In the living room of the North Tower of the FLT Twin Towers Apartment, following Hina's detailed account of the ambush, Celia laid her own background completely bare before continuing.
"To be entirely honest, there's no way the USNA—my former homeland—can keep acting like they own the world forever."
Passing through Celia's mind were the great historical powers that had once seemed invincible, only to collapse: the Roman Empire, the Yuan Dynasty, the Ottoman Empire. If one looked purely at landmass today, the New Soviet Union was at the top, but its inability to maintain an economic scale proportional to its territory made it no different from the old Soviet era.
No matter how loudly a nation trumpeted itself as an advanced country in modern magic, a limit was bound to arrive eventually. The USNA military's decision to recruit teenagers like Lina and Celia was already a symptom of that exact strain. While it might offer long-term stability on paper, it naturally sparked the friction that comes with youth.
"You speak quite plainly," Hina noted.
"Because honestly, Tatsuya alone is already a cheat-code level anomaly. Who in their right mind would want to make an enemy out of Big Brother, who's basically an ultra-oversized nuclear warhead?"
In Tatsuya's case, the scope of what he could do was extremely constrained due to the highly specific nature of his abilities. Yugen, however, was a different story entirely. Without even pushing magic to the forefront, he orchestrated the entire board from every conceivable angle to guarantee victory. He was an opponent who was nearly impossible to beat even if one relied purely on brute force magic—so how on earth was anyone supposed to fight him? Celia muttered the question with genuine weary conviction.
"Though, it seems a certain group of patriots back in my former homeland is trying to pull something off."
"Something? Could it be that they intend to pick a fight with Yugen?" Toko asked.
"...If they actually manage to pick a fight, I might almost be impressed," Celia replied.
Through her own [Hlidskjalf], Celia had picked up on the fact that a plan led by Edward Clark was set in motion. It appeared they were moving to execute Project Dione just like in the original chain of events. The issue was that, unlike that original flow, Taurus Silver involved both Tatsuya and Yugen.
Even if neither could be drafted under the banner of Strategic-Class Mages, attempting to drag Taurus Silver into the public eye presented a host of sticky problems. After all, they were trying to drag the current Head of the Kagurazaka family and Chairman of the Ten Master Clans Council, along with the next Head of the Yotsuba family—the very core pillars of the Japanese magic community—out of the country and into outer space.
Furthermore, as a prerequisite, those who knew the true identity of Taurus Silver were strictly limited even within FLT itself. Aside from the CAD Development Division 3 where they worked, only the Chief Executive Director, Tatsuya's legal father Tatsuro, and Tatsuro's lover Sayuri knew.
If the secret leaked under these circumstances, it meant either the enemy's intelligence capabilities surpassed those of the Yotsuba family, or an envious insider had blown the whistle. In the latter scenario, Tatsuro and Sayuri would be the primary suspects, meaning their odds of taking a heavy hit were far from low.
Even if they targeted Tatsuya alone, Yugen was bound to assist his close friend out of camaraderie, regardless of Miyuki's requests. Under such conditions, arriving at a unified stance within the Ten Master Clans Council would be next to impossible.
"It seems they're pushing magic-based terraforming as part of space development, but even if they name Big Brother directly, I seriously doubt the USNA can afford the price tag," Celia remarked.
"Hm, am I the only one who feels this will devolve into an unreasonable demand that would make even Princess Kaguya from The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter recoil?" Toko mused.
"You're not alone, Toko. I agree completely," Airi chimed in. "Besides, neither our grandmother nor Gozo-san would ever permit it."
To drag away individuals entrusted with the duty of national protection by the reigning Emperor just to participate in an international project—that this was an utter impossibility was the unanimous verdict of all four women. Even if one calculated the compensation required for someone who held dominant influence in both wealth and the magical community—or calculated the buffer needed to fill the void left by removing a massive deterrent force—it would easily exceed a nation's entire annual budget.
Attempting to snatch away a promising youth who possessed personal assets rivaling state treasuries and who had inherited every technique from world-renowned heroes just to satisfy the USNA's (or more accurately, Edward Clark's) self-serving agenda was bound to trigger massive blowback. The financial ripple effect alone would hit the Federal Reserve and the USNA government, potentially sparking large-scale political strife within the USNA itself.
"If it reaches that point, the school will probably get dragged in too... I heard Big Brother's sister was almost expelled once, but if they make Big Brother angry this time, it wouldn't surprise me if the Principal and Vice Principal end up in the hospital," Celia said.
"Celia-san... To outside observers, ending up with a suspension might actually be considered merciful compared to dying," Hina said with a dry smile.
"I wonder if any disciplinary action would even stick in the first place," Toko added.
"Fair point," Hina agreed.
Even if the school tried to persuade him, Mukiyama was already heavily indebted to Yugen over the Mitsuya family incident and the Member of Parliament affair. Trying to settle those debts through academic credit guarantees at school would inevitably spark outrage not just from Yugen, but from everyone around him.
Moreover, considering Yugen's standing, the very narrative of a principal attempting to oust the current Head of the Student Club Management Council was dangerous enough. If Yugen invoked his authority as the Head of the Kagurazaka family, Mukiyama wouldn't even be in a position to speak.
Possessing the skill and track record required to lead both modern and ancient magic traditions, school credit guarantees were nothing more than an afterthought to Yugen.
◇ ◇Long distance movement◇
After completing final checks at the Chiba residence, Yugen chose the grounds of Kokonoe Temple as the launch point for his long-distance spatial magic. Yakumo had graciously offered the grounds out of goodwill, but there was another reason behind the choice.
"—A rescue operation for USNA military personnel?"
"Indeed. Though I've already made arrangements so that you won't need to step onto the field yourself, so rest easy."
"I see. I understand whom you've asked," Yakumo replied smoothly.
Normally, a master-servant relationship existed between Yugen and Yakumo through the Kagurazaka lineage, but in public, they maintained the dynamic of an ordinary head priest and a young man. This was done deliberately so that no one watching would sense anything amiss.
Setting that aside, given Yakumo's comment, it was safe to assume Tatsuya was handling that particular task. When it came to mages capable of effortlessly bypassing the Tohyama family's barrier magic, the list was tragically short.
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