Maya had nothing to hide, and the fact that she went to visit the headquarters of the Isshiki family in Tokyo was clear to everyone.
Whether their relationship ended in conflict or cooperation, no one really knew, but they could tell that it definitely wasn't a good thing for them, especially when they could see that nothing had happened.
Maya was strong, especially in closed spaces, such as rooms or tunnels, and with her magic, no one could escape from her.
Masa might not have shown his might for a while, but as he gained the title of the "Blue Beast" and was also the fastest magician ever alive due to the new magic of the Isshiki family, the "Mercury," it was without a doubt, he was the future, and probably had a chance to replace Maya as the strongest.
So, if the two had fought, then there was a chance that they might have destroyed the facility and everything, but the fact that it didn't happen then either showed how strong the infrastructure of the headquarters of the Isshiki family was or no fight happened at all.
If possible, everyone wanted to get close to the headquarters of the Isshiki family, but as the surrounding lands were owned by this family, it was impossible for one to enter unless they gained permission from the family.
More importantly, once again, the magic of the Isshiki family was just too convenient and dirty, especially in the current era where everything was based on modern technology.
This was also the reason why many countries were adamant when the Isshiki family decided to enter the space-related industry. While this family might say that they just wanted to make money, was it the truth?
With the magic that the Isshiki family had mastered, many countries, especially those that invested heavily in space, were afraid that they would be overtaken or they might lose control over space.
Still, many people also said that it was such a paranoid idea since a certain country was just afraid of competition if the Isshiki family was able to enter the space-related industry, they were afraid that many companies would go bankrupt as they lost in the competition similar to their competition over a business in the Pacific area.
Frankly, there were two conflicts on how Japan would live.
One was to maintain the status quo by living on the two sides of two powerful countries, but on the other side, many wished to become stronger since they knew the fate of a weak country well.
The weak had no rights, and what they could do was just receive the beating of the strong, being used until their values completely disappeared and then lost in history.
At that time, the men could only become laborers, and the women could only sell themselves as prostitutes.
So, in the domestic, many supported the Isshiki family, especially after Masa sang the department song, which made him the first magician who entered the entertainment industry.
The thoughts of the people at the bottom were simple.
Masa was handsome; they wanted to be impregnated by him, so they wished to support him.
The Isshiki family also had many plans to make the country prosperous, including the smart city within the Hokuriku region, which could be used to strengthen the defense of the country from the New Soviet Union and gain the support of many as this plan would bring a lot of economic, social, military, and many other benefits in the area.
To develop was expensive, and no one was sure whether one could succeed or not.
It could be a waste of money, but it might not be; but then again, no one wished to see others succeed, so they hoped for the Isshiki family to fail with their attempt, especially those who hated the magicians and wanted to bring them down, thinking that it was just a useless attempt to make all the people have a good impression of the magicians.
Yet, unlike the satellite problem, this plan was easily accepted, especially when the Isshiki family was simply the boss of the area, and those people below wouldn't refuse since they could get money by selling their lands or working under the Isshiki family.
Everything moved in a good direction for the Isshiki family, yet for Tatsuya, it was different since after his defeat to Masa, he had been coming to the Kyuuchouji Temple to practice his martial arts under the master ninja, Kokonoe Yakumo.
"Stop! Stop! Stop!"
"What's wrong?" Tatsuya looked at the bald Buddhist monk with confusion.
"It is you who is what's wrong?! Why is it like you want to kill me?!"
As a master ninja, Yakumo naturally knew how strong Tatsuya was, especially when nothing was hidden from him. At the same time, he had a lot of connections, especially with people in high positions, as they needed his service.
In the eyes of many, his profession might have disappeared, but the truth was that it existed, yet hidden and smaller as the advances of technology had caused only the strong to progress and continue this profession.
Yakumo, while he might not appear like one, was the strongest.
"Or, rather, what's wrong with you two? You have been in a strange mood lately."
More importantly, what was so strange was the fact that Miyuki, Tatsuya's cutest little sister, didn't come to follow Tatsuya, which made Yakumo wonder whether something had happened between the two. If so, then what or who was the cause?
Still, what kind of person had made Tatsuya so desperate like this?
After all, Yakumo had to admit that Tatsuya was strong.
Not only Tatsuya's innate magic but also his attainment of physical ability, Tatsuya was just slightly below him, and sooner or later, Tatsuya might even be above him.
So, was there anyone who could cause Tatsuya trouble?
Rubbing his chin, Yakumo couldn't find an answer except for a certain family who had a sudden close relationship with Tatsuya's family. Yet, he didn't want to touch this family, especially when he knew that he was just a poor monk facing the might of that family; he was just a small person and didn't want to get involved at all!
His relationship might be close to Tatsuya, but their relationship was just a sparring partner instead of a student and a teacher, and as a ninja, his survivability was the most important factor.
"....."
On the other hand, Tatsuya hesitated to tell Yakumo about his problem, especially when he knew well that Yakumo couldn't help him, and he felt like... Yakumo's attainments in the martial arts were far less than "his."
"Master... do you know a stronger martial artist?"
Tatsuya knew that he couldn't defeat Masa with his magic, nor could he ask Yakumo about the development of his magic, so all he could ask was whether Yakumo knew a stronger martial artist.
"...Tatsuya-kun, I am the strongest martial artist in this country."
"...."
Tatsuya fell silent, then sighed. "Then, is it really hopeless?" He knew that he couldn't defeat Masa in physical and martial arts, so in the end, all he could do was rely on his innate magic, yet the last exchange still gave him doubt, wondering whether his magic could really work.
"Now, you make me curious. You don't have to tell me who your opponent is, but what kind of a style of martial art or weapon that he used."
Tatsuya hesitated, especially when Miyuki had repeatedly reminded her, but... he just didn't want to lose, after all.
"...a sword."
Still, that answer gave Yakumi an answer to everything. "Ah, did you fight the "Blue Beast"?"
"...."
"Ah, Tatsuya-kun? What's wrong with your eyes? Stop with those eyes! Or... I will kill you, you know~?"
"..." Tatsuya.