On her way back to headquarters from the Shiba siblings' home, Sayuri sank into mild self-loathing. She knew why. Tatsuya was the child of her hated romantic rival who stole Ryutaro. But losing her temper this time was a mistake.
"Without his magic, we couldn't analyze this relic, let alone replicate it…" she muttered.
Sayuri understood Tatsuya's unique abilities and his immense contributions to FLT's profits. But as a manager, she couldn't stand by while Division Three gained influence, nor could she let Tatsuya operate so freely.
"I have to get him to analyze it at headquarters…"
Lost in thought, Sayuri suddenly noticed no other commuters on the road.
"What's going on?"
At this hour, an empty road was unthinkable. She checked her terminal for traffic updates.
"Roadblock due to an accident… Fine, I'll reroute to headquarters."
A sudden chill gripped her.
"What is this?"
She had no reason to expect an attack, but then it hit her—her possessions included something worth targeting.
"The relic…"
"She's still conscious," a man's voice said.
"Kill her. No one will care," another replied.
Sayuri's fading rationality registered their intent to kill. She clung to enough clarity to understand.
"If she were younger, we'd have a use for her," one sneered.
"Who'd want an old hag like this?" another laughed.
"Who're you calling old?" Sayuri snapped.
"Impressive, resisting the gas," one said, raising a pistol.
Without a CAD, Sayuri was defenseless. Bracing for death, she heard a roar as a large motorcycle charged the men.
"Who's that?!" one shouted.
"Doesn't matter. Kill him too!"
The gunmen collapsed, writhing in agony, their bodies pierced.
"Who…?" Sayuri gasped.
"Someone with poor risk management," Tatsuya said, stepping forward. "Do you even realize what you're carrying?"
"T-Tatsuya-san…"
"I'd rather not let that relic fall into the wrong hands. I'll take it—Get down!"
Tatsuya's shout jolted Sayuri, overriding her dislike with raw instinct. He rarely raised his voice, so she instantly grasped the gravity of the situation.
"Ugh…" Tatsuya grunted.
"Are you okay?!" Sayuri asked.
"I'm fine. You know my condition. But they got away with the men I subdued. Tracking their backers just got harder."
"What about the sniper?" Sayuri pressed.
"Not a problem."
Focusing, Tatsuya activated his unique vision, tracing the bullet's trajectory back through time to locate the sniper.
"There."
The sniper, confident in the distance and his invisibility to the naked eye, felt a chill as Tatsuya's gaze locked onto him. Despite knowing Tatsuya couldn't act from so far, he fired again, aiming for Tatsuya's eye with perfect precision. Tatsuya dodged at the last second, raised his specialized CAD, Silver Horn, and pulled the trigger.
Without checking the result, he turned to Sayuri. "The relic's safe?"
"For now…" Sayuri said. "But why save me? You and Miyuki hate us."
"I told you, I don't feel that way. I saved the relic, not you. You're just incidental."
"You're brutally honest…"
With that, Sayuri passed out. Tatsuya made a call.
"Rough day, Lieutenant. Getting shot in the city?"
"My fault for letting my guard down. What about the car that took them?"
"Found it abandoned. Tracking further will be tough."
"And the street cameras?"
"Fujibayashi's already handled them. Your magic won't be exposed."
"Their isolation barrier worked in our favor."
The enemy's barrier had unexpectedly helped Tatsuya. Kazama chuckled over the comms, though Tatsuya couldn't see it.
"Is the woman okay?"
"She'll live. Just unconscious. She'll wake soon."
"We'll handle the cleanup. Good work, Tatsuya."
"Thanks for the trouble, Major."
Tatsuya ended the call, took the relic from Sayuri's bag, and left a note stating he'd hold onto it. He felt no affection for her, only indifference, and did nothing more. Mounting his bike, he rode home.
Miyuki greeted him at the door. "Welcome back, Onii-sama."
"I'm home. Still up, huh?"
"It's not midnight yet. What's that, Onii-sama?"
She'd noticed the small box in his hand. Tatsuya, seeing no need to hide it, showed her.
"The job this time."
"What do they think you are?" Miyuki huffed.
"It sounded interesting. They say this material might store magic sequences."
"Really? What is it?"
"The Jade Magatama relic."
Miyuki froze, struggling to process the weight of his words.
"Why does she have something like that?"
"Something about the Defense Force. I'm tasked with analyzing and possibly replicating it."
"That's reckless…"
"But it might solve issues with the thermonuclear fusion reactor. I'll work on it alongside the thesis."
"I know you'll do great, Onii-sama," Miyuki said, ashamed she could only offer simple encouragement. She lacked the skill or knowledge to assist with the relic.
--+--
T/N: Although I'm an inexperienced Editor, I do have a Patreon account! Although it seems like I don't have many supporters right now, my webnovel will be released in full every day, and the advanced chapters will be uploaded to Patreon.
It may not be worth it now, but who knows, it might be different in the future. Who knows!
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