—Sun Meiling. Listening to that name alone, it would be natural to assume she was a woman from mainland China or of Chinese descent. However, even if she herself was just a normal human, the story changes drastically when it comes to her stepfather, Richard Sun, who was the top boss of the Hong Kong-based international crime syndicate "No-Head Dragon," possessing immense influence in the underworld.
In the original work, she was hoisted up as a leader by the remnants of the "No-Head Dragon," leading to the organization's revival. However, in this world, even the seeds of that possibility were nipped in the bud. Yugen compensated the parties who suffered losses from the "No-Head Dragon's" gambling operations, and in exchange, had them carry out a purge of the "No-Head Dragon" remnants. Faced with the promise of having a far-from-cheap sum reimbursed, the other parties fought desperately. As a result, the remnants of the "No-Head Dragon" vanished cleanly without a trace. Gu Jie, who was still alive at the time, was infuriated by this, but considering the risks of turning the entire underground into enemies, he had no choice but to turn a blind eye.
Sun Meiling was the daughter of a mistress favored by Richard Sun, but when the mistress died in an unfortunate accident, Richard took her in. However, when Richard himself passed away, Sun Meiling was left completely alone in the world. The one who reached out to her was Gozo Kamiizumi—a man from the side that pulled the trigger. When crushing the Eastern Japan Main Branch, Gozo declared his intention to Douglas Wong. Afterward, he had local acquaintances arrange for her—then living in California—to travel and claim asylum in Japan. At that time, due to a communication mix-up, she ended up being flagged by the Cabinet Office Information Administration Bureau, but Shun Morisaki, who happened to be acting alongside her, saved her from that predicament. Knowing that the Information Administration Bureau agents subsequently received "discipline" from Gozo is a detail known only to a very select few...
The reason her topic came up is that, in this world, she was a "First Generation"—a person who spontaneously awakened a aptitude for magic. Moreover, it was discovered that after traveling to Hong Kong, she was scouted by the Great Asian Alliance Military. While Gu Jie and his disciple Zhou Gongjin were troublesome sparks of conflict from the perspective of Japan and Western nations, the Great Asian Alliance had managed to obtain magic technology through their influence to varying degrees. Even if taking in Sun Meiling wasn't directly related to that, to those who knew the circumstances, it would be seen as a "return of favor." That said, the major impact of this development will only manifest in events much further down the line.
Changing the subject.
"...If it gets heavy, tell me anytime, alright?" "Rather, I can feel Yugen's warmth this way."
Ever since the twin tower apartment was built, Yugen spent about half the week living there due to his engagements with his fiancées, leaving him with almost zero opportunities to sleep alone. Right now, he was invited into Himeri's room, indulging himself in resting his head on her lap. Instead of exhibiting possessiveness among his fiancées, he was often spoiled in the form of letting them pamper him. Even so, the boundaries were firmly maintained without carelessly crossing the line. That being said, only those at the top of the fiancée hierarchy knew all of Yugen's circumstances, and the one who understood everything best was none other than Celia, who was his relative in his previous life.
"Normally, today would be Celia's day, but she caught wind of something and rushed out in a hurry. It's probably related to Lina, I imagine." "Speaking of which, has her military record been completely wiped?" "No, only the critical 'Thirteen Apostles' designation hasn't been removed. They might be thinking it's bad to leave the position of 'Sirius' vacant."
Lina explicitly stated that she has no intention of operating under the name "Angie Sirius" in this country. It might be her weakness for falling in love with Tatsuya, but quite a few people in the USNA military are hesitant about letting her fully naturalize. As a result, Lina's position as one of the "Thirteen Apostles" still remains. Furthermore, regarding Sylvia Mercury, who lives with her—her real name is Sylvia "Balance". In this world, she appears to be the niece of Colonel Virginia Balance. It seems even Celia didn't know this fact, as she was deeply surprised. Assigned as "Angie Sirius's support officer," Sylvia formally remains on the military roster.
"When you think about it carefully, putting a teenager as the commander of a magician unit is a recipe for conflict. It could even be viewed as a remote cause of last year's Parasite incident." "Isn't Yugen also the chairman of the Master Clan Council, though?" "The impression from those around us is completely different, isn't it?"
In Yugen's case, not only has his strength been recognized by Mototsugu, the head of the Kamiizumi family, but he also enjoys the support of the Yotsuba and Mitsuya families, both of which wield high speaking authority within the Ten Master Clans. By defeating the "Crimson Prince" Masaki Ichijo in the Nine Schools Competition, he firmly demonstrated his strength while securing the backing of the Ten Master Clans. In Lina's case, despite Celia's presence, she was placed in the position of commander of STARS by the intention of the Military General Staff. Even in a meritocracy, considering the original military hierarchy, the people older than Lina wouldn't find it amusing.
"Since Celia went out, is it likely related to Tatsuya-san or Yugen?" "Probably. Well, if a situation arises where the USNA comes bowing their heads in the future, I intend to charge them an exorbitant price."
Rather than "if it arises," that future is already almost guaranteed. Edward Clark has already begun drafting the "Dione Project," conspiring with William MacLeod as a first step. In the original work, MacLeod withdrew halfway through, but there is no reason to show restraint toward an opponent who faltered despite knowing Tatsuya is a Strategic-Class Magician. As for Clark, Yugen intends to make him bow down on his knees to the "Dr. Clark" who once contributed greatly to this country. His scheme was confirmed not only through information Yugen investigated beforehand, but also through obtaining a matching prophecy from "Hoshimi".
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