Another two years went by after the intentionally botched press conference, and while the larger and stronger countries were able to retain their own control, most of the smaller ones came under the control of the Alliance or some other factions that worshiped them without the public's knowledge. This was the best concession they could make to mix the Human World with the Supernatural World.
And what was the reason they gave to explain why this was only happening now? It's because the Supernatural World was very susceptible to developing conflicts and wars and every time the weak Humans got involved in it, it was always them who suffered the most. Of course, that already changed due to modernization and peace treaties between mythologies.
Of course, some people would be able to notice this but even if they revealed it to the public, with the Alliance sharing their technology with these smaller nations, they were able to solve most of the problems plaguing them. From housing problems to transportation of goods to hard-to-reach areas, the Alliance was able to boost each of these countries' economies by opening up many industries related to Magic.
And the most important aspect, energy, was easily solvable with Magic Power being converted to traditional electricity. Because the Magic Power they use comes directly from the Dimensional Gap where there's a nigh limitless amount of it, it'd only take a few years before everyone adapted to this cheaper and clean source of energy that would be enough to support civilization until it reached the interstellar level.
Even among the Alliance, where most were not in favor of mixing the Human World and the Supernatural World, could now see the potential of where the world was heading and began to accept the inevitable with greater enthusiasm, especially the old Gods who had been dreaming of returning to their home world and see what it had become.
Naturally, it was not all smooth sailing. These new Magic industries were on the rise but many were also going down and causing a bit of damage and nonacceptance from some people. Though thanks to the radicals being removed so early on, most of what came out were relatively peaceful protests.
[As the food, water, and shelter insecurities are being solved worldwide, a sizable amount of the population, especially the younger ones, are now focused and determined to acquire the new skills being presented to them.]
Kisuke was shopping for some groceries when the digital billboard caught his attention.
[But although there are numerous courses related to Magic, the trend of taking combat-related courses despite its strict requirements and tests for entry is rising up among young adults. An interview and poll were conducted among these people and what seems to be the leading cause is "fantasy becoming reality" and idolization of the newly established Magic Peacekeeping Order under the Alliance.]
[I agree with their sentiments, partner. After growing up in a pop culture full of fantasy-like Magic, it's like a dream come true for most. And with the newly established order rounding up the violent criminals while risking their lives, they look like heroes to the masses.]
[Even then, it's still a worrying trend. Why do we even need this many combat-related courses? Aren't we at peace?]
Kisuke then continued walking while thinking, 'I wonder when will they reveal that the world could be destroyed by aliens in the future?'
And while crossing the road, Kisuke saw a roaming drone that was projecting holographic images and advertising the popular new school created on a man-made floating island that was currently in the middle of the pacific, the Ouroboros Academy.
It was centered around the new courses and started accepting students three years ago. And in the middle of it was someone important to Kisuke.
It took almost half an hour of walking to get back to his candy shop and before he could approach, he saw a black futuristic car without any wheels parked in front of it, 'That's Aika's newest design. So they've already begun manufacturing it.'
Kisuke just took a quick peek at the car but couldn't see its interior thanks to the security feature added to it while thinking, 'There's only one who's free right now who could've come home.'
As soon as he opened the entrance to the living space of the shop, Kisuke was greeted by a pair of ladies' high heels shoes and a familiar scent.
"I'm home." Kisuke audibly said while coming in.
From the kitchen, Akeno, who had matured throughout the years, came peeking out with an apron over her office lady attire, "Welcome back~ Have you eaten yet? Will you be able to join me for lunch?"
Kisuke placed down his groceries while answering, "Not yet. And I already missed your nikujaga so I'm looking forward to it."
Akeno smiled gleefully and went back, "Great~ I only need a few more minutes so please prepare the table."
While they were enjoying their lunch, Kisuke could feel the presence of multiple people stalking the place and they were not the usual people who watch Kisuke from time to time, "You're the Minister of Magic Development and Security, not some celebrity. Why is the media still hounding you? It's been a while since you've taken the position."
Akeno sighed, "I also don't know what else they could possibly want. I've already answered their important questions so they're probably just there to find something they could write about."
The Ministry of Magic Development and Security. A newly established Ministry in Japan to deal with anything Magic related, especially the distribution and regulation of Soul Gears that were already reaching the market for normal people. It'd gained a lot of attention not just because of its Magic-related activities and a very young woman being the first Minister, but also because it got a special status at its inception.
Due to the Japanese Government not knowing how to deal with this new world, MMDS was made with a special authority, allowing it to enact edicts and policies that don't need the Diet's approval. This allowed the MMDS to respond immediately to new issues or threats. Of course, such an agency couldn't have this kind of power permanently so it was given a decade to have its own autonomy while also training the required manpower to operate it.
Although it was an unprecedented move, many countries also adopted a similar action for an easier transition.
Recalling something, Akeno added after chewing her food, "Ah... Could they have already known about the new bill?"
"New bill?"
"It's a new public safety bill that's about to be proposed. This bill will require everyone to reveal their real physical features, or at least a part of them in public places. This is to placate the anxious people that there are non-Humans that could easily hurt them hiding in the public. If they could at least see them, the ordinary people will be able to calm down."
"Sounds like the first solution you'd come up with for a complex problem. It's horrible."
"It is. But I don't have a say in it since my authority is only within Magic-related issues. This is a MIC (Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications) policy."
While Akeno had autonomy with her actions, it's only applicable when it's within certain parameters. But thanks to this limited autonomy, other policymakers don't like her very much and her opinions on other matters would often be discarded or even outright avoided. In other words, it's politicians playing politics. Instead of thinking more about the problems and formulating better solutions, they'd rather follow the public's outcry without any regard to what it could cause and win the popular vote.
Editors:
28th00: Oof, that’s a horrible move to make. Like, straight up “Let’s spark a civil war for the hell of it!” levels. Privacy is something people take to absolutely insane degrees, and that’s without magic involved.
Goyya: While privacy is one of the most serious issue, it’s also one of the most violated for multiple reasons. After all, you can’t gather information without breaking privacy. Though what they are doing is borderline useless with Kisuke counter-intelligence skills.
Before they finished their lunch, Akeno's security was able to sort out all those who were holding recording devices, so when it was finally time to leave, there were no more people around to bother her.
After a small peck on the cheek, Akeno went inside her new car, but before she started it, she remembered something, "By the way, Rias asked me to remind you about Ex's first birthday party."
"That's next week, isn't it?"
Akeno nodded, "The Ouroboros Academy's faculty also has a day off around that time, so everyone from there should be able to attend."
"What about Irina and Aika?"
"Irina said that she'll do something about her schedule while there's been no word from Aika. Her doors are still locked and we aren't sure when she's coming out this time..." Akeno then gave him a meaningful look and added, "And she probably won't unless someone can drag her out."
"Fine. I'll bring her out and get some gifts. Be careful on your way and contact me if there's something urgent."
Akeno sighed, "Although we're quite busy, we're all alright. In fact, we're more worried about you. You've been sneaking 'outside', aren't you? We know you're capable, but it's still too dangerous. This isn't just your problem but the whole world's. Don't try to carry all of it on your own."
Kisuke patted her head and ruffled her hair a little, "I'm being careful, so don't worry about it."
"...If you say so..." Although reluctant, Akeno couldn't really say anything else as she already knew the man known as Kisuke.
Akeno started the car and it began floating off the ground. As she left, she thought back to the conversation they had and felt helpless, 'As expected, only Yoruichi can really force him to back down. Too bad she's still on the other side. According to Aika, it should only take her less than a month to punch a hole in the barrier.'
For these past seven years, Kisuke had been laying low and it was Yoruichi's idea to delegate most of the tasks he had to the other girls. Although he could have finished opening up the path to the world where Yoruichi, Serafall, Hestia, and Artemis were a lot earlier, Yoruichi thought that it was about time for the others to get some real work done and everyone unanimously agreed to her.
With that in mind, Sona established the Ouroboros Academy which was independent of the prominent powers to kick start the strengthening of the combat and logistic abilities of the whole world. As she won't be able to run it on her own and she didn't really want to hire for any position close to her since they'd just be infested by spies, Medusa took on the role of Vice-Principal.
Meanwhile, Koneko, Kuroka, and Riveria served as Martial Arts Instructor, Youjutsu Instructor, and Magic Instructor respectively.
And to assist in the integration of the Human World to the Supernatural World, Akeno and Irina both took a role in the Human World with the former becoming the Minister of the newly built ministry while the latter became a General for the Alliance's Peacekeeping Order.
Meanwhile, Aika did most of Kisuke's work by becoming a Magic and Soul Engineer. After four years of studying under Kisuke, she began to focus on her own studies while also taking care of the opening in the barrier.
Naturally, no matter how much she studied, she could only take a fraction of Kisuke's work and she was only able to work on the barrier thanks to Yoruichi's suggestion. While Aika could now craft tools that could affect souls, something like Gigai research is still too much for her, much less the Soul Gears.
Even then, the only real work left for Kisuke, thanks to the girl's intervention, was the preparation for Chaos, taking further control of the Sacred Gear System, analyzing the Evies and Etouldes, and finally, the World-Tying Rite.
This also helped him lay low and avoid getting involved with the current world events as there were just too many people allergic to his presence, so any movement from him would elicit some kind of reaction for better or worse.
And what was worrying Akeno and the girls the most was the third one. Since he had access to his Mars base, it was also very easy for him to get behind enemy lines to observe them. Although he was not telling them how much he was observing them, they were afraid that he was actually stepping into their spacecraft.
In fact, they were correct to worry since Kisuke didn't just step into their spacecraft but also began to reverse engineer their hardware and software, which was proving to be very difficult because it used an entirely different system and way of thinking.
Akeno's phone began to ring and she immediately answered it after seeing the caller, "Bennia, how was it?"
[It's just as you'd guessed, Akeno-neesan. The people you'd marked have been assisting the smugglers to export Soul Gears.]
Akeno gritted her teeth while asking, "What about your team?"
[As instructed, I've been feeding them false information so it's just me who knows about this.]
"Good. Retreat for now and make sure to carefully erase your tracks."
[Retreat? But shouldn't we stop them?]
Akeno shook her head, "I would love to, but it's only going to get harder once we reveal that we're on their tail."
[...Understood. I'll be contacting you directly if I find something else.]
"Good work and take care."
Akeno ended the call and couldn't help but sigh once again, 'Indra is still thinking of raising his army even in this kind of situation. And we can't actually directly stop him since that's just the type of provocation he would want.'
Akeno didn't know what kind of motivation Indra had to go against Shiva despite the enemies camping outside, 'And he even managed to get Takamahagara's help... Ugh... My head is aching...'
Akeno parked to the side and picked her phone up again and dialed a number. After a few seconds, someone answered, [What can I do for you, ma'am?]
"Cancel everything I have from this afternoon and the next two days."
[What reason should I give them?]
"Just tell them that I'm personally doing a high-profile investigation."
[Understood. I'll arrange it. Will that be everything?]
"I'll call you again if I need something else."
Akeno ended the call and dialed another number, "Hello? Sona? I'm coming over."
Akeno then changed the GPS guide on her car's console while thinking, 'We have to think of a way to deter him... If we can't, we have to take him down in an instant and stop many tragedies that could occur.'
Editors:
28th00: The fuck, Indra? Seriously. Ouroboros Academy is a place you just do not fuck with, ain’t it? It’s in the fucking NAME alone. Ophis can and will tactical loli nuke your ass, not to mention everything else. Especially since the entire island/academy could also be considered a Sacred Shrine dedicated to her under the guise of ‘Infinite Learning’. Hell, you could even get Kisuke moving, which is bad news for all involved, really.
Goyya: Kisuke can’t exactly move because he’ll cause uncontrollable waves all around him. Indra and Shiva are the only people who could go against a full-powered Ophis.
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