While a blizzard raged in the meeting of the young generation of the Ten Master Clans and the Eighteen Assistant Families, Shina—completely oblivious to the commotion—visited the Third Research Institute for her self-directed training.
The Third Research Institute—officially named the Third Magical Skills Development Research Institute—was one of the five facilities still operating under its original sign out of the original ten institutes (contrasting with the Kanazawa Institute of Magical Science built on the former grounds of the First Institute, or the Ninth Magical Research Institute which succeeded the Ninth Institute), and it was the most actively operational.
The reason lay in the Third Institute's research theme: Multi-Casting—the study of techniques for the simultaneous and rapid successive execution of magic. While the Mitsuya family had originally developed the magic-retention technology known as Speed Loader, the involvement of a "certain individual" from the Mitsuya family transformed it into a technique specialized for individual magicians.
The capability to activate multiple spells was useful even to magicians outside the Ten Master Clans, and a portion of that technology had been passed down to those hailing from the Tenth Institute (which was currently inactive). As a result of these circumstances, many military magicians frequented the facility.
Despite being the youngest child, Shina, as a member of the Mitsuya family, possessed a high level of combat proficiency that belied her appearance. Although her handicap—a hearing impairment of unknown origin—had been resolved thanks to her second-oldest brother who suffered from the same issue, Shina herself had no intention of pursuing a career as a military magician. Upon confirming her wishes, Gen was honestly glad his daughter wouldn't enter the military, though somewhere in his heart, he harbored the selfish wish that she might achieve great things like her second-oldest brother.
Furthermore, after overcoming her hearing handicap, she began visiting her maternal grandfather's ancestral home as well; in terms of sheer martial arts talent, her specs were on par with her second-oldest brother.
Despite that, the reason Shina frequented the Third Institute was following the advice of her older brothers and sisters, who told her, "It's useful for gaining practical experience against other magicians." She knew many of the military personnel attending the Third Institute, and one of them was an acquaintance who shared her background as a member of the Twenty-Eight Families.
"Ah, Tsukasa-san."
"Oh, Shina-chan. Training again today?"
Sergeant Major Tsukasa Toyama, belonging to the National Defense Army Intelligence Department. Here she went by the surname "Toyama," but Shina had known from an early stage that she belonged to the "Toyama" (Ten-Mountain) family.
"Come to think of it, you're not with Jiro-kun today?"
"Jiro-kun went to the Chiba family's dojo."
"To the Chiba family?"
"Yes. My second-oldest brother and someone from the Chiba family are classmates, after all."
Since anyone could easily find out that Yugen and Erika were in the same school year with a little research, Shina saw no particular reason to hide it. To be precise, Shina also knew the two were childhood friends, but because various circumstances were involved, Shina read the room and refrained from saying more than necessary.
At that, Tsukasa directed a sincere-looking expression toward Shina.
"With Jiro-kun's aptitude, I'm sure it will be very beneficial. By the way, how is the Magic High School?"
"It hasn't even been a month yet, so for now... it's hard to say one way or the other."
"The Student Council President is that person from the Yotsuba family, right?"
"(...?) Yes. But it's fine. At first, I thought she was so beautiful that I was nervous, but she's also my second-oldest brother's fiancée, so I understand she's not a scary person."
Although Shina sensed a hint of malice in the way Tsukasa asked, she chose her words carefully within the bounds of what she could talk about and offered her assessment of Miyuki. Tsukasa then broached the subject to Shina:
"In that case, wouldn't you help me with my work?"
"Tsukasa-san's work... you mean the Intelligence Department's work?"
"Yes. Actually, I'm looking for someone to play the role of a hostage in a VIP rescue exercise."
"...Is that really a job for the Intelligence Department?"
It was only natural for Shina to raise a question. She had studied scenarios where actual operational units of the National Defense Forces or public security organizations like the police rescued hostages from terrorists or barricaded suspects, but since Tsukasa had only told her about things sounding like espionage agencies, she couldn't quite connect the dots.
Whether aware of Shina's hesitation or not, Tsukasa spoke with elegant words to persuade her:
"My main assignment is counterintelligence. To prevent information leaks, we sometimes conduct VIP rescues as well."
"Is that so... Could you let me think about it for a bit?"
"Of course. We can discuss the details once you've made up your mind."
"Ehh, you won't tell me now?"
"It's a rule, after all."
Despite how she looked, Shina was intensely curious. The main reason Yugen stopped making CADs at home was Shina's curiosity.
Seeing Shina's eager demeanor toward participating, Tsukasa assumed that if a fellow First High student became a hostage, he wouldn't be able to ignore it either.
I've obtained a good pawn to test "him."
Underneath a gentle smile, Tsukasa thought this while looking at the girl who was like a younger sister to her... However, it was only after her plan was put into action that she would realize she had made a fatal miscalculation here.
◇ ◇ ◇
Around that time, the subject of their conversation, Jiro Yaguruma, was lying star-shaped on the tatami mats of the Chiba dojo. To put it simply, saying he was "beaten to a pulp" would be the most accurate description. His opponent was Toshikazu, Erika's older brother, who happened to be off duty.
"Hey, you still alive?"
"Y-Yes... I've been training, but still..."
"Well, the difference in actual combat experience is just a matter of the years I've got on you. You've still got plenty of room to grow, so no need to rush."
"...Yes, I understand."
Erika was the one who brought him along, but Erika had dragged Leo—who had come with them—toward the detached building. Perhaps because it was a swordsmanship dojo, her older brother felt a touch of joy seeing his tomboyish younger sister showing a "womanly" side.
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