The conversation had been dominated by the New USSR, but Yugen now shifted his focus toward the other pressing matter: William McLeod and Carla Schmidt.
At the request of the British Queen, McLeod had been appointed as a visiting professor at Cambridge University. Yugen had already confirmed that communications equipment linked to Echelon III had been moved into the estate prepared for him on the outskirts of Cambridge.
"I have to ask, Seria... are you also one of the Seven Sages—an operator for Hrizskjalf?"
"That's how it turned out," she replied with a sigh. "I mean, that guy Raymond Clark actually had the nerve to dig into my private life and then tell me he 'wanted to date.' It pissed me off so much that I was ready to snap the terminal in half. I decided to 'remodel' it instead, not caring if I broke it, and..."
"And?"
"And I accidentally made it so I can peek into Echelon III too. Oops. Tehe-pero!"
"...I suppose I'm not the only outlier in this family," Yugen muttered.
Her irritation leading to the reckless modification of a legendary system was a sentiment Yugen knew all too well. It reminded him of the time he had been so annoyed he accidentally turned an ordinary tree into a Spirit Landmark. It seemed a certain streak of "excessive retaliation" ran in their blood.
The known operators of Hrizskjalf included Edward Clark (though as the Administrator, he was in a different category), Raymond Clark, Maya Yotsuba, Chise Kagurazaka, Gu Jie, and now Seria. While one or two remained unknown, Yugen doubted anyone handpicked by Clark would be decent company.
Reaching into his sports bag, Yugen pulled out a head-mounted display terminal and set it on the table.
"Big Brother, is that... a Hrizskjalf terminal? Where did you find it?"
"I salvaged it from the hideout Gu Jie was using. It was trashed, but I restored it."
After recovering Gu Jie, Yugen had taken the broken device—likely smashed by Gu Jie in a fit of rage—and modified it on a whim. To his surprise, it had rebooted with full Administrator privileges. Even so, he had no intention of keeping such a liability at the Kagurazaka estate.
"I have more than enough ways to gather information. I don't feel like maintaining this thing myself... so, I'm giving it to you."
"Giving it to me? I don't need another one," Seria said, waving her hand.
"I know. I'm planning to pass this along to either Colonel Virginia Balance or Senator Wyatt Curtis."
The Clarks would certainly be suspicious if Gu Jie's terminal suddenly roared back to life, but if a fellow USNA citizen were using it, the optics would be different. Handing it to high-ranking officials with government ties would be far more efficient. Besides, the top brass likely already knew about Hrizskjalf in addition to Echelon III.
If he used it within Japan, critics would simply claim "Taurus Silver did something again." It was better to entrust it to those who could negotiate directly with the President or the Secretary of State.
"They'll have to deal with the constant stomachaches that come with knowing too much... but that's a sacrifice they'll have to make," Yugen noted.
"Hmm, both Balance and Curtis have enough influence in the USNA government to use it effectively... I'd go with Colonel Balance. She's currently a direct military advisor to the President. She'll want the intel on Stars, and considering my sister's situation, it would be a strategic move."
"A fair point, especially regarding the Parasites. Seria, can you send a letter to the Colonel? I'll leave the details of what to disclose to your discretion."
"Roger that, Big Brother."
Through their testing, they confirmed that Seria's terminal couldn't track the search queries from the one Yugen had fixed. It wasn't operating as a "restored Gu Jie account" but seemed to be accessing Echelon III directly. Seria had joked, "Is everything a toy in your hands, even Hrizskjalf?" Yugen chose to ignore the remark and steered the conversation back.
"Anyway, about Carla Schmidt contacting William McLeod... she's likely fishing for asylum. In Germany, political factions pushing anti-magic policies are gaining massive support among the youth."
In many capitalist nations, the economic divide was being blamed on magic. While this was essentially a repeat of what Blanche had attempted in the past, the recent use of Strategic-Class magic had poured gasoline on the fire.
"Non-magicians expect too much fantasy and fairy tales from magic," Yugen mused. "Modern magic is a weapon, certainly, but it's absurd that they don't teach the basic principles of it to everyone."
Regardless of talent, everyone should learn the basics of magic to foster an accurate understanding of it. In fiction, even those without aptitude have opportunities to study the theory. In this world, those opportunities were virtually non-existent because magic was treated as a strictly guarded military secret.
"Knowledge of how magic works won't let you cast it, but it's essential for safety. Researching peaceful applications is becoming a lonely path... Do you think they're trying to use Carla Schmidt to pressure us into supporting Project Dione?"
"That would be the logic of a fool," Yugen replied sharply.
If they tried to pull strings to grant university credits for political cooperation, it would be a blatant abuse of authority. Yugen thought of Masaki and Kana; despite their groundbreaking discovery of the Cardinal Code—a revolution in modern magic—they hadn't received any special academic treatment. If the university suddenly started handing out credits just because "Taurus Silver" was involved, it would reveal Rector Momoyama's desperation to bolster his own prestige.
"At the moment, I am the Chairman of the Clan Conference and the head of the Kagurazaka family. But unlike Clark, McLeod, or Bezobrazov, I don't maintain a public social profile. I've already told Tatsuya and Miyuki that I know about the Clarks and the 'Taurus Silver' situation. The Yotsuba main house is in the loop as well."
"Which means when Lina returns to Japan, I'm going to get dragged into the mess anyway," Seria sighed. "If Raymond shows his face, I'm going to beat him senseless and then personally oversee his 'deportation.'"
Yugen offered a silent prayer for Raymond. In the original timeline, the boy survived, but against a truly enraged Seria, his chances seemed slim. Not that Yugen felt any sympathy—it was entirely self-inflicted.
"If things come to a head at Sado, Tatsuya will likely be mobilized. I'll probably be asked for permission to use Third Eye Eclipse as well."
Yugen had a firm grasp on the internal state of the New USSR. Movements at the Black Sea base and military trains at Moscow Station were all being monitored. Unless they could maintain optical camouflage with magic indefinitely, moving men and materiel was impossible to hide.
"Is there no chance you'll handle it yourself?" Seria asked.
"Technically, I'm a special officer in the Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion, but I'm classified as a 'non-combatant.' Unless it's an absolute emergency, no one has the authority to order me into the line of fire except His Majesty the Emperor. I'm essentially like a magician directly under the Queen in the UK."
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