"Hey Mayumi, how does your father feel about me?"
Archimedes and Mayumi are making their way back to Mayumi's house on Archimedes' motorcycle. They are taking a slightly longer route, giving them some time to speak.
"Quite forward aren't you. Already asking about my parents?"
"You know what I mean."
"Yeah, yeah. You are just fun to tease. Well it should be no surprise that he isn't fond of your association with the Yotsuba. However, he doesn't seem terribly against you personally. He did ask me about you once after I had you over."
"And what did you tell him?"
"That you were using the Yotsuba more than they were using you."
Archimedes gives a hearty laugh as he turns onto a road leading into the city.
"I hope you mean that as a compliment."
"Of course, he seemed very pleased when I told him that as well. He also told me to try to leverage my closeness to you in order to get information on the Yotsuba."
"And why would you tell me that?"
Mayumi squeezes against Archimedes' back.
"Because I am quite confident that it would only end with you getting more information on us than we would get from you."
"I'm almost hurt by the amount of confidence you have in my ability to manipulate and deceive."
"Don't worry, I don't like you any less for it. In fact, I respect you for it. It isn't easy to use one of the 10 Master Clans like you are."
"You give me too much credit. I am being used by them a good deal as well."
"So what about Tatsuya and Miyuki? Are they Yotsuba?"
Archimedes drives in silence for a few moments before responding.
"I want to be honest with you Mayumi. However, that's something I can't say much about. I'll leave it at that I am currently more of a Yotsuba than they will ever be. After all, I am being groomed to be the advisor to the next head of the Yotsuba."
"So there is no convincing you to leave them, is there."
"I signed a deal with the devil a long time ago regarding the Yotsuba. I'll be with them for the rest of my life. But I am a demon after all. So I'll be damned if I don't turn the Yotsuba into a family worth serving."
"A demon signing a deal with the devil… Are you sure that you weren't the devil that the Yotsuba struck a deal with?"
"What is bringing on this exceptionally high evaluation of my ability?"
Archimedes pulls up in front of the Saegusa household and helps Mayumi off before taking off his helmet.
"Let's just say that I may have been watching a certain demon I know more than he realizes."
Mayumi quickly places a light peck on Archimedes' cheek before dashing up to her front door. She turns and sticks her tongue out at Archimedes before heading inside.
Archimedes shakes his head and chuckles before getting back on his motorcycle and heading home.
"Why is Miyuki working so intensely right now?" Mayumi asks Archimedes as he brings her a cup of freshly brewed tea.
They were currently in the student council room, and in full swing preparations for the 9 Schools competition. They were so swamped that even Archimedes had to help them with preparations, along with keeping refreshments available.
"Tatsuya got called to the counseling suite regarding his entrance exam. She is just angry that they are suspecting him of purposefully doing badly on the practical portion."
"It's only natural. After all, the gap between his scores are insane." Hattori says, not looking up from his work.
Hattori and Archimedes have become friendlier with each other, bonding over the shared teasing they received from Mayumi.
"Try explaining that to Miyuki." Archimedes sighs, sliding a cup of coffee across the center table to Hattori.
"In the end, it's the test that's faulty. It's not able to properly gauge his abilities. Besides, Tatsuya doesn't seem like the type of person that would do that. The teachers just don't know him well enough to see that." Hattori responds, graciously accepting the drink.
"How do the competition CADs look?" Suzune asks, setting down the mobile terminal she had previously been talking on.
"They look fine on paper, but I still want to take a look in person. Azusa is supposed to bring me one to look at after she finishes double checking the inventory reports."
"Alright. Hattori, how is our venue shaping up?"
"Reservations are all taken care of. Miyuki-San is currently taking care of room assignments."
"I'm done typing up all of support staff positions." Mayumi chimes in.
"Good, send it to me." Suzune orders.
"Alrighty, now what should I do?"
"Just sit there and look pretty for now."
Mayumi puffs up her cheeks before starting to sip at her tea.
"Mayumi."
"Yes, Rin?"
"Why is Archimedes on the list for the engineering support staff?"
"Oh, we didn't have enough people on it so I put his name down! We are still short though…"
Suzune looks to Archimedes for confirmation.
"Go ahead and leave me on there. Miyuki is competing so I was going to be there anyways." Archimedes says as Azusa walks in.
"Archimedes, I brought one of the wrist models. Is that okay?" She asks, setting the CAD down in front of Archimedes.
"Yeah that works just fine, thanks Azusa."
"Are you sure you are comfortable maintaining other's CADs?" Suzune asks.
Archimedes runs his fingers over the surface of the CAD, drawing out the residual Psions.
"Yeah, I'll be fine. I'm not the best at maintenance, but I am definitely good enough for what we need."
Archimedes grabs a small can of compressed air out from under his chair and gently sprays it into the various depressions of the CAD.
"I'm decent at the initial setup for CADs and regular coding, but I am very good at physical maintenance. Speaking of which, I'm going to have some of my tools brought over so do you think I can have someone bring me down to where all the competition CADs are?"
"Sure, I'll bring you ba-" Azusa starts.
"I can bring him down since I'm not doing anything. After all you are busy with trying to find more people for the support staff, right A-chan?" Mayumi interrupts.
"President! Please don't call me that!" Azusa proclaims with a fluster.
Mayumi winks at Azusa before getting out of her chair and walking out the door with Archimedes.
After they get a sufficient distance from the council room, Mayumi speaks up.
"That thing you were doing in the council room with the CAD, that was necromancy wasn't it?" Mayumi asks.
Archimedes nods his head as he holds up his free hand. Psions begin to swirl between his fingers, adjusting their path as he moves his fingers back and forth.
"Yeah, my Necromancy lets me control stray Psions and assimilate them. CADs naturally build up residual Psions as they are used. It isn't a huge deal if it's the same person using it over and over again, but multiple people using it can slow down your casting time."
"Good to know… but I am asking more because your eyes aren't black."
Archimedes sticks his tongue out as he quickly pops one of his contacts out before putting it back in.
"Well that was anti-climactic. I also assume you are speaking so freely because you are in control of the school's security system."
"50-meter radius centered on us along with the student council room are under my control. No one can get close without me knowing."
"You're no fun. You take the excitement out of everything." Mayumi says with a pout as she swats at his braid.
"I'd rather be boring and safe than being exciting but careless."
"So… What is it that you are planning on doing here?" Mayumi asks.
The room that houses the Competition CADs is white and sleek, with the CADs locked behind gates placed uniformly on shelves. The size and shape of the CADs vary greatly, from the regular bracelet model to gun shaped ones. There are far more CADs than would be needed for the competition, due to backlog as well as extras in case something goes wrong.
Archimedes pulls a rolling chair to the center of the room. He sits down and slows his breathing.
"Mayumi, focus all your attention on the information dimension."
Mayumi focuses as best she can, feeling out for the psions in her immediate area.
While she is unable to feel the world around her like Archimedes or see the information dimension like Tatsuya, as a magician she is still able to perceive Psion activation.
She can feel as Psions begin to move from the CADs to Archimedes. The feeling she gets from it almost nauseating, as the Psions move like waves on the ocean as they approach Archimedes. This event last a few minutes, finally ending as the last few straggling Psions come to a rest.
"What did you do?" Mayumi asks in a bit of a daze.
The feeling of all those Psions moving, while not necessarily unpleasant, was not something Mayumi had been expecting.
"I flushed out all of the Psions that were residing in the CADs and brought them into myself."
"All of the Psions that were built up in the CADs… They are all a part of you now?" Mayumi questions, dumbstruck.
Archimedes already had a monstrous number of Psions naturally, the fact that he could artificially inflate his Psion count even further was insane.
"For now. They will naturally begin to scatter as time goes on. Better that way than them clogging up a CAD."
Mayumi sighed a bit in relief at that remark. If Archimedes had been able to continuously amass Psions, he would be like nothing the magic community had ever seen before, not that he wasn't already. But as she felt the relief of this realization, a troubling thought crossed her mind.
"How is it that you are able to take the mental strain of controlling all of that?"
Most modern Magicians relied heavily on their CADs for Psion control while casting. It was still essential for a Magician to have excellent Psion control in order to quickly and effectively cast spells, but even the best Magicians could only control a paltry amount compared to Archimedes.
"The problem is that you are thinking of it from the accepted view point of magic. Psions are the 'how' of magic. They are what Magicians use to change the world around them. But my Necromancy is not really magic. For me, Psions are a pathway. They connect me to the world around me. I can feel those connections, just as you feel your arm when you touch or grab something. Casting Necromancy is basically just a way of waking my body up, reviving it from a more numb state.
Having Necromancy in play all the time is impossible for me. There is simply too much information for me to process over a long period of time. However, the connection I have is still there when Necromancy is not cast. I can feel the connection trying to re-establish itself when I am not using Necromancy, like little sparks along my spine. I suspect that rather than casting a spell that allows me to take advantage of my Necromancy, I am instead dispelling a spell that keeps my senses in check."
Mayumi nods slowly. While it was still difficult to wrap her mind around this, she at least had a good idea of the implications.
"So I guess you could say that the term 'information body' applies quite literally for you."
"You know, I have never thought of it that way. I suppose you're right, I move Psions in the same manner as I move any other part of my physical body."
"Its ironic that you say that when your real body doesn't exist in the information dimension."
"Yeah, it's those kinds of oddities that make me wish I could remember exactly what Necromancy is."
Mayumi immediately raises her hands to her mouth before beginning to apologize profusely.
"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to bring up-"
"Mayumi, it's fine. Like I've said, I don't worry about the life I can't even remember. Some things would just be admittedly easier if I knew the 'why' along with the 'how.' It's all well and good that I can use Necromancy, but I still know almost nothing about why it works. That's part of the reason that the demon comment hit me so hard."
"You don't like that there are others out there that know more about what you are than you do."
"Exactly."
At that moment, a small drone carrying a toolbox flew into the room. It deposited the box down near Archimedes before flying right back out the way it came.
"I am going to get working on the physical maintenance now. Feel free to stick around if you want."
Archimedes doesn't wait for a response, and immediately gets started cleaning the CADs. Mayumi moves the chair Archimedes has vacated and sits down, earnestly watching him work. Archimedes is extremely gentle and precise with his every movement, carefully cleaning inside every depression of the CADs. The way he goes about cleaning is fluid, almost hypnotically so. Mayumi soon forgets even the passage of time as she watches Archimedes go about this simple task.
Exams pass without incident and Archimedes finds himself slowly being sucked more and more into helping plan the Nine Schools competition. He becomes a sort of assistant to Azusa, helping her sort and assign the competition CADs to the current competitors.
Currently, Archimedes is sitting in class going through some of the research on ancient cultures that the school has. His study is interrupted, however, by Mayumi entering the classroom. The teacher glances up at who entered, but quickly turns back after seeing who it was.
Mayumi's retrieval of Archimedes had become so routine that no one bothered to question it at this point. She motions for Archimedes to follow her, who promptly joins her in the hall.
"I assume you know what I am here about." Mayumi says as they begin walking.
"I don't. Should I?"
Mayumi sighs in resignation.
"While I'm not surprised that you haven't been told yet, it's still concerning."
"Mayumi. What happened?"
"The Yotsuba family head, Yotsuba Maya, just named you as the official advisor to the next family head."
Archimedes stops in his tracks.
"She what?"
Archimedes' tone wasn't one of shock, nor was it one of excitement.
This was an Archimedes that Mayumi had not seen yet. His voice was filled with rage, and Mayumi could even feel his Necromancy begin to affect her own Psions. His body language was tense, and his face was twisted into a scowl.
The closest thing she had seen to this was when he was talking about Ren and Rin. But even then he seemed more disgusted than angry.
This display only lasted a few moments, with Archimedes quickly reining himself back in.
"Mayumi, I'll talk to you about this more later. Right now I need to speak with Maya."
Mayumi was shocked by his delivery of this statement. Not only had he just addressed the head of what was quite possibly the most powerful clan in Japan by her first name, he had spat the name out with venom. As if he detested the mere action of speaking her name.
With that, Archimedes walked off at a brisk pace. Mayumi didn't even bother trying to follow him, she was more than smart enough to realize that getting involved with whatever was going on between Archimedes and Yotsuba Maya was a horrible notion.
None of the normal staff dare to get in the way of Archimedes as he storms through the compound. The staff that are sensitive to magic cower as he approaches, the storm of Psions surrounding him straining their senses.
He bursts into Maya's office, the woman in question sitting in her chair with a mocking smile on her face, clearly expecting Archimedes.
"It's good to see you, Archimedes. I trust you have been well?"
The security system clamps down over the windows and doors in response.
"Well, that brings back memories. You haven't done that since the first time we met here."
"Maya, why did you break our agreement without consulting me first?" Archimedes demands, barely reigning his anger in.
"Why should I need to consult you when I make decisions about the good of the Yotsuba clan? Do not let your new title get to your head."
"Don't play games with me." Archimedes growls, slamming his hands on her desk.
"I agreed to legitimize my connection with the Yotsuba through either marriage or appointment at a time that was beneficial to both of us. Yet you decide to choose a time that is not only disadvantageous to me, but would also appear to only serve you in getting to see me angry."
"I will admit that being able to see you angry played into my not consulting you first." Maya relinquishes with a sickening smirk.
"However, you are failing to see the inherent benefits of naming you at this time."
"Then please, enlighten me." Archimedes says, falling into a chair behind him.
"The eldest Saegusa girl, you two are close, yes?"
Archimedes' posture stiffens in his seat.
"What does Mayumi have to do with this?" He asks, his voice eerily level.
"Your previous standing would only allow you to become a good friend to her. Now, with a legitimized connection to the Yotsuba family at a high level, you can pursue her as far as you wish. In fact…"
Maya slides a terminal across her desk. Archimedes doesn't even bother to pick it up, instead just connecting to it with Necromancy. It was an email folder, filled with dozens of marriage applications from throughout the Hundred Families. Most notable of such was one from the Saegusa house regarding Mayumi.
"Of course, if you have no desire for Mayumi beyond friendship, they are more than enough other suitable women in the Hundred Families. Not to mention you could always marry directly into the Yotsuba family."
"What happened? What did you find?"
"Whatever do you mean? I just wanted to help you. After all, the happier you are here the more likely you are to stay."
"Maya." Archimedes states in a low voice as the lights begin to flicker, his eyes locked with hers.
Archimedes' eyes had always been disconcerting to Maya. There was something otherworldly and alien within those dark pits. And as time went on and Maya discovered more about exactly what Archimedes was, they only served to unnerve her even more.
She knew she had to give him something, or else he may start tearing through the Yotsuba servers trying to find out why she acted. But if she gave him too much he would try to find out what her source is.
"We found an incomplete copy of a form identifying you."
Maya opens the said document on her personal terminal, pushing it to the terminal she had passed to Archimedes.
Incomplete had been putting it lightly. The only things that were comprehensible in the document were a picture of a child who admittedly looked a lot like Archimedes and a short excerpt that described his magic.
"Necromancy- gives the user the ability to dominate and assimilate systems for a period of time. While the period of time varies in length-"
After that the document just devolved into unreadable computer errors.
"And this alone was enough to spur you into making a hasty decision?" Archimedes asks, clearly unconvinced.
"No, but it's point of origin was. It was part of a leak stemming from a breach of USNA military servers. We would have had the whole document but the files were corrupted during the transfer."
"You should know by now that I feel no connection to who I was before I was found."
"For now at least. But who knows if that will hold up as we delve deeper into that very past. That's why I want you to start making personal connections now, before we look even further. You are a Yotsuba now, and I can't have you abandoning us.
After all, your Necromancy meshes very conveniently with our studies into Mind Manipulation Magic. It would be a shame if we had to kill you for trying to leave."
"You assume you could kill me?"
"Yes. I have no doubts that we could. In fact, the only issue I can foresee if we ever decided to do so is finding you. You have proven to be quite skilled at disappearing when you need to."
"Well, rest assured that my loyalties lie with the Yotsuba. I don't see that changing any time soon."
"I'm pleased to hear you say that, but I still must insist that you start meeting with at least some of the marriage candidates. You must at least make introductions."
"I'm not-"
"This is a duty of yours as the next advisor to the Yotsuba. It's non-negotiable. At some point you must produce an heir to carry on your magic and the person who bears that heir will be someone approved by the Yotsuba. Your feelings on the matter are irrelevant. You should know that arranged marriages are common in the magic community. You are lucky that I am allowing you to choose from a list of candidates."
"… Fine. Are we done then?"
"No. You have a marriage interview that you will be attending with Hayama tonight."
"This soon? Who is it with?"
"The Saegusa Clan head, Saegusa Kouichi. Hayama will act as your legal guardian and representative of the Yotsuba in my place."
"Are you truly considering a union between the Saegusa and Yotsuba Clans?"
"Why not? Kouichi and I were to be married at one point. There is no reason that the Saegusa and Yotsuba clans can't have a marriage between them once more."
"Yeah, no reason other than the fact that we are the two most influential Clans in Japan and fierce rivals."
"Think of it like Romeo and Juliet. Two heirs of feuding families fall in love and eventually bring those clans together."
"Yeah, expect Romeo and Juliet didn't have an arranged marriage. There is also the issue that they brought their families together because they both committed suicide."
"Don't worry about the small issues."
"I'd say my death is a pretty large issue!"
"You at least understand what I mean, even if you don't like my comparison."
"I do..."
"Then we're done. You can go now."
Archimedes gives a curt bow, turning to the door as he lifts the security system lockdown. He stops just as he is about to leave.
"Aunt Maya, I hope you will start sharing more with me. If I am going to be the advisor to the next head, I will need to know all that the Yotsuba knows."
He then gives Maya a knowing smile.
"After all, it's not good to continue telling me half-truths. If it continues to happen, I may even have to use my status to learn the whole story on my own."
Archimedes then left, shutting the door behind him.
Maya lets out a deep breath. While she was extremely thankful for her luck finding two monsters to add to the Yotsuba, dealing with them was exhausting. Archimedes especially so. Tatsuya could at least be placated using Miyuki, but Archimedes was far more difficult to handle. Maya had unquestionably gotten off quite easily this time. She had expected more, but was quite happy with how easy it had been to appease him. The Saegusa girl appeared to be quite important to him, and this was not a opportunity Maya was going to let slip by.
Maya chuckles. It was almost comical that the Archimedes that she has had so many issues with in the past had been tamed by a girl he has known for less than half a year. It was comforting to know that even a monster like him had chinks in his armor.
After all, even the USNA had been able to contain him.
Archimedes' eyes flash through Maya's mind, sending a shiver down her spine. Archimedes had always been a wild card; an unknown child with an undocumented ancient magic, one even she had been unable to find any information on.
Until recently.
Suddenly, Maya's secret weapon had born fruit and gave her information on what Archimedes was, including where to find the document she showed him. However, this unto itself was strange. She had not sought out this information, it was given to her by the system itself.
However, that fact paled in comparison to what was containing do in the documents she had been given.
These were highly classified documents, things usually only available to high ranking generals and politicians. They chronicled a period of a year, starting 8 months before he washed up in Japan. And the details were… Horrific. Human experimentation, torture, and a long list of casualties. The lengths that the people had experimented on him had gone to seemed excessive, even to Maya. But it was the lengths that the USNA went to in order to cover up and remedy this incident that cemented her decision to announce Archimedes' position.
The USNA had secretly executed a number of high ranking officials following Archimedes' escape from the people who had been experimenting on him, as well as a large number of other involved parties.
That was what scared her the most. None of the persons involved were jailed or even saw a court room. They were all executed by the USNA's STARS unit without even the slightest ripple in the media. And all of that was done after Archimedes had shown up in Japan, his position and status unknown to the USNA. The authority that this led one believe Archimedes' family has was ungodly.
It also pointed to the assumption that the USNA would want Archimedes back, no matter the cost.
Therefore, Maya had decided to begin serious attempts to tie Archimedes down to Japan, and more specifically the Yotsuba.
It was this event that showed how different Maya's monsters are. Tatsuya wields an unstoppable power that can tear through anything that gets in his way. If he got serious, there was no one in the world that could defeat him.
Archimedes on the other hand held power that was far more useful in situations short of combat. And Maya was not just considering Necromancy as his sole power at this point. Archimedes' family clearly held power in the form of influence. This of course was not a power Archimedes had access to at this point, but it was undoubtedly one he would gain eventually. When that happened, Maya would be at a decided disadvantage against him.
Maya takes a sip of tea, collecting her thoughts.
While this information definitely forced Maya's hand a bit, it did not change the fact that Archimedes was her monster. She would not tolerate anyone other than her holding power over him.
Even she had to take drastic measures.
Hayama is waiting outside the door when Archimedes leaves.
"Did you and Maya-sama have a productive talk?"
"Productive is one way of putting it. Not what I would call it though. A fork is more accurate. Whatever Maya decides to do next will determine how our relationship progresses.
Now, Aunt Maya said I have a marriage interview?"
"You do. But first, allow me to delay you for a moment." Hayama reaches out to Archimedes, adjusting his collar and smoothing his clothes.
"If you are truly meant to become the advisor to the next family head, you must carry yourself as such. It is vital that you keep a level head and a proper appearance at all times. This is especially true with things that upset you a great deal."
"I know. This was a lapse in judgement on my part."
"It's perfectly fine. You are still young after all. Just keep in mind that there are many watching your every move, especially right now."
Hayama finishes working on Archimedes' clothes, visibly pleased with his work.
"I suppose I should start calling you Sensei now that Aunt Maya has announced my position."
Hayama responds with a light chuckle.
"Hardly. I am but a mere servant. I am hardly deserving of being called such by a future leader of the Saegusa clan."
"I must disagree with you on that point, but this a discussion for another day."
"I look forward to it. Now, shall we be off?"
Archimedes nods and the two begin walking to a waiting car.
The two are met by a servant as they pull up to the Saegusa household. They are led inside and escorted to an interior sitting room. It isn't long before someone enters the room to greet them.
"I'm sorry for keeping you waiting. It's a ple…"
The one who entered was an astonished Mayumi.
"Archimedes? What are you doing here? Does this have something to do with your new position?"
"To an extent, yes. You weren't told that I was coming?"
"No, I was expecting…"
Mayumi's eyes go wide as she realizes what is happening. However, she is unable to comment as a man appears behind her.
"My apologies. I was just finishing up something when I was informed of your arrival."
The man was dressed in a sharp black suit with dark tinted sunglasses concealing his eyes.
"It's no issue, Saegusa-dono."
"Hayama. It's a pleasure to see you again."
"The pleasure is all mine, I hope you can forgive Maya-sama not coming here herself."
"It's perfectly fine. Maya is busy after all."
After they exchange these pleasantries, Kouichi turns to Archimedes.
"And you must be Archimedes. It's nice to finally meet you. I have heard a lot about you from Mayumi."
"All good things, I hope." Archimedes responds, giving a polite bow as he does so.
"You have nothing to worry about. Mayumi praised you to no end."
Kouichi once again turned to Hayama.
"This may seem unorthodox, but would you mind if I brought Archimedes on a quick walk before we get started?"
"Not at all. Please take as long as you need."
Kouichi gives Hayama a gentle grin.
"Thank you. Feel free to ask Mayumi anything you need to while you wait."
Kouichi then walks back out the door, gesturing for Archimedes to follow.
"So. Advisor to the next family head, and a foreigner no less. Tell me, how did you manage that?"
Archimedes and Kouichi arenow walking through an outdoor garden. The chirping of birds combined with a barrier Kouichi put up ensures that they won't be heard.
"What can I say? I made a good impression on Aunt Maya when we first met. She took me on as a protégé and now here I am. And regarding my nationality, I am Japanese for all intents and purposes."
"Of course, of course. I did not mean to question your status as a Japanese citizen, merely to praise you on your accomplishments in the face of such scrutiny."
"I am humbled by your words. However, I would not be where I am today if it weren't for my family's love and support. My accomplishments are just as much theirs as they are my own."
"You are far too modest. Maya is extremely picky. You must be considerably powerfully if she went so far as publicly branding you as a Yotsuba."
Archimedes' eyes narrow.
"What are you getting at?"
"I wish to know who you are, Shiba Archimedes. I am considering giving one of my precious daughters away to you after all. Usually, I would just want to know what your personality is like. Whether you would make a good match for Mayumi. However, I usually also have a good deal of information on her suitors. When it comes to you, the only things I can find are without substance. Grades, work regarding your grandfather's company, vacations with your family, your recruitment as Maya's protégé, and most recently your appointment as advisor to the next head of the Yotsuba. All good things, I might add, but nonetheless without substance.
Your history prior to adoption is unknown. Your magic is unknown due to interference from the Yotsuba. Your relationship with Maya is unknown. Even your public image is shockingly shallow. Despite all the attention you get from your position as heir to the Shiba Conglomerate, there are so many things about you that remain a secret."
"There are good reasons for all that."
"Which are?"
"Regarding my public image, it's simply because for the most part I keep out of the public eye. And even when I am questioned, I purposefully keep my answers just vague enough that nothing of real use or importance can be gleaned from what I say.
My relationship with Maya is simple give and take. I lend her my power, and she lends me the Yotsuba's. It's nothing more, nothing less. As you have probably surmised, the acquisition of a large stake in my Grandfather's company was simply to get to me.
My history before I was adopted is nonexistent because no one knows it, not even myself and the Yotsuba. We only have a few leads on my past, and even those were only recently discovered.
As for my magic, 1st High has me listed as a practitioner of a familiar-type ancient magic right? That is more or less correct."
"I'm afraid that I will need more information than that if I am going to consider you as a marriage candidate for Mayumi."
Archimedes stays silent for a few moments, rapping his ring against his leg.
"Tell me, what are the odds of the Saegusa family accepting me as Mayumi's partner?"
"Well, your primary competition is Juumonji Katsuo and Itsuwo Hirofumi."
"The brother of the Strategic Class Magician?"
"The very one. Regarding the two, you likely know that Mayumi only sees Juumonji as a friend. Mayumi doesn't dislike Itsuwo, but she is not fond of him either. However, neither of their positions can be overlooked. That is not to say that your position in the Yotsuba is something that can be disregarded either. Out of the three, I would have to say that the one Mayumi is fondest of is yourself. But without more information about you, I am reluctant to pursue an engagement between the two of you."
Archimedes runs his fingers through his hair, mulling over what to do next.
"How about we make a deal? I will tell you about my magic as well as what is known of my past. In exchange, you will use the resources of the Saegusa Clan to act on that information to try to discover more about my past. All information gained from said investigation will be reported to me. Any relevant information that I or the Yotsuba Clan discovers will be communicated through me to the Saegusa Clan and vice versa. Does that sound good to you?"
"Any specific reason as to why all this information will flow through you?"
"I will serve as the advisor to the next head of the Yotsuba Clan. That position was carefully selected so that I would have a great balance of power over the Yotsuba as well as freedom to do as I wish. The deal I am offering you is between the Saegusa and myself, not the Yotsuba. I have my own interests, separate from the Yotsuba."
"I see. Very well, I will use the Saegusa's resources appropriately based on what you tell me. So what is this magic that pushed Maya to appoint an outsider to such a powerful position?"
"First of all, what I wield is not strictly 'magic.' It is far more akin to the so called 'superpowers' of old. My power has no activation sequence and does not change Eidos. Due to my lost memories, I do not remember a good deal about my power. What I do remember is how to use it and that it is known as Necromancy. It gives me the ability to control any system that I have access to, be it direct or indirect. On top of that, I have a autonomous familiar named Eureka that was born from my blood.
Regarding my past, the only lead I have right now is a corrupted leak from a USNA military server. The document was largely unreadable, but did contain a basic description of my Necromancy. That combined with the wreckage of the plane I was on points to someone within the USNA's military not wanting me to get to Japan alive."
"Plane wreckage?"
"Did I forget to mention it? I apparently in a plane crash before I washed up. Well, I say crash. The plane was likely shot out of the sky. No one claimed the wreckage and the black box was unrecoverable. The only thing that was able to be gathered from the wreckage was that it was a popular private jet."
"Well, that is all certainly intriguing, but I still don't know much about about this 'Necromancy.'"
The black form of Eureka flows off Archimedes' ring, wrapping around Archimedes' hand in the form of a small garden snake.
"This is Eureka. He is a fully sentient familiar that can change his physical form at will. Say hello, Eureka."
"Salutations."
"As for my Necromancy, the proof is in your vision."
Various different documents begin scrolling through Kouichi's sight. It's almost entirely incomprehensible, either because of the speed at which it passes or the language. As this happens, Archimedes begins to speak again.
"My Necromancy is unique, even in the world of superpowers. I have a great deal of fine control over my Psions, which is in all likelihood also the reason that I can't use conventional magic myself."
A heavy weight passes through Kouichi's chest, forcing him to exhale all the air in his lungs.
"I see you are quite sensitive to Psions, as expected of a magician of your caliber."
"What did you…"
"I assure you that it wasn't harmful, just uncomfortable. I just sent a cluster of Psions about the size of a beach ball through your chest. I'm sure you can approximate how dense it was by the feeling you just experienced. I can create about 20 of those at any given time. And any system they touch, be it electronic or biological, can be brought under my control. That's exactly what I have done with your eye. I am currently just streaming documents from my terminal to it, but I can do much more."
"What is the range of this power of yours?" Kouichi asks, catching his breath.
"It's difficult to move my Psions further than about 200 meters, so the initial access point needs to be within that range. Distance after that depends on what I am controlling. My Psions can travel an extremely long distance in electric cables, I actually haven't found the exact limit to the distance it works over yet. I have gotten as far as the West coast of the USNA using the Submarine Cables. The problem is that it is both time consuming and mentally exhausting for me. It took more than 6 hours for my Psions to reach the USNA, and by then I was spent mentally.
Any simple system that I take control of can get about 120 Kilometers away from me before I start to lose control. That includes things like animals and electronic devices.
Of course, reanimated corpses also fall under that category."
"I was wondering due to the name. So you really can raise the dead?"
"If I desire. I tend to avoid it if at all possible though."
"Any reason for that?"
"Corpses aren't exactly inconspicuous, especially when they are shambling down the street. Certainly if I needed to raise a large, semi-competent army on extremely short notice they would be a great choice. However, I like to keep my power as secret as possible."
"How many people would you say know about Necromancy?"
"14 people know that I personally have this power. I'm not sure how many people know that Necromancy truly exists. Clearly at least part of USNA's government knows that it exists and that the person I used to be was a user of it. Blanche's senior leadership also appears to know that Necromancy exists, I learned that when I met the Japan branch commander."
"That man is currently incarcerated, correct?"
"He is. He poses no threat of any kind at this point. Our meeting apparently shattered his mind. He apparently thinks I am the Devil himself, come to claim his soul. I have been receiving updates from the prison he is housed in in order to ensure he doesn't threaten my secret."
"You have done well. Are you sure there is no way I can persuade you to leave the Yotsuba behind and join the Saegusa?"
Archimedes sighs wistfully.
"Had I been with any other clan, I would have likely taken you up on your offer. However, the Yotsuba have something that I want that only they can provide."
"And you are not willing to part with it no matter what?"
"I would be a fool to do so. You will understand when you find out about it."
"It's that impressive? Should I be concerned?"
Archimedes chuckles.
"It's far too late to be concerned. However, my involvement should be reason enough to quell your worries. I won't allow Maya to go too far."
"You believe that you can stop Maya if she decides to act?"
"If I were acting alone, I would be hesitant to say yes. The days are gone when Necromancers could raise legions of the undead and overwhelm their opponents with sheer numbers. However, as technology has advanced so have our techniques. I have no doubts that I could cripple the Yotsuba or any organization for that matter. Security and advanced systems are pointless in the face of Necromancy. I can disrupt communications, corrupt databases, even change intelligence reports in transit with relative ease.
However, I would be powerless to confront Maya directly.
Necromancy has no direct combat potential. I of course could throw legion upon legion of controlled entities at her, but Maya would be able to cut through all of them with relative ease. The most I could do would be trying to attack her physically myself. Her magic would keep me from using a weapon against her, and we would be at a stalemate until one of us managed to use a weapon against the other. But even then I would be far more limited in what weapons I could use."
"A stalemate? What would be stopping Maya from killing you on the spot?"
"Her inability to use magic against me. Well, I should say the inability to use magic on me in general."
"I'm afraid I don't understand."
"Magic is unable to be used on me, period. I do not exist in the information dimension. I can still be hit, shot, and stabbed but any direct magical attacks against me are unable to target me. Using movement type magic to throw things at me still works perfectly fine but as soon as any type of magic comes into contact with me, it simply ceases to be."
"Do you have any idea why this might be?"
"None."
"Well I can certainly see why the USNA had such an interest in you. Mayumi has certainly done well in finding an interesting suitor. Very well. I will accept you as a marriage candidate for my daughter. I look forward to learning more about you, Shiba Archimedes."
