Chapter 5
[Ark]
On his way back from Yakumo's temple, Tatsuya's aide, Hanabishi Hyougo, who stayed back at home in Chofu informed him, "There was a call from the Main Family."
"And the message?"
"I'm sorry. They asked that you please call the Head of the Family as soon as you return."
"Alright."
Late, but not surprising. Actually, the timing was perfect. He may receive a directive regarding last night's attack.
Tatsuya immediately went to the full conference room on arrival, with every precaution against interception taken.
[─Tatsuya-sama. My apologies, but I will be receiving your call this time.]
Tatsuya dialed Maya's direct number, and curiously, the one who answered was not Hayama, but Butler Shirakawa. "Hm?" Tatsuya found that strange.
Shirakawa assists butler Hayama at the Yotsuba main house, where he is mostly in charge of housekeeping duties. Strictly speaking, referring to Shirakawa,as well as Hayama, Hanabishi, and the other servants, as "butlers" is not quite an accurate descriptor of their duties. Still none of them, including Shirakawa himself, are really bothered by the term.
Needless to say, the appropriateness of the title was far from what bothered Tatsuya.
He called Maya's direct number. But instead of Maya herself, or Hayama even, it was Shirakawa who picked up his call. Why did the picking up calls fall to SHirakawa today?
Perhaps both Hayama and Maya still have their hands full because of last night's incident. Although it seemed likely, Tatsuya intuitively suspected that the reason was not that simple.
[I'll pass it to the Head of the Family right away. Please wait a moment.]
Shirakawa bowed politely and the image in the videophone screen switched to on hold.
Less than a minute afterward, the feed came back, with Maya this time appearing on the screen.
[…Apologies for having you wait.]
She looked notably tired.
"By no means. I should apologize, I was away from home, so I couldn't pick your call earlier," Tatsuya said with a bow to the camera. "So, what business do you have for me, ma'am?" He then cut the preamble off on his part and got to the point.
[Yes. It's probably pointless to ask, but do you have an understanding of what happened last night, Tatsuya-san?]
Maya showed up even without her usual meaningful smile today. "I have spoken with Master Yakumo regarding the background of the attack just now."
[Then we can thankfully skip the explanation.] Though she didn't come off as particularly anxious, it did seem as she didn't have the time or the energy to leisure. [Tatsuya-san, I would like to discuss the future with you. So, if you could, please come over here right away.]
Why call me or have me call you when you could've just asked me to come. The thought came to him reflexively, but tactfully kept it to himself.
"Is the underground passage serviceable after the attack?" A practical question was more productive.
[Yes. Don't worry, the damage to the road and the facility is minor.]
"Then I'll arrange for a VTOL and be there shortly."
If it's available, then it'll be faster using the heliport in Kobuchizawa.
[I'll have someone there to pick you up. I'll be waiting.]
That was Maya's final line before the line was disconnected.
◇ ◇ ◇
Tatsuya arrived at the Yotsuba Main House just before noon.
He was shown to a reception room for a small gathering. There, Maya and Hayama were waiting for him.
If that was all, it was no different from any other time. However, there was definitely a difference in the scene compared to the past. Hayama was in an ordinary dark suit, sitting on the sofa across from Maya. In front of him were teacups and tea cakes, a mirror image to what has been served to Maya.
Hayama was being treated as a guest, not a servant.
"Tatsuya-san, this way, please." Seeing Tatsuya's confusion, Maya pointed to the seat next to hers.
Tatsuya nodded, "Yes, excuse me." and sat down, diagonally across from Hayama.
"Excuse me," butler Shirakawa announced his presence while entering the room. He served Tatsuya the same drinks and snacks as Maya and Hayama, then left.
"Tatsuya-san, let me introduce you." Maya said, guiding his gaze to Hayama. "This is Tadanori Hayama, a manager of the Senate dispatched by His Excellency Toudou to watch over our family."
Tatsuya was stunned by the unexpected revelation of Hayama's true identity.
"…I suppose this is my cue to say, 'Nice to meet you, sir.'" But soon regained his composure.
"Mistress, you're far too unkind. I may indeed be in the service of the Senate, but my service to the Yotsuba, like my predecessor before me, was no deception."
Hayama's response wasn't quite with a wry smile. His expression seemed rather bitter.
"I understand. May I ask what kind of a position a "manager" holds? Would I be correct to assume that you are an agent of the Senate, Hayama-san?" "I'm afraid the ‘agent' or ‘proxy' classification isn't quite correct, as I am here mostly to communicate the Senate's wishes."
Tatsuya sensed a snag in Hayama's use of the past tense, "I was." But, in his age and experience, wasn't one to let it show in his attitude or facial expression.
"Even if you say so, everything will not go as usual in this case, will it?" Behind Maya's smile was the glimmer of venom. "The attack on the Yotsuba family was unilaterally declared a punishment by Hozumi-sama, and approved by Anzai-sama and Kashiwa-sama. Even His Excellency Toudou remained silent. This is effectively the Senate's recognizing the Yotsuba family as an enemy."
"I can understand how you may see it that way, Mistress, but I can assure you that last night's incident was not the consensus of the Senate. Anzai and Kashiwa merely expressed their 'no objections,' they did not endorse the decision."
"But, by not objecting, they still allowed it, regardless. Don't you think? Besides, has there ever been such a thing as a ‘consensus' in the Senate?"
The Senate is not a congress. It may be a place for discussion and argument, but it does not have the function of verdict.
"…In that I concede, madam." Hayama was forced to acknowledge that point.
"Oba-ue."
Before the heavy atmosphere could fully settle in the reception room, Tatsuya addressed Maya. Not in their ostensible mother-son relationship, but as a nephew to his aunt, as a matter of fact.
"What kind of role do you need me to play?" Caught off guard, Maya had to blink a couple of times to adjust. Then spoke to him with a smile, this time divest of poison or barbs, "Oh. Yes, that's right."
"You can never predict where the pieces will fall, so the sooner we make our move, the better," after seemingly speaking so to herself, she turned her attention once again to Tatsuya, who was sitting beside her.
"Tatsuya-san, is it possible to [disassemble] all the research facilities in this village, transport them to Miyakishima, and [reconstitute] them into a serviceable form?"
"All the facilities in this village? Excluding everything that is not research, like communications, I assume." Tatsuya asked for more details in response to Maya's question.
"We can ignore the ones that already have comparable facilities in Miyakishima. So, about… half of the total."
"Just over 30%, Madam." Hayama stepped in to clarify some of the vagueness.
"Oh, is that so?"
"Yes. Hanabishi, Kurebayashi, and Shirakawa have provided a rough estimate."
"There you have it, Tatsuya-san. Do you think it's possible?"
"Hm, let me see…"
Tatsuya activated his [Elemental Sight] to get a bird's-eye view of the delineated facilities. What is reflected in this supernatural "eye" are not contours, colors, or even light and dark, but information, pure and unfiltered information. He is able to capture everything it "sees", no matter how vast or, conversely, how minute, in a single view. "…With a means of transport, it is possible, within hours."
When it comes to inanimate objects, Tatsuya now has no trouble in "decomposing" and "reconstructing" them, regardless of their size or structure, with a level of load on his MCA at a level that leaves no lasting damage.
The biggest concern in this case would have been with the genetically engineered bodies in culture. Fortunately, all the artificial wombs had been emptied. Perhaps they had previously suspended the culture in anticipation of the relocation plan.
"Hayama-san. I believe you mentioned that it has been completed, don't you?"
With Tatsuya's answer, Maya now turned to Hayama.
"We have completed the levitation test."
Tatsuya did not know the details, but it seemed that the means of transportation was already accounted for.
"The test flight, unfortunately…"
"I understand. It isn't so simple, with something of that size." Maya once again turned to Tatsuya. "Tatsuya-san. Could you take a look at the airship we have prepared for the relocation?"
And said transport appears to be a large airship of some kind. A reasonable choice, given the geographical features of this village.
"I'd be happy to. But before I do, I'd like to confirm something."
"Of course. What is it?"
"Is the entire Main House being moved to Miyakishima?"
For a brief moment, Maya seemed to freeze, her eyes widened in realization. She forced out a fake smile as if to play a whimsical "Oh no. How careless of me!"
"Tatsuya-san, have you heard from Yakumo-san about Hozumi's intentions?"
"Yes."
"Even if they fail to destroy the concealment wards through Hozumi Tokika, the existence of this place is bound to be exposed sooner or later. In such a case, there is nothing the wards can do."
Tatsuya agreed.
In addition to concealment, the wards which completely shroud the village have the capability of preventing remote magic attacks. It is just a bonus, their effectiveness is limited, because the wards primary purpose is to provide concealment.
Achieving magical concealment follows the same principle of conventional concealment, which is most effective when the location of the object is unknown. Logically, it becomes of little use once the existence of the object is known, be it by means of a concealment ward or any other concealment technique.
"Besides, we certainly cannot say that this land is a place that holds only fond memories for us."
Maya herself could attest to that, as a victim of the greatest tragedy to befall the family. The roots of the Yotsuba is where they stand now, what was once known as the "Fourth (四; 死; Death) Magician Research Institute" before the Yotsuba became independent. There, too many corpses were piled up in order to create Yotsuba. And then too many after that. Before and after their independence, it is atop a mountain of death and destruction that Tatsuya and Maya and the latest generations of the Yotsuba Family stand today. "After taking everything into consideration, I have decided to abandon the village," declared Maya.
"So, we are moving all of our personnel to Miyakishima? Understood." Tatsuya bowed lightly to indicate that his questions were answered, and then requested, "Then may I see the transport airship?"
The transport airship was far beyond Tatsuya's expectations.
"Is this an airship developed from the AirCar concept…?"
He was taken aback by how extremely unusual it was.
In front of him, the so-called "Airship" sat on the dock.
"You could describe it as a super-sized AirCar. We call this aircraft an Aerial Ship," Kurebayashi, who was in charge of the technical R&D of the Main House, proudly explained to an astonished Tatsuya, "It has an overall length of 320 meters, 80 meters at its widest point, and 24 meters at its height. Its designation is [Ark]. By synchronizing a total of 32 flight magic units in tandem, it theoretically has the capacity to fly at a maximum speed of 400 km/h. However, on this occasion, since we plan to disguise it as a cloud, the travel speed to Miyakishima will be limited to 40 to 50 km/h."
"On this cloud camouflage. Is it through some sort of optical magic?"
"Yes. Though, rather than on the ship's capabilities, the effectiveness will really depend on the individual's skill." Kurebayashi's voice seemed to become a little hushed in that last bit. "To reduce weight and reduce the risk of detection the hull is made of wood. But we have used engraved magic to ensure it has the necessary structural strength." Kurebayashi's voice grew even louder this time, as if to mask his disappointment at not being able to incorporate an in-flight camouflage system.
"This is really impressive."
Tatsuya's praise, which he could tell was sincere, gave him a big boost to his self-esteem.
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