Chapter 1
[Machinations]
By the last day of September, 2100 A.D., the San Francisco riots had subsided enough to consider it as settled. Although, it would still be a while before things were restored to a semblance of normalcy.
The insurrection occurrence was unnatural to begin with. There was no political undertone, or signs of dissatisfaction with poor living conditions, such as an attempt to raise awareness of the need to protect the rights of minorities that would spark an outburst such as what happened. This incident was not born out of a natural buildup of public frustration, it was caused by a magician using a magic of a prehistoric civilization.
Given the lack of information due to its prehistoric status, it naturally has yet no established name. Currently, it's tentatively called the "Shambhala Civilization." And the magic used has been given the designation of "Gjallarhorn."
As for the magician responsible for triggering the riot with it, he is Rocky Dean, head of the criminal magician organization, FAIR.
His fate was currently being discussed at a mansion on the outskirts of San Francisco.
Zhu Yuan Yun is the real name of one of the high-ranking members of the American Hongmen. The overseas Chinese man is also known by the naturalized American name "Ian Joule." Though, since that's the name registered in his government papers, it would be more accurate to say the latter is his real name.
"Mr. Joule."
That said, his workers at the mansion and most of the visitors to the mansion refer to him as "Zhu-dàren." The person who addressed the owner the mansion by his naturalized name was an elderly man with an oriental appearance
"Am I correct in assuming that you called on me today to discuss the matter of Rocky Dean?"
"Indeed." When speaking of Dean, Zhu Yuen Yun's tone lacked the usual courtesy, even if just on the surface. That was the voice of a ruler, wielding his authority without embellishment.
"So, should I assume this matter will require a makeover, correct?"
"Correct, Giraud, I need your [Transformation] magic for this task."
The elderly man referred to as "Giraud" is one of Zhu Yuen Yun's direct subordinates, unrelated to the Hongmen's chain of command. His real name is Li Erlang, naturalized as Giraud Lee in the USNA.
His father was originally from Dahan, a nation that controlled the southern half of the East Asia continent during the Third World War ─also known as the Twenty Years War─, where he was a magician working for the Kunlun Academy, a magical research institute.
At the time of the collapse of Kunlun Academy, Li Erlang's father happened to be staying on the West Coast with the help of the overseas Chinese network in an effort to steal USNA's magic technology. When he lost his place of return, he and his family moved in with Zhu Yuen Yun as his guests. From that occasion, Li Erlang became Zhu Yuen Yun's subordinate.
His mother, Japanese by birth, was the one who gave him the name "Erlang", (二郎). She had a special, medium nature about her that led her to be scorned as someone "possessed by a fox," virtually driven out of her hometown, and eventually ending up on Dahan. Judging from the fact that she gave her son a Japanese-inspired name, however, it seems that she still felt a sense of longing for her homeland.
The magical ability in question possessed by Li Erlang, which was referred to by Zhu Yuen Yun as [Transformation], spells a direct contradiction to the conclusion reached by modern magical science that physical bodily modification through magic is not feasible. And, sure enough, Li Erlang's [Transformation] is not a physical alteration of the body. He achieves a change of the physical appearance, through a process in which disguises the information body of the physical body. Although sophisticated, his "makeover" is not necessarily magic, but a disguise technique.
It's not as thorough as something like [Parade]. It can only rewrite a fraction of the information on the physical body that relates to appearance, and it cannot disguise information that is immutable in the short term, such as skeletal structure and internal organs. But it can trick magical identification of a person via Eidos to a significant degree.
"Is Rocky Dean being tracked by a clairvoyant?" Li Erlang asks Zhu Yuen Yun.
"It may not be clairvoyance proper, but in all likelihood he is being eyed by someone with a similar special ability."
Zhu Yuen Yun was not privy to the fact of Tatsuya's access to Rocky Dean's information through Laura Simon. However, based on data gathered from past incidents, Zhu Yuen Yun surmised that Tatsuya, or someone within his network ─he still wasn't sure if he could attribute it to Tatsuya himself─ possessed abilities similar to clairvoyance. "Thank you sir, I now understand the circumstances. So, where should I be headed?"
"Dean left the city the day before yesterday, he is currently headed to Alaska underwater."
"In that case, should I meet him in Alaska?"
"No," Zhu Yuen Yun shook his head. A brief silence settled before he continued, "Once in Alaska, he is to be sheltered by a collaborator."
"And I am not allowed to come into contact with said collaborator?"
"Correct," he said with a nod, then reached for his teacup.
Li Erlang waited patiently for his superior to resume the conversation in an unflappable posture.
"I need you to take a ship to the coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula."
"You want me to go by sea? Sir, that would take me about two weeks to arrive."
"Apologies, I should've explained it better. I need you to fly to Alaska first, from there take a cruise ship to the coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula. From there, Dean will be transferred from a fishing boat to the ship. The rendezvous is scheduled for the 15th of next month."
"Local time?"
"Correct."
"I see now why the two-week trip. But, sir, wouldn't it be less inconvenient to have our friend take a cruise ship in Alaska from the start?"
"Then you'd be fatigued." "By no means, sir. I'm fairly used to boats. If anything, it would be a nice break for the staff."
"All right. Then, how about a boat trip for your staff as a reward for all the hard work you've dedicated?"
"I'd be the most grateful, sir," Li Erling said with a wry smile as he bowed to Zhu Yuen Yun more reverently than usual.
Their meeting continued amicably for a while after that.
◇ ◇ ◇
It's the first Monday of October, a day since Tatsuya had claimed the ruins of the sea of trees at the foot of Mt. Fuji. This morning Tatsuya made a visit to the Magic University. Making use of his special permit, he parked his car in the staff parking lot and split off from Miyuki and Lina as they went to their lectures, and went to the Higashiyama research lab.
Professor Higashiyama Kazutoki is a man of about the same stature as Tatsuya, standing at 182 centimeters. From there their builds are set quite apart, with the professor being more of a tall and slender figure. Gray has taken a fair share of the black in his hair, and given its regular disheveled state like his clothes, he comes off as a rather plain-looking old man who doesn't care about his personal appearance.
Appearances aside, his mind was anything but "dull." Despite his lack of flashy achievements, such as, say, the development of a strategic-class magic, he has been steadily producing research results and has built an internationally renowned reputation in the field of magical studies. A fact that is lesser known to the general public is his academic reputation outside of the field of magic, as he is also widely known in the fields of psychiatry and psychology.
Tatsuya is a member of Professor Higashiyama's seminar at the Magic University. However, their relationship could be better described as that of joint research partners rather than that of professor and student. The renowned expertise of the magical engineering genius, Taurus Silver and Tatsuya's adeptness with magic theory were just one of the sides that produced the paper concerning the nature of Event Interference Forces, Professor Higashiyama was the other.
Even less known about Higashiyama is his close association with the Yotsuba family. Though he is not considered part of the Yotsuba's extended family, he has a distant kinship with Tatsuya, and the Yotsuba family has been surreptitiously providing him with both funds and data. As a result of this relationship, Yuuka, the next head of the Tsukuba branch family, was also a member of Professor Higashiyama's seminar while she was a student.
Only when Tatsuya and Miyuki joined, his seminar did rumours about him and the Yotsuba began to circulate about Higashiyama. But so far the rumors strayed far from blood ties, only pointing toward a financial connection.
As Tatsuya often misses classes in favor of his work with the Magian Company and his job at Stellar Generator, he makes it a point to visit the Higashiyama Lab at every occasion he happens to be on campus. The topic of today's visit, however, was unrelated to academic matters between a student and his advisor.
"─How's the progress of the magic to calm the heated crowds?"
"About that. I'd like your help with something." Tatsuya came today to ask about their collaborative project in the development of a counter magic for the prehistoric civilization magic [Gjallarhorn] that Dean had unearthed.
"Well, it would be different if it was against a single individual or a small group, but a mental interference magic that can be applied to a large group, or rather, a large area… That is quite a challenge."
Almost all mental interference magics target individuals, and those who can be used against a group of people are usually extensions of those used on individuals.
"And that's why I'm here, to ask your help with this challenge, professor."
"Oh, right! Apologies, I didn't mean to sound reluctant to cooperate. I also have received the same request from the main family."
Given the nature of this discussion, they were by praxis alone in this specific room, isolated from the other students in the other rooms also comprising the research lab. They wouldn't discuss this otherwise. Neither Higashiyama nor the Yotsuba had any intention of making their relationship public at this time.
"So, I'm assuming you won't follow the pre-existing ordinary concepts. Do you have any concrete design concepts?"
"I was wondering if it's possible to achieve tranquilizing effects mentally, as opposed to biochemically," Tatsuya asked, his tone sounding quite unconfident for his part.
"So, something like Kuroba's [Direct Pain] system; interrupting the communication between the cerebrum and the mind for the mind to recognize the disguised information. We can start from that direction," Higashiyama suggested. "By the way, have you spoken to Tsukuba-kun about it yet?" Like any other technical field, magical development requires getting out of the theorizing armchair and into the experimental stage. In this case, they will need test subjects and a caster with a sufficient aptitude for mental interference magic. Higashiyama was informed by the main house that Yuuka was supposed to contribute to the development of this Mob Hysteria Pacification Magic.
"Not yet. I wanted to ask for your availability before I made the request."
"I see. Then I can contact her, if you want me to."
"No, no need. I'll do it," Tatsuya politely refused with a small head bow, careful not to make this a verbal tug-of-war.
◇ ◇ ◇
Deep in the green mountains of the southern Kii Peninsula, a sprawling mansion like a mountain castle lies quietly hidden from the mundane world. There it resides one of the shadowy heads of this country; the hands who move the pieces from behind the curtains. It is the main residence of Hozumi Asuha, one of the Four Great Elders, the very top of the secretive political masterminds of the Senate.
Asuha was writing letters in her study. Handwritten, with scrolled paper and brush. They were addressed to Anzai Isao and Kashiwa Kazutaka, two of the same Four Grand Elders.
Asuha set down her pen and rang the handbell close at hand. An elderly man enters the room in the next instant. Appearance-wise, he comes off as older than Asuha, but in actuality it's the reverse. The reason for Asuha appearing more than ten years younger isn't because of some kind of magic, but rather because of her constitution. This is not due to magic, nor some auspicious constitution, or a surgical cosmetic surgery, just all the anti-aging procedures that money can buy.
"I'm finished," that's all the mistress of the house needed to say.
The butler noded wordlessly, then clapped his hands, summoning two more figures in the room with similar butler's attire. Two middle-aged men dressed as butlers entered. Both men appeared to be still in reasonable shape for their middle-years. Great shape even, that they could be described as people still in their golden days.
The now three servants neatly, and without noise, dried the ink, wrote the names and addresses, before neatly slipping the letters into their envelopes. The senior butler brought the folded envelopes and presented them to Asuha.
Upon receiving Asuha's nod, he proceeded to heat the sealing wax.
Asuha stamps her seal on the wax dripped from the container.
The middle-aged butlers receive one each of the finished letters, holding over their heads while bowing.
"I'm sure you two understand your task."
"We assure that these letters will be delivered in person."
The two bowed reverently and left Asuha's presence.
"Gozen-sama," the senior butler addressed Asuha with a reverential bow.
The senior butler addressed Asuha with a reverential bow. The term he used for that purpose, "Gozen-sama" (Mistress; Lady of the House) comes off as a rather outdated, grammatically improper and redundant use of honorific titles, but the butler still dared with the pleonasm in favor for the extra layer of respect given to Asuha. So it was in the Hozumi household; it is expected from every servant to properly address Asuha by "Gozen-sama," never short of an honorific.
Asuha silently turns her eyes to the butler, no command prompting him to speak. Her servants know how to read exactly what she means by the slightest detail of every glance or gesture she makes. They wouldn't be allowed to be by her side otherwise.
"A gentleman, Kuroba Mitsugu, is seeking an audience."
"Kuroba Mitsugu? And who might that be?" Asuha responded with a slightest tilt of the head, the name genuinely didn't ring any bells.
"The head of the Yotsuba branch family that is in charge of their intelligence activities."
"Ah… yes, there were such people, come to think of it. Is he here at the mansion?"
"Indeed, Gozen-sama."
"Oh well… Then let's see what he has to say. I can at least grant him that for reaching this mansion. Send him to the drawing room."
"At once." The old man bows in acknowledgment of the order.
"On second thought, I'll have Tokika join us."
Asuha added before her servant raised his head back.
"As you wish. Then, I'll first bring the young lady."
"Tokika" is the appointed next head of the Hozumi family, and Asuha's granddaughter.
Among Asuha's several living sons and daughters, it was her granddaughter, Tokika, whom she had nominated as her successor. With sound reasoning behind said choice. Tokika was an indispensable presence in a face-to-face meeting with a magician of Kuroba Mitsugu's standing.
"Gozen-sama, I have brought Kuroba Mitsugu," The senior butler announced from behind the fusuma door.
"Let him in."
The butler slid open the fusuma, revealing a drawing room lined with tatami mats.
Standing on the other side, on the wooden-floored corridor is Kuroba Mitsugu, dressed in a semi-formal three-piece suit, on both of his knees.
The butler urged Mitsugu to sit over, in front of Asuha. As a note, there was no cushion in front of Asuha. There was no zabuton, the cushion for him to kneel on.
Mitsugu leaned his upper body forward and placed both hands on the tatami. It was not as deep as a prostration, but a proper seated bow in compliance with the etiquette, nonetheless.
Asuha looked down at Mitsugu from her elevated seat of honor. Diagonally behind her sat a slender young Japanese beauty wearing a fine-patterned kosode kimono with acclimatized ease. That is Asuha's granddaughter Tokika.
"Please, raise your head," Asuha addressed Mitsugu with a command laced with refinement.
Mitsugu mutely raised his head.
"You speak with Okinaga-no-Mahito Hozumi Asuha, do I speak with Kuroba Mitsugu-dono?" "Yes, ma'am. My name is Kuroba Mitsugu. I come from a humble birth, with no family name nor honorary blood worth of noting." Mitsugu responded in accordance with Asuha's words, maintaining eye contact all throughout.
The Hozumi household has been claiming the family name of "Okinaga-no-Mahito" for generations at this point, but there is still no solid foundation to argue they are in fact part of the imperial lineage of the Okinaga clan. While the majority believes it to be a case of prestige appropriation, the number of people who did believe it was not insignificant.
Asuha's expression was unchanged, behind her, Tokika was trying, and failing, to hide her surprise.
For a woman with no magic powers or supernatural abilities like Asuha, her gaze had the power to instill awe and draw respect from others.
And that may very well not have any supernatural force behind it. It may just be the natural intimidation factor when faced with the influence and power of a member of the Senate, one of the Four Elders even. Added to the fact that the only people who are able to meet Asuha in person are those who are well aware of the existence of the Four Great Elders and the powers they hold.
What shocked Tokika was not only how Mitsugu not only held his ground, but spoke back in front of said presence. She had dismissed him as a threat based on just the fact he was a magician related to the Yotsuba family, but she couldn't deny, even if she wanted to, the pressure she felt from him now.
"So, Kuroba-dono, what business brought you before me here today?" Asuha inquired Mitsugu on the reason for his visit in a tone that didn't show her interest, or lack of it, paired with an unreadable smile that revealed any thought that may be in her mind.
While Tatsuya didn't know the ruins at the foot of Mt. Fuji were considered to be in the territory of Hozumi Asuha, of the Four Great Elders, he took it over, the heads of the family and branch families, among them Maya and Mitsugu, certainly did. Nevertheless, the unearthing of said ruins proceeded unimpeded because the family's patron, Toudou Aoba, did not stop it.
For generations, the Hozumi family has asserted that the Sea of Trees and the ruins in it constitute their territory. But no matter her assertion, Toudou and the other two Great Elders did not recognize this claim. That said, it has not been a source of contention because the exact location of the ruins was unknown, and no excavation work could be started. Until now.
Tatsuya, and by extension the Yotsuba family, having unearthed the ruins has, in the process, thwarted the Hozumi family's plans for the site.
Such interference could not be disregarded by Hozumi Asuha, placing Mitsugu in what would now be essentially enemy territory.
Yet.
"I have heard that Gozen-sama is looking for a person like me," he answered without a trace of fear in his manner or tone.
"And what may those voices be saying that I am looking for?"
"From what I understood, a guide."
Asuha's eyes narrow with that response. "The guide I'm looking for, Kuroba-dono, is to take me to the Main House of the Yotsuba family. Of which, you are the head of a branch family, are you not?"
The implicit question was, "Are you betraying the Yotsuba?"
"The current head, Yotsuba Maya, has been too lenient with Shiba Tatsuya. If we allow him to do as he pleases any longer, it will surely bring great misfortune to the family in the future. To provide a wake-up call to the head of the family before it happens, that ─That would be a true act of loyalty," Mitsugu argued without a hint of guilt. He spoke proudly, even.
"You would venture to bear the stigma of a traitor in order to admonish the head of the head of your family."
"You may see it that way. I don't mind."
Asuha and Mitsugu stared intently at each other.
"…Very well, Kuroba Mitsugu, I'll employ your services." Asuha's tone changed from speaking with a guest to addressing a subordinate.
"I am deeply honored." Mitsugu bowed the deepest of his bows so far, his hands, as well as his elbows, rested on the tatami mats.
◇ ◇ ◇
After leaving Hozumi's mansion, Mitsugu did not return to his home in Toyohashi. Instead, he went to a hideout in Shingu City on the southern Kii Peninsula, one of the Kuroba family's many hidden bases of operations across the country. He's been hiding out here since a few days ago. Since he decided to go rogue. Just in case, he made sure to have his subordinates stay away from this hideout for a while.
Mitsugu hung his jacket on a hanger and sat down on the sofa, relaxing against the cushions of its seat and back. With his head thrown back, he stared up at the ceiling and exhaled loudly. He looked up at the ceiling and exhaled heavily.
(So that's Hozumi Tokika…)
Meeting Hozumi Azusa wasn't particularly stressful for Mitsugu, Mitsugu is a man who feared and respected power well before authority. In that vein, Asuha wasn't that imposing figure. So there was no pressure to submit to authority like what is seen in the "Milgram effect".
It was her granddaughter, Tokika, who got Mitsugu wary.
(A Magic Disabling Ability… I thought it was just a false report or some kind of misunderstanding, but to think it's actually real…)
The rumor that Hozumi Tokika, the next head of the Hozumi family, possesses a unique superpower that absolutely nullifies magic has come to his attention in the past. But he never bought it until now.
Magic is a process of replacing Eidos, that is, the body of information referent to a particular event, with a magic sequence.
The Eidos of phenomena is something that is exposed to the information dimension, accessible at will. From there, one can perceive what kind of event it is, as that's how events come to be.
As long as the information dimension and eidos can be freely accessed, it should not be possible to bar the Eidos from being overwritten, only to hinder it. Given this established fact, Mitsugu concluded there is no such thing as an "absolute nullification" ability. Mitsugu was proven very wrong in his meeting with Hozumi Tokika today. That said, from what he could gather, it does not appear to be a complete, absolute nullification as the rumors suggest. Which isn't to say that the rumors were exaggerated. Nonetheless, there was no denying the fact that his magic was nullified by Tokika.
(It felt like an absurdly powerful [Zone Interference]… It didn't reach me, so I assume the range is less than 3 meters)
Mitsugu was about three meters away from Tokika in the "audience room" where they met. And he could tell he wasn't covered by the magic nullification, only the magic used to probe Asuha and Tokika was nullified.
From that he can assume a less than three-meter range for her magic nullification. Though it would be wise to expect the possibility of the range being extended to cover where he was, and beyond.
(Still, this should be enough to destroy the Main House's wards. And the successor of one Four Elders can't be killed head-on. Meaning, they can't make this problem go away with magic. You have a tough call to make, Maya-san.)
Mitsugu stopped looking at the ceiling and raised his head to look at the low table. There was a general-purpose terminal connected to the videophone.
He eyed the device, but his hand did not reach for the low table.
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