02x06 - Visitor Arc VI

[bunniefuu]

Is that true, Silvie?

Yes. I've received orders from the
General Staff Office to return home.

But why?

Because I was not good enough to fulfill
my rear support role on this mission.

I'm terribly sorry, Commander!

Silvie, don't call me
that! It's too stiff!

Please, call me Lina
like you have until now.

All right, Lina.

It hurts me to go back home and leave you
to your own oversleeping habits, but...

Now you're too informal!

Besides, the day before yesterday was
the only day I slept in, wasn't it?

Are you done?

Colonel!

Major Sirius, the mission assigned to you was
not suitable given your duty and your skills.

And it is my belief that failing in your mission
does not deserve laying the onus upon you.

Regardless, however, of where
the responsibility for this lies,

the fact that someone in the position of Stars was defeated
in magical combat is something we need to be concerned about.

After all, you are the strongest
magician in the military.

Of course, you will no doubt want
a chance to vindicate yourself.

Isn't that right, Major?

Of course, Colonel!

Resume your current mission, Major Sirius.

I will also raise our on-site
support to the highest level.

Show me the true power of Sirius.

Yes, ma'am!

Keep screaming!

No doubt, you'll lose your wishes,

it's fragile, but it's here.

I'll keep believing.

Being tested while exposed

to this reality full of uncertainty.

Don't hide your cowardice

by wearing a false veil.

Sorrow and suffering are always

like a magic that creates strength.

Even confusion and hesitation

must surely have meaning.

Keep screaming!

No doubt, you'll lose your wishes,

break them over and over again.

Woah, woah

You're not alone.

Even these scars and countless pains,

I'll embrace them, love them.

Woah, woah

I believe in you.

Keep going beyond your destiny.

A means of directly attacking a parasite
drifting through the sea of information...

It figures that even you'd
have trouble with this.

It doesn't seem to me you have absolutely
no compatibility with it, though...

since you learned how to fire a farstrike
in the true world in three days.

In your case, you know where
you're supposed to aim,

so putting together a different attack method
instead of the farstrike would be an idea.

You think too highly of me.

I can't develop new spells
willy-nilly like that.

Is that so?

You're certainly incapable
in certain fields,

but you have extraordinary talent in
spell improvement and development.

That's right, Brother!

You can make wonderful ideas reality!

Ideas that other people
would never even think of!

Couldn't you continue your first
plan of using Program Demolition...

to directly attack while you move forward
with new spell development at the same time?

All right.

I'll try doing just that.

The magicians then went to the Dallas
National Particle Accelerator Institute

and forced the scientists
there to perform an experiment

- to generate a micro black hole,
ignoring the scientists' warnings.

- Brother...

- During the experiment, a hole
opened in the dimensional wall,

- This is...

and it called forth a demon
from another dimension.

The magicians tried to counter Japan's
secret weapon by using the demon.

- But they failed to control it, and
it possessed their bodies instead.

- That's just what Shizuku
told us, isn't it?

- Blame for the victims falls
squarely on the military.

Yeah, though it seems like it's
been dramatized quite a bit.

The underlying cause of this scandal...

is the military's failure to
completely regulate magicians.

Magic is powerful, but nobody knows when the
supernatural ability will go out of control.

Is using it truly within
national interests?

Shouldn't we be carefully rethinking
our stance on the matter?

It's skillfully sugarcoated, but...

Then...

Yes, the expulsion of magicians
is probably their true intention.

Did you see the news this morning?

Yeah. Not that I wanted to, though.

How much of it is true?

All the important bits are downright lies!

They don't tell you anything
except surface-level facts!

So, as I thought, they're
manipulating public opinion.

But those things should've all been
naturally treated as confidential.

I wouldn't think someone on the outside
could find out about them so easily.

It's the Seven Sages probably.

Seven Sages?

There's this group that
calls themselves that.

Nobody knows who they are, though.

You don't know who they are?

Aren't they a USNA-based organization?

Is that possible?

It is possible! Frustrating
though it may be!

All we have is their
name which they gave us.

No matter how much we investigate,
we can't come up with anything!

The only thing we know is that they call their
officers "Sages," and there are seven of them.

Sages... That's rather
on the nose, isn't it?

I'm telling you, we
don't know who they are!

Hold on, Lina.

Don't get mad at my brother for it.

Wha...

These Seven Sages...

Is it possible they're linked
to the humanist movement?

I can't deny it outright,
but probably not.

According to our profilers, their mentality is
transient and delights in committing crime.

I see.

One last thing if it's all right...

What?

Did they draw the parasite
into this world on purpose?

No.

If you were serious about
that, I'd be angry, Tatsuya.

I've already passed judgment
on four of the infected.

If you're suggesting someone
did this as part of a scheme...

I could never forgive them!

We tried investigating the Seven
Sages by various means, as well,

but unfortunately, didn't come
up with any notable clues.

There hasn't been any particular manipulating
of public opinion since then, either.

We'll continue investigating
on our side, too.

If you come across any clues, contact me.

Roger that.

Thank you for coming
all the way here today.

Oh, right...

Here you are! It's two days early,
but some friendly chocolate.

The obligatory kind, ma'am?

Are you unhappy with it?

Not in the slightest.

Goodnight.

Come to think of it,
I haven't seen Honoka.

She went home early.

Right.

To get ready for tomorrow, huh?

Yes, no doubt.

She's definitely the type to put a
lot of effort into things like that.

Are you happy, Brother?

It's not that. I just feel bad.

I can repay any gifts, but I
can't return what really matters.

Please, you don't need to
worry about things like that.

Honoka and I want only for you to be
happy from the bottom of our hearts.

Really?

Yes.

All you need to do is accept
that without comment.

Um...

I don't want to be a
third wheel here, but...

Essentially, Honoka wasn't looking well because she
was worried about giving you chocolate tomorrow?

You did well to notice, Lina.

I'd thought chocolate-giving
was a custom unique to Japan.

That's right.

Valentine's Day chocolate is a
famous bit of Japanese culture.

To whom will you give
your chocolate, Lina?

Even you're asking me that, Miyuki?

I didn't plan on giving
chocolate to anyone.

Oh, but not even obligatory chocolate?

If I gave individual gifts, it
would cause all sorts of problems.

Really? It must be
difficult being so popular.

You're amazingly popular yourself, Miyuki.

Who will you give chocolate to?

Will Tatsuya get the real thing?

What are you saying, Lina?

My brother and I are siblings.

It would be strange for me to
give him homemade chocolates.

Hey, Izumi, what do you think she's doing?

I think she's making
chocolates, but... Kasumi...

about the chocolate our sister is using...

Yeah.

It's the 95% cocoa, 0% sugar kind...

And that bag...

It's espresso powder, isn't it?

I wonder if something bad happened to her.

Good morning, Tatsuya!

Good morning, Honoka.

Good morning.

Good morning, Miyuki!

Um, Tatsuya...

Could I maybe take up a bit of your time?

Sure.

Then, I'll go on ahead to class, Brother.

Good luck, Honoka.

U-Um, Tatchu...

Thank you, Honoka.

Um, Tatsuya, what's...

A little something in return.

It's separate from next month, so
you can expect something then, too.

I, um... Is this... I can't...

Um, Tatsuya, may I open it?

Of course.

Tatsuya, thank you!

I'll treasure them forever!

Yo, Tatsuya!

You look kind of exhausted,
and the day just started.

And you seem good as new even
though you just got discharged.

What can I say?

Good morning.

Leo, you're back to normal, huh?

So, this is your first day back?

I'm glad you recovered
faster than we thought.

Yep. Thanks for coming
to visit so many times.

Valentine's Day chocolate.

They're for all you guys.

Thank you.

I appreciate it.

Thank you.

I thought you were out of the hospital
early. You were after the chocolate?

Of course not!

Oh, was I right?

Good morning, Erika.

You're late today.

Morning, Tatsuya.

February 14 is awful every year.

It's because we got so many
men around in our dojo.

That really does seem like a lot of work.

It is! It's so annoying!

Valentine's Day can go jump
off a cliff for all I care!

Miki, you must have it nice.

You've got a lot of girls
among your pupils, don't you?

You get your pick of the
litter every year, don't you?

Yoshida, is that true?

That's not true!

Anyway, if I were that frivolous,
I could never do any real training!

Oh no, you don't, Miki.

What about our dojo are you
trying to say is frivolous?

Uh, wait...

I didn't mean that...

Then, what in the world did you mean?

Oh, there he is!

Subaru, over here!

Shiba!

Hey, Eimi, don't run!

Would you be so kind as to accept this?

Satomi... You're acting
more theatrical than usual.

What's this?

This is a gesture of thanks from the Nine
School Competition freshman girls' team.

How should I say?

Our gratitude...

Oh, it's the whole team
but not Miyuki or Honoka.

They most likely wish to give
you something personally.

If we did anything out of
place, they'd probably get mad.

Thank you.

Not that it fully replaces them, but
this includes Shizuku's part, as well.

Make sure you call her or text
her later to say you received it.

Bye!

Oh, Tatsuya... Is it your
turn on patrol today?

Yes.

By the way, Tatsuya, I'd
like a moment of your time.

I don't mind, but first...

Shiba... Water...

Shiba, you have my thanks.

Pres... Or rather, Saegusa...

I'll be taking my leave now.

Saegusa...

What in the world happened to Hattori?

Never mind him. Here!

Is it... coffee?

No, chocolate!

Well, thank you very much.

Go ahead, try a piece.

Right now?

Yep. I want to hear what you think of it.

In that case, I have something
I'd like to talk to you about...

so could we go somewhere else?

You don't want others to hear?

Yes.

Come with me.

Did you want to discuss the parasite?

Yes.

It hasn't been appearing
in the media lately.

Has the damage subsided?

On the surface, yeah.

But the number of missing persons this
year is high compared to other years,

so we should probably interpret that as them
getting more careful with their actions.

Maybe taking one down
put them on their guard.

I would imagine.

It could be that they possess
coperception between them.

Coperception?

It's a shortened form of
common sensual perception.

It's a form of ESP observed
frequently between identical twins.

In other words, if one sees or hears something,
the entire group shares the experience?

Yes, but it's nothing
more than speculation.

I hate not understanding anything.

When it comes to situations
with a lot of unknowns,

all we can do is hope we stumble
onto ways to deal with them.

What's the matter?

The fact that I had no clue what the term
"common sensual perception" meant...

That won't be on the
entrance exams, will it?

ESP is treated as a separate academic field from
the magic sciences, so I don't think it will.

That about does it.

Well, I'll be on my way.

Are you all right, Brother?

It's nothing major.

I'll carry your bag for you.

That's okay.

I insist. Come on.

Fine.

What's wrong?

Never mind! It's nothing.

I see.

Brother? Do you see something?

No.

What's wrong?

Well...

I believe our surveillance
may have been noticed, ma'am.

What? That's absurd.

Sure, it's low-orbit, but it's an
observation satellite monitor.

But, ma'am, I know I saw Tatsuya Shiba's eyes
look directly to here from inside the monitor.

Fine, then.

Replay the video, starting
three minutes ago.

Here.

You're overthinking it.

It's better than letting your mind wander, but being
too cautious is another source of mistaken judgment.

Yes, ma'am!

Brother, dinner is ready.

Chocolate sauce...

and chocolate fondue...

This is how she did it?

Brother...

Please feel free to eat up.

This is the Valentine's
chocolate that I prepared...

for you and you alone.

Your face is flushed.

Oh? Why, I wonder...

You probably didn't cook off enough
of the brandy in the fondue.

Go rest for a bit on the sofa.

I'll clean up here.

Okay.

The clumsy palm that

- I bungled it up at the very end.

- Gave me warmth gently

- Why...

- must I be his sister?

Embrace in my heart

Any day

Any word is not enough

Let's walk in the direction
where the light is shining

Instead of saying thank you

Why do the things that you
think is the most important

disappear so fickly

disappear so fickly

When that nameless flower blooms

One drop of desire overflows

That falls before you could see it

The hope that certainly bloomed here

I didn't have to lie about it.

It's just obligatory chocolate.

And yet, I couldn't give it to him.

It was as though I...

This has to be some sick joke!

Me, in love with that sarcastic, sister-obsessed
philanderer? I'll never allow that!

Welcome home, Major Sirius.

Colonel!