While no one spoke out of turn, many students surmised that "family circumstances" involving the Ichijou family—one of the Ten Master Clans—meant this was related to the recent terrorist attacks.
Naturally, the male and female students looked at Masaki with very different expressions. Shizuku noticed that Yugen, by contrast, looked completely uninterested. She leaned in and whispered to him.
"...Yugen, are you still unhappy about this?"
"To be honest? Yes," he admitted quietly.
However, Yugen wanted to avoid a situation where Masaki turned into a stalker and damaged the Ichijou family's reputation. He also had to consider Akane, Masaki's sister, who had applied to be his fiancée. To bring things to a definitive end, summoning Masaki had been a difficult but necessary decision.
Masaki stood out sharply in his red Third High uniform amidst the sea of First High blue. Since this was a short-term exchange through the Magic University Network and not a formal transfer, it would have been inefficient to provide him with a First High uniform for just one month.
"He will be participating in practicals and experiments with you, though he won't be earning credits. I believe this will be a good stimulus for both Ichijou-kun and all of you. I hope you will work together and improve yourselves. Ichijou-kun?"
Prompted by Yaosaka, Masaki took a half-step forward.
"I am Masaki Ichijou of the Third High School. Thanks to the kindness of everyone at First High, I have been given the opportunity to study here. It's only for a month, but I look forward to working with you."
As Masaki bowed, a warm round of applause broke out. This class had many students from the former Class 1-A who were used to sudden arrivals like Lina and Seria, so they were accustomed to such surprises.
However, everyone in Class 2-A had also witnessed the duel between Yugen and Masaki. While the others were a bit nervous, Yugen clapped with calm indifference. On the surface, it was a polite welcome; in reality, his expression said, Don't expect me to go out of my way for you. Miyuki, sensing his true feelings, sent Yugen a look filled with affection.
Watching them, Shizuku couldn't help but think to herself, Yugen really is a natural-born heartbreaker.
At lunch, Masaki didn't try to sit at the same table as Miyuki. He prioritized bonding with the male students of Class A, sitting with Morisaki and his group. Erika, who knew Masaki's feelings, found this unexpected.
"I totally thought he'd be glued to Miyuki's side," Erika muttered.
"Erika, if you put it that way, wouldn't that apply to me too?" Yugen asked, his voice carrying a slight edge.
"Well, you're a special case because of your... circumstances," she countered.
Mikihiko frowned slightly at the exchange. From Yugen's perspective, he already had established ties with Miyuki, Shizuku, and Honoka, which made his situation fundamentally different from Masaki's.
"Lina and Seria are girls, so it wasn't weird for them to hang out with us, but Ichijou-san is a guy," Honoka pointed out.
"Exactly," Erika added. "If the 'Prince' started chasing after a girl who already has a fiancé, his image would go right down the drain."
"Erika... I mean, you're not wrong, but..." Leo sighed, trying to dampen her bluntness. Erika and Leo were now an item, a fact recognized by everyone in Erika's family except her father (though her half-sister had apparently teased her about it).
Shizuku then turned to Seria to ask about Lina. Among those present, only Shuji and Yume hadn't met Lina personally. Shizuku had met her during the South Shield Island incident, but for some reason, they hadn't discussed her time as an exchange student much.
"Seria, what kind of person is Lina, really?"
"...She's functionally incompetent at daily life," Seria replied flatly.
"Seria, isn't that a bit harsh?"
"She's top-tier when it comes to magic, but a total klutz at everything else. Asking me to praise my sister is a tall order... though I do feel a bit sorry for Tatsuya."
"Well, I know Lina well enough to know what you mean," Tatsuya added. "Information from her sister is always valuable."
Tatsuya didn't even try to defend her, suggesting he had already seen that side of her character. Still, he looked slightly dissatisfied.
"Even if Miyuki and Tatsuya were holding back, Lina's strength is genuine," Yugen noted. "Though... maybe she's a klutz because Seria stole all the social competence in the womb?"
"I didn't do anything, Brother!" Seria pouted.
Despite being in the same environment, the two sisters had vastly different personalities. While twins are often compared, these two had entirely different drives—perhaps partly because Seria was a "reincarnator."
"Anyway, about Ichijou-kun... Yugen, do you know the full story?" Mikihiko asked.
"I suppose I'm a 'party involved,' so yes. More importantly, Mikihiko, I'll be keeping an eye on the humanists for the time being. I'll need you to keep sharing data with me like before."
"...I thought for sure you'd be the one heading out to deal with them directly," Mikihiko admitted.
Yugen understood his point. Normally, this was a police matter, but because it involved Ancient Magic, the magicians within the Kanto police force were ill-equipped to handle it. Thus, the Ten Master Clans' active units were taking the lead.
Furthermore, the cargo ships at Numazu Port were under surveillance, and Hakone—the vital link between Kanagawa and Numazu—was under a state of high alert maintained by the Kagurazaka family. For Gu Jie to escape the country, he would have to choose between three main routes: Tokyo Bay, the Miura Peninsula, or Sagami Bay.
"The terrorists' range of movement is limited. Our first priority should be dealing with the people likely to be connected to them. However, I think we should limit the use of systematic magic to avoid charges of excessive self-defense."
Even if the USNA were to get involved, the Special Measures Act ensured that any foreign involvement would take at least two weeks to clear the red tape. If the USNA government tried to use brute force, Yugen would hear of it immediately. Even men like Edward or Raymond Clark didn't have the authority to command the Japanese government directly. Even through an embassy, nighttime vessel movement was prohibited except in emergencies.
This applied even to USNA-affiliated ships. And since it was obvious that "Hlidskjalf" would be scouring their search data, Yugen had planned to flood the system with an overwhelming amount of information. That was why he was keeping the Stellar Furnace on South Shield Island operational.
"They might carry explosives, and based on the Blanche incident two years ago, some might use firearms. I'd like to think they have the sense not to cause fatalities, as that would be a bad move, but we can't count on that."
"...So, you're worried that even if we're attacked by someone trained in martial arts, the use of magic will be viewed as equivalent to using a lethal weapon?" Mikihiko asked.
"Exactly."
In the original timeline, an anti-magic activist who was trained in martial arts had seriously injured a Magic High student. Yet, when the student used magic in defense, the public outcry focused on the "horror of magic" rather than the initial assault.
While a court must consider the state of mind and circumstances of both parties, attacking someone while knowing they are a magician (especially when they are in uniform) suggests a premeditated act rather than an impulsive one. If the law claimed the anti-magic activists were innocent in such a case, Yugen felt the very concept of the separation of powers would be dead.
The newly drafted constitution would include significant changes to the regulations for judges, ensuring that people with a proper understanding of magic—experts in magicology—would be eligible for selection. Since magic was now an established technology, the judiciary had to recognize it correctly. If a judge handed down a ruling based purely on a specific ideology or bias, Yugen was prepared to leak the information and destroy them socially.
"In any case, we should tell everyone to go home in groups for a while. I'll inform the club members myself. Mikihiko, Miyuki, please spread the word as much as you can. I'll have the Club Management Group assist the Public Discipline Committee with patrols."
"Right. That would be a huge help," Mikihiko agreed.
"I understand, Yugen-san," Miyuki said.
"I have some things to take care of, so I'll head back first," Yugen concluded. He stood up, making sure to thank Miyuki for the lunch she had prepared for him, and left the room.
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