Zoku Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei

Magian Company Vol.06

By: Satou Tsutomu

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Table of Contents

Table of Contents 17

Credits 18

List of Illustrations 19

Keywords 21

Colored Illustrations 22

Chapter 1 24

Chapter 2 45

Chapter 3 82

Chapter 4 93

Chapter 5 110

Chapter 6 132

Chapter 7 142

Chapter 8 161

Chapter 9 182

Afterword 202
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Credits

Original Work
Author: Satou Tsutomu

Illustrations: Kana Ishida

English Translation Team

Translation: Aehein

Edit: Lord_Odin

Format: Blakegriffin89

Proofreading: lumi; MasterZero

Image editing and Special Thanks: Vova92

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List of Illustrations

● Front Cover ● Glossary #5

● Cover Page ● Glossary #6

● Title Page ● Glossary #7

● Character Introduction #1 ● Glossary #8

● Character Introduction #2 ● The International Situation

● Character Introduction #3 ● Keywords

● Character Introduction #4 ● Colored Illustration #1

● Character Introduction #5 ● Colored Illustration #2

● Glossary #1 ● B&W Illustration #1

● Glossary #2 ● B&W Illustration #2

● Glossary #3 ● B&W Illustration #3

● Glossary #4 ● B&W Illustration #4

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● B&W Illustration #5

● B&W Illustration #6

● Back Cover Chibi Characters

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Colored Illustrations
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Chapter 1
[Key(s)]

Lake Tudakul in Uzbekistan, Central Asia, is where the small octagonal stone tablet
"Compass," which was excavated from Mt. Shasta in the western part of North America,
led to. It is here where new artifacts were found, of which appear to be related to
Shambhala.

The name Shambhala refers to a kingdom of legend described in the Tibetan Buddhist
scripture "Kalachakra Tantra." Known originally as a utopia in Hindu literature, the
legend of Shambhala from Tibetan Buddhism is more commonly known throughout the
world. The Shambhala sought by Western mystics was derived from a self-interpretation
of Tibetan Buddhism, and is often equated to the fictional underground world "Agartha,"
which was created in the latter half of the 19th century.

As is often the case with myths of this nature, the versions of Shambhala in Hindu
mythology and in Tibetan Buddhism are almost diametrically opposed in some respects.
While the Hindu version narrates how the hero king Kalki will bring about an orderly
utopia by restoring the correct caste system, the Tibetan Buddhist scriptures claim that
the virtuous monarch, Kalki, will do away with the caste system and establish a kingdom
where all people are equal.

It extends further, with some legends stating that Shambhala King Kalki will mobilize an
invincible legion commanding powerful weapons to win the war to end all wars. And it's
said that a certain lunatic dictator of the mid-twentieth century may have caught on to
this idea and embarked on a quest for Shambhala in search of these weapons.

In a way, Tatsuya's group's current quest for Shambhala's ruins was the result of a series
of coincidences. They did not aspire for global domination with superweapons like the
two infamous dictators of the 20th century, nor did they seek for any "truth" like the
mystics.

It was to protect the image of magicians in society by preventing it from falling into the
hands of the mageist criminal group from the American West Coast, FAIR, the same ones
who attempted to steal the Artificial Relics from them. This FAIR discovered a map likely
 25
leading to Shambhala, and unearthed a magical relic, the "Compass," which is also likely
to point to the above-mentioned.

After they carried out a terrorist attack using the power of a magical relic, they decided
to reach the Shambhala's ruins first to prevent further incidents like that one from
happening, and also to satisfy their curiosity on the magic involved.

At this point of their search they have now obtained a new relic, a white disk-shaped
stone. In size, it was about two times larger than the [Compass]. And it held a perfect
disk shape, with no signs of attrition of time whatsoever, despite being found
underwater amidst a cliff of sand and gravel. In fact, there are no scratches or damage
on the surface, minute or large. At a glance, its composition didn't stray far from
ordinary stone.

That said, the surface of this newfound artifact was not perfectly smooth. Although there
were no signs of abrasion, there are reliefs carved on the faces. On one face, the design
matches that of the eight-petaled lotus flower.

The relief on the other side is that of three small circles adjacent to each other enclosed
by a large circle. This design, of three adjacent circles in a triangular fashion with the
encompassing larger circle is oddly reminiscent, or in fact, similar to what is known
today as the "Banner of Peace," the symbol of the Roerich Pact, the International Treaty
on the Protection of Artistic and Scientific Institutions and Historic Monuments, which
was signed in 1935.

However, Tatsuya did not believe that this small disk was a twentieth century or later
piece of work.

The figure that lends the name to this pact, Nikolai Konstantinovich Rerikh, or Nicholas
Roerich in the German reading, is known besides his artistic and cultural endeavors as
an enthusiastic pursuer of Shambhala. A fact not as well known about him in the public
as his artistic and cultural endeavors, is that his efforts is regarded by those who
attempt to solve the mysteries around Shambhala as the closest a westerner has come
to Shambhala in the twentieth century.

Which brings us to the "Banner of Peace" that is displayed in the Roerich Memorial,
which the person himself claimed was taken from a symbol that had existed since
ancient times. As a matter of fact, the three adjacent circles design can also be found in
Japan, such as deep inside the Ise Grand shrine, as well as in the remains of Izumo
Taisha shrine.
 26
Such collateral evidence aside, Tatsuya had other reasons to believe that this small disk
was an artifact related to Shambhala. Said disk would float slightly when placed on top
of the "Compass" with the relief face down and having psions poured into it. Not only
that but also it starts to move in a certain fixed direction. When he demonstrated this to
Miyuki and Lina, neither of them could help but agree that the disk could not be a
20th-century design, and that the symbols on the disk could have been passed down
since ancient times.

◇◇◇

The four of them, Tatsuya, Miyuki, Lina, with the addition of Hanabishi Hyougo, decided
on "Key" to designate the white stone disk. It was Lina's idea, saying it was the "key to
solving the mystery," after it had now led them to the Samanid Mausoleum, a historic
landmark located in the western part of downtown Bukhara.

Though said it "led", the object hardly guided them in a straight line. While driving
around the city in the camper they borrowed from Chandrasekhar, they had to use their
"Compass" and "Key" three times before pinpointing this place on the map.

"…So many people!"

Lina complained annoyed after they stepped out of the camper and spent 30 minutes
walking around the Samanid Mausoleum.

"We're on a famous tourist spot, there isn't much we can do."

Despite the acknowledgement, it was quite apparent Miyuki was fed up as well.

Objectively speaking, the crowd was much lighter than the ones they are used to seeing
in downtown Tokyo. But, with the bustling atmosphere of all kinds of tourists, the area
was saturated with psions all around, making detecting anything magical difficult.

For Miyuki and Lina, who tried to search for any sign of relics by sharpening their
senses, it was as if being shrouded in a fog. Their discomfort wasn't entirely without
reason.

"Tatsuya, what about the [Compass] and the [Key]? No response?"

"It's far too weak to rely on."

"Ah, yeah…"

Lina looks up at the sky with a deflated expression on her face. The clear blue stretching
overhead is in stark contrast to the atmosphere hanging over her mind. Though the sky
 27
is not entirely cloudless, you could find a single white cloud drifting across the sky as if
in sheer defiance against Lina's nerves.

"But it has a reaction, even if not significant. Which means we have to take our time and
walk around until we get one."

"Take our time…"

Lina repeated Tatsuya's additional remark, her shoulders slumping, the expression on
her face dropping even more dejected.

"…Tatsuya-sama. Which one is reacting more, the [Compass] or the [Key]?"

Miyuki's objective was more to distract the disheartened Lina than out of curiosity. It
wasn't as if having one react more than the other would be of much value.

"Which one?"

But it was on Tatsuya that the question had the most intriguing effect.

He took out the [Compass] and the [Key] from his left and right pockets, respectively.

He has been keeping them separately to reduce the possibility of an unwanted effect
due to unexpected interaction. As for why they were left bare, in the pockets, was simply
out of convenience, so that they could be used at any time.

Holding the [Compass] in his right hand and the [Key] in his left, Tatsuya stood
motionless for a couple of seconds.

"…The [Key], I think."

There was then a slight frown as he gave the answer to Miyuki's question.

"Tatsuya-sama."

At the same time, a note of warning came in the voice of Hyougo.

"Understood."

Tatsuya replied with a whisper, avoiding any action, such as nodding, that could be seen
from the crowd nearby.

Miyuki didn't show any signs of surprise or worry, and naturally lined up next to
Tatsuya.

"What is it?"
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Then Tatsuya asked with a casual expression.

Someone was looking for us.

"For us!?"

Like Miyuki, Lina who had been closely listening to Tatsuya's answer, involuntarily
raised her voice. For much that Lina stood on par with Miyuki in terms of magic combat,
she still left much to be desired in giving a good poker face, polite smile, or anything
involving putting up a good front.

"You and Miyuki both really stand out."

"You ladies are both very beautiful, after all."

Needless to say, both Tatsuya and Hyougo chose to go with this kind of flattery remark
in order to cover for Lina's breach of their camouflage.

Were this said to Lina in her usual form, it would surely invite even more stares.
However, at present, Miyuki and Lina's usual features have been replaced by that of two
moderately attractive women. The previous praises of "outstanding beauty" would
certainly fall as pure flattery on the ears of third-parties.

"O-oh, please. Don't exaggerate."

They spared Lina and just took that shy blurt reply of hers as her own way of following
up with their remarks.

Tatsuya made sure to close his arm around Miyuki's waist just to avoid it all seeming like
a pickup act.

"It was more like the relics were the target of attention than us."

Tatsuya adds on to his previous answer in a hushed voice. With his voice so close to her
ear, Miyuki eyes widen in reflex, but she manages to keep her voice from escaping.

"The Relics? The [Key] and the [Compass], you mean!?"

Miyuki, like Tatsuya, spoke in a low voice, but her tone still overflowed with
astonishment. She nevertheless kept it subdued under her bashful act, as if she had just
been fed a compliment.

"I should add too that I got the impression that they seemed to know about the relics."

"…Who could they possibly be?”

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Lina and Miyuki have their appearances altered through [Parade], as stated earlier.
Similarly, Tatsuya is made unrecognizable by his perception inhibiting magic [Aidoneus].
It could very well be an increased vigilance against foreigners given the current
tensions at the border.

Even then, there are plenty of foreign tourists besides Tatsuya and company. One would
then be led to wonder about why they are being watched in particular, maybe their
disguises have been seen through somehow.

But if it is the "relics" that are drawing the attention, then that narrows down the nature
of those monitoring them. Either they are also looking for Shambhala, like Tatsuya's
group, or they are from a camp that interferes with the search for it. It would be one or
the other. Either way, they almost certainly must have knowledge about Shambhala.

"They are probably involved. That's convenient."

"Tatsuya-sama…?"

The smile on Tatsuya's face couldn't be described as particularly benign, leaving Miyuki
to stare at him quizzically.

The thought that crossed his mind was hardly a mystery, also neither did it fall in any
sort of twisted idea. It simply aligned favorably with their interests, as he so said.

Right now, they severely lack information. Although their aim is clearly set on the ruins
of Shambhala, there is still no concrete proof that the relics that sparked their quest are
really related to it. Even coming to Bukhara was not based on any solid evidence, it was
merely because the magic effect of the relics pointed them to this place.

Now that they are there, they encounter someone who is really interested in the relics
that they found in the course of their search. They focused on a black small stone with
only a seemingly well-formed shape and a white pebble with only a commonplace
design inscribed on it at a glance. Being the one who discovered them, Tatsuya knows
those are relics, but what about them? With that in mind, Tatsuya's deduction, that they
must know what these are for, or at least have some idea of what these are, wasn't too
far-fetched.

However, it would've been poor form to directly follow that deduction with a strategy to
wrest the missing information from someone who they weren't sure could be either
their friend or foe. Someone like Miyuki, who aspires to be a "model of goodness," would
find it challenging to measure up to such a standard. .

"Hyougo-san, is there any less crowded place in these ruins?"

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Tatsuya's question brought a simultaneous look of confusion to both Miyuki and Lina's
faces. The Samanid Mausoleum, where they are, is a well-known international tourist
attraction. There are so many tourists walking around left and right at the present
moment that it'd be hard to believe that there is any "less crowded” place around.

"Hm, let me see. I did in fact hear once of a patch of grass over there that tourists
generally don't go."

Hyougo's response added to the girls' surprise.

"That's weird."

"I think so too."

Lina whispers, to which Miyuki echoes in her low voice.

The fact that, near a tourist attraction where so many people come and go, there is a
particular spot where no one goes near. If there is really such a place, the two of them
suspected that there might be a non-natural force at work there.

"Shall I go ahead and take a look to confirm it?"

"No, let's head on like this."

Tatsuya presses onward, ignoring the concerns of Miyuki and Lina. He chose to move
the situation despite the risks with the uncertainty. He came to the conclusion that he
wouldn't get any more clues by just walking in the dark. So, if it's necessary to provoke
someone, even if they are not sure where the person aligns with, so be it.

It was unclear if the spot mentioned was still on the grounds of the Samanid
Mausoleum, nevertheless, the green tract of land was a short distance away from the
mausoleum, and it was certainly deserted. Tatsuya entered it without a second thought.
Miyuki and Lina made no attempt to stop him as they themselves followed behind.

No more than ten steps into the grass field, something unusual happened.

"Tatsuya-sama!?"

"Tatsuya, what is…"

The scenery all around suddenly changed.

"Is this a mirage? I can tell it's not an illusion created by manipulating the light where
we look. Miyuki, what do you see?"

"White… is this snow? No, it looks like… salt?"

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"And you Lina?"

"Probably the same for me. I guess this is salt… it looks like a white desert stretching
over here."

"Do you see the same thing, Hyougo-san?"

"Yes. What I see should be about the same."

After hearing from everyone, Tatsuya nodded in understanding.

"So everyone sees the same thing… Regardless of magical power, with visions vivid as
this, it doesn't seem to be your ordinary illusion."

"Tatsuya-sama, are you also trapped in this illusion!?"

Miyuki asked, concerned with clear shock.

She knew full well that Tatsuya was not all immune to illusions. She heard him recount
in numerous occasions how time and time again Yakumo's illusions tormented him
during their practices, and how because of it he almost lost in the one time they two
met in an actual battle.

At the same time, she also knows that Tatsuya has a high resistance to
mind-interference magic.

His mind; his spirit has an extremely strong outer shell. Tatsuya's innate magic
[Regrowth] has made him experience pain worth of hundreds of people, far too much
pain a human being would feel during all their lifetime. No, at this point, it could be
equivalent to thousands of lifetimes' worth. Among these, which were, without question,
many severe and fatal.

Being unable to die from the pain, all Tatsuya could do was endure it. As a result, he
unintentionally gained a level of mental fortitude that no ascetic practitioner could ever
hope to achieve.

As once a wise man once told people, "Moderation is of the highest order."

Excessive hardship by itself does not lead to enlightenment. Rather, it leads away from
awakening.

As a fist will grow rigid and rough from continuous beating of a training post, so a spirit
that has undergone excessive hardship will acquire an excessively hard outer surface.
And so it loses the flexibility essential to reach enlightenment. Might by itself creates no
master, no king, but merely a strong champion.
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Tatsuya's magics made him a champion of might only. Even without the artificial
magician experiments performed on him by his mother, Tatsuya would likely still have
lost his human emotions along with his weaknesses. Indeed, perhaps being deprived of
so many strong emotions might well have prevented him from losing the only real
emotion he only has.

But instead, Tatsuya has attained a robust spirit. No ordinary mind-interference magic
should have a hold over his mind, not even counter-magics. Hit him they could, but no
harm could be done. It scrapes at his skin, too weak to draw blood.

As a powerful mental interference mageist by nature, Miyuki could recognize it not only
with the knowledge she had learned but also with her intuitive sense of smell. She
believes that there is a possibility that even if she unleashes her Cocytus with all her
might, that it might rebound on Tatsuya.

She found it hard to believe that Tatsuya, of all people, would fall into the Illusion of an
unknown magician who they don't even know whose alliance falls to.

"If you mean if I see the vision of the white desert, yeah. I'm not sure if it's salt, though."

Tatsuya's reply was phrased rather distinctly from the question.

"Don't worry. I can still see reality."

"Ah. So that's what you mean…"

Miyuki looked down in embarrassment. She realized from his words that Tatsuya
deliberately let himself be caught on the illusion to observe it.

"It seems like they are only using illusions on us… So far, there is no sign of any attempt
to harm us."

As for Tatsuya, he discerned Miyuki's misunderstanding but chose to proceed without

directly addressing it.

"…So, if they don't have the intention to harm us, then they're not enemies, right?"

Uncomfortable with Tatsuya's language, Lina asked.

"I'm just saying that so long they haven't tried to hurt us mentally or physically”

"It just means they are not trying to attack you mentally or physically. In my opinion,
regardless of their intentions, if someone throws an illusion at me without asking, I
would still consider them an enemy."
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"But there's no harm done, is there?"

"By casting an illusion in someone, you're taking away their ability to see. You're, so to
speak, violating their integrity. Which would make you an enemy, no?"

Lina appeared convinced. She then whispered to herself, "best I be careful too, then".
After all, her [Parade] is also a type of magic that creates illusions.

"But, is this all? There wouldn't be any need to keep this up any longer."

Tatsuya, on the other hand, complained about the "enemy" who had yet to do anything
beyond showing them the desert of what appeared to be salt.

At such a moment, there came a new shift to the scene.

"Ah!”

First reaction was a gasp from Lina,

"Is that a… hawk?"

Then from Miyuki in a low voice, sounding as if she was dazzled by her own question.

It came at a time as if to contest Tatsuya's protests.

A white hawk suddenly appeared before them.

It did not land on the ground, but crossed in front of them and soared up back into the
sky. Then it circled narrowly in the sky above them. Though not directly over their
heads, the point it circled appeared to be about two or three dozen meters away.

"It kinda looks like it's pointing us somewhere."

"It looks like they're trying to lure us somewhere."

Miyuki and Lina had their own interpretations as to the reason, but they agree on what
it's trying to convey.

"There appears to be a small stone monument tucked away in the bushes. I suppose they
want us to go over there. ─Okay, I'll play along."

Soon after he said so, the illusion of the white desert faded away, giving way to reality.
Tatsuya dissolved the illusion with his decomposition.

"We don't need to play along with the illusion anymore. Let's go."

He starts to walk away.

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"…Was he able to cancel the illusion all this time?"

"Is that even surprising to you now?"

Lina said exasperated, to which Miyuki responded smugly.

"─Here."

Tatsuya called over to them. He had stopped in front of a natural hedgerow formed by
dense shrubs.

"Unusual to see such deep greenery in this area, isn't it?"

"I say it's weirder that there is a place around here that tourists don't step in."

Lina sneered at Miyuki's line.

"Tatsuya-sama, I was not aware that such a place existed. Does it have some kind of
ward to keep people away?"

"It sure seems so. After all, the warding is being maintained in this place."

Tatsuya's answer to Hyogo's question took Miyuki and Lina by surprise.

"Does that mean the caster is around? And the one from the illusion just now too?"

Lina's expression grew even more alarmed as she snapped at Tatsuya.

"They're probably working together."

When he responded to her, Tatsuya didn't seem to have much, if any, interest in the
caster themselves.

"…That's pretty deep."

His mind found the underground beneath these bushes much more compelling.

"Although there people are warded off from this place, it'd still be too conspicuous to dig
it out now. I guess we'll have to come back at night."

Tatsuya turned on his heel.

"Yes, sir."

Miyuki followed closely behind him, just as if she expected the turn of events.

Followed shortly by Hyogo, after a brief word and a light bow.

"─Wait a minute, guys! Are you sure that's okay? Is that okay?"
 35
But Lina called Tatsuya to a halt. She was mindful to keep it loud enough for others to
hear, but not so much of a shout.

"What do you mean?"

"Did you forget someone just put us in an illusion!?"

Lina was getting frustrated at Tatsuya's paltry responses.

"They are still maintaining their wards."

"Do you still want to leave as it is? Didn't we just find what we were looking for?"

"If you're worrying that they might take it, just look around; it's clear that they've been
warding this place for a long time. Though there is still the possibility that they might
have hurriedly dug it up after we got here… But even so, there's no point in worrying
about it. It's realistically not possible, it'd be too conspicuous to dig up the ground right
here and now."

"That's true, maybe, but…"

Deciding that "the conversation is over," Tatsuya resumes his walk out of the place.

Lina followed, looking back a couple of times at the bushes with lingering reluctance.

◇◇◇

Even the most famous ruins are deserted by tourists late at night. In their place, the
sight of the occasional soldier on patrol becomes commonplace.

Tensions are rising in the borders. Wary of potential agents and operatives, the Federal
Armed Forces of the Indo-Persian Federation and the Uzbekistan Armed Forces serving
under it have intensified their vigilance in various parts of the nation, including here in
Bukhara.

Yet, this city is relatively far from the border, where conflicts really happen - or faked -
so the soldiers' patrols are not that intensive. That is especially noticeable near the
ruins, which, being of little to no military importance, only see the very occasional
soldier.

Tatsuya and his 3 companions targeted one of those time gaps when the patrol would be
away to visit the ruins. Instead of the camper they used a small second-hand car of a
type popular among the locals. This car was arranged by a contact of Hyougo's that they
could abandon it if necessary and it would not stand out.
 36
"Hyougo-san, please wait for us here."

"As you wish, sir."

"Lina, keep the car and Hyougo-san safe."

"Tatsuya, do you think this will end up in a fight?"

"50-50, give or take."

Tatsuya answered Lina as he opened the passenger door.

"Miyuki, come with me."

After stepping out, Tatsuya opened the door behind the passenger seat where Miyuki
sat. The seat behind the driver, generally considered to be the seat of honor, would be
typically where she would be. This was a safety measure in case of an accident or a
terrorist attack, as it would be safer for her to be closer to Tatsuya.

"Yes, Tatsuya-sama."

Miyuki takes Tatsuya's hand and climbs out of the car.

"Miyuki, I can't go with you, so be careful."

"I'll be fine, Tatsuya-sama is with me. I'm more concerned about you, Lina, you'd be in
the most danger, wouldn't you?"

"But that's no problem to me. You're speaking with the former Sirius."

Lina poking her head out of the window and Miyuki slightly bent at the waist, both
smiled at each other with no sense of alarm.

"Seems like I was overthinking things, after all."

Tatsuya had a slight concern that the place had been dug up after they had left during
the day, but here it was just as it had been then, the bushes and the stone
monument-looking object, just like it was when the vision of the white hawk had guided
them there.

"And the enemy doesn't seem to be here…"

She said as much, yet seemed uneasy. Perhaps it was precisely the very lack of any
interference that stirred more Miyuki's suspicions.
 37
"We have too little to infer their agenda on the matter. For now, let's just focus on what
we came for."

"…Yes, you're right. It'll be best as you say."

A cloud of uneasiness still lingered on Miyuki's features, but she had regained some
composure in her wavering eyes.

Although, Tatsuya said they both should "focus on what they came for", when it was him
who would do the whole digging thing. Miyuki's magic simply didn't suit digging holes.

"Miyuki, I'll leave the covering to you."

"Of course."

At Tatsuya's request, Miyuki activates her magic and covers the entire surrounding area
with a consciousness induction magic.

Her specialty is actually not the cooling magic (Deceleration in the oscillatory system of
magic) that she's famous for, but it falls on the Mental Interference type magic.
Something she found too difficult to control reliably until her High School days. Now,
having refined this skill, Miyuki gradually became able to use other low-level magics of
the type that are not based on [Cocytus].

While illusions are more Lina's domain, Miyuki offers means of creating a magical field
that produces an effect of cognitive inhibition, where even if you see something with
your eyes, you are compelled to believe that you haven't actually seen it.

Tatsuya confirmed the "cover" to be in effect with his Information Body Perception
ability [Elemental Sight] and then got into the excavation work.

A narrow path appeared amidst the dense bushes. This wasn't the vegetation making
way on its own, but a path created to the destination after decomposing the obstacles.

The path led to an empty space. Tatsuya walked to the end of this path he had created
and stopped there.

Tatsuya's attention turned to the ground beneath his feet. The following moment his
body proceeded to sink into the ground. It was actually the result of the dirt under his
feet being decomposed, deepening the hole he was then falling into.

This went on until he was completely out of sight, at which point Miyuki scuttled over to
the edge of the open hole. She bent over at the knees and peered down into the shaft,
then operated a magic to manipulate the airflow.
 38
The noxious gasses, produced from the decomposition of the molecular composites that
made up the soil, were pumped out, and fresh air filled Tatsuya's surroundings. He
looked up in a sign of appreciation to Miyuki then resumed his descent deeper into the
earth.

Starlight has long ceased to reach him. According to his Information Body Perception
ability, he has currently reached 30 meters in depth. Unfortunately, Tatsuya couldn't tell
specifically what time period of strata he has reached, but he may have delved as far
back as millennia or even tens of thousands of years in the distant past.

(Should be around here)

Tatsuya stopped when he reached a little past 32 meters in his journey down below the
surface.

He stared at the wall of his shaft for a moment, then reached out with his right hand at
chest level.

Little by little, his right arm inched deeper into the wall. His hand worked much more
carefully than when he was digging down the hole.

Tatsuya stopped when his arm was buried up to the elbow.

He remained in that state and didn't pull out his arm, like that, he activated his magic.

A horizontal tunnel opened in the shaft's wall. Rather than a circular hole centered on
his right arm, it took the form of a rectangular opening about the length of his buried
arm.

Ahead was a flat stone wall, Tatsuya's right hand rested on its smooth surface.

He pulled a small knife from his pocket.

Then inserted the blade into the upper part of the stone wall.

Light didn't reach him at the bottom of this hole, but he could "see" a thin slit that ran
along the surface.

With slight resistance, the blade sank into the rock crevice.

And, with a sharp jerk, Tatsuya gouged it out with the knife.

Tatsuya caught the chipped stone from the wall with his left hand; a stone tablet.
 39
This stone was not part of the wall; it's a lid. Or rather, it was a "door".

Beyond the opening it covered was a small altar. That said, there were no lights or
offerings. But there was no other name to describe what there was in that cavity.

The enshrined object was a stone disk. Of the same size, same shape, only different in
color, as the other [Keys}. A small circular stone tablet, with an eight-petaled lotus on
one face and three adjacent circles on the other, made of a blue material with a surface
as smooth as glass.

Tatsuya returned to the surface with both the blue stone disk and the rectangular stone
tablet that served as the lid.

After making use of the magic [Leap] to get back above ground, Tatsuya then backfilled
the hole and restored the bushes to their original state with [Regrowth]. That done, he
returned to the car where Lina and Hyougo were waiting for them. Miyuki noticed the
stone tablets in his possession but held back her curiosity until they arrived at the car.

"Is that possibly a tablet like that one!?"

But no sooner had they gotten into the car that Lina beat her to it. Knowing Lina was
not at fault, Miyuki was careful not to show her sullen feelings.

Incidentally, by "that one", Lina meant the "Guru's Tablet" that was unearthed on Mt.
Shasta on North America's West Coast. That being a tablet that has magic recorded on it,
which a mageist could use to learn it. Since they only have one example so far, they
can't say for sure what kind of magic others have in store for them. However, if they
were to base on that one instance, they could expect highly advanced and effective
magic. And Tatsuya and company believe that this relic derives from an ancient
civilization with access to magic that has never before been documented.

"No, no. I don't think so. This is not another [Guru's tablet], although I do believe it has
some magical power in it. It has only ancient-style magic engraved on its surface,
though."

Alas, Tatsuya's answer was not quite what Lina had hoped for.

"So, do we mark this as a failure? Coming here and all was a waste of time?"

Lina grumbled discontentedly with a disappointed frown.

"Didn't you find something else?"

 40
Miyuki bit on the opportunity and asked right away. She came across sounding a bit
restless, perhaps because she was determined not to let anyone get ahead of her this
time.

"I in fact did. Here it is."

Tatsuya presented the blue stone disk without any fanfare.

Miyuki and Lina peered at the small stone resting in Tatsuya's palm, so closely that their
foreheads nearly collided.

"The design is identical… The back is too?"

To answer her question, Tatsuya flipped the stone tablet over.

"…So, it's a [Key] of a different color?"

"You might be not so far off the mark to think it's a [Key]."

Tatsuya responded to Miyuki's guess with a query that fell just short of direct
agreement.

The answer came off as somewhat cryptic, but soon enough, Miyuki's face lit up with an
"Oh" of realization.

"Did this stone move, too?"

Said Miyuki oozing with expectancy, to which Tatsuya nodded, "You guessed it."

"This new [Key] pointed west from here."

"Are we going there to check it out?"

Miyuki smiled at the enthusiastic Lina and tried to appease her, "It's already too late to
go out today."

"We won't be staying here for much longer. We will set off first thing in the morning."

Thanks to Tatsuya's follow-up, there wasn't any argument from Lina.

So all four returned to the hotel in the self-propelled car.

◇◇◇

True to his word, early in the morning of the next day, the four of them left the hotel in
their camper this time.
 41
The Blue [Key] led them to the western suburbs of Bukhara, to the Chor-Bakr
Mausoleum, a ruin that is also known as [Necropolis].

In this land lined with Islamic mosques and towers, they had a recurrence of the
experience at the mausoleum yesterday.

They found themselves again inside the vision of a spanning white desert, salt until their
eyes couldn't see it anymore. And then came the white hawk soaring in the sky, as if
beckoning them to come with it.

Whether the product of time or having an acting hand to it, they found another altar
hidden deep underground, and from there Tatsuya obtained the Yellow [Key].

Back at the hotel, Tatsuya, Miyuki, and Lina gathered around a table in Tatsuya's room.

Atop the table lay the white, blue, and yellow disk stone tablets, and the black,
octagonal, stone tablet. These are the three [Keys] they obtained here in Bukhara and
the [Compass] unearthed at Mount Shasta.

"It doesn't seem to move, does it…?"

As said Miyuki in a troubled voice, neither the [Keys] nor the [Compass] stopped
responding, this has been the case since yesterday. They do actually move. The [Keys]
only point to each other, and nowhere else.

"…So this is it?"

Lina asks, not at anyone in particular, unable to hide her disappointment. Judging from
the current situation, it seemed all the relic's movements had the final objective of
gathering the three [keys].

"This would have been a very exaggerated goose chase if it all ends with these [Keys].
There must be a next stage we haven't seen yet."

Tatsuya's words sound much like wishful thinking. But even if hope was a big factor, it
wasn't at all unfounded.

The [Compass] was an object that worked on a global scale. In comparison, the three
[Keys] they found as a result seemed to be of very little value. While it possessed a
certain degree of power, it did not evoke the same sense of danger as the [Guru's Tablet]
did.
 42
"I believe we'll have to figure out what's next from here on out on our own. If you two
don't mind, can we discuss what we'll do next tomorrow? I want to spend the night
giving some thought to it."

"Please take all the time you require. I will accompany you wherever you lead me."

Miyuki answers without a moment's delay. She even finishes her sentence in a flash, as if
to state that she will not accept any objections.

"…A night is really no big deal. And I'm sure you'll be able to figure something out,
Tatsuya."

Lina sounded a touch off, perhaps as a result of being overwhelmed by Miyuki's beaming
spirit.

"Then, Tatsuya-sama, we'll leave you to it. Good night."

"Till tomorrow, Tatsuya."

Miyuki bowed politely, Lina casually waved, and they left for their own room.

◇◇◇

Next morning. After inviting Miyuki and Lina to his room and finishing their room
service delivered breakfast, Tatsuya spread out a map of Bukhara on the table. After
calling Miyuki and Lina to his room and finishing room service breakfast, Tatsuya spread
a map of Bukhara on the table. Considering the map was displayed on a white cloth
spread on the table with a projector, "projected" would be a better description.

The Blue and Yellow [Keys] were positioned on the map corresponding to where each
was discovered. The White [Key] still rested on Tatsuya's hand.

"The first thing that struck me was the fact that we found the White [Key] in a very
different condition than the other two."

"By condition, what do you mean? You're speaking about how we found the others
underground and this one at the bottom of the lake?"

Lina asked without reservation, and Tatsuya nodded to her, "That's part of it."

"Then, if not just the local itself… then it's also about the state it was in when we found
it, isn't it?"

"Yes. That is something I'm more intrigued by."

 43
Tatsuya gave a resounding agreement to Miyuki's guess.

"The Blue and Yellow ones had been set in places specially designed to keep them, they
even had tight seals to them. The White [Key], on the other hand, was just sitting in the
dirt."

"From what I can see, compared to the other two, the White one seems to have been
hidden in a hurry…"

"I can't confirm to you whether who hid it did it in a hurry or not, but I think you are
right to assume that."

Tatsuya gave another confirmation to Miyuki's speculation.

"─So what you're trying to say is that, maybe the White [Key] was originally in a different
place?"

"Again, I can't say for sure if it was moved or not, but I believe it's fair to assume that it
should have originally been in a different location. Which, if we can find it, may be the
key to deduce our next step in our search."

Tatsuya dared to use the word "key" to stand for "clue".

"Skip the fancy stuff. Where do you think it is, Tatsuya?"

"Here."

Tatsuya said as he placed the White [Key] on the northwest part of the suburbs.

In doing so, the three [Keys] aligned to form an equilateral triangle on the map.

Miyuki and Lina looked in awe at the all too natural result.

"─Tatsuya-sama. Do you mind if I ask how you arrived at this arrangement?"

Miyuki reservedly asked for elaboration.

"According to the five elements system that we Japanese are familiar with, Blue is East,
Yellow is Center, and White is West."

Saying so, Tatsuya moved the White [Key] to extend a horizontal line connecting with
the Blue and the Yellow.

"However, the mandala on the Kalachakra Tantra, which is the foundation of this search,
is arranged a little differently. Blue is east, Yellow is west and White is north."

Tatsuya moves the White [Key] upwards on the map.

 44
"And if you put them as three adjacent circles, you get an equilateral triangle. You trace
a line connecting the Samanid Mausoleum and Chol Bakr and run another line from the
center to what would be the northern vertex of the equilateral triangle; That brings us
to this point."

Tatsuya brought the White [Key] back to where he initially placed it.

There was no objection from Lina; Miyuki no less.

"…And what is there on this spot?"

Miyuki asked Tatsuya after staring at the map for a while.

"A school building of the IPU Federal Magic University of Uzbekistan."

Miyuki and Lina's eyes widened at Tatsuya's answer.

 45

Chapter 2
[Ruins]

August 18, Wednesday. Tatsuya and company arrived at the northwestern outskirts of
Bukhara on the night after acquiring the Yellow [Key] at Chol Bakr.

Two universities can be seen from the car. One is the campus of the Bukhara State
University of Biotechnology. The other is the Uzbekistan campus of the IPU Federal
University of Magic, which opened after the war.

The University of Hyderabad, where Chandrasekhar holds a teaching position, is a

general university that contains a Department of Magical Engineering. Federal
Universities are more akin to Colleges of Magic, where the focus is to foster magicians.
Although the University of Hyderabad is the preeminent institution for magical research
in the Indo-Persian Federation, the Federal Institutions are the ones that produce the
most magicians for the federal government.

IPU was formed as a federal state soon after the war, driven by the pressing need to
challenge players such as the New Soviet Union and the Great Asian Union. The
integration was headed by Iran, who changed its name to Persia after becoming a
powerhouse in West Asia during the war, and India, a major power in South Asia. As
such, their names reflected the current name of the nation.

Owing to the circumstances of its origins, there was an ongoing internal struggle for
dominance between the Indian and Persian factions within the IPU. The Persian faction
does not appreciate the concentration of talents in the University of Hyderabad, situated
in former India. The Indian faction also did not like the idea of having its rival faction try
to undermine its influence in such a situation. This was the context in which the IPU
Federal Universities of Magic were established in each of the countries that make up the
federation.

Tatsuya and his group's goal is to sneak into the campus of the Federal University of
Magic and obtain any artifact from Shambhala, or at least a clue to it. That said, they had
no conclusive proof that what they were looking for could be found here. This place
came out of a mere guess, based on too little evidence. They would have preferred to
have gathered more material to supplement their theory, and then made full
preparations for the infiltration itself.
 46
The reason they haven't done so is that they were in a hurry. This morning, while
gathering the critical information to plan their upcoming infiltration with Miyuki and
Lina, Tatsuya received a phone call from Fujibayashi, who remained in Japan, urging
him to return.

Half a month had already gone by since he departed from Japan under the pretext of
attending the signing ceremony between Magian Society and FEHR. While there is the
concern of Tatsuya and Miyuki studies, their current social standing in the Japanese
Magic Community doesn't allow them to be both away from Japan for so long. Tatsuya
also had his position as a military deterrent to contend with, less he wanted to seek
displeasure from certain figures of influence behind-the-scenes.

Tatsuya himself was self-aware that he had been stretching the limits of his stay in a
foreign country for some time. Hence, he decided to make his move tonight, even if it
meant taking a chance.

"Hyougo-san. If there is any sign of danger, please do not worry about us and leave on
your own."

"As you wish, sir. If it comes to that, I will be waiting at the agreed upon point.
Tatsuya-sama, Miyuki-sama, Rina-ojou-sama, please be careful."

After being seen off by Hyougo from the car, the three of them headed for the Federal
University of Magic.

◇◇◇

Getting into the university grounds was no daunting task for the three of them. Tatsuya
and company were able to clear the area without difficulty, regardless of the security
devices in place to deal with the use of magic. For long Tatsuya had excelled in using
magic without being detected, and Miyuki, after releasing Tatsuya's seal, she regained a
great deal of control over her magic and no longer emitted superfluous psion waves.
Lina's [Parade] is also proven to operate wonders under sensors. Even though the
sensors installed in this facility are far more sensitive than those installed in places like
military facilities, for example, the three of them passed undetected.t

─However.

"We're being watched."

 47
Tatsuya muttered in a hushed tone shortly after taking out the three [Keys] from his
waist pouch to check for reactions from the ruins. It seemed to be more of a soliloquy
from his part, but it was clearly intended for Miyuki and Lina to hear.

Miyuki wordlessly readied herself, and Lina inquired, keeping her voice low, "Where?"
while rapidly surveying the area.

"Over there."

Without motioning with his hand, Tatsuya answers Lina with a glance at the direction.

At the end of his gaze was the rooftop of the three-story school building.

"Should we go there?"

"No."

Miyuki asks if they are going to try to make contact with the wardens, to which Tatsuya
rejects the idea without gestures.

"They are reacting to a different location."

"They" would be the White, Blue, and Yellow [Keys]. He previously expected that only the
White Key would show a response on this location. As it turned out, all three [Keys]
showed strong reactions.

Since they did not exhibit this kind of reaction when outside the walls encircling the
premises, it tells that there must be some kind of system in this university that works in
relation to the [Keys]. Likely a warding of some sort.

Whether it is set upon the walls or in the land itself it's unclear. Still one can assume that
the construction of the building of the Magic University on this land was probably not a
coincidence. Be it the government, an official, a school official, or a local landowner,
regardless of who influenced the decision to build the school building, they must have
known ─ if not just about the [Keys] ─ about ancient magical relics in general.

In light of his recent experiences in Bukhara, if there are any relics or artifacts, they're
bound to be found deep underground, and the response of [Keys] in Tatsuya's hand seem
to agree with that assessment.

Now, did they put a school building on top of it to hide the artifact? Or perhaps it was to
create a receptacle where young people with high magical qualities could gather for the
purpose of supplementing the relics with Psions and Pushions?
 48
Regardless, Tatsuya decided that the relics (or artifact) are the priority over the
watchers, so they headed for the building that is supposed to be the warehouse.

Unfortunately, it appears that the watchers do not intend to let them pass so easily.

The university suddenly disappeared from the sight of the three of them.

The night sky was clear. The moon loomed near full in the firmament Moonlight bathed
the desolate white desert spanning before Tatsuya and the others.

"Tatsuya-sama?"

"This one is a quite powerful illusion. Using a tricky system to boot."

Tatsuya sweeps his right hand in the air, as if he were clearing away a plume of smoke.

The view of the university is brought back at the same time.

A second later, however, the landscape is once again replaced by the nightscape of the
white desert.

"Just as I thought."

Tatsuya gave a small nod of understanding.

"…Is this perhaps using the same principle as Phalanx?"

"Glad you picked up on that."

Tatsuya's facial expression did not move as he replied to Miyuki, but the slight inflection
in his voice suggested that he was genuinely impressed by Miyuki's perspicacity.

"Then, in that sense, do they have a next illusion ready on standby, with the assumption
that the illusion will be erased?"

"Though it's not being carried out by a single mageist. There are at least three or more
people coordinating with each other here."

Tatsuya acknowledged Lina's conjecture by way of supplementing it, then once again
brushed off the illusion.

Again, within a brief time span, the same pattern of events repeated itself.

"It would be quick and sure to just get rid of all the casters…"

Tatsuya mutters with a dispassionate tone of voice.

"Tatsuya-sama. I apologize if this seems presumptuous, but…"

 49
"I know. I won't kill them."

These two don't reject murder in this context out of a sense of guilt. Nor is out of fear of
coming into conflict with the country's judicial authorities. Rather, it was a concern that
they might need the cooperation of these "enemies" of today later on.

They are currently ill-prepared and severely short of information. This would be an
extremely irresponsible decision, and Tatsuya was not willing to make it. Normally, he
would have preferred to conduct a comprehensive investigation and narrow down the
survey sites, but time constraints made this impossible.

Without the necessary preliminary research, what remained was to gather information
in situ. To obtain said information, which includes exactly what the enemy wants to
keep a secret, they may have to make a move to spur things into motion.

Unfortunately, given many factors at play, there was no surefire way to handle the
situation at hand.

"This is a bit bothersome, but let's try a contest of attrition."

Tatsuya muttered mostly to himself, not really in response to Miyuki.

Same time his mood shifted. His countenance before had reflected his mind, steeling
itself for any battle that might come, now has taken a step further; He is in battle, and
his expression shows that.

The illusion vanishes, reality takes over. No hand waving from him, not a single finger
moving. No psion light. From all appearances, he is just standing there.

As before, Illusion takes hold soon after.

Sooner it is back, sooner the false landscape is wiped out.

And from there it went on.

A fresh coat of illusion covers reality, and reality emerges as the illusion is washed away.
The cycle continued for seconds.

Miyuki felt dizzy, her eyes darted around when each scenario took place, and again and
again as the battle unfolded. Lina felt nauseous, akin to severe seasickness.

Forgetting about the risks, both closed their eyes. Otherwise, the visual assault would
have been unbearable. By closing their eyes, they could not feel anything. It seemed that
this illusion acted upon the act of seeing.
 50
The quiet night is back once they close their eyes.

It made it hard to imagine such a fierce battle of magics was taking place just nearby.

In part because Tatsuya played his part in the conflict with utmost silence and
solemnity.

"─It's fine to open your eyes now. There are no signs of new magics being activated. No
signs of hostility either."

Tatsuya's composed voice reaches Miyuki and Lina's ears after the "quiet night" that
transposes for dozens of seconds, minutes, or possibly even hours it seemed.

There were no signs of the intensity of combat, no excitement, just a calm tone of voice.

Miyuki opened her eyes straightaway and Lina did so fearfully.

The scenery spread out before their eyes was that of the light of a full moon illuminating
none other than the university they are in. Though it was from another country, there
was a certain sense of comfort and familiarity. Perhaps it was because it was a
university first and foremost, and they shared a common atmosphere that transcended
national borders. Or maybe it is because this is a " University of Magic".

"How are you two feeling?"

"I'm fine."

Miyuki didn't sound to be putting on a brave face.

"I'm all right, too."

Lina was still a tad pale, but she didn't appear to be so stricken as to warrant a break.

Judging that there was no issue, Tatsuya resumed his progress toward ─ at least what
he believed to be ─ a warehouse.

Naturally, given the hour, the building was locked. At first glance, it appeared to be a
simple cylinder lock, but upon close analysis with Elemental Sight, it was revealed that it
used a combination of biometric and mechanical locking mechanisms. It has a built-in
security system that, if opened by any means other than the key, would set off an alarm,
and if the security device was debilitated, it would also notify the owner of an
abnormality.
 51
Posed with this challenge, Tatsuya decided to just destroy the whole door. The security
system is wired to the perimeter of the door and not to the door itself. He reduced most
of the door to dust, leaving 10 centimeters of the outer portion.

"I still can't get over how foul those magic of yours are, Tatsuya."

Lina grumbled at Tatsuya, after the same proceeded to lead them through the hole he
had made with [Decomposition] and then restored the dust back into the door it was
with [Regrowth], leaving everything as it was without a trace. She didn't mean it, of
course, but there is true to the fact that she felt envious.

"Lina."

Miyuki called out in a low voice to remind her not to make any unnecessary noise.

"Don't worry about it."

Tatsuya covered for Lina for some reason. They soon understood why.

The building was definitely a warehouse, with containers neatly arranged on tall shelves
lined up, ready to be moved in and out with a forklift.

"Should we take the fact you're not attacking us as a sign that you're open to
negotiations?"

Tatsuya inquired in Uzbek towards the other side of those shelves.

"That's our intention."

The reply came back in fluent Japanese, no doubt far better than Tatsuya's Uzbek.

"Then how about we start by you showing yourself?"

Tatsuya didn't insist and switched to Japanese as he called out to them.

Suddenly the lights went on in the warehouse; Miyuki and Lina raised their hands to
shield their eyes, Tatsuya only squinted slightly.

From the shadows of the containers, men whose features are a combination of East Asia,
particularly Mongolian, and Eastern European. Totaling eight, they ranged in age from
mature to elderly. There was nothing distinctive about their clothing, no religious
overtones, at least. It's what you'd normally see people wearing in theBukhara city
center.

"We are the [Guardians of the Ancestral Legacy]."

 52
The gray-haired man, the oldest of the group of eight men in appearance, identified
themselves as such.

"Since you answered in Japanese, I take it you know who we are, don't you?"

Tatsuya responded, implying that there would be no need to introduce himself.

We indeed do. You are a visitor from Japan."

Maybe there is a religious restriction on addressing people by their first names, or

maybe it is just a tradition.

Either way, that was of little harm, and Tatsuya decided to proceed with the
conversation as it was. Incidentally, Tatsuya chose a moderately polite language solely
as a minimum courtesy to the person who, although attacked him out of the blue, there
was no harm done, but mostly because they were stepping into his territory with no
permission.

"If you don't mind me asking. The [Legacy] you mentioned you are guardian's of, is it
related to Shambhala?"

"Do our estimated visitors believe in the legends of Shambhala?"

"We came here partly to find out for ourselves."

The old man and his fellow men looked at each other. They didn't appear to be
exchanging words, but they seemed to have no trouble communicating with each other.

"As our visitor has indicated, the Legacy we safeguard is the hidden treasures of
Shambala."

The old man answered more candidly than Tatsuya had expected.

"Now if I may take our turn to inquire. Are we to understand that our esteemed visitor is
looking for the legacy of Shambhala?"

"You are correct."

"May I ask what would be the purpose?"

The old man in particular didn't hold a sharp gaze at Tatsuya, unlike his companions,
who locked gazes of intense severity on him.

"For the time being, just as was already said. I came searching for the ruins, and if
possible, the relics of Shambhala."
 53
A hint of animosity arises amongst the most close to their prime in the old man's
company.

The old man raised one hand to curb them.

"…Let's change the question. What would be our esteemed visitor's purpose after
obtaining the legacy of Shambala?"

The old man's composure remained undisturbed.

"I have not decided if I'll obtain it."

Tatsuya's demeanor was the same from the beginning. In a favorable light, he is calm
and collected. Arrogant and impertinent, to some.

"May I ask how is that?"

"Even if I found a relic, I haven't decided whether I'll keep it or not. If it is something that
is not harmful to society, I will take it with me."

"And if it is harmful?"

"I'll hide it."

"…Destroying or sealing it away do not seem to be in consideration."

"Because that's not something I can dictate on my own."

Confusion spreads among the [Guardians of the Ancestral Legacy].

"My decision is limited to whether it's harmful or not. I can't arbitrarily destroy the
heritage of a civilization. I don't have that kind of right."

Tatsuya explained, not concealing his own intentions.

"As for sealing it, I simply don't have the skills to do that."

"So, I ask you, esteemed visitor… Do you intend to bear the entire responsibility for your
decision all by yourself?"

The old man peers at Tatsuya with an appraising look.

Maybe assessing his humanity or maybe his capabilities.

"Are you referring to the [Legacy] that are assessed to be harmless, but end up causing
harm to society?"
 54
The old man didn't make any particular head gesture, but his expression was one of
affirmation and an invitation for him to continue.

"In that case, I'd be accountable for those who committed the deed that harmed society."

"…So one cannot be held liable for the acts of others, is that right?"

"If we are talking about possibility, we must also consider the case where a legacy that
we judge to be harmful is actually something that may greatly benefit society. By that
same logic, we would limit our decisions by the fear of simply the, "possibilities".
Nothing would be done if that was the case."

"……"

"I have no intentions of becoming a wise recluse just yet."

"…May we ask for a moment?"

With that, the old man formed a circle with his fellow [Guardians of the Ancestral
Legacy] and began to discuss between themselves.

Tatsuya, as well as Miyuki and Lina, waited silently for their conclusion.

Vehement arguments could be heard. The snippets that leaked out were not in the
modern Uzbek language that Tatsuya knew. Neither was it Hindi, Farsi, or English. It was
a language he did not understand at all.

Their discussion didn't take long before it was over. Then the old man turned to Tatsuya
again and opened his mouth.

"─Esteemed visitor, we are not sure if this will be what you are looking for, but we have
been told that the legacy we have been protecting is here."

His phrasing came across as peculiar.

"You have never seen it with your own eyes?"

"We have never verified by ourselves, no."

"But it's here, isn't it?"

"Yes, right here."

The old man then pointed to his feet.

"Underground, huh?"
 55
By his tone, Tatsuya didn't find this surprising.

"But didn't it get unearthed when they were building the foundation for the school
building?"

"That was our expectation as well when we lured the university to be built on this site."

The old man speaks back ruefully.

"Is it that deep?"

Tatsuya asked, this time sounding mildly surprised. At the Samanid Mausoleum he had
to reach a depth of over 30 meters to reach the key, it's not usual to see deep
foundations, at least, reaching that deep. With pile driving, where a ready-made pile is
driven into the ground on-site, there is a risk that the archaeological remains may have
been destroyed. But, if it's the case of in-place drilling, where a hole is drilled on the
building site and the pile is created, there should be no need to worry of damage.

"They didn't dig very deep during construction."

"I guess because earthquakes aren't as common around here."

There was no verbal response to Tatsuya's point. There was just a shared rueful mood in
the air.

"…Since we couldn't directly confirm the existence of the legacy ourselves, we made
them build this warehouse in place of a lid to prevent it from being pilfered. We have
been content with that for the time being."

"As such, you are aware of the location. Didn't you ever think of excavating it yourselves,
besides the university construction part? Even if it's a financial question, I'm sure there
are a number of alternatives."

"…Certainly, we did have the opportunity to get to the [Vault]. But, without the key, we
would never have been able to get inside, anyway. And, if I'm not mistaken… it's the very
[Key] that you possess."

"You mean this?"

Tatsuya opened his hand to show the old man the three [Keys] he had been clutching in
his left hand until now.

"Ooh… Precisely. May I ask how our esteemed visitor came to find the lost [Moon Key]?"

"Moon Key? What's that?"

 56
He vaguely knew from the old man's gaze, but Tatsuya asked, just to be sure.

"Excuse me. I refer to the white stone among the [Keys] that you hold."

"I assume the others have a name as well…"

"The yellow is called the [Sun Key], the blue is the [Sky Key]."

"Moon, Sun and Sky, huh. So these three are actually the key for a relic themselves?"

Though said in an impersonal tone, Tatsuya gave a wry smile at the coincidence, "I
never would have guessed that they were really keys."

"According to the tradition passed on from our ancestors, the door to the [Vault] cannot
be opened without all three, Sun, Moon and Sky [Keys]. But it has been long believed
that the [Moon Key] has been lost."

"For a long time?"

"As far as what has been passed down, more than a thousand years… Maybe lost for as
long as the [Vault] had been closed. Maybe hidden, so that the [Legacy] would not fall
into anyone's hands."

"Then there would be no point in having [Keys]."

The old man dropped his gaze that had been fixed on Tatsuya. It didn't feel that Tatsuya's
words hurt him in some way. The old man's eyes seemed to be gazing off somewhere far
away.

"…The Māyā 1Ordeal is granted to whoever holds the [Keys] of the [Sun], [Moon] and
[Sky]."

"Māyā? You mean the power the Hindu gods command to create illusions? By ordeal do
you mean the illusions you set up before in Ismail Samani​, Chol Bakr, and just earlier?"

"Only those who overcome the ordeal should be shown the path to the Legacy."

The old man didn't answer the questions, but his proffered lines in the end fulfilled the
same purpose.

"Esteemed visitors from Japan. Thanks to you, we are finally relieved of this
never-ending duty."

Apparently the old man as well as the other were burdened by their role as [Guardians
of the Ancestral Legacy].
1
Illusion (幻力) with Māyā (マーヤー) as furigana.
 57
Even with that realization in mind, Tatsuya did not show any particular sympathy. He
merely voiced a "I see" and turned his attention to the floor to which the old man had
just pointed.

"Tatsuya. So, all those illusions were a test for the right to access this [Legacy]?"

"It seems so."

He answers Lina's question while keeping his eyes fixed on the floor, and far below
beyond it.

"So, we passed the test, right?"

"Yes, we did."

Now that it was Miyuki talking to him, Tatsuya spared her a glance, but it was only for a
short time. His attention was soon back to the floor, and then to the [Keys] in his left
hand.

"Ooh!"

The [Guardians] exclaimed with a mixture of surprise, anticipation, and admiration.

The [Keys] was emitting a dim but perceptible light to the naked eye.

One of them ran to a wall and turned off the light.

The glow from the [Keys] became apparent.

Tatsuya then took the [Compass] from the waist pouch with his right hand and laid it on
his left hand with the [Keys].

The light, which had previously been shining evenly in all directions, is now skewed.

Tatsuya moved in that direction; forward, to his left. As he slowly advanced in that
direction, the skew gradually shifted downward.

Until, at a certain point, it was pointing straight down.

Stopping there, Tatsuya returned the [Keys] and [Compass] to his waist pouch.

"Is it there?"

Lina, who couldn't bear to wait for what Tatsuya had been thinking, asked, nearly to the
point of grabbing him.

"Lina, calm down… Tatsuya-sama, will you be digging there?"

 58
Much like Lina, Miyuki was also losing her composure, and although it was not entirely
out of her realm of possibility, Tatsuya was the one who would be digging the mine,
given his better aptitude.

Naturally, that's what the person himself intended to do.

"I'll start right away. I'll call out when I find it."

"Understood." "We'll be waiting here!"

Miyuki's reply was accompanied by Lina's shout.

Tatsuya's body sank into the earth before their eyes.

The guardians froze in astonishment. It was even hard to tell if they were still breathing.
They were unable to take their eyes off Tatsuya's magic as it decomposed the floor and
then proceeded to decompose the ground beneath.

"…I never thought I'd see the day when I would see the very Māyā of Shiva with these old
eyes of mine…"

The old man representing [Guardians of Ancestral Legacy] exclaimed, overcome with
emotion.

The sentence he uttered was spun in their language, so neither Miyuki nor Lina could
understand what he said. The only words they could make out were "Shiva" and "Māyā".

"…Are those people Hindu?"

Lina whispered to Miyuki as soon as the question popped into her head.

"Tatsuya-sama mentioned that [Māyā] is a power of the Hindu gods, so I think there
must be a connection, even if they aren't specifically Hindu."

They kept the conversation low in volume, but not so much that the Guardians, who
stood in the immediate vicinity, could not hear them.

At very least, the Old man representing them could understand Japanese. But if any of
the others could, they didn't offer any response to Lina's and Miyuki's conversation.
Tatsuya's magic was at the forefront of their attention, and even if they had heard Miyuki
and Lina, they would not ever register it.

The feverish look in their eyes told that this was more than just a chance for them to
reach the [Vault], the remains that they for so long could not reach by themselves. But
 59
there was something of a religious, to the point of fanaticism, in the way they stared
intently at Tatsuya and the shaft he was digging, and the girls were afraid to ask any
questions directly.

Not long had passed until Tatsuya was emerging from the hole.

"Tatsuya, did you find it!?"

Lina shook Tatsuya for an answer, who used his flight magic to return to the surface
from the bottom of the shaft.

"Lina, please have some patience."

Miyuki pulled Lina, who was not literally "shaking", but just grabbing at Tatsuya, away
from him and stood where she was, before him.

"You don't have to be so jealous…"

"I'm not being jealous!"

In the joke, Lina took it with a straight face, backing up while saying, "Oh, scary…"

Miyuki clears her throat, seemingly recalling the watchful eyes of the third party, that is,
the [Guardians of the Ancestral Legacy] present, then tries a fresh start.

"Tatsuya-sama, was the excavation a success?"

"I found a stone chamber that I believe to be the site of a ruin. It is about three meters in
both height and width."

"It's surprisingly small…"

Lina muttered with a mixture of disappointment and surprise.

"What's inside is what's important."

He picked up on this murmur and delivered what could be either taken as consolation
or admonishment.

Tatsuya then moved to face the elder of the Guardians while Lina chimed, "Y-yeah,
you're right," as if to cheer herself up.

"I'm about to check it for myself, do you want to come along? I believe you are at least
entitled to it."

The old man's eyes widened. It took a slight pause and then he shook his head. That was
a gesture that matched the cultural norms that Tatsuya and company are used to.
 60
"We don't have the right to come in contact with the Legacy, we are the Guardians and
yet we have lost sight of a [Key]. We entrust the legacy to you, the prophesied bearer of
the [Keys] and bearer of Shiva's Māyā."

What is this Shiva's Māyā, anyway, Tatsuya wondered. It was more of a rhetorical
question at this point.

Next to him, Miyuki and Lina had a questioning look at that. Lina, in particular, seemed
eager to ask about it.

"I see. Then, I'll take you at your word."

But he didn't ask. Leaving little leeway for Lina to ask herself. There wouldn't be much
good in getting too deep into it, it seemed.

"You two are coming, right?"

Tatsuya turned around at the edge of the shaft and asked Miyuki and Lina.

"Yes." "You bet."

They both responded simultaneously

"I'll leave the lights to any of you. Use flight magic when you come after me, not
deceleration magic."

With that said, Tatsuya activated the same flight device he had used when he came out
of the shaft.

Then jumped down into the vertical tunnel.

They too activated their respective flight magic, and followed Tatsuya in turn; first
Miyuki and then Lina.

Tatsuya was the first to arrive at the base of the pit, followed by Miyuki and lastly, Lina. It
wasn't as cramped as one would be led to believe. The pit Tatsuya had cleared was wide
enough for the three of them to stand side by side.

It extended over fifty meters deep, and without the illumination via magic, courtesy of
Miyuki, the three of them would have been shrouded in utter darkness.

"─Is this the ruins?"

 61
Lina looked at the flat stone wall that lay ahead of her. A perfectly flat surface, without a
single distortion, smooth as if it had just been polished. Although you couldn't rule out
the possibility that it was natural, it was far more likely to be man made.

Only three circular depressions of approximately the same size, and situated about one
meter in height, marked the otherwise perfectly flat surface. So fine the three cuts, set in
an equilateral triangle, that seemed as if it had been carved out using modern tools.
Even if the surface of the stone wall was the product of natural occurring erosion, or a
process akin to a large-scale mineral cleavage, these depressions alone are clearly the
product of workmanship.

"I cannot say for certain that this is a Shambhala site. But this is where the [Keys] are
reacting."

"But even if it's not a relic from Shambala, doesn't this tell that there is at least…
something there?"

"That's what I would assume."

Miyuki asked, trying to sound encouraging, to which Tatsuya nodded as if to assure her,
"Don't worry."

"Then let's take a look inside. The cavity you mentioned is on the other side? You
mentioned earlier about a stone chamber."

Lina nudged Tatsuya, not even trying to hide her impatience.

"I couldn't see what was inside, though."

But the answer she got was totally unexpected, bringing both her and Miyuki to widen
her eyes in surprise.

"You couldn't?! Not even with your Elemental Sight?!"

Miyuki was especially flabbergasted, she was pale, all the blood had drained from her
face.

"There is a high-density of highly encoded information strewn around the inside of the
walls. Because of this, I can't quite properly read the information in that space."

"That sounds like the real deal to me!"

Lina was flushed with excitement. There is no way that a high enough concentration of
information to block access in the information dimension could have accumulated on
 62
its own. There was no doubt in Lina's mind that something of the Relic's or higher
nature was lying beyond this stone wall.

"How thick is this wall? Can [Molecular Divider] cut through it?"

"Relax, Lina, we can probably get inside without having to break it."

Tatsuya said so and took the [Keys] out of his pouch.

Lina follows Tatsuya with a curious stare, and she is not alone; Miyuki also looks at
Tatsuya with equal intensity.

The three circular indentations in the wall are arranged as an upward-facing equilateral
triangle.

Tatsuya fits the White stone disk, the [Moon Key], into the upper one.

"Fits right in…"

Lina mutters with a voice charged with enthusiasm.

Next, he inserts the Blue stone disk [Key of the Sky] into the right cavity, then the Yellow
stone disk [Key of the Sun] into the left cavity.

All three fit neatly. The size of the [Key] and dimensions of the cavity were a perfect
match, so the [Key] did not fall off the wall even when he took his hand away.
63
 64
Immediately after Tatsuya let go of the third and last [Key of the Sun], a slight vibration
coursed along the stone wall.

It lasted less than a second.

After it stopped, a part of the wall began to move.

A section of the stone wall measuring about two meters high and one meter wide from
the center where the [Keys] were fitted, just big enough for a person to pass through,
moved inward.

Simultaneously, all three [Keys] are ejected from the wall. Tatsuya swiftly catches all of
them in mid-air.

The block of the stone wall stopped after moving inwards for about 30 centimeters.
Then slid to the left. After the stone stopped moving, the three of them were presented
with a two-meter-high, eighty-centimeter-wide entrance.

"I'll make sure it's safe. Wait here."

Tatsuya's voice shook Miyuki and Lina out of their stupor.

"Please wait! It's dangerous!"

Miyuki rushed to stop Tatsuya.

"Hold on to this, just in case."

Tatsuya said as he handed the [Keys] to Miyuki.

"If something happens, use it to open the 'door'."

Confronted with Tatsuya's worry-free expression, Miyuki knew that, as usual, she
wouldn't be able to stop him.

"Alright. Please be careful."

Tatsuya stepped into the stone chamber without a hint of hesitation. Even after he
entered, the inside of the chamber was still pitch-dark. Perhaps he was making use of
sight beyond what the naked eye could see. Only the faint sound of footsteps came from
inside.

Approximately three minutes later, he was emerging from the stone chamber.

"There were also keyholes on the back of the door. It seems to be designed to be opened
from the inside as well."
 65
"So there isn't a chance of us getting trapped in there."

"It wouldn't still be a problem, even if that happens. The walls can be [Decomposed]
from the inside. [Reconstruction] is also possible afterwards."

"Then there's really nothing to worry about."

Tatsuya's words brought an almost palpable relief to Miyuki.

"Come on then, let's go inside."

Urged Lina with a look like could not wait to see what was to come.

The three of them entered the stone chamber in the order of Tatsuya, then Lina,
followed by Miyuki.

"By the way, I forgot to mention─"

Just as they all were entering the stone room, Tatsuya turned to address them.

As if on cue, they all hear a scraping sound from behind Miyuki and Lina.

Miyuki and Lina turn around at the same time in a panic.

The ominous creak was the sound of the stone door of the chamber closing.

"Hey! W-Wait!"

In a display of her agitation, Lina rushed to the direction of the door. Likely in an
attempt to make it out before it closes. Or perhaps with the intention of stopping the
boulder that is the door with the strength of her arms?

The door closed fairly fast. If the door is as heavy as it looks, closing at that speed would
be fatal if someone is caught between it and the wall. And they didn't have the option of
counting on the existence of a hypothetical safety mechanism.

"Lina, relax."

Tatsuya grabbed Lina's arm to hold her back in a natural reaction.

"Aaah!"

Lina screamed.

The rock door closed completely.

 66
The illumination that Miyuki had created with magic was outside the stone chamber.
Leaving the girls blind in complete darkness.

"W-wa-what are we going to do now! I don't want to die trapped in here!"

67
 68
"Calm down, relax."

"N-Now I'll have to use the [Molecular Divider]… Ah!"

Her last yelp was the effect of an impact on her forehead.

Courtesy of Tatsuya's finger flick to her forehead.

"Oow…"

"I'm telling you to calm down, Miyuki, light, please."

"R-Right."

Miyuki was also shocked by the closing of the door, but in her case, she lost the timing
to express her dismay because of Lina's fuss.

Following Tatsuya's request, the inside of the stone chamber was bathed by the newly
made lights.

He looked down at Lina with an expression of exasperation on his face.

"─The door seems to be set to close when a person with the [Key] enters into the stone
chamber. It appears to be made to work like this, so there's no need to be alarmed."

"Why didn't you say so first!"

Teary-eyed, Lina lashed out at Tatsuya, who stood unperturbed.

For once, Miyuki didn't criticize Lina's disrespect (?) for Tatsuya.

"My bad. Were you scared?"

"W-who? Me? I wasn't scared at all!"

"I just thought you wouldn't freak out about being locked in here."

"I just told you, I wasn't scared!"

"…All right, then. Let's just leave it at that."

"Hey, what do you mean by that!"

"Lina, it's time for you to calm down, and please Tatsuya-sama, don't tease her too
much."

Both looked like they wanted to say something, but both kept their mouths shut. They
both knew this was not the time to waste time on such things.
 69
"By the way, Tatsuya-sama. Is that on the back of the altar?"

It was obvious by looking, but Miyuki asked it to change the subject.

Precisely, it was obvious by looking.

What lay at the back of the stone chamber was clearly an altar.

Set on a platform about 1.2 meters high that extruded from the wall was a bowl and a
wand.

The bowl had a diameter of about 30 centimeters. It was transparent, probably made of
high purity quartz crystal.

The wand measured about 50 centimeters in length. If by the measure of length, a "stick"
would be a better suited designation, but the jeweled head fitted to the top end really
brought the image of a "wand" to mind, even if it was still a small one. The material it is
made of could not be identified. The pole resembled brass, but had the texture of wood
to the touch. The perfectly spherical, undistorted, gem sphere was probably made of
quartz glass. It was probably wrought quartz crystal, formed by hardening molten
natural high grade quartz. Yet, it had an unknown microstructure, that even with the
use of Tatsuya's Elemental Sight was impossible to fully appraise the material.

Another observation is that the length of 50cm of the wand was assessed by Elemental
Sight. Only the upper half of the staff is clearly visible, the lower half is embedded in the
altar.

"Ugh… How do we pull this thing out? How are we going to pull this out? It looks like it
might snap if we push it too hard…"

Miyuki swapped places with Lina and placed her hand on the wand, as the latter flushed
and breathed heavily.

"It doesn't seem to be coming out…"

In contrast to Lina, Miyuki didn't insist and promptly withdrew her hand from the wand.

"I give up. Tatsuya-sama, how would you pull it out?"

Miyuki's easy going demeanor was based on her conviction that Tatsuya would be able
to pull it out. Actually, the reason for all the struggle was simply because Lina had
pushed Tatsuya away when he was standing in front of the cane, saying "let me try it."

"It should work like this."

 70
He said, gripping the wand with his right hand and holding his left hand out over the
crystal bowl fixed to the altar.

As if filling the cup with sake, Tatsuya pours psions from his left hand.

The previously transparent cup is now suffused with shimmering rainbow-colored light.
This light shifted to the wand's jewel after a short delay.

As the light settled on the jewel, the resistance sewing the wand to the pedestal
disappeared.

"…It was a surprisingly simple mechanism."

"Yeah, I guess."

Tatsuya made light of Lina's costume of being a sore loser.

"Even I know that the figure of a goblet is used as a symbol of a receptacle of magical
power. But who would have thought that something that doesn't resemble an actual
goblet would be also used as a device to pour psions?"

The person herself knew she was a sore loser, which is why Lina mumbled her excuses
to herself. And Tatsuya wasn't too much of a bad sport to keep driving the point home.

The bowl on the altar did resemble a type of goblet: a large sized sakazuki, that many
Japanese are familiar with, but that is a digression.

"I wonder if this wand is the Legacy of Shambhala."

"I'd bet that is probably the right one."

Said Tatsuya then turned to look at the side wall.

Side by side, Miyuki and Lina bring their faces close to the wall.

"There seems to be a part where there are stone panels of different materials fitted
together…"

"And there is a subtle indentation in the panel… It looks like it might match up perfectly
with the jewel in that wand…"

"Very perceptive, Lina."

Tatsuya remarked in honest praise, no sarcasm or ridicule attached.

"Wha- Why now out of nowhere?"

 71
Lina was more confused than pleased by this.

"I already noticed that the curvature coincided with Elemental Sight, but to note that
with the naked eye… I'm honestly amazed."

"It was just by chance. It's no big deal."

Lina's discomposure was clear as day, probably unaccustomed to being praised by

Tatsuya, of all people.

"That panel… a stone tablet, that is, was the source of the high information density that
prevented observation from outside."

Lina was looking away in embarrassment, Miyuki, who looked at her with a hint of envy,
looked again at the panels, or stone tablets, that were fitted into the wall.

"There are six tablets on each of the side walls. The material appears to be the same as
that of the [Guru's Tablet]."

"You're right… There are more than one."

At Tatsuya's words, Lina's eyes flicked from side to side,

"The same as that stone tablet…"

Miyuki touched a stone tablet to confirm the feel of it.

"And if the concavity in it matches the curvature of the sphere of the wand, then I
suppose this is how it's used."

Saying that, Tatsuya pressed the wand's gem against the concavity of the stone tablet.

That by itself didn't cause anything to happen.

But the moment he poured psions from his right hand, which held the wand.

A buzz, as if hundreds of voices spoke at the same time, assaulted Miyuki and Lina.

Caught off guard by the bustling noises, both Miyuki and Lina covered their ears and
eyes and hanged their heads downward. However, this reflexive action did in no way
obstruct the voices. Having already tried shielding their physical senses of sight and
hearing, the girls realized that the "voices" were not a physical sound.

Upon the recognition of this, both simultaneously activated their respective defensive
measures against mental magic attacks.
 72
Miyuki deployed [Cocytus] to create a barrier that froze any psychic waves​that
attempted to come into contact with her consciousness. Lina used her [Parade] to set
the location of her mind to "somewhere other than here".

Having freed themselves from the influence of the onrushing thought-waves, they turn
to check on the safety of Tatsuya, who is in direct contact with the stone tablet that
seems to be the source of this phenomenon.

"Tatsuya-sama!?"

"Tatsuya, what's wrong!?"

They raised their voices in dismay after finding that their concerns had been right on
target.

There was something off about Tatsuya. He stood still like a statue, his body and
expression frozen in place. His eyes are unfocused, as if he is stunned, staring off into
infinity.

"Tatsuya-sama, are you okay?"

"Miyuki!"

Lina stopped Miyuki from running up and attempting to grab onto Tatsuya by holding
her from behind.

"Don't move him! I think Tatsuya's probably in a state of trance."

"A state of trance?"

"Yes. I had a colleague on STARS named Alec, he inherited the abilities of a shaman, and
this is a lot like him when he sometimes used to show his spirit possession techniques.
Alec told me that you should never move a shaman who is communing with spirits, that
is, in a state of trance. Tatsuya now looks just like that. So, I think it's better not to touch
him."

"But…"

"Tatsuya will be fine no matter what. I'm sure you know better than I do, don't you?"

"…Yess, you're right. I'm sorry for acting so out of control. And thanks for stopping me."

Seeing that Miyuki had collected herself, Lina let her go.

"Besides, if the ruins were so dangerous, there's no way he would have brought you
along."
 73
"I know. And I also know that Tatsuya-sama is not the kind of person to put himself in
danger he can't manage. It'll be okay… Yes. Surely, it'll be okay."

Saying this, Miyuki clasped her hands tightly together in front of her chest.

As if in prayer.

Tatsuya came back about four minutes later, or four minutes and sixteen seconds to be
exact. A few blinks and he was soon back to his regular state.

"My bad. I ended up making you worry.”

"Eh. No… you don't need to."

When Tatsuya came to apologize, Miyuki quickly tried to fake it.

"And you too Lina, I appreciate you for calming Miyuki down."

"Tatsuya, you…"

"Tatsuya-sama, were you by any chance conscious?"

"I could hear you two. But I was too busy processing the information that was pouring
in that I didn't have much chance to speak."

"Oh dear."

Miyuki covered her face with her hands when she heard Tatsuya's confession. She
assumed that with her eyes open, Tatsuya could not see or hear anything that was going
on.

"…I've shown an embarrassing sight of myself."”

The voice came in a squeak from beneath her covering hands.

She stayed like that for about 30 seconds.

"Thank you for worrying about me."

Seeing that her embarrassment had subsided, Tatsuya called out to Miyuki, who
hesitantly lowered the hands that had been covering her face, finally allowing the
conversation to proceed.

"─So, Tatsuya, what happened?"

 74
Lina cut right to the chase, she had been standing there with a blank expression until
Miyuki got out of her embarrassed stupor.

"The Legacy of Shambala was knowledge."

"Knowledge!"

"So that panel was really a [Guru's Tablet], after all?"

Lina shouted with apparent excitement, whereas Miyuki asked with a mixture of
expectation and concern in her voice.

The concern behind Miyuki's question stems from her suspicion in regards to the
[Guru's Tablet] and the way it installs magic, that this might also attempt to overwrite
the Magic Calculation Area at its own discretion.

"Not quite, I think. Although it certainly contained knowledge about an unknown magic,
it is not something that installs it automatically. It felt like a big dictionary… No, a whole
library worth of information, probably comparable to a small library crammed into that
single tablet. Perhaps we can find just as much in the other eleven."

"The same information?"

To Lina's question, Tatsuya shook his head in a "No."

"It's just a guess at the moment, but I'd say that each one contains an equivalent amount
of information about different things."

"In other words, it's like there are twelve libraries' worth of knowledge stored in here?"

"If that's true, then this could rival the collection of the University of Magic."

In response to Miyuki's inquiry, Tatsuya nodded firmly while adding to the speculation.

"It is really an enormous library…"

Tatsuya's answer elicited a hearty sigh of amazement from Miyuki's mouth. By itself the
digitized collection of the University of Magic is unmatched by the libraries of the days
when paper books were the norm.

"Did you get all that library's worth of knowledge in just a few minutes just now,
Tatsuya?"

"I think I have it in my head. But there are just too many entries for me to remember at
will."
 75
"…No doubt. You crammed that much into your head at once, I think you might need a
search engine for that."

Lina gave Tatsuya a look that was laced with a hint of sympathy.

"I'll take my time to sort it out. There is some information among it that I can't just
ignore."

"Was there something not good recorded there…?"

Miyuki stepped closer to Tatsuya, looking up at him with a look of concern on her face.

"I somehow expected this, but it turns out that among other things, the Legacy of
Shambala contains extremely dangerous magic."

"…Large-scale magic, comparable to even Strategic-Class Magic, as we thought?"

"Yes."

"And the data for it is here!?"

Lina asks with a sense of urgency in her voice.

"I can't say for sure yet. I've only established its existence. Therefore, we might have to
check all the tablets."

"I see, you have a point."

Miyuki agreed with understanding, but reluctance, as it was unavoidable. For her part,
she would prefer not having to see Tatsuya under that earlier state again, but she
couldn't disagree that a Strategic-Class Magic couldn't be left unattended.

"Actually, I've only read a tenth of that tablet just now. I reckon it will take nearly nine
whole hours to browse through all twelve sheets. Let's go back up for the time being
and come back again after we've made some preparations."

"Right… If there is so much information, wouldn't it be better to split it up over several

days and divide the load between us?"

"No."

The moment Miyuki suggested that she could also take part in the reading session,
Tatsuya shot down the idea in a concise, straightforward manner.

"We don't have the time."

He was careful to add immediately after, to avoid any misunderstandings.

 76
"We need to return home tomorrow, even if we have to leave the search unfinished. We
were lucky to find the ruins tonight. By tomorrow morning we will have retrieved all the
Legacy collection."

"You're right."

Miyuki is also aware that Fujibayashi has been urging them to return to their home
country. She easily understood that this was a situation where they have to push
themselves if they want to make it.

"Then, I think if we split it up among the three of us…"

"On the contrary, that would be too inefficient. I just need water, an oxygen cylinder if
it's readily available, and I'll carry out the reading myself."

"Are you sure you can handle it? Won't your head blow up?"

Teasingly, but with concern, Lina asks.

Both their stares at Tatsuya conveyed the same message: "Don't be reckless."

"The human mind is not that weak."

Tatsuya could understand where they were coming from, but he was not going to
change his mind.

◇◇◇

Now it was 5:00 a.m. local time. Miyuki and Lina, who had left the Federal University of
Magical Sciences after parting with Tatsuya for a while, now entered the campus
lawfully through the main gate. One of the [Guardians of the Ancestral Legacy], who was
also a clerk at the university, opened the gate and let them through.

With anxiety evident on Miyuki's countenance and concern for her in Lina's expression,
they hurried to the warehouse where the ruins had been built on top of. By the time
they reached the front of the building, the door opened from the inside revealing
Tatsuya.

"Tatsuya-sama, are you all right!?"

Miyuki rushes over to look up close to Tatsuya. As far as she could tell, he appeared only
a little tired.

"Are you feeling any discomfort? Is there any mental exhaustion?"

 77
"You don't need to worry so much. There is nothing wrong with either my mind or
body."

The smile he gave showed a sense of ease. There were no signs he was putting on a
strong face.

Confirming this from up close, Miyuki patted her chest in relief.

"Tatsuya, what's that?"

Seeing that Miyuki had now calmed down, Lina asked, itching to know what was
wrapped in the long, thin cloth bundle that Tatsuya was holding in his right hand.

"This?"

Tatsuya said, bringing the wrapping up to chest level and removing a part of the cloth to
reveal what was inside.

"Is that… The wand from the ruins?"

"Yes. They said they wouldn't mind if I took it home with me."

"That belongs to you, you were recognized as the legitimate heir of the [Vault]."

Tatsuya's words echoed those of the old man representing [Guardians of the Ancestral
Legacy].

"The legitimate heir…?"

"I guess that's what they've decided between them."

Lina inquired quizzically, to which Tatsuya responded with a wry smile.

"If the custodian has recognized your rightful ownership, isn't that fine? Then you can
take it back to Japan without any fear."

"I think it would still fall under the definition of tomb robbing under IPU law, though…"

Miyuki's brazen words elicited a wry, not so sarcastic laugh from Tatsuya.

"But you'd still be taking it with you, wouldn't you?"

Lina says with a smile that would fall in the grin category.

"I'd give them my thanks for the gift."

For Tatsuya, his acknowledgement of Lina's suggestion would fairly fit in the "brazen"
attitude.
 78
"It would be inconvenient otherwise."

He added, this time in a tone that suggested he wasn't joking.

"…Does this wand power can be useful outside the ruins?"

Miyuki's question made Tatsuya's expression turn all the more serious.

"I can say that in a sense, the [Legacy of Shambala] that modern mageist so desire is this
wand."

Tatsuya said with a grave face. Miyuki and Lina also turned somber and stared at the
bundle of cloth that surrounded the wand.

◇◇◇

That evening. Tatsuya arrived at the Bukhara International Airport, having not slept a
wink since yesterday.

In a private room, originally reserved for airport staff, across from Tatsuya at a
conference table was Chandrasekhar, who had flown in from Hyderabad on short
notice. She was the one who arranged for this room for their confidential discussion.

"Unfortunately, we have not found anything that we can reasonably refer to as the ruins
of Shambhala."

Saying that, Tatsuya placed two stone tablets on the table.

"These are the results of our archaeological findings. I'll entrust them to you, Doctor."

"Where did you come across these?"

"At the Ismail Samani Mausoleum and the Chol Bakr Necropolis. The artifacts unearthed
at Mount Shasta allowed us to find the altars buried in the ground."

"On Mt.Shasta in America… I assume you wouldn't be willing to entrust us with those
artifacts."

"We hope to have another opportunity to search for the artifacts. When the occasion
arises, I hope you will be able to accompany us, Doctor."

"Yes, I would love the opportunity… But are you sure that I can take custody of these
stone tablets?"

"I could only tell that it contains a very old ritualistic inscription from the Vedic system. I
am sure that you, Doctor, will be able to tell us more about it."
 79
"…I'll gladly accept it. I'll keep it as valuable research material."

Seeing Chandrasekhar pull the stone tablets closer, Tatsuya stood up.

"Now, if you will excuse me, Doctor. I'd usually be obliged to thank you in measure for
your hospitality, but unfortunately I am due to return to my country in a hurry."

"I completely understand your position, Mister. I'm sure such things are unavoidable."

A beat later, Chandrasekhar also stands up.

"Doctor. Thank you very much for your assistance. If there is anything I can do for you in
the future, please do not hesitate to ask and I will do my best to help you."

"All the same, I thank you very much for the wonderful time you spent with us."

Tatsuya shook hands with Chandrasekhar in farewell.

Throughout the meeting, Chandrasekhar showed no sign of doubting the "we have not
found the ruins of Shambhala" from Tatsuya.

◇◇◇

Tatsuya called for his private jet for his return trip home. It was a small supersonic
airframe with inertial control and airflow manipulation magic built into it. But every
private plane, of any kind, has to inevitably undergo departure inspections.

"I'm surprised they didn't find the wand."

Commented Lina to Miyuki beside her as soon as they boarded the cabin and settled
into their seats. She looked not at Miyuki, but at her suitcase.

The 50-centimeter-long wand they took from the Shambala ruins was just the right size
to fit into a large suitcase, and Miyuki, with the understanding that "inspections of
woman's luggage tend to be more lenient," tucked the wand into her own suitcase.

Needless to say, customs inspections by nature are not so lenient. Moreover, to Tatsuya
and whoever was with him, they were secretly being watched. The officials had been
instructed to check thoroughly for any artifacts that might be attempted to be taken out
of the country. There wasn't much of this doubt in Chandrasekhar's attitude, but in her
mind, she must have been harboring a natural skepticism.

Despite this, in the end, the wand stashed in the suitcase passed unnoticed under either
the X-ray or the metal detector. As long as the cane didn't show anything in the
 80
detectors, the customs officer couldn't make any tough calls against Miyuki, who,
although not quite the ordinary person, was still a civilian.

Even if they could demand Miyuki to open her suitcase and show the contents, the
customs officers were too hesitant to put their hands into her baggage and rummage
through it, as they would have done with any nameless civilian.

That was also understandable. They were dealing with a relative of a modern-day
demon king, a magician who can hold his own in a war against a military superpower.
And no mere relatives, either; it was his beloved fiancée. The officer was there merely
carrying out his duty as a public servant, even if he really wanted to let it pass without
having to deal with it. They had no desire to risk offending the other party by doing
anything more than the set protocol.

Lina could sympathize with the customs officials. That is why she wondered about the
fact that the wand had not been caught by what appeared to be the state-of-the-art
inspection equipment.

"That wand is not supposed to exist unless you look at it directly."

It was Tatsuya, with an eye mask and in place for an early nap, who came to answer
Lina's question.

"…Not supposed to exist?"

"If you take out the visible spectrum, it will not react to any kind of electromagnetic
waves except visible light. Same is with X-rays and magnetic fields, they all pass right
through it."

"How's that? Isn't the wand made of metal?"

Lina gave a wide tilt of her head. She assumed it was made of a brass-colored metal.

"I can only say that at the moment that it's made of some unknown material."

"Unknown material… That's something incredible. After all this time, this finally feels like
we're dealing with a lost super-ancient civilization!."

Lina's eyes sparkled once anew with Tatsuya's answer.

"Lina, that's enough of that, okay. And Tatsuya-sama, that's nice and all, but please get
some rest."
 81
Miyuki couldn't be less concerned about the nature of the wand at this point, her
concern was more about Tatsuya's physical condition, who had stayed up all night
studying the ruins and hadn't even taken a nap since then.

Silence falls over the cabin at Miyuki's pressure. It remained as such even after the small
jet took off and transitioned to hypersonic cruising.
 82

Chapter 3
[The Root of Happiness]

By virtue of its top speed of Mach 7, the small jet transporting Tatsuya and his
companions arrived in Japan in two hours. Owing to the time difference, it was already
late at night by the time they landed on Miyakishima.

Tatsuya, Miyuki, and Lina went straight to their usual residence there, Hyougo went to
the accommodation reserved for him. It was not until the next morning that they
resumed their activities.

Waiting for Tatsuya was a stack of documents to be processed. Although there was no
such thing as a paper document piling up in a stack on his desk, as it used to be the case
in the last century, the authorization forms came with reports that were several times
larger in data size than the documents themselves. No wonder Fujibayashi was in such a
rush in his absence. Even with his processing power, he could never go through all the
pending decisions this morning alone.

"…Thank you for your hard work, Tatsuya-sama."

At the lunch table, Miyuki thoughtfully attends to Tatsuya. Lina is also present, but she
only gives Tatsuya a look of mild sympathy. Perhaps an attempt to show some
distinction from the way she usually treated Tatsuya without being particularly
considerate or rude to him.

However, there was no change to her facial expression or tone of voice toward Tatsuya.
On the surface, few would consider Lina particularly cold-hearted.

"Miyuki, do me a favor."

This sentence was also casual.

"Yes, anything."

So Miyuki responded in her usual tone without any particular tension.

"When the line to Takachiho is available, could you ask Minoru and Minami to come
down to Miyakishima? I have something to say about the ruins of Shambhala to all of
you."
 83
Now her expression grew somber, she understood from his voice that this was no trivial
matter.

"What time should the meeting be?"

"Three o'clock, please. I should have all the paperwork done by then."

"Understood."

Miyuki bowed politely.

Not only her, Lina had stopped eating and had a mysterious look upon her as well.

◇◇◇

The table of five is served cold drinks by Hyougo. Minami looks uncomfortable, likely
because being a "maid" remains part of her identity.

"Please, Hyougo-san, have a seat as well."

Tatsuya stopped Hyougo from leaving the room after he was finished serving the drinks.

Hyougo refrained from making a point of being reserved, with a "as you wish, sir" he
took a seat, not at a table, in a spare chair in the corner of the room. Tatsuya wasted no
further time nor energy on both sides in asking him to serve himself a drink, as he knew
it would be futile.

"The search for Shambhala is not over yet."

Said Tatsuya right away, without even a first sip of his drink.

"Eh, what do you mean?"

The first reaction came from Lina.

"Didn't you obtain the Legacy of Shambala in Bukhara, in Uzbekistan?"

Minoru followed with his question. His tone was subdued, unlike Lina's, but the surprise
was still there.

"Yes, I did. I acquired one of the Legacies."

"…That wasn't the only ruin of Shambala?"

Now it is Miyuki's turn to bring her own question with great, unconcealed surprise.

"Let me start by explaining the real nature of what we'd call Shambhala."
 84
Rather than answering her directly, Tatsuya went on as such.

Miyuki, as well as the other three at the table adjusted themselves in their seats in their
own way. Hyougo was not included among those, because he had been in such a
position from the very beginning.

"The word 'Shambala' in Tibetan can be interpreted as [Immersed in the root of

happiness]."

"If I recall correctly, isn't [root of happiness] a moniker for Shiva, one of the main deities
of Hinduism?"

Apparently Minoru is also familiar with the etymology of the word Shambhala.

"Indeed."

"So it is, after all, the holy land of the Shiva sect?"

It was probably a question that had been on his mind for a while that now
unintentionally spilled out.

"Not quite, in this case it would be better to interpret it as having a more direct
meaning."

"You mean that there is something, or maybe someone, that brings happiness to people,
and the land protected by it is Shambhala…?"

Tatsuya nodded in agreement with Miyuki's guess and replied, "Both."

"You mean a place where the rulers used special skills and knowledge to govern the
land…? Stop with all the suspense and tell it already, Tatsuya."

Growing impatient, Lina demanded for him to explain the rest of the story.

Yet, Tatsuya was not playing for suspense as she put it.

"Shambhala is a kind of shelter built all over the world."

"All over the world?"

"What on earth are those shelters to protect from?"

Lina and Minoru asked their questions in succession.

As for Miyuki and Minami, they stared at Tatsuya, waiting for him to continue with his
explanation.
 85
"Shambhala was built in several areas that today range from mid-latitudes to high
latitudes. The time frame is only a vague estimate, but based on the knowledge obtained
in Bukhara, I estimate that it lasted between 35,000 and 15,000 years ago."

"Did it really last 20,000 years?"

Lina asks in a skeptical tone.

"The records say it wasn't in the same place all the time, but that it was abandoned and
rebuilt several times over."

"Then Shambhala would mean a generic term for a shelter, not a name of a piece of
land?"

"I think it'd be more accurate to say that's what the people in later periods called the
shelters of that time."

"You said thirty-five thousand years ago, that would be right in the middle of the last
glacial period… Could Shambala have been a shelter for people to escape the cold of the
Ice Age?"

Minoru takes the podium from Lina as the person asking the question.

"That's right. Shambala was a shelter where magic ensured people's living and
production environment ."

"…It does make sense in a number of ways, I think. If we consider that the legend of
Shambhala as an ideal land surrounded by snowy mountains, and the fact that the Arctic
region was considered as a candidate site, if we partially ignore the description of the
Kalachakra Tantra, it would surely reflect the memory of an extremely cold natural
environment that occurred during the glacial period, when everything was buried in
snow and ice."

Minoru keenly acknowledged Tatsuya's answer.

"So… Was Shambhala a country founded on magic?"

"I'd say more of a city-state than a country, but yes, it certainly seems that mageists
were in charge of running society."

Tatsuya first makes a small correction before answering Miyuki's question.

"A monarchical kingdom where mageists serve as nobility?"

Lina interjects past Miyuki.

 86
"Mageists in Shambala were guaranteed a secure livelihood in exchange for maintaining
shelters. I cannot say yet whether they enjoyed preferential treatment over other
residents, but I suppose they could be considered a type of nobility."

"I wonder if the gods we see in various mythologies might be inspired by the mageists
from Shambhala?"

"That's something I can neither confirm nor deny. There might be some elements like
that in some myths, but I don't think it applies to all myths."

"That's very cautious of you."

"It's a delicate issue. Besides, this is not what we need to think about right now."

"Then what would be the issue you want to discuss, Tatsuya-sama?"

Minami reservedly asked, bringing all back to the main point.

"What I have just told you was what was written in the history books that we found in
the ruins in Bukhara. But historical records were not the only thing we found in the
ruins. There were also records left behind of unknown magic."

"Tatsuya-sama, have you learned a new magic!?"

"No, I just picked it up."

Miyuki asked joyfully, but Tatsuya's answer was a "no" in a strange way.

"What do you mean?"

As it is usually the case, it falls to Lina to unreservedly ask about the points that she
doesn't understand.

"I'll explain in parts."

Lina was not the only one listening attentively after these words were spoken.

"The stone tablets fastened to the wall of the runs incorporated the same function of
imparting magic as that of the [Guru's Tablet]. Each tablet held one magic each, totaling
12 magic stored in that place. However, each magic was of the nature that it would
lodge in your Magic Calculation Area."

"…You mean that they would occupy a part of the Magic Calculation Area, and thus
would hinder you from using other magics like your [Decomposition] and [Regrowth],
Tatsuya-sama?"
 87
"Exactly. Taking my magical computing area as an example, one magic is expected to
occupy one-third of its total capacity. Though, I can't install anything when my magical
calculation area is already taken up. If I were to install even one, there's a chance I'd lose
either [Decomposition] or [Regrowth] in the process. Which is just not worth it."

"Tatsuya-sama… Could it be that, right now, you could install the magic that we obtained
from the ruins?" Is there a way to do that?"

"By install, do you mean that you can have the magic memorized in a magician's mind
like you would install software in a computer?"

"Yes, it's possible."

Tatsuya's answer addressed both Miyuki and Lina's questions simultaneously.

"For the sake of convenience, let's call this magical civilization of the time of the
creation of the shelters the [Shambhala civilization], since we don't have alternatives at
this point. In this Shambhala civilization, magic was at the core of maintaining the
environment for their subsistence, thus they had established a technology to transmit
magic in a quick and reliable manner. Take the [Guru's Tablet], for example, which was
also made with this technique of the Shambhala civilization."

"So, the tablets in the ruins were also [Guru's Tablets] after all?"

Tatsuya shook his head in a "No" to Miyuki's question.

"The technical level employed is quite different. In the sense that [Guru's Tablet] is a
simplified version, meant to be portable, while the technology used in the ruins is
several degrees more advanced."

"Like the difference between a mainframe and a personal computer?"

"It's a bit of an outdated metaphor… but, well, something like that."

At Lina's interjection, Tatsuya nodded, leaking a chuckle in the process.

"But Tatsuya-sama. If the stone tablets in the ruins were something like a desktop
computer in this analogy, wouldn't it be impossible to access them from a distance?"

Miyuki raises a legitimate question.

"There are remote terminals."

Tatsuya's answer would not be out of place if they were dealing with a piece of modern,
that is, 21st-century technology.
 88
"How can those ruins even have such a thing…?"

"Here you go."

Tatsuya casually let the [Wand] they brought back from the ruins rest on the table.

"With this wand ─ or more precisely, with the Cintamani stone attached to the staff, you
can summon the daemons 2in the ruins."

"Daemon, you say…?"

"You are not speaking of demons3, are you?"

Miyuki and Lina tilted their heads in sequence.

Minami had question marks glued all over her face, Minoru demanded an answer with
an intense gaze.

"By that I mean an information body that is not associated with any natural phenomena,
that may probably fall under the notion of demons or the Shinto take on divine spirits,
but of all the forms we are familiar with, they are closest to something like artificial
spirits."

"In short, do you mean that these are independent information bodies possessing
magical abilities, created by the Shambala civilization?"

Minoru was the first to catch on to Tatsuya's remarks.

"They are created by modularising a magic sequence along with the function to draw
interference power from a mageist into an independent information body. Then it is
implanted and parasitizes the magic calculation area. And there you go, the magic
transmission system of the Shambhala civilization."

"Parasite4!?"

Lina exclaimed, almost jumping out of her seat.

Miyuki next to her was left speechless.

"[Daemon] would be this modularised independent information body, right? I see… I

suppose that's an appropriate name."

Minoru said with a deep nod.

2
デーモン (demon) - I'm using "daemon" as a placeholder
3
魔物 (mamono)
4
寄生 - "Parasitism”; The "Parasites” from the story are usually written with katakana (パラサイト)
 89
"It's very likely the [Guru's Tablet] operates with a similar system. When Miyuki knocked
out the [Babel] caster in Alameda, California, the information body that slipped out of
their body and vanished was surely the daemon that enabled the use of [Babel]."

With Tatsuya's words, Minoru adds, "speaking of which…"

"I wonder if the [familiar] I saw escaping the body of a FAIR BS mageist in San Francisco
could also have been a daemon of the Shambhala civilization."

"There may be more than a few stray daemons floating around, similar but unbound like
the ones in grimoires like the [stone tablets], haunting and possessing humans."

"Would a child parasitized by such daemons become a BS mageist…?"

Miyuki's body shudders at the thought when she hears Tatsuya's speculation.

"Excuse me…"Minami reservedly asked for a word.

"What is it?" "What is the matter?"

Tatsuya and Minoru urged her to continue at the same time.

"Could it be that even the parasites we are have also been a product of a prehistoric
magical civilization?"

"…It's too early to say anything."

Tatsuya didn't outright deny the possibility that Minami had mentioned.

"If that were true… No, it's nothing."

Tatsuya could guess what Minoru was about to say before stopping himself.

"At any rate, this wand has the function to invoke daemons and make them parasite on
magicians."

Precisely because he could surmise, he didn't ask for the rest, or let it be asked, he
brought the conversation back to the main point.

─If the parasites we know are in fact the daemons of the Shambhala civilization, there
may also be among their [Legacy] a way of turning parasites back into human beings.
But, until we find conclusive indications of a way, we ought not discuss that possibility.

"Can the wand be used on, like, anyone?"

Not that Lina was aware of the intentions on the part of Tatsuya and Minoru. She merely
asked Tatsuya with earnest interest as a mageist.
 90
"Like, for example, to install on a mageist without their consent?"

If what she suggested were possible, depending on the kind of magic installed, it would
be possible to use it to limit the capabilities of a hostile mageist.

"The consent of the person is necessary. Plus, this wand registered me as the owner, so
it can't be used by anyone else unless I authorize it."

"So, if you authorize it, even I can use it?"

"It does allow for a temporary loan option."

"So, Tatsuya-sama, are you wondering who should be allowed to acquire the magic of
the ruins?"

Miyuki raises the crux of the matter with her question.

"Those ruins are, if you will, a heaven-sent library for civilian researchers. On the other
hand, there was no safe place to store dangerous magic that could be used anytime in
military applications."

"Even the Shambhala civilization, which is known as a utopia, had military power?"

Miyuki asks incredulously.

"I can't possibly say right now who their enemies might have been, but they are
described as having an extremely powerful military."

Tatsuya's answer refutes the utopian vision of them.

"But that particular library didn't have it. That said, Shambhala is not a single nation, but
rather a plurality of city-states, there are surely other facilities left behind."

"In other words, there are still a number of other ruins that house dangerous magic that
can be converted into military power in today's world, right?"

Minoru poses the question with a serious expression.

"Exactly. Which is why I asked Minoru and Minami to come down to discuss possible
measures to take."

This answer from Tatsuya did more than just affirm the question.

"Do you know the location of the ruins with the dangerous ones, Tatsuya-sama?"

Perhaps because her own name was mentioned, Minami uttered this question ahead of
Miyuki and Lina.
 91
"I don't know the exact location of the facility themselves, but a history book from the
library in Bukhara at least tells me where to start looking."

"Where that might be?"

This time it was Minoru asking.

"The capital of Tibet, Lhasa. Beneath the Potala Palace."

Again, this time, Tatsuya is quick to answer.

"I can't say precisely how deep, but there is a [information center] for the ruins there. If
we reach there, we should be able to find out about the operational facilities, including
the ruins that have been destroyed."

"That's why you called me, isn't it? So I can sneak into Lhasa and find out the location of
the other ruins at that information center?"

Minoru was looking forward to the request even before it was stated. He had already
infiltrated Lhasa last month. On that occasion, he had a tough time just escaping against
two of the Great Asian Union's [Bāxiān] combat magicians. Perhaps this was Minoru's
motivation to make up for it.

"Am I supposed to accompany Minoru-sama?"

"No, not at all."

Tatsuya denied Minami's question.

"I will be the one to infiltrate the basement of the Potala Palace. Minoru will be
accompanying me, and I'll be asking for Minami to support us from Takachiho."

"That's absurd!"

Miyuki rushed to halt Tatsuya.

"She's right, Tatsuya. You are a public figure. Even if you are confident in your abilities, if
your infiltration is exposed, it'll be no small affair."

Lina joins in to talk him out of it.

"It may be reckless, but it's necessary. In order to enter the Information Center in Lhasa,
a person with Ownership authority must be there with the wand. If the information
from the library is correct, the door will not open with loaned authority. That's just how
the security is set up."
 92
They could understand from what he said why Tatsuya had to go so far. They also
understood that he could not leave the risks he was concerned about unattended.

"I have no qualms. I will accompany you all the way to the basement of the Potala
Palace."

"And I'll do my best to play my support role as well."

Both Minoru and Minami accepted Tatsuya's request.

Both Miyuki and Lina could not oppose it.

 93

Chapter 4
[Conspiracy]

Concurrently Tatsuya and company's discussing the infiltration into Tibet.

Hospitalized Ryousuke fiddled with the touch screen in the hospital's IT room.
Incidentally, the acronym "IT" of this room does not stand for "Information Technology''
but for "Information Terminal." That being so, this room would be the equivalent of a
"computer room" from a hundred years ago.

He was there accessing the USNA Embassy website, looking up the details of the entry
visa process.

Mayumi visited him in his hospital room this morning.

Tomorrow will mark ten days since he was stabbed in the abdomen by a magician of the
Great Asian Union who attacked FLT's lab. The wound extended to his internal organs,
and even with the advancements in modern medical technology, he has yet to be
discharged from the hospital. According to Ryousuke himself, he feels that he is already
good enough to resume his daily life without trouble.

Nevertheless, the hospital kept a cautious stance, and only today was he finally allowed
extended visits. Although today was not the first time Mayumi paid him a visit, it was the
first time since his hospitalization that he had a chance to talk with her at length.

On that occasion, starting with a "Actually…", Mayumi reluctantly brought up a subject

that greatly disturbed Ryousuke. She asked if she could inform Ryousuke's family about
his situation.

Ryousuke left for the USNA five years ago on an exchange student program. There, he
dropped out of college after becoming involved in FEHR activities, so at that point, his
student visa would have expired. That is, his status would change to an illegal
immigrant, subject to deportation.

It so happened that said exchange program he was in was a cover for a USNA's covert
operation that they would prefer if it didn't become public. The students USNA sent to
Japan were not so much of the student type, if at all. Thus, the people involved with the
 94
USNA military were not too keen on running the risk of any exchange students making
the news at this time.

So much so that USNA officials took the step of formally retaining Ryousuke's student
status at the university even after he dropped out. The authorities bore the costs. This
arrangement extended to all exchange students at that time, not just Ryousuke. That
said, fewer than ten Japanese students withdrew from the university. This held true
until the moment Ryousuke passed through the departure gate of USNA to return to
Japan, when he officially lost his university student status.

From the time he decided not to go to college until just before he returned to Japan,
Ryousuke's official position at USNA was that of a "college student failing to advance
after continuous non-attendance" which is a huge disgrace. He could not bear the
thought of revealing it to either his parents or his younger sister.

Yet, it was not because of this embarrassment that he did not contact his family. It was
not until some time after he submitted his withdrawal that he learned of the position he
now held. It was only after Charlotte Gagnon at FEHR investigated the possibility of his
illegal status was he finally made aware of his situation.

At that point, he hoped to find a position that would allow him a long-term stay and
employment at USNA in order to continue FEHR's activities in the future. For that, he
would need permanent residency or citizenship. But, without a professional
qualification, a specialized degree, he wouldn't have the assets needed to obtain
permanent residency. FEHR also lacks the sort of administrative capacity that would
allow the company to employ unskilled workers for an extended period.

After consulting with Gagnon and other members at FEHR, Ryousuke ultimately opted
for a purely contractual marriage with an American to obtain the right for permanent
residency. His contractual partner was, incidentally, not Lena, rather a homosexual
woman who was also a member of FEHR. He holds Lena in the highest esteem, and as
his object of adoration, never would he have considered himself to become someone in
equal standing with her like as a married couple.

As far as he was concerned, he made a decision to leave Japan and his family behind.
Some would say that he shouldn't be so rigid about the matter, but he held no doubts,
that was his decision. But Ryousuke could not fool himself. He was fully sure about that.

For that reason, he doesn't want to show his face to his family anymore. He doesn't have
any regrets in choosing FEHR, that is, choosing Lena. But it doesn't make his choice any
less unrespectable. It was of poor character according to Ryousuke's values.
 95
It's not like everything with him revolves around antiquated thinking. But it certainly
does when it comes to his family values, then he really took things the old-fashioned
way. If nothing else, he is a product of a Japanese mindset that dates back to at least the
middle of the last century. It's of his vehement conviction that one must be faithful to
one's family.

Because of that, he feels deeply uncomfortable about using marriage, an event meant to
create a family, as a mere means to an end. There is also a sense of guilt, to his sister, his
parents, for betraying them. This was the main reason why he never contacted his
family since coming back to Japan.

It was impossible for Ryousuke, after all of this, not to feel disturbed upon hearing about
contacting his sister and informing her of his whereabouts.

He saw this as just a short-term visit. He was intending to return to the USNA once after
fulfilling the mission given to him by Lena. And now that Lena herself has established
cordial ties with Tatsuya, Ryousuke viewed the need for him to be there to "Investigate
what Tatsuya Shiba is trying to do with Magian Company" less and less important.

He has long had no doubt that Tatsuya's goal is to secure a significant improvement of
the rights of the holders of the magic factor.

To create a social environment in which magians are not compelled to become mere
tools.

And the activities of the Magian Company are consistent with this objective.

To achieve this goal, the company is building partnerships with companies and wealthy
individuals, presenting that there is an area with not just military power, but also
economic interests, that also include a majority of people who do not have the magic
factor. Ideals do not make allies, but interests do. This was something that Ryousuke and
FEHR ─ even Lena, have not been able to do.

If he were to be honest, the future activities of the Magian Company are of interest to
him.

But it hardly comes near to his priorities as compared to working for Lena. Ryousuke
felt that it was about time for him to return to FEHR.

And now this latest surprise. Ryousuke was thrown into a panic and decided to "go back
to America".
 96
Since he always considered his work in Japan to be temporary, Ryousuke was prepared
to return to the USNA prior to even coming to Japan. ─It was like he was simply
delegating his work to his colleagues at FEHR.

As a matter of fact, he had already prepared to apply for a fiancée visa5, the preliminary
step to obtaining permanent residency by marriage. He's now just double-checking the
procedures to be followed.

The process cannot be concluded entirely online, so it wouldn't make much difference if
he waited until after he was discharged from the hospital to check. But he was taken by
impatience and was in a state of mind to "do anything he could do".

Even if it was just him acting unnecessarily, he couldn't think of anything else that
would keep him on track right now.

◇◇◇

The discussion on the details of the incursion into Tibet was still ongoing, only to be
interrupted when Tatsuya received notification of an urgent communication. Then,
leaving the other four to move on to mere tea talk, Tatsuya had migrated to the
communications room along with Hyougo.

[Apologies if I interrupted your discussion, Director.]

So far, Fujibayashi Kyouko is the only person who calls Tatsuya "Executive Director" in
Yotsuba affiliated places.

"I don't mind. I hear it's urgent, was there another attack?"

[Not of such urgency, but I'm of the understanding that it requires your immediate
attention. It appears that Tookami-san is planning to travel to the USNA]

"He is?"

Tatsuya, and Hyougo, listening beside him, shared a similar quizzical look. However, the
nature of their doubts vary from each other. "What is he trying to do?" Tatsuya
wondered, while Hyougo thought, "Where is the problem in that?"

[He was browsing the USNA Embassy's page on how to proceed with a fiancée visa
application in the hospital's IT room. And based on the browsing trend, I would assume
that he is already on his way to the concrete procedure.]

5
It would seem that it is called a K-1 Visa in the United States.
 97
"I see."

Tatsuya and Hyougo both looked taken aback for a moment. This time with a similar
thought in their minds "How can you even tell that with hacking?"

[As of this moment, Tookami has not yet been exposed to any confidential matters of the
Yotsuba Family. I would not see any problem with his resignation, but I'd like to defer to
the executive director's opinion.]

"I see…"

Tatsuya ponders for a moment. He quickly worked out how much of an asset Ryousuke
is, and whether there would come a time in the future when he would need his abilities.

"…Give him a hand."

That resolution was unexpected, to Fujibayashi on the other end, as well as to Hyougo,
listening on the side.

[Give him a hand… Sir, you mean helping Tookami-san get to the USNA?]

"That's right. We have enough resources in Japan as it is without him. Rather, I am more
concerned about our capabilities in the USNA to counter FAIR. I can't very well expect
STARS to mobilize to deal with non-military criminal organizations."

[Do you expect FAIR to still pose a challenge in America?]

"I do, because USNA appears to refrain from putting a shutdown on the operations of the
Great Asian Union."

The distinction between military and civilian affairs is fundamental to the democratic
political system. As a rule, the military stays out of internal affairs. Else, it is very easy for
the military to oppress the people when used to oppress its use in the oppression of the
opponents.

But at the same time, it also limits access to the full range of the military's resources
against foreign operations in the home country barring a full-scale military aggression.
This different level of freedom in the use of manpower is a major reason why
democracies tend to lag behind autocracies when it comes to political and espionage
operations.

Tatsuya saw the USNA's reluctance to utilize its federal military magician corps, the
STARS, as effectively allowing Great Asian Union agents to infiltrate and operate within
its territory as a result.
 98
"Tookami's skills are not well suited for large-scale engagements, he's much more
effective in a lower level, combating crime. If he's so inclined to go back to FEHR, that
works for me. Let him take on the bothersome [Bāxiān]'s in America."

[…Understood. Should I arrange tickets?]

Fujibayashi responded with a businesslike attitude, but her eyes showed astonishment
at Tatsuya's cunning.

"Let's not show any open endorsement. I will instruct Daimon to provide assistance."

[─As you say, sir.]

Fujibayashi Hiroto, Fujibayashi Kyouko's uncle, and now Tatsuya's personal subordinate.
Fujibayashi Kyouko understood that she should not meddle in his decisions.

◇◇◇

"Sorry for the wait."

Finishing the call with Fujibayashi, Tatsuya returned to the discussion about the Tibetan
incursion.

"As we were discussing earlier, I don't intend to use Takachiho for this infiltration. I want
to leave it as a contingency measure."

"I still don't see any reason to worry about the risk of Takachiho being detected."

They resume the discussion from where they left off, with Minoru offering a measured
rebuttal to Tatsuya's stance.

"The magistore that you gave to us along with Takachiho usually has [Kimon Tonkou]
active at all times. I am confident that no one other than those who know Takachiho's
particulars beforehand will ever be able to detect it."

Originally, the Artificial Relic Magistore deployed in Takachiho stored an

electromagnetic wave absorption magic. Making it such that no electromagnetic waves,
from infrared, visible spectrum, all the way to ultraviolet, or shorter wavelengths than
very high frequency radio waves, were reflected off it.

After moving in to the 180-meter-long vessel dubbed "Takachiho," Minoru decided to

further strengthen his countermeasures against the risk of accidental detection and
threats to his new livelihood by installing the magic sequence of [Kimon Tonkou] in the
magistore of the Orbital Residence unit. Even if someone happened to catch sight of
 99
Takachiho, the person would immediately lose sight of it due to the effects of [Kimon
Tonkou].

With active detection prevented by electromagnetic wave absorption magic and passive
detection prevented by [Kimon Tonkou], the likelihood of Takachiho being discovered is
therefore admittedly very slim.

"No, I still think it's better if we don't. Not that I doubt your capabilities, Minoru, but it's
not like this case absolutely requires us to use Takachiho."

But that doesn't mean it'll never be found. It was Tatsuya's honest thought that
Takachiho should not be used in high-risk operations such as this one. In the end of the
day it's what Minoru and Minami call their "home," not a base of operations.

"Then how are you planning to get there?"

Lina's question was simply the natural flow of the conversation.

"I was hoping Colonel Canopus would be able to help with that."

"You'll ask Ben for help?!"

This conversation was not the moment Lina had expected to hear the name of her
former comrade coming out of Tatsuya's mouth.

"Colonel Canopus still owes me from Midway. Now is a good time to collect on that."

There had been an incident three years ago in which the STARS was effectively taken
over by parasites. On that occasion, Canopus and some of his men were held as
prisoners in Midway Prison and were eventually freed from their captivity by Tatsuya.

That incident was Tatsuya paying his end of a deal. In exchange for rescuing Canopus
and his men, he was given cover for intervening to suppress a guerrilla operation
against the USNA forces in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. So Tatsuya's books were
clean, with Senator Wyatt Curtis, Canopus's great-uncle, that is. There is still very much
a pending debt with Canopus personally.

"He also owes me after Gu Jie's thing."

This was another matter of three years ago that left a bitter memory for Tatsuya. He had
been hunting down Gu Jie, the perpetrator of a terrorist attack targeting the Yotsuba
family, when he was outright thwarted when Canopus killed him when he had Gu Jie
 100
right in front of him. Though it's not exactly the type of debt to "ask for repayment,"
Tatsuya seems to intend to hold it against Canopus in his books as a "debt" as well.

"…Specifically, what are you asking for?"

Lina inquired, demanding an explanation. There was a hint, however, a nuance of

resignation in that reproachful tone.

"There's a Sprite inbound to Kadena Air Base right now, isn't there?"

The USNA Air Force's most advanced hypersonic, high-altitude strategic reconnaissance
aircraft, SR-92 [Sprite]. An aircraft born from pure aeronautical engineering expertise
that is capable of achieving speeds beyond Mach 10. Able to cross the stratosphere,
climbing into the mesosphere, up all the way to the Karman Line, it pushes the
boundaries of an aircraft, reaching close to the dominion of a true spacecraft.

Perhaps even more noteworthy is the fact that the Sprite was designed to perform a
strategic bomber role as well. All that would take is to replace the reconnaissance
drones, which are stored in the weapon bay by default, with the ordinance of choosing.
Although the doctrine value of strategic bombers have declined in comparison to
previous centuries, they are still pet projects for the USNA military.

"There is… But where do you even think you're going to park a Sprite?"

Lina's issue was saying that he couldn't get on board one. Canopus presently has that
much influence, notwithstanding his blood ties in the government. Gu Jie matter aside,
she doubted that Canopus would say no if Tatsuya brought the Midway affair into the
discussion.

"Of course, I'm not so stupid as to land in Tibet with a Sprite. I never considered that
option in the first place."

Tatsuya turned to Lina with a "How could you even consider that?" look. Tatsuya turned
to Lina with a "How did you come up with that?" look. There are only a limited number
of airfields that can accommodate a cutting-edge strategic reconnaissance aircraft, both
in terms of confidentiality and in terms of the necessary runways and servicing
infrastructure. Landing in Tibet would be technically impossible, even in the far miracle
of a political and military disposition.

"I had to ask, after that."

Lina retorted, slightly offended. Of course she would know that.

"You're not planning to jump off the sprite then, are you?"
 101
"It's exactly what I'm planning."

"What?!"

She was nodding in mock straight face after the question, which was meant to be a joke,
then raised her voice in plain disbelief.

"Where are you going to jump from? You can't open the hatch when you're going
supersonic."

The Sprite is capable of flying over the major cities of the Great Asian Union, let alone
over Tibet. But that's assuming it can fully leverage its airborne performance.

This reconnaissance aircraft places more emphasis on speed and climbing capability
than on stealth performance. Although it has anti-radar measures in its design, flying
right over hostile airspace at a speed slow enough to open the hatch, it is bound to be
detected.

"We don't need to use the hatch. We'll jump out of the weapon bay."

"What about air resistance!? Sure, you can use flight magic to deal with gravity, but any
barrier magic, even if it's the two of you using it, that can deal with that amount of air
resistance would get you two detected in no time."

"We'll use glider boards."

A glider board is the skydiving version of a bodyboard. It's shaped like an acute isosceles
triangle about the size of a person, and its cross section is a near-flat obtuse isosceles
triangle.

The diver clutches onto the handlebars on the other, flat, side of the board, and rides the
wind. These boards are mainly used in sporting activities, and naturally do not have the
endurance to withstand supersonic speeds. However, enhancing the board's durability
with magic would be far less likely to be detected from the ground than using pure
barrier magic.

"…Tatsuya-sama, and what are you planning to do about the way back?"

Lina fell silent, seemingly losing interest, and Miyuki took over in inquiring to Tatsuya.

Tatsuya had yet to present his plan of escape.

"For now, I'm thinking of taking control of a military aircraft and escaping to one of the
Southeast Asia countries of the Alliance. And I'd be returning home normally from
there."
 102
"What do you mean by 'for now'?"

Miyuki was neither surprised nor tried to dissuade him about his plan to hijack a
military aircraft, blindly believing that Tatsuya would have no problems in doing so. Her
interest was more in what was behind the "for now" part of his speech.

"There is a legend about a secret passageway under the Potala Palace. It's not more than
a legend at this point, but if it happens to be real, we might use it to get out."

"There is a legend of a secret passageway?"

Miyuki looks at him dubiously, as one would be.

"I don't really believe in it myself. I'm just speaking in 'what ifs'. Besides, there's another
possibility."

"What that possibility would be?"

"The IPU may have already started to intensify their covert operations in Tibet. That may
open other, more convenient avenues of escape."

"…That seems preferable."

"If push comes to shove and escape is really difficult, then we will use Takachiho as a last
resort."

Eventually, those present, including Miyuki, were persuaded by Tatsuya's emphasis that
the plan was not solely reliant on luck.

◇◇◇

Rocky Dean, the leader of FAIR, wanted by the California State Police, is hiding out in a
safe house in the city of Richmond, northeast of the city of San Francisco, across the
water. He is currently alone in said hideout. Laura Simons, his accomplice and mistress,
who fled with him from the San Francisco base, had gone to Japan to retrieve an
Artificial Relic and had not yet returned.

Dean has not stepped out of his hiding place since. Food and other essential goods are
delivered by the people from the organization that assisted in his escape. Now the only
faces he sees are those of the delivery men.

Today was a break from the usual low ranking members of the support organization
who just came in to deliver the goods. He received a visit from a high-ranking member
of the organization at his hideout.
 103
6
Zhu Yuen Yun , a top figure in the American Hongmen.

Hongmen is a secret society of Han Chinese, reportedly formed in the first half of the
17th century. Although it would be inaccurate to label it a "secret society" after they
have been open about their existence since the end of the previous century.
Nevertheless, the image of a "secret society" persists to this day owing to a constant of
incriminating rumors concerning ties with the Chinese Mafia, as well as speculation
about a reach beyond the state that remains elusive to the outside world.

As a matter of fact, Dean himself is a member of the Hongmen. Bellying his Caucasian
southern European appearance is actually a man with significant blood ties to overseas
Chinese.

Dean was originally just a hired head of FAIR under the command of Gu Jie, and it was
thanks to the generous backing of the overseas Chinese and Hongmen on the West
Coast that Dean was able to wrest control of FAIR and isolate it from Gu Jie.

Dean and Zhu Yuen Yun have known each other for a long time back then. It was
precisely because of their long-standing relationship that a high-ranking member like
Zhu Yuen Yun bothered to visit the leader of what to Hongmen's eyes was only a puny
local organization.

"How are you finding it? If you have any inconvenience, please let me know."

After exchanging a few words of greeting and preamble, Zhu Yuen Yun generously
queried Dean in a friendly tone of voice.

"I have my inconveniences, but I have no deficiencies thanks to you, Lord Zhu7."

Dean responded with a politeness that was hard to fathom given his usual mannerisms.
The man facing Zhu Yuen Yun was not the leader of an upstart criminal organization,
but a member of a long-standing traditional secret society.

"I'm afraid it'll be best not to go out just yet, at this point. But are you really not missing
anything? Being alone would make one miss so many things."

Despite the absence of explicit language, it was easy to read that he was referring to
"male necessities".

"Speaking of which, has Miss Simons returned yet?"

6
The best I could get from 朱元允 (ジユユエンユン)
7
朱大人(ジユダーレン) / 朱 + suffix 大人
 104
"Lord Zhu, I have my reservations about the Great Asian Union's good faith in this
matter. It's one thing if they didn't get the results they wanted, but how can they not
have any contact with the people entrusted to their care? Isn't Bāxiān supposed to be
among the best in the Great Asian Union forces?"

"Rocky."

Zhu Yuen Yun called Dean's first name cordially with a load of sympathy.

"Your complaint is well justified. I will personally contact the Great Asian Union to get a
satisfactory answer regarding the whereabouts of Ms. Simons."

"I would greatly appreciate it, Lord Zhu."

Zhu Yuen Yun gave him a smile of assurance, and Dean bowed his head deeply.

◇◇◇

The morning following the discussion of the plan of the infiltration in Tibet.

Tatsuya came with Lina to the communications room in Miyakishima. It was not your
ordinary call room; it was more of a facility packed with a host of equipment for heavy
encrypted communications.

Lina, standing in front of the operator's seat for the correspondent, looks up at Tatsuya
with a "Do I really have to do this?"

He simply stared back at her wordlessly, with a slight smile at the corners of his mouth.

Lina cowed at the implied coercion in the smile. She turned away from him to face the
camera and the microphone, and with a practiced hand, maneuvered her way over to
the console.

A few dozen seconds passed, and the face of the person on the other end appeared on
the monitor. It seemed to be the time it took to decrypt the intricate decoded signal and
to read Lina's name in the call notification.

"Hello, Ben. I'm sorry to bother you while you're probably busy. Can I have a moment
now?"

[Of course, no problem. I was just about to head back to my quarters.]

Spoke the acting Commanding Officer of the STARS, Colonel Benjamin Canopus, on the
other end of the line.
 105
[Is this a case that requires our services?]

"Er… how do I put it… Let me just put the requester to speak for himself."

[Requester?]

Lina switched out without answering Canopus quizzical voice, and Tatsuya switched in
the seat.

"It's been a while, Colonel."

[Mr. Shiba…]
106
 107

Canopus surprise escaped from his voice. Until now, Canopus had arranged several
favors for Tatsuya, but all of them had been mediated through Lina. This may have been
the first time that Tatsuya had himself asked Canopus directly for a favor.

"I know this is sudden, but I have a business that requires me to infiltrate into Lhasa."

[…Lhasa, in Tibet?]

"Exactly."

The memory of a message sent from Hyderabad, India, where Evelyn Taylor was on
dispatch just a few days ago, came to Canopus mind. She stated at the time that Tatsuya
mentioned numerous relics were buried in Lhasa.

[I assume that you wouldn't be willing to share with me the nature of your business if I
asked.]

"I'm afraid you're correct. And I'm obliged for your consideration."

Tatsuya bluntly refused to

Canopus was unfazed by Tatsuya's impertinent nonchalance.

[And how could we be of service in this endeavor of yours, Mr. Shiba?]

"I'd like to breach it undetected. And, as of now, there so happens to be a Sprite

stationed at the Kadena Air Base, isn't there?"

[And you say you hope you use said Sprite to snuck into the country?]

"Exactly."

This request from Tatsuya, without a shred of reserve, was the "help" he mentioned in
yesterday's discussion. The half-day delay for the actual request was hardly due to
hesitation, just a matter of time zones.

[…How specifically do you pretend to make use of the Sprite?]

"I'd be content if you could just drop me from the weapon bay as you would deploy a
reconnaissance drone."

[Without decelerating or lowering the altitude?]

"I have no desire to endanger your cutting-edge aircraft. I just want you to take me and
one other person for a ride along with the scheduled reconnaissance."
 108
[How did you come to learn about a reconnaissance course that included Tibet?]

"From nowhere in particular, it's merely a conjecture. I'd imagine that your government
would not overlook the rising tension between the Great Asian Union and the IPU."

[Indeed…]

Canopus pondered on the other side, Tatsuya didn't rush for an answer.

Tatsuya knew from the beginning that this was not a decision that could be made at
once. While he did not doubt that he would get an answer, he also could not expect to
get an answer here and now. At the very least, it would take Canopus consulting with
the USNA Military General Staff before he would give an answer.

[…There is a condition].

However, it didn't go as Tatsuya had expected.

[Could you use a Stealth Diver for the descent from the Sprite?]

Canopus gave him a conditional approval for smuggling him into Tibet with the Sprites,
without consulting anyone else.

"What exactly are those 'Stealth Divers'?"

But the name 'Stealth Divers', given as part of the condition, was something that even
Tatsuya was unfamiliar with.

[Stealth Diver is an airframe that incorporates the flight magic you developed for limited
maneuverability, designed for drop-and-dive infiltration operations. It's a one-person
spindle-shaped capsule with a high-acceleration launch function for egress. Though the
in-flight maneuverability is nothing more than an added extra. I am sending you the
data now, please check it for yourself.]

Canopus on the monitor says this and moves as if operating a console.

Roughly at the same time, an encrypted data file arrived at Tatsuya's end. He ran the
data through the decrypter at once and skimmed over the file marked "classified" at the
beginning.

It outlined the operation of [Stealth Diver].

"…It performs like a rocket-powered aircraft."

[Indeed, it does. It behaves more akin to an individual-use rocket, as opposed to a

human torpedo.]
 109
"And you are willing to let us use that new equipment of yours?"

Judging from Canopus' account, the [Stealth Diver] device is a classified device designed
for infiltration operations in enemy territory. Tatsuya felt that it was too open-handed of
Canopus to not only let him make use of their advanced reconnaissance aircraft but also
to lend him a means of infiltration that was still in the confidential stages of
development.

[The development office is asking for operational data, however, there aren't any
missions planned at the moment that would require a STARS to risk a high altitude
descent into hostile territory.]

In other words, they were looking for a test run. That's understandable. ─Tatsuya
thought so.

"Before I accept your offer, could I see the actual stealth diver for myself?"

[Of course. If you come to Kadena Air Base, I would be happy to show you. And of
course, you may feel free to call off the infiltration afterwards.]

"Then… How about next Tuesday afternoon, three days from now?"

[Three days later in the afternoon, right? I understand. I will make the arrangements for
the day. Just in case, I don't need to ask, but do you mind disposing of that data from
just now?]

Tatsuya nodded in agreement with the needless reminder, after which Canopus closed
the communication.

Although he got the US aircraft to infiltrate him into Lhasa as planned, Tatsuya did not
feel that he had won the negotiation.
 110

Chapter 5
[Escape]

Diplomatic relations between Japan and the Great Asian Union presently stand in good
order. Although tensions persist burbling under the surface, ostensibly economic
interaction and people traffic have been proceeding smoothly.

So when a Chinese woman landed at the Tokyo Bay International Airport this day, no
one paid any extra attention to her beyond the usual vigilance against any inimical
foreign nationals.

◇◇◇

An East Asia-American visited the safe house where Rocky Dean has been hiding out in
Richmond, California, USNA.

"…I am much obliged. Lord Zhu was quick in his protest."

"Yes. My master says to be assured that the leader of Bāxiān, Mr. Qiao8, promised to
address the matter."

Dean's guest was a servant from Zhu Yuen Yun. A change from the men who usually
deliver his daily necessities, A woman of around 30 years old. Seemingly unremarkably
plain at first glance, she is quite beautiful at close inspection. More striking than her
face was her body, hidden by her oversized clothes. It goes without saying Zhu Yuen
Yun's intentions in choosing this woman to be his messenger.

But the message she brings was more important right now than the meaning behind the
choice of her as the messenger.

"Do you mind telling me, if you are privy to it, and if you are able, what kind of
assurances have been made?"

"Gladly. Also, please there is no need to be polite to me, Dean-sama."

The woman smiled glamorously at Dean. It is obvious from the flirtatious demeanor that
she has been ordered by her master, Zhu Yuen Yun, to take care of Dean's shortages.

8
ミスター・キャオ
 111
Frankly, Dean would be eager to quench his cravings, but he never lost sight of his
priorities.

"Understood. So?"

"Yes. The Great Asian Union has agreed to send one of the Bāxiān, He Xiangu, to Japan. If
we are on schedule, she should be arriving in Tokyo just about now."

"And that person will be bringing Laura back?"

"That was Mr. Qiao's promise."

"I see."

Dean didn't fully believe in the woman's ─ in the Great Asian Union's "promise," but he
had no alternatives at the moment. All Dean could do was hope that this unreliable
promise would be fulfilled.

"Do you mind if I take a little more of your time to listen to more details? What do you
say?"

"Yes, at your pleasure."

Dean helped the woman to her feet and took her by the waist to the bedroom.

◇◇◇

All the families in the Ten Master Clans, leading the Japanese Magic Community, are
modern magicians. The twenty-eight families that are eligible to be chosen for the Ten
Master Clans also do not include any families of ancient-style magicians, even though
some do carry elements of ancient-style magic.

However, a significant share of the Hundred Families, the second in influence after the
Ten Master Clans, is composed of ancient-style magic. Which is not particularly
surprising, since most families have in some way inherited some kind of special skill that
is today summarized as "magic", as opposed to families qualified for the systematized
magic of the 21st century and who have newly become magicians.

Such families that have traditionally inherited a lineage power have a distinct tendency
to maintain a higher and more stable ability than families with newly acquired power.
The rate of families that have descended from ancient-style magicians, as opposed to
those that practice modern magic, is over 80% of the Hundred Families.
 112
And among the Hundred Families, the Izayoi family, residing in the northern Tokyo
Metropolitan area, is said to be one of the most powerful. Particularly among the
Hundred Families that practice ancient magic, the Izayoi family is regarded as "the
strongest in the Hundred Families" and that "the strength of the Izayoi family is on par
with that of a family from the Ten Master Clans."

The head of this Izayoi family has a younger brother. This younger brother, by name
Izayoi Shirabe, is rumored to be more skilled than his older brother. The man lives in his
own mansion, separate from the main Izayoi house where his older brother resides.

And in said mansion, the sub-leader of FAIR, Laura Simons, is currently being held
captive.

"What has our guest been up to today?"

Shirabe stopped the housekeeper in her way from bringing Laura her lunch and asked
her how she had been passing the time.

"Simons-sama has been telling fortunes with the cards provided for her."

"Fortune-telling, huh…"

Shirabe frowned at the response.

"Those were cards from this house, correct?"

"Yes, without a doubt, sir."

"I see… Thank you for your service. You can go now."

Shirabe walks past the bowing maid with a contemplative look on his face. Midway,
Shirabe stops in front of the door to the room where Laura is being locked in.

The cards given to her are just a generic off-the-shelf tarot deck. Shirabe personally
confirmed that there was no magical power in them. No matter how skilled a witch she
is, she can't use any proper spells with a novelty like that as a medium…

The thoughts repeated in his mind as he stood in front of the door.

He eventually left without entering the room.

◇◇◇

"A transient bond, assistance, escape from a difficult situation… Subtle enough, huh."
 113
Laura exhales a sigh as she concludes her divination. The food brought in by the
housekeeper remains untouched. Not that she is wary of drugs anymore, but she was in
the middle of a fortune-telling process, so she left it aside.

Izayoi Shirabe guessed wrong. Nay, he underestimated Laura. It did not matter to her
whether the card had magic power or not. As long as it generally followed the correct
symbols it would be useful enough as a medium of divination.

In this respect, a card carefully made by nitpicking Japanese makers was remarkably
high-quality, despite being a market item. Laura so much suspected it being a trap when
she received the card. A careful examination ensued.

Suddenly, Laura's whole body shook in a startle. Her slouched posture straightened out,
as if her spine had been replaced by a pole.

She received a vision. A witches' vision is not something she has in demand, it comes to
her passively. Divination for witches is a mere tool to facilitate visions.

Following a predetermined procedure does not always result in a vision. At the same
time, the quality of the ritual instruments was not a decisive factor in achieving visions.
There is the misunderstanding that Izayoi Shirabe may have had.

Surely, by following established procedures, an oracle can be obtained with a certain

degree of accuracy, depending on the skill of the practitioner. Shirabe is more
accustomed to this kind of fortune-telling. In such, commercial trinkets would not yield
proper oracles. Shirabe unconsciously assumed that his fundamental principles also
applied to witches' divinations.

In this case, the results are quite different. Using the commercial tarot cards as a
springboard, Laura dived into the vision.

"The woman of the Bāxiān… I remember that face."

The mutter escaped Laura after she returned to reality from her vision.

◇◇◇

Tuesday afternoon. Tatsuya landed at Naha Airport in his private jet.

 114
Each of his steps through the airport lobby was closely scrutinized by a number of eyes:
public security, military intelligence, and foreign intelligence agents. Information that
Tatsuya boarded his private jet alone was enough to trigger the movement of so many
people.

He is fully aware that he is being monitored. Like always. The surveilling parties are not
even that keen on hiding either. This is particularly true of the local authorities.
Tatsuya's surveillance was more of a means to keep him in check.

However, Tatsuya did not feel the duty to indulge the spectacle for long, just because it
always happens. The lobby was relatively empty today. It was highly unlikely that
anyone could try to blend in with the crowd and lose sight of those following behind.

─And yet, all those who were watching Tatsuya, both domestic and foreign actors, lost
sight of his figure in the lobby.

"I've lost sight of the subject. What about you?"

"We have no sight of the subject over here yet. Was he really heading this way?"

The intelligence officers who had been monitoring Tatsuya exchanged whispered
comms. A similar chatter was also taking place among those of the Public Security
Bureau and foreign intelligence agents.

A tone of resignation was shared by all of them. Today was not the first time this had
happened. If anything, it was a regular occurrence. Even though they had supposedly
not taken their eyes off him, they couldn't recognize him anymore. It was the same even
when making use of tracking systems equipped with the latest in human-recognition AI.
No man or machine could pick up Tatsuya's figure.

"That's the apprentice of the greatest ninja of his time, for you. He's no slouch…"

"Then should we learn ninjutsu too?"

Carefree jests of such were a regular feature at such moments.

After effortlessly eluding the watchful eyes, Tatsuya and his youthful companion
boarded a robotic taxi. Having confirmed that the taxi was not bugged with any audio or
imaging devices via the Elemental Sight, Tatsuya set the destination as a restaurant in
the town of Kadena.
 115
As the taxi pulls out, Tatsuya speaks to his youthful companion.

"It's so much easier to shake off surveillance when you're around, Minoru."

The young man with a humble impression was Minoru under [Parade] disguise. As per
usual, he altered his height and build in addition to his face, so it might be better to call
it a whole transformation instead of a disguise.

"I don't believe there would be much of a difference if you were alone, Tatsuya-san. My
[Kimon Tonkou] was hardly putting in any work, you know."

Minoru, under the guise of the young man he had transformed into, responded to
Tatsuya's words with a wry smile. It wasn't an attempt at modesty on his part. This was
mainly because he felt that "Kimon Tonkou" did not contribute very much.

［Kimon Tonkou] is a magic that acts through the medium of the directed gaze. It
interferes, disrupting the perception of the conscious mind that looks at the object. The
more intense the gaze, the more powerfully this magic is applied.

But now that Tatsuya had developed a ninjutsu technique to vanish into thin air, he was
able to make himself unrecognizable to the public. The "vanishing into thin air," is an
active effect of the ninjutsu that Tatsuya had mastered.

Unlike the Recognition Inhibiting Magic [Aidoneus], which prevents people from
recognizing the caster even with visual contact, in this ninjutsu, which Tatsuya stole
from Yakumo, he blends into the scenery in a way that does not inspire the desire for
visual contact.

And since [Kimon Tonkou] utilizes the gaze as its medium, it will not produce effects
unless a gaze is consciously directed toward it. So as long as Tatsuya's ninjutsu is in
effect, [Kimon Tonkou] has little chance to play a role.

"Because [Kimon Tonkou] was active from the beginning, it was easier than usual for me
to vanish from the consciousness. [Kimon Tonkou] did its job well."

"If that's what you want it to be."

Tatsuya's earnest response loosened the "impression" of the "wry smile" from Minoru's
face.

At said restaurant they found a U.S. officer waiting for them, just as agreed upon with
Canopus.
 116
"It's been a while, Mr. Shiba."

Tatsuya recognized this female officer.

"Warrant Officer Sylvia Mercury, am I correct?"

"Ensign now, sir. I would like to thank you again for your kindness during the incident
three years ago. Once again, thank you very much."

This officer greeting them is Ensign Sylvia Mercury, a Planet-Class STARS member. She
and her comrades had been captured three years ago after invading Japan on an
undercover mission, and had been rescued from captivity in a prison camp on the
southern tip of the Boso Peninsula by Tatsuya.

"You're welcome. That was a matter of mutual interests, so please don't bother."

Breaking out the imprisoned USNA agents was part of the deal struck between the
Yotsuba Family and the STARS. Also, it was in a time when Tatsuya was partly in an
antagonistic relationship with the National Defense Forces, so the act was consistent
with his own interests.

"I should thank you for your hospitality today."

"It's a pleasure. As for your companion…"

Sylvia looks at Minoru.

"Pleased to meet you, Ensign, my name is Oujima Hikaru."

Minoru introduces himself under the fake name on his passport. After the incident in
which he stowed away at a base in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands when he
kidnapped Minami, his face has become well known among the USNA military. In
particular his inhumanely beauty, if nothing else. Sylvia, herself, remembered Minoru's
face well.

Yet the name "Kudou Minoru" never dawned on her when she looked at the unassuming
young man in front of her.

Tatsuya and Minoru entered Kadena Air Base in a self-propelled car driven by Sylvia,
completely unhindered. Although the base is in Japan soil, it's a joint Japan-U.S.
ownership.
 117
As defined in the US-Japan Alliance, any joint base that can be used by an allied country
in the same way as a base in its own country. These are not prescribed in the formal
terms unilaterally, but there are also joint bases established within the USNA that can be
used by the Japanese military.

And, being a joint base, any U.S. officers have virtually a free pass. One might think of it
as a kind of diplomatic immunity. The guard on sentry duty only checked Sylvia's ID card
and made no inquiry as to the identity of Tatsuya and Minoru. They didn't even ask her
to lower the smoked glass of the rear window where they were sitting.

Now they were in front of the [Stealth Diver] in its full glory.

"Even though it matches the data, it's surprisingly compact…"

"It's meant for infiltrations. It's natural the profile would be reduced."

Tatsuya's response to Minoru's remark was not a flattery meant for the ears of their
guide. It was just his honest assessment of the situation.

The Stealth Diver is about 4.5 meters long, with about 1.8 meters in maximum width and
depth, narrowing at the front and rear in a spindle shape. It has no wings, tail, intake or
exhaust nozzles. The surface is a smooth, curved, utterly matte jet-black. Its stealth
factor seems to rely more on the material than on the shape of the fuselage.
Nevertheless, since it has no independent heat emission ─ the only heat is that by air
compression by fluid friction ─ even in the event that it is detected, it is most likely to
be misidentified as a meteorite or a scoria.

"The inside is more spacious than I expected."

Said Minoru looking inside, sounding a bit relieved.

"This is not like a human torpedo, you know. Take this as one individual re-entry capsule
of the early manned rockets."

In the design the passenger is seated in a half-lying position on the seat with a large
reclining angle, rather than riding on his or her stomach. It would be an unsettling
experience if there were windows, but fortunately, the inside is completely isolated
from the outside world. There weren't even optical cameras, all the external feedback
was limited to radar and magnetometers.

"…The control scheme is quite simple, isn't it?"

In position on the seat as he receives the lecture, Minoru looked up and shared his
impressions with Tatsuya, who was peering in from the side.
 118
"How do you feel about the flight magic system?"

"The response doesn't seem to be bad, but I wouldn't trust it to handle this frame very
well. It is best to assume that it can only be used during a small time frame."

"That's also mentioned in the specifications. But that should be good enough for our
purposes."

"I agree."

Both gave the Stealth Diver a passing grade after examining it in person.

◇◇◇

During Tatsuya and Minoru's visit to Kadena Air Base.

An incident occurred at Izayoi Shirabe's mansion, located in the former Saitama

Prefecture.

Laura managed to break the seal on her room and vanished from the mansion.

"─I see, she has escaped…"

In contrast to his men, who couldn't hide their consternation and urgency, Shirabe
maintained composure.

"Judging from the residual impressions left in the room, it cannot have been more than
30 minutes since the escape. I believe it's possible to capture her! With your permission,
sir!"

One of his men asked Shirabe for permission to pursue in a tone of aggravated agitation.
He was not alone in feeling insulted by someone escaping from this house where they
had been confined. As proof of this, several voices rose in agreement from those around
him.

"There is no need for pursuit."

Shirabe's decision was unexpected and hard for them to accept. Although no one
directly objected, there were more than a few discreet grumbles.

"Laura Simons is being hunted by my shiki9."

This line replaced the grumbling with exclamations of admiration.

9
式鬼
 119
"...Did Shirabe-sama anticipate that the woman would escape?"

"Of course. You should all have known from the start; that woman was not the kind to
stay quiet for long."

"From the beginning… Sir, has the shiki been in use since then?"

Shirabe gives a meaningful smile in response.

"Look for yourselves."

"The item─"

Shirabe calls out to the boy servant standing in the corner of the room. Though, being
only half a man, the boy should be more of an apprentice than an underling.

The young apprentice bowed briskly before exiting the room and returning shortly
after.

He brings with both hands a sanbou of white wood. Atop the sanbou was a bundle of
amulets.

"This talisman is the counterpart to the Shiki on that woman. The point was to catch the
spies who had helped her infiltrate."

"So was that person a bait for that purpose…?"

"Let the Ten Master Clans take care of those greenhorn small fry such as the likes of
FAIR. We are looking for the source of the bandits who are helping to contaminate this
country. Until the original agents show up, she must not find out about it. For that we
have this Chasing Talisman10."

"Yes, sir!"

Shirabe's command was met with a collective cry from his men. Then one after another,
they picked up a charm from the tops of the sanbou.

◇◇◇

After escaping from Shirabe's mansion, Laura was heading east. Her mode of
transportation was, surprisingly, a police car.

10
追捕之符
 120
Laura didn't have an easy time breaking out of the mansion; Izayoi Shirabe might have
planned to let her go at large eventually, but he hadn't settled on when. He did not know
when the spies would try to contact Laura.

Therefore, he did not conveniently loosen the art keeping her confined. By the same
token, if the prisoner couldn't break the spell by herself, it would not serve its true
purpose. As such, Shirabe had set the "sealing spell" at a level of challenge that Laura,
could not disarm by herself, without external assistance, but could destroy if she used
her full power,

Shirabe underestimated Laura's skill in divination. Frankly put, he was waiting for Laura
to make contact with the other side, not for her to make a move on her own. And
although he put on a facade of "everything is going according to plan" in front of his
subordinates, he made a miscalculation in that respect.

However, he was correct in that the off-the-shelf deck couldn't assist in her incantation.
She didn't use the tarot cards he arranged for her; she broke through Shirabe's spells
with her magical power alone.

Right after brute-forcing her way through Shirabe's spell, Laura was in shambles, both
inside and out. Dark circles were appearing under her eyes, her mental exhaustion was
naturally severe, and her thin shirt and skirt she wore was torn here and there from the
rebound from breaking through the physical restraints of the spell.

At first glance, she looked like a victim of prolonged abuse. So dire an appearance that a
police officer on bicycle patrol approached her.

Laura mesmerized the officer. Not with her feminine charm ─ which are not negligible,
per se ─ but with her witch magic. Charming men with Evil Eye is a basic skill for any
witch. Though she couldn't conquer a highly skilled magician like Shirabe, who had
strong resistance, Laura had enough mastery to charm even a well-disciplined police
officer as long as she was dealing with a non-magician, that is someone from the
majority.

Even bewitched the man was not completely enthralled, deprived of his free will. He
simply felt obliged to show a gentlemanly act of kindness so that he would be willing to
take her to a safe place in a police vehicle. And he wasn't alone in that sentiment; his
fellow officers at the police station were similarly allured.

Despite her escape thus appearing to be going well, Laura had yet to recover from her
exhaustion in the breakout. For this reason, she remained oblivious to the shiki that
lurked in her shadow.
 121
◇◇◇

Sent to bring Laura back to the USNA was a single Bāxiān, He Xiangu, a master of
appearance-altering magic. With a differing system from that of Lina and Minoru's
[PARADE], He Xiangu's [Alteration] was not at all inferior, if at all. Making use of this
magic, He Xiangu blended into a remote corner of the metropolitan area.

This was not her first visit to Japan. On the contrary, she has infiltrated more than two
dozen times. And not just in Japan. Leveraging her [Alteration] magic, He Xiangu has
traveled throughout the entire East Asia establishing numerous bases of operations. In
other words, she is a specialist in infiltration and establishment of operational footholds.

The location where she is currently hiding is one of the many outposts she has built
throughout Japan. In exchange for the Tokyo base ceded to Chen Xiangshan at the time
of the Yokohama incursion five years ago, she had a Japanese collaborator purchase this
private house in the southern part of the former Saitama Prefecture.

Neither Zhou Gongjin nor any ethnic Chinese living in Japan were involved in the
acquisition of this base. Thus, it was not picked up by the Army Intelligence Department
or the Public Security Bureau in their investigations of the Zhou Gongjin-Gu Jie
network.

Therefore, this place should not have been known. And yet, He Xiangu sensed the
approach of a spirit (ki) wielded by a Japanese magician.

He Xiangu has acquired some knowledge of ancient Japanese magic as a necessity in her
trade, and although she cannot use it herself, she is able to recognize the type of spell
wielded or about to be wielded against her.

Now she felt that a person with an Onmyoji shiki on them was approaching.

(It doesn't seem that it's carrying along voluntarily, just that it didn't notice that it was
being possessed…)

(This person is a magician… and is being possessed… I'd understand if it was an ordinary
person, but to not be able to notice the ki on them. That's pathetic.)

Muttering words of contempt in her mind, He Xiangu unintentionally tilted her head in
thought. Two questions popped into her mind.

First, there was a sense of discomfort that the presence of the possessed magician was
not that of a weak individual. To her perception, the magician who approaches with the
 122
shiki is of considerable ability. It was incongruous that such a high-level magician would
be unaware of the shiki strapped to them.

The second reason being that the magician's presence seemed to be that of a "witch". He
Xiangu's objective here was to rescue a "witch". Could it be that this magician, who was
being stalked by a shiki, was the target of this rescue mission?

If so, the picture is not good. "The shiki is to find out where I am, this 'witch' is being
used as bait to catch me…" He Xiangu thought.

If this was an enemy ploy, she would need a plan of action. The easiest way was to not
meet the approaching "witch". It's unclear if they know where she is, but it'd not be
difficult to avoid her with the sign of the shiki.

But that could be tantamount to abandoning the mission, so it is a last recourse. More
importantly, neutralizing the pursuers here and now would facilitate the subsequent
escape from Japan.

"Since I can sense the shiki approaching, the tracker probably doesn't realize that I have
a way to deal with the ki," He Xiangu thought, and began preparing a trap. He Xiangu
thought so and began setting up the trap.

◇◇◇

"Thank you very much. I'll be fine here. Thank you so much for your hard work."

Laura offered the policeman a sensual smile. With a line that many of the general public
would find inappropriate for a civilian to say to a police officer. Still, the officers in
question both smiled and said, "Have a great day." and saw Laura off from inside the
patrol car.

Laura began walking toward one of the houses and looked back on the way. Seeing a
police vehicle pulling away, she turned and walked in the opposite direction.

Finding herself standing in front of an unremarkable second-hand house, Laura

muttered, "Here it is."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Laura Simons."

"Please call me Renka Kase while we are in Japan."

He Xiangu responded to Laura's introduction.

 123
"While in Japan, right?"

"Yes. Best not to give any other name than that. Least you spout it in the spur of the
moment and make us look suspicious."

"I'm not the type to screw up like that."

Laura took on a self-assured stance, probably in an attempt to avoid showing any

weakness. A tough act, in essence, feeling that she would lose if she showed weakness
even when, and specifically when, the other party is in a far stronger position. That is
how the status quo is determined; the law of the world she lives in.

"You must be a Bāxiān. Do you mind telling me your codename?"

"I told you it is best you don't know…"

Even upon the right guess of her identity as a Bāxiān, He Xiangu showed not a hint of
consternation. She refused Laura's request with an elusive smile.

While her codename might not be her real name, her magician name still told more
about her than her Japanese fake name would have. It was with this notion in mind that
Laura tried to extract her codename in the Bāxiān, but He Xiangu's guard remained
firmer.

"…Yes, of course. By the way, what about your colleague Lü Dongbin, who brought me to
Japan?"

"Another is on their way to retrieve him."

Laura tried to rattle something off of her with a new line of questioning, but He Xiangu
refused to yield.

"So you'll be the one taking me out of here?"

"That's right. We should get moving."

"─Got it."

Laura gave up on trying to dig for information after He Xiangu managed to answer the
questions without being reticent, but, at the same time not revealing any extra
information.

"First of all, here, take it."

"A passport? I have one."

 124
He Xiangu extended to Laura a USNA passport.

"That passport may be marked. Safer to use a different one."

"I see. Alright."

Laura accepted easily enough and pulled out the passport she had used to enter the
country from the only item she had with her, a small handbag.

At that moment, Laura scowled. This was the first time she had touched her passport
since leaving the mansion. She had shoved it in her handbag during her escape and
hadn't even shown it to the policeman, as she would normally be required to.

"That man!"

Her eyebrows suddenly shoot up, and Laura slams the passport to the floor.

"You've got to be kidding me!"

Laura stomps on the passport with all her "strength".

An artificial spirit ─ a Shiki seeps out from the paper of the passport and dissipates
under Laura's feet.

He Xiangu watches the scene with an impassive smile on her face.

She can see that the one in the passport is just a decoy, and that the real Shiki is
possessing something else.

In her mind, He Xiangu held a different kind of smile to the oblivious Laura, one of cold
scorn.

"There is a change of clothes in the bedroom upstairs."

Laura did not resist the indirect instruction to change her clothes. She snatched her
new passport from He Xiangu's hand and headed upstairs where said a change of clothes
was prepared for her.

A short time later, Laura returned in the new set of clothes holding the one she had just
before.

"These clothes have a spell in them, don't they?"

 125
She says in a displeased tone, lightly pinching the collar of the clothes she changed into,
in complaint to He Xiangu.

"These are charms to deal with the tracking magic. On the same note, leave these
clothes you have been wearing behind."

With this said, Laura, who at till this point was unaware of the shiki planted on her
passport, couldn't argue with her.

"Then let's get moving."

"──Yes, please, lead the way."

Laura responded in a high-handed tone determined to keep her pretense up.

With Laura in tow, He Xiangu left the hideout with a wry smile on her face.

Leaving behind the clothes Laura had taken off and the passport with Izayoi Shirabe's
magic still lingering in it.

◇◇◇

In a self-propelled car, in their pursuit of Laura, Izayoi Shirabe sensed that the shiki in
Laura's forged passport had been destroyed.

"Finally noticed, huh…"

A derisive chuckle escapes his lips following his muttering. That said, there was no
nuance of mockery in his tone. It was no surprise to him that a low-ranked character
such as the likes of Laura would take so long to notice Shirabe's techniques.

The main shiki was operating fine and well, lurking in the shadows. It hasn't moved
since a while ago. He may have been caught off guard with the decoy shiki being
disposed of, which may seem insistence on carelessness in light of the fact that Laura
has at all escaped, but Shirabe did not feel any uneasiness.

To him, FAIR is nothing more than an affiliate of New Humanity Front, an organization
he appropriately manipulated, a small fry that did not even realize it was being
manipulated by him.

Such a low-level group and the spies supporting them could not possibly serve as my
enemies. ─Izayoi Shirabe thought of it so quite naturally, so much so that he didn't
consciously realize it.
 126
Using the charm linked to the shiki led Shirabe to an ordinary old family house. He
signaled to his men to set up a perimeter around the house. Then he took out the
charm, transformed it into a shiki, and released it to scout the interior.

Shirabe looked all around the house through the shiki and involuntarily scowled.

─There is no one around.

"Shirabe-sama, we secured the perimeter."

Then came the leader of his men with a report.

"Understood. You two, follow me."

"Yes, sir. Come on."

Following the leader's cue, two surgeons followed behind Shirabe.

There is no one around, but there is a presence. If anything, the shiki that possessed
Laura Simons is still inside the house. Shirabe steps into the house, with two of his men
at his back, he is determined to see for himself what is behind this incongruous
situation.

Inside, Shirabe picked up a distinct presence of two human beings. It was clearer than
when seen from outside through the medium of the shiki. One of them was definitely
Laura Simons.

(She's clever─)

(Did you notice the decoy shiki and set up wards to hinder [sensory attunement])

The ancient-style magic technique of [sensory synchronization] allows the caster to see
and hear what the shiki experiences as if they were there. It was Shirabe's conjecture
that the spy must have set up a ward to obfuscate their presence so that they would not
be seen.

Laura's magic was out of his consideration. Witches' magic interferes with
human-related phenomena. It was unlikely that she could have used her magic to
interfere with a shiki-oni, let alone a demon. If she could, her escape would have been
much smarter.

"To be able to use such a technique," Shirabe felt a bit wary of the spy who is helping in
her escapade. Nevertheless, he is still confident of his superiority. This hardly shook his
 127
boat. His pride held on to the fact that the contact with the shiki possessing Laura had
not been cut off.

From the layout of a typical house, Laura would be in the living room, and the other
person would be in the kitchen. Shirabe took out a dart-sized [Hama-ya] and opened the
door to what he thought was the living room with great vigor.

◇◇◇

"Got you."

Midway to the airport in a robot taxi, He Xiangu unexpectedly muttered.

"What is it?"

Asked Laura, who was seated next to her. Though, she did not expect to get an answer
from her companion.

"That arrogant pursuer of yours."

Contrary to Laura's expectations, however, He Xiangu responded with a smile. The

amused smile struck Laura as the first genuine emotion shown by the still anonymous
helper.

"May I ask you to explain in a little more detail?"

Laura proceeds with an intrusive question in the mind that it would do no harm to just
ask.

"It seems that Japanese magicians are unfamiliar with jinjutsu."

"Jinjutsu?"

"The warding techniques to close off a place and the summoning techniques to employ
spirits are certainly something to behold. Yet, likely because of their familiarity with the
art of wards they have little caution against unenclosed formations11."

"The warding techniques to close off a place and the summoning techniques to employ
spirits are certainly something to behold. Yet, likely because of their familiarity with the
art of wards they have little caution against unenclosed formations. Also, because of
their lack of confidence in the summoning technique, they do not even realize that they

陣 (or possibly 阵法)- Battle or Spell formations. Terms usually found in Wuxia, Xianxia & Xuanhuan
11

Novels
 128
have lost control of their spirit. The spirit summoning techniques came from us in the
first place."

"…Are you saying that you took control of that man's familiar?"

"Technically speaking, I didn't take it away, just rewrote the commands. To possess not
you, Miss Simons, but the clothes stained with your bodily fluids."

Laura frowns in disgust. Even if it was a woman doing, she could not be okay with the
fact that someone used her sweat-soaked clothes as a decoy.

"Of course, I'm not happy with the idea. It was to avoid pursuit that I asked to change
clothes."

"……"

"You also don't have to worry about the clothes you took off being used for incantations,
I've severed the [connection12] between you and the clothes you took off."

"I'm not worried about that. Do not assume that repaying curses is a specialty of yours
only."

"Now that's quite rude…"

He Xiangu renewed her unassuming smile. It irked Laura how there was a hint of
condescension in the way she smiled, but she restrained herself from acting immaturely
by throwing a tantrum here.

◇◇◇

"How did this happen!," the line befitting a poorly written comedy was repeatedly
shouted in Shirabe's mind.

Upon entering the living room, he found a pile of the clothes she wore and a forged
passport that had been trampled underfoot. Not a soul was in sight, not a trace of Laura
or the spies. Shirabe was left with no choice but to admit that he had been completely
outsmarted.

Struck with humiliation, Shirabe quickly set about resuming his pursuit, hoping to use
the clothes Laura had removed as a medium to locate her, a task that should not prove
difficult. He consoled himself with the thought.

12
縁 (en) - fate; destiny; (special) link
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Shirabe had his men pick up Laura's clothes, and he moved to leave the safe house. He
wanted to get away from this loathsome place as soon as possible.

Except, he found himself unable to leave the house.

The house isn't big, it's a run-of-the-mill, second-hand two-story. Not the kind he would
ever lose track of or misunderstand the layout.

The living room, where he is now, is located just past the front door.

The route to the exterior comes to mind instantly, without even having to think about it.

And yet, Shirabe and his men all took the wrong route.

They moved towards the corridor leading to the front door, but they found themselves
in the dining room, where they had moved from the doorway that had been left open. In
their haste to get out into the hallway, they now had a staircase in front of them. At
which point, Shirabe realized that they had fallen into the enemy's trap.

"This is probably a [Hachimon Tonkou13] modus operandi. Release a shiki and find the
[open gate14]."

Shirabe stopped and took out a charm as he instructed his men to do the same.
[Hachimon Tonkou] is a wide area ancient-style magic, stemming from East Asia
continent's divination arts, that creates a jin, or "formation15"; a magical field.

"Jin" magic targets lands or buildings, often with illusory effects. Compared to normal
area-based magic, the range of effect is wider, but it takes more preparation time and is
not as potent.

To compensate for the lack of power, it is often employed with areas within the field
with purposely lower power, thus bolstering the effects in other areas. [Hachimon
Tonkou] follows this pattern. Furthermore, although "Kimon Tonkou" share the same
original concept, they branched out completely from each other.

In the original Hachimon Tonkou form of divination, there are three directions that are
auspicious, four directions that are adverse, and one direction that is neutral between
auspicious and adverse. Ancient-style magic formation called [Hachimon Tonkou] also
has three zones of escape, only one of which is a path of escape. The other two are just
so-called safety areas. Shirabe's instruction to look for the "open gate" refers to the
single possible escape route.
13
八門遁甲 (はちもんとんこう)
14
開門
15
陣 (jin) - a "Battle Formation” that have certain magical significance in taoism.
 130

As stated many times already, the hideout Shirabe was lured into is an ordinary
single-family house. For many, it is a two-story house; it is not very big, and from
Shirabe's point of view, it is quite small, at least in comparison to the mansion in which
he lives.

(…Why?)

Unable to escape such a small house, Shirabe let out an exclamation in his mind for
what seemed like the hundredth time. He can at least keep his pride in not verbalizing it,
but he did not know how long he would be able to keep that up. A concern that none
other than Shirabe himself harbored.

Shirabe is not unfamiliar with magic like [Hachimon Tonkou]. Though he has not yet
reached the level to use it himself, he has studied enough to know how to break it in
case he comes across an enemy who uses this magic. Cases such as this one right now.
This is why he recognized right away as a [Hachimon Tonkou] and was able to detect the
location of the escape route, that is the [open gate]. But he still was a long way from it.
No matter if he chose the right route, he never got to the gate.

Little did Shirabe realize that there was another magic layered on top of [Hachimon
Tonkou].

[Alteration], the specialty magic of the Bāxiān He Xiangu. This was not just a magic that
changed one's appearance. Far from a magic that just changed one and others'
appearances. It could change the appearance of more than people, it can change the
appearance of information bodies.

And while [Parade], used by the likes of Lina and Minoru, creates a false information
body to mask the original information body, He Xiangu's [Alteration] disturbs the
perception and measure of an information body.

Since the information body itself is not being spoofed, it does not counter high-level
perception abilities such as [Elemental Sight], which directly observes in the information
dimension. However, in the case of the vision magicians ordinarily, which reads the
information behind an object or event, an illusion reaches their "eyes" in the course of
the process.

Furthermore, this magic is mediated by entities such as charms. Meaning that the effects
of [Alteration] are maintained until the charm loses its power.
 131
Essentially, as ancient magic employs an entity as its medium, it tends to have a longer
duration compared to modern magic, which does not use a medium. This is one of the
distinctive characteristics of ancient magic as opposed to modern. And although longer
duration isn't by itself an advantage, as it requires more time and effort to operate, it is
definitely more suitable for use in traps.

The framework of [Hachimon Tonkou] that Shirabe was reading through the shiki was
distorted by He Xiangu's magic.

By the time Shirabe managed to escape from [Hachimon Tonkou], the robot taxi with
Laura arrived at the airport. And, as He Xiangu assured her, there was no way to curse
her out of the clothes she had left behind.

Thus, Laura was taken safely out of Japan by He Xiangu, and Izayoi Shirabe's pride was
shattered to smithereens.
 132

Chapter 6
[Clandestine Departure]

On the night of the day Tatsuya and Minoru visited Kadena Air Base in Okinawa and of
Laura's escape from Japan.

After lights out, Ryousuke, carrying a daypack with only the bare necessities on his
back, opens the window in his hospital room.

It was mid-summer. The window had been closed because of the air conditioning, but
since some inpatients don't like the cooled air and prefer to let the breeze in, just
opening the window wouldn't raise suspicions. But climbing over the window was a
surefire way to set off the alarms. Alarm not against escapees, as this is not a prison. It's
a measure set up to watch out for falling accidents and suicides attempts.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. If you go through that window, you'll be noticed right
away."

In his hesitation, Ryousuke hurried to look back when he heard someone say from
behind him, showing just how nervous he was at the moment.

Before he knew it, there stood the faint silhouette of a person.

A figure is neither tall nor short. Neither fat nor thin. No remarkable features to the
point of being unnatural.

The same is true of the face. Well-balanced, but without any distinguishing marks.
Objectively speaking, there was a slight resemblance to a handsome man, but there
were so few points that caught the eye that a plain impression was all that was left. He
seemed to be a carbon-copy of the image of an "ordinary" man.

"Who are you?"

Ryousuke kept his sensibility not to raise his voice here.

"A collaborator of yours."

Ryousuke frowned at the man's answer.

Ryousuke didn't ask for his name. He could tell he would not get an answer.
 133
"Collaborator? And what would you be collaborating with me for?"

He inquired instead of asking for a name.

"You want to go to America, don't you?"

The man returned his question with another.

"…I don't plan on smuggling in there."

"So you don't need help?"

Ryousuke couldn't outright shake his head.

He couldn't shake, nor nod his head.

When asked if help was unnecessary, he could not nod his head at the "unnecessary", at
the same time that he found it hard to refuse the "helping hand" being offered.

"It's pointless to try to escape from the hospital in the first place. And you know that,
don't you?"

Again, Ryousuke had nothing to say.

He had a good point. Even if he applied for a long-stay visa and arranged for an
interview at the embassy, he would still not be granted a visa right away. It may be
several weeks, if not months, for the visa to be actually issued.

He is expected to be discharged from the hospital in two days. In the case he sneaks out
tonight, he will have to temporarily hide himself from his acquaintances. He'll end up
causing more trouble than it's worth.

Because at the end of the day, Ryousuke is just a slave to his escapist tendencies. He is
easy to run away at the thought of his family discovering his whereabouts. And he
himself is keenly aware of this.

"First of all, you need to be discharged from the hospital in a way that won't get you in
trouble."

Rather than pressuring the wordless Ryousuke for an answer, the man proceeded on his
own.

"I will arrange for you to be discharged from the hospital a day early tomorrow. At the
same time, if you submit your resignation to your employer, the authorities will not
intervene even if you go into hiding."
 134
"How can you do that…?"

"Leave the hospital part to me. You can submit your resignation online."

"Online…?"

"You don't know how to do it?"

"No, I can, but… Wouldn't it be too ungrateful of me?"

Ryousuke hesitated, causing the man to look at him with distaste.

"Even if you care about your duty, there's nothing you can do about it."

Said the man in a tone of retort,

"─Haha!"

A sneer escaped Ryousuke.

It was a sneer at himself. Who was he to worry about looking dishonest when he was
about to run away in the night, he thought.

With that, Ryousuke's resolve was set.

"If you're still willing to, please give me that help."

"Understood. I'm Ooto."

"Ooto-san, right? You probably already know, but I'm Tookami Ryousuke. I look forward
to working with you."

Taking the "Ooto", another reading of Daito's last name, Ryousuke said his name, even
though he felt it was unnecessary at this point.

He chose not to reach out for a handshake.

"I'll be back tomorrow morning."

"Got it."

The man leaves the hospital room without making so much as a sound.

Ryousuke drops the bag he was carrying, changes into his pajamas, and crawls into bed.

Early in the morning of the next day, Ryousuke went through the discharge procedure
by himself. By morning, the discharge date had been changed. Needless to say, the
 135
handiwork of Fujibayashi Hiroto, who had contacted Ryousuke last night under the alias
of "Ooto".

Ryousuke left the hospital and headed for his company's residence in Izu. Since he
always intended to return to America in the near future, he did not have much luggage
at the company housing. Nevertheless, he still had important valuables there, including
his passport, which he needed to pick up.

He was able to enter the building without any problem. He still was a resident there,
after all.

Anxiety over the prospect of being detected by the security system nagged at Ryousuke,
who thought to himself in self-deprecating amusement, "I'm being way too
self-conscious…"

He used the terminal furnished in his room to go over the resignation procedures. This
was Fujibayashi, after she saw how empty his room was, she added the terminal at the
company's expense. Ryousuke felt a little guilty about wasting their money like this.

Even so, there was nothing that would make Ryousuke stay in Japan with the Magian
Company. He had already made up his mind. To put it bluntly, the die has been cast. All
that remained was to cross the Rubicon River. That was how Ryousuke felt after
submitting his resignation letter.

But after this, he had an appointment at the USNA Embassy in the afternoon for his visa
interview. There was no time for sentimentality. Ryousuke put all his belongings into the
3-way bag he had also used when he came back to Japan, left the key inside, and walked
out of the room.

It's not particularly uncommon nowadays, but there is no caretaker at this corporate
housing. Inconvenient as it seemed, the staff of the management company was
supposed to come there when the need arose. So, Ryousuke was supposed to be able to
leave this place, where he had spent several months of his life, unnoticed.

Unfortunately, he runs into an unexpected situation in the auto-locking lobby.

Today being Wednesday, both the Magian Company and Makouien are naturally on duty.

"─Oh, is that you, Tookami-san?"

And yet, for some reason, he ran into Mayumi in the lobby of the company housing.

◇◇◇
 136
It was by sheer coincidence that Mayumi came back to the company house at that time.
She just so happened to have something she needed at work, and it was quicker to get it
from her room than to place an order for it. It was also unexpected for Mayumi to find
Ryousuke there.

"Saegusa-san…"

Ryousuke was pale. Not quite ghastly, but enough that you could tell even without
looking too close.

Was it because he just left the hospital? wondered Mayumi as she realized something at
that moment.

"Tookami-san, weren't you due to be discharged from the hospital tomorrow?"

"……"

Ryousuke does not answer.

A bad feeling swells inside Mayumi.

"Tookami-san, what is that luggage? You're not going on a business trip, are you?"

"…I just submitted my letter of resignation a few minutes ago."

"Are you going back to your parents' home?"

She asked knowing the answer was, "no".

"…No. I'm not returning to my parents' house."

"Then, where are you going?"

She felt that might come off as intrusive. They are just co-workers, and have only known
each other since April of this year. Still, after having fought together three times against
criminals, and having shared life and death experiences together, Mayumi could not
remain indifferent to the matter.

"……"

"It's not back to America, by any chance?"

Ryousuke did not respond, but Mayumi could guess by his expression.
137
 138
"…I see. So you're going to America to never come back again, is that it?"

"…That's right."

Perhaps finally conceding, Ryousuke admits with his own mouth.

Mayumi looked down sorrowfully.

A look of frustration crossed Ryousuke's face, but he felt no need to wonder why.

"Did you think I was going to tell your family about you, Tookami-san? Is that why you
decided you couldn't stay in Japan anymore?"

"No, you're getting it wrong!"

Realizing what Mayumi must have misunderstood, Ryousuke loudly denied it.

"I just came back to Japan because Milady ─ I mean, Lena Fehr, ordered me to find out
what Executive Director Shiba was up to. I was a spy from the very beginning!"

Faced with this loud, sudden confession from Ryousuke, Mayumi, for the time being,
could only blink in confusion.

"Sure, I'm doing this because of what you mentioned about my sister, Saegusa-san. But
that's just what kicked me off. Now that Magian Society and FEHR have a partnership,
I've come around to decide that my spy job here is done. So I decided to go back to
FEHR."

"Back, you say…"

Spoke Maymi with a soft smile, which Ryousuke found to be rather sad. Though he
immediately dismissed his impression as "no way." Still, the guilt remained.

"Tookami-san, your loyalty is to Lena, isn't it?"

"─Yes."

Ryousuke solidly affirmed. He could not give a vague answer to this question.

"To the point that you can't even be in Japan, the place you were born? And, more
importantly, with your family? I don't think that's right."

"I can't wriggle out of this one." Ryousuke felt.

He didn't need to convince or give satisfaction to Mayumi here. No matter what she
says, his next move is already decided. If anything, he should not have wasted time here.
 139
"Until the day she says she doesn't need me anymore, I want to work for Milady."

But Ryousuke failed to abide by the sober judgment his rational mind had come up with.

"I want to devote all of my time to Milady. And there is no one that can take her place for
me."

"…Not even your family?"

With an expression of being overwhelmed by Ryousuke's fervor, Mayumi nonetheless

managed to wring out a counter-argument.

"Yes."

But after he said so without a drop of hesitation, Mayumi officially lost her words.

"I'm an ignorant piece of shit. An ungrateful son, a heartless brother. Five years ago, I
was about to take the head of the family. I'm sure he would have spoken my ear off,
cursed me, and urged the family to cut ties with me… That's who I am now. But I still
want to be useful to that person. I want to be at her side and serve her."

"……"

"I know getting permanent residency in the US will not be an easy thing to do. I don't
have any notable academic background or skills worth mentioning, nor do I have a
company backing me up. So, I'm willing to do what it takes, humiliating as it may be, to
be by her side."

"That far…"

"Yes. That far. But even I still have some shame in me. I wouldn't want my parents or my
sister to find out about me like this. So…"

Mayumi came to grips with the fact that she wouldn't be able to persuade Ryousuke.

"I understand. I will not contact your family."

That was all she could say, all the while gripping with a sense of helplessness.

So Ryousuke was gone from the Magian Company.

Even so, Tatsuya kept track of his movements through his subordinate, Daimon.

◇◇◇
 140
August 25, Wednesday night.

At Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, the USNA Air Force's most advanced supersonic
high-altitude strategic reconnaissance aircraft, the Sprite, was being readied for takeoff.

In the weapon bay, primarily designed for bombing applications, was being loaded with
the Stealth Diver, a specialized descent and infiltration vehicle instead of the customary
UAV.

Tatsuya and Minoru were already in the cockpit of the Stealth Diver in their everyday
clothes. Inside, they shoved their own backpacks filled with a change of clothes and
other things needed for infiltration into the small cargo space behind the seat.

"Mr. Shiba, I'm closing the hatch."

Where the conventional fighter jet would have the canopy, the Stealth Diver's version is
called a "hatch", because it is made of the same material as the outer wall and does have
a window or allow for any external visibility.

"Yes, please."

At his prompt the airframe he was in is sealed hermetically. The same goes for the
Stealth Diver with the figure Minoru has changed into with [Parade].

The weapon bay containing the stealth diver closes, and the strategic reconnaissance
aircraft Sprite makes its leisurely way to the runway.

The "Sprite" nickname, which originally is a name for "fairy", is actually a reference to
the meteorological phenomenon known as "sprite", or "red sprite". A red light emission
phenomenon that occurs in the mesosphere. One of the kinds of upper-atmospheric
lightning, also called "upper-atmospheric red lightning flash."

The SR-92 Sprite is not a continuation of the design lineage of the SR-71 Blackbird, the
supersonic strategic reconnaissance aircraft that once long reigned as the fastest
aircraft during the past century. The Sprite succeeds the never officially recognized
SR-91 Aurora. Its fuselage follows the isosceles triangle flying wing design.

Just being a flying wing design, however, does not necessarily imply that the Sprite is a
stealth aircraft. It was designed solely with speed and climbing performance in mind.

Apart from the air-to-surface missiles fitted in bombing operations, its armament
consisted of a single laser to intercept incoming air-defense missiles. As such, it's not
suited for aerial combat. From the concept, it is supposed to use its speed and altitude
to avoid attacks, and use the lasers to intercept any missiles that it cannot shake off. The
 141
stealth divers that Tatsuya and Minoru are in will be launched in the same way as an
air-to-ground missile.

With Tatsuya and Minoru onboard, in the weapon bay instead of the cabin, the Sprite
took off into the midnight sky to the south.

◇◇◇

The Sprite took off from Kadena Air Base shortly after 9:00 p.m., but, on account of the
time difference, reached the skies over Tibet before 8:00 p.m.

From Okinawa, the Sprite flew south and entered the airspace over Tibet from the
northern part of the Indochina Peninsula. When it was over the eastern edge of the
Himalayas, it dropped the Stealth Divers.
 142

Chapter 7
[Infiltration of Lhasa]

Lhasa, being a tourist city, is still full of tourists out and about at this hour. The lights of
the business were still on shining. Even the skies were not completely dark, echoing the
lights on the ground. Conversely, this made it difficult to see the flying objects falling in
the suburbs, where the city lights did not reach.

Tibet is presently a vassal state of the Great Asian Union. The air-defense of Tibet is
likewise provided and handled by the Great Asian Union as it was any of its own
territories. And their attention was so focused on the Sprite crossing high-altitude
airspace that they did not notice the stealth divers landing on the hills outside the city.

Besides the Great Asian Union's (0) negligence (1), another contributing factor to their
undetected infiltration was Tatsuya's and Minoru's outstanding magical control.
Although the Stealth Diver wasn't fitted with engines that emit heat or wings that tend
to easily reflect radar waves, it didn't crash at the end of its free fall. Just before it hit the
ground, they used their flight magic to slow down and land. Because they controlled
their magic, with the minimum necessary output and without emitting waste psion
waves, which is what is picked up in detection, they passed unnoticed not only by the
devices and machines of the Great Asian Union, but also by the magicians of the IPU,
who had infiltrated Lhasa and were in the midst of a secret war with them.

After getting out of the Stealth Divers, the two of them pulled their backpacks from
behind the seats and strapped them on their backs, closed the hatches, and buried the
divers using magic. Since they were made of hard-to-detect material, they should not be
discovered unless the place was accidentally dug up.

Having thus finished covering up, the two walked out into the city center of Lhasa with
their backpacks on their backs.

At first glance, they appeared like two foolhardy young travelers, that isn't to say they
saw anyone until they reached the very heart of the city.

"Tatsuya-san, isn't this a bit unusual?"

 143
Minoru said this due to the lack of even the lights of a self-propelled vehicle driving by.
An hour had passed since they had landed. Though late at night already, it was strange
that not a single car was seen driving around. Lhasa is a big city in its own right.

"Maybe the city is on a curfew16. I don't mean a general lockdown, just the kind that
prohibits people from going out of the city at night."

"…Like the night curfew in Chang'an during the Tang Dynasty?"

The night curfew, or "night ban", was a system practiced not only in Chang'an in the
Tang Dynasty but also in earlier dynasties that restricted nighttime traffic, whereby the
interior of a city was divided into small sections by earthen walls, and only within these
sections was nighttime traffic permitted. Infringements were punishable by whipping.
Inside the walls, people were free to roam about, which might be said to be more liberal
than the lockdowns and curfews of the postmodern era.

"Looks like the outskirts of the city have been turned into a battlefield."

"Eh…?"

Minoru looked around with a surprised face, then lightly turned over and made a
gesture as if to listen carefully.

"You're right… This appears to be a battle between mageist, right?"

"It's the hidden, silent type. Both sides are trying to keep it hidden that there's a battle
going on, I wonder."

"Could it be that the curfew was instaured, less to avoid collateral damage to civilians
and tourists, and more to cover up the fact that fighting is going on?"

"Maybe, that's a possibility."

Although in an understated way, Tatsuya completely agreed with Minoru's assessment.

"If so… We're in a bit of a pickle. How should we deal with that?"

They hadn't stopped at any point during their conversation. By that point, they could see
several magicians on the other side of the main road that ran south of the city, warily
taking up positions.

"Combat magicians of the Great Asian Union, I see."

16
It doesn't say "curfew" here, just a japanese term for lockdown (it was used "lockdown” in katakana
next), but it's exactly what he's describing.
 144
Tatsuya passed to Minoru in a murmur after easily reading the information about their
murderous intent.

"Preparing to engage in battle… It seems, though it looks that the battle has already
started."

Minoru likewise takes his own reading of the status of the magicians from a different
point of view.

"They are probably in their own battle already. Better let them be and not interfere."

"That'd be best… Shall we go through with [Kimon Tonkou]?"

Minoru suggests using his magic to pass through.

Tatsuya neither agreed nor denied the proposal.

"No, wait."

As if by coincidence, the situation changed at the same time that came Tatsuya's
warning.

The whistling sound of a flute was heard coming from within the city, further behind the
magician poised on the other side of the street.

"This whistle!?"

The tune carried with it magical effects. In layman's terms, it was infused with magical
power.

Minoru recognized that tune, it was the sound that had the effect of paralyzing the
human motor response.

"Bāxiān, Han Xiangzi?"

Tatsuya muttered those few words.

Minoru briskly turned to Tatsuya, to find him seemingly unaffected by the magic flute
playing.

Minoru quickly cast an ancient-style branch of magical self-defense on himself and

asked Tatsuya.

"Tatsuya-san, do you know about that flute player?"

"I got some information about the members of the Bāxiān from the Unseen Arms."
 145
"From Hyougo-san, you mean?"

Tatsuya nodded at the question.

[Unseen Arms], a British PMSC (Private Military & Security Company) composed of
magicians, where Tatsuya's butler, Hyogo Hanabishi, used to work for. His employment
with the PMSC was part of his training to become the Yotsuba Family's butler. And
although Hyougo left the company under amicable terms prior to becoming Tatsuya's
steward, he still maintained a network with his fellow mercenaries.

The British PMSC handled jobs extensively in the former British Commonwealth, as well
as in the IPU, where it is still frequently commissioned, mainly by the Indian faction.
Because of this association, the mercenaries of this civil-military company had a wealth
of information about the Bāxiān, the Magician Special Task Force of the Great Asian
Union, who have frequently clashed with the magician corps of the old India.

"Specific information on the Bāxiān is not something that either the Japanese or USNA
intelligence agencies possess. This is a good example of how the information shared
among PMSCs, which is gathered through interpersonal networks, can sometimes
outstrip that held by state agencies in terms of both quantity and quality."

In that way, Tatsuya confirmed the query about the source of the information.

"I heard that each Bāxiān has its own specialized style of combat. Using a transverse
flute and area of effect magic would be Han Xiangzi's signature."

"So do you know how to counter it?"

It was obvious that Tatsuya was nullifying the magic contained in the sound of the flute
that was still playing. Minoru asked him about this know-how, which was different from
the inefficient method he was using.

"This magic essentially has the same properties as an Antinite's jamming wave. It
interferes with the [Gate] with psion waves. And since you don't have to be a magian to
have a magic calculation area as a function of the unconscious area, a lack in magical
sensitivity is offset with a lack in magical resistance."

A [gate] is a boundary between the conscious and the unconscious, a gate connecting
the inside and the outside of the magic calculation area. The magic calculation is
originally a feature of the "unconscious" that processes the "information" of the "world"
into a recognizable format for the "conscious". In magical science, when it reaches an
activation to the level of actively interfering with the "information" of the "world," it is
then referred to as a "magical computing domain".
 146
As long as the function to take in "information" exists, the "gate" that serves as its
entrance also exists, irrespective of the presence or absence of the ability to invoke
event interference.

"So, in the case of mageists, a stronger magic resistance is counterbalanced by a

stronger sensitivity to magic? And so that magic works regardless of the person having
magical power or not."

"That's right. Therefore, the approach to deal with it is the same as for the Antinite
jamming waves. In my case, I'm breaking down the structure of the psion waves. As for
you, Minoru, you should be able to filter out the excess psion waves."

"Now I see. …Done."

Minoru smiled with bitterness thinking, "I didn't realize how simple it was." He felt a
sense of shame at himself for having struggled with it the other day.

"By the way, Tatsuya-san, seems like they've noticed us somehow."

Minoru is still currently under a different appearance with [Parade]. This magic triggers
through the medium of any gazes directed at him. Therefore, while [Parade] is in effect,
he will gain a sensitivity to the gazes of others. No doubt this was how Minoru was able
to notice that they had been discovered by the enemy earlier than Tatsuya.

"…That was careless of us. It appears that the sound of that flute can also double as a
sonar."

Han Xiangzi must have realized that Tatsuya nullified his magic with his use of
[decomposition]. ─Tatsuya immediately deducted.

"He probably noticed that we are mageists."

"Should we attack?"

Minoru asked without apparent nervousness. That isn't to say that he was completely
calm. There was no hiding a certain tension, probably out of a desire for vindication for
the last time.

"Yeah. ─No, wait."

At first, agreeing to take the initiative, Tatsuya stopped Minoru just after.

Minoru instantly understood why.

A hot wind suddenly struck the Great Asian Union magicians from the flank.
 147
Despite being in midsummer, Lhasa is at a high altitude, so it doesn't get that hot. From
the perspective of a Japanese citizen, the weather is like that of a summer resort.
Moreover, it was the middle of the night. Such a hot wind, enough to burn one's skin,
could not have occurred naturally.

Magicians of the Great Asian Union collapsed.

As if being scorched, they writhed and twisted as if engulfed in flames.

Still, the point remains: there are no flames. Their clothes are neither scorched nor
covered with soot. Nor is there a wind hot enough to scald blowing.

"This is not just an illusion, right?"

"Yeah, it's not. They're in fact burning. It's not an oscillatory-type heating magic, either.
It's an ancient-style magic that directly produces effects using a different principle than
modern magic."

Tatsuya responded to Minoru's observation with the truth he "saw".

"It deviates from the law of cause and effect, creating an effect without a cause… It's a
xian technique, isn't it?"

In essence magic is a method of eliciting phenomena that would otherwise be

impossible. In that regard, modern magic elicits effects by forging a false causal event.
This style also skips the cause part of the "causal event," but the style referred to xian
technique takes it a step further, directly manifesting the desired effect.

The effect produced can be extremely powerful, but because it skips steps, it is limited
in terms of scope. For instance, the xian technique just used focuses on "inflicting
burns". In other words, it is a magic that burns, inflicting burning wounds on the
enemy's body without having to go through accelerating molecular oscillations, or even
having to force the person's mind to reproduce the effects of an illusion, as is usually the
case with types of illusion magic.

Because magicians usually protect themselves with data fortification, they are less
susceptible to magic that acts directly on their bodies.

By limiting the application to a specific aim, the effectiveness of the magic is increased,
enabling effective attacks even in such cases.

This "hot wind" is similarly a magic capable of killing or injuring magicians by

narrowing down its focus.
 148
But naturally, this system would not work on a magician who could deploy a
high-powered data fortification.

As such, it did nothing against a Bāxiān, such as Han Xiangzi.

The tune of a flute sliced through the night air in a high pitch. But it was just a "sound"
to Tatsuya and Minoru. No magic has reached them. The performance was of a different
nature, a magic with directionality.

"What should we do?"

A counterattack magic designed to identify the opponent. And this time both are not
among its targets. They could avoid contact and just walk away. His query was based on
that assessment.

"Let's intervene."

Posed with the question, Tatsuya decided without hesitation to intervene in the battle.

"Understood."

A fearless grin spread across Minoru's face. He also didn't wish to run away.

No. That was not quite right. Minoru wished to get back at the Bāxiān.

◇◇◇

The IPU sent a force of combat magicians equivalent to a single platoon, in addition to
the pre-positioned counterintelligence units that had been previously infiltrated to set
the groundwork for the emancipation of Tibet.

The dispatch included two of the seven composing the [Sapta Rishi] combat magician
unit, the second most elite among the magician units in the IPU federal army after the
nationally recognized Strategic-Class Magician, Bharrat Chandra Khan. This indicated
the seriousness of the IPU's commitment to the task.

On that night, one of the Sapta Rishis dispatched, code-named [Mizar], came into
contact with Great Asian Union forces while supporting armed insurgents in a
counterintelligence effort. Which brought him straight into the battle.

Initially, Mizar thought he would be able to quickly clear the situation and return to his
hidden post, but the situation worsened when Han Xiangzi, one of the Bāxiān, came in
to reinforce the Great Asian Union forces.
 149
Han Xiangzi is a magician whose strength lies in engaging groups of people. His skills
are of more value when operating within allied lines, intercepting and pursuing enemy
forces, rather than being used to push into enemy territory. For a small detachment
infiltrating an enemy territory, these sorts of enemies were the kind to be avoided at all
costs, if at all possible.

Mizar, his men, as well as his collaborators, were being routed by a unit of the Great
Asian Union led by Han Xiangzi, withdrawing further southwest from the outskirts of the
city of Lhasa. The plan was not to simply disengage and flee, per se, but to lure them
into pre-arranged traps for a counterattack. However, the trap didn't account for a
Bāxiān. Mizar hazarded a 50-50 chance that it would work.

That's why he felt a sense of relief when the pursuit stopped all of a sudden, relief that
was replaced by a greater sense of suspicion. The movements of the pursuing forces
made it seem as if a new threat was closing in on Lhasa.

But he had not heard of any reinforcements coming. Nor, Mizar was aware that his
available forces had the capability to do so.

Mizar suspected it was a trap by Han Xiangzi. His mind was seized with the nagging fear
that, in his attempt to lead them into a trap, he had been backed into a corner.

In such a scenario, he was unable to take this reprise as an opportunity to pull back to
his base, less it risks the possibility of leading the enemy straight to the IPU's base of
operations.

The attention of the unit being led by Han Xiangzi turned to the southeast of the city of
Lhasa. Mizar naturally wondered what, or who might be there, but he did not have time
to figure it out.

This was his chance.

Mizar invoked the "Hot Wind of Drought17" illusion [Kala Ghoda].

Kalagoda is the direct Hindi equivalent of "black horse". It's a xian's technique that bears
the name of a mythological drought demon, Apaosha. It's a well-known fact that Persian
and Hindu mythology have reversed roles for their gods and demons. Say Indra, the
hero god of Hindu mythology, becomes a demon symbolizing the spirit of apostasy in
Persian mythology. Similarly, the "Asura" demon gods from Hindu mythology share the
same etymology as "Ahura," of Ahura Mazda, the main god of Persian mythology.

17
乾き切った熱風
 150
The Mizar's use of [Kala Ghoda] made deliberate use of this inversion of interpretation,
utilizing the authority of the demon of drought in this Xien technique.

Its effect is to impair the skin and respiratory organs with burns under the illusion of a
dry hot wind. If successful in generating airway burns, in particular, it could render an
opponent unable to breathe, and thus combat ineffective, up to even death.

It produced a major disruption in the formation of the Great Asian Union forces. The
[Kara Gouda] was more effective than Mizar himself had expected, and the fact that the
Great Asian Union forces' attention had been diverted to the unidentified third party was
probably an unintended benefit.

They were now in clear view of Mizar. Two figures stood southeast of Lhasa, at about the
same distance from the city entrance as Mizar's group. Though they had the appearance
of travelers, it was unfeasible for travelers to be loitering in such a place at such a time
of the day. The suspiciousness was palpable in these figures.

The outcome of the battle was better than expected. That is not to say, however, that
was all there was to it. From the start, he wasn't expecting that he would incapacitate
the enemy with a single magic use, the enemy response was lacking, leaving with a
sense of disappointment lingering in the corner of his mind.

Nevertheless, as the leader of the group, he could not dwell on his disillusionment.
Mizar might not be the commander of the group, but he was the one who was leading
them right now.

"Here it comes, ready magic defenses!"

It was his responsibility to get them out of there safely for now, at least.

Catching wind of the sound-mediated magic, Mizar deployed a shield that blocked the
propagation of psion waves, while at the same time ordering everyone under his
command to individually activate their own counter-magics.

Han Xiangzi's magic came in thin, instead of wide. The problem is that it now serves also
for detection aside from offensive ability. The damage was supposed to be mitigated by
Mizar's shield to a harmless level.

However, the next moment the playing of now was different from before. The sound of
the flute, which earlier propagated all around, now converged on Mizar and his group.
The sound pressure increased, and the performance, which had been subtle and
delicate, turned into sonic onslaught. Though, this was only an illusion of such. Indeed,
there is acoustic focusing magic, yet there were no sound waves assaulting Mizar and
 151
his group. Rather, it was the magic, that earlier spread along with the music, was now
concentrated in a single place.

That came as a complete surprise to Mizar, who, unaware that Han Xiangzi had such a
card in his hand, took an increased output of the paralyzing magic straight on.

Because it was a type of magic that did not overwrite information, but instead caused
damage by disrupting information bodies, it wasn't a matter of either zero or a hundred,
success or failure, and he was able to mitigate it somewhat with his shield. Even so, he
still sustained some paralysis damage, to a not so insignificant degree.

In terms of anti-group combat, Mizar's [Kala Ghoda] and Han Xiangzi's current magic are
a blowout draw. But with Mizar having failed to stop Han Xiangzi, he suffered paralysis
damage. In terms of a battle of magicians, Mizar now holds a big lead over Han Xiangzi.

While he sustained damage, it was limited to a mild, physical paralysis; it did nothing
against his access to his magical skills. Mizar was willing to accept the risks and
resolved for a counterattack right then and there.

Just as he was about to begin the process of activating his magic, however,

A powerful magic attack struck the Great Asian Union unit.

◇◇◇

"I think you already understand that, but don't do any fatal damage."

Tatsuya cautioned Minoru not to make too much of a scene, considering that they were
just about to break into the Potala Palace.

"I'm fully mindful of that."

Minoru flashed a devilish grin and launched a large-scale area magic that encompassed
the entire Great Asian Union military contingent.

The water vapor in the determined air of the determined area condensed, creating a
thick fog. The sound of a flute bounces the fog, and the fog absorbs the music.

Each drop in the fog created by Minoru emitted a faint light.

Even in the darkness of the night, it was such a faint shimmer that passed unnoticed
unless one looked closely. A possibility allowed by the darkness of the night,
imperceptible were it daytime.
 152
The light entered through the eyes and stimulated the parasympathetic nervous system,
while at the same time, it interfered with the link between the five senses and the mind
in a mental interference effect.

This is [Stray Fog18], a hybrid of ancient and modern magic. Developed at the former 9th
Research Institute, this magic is designed to undermine enemy units' alertness capacity.

The original purpose of this magic was to disorient and deprive the enemy of combat
awareness, causing them to lose sight of their allies, lose their way, and lead them into
an ambush. However, with Minoru's superb magical power behind it, [Stray Fog] has the
effect of dazzling the opponent's consciousness and inducing an entire enemy unit to
wander off in between the world of dreams and reality.

In addition, unlike traditional ancient-style illusion magics, it involves the substantial

phenomenon of a thick fog, which brings the added benefit of blocking out sound and
light. Having struggled with Han Xiangzi's magic flute during his last infiltration of Lhasa,
Minoru had added this activation sequence he doesn't normally use to his CAD just in
anticipation of the opportunity.

Minoru's [Stray Fog], aimed specifically to deal with Han Xiangzi's magic, deprived the
Great Asian Union military unit of their combat effectiveness in a single blow.

◇◇◇

Mizar noticed immediately that the sound of the flute had lost its power. As the first-rate
military officer he is, Mizar did not let this opportunity pass him by.

He activated a simple emission-type electric discharge magic. There was no symbolic

effect to it. This is so to avoid interfering with the magic of the unidentified benefactor
who also happens to be currently attacking the Great Asian Union forces.

Notwithstanding the fact that the seven members of the Sapta Rishi are combat
magicians with a strong affinity for ancient magic, they also possess a high proficiency
in modern magic. Mizar in particular excels at magic that affects a wide area, such as
the earlier [Kala Ghoda]. A simple emission-type magic, to send a lightning attack
through a mist, is hardly an effort for him.

He constructed the magic sequence in an instant, sending a lightning strike through the
fog.

Electric light leapt, and sparks flew.

18
迷霧
 153
Then the fog lifted.

The troops led by Han Xiangzi, who had taken up positions across the city of Lhasa, were
all on the ground, not even the Bāxiān Han Xiangzi was an exception.

Taking a moment to observe the situation, Mizar made sure that there were no signs of
new magic in operation or psion activation, and then turned his attention to his
unidentified benefactors.

Perhaps sensing his gaze, the two, presumably young men, turned their attention to
Mizar in return.

Reading no hostility from them, Mizar ordered his group to retreat.

◇◇◇

Though an unexpected diversion for Tatsuya, it ultimately facilitated his entry into
Lhasa. The remaining forces of the Great Asian Union in the city mobilized to rescue
Xiangzi and the men under his command, the others were sent to pursue the IPU agents.

Slipping through the thin security, it was a surprisingly easy feat for Tatsuya and Minoru
getting into the Potala Palace.

The Potala Palace consists of the White Palace, the political center of Tibet, and the Red
Palace, the religious center.

There were already no tourists in sight. Not surprisingly, considering the time of day.
Though now might be late, it might have been closed for the day as soon as the clash
with the IPU agents broke out. The low voices, resounding like tidal waves, that could be
heard were probably monks chanting sutras.

The two boldly make their way through the colonnaded hall without bothering to
conceal themselves. Considering that the Great Asian Union has a firm grip on Tibet, this
place is a key facility right in the middle of enemy territory. Security measures were sure
to be rigged all over the place. Tatsuya and Minoru may have considered it pointless to
be overly vigilant.

Awaiting them was a turn of events that not even Tatsuya could have predicted.

"We have been waiting for your arrival."

 154
On their descent to the lowest level of the Red Palace in search of a way into the
underground, they came upon a lama ─ a Tibetan Buddhist high priest ─ in full red
kasaya19, waiting for them.

"…Did you anticipate our intrusion?"

Tatsuya asks the elderly lama. In Japanese, as the words of the old monk were first
spoken in fluent Japanese.

─It seems that people involved with Shambhala are quite the linguistics enthusiasts.

Though Tatsuya mused to himself. He has yet to confirm this lama is in fact related to
Shambala in any capacity.

"I received a message from the Guardians of Bukhara. It said that he who holds Shiva's
maya would visit this place with the key in hands."

Would Tibetan Buddhism even believe in a Hindu primary deity? Tatsuya wondered, but
didn't verbalize the question. He no longer cared about the "He who holds Shiva's maya"
point anymore.

"Are the Shambhala affiliates still in contact with each other?"

The mention of the "Guardians of Bukhara" was a clear confirmation that this lama was
another person associated with Shambhala. Considering the now known fact that the
ruins lie beneath the Potala Palace, it wasn't surprising to find such a person here, so
Tatsuya wasn't curious about this point either.

According to the knowledge obtained from the ruins in Bukhara, Shambhala has been
gone for more than 10,000 years. If those who are safeguarding the legacy have been in
contact with each other, they have been maintaining a network, be it continuous or
intermittent, for a good part of the past and beyond those 10,000 years.

How extensive is this network, exactly? The Bukhara "guardians" did not seem to know
about the Mount Shasta artifacts, but what about the others from other parts of the
world?

"It would be a little exaggerated to say that we are in contact with each other. This old
sangha at the very least ─ ah, is this expression correct?"

19
monk's stole
 155
Not being quite able to think of an appropriate response to the abrupt question, Tatsuya
silently nodded his head.

"I haven't known about the [Guardians] of Bukhara until just recently. Their message was
conveyed to me through meditation."

"Through dreams… Telepathy, you say?"

"I believe that would be a word for it. A kind of psychic communication, you could say. It
was a clear call to those who share in the mission. It has allowed me to know that this
old monk is not walking alone in this mission. And now that I have the pleasure of
receiving you, he who holds Shiva's maya, I can be sure that it was not a product of a
delusion of my own. If you allow my honesty, I feel much relieved."

"Excuse me, forgive me for interrupting you sir, but…"

Minoru interjected abruptly, his tone as sorry for doing as stated.

"What is this [Shiva's maya] you mention? I've been wondering about it since a while
ago."

It was a point of curiosity for not only Minoru, but Tatsuya as well. So both waited in
anticipation for a response from the lama.

"I'm aware that this may be difficult for you young gentlemen to accept, but all things
and happenings have no substance. Everything in this world exists because we observe
and are observed."

"That's quite an idealistic approach. Xuanzang20?"

Tatsuya's comment elicited a vague smile from the old monk.

"This old monk believes that even vijnana; knowledge, consciousness and the mind
themselves do not have any substance. To put it in the extreme, everything is an illusion.
To bestow that illusion with ephemeral substance, and to return the transient entity to
its original state as an illusion, is what we call maya.

"The power to return all things to their illusionary nature… Ah, I see."

Minoru expressed his understanding.

Tatsuya, on the other hand, looked more like "I don't agree" rather than "it's hard to
agree".

20
唯識論
 156
"I see that you have understood. The power to bring illusion into substance is Brahma's
maya, whereas the power to bring substance back into illusion is Shiva's maya."

"So, His power to dissolve matter is exactly what you call [Shiva's maya]."

"If you don't mind, let's leave the digression at that."

Tatsuya called out to the lama and Minoru, who exchanged nods with each other, in a
voice devoid of any emotion.

"Oh, right, time is not infinite in this world."

To which the old monk's response was not so formal.

"This way, please."

With a hand gesture, the lama indicated the path behind him, turning his back to the
two and beginning to walk away.

Tatsuya and Minoru exchanged a look of mutual agreement and followed the old monk's
steps.

Beyond the door that the old priest unlocked, there was an old stone staircase. It was
difficult to tell how long it had been since it was built. It felt that those steps have a long
history to them.

Yet, for much of its apparent antiquity, there was no indication of damage at all. Neither
seems, from the sound of the lama and the feel of their steps that it would pose a
danger. ─As a matter of fact, Tatsuya and Minoru's steps were soundless, as if they were
cats.

There was no illumination on the walls. The only source of light was a portable
cantera-shaped electric light held by the old monk. They descended the stone steps as
far as it went. There was a landing every eleventh step, where they would turn for the
next flight of steps and descend deep into the underground. They turned ninety-five
times until they reached the bottom of the staircase.

At the end of the more than a thousand stone steps, there was no door. There was a
small stone chamber.

There was nothing in the chamber. No altar, no piles of books or stone tablets. No
painted drawings, no carved writing on the walls.
 157
"Here you will find what you seek."

The old lama halted and told Tatsuya.

"Here are the ruins of Shambhala?"

Minoru asks the old monk. Even to his "eyes", there was nothing more there than an old,
empty stone chamber.

"Unfortunately, this old man has never seen it before. I do not know the means to enter,
nor am I qualified to be allowed to accompany you there."

The Lama said and bowed his head toward Tatsuya and Minoru. The bow followed
closely the Japanese custom.

"The door above can be opened from the inside without a key."

With that, Lama turned his back to them and walked back up the stairs.

The light went away along with the old monk, darkness soon took over. Tatsuya didn't
move to turn on the light fixed on his upper arm, so Minoru followed his example.

Even so, there was no inconvenience. The two of them have vision that is not impaired
by darkness.

"Tatsuya-san, can you tell me anything about it?"

Though before Lama "this person" was the usual Minoru, he had already let his guard
down. He already deactivated his [Parade] at this point. And Tatsuya had also,
incidentally, deactivated his [Aidoneus].

"The ruins seem to be cut off from magical perception. There seems to be no protection
against mechanical sensors, but I would assume that the Potala Palace itself prevents
any probing from above."

"Then this is definitely the place!"

Minoru's eyes lit up. ─Not literally, but figuratively. He didn't make his eyes glow in the
dark.

"It should open with this."

In his right hand, Tatsuya held the "wand".

 158
The one he had taken from the ruins of Bukhara, the wand with a cintamani stone
attached to its head.

Tatsuya pointed the orb at the wall on the opposite side of the staircase.

In this stance, Tatsuya poured psions into the wand.

Amidst the darkness, the cintamani jewel began to emit a light that was visible to the
naked eye.

It was not strong enough to illuminate the entire stone chamber. The light floated in the
depths of darkness.

Tatsuya gently poked the wall with the jewel.

Abruptly, the room shook.

It was no earthquake. It was a slight vibration, the unremarkable kind that one would
usually feel in a building on the side of a busy road, or riding an old elevator, or in an
apartment complex whose construction costs have been skimped on. But in the
complete silent darkness, it felt like an unusual tremor.

Creaking, the walls begin to move. The wall that resembled a pile of quarried stones split
left and right at the boundary between the piles of stones.

Tatsuya turned on his light.

Beyond the newfound opening was a cavity more spacious than the chamber they were
currently in.

Round in shape, it had a low cylindrical profile with a diameter of around 10 meters and
a height of a little over 2 meters. Both the walls and ceiling were reinforced with stone,
but the floor was bare earth.

At the center of the space was an octagonal pyramid-like object. Such is said because
the octagonal pyramid shape only applied to the frame. The diagonal edges are made of
some sort of slender stone or metal. And there are no faces. The overall shape of the
octagonal pyramid is formed only by the oblique edges.

This frame of an octagonal pyramid had a breadth of about eight meters.

"Look. There is a staircase inside."

At Tatsuya's words, Minoru also turned on his light. The base of the octagonal pyramid
was slightly below the dirt floor, with a narrow staircase descending to that floor.
 159
After exchanging nods, Minoru and Tatsuya headed for those stairs.

The octagonal pyramid was an unsealed roof. Since the structure was underground, it
did need a roof to begin with, but then, was this tower built with the premise that it
would be subterranean from the beginning?

Tatsuya took the lead and, one by one, descended the spiral staircase, with steps barely
wide enough for one person to pass.

The tower was not divided into floors, with the only foothold being this flight of spiral
stairs protruding from the stone wall.

The depth of the tower ran about 30 meters. Upon finally arriving at the base, they
brought their lights up to a pillar that ran through the center of the tower.

The pillar consisted of three columns of the same width, standing connected to each
other. In the same arrangement as the banner of peace that has become familiar in this
exploration of the Shambhala ruins. Or perhaps referring to it as similar to the
"Shin-no-mihashira" found at the Ise Grand Shrine and the Izumo Taisha Shrine may be
a more suitable description.

Both touched the pillar with their hands, one from each side.

"I wonder if this is iron…"

"It might be iron…"

Minoru said uncertainty, while Tatsuya replied vaguely.

They are no metal experts, so they can't tell the material just from the look and feel of it.
They also refrained from a magical analysis for fear of what side effects it might
produce. "Iron" was just the impression of it.

Impression which was not wrong in this case. The "pillar" was indeed made of iron.

"But there doesn't appear to be any rust, though. There is surely enough oxygen because
we are able to breathe, and it doesn't look like it is completely dry, perhaps due to the
groundwater. Wouldn't iron rust in these conditions?"

"I haven't seen the actual thing in Delhi yet, but couldn't it be made of the same material
as 'Chandragupta's pillar'?"
 160
'Chandragupta's pillar' is the famous 'rust-free iron pillar' located on the outskirts of
Delhi. It was reportedly made in the early fifth century.

"─Anyway, what this 'pillar' is made of is not important, what is recorded in it is."

Tatsuya turned to the pillar, his face tightening as his curiosity got the better of him.

"I'm sorry, you're right."

Minoru apologizes for the fact that his comment triggered the digression.

"Don't worry about it."

Tatsuya said casually and lowered his backpack to the ground.

"─It's a good thing we don't have to worry about oxygen."

He "looked" at the air in the tower to make sure there were no problems with its
composition.

"I'll go through it first. I don't know how long it will take, but I plan to get this done in
twenty-four hours."

Tatsuya said in a "I'll show how it's done," referring to their plan to alternate between
readings.

"Just like we planned, right?. Got it."

"If you can take over where I stop, we'll rotate every hour or so."

"Understood."

Tatsuya touches the pillar with the wand's jewel infused with psions.

Immediately the next moment, his face loses all expression.

 161

Chapter 8
[Escape from Tibet]

Deep beneath the Potala Palace in Lhasa, the political and religious center of Tibet.
Buried there lies a "tower", a remnant of Shambhala. With several fortuitous
coincidences, Tatsuya and Minoru successfully infiltrated the Potala, and there guided
by a lama, the caretaker of the ruins until ultimately arriving at this tower last night.

For the next day and night, Tatsuya and Minoru took turns using the "wand" to read the
records stored in the "pillar" that runs through the center of the tower.

They did not split up the work. Initially, Tatsuya had intended to do so, but after his first
access to the "pillar," he discovered that the information was of unexpected great
importance, and decided that each of them should have full access to all the information
as a sort of mutual backup.

With that, they revised their turns to every three hours, and took naps now and then
during the process ─ though Minoru did not need sleep, it was more efficient to have a
rested mind ─ they finished browsing all the information on the "pillar".

"Minoru, you good?"

Tatsuya was concerned about Minoru, who had severe expressions on his face after
finishing his process. He was not worried about Minoru's physical condition, but was
concerned about the mental shock he must be going through.

Recorded in the "pillar" of the stone tower was the location of the ruins of Shambhala
and an inventory list of the artifacts stored therein.

Among the items listed, besides the risky parasitic infusion of information bodies into
beings, magic to turn humans into parasites as well as magic to turn parasites back into
humans.

Whether it was the Shambala civilization who created the Parasites, or they just created
the magic to deal with them, remains unanswered questions at this point. But Minoru
didn't need confirmation of that to know that this was information he could not ignore,
even if he wished to. Needless to say that the desire to collect those magic first and
foremost occurred in his mind.
 162
However, there was a dangerous magic in the catalog that had a higher priority and had
to be sealed as soon as possible.

Alas, the Shambala civilization was not an ideal paradise that did not know conflict.
According to the various writings and lore, it was stockpiling weapons of mass
destruction in anticipation of the coming final war. ─Magic for mass destruction; mass
slaughter. There was no way such a thing could be unleashed on the world today.

"─It's okay. I understand the priorities."

Raising her face from his slumped position, Minoru responded with a resolute
expression.

It is obvious that he is struggling with an internal conflict. However, Minoru couldn't

abandon the responsibility to this world in which Minami lives. ─Just as Tatsuya never
forgets his responsibility to Miyuki even for a single moment.

"Let's go, Tatsuya-san."

Minoru went ahead and picked up the backpack he had left on the floor.

"Sure, let's go."

Tatsuya also got his bag on his back.

Minoru went first and started to climb back up the spiral staircase.

◇◇◇

Up the stairs of the tower and up the long flight of stairs that led down to the basement,
the two of them returned to the Potala Palace.

The door leading to the underground space opened effortlessly from the inside, just as
the old monk had said. So easy that they wondered how it remained a secret.

The old monk was standing at the other side of the heavy wooden door. Suffice it to say,
the two of them didn't bother to tell him what time they were coming back from the
underground tower.

Does this lama, the keeper of the ruins, have any means of knowing what is going on
underground?

Or has been waiting all this time for Tatsuya and Minoru to come back up?

"Have you retrieved the inheritance?"

 163
The slight tremor in the old monk's voice was no auditory illusion. He was clearly
wanting a confirmation, an assurance that the duties he and his ancestors had upheld
for so many years had not been for nothing.

"I have acquired very meaningful knowledge. I greatly thank you for your collaboration."

"Ooh… But I should thank you very much. Hearing these words is rewarding not only to
me, but to all the generations of keepers of this temple."

The old monk bowed deeply with his palms resting together.

This scene made Tatsuya and Minoru feel somewhat uncomfortable, all they could
muster was a "thank you" and "excuse me", and then they quickly left the place.

◇◇◇

Outside, the sky was clear again today. Stars twinkled in the night sky. The stars are
clearer than they were last night, probably because the city lights are more sparse and
not strong enough to obfuscate the night sky.

The time now is not so much apart from the time of the night when Tatsuya and Minoru
infiltrated the city of Lhasa. Yet there are clearly more stores that are closed, and the
number of passersby seems much smaller than it did last night, when there was fighting
going on the outskirts of the city.

"…Has the fighting intensified?"

Minoru speaks to Tatsuya in a low voice as they pause halfway down the stairs
connecting the top of the hill where the Potala Palace is located to the foot of the hill to
look down on the city.

"It doesn't look like there's a curfew, though."

If there was a curfew in place, the streets would be more thoroughly deserted than now.

"Maybe the people are catching on to the scent of the battles to happen."Maybe they
smell the burning smell and are voluntarily staying out."

"Indeed, that's very likely."

Tatsuya nodded agreeably at Minoru's conjecture.

The stairs linking the city center and the Potala Palace were, not surprisingly, guarded
by soldiers of the Great Asian Union. Nevertheless, Tatsuya and Minoru walked past them
without bothering to hide and went down to the city. Minoru's speculation that the
 164
fighting escalated was likely accurate. There was no magician stationed in that post that
was capable of defying his [Kimon Tonkou].

They only managed to pass through unchallenged just until they exited the city center,
however.

Once outside the city, the two quickly hunkered down in a depression on the side of the
road. It didn't look like a natural depression. If anything, it looked like some sort of basic
trench, or perhaps a fully built-up trench that had been left unattended.

Outside the city, the battle was in full swing. The Great Asian Union forces were
deploying large numbers of personnel to sweep up guerrillas over a wide area.

Inconveniently for Tatsuya and Minoru, Inconveniently for Tatsuya and his team, a
significant contingent was scouring the hill and surrounding area where they had
hidden the stealth divers. The hill was dotted with abandoned houses that had been
abandoned since the previous major war. The search most likely target is those
abandoned houses, but that doesn't mean it's impossible to dig out and board the covert
vehicle with enemy soldiers moving in and out of the surrounding area.

Should they wait for them to move on, or should they make a diversion so that they will
move their attention to another location? Tatsuya observed the movements of the Great
Asian Union forces as he pondered this, when Minoru suddenly let out a "That is…!"
beside him.

"Did you recognize someone there?"

Tatsuya asked without turning to look at him. It wasn't much of a question as it was just
a confirmation.

"Yes. It's the Iron-fan magician… The one I believe is from the Bāxiān."

"A Bāxiān who uses a fan… Zhongli Quan, then."

On hearing Minoru's answer, Tatsuya immediately pulled the relevant details from his
memory.

"I heard that his specialty is magic to manipulate bodies, be it his own or others, the
living or the dead."

"Manipulating people's bodies, you say…"

"It may sound powerful, but as long as you can counteract the counter-magic, it
shouldn't be a problem for you, Minoru."
 165
By "counter-magic," Tatsuya is refers to the counter-magic that Zhongli Quan used
during Minoru's last time in Lhasa to nullify his magic, and that Lü Dongbin used to
nullify Tatsuya's magic once in Japan. It is a formation of a dense, chaotic psion layer
along one's own body. With it, a psion information body, that is, a magic sequence, is
diluted and dissolved by the layer.

While it's true that it inviabilizes direct magic against them, without it they wouldn't be
much of a challenge. That was Tatsuya's assessment of the Bāxiān, the Great Asian Union
magician operative unit.

"Do you want to take him on?"

Tatsuya questioned if he wanted to make up for the last time. But from his tone, it
sounded less like a question and more like a suggestion.

"Is that alright?"

Minoru's response was similarly forthcoming; he seemed ready to spring into action
even in the event of a negative shake from Tatsuya.

"Sure, it's good. We won't be getting anywhere as it is."

Minoru flashed a smile at Tatsuya's answer as he dismissed [Parade].

And the next moment, he was gone.

◇◇◇

The group being hunted by Great Asian Union forces outside Lhasa City was not the
blend of operatives and guerrillas led by the IPU magician operative Mizar last night.

It was a mercenary unit led by the other Sapta Rishi member who had infiltrated Tibet,
codenamed [Megrez].

The mercenary unit led by Megrez comprised a small group of Gurkha mercenaries plus
Tibetans who had sought asylum. Tibet had achieved independence at the time of the
north-south partition of continental East Asia during the last war, but after the
formation of the Great Asian Union, Tibet was once again subjugated under a large
eastern power as a vassal state. Some of the Tibetans who fled to Tibet at that time
turned into mercenaries and are now striving for the complete independence of their
homeland.
 166
The Gurkha soldiers, who are descended from the mountain tribes of Nepal, have been
known throughout the world for their strength since the 19th century. In fact, the Sapta
Rishi Megrez is also a Nepali.

Her real name is Sila Rana. She is a member of the Rana dynasty, which controlled the
Kingdom of Nepal from the late 19th century to the first half of the 20th century. Because
of this lineage, she is looked up to as a leader by the Gurkha soldiers who joined the IPU
federal army. ─Still, there are many Gurkha fighters who maintain their free status as
mercenaries.

If not for her magical power alone, her influence over the Gurkha soldiers might have
had an influence on the selection of Sila Rana of Megrez for this mission.

Megrez came with her mercenaries to scout Lhasa having heard that Han Xiangzi had
been defeated by Mizar last night. Owing to their name of "Eight Immortals", the Bāxiān
has only eight members. Even the Great Asian Union, which boasts a large number of
personnel, only has a few Bāxiān-level magicians.

According to reports from members turned IPU informants stationed within the Great
Asian Union ranks, it appears that Han Xiangzi will not be able to return to his post for at
least a week. Another, though unconfirmed information, is that another Bāxiān member,
Lü Dongbin, apparently infiltrated into Japan and killed by a magician of that Yotsuba.

It would not be overly optimistic to assume that the Great Asian Union forces, which
also have a garrison in the border region, had their contingent in Lhasa thinned out.
The purpose of this reconnaissance was to confirm the fact.

However, contrary to expectations ─ or contrary to the hopes ─ the Great Asian Union
forces were quick to supplement their forces. Or, rather, they increased their efforts. It
almost seemed as if they had read Megrez's movements.

For a brief moment, Megrez suspected that there might be spies among the group of
mercenaries she was heading. But she soon reconsidered the possibility that the Great
Asian Union forces' urgency might have led to this hasty reassignment of troops.

Bāxiān is the Great Asian Union's trump card in the Central Asian region. Besides the
Bāxiān, they have dozens of tactical magicians, some of whom reportedly have even
reached the strategic level. Some of them are said to be within reach of strategic magic.
But those powerful magicians tend to be stationed mostly in the north and east of the
country. Presumably, the Great Asian Union envisions a major conflict with the new
Soviet Union or Japan more likely, while a clash with the IPU is expected to be more
localized.
 167
With this strategic vision in mind, it was no wonder that Bāxiān's absence from the front
line was so disruptive. Their overreaction was to be expected then. Megrez felt the sting
of her own lack of foresight now.

The Great Asian Union's search perimeter is steadily closing in. They have over five times
as many as she does. She has a feeling her forces have better quality overall, but the
number factor was still too great to compete.

Megrez thought that even if she took the initiative, they would probably be no match for
the enemy. Commanding the enemy was Zhongli Quan, one of the Bāxiān.

His combat power in group combat was below that of Han Xiangzi.

─Fortunately, her own specialty in magic is suited for battlefield withdrawal.

─She could allow for a chance for the men under her command to escape, even at the
cost of her own life, if the need arises.

Megrez made her resolution privately.

She was not one to show it, however. She called the retreat with a composed expression
and even a smile on her face.

The Great Asian Union forces concentrated in the Great Asian Union are focusing their
sweepings on vacant houses in the abandoned village. Meanwhile, in an effort to get as
far away from Lhasa as possible, Megrez quietly moves the group of mercenaries out of
the way.

Staying low, she keeps her footsteps quiet.

It's frustratingly slow, but the priority is not to be spotted.

This is what Megrez reminded herself, and she made sure that the mercenaries under
her command did the same.

The area here is a series of highs and lows. The hollows and gouges here and there are a
reminder of the artillery strikes of the past war. She and her group were now
descending a slope that was more like a depression than a valley, so as not to slip.

A beam of light passes over their heads.

The ridgeline of the hill should have blocked their view.

So she told herself, suppressing a brusque reaction.

Just to be sure, she stopped and let the troop go on ahead.

 168
Megrez peered in the direction of the light source, ready to activate her magic at any
opportunity.

Suddenly, a scream came from that direction.

Megrez's heartbeat accelerated.

But she soon realized that it was not an aggravation of her situation.

It was a scream, not a shout.

A scream of pain.

No doubt about it. The Great Asian Union unit that was hunting them was under attack
by someone.

(Mizar? No, he said he was leaving Lhasa.)

(But then, who the hell is?)

Megrez has not heard the details of how Han Xiangzi left the front.

She did not know of the unidentified benefactor that Mizar had encountered.

She stayed behind to assess the situation.

◇◇◇

With [Mock-Teleportation] Minoru appeared on the flank of the Great Asian Union unit
and fired magic with zero time lag.

A torrent of lightning sprays over the Great Asian Union soldiers.

Lightning flashes, stretching; branching into numerous thin, finely branched, countless
electrical bolts. It reminded the Great Asian Union soldiers of the wide-area lightning
barrage magic of their own "Apostle".

The magic activated by Minoru was not, of course, the same [Thunderclap Tower] used
by the Great Asian Union's Apostle, a nationally recognized Strategic-Class Magician. Its
fundamental and popular modern magic [Spark], rearranged with an Ancient Magic
approach.

But few soldiers actually had any firsthand experience with Strategic-Class Magic. The
same can be said to Japanese and to those of other countries as well, except the
aforementioned do have the opportunity to see it on videos and photos with more
details than the public has access to; the minimum so that they would not disturb future
 169
operations. Though, even in that aspect, the Great Asian Union military only provides
such opportunities to a few soldiers, and even many officers do not have access to
detailed information.

As such, to the low-ranking soldiers of the Great Asian Union, the first thing they
associate with wide-area electric strike magic, for the lack of any information, is the
strategic level magic [Thunderclap Tower] used by the Apostle of their nation. Strategic
magic for the average soldier of the Great Asian Union is more than a political
bargaining chip, it is a lightning of damnation that could smite down on their heads at
any moment. A sentiment resulted as the fate of a multi-ethnic imperialistic nation to
live under constant threat of defection and purge.

The resemblance of the wide-area lightning magic to the reported [Thunderclap Tower]
sent the soldiers of the Great Asian Union into a state of panic. Just like Minoru
envisioned it would. Much as he had proficiency with emission-type magic, the
psychological effect was his aim in using this magic.

(Now, come on out, Zhongli Quan)

Whilst muttering in his mind, Minoru once again invoked his wide-area lightning magic.
The lethality of this magic is not very high. It hasn't nowhere near enough output to kill
dozens of people at once. But it was powerful enough to take the less magically resistant
soldiers' out of commission. With just two activations, a quarter of the more than 100
men in the search force were rendered combat ineffective. Had they not been scattered
for the sake of the search, the outcome would have been even more significant.

A loss that no unit commander could ignore. Although, strictly speaking, Zhongli Quan
did not hold an official command position, he was still in a position of leadership where
he could still not ignore the situation.

The current Minoru is a shadow figure that does not attempt to conceal his presence.
The same remnant looking fiend that attacked FAIR's headquarters. In contrast with
having to create a new face and masking his physique, this is much less taxing on his
magical resources. It was a very suspicious appearance to be sure, but now was an
occasion when it wouldn't matter if he stood out.

That presence that he sensed. That figure that fell in front of Minoru. It was a
middle-aged man, slightly overweight, with muscles and fat, much like a wrestler.

One of the Bāxiān, Zhongli Quan.

(There you are)

 170
Minoru grinned under his shadowy veil.

◇◇◇

"What is that…?"

Megrez couldn't hold back the mutter at the sight of that bizarre thing she was looking
at.

It was a shadow, a puppet-like figure, writhing in the darkness, like a black mist. An
eerie figure, like a wandering remnant from a graveyard.

The shadow raised its arm, extending it toward Zhongli Quan. From the end of the arm,
a piece of shadow detached itself and stood up on four legs. Pouncing on Zhongli Quan
immediately afterward, quick, like a unleashed arrow.

"A [Shadow Beast]?"

Another mutter escapes Megrez. By that stage, she is no longer trying to keep her voice
down.

"Is that thing a magician…?"

Megrez at least knew what the shadow in beast shape that had attacked Zhongli Quan
was. It was an ancient form of offensive magic employed by the Great Asian Union's
sorcerers. So, was that "shadow" from a Great Asian Union magician? Was she
witnessing an internal conflict within the Great Asian Union? Or was it a friendly fire
incident?

As Megrez pondered these questions, she saw Zhongli Quan meeting the [Shadow Beast]
with his iron fan extended.

The iron fan and the [Shadow Beat] pushed against each other, in opposition to each
other.

That confrontation only lasted a few seconds before it was broken.

The contour of the [Shadow Beast] melted and was sucked into the Iron Fan.

"[Chaotic Wholeness21]…"

21
Here it is 渾然一体 with "フンランイーテイ” as furigana. The base is a compound expression meaning
"(together) in complete harmony​". The furigana, despite being in katakana, I could only find it
representing a slightly different japanese word: 紛乱一体. There the 渾然 (harmony) part was replaced
with 紛乱 (confusion; disorder​).I interpreted such as being a play with the aforementioned
expression.The result was the best name I could think of —Aehein.
 171
Megrez could also tell what had happened this time.

The counter-magic [Chaotic Wholeness] used by Bāxiān. A magic that disables magic by
destroying magic sequences rather than preventing it from working. It creates a dense
layer of chaotic psions that dissolves and engulfs magic sequences. This counter-magic
is what makes Bāxiān some of the best magicians in anti-personnel combat.

Because the Bāxiān have this [Chaotic Wholeness] that Megrez and the other Sapta
Rishis have a hard time against them. The Sapta Rishi outperforms Bāxiān in terms of
offensive magic. It was not just her personal assessment; it was something that the
Great Asian Union secretly acknowledged.

[Chaotic Wholeness], by its very nature, protects only the individual caster. Hence, it was
not difficult for Sapta Rishi to neutralize the force being led by the Bāxiān. But the
Bāxiān would remain unscathed, who would eventually push them away. Or,
alternatively, get away. This pattern has repeated itself during the past clashes between
the Sapta Rishi and the Bāxiān.

The "shadow", whose [Shadow Beast] had been erased, showed no sign of perturbation.
Although she could not make out their physiques, let alone their expressions, Megrez
sensed that the "shadow" was expecting it to happen.

Before Zhongli Quan could counterattack, a snake-shaped lightning bolt shot out from
the shadow's hand. The "snake", emitting its own light, crawled through the air, spraying
sparks, and struck Zhongli Quan.

Zhongli Quan again used his folding iron fan as a shield to block the "snake".

Only to on the next moment hurriedly throw the iron fan away.

Rather than laugh at the comical act, Megrez let out a gasp of amazement.

Ancient-style magic imbues magic with form. Because it is given a form, [Chaotic
Wholeness] cannot dissolve the magic sequence in an instant, and there is a time lag
until it's nullified.

The "shadow" confirmed the fact first with the [Shadow Beast]. Once confirming the
magic would linger as it was being nullified, and noting that Zhongli Quan's weapon of
choice was an iron fan, he unleashed an ancient-style lightning magic, [Lightning
Snake22], let's say, instead of the [Shadow Beast23].

22
雷蛇
23
影獣
 172
"They are used to engaging in magic combat against others," Megrez thought about the
"shadow" magician. And it didn't seem that they had just the number of battles under
their belt. Behind the "shadows" she could catch glimpses of a terrifyingly high level of
experience and expertise in battle. She felt so.

◇◇◇

(If isn't it just as Tatsuya-san analyzed it)

Minoru unconsciously nodded his head under the veil of "shadow" while muttering in
his mind.

At the same time, he felt a sense of apprehension.

─The Bāxiān counter-magic requires time to nullify magic with a fixed form.

After fighting only once against another Bāxiān, Lü Dongbin, Tatsuya saw through the
flaws in the counter-magic that Minoru had struggled with.

Tatsuya surmised, correctly, that if the magic's nullification was not instantaneous, the
window of time until it was achieved would be useful in inflicting damage. The iron fan
may have withstood the impact of the [Shadow Beast], but the lightning bolt imparted
with the form of a snake passed through the iron frames of the fan and electrocuted its
owner.

But he instantaneously let go of the iron fan, possibly because he remembered what had
happened the last time they fought. In their previous encounter, Minoru had also sent
an electric attack that had damaged Zhongli Quan's hand holding the iron fan with the
shock. At that time, it was a thunderbolt molded in a ball of lightning, not an ancient
magic that borrowed the form of an animal, but it seemed to have unintentionally been
received as a "magic with a fixed form".

At any rate, the fact that he instantly let go of his fan after blocking the lightning snake
with it was probably because his body remembered the damage he had sustained at that
time.

Zhongli Quan takes out a new fan.

(Heh…)

Minoru chuckled in his mind.

That new fan was made entirely of bamboo, down to the faces.
 173
(Prepared countermeasures, I see. Maybe he realized it was me he was dealing with?)

Bamboo is not electrically conductive. Also, bamboo is a hard and durable material.
Even if the individual pieces are cut thin, when stacked together they are strong enough
to be used as a weapon.

(…But isn't that a bit shallow in your thinking?)

(That's not the only thing different from last time!)

Zhongli Quan invoked the ancient-style wind magic with curses [Qiongqi].

Minoru activates his defensive command tiles. From the tiles he threw to the ground,
shadow birds flew out one after another, slicing Zhongli Quan's winds in the opposite
direction.

The shadow birds took the silhouette of an owl. The technique used by Zhongli Quan
makes use of the concept of Qiongqi, a creature equivalent to the Japanese yokai
Kamaitachi, which is said to have been re-imported to the East Asia continent where it
became the hex-carrying wind magic [Qiongqi].

And the owl is the natural enemy of the itachi, the Japanese weasel. Though the Qiongqi,
a great peril and monster from China's mythology, and the Kamaitachi are completely
different in essence, Minoru still made use of a defense based on the concept of the
Kamaitachi, to deal with [Qiongqi] as it is a derivation.

Using the time the command tiles intercepted Zhongli Quan's magic by themselves,
Minoru finished the preparation for activation of an ancient-style magic after
consuming a bundle of charms.

"─I call upon you, Yakusa-no-Ikazuchi!"

With the power word as the final activation key, Minoru's pseudo-god magic activates.

It's the high order magic that mimics the nature of a god. In the Japanese tradition of
ancient-style magic, it is considered to be the most difficult type of art. By using an
exalted symbol, namely a god, this sort of magic can break through the obstinate
"information preservation force" that the world exerts, and strongly rewrite reality.

For as powerful as it is, it also requires a high degree of magical power to activate. It
also takes a considerable amount of time to prepare, even by the ancient-style magic
standards, which are notorious for being slower. Due to these two constraints, it's
regarded as a type of magic that would be impractical in a real battle.
 174
There is where Minoru has solved this problem by having an enhanced magic power, in
virtue of his parasitization, shortening the time by consuming a large amount of
previously prepared charms, and securing the time required with an automated
protection technique. It now has the issue of requiring a considerable amount of charms
that will be disposed of, so it can only be used once in a battle, as a sort of special move.
─All that said, Minoru's repertoire includes several magic techniques that are more
powerful than this pseudo-god [Yomi-Yakusa-no-Ikazuchi].

From the shadow that Minoru is clad in, a cluster of eight electric bolts in the shape of
snakes leaps out.

The eight sparking "snakes" undulate through the air until striking Zhongli Quan.

Who, in turn, tried to swat away the snakes with his bamboo fan.

He tried, but the first "snake" slithered up through the supposedly non-conductive
bamboo and coiled itself around Zhongli Quan's arm.

A scream gushed from Zhongli Quan's mouth.

The agony of electricity searing through his flesh. But he didn't even have time to faint.

Before the second "snake" wrapped itself around his other, left arm.

The third and fourth snakes entwined themselves around his left and right legs.

With each one, Zhongli Quan is forced back to consciousness, screaming and almost
fainting again.

The fifth got his torso and then the sixth wrapped itself around his neck.

Finally, the seventh pierces his chest. By this point, Zhongli Quan was probably already
dead.

So from that point onwards the electric current must be what has stimulated the
muscles and made them move.

The eighth and final snake tore through Zhongli Quan's groin, slithering into his torso
and exiting through the top of his head.

Zhongli Quan's body was finally allowed to fall to the ground after springing up with
arms and legs outstretched to their fullest.

His body had shrunken from the loss of water, skin charred so black it was impossible to
make out his features.
 175

"That's some pretty wretched magic you've used."

At the same time Zhongli Quan dropped to the ground, Tatsuya emerged next to Minoru
with [Mock-Teleportation]. He was now able to activate [Mock-Teleportation] at about
this distance through the virtual magic calculation area he received from the Artificial
Magician Experiment.

"I didn't think it would torture him to death like this…"

Minoru responded to Tatsuya's exasperated voice with a dumbfounded tone of voice.

But there was no reproach in Tatsuya's words, nor regret in Minoru's tone.

Despite Minoru's description of "torture to death," it took less than ten seconds for the
eight "snakes" to kill Zhongli Quan. At that degree, it wouldn't be considered an
"inhumane method of killing," as it is banned by international law.

Besides, using that magic was the best solution for this particular kill.

Besides, using that magic was the best solution for the current killing. In the end, the
choice to kill in an inhumane or brutal manner or not is only reserved for those who are
willing and have the luxury of choosing. The Bāxiān were not such easy opponents to
allow as much.

However, the fact remains that [Yomi-Yakusa-no-Ikazuchi] exceeded Minoru's

assumptions as a method of attack, a point that will serve as a reminder for the future. A
technique whose consequences cannot be accurately anticipated may potentially bring
harm to the user.

For now, it sufficed just to keep that in mind.

"Well, that's fine. Let's go?"

"Yeah. No reason to stay here any longer."

Tatsuya looked at Minoru, still clad in shadows, nodding, then turned his feet to the hill
where they hid the Stealth Divers.

◇◇◇

"…Pff, hah, hah…"

 176
Megrez released in a single burst the breath she had been holding, taking a series of
vigorous breaths to devour the so longed for oxygen she deprived herself earlier.

What a frightening magic, both in its power and its efficacy. Megrez began trembling
anew at the thought of it. Her subordinate came by to check on her, after she had not
caught up with them for some time, but they didn't find that a matter of any shame.

For that subordinate, too, had their face frozen in horror. They could see it at the edge
of their vision. The charred corpse of Zhongli Quan laid there at the corner of their
gazes. Megrez as well as her subordinate had witnessed the electric magic that had
cooked his body. Seeing in each other the reactions of dread that their bodies exhibited
proved to them that the scene they had just witnessed was not a product of a terrible
dream.

Another magician suddenly appeared beside that magician, who looked like a fiend
wrapped in shadows ─ was that really not a fiend?. Common wisdom would suggest
that he had "jumped" using the [Mock-Teleportation] magic. Yet there was no sign of
anything. There was no post-movement disruption of the air flow either. They weren't
clad in shadows, but they were a magician like a shadow.

That magician was a man. Probably young.

"Probably" because his face was fully concealed by a hat, mirrored sunglasses, and face
cover.

He probably had a good physique. "Probably" again because, no matter how hard they
looked at him, no clear impression of him was generated in their consciousness.

He is visible, but you inadvertently tend to lose sight of him for some reason. The
magician was like a shadow, not only in the way he appeared, but his very existence.

The shadowy magician speaks something to the shadow-clad magician. The former was
nodding his head, probably in response to the latter's reply. After a couple of words of
conversation, they started walking.

In the direction of Megrez.

Megrez felt as if a gaze behind the mirrored sunglasses had caught hers.

Megrez's whole body stiffened. Even her heart felt as if it were about to stop.

She did not know why. The man had done nothing to her. He showed no hostility, not
even vigilance. Yet for some reason, Megrez felt an unfathomable despair.

What she could not verbalize was their overwhelming gap in power.
 177
A sense that defeat awaited her, that no matter what she did.,

It was the sort of despair that strikes a person who is suddenly thrust into a
life-or-death situation.

The magician with mirrored sunglasses spared a glance at Megrez before turning his
face, seemingly disinterested, in the direction he intended to go.

The shadowy, as well as the shadow-clad, magicians passed just by Megrez and her
company.

"Just by" a couple of ten meters away, that is.

A distance that they could avoid each other if no one tried to engage.

"Wait… Over there, wait."

Even so, Megrez called out to them. The two stopped in their tracks, and she
approached them herself.

The Gurkha soldiers under her command stopped where they were and did not follow
her.

The man with the mirrored sunglasses turned his attention to Megrez. The shadow-clad
magician probably was also looking at her.

"I'm committing a colossal foolish act…” The thought occurred to Megrez.

"I'm walking right up to the grim reaper and the devil in my own accord…" She also felt.

Still, she did not stop.

"I am Megrez, a magician officer of the IPU. I'd like to express my gratitude for your aid."

Megrez's voice had a slight quiver to it.

"We did it for our own reasons. No thanks necessary."

The response came from a shadowy man.

A very ordinary, young man's ─ human voice.

Megrez was relieved she felt like crying.

"If you don't mind ─ If it's possible, may I ask your names?"

The young man with mirrored sunglasses turned to the shadow-clad magician.
 178
The black mist-like shadow disappeared and a plain-looking young man emerged from
within.

At the same time she felt it somewhat anticlimactic, she also was astonished to notice
that this seemingly ordinary young man appeared to be shining.

It was as if beneath his mundane appearance was hidden the beauty of a young god of
light.

"Black."

So the young man with mirrored sunglasses called himself.

"Bright."

The ordinary young man followed.

"So, Black-dono24 and Bright-dono, is it? I offer my deepest gratitude."

Megrez bowed to the two men with joined hands, her language more courteous than
she realized.

◇◇◇

There was an unexpected encounter between Tatsuya and Minoru with one of the Sapta
Rishi, but the two paid no heed to the incident.

"Right about here."

"Do you know exactly where it is?"

"It's all right."

After a brief exchange of words, the two men dug out the Stealth Divers each with their
own magic.

Climbing inside, they activated the flight magic system to turn the craft around.
Incidentally, they already had checked the flight magic system's Activation Sequence
prior to taking off from Kadena to make sure no foul codes had been mixed in.

"Let's sync up the destination."

Tatsuya spoke to Minoru using the short-range comms.

24
I'm not sure if the characters are speaking in Japanese here. I would assume that they are not, but the
"-dono” suffix is really there.
 179
[Roger that. The data, please.]

Having established a data link between the stealth divers, Tatsuya set the destination to
a point in the Bay of Bengal that he and Canopus had agreed upon in advance.

"I'll go first."

[I'll go next in ten seconds.]

"Roger that. Then I'll start the countdown."

Tatsuya presses a button, and the countdown begins at ten seconds.

At the moment the count reaches zero, the system sends an activation sequence to
Tatsuya's magic calculation area, and the flight magic is activated.

The stealth diver takes off into the sky, less like a missile and more like a rail gun
projectile.

◇◇◇

Landing on the water in the Bay of Bengal, the Stealth Diver sank like it should, and was
recovered in the water by the USNA Federal Navy Nuclear Submarine Aircraft Carrier
[Virginia]. A vessel that Tatsuya is no stranger to, having boarded it three years ago.

"Tatsuya, it's been a long time."

"Michael, it's good to see you again."

The ship's captain, Captain Michael Curtis25, also remained at the same post he had been
at three years ago. By calling Captain Curtis by his first name, Tatsuya was following a
request, so that he would distinguish him from Senator Wyatt Curtis.

"You over there must be Tatsuya's assistant, right?"

"Nice to meet you Captain, my name is Oujima Hikaru."

"So, Mr. Oujima, right? Well, let's leave it at that."

There were some exchanges of this kind, but Tatsuya and Minoru mostly welcomed it.
He didn't touch on what they had done in Tibet, nor did ask about their experiences
there. One point they, many of the crew, as well as the captain, asked in earnest,

25
In the first part "艦長の” means "captain of a ship” / next, in "マイケル・カーティス大佐”, "大佐” is
Colonel, but in the case of the navy it is "Captain”
 180
however, was about the stealth diver's experience and how they concealed it once they
landed.

In particular, they engaged in detailed discussions with the flight deck personnel on the
specific operational details of the Stealth Diver. Perhaps they are considering using the
craft to operate with the submarine aircraft carrier.

They continued the lively discussion until the plane to pick them up arrived.

It was almost the turn of days.

Tatsuya and Minoru were standing on the flight deck of the surfaced Virginia.

The aircraft approached without lights in the middle of the night. Though the landing
was almost entirely blind, neither the behavior of the aircraft nor the bearing of the
deck personnel betrayed unease.

The aircraft approaching for landing is Tatsuya's private jet. A hypersonic aircraft, fitted
with hydrogen-fueled engines, airflow control magic, and inertial control magic,
capable of reaching a maximum speed of Mach 7. The airflow and inertia control magic
systems also allows for short takeoff and landing (STOL).

Making use of the airflow control magic, it approaches at a speed that it would be sure
to stall with the lift the main wings could provide naturally. Although Tatsuya has not
assigned a name to the aircraft, his personal pilot, Yotsuya Tetsu, has taken the liberty of
calling it "Raisen".

The landing gear of the tentatively named [Raisen] touches the deck. At the same time,
strong air brakes are applied. This is another application of airflow control magic. The
aircraft, whose inertia is neutralized by the magic, stops by itself with the air brake
alone, without the aid of the barricade net or arresting cable.

"Michael, I would like to thank you and your crew for all your hospitality. I really
appreciate your help."

"We should thank you as well for assisting us with a practical experiment. I hope that
one day you might share with us what you have seen in Tibet, if it ever becomes
possible."
 181
Responded Capt. Michael Curtis as he shook Tatsuya's hand.

"I'm sure we'll be able to talk in the not-too-distant future."

"Is that so? Then I'll be looking forward to it."

Tatsuya's line, at least in his own mind, did not classify as a lie.

Curtis, seemingly reluctantly, released Tatsuya's hand. He then saluted Tatsuya.

The crew on deck also saluted collectively.

Tatsuya responded with a gesture with his right hand on his left chest and boarded the
tentatively named [Raisen].

Minoru attempted to emulate the gesture, but it didn't come out as smooth as Tatsuya's.
 182

Chapter 9
[The duty of the inheritor]

August 27th, Friday, Tatsuya and Minoru returned to Japan.

Tatsuya's private jet landed at the Yotsuba Family owned airport in Miyakishima at 6:00
a.m. Despite the early hour, Miyuki and Lina were there to meet them on their arrival at
the airport.

"Welcome back, Tatsuya-sama!"

After bowing graciously, Miyuki embraced Tatsuya, who greeted her back, "I'm home."

Behind Tatsuya, Minoru appeared to be slightly uncomfortable, while Lina, seemingly

accustomed to their piece, seemed unconcerned.

"Good job out there, Minoru."

As one of the fellow leftovers (?), Lina speaks up to Minoru with some words of
appreciation.

"Hm? Right… Thank you for receiving us, Lina."

Trying to keep Tatsuya and Miyuki out of sight, Minoru came off looking somewhat
awkward.

He would have a more casual tone were he speaking with Lina alone. It would seem that
it would be easier for the both of them in that way.

"We called Minami to join us, you see. But she said she couldn't leave her post until you
and Tatsuya arrived safely."

"I see…"

"Missing her?"

Lina glances up at Minoru with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"No, it's not like that."

 183
"She said she'll be getting down here a little past ten."

"Lina…"

Minoru gave a slightly bitter look at Lina, who was smirking, with more insinuation to it
than there's smile.

◇◇◇

Following a quick bath and a brief nap, Tatsuya and the equally rested Minoru ─ noted
that sleep is not a hard requirement for a parasite such as Minoru ─ sat down to a late
breakfast.

The time neared half past ten. Since it was nearly lunchtime, the breakfast was kept
light. It would be closer to a mid-morning tea break.

Miyuki served Tatsuya with great enthusiasm. Finding amusement in this, Lina
proceeded to serve Minoru. ─Once she had changed into a waitress-like outfit. The
outfit featured a short skirt and a deep cut at the bosom.

Mimicking Miyuki, Lina poured drinks into Minoru's glass and replaced the empty plate
with one of desserts, just as Tatsuya would receive. Each time, she went further than just
following Miyuki's example, by leaning in close, just on the edge of touching, and
flashing an over-the-top smile. When wiping the table, she made sure to bend forward
significantly to accentuate the deep cut around her breasts… She didn't show any
underwear, though.
184
 185
Minoru knew right away that it was Lina trying to tease him. Hence, he laughed and
went along with the suggestive service. From the outside, it might have appeared that
he was enjoying it. But it was simply Minoru playing along with the joke.

─That was all there was to it, really.

But then it came Minami, who just arrived down from Takachiho.

"…Minoru-sama. What in the world is this…?"

Minami asks Minoru in a low voice.

Minoru fumbles to explain, "No, it's not what it looks like."

"Not like it looks? And how exactly is it different?"

"This was just something that Lina started as a joke to tease me about."

Minami shoots Lina a sharp cold glare.

"Lina-sama?"

"N-No, it's just a joke, you see. A joke."o, no, it's a joke, a joke."

It wouldn't be a good idea to provoke her.

Sensing this, Lina says, "Well, I'll leave the rest to you," before bolting away from the
situation.

Tatsuya began sharing what they had discovered in their expedition to the Lhasa ruins a
little later than planned, having an unexpected delay in finishing what was supposed to
be a quick meal. He was joined by Miyuki, Minami, Hyougo, as well as Lina, who had
been brought back by Hyougo.

"…That sounds like the fire of divine providence that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah."

Lina interjects with a tense expression during the explanation of the dangerous magic
developed by the Shambhala civilization.

Miyuki and Minami had similar expressions, but still seemed less shocked than Lina,
possibly due to their different religious backgrounds. Lina is still a faithful Sunday
churchgoer ─though not quite on the weekly basis.

"That's my thought, too. Maybe the story of Sodom and Gomorrah could be a memento
of this magic."
 186
Although he was interrupted mid-explanation, Tatsuya dutifully responded to Lina's
inquiry.

"I'm not sure of the details of the magic at this point, but we can assume that it probably
involves generating a wide area of super-heated, highly concentrated plasma in the air,
and then letting it down to the ground."

"It almost seems like a combination of Lina's [Heavy Metal Burst] and Bezobrazov's
[Tuman Bomba]…"

After saying this, Miyuki quivered in a cold shiver. Could be that the thought of what she
uttered revived a sense of dread in her?

"If what Tatsuya is saying is true… It would be more powerful than my magic, because
the part where it doesn't decrease as a function of the distance from the hypocenter…"

Lina followed up on Miyuki's line with a pallid face.

"There is the issue of the excessive power, but the real problem in question is that, as
was with [Babel] recently, as long as there is enough capacity in the magic calculation
area, anyone can master that magic using the relics."

"Aren't there only a few people with a magic calculation area that can handle that much,
sir?"

The person who asked was Hyougo. His calm demeanor remained unchanged.

"If you respect mageists as human beings, yes."

"So, it could be memorized by many, if they were treated as disposable?"

As per usual, Hyougo wasn't one to show any sway in his expression or tone of voice.
However, his beaming smile, which was quite unsuitable for the topic at hand, may have
just mirrored what he was really feeling.

"This is speculation, but… if you don't mind the risk of overheating. Better, if you are
willing to go to the point of overheating, then roughly 20 percent of mageist population
would be suitable."

"If people knew of this legacy, most of the authorities would no longer regard mageists
as a mere conventional weapon. And, unlike [Apostles] nowadays, these would be easily
replaceable."

Minoru, addressing Tatsuya's line, expressed the concern that both of them take the
most serious.
 187
Even with this magic of mass destruction in hands, the authorities may never get to the
point of actually using it. But a mageist with a magic installed from a "relic" that exceeds
their capacity will break down from overheating, even if they don't actually use the
magic. And that within a relatively short period.

Then, those in power could simply use the "relic" again to install the magic of mass
destruction in another mageist. The "relics" of Shambhala make this possible.

"…Yeah, I could see that happening."

Lina, an "Apostle" herself, agreed in a dark tone.

"Magians may be created and nurtured just for the purpose of being used as vessels for
such magic."

Miyuki, who is herself a mageist tailored for a specific purpose, pointed out in a heavy
voice the problems that could arise.

"And there is the possibility that this duty would pass from one generation to the next…"

Minami, who is a second generation, with both parents who had "tailored bodies", could
not voice out the gloomy future she foresaw.

"We're still in the middle of the subject, but I'd like to say that our next goal is to seal
this… let's call it [Last Flame] for now. It is to seal this Mass Destruction Magic [Last
Flame]. We first need to recover the relic used to install this [Last Flame], and then find a
way to shut-off the installation function."

"You don't intend that we destroy the relic?"

"I'll leave that as a last resort. Even if mankind cannot responsibly handle it now, it may
be needed by mankind in the future."

There was some hesitancy in Tatsuya's expression as he responded to Miyuki's question.

He was unsure mankind would be much wiser and responsible in the future. Even so, he
refuses to allow the wisdom of the past to be forever forgotten.

"…By the way, is there any other information you wanted to share with us? I might be
mistaken, but I am under the impression that you still have something important to say."

Sensing Tatsuya's distress, Miyuki seeks to change the subject.

"I'd like to talk about that, if I may."

All eyes gathered on Minoru.

 188
After receiving a nod of approval from Tatsuya, Minoru proceeded to speak.

"There exist ruins of Shambhala in Japan as well."

"What?!"

The three, Miyuki, Lina, and Minami, express their surprise, each in their own way. Lina
being the one to raise her voice.

"And we know the place. You can get there from one of the caves at the foot of Mt. Fuji."

"A cave at the foot of Mt. Fuji, you mean Aokigahara? How weren't the ruins already
discovered in a well-traveled place such as there?"

Miyuki tilted her head, puzzled. Understandably so, as Aokigahara's wind cave is a
well-known tourist spot. Aokigahara is also being used by the National Defense Forces
for military exercises in forest warfare. Various surveys of the area have naturally been
conducted by both public and private entities.

"The original entrance was buried during the Jogan eruption."

The Jogan eruption was an active eruption of Mt. Fuji that lasted for two years starting
in the 6th year of Jogan (864 AD). Which led to the formation of the present Aokigahara
Sea of Trees on top of the remains of the lava flows from that time.

"The ruins themselves, however, remain dormant. One of the caves stretches out near
the entrance, so we can access it by just digging from there. And since we know the
exact location, we can be sure we'll find it."

"That's amazing, isn't it… That ruin in Lhasa could even tell us the current state of the
other ruins?"

Lina interjected with a look of genuine amazement.

"Amazingly, yes. I suppose that's where the legend referring to 'there exists a path under
Lhasa that leads to Shambhala' came from."

"And it was just that, indeed. It was really 'a path under Lhasa that leads to Shambhala'."

"The location is surely important, but it is on the magic kept there that we ought to
focus our attention."

Tatsuya said, prompting Minoru to continue with his eyes.

"Yes, that's right. The Fuji ruins are where they kept magic related to parasites."
 189
"Eh?!"

This time it was Minami who raised her voice.

"…I'm sorry to interrupt. But what does Minoru-sama mean by the magic related to
parasites? Does it mean that we, parasites, were in fact created by the Shambala
civilization?"

"Minami-san, calm down."

Taking hold of her hand, Minoru sits Minami back down beside him, calming her down.

Seeing Minami cast her head down with a tinge of blush on her cheeks, made both
Miyuki and Lina smile at her innocent reaction.

"We won't know for sure the details until we actually investigate the ruins of Fuji. But
there is still the possibility that the Shambala civilization didn't create Parasites, just
developed ways of dealing with them."

"…Do you mean that they created magic to deal with the parasites when they appeared?"

"Maybe."

"So, what sort of magic could it be, do you know?"

Lina asked Minoru with a look of picked interest, seeing that Minami had regained her
composure.

"……"

"Minoru, if you don't want to."

"No."

Minoru stopped Tatsuya, who was about to say "I can say it", with a resolute voice.

He then turned to Minami instead of to Lina.

"There are two magics related to Parasites that can be acquired from relics stored in the
Fuji ruins."

Minami gulped, not only because she was taken aback by Minoru's serious expression,
but also by the realization of what he would be about to say could have great
implications for both of their lives.

She drew in a deep breath and braced herself to whatever she was about to hear.
 190
Seeing her newfound resolve, Minoru continued.

"One is a magic to reliably turn people into parasites without the risk of death."
191
 192
Minoru draws in a breath.

"The other is a magic to turn a parasite back into a human."

This time Minami stops breathing completely.

Not only Minami, but Miyuki and Lina also forgot to breathe.

"After we recover the relic for [Last Flame], we'll go to the Fuji Ruins. I don't plan on
taking too long, so please don't worry."

Tatsuya's dispassionate voice reminded each of the three of them to breathe.

When the sound of heavy breathing subsided, Tatsuya resumed the conversation.

"But you two can already begin to think about what you're going to decide to do after
we recover those relics."

Tatsuya said, to which Minoru replied, "I agree," and Minami followed with, "I will do as
you say."

"By the way, Tatsuya-sama. Where would you go to collect the relic of the [Last Flame]?
Depending on the location, we may need to arrange a way to travel there as soon as
possible."

Sensing the end of the conversation, Hyougo asks Tatsuya in a calm tone, unbefitting of
his youth, but appropriate for a butler.

"Right! If the ruins in Tibet are the 'path that leads to Shambhala' as you say they are,
then they must have been able to tell where that mass-destruction magic could be
found, right?"

No one attempted to correct Lina that "the magics are not stored in the ruins, but the
relics, from where the magic can be learned, are".

"It'll be fine. It'll not be difficult to get there."

First responding to Hyougo, Tatsuya now turned to answering Lina's question.

"Because the ruins are located on Mt. Shasta."

Mount Shasta, a 4,000-meter tall volcano located in northern USNA California, and the
starting point that led to this relic hunt and Shambhala exploration.

◇◇◇
 193
Yokohama Bay Hills Tower is a trio of skyscrapers perched atop a hill overlooking the
Port of Yokohama. The building is a complex that includes a hotel, shopping mall,
private offices, TV station, as well as housing the Kanto branch of the Japan Magical
Association.

A dressed up Saegusa Mayumi gazed out at the night view of Tokyo Bay, not from a
window at the Magic Association branch, but from a window seat in the hotel's high-rise
restaurant.

"Sorry for being late."

A man approached her table and said to her. The voice was heavy, full of bass and
gravity, yet Mayumi knew that its owner stood at the same age as her.

"By no means. Thanks for your overtime, Juumonji-kun."

Juumonji Katsuto, a man of a physique that fully matched his voice, followed the waiter's
lead and sat down in the seat across from Mayumi.

"Overtime, huh? I was hoping it would be finished on time, since the decision has
already been made."

Katsuto chuckled wryly. There weren't many signs of annoyance as there was humor in
his expression. He said so in more of a moment of levity than of complaint.

Katsuto came just out of a meeting with the Magic Association representing the Ten
Master Clans. It's a regular meeting where the Ten Master Clans exchange ideas and
opinions with the Magic Association.

The Japanese Magic Association has its main office in Kyoto and a branch office in
Yokohama, where they hold meetings with the head of the Ichijou family, based in
Kanazawa, and the head of the Futatsugi family, based in Ashiya, taking it in turns to
attend. In the past, this role was exclusively handled by the Kudou family, but since the
Kudou family relinquished their position in the Ten Master Clans three years ago, this
arrangement has been in place.

Meanwhile, the closest family to the Kanto branch is the Mitsuya family of Atsugi, but it
is the Saegusa family of Tokyo that voluntarily takes on the responsibility of interacting
with the Magic Association. While most of the Ten Master Clans, all those that comprise
the 18 Assistant Houses, have been reluctant to engage with the Association, only the
Saegusa family ─ or rather, the present head, Saegusa Kouichi, has in any significant
way been proactive in building a relationship with the Association.
 194
However, as of late, Kouichi has refrained from public appearances. Katsuto, the head of
the Juumonji family, became the primary liaison with the Association in his place, rather
than the head of the Mitsuya family. A point that was strongly encouraged by Kouichi.

Katsuto does not know what Kouichi's intentions were. Still, from Katsuto's point of
view, Kouichi is of his parent's generation. It was hard for him to refuse to take on such a
chore without making a scene.

And aware of today's meeting, Mayumi invited Katsuto to dinner at a restaurant located
in the same Bay Hills Tower ─ strictly speaking, in the adjacent building ─ as a way of
repaying him for the last dinner.

In said previous dinner, Katsuto inquired Mayumi if it would be alright if to tell Tookami
Ryousuke's sister about his situation. Tonight's dinner invitation was in a way to deliver
a response to that question.

After some light banter about the Association ─ despite the fact that the restaurant is
frequented by many of the Association's executives, neither Mayumi nor Katsuto paid
any attention if they were overheard ─ Mayumi got to the main subject of the meeting.

"Tookami-san doesn't want to meet with his family… Or rather, he doesn't want to show
his face to them."

"Sounds like there is a story there…"

Katsuto crossed his arms briefly and closed his eyes. He pondered for about five seconds
and then opened his eyes again.

"…I understand. I will respect his wishes. I feel for his sister ─ for the family, in fact, but
I'm sure he has his own personal concerns that he cannot compromise on."

Mayumi was relieved to hear that. Even if it was decided they should meet regardless,
Ryousuke had already resigned from the company and moved out of the company
housing.

"However, as long as Tookami Ryousuke is working for Magian Company, you can never
be sure that he won't run into his sister or Alisa by chance. They are all in Tokyo, you
know."

With such a large population in Tokyo, Mayumi thought, the odds of two people from
different spheres of life and different lifestyles meeting each other by chance were close
to zero. Also, the premise for Katsuto's concern was off consideration.

"I don't think there's any need to worry about that."

 195
Hoping to assuage Katsuto's unfounded concern, she started spouting something she
wasn't planning to say. ─She was a bit lax with relief from earlier.

"Because Tookami-san quit the Company."

"Quit…? You mean, he resigned from the firm?"

"Yes, all of a sudden. The Magian Company is not a firm, though."

Mayumi's trivial digression brings the conversation to a stalling point.

Except Katsuto didn't let his temper get the better of him here.

"Tookami-san said he wanted to return to America to work for Lena."

Katsuto's face tightens at that sentence. This change is slight, however, and even
Mayumi, who has known Katsuto for a long time, could not tell what it represented,
since Katsuto tends to have a tense expression on his face on a regular basis. ─Or might
be that the alcohol has begun to eclipse Mayumi's vigilance.

"…By this Lena, who is in America, do you mean Lena Fehr of FEHR?"

"Do you know about Lena, Juumonji-kun?"

"Anyone with the slightest serious interest in news related to magicians would know
about her. Lena Fehr is the name of the hour in the magician world."

This time Mayumi has widened eyes. A change in expression that, much unlike Katsuto's,
was quite easy to read.

"What happened for that to happen?"

"If anything, I'm surprised Saegusa doesn't know."

Katsuto was taken aback. This time Mayumi could clearly see the expression on his face.

"No, I don't, so what? Could you just tell me already?"

Mayumi has a brief moment of impatience. Another way in which Mayumi and Katsuto
are in stark contrast today.

Katsuto consciously held back a sigh as Mayumi childishly pouted her lips slightly.

"FEHR, under the leadership of Lena Fehr, recently signed a partnership agreement with
the Magian Society. Even though the Magian Society is an upstart organization that was
formed back in the spring, it has as its main representative Dr. Chandrasekhar, the
developer of IPU's Strategic-Class Magic. With the English [Apostle] McCloud as a witness
 196
at the founding ceremony. In the international community, the Magian Society is
effectively considered an official organization of the IPU and the United Kingdom. We
cannot forget to add that the deputy representative is Shiba, now recognized as the
world's most powerful magician. The Magian Society has already risen to become one of
the most influential forces in the world."

"…Aren't you exaggerating just a bit?"

Mayumi says with a laugh, jokingly, or at least trying to sound as such.

"It's no exaggeration."

By contrast, Katsuto asserts in all seriousness. It was not a joke or an exaggeration.

"Ah. Right."

The briskness involuntarily made Mayumi turn a straight face.

"…And that Magian Society formed a partnership with a little known entity like FEHR.
Out of all the many magicians' organizations in the world, they were the first one. How
do you expect this not to raise a buzz?"

Perhaps thinking he had been too strong in his response to Mayumi, Katsuto softened
his tone as he concluded.

That did little to ease the astonishment on Mayumi's part. It's not uncommon to see
discrepancies between the assessment of an organization from a person from inside and
that of someone looking in from the outside. Undervaluation and overestimation occur
in equal measure. There are fewer cases when the insider has the right idea than vice
versa, though.

"So that's how you knew about Lena."

Since Mayumi had nothing to say in reply, she decided to take that in stride and let the
matter slide.

"And, if any, do you have any kind of relation with this Lena Fehr, Saegusa?"

"She's a new friend I made recently. You didn't hear about it, Juumonji-kun? I made a
trip to Vancouver the month before last to work out that partnership."

"…No, I didn't know about that. Though, I'm surprised you managed to travel to the
USNA."

The surprise Katsuto showed appeared to be nothing but genuine.

 197
It would seem that the government is unwilling to let the word of her visit to USNA to
spread around, Mayumi thought.

"So am I. It seems that there was some kind of mess going on behind the scenes."

"Mess? What do you mean?"

"I don't know and I don't want to know."

Mayumi responded to Katsuto's quizzical expression in a curt, almost cold manner.

"Anyway, it's clear that our Managing Director, Tatsuya-kun, had something to do with
it, anyway."

"I see… I hope this tension doesn't cause an outburst from the government or the
military."

Katsuto wasn't joking about his concern. It was not only in fiction that authority can
lose their patience and do something rash when forced to make too many unwanted
compromises.

"Right?. Really, I wish Tatsuya-kun would try to be at least a bit more reasonable."

"─But let's put Shiba's affairs to the side for now."

Sensing a surge of complaints and grievances about to pour out, Katsuto seeks to
redirect the subject.

"So, was Ryousuke Tookami a member of FEHR, working for Lena Fehr?"

Mayumi's expression, which until then had been upbeat and all good vibes, became
clouded.

"─Yes, he was. He apparently only came to Japan on Lena's orders."

"As a spy, you mean? If you knew of a spy trying to infiltrate the Japanese magic
community, why haven't you reported in the Ten Master Clan's conference?"

Katsuto's tone was tinged with criticism. In fact, it was less of an accusation and more of
a reproach.

He wasn't really harsh with her, but Mayumi looked away nevertheless, unable to look
him straight in the face.

"…Though I won't deny the spy part, I've seen no signs that he would've harmed the
Japanese magical community. Besides, Tookami-san is a Japanese magician, too."
 198
Still, Mayumi did not lower her head. She didn't meet him eye-to-eye, but she didn't turn
her face away.

"He was still spying for a foreign nation, though, wasn't he?"

"Not a nation, though; for a foreigner maybe. Besides, all he was looking for was
Tatsuya's intentions. The Company has tons of information that any foreign nation
would salivate over, but there was no indication that he was trying to access that data."

"...I don't think you'd be able to tell if there was something like a hacking or not,
Saegusa."

"Even if I don't, Kyouko-san is also in the Company. And I'm sure no hacking would've
passed unnoticed by the 'Electron Sorceress'."

Katsuto knows of the famous Electron Sorceress, of course. A devilish hacker with
god-like skills that is the nightmare of anyone engaging in cyberwarfare and cyber
espionage, be it on the offensive or defensive end. Fujibayashi Kyouko might be able to
paralyze the modern world that relies on electronic systems overnight if she so chooses,
and even cause irreparable damage to society. All without a single trace of destructive
cracking. In some ways, she can be more devastating than even Tatsuya.

If that Fujibayashi Kyoko had assessed that "there was no evidence of unauthorized
access", Katsuto couldn't argue further in that respect.

"…You seem to be pretty fond of Tookami Ryousuke to be defending him like this."

Was that the reason?

This is unusual for Katsuto, but such a point was very much a low blow.

"Eh, fond─!?"

Katsuto didn't expect his line to receive that reaction.

"Me? Fond of him? No, no. It's not like that…"

Katsuto words seemed to have a critical effect on her to the point that she felt hard to
formulate a response.

"Saegusa, you…"

"Wait right there, Juumonji-kun! don't get the wrong idea!"

Katsuto was just referring to being "favorable" to him, as "in his favor". There is a
difference in nuance between being fond of someone and being in love with them.
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Mayumi has evidently dug her own grave, or rather, stepped in a minefield she herself
set. Though Katsuto didn't tease Mayumi by pointing this out.

"You're at the age of marriage. So I'd not be surprised if you found a partner in him."

This was not him teasing her. Katsuto was serious.

"I already told you, we're not like that!"

The restaurant fell silent for a moment. After a second of stillness, whispering voices
combined into a murmur.

This time, as one would expect, Mayumi blushed and looked down.

Even Katsuto was at a loss for words at Mayumi's unexpected fierce words.

"…I have nothing with Tookami-san."

After some time spent looking down, in what must have been a sign of defeat to her,
Mayumi raised her head to look out the window and muttered bluntly to herself. In form
it was a response to Katsuto, but in reality it was a mutter to herself ─ a soliloquy.

"Tookami-san said he would be flying back to America."

In a perfectly timed moment, she saw a passenger plane taking off from Haneda Airport,
the Tokyo Bay Maritime International Airport.

"He has only Lena in his heart. A man who devotes his heart to another woman can
never could never fall in love from the very beginning."

As it happened, Ryousuke was actually on that airliner. But there was no way Mayumi
could have known that.

◇◇◇

August 27, near noon local time.

In Richmond, California, two women visited the house where the FAIR head Rocky Dean
had been hiding.

"My lord… I have just returned."

As soon as the front door closed, Laura Simons abruptly kneeled down. The women
visiting were Laura and He Xiangu, who had brought her back to the USNA after much
effort.
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It took three days for Laura to get away from Izayoi Shirabe, because she had to go
through Southeast Asia to bypass immigration. once there.

Dean and Laura are still wanted. Though they were able to pass through customs with
He Xiangu's Alteration skill, magic alone could not falsify their visas or passport
entry/exit records.

"─Laura, I see you're finally back."

Dean looked down at her arrogantly, but there was unmistakable relief and joy in his
eyes.

He Xiangu, having brought Laura this far, looked at the master and servant scene with a
smile.

Same day, around the same time.

"Milady. I'm back."

"Ryousuke!"

At the FEHR headquarters in Vancouver, Lena widens her eyes at the unexpected
re-encounter with Ryousuke.

"Milady, I have interpreted your assignment in Japan as complete through your

partnership with the Magian Society. Please allow me to serve back at your side again."

Ryousuke bows deeply. If this was a Japanese occasion, he would be surely rubbing his
forehead against the floor.

"Serve me? What are you… Ryousuke, please raise your head."

Despite being told by Lena with a voice filled with bewilderment, Ryousuke still kept a
90-degree bend at the waist. His entire figure exuded the obstinacy of "I will not budge
even a degree until I obtain forgiveness".

"…Ryousuke, you are one of my associates."

Understanding the stubbornness in Ryousuke's heart, Lena softens her voice.

"There is nothing to be forgiven or not. Please, I ask you to help me, too. Let's work
together again."
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Ryousuke raises in vigorous fashion. His expression seemed to be about to be drenched
in tears of emotion.

"I am honored, Milady! I will serve you with all my heart and soul!"

"I already told you, you don't need to serve me."

Lena's bittersweet smile was lost on Ryousuke, who once again bowed his head in a
gesture of utmost reverence.

It was midnight in Japan at the time, where Tatsuya was diligently planning his trip to
the U.S. with Hyougo.

The next stage was about to shift back to the West Coast of the USNA.

〈To be continued〉
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Afterword

I'd like to express thanks to all of you for your patience up to this point. With this,
[Magian Company 6] has been delivered. I hope you enjoyed it.

I am of the belief that if you are a writer of occult-related works, and even if you take
out the writer part, if you have even the slightest interest in the occult, you may have
been interested in prehistoric civilizations at one point in your life. And with the
thought of an advanced civilization having been established in prehistoric times, you
have surely wondered why there would be no evidence of such a civilization to be
found.

It is surprising how quickly traces of modern civilization can fade away and disappear.
As many have noted, electronic storage media do not last as long as documents written
on paper and ink; have paper and plastic and all it takes is a small flame, and all is easily
burnt away. All that will remain after tens of thousands of years is a worn-down stone
monument. Later civilizations will look at it and suppose that prehistoric civilizations
had only reached the stage of recording things in stone monuments.

Buildings made of iron and concrete will decay in the not-too-distant future when
civilization ceases to exist. Concrete weather, iron rusts, and everything crumbles. In
10,000 years, there will be nothing left but lime and iron-rich soil. Like this, our
advanced modern civilization would disappear without a trace, leaving the next
civilization that has risen over time to find only the stone ruins left behind to judge the
level of our civilization.

This is just one example of a response. However, I support another, also common
answer case. That is, a prehistoric civilization could be built on a different foundation
than the modern civilization. You could describe it as the theory of an advanced
spiritual civilization. I think this one is more popular in the world of creative writing.

The good thing about this theory is that there is no need to ponder too deeply about
why no ruins remain. It would not be surprising why there are no ruins left if the
civilization relied on magic and/or supernatural powers.
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In addition, the power of the gods of myths and legends could be thought of as the
technology of an advanced spiritual civilization, and the setting could be expanded in
various ways. I believe this is one of the staples of modern fantasy.

In this narrative, Shambhala is a similar kind of prehistoric civilization based on such

advanced spiritual technology. The recording media is based on the arrangement of the
components in the rocks and the order of the bonds between the molecules. And this
would be read by "magic". The various stone tablets that appear throughout the work
are set up in this way.

The idea of a shelter for an ice age was inspired by Graham Hancock's [Fingerprints of
the Gods] followed by a series of his writings. I should note, however, that I have not
read all of Mr. Hancock's writings. I mainly referred to [The Magic of the Gods] and [The
Prehistory of Mankind]. The fact that the next story takes place in the U.S. is due to the
influence of [Prehistory of Mankind], if you will.

Moving on to another topic. It has become generally accepted that it is a mistake to

describe the high heat that spacecraft and meteoroids experience in the atmosphere as
a result of "frictional heat". That high heat is due to adiabatic compression. ──Yes, I do
not dispute that point. But isn't that a bit like saying "heat is generated by heat"? Aren't
the temperature and pressure of a gas equivalent in terms of the interaction between
the gas molecules? Well, I'm not a specialist, so I don't really know...

You'd intuitively think that if we trace the cause of compression, the main idea would be
fluid friction between a spacecraft or meteorite and the atmosphere. If that is the case,
would it be a mistake to call the high temperature a result of adiabatic compression
"frictional heat"?

I was thinking about this during the writing of this volume, but I digress.

With that, I hope to see you again in Volume 7. Once again, thank you very much for
reading.

(Satou Tsutomu)
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