Tokyo.
A bright, sunny day.
As usual, Sajyou Ayaka visited the cemetery to clean the graves of her father and older sister, both of whom passed away eight years ago.
The reason for their deaths was simple—at least for Magus, it was straightforward: to reach the so-called Root, it wasn't uncommon for a Magus to sacrifice themselves at any moment. Sajyou Hiroki died in such a way.
Her sister was different.
Despite her exceptional magical talent—described by their father as monstrous—she wasn't a Magus. She studied Magecraft briefly before stopping, living mostly as an ordinary person. Eight years ago, the day after their father's death, her sister was found dead in her room. Later examinations confirmed it was suicide by overdose.
As a result, the Sajyou family was left with Ayaka as its nominal head, overseeing Tokyo's mystical affairs. There used to be other families, but shortly after her father and sister's deaths, those families mysteriously weakened one by one. Five years ago, they were all gone.
Now, the Sajyou family was Tokyo's only Magus family.
Even so, Ayaka didn't have much to manage. The local church had good relations with her family, handling most Magecraft-related matters over the past eight years. Only when she entered high school this year did those responsibilities gradually shift to her.
And the way those responsibilities were handed over…
"I'm late, aren't I, Sajyou-san?"
A girl in the same school uniform as Ayaka approached, placing flowers at the grave and nodding respectfully to her.
Ciel—that was the name she gave Ayaka. A nun recently assigned to Tokyo's church in the past few years. Before her, someone else held the post but was transferred for unspecified reasons.
Honestly, compared to the man who made her uncomfortable, Ayaka preferred working with Ciel.
Of course, the relationship between the church and Magus wasn't exactly friendly. But since neither felt strong animosity, it didn't escalate into hostility.
"More Magus-related business to hand over today, Ciel-senpai?"
At school, Ciel was a year above her, so Ayaka addressed her as such.
Ciel nodded. "There's a somewhat troublesome Magus who might come to Tokyo, so I'd like to discuss the situation with you first. It's just a precaution, as it's not confirmed whether he'll show up."
"A Magus?"
"You heard about the situation in Fuyuki City, right?"
Ayaka nodded. "Yeah, it was a big deal. Even non-Magus probably heard about it on the news. A moon fell, didn't it?"
"That was the work of a Magus—the same one who might come to Tokyo."
"What?"
Ciel's words stunned Ayaka.
A Magus did that? Could a Magus even do something like that? Ayaka herself was a dark Magus and had a rough idea of what Magus could do—dropping a moon was something even a thousand Magus couldn't pull off.
"Why would this Magus come to Tokyo?"
"He has a younger sister in elementary school, and in two weeks, she's going on a school trip to Tokyo. The church thinks he might come as her chaperone. Based on reports from his supervisor, he seems to have a sister complex."
"…"
Magus were all weird and monstrous, many with mental issues. Still, Ayaka had to admit—a Magus like that was unusual.
A sister complex… did such a thing really exist?
If Ayaka had a brother with a sister complex, she'd probably just feel uncomfortable.
Noticing her odd expression, Ciel offered a reassuring smile. "It's not confirmed whether he'll come. The church just thinks that if this 'walking bomb' shows up in Tokyo, we should prepare precautions to handle any trouble he might cause. Besides Fuyuki, he was also behind the major uproar in Romania recently."
Even there?
Though she hadn't met him, Ayaka already labeled this Magus as [extremely dangerous] and [troublemaker]. Compared to that, the sister complex part seemed almost normal—at least within the realm of reason.
"So, what does the church need from me?" Ayaka asked.
"Monitor him—to ensure this Magus doesn't drop another moon anytime, anywhere. The church and the Mage's Association both have people watching him. If he comes to Tokyo, the monitoring duty temporarily falls to us, since we're the only ones here."
Due to the mysterious weakening of Tokyo's local Magus families years ago, Japan—already a magical backwater—became even less appealing to Magus. Only native families like the Sajyou and Tohsaka remained. In Tokyo, at least publicly, Ayaka and Ciel were the only ones tied to magic.
"Of course, it'll only be for one day."
"Just one day? Good. If it was longer, I'd have to skip school."
One day wouldn't be a big issue.
Ayaka felt a bit relieved. "Anything else?"
"No, though there are some recent incidents. Don't forget tonight."
"Yeah, I'll be there on time."
Ciel was referring to strange phenomena in Tokyo recently. Due to leyline issues, urban legends had been cropping up, and the two had resolved many such incidents. They were mostly minor, generally dangerous spiritual phenomena that their combined abilities could easily handle.
"Oh, right, Ciel-senpai." Ayaka called out as Ciel was about to leave. "Sorry, what's the name of the Magus who might come?"
"His name is Natsukawa Naoki."
Natsukawa… Naoki.
Silently noting the name, Ayaka looked at her father and sister's gravestones. "Dad, Sis, as you heard, there's more business to handle. It sounds like a hassle, but I'll do my best."
"I'll head out now. School's starting soon. I'll visit again next time."