Under normal circumstances, Kyoko might have noticed. But in this moment, she was acting not as a hacker, but as an operator, strictly following the system's established protocols. Under these constraints, even the "Electron Witch" was blind to a bystander who watched through a back door the system never intended to exist.
That bystander, Maya Yotsuba, finally removed her shade-style monitor and leaned back into her chair, closing her eyes. She remained still for ten seconds. Then, she retracted the monitor into her desk and rang the silver handbell beside her.
"You called, Madam?"
Hayama, Maya's head butler, appeared almost instantly. He bowed deeply as he received her command.
"Fetch Aoki for me."
"At once."
A moment later, the sound of hurried—though practiced—footsteps approached the door. A sharp knock followed.
"Enter," Maya said.
Hayama returned, accompanied by a middle-aged man. He was younger than Hayama but significantly older than Maya—the man in charge of the Yotsuba family's vast financial empire.
"My apologies for the late hour, Aoki."
"Not at all, Madam," Aoki replied with a formal bow. "Should you call, I would present myself immediately, even from the other side of the globe."
"I have something I need you to acquire," Maya said, getting straight to the point.
"I am at your service."
As the family's treasurer, Aoki knew that if he was being summoned personally, this was no ordinary purchase. It was either an asset worth a fortune or an item so rare it was officially "not for sale."
"Acquire the 3H-P94 unit currently on loan to First High School. Do it immediately. I do not care about the cost, nor do I care what methods you employ. If a direct purchase proves difficult, take steps to ensure its ownership cannot be transferred to anyone else—especially the other Ten Master Clans. You have a blank check for these operations."
It wasn't unusual for Maya to say she didn't care about the cost, but to explicitly state she didn't care about the methods was rare. To provide such specific contingency plans was, for Aoki, a first.
"Understood, Madam." Aoki's voice wavered for the briefest of seconds before he regained his composure and bowed.
Once Aoki had rushed out to begin his work, Maya turned a searching gaze toward Hayama, who remained standing by her side. Unable to crack his perfect poker face, she was the one to break the silence.
"...I assume you have something to say?"
"If I may be so bold, Madam... perhaps you should exercise more restraint in your use of Hlidskjalf."
Maya frowned at the predictably stinging advice, but she couldn't summon any anger. As the operator, she understood the risks of the system better than anyone.
"It is a product of pure science, Hayama. Compared to magic, which is still full of black boxes, the risk of side effects should be far lower."
"Madam, that is not the nature of my concern. Furthermore, if we speak of black boxes, we do not even know the physical location of Hlidskjalf's core server. The fact that it has not failed us yet is no guarantee for the future."
Maya sighed. He was right, of course. "Perhaps you're right, Hayama. I have grown far too reliant on its information-gathering capabilities lately."
"Its performance is indeed too remarkable to discard," Hayama conceded. "In my humble opinion, if anyone could track down the physical location of the hardware, it would be Master Tatsuya. Should we gain direct access, we might be able to claim exclusive control over the system."
"...It is still too early for that," Maya murmured after a long pause.
Whether she meant it was too early to trust Tatsuya with such a task, or too early to move against the system's creators, she didn't say. Hayama simply bowed and left her alone in the quiet room.
"This is... problematic," Tatsuya muttered.
Miyuki, who was currently cradling a fainted Honoka, looked up at her brother.
"Now that you mention it... you're right. Onii-sama, shouldn't we leave this area for now?"
Tatsuya almost nodded immediately, struck by how naturally she understood his train of thought. He realized that if he grew too accustomed to her effortless intuition, he might one day pay a heavy price for his complacency.
But the immediate concern was the massive psychic flare that had just occurred. A wave of that magnitude would have been detected across the entire Aoyama and Akasaka districts. Unwanted guests would be arriving shortly.
(I need to clean this up... if only there were a suitable Ancient Magic sequence for this,) Tatsuya thought.
"Tatsuya!"
"Sorry we're late."
Speak of the devil—or rather, think of the practitioner. The voice of the very person Tatsuya was thinking of echoed through the night.
"Uh... Tatsuya? Why do you have that scary look on your face?" Mikihiko asked, shrinking back slightly.
"I just have a stern face," Tatsuya replied flatly.
"No, 'stern' doesn't quite cover it... If you're doing that on purpose, it's even more terrifying," Mikihiko muttered.
Tatsuya ignored his trembling friend and turned to the third member of the arrival party, who wasn't supposed to be there. "Leo. You came too?"
"Yeah. Figure I'd use this as part of my rehab."
"Don't overdo it. Now, Erika."
"Yeah, what's up?"
"We need to clear out of here as fast as possible. Do you have a way to transport these three?" He gestured to the unconscious Parasite hosts.
"Wait, why the rush?" Erika looked genuinely puzzled.
"Erika, didn't you feel that wave?" Mikihiko cut in, his voice laced with anxiety. "With magic that loud, it won't just be the local police showing up."
"I was going to say I was prepared for that, but... I guess we shouldn't get Tatsuya and the others in trouble," Erika said, her eyes shifting slightly as she assessed the situation.
"We can take them to the warehouse at Miki's place, right?" Erika asked.
"Is that okay, Mikihiko?" Tatsuya asked.
"Of course. This was supposed to be our job to begin with."
"Then Miki, Leo, and I will handle things here," Erika declared. "You and Miyuki should head home first."
"Why the hurry? I can at least stay until they're loaded up," Tatsuya offered.
"Tatsuya... look, it's just..." Mikihiko stammered, trailing off.
Tatsuya followed Mikihiko's awkward gaze. He saw Pixie, her skirt shredded in several places, and Honoka, whose coat was now sporting several accidental, very high slits.
"...I'll call a car," Tatsuya said, his expression not changing a muscle.
"Probably for the best," Mikihiko agreed.
Tatsuya decided to leave the cleanup to the professionals.
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