Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei Vol. 30 Read online

  Chapter 1

  Early Saturday morning, July 13th. More specifically, it is ten minutes to seven in the morning.

  “Will you go to visit Honoka right after returning home?” - With a completely ordinary face and a completely ordinary voice, Tatsuya asked Miyuki, who was about to go to school.

  “'Yes, as planned.”

  In a different voice, but in exactly the same tone as usual, Miyuki answered, reincarnated by Lina's Parade into a girl with light brown hair and light brown eyes.

  Yesterday, July 12, Minami was taken out of the country by the efforts of Minoru, who secured the support of the Parasites from the American army. Tatsuya's chase ended in failure.

  But neither Tatsuya nor Miyuki became discouraged.

  “Tatsuya, will you come too?”

  Lina asked Tatsuya, who had exactly the same face as Miyuki, and they differed only in the color of her hair and eyes.... Lina took her face as the basis for changing the appearance of Miyuki, so if we exclude the difference in colors, they were indistinguishable as two drops of water.

  Lina also knew that Tatsuya could not return Minami.

  However, Lina did not seem to worry about Tatsuya.

  And not because I thought that Tatsuya didn’t care about yesterday’s failure.

  Lina knew perfectly well that both Tatsuya and Miyuki were seriously injured mentally.

  However... neither Tatsuya nor Miyuki surrendered.

  This Lina also knew.

  “Yes, I'm going. Lina, are you going to go too?”

  “Of course. Honoka is my girlfriend.”

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  "... If Tatsuya and Miyuki behave as if nothing had happened, then I will also maintain my usual behavior," thought Lina.

  ◊ ◊ ◊

  Miyuki was forced to change her face with Lina's magic in order to avoid talking to reporters.

  This week, Monday, July 8, Ichijou Masaki, with the help of the new Strategic class magic “Ocean Blast”, stopped the advance of the NSU fleet in the Sea of Japan.

  By itself, this event went exactly as Tatsuya planned. However, Kichijouji Shinkurou's speech to reporters attacking the new hero greatly violated Tatsuya’s plans.

  Overly honest Kichijouji told reporters the name of Tatsuya as the co-developer of Ocean Blast. And “thanks” to this, now not only Tatsuya, but also Miyuki has become the target of aggressive attempts by journalists to get information.

  Fortunately, neither Tatsuya nor Miyuki have ever been surrounded by reporters and photographers.

  The school still does not know that Tatsuya and Miyuki moved to the building in Tofu.

  According to the records, they still live in their private home that's owned by their father, Shiba Tatsurou, in Fuchu. As a result, the media is now mainly targeting that house.

  Therefore, one could easily guess that reporters who could not get anything at home would decide to ambush them on the road from the station to the school. In fact, that's the way it was. Anticipating this, Tatsuya asked Lina to change Miyuki's appearance to another person.

  Going to school with Lina, Miyuki left a little earlier, because the school needed some time to cancel the Parade. Removing magic in itself takes an instant, however, so that many students do not see the scene of a change in appearance, instead of the classroom, they first go into the school council room for a short while, where they canceled the transformation. That is why they came to school a little earlier than usual.

  When Miyuki and Lina left, Tatsuya settled in the dining room. Despite the setbacks, he did not refuse to save Minami and the pursuit of Minoru. This morning, he should have Page 2

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  gone to eliminate the consequences of his actions yesterday. But no matter what he began to do, he did not have time to finish the job.

  "... Minami is heading east across the Pacific. The course remains unchanged..."

  Sipping coffee brewed by a home automation system, he turned his "look" at Minami.

  He could easily track her Eidos.

  "Minoru... noticed that I was" watching. "

  Minoru was supposed to be next to Minami. Tatsuya decided to follow this

  “connection” and tried to read Eidos Minoru. But before he could focus, the "image" of Minoru disappeared from his "field of vision."

  "Kimon Tonko?"

  Obviously, Tatsuya's “line of sight” was set aside with the help of Kimon Tonko Minoru.

  It seems that Minoru perfectly mastered the East Asian continental ancient magic,

  "inherited" from the ghost of Zhou Gongjin.

  At this, Tatsuya interrupted the observation. Attached to Eidos Minami, the mark still remained, and Minoru was not particularly interested in finding Minoru.

  Continuing such careful observation, it is likely that the ship carrying the Minami will be able to stop. However, a careless attack can hurt Minami herself. Even if you try to destroy only the engine, the ship in the end may just sink, which is completely unacceptable.

  "It is too early..."

  Thinking that it was time to get ready for the exit, Tatsuya finished his coffee. He was going to a meeting of the Master Clans. Although no formal attire was required, at least some formal attire was required . Officially, he was still a high school student, so his school uniform was suitable for this, but he decided to change into a suit.

  Having put the cup in the dishwasher (there was no need to press a button, since the sink started automatically when a sufficient amount of dirty dishes was reached), Tatsuya went to his room. His path ran past the living room.

  And at that moment he was stopped by the sound of an incoming call on a videophone.

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  It was still only eight in the morning. The only reason for the call at such a time could only be an urgent matter. Or could this person call only at this time? If so, then it was impossible to remain indifferent.

  Tatsuya went into the living room and pressed the call reception button.

  Fujibayashi Kyouko in military uniform appeared on the wall display.

  “Tatsuya-kun, good morning.” Sorry at such a time.

  Fujibayashi spoke without hesitation from the videophone screen. This behavior indicated that she was not at all concerned about the fact that it was early morning.

  - Good morning. Do you have an urgent matter? Tatsuya suddenly asked in a cold tone.

  He was not so inhospitable because his mood had deteriorated. This was a completely normal behavior for him.

  “Not that this business was urgent...” mumbled Fujibayashi.

  With a silent look at the camera, Tatsuya urged her to continue.

  Fujibayashi's eyes nervously ran from side to side, and she spoke without looking Tatsuya in the eye.

  “... I want to apologize for my father.” Tatsuya-kun, could you give me some of your time?

  “Do you mean you want to meet and talk face to face?”

  - Yes.

  At that moment, Fujibayashi finally looked Tatsuya in the eye with determination on her face.

  “My father’s deed is a betrayal, for which you don’t apologize through the camera and monitor.

  Fujibayashi Kyouko's father, Fujibayashi Nagamasa yesterday fought with Tatsuya at the foot of Mount Fuji, in the Sea of Aokigahara Trees. He stood in the way of Tatsuya to thwart his pursuit and let Kudou Minoru escape. On the eve of Nagamasa, he promised to cooperate with Tatsuya in the capture of Minoru, so his act can no doubt be called a Page 4

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  betrayal.

  - Not necessary.

 
Tatsuya’s response was still indifferent and cold.

  - But...

  “I accepted an apology right now.” Nothing more is needed.

  The tone of Tatsuya's voice seemed to say: "It is useless to object."

  However, Fujibayashi has already opened her mouth to continue. However, Tatsuya's voice sounded before she could say anything.

  “Instead, would you like to visit your father?” Do you know which hospital he is in?

  Defeated by Tatsuya Fujibayashi Nagamasa, he was captured by Kuroba Mitsugu's subordinates and taken to the Yotsuba family-run hospital in Kofu. Now he is undergoing treatment there with limited freedom of movement.

  - Yep. I heard from my mother.

  “He was badly wounded, but not so much that you were refused a meeting.”

  This "restriction of freedom" of Nagamasa did not mean that the Yotsuba family would interfere with his communication with the outside world. Last night, his family was told the name, address and telephone number of the hospital where he was lying.

  -... Okay, I get it.

  "First talk to the culprit of my problems, and only then come back." So Fujibayashi interpreted the words of Tatsuya.

  - Once again, I sincerely apologize for this.

  Tatsuya somehow understood that Fujibayashi misinterpreted his words, but did not correct her.

  - Everything is fine. Bye, take care.

  Having finished the conversation with words that can be called cynical, Tatsuya turned Page 5

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  off the videophone.

  ◊ ◊ ◊

  Lieutenant Colonel Kazama, who came to serve in his office as the commander of a separate magically equipped battalion of the 1-0-1 brigade, immediately left the office without even crouching. The reason for this was the message that he saw on the display of his desktop terminal.

  And now he was standing in front of the table of the brigade commander 1-0-1, Lieutenant General Saeki.

  - Yesterday, in the former Yamanashi Prefecture, in the vicinity of Mount Fuji and the lakes of Kawaguchi and Saiko, a person named Kudou Soushi appeared in a police investigation.

  This was the first topic that Saeki raised right after the usual exchange of greetings.

  A faint surprise appeared on Kazama's face.

  “This person has the same name as the second son of the Kudou family.”

  - This is it.

  The surprise on Kazama's face became clearly distinguishable.

  “But what did he do there?” The funeral of His Excellency Kudou is scheduled for tomorrow, so he should not have time for long trips.

  As Kazama said, the funeral of Kudou Retsu, who was killed by Minoru (and officially died of an illness), will take place tomorrow on land belonging to the main house of the Kudou family. Undoubtedly, the ceremony will be attended by many guests in order to express their condolences. The family of the deceased should be busy with preparations not only today, but a few days before.

  “Kudou Soushi seems to have joined the battle against Shiba Tatsuya to help Kudou Minoru escape.”

  “Do you think the Kudou family is still connected to the Kudou Minoru?”

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  Kazama's voice was already not just surprised, but shocked.

  “This is only indirect evidence.”

  Saeki was not particularly surprised at Kazama's shocked state, and only answered him in an indifferent tone.

  “But since Kudou Soushi was interrogated by the police, does this mean that Tatsuya has not erased him?”

  - Naturally. His Mist dispersion is secret magic. Abuse it to eliminate interference with the return of the servant - is not permissible.

  At this point, Saeki's poker interface cracked. Her words meant the unilateral imposition of the point of view of the army. And this point of view did not coincide with Tatsuya's priorities. However, Kazama did not begin to point out this to her now.

  - I think that to some extent he understands this...

  Saeki sighed.

  “... The ball of fire that was observed last night in the Shonan area was caused by its Fog Dispersion.” There is no direct evidence for this, but my subordinates analyzed images from infrared cameras on a stratospheric platform, as a result of which such a conclusion was made.

  - For the first time I hear about it.

  This remark by Kazama expressed his dissatisfaction with the fact that this information did not reach him. Tatsuya, as the "special officer of Ooguro Ryuuya," is listed in a separate magically equipped battalion commanded by Kazama. It is reasonable that the information division of the division headquarters was responsible for the initial analysis, but Kazama believed that before making the final decision, he should ask his opinions as the battalion commander.

  Saeki understood Kazama's feelings. It was quite expected.

  - Our team will not protect Shiba Tatsuya from the consequences of yesterday’s illegal actions.

  But she ignored Kazama's displeasure.

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  - His behavior has recently become completely unacceptable. If he thinks that he can do what he wants, because he is a magician of the Strategic class, then we should correct this error of his.

  “In my opinion, Tatsuya has no such error in his thoughts...”

  We now have a new Strategic class magician named Ichijou Masaki, and that means that Tatsuya "served his own"? Kazama did not say this out loud.

  “By the way, if you say that Kudou Soushi helped Kudou Minoru escape, then that means... Kudou Minoru successfully escaped from the Tatsuya chase?”

  “It seems that Kudou Minoru fled to the Pacific Ocean on a USNA Army transport ship, taking Sakurai Minami with him.”

  “Does he have connections in the American army?”

  “Obviously, the Parasites from the USNA Army helped him.”

  The Japanese army managed to find out that the Parasites are building up their influence within the USNA army, making the Stars the center of their forces. This was information that was available only to a part of the intelligence department and a small number of people in the leadership, but Saeki was able to get it through personal routes.

  - Okay.

  Saeki had not yet spoken about this Kazama, but he was not surprised at this. Kazama’s reaction was unexpected for Saeki, but she did not ask him if he knew about it. Because she had a fear that then the conversation might turn to the question of her sources of information, which was undesirable.

  “... Probably Shiba Tatsuya also knows how Kudou Minoru escaped.” And there is a possibility that he knows the place where he escaped.

  “Tatsuya has that“ look. ” But what, in fact, is the problem?

  “The transport ship that took Kudou Minoru aboard seems to be heading to the Northwest Hawaiian Islands.”

  - Northwest Hawaiian Islands... Are you worried that Tatsuya might go to Midway Page 8

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  Island?

  - Right.

  Saeki answered in the affirmative, not even trying to get away from the answer.

  - Lieutenant Colonel. A separate magically equipped battalion should in no way help Shiba Tatsuya with an attack on Midway.

  - I see. I will also bring this to the attention of my subordinates.

  Seeing that Kazama was sympathetic, Saeki breathed a sigh of relief.

  From the behavior of Saeki, Kazama concluded that she might fear that he might want to take part in such recklessness as an attack on the base of the American army. It was extremely undesirable for Kazama to be considered such a person who puts personal gain above national interests.

  “Is that all for you?”

  That is why in his words appeared a note of causticity. At that moment, Kazama no longer hid his discomfort.

  - No. There is one more thing.

  There was no concern in Saeki's voice about Kazama's hurt feelings. But
the tone of her voice seemed somehow too calm.

  - A decision was made to release the Australian magicians captured in March, Jasmine Williams and James J. Johnson.

  “Will they be extradited to Australia?”

  - Yes.

  Kazama did not ask about the reasons for his release. If this was the decision of the government, then he did not want to incur trouble by asking unnecessary questions.

  According to official records, there are no Japanese soldiers held captive in Australia.

  However, there may be secret agents held in custody as criminals, and not as prisoners of war. Kazama himself also had some relation to illegal operations, but in fact he did not want to be involved in business with people engaged in similar work.

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  “Lieutenant Colonel, I would like to entrust you with a mission to accompany these two.”

  - To me?

  But as soon as Saeki spoke about this, he immediately realized that the case of these two Australian agent magicians would concern him personally.

  - This task will take only one day and will not become an obstacle in the management of the battalion.

  “May I know the date and place?”

  - Departure from our base on July 14 at 09:00. Transportation of these two to our base will be made today during the day.

  - Tomorrow... And where do you want to accompany them? To Australia?

  - To the island of Io. Extradition will be made there.

  - That is, we just give them back?

  “It will not be a prisoner of war exchange.” However...

  Saeki paused and pulled a sealed letter from the table.

  - Pass this on to the person in charge on the spot. Be sure to hand it in hand.

  - Personally, let me clarify?

  No name or address was written on the envelope. Therefore, the issue of Kazama was quite obvious.

  Saeki's answer turned out to be unusual.

  - Lieutenant Colonel, you know this person well both by name and in person.

  Currently, only Saeki and Kazama were present in this office of the brigade commander.

  This meant that he was a man whose name could not be spoken aloud even here.

  - I understand you.

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  Kazama did not dig deeper.

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