imited.”

“Even her perception.. Did Minoru-kun do something?” ? Asked Miyuki with anxiety showing on her face.

There was no need to ask what she was afraid of.

“Currently, I found no traces of a Parasite in her .”

Tatsuya showed a bitter expression because he felt himself incapable of completely removing Miyuki’s anxiety.

“Neither have I. But regarding the Parasites..”

“..Minoru, who is a Parasite himself, but at the same time still preserves his ego, has far more knowledge and know-how about Parasites than we do. I don’t think that he could put a Parasite inside Minami without her consent.. or rather, I don’t want to think about it. However, I can’t completely exclude the possibility of using some Parasite-related technique unknown to us, which made Minami’s MCA inactive.

“Onii-sama, you couldn’t understand this even with your ‘sight’?”

“Unfortunately, my ‘Elemental Sight’ can’t reach the areas of the mind .”

“Right.. I’m sorry.”

Miyuki was well aware that Tatsuya’s ‘Elemental Sight’ couldn’t recognize the structure of Pushion Information Bodies. But magic uses Psionic Informational Bodies as a ‘medium’ when interfering with the mind. Tatsuya can see them, so he can recognize, analyze, and decompose even Mental Interference magic.

Miyuki, therefore, thought that Tatsuya should’ve been able to see Minoru’s magic.

“No, I totally understand your feelings. I’m also concerned about Minami’s state.”

“What should I do then..”

Miyuki hung her head with a grim face. From an outside perspective, it clearly looked like she fell into deep thought, trying to figure something out. Of course, at the same time, she didn’t forget to maintain the effect of stealth magic to the Aerocar perfectly.

After about five minutes in that state, Miyuki suddenly muttered: “Right..”

“Maybe Yakumo-sensei can find out what Minoru-kun has done?”

“Really.. I’ll ask him.”

The Yotsuba family also has specialists in Mental Interference magic. More precisely, due to their origin, the Yotsuba family has the largest (in terms of quantity and quality) number of users of Mental Interference magic among all the Ten Master Clans.

The fact that, for example, the Tsukuba family wasn’t mentioned here didn’t mean that these two trusted Yakumo more than the Yotsuba family. This fact, rather, was evidence that they still didn’t completely trust the Yotsuba family.

A fter diving into the water, ?Lina began to move vertically down to the bottom and soon reached the ‘Virginia’ without getting lost on her way down .. She was able to avoid making any stupid mistakes when it came to military affairs.

Clutching the tip of the wire antenna sticking out of the upper side of the hull, Lina established a connection through the ship’s internal wire communication.

“‘Virginia’, this is Major Angie Sirius of the Special Operations Magician Task Force ? Stars . I request permission to come aboard the ship .”

Contrary to Lina’s expectations, the reply came right away.

“This is Colonel Michael Curtis, captain of the ‘Virginia’ of the Pacific Fleet. Permission for boarding granted. Please enter with your real appearance.”

It’s already unexpected that the captain replied himself, but what was even more surprising was his instruction to cancel the camouflage magic at the entrance.

“Angie Sirius can’t be in a place like this. You need not worry, the crew was informed that an agent of the Yotsuba family will arrive, who will impersonate the Stars’ head-captain.”

But she understood the reason after hearing that explanation.

“Understood.”

Lina cut the connection by releasing the antenna and moved to the stern of the ship.

She got inside through an underwater entrance, which was a stern torpedo tube modified to allow underwater access .

“Ben! You’re safe..!”

Having passed through two successive hatches playing the role of an airlock, Lina saw Canopus among the welcoming group and shouted out to him, while forgetting to even take off her helmet and salute the crew ?of the ship .

“I see that you’re safe as well, Lina.”

The reason why Canopus didn’t call her ?head-captain? was because he complied with the ?scenario?, stated earlier by captain Curtis. It looked quite natural, not only because he had certain acting skills ? adults usually play different roles depending on the situation ? but also because he was already used to treating Lina as a teenage girl rather than head-captain.

He had a daughter two years younger than Lina. This is why he looked out for Lina, ?who was suffering due to her duties as ‘Sirius’ to undertake assassination missions .

Lina even had some sort of emotional reliance on Canopus . For this reason, she was especially concerned about the situation he’d gotten into.

The crew of this ship watching the emotional (?) [9] reunion ?didn’t know such details, but their gazes were friendly.

Noticing the warm gazes around her, Lina straightened her posture, raised the helmet plate, and saluted. After the crew saluted back, she took off her helmet.

The long hair, hidden under the helmet before, flowed down, and a sigh of admiration leaked out from among the crew. Even though Lina was a so-called blonde, her hair, shining like pure gold, was rare. Her face, framed by this sparkling blonde hair , was also of a rare beauty. Nobody whistled aloud ? probably only due to their exceptional discipline.

Lina ? not as Angie Sirius, but as Angelina Shields ? was already accustomed to such a reaction from the crew. She simply paid no attention to that and turned to Canopus with a request: “I would like to greet the captain”.

“Lina, follow me.”

After responding in a not very polite tone , Canopus led Lina into the CIC.

After meeting with the captain, Lina was now facing Canopus in ?quite a splendid room, which didn’t seem like it was inside the submarine. It was a personal room of the ship’s captain, Curtis, that he had lent to Canopus.

In the captain’s cabin, there wasn’t only a table and bed, but also a sofa set. Following the recommendations of Canopus, Lina sat on the right edge of the three-seated sofa.

“Ben, tell me what happened after I escaped.”

Canopus didn’t even have time to sit in front of her before she asked him.

“I was sent to Midway right after the head-captain escaped, so I can’t tell you much.” ? Said Canopus as a preamble, after which he outlined the details of his dispatchment to Midway Prison.

“..Major Capella didn’t give in to the influence of the Parasites, did he?”

Major Noah Capella, captain of the Stars Fifth Unit. He was the oldest among the Stellar-class Stars magicians and had the longest military career. Even Colonel Walker, the Stars base commander , can’t ignore Capella’s words, whose influence, regardless of his authority, was even greater than Lina’s and Canopus’. So ?Lina sighed with relief after hearing the information that Capella didn’t join forces with the Parasites .

“Major Capella is neutral. That is, he’s not an ally to us either.”

“It’s enough to not have him as an enemy. What’s the position of other Units’ captains?”

The Stars are divided into twelve units under head-captain Sirius. Although none of the 12 ?captains have authoritarian control over their unit, the captain’s stance influences the unit’s actions beyond what is required of a formal command authority.

“I think Hardy can tell you that.”

The ?Hardy? that Canopus mentioned was Second-Lieutenant Ralph Hardy Mirfak of the First Unit, where Canopus serves as the captain. During the Parasites’ rebellion at the Stars Headquarters, Second-Lieutenant Mirfak helped Lina escape and escorted her [by car] to Albuquerque Airport, after which he disappeared without any news.

“Captain Arcturus of the Third Unit, Captain Rigel of the Sixth Unit, and Major Antares of the Eleventh Unit were turned into ?Parasites. Probably, Captain Vega of the Fourth Unit also became a Parasite.”

“I met Char.. Captain Vega in Japan. She, along with Second Lieutenant Deneb and First-Lieutenant Regulus, were killed by a magician of the Yotsuba family. The True Bodies of the Parasites, which possessed them, were sealed.”

“Was that so? A Yotsuba magician..”

Canopus paused and fell into thought.

Seeing his somber face, Lina thought ?that Canopus had probably become concerned with the Yotsuba’s fighting strength.

Canopus didn’t remain silent for long.

“..At the time that I was sent to Midway Prison, there were already four captains who were definitely on the Parasites’ side. Although this is only my guess, the current state of affairs has unlikely to have changed. I don’t think there are any new Stellar-class members of other units including the captains, who have turned into Parasites. However, we can’t deny the possibility that the Parasites are multiplying among the Satellite-class or the Stardust.”

“That’s right. Setting aside the Satellite-class members, if Stardust members become Parasites, it may prolong their life.. If they are turned into Parasites because of that desire, I can’t blame them.” ? Muttered Lina sadly with lowered eyes, then pulled herself together and turned her eyes back to Canopus. ? “..In any case, it seems that the only Stellar-class Parasites remaining at the Headquarters are the Sixth Unit.”

Canopus with a look asked Lina to explain her words.

“ I’ve heard from ?the Yotsuba family’s .. ?no, now there’s no reason to hide it. From what I heard from Tatsuya, it can be assumed that Captain Arcturus, Major Antares, and First-Lieutenant Sargas have already been killed by him.”

At the beginning of the month, Tatsuya fought Arcturus on a plane and then again with his astral body in the sky over Mount Takao. To be more precise, Arcturus wasn’t killed, but sealed.

Major Antares and First-Lieutenant Sargas most recently fought with Tatsuya on the deck of the destroyer ‘Chevalier’ (when Tatsuya was halfway to Pearl and Hermes base) and were destroyed by his ‘Astral Dispersion’.

“About ?Tatsuya? that you mentioned, is it Shiba Tatsuya, the Strategic-Class Magician with the mass-to-energy conversion magic?”

“Right.”

“The guy who also broke me out of Midway Prison, right?”

During the prison break at Midway Prison, Tatsuya neither introduced himself to Canopus nor showed his face. ?But Canopus perfectly remembered intel on Tatsuya, who had become the Stars’ target in the winter last year, and was aware of the identity of the magician who had broken him out of the prison.

“Yes.” — Nodded Lina, who didn’t give much thought about why Tatsuya was hiding his identity back then. Perhaps, the possibility that Tatsuya had been hiding his face didn’t even cross her mind.

Lina quickly changed the subject, completely unaware that she did a rather careless act.

“I don’t have any news about First Lieutenant Spica, but it seems that we don’t need to worry about her.”

..More precisely, she returned to the previous subject.

“First Lieutenant Spica was on the same vessel that Captain Vega attacked Miyakijima with.”

“Miyakijima is the base of the Yotsuba family where you were sheltered, isn’t it?”

“Yes.” ? Lina nodded in response to Canopus’s question. — “First Lieutenant Spica has a very strong sense of duty. She won’t return to headquarters until she gets revenge for Captain Vega and Second-Lieutenant Deneb.”

“Indeed. She really was like that.”

Canopus agreed with Lina’s assumption.

“..Are you going to return to headquarters?”

After which, he made a conclusion about what Lina planned to do next, based on her words.

“That’s my plan. I don’t want to be on the run forever. Ben, you also don’t want to be branded as an escaped prisoner, right?”

“ ? That’s right.”

Canopus’ eyes lit up with a belligerent light. Lina had no intention of provoking him, but as a result, her words seemingly ignited a fire in his heart.

“Moreover, I can’t allow the Parasites to dispose of the Stars as they like. Fortunately, Tatsuya has already ‘taken care of’ the most powerful Parasites. I think this is our chance to get rid of their influence. Ben, please lend me your power.”

“Of course, head-captain.”

Canopus gave his consent to Lina’s request ?straight away .

Tatsuya’s Extra-Sensory Perception (ESP) was called ‘Elemental Sight’, but it wasn’t like seeing images with remote viewing or clairvoyance . ‘Elemental sight’ is the ability to recognize any physical information (including visual) and magical information, structured in the form of Psion Information Bodies. This didn’t allow Tatsuya to read thoughts, but he was able to understand the meaning of words spoken aloud, as if he himself had heard them.

At the same time, the physical distance is irrelevant. The obstacle for magic isn’t the physical distance, but the informational distance . If you can grasp the information about the target’s location as real perception (as if you really feel it).. and if you can perceive it like a ?real feeling that the target is out there? rather than an abstract set of numbers, you will be able to use magic [on the target] without any problems.

‘Elemental Sight’ provides the user with all the physical and magical information with reliability and accuracy , which exceeds all five senses. That information also includes the location of the desired target. Reading the location information you perceive the existence of the target ? this can look like circular definition, but actually these two recognition processes don’t occur simultaneously.

Tatsuya receives location information based on a [search] hint in the form of observed and recorded individual information about the target (the information, distinguishing the targeted person from the others). ?After which, he directs his ‘sight’ at the obtained coordinates, and after discovering the individual information there, he confirms for himself ?the fact that the target is ‘there’. However, his ‘Elemental Sight’ wasn’t so omnipotent that it allowed him to determine the location of any being , by knowing only their name . Besides, if the location information is disguised at the Eidos level ( as is done, for example, with ‘Parade’), ?it won’t be possible to determine the location due to the inability to obtain the correct coordinates for where he should direct his ‘sight’ .

In this case, Tatsuya’s target was a person he knew very well, not to mention that the time when he’ll make contact was decided beforehand, so Tatsuya easily placed her in his ‘field of vision’ without encountering any magical obstacles.

July 28 th , 4:00 PM. Japanese time.

“Lina, can you hear me?”

Tatsuya spoke into the empty space in his room on Miyakijima.

(Loud and clear, Tatsuya. )

Lina’s words, spoken aboard the nuclear submarine aircraft carrier ‘Virginia’ somewhere under the waters of the Pacific, were converted directly into meaning ?and flowed into Tatsuya’s consciousness.

At the other end, ?Lina was receiving Tatsuya’s voice, reproduced by his magic. Tatsuya conveyed his voice to Lina by vibrating the air near Lina’s ear using Oscillation-Type Magic. He actually was uttering his words out loud like a monologue because reproducing sounds that actually created air vibrations was much easier than synthesizing a voice from scratch with magic. On his end, ?Tatsuya was reading Lina’s responses with ‘Elemental Sight’.

That’s how they were able to communicate being on Miyakijima and inside the nuclear submarine aircraft carrier ‘Virginia’, which maintained communication silence .

“Did you manage to talk with Major Canopus already?”

(Yes, Tatsuya. The captain also treats me really well.. It’s all thanks to you, Tatsuya. Thank you very much.)

“ Captain Curtis’ kind ?response to you ?isn’t because of me . So, what are you planning on doing next?”

(About that..)

Lina hesitated to answer. Tatsuya’s ESP ability ?conveyed to him even such small nuances in the form of information.

“Have you decided to return to your homeland?”

( Y-yes. After all, first I want to return . I don’t want to trouble you both while the situation is presently so unstable.)

“You are not troubling us, but if you think it would be better this way, then that’s fine.”

(Thanks, Tatsuya. I will contact you when I get my affairs in order. Could you also relay this to Miyuki?)

“Okay, I’ll tell her. Well, take care of yourself, Lina.”

Sending that message, Tatsuya cut off contact .

“Yes, you also take.. uh, cut off already!?”

The conversation with Tatsuya was unilateral and used his magic ability. There was no easy-to-understand indicator of the presence of communication, like when using communication devices.

But somehow, Lina felt that the gaze directed at her had gone away. With this, ?she concluded that Tatsuya had cancelled the magic connecting her place with Miyakijima.

“..I hope you weren’t secretly peeping on me, were you?”

Lina deliberately uttered it aloud as a test.

There was no protesting voice from Tatsuya in return.

“..Tatsuya ? sis-con.”

Even after that cautiously uttered comment, she got no response.

(There’s no doubt then.)

After being convinced that the contact was really cut off, Lina released her built up tension. She didn’t know in detail the nature of Tatsuya’s ‘Elemental Sight’, but she understood that it was an extremely advanced form of remote perception which included vision and hearing.

At least for now, her voice shouldn’t have been transmitted . ?It was awfully tiring to be aware of being under such one-sided observation. Perhaps it was true not only for Lina, but also for everyone . At her age, this was especially true ?if ?the observer was of the opposite sex.

Lina realized it was possible that Tatsuya could simply not be responding and she’s always being watched. However, she tried not to think about it. If you don’t think about someone’s eyes being on you, it ?won’t cause mental exhaustion because of the tension . Sometimes Lina had to tell herself: “Don’t worry. Despite how he looks, Tatsuya is a gentleman.”

She got up from her chair and flopped down on the bed. It was still too early for sleeping, but it was an individual cabin, arranged by captain Curtis for Senior Officers. So even if she allowed herself to be a bit sloppy, there was no one to see or reproach her.

Lina took off her shoes without using her hands while still lying down. That is, she simply kicked her shoes off on the floor. In the building where Miyuki lives on the top floor, Lina for some reason couldn’t afford such sloppy behavior even knowing that no one was watching her there .

Relaxing completely, Lina started thinking about what to do next.

(First of all, I have to clear Ben of all the false ?accusations that he was charged with.)

Canopus told Lina that before he was sent to Midway, he agreed that if he obediently served one year in prison, the record of imprisonment would be deleted from his personal file.

But Canopus has already broken out of jail. And Lina can’t just believe Walker who ‘wags his tail’ at the Parasites. Lina doubted that Canopus would be acquitted as promised even if he had humbly served his appointed year.

(Senator Curtis should give us a helping hand, however..)

Canopus’ prison break was entrusted to Tatsuya by Senator Wyatt Curtis, who was a great-uncle (grandmother’s younger brother) of the former. The Senator wouldn’t just leave Canopus without any follow up help after helping to break him free .

Restoring Canopus’ reputation also suits Wyatt Curtis’ purpose. Defeating the Joint Chiefs of Staff will help him to demonstrate his political strength. The only question was whether Senator Curtis would side with Lina regarding her plans for the near future. The senator probably won’t approve of Lina’s wishes.

(..All in due time.)

( Whether ?threatening or placating ? I won’t accept it.)

(Even if it’s selfish, even if it’s high-handed or reckless, I’ll go all the way.)

(Because I decided to return home.)

When Lina reached out her hand to the ceiling as if she’s trying to grab something, she saw in her mind Miyuki’s and Tatsuya’s faces.

Immediately after cutting off contact with Lina, Tatsuya called for Miyuki, who was actually sitting next to him all this time, and they stood in front of the wall display, which served as the receiver of the videophone.

They called the Yotsuba Main House. Hayama, who appeared on the screen, was soon replaced by Maya at the request of Tatsuya.

“Tatsuya-san, good afternoon.”

The time was still around 4 PM, so her words ??good afternoon? really were more appropriate than ?good evening?.

But Tatsuya didn’t need to worry about anything like that.

“Excuse me, Oba-ue. May I trouble you at this hour?”

“Everything is fine. After all, it was scheduled in advance. You are calling about Lina-san, aren’t you? Has she safely reunited with Major Canopus?”

“Yes, that’s what she said.”

Of course, sending Lina to the ?‘Virginia’ was agreed upon in advance with Maya. According to a prearranged schedule, after the conversation with Lina, he had planned to report to Maya about the results of their conversation , which Lina had also agreed to.

“And what is Lina-san planning to do next?”

“She said that she will return to her homeland to sort out her personal problems.”

“I see.”

Maya didn’t look surprised after hearing Tatsuya’s report.

It was the same with Miyuki. During Tatsuya’s conversation with Lina, she heard only Tatsuya, but ?his words were enough to understand the general essence of their conversation . She didn’t appear upset after learning that Lina would return to her homeland.

The two of them (or rather, the three of them if you include Tatsuya), might have expected from the very beginning that Lina would decide to return.

“By the way, Tatsuya-san, do you need a replacement for Lina-san?”

Maya’s question was about whether it was ?necessary to dispatch someone to escort Miyuki. She was aware that Minami can no longer serve as a Guardian. Until yesterday, Lina had played the role of an ‘escort of the same sex’, replacing Minami.

“No, there’s no need.”

Tatsuya answered immediately. It was difficult to understand why ?he immediately ?refused additional protection for Miyuki . Was it in respect to Minami’s feelings? Did he think that an immediate call for a substitute would be insensitive toward Lina? ?Or was it for some other reason?

Maya narrowed her eyes on the other side of the screen, as though to ascertain Tatsuya’s true motive.

“..I understand. Call me anytime if you feel it becomes necessary.”

“Sorry for the trouble.”

“Is there anything else you want to talk about?”

“No, nothing.”

“I see. Tatsuya-san, you have done well today.”

Upon receiving Maya’s gratitude, Tatsuya bowed his head.

When he looked up, the display had already turned dark.

Oahu, Hawaii, local time July 28 th at 9:00 AM. July 29 th at 4:00 AM Japanese time.

Edward Clark arrived in Honolulu on a direct flight from Brazil, after which he immediately went to the Pearl Harbor Naval Base.

Clark was very anxious and impatient. The reason for this was the news of Shiba Tatsuya’s discharge from the hospital , received during the flight to Honolulu.

But he wasn’t shocked because Tatsuya’s injuries were healed. From the very beginning, Clark was convinced that Tatsuya’s hospitalization was a cover.

The hospital discharge meant that there was no longer any need for a cover. In other words, he might already be ready for the counterattack.. Which was what caused Clark’s anxiety and ?impatience .

Logically, that anxiety of Clark had no basis. Project Dione, initiated by him, had already completely lost its influence. The whole world was now more interested in the Stellar Furnace plant, which was expected to bring ?more substantial benefits.

Even if they ?started the development of Venus according to Project Dione, it’s ?no longer possible to force Tatsuya to participate , s ince Project Dione can still be implemented without Tatsuya, but the Stellar Furnace plant can’t be completed without him.

Looking at the current circumstances objectively, Clark was no longer a threat to Tatsuya.. That, of course, was ?if he didn’t do anything else .

He was impatient ?because he couldn’t just accept defeat. Precisely because he ?was facing checkmate, he was in a hurry to make a gamble and reverse his defeat, turning it into victory .

And the only way for such a reversal ?was preparing here in Pearl Harbor. Clark wanted to check everything with his own eyes as soon as possible. Fortunately for him, tired from the long flight, the base was right next to the airport. But even the lack of time for rest didn’t burden him.

It might be because of a call from the Pentagon, but Clark was able to enter the base right away. What’s more, he was invited to the bridge of one of the ?most advanced ships .

“Welcome, doctor.”

The female officer, who got up from the commander’s chair, called out to Clark.

“I’m the captain of this amphibious assault ship ‘Guam’, Colonel Annie Marquis.”

Receiving a salute from the captain Marquis, Clark returned a polite bow.

“Nice to meet you, captain Marquis. I’m Edward Clark from the National Science Agency. Thank you for accepting me at this time.”

Clark wanted to approach her ?for a handshake, but stopped before taking a step ?forward. Even in this era, female captains were rare. Honestly speaking, Clark was bewildered, not knowing how to interact with Marquis.

However, Marquis was already accustomed to this type of altitude displayed ?by Clark. Not showing that it somehow bothered her , she offered Clark a seat opposite of her, while she sat back down in the captain’s chair.

“ Sorry to get to the point, doctor . I’ve been ordered directly by the Joint Chiefs of Staff to fulfill your request to the fullest extent . I was also told that the purpose of our dispatch will be given to me directly from you.” ? Declared Marquis, directing a sharp gaze at Clark. ? “It is rather unusual for the Joint Chiefs of Staff to give direct orders to one captain, bypassing the Fleet Forces Command. Doctor, why do you need this ship?”

“To eliminate the great threat.” ? Clark gave a brief response to Marquis’ question.

Of course, this wasn’t enough to convince the captain.

“Please, give me a more concrete answer . First of all, what is our destination point ?”

Marquis seemed to be a pretty patient person. She inquired without raising her voice.

“..The destination is about a hundred eighty kilometers south-southeast of Tokyo. It’s an island with the local name ‘ Miyaki-jima ’ .”

Clark hesitated for a little, but he answered honestly in the end. He feared that captain Marquis would boycott the mission when she heard that it would be an attack on the territory of an allied country, but quickly realized that he would have to inform her anyway, so it’s not a problem to tell her now ?about the destination during their departure.

“Then, the so-called ?threat? mentioned by the doctor is Shiba Tatsuya, isn’t it?”

It didn’t take much time for Marquis to come to the correct conclusion because she knew from media reports that Clark was overly fixated on Tatsuya . Although it was officially presented as a search for talented people for the development of Venus, people who had a military view of things saw through Clark’s intention to put Tatsuya under the control of the American military .

When Clark’s hidden aim was guessed so quickly, his face stiffened for a moment. However, his confusion lasted less than a second.

“Shiba Tatsuya is a user of the mass-to-energy conversion magic, which caused massive destruction at the southern tip of the Korean Peninsula at the end of October the year before last.”

Captain Marquis widened her eyes. Now it was her turn to be openly surprised ?because ?she didn’t have any information about ‘Material Burst’.

“Mass-to-energy conversion magic.. like in ?‘Scorched Halloween’? Is it reliable information?”

“It is. Moreover, the Japanese government is unable to control Shiba Tatsuya. Even his very existence causes political instability. He’s far too dangerous. ?We were already too late by the time he turned into an actual threat . Therefore, ?he should be eliminated right away.”

Turning into a flame of hot black passion, Clark’s obsession swept over ?Marquis.

“..I more or less understand your thought process here, doctor.”

As if overwhelmed by that pressure , captain Marquis agreed with him.

“But in that case, would it not be better to use a missil-->>

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