"If the Australian government refuses to acknowledge the existence of those two, I will leak the activation sequence data for the Strategic-Class Magic 'Ozone Circle' to the Southeast Asian Alliance, the SSA, the Indo-Persian Federation, and the Arab Union. If data for a Strategic-Class Magic that is supposed to exist only in the former EU countries is leaked, the UK—given its ties to Australia—will find itself standing squarely in the line of fire."
"The East and West EU might split even further. You're not leaking it to the New Soviet Union or the USNA?"
"The latter is an accomplice in this current operation. I won't condemn them publicly, but I have no reason to do them any favors."
Leaking the data wouldn't hurt Yugen personally, but he wanted to avoid people snooping into how he was able to "analyze data from a Strategic-Class Magic he was hit with." Thus, he concluded there was no debt of gratitude to be paid to the USNA.
As for the New Soviet Union, it went without saying. Yugen already viewed Bezobrazov as a direct enemy. If the man chose self-preservation, so be it; but if he plotted to eliminate Yugen or Tatsuya, Yugen was prepared to render the New Siberian Railroad completely inoperable.
"I expected you to move to reject the British Embassy's request, Mother."
"It's true they were acting on a request from the International Magic Association Headquarters, so I had no grounds to refuse. Though, once this comes to light, the Association will be in an uproar."
"You say that as if it's someone else's problem."
Senhime's distrust of the Association stemmed from the Global Magic Wars. While history books told a beautiful tale of magicians uniting to stop a total nuclear war, she knew the reality: the international magician units were nothing more than a proxy for power struggles between nations.
From Japan, Senhime Kanzaka, Gozo Kamiizumi, Kanade Kamiizumi, Retsu Kudou, and Genzou Yotsuba had been the primary forces. The fact that assassination squads were never sent after the Yotsuba despite their infamy was largely due to Genzou's achievements serving as a deterrent.
To Westerners, many wondered, "What can a nation defeated in WWII possibly do?" They had been silenced by cold, hard results.
"The people who were harassing us back then are the ones currently lording over the Association at the 'Clock Tower.' Let them stew in their frustration; there's nothing they can do."
Putting aside the talk of bureaucrats clinging to their vested interests, Yugen moved to his next topic: the plan he had set in motion to deal with those who would inevitably move against them in the future.
"Are there any issues with the Nantenjima area?"
"None. Though, when I informed Senator Curtis of the situation, he looked positively shocked."
It was no wonder. Senator Curtis was a man of the shadows, but Yugen had chosen a specific path for the information he received from Celia. Rather than sending the encrypted email details directly to Colonel Virginia Balance, he had routed them through Curtis and the President.
He shared not just the information on Gu Jie, but also the media reports on the Parasite incidents and the video mail from "The First Sage," Raymond Clark. While he kept the fact that he and Tatsuya were Strategic-Class Magicians hidden, he made it clear they possessed information that wasn't in the official personal data files. Curtis had broken into a cold sweat.
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