Tatsuya had already processed the information from Ayako and Erika, but he kept his expression and tone meticulously neutral as he listened to his friends' report. To dig deeper into the figure likely pulling the strings behind the raiders, he composed an email tagged with an "Urgent" priority code. They were in the middle of a lecture-based class rather than a practical magic session; for Tatsuya, the day's assignments were tasks he could finish in twenty minutes.
"Huh? Tatsuya-kun, where are you going?"
Erika looked up as Tatsuya stood to leave. She had been sitting next to him, though only because she had been pestering Mizuki for help with a question.
"I'm going to speak with someone close to a person who might have answers about the incident," Tatsuya replied.
"What about the assignment?"
"I've already finished it."
In the Course 2 classrooms, where teachers were often absent, students had a fair amount of freedom to consult one another.
"Hmm... and just who is this person?" Erika asked, her eyes narrowing.
"Let's just say he's from a world you're better off not stepping into."
"Tatsuya-kun, you have that look again," Erika teased, though her smile didn't quite reach her eyes. "It's scary."
She knew he was doing it on purpose. Erika had long suspected Tatsuya's connection to the Yotsuba, and she understood exactly what he meant by "a world better left untouched."
"I'm heading out, then."
"See ya. Make sure to tell me if you find anything out," Erika said, giving him a quick wink.
A few boys in the room watched the exchange with envy, while a few girls glared at Erika in jealousy, but neither Tatsuya nor Erika paid them the slightest bit of attention.
Tatsuya made his way toward the Student Council room. He had initiated the meeting, and since speed was of the essence, he chose to temporarily ignore the fact that Mayumi was currently supposed to be preparing for her university entrance exams. Cutting class was a minor transgression for him; while fooling the school's attendance monitoring system was an impossible feat for an average student, for Tatsuya, it was child's play.
He used his ID card to open the door—a card that had been granted re-entry permissions without his explicit knowledge, likely by the council members who valued his utility. Since it was the middle of the school day, the room was empty save for Mayumi Saegusa.
"Tatsuya-kun, summoning your senpai like this... don't you think you're being a bit rude to a lady?"
"I believe I outlined the gravity of the situation in the email," Tatsuya replied.
They exchanged greetings with practiced smiles and a touch of banter. It was an informal atmosphere that might have been deemed inappropriate for someone of Tatsuya's standing, but there was no one else there to witness it.
"This is the situation," Tatsuya began, getting straight to business. "The airship used in the heist belongs to Section 3 of the Intelligence Department—a group rumored to have deep ties to the Saegusa family. I don't know their specific intent for taking the Parasites, but if they are considering military application, it is a grave error. Until we have a guaranteed method of elimination, those entities must remain sealed."
"Section 3?" Mayumi's playful expression faded. "I'm a member of the Saegusa family, even if I am still a minor, and yet I knew nothing of this. You're remarkably well-informed, Tatsuya-kun."
"I would appreciate it if you didn't press me for my sources," he countered smoothly.
"Fine, fine. You clearly have your secrets," Mayumi sighed, crossing her arms. "But more importantly, why didn't you tell me you were going after the Parasites in the first place?"
"I was concerned that bringing in the prestige of the Saegusa or the Juumonji might have spooked the targets and prevented us from drawing them out."
"Is that the real reason?"
Mayumi pouted at him, looking less like a senior student two years his elder and more like a girl frustrated that she couldn't see through a younger man's lies.
"It's a logical justification, at least..." Mayumi muttered. She studied his face for a long moment, but when Tatsuya's expression didn't so much as flicker, she gave up on her attempt to read him. "So, in short, you want me to persuade my father. You want him to tell the Intelligence Department to return the Parasites to Erika-chan and the others."
"I'm not asking for their return," Tatsuya said.
He noticed that whenever Mayumi called her "Erika-chan," Erika tended to grimace—a bit of karmic justice, Tatsuya figured, since Erika insisted on calling Mikihiko "Miki" despite his protests.
"I simply want you to confirm their reasons for taking them. If they are planning anything other than a permanent seal, I want you to give them a warning. Tell them that if the Intelligence Department's use of the Parasites becomes public and causes harm to the reputation of magicians, the organization will be held responsible for the losses."
"That's a very frightening thing to say," Mayumi noted.
"Given what is currently happening in the USNA, I believe a threat of that magnitude is necessary."
"...Understood. I'll speak with my father. But don't expect a miracle; I can't promise results. Unlike Juumonji-kun, I'm not exactly the designated heir of the Saegusa line."
Tatsuya blinked, a small flicker of surprise crossing his face.
"What?" Mayumi asked.
"Nothing. I simply found it... unexpected. It seems the Saegusa family is surprisingly patriarchal."
"And what about your family?" Mayumi shot back.
Tatsuya couldn't tell if she was genuinely annoyed or just embarrassed, but he realized he had stepped into a territory he shouldn't have. Feeling like he owed her an honest answer as a form of "penance," he decided to speak.
"In my house, my father's authority is practically non-existent. He spends most of his time at the apartment of his second wife."
Mayumi's eyes darted back and forth in shock. Tatsuya felt a fleeting sense of amusement; seeing this "pure" side of her reminded him that for all her refined grace, she was still just a young woman.
"At least he had the decency to marry her rather than keeping a mistress," Tatsuya added dryly.
"You're very... mature about it," she whispered.
"It's less maturity and more resignation. I'd hate to think that becoming an adult just means learning how to give up. Also, for the sake of everyone's safety, please don't mention our father to Miyuki. It becomes... difficult to manage her when she's reminded of him."
"What happened?"
"He remarried almost immediately after our mother died. There is a profound rift between him and Miyuki. She loved our mother dearly."
Mayumi went silent. She clearly regretted asking; the complexity of Tatsuya's family life was far darker than she had imagined.
"It's not something you need to trouble yourself with, Senpai," Tatsuya said.
He stepped slightly closer to the frozen Mayumi, his voice losing its clinical edge for a moment. The sudden proximity caught her off guard, and a deep flush instantly stained her cheeks.
The following morning, an email arrived from Mayumi. It was brief and to the point:
The Section 3 clandestine facility was raided last night. All the captured Parasites have been eliminated.
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