The venue was a conference room in a relatively luxurious hotel in Hakone. As the meeting's commencement time approached, the seats at the roundtable began to fill up.
There was Gouki Ichijou, the head of the Ichijou family, wearing a rough sweater over his dark, copper, well-tanned skin, every inch of his tall frame that of a man of the sea. He had come from his residence in Kanazawa, having recently celebrated his 39th birthday. His public persona was that of the president of an undersea resource exploration conglomerate.
The attractive middle-aged woman in an expensive kimono with her hair in an elegant arrangement was Mai Futatsugi, the head of the Futatsugi family. She was fifty years old and resided in Ashiya. Her public face was that of a majority shareholder in a variety of industrial chemical and food-related companies. Wearing a polo shirt and sport coat and based out of Atsugi was Gen Mitsuya. Compactly and sturdily built, he was fifty-three years old. Whether it was public or not was a matter of some question, but in any case, he was an international small arms broker.
The beautiful woman in the formal wine-colored gown was the head of the Yotsuba family, Maya. She looked like she couldn't be a day older than thirty, although in reality she was forty-two.
In a simple and tidy business suit was the head of the Itsuwa family, Isami Itsuwa, forty-five, from Uwajima. He was known to the public as an executive and owner of a maritime shipping company. With her chestnut-brown hair trimmed in a short bob, the glamorous woman wearing a pantsuit was Atsuko Mutsuzuka, head of the family of the same name. Atsuko was twenty-nine and resided in Sendai. Publicly, she owned a geothermal energy exploration firm.
The head of the Saegusa family, Kouichi, was dressed stylishly retro, like an elite businessman from the 1980s or 1990s. He was forty-five and lived in Tokyo. Notably, his light brown– tinted glasses did not come off even inside. Publicly, he was a venture capitalist. Wearing a suit sans necktie and sporting short hair with a slightly upswept side part was the head of the Yatsushiro family, Raizou, thirty-one, from Fukuoka. His public face was that of a university instructor and a majority shareholder in several telecommunication firms.
The elderly man, whose age is around 90 years old. Despite his old age, his sharp, hawk-eye like gazes and booming, clear voice contrasts his aged appearance.His name is Kudou Retsu, he is wearing a formal black coat and tie with his hands held together at his back.He is head of the Kudou family from Ikoma.
Retsu stands near the pinnacle of magical society within the country. His influence in this magical community is enough to shake the foundation of modern magic society. He is considered to be the head of the Japanese Magic Community
The man with the shaved head in traditional haori jacket and hakama was Kazuki Juumonji, head of the Juumonji family, forty-four, from Tokyo. Publicly, he owned an excavation and construction firm that primarily served the armed forces. These were all the heads of the current Ten Master Clans.
The heads all sat at the roundtable, and the door closed. The youngest person present locked the door.
It was the oldest, Retsu Kudou, the Ten Masters Clans were peers and equals—there was no hierarchy.
This fact was clear from the use of the roundtable in the hotel meeting room.
The heads of the Ten Master Clans all took their seats. The Master Clans Council was convened and all of the Heads began to outline the status of ongoing observation of anti-government activities and possible threats of infiltration.
But one thing all of them noticed was about Kouichi Saegusa, the man usually had habit of subtly poking Maya Yotsuba whenever possible.
All of them knew there was some tension between the two, but now there is nothing Kouichi seems to just go on with his report and completely ignoring Maya.
Maya was slightly annoyed about this and asked Kouichi with a smile"Kouichi San, I heard your daughter was attacked.I hope everything is okay."
Kouichi knew she is digging for information and simply replied"She is okay and back to normal."
Maya gave fakd smile and said"That is wonderful."Kouichi waited and then the question came"Also, I heard she is now using very unique type of magic.You must have a very skilled Magical Engineer to create something like that."
Kouichi saw everyone interest, he saw even his sensei was interested.So he sighed and answered"It is called Star Magic and it belong to our clan now."
Kouichi knew it was a lie, he knew the magic belonged to Ayato and it was gifted to Mayumi, who may have co ownership of it.Since Ayato told it was made specifically for her.
But seeing Kouichi refusing to say anything about the magical engineer, which made Retsu and Maya interested.
While Maya would try to go through the shadows to find the infomation, Retsu will ask his student directly and only one will get the information.