had ? some trouble? ?with the military . But what Tatsuya was thinking was a more severe problem.

“It’s bad for you to leave now. The threat from the north hasn’t disappeared.”

“..You mean the NSU might attack again?”

“Even if the USNA military ?ships are targeting me, I don’t think that the USNA government approved this. It’s likely the reckless actions of ?a group of hardliners.”

“Do you have some reasons to think so?”

“I do.”

Masaki didn’t ask any further about what those reasons were. It was common etiquette ?among the Ten Master Clans to not snoop into other clan’s business .

“Another NSU invasion is more of a threat than the USNA, is that what you are saying?”

“Yes.”

“..I understand.”

Tatsuya’s answer was too concise, but his voice was convincing.

But perhaps more than that, Masaki was concerned by the question of the New Soviet Union’s future actions .

“I’ll prepare for the north . Shiba.. are you sure that you can handle it?”

“Don’t worry, I won’t let Miyuki even get scratched.”

“That’s not what I meant!”

Perhaps Masaki was now blushing due to his resentment ?towards the unjust allegations?

Or..

“..So you’re not worried about Miyuki?”

“ - See you!”

Without answering Tatsuya’s question, Masaki hung up.

His last words weren’t ?goodbye?, but ?were words suggesting they will meet again.

After Tatsuya left the small dining room, a bit of a strange situation was formed around Minami. Not only the fact that she’s alone as a 2 nd ?year student ?when everyone else is a 3 rd ?year student. ?But the main reason is that Tatsuya’s friends were only partially informed about the misfortune that happened ?with Minami.

“Ah, Sakurai. Have you recovered already?”

The one who first broke the awkward air was Leo. He and Minami had a senpai-kouhai relationship in the Mountaineering club.

“Thank you for your concern. I even have a document from the doctor saying that physically, I’ve completely recovered.”

“That’s good!”

“However, I can no longer use magic.”

“Huh?”

Leo wasn’t the only one who was surprised. Everyone here knew that Minami was a talented magician. So her confession of being unable to use magic was a big shock to all.

“Thank you, Saijou-senpai and everyone that has taken great care of me all this time, but I think I will probably drop out of First High.”

“..What do you plan on doing after quitting school?”

“Tatsuya-sama has offered for me to continue serving Miyuki-sama, which I’m going to accept .”

Erika was the first to react to Minami’s words with an exaggerated ?nod.

“Yeah! Being a magician isn’t the only way to live.”

“That’s right. It will be quite difficult to convince yourself of this, and it will take a lot of time to put your thoughts and feelings in order.. However, most people living in this world cannot use magic.” ? Mikihiko followed up after Erika.

“Minami-chan had good grades in general studies, right? Whether liberal arts or science, she can transfer to an ordinary high school and go to any ?prestigious university.”

Honoka said so, as she was a member of the same student council as Minami, who also knew her grades.

“Minami-chan is also very good at cooking.”

“Yeah. Even I want to make her my house maid. Minami, won’t you work at my house?” — Added Shizuku in response to Mizuki’s line.

“Ah, no, sorry. I’m..”

Minami was seriously nervous about Shizuku’s offer.

“No way, Shizuku. I won’t give you Minami-chan.”

Miyuki, who had been silent until this moment, invited herself into the conversation.

“Greedy.”

As laughter followed Shizuku’s complaint , the awkward air that was floating around was alleviated.

After returning to the dining room, Tatsuya sensed the leftover awkwardness in the atmosphere , but didn’t ask what happened.

“Everyone, I have a serious conversation for you.”

As he now had a more important and urgent matter at hand.

“Are you talking about the phone call from Ichijou-san?”

“Yes.” ? Tatsuya nodded to Miyuki’s question and turned his gaze to Shizuku.

“Shizuku, it would be better to stop your plans for a vacation at your villa.”

“What happened?” ? Shizuku looked right into Tatsuya’s eyes and asked ?What happened? instead of ?What is it?.

She understood that Tatsuya’s warning had a reason. Moreover, she requested him to reveal that reason.

Some ships are less than a day’s voyage from here, but no warning was received. This meant that for some reason, the government and the army do not want to make this public. Having come to this conclusion, Tatsuya was conflicted about whether to reveal the truth or not.

But after seeing the looks directed at him, Tatsuya felt.. that not only Shizuku, but Honoka, Erika, Mizuki, Leo, Mikihiko, and even Miyuki.. had fire flaring up in their eyes and realized that it was useless to hide it.

After all, if he won’t tell them the truth, his friends won’t change their plans. Perhaps, on the contrary, they will want to stay on this island. Initially, Tatsuya wanted to tell only Miyuki about this later. But it seems that he will have to discard this plan.

“ As early as tomorrow ?morning, this island will be attacked by the USNA’s amphibious assault ship and destroyers. There’s a possibility that the battle can spread to the Ogasawara Islands.”

“Is America attacking us?!”

“That’s not it.”

Tatsuya shook his head to Erika’s shout.

“I knew that the USNA, as a country, didn’t launch the attack on Japan .”

Tatsuya said he ?knew?, but in fact there was no solid evidence. It was merely an assumption.

“It’s very likely that Edward Clark instigated a small amount of the Parasites and part of their military as a desperate gamble. If this fails, Clark will definitely be abandoned by the USNA’s government.”

Even though it was a guess, Tatsuya was sure of it. From the experiences he had with contacts from the USNA’s politicians as well as its military, like: Senator Curtis, captain Curtis of the nuclear submarine aircraft carrier and his crew, also the nameless fleet captain he had communication with during Minami’s rescue, etc. Tatsuya felt that the American people still don’t hold enough fear against him to fall into mass hysteria.

So far, the USNA wasn’t regarding Japan as a threat to the extent of abandoning this ‘hindrance on the water’ that blocked ?the Great Asian Union’s expansion into the Pacific. But the threat evaluation may change depending on the results of tomorrow’s battle . His power should therefore be fully demonstrated, so that the USNA won’t even dare try touching them ?again. And Tatsuya believed that ?the amphibious ships’ invasion will ?be a good opportunity for the demonstration.

“Tomorrow, you say? However, the Self-Defense Forces do not seem to be doing anything.”

Leo asked with a rather calm face.

“The Self-Defense Forces will do nothing.”

“What..?”

In response to Tatsuya’s answer, Leo’s voice was filled with anger. But his anger subsided after hearing Tatsuya’s next words.

“On the contrary, that will be more convenient for us.”

“..Are you planning to repel their attack with just forces from the Yotsuba family?”

“That’s right.”

When Tatsuya said the phrase ?for us? he didn’t mean the Yotsuba family. However, he didn’t intend to go into any detailed explanations.

“Tatsuya, are you saying that Parasites will come here?”

This time, Mikihiko asked the question.

“They’ll come.”

Tatsuya answered Mikihiko’s question with a concise line. Even though he didn’t explain the reason for his confidence in this, his answer was very convincing.

“In that case..”

Mikihiko didn’t ask for an explanation upon hearing Tatsuya’s answer. Instead, he asked..

“ ? I could help you as well. As a practitioner ?of Ancient Magic, I can’t overlook this invasion of demons.”

“Yoshida-kun!?”

Unsurprisingly, Mizuki screamed unintentionally. Because Mikihiko’s request was to join the battle against warships (that still were the USNA’s warships, even if only 3 of them ). He can even die in the worst-case scenario. Not only Mizuki, but anyone in her place would have thought that his attempts to take this risk should be prevented.

“Stop it, Mikihiko. You don’t have to risk your life.”

At Tatsuya’s answer, Mizuki was relieved.

On the contrary, Mikihiko still wasn’t convinced.

“Do not worry, the Parasites will be completely destroyed. And I’m not just talking about the assimilated former humans. Even if we talk about the True Bodies of the Parasites, not one of them will be able to escape.”

But after Tatsuya stated this, even Mikihiko couldn’t argue anymore.

“But Tatsuya-kun. I don’t think it’s a bad idea to leave Miki here, regardless of whether he’s participating or not.”

It was Erika who argued on behalf of Mikihiko who had lost his words.

“It will be bad if you have only the testimonies of the parties involved. And if you have the testimony of a civilian who was accidentally present during the battle, it will then be easier for you to legally argue for the right of your self-defense. Also, it will be easier to convince everyone that the USNA is breaking the rules.”

“Indeed.. You have a point.”

Erika’s opinion was not immediately dismissed by Tatsuya.

“But you don’t have to go that far. Even if it gives an advantage in the information war, it’s still not worth it to risk your lives.”

However, in the end, Tatsuya still rejected Erika’s claim.

“Do you really think so?”

But unlike Mikihiko, Erika didn’t withdraw easily.

“Tatsuya-kun says it’s risky, but you won’t ?endanger the life of your friends, who’ve come only to see you and not to take part in the battle , right?”

“That’s right, but..”

“Tatsuya-kun, last time, you said you’ll protect Honoka. Will you protect only Honoka?”

Erika was talking about the promise that Tatsuya made in response to Shizuku’s request. This happened in the hospital ward, where Honoka ended up after being abducted by the USNA’s illegal operations unit called ‘Illegal MAP’. Also the other day, Tatsuya informed Miyuki and Lina that not only Honoka, but also Erika , Mizuki and their other friends are under the protection of the Yotsuba family.. or rather, under his personal protection as the fiancé of the next head of the Yotsuba family . However, Erika shouldn’t have known about that conversation.

Tatsuya unconsciously looked at Miyuki with suspicion.

Miyuki slightly shook her head ?with a face saying ?I’ve got nothing to do with it?.

Erika was grinning while seeing the wordless dialogue between those two. She seemed to be able to read the situation from their behavior.

“..I’ll guarantee all my guests ’ safety.”

In the end, Tatsuya was only able to return a reluctant reply.

A triumphant grin appeared on Erika’s ?face.

“Then, can I stay here too? I told my home that I would camp out for four nights and five days, it’s kinda harsh to come home so soon.”

“..Then it will be at your own risk.”

“I won’t do anything risky.”

Resigned, Tatsuya made a final warning. To which Erika ?answered with a completely serious expression.

“Well, me too.”

“Count me in.”

Shortly thereafter, Honoka and Leo immediately said at the same time.

“Then me too.”

After the two of them, Shizuku went on like that.

“Uhm.. then I will too.”

Finally, even Mizuki said that.

Tatsuya made a big sigh.

Then he turned to Minami.

“Minami, how many guest rooms are available for the use of others right away?”

“Please wait a moment.”

With her left hand, Minami pushed back the hair hanging next to her left ear and put her finger on the voice module inserted into that ear. It was a smart headset model featured with fingerprint authentication , which picks a command by reading the vibration from the throat using a choker that was close-fitting to ?the neck. This device was designed to solve the so-called ‘AI wiretapping problem’, which consists of the fact that stationary ‘smart speakers’ recorded confidential conversations that weren’t even related to the operation of the AI on the server.

Holding her hand to her mouth, Minami repeated the question from Tatsuya in a low voice. She once again put her finger on the left ear unit to disconnect the smart headset and turned to Tatsuya.

“Tatsuya-sama, there is one Single and one Double room.”

“So the single room is for Erika, and the double room is for Mikihiko with Leo. Honoka, Shizuku, and Mizuki should return home before it gets dark.”

This time, Tatsuya didn’t give his friends any chance for a rebuttal.

“No way.”

Honoka protested with a pitiful voice, but Tatsuya let it slide with silence.

“..There’s no other choice then. Honoka, stay at my home. Mizuki too, if you don’t mind.”

Thanks to Shizuku’s intervention, no further objections were raised.

The information received from Masaki needed to be shared with more people than just his friends. All of this took a long time, so Tatsuya opened a direct communication line to the Yotsuba Main House, while leaving Miyuki to see Honoka, Shizuku, and Mizuki off , and Minami to escort Erika, Leo, and Mikihiko to their rooms.

“Tatsuya-sama, how can I help you?”

Hayama, who appeared on the videophone screen, had completely changed the way he interacted with Tatsuya and was addressing ?him as a ?‘person close to the head of the family’. Hayama was not the only one. Every single one of the servants in the Yotsuba Main House have also changed their attitude towards Tatsuya.

“Some time ago, I received important information from Ichijou Masaki. It seems that an amphibious assault ship and destroyers of the USNA Navy are approaching Miyakijima.”

“ It is so .”

“Did you already find out something about it too?”

While asking, Tatsuya never thought that the answer would ?be a surprise.

“The amphibious assault ship ‘Guam’ together with destroyers ‘Ross’ and ‘Hull’. We knew those ships were approaching Japan, but we were unable to ascertain ?their destination.”

“But did you make a prediction?”

“Yes. It matched what Tatsuya-sama said.”

Tatsuya didn’t argue with Hayama’s statement. And he wasn’t offended by it either. At the end of last month, a detachment, the core of which was Parasite-infected soldiers of the Stars, had already attacked Miyakijima. But none of the Yotsuba family members involved in Miyakijima operations believed the attack ended there.

“Well, it seems I didn’t have to tell you then.”

From the moment when Tatsuya quit the Self-Defense Forces, he began to consciously speak of himself in the first person, using the pronoun ‘watashi’ (the personal pronoun ‘I’).

“ No, not by any means. We were ready for the attack itself, but the information that this will happen tomorrow is also useful. By the way, from whom did Ichijou-sama learn about this?”

“It seems that his father, Ichijou-dono, heard about this from his acquaintance in the Self-Defense Forces.”

“Understood. We also have our own people at headquarters, but..”

On the screen Hayama looked down somewhere. He was probably checking to see if there was any information from the aforementioned agent.

“..Apparently they’ve been dispatched to a base in the capital’s suburb today.”

“The timing is very suspicious.”

“It seems so. We will increase the number of spies in the military and the Ministry of Defense a little.”

Tatsuya didn’t comment on the explanation from Hayama, which sounded like he was talking to himself. Gathering intelligence through ?interpersonal contact ?is the work of the Kuroba family, and he didn’t really want to poke his nose into their affairs.

“We will deal with this later. And now I will personally see that reinforcements to help repel tomorrow’s attack are sent as quickly as possible. A squad of the Shibata family is on full alert , but should we also send the Tsukuba family to increase our readiness for a meeting with the Parasites?”

“I will leave the decision to the Main House.”

“Understood. Do you have any more messages for Madam?”

“Yes, convey the following: ?I’ll do my best with my full strength to fulfill the promise I made with His Excellency Toudou?.”

Hayama’s expression became stiff because of Tatsuya’s words.

“..I’m sorry if this is audacious, but may I ask you something?”

“What is it?”

“Tatsuya-sama.. Do you intend to use ‘Material Burst’?”

Tatsuya smiled faintly, as if indicating that ?there is no need to worry about it?.

“The situation in which it is required to be used won’t arise.”

“Which means..?”

With this short question, Hayama asked Tatsuya to clarify his real intentions.

“I want the world to understand that my magic is not only ‘Material Burst’. I’m going to show the world that magic can be a deterrent even without resorting to Strategic-Class Magic ?? which has a limited range of applications.”

Tatsuya did not give a concrete answer to Hayama’s question.

“So it’s like that.. Understood.”

From the monitor, Hayama bowed deeply.

Tatsuya’s determination was conveyed clearly even without a specific explanation.

Without any chance of misunderstanding.

August 3 rd , evening.

After having dinner with Erika, Leo, and Mikihiko, and sending Minami to her room, Miyuki finally had some time to be alone with Tatsuya.

Miyuki was sitting beside Tatsuya while enjoying tea-time with him . This iced herbal tea was brewed by Miyuki herself. Tatsuya smiled satisfactorily when ?Miyuki served ?him tea. For her, it was a blissful moment.

Miyuki furtively glanced at Tatsuya who was sitting nearby.

As she expected, he was still smiling while drinking ?from the glass cup.

Realizing that she was about to grin, Miyuki looked down in the most laid-back manner a nd lifted the cup to her lips .

After calming her feelings with the relaxing effect of herbal tea and breathing easier, Miyuki noticed a strong gaze from the side.

Miyuki stiffened involuntarily ?but immediately realized that there were no amorous thoughts within that gaze.

She timidly turned to Tatsuya.

Their eyes met. Tatsuya’s gaze was terrifyingly serious, which indicated that he was going to raise some serious topic.

“Miyuki.”

“Yes, Onii-sama.”

Miyuki made considerable efforts to not let her shrieking voice out while trying her hardest to keep her voice natural .

“I’m actually really reluctant to put you onto the battlefield. A s your guardian and your fianc é, I think t his is something that should be avoided.”

Upon hearing the phrase ?your fianc é ?, -->>

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