Arata was Miyo’s cousin and the next head of the Usubas, a family who had long inherited unique powers capable of affecting the human mind. Arata himself possessed the supernatural ability to control illusions. He was the perfect person to ask about the mysterious phenomenon Miyo had just witnessed.
“I see. Hmm.”
He gently closed his eyes and seemed to mull over what Miyo had told him.
“Hard to say, I’m afraid. Commander Kudou, did you sense any supernatural abilities at the time? If Miyo used her Gift without knowing it, there should be some lingering traces.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure. Miyo’s gotten much better at controlling her Gift. Even if she did used her Dream Sight, it would be hard to quickly pick up on it clearly like I did last year.”
“Well, well, well.” At Kiyoka’s reply, Arata’s lips curled up into a grin. “Miyo, did you just hear that? It sounds to me like your ability to use your Gift has surpassed one of the greatest Gift-users of our generation. Isn’t that lovely?”
How could he say something like that? Miyo admonished her cousin with a start.
“Arata!”
Like Arata had said, Kiyoka was considered the most powerful and skilled Gift-user in the current age. It was absurd to think she would surpass him at all, and nothing would make her more ashamed than knowing she outshined her own husband.
But…
She had to admit that a small part of her, an ever-so-tiny section of her heart, was happy.
While she had absolutely no desire to use her supernatural abilities of her own volition, that didn’t mean she was going to neglect her training, either. She could feel genuine joy over the knowledge she was improving.
Miyo placed her hands on her cheeks, trying desperately to stop her feelings from showing on her face, and Kiyoka placed a hand on Miyo’s head without saying a word.
“…Well? Give us your take on this.”
Urged on by Kiyoka, Arata shrugged.
“I don’t have a take, frankly. If Miyo’s experience didn’t leave any traces, then there’s nothing for me to say. Though I am intrigued by what she described. An illusion or a daydream of silhouettes resembling you two? Fascinating. And on top of that, it’s possible the version Miyo saw of herself wasn’t actually her.”
“…That last part is just my impression. I can’t say anything for certain.”
That smile she saw—as far as Miyo knew, she had never smiled like that before, but there was always the chance that was how she came across to other people.
“Speaking for myself at least, I’ve never once found you ‘bewitching.’ I think ‘charming’ would be a better word for it than anything else.”
“I would say the same myself. You always have an adorable smile, Miyo.”
“I—I see. Thank you very much…”
Miyo’s face grew hot from hearing both Kiyoka and Arata give her straightforward compliments one after another.
“Though I believe it’s very unlikely an outsider was showing this illusion to you. I would guess this was a daydream produced by your Dream Sight,” Arata said indifferently between sips of tea.
Kiyoka shot Arata a look, urging him to continue.
“It’s simple. The ability to show someone an illusion in the first place is characteristic of the Usubas’ power to interfere with the mind and spirit of others, and at present, I’m the only member of the Usubas who can manipulate illusions like that. Even if we assume there was someone capable of making Miyo see illusions, they would have to get past the barrier Commander Kudou has set up around this house. Targeting a specific person and showing them an illusion is impossible from a distance, so anyone trying to do that to Miyo would have to get close to her. And that’s impossible as long as the barrier is here.”
After eloquently stating his opinion on the matter, Arata once again took a sip of his tea with a casual look on his face. Kiyoka didn’t appear to have any objections to Arata’s view, and he crossed his arms with a solemn expression.
“That would mean…I used my Dream Sight without meaning to yet again.”
“There’s only so much you can do. Dream Sight is a special power. While you’ll be able to control it to some extent through training, it’s impossible to have full command over it. Like with Divine Revelation, which the emperor cannot use to see the future at will, Dream Sight is a power only the gods would normally be capable of wielding. It’s no surprise it’s too much for a mortal to handle.”
“Is that really how it is?”
“That it is.”
Miyo had gone pale at the thought she had let Dream Sight lose control again, but Arata’s words of support comforted her.
Even now, she had a hard time controlling Dream Sight, and there was much she did not understand about it. If not for Arata’s constant words of support, her abilities would have left her in a state of confusion and panic.
Miyo couldn’t help bemoaning the fact that fully awakening her power hadn’t also given her a complete understanding of how to use it. Still, all Gift-users had to confront their supernatural abilities from a young age and learn how to use them. This wouldn’t be any different for Miyo just because her powers were unique.
“In any case, your Dream Sight must have been showing you what you saw on purpose, so I think it would be best to assume there is something behind it.”
“As in…it was making a suggestion to her about the future?”
“No idea,” Arata replied to Kiyoka’s question offhandedly, turning to gaze at the garden. “It could be hinting at something…or it could have been showing the future itself. I’d say Prince Takaihito, with his mastery of his Divine Revelation powers, would be the one to ask about this rather than me.”
“Easier said than done. He’s not someone you can meet with at a moment’s notice.”
For now, the three of them could only exchange glances with one another, the answer still out of reach.
After watching Miyo head for the kitchen to wash the teapot and teacups, Kiyoka turned back to Arata.
“Well, what do you want? I’m assuming you have a compelling reason to be here.”
Despite Arata sitting in the living room as though perfectly at home, Kiyoka and Miyo hadn’t expected a visit from him today. Although Arata was continuing to assist Miyo with her training, he never showed up during the day when Kiyoka was at home.
This didn’t appear to be an emergency, so Kiyoka assumed Arata must have made a point of visiting because the man had some business with him.
Arata smiled slightly, seeming unconcerned.
“Fair enough… There’s nothing I can get past you, huh?”
“Like you even planned on hiding anything in the first place.”
“While perhaps not compelling per se, given you and Miyo will both be heading to the old capital soon, I thought I would report on the current situation before you depart.”
After saying this, Arata straightened his posture, prompting Kiyoka to tense up.
Kiyoka could surmise what was coming based on how Arata had spoken.
“Regarding the person in question, I still haven’t been able to get any lead on his whereabouts. I looked into his background but couldn’t turn up anything. I’m also working to stamp out the Gifted Communion’s remaining bases around the country, so I can only hope I’ll come across some clue in the process.”
“You infiltrated the Gifted Communion back when Usui was still around. Do you really not know anything?”
“Unfortunately not. While I did meet the man in question, he was hiding his face, so I wasn’t able to identify him. His presence is quite unusual, so I would instantly recognize him if we crossed paths.”
The Gifted Communion—
A group once led by Naoshi Usui, a member of an Usuba branch family who’d inherited the clan’s unique supernatural abilities and who had once been a marriage candidate for Miyo’s mother. Just last spring, the group had set the whole empire on edge, pushing the nucleus of the country to the brink of destruction.
Usui himself no longer presented a threat, as Arata had taken his life.
But that didn’t mean the Gifted Communion was completely neutralized. The remnants of the group were still active, and Usui had spent over ten years researching and establishing a wide range of techniques related to supernatural abilities. Usui had made use of several bases of operations during the years he’d lain low after fleeing the Usubas, and cleaning them out was no easy task.
The sheer number of bases was a problem, to say nothing of the fact they contained research reports as dangerous as any state secret.
With such delicate information at stake, the empire couldn’t simply delegate the rank and file to taking care of the remnants of the Gifted Communion.
Consequently, the burden had ultimately been placed on Arata, who was a primary party to the whole affair.
“Sorry. We should’ve sent more personnel from our end to help,” said Kiyoka.
“I doubt even you could have done anything about this situation, Commander. If anyone with even a passing knowledge of Gifts and ambitions of their own came across Usui’s diabolical research, they wouldn’t be able to stop themselves from trying it out.”
“But that’s also why the cleanup is taking forever,” said Kiyoka.
He had hoped to have more or less settled all this before he completely withdrew from the military. If worse came to worst, Kiyoka could take part in the cleanup even as a civilian. He didn’t want the embers of the Gifted Communion to smolder for much longer.
Not when the smallest of sparks could ignite new danger.
“I’d love to get ahold of a different lead,” said Arata.
“It would save a lot of time searching on our end if the person in question would just make a move of his own accord, but…”