Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei

Volume 31 - Ch 1

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Local time, July 22 nd , 2097 night.

Midway base (combining a prison and supply base) fell. The Pearl and Hermes base was exterminat ed. The news that the two bases located on Northwestern Hawaiian Islands were attacked, one after the other in quick succession, shocked the White House and the Pentagon.

Thanks to the strict information control of the White House, this news was kept secret from the public. At the same time, the White House asked the Pentagon for a detailed report on the situation.

Because of that, the Pentagon ? the Department of Defense was placed in a difficult situation. As of July 23 rd , the USNA militarys General Headquarters still werent able to answer the question of who the attacker was. The Midway base answered only that they were raided by a single flying soldier, who alone destroyed all of the interception cannon turrets and took three prisoners away . There was no clue as to who the air soldier was, not even a photo left behind.

The Pearl and Hermes base was in even more disastrous state, as the personnel at the base were wiped out. The soldiers who survived the sortie [2] only witnessed an unidentified flying object, and the only thing that can be considered a clue was the record of the communication exchange by the captain of the aircraft carrier Shangri-La. The voice was also subjected to advanced electronic processing because even the highest-performance computer owned by the American Army failed to restore the original voice print.

However, all of this didnt mean that there were no assumptions about the identity of the attacker.

The combat flight suit was clearly superior in its features compared to the Thrust Suit developed by the USNA Armed Forces. Besides, the person had high enough skills to master it perfectly . From these two facts, the USNA military had pretty much determined that the attackers identity was Taurus Silver ? the developer of flying magic, which was an alias for Shiba Tatsuya.

But there was no evidence. Regardless of whether there was any evidence available or not, they couldnt just expose the fact that their two bases fell to a single attacker, not to mention that he was an eighteen year old boy.

Regardless of the criticism from the White House, the Pentagon couldnt answer anything but the details are unknown.

Thus, the Pentagon, which supervises the American military, decided to shelve the question about the raid on military bases in Northwestern Hawaii Islands. However, it was only natural that there were people in the USNA who couldnt just silently observe such a situation and do nothing.

Perhaps, Edward Clark was the most impatient among them. He also speculated that it was Tatsuya who attacked Midway base, as well as Pearl and Hermes base. Clark interpreted those attacks as a power demonstration, carrying a warning from Tatsuya regarding the conspiracy aimed at his neutralization (as the user of the Strategic-Class Magic, Material Burst) by force.

Clark believed that Shiba Tatsuya bragged, as if saying: I have the power to cause serious damage to the USNA without using Strategic-Class Magic. Therefore, he feared that his position in the USNA will be jeopardized if there will be more people in Congress and the government considering that demonstration as a threat.

Even without considering Project Dione, he had no excuses for his secret conspiracy with Bezobrazov, who targeted Tatsuya and carried out illegal surprise attacks on the Japanese mainland.

Even though Clark was actually against Bezobrazovs surprise attacks.

- There is only one way to survive.

- Kill Shiba Tatsuya, who has become a clear threat to the States [3] .

- At this point, it is kill or be killed.

This is how cornered Edward Clark had become.

But actually, he had cornered himself by his own actions.

Local time July 23 rd .

Clark first called William McCloud in England to discuss plans for further action . McCloud was his like-minded colleague on Project Dione from the beginning, who maintained a cooperative relationship even after their cooperation with Bezobrazov had ended.

McCloud was the most reliable partner in the so-called plot to eliminate the Strategic-Class Magician, Shiba Tatsuya . At least thats what Clark thought. However

(Why? Why doesnt he answer?)

McCloud didnt answer Clarks call.

The number Clark used was allocated exclusively to him, and should connect him with McClouds private office. If McCloud was in his office, he would know its from Clark. Even if McCloud was out of the office, he would receive a notification about the incoming call on his mobile terminal.

However, McCloud didnt answer his calls for the whole day, nor did he call back . This only made it seem like he was being denied contact.

(Why?! Whats happened?)

Clark had even thought that he was betrayed. But even if that were the case, he couldnt do anything about it . If you compare America and England by national power, America was clearly stronger. However, McCloud was one of the nationally recognized Strategic-Class Magicians of the Thirteen Apostles and a key figure in the British government. Clark, on the other hand, was only a government official. Clark couldnt incite the USNA government into putting pressure on the British government.

(As it is now, I alone have to set the Pentagon in motion.)

According to Clarks loss-gain calculations , there was no need to convince the government to force Britain (their closest ally) to take hostile actions. A plot to eliminate the Strategic-Class magician who threatens Americas hegemony in the Western Pacific on behalf of a rival state (that being Japan) would be enough to convince the government.

(In that case, it might be necessary to reveal the existence of Hli?skjlf but there is no choice).

Edward Clark was one of the main developers of Echelon III ? the Army SIGINT [4] system for signal interception, wiretapping, and intelligence assessments using cryptography . And Hli?skjlf was a hacking system that used the backdoor that was left by Clark in Echelon III thanks to his position as a developer. If the existence of Hli?skjlf was revealed, Clark would likely be sentenced to life in prison for treason. There was also a strong possibility that he would be executed without trial if his brain was scanned.

Local time July 24 th , afternoon.

Edward Clark arrived at the Pentagon.

He was visiting the Secretary of Defense, Liam Spencer.

He was able to get an audience with a key minister from the federal government because he was well known and highly regarded within the Department of Defense as a developer of the Echelon III system. It was also a show of confidence for the initiator of Project Dione, which once cornered Shiba Tatsuya ? the Strategic-Class Magician, who was the biggest problem for the American military at the moment.

After a short greeting, Clark immediately went into the main topic.

Sir [5] . Theres no doubt that Japans Strategic-Class Magician, Shiba Tatsuya was responsible for the surprise attack on the two bases Midway, as well as Pearl and Hermes.

The magician responsible for the Great Bomb magic that is, Material Burst which caused Scorching Halloween, huh? What is this conclusion based on?

I have no evidence, but circumstances indicate that it was that mans work.

Clark wasnt frightened by the Secretary of Defenses question. However, he forgot to breathe for a while after the next line from Spencer.

Did you figure this out using your vaunted Hli?skjlf?

You knew about Hli?skjlf?

Clark was barely able to squeeze out this question.

Edward Clark. Do not underestimate others. Youre not the only information network expert working in the Department of Defense.

You want to say that you knew about me, but I was overlooked?

I dont know what all of you were doing specifically. It was ascertained that hacking using Hli?skjlf doesnt cause harm to the system, so it was left as is.

There was no need to consider whether Spencer was lying or not. He said all of you rather than you, which meant Secretary Spencer knew about the Seven Sages activities.

Clark realized that he had been dancing on the governments palm. He was overlooked because they considered that the Seven Sages activities didnt conflict with the USNA governments interest. If the Seven Sages were judged to have posed a threat to the administration at the time , all of the operators (including himself) who took hostile actions against the government would, without doubt, have been eliminated.

So? What do you think we should do if its that Strategic-Class Magician who attacked the Northwestern Hawaiian islands?

When asked about this, Clark was reminded that he wasnt in a situation to be in shock of how conceited he was in the past. His position was in much more danger than he expected, so he had to show his usefulness.

We should no longer hesitate to perform military action. Shiba Tatsuya is very likely staying on the island where the construction of the Stellar Furnace plant is underway. This is an opportunity.

Hmmm The Japanese government wouldnt be silent about an attack on the capitals suburbs, but the chance of success for a surprise attack on an island over a hundred kilometers offshore is not low

Spencer paused for a moment.

However could it succeed?

Then, he asked such a question, piercing Clark with his sharp gaze.

Clark unconsciously gulped.

I understand that hes far from an easy opponent.

Right. The opponent is a user of the magic which blew up more than a hundred military vessels, both large and small at the same time, including a naval base. Having numbers is practically meaningless .

Sir. I believe that your conclusion is a bit premature.

Spencer raised his eyebrows as if demanding an explanation with his gaze .

As if waiting for this chance, Clark leaned forward and continued :

Surely, attacking Shiba Tatsuya with a large fleet would be meaningless. Sending in a large formation of bombers would also make them easy prey for his magic. But that magic, Material Burst, only causes a very powerful explosion at one point. He wouldnt be able to cope with attacks from multiple directions, all at once.

Clark spoke with a burning passion in his voice.

Unfortunately, Spencer didnt seem to be impressed.

Why would you say that?

Clark couldnt immediately answer that question, which was asked in a cold, rather than calm voice.

Its just an optimistic speculation that he cant use the Strategic-Class Magic Material Burst in rapid succession. All we know about Material Burst is that it converts mass into energy, but this is also nothing more than mere speculation based on the observed results. I guess the mass must be converted directly into energy in order for it to generate such destructive power.

In fact, neither the mechanism of this magic, nor its limits are known to us. Or am I wrong?

Clark couldnt argue with Spencers point.

But we cant just turn a blind eye to the one who committed terror attacks against the States.

The only thing that he could do was change the argument in this way.

After finishing the meeting with the Secretary of Defense, Clark immediately flew to Brazil. After spending the night on board , in the morning of July 25 th , local time, he arrived at the Presidente Juscelino Kubitschek International Airport and then went to the USNA Embassy in Brazil. From there, he, along with the guide from the embassy, took a domestic flight to the Campo Grande International Airport in the west of the country.

He arrived at the destination, the headquarters of the Western Military Command of the Brazilian Army, at 4:00 PM local time on the same day (or at 4:00 AM on July 26 th , Japanese time).

There, Major General Filho, Chief of Staff of the Western Military Command of the Brazilian Army, and Major Miguel Diaz were waiting for Clark .

Miguel Diaz is one of the Thirteen Apostles, nationally recognized Strategic-Class Magicians, and a user of the Strategic-Class Magic, Synchronized Linear Fusion. He was the one who applied his Strategic-Class Magic against the base of armed guerrillas at the end of March this (2097) year, which triggered the series of Strategic-Class and large-scale tactical magic usage on battlefields across the world .

At that time, there was still an aversion to actually utilizing Strategic-Class Magic on battlefields. That is why, after Synchronized Linear Fusion was utilized , the international community accused Brazil of massacring non-combatants. Brazil denied the accusation of committing a massacre, but they couldnt ignore the unstoppable critique, so theyve refrained from using Synchronized Linear Fusion in subsequent battles.

Its not hard to imagine that Miguel Diaz was dissatisfied with this course of events. Diaz was a regular officer of the Brazilian Army. Needless to say, the utilization of Strategic-Class Magic wasnt his decision. This was the result of following orders from a superior officer. However, the Brazilian government, which was blamed by the international community, announced that Diaz will receive punishment.

Even though the punishment turned out to be just a two-week house arrest, Diaz still couldnt agree with it. At first, the Brazilian Government had taken a firm stand in relation to the international public opinion, but as they couldnt resis t the ever increasing criticism, they punished Diaz as an excuse. For Miguel Diaz, it was as if he was forced to bear the sole responsibility for it.

Of course, the government didnt forget to follow up with him ? to keep him happy ? as their valuable Strategic-Class Magician. During the time of the home arrest h e was provided with a large sum of money as an allowance, hed also invited his entire family to a high-class resort that was regularly visited by senior government officials. Of course, all of the costs were covered by the government. Apart from that, Diaz was provided with entertainment available only to the privileged class of politicians, which included: granting special membership in the aforementioned resort and introduction to high-end semi-legal clubs in the capital . In addition, its been firmly promised to him that as a military officer, hed be promoted in rank the following year.

F rom an objective point of view, it can be said that he was provided with the maximum amount of support . Perhaps it worked, because the worst-case scenario ? Diaz defection from Brazil ? was avoided. However, the conflict between them wasnt completely resolved.

Diaz wasnt the only one that was dissatisfied. High-level officials from the government, who made concessions with lowered heads, were also hiding ill will in their hearts. In truth, what politicians actually thought about him was that hes just a weapon.

They were unable to completely conceal their contempt, even if they tried to. Those thoughts [6] of the officials strengthened Diaz alienation from the government . Currently, the relationship between the Brazilian government and Diaz was considered to be at an all time low.

There, Clark found an opening that could be taken advantage of.

Major Diaz. My country needs your power.

In response, Diaz just silently stared at Clark.

Still, Clark saw a positive response in his silent demeanor.

We are planning a large-scale military operation against Japan.

Isnt Japan your ally?

This question of Major General Filho was a natural reaction to such an unexpected statement by Clark.

Its indeed as Your Excellency says, but our target is not the Japanese government or its military. Its the terrorist who illegally attacked our military facilities.

The terrorist who attacked your bases is hiding in Japan, isnt he? Does the Japanese government know that?

Clark showed slight hesitation while answering Major General Filhos question .

They probably dont know.

Probably? Or did you just not ask?

Filho showed an exaggerated surprise.

Then the Japanese government wasnt informed about the dispatch of your troops, right?

The Japanese government will almost certainly not respond to the request of handing the terrorist over to us, because the acts of terrorism against our military facilities were committed by Shiba Tatsuya, their unofficial Strategic-Class Magician.

Shiba Tatsuya?! As in, the one known as Taurus Silver?

This time, the surprise from Major General Filho wasnt feigned.

Is it confirmed that he committed the acts of terrorism? Besides, this is the first time that Ive heard that hes a Strategic-Class Magician.

The fact of Tatsuya being a Strategic-Class Magician already became an open secret among the upper echelons of the USNA . Even in Japan, it was well known among the heads of the Ten Master Clans and their close associates.

However, this wasnt public information. From a global perspective, most countries still didnt know about it.

Shiba Tatsuya is a Strategic-Class Magician who used the mass-to-energy conversion magic, Material Burst, which caused mass destruction and mass slaughter ? the event globally known as Scorched Halloween. This is reliable information.

Scorched Halloween So hes the user of that magic? ? Major General Filho repeated after Clark, stunned. Meanwhile, Diaz still kept silent.

But I havent heard that your countrys bases were hit by large-scale magic. If the magic that was used in the Far East two years ago was utilized somewhere, I dont think that you could hide it, no matter how strict the information control is in your country .

Clark immediately showed a bitter look after that comment from Filho.

Shiba Tatsuya didnt utilize Material Burst in this terrorist attack.

After stopping the Great Asian Unions invasion, the New Soviet Unions Strategic-Class Magician, Igor Andreevich Bezobrazov, remained in Khabarovsk instead of returning to Moscow.

Conspiracies around Tatsuya occurred even in Japan.

Major General Saeki, isnt that a bit forceful?

Why do you think so, Chief of Staff?

Near the evening of July 26 th , Major General Saeki, Commander of the Armys 101 Brigade, had an interview with the Chief of Staff while visiting the Armys General Command Headquarters.

Although the entire territory of Miyakijima is private land, its still Japanese territory belonging to the Kanto region. Isnt it natural that our troops have to be stationed there for defense?

Exactly, its private land . In the absence of an imminent threat, we cant station the troops there without the owners permission. Its not like you cant understand this reason.

That island was attacked by an irregular force at the beginning of the month. I believe this situation falls under a state of emergency.

Chief of Staff Ootomo sighed at Saeki, who wouldnt back down.

Back then, the owner repelled the attack with their own defense squads without waiting for the sortie of our forces, right? It will be difficult to obtain approval for stationing our forces there by using the attack earlier this month as an argument.

Ootomo hadnt sided with the Yotsuba family. He felt the same way and was in agreement with Saekis proposal . Their land was attacked by a foreign power, and that attack had been repelled by civilian forces. The fact that the Self-Defense Forces played no role there wasnt pleasant for uniformed military personnel.

The actual problem was that it was really difficult to deploy troops on private territory except during military operations.

If those civilians were common citizens, then they could handle it politically, but it was a different story when the actual owner of Miyakijima was that Yotsuba family. It was not clear if they have politicians in the family or if they have an influential backer from the National Diet [Japanese Parliament], but its an indisputable fact that the Yotsuba family exercised a strong influence on political circles. They also cooperated with the Self-Defense Forces in conducting unofficial operations.

As the Chief of Staff, he knew that they couldnt afford to offend the Yotsuba just because he didnt like whats going on.

Thats the problem, Your Excellency Chief of Staff. In a democratic nation, theres no way to allow the existence of a private military force that doesnt follow civilian control. Military volunteers must be temporary only.

However, it seems that Saekis judgment was different from Ootomos.

Is the Major General asking for the Yotsuba to disarm?

Ootomo asked Saeki, who seemed willing to stick her neck out , with the intention of Is she serious?

This inevitably must be done in order to preserve the principles of democracy, Your Excellency Chief of Staff. Saeki looked at Ootomo straight in the eye with an unshakable gaze .