On the 2nd of January 2097, the Ten Master Clans and 18 assistant houses received a letter from Yotsuba Maya. The contents were about the next Yotsuba clan leader and the news of the engagement. Shiba Miyuki would succeed Yotsuba Maya as the next clan leader and Shiba Tatsuya would be her fiancé. That afternoon, Masaki was called in by his father, Gouki. Gouki asked Masaki if he liked Miyuki, which Masaki tried to deny; but after repeatedly being asked, Masaki confessed he was deeply in love with Miyuki and that it was love at first sight. Masaki admitted that he only got to dance with her once and Gouki replied that at least he shouldn't be hated by her. Gouki informed Masaki that, 30 minutes previously he had received a message from the Yotsuba family. Masaki was not surprised by that because it's common to get messages from other 10MC houses. Gouki said the letter contained more than that. Gouki told Masaki that the Yotsuba family had elected Shiba Miyuki as their next clan leader. Masaki was shocked after hearing this, but was even more shocked when Gouki informed him that Shiba Miyuki was to marry her cousin Shiba Tatsuya. Masaki replied that it was impossible because they are siblings. However Gouki said in the message it stated that Tatsuya is Yotsuba Maya son. He was born from one of Maya's preserved cryogenic eggs. Masaki suspected that it must be a lie and Gouki agreed with him. That lie must have been created by the Yotsuba to enable Tatsuya and Miyuki's marriage. As a member of the 10MC, Gouki thought the Yotsuba wouldn't want to risk the loss of magic talent through incestuous marriage to future generations. Gouki now knew how Masaki felt about Miyuki and he decided to do something about that. Masaki's sister Akane would become the next leader of the Ichijou Clan so Masaki could marry Miyuki, since two clan heads can't marry. Saegusa Kouichi had been doing background checks on Miyuki and Tatsuya. He knew about Miyuki's ability through Nine Schools Competition and the Yokohama Incident. He also knew about Cocytus, even though he didn't know that magic's property (its range and size of impact) or its name. His researchers concluded that Cocytus was an instant killing magic that had similar effects as Meteor Stream on an anti-personnel level. Regarding Tatsuya, Kouichi found out about Tatsuya's decomposition, regrowth, and counter magic (gram demolition & gram dispersion) and had a report that there was a high probability that Tatsuya was the Strategic-Class Magician that caused Scorched Halloween. He also knew Tatsuya was close to 101 Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion that adopted flying magic during the events in Yokohama. However, Kouichi had no idea about Tatsuya being FLT's secret CAD engineer known as Taurus Silver. Kouichi already suspected Miyuki was a daughter of Yotsuba Miya even though he had no evidence. The only thing he did not know was Tatsuya being Maya's son. Kouichi worried about Tatsuya and Miyuki being part of the Yotsuba, but he was confident that one of them would eventually leave the Yotsuba. He assumed Tatsuya would be the one who would leave. Kouichi also assumed that even if Tatsuya left he may continue his connections with the Yotsuba. Kouichi believed he could persuade Tatsuya to understand the importance of the domestic magic power balance, but he had yet to develop a plan to do so. Kouichi got outflanked by Maya, since the engagement is not something that the other 10MC members can interfere with. He was regretting not interfering before that happened but Gouki's objection opened up a new possibility. Kouichi then called for his daughters Izumi, Kasumi and Mayumi. Kouichi told them that he received a letter from the Yotsuba, which drew Mayumi's immediate attention. He then revealed that Yotsuba Maya has appointed Shiba Miyuki as the next Yotsuba clan leader. All three of them were shocked after hearing this news. Mayumi already had suspicious that the sibling belonged to an Extra's Family whose ancestors were a product of the Fourth Magic Research Institute, but she didn't suspect that they were direct members of the Yotsuba clan. When Kouichi told them that Tatsuya and Miyuki were also engaged to each other, the three of them were even more shocked. Kouichi said Tatsuya and Miyuki were not siblings but apparently cousins, and Maya had announced that Tatsuya was her son. Mayumi was stunned after hearing that. Kouichi then mentioned about the formal petition made by Ichijou Gouki and asked each of them what they personally thought about Tatsuya. Kasumi simply said that she didn't know Tatsuya very well, but she knew that he is talented in magic engineering and sensed that he has formidable power. Izumi's reaction and choice of words were very interesting. When she talked about Tatsuya, she used very respectful words to describe him. It was similar to how Hayama talked about Tatsuya to Mitsugu or Maya. Kasumi was shocked by her sister's reverence toward Tatsuya. Mayumi opened her eyes widely and turned to listen to Izumi's statement. Izumi talked about Tatsuya's "stellar furnace", edited version of Phonon Maser and Invisible Bullet he created. She said Tatsuya was someone that she couldn't comprehend because she felt like he looked at matters differently from other people. She couldn't confirm if he had a unique eye similar to Mayumi's vision. Finally Izumi added that Tatsuya was not somebody that she could handle. She lost herself for a moment and added "If I had an ability to court / flirt with Tatsuya...... How can I let a man have Miyuki Senpai?" Even Kouichi grew concerned over Izumi's odd comments. When Kouichi asked Mayumi about Tatsuya, Kouichi noticed Mayumi's cheeks were turning red. Kouichi said to her that there would be no problem if Mayumi decided to married Tatsuya, assuming the Yotsuba were willing. Especially since there was only a two year age difference. After hearing that, Kasumi and Izumi strongly protested against the idea. This was because the announcement of the engagement was already formally announced, thus Tatsuya and Miyuki were now seen as a couple in the public eye. If Mayumi approached Tatsuya now it would not only ruin Miyuki’s reputation, but Mayumi would be viewed as a shameless women and seducer. Izumi and Kasumi agreed the engagement must have been approved by Miyuki, so she would not wish to break it herself. Kouichi then realized that the situation was even more delicate than he had previously thought. He then tells them to leave so he could think. Kouichi received a call from Gouki to discuss Tatsuya and Miyuki's engagement and what they could do to prevent it. Gouki said their engagement is not improper, but incestuous marriage would result in Tatsuya and Miyuki's children being less talented than their parents. Gouki thinks highly of Tatsuya because of Tatsuya's victory against his son, and his capable in engineering that lead to a victory for 1st high. Kouichi stated his intention to engage Mayumi and Tatsuya and that Mayumi herself had not objected when Kouichi asked about Tatsuya becoming her husband. Gouki then asked about the relationship between Hirofumi and Mayumi. Kouichi replied that both of them were not interested in each other. He was also concerned about Mayumi turning 20 years old soon and not being engaged yet. Gouki then mentioned his formal complaint to the Magic Association, however it was already too late because Maya won't change her mind. Gouki expected at least an opportunity for Masaki to be able to win over Miyuki's heart. In the end both of them decided to work together to try to end the engagement, and have Miyuki marry Masaki and Tatsuya marry Mayumi instead. Due to recent events, Hayama arranged for Miyuki, Minami and Tatsuya to move the Yotusba’s secondary residence in Tokyo, for safety reasons. They called the temple to arrange a meeting with Yakumo. Upon arrival they had to wait 30 minutes due to an unexpected visitor. Once the visitor was leaving Tatsuya was able to watch him from afar. "A bald elderly man" was Tatsuya's initial thoughts. He must be high up in the Buddhist faction, but Tatsuya changed his mind right away. The elderly man may have shaved his head, but he was wearing a luxury suit and a coat. Tatsuya thinks there may be a monk who wears a suit, but Tatsuya felt this old man was different. Tatsuya thinks the elderly man did not join the temple. He felt that the elderly man holds a great power/authority. The elderly man looked over his left shoulder, perhaps sensing Tatsuya's stare. The elderly man's left eye color was impure with white color. Because of the elderly man's behavior, Tatsuya felt a strong incongruity because if his left eye had a vision problem, normally he would look over his right shoulder. Tatsuya wondered whether the elderly man's left eye had an abnormal power. The elderly man turned away and headed towards the entrance. After Miyuki called to Tatsuya, Tatsuya recalled his attention. He had been focusing on the elderly man enough to lose his concentration. Tatsuya changed his mind while not knowing what he was fearing. After wishing each other happy new year, Yakumo congratulated them on their engagement, saying that they even managed to deceive him, which caused Miyuki to blush. Her face became tense when she tried to guess the meaning behind Yakumo’s words. Yakumo then proceeded to ask them what was the truth. Tatsuya simply told him what he was told, however Yakumo still had his suspicions. However Tatsuya proceeds to say that there was no way that he could know the truth of something that happened so long ago. They left the temple with Yakumo reminding Tatsuya that in the morning he would be taking part in some stronger training. Their relationship stayed the same despite what had happened, and Yakumo didn't intend to hold anything against the siblings. The next day Tatsuya went to Independent Magic Equipped Battalion’s Headquarters. It was strange to see an officer dressed casually like him. All the 101 members got promoted together. Fujibayashi was now a lieutenant, Sanada and Yanagi were both majors, Kazama was now a lieutenant colonel and Saeki also got promoted, but Tatsuya was still a Special Lieutenant. However their achievements, especially in Yokohoma, showed that they were a special force capable of turning an overwhelming situations. Kazama then asked Tatsuya if he could continue to count on his cooperation, especially since he has been publicly recognized as a Yotsuba. Tatsuya replied that there are no problems. (Note: This arrangement applies only for the 101 battalion, not for the defense forces in general). Kazama mentioned that the “climate” had not been stable recently, with several wars being sparked. Soon there would be conflict in east Asia and the world was approaching hard times. Kazama said that the position of the 101 battalion would stay the same regardless of this. They won’t be involved in providing strategies and advice in the case of conflicts. This is all due to Saeki. Due to the constant outbreaks of war, the Joint Chiefs were formed from the military commanders of the air force, ground force, and navy. This meant that it only took two hours to make the decision to activate material burst during the Yokohoma Invasion. After reconfirming their agreement, Tatsuya said goodbye to Kazama and decided to give Sanada, Yanagi and Yamanaka a visit. After visiting each one, apart from Yamanaka who was not in the base, he went to the cafeteria with Kyouko. He still felt uncomfortable being dressed in civilian clothes, while everyone else was wearing uniforms. Kyouko and Tatsuya talked about what had happened and Tatsuya mentioned that his life recently had been hectic. Kyouko then asked him if he is referring to his engagement. Tatsuya replied yes, and that the whole ordeal was unexpected. For him it is simply impossible to change their sibling relationship to that of lovers, however he was willing to try to get used to it. Kyouko then mentioned that her fiancé died during the battle of Okinawa. She had decided to join the army to distract her from the loss. Shizuku’s mother gave Shizuku the news about Miyuki becoming the next heir of the Yotsuba clan and also about Miyuki and Tatsuya’s engagement. Shizuku’s mother has connections among 18 numbered families, and this is how she got the news so fast. Later Shizuku and Honoka were having tea in the living room. Shizuku told her about Miyuki becoming the next leader of the Yotsuba clan. Honoka was shocked after hearing that, but after thinking over the fact that Miyuki’s power and skill cannot be compared, she becomes less shocked. Shizuku then mentioned that she has more to say. She said she was hesitate to say it however she must. Shizuku told her about Tatsuya and Miyuki’s engagement. Honoka initially thought that it was a joke, but Shizuku had a very serious and stiff expression. Honoka realized that Shizuku was serious and she got out of her chair and ran. She was then caught by Shizuku, who struggled to contain her, causing her to lose her balance and fall to the ground. Honoka asked again if it’s true and then began to cry. Shizuku’s told her even though Miyuki’s feelings are different, Tatsuya only viewed Miyuki as a sister. Therefore Honoka still had a chance. She mentioned that Honoka had an option of becoming Tatsuya’s lover. However this would not be now, nor when Miyuki became the head of the Yotsuba clan, but when Miyuki and Tatsuya are married. Shizuku meant that Honoka could become Tatsuya's mistress. Shizuku asked Honoka if she was willing to give up on Tatsuya, Honoka replied she would not give up on him. Honoka knew that Tatsuya has exceptional magic and the Yotsuba would want him to leave behind offspring. The road for Honoka was now very difficult. She was not willing to give up on Tatsuya, however she didn’t want to snatch away Miyuki happiness. After that, Honoka laid in Shizuku's arms and wept.