Just as the conversation with Senhime concluded, the fusuma sliding doors opened. Entering the room was Tatsuya's "birth mother" and Miyuki's biological mother, Miya. She was not dressed in servant's attire; instead, per Senhime's instructions, she appeared in a black kimono woven with gold threads, very similar to the one Maya wore.
Tatsuya and Miyuki's eyes widened at her appearance, which for a moment made them mistake her for Maya. Miya wore a smile.
"Oh my, to see such a reaction, as if you've seen the same person twice... Senhime-san is quite a tease, isn't she?"
"Fufu, don't you think?"
"...Mother, Miya-san. Please keep the jests in moderation."
It was a reaction born from two women who were similar at their core. Yugen let out a sigh and muttered a chiding remark. At this, Miya let out a laugh and offered an apology.
"I'm sorry, Yugen-kun. No, in this case, perhaps I should call you 'Husband'?"
"This isn't a public setting... You have business with Tatsuya and Miyuki, don't you?"
"That's right... Tatsuya, Miyuki. Once again, congratulations."
Miya sat next to Senhime and offered her New Year's greetings to Tatsuya and Miyuki. The two bowed their heads and returned the greeting.
"Happy New Year, Mother."
"Happy New Year."
Miya had seen Tatsuya bow dutifully many times before, but seeing him greet her now not as a Guardian, but as a member of the Yotsuba and as Maya's son, brought tears to her eyes. She wiped the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief.
"Mother? Is something wrong?"
"I'm sorry, Miyuki. Honestly, I never thought I would see the day when Tatsuya would bow his head like this as a Yotsuba, as Maya's son."
In the past, Miya's health had collapsed from the overuse of her unique magic, Mental Structure Interference. She had believed the trip to Okinawa nearly four and a half years ago would be the "last" trip she could take with Miyuki.
However, through her encounter with Yugen, and in conjunction with Honami's treatment, she too received treatment, granting her more time to live as a mother to the two of them. Furthermore, the complication of falling in love with the same person as her daughter occurred, and she finally reconciled with her twin sister... Not everything could return to how it was, but her revenge against the world had sublimated into a different form and dissipated.
Realizing she was seeing this figure of Tatsuya up close, she was overcome with joy and teared up.
"Mother. No, I suppose now it is 'Aunt'... but if you do not mind, may I call you 'Mother'?"
"Onii-sama..."
"I don't mind, but has something changed within you?"
It was a "request" from Tatsuya, who had been forced to use specific titles until now. Miyuki looked surprised, and Miya, eyes widening, asked for the true intent behind Tatsuya's words.
"I cannot say clearly that any specific thing happened... but if I were to say, it was after the battle in Okinawa. At the villa in Hakone, Miyuki and I made a resolution. We want to change the world that deems magic—and magicians—as weapons. Even I, with my diminished emotions, want to change the world into one where we can live as human beings."
"That is a very difficult path."
"Yes. But that is what the head of the Yotsuba two generations ago wished for... isn't that right, Mother?"
Tatsuya did not know the full details of the revenge tragedy. However, the previous head, Yotsuba Eisaku, had told Tatsuya the outline of it. Imbued in that story were the "feelings" of Yotsuba Genzo, which Eisaku, as his biological younger brother, understood well.
Perhaps ironically, Eisaku had instilled the concept of living as a "human" into Tatsuya, who was supposed to be raised as a weapon for the Yotsuba. As a result... through the battle in Okinawa, Tatsuya decided to aim for that path. The existence of the "friend" who fought alongside him likely played a large part in that.
"I hear that Yugen wished for Honami-san's happiness as a human, and treated you, Mother, putting his wish for you to be our mother into it. He fights in a world with more shackles than I have, and Miyuki is trying to support that path. In that case, I do not want to choose the option of running away... That is the reason."
"...As I thought, Tatsuya, you are truly Father's grandson."
Miya felt the shadow of her late father in Tatsuya's presence. Miya had also been opposed to Genzo taking revenge himself. But Genzo had stubbornly refused to yield, saying, "This is not just Maya's problem. This is a battle to save your future, too. I am truly sorry for being such a stubborn father."
Yotsuba Genzo and Kamiizumi Gozo—by some twist of fate, their grandsons, Tatsuya and Yugen, had become best friends and comrades-in-arms. However, Miya felt for some reason that Tatsuya would not end up like her father. She felt that Miyuki's existence was significant. Miyuki, originally born to chain Tatsuya down, had formed a bond with Yugen, creating a strong connection that prevented Tatsuya from becoming isolated.
A daughter who rarely made friends with children her own age was now someone others spoke to. Before she knew it, perhaps feeling a little jealous of Miyuki, Miya found herself bombarding Motoji with questions she rarely asked.
After the naval battle in Okinawa, under the pretext of sending Tatsuya and Miyuki home first to look after Yugen, she had actively engaged in physical intimacy with her ex-husband (to whom she was married at the time)—something she had previously neglected. In the end, as the exclusive servant and mistress of the Kagurazaka head, Miya had grasped happiness as a woman.
"After the battle in Okinawa ended, there was talk of returning Tatsuya to the main house. At that time, Maya consulted me about whether she could make Tatsuya, her own son, the next head."
"So, she had been moving to make Onii-sama the next head since then?"
"There was already a trend in that direction, but there was also the matter of the branch family heads. Considering Tatsuya's safety, there was a sense that it would be safer for him to settle into the role of Miyuki's Guardian. Maya shared this opinion."
Tatsuya judged that the "matter of the branch heads" Maya mentioned likely related to what he had heard from Mitsugu. Indeed, if her Guardian was her brother, the façade of a family could be maintained. As Tatsuya thought this, Miya continued her explanation.
"The proposal to have Yugen-kun stay at the Shiba home was partly to grant Miyuki's wish, but the real reason was to protect Tatsuya."
"To protect me, not Miyuki?"
"Even though you are ostensibly not Yotsuba, there was no guarantee that people who knew the circumstances wouldn't meddle. Plus, there were already members of the Ten Master Clans at First High, where you were enrolling. We thought if someone from the Ten Master Clans lived with you, even if the cohabitation was discovered, we could pass it off as 'guarding Yugen-kun'."
Given that Tatsuya and Miyuki's specs were "super high school level" even at the time of enrollment, standing out was inevitable. Therefore, by having Yugen, who was at the same level or higher, live with them from enrollment, the plan was to make people think, "The Shiba family is undertaking the protection of Mitsuya Yugen."
Recommending the Shibata family as Touya's lodging was for a similar reason: to mislead people into thinking he was a housemate/servant.
"If Yugen-kun had remained a member of the Mitsuya family, we considered bringing him in as an adopted son-in-law for Miyuki. However, since Senhime-san adopted Yugen-kun and made him a Kagurazaka, we decided on a policy: send Miyuki out as Yugen-kun's wife and install Tatsuya as the next head of the Yotsuba. This was executed with the approval of myself, Maya, Hayama-san, Kurebayashi-san, Senhime-san, Gozo-san, and furthermore, Yugen-kun and Mototsugu-kun."
"You obtained that much cooperation..."
"...Thank you for telling me, Mother."
Hearing Yugen included in the list of collaborators Miya mentioned, Miyuki displayed an atmosphere of mixed admiration and slight dissatisfaction. Tatsuya, sensing this, bowed to Miya. Then, Miya let out a laugh.
"It is fine, Tatsuya. It is just like me talking to myself... Oh my, look at Miyuki, closing in on Yugen-kun. Shall I join in too?"
"Mother... if you go too far, Miyuki will only sulk."
At the end of Tatsuya's gaze was Miyuki, fawning over Yugen without a care for wrinkling her furisode. Tatsuya muttered his warning to Miya in response.
In the end, Miya joined in, causing Miyuki to cling to Yugen even tighter, a state that continued for about thirty minutes.
Incidentally, it seems Tatsuya will wait to take the Yotsuba surname until he succeeds the position of head from Maya.
There are two main reasons. First, although Maya and Hayama will take the lead in "disciplining" the branch families and servants who still harbor dissatisfaction, it will take time to rewrite the customs ingrained by treating Tatsuya as the Yotsuba's Guardian for so many years.
The second reason is to use his current name, "Shiba Tatsuya," as a future business name, selling his name by stacking up achievements as a magic engineer. Since the identity of Taurus Silver will be exposed in the near future, if he were using the Yotsuba name then, the Yotsuba's alias of The Untouchables would heavily impact FLT's image. Thus, keeping his current name has the advantage of avoiding complications.
Additionally, it includes Miya's selfish wish as a birth mother for Tatsuya to still carry the Shiba name for a while longer.
Naturally, things didn't escalate too far in broad daylight, but Miyuki was in high spirits, clinging to Yugen's arm with her own intertwined around it. Even Tatsuya had no way to stop Miyuki when she was like this, so Yugen stayed quiet until she was satisfied.
After finishing the meeting with Senhime and Miya, they appeared in the guest room where their friends were gathered. Being New Year's, everyone was dressed in furisode or haori hakama.
"Oh, it's Onii-chan. Happy New Year!"
"Don't say it with useless coolness. I'd like to say Happy New Year, but Seria, you get a Thai Kick right at the start of the New Year."
"M-Mercy... Miyukiii..."
"No."
"Gaaah!"
(Her vibe is similar to Lina's... well, they are twins, so I suppose that's natural.)
Seria, who called out first, received a punishment declaration tantamount to a death sentence. She sought help from Miyuki, but was shot down by a merciless word delivered with a beaming smile, causing a sound effect of shock to practically escape her mouth. Tatsuya watched this, realizing once again that she really was Lina's twin sister.
Then, Honoka and Shizuku approached.
"Happy New Year."
"Happy New Year."
"Ah, Happy New Year."
"Happy New Year, Shizuku, Honoka."
Starting with them, everyone exchanged New Year's greetings. Then, Mikihiko, sensing a slight change in Tatsuya's atmosphere, asked a question.
"By the way, Tatsuya, I feel like your atmosphere has changed somehow. Did something happen?"
"...I suppose so. Mikihiko and Erika will find out either way, and everyone here except Seria already knows, but..."
Saying this, Tatsuya touched upon his nomination as the next head of the Yotsuba family, and the fact that he was the biological son of the current head. He also mentioned the magic power that had been sealed. Since the latter might be exposed during magic practice anyway, he decided to convey it sooner rather than later.
As for the surrounding reaction, it was mostly, "Well, with Tatsuya, that's not surprising," which made Tatsuya show a glimpse of an unconvinced expression, while Yugen and Miyuki both stifled their laughter.
"Heh, seriously? So that means the current Tatsuya has magic power on par with Yugen?"
"No, this is something I only realized after having my seal released, but I estimate Yugen's true magic power is at least three times my own."
"Huh? You mean even three Tatsuyas couldn't beat him?"
"Oi Erika, I'd like to ask how you did that calculation?"
In response to Leo's question, Tatsuya gave an estimate of Yugen's magic power based on his own senses. Hearing that, Erika made a comment that caused Yugen to question her logic.
If there were three Tatsuyas, it would mean Material Burst, Mist Dispersion, and Trillion Drive flying in rapid succession. Honestly, no one would want to face that. It would strictly be a choice between fleeing or surrendering.
"If you reveal that Tatsuya-san is a Yotsuba, that means Miyuki will be too, right?"
"Yes. Tomorrow, at the Kagurazaka family's celebration, it will be announced that I am Yugen-san's fiancée, and an announcement will also be made through the Magic Association."
"...Um, Yugen-san. What about Tatsuya-san?"
"Tatsuya and I will be announced under the guise of 'Recruiting Fiancées,' but Miyuki will be named as my official fiancée one step ahead of that."
Yugen's engagement hierarchy was finalized through the format of "Fiancée Recruitment," and Tatsuya would also undergo a selection process under the name of recruitment, based on Senhime's list. This treatment was only possible because the government recognized both of them as powerhouses of the Strategic-Class Magician level.
When Miyuki answered Shizuku's question, Yugen added a supplementary explanation for Honoka, who looked anxious. Upon hearing this, Honoka raised her voice, shouting, "I candidate for Tatsuya-san's fiancée!" However, she momentarily forgot there were quite a few people present. Overcome by embarrassment, she curled up in the corner of the room hugging her knees, while Shizuku comforted her.
"Wow, more than two women? As expected of the gigolo Yugen."
"...Judging by that attitude, you messed with Watanabe-senpai again and got scolded by Shuuji-san, didn't you?"
"Ugh."
It was a pointing out of the truth by Yugen, who sensed a subtle wavering in her light tone—something only possible due to their inseparable bond. Erika was at a loss for words, and Leo, who was dating Erika, looked tired.
Most likely, she had taken out her Christmas frustrations on Mari, who happened to be training at the dojo, and got scolded by Shuuji. It was easy to read without being told, making one think she really should grow out of her brother complex.
Though, since it was a Chiba family problem, he had absolutely no intention of sticking his neck into it, inseparable bond or not.
"Come to think of it, I don't see Airi, Shiori, Touko, Marika, or Arisa."
"If it's those three, they went to the hot springs. Strictly speaking, Airi and Touko were concerned about Shiori and dragged her out, and the other two got swept up in it."
"...Then they should be back soon."
Judging so from Yuuka's words, he sat down slowly to relax. A little later, Airi and the others returned, and they decided to go for Hatsumode (the first shrine visit of the year). They headed to the Fujisanroku Shrine on a sightseeing bus that Senhime had chartered before anyone realized.
Upon arrival and walking through the grounds, Yugen and his group attracted gazes from other worshipers due to the high number of attractive people among them. This couldn't be helped, so they simply walked into the precincts. The main hall presented a sight often seen in media from his previous life—a large blue tarp was spread out, and worshipers were throwing offertory coins onto it.
Since they stood out anyway, Yugen threw his coin at the tarp to finish the prayer quickly. However, his coin collided with and reflected off coins thrown by other worshipers, extending its flight distance and eventually being sucked right into the offertory box. Tatsuya and the others witnessed this, and their eyes turned to Yugen.
"...It was a coincidence. Just a coincidence."
Saying that, he slipped away from the front of the main hall. At Erika's suggestion, they decided to draw omikuji (fortune slips). Erika picked "Blessing" (Kichi) and picked a fight with Leo who got "Middle Blessing" (Chukichi), while Mikihiko drew "Great Blessing" (Daikichi). While the others drew reasonably good results, Tatsuya drew "Future Blessing" (Suekichi). It was good in the sense that no one had drawn "Curse" (Kyo) so far.
"Yugen-san, how did you do?"
"I'm opening it now... Eh?"
Honestly, given the flow of events, he had thought it wouldn't be strange if he drew "Curse" or "Great Curse." Even though bigamy was permitted, he was prepared for bad luck in the sense of incurring jealousy.
However, the result betrayed Yugen's expectations in a direction far oblique to his prediction. What came out was... the omikuji, which should have had a fortune written on it, had nothing written on it. Miyuki tilted her head at this, and even Tatsuya looked puzzled upon seeing it.
"...How am I supposed to judge something that is neither blessing nor curse?"
"Onii-chan, what's the result... Wait, it's completely white!? What, does this mean it's presumptuous to even try to divine Onii-chan's future?"
"Like hell that's it."
If this were the case, drawing a half-baked "Future Blessing" would have been less confusing... To tell the truth, he had a similar experience once before. When he visited a shrine for the first New Year after reincarnating, the omikuji had no fortune written on it, and the indicators for financial luck and such were a mix of sentences that would likely be found in both blessing and curse slips.
Naturally, he couldn't show such a result, so he had vaguely glossed over it to his family and took it home.
But in this case, it was even more incomprehensible. He almost wished a "Great Curse" had appeared instead. Hearing Seria's words, the others looked at Yugen's omikuji one after another.
"...So things like this do happen."
"No, isn't that pattern too rare? I think it's harder than drawing Great Curse."
"That is certainly true."
Himenas's eyes widened at the phenomenon she was seeing for the first time. Yumu stated it as if implying that drawing such a result was a "miracle" in itself, and Shuuji nodded in affirmation of Yumu's opinion. Yugen didn't even want to take the omikuji home, but he pocketed it as if resigning himself to it.
―――The next day, January 2nd, 2097 AD. The Yotsuba and Kagurazaka families issued a notification through the Japan Magic Association to influential magicians including the Guardians, the Ten Master Clans, the Eighteen Assistant Families, and the Hundred Families (Numbers).
From the Yotsuba Family:
Shiba Tatsuya is nominated as the next head of the Ten Master Clans' Yotsuba Family.
Shiba Tatsuya is acknowledged as the son of Yotsuba Maya. However, due to family circumstances, his name will remain Shiba Tatsuya for the time being.
Recruitment for Shiba Tatsuya's fiancées will be conducted.
From the Kagurazaka Family:
Kagurazaka Yugen assumes the title of the 108th Head of the Kagurazaka Family as of New Year's Day, 2097.
Recruitment for Kagurazaka Yugen's fiancées will be conducted. Note that prior to this, Kagurazaka Yugen and Shiba Miyuki have become engaged.
Many influential magicians sent congratulatory telegrams to the private boxes of the Yotsuba and Kagurazaka families at the Association headquarters. However, not all of the Numbers sent telegrams.
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