章節 82: Figuring it Out

Stockton House; living room. Jonson's eyebrow twitched after arriving to find a scene he had seen before. Today, it was his niece Maron sitting all depressed and it was his daughter trying to comfort her. When he asked for an explanation, he realized that it was like his daughter and niece had switched positions. What was funny about the situation was, both the girls' moods were affected by the same person.

Maron's legs were covered with medicine patches. The father and daughter duo haven't seen her like this unless it was an important game. He was curious as how the game went since he himself also played the sport in his younger years.

"It's not like you haven't lost a match before right?" Jonson tried to talk to his niece but she didn't respond.

"I have a video dad" the three of them watched the video after Kurumi connected it to the large television.

"You lost to this?" the obvious sloppy play style Kazuya displayed made him wonder how his niece lost.

"Wait for it" Maron responded this time. Her attention was on the screen as she tried to analyze everything.

Jonson did as she said and continued to watch. Maron wasn't the type to kid around and he saw in the video that she was planning on shutting the boy out. It was when Kazuya started to display his fast learning skills that his gaze sharpened.

"I see…" he closed his eyes the moment he noticed something. "What a crafty kid. Sorry Maron, you were going to lose this match whether you blocked that shot or not"

"Huh?" She watched the video with him but she saw that she had a fair chance. If she hadn't gotten carried away and thought that it was a buzzer beater because of the atmosphere, she would have had another chance.

"You wouldn't have been able to continue even if he didn't follow up with that last shot of his" Maron looked at the state of her legs and realized that he had a point. Even so, she couldn't accept it because she only felt the pain on her legs after she had lost. Maron believed that she would have been able to continue.

"Besides, that kid played very strategically. You went all out from the very beginning and the kid noticed it. He focused on making you consume your stamina while he got used to what you were capable of and how to play the game" he commented. He was impressed because he completely used Maron's own personality against her.

Jonson didn't think he would be able to teach Maron a lesson like he did Kurumi but the boy made this haughty niece of his know of her mistake. At least, once she realized it. It was nice seeing this girl reflect on something.

"I got played…" Maron clenched her fists. She was supposed to be the one to show him a thing or two.

"Now that the boy has come up, how about you Kurumi? Did you manage to patch things up with him?" he looked towards her daughter who proudly took out a notebook to show him.

"I've been making progress in finding out everything about the Kazuya-kun now. He'll be happy once he finds out that I've been paying attention to the new him instead of focusing on the old" Kurumi proudly patted her chest.

*sigh* Black lines formed on Jonson's face. This daughter of his made a choice that was out of anyone's expectations. He hesitated because he wanted to tell her that she was doing it all wrong and she could potentially chase away such a promising partner for her in the future but he already made the choice to let her make her own decisions together with the consequences so he steeled himself before giving a wry smile.

"Why did Kouzuki Kazuya play basketball with Maron anyway? Did he quit the Kendo club?" he decided to change the topic.

"Well…" Kurumi told her of the information that went around the school as well as what Kazuya said about the training part. "Do you think he'll join the basketball club dad?" she followed up with a question. She trusted her father's judgement because he was rarely ever wrong about these things.

"Probably not" Jonson shook his head. "If his purpose really is training himself then there are other sports that would also meet the requirements"

"He can't! I need a rematch!" Maron tried standing up but her legs trembled which caused her to fall back on the couch. "Now that I know about his tricks I won't be fooled again!"

"No Maron. You have a higher chance of losing" Jonson looked at his niece seriously. This girl still hadn't grasped everything yet. "Take a look at the video after your match. Where did he say he was going?"

"[I'll be heading on over to the next club. Thank you for the hospitality]" those were his parting words. Maron shuddered as she realized what her uncle meant.

"I…" she looked at the state of her legs. She already knew what the problem was but she just couldn't accept it.

"You also need to realize that the boy is not who you used to know. He has grown leaps and bounds to even confidently head for another round in another club after the rigorous match you two had.

"I'll definitely challenge him again!" Maron declared as she made up her mind. Her eyes looked determined as she stood up straight. She had a lot of work to do now.

Inside the basement of Kazuya's research facility at home, Mei was watching as he demonstrated various kinds of magic. The spells danced around before hitting the wall and dispersing. Even a beginner like Mei was able to see that he was steadily improving with his magic control. She had been with him from the start and would be either studying magic or working at the research facility when Kazuya came home so she was now able to cast simple spells like ember or recovery enhancement.

Kazuya was pleased with Mei's progress. Compared to the hero version of him in his previous life, she was making faster progress than him. This was proof that magic was definitely suited for her. She only lacked practice and experience as well as a larger mana capacity which could be fixed as she continued to practice daily.

"Even though It's been almost a month, I still can't believe such a thing can be done in real life. So does this mean that the secret magic societies in western countries actually exist?" Mei started a conversation after Kazuya sat down to take a break.

"I'm not too sure about that big sis. One thing is for sure, if they did exist, they know the importance of keeping these abilities a secret. Things from history like witch hunts tell that those who do not have such abilities would do anything to get rid of those whose abilities they can't understand" he replied with a serious face.

"What about those fortune tellers or spoon bending people? You've had a dream about the future that's why you decided to change things right?"

"I wouldn't know about them unless I met them. I've already taught you how to sense these kinds of people so you can be wary of them if they sense you too. Though some of them may be real, as long as they don't understand what they can do and control it like we're training to do, people will remain skeptical about whether they can do what they say they can do or not"

Kazuya didn't forget to give his big sis a lecture on why keeping their ability a secret was important. This included a few tips on how she could hide or explain things if ever she was forced to use magic. A few devices were also given to her for such instances so Mei couldn't help but understand how serious he was about this.

"I've been wondering about something…" Mei glanced at him in a strange way.

"What is it?"

"You already told me that you've set up some of these formations around the property and can tell when intruders come. You also said that you can detect us right?"

"That sounds about right" Kazuya nodded.

"Then… that means you can tell when I go to the bath?" Mei blushed after asking.

"Wha-!?" Kazuya almost fell on his back after hearing such a question. He thought that it would be about formations but it turned out to be something unexpected instead.

"T-tell me the truth! I w-won't be mad even if you were spying on us while we're taking baths…" her voice trailed off. Kazuya's face immediately turned bright red because in his current state, his senses were heightened due to the magic enhancing them.

"N-no! The detection formation only tells me of everyone's location!" he quickly denied it before Mei's imagination ran wild again. These questions have been going on for a while and he didn't know when they will stop.

"Really?" Mei looked a little disappointed. "You really aren't using magic to peek on me?"

"I can prove it by giving you access to the formation. Besides, why would I need to use magic to peek? Big sis already dresses too dangerously whenever you sneak into my room" He thought that what he said would get him off the hook but it only made Mei's face redden.

"Hehe… you naughty boy. You've really been looking at your big sis. How was it? I told you that your big sis still has room to grow!" Mei's smile blossomed.

His action and reaction today made her even more sure about the observations she's been doing ever since he confessed everything to her. Though he was a nine-year-old now, due to the phenomenon he experienced, Kazuya was mentally a lot older. She didn't know to what extent but it was at least old enough for him to enter high school from what he told her about that 'dream' of his.

The first time she realized this, she reflected on the number of times she left herself so unguarded against him. She really did see him as a little kid before she learned about everything but after Kazuya came clean, she couldn't think so anymore and even tried to disprove of her theory just so she could save herself from embarrassment.

As time passed by, she slowly started to change her mind. This was primarily caused by Kazuya's reactions to her advances. He was trying so hard to play it off like it didn't affect him but here were some 'reactions' that couldn't be helped now that he was growing at a fast pace. Mei grew fond of the way he acted even after he started getting along with that boy from school who changed his way of interacting with people.

She tried to avoid him at first when she realized that he may not have been mentally the age he appeared normally but not only could she not avoid it, she also realized something that she could not accept. Kazuno Mei, for the first time in her life had taken a liking to someone and it was a child.

"Err…" Kazuya didn't know what to say. He scratched his cheek and avoided to meet Mei's eyes.

"How does the big sis from your dream compare to the big sis you taught mana to? Are our bodies still the same?" she mischievously smiled. She already knew the answer because even she grew taller with Kyouko which proves what Kazuya had told her about the effects of mana.

Kazuno Securities Main office; formerly a branch office of Shiroyuki Steelworks that had moved to another location.

"Are they ready?" Jirou looked towards his new business partner and the one supervising training; Kuronuma Komori.

"They are. All of them already know the rules and security plans by heart" Komori crossed his arms and stood beside Jirou as they observed the new recruits.

"I trust that everyone here is aware of the contracts you signed" Jirou observed the changes in their expression when the contract was mentioned. "I also want to inform you that your master, this old bat right here also signed the same contract but it had an additional clause in it; he would also suffer the same consequences if one of the students he valued would go and break the contract" Jirou maintained a straight face and observed their flabbergasted reactions as they turned towards Komori.

"That's true. I signed such a clause because I believe in the students I picked and trust that you all will not betray me. You are all going to work for the main company responsible for giving us this opportunity so I'm willing to put myself on the line to prove to this old racoon that my judgement in selecting you all as my most trusted and talented students will not be in vain" Komori loudly stated and induced morale that could be felt throughout the large room.

Both old men had already explained the current situation Kazuno Technologies was facing as well as their responsibilities. They were shocked to find out that big corporations were paying attention to a newly established company and already employed unscrupulous means before even trying to negotiate.

The new recruits weren't new to the Kurogane Conglomerate's name because this was the name that had been taboo in their dojo whenever their master's granddaughter was around. The little princess' mood would worsen whenever she heard the name because it was the company that caused her to lose the last chance she had to fight with someone she couldn't beat before she graduated to go to middle school.

"YES!" the new recruits replied with a loud roar. They couldn't say anything to their families about any secrets so they couldn't tell their master's granddaughter that they had the chance to get back at them a little for her.

They were dismissed and would meet up again at the morning. The two old men entered Jirou's office and sat down together after grabbing a drink from the small fridge in the corner of the room. Komori didn't have to give respect to Jirou anymore since both of them were alone now.

"You already involved yourself in the incident that ousted the Kurogane Corporation from any company that chose the Kouzukis over them two years ago. Wouldn't they think that you're going against them on purpose once they find out that you're the one responsible for this security firm?" Komori inquired.

"What can they do about it? Build their own dojo to compete with mine?" Jirou laughed. The Kuroganes couldn't threaten him with anything because his and his company's reputation spoke for itself.

"Isn't it time to tell me who's backing you? You usually wouldn't take such a risk"

"You'll be able to find out tomorrow. You're going to meet Kazuno Tech's CEO after all" Jirou refused to give any hints.

"I really don't understand all that tech stuff so I don't really care about any secrets I would find out"

"You're mistaken old bat. The most important secrets the company holds that you will be able to find out isn't about the technology. It's about the people. Just knowing the key people inside the company would give those bastards a reason to tempt them with greed for information. You know how those people think"

"The people huh…" Komori seems to have been reminded of an old memory.