"What an apt description!"
Tiffany nodded, expressing her wholehearted agreement.
"How much do you know about Égalité, Blanche's subsidiary organization here in Japan?"
Chiba Yeyou turned to Tiffany and asked.
Since he was already involved, and these people were not as simple as he had imagined, Chiba Yeyou felt he should get a grasp of their situation in Japan-or at least at First High School.
"Not much, but that's not a problem. I'll have Fei'er look into it. It won't take long."
Although Tiffany knew nothing about Blanche's organization in Japan, investigating it would be easy.
"Beep, beep..."
As she spoke, Tiffany called Fei'er.
"Sister Nana, is there anything I can help you with?"
Fei'er's voice came through.
"Investigate Égalité's activities at First High School for me."
"One moment!"
About five minutes after Fei'er finished speaking, her voice came through again.
"The leader of Blanche's Japanese branch is a man named Tsukasa Hajime. He isn't just its nominal representative, but also the leader who controls the organizations conducting various illegal activities and handles the dirty work. He's a leader in the truest sense."
"He also has a younger half-brother with the same mother, named Hajime Tsukasa, formerly Kamo Hajime, who attends First High School. Neither his parents nor his grandparents have any magical talent. They're an ordinary family through and through, but their family is actually a branch of the Kamo Family, a prominent Onmyōdō family. His eyes show signs of atavism..."
The next day.
"Mm, good. You've certainly made quite a bit of progress!"
In an open area within a testing ground, Chiba Yeyou kept nodding as he watched the girl before him cast her magic.
"Your control over your magic is already quite good. Although you can currently only shrink its area of effect to the space one person can stand in, at least your fine control over the temperature is already very good."
"A narrow pass!"
Chiba Yeyou nodded.
"Mm!"
Miyuki Shiba couldn't help smiling.
Seeing Miyuki Shiba smile so happily, Chiba Yeyou couldn't help reaching out to pat her head. Only when she stepped back did he realize what he had done.
Still, Chiba Yeyou had no intention of apologizing. He had patted her, so what? Surely Tatsuya Shiba wouldn't come after him to kill him over it?
"Are you sure you want me to teach you?"
Chiba Yeyou's expression turned solemn and serious.
"Yes!"
"I want to learn magic from you!"
The flush faded from Miyuki Shiba's face as she stepped forward and answered seriously, then bowed slightly.
Chiba Yeyou looked at Miyuki Shiba for a long time without speaking. In a rare display, she grew a little nervous, and her palms even became slightly damp.
"With your abilities, as long as you complete your studies without any problems, you can absolutely become an outstanding magician. Why do you still want to study under me?"
Chiba Yeyou put the question to Miyuki Shiba.
"You've been learning magic from me for a few days, and I have given you some guidance, but you should know what the magic I developed is meant for, right?"
Miyuki Shiba frowned at his words.
"True, even if I do nothing else, I can become an outstanding magician as long as I complete my studies without any problems. I'm confident of that, but I don't want to be merely an outstanding magician."
"There's someone I want to help, so I have to become a stronger magician!"
"Please!"
There was even a hint of pleading in Miyuki Shiba's tone, which truly exceeded Chiba Yeyou's expectations. After all, he knew the true identity of the girl before him.
Others might not know what Chiba Yeyou was capable of, but through their time together, Miyuki Shiba could truly feel the unfathomable depths of his magical knowledge and the boundless imagination of his ideas.
She didn't know exactly how strong Chiba Yeyou was, but he was the only person her age she had ever met whose strength approached her brother's. She didn't want to miss this opportunity, and she wanted even more to help her brother.
Perhaps-no, it must be because of his older brother, Tatsuya Shiba.
Chiba Yeyou thought silently.
"I understand!"
"Then you'll study magic under me from now on. How much you can learn will depend on your own abilities."
Chiba Yeyou nodded. In any case, without the construction system it had bestowed on him, probably no one could use his core magic, and they would also need his personal approval!
After all, blocking access to his own magic was simply too easy, and Miyuki Shiba was unlikely to act against him anyway.
Teaching Miyuki Shiba would also count as building a good relationship with Tatsuya Shiba. After spending this time with him, he had found Tatsuya Shiba's personality quite agreeable. Another friend meant another path!
He was also doing it out of interest.
These reasons led Chiba Yeyou to agree to Miyuki Shiba's request.
To be honest, Chiba Yeyou had been joking when he first offered to teach her magical knowledge, but Miyuki Shiba had clearly taken him seriously.
"Then, next comes practicing the simultaneous activation of multiple spells."
Chiba Yeyou continued explaining what Miyuki Shiba needed to learn next.
"Huh?"
"Activating multiple spells simultaneously?"
Miyuki Shiba's head was now full of question marks.
What the heck?
Hers wasn't small-scale magic. It was A-rank magic!
Even compressed, surely it wasn't something she could just throw around?
"I'll give you a scenario. Try simulating it yourself."
"For example, during a counterterrorism operation in a city, if the situation is complicated, the hostages and multiple criminals are extremely close together, the hostages can no longer withstand low temperatures, and you can't effectively ensure their safety, can you still use large-scale magic like yours without restraint? Unless you want to kill them all."
Chiba Yeyou couldn't help chuckling as he finished.
"I could call in a few more people!"
"Then what if you're the only one there, and there's no time left to call anyone capable of handling the situation?"
Chiba Yeyou's question clearly stunned the girl.
"At that point, you can coordinate multiple compressed, small-scale spells to easily separate the criminals from the hostages, ensuring collateral injuries."
As Chiba Yeyou spoke, small magic circles appeared above his palm. They were precisely the Niflheim that Miyuki Shiba had just used.
"Y-you can use this too?"
"It's not like it's your exclusive magic!"
Chiba Yeyou chuckled.
"True."
"Of course, that isn't really the main reason."
"My main aim is to strengthen your ability to use multiple spells simultaneously."
"Um, well, I can't use multiple spells simultaneously yet. Not even two."
Miyuki Shiba interrupted, embarrassed.
"Uh..."