Chapter 2
After the siblings shared their customary dinner together, the telephone picked this precise moment to start ringing.
Speaking of which, as everyone knows, almost all modern telephones were equipped with "web cams", a detail that third rate social commentators never failed to decry, saying that they aren't tele"phones" but tele"screens" or some related but meaningless subject. Even with this projected function brought into fruition, they are still referred to as "telephones".
— Back on topic —
Miyuki was currently in the kitchen cleaning up.
She wasn't adamant on doing the dishes herself since she could pass them to the HAR, but their household wasn't equipped with the 3H (Humanoid Home Helper, or simply "Housework robot") that had just hit the market for mass consumption. The two of them unanimously agreed that having a pair of robot arms extending from the ceiling was more of a hassle than anything, so they were better off cleaning up after themselves.
— Miyuki said that if they were too lazy to do even this, their fitness would rapidly decrease.
— Once again, back on topic —
Simply put, this was the reason why Tatsuya picked up the phone, though occasionally — that's how it was.
"Long time no see...... Did you intend to do that?"
"......Wait a minute, I have no idea what you're talking about...... Long time no see, Special Lieutenant."
Onscreen was a familiar face wearing a very surprised expression.
"It's been two months since we last spoke, but...... If you're using that title, does that mean this is an encrypted transmission? I can't believe you can tap into the civilian line every time."
"It's not that easy, Special Lieutenant. Compared to the standards of an average household, isn't the security surrounding your house a little too tight?"
"That's because there are a lot of hackers active recently, and the household servers have sensitive information stored within them."
"No wonder. We were almost traced on our end."
"You deserved that. As long as you don't delve too deeply into the database, the defense system shouldn't activate."
"I think this serves as an excellent warning shot for my newest switchboard."
Onscreen, the face that had been baptized into coarse leather by long exposure to sunlight and gunpowder revealed a mischievous smile.
As he saw this smile, Tatsuya reflected that the man hadn't aged a day since three years ago.
Based on his rank and department, he must deal with a myriad of details daily, but he never betrayed any trace of exhaustion...... As these thoughts chased one another around in his mind, Tatsuya suddenly recalled that the one on the other side of the line — The Army's 101 Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion CO Major Kazama Harunobu didn't like to waste unnecessary time on small talk.
"Major, what's on the agenda today?"
"That's right, let's cut the small talk. Business first."
"Please go ahead."
"Today we completed modifications on the 'Third Eye'. We upgraded some components to the latest models and updated the software, so I would like you to test it out."
The 101 was pronounced "One Zero One", and not "One Hundred and First".
This was a primarily magic-based experimental detachment that was separate from the normal chain of command. In addition, the Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion was also responsible for the development of cutting edge equipment.
Compared to regular military classification, the security clearance for this detachment was five to six levels higher. Accordingly, a regular high school student had no business interacting with such a division, to the point that he or she would be wholly ignorant of its existence.
However, due to certain classified events, Tatsuya was actually an official member of Kazama's division.
"Understood. I will report in first thing tomorrow."
"......Wait a second, this isn't so important that you need to take a day off from school."
"No, next weekend I plan to visit the lab to test out a new calculation device."
"Although I'm in no position to say so...... But ever since you entered high school, you’ve been leading a decisively non-student-like lifestyle."
"I dislike your impression, but there's nothing I can do about it."
"That's true...... No matter how busy we get, there's nothing we can do about it. In that case, meet up at the old place tomorrow morning. I'm sorry I won't be there, but I will contact Sanada ahead of time."
"Understood."
Tatsuya saluted in acceptance, while Kazama repeated that action on the screen.
This type of salute went entirely against regulations, but since Tatsuya was an irregular, the standards were slightly relaxed.
"Next subject. Special Lieutenant, rumors say that you are joining this summer's Nine Schools Competition?"
"......Affirmative."
Tatsuya hesitated for a split second, but given the circumstances, the fact that he only hesitated for a "split second" was quite an accomplishment.
It was less than three hours after he had been confirmed as a member of the Technician's Team.
Knowing that asking was fruitless, Tatsuya put a lid on his curiosity and refrained from asking how the Major got the word.
"The arena is located in southeast sector of the Fuji Exercise Grounds, so this is only customary...... That being said, Tatsuya, stay on your guard."
Kazama's everyday speech was already abrupt, but today's seemed even more so than usual.
He wasn't referring to Tatsuya by rank, surname, or alias, but calling him directly by name, which signified that he was warning Tatsuya as an old friend rather than a superior officer. After obtaining the information intercepted by the military's intelligence network, he wasn't alerting the police or the general public, but a mere high school student without any social standing. This was highly odd.
Tatsuya focused all his attention as he continued to listen.
"There are suspicious circumstances surrounding that area, with signs that we have illegal aliens in the area."
"Did someone infiltrate the military's exercise grounds?"
"Quite lamentable indeed. Also, several witnesses claimed seeing East Asian members of an international crime syndicate in the area, which did not occur this time last year. Based on the timing, it's very likely they have something planned for the Nine Schools Competition."
It's just a high school intramural competition...... Tatsuya was about to say this aloud, before switching to another tack.
Even if they were high school students, this country's elite young Magicians were about to publicly compete against one another.
For example, if there was a major terrorist attack using explosives during the awards ceremony, that would severely impact this country's talented personnel.
"You mentioned an international crime syndicate?"
This was not the same type of organization as Blanche (pretending to be an anti-magic political organization) that Tatsuya encountered in April. If this was a criminal syndicate, then they shouldn't have any interest in causing unnecessary harm. Terrorism was another thing altogether. Kazama was a soldier, so he shouldn't have had any experience dealing with international crime syndicates.
How did he figure out their identity?
"I asked Mibu to give me a hand. You probably know him."
"The father of First High’s Year 2 student Mibu Sayaka?"
"Exactly. After retiring from the military, Mibu transferred to Internal Affairs (Cabinet Agency of Data Supervision). He's currently Chief of Foreign Affairs, specifically international crime syndicates."
"......I'm surprised."
Tatsuya wasn't merely parroting back, he was honestly surprised.
Tatsuya was astounded that the Major would reveal the identity of one of his sources of intelligence over the telephone so easily; the Cabinet Agency of Data Supervision generally remained neutral between politics and the military so they weren't particularly friendly with the military, yet the Major simply asked them for assistance in a clear-cut manner, which also amazed Tatsuya. However, what floored Tatsuya the most was that the daughter of a foreign intelligence expert actually became the accomplice to a terrorist organization affiliated with foreign countries and the father who was the chief of foreign affairs merely turned a blind eye to the situation. Salutary neglect, much?
"Criminal syndicates and underground terrorist cells are handled by different departments. Tunnel vision on their own affairs is a common fallacy in government agencies."
The reason why Kazama was able to accurately mirror Tatsuya's thoughts, rather than due to their long friendship, was more because Kazama could also read between the lines and thus resonate with Tatsuya.
"However, information from areas within his expertise is trustworthy. According to Mibu's calculations, these might be members from the criminal syndicate based out of Hong Kong called 'No Head Dragon'. Currently, their objective remains unknown and we will let you know as soon as this changes."
"Thank you, Major."
"I won't see you tomorrow, but we may meet up at Fuji."
"I look forward to that meeting."
"Likewise...... Ho, we talked too long. The new rookie is starting to panic, so it's about time for me to hang up."
The web police probably detected traces of the network invasion. Based on this assumption, it was too ambiguous for Tatsuya to tell whether he should praise the skills of the web police or lament over the skills of Kazama's subordinates.
"Make sure to greet your sensei for me."
"Understood."
"Goodbye."
Tatsuya wasn't able to reply before the screen turned blank.
"That was probably a broad hint that I should make contact with sensei......"
Then, how much was he supposed to reveal? The face of his sensei who owned the title of head monk, but was more appropriately described as "imposter" floated into Tatsuya's mind as he slightly sighed.
"Onii-sama, if you don't mind, would you like some tea......?"
Sometime after closing the door leading to the living room, Miyuki's voice came floating in.
She appeared to be trying to avoid eavesdropping on the conversation, so she waited in the kitchen until Tatsuya finished his conversation.
Originally, Miyuki occupied a much more privileged position than Tatsuya and possessed the right to listen in on any military or foreign secrets, but the little sister never exercised that right before her elder brother.
Tatsuya silently padded towards the kitchen and opened the door before Miyuki could ask again.
As expected, Miyuki stood there stiffly with her eyes wide open, with a tray that had a tea kettle and some silverware and snacks perched on top.
"......Onii-sama, please don't scare me like that, you could've said something...... I can't believe you moved silently just to laugh at Miyuki's terrified expression. Onii-sama is bullying me."
"Sorry, sorry."
Miyuki turned her head aside with a huff. Tatsuya smiled as he took the tray from her hands while apologizing every step of the way.
"But I wasn't trying to bully you, I just thought that you were carrying something heavy so I rushed over. I certainly don't want my cute little sister to haul around heavy objects."
"......I know very well that this is a fabrication...... But I'll just let Onii-sama mislead me this one time."
Even if she maintained her displeased expression, the corners of her mouth relaxed slightly.
It only took one word from Onii-sama to calm her down.
But Miyuki was perfectly willing.
"Black tea today?"
"Yes, I bought some excellent summer extract and I thought occasionally having tea would be nice."
Tatsuya nodded in response to Miyuki and returned to the table before sampling the tea cup.
"Muscatel, quite rare...... It must've taken you some time and effort to get this, right?"
"No, it was really a coincidence...... As long as Onii-sama is happy, then that is the highest praise for Miyuki."
Tatsuya slowly took a sip and let out a satisfied smile. Seeing this, Miyuki smiled with a happiness that welled from the bottom of her heart.
"Hm, the tea is excellent and the butter biscuits look delicious. Did Miyuki bake these?"
"Yes, though...... They don't look very nice."
"Nonsense, I don't mind at all, they taste wonderful."
Miyuki ducked her head in embarrassment, but the sight of her Onii-sama raising the butter biscuits and enjoying them was enough to prompt her to raise her head and smile in happiness.
Tatsuya didn't bring up the topic of Kazama's conversation, and Miyuki didn't ask.
Tatsuya was busy sampling his little sister's exquisitely prepared snacks and meticulously purchased tea. For Miyuki, just the sight of her Onii-sama's satisfied expression was more than enough compensation for any arduous task.
There's no need to repeat this, but Miyuki was the publicly acknowledged honor student.
Not only was she talented beyond all belief, but she also was extremely diligent.
Besides taking care of her Onii-sama's day-to-day life, she also studied until late in the night.
Today also, she studied until near midnight before shutting off the electric monitor and storing it in the table.
She wasn't exhausted yet.
According to her experience, it was hard to fall asleep when going to bed in this stimulated state. This could be quickly remedied with the sleeping device, but Onii-sama frowned upon using the technology that nearly 70% of the country uses. Since Tatsuya objected to this technology, Miyuki would have no reason to use it.
Then let's make another cup of tea to change the mood, Miyuki thought.
It was totally worth it for her to hunt down the best quality Muscatel, as evidenced by her Onii-sama's delight with the tea. Simply reflecting on Onii-sama's smile was more than enough for her to have a wonderful dream, but if she could see it one more time, and maybe even have Onii-sama rub her head, then that would be even better.
Miyuki was just heading to the kitchen, when a sudden thought crossed her mind when she stopped in front of the mirror.
Miyuki nodded slightly, then a slightly mischievous smirk formed on her face.
"Onii-sama, this is Miyuki, I'm coming in with tea."
"Perfect, come in."
Miyuki would bring tea or coffee around this time every night and her brother would usually thank her in an apologetic manner, but tonight he seemed to be waiting for her to appear, which slightly bewildered Miyuki.
Regardless, if Onii-sama was waiting for her, that was definitely something that pleased her.
"I was just about to go get you—"
—He got only that far before silence forcibly swallowed the next word.
When she saw her Onii-sama turn around on the chair and stare fixatedly at her, Miyuki felt a small shiver of satisfaction run through her. She carried the tray with one hand while the other lightly clutched the hem of the skirt as she playfully curtseyed.
"............Ah, is this the uniform for 'Fairy Dance'?"
"Indeed, Onii-sama knows very well."
The miniskirt was formed by layers upon layers of dazzling colors that floated together and perfectly matched the tights that covered her beautiful legs along with the bright, leather boots.
The outer garment was open down on the back, made of a translucent material whose thickness was hard to tell. The lines were not embroidered, but naturally created by the fabric itself, allowing it to perfectly complement the bosom.
Beneath the outer garment was a shirt in the same vein as the leggings. No, maybe it wasn't a shirt and pair of leggings, but an entire long-sleeved spandex. If there wasn't the outer covering, it could very well have been mistaken for a figure skater's uniform.
A pair of hair decorations with wings sprouting out the sides held her long silky hair in place, connected by a long thick band seen on most earmuffs.
Considering air resistance and chest protection, this gorgeous uniform was undoubtedly the uniform used for "Mirage Bat" — also known as "Fairy Dance", one of the most anticipated magical events in the Nine Schools Competition.
"How does it look?"
Miyuki placed the tray on a nearby table before spinning around with a smile.
Even though the softly flowing miniskirt was very short, when matched with the fluttering hair dancing in the air it created an aura of impossible grace.
"Devastatingly cute, suits you perfectly, and your timing is excellent."
Miyuki stopped twirling when she faced Tatsuya and grabbed with both hands the hem of her skirt in a deep curtsey as Tatsuya complimented her.
"Thank you Onii-sama for your praise......?"
Miyuki was 100% certain that her elder brother would praise her, so she only prepared one response, as one response was all that was needed.
However, she was unable to comprehend what Tatsuya's last words referred to, so she altered her response to include a question mark at the end.
Miyuki straightened her legs and waist before "looking up" to the seated Tatsuya.
Just as she was about to direct her gaze towards the usual height to inquire the meaning of "your timing is perfect", Miyuki quickly realized something was wrong.
She just as quickly grasped the reason.
Even though Tatsuya was seated, his gaze was still level to his normal standing height.
Miyuki swiftly glanced downwards, then swallowed hard.
The chair that was supposed to be beneath him — was gone.
Tatsuya's right leg was crossed over his left and his right elbow was directly perpendicular atop the right knee, like he was stretching the upper half of his body forward...... As he sat in mid air.
"I also wanted Miyuki to test out this calculation device."
Tatsuya maintained this position as he slid towards Miyuki until he was roughly an arm's length away before stopping. He then uncrossed his legs and straightened his feet much like how he would rise from a chair.
With this series of motions, his physical body naturally returned to earth
"......Flying-Type Magic...... Sustained Gravity-Control Type Magic has been completed!"
She was only distracted for a split second.
Miyuki nearly pounced on her brother as she seized his hand in joy.
"Onii-sama, congratulations!"
This was one of the magics that Tatsuya had been researching for some time.
Among the Four Great Systemic and the Eight Major Types of magic, the first category is the "Speed/Mass" System.
This was morphed out of the simplest of Super Powers, commonly acknowledged to be most basic magic in modern systemic magic.
That being said, while Flying-Type Magic is theoretically possible under the Speed/Mass Systems — Sustained Gravity-Control Magic, even though the basic proposal existed since the early days of modern magic, it was never successfully developed in official channels before this day.
Today during lunch, Flying-Type Magic was the subject of considerable debate. Modern magic's general consensus was that while the theory was sound, the practical application was impossible.
Even so, another cornerstone of modern magic laws was overturned before Miyuki's eyes.
"Once again Onii-sama has turned the impossible possible! To be able to witness this turning point in history, and the fact that the person who accomplished this towering achievement is my elder brother, I am extremely proud to be called your sister!"
Her hands tightly clasping Tatsuya's right hand, Miyuki looked ready to throw her arms around him, while Tatsuya gently covered his sister's hands with his left.
"Thank you, Miyuki. Although they didn't intend to use it solely towards flying, Ancient Magic has already reached this level of flying capability, but today we took another big step towards realizing the goal."
"The flying abilities of Ancient Magic can only be used by a small minority of Magicians and are a unique ability that depends on the subject, right? However, isn't Onii-sama's Flying-Type Magic usable by anyone with sufficient Magic Power?"
"At present, I have set that as the first objective. I hope Miyuki will help me test this."
"Delighted to!"
Miyuki's eyes shone as she nodded quickly.
After listening to the instructions, Miyuki looked towards the newly maintained CAD in her left hand.
Just like Miyuki's regular CAD, this was a model shaped like a mobile terminal.
However, the dimensions were much smaller than Miyuki's originally tiny model and could be comfortably obscured within her slender palm.
The only similarity was the overall shape of the mobile terminal model.
This CAD was a Specialized Calculation Device.
Miyuki wasn't familiar with Specialized models, but the operation was simple enough.
There was only a power switch and, once activated, the CAD would automatically absorb psions from the user in order to continuously fuel the Activation Sequence until the power was exhausted. On some level, this was a fairly barbaric item.
However, the psion consumption rate for the device had been lowered to the absolute minimum.
The purpose behind the design was to minimize the stress placed on the user.
"Begin test."
Her throat quivered slightly from the overwhelming nervousness she felt.
The fact that her hand wasn't trembling was enough for Miyuki to want to congratulate herself.
Even if the test failed, Onii-sama wouldn't blame her.
Rather, Onii-sama would likely redesign the "Flying Calculation Device" from scratch.
She refused to allow her own inadequacies to increase her brother's burden.
Miyuki thumbed the CAD's power switch.
She knew without looking that the calculation device was currently absorbing her body's psions.
Even so, the amount was small enough that she had to pay extra attention to detect it.
It was only at a slightly elevated level compared to the normal loss of excess psions.
By the time she realized this, the Activation Sequence had already been stored into the Magic Calculation Area.
Though she was forewarned by Tatsuya's instructions, the tiny scale of the Activation Sequence still caught her by surprise.
With Miyuki's technical ability, she was able to execute dozens of copies of the same Activation Sequence with ease.
Even if the scale was tiny, every critical detail was recorded within.
Miyuki felt that this was an Activation Sequence completely stripped of anything unnecessary to boost efficiency to the max.
The variables were inputted into the Activation Sequence, beginning Magic Sequence construction.
Generally, Magicians wouldn't pay attention to these phases.
Magicians would typically use language formulas or images to properly formulate the desired phenomenon change, and then dive into the subconsciousness.
The Magic Calculation Area's job was to transform the imagined reality into data for the Magic Sequence. The "variables" in the Activation Sequence refer to the portions that must be created from the Magician's imagination.
Magicians can feel the Activation Sequences that have been absorbed into their physical body, just as they are able to sense the Magic Sequence being constructed within them. However, the construction process for Magic Sequences is partially involuntary and is not subject to conscious interference.
If this wasn't the case, based on human limits of understanding and comprehension of data, there would be no way to create Information Bodies capable of influencing reality.
Miyuki imaged herself floating to the ceiling's height.
All of a sudden, the bounds of gravity disappeared.
Her five senses lost touch with her environment as if her body had phased out of reality, causing Miyuki to panic slightly.
That being said, Miyuki's soul was filled with a delight that far exceeded that paltry sense of panic.
She never knew flying was such a liberating experience.
She was almost envious of the astronauts that strode across the stars with 80% of this feeling.
She also pitied them for having to wear cumbersome space suits in order to enjoy such pleasure.
Miyuki earnestly wished to leave this narrow basement and freely soar through the skies.
"How is it? Is the Loop System too stressful?"
Her brother's voice quickly pulled Miyuki's mind back to earth.
Miyuki was terribly embarrassed that she was engrossed in the pleasure of flight during such a critical experiment.
Even so, this wasn't the time for self-loathing.
Miyuki, you have to step up — Miyuki mentally scolded herself before answering her brother's question.
"No problems whatsoever. There are no headaches or sense of exhaustion."
"Excellent. Next is gradual parallel motion, get used to slowly accelerating yourself, then fly as you please."
"Understood."
Miyuki followed her brother's instructions and imagined herself slowly floating parallel to the ground.
The tiny Activation Sequence automatically spread out and copied itself, constructing the Magic Sequence that changed the direction of gravity to parallel motion.
The design behind Flying-Type Magic revolved around using the Loop System to continuously invoke magic.
According to this process, as long as new conceptual ideas are not introduced into the Calculation Area, the variables would continuously mirror the original values.
With the Activation Sequence added into the self-replicating Non-Systematic Magic data near the final stages of the Magic Sequence construction process and allowing the Activation Sequence to be applied to the Magic Calculation Area, even if the CAD is not being operated, the same Magic Sequence can still be invoked — using the Loop System, that is. Thus, the same Activation Sequence, construction of the Magic Sequence, and the data variables can be endlessly plugged in. This is the truth behind Flying-Type Magic.
Taurus Silver's magnum opus — "Loop System", was the perfect complement to the Flight Calculation Device that Tatsuya invented.
"Is the magic disjointed?"
"Not at all. As expected of Onii-sama, the timing is simply perfect."
The key to this system lies in recording the exact times the magic activates.
Humans are unsuited for such precise number management, so machines were absolutely necessary to fill this gap.
If the design stubbornly refused to take anything besides magic into account, then the system would be simply impossible.
Miyuki continued to follow Tatsuya's directions and incrementally raised the spiraling speed.
She used the limited space within the basement to the maximum extent. She turned, maneuvered, and flipped as she danced in the air.
The softly floating skirt and long, silky hair followed the outstretched body to display absolutely beautiful curves.
At some point, Tatsuya forgot to objectively analyze the situation and simply stood there mesmerized at the wholly unexpected fairy dance.
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login