The mission to neutralize or assassinate the individuals responsible for the "Great Bomb" (the USNA's provisional designation for Tatsuya's "Material Burst") and the "Shining Buster" (the provisional designation for Yugen's "Starlight Breaker").
Even with the deployment of not only Angie Sirius—commander of STARS and one of the Thirteen Apostles—but also Ceria Polaris, who was regarded as "out-of-spec" even within STARS, the operation had ended in failure early last year. Subsequently, after Shiba Tatsuya—the primary suspect of these incidents—was named the next head of the Yotsuba Family and Kagurazaka Yugen became the head of the Kagurazaka Family, the issue surrounding these two Strategic-Class Magic instances was brought to the table once again.
Secretary of Defense Liam Spencer, who oversaw the Pentagon for the United States of North America (USNA), believed those two "Untouchables" should not be provoked. President Joeridge, head of the White House and chief of the executive branch, shared this view. Furthermore, a considerable number of lawmakers in the federal legislature argued that Japan should be treated as an equal ally, fostering cooperation against the Great Asian Alliance and the New Soviet Union.
However, while some viewed Japan favorably in international relations, others harbor deep-fear of Japan's potential threat. Furthermore, the pride of the USNA as a leading nation in modern magic refused to tolerate Japan's rise.
One example was the political faction led by Mr. Caine Lowes, who had recently incited Guethe Heigh to direct the wrath of the Humanists toward Japan. However, the missing outdated weaponry linked to that terrorist incident caused major ripples throughout the USNA, and the faction met a grim fate in a large-scale "purge" treating the affair as a major national disaster. Indirectly, this series of events became a root cause of the massive riots in Mexico.
Even so, hostility toward Japan remained rampant within the military. Though two major operations had been thwarted by Japan last year, the military refused to acknowledge that these failures stemmed from the USNA's own self-serving tantrums.
Harboring these internal conflicts, President Joeridge D. Trump—the current head of state of the USNA—and Secretary of Defense Liam Spencer sat across from each other at the desk in the Oval Office.
"…What shall we do, Secretary of Defense?"
"We have already requested their swift extradition through diplomatic channels, but so far…"
Word had reached them swiftly that USNA military operatives who infiltrated Japan had been captured by the Japanese National Defense Force. Although the President and the Secretary of Defense requested their immediate extradition through official diplomatic channels, matters involving Magicians naturally fell outside the jurisdiction of ordinary politicians and bureaucrats.
"How is the Colonel faring?"
"She has already made contact through personal ties, but in exchange, they offer to return Angie Sirius's Strategic-Class Magic, 'Heavy Metal Burst,' and the 'Brionac' to the USNA."
"What?! They're offering to hand over Strategic-Class Magic?!"
Colonel Virginia Balance—who served as both a colonel and the President's direct military advisor on magic—delivered the "Yotsuba Family's response" to his question. While Spencer was visibly shocked, Joeridge understood the underlying intent and let out a deep sigh.
"I see. In that case, we should accept the offer and settle this matter. By the way, Secretary Spencer, I received a report that rumors about space development have been circulating in the Pentagon recently. Have you heard anything?"
"Those rumors? Since nothing official has reached my desk yet, it remains strictly within the realm of rumor… Does Mr. President believe there is a chance it could be realized?"
"Frankly, the fact that it might be possible makes it all the worse."
Although they agreed to settle the recent turmoil by trusting Japan to handle the situation, Joeridge pressed Spencer to verify the recent rumors regarding terraforming plans via magic technology. Spencer questioned whether it was more than just a rumor, prompting Joeridge to sigh and rest his fist against his forehead.
"Anti-magic sentiment, including Humanism, remains deeply rooted. It is particularly prominent in Western nations, and rumors even suggest that anti-establishment factions in the New Soviet Union are receiving broad support. In such a climate, what do you think will happen if talk of space development emerges, even under the guise of peaceful magic use?"
"'Magic, being demonic art, is unneeded on Earth. Therefore, Magicians should be exiled to space'—I can already hear the public uproar."
"Irresponsibly making light of such matters is something I, for one, cannot forgive… If only it were that simple to resolve."
In Japan, a major financial clique acquired extensive media influence, effectively suppressing discourse advocating anti-magic sentiment in one swift stroke. That outcome was only possible due to the structural differences between Japan's media landscape and their own.
Government control over the press was entirely out of the question here. No matter how advanced the USNA was in modern magic, and even if it were state policy, suppressing anti-magic sentiment was impossible. In that sense, the President was well aware that certain elements within the military high command and the Pentagon harbored intense envy toward Japan.
"Envying your opponent is as good as admitting your own inadequacy. I experienced plenty of that from senior politicians in my younger days, but does the leadership of our nation lack the basic decency to feel ashamed of such pathetic behavior? Colonel, I would like your honest opinion."
"If they possessed such character, Mr. President, they wouldn't have dispatched Sirius and Polaris—our military's top talents—on overseas assignments in the first place."
"A valid point."
Before being a non-magician, Joeridge was a politician who had navigated countless emotional conflicts. While he exercised self-restraint, he questioned why so many in government could not do the same—a query neatly validated by Balance's blunt answer.
"To return to the topic: that 'Taurus Silver' has found a potential path to terraforming. I harbor no envy toward his existence, and as long as the 'Stellar Reactor' holds the potential to revolutionize global energy conditions, establishing connections to it is a vital objective. Yet those fools are obsessed with stealing Japan's new Strategic-Class Magic. Do they not understand the fundamental rules of economic activity?"
"That is…"
Defense spending—and by extension, the national budget—was not an infinite pool of resources. The emergence of magic technology had drastically altered the ratio of defense spending relative to Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The hardline anti-Japan faction was fixated on seizing magic technology through military force, completely ignoring the economic fallout and trade losses that would result.
That was precisely Joeridge's greatest concern.
"Even if we successfully neutralize Japan's Strategic-Class Magic, we wouldn't just be taking on the burden of defending ourselves, Europe, and the Great Asian Alliance against the Strategic-Class Magic of the New Soviet Union; it would severely disrupt civilian economic activities as well. They should know full well that the New Soviet Union's territorial ambitions haven't changed since the days of the old Soviet Union."
Even if the USNA were to seize Japan's Strategic-Class Magic, the Japanese government could retaliate under the Southern Ocean Economic Partnership Agreement (SEPA) by proposing that member nations revoke navigation rights for non-member vessels in their territorial waters.
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