William MacLeod had steeled himself for a confrontation. From the moment he received the summons from the Queen of England—Elizabeth III—he assumed he would be grilled about his recent visit to Australia. He expected a repeat of the grueling interrogation he had already endured at the headquarters of the Defence Intelligence Staff.
However, the young Queen's opening words shattered his expectations entirely.
"Lord MacLeod, it seems you have been subjected to quite the rigorous inquiry by government officials and the military regarding the recent sabotage incident in Japan. You are an irreplaceable Strategic-Class Magician; please know that I continue to rely on your strength."
"…I am truly humbled by Your Majesty's gracious concern," MacLeod replied, bowing his head.
Before summoning him, Elizabeth had watched the military's interrogation of MacLeod in real-time via a secure monitor. She had gone so far as to demand that the British government and military provide the full dossier on the events leading up to the summons.
Given that the incident occurred just after MacLeod departed for Australia on a military hypersonic transport, suspicion of his involvement was inevitable. Yet, throughout the questioning, he had not betrayed a single flicker of unease.
On the surface, one could argue that MacLeod had simply gone to check on the Australian mages he had personally trained—that his involvement in the sabotage was highly improbable.
"Heh. Tell me, My Lord, did you expect me to berate you just as the ministers and generals did?"
"Perish the thought, Your Majesty. The events in Japan were as much a bolt from the blue to me as to anyone else, despite my recent visit to Australia. I never imagined that a fellow member of our Commonwealth would commit such a reckless act."
Elizabeth, however, was certain that MacLeod was deeply involved—specifically, that he was one of the architects of the operation. The deciding piece of circumstantial evidence lay in the records she had forced the military to surrender: logs showing that the Australian mages infiltrating Japan had used British military communication satellites to contact their home country.
To clarify the extent of British complicity, the Queen had bypassed the reluctant military brass and issued a direct Royal Command through the Prime Minister to obtain those records.
Furthermore, she had secretly requested information from the intelligence agencies regarding MacLeod. Despite being a nationally sanctioned Strategic-Class Magician, MacLeod's activities were shrouded in far too many shadows. The reports suggested a man whose life was a series of "blanks"—periods of time that could not be accounted for as either military service or private life.
While the evidence leaned toward "guilty," the UK itself had not yet suffered any direct blow from this affair. She lacked the definitive leverage needed to crush him.
"I am well aware of the great effort you have poured into the development of Australia's magicians," Elizabeth said smoothly.
If his goal were merely the restructuring of the British Commonwealth, MacLeod would not have needed to favor Australia so heavily. The catalyst that drove him—now a world-renowned 'Thirteen Apostle'—to such lengths was a "single defeat" during the Global War.
It had happened during the formation of a multinational magic unit intended to deter nuclear war between Europe and the New Soviet Union. The International Magic Association was in its infancy, and the UK, as a sponsoring nation, took the lead. But the unit was plagued by racial prejudice.
Voices from the West had questioned the competence of the mages sent from Japan. The loudest critic had been the unit's leader—MacLeod's father—who dismissed them as "barbaric Eastern sorcerers."
The Japanese mages had ignored the insults and performed their duties flawlessly. Jealous of their success and fearing their power, MacLeod's father began calling their leader, Senhime, a "Witch"—treating her like a monster. That was the final straw. Senhime had retaliated, leaving MacLeod's father hospitalized.
—"You certainly enjoyed yourself, barking about 'Yellow Monkeys' and 'Witches.' This is exactly why I find you Caucasians so distasteful. If you have a grievance with my conduct, the next time we meet, I shall hang your heads from the top of Big Ben."
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