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October 25, 2095. Afternoon. 

 

As planned, Yuuji and Tatsuya headed directly to the Hachioji Special Detention Center with Mayumi and Mari after school. 

 

Mari led with Tatsuya by her side, while Mayumi walked leisurely with Yuuji, following them from behind. 

 

Although Tatsuya knew about his newly formed romantic relationship with Mayumi, the couple didn’t engage in any display of affection, such as hand holding, on their way there. 

 

Mayumi was still too shy to reveal her relationship with Yuuji to her friend, so Yuuji respected her decision and acted like he would before becoming her boyfriend. 

 

Walking through the detention center, which functioned similarly to a prison but with a better overall cleanliness and appearance, they soon arrived in the room with a plastic plak numbering 707. 

 

“Yuuji-kun, Tatsuya-kun, we’re going here.”

 

Purely out of habit, Mayumi grabbed Yuuji’s and led the two boys into the room next to room 707. The gesture wasn’t missed by the keen-eyed Disciplinary Committee chairwoman, but with more important things at hand, it went past her completely. She entered room 707, leaving that display of affection Mayumi did to the handsome first-year boy as a fleeting thought that quickly disappeared to the back of her mind. 

 

The room Yuuji entered was an extremely small, prison cell-sized room. But, unlike a typical prison cell, there was no bed of any kind. Just a desk in the corner with an in-built computer-like device installed into it considering there was a large screen at the center of iit, and a large one-way glass that allowed individuals in this room to see through the room next door but not vice versa. 

 

In the other room, they saw Sekimoto Isao sitting on a white mattress that rested on a simple, steel bed. 

 

And right after, they saw Mari enter his room, shocking the lanky third-year student that had become even paler than he was previously. 

 

“W-Watanabe?!”

 

Intimidated and nervous, Isao grasped his right wrist, where his CAD would usually be, out of habit, only to be reminded that all of his belongings had been confiscated. The only thing he has in his possession now was his own body and the hospital robe he was wearing. 

 

“W-What are you doing here?”

“I came to hear your explanation.”

 

“...Even you can’t use your magic here!”

 

For obvious reasons, usage of magic without permission was prohibited in the detention center. And the rule was further enforced by the use of magic jamming devices with antinite as its core component. However…

 

“Really now?”

 

As if blown by a light breeze that shouldn’t exist here inside a small room with concrete walls in the basement, Mari’s short hair began to float and sway lightly.

 

In the next moment, Isao also felt a light breeze caress his face and blew his hair. Immediately, his eyes widened in shock. He quickly covered his nose and mouth, but in his panic, inevitably sucked in some of the gas Mari concocted with her magic. 

 

A groan of pain resounded from his throat, and in the next moment, his body relaxed. His arms fell onto his lap as his eyes glazed over in a daze. 

 

“Is that scent-based mind control?”

 

Tatsuya asked, immediately recognizing and coming up with a plausible guess as to what Mari just did in those few moments. 

 

“Is this your first time seeing it, Tatsuya-kun?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Is it your first time as well, Yuuji-kun?”

 

“Yes… But perhaps it’s to be expected of Mari-senpai to have such fine control of her magic.”

 

“Fufu, perhaps~”

 

Without having to wait long, Isao quickly spilled out every single thing with Mari’s spell loosening his mouth. 

 

“After copying over the data from the demo machine, I was supposed to go through Shiba’s personal belongings.”

 

“What were you after?”

 

“The relic…”

Yuuji’s eyes narrowed at the mention of the relic, and the two beside him followed suit. 

 

But just as Mari was about to question Isao further about the relic and who ordered him, the blaring sound of a siren resounded. 

 

The three immediately exited the room and saw the emergency sign, alerting the entire detention center of an intruder, displayed in the screen on the wall. 

 

“Yuuji! Tatsuya-kun!”

 

Mari quickly appeared from the other room right after in a panic and looked towards the three and the screen.

 

“It’s an intruder… And it seems he’s after Sekimoto Isao…”

 

Tatsuya narrowed his eyes towards the end of the hall. Yuuji, Mayumi, and Mari followed the direction of his gaze and saw a large, muscular man in a seemingly regular jacket and long pants, walking through the empty hallway. The heavy sound of his boots, accompanied by the loud siren, echoed through the hallway at a leisurely place as he looked around, searching for his prey. 

 

“Yuuji…”

 

Whispering under her breath, Mayumi glanced at Yuuji to confirm her suspicions for but a moment, not wanting to tear away her gaze from the incoming danger before her. And to her great misfortune, he nodded and stepped forward in a protective manner, confirming all her fears. 

 

Yuuji had told her about his encounter with the man before them now, and his nod confirmed that it was indeed the same man. The man-eating tiger, Lu Gang Hu. 

 

Lu Gang Hu, although a force to be reckoned with in combat, perhaps didn’t have subtlety in spades. And upon noticing their presence and seeing Yuuji and Tatsuya, a look of recognition appeared on his ferocious face. 

 

“Chairwoman, prepare for combat and be careful. He is an extremely dangerous man.”

 

Mari’s eyes, which had been glued on Lu Gang Hu’s figure, turned towards Tatsuya in shock. Endless questions filled her mind regarding their current situation, but she knew better than to ask them during such an emergency. 

 

With a nod, she stepped forward along with Tatsuya. She took out a jet-black, rectangular device, and the moment she swung it, two sharp, razor-like blades of the same length broke out from it, forming a slick, jet-black sword that tripled its original length. 

 

Lu Gang Hu growled with clenched teeth, displaying his razor sharp fangs, and moved into a stance. 

 

Then, in a display of immense speed, the man eating tiger leaped into a hunt with both hands clenched into fists. 

 

In a reaction to his dash, Mayumi activated her magic, creating three light blue magic circles that floated around Mari and Tatsuya. And from it, a torrential rain of icicles struck Lu Gang Hu. 

 

But, with his entire physique enhanced by magic, both permanently through bodily modifications and temporarily through spells, the icicles didn’t even slowed him down. And the moment he came in close, Mari let out a battle cry and brandished her sword towards him.

 

“Haaaah!!!”

“Kkhh!!”

 

Perhaps not calculating in the speed in which Lu Gang Hu was dashing at, Mari struck the palm of his hand with the handle part of her sword, effectively making her attack useless and allowed the man eating tiger, whose speciality was melee combat, into an extremely dangerous range. 

 

At least, that’s what Lu Gang Hu thought. 

 

But in that moment, his well-honed instincts detected danger. And when he glanced to the left, he saw the other part of the blade had circled around and moved towards him. 

 

“Kuh-!”

 

In a display of lightning speed reaction and surprising flexibility, Lu Gang Hu bent backwards, almost to a 90 degree angle, and dodged the upcoming blade. 

 

And when Mayumi fired off another torrent of icicles right above him, taking advantage of his off-balanced form, the beast leaped backward again and again to avoid all her successive attacks as well.

 

A look of shock colored the top special ops combatant officer. He truly didn’t expect this level of resistance from what seemed to be a group of high school students. 

 

But, he had orders that must be completed, no matter what the circumstances were or no matter what the cost may be. 

 

The look on his face changed from that of a stoic soldier to that of a ferocious, yet controlled, beast. 

 

He moved into a martial arts stand with both fists pulled back to his waist, facing up. Then with a swift and powerful movement, he turned both fist into claws and raised them before him, creating a powerful whirlwind that surrounded his entire figure. 

 

Seeing this, Mayumi continued to shoot large amounts of powerful, sharp icicles towards him. But unfortunately, every single one was either deflected or destroyed by the powerful whirling winds. 

 

Then, once the whirlwind dissipated and the figure of the man eating tiger appeared once again, he charged forward once again with terrifying speeds and an even more terrifying determination. 

 

Mari went into her stance, raising her sword hand in front and elongated her blades, revealing the three jet-black blades connected by strong yet flexible cord which were currently hardened into steel using Reinforcement Magic. 

 

But to her shock, Lu Gang Hu suddenly disappeared from her sight. And a moment later, she heard loud thuds on the wall to her right. 

 

Her eyes immediately turned towards the sound, and as she feared, Lu Gang Hu appeared once again and now, he had passed her and was quickly approaching Mayumi and Yuuji. 

 

“Mayumi!”

 

“Chairwoman!”

 

The moment she tried to go after him, Tatsuya grabbed onto her shoulder and stopped her from recklessly charging in towards the extremely powerful and deadly soldier. 

 

She turned and looked at Tatsuya in shock and anger. But upon seeing his calm expression as he gazed forward, she stopped. Slowly looking back towards Yuuji and Mayumi, her eyes widened in shock when she saw the terrifying, powerful invader dangling his feat ferociously as his entire upper body was seemingly held by an invisible force in mid air. 

 

She looked down and saw Yuuji, with his left arm raised in front, gazing at the man-eating tiger with a calm, icy gaze. 

 

He lowered his hand and Lu Gang Hu’s body began leaning forward until he was parallel to the ground as if he was controlled by Yuuji’s hand movement. 

 

Then, he lowered his arm, and the man-eating tiger slammed into the ground, instantly creating a massive spider web crack on the concrete floor beneath him. 

 

But when Mari thought it was the end of it, the ground continued to crack and the crater grew deeper and deeper as an increasing amount of pressure and weight continued pressing Lu Gang Hu into the floor. 

 

Groans of pain and struggle were the only thing that could escape the clenched teeth of the Great Asian Union’s special ops soldier as his body felt like it was being crushed by a mountain. 

 

He could hear not only the crack of the floor, but also his limbs and ribs that had begun to break one by one, piercing his muscles and organs. Blood trickled down the corner of his lips. And before long, darkness enveloped his eyes as he fell unconscious. 

--------------------------------X--------------------------------

Yuuji and Tatsuya were standing before the large screen tv in Yuuji’s living room. On the screen, the beautiful figure of Fujibayashi Kyouko sitting in the car was displayed.

 

“We’ve, unfortunately, failed to capture their leader, Chen Xiang Shan. However, thanks to you two and the two ladies capturing Lu Gang Hu, we were able to take the entire mobile espionage unit into custody, so I’d call that an overall win. Thank you.”

 

“We should be the one saying that, Kyouko-nee. Thank you for helping us investigate this matter.”

 

“Fufu~ I didn’t know I raised you to be such a sweet talker.”

 

Kyouko giggled in amusement, covering her lips with her fingers, as she smiled brightly like a loving sister. 

 

“On paper, perhaps. But quite a few manufacturers like Izumo Electronics and Tsukumo Magic had fallen victim to them, you know?”

 

“Ah, so that’s why their stocks dropped tremendously…”

 

Yuuji mused in realization. He didn’t know what the Great Asian Union invaders’ did to those two companies, but he did short sell a lot of their stocks and got quite the profit from it. 

 

He thought it was just a coincidence and his <<Investment Proficiency>> simply made him cash in on it, but it seemed like it was connected to the problems he had been facing. 

 

“Oh did you~? Then you should treat me to yakiniku once in a while~ Don’t forget your big sister, okay~?”

 

“A-Ahahaha… Okay…”

 

“By the way, about the Relic, where did the leak originate?”

 

Tatsuya asked, and a sigh escaped her lips as her expression quickly changed to being dejected. 

 

“I’m embarrassed to say, but the army’s accounting data was leaked. So every single magic research facility that had received payment from the army was targeted.”

 

“I see… Thank you for going out of your way to contact us.”

 

“You’re welcome. Have fun at the contest in two days.”

 

“Mm. Thank you, Kyouko-nee.”

 

“Tell Miyuki and Aika I said hi~”

 

The call ended and the two sat back down on the couch together. Tatsuya closed his eyes and leaned back to the incredibly soft sofa, exhaling deeply as he relaxed his mind and body. 

 

“Tired?”

 

“More so worried. Although we know what will happen in the competition… No, because we know what will happen then, I can’t help but think about it consistently.”

 

“...Now I feel a bit ashamed for not thinking about it as much as you.”

 

A small smile appeared on Tatsuya’s face. 

 

“Don’t be. I’m sure your mind is fully occupied by your lovers. You have a tall task ahead of you. Caring for one girl so completely is difficult enough. Not to mention three, and in the future, even more considering your appearance and tendencies.”

 

“... Are you teasing me?”

 

“Of course not.”

 

Yuuji turned his head and looked at Tatsuya, who was relaxing with his eyes closed while smiling, suspiciously. 

 

There was an urge in his heart to deny it, but he knew Tatsuya was right.

 

He had been trying his best to make them the happiest they could be and protect them. Even though he knew full well they could protect themselves, he didn’t want them to be in the slightest bit of danger if he could help it. 

 

That’s why he had been busying himself by working hard to earn money for a future where they could do anything they want without a worry in the world. 

 

Not only Aika, Erika, and Mayumi, but also for Mira, Yuna, Nina, his aunt Aika, and perhaps… more in the future. 

 

As Tatsuya said, considering his tendencies, appearance, and… fetish, he’s more than likely to get into a relationship with even more girls in the future. So he needed to learn how to care for his lovers properly and divide up his time and attention as equally as possible. Fast. 

 

“Well… I can’t deny it. And there’s so many things I need to learn so I can give them the love, care, attention, and time they deserve.”

 

“Although I might not be of help in this department, I will still offer it. If you need any help or someone to talk to, I’ll be there for you.”

 

“Thank you, Tatsuya. I really do appreciate it.”

 

Tatsuya nodded slightly, his lips still curled into a smile. Then, Yuuji joined him and relaxed his body by leaning back completely on the couch. 

 

“How about you? How is your relationship with… Miyuki?”

 

Yuuji snuck a glance at Tatsuya as silence fell between the two. There wasn’t any apparent change to Tatsuya at first, but Yuuji noticed the disappearance of the slight smile that he had before on his lips. 

 

“...It is well.”

 

At his reply, a frown appeared on Yuuji. 

 

“...You may not understand the sentiment because of your… constitution. But your feelings towards her, your desire to protect her, make her happy, all of them, they’re not emotions and feelings they installed in your brain. They’re your genuine emotions and feelings.”

 

“...”

 

“And we all know how genuine Miyuki’s feelings are towards you. You’ve seen how hurt she was, both in the anime and in real life, when you are hurt. So… try to understand it. I know it won’t be quick. But try… try to understand your sister’s feelings… and your own. For her sake. And for yours as well.”

 

Yuuji kept his gaze at Tatsuya as he kept his silence.

 

“We are comrades who met coincidentally through the chat group and came to trust each other after seeing our respective… stories. But after spending time with you, I’ve come to consider you an extremely close friend of mine, Tatsuya. One that I could entrust my life to. And I don’t want to see such a precious friend of mine suffer.”

 

“...”

 

“I want you to be happy. And I know that your happiness lies with Miyuki. Once you accept her feelings and relearn how to love, I’m sure you will find your well deserved happiness along with your beloved.”

 

“Yuuji…”

 

He turned his head towards Yuuji and opened his eyes to look at the man he had come to trust and treasure. And listening to his words, a million thoughts crossed his mind as he looked down to his right hand that he raised in front of his face. 

 

“...I’ll try. Thank you… Yuuji.”

 

Yuuji’s lips curled into a relieved smile as a small sigh escaped from it. 

 

“You are welcomed. And just like what you offered me before, let me offer the same to you in return. Feel free to talk to me if you want any advice. Though if it’s related to Miyuki, perhaps Aika or the girls would be better. After all, I’m still learning how to care for the ones I love as well.”

 

“I will take you up on that offer.”

 

Tatsuya nodded, and offered up a fist to Yuuji, which he bumped with a grin.

 

“Alright! Now, as our first step in becoming a better man for our beloved ladies, let’s go out and treat them to dinner”

 

“That is a good idea. It’s just in time for dinner as well.”

 

“Great! What are you thinking? Yakiniku? Sushi?”

“Let’s ask them. We will be treating them, after all.”

 

“Haha, good thinking.”

 

Yuuji stood up from his seat and raised his arms high into the air, stretching his body. 

 

“Alright! Let’s go tell them. They must be in my room.”

 

“Yes.”