The Diversion Plan

The A Association group chat flashed with an urgent notification.

A message from Palette Princess had just landed, accompanied by a discreet video file.

Palette Princess (Temperance): "Heads up, everyone. Looks like the British government has already picked up Kaito Tanaka's trail. Just received this from my network. Take a look."

The attached video clip played for the group. It was shaky, clearly recorded surreptitiously, likely from a hidden camera or a very discreet phone. It showed a busy high school hallway. Two men in dark suits, clearly identifiable as agents, were questioning a group of students. The audio was surprisingly clear.

Agent Griffen's voice, firm and polite: "Are there any Japanese transfer students in your class?"

Then, a soft, hesitant voice from one of the students: "Kaito Tanaka. He's been absent for a few days now. We haven't been able to contact him."

The video then zoomed subtly on Agent Griffen's face, his expression shifting from calm inquiry to a flicker of clear triumph, a barely contained excitement.

AluM7 (High Priestess): "They caught on so fast. I had underestimated their reach, or perhaps, their luck."

SkyHigh Roller (Magician): "So, the Crown knows about our reluctant wielder. What's the play here? Do we intervene?"

Cipher (Moon): "Silence them. Swift and clean. Remove the agents before they connect more dots. It's the most secure option."

John Curator (Tower): "Absolutely not, Moon! That's a rash and incredibly dangerous move. Murdering government agents, especially this early in our operations, would only draw massive, undeniable attention directly to us. We'd go from a hidden society to a global manhunt."

Bookworm_Reg (Hermit): "I concur with Tower. Beyond the logistical nightmare, I'm personally against such a drastic measure at this stage. We are a society seeking knowledge and influence, not a shadowy cabal of assassins."

Larry the Lush (Sun): "Alright, alright, hold on. There's got to be a viable middle ground. What about creating false leads? Lead them on a goose chase instead of a body count."

FXUnicorn_Cat (Fortune): "How exactly do we do that, Sun? Drop a fake treasure map in their laps?"

Cipher (Moon): "Actually, that's not a bad idea, Sun. We could blow up a few buildings. Nothing too destructive, just enough to create a massive diversion. Make their attention and resources focus on finding the 'terrorists' instead of the mysteries they stumbled upon."

Cipher: "I've been developing a cool masking spell, perfect for diverting attention from specific objects or even locations. I'm eager to test it out. AluM7, you could hack some security cameras to create a convincing feed, and then we send in a drone to stage a fake terrorist attack using a bomb or two."

John Curator (Tower): "Blowing up buildings? Moon, that's hardly 'nothing too destructive'! That's still a major act of domestic terrorism! Are we truly considering drawing the ire of an entire government to that extent?"

AluM7 (High Priestess): "The hacking would be feasible. A drone could be acquired. The masking spell sounds intriguing, Moon. But the collateral... civilian casualties are likely, even with a 'fake' attack.'"

Larry the Lush (Sun): "I'm with Tower on this. We're a new group, we can't afford to be labeled terrorists right out of the gate. We need subtlety."

SkyHigh Roller (Magician): "Subtlety is fine, but so is showing force when necessary. A well-placed distraction could buy us valuable time. We need to secure our assets, and Kaito Tanaka is currently an exposed asset."

Bus Drifter on Rent (Hierophant): "If we were to pursue such a... diverting action. I could empower the bomb with my magic, making it significantly more destructive to the structure. Targeting their intelligence headquarters, for instance. We could aim for a less populated part of the building, trigger evacuation or shelter alarms, and then deliver the empowered bomb."

A sudden silence fell over the group chat, the implications of Dante's words hanging heavy in the digital space. Then, in an unusual turn of events, a new message from a usually more reserved member broke the tension.

Lord Fitzwilliam (Emperor): "Their inheritance tax was robbery. It's time to repay the favor, for my ancestor's sake."

Another member, seemingly resigned to the escalating stakes, typed a final, stark message.

FXUnicorn_Cat (Fortune): "We're really going to do this, aren't we?"