"Perceptive?"
Mayumi Saegusa had clearly caught the word Yunyi used.
"So I guessed right?" Mayumi Saegusa asked.
"Unfortunately." Yunyi's answer made her frown.
"The answer is no."
"What you said may be right. Perhaps I really am not that determined or committed to this plan. But, Mayumi, what I'm doing now really is an effort to achieve that goal. I'm just more practical, and I haven't put all my chips on that one goal."
"I have other backup plans, too."
Yunyi's answer sent Mayumi Saegusa into deep thought.
She tried to sort through what she had heard. If she didn't consider whether Yunyi's words were true or false and drew conclusions from them alone, then...
Suddenly, Mayumi Saegusa stood up. She stared at Yunyi without blinking, her eyes full of surprise.
"You... what you're going to do... you actually! Lunatic! You really are a lunatic! A lunatic like none I've ever seen!"
"Haha, a lunatic? None you've ever seen? Mayumi, there are far too many people you've never met!"
Yunyi stood up as well. He went around the long table between them and came to stand before Mayumi Saegusa.
Suddenly, Yunyi bent down, bringing his mouth close to Mayumi Saegusa's ear, and whispered, "If I told you that, when I find I can't achieve the goal I set for myself, I'd choose to destroy this world, how would you respond, Mayumi?"
"Destroy this world!?"
Hearing Yunyi's words, Mayumi Saegusa recoiled several steps in alarm, putting distance between them.
Yunyi still wore a smile. But to Mayumi Saegusa, that smile was chilling.
"I look forward to your answer, Mayumi." Smiling, Yunyi left her with those words, then walked past her and out of the Student Council room.
The moment the door closed, Mayumi Saegusa sank into her chair as though all the air had gone out of her. Cold sweat covered her forehead and back, yet she didn't even have the strength to lift a hand and wipe it away.
Yunyi, standing on the other side of the door, didn't leave immediately either. He looked through the window in front of him at the sky already shrouded in darkness, feeling a sense of release.
Ever since he was born into this world, he had carried the memories of his previous life. Perhaps it was because of those memories that he had been forced to plan early for the future as he grew up. But at some point, his plans seemed to have become distorted.
"Was it when I gained power?" Yunyi looked down at his hands.
"Or was it when those disgusting politicians were manipulating me however they pleased?" Yunyi closed his eyes.
"Or was it when I realized that nothing was as wonderful as I'd imagined, and wanted to give up this hard-won life?"
No one could answer those questions for him.
As a descendant of the old man at the pinnacle of power in the Great Asian Alliance, he had been raised on ideas that ran counter to those in his memories.
Back then, as a child, he could only struggle between two different ways of thinking and grit his teeth beneath the old man's cane. By the time he gained power, the power to rewrite how this world developed, he had become what he was now.
"Maya Yotsuba, perhaps the one who destroys the world won't be your 'son.' Maybe it'll be me. I really want to know what expression you, the Witch of the Far East, will wear when all order in this world collapses. I really can't wait!"
Carrying a jumble of thoughts with her, Mayumi Saegusa returned home.
She was exhausted, but before she could rest, Koichi Saegusa summoned her to his study.
"I'm coming in, Father."
When Koichi Saegusa saw Mayumi Saegusa enter, his expression softened somewhat.
"Thank you for your hard work, Mayumi. You don't look very well. Do you need to request some time off from First High School?" Koichi Saegusa asked.
"No, there's no need. I'm just a little tired. I'll be fine after some sleep." Mayumi Saegusa declined Koichi Saegusa's suggestion.
"I see. All right."
"By the way, Mayumi, was the person who helped you yesterday just an ordinary classmate?"
Hearing the question, Mayumi Saegusa couldn't help growing nervous.
"Father, why do you ask?"
"Oh, it's nothing much. It's just that, as head of the Saegusa Family, I really ought to show my appreciation to the classmate who looked after you. But when I asked Kasumi and Izumi about him, they seemed somewhat afraid of him." Koichi Saegusa voiced his doubts.
"Is that so? Then perhaps, perhaps it's because his magic gave Kasumi and Izumi a hard time." Mayumi Saegusa explained.
In truth, Mayumi Saegusa was wavering. If she took this opportunity to tell her father about Yunyi, would she no longer have to struggle with it?
But just as she had prepared herself to tell him everything, she found that something inside her seemed to resist doing so.
"What kind of magic? Can you tell me about it?" Koichi Saegusa asked.
"Of course." Mayumi Saegusa said, "You may have heard about this classmate's circumstances, Father. He's the Course 2 student who didn't meet the standards in either theory or practical skills, but was still sent to First High School through someone's connections. I've seen his magic. It's Kotodama Magic, a form of Ancient Magic that few people still use. I think that, perhaps, when I asked him to help find Kasumi and Izumi, the two of them might have tried to run away, so he may have used magic to control them."
"Oh? Ancient Kotodama Magic? That really is rare. But that kind of magic is quite incompatible with the modern magical community. Still, since he helped you, our Saegusa Family should show its appreciation. Mayumi, as a daughter of the Saegusa Family and the Student Council president of First High School, you're well placed to handle this. Can I leave it to you?" Koichi Saegusa suggested.
"I understand, Father," Mayumi Saegusa replied.
"All right, go get some rest."
"Yes."
Just as Mayumi Saegusa was about to leave, Koichi Saegusa suddenly spoke.
"Oh, right, Mayumi. Word came from the Itsuwa Family. Mio hasn't seen you in a long time and hopes you can visit the Itsuwa Family when you have time. Mayumi, as a daughter of the Saegusa Family, you understand, don't you?"
"I understand, Father. I'll visit the Itsuwa Family on my next day off," Mayumi Saegusa replied.