Ending the call with Senhime, Yugen let out a breath. Noticing his teacup was empty, he poured a second cup just as a knock echoed, signaling a visitor. Having sensed who it was by their presence, he simply called out for them to enter. The sliding door opened, revealing Tatsuya and Miyuki.
Tatsuya was still in his suit, but Miyuki was wearing only a single layer of kimono, akin to sleepwear or undergarments. It wasn't hard to imagine the chaos that would ensue if she walked through the city center in such a state. However, considering what he was about to discuss, he steeled himself once more.
"Tatsuya, Miyuki. Is your talk finished?"
"Yeah. Since Aunt—no, 'Mother'—told me the truth, I have to pass it on to you as well."
Judging by Miyuki's tense expression, Tatsuya had likely informed her that she was a "Complete Modified Human." In any case, leaving the sliding door open would cause them to catch a cold (though whether the concept of catching a cold applied to Tatsuya was unknown), so he invited them inside.
"I've already surmised parts of it... but are you sure?"
"Since Mother explicitly said to tell you, yes."
Tatsuya explained that he was Maya's son and that his father was not Tatsuro. He revealed that Miyuki was born as a "Complete Modified Human" specifically to control Tatsuya. Although Maya hadn't explained it explicitly, the unsealed Tatsuya now possessed a specialized Magic Calculation Area dominated by Meteor Line. This was likely something Maya had left as a "surprise" for him to discover.
"…Tatsuya, Miyuki. This is abrupt, but do you know the word 'Reincarnation'?"
"Reincarnation, you say?"
"I have heard of it, technically... Are you saying that you are one, Yugen?"
"Yeah. You could call it a parallel world where the technology of magic never manifested. I inherited those memories and 'fused' with the soul of Mitsuya Yugen, the third son of the Mitsuya family."
There was no point in giving his name from his previous life, and the original soul of Mitsuya Yugen had left no traces other than memories. He revealed to the two of them a fact that only Gozo, Senhime, and most of the Mitsuya family knew in this world.
Tatsuya and Miyuki couldn't hide their surprise at having a "human from a parallel world" right in front of them. However, Yugen decided to avoid mentioning that he knew of their existence as "fictional characters." With people existing here whom he didn't know from the story, he honestly didn't see the value in imparting that specific knowledge.
"In this world, only a tiny fraction of people know I am a 'reincarnated individual.' Knowing of an existence like mine might lead some to hatch unsavory plots."
"…Why did you reveal this to me and Miyuki?"
"––Because I felt I couldn't keep secrets from precious 'friends.' If you were going to find out sooner or later, I thought it best to hear it from my own lips."
After all, he was someone who knew their deepest secrets, including knowledge from the original work. He felt it was unfair to keep his own secret hidden while knowing theirs.
Besides, if they continued to associate with each other, it was inevitable they would find out eventually. If Tatsuya's Elemental Sight could now peer into even deeper realms due to the unsealing, Yugen's secret would be exposed anyway.
"Besides, I know quite a few of your secrets. It felt unfair for me to be the only one hiding something... Well, I leave it to your judgment how you feel about hearing this."
"I see... Then, I will believe you."
Tatsuya accepted Yugen's words readily. He reasoned that this explanation gave persuasive weight to everything Yugen had done until now.
By the standards of modern magic, Yugen's accomplishments were like leaping over pebbles that others saw as mountains. Therefore, the fact that Yugen was a reincarnated individual served not as a source of suspicion for Tatsuya, but as a "judging criterion" that made everything fall into place.
"…I appreciate you believing me so easily, but are you sure?"
"Your absurdity isn't something that started today, Yugen. To borrow Juumonji-senpai's words from last year's Nine Schools Competition: 'What's one or two more exceptions at this point?' That's how I see it."
"Coming from Tatsuya, who isn't exactly an ordinary magician himself, that's rich."
"I won't deny that."
Yugen felt a bit anticlimactic at how easily Tatsuya accepted his sarcasm. Looking toward Miyuki, who had remained silent, he saw her eyes sparkling as she looked at him.
"I am surprised that you are such an existence, Yugen-san, but I still love you. Besides, if Onii-sama believes you, then I have no reason not to."
"…You've become strong, Miyuki."
"That is because you have trained me thoroughly, Yugen-san, and because I am loved by you..."
Seeing Miyuki send him a shy look while her cheeks flushed red, he felt an urge to ravish her right then and there, but he held back for the moment. There was still more to discuss. Tatsuya then asked Yugen a question.
"Yugen, is Selia perhaps related to you from your previous life?"
"Yeah. She was my younger sister in my previous life, and I realized she was my cousin after being reborn."
"So that's why you accepted Selia so easily. I thought your interactions weren't just those of lovers, and now it makes sense."
It might seem reckless to reveal Selia's identity so easily, but Selia harbored a fear of being killed by Tatsuya. While that danger was quite low at present, providing Tatsuya and Miyuki with criteria that helped them make sense of things offered a huge benefit: avoiding hostility from them.
From Tatsuya's perspective, gaining Selia's trust secured a line to her twin sister, Lina (Angie Sirius), and made it possible for Selia to see through Lina's secrets.
"I'll talk to Selia later myself, but please don't tell anyone else about this. When I revealed it to my father, he suspected I was some kind of 'Parasite'."
"Without knowing the circumstances, that suspicion is unavoidable. Understood."
"Will you tell your other fiancées?"
"…At the very least, Shizuku, Himeri, and Touko will likely understand, so I'll tell those three myself."
He had to choose whom to tell about being a reincarnated individual, but nobody wanted to risk angering the original protagonist and heroine. Naturally, neither did he. As someone who knew the original story, he didn't have the nerve to risk incurring "billions in losses" by angering Tatsuya and Miyuki for a meager gain.
Call him cowardly or sly, but everyone values their own life. "Safety First" was the most important rule for surviving in this world. Whether the losses would stop at the "billions" level was another matter entirely.
Himeri and Touko came from families rooted in Ancient Magic, so they were at least well-versed in such knowledge. Shinto and Buddhist magic and rituals included things like "spirit invocation," so there was also a calculating motive to get them on his side early.
(Note: The following day, Yugen received an email from Selia saying something like, "Shizuku, Himeri, and Touko questioned me and I spilled the beans." Although Yugen had modified the communication terminals to include a Pentagon-type internal system, making interception by Hliðskjálf impossible. According to Selia, Touko questioned why she called him "Onii-chan," leading Shizuku and Himeri—who hadn't thought much of it—to become suspicious. Selia eventually confessed, revealing Yugen was a reincarnated individual too. It saved him the trouble of explaining, but punishment was definitely in order later.)
Subsequently, he received New Year's greeting emails from Shizuku, Himeri, and Touko one after another.
Shizuku's message implied: 'Actually, that makes sense. You still have to take responsibility for making me fall for you, Yugen.'
Himeri's read: 'Since you made me, who said I wouldn't take a lover, fall for you, I won't fuss over the details of your birth.'
And Touko's said: 'Compared to the fact that even Ayakashi flee from you at full speed, the circumstances of your birth are trivial.'
Essentially, they were saying, "We don't care about the reincarnation thing. Instead, take responsibility for making us seriously fall in love with you." When Senhime learned of this, she emailed him saying, 'That just shows how much more attractive Yu-kun appears compared to other men.' Whether that could be read as the men of this world being "spineless" was... something he hoped was just his misunderstanding.
"Also, touching on the earlier topic of the succession nomination, I possess two Unique Magics. One is the magic called Reinforce. Broadly speaking, it is 'Organic Interference Magic,' but strictly, it focuses on 'Structural Information Interference and Reinforcement.' This is the magic I used to treat Miya-san and Honami-san, and what I used on Itsuwa Mio was a downgraded version of it."
"Even Mother can only interfere with mental structural information... Um, then why did Minami-chan's physique change?"
"I don't fully understand it myself, but it seems this magic strongly reflects the subject's desires. In Minami's case... it was undoubtedly the existence of Miyuki."
From the moment Minami fell in love at first sight, Yugen was in love with Miyuki, and Miyuki was aware of her feelings for Yugen. Having witnessed the two of them, Minami likely wished to become like Miyuki... The result was her bra hook bursting inside her clothes, and her subsequently fawning over Miyuki, needless to say.
"And the other magic is Kaleidoscope. If I had to define this magic, it falls under the category of 'Conceptual Interference'."
"Magic that interferes with concepts... I see. Is that why you can reproduce my magic?"
"That interpretation isn't wrong. Well, Osiris Sight (Tenjin no Me) plays a part too, but thanks to this magic, the ability I received when reincarnating is pretty dangerous."
"Ability? What kind of ability is it?"
"Material Index (Creation Compendium)—an ability that creates any magic based on the subject's own thoughts. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it produces the 'optimal and supreme magic sequence' for that magic. It has already generated over ten thousand spells."
By linking with Kaleidoscope, he could read magic deployment processes that should normally be imperceptible. As a result, he gained the ability to create activation sequences from magic sequences. Tatsuya, having tasted the labor and difficulty of creating magic from scratch with the design of Baryon Lance, felt Yugen's abnormality keenly once again.
"To be honest, the template for Diamond Dust I gave Miyuki was one of its products."
"Is that so... But that doesn't change the fact that it is magic you gave me, Yugen-san. You truly are amazing."
"…Honestly, I thought you might be suspicious. Aren't you accepting this a little too quickly?"
"It's a far more convincing story than anything from Master."
(I'm grateful the conversation isn't getting complicated, but being compared to that lecherous monk feels weird...)
From Tatsuya's perspective, Yugen was trustworthy precisely because he was more comprehensible than Yakumo. Furthermore, in the context of Taurus Silver, Yugen's hardware design skills had reached a world-class level. If Tatsuya assumed Yugen's extraordinary ability supported that fact, the pieces fit together logically.
Moreover, Tatsuya's biggest concern was whether his "sister," who was completely captivated by Yugen, might act recklessly and cause trouble for him.
They were cousins, so marriage was possible. And while Tatsuya possessed strong emotions for Miyuki, he concluded that feeling lust toward his sister was somehow wrong.
Tatsuya felt he couldn't accept viewing Miyuki—whom he had treated as a sister—in that way. Because he had treated her as a real sister, and because Miyuki wished to maintain a relationship like real siblings even if their official standing changed, Tatsuya chose to keep his stance toward her unchanged.
This was largely related to Miyuki's tearful plea for Yugen to "make her submit." Honestly, Yugen had internally apologized to Tatsuya with a "I'm truly sorry," as Miyuki's drive, which manifested in strange ways, was sometimes handful.
Whether he knew those thoughts or not, Yugen looked at Tatsuya and Miyuki again.
"Tatsuya, Miyuki... thank you. Setting aside family matters, I hope we can continue as 'friends'—and in Miyuki's case, as my 'beloved'—next year and beyond."
"Likewise. Since I've been in your care this year, Yugen, I will definitely repay that debt. And... please take care of my somewhat selfish sister."
"Oh, Onii-sama... Yugen-san, I am unworthy, but please take care of me."
Tatsuya and Miyuki had gone from siblings to cousins, but Miyuki would continue calling him "Onii-sama." Tatsuya, considering Bunmi and Ayako, had apparently decided to let Miyuki address him however she pleased.
Their stay at the Shiba house would continue, but discussions regarding how to handle considerations for the other fiancées were currently underway between the Kagurazaka (Senhime), Yotsuba (Maya), and Kamiizumi (Gozo) families.
Saying he would "return to his room," Tatsuya left the guest room. The moment he was gone, Miyuki, as if releasing pent-up restraint, leaped at Yugen and hugged him. Yugen, a bit surprised, caught her.
"Whoa there... Come to think of it, it's been four years and four months since I met you, Miyuki. It feels like it went by in a flash."
"It does. Originally, it started when Mother went to greet Yugen-san and Moto-haru-san."
It was thanks to Gozo's meddling that he met Tatsuya and Miyuki. He had talked with Miyuki about magic (mainly watching the Nine Schools Competition), and Miyuki murmured as if recalling that time.
"Having had all sorts of studies drilled into me as a lady, the junior high students of my generation seemed to be on such a 'low level.' In the midst of that, I was so happy to be able to talk with you, Yugen-san, who could speak on the same level as me. When we parted at the airport, I felt strangely painful."
"Hmm... I think that's simply because Miyuki's level was too high by the standards of our generation."
"Ugh, I cannot deny that..."
As a Yotsuba succession candidate, and having been educated to be the "reason" to restrain Tatsuya... it was no wonder she thought that of the surrounding middle schoolers (excluding Tatsuya). Meeting Yugen and conversing with him then felt like finding a "peer who understood her."
"At Mitsugu-san's party, on the cruiser, and at the National Defense Army base... you knocked Onii-sama unconscious with a single blow. And those cookies were unfair. My woman's heart wanted to raise the white flag."
"Even if you say that... Tatsuya asked me about that later, and even he questioned the suspicion he had harbored."
"That is how much you stimulate a woman's heart, Yugen-san... And, you protected me. You saved my life."
Even without relying on Tatsuya's Regrowth, he would have recovered, but he ended up owing Tatsuya a debt. As a Special Officer of the National Defense Army, he had installed Tatsuya as a locally recruited combat collaborator and repelled the Great Asian Alliance forces with two Strategic-Class Magics. After the Okinawa Defense Battle, he treated Miya and Honami, receiving rather intense skinship from Miya in the process.
The final result—Miya becoming the Kagurazaka family's exclusive servant and his lover—was a series of surprises.
"Yugen-san, you are the person who protected my life and saved my heart. If you desire it, please do as you like with me."
"…You're saying almost the exact same thing as Miya-san."
"Is that so... But, I win in terms of youth."
"Bringing up another woman's name in front of you was my failing, but why compete there? Also, why are you undressing?"
Miyuki was the first-ranked fiancée, while Miya was in the position of a servant/lover. While he tried to avoid ranking the "act" itself, matters concerning future "heirs" should prioritize the person in the fiancée position.
Miyuki shed the single layer she was wearing and, completely naked, hugged Yugen, facing him directly.
"Yugen-san, I... can't hold back anymore."
Thinking about it, it had been six days since Christmas night. Yugen had been involved with others, but from Miyuki's perspective, she had endured being unable to be with Yugen for this long. In this case, it was certain that mere skinship wouldn't suffice.
"…Come to think of it, Tatsuya asked me to make you submit. Miyuki, doing this means I interpret that you are prepared to be done."
Touching Miyuki's skin gently... she let out a sweet voice, perhaps from excitement. Occasionally, ticklish sounds escaped her lips; her sense of touch seemed somewhat hypersensitive after nearly a week without Yugen's touch.
"Ah... Ya... Yugen-san, you pervert."
"Says the one hugging me without a stitch of clothing on?"
Before he knew it, he was pushing Miyuki down onto the futon, discarding his own clothes, and covering her. No one could laugh at a man for harboring desire upon seeing Miyuki like this. Needless to say, he chanted magic with the absolute will to defend the final line.
"It might be late to say this, but... I love you, Miyuki."
"I love you too, Yugen-san."
The sound of the New Year's Eve bell ringing in the distance was drowned out by the voice of the person he loved, but he certainly felt the end of a hectic year.
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