[2] Reconnaissance
No longer a legend or fairy-tale, magic’s existence has been reliably validated since its first confirmed occurrence during the incident in the year 1999A.D.
That year, the destruction of humanity was prophesised —— according to the description in an old book if interpreted at one’s own convenience —— a reality that might have been brought about by a group of religious fanatics whose nuclear terrorism was prevented by a police officer possessing a special ability.
This incident, thereafter, became the first confirmed example of magic in modern times.
However, in the beginning it wasn’t called ‘magic’. At first, that special ability was called a ‘superpower’. The police officer who stopped the fanatic’s terrorism didn’t carry a staff, talisman or a magic spell book, nor understand any magic words or battle techniques. He just strongly pictured in his mind one thing, stopping the nuclear fission reaction from reaching critical mass.
The extraordinary ability to make nuclear weapons powerless = superpower. Initially the major powers that relied upon nuclear deterrents, they feared that ability. Before long however, they considered the matter of its applications. If in a position to monopolise that power, then you could use nuclear weapons without fear of the enemy’s retribution. ‘Weapons we possess but cannot use’ transformed into ‘weapons we are actually able to use’.
America, the U.S.A. in those days, it’s government dispatched agents to search throughout the world. To assemble superpower users who could neutralise nuclear weapons, and also, to stop them falling into enemy hands.
Regrettably, nobody was found possessing the same superpower as the police officer. But during the course of the search they discovered superpower users in far greater numbers than expected. Many of them only possessed weak abilities, but the power to alter the laws of nature with the power of the mind was not a mutation but rather a talent which humans did possess.
Most humans don’t reach the level where they can actually do it. The research institution in charge of the investigation at the time, came to that conclusion.
If the power is weak, it will be beneficial to strengthen it. If it’s latent, then it’s ok to forcibly draw it out. In the name of developing humanity’s latent powers, many human experiments were performed. Alongside experiments utilising natural and chemical stimuli, occult means were also mobilised.
In the process, the history of magic appeared on the public stage.
Magic believed to be the product of fiction, became a real technology and was incorporated into the development of military technology.
As a result of scientific analysis of the techniques of real ‘wizards’ who slipped straight out of folklore, magic and superpowers were proven to be essentially the same power. Analysing the knowhow concealed in the shadows of history, improving it, and putting it to practical use, the development of general techniques from superpowers was achieved.
Superpower users, they are able to interfere with a very limited number of natural phenomena.
But these newly developed techniques, although a certain level of talent is needed to use them, make it possible for one person to alter a diverse range of various phenomena. Even the extraordinary ability to neutralise nuclear weapons, became established as one such technique.
This generalised, modern technology to interfere with natural phenomena with the power of the mind alongside the ancient techniques once believed to be the products of fiction combined became known as magic.
This initial stage of magic research was performed around the world, not just by America. The dispatching of agents around the world, caused the information to spread.
The governments of many nations poured resources into nurturing talented people who could use the power of magic technology, ‘magic technicians,’ abbreviated to ‘magicians’.
Many superpower users acquired ‘magic’ themselves and became ‘magicians’.
It’s now the end of the twenty first century, magicians are an important part of a nation’s war potential —— they have become precious weapons.
However, not all users of extraordinary abilities are under the management of the state.
Not all superpower users were able to become magicians.
◇ ◇ ◇
It’s morning in the residential district and a young boy and a young girl in uniform are walking together. The scene of commuting to school hasn’t changed since olden times. Working from home, commuting to satellite offices and flexible time have popularised and benevolently caused the ‘rush hour commute’ to become a thing of the past, but the times to commute to school are still centred around eight in the morning.
For most of the previous half of the century the shape of trains has changed, with the image of the ‘crowded train packed shoulder to shoulder’ being erased. One thing that hasn’t changed from long ago is that it won’t be necessary to commute by train or bus for the average public elementary and middle schools.
This private middle school is located in the suburbs of Tokyo, because it is a short distance away from the nearest station, the scene going to school remains unchanged from that of a public middle school.
Identical uniforms and the same apparent age.
However, the appearances and physiques of the two are different.
Some students are conspicuous, and some aren’t conspicuous, it appears to be like any other school.
But at this school there exists a ‘summit’ that others aren’t permitted to follow. On that point it might be a little special.
A beautiful schoolgirl, who’s graceful manner of walking suits her physical appearance as she advanced on her commute to school.
The other students walking the same road, both boys and girls stopped for a moment, and before long, followed at a respectable distance without joining her.
It happens every morning, never changing.
—— You’ll get used to a beautiful woman after three days, that’s unmistakably a lie.
Every student at this middle school, will think no different. In reality, many of the students have said something similar.
In these minds that have yet to reach maturity, one truth has been engraved.
In this world, there exists beauty you can never grow accustomed to.
Real beauty, before longing or lust, brings shock.
The moment you see the beautiful girl named Shiba Miyuki, very seldom is there a person who won’t remember it.
(What, is that……)
The young lady masquerading as a middle school student and disguised in the same sailor uniform as the surrounding girls, was no exception. While the girl’s body wouldn’t stand out in the least, she was involuntarily stupefied in amazement. For the girl it was fortunate that her body type was by no means rare.
She panics, moving her stilled feet. Not wanting to stand out she moves her eyes left and right, confirming she hasn’t drawn attention to herself she breathes a sigh of relief.
(……That girl, is she a human being like me? How can a living thing like that exist in this world?)
She resumed walking, but she had as yet still not recovered from the shock.
She glances to steal a look of the exceedingly beautiful girl, and unintentionally shakes her head.
However you look at it, she is not a living thing of this world. Something like a heavenly nymph, goddess or some other beautiful lifeform, you can’t wipe away the suspicion she’s such a fantastical superior being. Seeing her yourself, you would become caught in the suspicion your mind had gone crazy.
(……That, can’t be real!)
She harshly rebuked herself in her mind, then forcibly moving her gaze, turned to the point next to the girl.
Next to the overly beautiful girl, a single male student appears in her shadow accompanying her.
He has a mature appearance, though yet to reach maturity his body has been excellently forged.
Yet, strangely inconspicuous. His presence is so weak it seems unnatural.
He’s not trying to conceal himself and yet, even the girl working as a professional hitman, will lose sight of him the moment she takes her mind off him.
(Invisibility magic, or……?)
The technique to hide one’s presence, is something the girl has also learned. Only three years ago, it was a technique that was beaten into her without understanding how, and since three years ago she consciously trained this technique.
(……I’m beaten. He’s better than me.)
Having an abundance of experience, she was able to understand the boy’s ability.
(He’s not only powerful physically……)
If it’s only barehanded hand to hand fighting, it’s not unusual for people other than a professional to be powerful. Training is considered beneficial but the layman only has to win against the opponent in front of them, what makes up the situation as far as the professional is concerned, that escaping safely is a larger part of success than a person’s skills or rather it’s essential.
That boy however, it doesn’t seem like he’s only physically strong.
Inside the girl, her vigilance level rises.
(His name if I recall correctly, is Shiba Tatsuya.)
The girl pulled the information she had about the boy from her memory.
Her support personnel were by no means incompetent, yet despite this, they were able to establish far too little of the boy’s circumstances.
His name. His home address. The middle school he attends.
That was all.
The investigation time was insufficient given the circumstances, but it’s not a mistake.
Her partners investigation began yesterday morning. And working until last night, his name, address, and school were confirmed.
Were this a normal job, they would carefully collect more of the targets information before taking action. But this time the target was a witness to a murder case, the criminal was herself.
Originally if that’s the case, you don’t have a choice and must get rid of the other party on the spot. The more time it takes, not only the girl herself but the organisation is jeopardised. She isn’t permitted the luxury of carefully examining the weak points in the opponent’s movement patterns.
The girl instructed her partner Croco to keep looking into the investigation, she herself came to directly evaluate the target.
The girl age is in the late teens. A little older than her outward appearance, which has not yet moved beyond the age you’d brand her a teen.
Her experience as a professional killer, since becoming one barely three years have passed.
Nevertheless, assessing the true strength of an opponent, observing it herself she could surmise she’d become conceited.
Opponents stronger than yourself, you don’t fight directly. That is the ironclad rule of the professional killer.
Once you receive a job, you aren’t able to avoid the confrontation if you say they’re stronger than you. For a freelancer the solution may be the case to pay a substantial default penalty, that’s impossible if you belong to an organisation.
Therefore, the insight to see through you opponent’s strength, is an indispensable ability for the professional killer. The professional killer without this proficiency, whatever the extent of physical power, guns or knife or whichever skills they excel at, will prove to be trouble and inevitably made to leave before long. For three years, she’d survived in this industry, though excellent support could be said to also be a factor, it’s no mistake that the girl’s good sense at personally perceiving an opponent’s strength had brought this about.
Right now, however, the girl had become bewildered.
Shiba Tatsuya, how much power this boy two years her junior is concealing, she can’t even make an estimate.
She can only say that he is clearly strong. That had been confirmed that night.
She can’t win unarmed. She understood that.
—— So, can I win with a knife?
—— Or else, should I not prepare a gun for this occasion?
—— Should I kill him directly?
—— Can I bring him down if I catch him off guard?
From experience, what she’d expect to understand after a ten second observation, she can’t make sure of at all.
That was the reason she’d stared at the boys back continuously, the girl herself hadn’t realised.
More than a few students were staring at the beautiful girl walking next to the boy, she shouldn’t have stood out. However, there was a single person who noticed the girls unnatural gaze.
The boy looked back over his shoulder.
(He noticed?)
A chill ran down the girl’s spine.
She looked down in an instant, in that instant, their eyes had met, and the girl recognised.
The boy’s gaze quickly returned to the front. He has no intention to challenge her here at the present time.
Thinking of such a situation herself, the girl felt laughable.
This can’t be natural? The opponent’s a young boy, Shiba Tatsuya is a middle school student, in the middle of going to school. Furthermore, the girl accompanying him is a middle school student. My partner told me his little sister is in the same school year, that beautiful girl it seems.
In this situation, he shouldn’t be expecting to start an exchange of lives with a professional killer. Like an infant becoming scared of their own shadow, the girl felt ashamed of herself.
However, the reality was unaffected no matter how she tried to disguise her existence. The girls plan today was to infiltrate the middle school Tatsuya attends, given the circumstances she changes the plan and decides to pull out.
They planned to infiltrate the school, but there was no plan to suddenly launch the assassination within the school. Today was a preliminary investigation to the end. Even if they decided to set up inside the school, the day had to be properly planned.
She was carrying a weapon just in case, an entirely ceramic knife that wouldn’t be detected by a metal detector. That boy being her opponent, she was honestly thinking she couldn’t rely on it. Considering her unfamiliarity with the layout inside of the school, it wasn’t known if she could get home safely if he chose an unpopular spot to counterattack.
From the beginning the girl didn’t view Tatsuya as an ordinary middle school student. She was thinking he was an inhabitant of society’s darkness the same as her. Killing a person in a school, if it was decided then they possessed enough means to at least deal with the corpse. Infiltrating the middle school, she didn’t think it was valuable enough to face that sort of risk. So, she discontinued the plan to search for the target’s weakness within the school. The opponent’s abilities, that she can’t confirm the extent of them at a glance she realised it can only mean that they are excellent.
The girl decided to stop the plan, not hesitating a moment she turned on her heel and ran.
The student’s suspicious gaze saw her off, both parties ignoring the teacher’s voice telling her to halt as it was nearly time for the bell, she didn’t stop running until she reached the station.
◇ ◇ ◇
With the plan to infiltrate the target’s middle school ending in failure, the professional killer girl returned home. A small single person dwelling from the organisation’s service, a cheap apartment building with reliable soundproofing, she was having a meal before thinking about the procedure after this.
—— Smearing ample honey butter on pancakes produced by an automatic cooker.
They are not able to let the witness go free. The middle school student named Shiba Tatsuya needs to be gotten rid of on principle. It also needed to be completed urgently.
—— She added another pancake smeared with honey butter atop the previous pancake.
However, what time specifically, and what place would be sufficient?
—— To the pile of pancakes smeared with honey, she pours maple syrup on top.
If another person were at the scene of the crime to witness the erasing of the witness would be mistaking the insignificant for the essential.
—— Cutting the pancake and bringing the exalted mass of sweetness to her mouth, Yuki smiled happily as she chewed.
Some place that middle school student habitually visits that escapes the public gaze. That sort of location from the target’s living habits, we don’t have very much time, seduction techniques may be a weakness we can grasp to lure him out if necessary.
—— She herself in her simple-mindedness, failed to notice the childlike smile that appeared on her face as two, three mouthfuls of excessively sweet pancakes were heartily eaten. As it is, her facial expression didn’t suit the savage thoughts she’d devoted her consciousness too.
Ordinarily gaining such information would be the aim of the investigation, the work of the support personnel. However, usually it takes one day for her partner to possess the necessary information, this time he said, ‘it’ll take time’ and on top of that fact, raised a white flag.
In the case of an ordinary target they can take their time. But, sealing a witness’s mouth didn’t permit such luxury.
Therefore, she decided to test approaching with the appearance of a middle school student. But, was quickly recognised.
Specifically, the time spent preparing things such as the middle school uniform.
That middle school’s girl’s uniform is the orthodox type of sailor suit —— sailor suits being middle school uniforms isn’t orthodox, meaning it’s the sailor suit’s shape is orthodox.
—— It was easy to make. Using an automatic sewing machine, it was made in one hour.
Only the reality of having her sizes measured before the cutting and sewing…… After they were finished, trying the clothes on to confirm no adjustments were necessary.
Recalling the natural warm smiles turned towards herself by the female employees in charge of preparing clothes for a usable disguise, made her want to punch a hole in the wall. “What about these next?” one of the employees said taking out a ribbon with a frilly edge and a hairclip with a deformed cat attached, she really wanted to strangle her to death.
She actually was a middle school student up until two years ago, a male employed had said that while laughing, so she actually struck him to shut him up. Yuki knew the man had no ill intentions. You could call it a general comment, she didn’t consider it to a mistake by any degree.
But Yuki, hates been seen as childish. Her feelings for her inferior physical growth notwithstanding, would a person desire this childish shape for themselves of their own free will?! That could be said to be her real motive. She knew it was the case the disguise was necessary to get in for the job, she understood but agreeing was another thing.
And yet somehow holding down these resistant emotions to the disguise, and even thought she tried to infiltrate, this time she failed before the gate.
—— Before she realised it the fork in her hand stopped moving, the face that had relaxed due to the excessively sugary pancakes, warped into a sour look.
“Nuts, the company president is calling.”
As the girl finished, she received a call from her partner Croco summoning her.
Yuki belonged to the organisation named ‘Abousha’, which takes the form of a public company. Naturally, it’s a private workplace. Officially it’s a business in foreign trade. It could be said at one’s own convenience, that ‘Abousha’ is an abbreviation of ‘Aiji Boukei’ (Asian Foreign Trade), to cause misunderstandings. In reality there is truly no relationship between the names, the reason most people in the organisation don’t understand this is because the origin is too twisted.
Yuki also knows what ‘Abousha’ is, and she pays it no mind at all. To her it’s nothing, she didn’t decide to become a member of the organisation because of the name. Since becoming a member of Abousha, Yuki’s results were perfect. This also is not unusual. The way professional killers become attached to organisations is providing the best ‘results’ out of the many.
Abousha may be small, but the building is owned by the company. Yuki had changed out of her disguise uniform and into the look of a young female worker in trousers, using the train to come to the building for work.
As of the 2090’s, a girl going to work instead of entering into high school is a rarity but is not such a strange thing to the extent it will turn heads.
Since the 2070’s, national and public schools became exempt from tuition fees for Universities. Not just direct tuition, support for living expenses also became courteous. Choosing to go to school now, when there is no economic burden on going to high school, those entering higher level education such as high schools and high-class speciality schools are a little over ninety percent and rather lower than the pre-war days of World War Three.
Not due to economic reasons, but due to a decline in people’s desire to go on to higher education. Love of learning hasn’t gone out of fashion, but belief in the academic background has faded.
In recent years, the state has implemented the certification examination for high school academic ability, which businesses have adopted using in conjunction with University graduation certificates to assess those looking to attain employment. Because the means of learning had become diversified, even without entering high school, the age of being able to return to do it later had arrived.
Taking that into consideration, suspicion of a teenage girl in plainclothes walking the street during the day on a weekday has disappeared.
Inside the building is arranged to look like a respectable business, with men and women facing their desks doing clerical work. Although, the work they are performing is sorting the information and providing the tools necessary for killing. They are the actual work force behind the support personnel for the professional killers. Yuki’s partner is one of the people among them.
“The president?”
“The president is waiting for you in his office.”
“Ahh, I see,” nodding her head to her partner who was facing his office terminal, Yuki turned towards the stairs. The president’s office is upstairs on the second floor. It wasn’t for the sake of her health, but an unconscious choice to avoid rooms with no escape wherever possible. Still only in the latter half of her teens, it seems the mentality of the professional killer has completely taken root.
“It’s Hashibami. In accordance with your invitation, I came to visit.”
Finding herself before the wooden door, Yuki knocks and then informs them she’s here.
Hashibami is Yuki’s family name.
Her full name is Hashibami Yuki.
“Hashibami? Who’s that?” Within the company she was only at the level where her code name had already permeated, at this time only the company president used her real name. This wasn’t limited to Yuki, you could say this was common for the organisation’s members.
“Come in.”
In accordance with the voice, Yuki opens the door. The company president’s room was surprisingly cosy.
Behind the desk that can be seen immediately on entering, is sitting an old man wearing a haori and a hakama (formal Japanese clothing). This man with an excellent physique and who governs the professional killers like Yuki is the company president of Abousha, Morozumi Kuruma.
Yuki politely closes the door, before standing in front of the desk. The company president dislikes ill-mannered behaviour.
To her, he’s not really frightening. She’s confident in her skills but doesn’t consider herself to be the strongest in the slightest. If she ruined the company president’s mood then he’d send a group of employees, and Yuki understood there would be no tomorrow for herself.
“Well…… Hashibami-kun. You understand why I summoned you here?”
“……Yes.”
She wasn’t going to be able to feign ignorance. When the call was received, it was obvious they knew the previous task had a poor result.
“I put you through trouble he day before yesterday. Your performance is splendid as usual, is what I want to say, it’s unusual for you to experience such a blunder.”
“I have no excuse.”
She replied as her usually petite body became even smaller. The reason wasn’t because the company president was being particularly threatening, she personally, was self-conscious of her part in committing an error that could be connected to a fatal wound.
Really, it’s ‘committed’ not ‘committing’. Not just being witnessed doing the job, as yet the witness’s mouth has yet to be sealed. The more time passes, the risk of herself being exposed as a professional killer rises. It’s not a question of one person, there is concern that the organisation’s true nature will also become exposed.
“Even if we say it was a back street in the centre of the city. With no means to avoid potentially being seen. But for what reason weren’t you able to clean up afterwards?”
“……I have no excuse.”
“Hashibami-kun. I don’t want an apology. Why were you not able to finish things and clean up? An excuse is fine so just give me an explanation.”
“……Yes.”
For Yuki this was nothing but humiliating, remaining silent however wasn’t an option in this setting. So she honestly explained the incident, how at the present time she had confirmed her opponent’s identity, when she was observed at the scene she tried to take him out but only had her hands and feet, when she proceeded to scout him out she was quickly discovered.
The company president’s reaction, it was neither scorn nor abuse.
He folded him arms and pondered.
“……I understand your skills. That middle school student definitely isn’t an ordinary person.”
The company president is feared not only by Yuki but by the rest of the company employees, but he’s not a tyrant. He has a proper grasp of the abilities and personalities of every one of his subordinate professional killers, sure punishments or rewards, and making no mistakes in having the right person in the right place. The money paid is also excellent. Whist simultaneously a target to be feared, he is also someone you can trust and rely upon.
“We’ll have the investigation team investigate. But it’s not necessary to wait for the results. Await your own chance Hashibami-kun. The necessary equipment will be prepared.”
“—— Thank you very much.”
The organisation would work to support, but the meaning is that Yuki must perform the disposal thoroughly by her own hand. No exemption of responsibility, more of a postponement of execution.
Nevertheless, Yuki is thankful to narrowly escape her death for the meantime. Coinciding with this, the cornered young boy to be purged is one step ahead himself —— Shiba Tatsuya is soliciting help against the hostility.
◇ ◇ ◇
Shiba Tatsuya who observed the professional killer girl’s work at the scene of the crime, the boy who has been targeted, has three faces.
The first, he is a third-year middle school student attending a private middle school in the metropolitan area.
The second, he is a Special Duty Officer in the National Defence Force. In this case ‘Special Duty Officer’ doesn’t mean he’s treated as a Military non-commissioned officer, but a civilian who collaborates with the military and is given the treatment of an officer. This position does not exist in the official system. This is assigned to include Tatsuya’s power in army, a measure to make a special exception to give him the qualifications of a warrior. A kind of extra-judicial status.
The third, a magician of the Yotsuba Family. The Yotsuba Family are an example of one of the distinguished families in Japan’s magician society, and a group feared around the world. Within that family he has the reasonability’s of a combatant with the designated role of ‘Guardian’.
On the matter of the professional killer girl appearing disguised in a middle school uniform during the morning commute to school, Tatsuya reported it to the Yotsuba main house that evening.
“That young lady, she’s unrelated to the agents of the New Soviet Union?”
“I didn’t pick up on the situation behind the scenes so can only a guess, but it’s likely unrelated.”
That evening on some kind of whim, Maya personally appeared on the videophone screen. It’s April 2094AD and at that time the other party Tatsuya spoke to would usually be the butlers Hayama or Hanabishi. Unexpectedly, Maya had more time than she knew what to do with today.
“What do you think that child’s objective is?”
Maya, in a clear tone, attempts to question him through the videophone.
“I think they’re trying to keep my mouth shut.”
Tatsuya’s bearing doesn’t show any hesitation when answering.
“It would appear so. For a professional killer, a witness at the scene of a murder is a most serious matter.”
Maya turns a meaningful gaze towards Tatsuya.
“Because of that…… Tatsuya-san, are reinforcements necessary?”
“It’s unnecessary.”
Tatsuya’s reply, it was an instant this time also.
“So…… You’ll deal with this yourself.”
“Yes.”
“I understand. I’ll respect your intentions. Act in accordance to the instructions you receive from Hayama-san on this matter later.”
No intention to send any assistance from the onset, at Maya’s words prior to vanishing from the camera such a thought seemed plausible.
Maya’s replacement, her trusted retainer Hayama appeared on the screen.
“Tatsuya-dono, I think you understand, your primary duty is protecting Miyuki-sama. Your carelessness has invited danger to Miyuki-sama’s person, this shouldn’t have come about.”
Tatsuya doesn’t prowl the nightlife of Shibuya. Dealing with the agents of the New Soviet Union, that was a directive from the main house. You could say the reason the professional killer is aiming for Tatsuya is because the Yotsuba main house used Tatsuya for work other than his primary task.
“I am aware of the seriousness.”
However, Tatsuya didn’t advocate discontent at that reason. Protecting his younger sister Miyuki always took the most priority, this matter wasn’t something that needed to be pressed.
“It’s fine so long as you understand. Because of that, have you decided on a concrete plan to settle things?”
“To erase them if necessary.”
“At the present time, you don’t think it necessary?”
Hayama questioned doubtfully with knitted eyebrows.
“I will be able to erase them at any time, in my case there is no trouble as cleaning up afterwards is unnecessary.”
Tatsuya’s ‘erase’ isn’t jargon for ‘killing’. That meaning is also included, it also literally means the corpse is also annihilated and nothing left behind.
“……Is that so. That decision, we will entrust to you.”
Not having to arrange to deal with a body was also beneficial, for Hayama this was convenient as it avoided any unnecessary costs. At his own discretion, gave Tatsuya permission to use magic to erase a human body completely.
“Is there anything else to report?”
“There is not.”
“Is that so. Then, with this.”
Hayama concluded with a light bow, and the videophone screen became dark.
◇ ◇ ◇
“I beg your pardon for having kept you waiting.”
Confirming Tatsuya’s video call with Hayama had concluded, Maya moved from in front of the desk and migrated to the reception set. She sat down on the opposite side of the sofa to where two men were sitting.
One is a man of about forty years. The other person is a petite middle school boy. The adult gentleman is Kuroba Mitsugu, the boy’s name is Kuroba Fumiya. As it may appear from the names, the two are parent and child.
But the impressions of their outward appearance are very different. The gentleman father, orderly and prepared, not quite to the point of Dundee, who others would feel is a courteous and handsome man. In contrast the petite son, has is a pretty boy that looks like a sweet young lady.
“No, not at all.”
The father Mitsugu dramatically shook his head and hand. Fumiya next to him moved slightly in embarrassment seeing this, Maya’s smile didn’t sway in the slightest.
“Was that telephone call just now from Tatsuya-kun?”
In response to Mitsugu’s enquiry, Maya looked back at his face in silence.
“Oh, no, under no circumstances would I strain my ears.”
As Maya’s pointed gaze reproached him for listening in, Mitsugu panicked and gave an excuse.
“I just happened to overhear and in no way meant for it to happen……”
Maya gave pardon with a sigh.
“Yes, it was a report from Tatsuya-san. He disposed of agents of the New Soviet Union that were prowling around Tokyo.”
“Because of that you’ve been saddles with trouble with an unrelated professional killer, and Tatsuya-kun is also troubled. Could we not have received the order the beginning and finished it without such a troublesome incident? Wouldn’t it be fine to stop using that person?
From Mitsugu’s speech his malice towards Tatsuya, a boy the same approximate age as his son, leaked out without being concealed.
“There wasn’t enough work to trouble Mitsugu-san.”
Maya bluntly parried.
“Will it be fine to leave that professional killer be?”
Maya obviously had no intention of finding fault with Tatsuya, but Mitsugu insistently tried to overturn her intentions.
“Tatsuya said he’d settle things himself, it’s fine to leave it to him.”
“Is that so. If that’s the case, I’ll also take a look at his skills.”
However, at the sound of Maya’s voice with slight sharpness mixed in, Mitsugu obediently withdrew.
“……No, that’s right.”
But, to overturn Maya’s previous remarks took the next approach.
“This is exactly right for Fumiya’s teaching materials.”
At this mutter, Maya’s eyes turned to Fumiya.
“Fumiya-san.”
“Yes.”
Fumiya’s muscles tensed in response to Maya’s gaze.
In contrast, Maya turns a relaxed smile to Fumiya.
“Investigate the professional killer aiming for Tatsuya-san. Just investigate, meddling is unnecessary.
“Yes!”
The reply Fumiya’s returned was full of fighting spirit.
“Don’t play a role in Fumiya-san’s practice, if possible Mitsugu-san don’t provide any assistance.
“……I understand.”
In contrast, the two adults lacked this earnestness.
To Maya the identity of the professional killer aiming at Tatsuya was of no interest. Maya understood a professional killer at the level of a civilian wouldn’t succeed as Tatsuya’s opponent.
The phrase ‘teaching materials’ may have left her mouth, but it didn’t possess the literal meaning.
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