The hacked monitor flickered to life, displaying the bust of a blonde, blue-eyed boy who was the very archetype of an Anglo-Saxon youth. He looked young, likely no older than Tatsuya himself. While Miyuki let out a small gasp of alarm, quickly stifling it with her hand, Tatsuya remained perfectly composed. He knew this workstation was air-gapped from other systems and utilized a dedicated, private line. There were no microphones or cameras in the room; the connection was a one-way street. He could see and hear the boy, but the boy had no way of peering back.
"Hello? I hope you can hear me," the boy began, speaking with an air of casual confidence. "I'll proceed on the assumption that you can. Let's start with introductions. My name is Raymond Sage Clark. I am one of the 'Seven Sages.' I've heard quite a bit about you from Tia—pardon me, I mean Shizuku. It's a pleasure to meet you, Tatsuya."
Miyuki tilted her head at the mention of the Seven Sages. Tatsuya had heard the term from Lina, but Miyuki was still in the dark. Furthermore, Tatsuya immediately deduced that this boy was the mysterious source of information Shizuku had mentioned previously.
"I was the one who tipped Angie Sirius off about this facility," Raymond continued. "Though, for some reason, she seemed to know about it even before I told her."
"This man... he gave the location to Lina?" Miyuki whispered. "But Brother, if she already knew before he spoke to her, how did she find it? Did she track it down herself?"
"Who knows," Tatsuya replied vaguely. "I think you know as well as I do that Lina isn't exactly built for intelligence work. It's possible one of her comrades found the lead."
In truth, it was Ayako—acting as an agent for Maya Yotsuba—who had provided the intel to Lina. However, Tatsuya knew that if Miyuki realized her own cousin had facilitated Lina's brutal "execution" of the Parasite, it would cause her significant emotional distress. He chose a logical lie to keep her mind at ease.
"And now, I'd like to offer you a 'scoop' of your own," Raymond said, leaning into the camera. "I believe you'll find this quite valuable. I'd love to say 'pay me on your way out,' but let's consider this a free gift to mark our new acquaintance. The anti-magician movement currently ravaging the States—and beginning to spark in Japan—was orchestrated by one of the Seven Sages: Jied Sage Heigh."
The suddenness of the revelation caused Miyuki's hand to tighten instinctively on Tatsuya's shoulder. He didn't mind the pressure.
"Jied Heigh... also known as Gu Jie. He's a stateless ethnic Chinese man and the grandmaster of the international terrorist organization 'Blanche.' He's the boss of Hajime Tsukasa, the leader of the Japanese branch you recently dismantled. He was also a mentor to Richard Sun, the former head of the international crime syndicate 'No Head Dragon.' In those circles, they called him the 'Black Sage' or 'Master Hei Gu.' Oh, and just to be clear—just because we're both Sages doesn't mean we're allies. The 'Seven Sages' isn't an organization; it's just the title given to the seven operators who have gained access to Hlidskjalf."
Miyuki tilted her head again, puzzled by the unfamiliar term. "Brother... what is Hlidskjalf?"
"It's an add-on expansion to Echelon III, the global interception system," Tatsuya explained quietly. "Since it exploits a backdoor in Echelon III, it's more accurate to describe it as a parasitic hacking system lurking within the main framework."
On the screen, Raymond began to give the exact same explanation just seconds after Tatsuya finished. Tatsuya listened with half an ear until Raymond pivoted back to the matter at hand.
"Using Hlidskjalf carries risks, even for the operators," Raymond explained. "To make searching more efficient, the system uses two types of agents: Hugin and Munin. The problem is that an operator's search history is recorded by Munin. Essentially, what one operator looks up, the others can see. That's how I learned about Jied Heigh. After the collapse of Blanche's Japanese branch and the loss of No Head Dragon's local assets, Heigh lost his primary means of interfering with Japan. He's the one who orchestrated the Parasites' move to your country; his goal is to use the chaos to rebuild his base of operations. My analysis is that he wants to socially bury the very concept of magic. He and those backing him want to seize hegemony in a world without magicians. But that's not what I want... Call me a romantic if you must, but I believe magic is the key to human evolution. Because of that, I intend to provide you with the information you need on a regular basis. Tatsuya Shiba—or should I say, the Strategic-Class Magician known as 'The Destroyer'?"
At the mention of that grandiose, overblown nickname, Tatsuya's face twisted into a look of pure annoyance.
"I've talked for a bit too long, haven't I? The bottom line is this: I'm proposing we join forces to eradicate the Parasites. The intel on Jied Heigh is free. Whether you believe it or not is up to you. I'll leave it to your judgment whether to trust what I say next, but if you do, I expect you to pay for the information with your labor. Tomorrow night—February 19th by your calendar—I will lure all active Parasites to the outdoor training grounds behind First High. I want you to wipe them out there. I've already sent this information to Angie Sirius as well. Whether you cooperate with her or compete against her is entirely up to you."
Having delivered the vital details, Raymond's expression shifted, losing its professional veneer for something more personal.
"One last thing... this is just my own personal feeling, but it seems you're the only one in Tia's—I mean, Shizuku's—heart. No matter how many times I invite her out, she won't give me the time of day. If we ever meet in person, I'm fairly certain I'll want to punch you. That's how much I envy you."
"...If we don't leave for school soon, we're going to be late," Tatsuya muttered.
He stood up and cut the power to the monitor, pointedly ignoring the sharp, piercing gaze directed at the back of his head from his sister. He cast one final, disgruntled look at the darkened screen, annoyed that Raymond had decided to drop such a troublesome parting shot.
As it turned out, Tatsuya had already known almost everything the boy had said... except for that last part.
Next time: That guy who keeps pestering Shizuku finally makes his appearance…
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