The content was an invitation to a meeting on anti-magic movement countermeasures, set to take place this coming Sunday at the Japan Magic Association's Kanto Branch in Yokohama. The sender was Katsuto Juumonji, and it was addressed specifically to Tatsuya and Miyuki.
"I understand the contents. So, what was it you wanted to ask me, Tatsuya?" "Right. I told Miyuki and Minami that I plan to attend the meeting alone, but what will you do, Yugen?" "Hmm..."
There was no doubt this invitation was for a youth conference, but the fact that only Tatsuya and Miyuki's names were on the letter caught his attention.
Among the Yotsuba Family of the Ten Master Clans, only four individuals were publicly known as affiliated members: the current head Maya, her twin sister Miya, plus Tatsuya and Miyuki. If the intention was to gather only the younger generation, it made logical sense that only Tatsuya and Miyuki would qualify.
However, Yugen was currently living in the Shiba house as a boarder. Purely from an efficiency standpoint, sending a single letter addressed to all three would have been cheaper. Furthermore, the current head of the Juumonji family was none other than Katsuto; it was hard to believe he would commit the blunder of forgetting Yugen's existence.
"That letter is strictly addressed to people associated with the Yotsuba Family. It wouldn't be proper for me, someone from a different family, to tag along, so I'll pass. Though, it seems you have a different concern, Tatsuya." "Indeed. I can hardly imagine this initiative was Senior Juumonji's idea, but if the Saegusa family cooked it up, it lacks finesse."
There was no guarantee that an incident like the indiscriminate bombing attack targeting the Master Clan Conference back in February wouldn't happen again. Given that pretext, the conference had a legitimate justification. Considering that various crimes involving magicians, large and small, had been occurring even before then, taking proactive action to share a sense of crisis and discuss concrete countermeasures was a move worthy of praise.
However, as a practical matter, the current younger generation consisted of people who had never experienced a global outbreak of war. They had certainly been swept up in the wave of magician training that intensified due to war, but the reality was that almost none among the younger generation of the Twenty-Eight Families possessed high-grade magical talent like the direct line of the Mitsuya family.
Having not experienced war in his past life either, Yugen had no intention of faulting them over whether they possessed war experience. He also agreed with taking proactive action to save fellow magicians. The core problem lay in how they intended to do it.
"In that case, the person who co-proposed this conference alongside Senior Juumonji must be Saegusa Tomoichi, the eldest son of Saegusa Koichi. When I contacted Senior Juumonji and Senior Saegusa the other day, Senior Saegusa mentioned that she was asked to mediate between Mr. Tomoichi and Senior Juumonji through her." "Senior Saegusa was?" "Yeah. She found it suspicious that they didn't contact each other directly between the Saegusa and Juumonji families, despite being able to do so without going through her."
Considering their history of jointly managing the Kanto region, there should have been plenty of ways to communicate directly without resorting to such a roundabout method. Choosing to contact him through Mayumi implied a desire to eliminate something that might arise from direct contact.
And if one asked what that "something" was, the presence of Saegusa Koichi was the most plausible answer.
"In the first place, I can't imagine a worthwhile proposal coming out of a discussion among people who don't even possess the practical power to handle things properly. If you want to dispel the fear of magic, the quickest way would be for the government to guarantee that magic will never be directed against innocent non-magicians."
In the original timeline, the fact that families affiliated with the military declined to participate was also an issue. It wasn't as if the Twenty-Eight Families were trying to oppose the military. Wanting to prevent interference from the National Defense Forces was an understandable motive, but understanding the perspective of those who dealt most closely with non-magicians—and belonged to organizations dedicated to national defense—was crucial. (As for a certain family, they might just add fuel to the fire, so it was fine if they didn't participate.)
Whether people would put their faith in the government's word was debatable, but doing so was still better than saying nothing at all. Hearing Yugen's sarcastic remark aimed at opportunistic politicians, Tatsuya let out a breath, gently checking Yugen while posing a question.
"You're making unusually radical statements today... Then, what would you do, Yugen?" "I think fully backing the Nine Schools Competition—which has suffered a string of scandals lately—in the form of sponsors or supporters would be the most logical approach. Though I wonder if there are patient enough folks willing to willingly take on backstage work."
Lately, rumors had been floating around the internet that this year's Nine Schools Competition might be canceled. Due to the suspicious accidents two years ago and the heavily militarized competition changes last year, the executive committee members had been swept out and replaced entirely, raising doubts about whether a proper operational structure could be maintained.
If that were the case, the most efficient approach as leaders of the magician community would be to bolster their foothold by supporting the magicians easiest to bring to their side.
However, a problem existed among the youth of the Ten Master Clans: a tendency to view themselves as special and unconsciously look down on other magicians. Driven by a sense of superiority that they should stand at the front, their desire to stand out threatened not only to break ranks with other clans, but to drag down the very people who were supposed to be their allies. That was the primary concern.
Of course, that wasn't true for everyone, but having met individuals capable of displaying such traits, that anxiety couldn't be dispelled.
"To put it another way: even among the clan heads at the Master Clan Conference, there's mutual probing and power struggles. Who can guarantee the same isn't happening among the next heads or their children? You two witnessed the prime example of that yourselves, didn't you?"
He was referring to the incident involving the Saegusa sisters—Kasumi and Izumi—and Shippou Takuma last year. Though resolved now, it had undeniably occurred. While that specific case was compounded by the unique nature of the Saegusa family, saying it couldn't happen in other clans lacked any real persuasion.
In response to Yugen's words, Tatsuya, Miyuki, and Minami—who had all witnessed it—nodded in agreement.
"If that's the case, Yugen, what kind of proposal do you think will emerge?" "Let's see... A plan to appeal the usefulness of magic to the public—specifically, raising someone up as a figurehead—will likely surface first. Since exceptional magicians are often blessed with good looks, they might even plan to treat them like idols. Though, if such a proposal ever reaches the Master Clan Conference, I'll crush it using my authority as chairman."
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