Toaru Majutsu no Index Light Novel Volume 07/Chapter 3

Title - Chapter 3: イギリス清教　Anglican_Church.

Volume 07

Previous Chapter → 2

Next Chapter → 4

Part 1
The battle is over.

Kamijo thought, maybe it’s because the Amakusa are in a mess over losing Tatemiya, their leader. No fighting can be heard from afar, and the tension in the air is gone. These signs tell Kamijo that the battle is over. As they haven’t met up with Anieze, they don’t know the situation, but it seems like the Roman Catholics won. Otherwise, during that intense battle, more Amakusa members would have arrived as reinforcements.

He’s worried about both the Roman Catholics and the Amakusa, concerned about the number of casualties suffered. Regarding this, Stiyl’s reply is that, “There’s no deaths on both sides. Right now, the Roman Catholics are tying up the Amakusa members.” Actually, he’s able to transmit messages through cigarette smoke, that’s why he can be so confident about it. There seems to be some meaning in the smoke patterns, but of course, Kamijo is unable to understand it completely.

Slightly far away, Tatemiya Saiji is sitting on the floor. There’s rune cards on his hands, legs, chest, back and forehead. These represent some really terrifying magic, and once he moves, his entire body will be set ablaze.

Right now, Stiyl is bringing Ursula to meet Anieze, so there’s only Kamijo, Index and Tatemiya.

“Touma, Touma! Are you alright? Are you hurt? Are you in pain?”

Index looks pale as she frantically takes off Kamijo’s clothes.

“Sto……stop it! Index! I’m not hurt anywhere……wah! Idi……idiot! Don’t touch that!”

“Then you better check yourself well! Is there anywhere where you’re hurt or feverish?”

Index cries out with tears in her eyes. Kamijo finally realizes how worried she is, but in response, he doesn’t know what to say, so he can only follow Index’s orders and check his body.

“Um, there’s some pain on my waist, but it’s not so bad that I can’t walk.”

“Really? Are you really alright?”

“Yeah. To be honest, I’m already used to these sort of things. Fighting against espers in the alleys is rather dangerous. Also, during this summer, I’ve been fighting against a few magicians.”

“Um……that’s good……”

Index looks like she’s going to either smile or cry. Kamijo feels awkward and cannot resist looking away.

“……So now, I can bite on Touma’s head to my heart’s content.”

“WHAT!?”

When these terrifying words were heard, the beast-like girl leaps towards Kamijo’s head.

“Wo—Ahhhhhhhhh! Wait a minute! Index! Is this what a girl will do when she’s worried about whether another person is injured? You’re creating a new wound in the process—KYAAAAAAAAA!!!”

“Of course I must bite on! You made me so worried! Who do you think you are! Touma! Don’t tell me you intend to beat a magician holding a large sword with a single fist? Are you crazy? Why don't you use that weapon at your feet? And why do you still charge on when the enemy's saying that he’ll spare the amateur when he surrenders! What is our Touma doing?”

“Wait wait! Wait a sec! Miss Index! You’re going to kill me if you continue to bite me like this! It hurts! I understand! Everything is Kamijo Touma’s fault, please don’t bite with such force……!”

“Anyway……anyway……Touma, did you really think of all the possibilities? Do you really know how long it takes for the Amakusa to set up an anti-flame spell? Wouldn’t you be cut in half if it completes before you can even imagine?”

“Why would I think that much? Actually, I thought that Stiyl would finish me off at the same time, it’s just that he never did so! I’m not even aware of what an anti-flame, defense spell—KYAAAA! It hurts! I’m sorry! I’m wrong! Index-sama!”

Kamijo continues to scream an awful cry that he has never done so even on the brink of death. After a while, Index finally lets go, feeling satisfied.

“……Humph, stupid Touma, always up to crazy business.”

Index gently says, letting her chin rest on Kamijo’s hair.

To Index, who’s tired from biting on Kamijo’s head, this isn’t any different from sprawling on the table. But Kamijo’s heart now beats twice as fast. Besides being able to feel the girl’s chin on his head, Kamijo feels her long silver hair stroking his face and giving off a sweet aroma. And more importantly, Index is hugging Kamijo from the front, so her chest is only about 2 cm from his nose. Now that Index’s chest, which he hardly notices, is right in front of him, Kamijo realizes that there’s a slight protrusion on Index’s chest.

(Wha……what’s with these different types of attacks? Ah, I understand! Next, she’ll realizes that I’m looking at her chest, and continue to bite my head!)

Kamijo became wary deep inside. However, Index unexpectedly lets go of Kamijo without a single word.

She looks at the sky, as if she’s opening her ears and listening to something.

“It’s so quiet. It’s hard to imagine that so many people were fighting just now.”

“Yeah.”

Kamijo casually agrees. Right now, silence will only give off a sense of tranquility. There’s nobody swinging weapons around, nobody shouting about, no breakage that can be heard.

“Oi.”

At this moment, Tatemiya Saiji, who’s sitting far away from them, called out to Kamijo. He sounds anxious. Before Kamijo even starts to turn around, Index has already raised her two hands and is standing in front of him, using herself as his shield.

Tatemiya stares at the duo,

“Bastard, can you help me remove these? I know you won’t, but I’m just asking. I can’t just leave her alone.”

“What?”

Kamijo frowns. After thinking about it for a while, he realizes that the ‘her’ Tatemiya’s referring to is Ursula Aquinas.

“Are you an idiot? How can I just let the most dangerous person go……”

“You’re the idiot! Let me ask you something, do you really intend to hand her over to the Roman Catholics? You know what will happen if she goes back, don’t you?”

“What?”

Kamijo is speechless.

“No, Touma.”

Index is rather calm, and says,

“This person only uses words as a weapon; you must definitely not listen to him! Think, is there any benefit for the enemy to say the truth?”

“She’ll be killed.”

Tatemiya’s words drowns out Index’s.

“Listen well, I’ll tell you what’s going on. Don’t hand her over to the Roman Catholics, they’re intending to kill her.”

“You’re trying to tell me that you guys are Ursula’s friends, and are trying to help her escape? Don’t joke with me, there’s no such stupid thing! You’re the guys that snatched Ursula away! Not only that, you’re the ones who stole the ‘Book of the Law’! In order to get its contents, you guys launched an all-out attack, kidnapped her, and now you have the guts to say that you are the good guys? Do you think I’m an idiot?”

As he’s overly angry, Kamijo shouts until his throat goes hoarse, as if he’s about to damage it.

But Tatemiya didn’t mind.

“We didn’t steal the ‘Book of the Law’.”

“Eh?”

“Think about it. Why must we steal the ‘Book of the Law’? The Roman Catholics are the largest Christian sect in the world with more than 2 billion believers. Will we fight against a large group for merely the ‘Book of the Law’?”

“You can’t take him seriously, Touma!”

Being anxious, Index’s body went stiff, as she says with determination,

“We know that the Amakusa have become weak as they lost their Supreme Pontiff, so you’re trying to use the mystical and powerful magic recorded in the ‘Book of the Law’ to make up for the loss in power, right?”

“But, what reason do we have to add on to our power?”

Tatemiya smiles.

The sweat flowing down his face reveals his anxiety to settle this as soon as possible.

Kamijo suspiciously asks,

“If your power isn’t enough, wouldn’t you guys lose out to other factions?”

“That’ll be on the premise that others would attack us. The question is, how many times had the Amakusa been harmed in history? Don’t tell me you didn’t think that we have countermeasures? Outsiders don’t even know where our main base is. Also, on the special teleportation magic ‘thumbnail tour’ that Ino Tadataka is most proud of, there’re still many ‘portals’ out there that nobody knows of but us.”

“Ah……”

Kamijo feels that Tatemiya’s words are starting to shake him up.

That’s right. Among the many teleportation ‘portals’, there’s only 23 that they know of.

“How is the enemy going to attack our main base when we’re the only ones who know where it is?”

That’s true, Kamijo thought.

The objective of that battle is to save Ursula before the special teleportation magic activates. And the reason why they have to do this is because nobody knows where their main base is. Once the Amakusa escapes, Ursula’s whereabouts will sink to the depths of the oceans.

In other words, nobody can attack their main base.

If so, is there any reason for them to defend themselves?

“So that means……”

The Amakusa were searching for the ‘Book of the Law’ to defend themselves — by increasing their military strength?

Or……

‘Hey, let me ask you something……what kind of magic book is the ‘Book of the Law’?”

Since Tatemiya asks this, Kamijo, an outsider, can only turn and look at Index. Index then proceeds to explain reluctantly.

“The ‘Book of the Law’ is a magic book written in a special code. The code itself is rather complicated — it can be said to be of a completely different language. In the past, the only one whom everyone agrees can accurately decipher this book is the author, Edward Alexander, whose other name is Crowley. The author once said that the most important concept of the ‘Book of the Law’ is ‘to desire, and it’ll be thy magic.’ As for the other details, no one knows.”

Index continues on,

“The ‘Book of the Law’ records details that Aiwass elaborates on. It’s still a mystery to what Aiwass is. Some say it’s Crowley’s guardian angel, some say it’s a criminal. As for the details, some believe it teaches humans how to use angelic spells, and as the spells are too powerful, it’s said that once the ‘Book of the Law’ is opened, the Christian age will end and a new era will begin.”

“Here’s the problem.”

Tatemiya smiles as if there’s some hidden meaning behind it.

“This is the crux. The power of the ‘Book of the Law’ is really frightening. If humans can really use the angelic spells, I’m afraid that the Christian age will end within a day. When many people have power that far exceeds the Pope, the power pyramid that the Church so carefully built will crumble.”

Tatemiya pauses, and then continues,

“But, not everyone wants this power.”

“Why? Although I’m not a magician, and it’s unrelated to me; to you magicians, wouldn’t getting stronger magic mean getting a higher standing?”

“What’s the point of having a higher standing? To be honest, we have no intention of getting that power. No, I’ll say that any normal Christian won’t want this power.”

“But, didn’t the Roman Catholics protect the ‘Book of the Law’ in order to get its power?”

Kamijo is confused now. However, Index seems to have understood what Tatemiya is trying to say, and can’t help but look down.

“The answer is simple.”

To the boy’s naïve question, Tatemiya silently laughs, and answers,

“The Roman Catholics is the world’s largest Christian sect, right at the top of the world. Do you think they’ll wish for ‘the Christian age to end from now on’?”

“Ah……”

Kamijo finally understands it.

In this age, a person with a higher status wouldn’t want changes to happen. This is even more so for the people at the top.

“The Roman Catholics never wanted to have the ‘Book of the Law’ as a weapon. They want to conquer the world, and not destroy it.” Kamijo and Index remain silent.

The night seems to get even darker.

“So, they decided to secretly eliminate Ursula Aquinas, the only one who has a chance of getting that power. But Ursula seems to realize this and tries her best to get to a place where the Roman Catholics have no stronghold in……Japan. Ironically, she arrived at the same time as when the ‘Book of the Law’ was shipped here. After arriving in Japan, she tried her best to meet up with the local Christian group, which is us, the Amakusa. Finally, we agreed to help her.”

Tatemiya sighs heavily, and says,

“The ‘Book of the Law’ being stolen was just a bluff by the Roman Catholics? How can we steal it? They did this to come up with some connection between Ursula’s disappearance and the ‘Book of the Law’. When the two disappear, everyone will agree that the kidnappers’ objective is to decipher the ‘Book of the Law’. But if she’s the only one who disappeared, some will think of other possibilities, like ‘She’s running away from the Roman Catholics to save herself.’”

Good and evil, attack and defend, abduct and rescue……

Everything is reversed in Kamijo’s view.

“Now, can you people say that the Roman Catholics are the good guys? Are you able to confidently say that Ursula Aquinas will be fine the moment she’s handed over to them? Don’t you have a single trace of suspicion?”

“……”

“If you’re still unconvinced, tell me what you base your beliefs on? Otherwise, face that suspicion in your heart seriously! Think about it, anyone can understand who the enemy is now!”

Hearing Tatemiya Saiji’s growls, Kamijo breaths deeply and closes his eyes.

He sorts through every single piece of information in his head, and thinks through every argument.

He thought carefully.

Which side is saying the truth, the Roman Catholics or the Amakusa?

Is there anything amiss?

“No, I still can’t trust you.”

“……Why?”

“If what you said is true,”

Kamijo slowly says,

“Why did Ursula run away from you guys? The first time I met her, she was walking all the way to Academy City. At that time, Stiyl said that there was a huge skirmish between the Roman Catholics and the Amakusa, and Ursula ran away from both sides’ control during the chaos. If what you said is true, why did she run away?”

He continues,

“Your words may be false. Even if what you say is true, the enemy of the enemy doesn’t mean he’s my friend. So right now, you must tell me, why did Ursula run away from you guys?”

If the Amakusa is really Ursula’s friend, why did she run?

Hearing Kamijo voice his argument, Tatemiya just smiles slightly.

It’s weak, as if he has given up on life.

“You’re all the same.”

“What same?”

“She’s the same as you right now. She was the one who first approached us……but in the end, she’s still unable to trust us completely. She must be thinking, ‘These people have no reason to save me and go against the world’s largest religious sect, the Roman Catholics. They must be thinking that we’ll use the key to reading the ‘Book of the Law’ as a payment.’”

Kamijo remains silent.

Tatemiya seems to be looking at Kamijo, and yet seems to be looking at something far away.

“That’s ridiculous. Why do we need the ‘Book of the Law’?”

“Then, why did you save Ursula?”

Kamijo cautiously asks.

Tatemiya replies without hesitation,

“Do we need a reason?”

He then continues,

“There’s no reason from the beginning. This is how the Amakusa does things, especially for our generation. You’re asking why our Supreme Pontiff is able to be our leader at such a young age? In order to fulfill a child’s wish, she dares to go against a dinosaur that can swallow a mountain. In order to fulfill the dying leader’s wish, she’s willing to protect a small village against thousands of enemies. Along the way, we’re walking in her shadow. Although the time which she led us is short, to us, it’s eternal.”

The way Tatemiya says this, it’s like he’s reminiscing the old days.

And it’s like he’s praising his family members.

“Because of her, we’re able to walk onto the path of righteousness; we’re not led astray, and don’t abuse our power. While it’s easy to just say it, she teaches this using action. She uses her actions to show that humans can be strong and benevolent, that doing this isn’t difficult.”

For quite some time, everyone remained silent.

Finally, Tatemiya breaks the silence by gnashing his teeth.

“……But we ruined her life.”

“What?”

“It’s our deaths and immaturity that hurt the Supreme Pontiff. Everyone around her died, and only she was alive. She thinks that it’s all her responsibility, what a joke! Fighting alongside her on the battlefield is our wish, being beaten on the battlefield is our incompetence, and we have to be responsible for all these. But in the end, after this outcome, she willingly leaves her home despite it not being her fault.”

Tatemiya sounds bitter, as if there’s a knife poking through his face.

There’s touching emotions flowing from this resentful speech that’s barely squeezed from his throat.

“Our immaturity robbed away her home, so we need to give her back a home. In this home, we’ll fight to prevent anyone from getting hurt, pained, or lose their smile. In this home, we can unite everyone’s strength to protect just one person’s happiness and not be swayed. So when Ursula Aquinas came to us for help, we agreed. A group that’ll do this willingly is a suitable home for her.”

In other words, they’re a group that won’t fight for power or profits. They fight for themselves, without desiring any benefits.

But it’s hard for anyone to understand their motives, so Ursula misunderstood all these.

Of course, Tatemiya’s words don’t seem to be true yet.

Kamijo really wants to trust him, but there isn’t any proof. To trust him, he has to have proof to verify it. Kamijo gnashes his teeth. Which side is saying the truth? Which side is saying a lie? Kamijo tries to compute this in his head.

Right at this moment, there’s a loud scream from afar.

No, a ‘scream’ simply isn’t enough to describe it.

A blood-curdling cry, a screech, a wail. If one were to call it, it can barely be called a ‘lady’s scream.’ But Kamijo isn’t certain that that’s a scream of a human. It sounds like a sharp scratch on a piece of glass or a blackboard that makes people feel weird when they hear this. But in this voice, there’s a shocking amount of human emotions mixed in. Fear, rejection, despair and pain; a large amount of emotions begin to pour out like a sponge saturated with mud water being squeezed.

Index looks at Kamijo, but Kamijo didn’t look back.

“Ur…sula?”

“Let me confirm with you guys something……did you tell her that you’re handing her over to the Roman Catholics? I believe she trusts you, and not the Roman Catholics?”

“……”

This reminds Kamijo of his conversation with Ursula a while back.

(“May I confirm it again. You’re here to help on request from the British Puritans, right?”)

―Why did Ursula Aquinas ask this question so carefully?

(“Yeah.”)

―Why did she look relieved upon hearing his words?

(“In other words, you’re here on the British Puritans instructions, and not the Roman Catholics, right?”)

―She even tried to confirm it again.

(“Eh……it’s not really that formal. Ah, let me clarify first, I can’t help you do anything for the British Puritans, since I’m a resident of Academy City.”)

―A seemingly meaningless reply seems to make her feel relieved.

(“I……see.”)

―How many thoughts are involved in this sentence?

Up till now, she always trusted Kamijo Touma.

She always thought that Kamijo Touma is someone that can be relied on.

“……Damn it.”

Kamijo gnashes his teeth, and turns to look at the direction where that cry came from.

Come to think about it, when Kamijo first met her, he should have risked his life to bring her back to Academy City. She’ll be a lot safer as long as he did this.

“What the hell, what on earth is going on?”

“Don’t panic, it’s not a cry she'd make before she dies. There’re rules among the Roman Catholics that they can’t kill Ursula Aquinas here. I can attest to that.”

“What?”

“In other words, we can still save her as long as we move quickly. But she’ll be in danger if we continue to dilly-dally. The situation is really urgent. It doesn’t matter if you don’t trust me, leave our grudges aside! Right now, the most important thing is to ensure Ursula’s safety! Even if we are still enemies!”

Tatemiya shouts frantically, indicating that they can’t delay any longer.

“But you must promise me, bring Ursula Aquinas back from the Roman Catholics! Bring her somewhere where the Roman Catholics can’t find her!”

Tatemiya looks serious.

That even made Kamijo feel uncertain.

At this moment……

Footsteps can be heard. Kamijo turns to look at where these footsteps come from. Two nuns wearing black robes came from the darkness. They are most likely Roman Catholics. One of them is tall while the other is short. The tall one is carrying a large carriage wheel that’s much larger than a round table, while the short one has four leather bags hanging on her waist belt. The bags are rattling around, and they seem to be filled with coins or something like that. The bags are about as large as a softball, and if coins are put in them, each will probably be as heavy as the ball used in shot putt.

The taller nun takes out an old leather covered notebook, and flips open its contents, checking it. She then nods and walks toward Kamijo. It seems like there’s a photo of him inside.

“You’re the assistant that’s not affiliated with us, right? Please hand over the leader of the heretics to us. The enemy of God…is him, right?”

Before the tall nun finishes speaking, the shorter nun is walking towards Tatemiya, who’s now covered with rune cards all over him.

The four bags on her waists start to rattle continuously.

“Ah, wait a moment.”

Kamijo shouts, but the short girl doesn’t seem to hear. She was about to pull Tatemiya, but froze and did not do so. She then circles around Tatemiya a few times, examining the rune cards covering him.

And the tall nun’s eyes are now staring at Kamijo.

“Is there any problem?”

“Before you leave, I'd like to see Ursula.”

“I’m sorry, we cannot grant your request. Although Ursula is safe right now, it’s not completely safe when the enemy’s power isn’t clear. In this situation, we’ll have to follow the regulations and think of her safety. We’ll send a letter of invitation to you when she returns to Rome.”

A perfect, flawless answer.

This made Kamijo even more suspicious.

“No, I can’t comply with that. What was that scream all about? That was Ursula screaming, right? You said that she’s protected right now, so why would a person being protected let out that kind of scream? Anyway, I want to have one last look, just one, and say a few words. There shouldn’t be a problem, right? We won’t meet in quite a while, so let me do this as a final farewell, okay?”

“But according to the regulations……”

“Come on! Do you have to be so fussy about the regulations? Where’s Anieze? I’ll ask her directly.”

Kamijo places his hand on her shoulder, and pushes her aside.

“……”

The tall nun looks down, like she’s helpless against a guy who causes people to worry all the time. She grabs the large wheel that’s on her back and places it in front of her like a shield.

Suddenly, Index looks worried—

“No! Touma—!!”

Before the girl’s shout finishes, *BAM!* the carriage wheel explodes.

“……!”

In an instant, Kamijo doesn’t understand what happened. Several thousand pieces of shrapnel fly towards him at an alarming velocity, like a shotgun. Sensing this, he uses his arms to protect his head and chest. Then, numerous pieces of shrapnel hit his arms, legs and stomach. Just when he feels pain, his feet leave the ground. Ping Piang! He’s knocked back about 5 to 6 metres.

Index lets out a short scream.

From the corner of his eye, Kamijo sees Tatemiya desperately trying to stand up, but the flames of the runes burns up several strands of hair on his head, causing him to not dare to act rashly. He grimaces in pain like a dog being yanked on the neck by its chain.

The shorter nun seems to panic. She looks at the taller nun and says,

“Sis-Sister Luccia! Is…is…is this really alright? Didn’t Sister Anieze say that we have to avoid conflicts against our guests?”

“Shut up! Sister Angelene! Damn, this is why I proposed not to allow the outsiders to act on their own, and we should chase them away quickly! All the blame will have to go to that Anieze, giving such a naïve order to leave them alone. Now she’s really given me quite a fix……”

Having been given a glare from the taller nun, the short nun didn’t dare to talk back. The tall nun then mutters to herself, trying to calm herself down.

Her expression changed. Although the change is rather abstract, he can feel it. The tall nun stares at Kamijo, her two eyes reminding him of hot, melting butter.

Kamijo is surprised. He can’t believe she’s one of the nuns who gave him bread and soup at the camp.

“If this guy wasn’t suspicious about that scream, this'd be so much simpler…damn it, what have I done wrong? I’ve been touched on the shoulder by a non-believer! Sister Angelene! Quick! Get me some soap…no, some sanitiser! This is too much! Damn it! Tell me the next time you want to talk to me! I have to wear the mud-blocking apron!”

The tall nun is beginning to look flushed.

Her head is swaying about, but her tone is abnormally monotonous.

“Irritating things just come along one after another! This is unbearable. I’ll set it up such that it looks like you guys were killed by the Amakusa. Hm, this should be the easiest way to go. After that, I’ll kill them off, that’ll be perfect.” The tall nun looks like she’s standing on a stage, saying out lines from a flawed script.

Hearing such a terrifying thing, Kamijo is unable to reply.

As the shrapnel are just numerous pieces of wood and not sharp knives, the wounds are rather shallow.

But, those pieces of shrapnel that got under his skin suddenly vibrate.

“KWA-AAAAAAAAAAAA!!!”

Kamijo screams. Pieces of shrapnel pop out of his flesh like an axe being pulled out from a tree trunk. The shrapnel, now stained with blood, returns back to the nun’s hand like they’re being pulled away with a magnet. They piece together like a jigsaw puzzle being pieced together, forming back the carriage wheel.

“Touma!”

Index cries, and frantically tries to get back to him, but the tall nun turns and glares at her, shouting,

“Sister Angelene!”

“Ah, yes!”

The petite nun uttered, hurriedly pulled off the four bags of coins on her waist, and throws it above herself. The bags suddenly give off a loud sound like a large piece of cloth being slapped onto a wall. Also, each bag sprouts out 6 sharp wings like those of a swallow. The four bags radiate different colours; red, blue, yellow, green.

“Come out, one of the twelve disciples, tax collector and lowly servant of the eradicating magician!”

The petite nun raises both her hands high, as if she’s hugging the sky.

In an instant, *Shua!* the green coin bag flies past Index like a bullet and slams at her feet. It splits the ground like a sturdy root and creates a rattling sound.

“Damn it…ah?”

Index was about to retreat, but she trips. Looking closely, the rope seal of the coin bag that slammed onto the ground unravels itself and ties Index’s legs. Just when Index’s looking at her feet, the remaining three coin bags fly up into the air and out of her range of vision.

Kamijo instantly went pale.

(No……! If those things hit her!)

The coin bags are likely heavier than those metal balls used in a shot putt competition. Index, whose legs are tied up, will definitely be unable to escape, and she can’t possibly block this attack with her hands.

“Damn it! INDEX!”

Kamijo shouts, and attempts to get back to Index. Luckily, the coin bag that’s tied to Index’s feet must be controlled by magic. It’ll release itself the moment Kamijo hits it with his right fist.

At this moment……

“You should worry about yourself, and try and think how to make yourself die a not so painful death.”

Looking around, the tall nun carrying the large carriage wheel is floating above him. The centre of the wheel is aimed at Kamijo like the barrel of a gun, as he stumbles on his way.

(—!?)

Kamijo trembles until his throat goes dry. Punching the wheel with his right hand, and the wheel exploding; no matter how anyone thinks, the former will definitely be slower.

“O non-believer, have you heard of ‘The Legend of the Wheel’?”

The tall nun laughs madly, like she’s intoxicated,

“Since ancient times, many Saints are martyred or executed stupidly by those in power. In this history full of torture and executions, the shadow of a wheel can be seen.”

Kamijo does not want to listen to her nonsense, but the wheel in front of him is restricting his movements. During this time, the three coin bags may be plummeting towards Index from several metres above.

“These wheels have several nails or blades that can slice and dice Saints up. But in many legends, the wheel mysteriously explodes the moment it touches a Saint. Like St. George who subdued a dragon, or St. Catherine of Alexandria. Notably, when St Catherine was executed, the shrapnel of the exploded wheel even kills the four thousand people who were there watching her execution. The significance of this ‘Wheel Legend’ is……”

The tall nun says this rather slowly, which made Kamijo even more panicky. The three coin bags that are aimed at Index will come flying down at the speed of a cannonball and blow her head apart.

Seeing Kamijo being so nervous that he’s sweating, the tall nun can’t help but smirk from behind the wheel.

“The innocent are not punished, and the guilty are—realize it now, non-believer, your end has come. Stupid Sister Ursula will be executed once the special ‘procedures’ are complete, but killing you guys won’t require such hassle.”

“Peh……”

Kamijo thoughts are occupied on Index, who’s all tied up, wondering what he can do to save her. At this moment, the wheel in front of him starts to crack. As if time has slowed down, with the central axis of the wheel as the vertex, the wheel starts to split into six equal pieces like a pizza, and rapidly expands outwards.

“Woo…OOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”

Kamijo clenches his right fist, and roars. But it’s too late, he can’t make it. Before Kamijo’s fist is raised, the wheel on the tall nun’s hand has already given off a loud sound.

*BAM!* The wheel flew sideways.

Of course, this isn’t what the tall nun wanted, neither is it the doing of the boy’s right fist.

It’s the coin bags.

The red six-winged coin bag that’s originally aimed at Index’s head slams onto the executioner wheel with a stunning speed. The impact caused the wheel to fly out of the tall nun’s hand, and after bouncing several times on the ground, it rolls into the darkness. The bag is also damaged, as coins of different sizes end up flying out of the bag. It’s unknown which country they’re from though.

The tall nun, who lost her weapon, frantically lands from above Kamijo’s head and pulls her distance from him. She then glares at the petite nun.

“Sister Angelene! You—!!”

“No… It’s not me……”

The tall nun growls like a wild animal, while the petite nun, now pale with fright, frantically explains.

“The remaining three, gather at one spot, and stick together.”

At this moment, Index’s clear voice rang out……

The next moment……

*PA!* The sound of metal bending echoed throughout the air. The rope seal of the green coin bag that tied up Index’s feet now unravels. Together with the blue and yellow bags, the green bag went flying towards the petite girl at a terrifying speed. The three bags collide two centimeters in front of Angelene’s nose, and stopped. The giant pressure causes several hundred pieces of coins to coagulate into one large lump of metal. *Dong!* It lands near the petite nun’s feet.

The petite nun gives a stiff yet mysterious smile as she lands on her butt.

“The bags of gold represent Matthew, one of the twelve Apostles. He once beat two fire dragons using just the Cross and prayer. Infusing Angelic power into the coin bags can change them into aerial weapons that will automatically lock on to enemies.”

Index calmly gives her cruel evaluation.

“But the method is too crude. The chant is too long, and it’s not really a secret code. You don’t care about your surroundings as you focus too much on casting it, so you’ll get stopped easily.”

Kamijo is completely unaware of what’s going on. Index should be unable to use magic. It’s unknown how she’s able to hijack the petite girl’s spell and control it.

“……Using the enemy’s spell through a self-destruct or wrong direction?”

The tall nun looks around her, smacks her mouth and readies herself. Losing her weapon didn’t dampen her fighting spirit. She slowly draws a Cross in front of her chest.

At this moment, a sharp whistle sound came from afar.

*TWEET—! It’s like the cry of a bird.

The tall nun hears this and angrily turns to look at the night sky.

“It’s a retreat order! Sister Angelene!”

“Ah…eh……? But…but we…haven’t beaten the enemy yet……”

“We’ll talk after we retreat. It seems that the Remnants of the Amakusa are treated as they’re released by the British Puritan. Working on our own will affect the entire team’s operations, and even Ursula’s delivery. To us, that’s a much more serious problem.”

The tall nun turns and runs into the darkness, the petite nun follows suit.

“Now you understand?”

Tatemiya Saiji looks at the night sky, and reluctantly says,

“This is what the Roman Catholics, the world’s largest Christian sect, do beneath the surface.”

Part 2
“I see. No wonder Ursula Aquinas looked like everything was lost when she saw Anieze Sanctis. Separating us from the Roman Catholics is because they looked down on us from the beginning. Humph…what adding in the British Puritans will cause the command chain to go chaotic, it’s all an excuse.”

Stiyl says this after walking out of the theme park, ‘Parallel Sweets Wonderland’. He also heard Ursula’s scream, but didn’t turn to ask Anieze what it’s all about. Maybe he doesn’t know of the reasons, and doesn’t want to take rash action and cause relations between the British Puritans and the Roman Catholics to become strained. Either way, Kamijo doesn’t understand Stiyl’s actions. Kamijo just ran to see Anieze, but they’ve retreated, and there’s no one left. No one even picked up Tatemiya. Maybe they thought the Amakusa was dissolved now that they’ve captured most of them.

The fact that a group with so many people is able to retreat so cleanly makes Kamijo freeze up. The fact that they never left the British Puritans a note shows that they never trusted them in the first place. Maybe to the Roman Catholics, getting Ursula back is their priority, and it won’t hurt them if they don’t take care of Tatemiya and the rest. Or maybe the Roman Catholics are gathering their forces that are scattered in the city, intending to use overwhelming force to wipe them out.

Right now, the quartet, Kamijo, Index, Stiyl and Tatemiya are exchanging information. On a side note, as Kamijo was hit by the shrapnel of the wheel, he’s covered with bandages everywhere.

“If what this man said is true, Ursula Aquinas isn’t in immediate danger. The Roman Catholics have a set of regulations…so, Kamijo Touma, don’t immediately go in and try to deal with them. Your meddling will make the situation get even more out of hand.”

Being warned, Kamijo twists him mouth, and says,

“……What regulations?”

“Touma, the Roman Catholics are the world’s largest sect. Although most of the believers have no involvement in magic, they do have 2 billion believers; led by the Pope and 141 Cardinals, and there are parishes in 131 countries—they’re a large group. Although big isn’t a bad thing, being too big can cause some problems.

Kamijo is still confused after hearing all these, and tilts his head. At this moment, Tatemiya explains,

“Basically, there might be several factions. There are already 142 of these factions in the parishes that the Pope and the Cardinals. Including the Nationals and the local customs, there’s 207 of them. If we consider the generation gap between the young and old, there’s 252 of them.”

Stiyl impatiently blows a puff of white smoke, and says,

“To the Roman Catholics who have so many factions, the number of enemies within far outnumbers those from outside. So when they’re settling this, they’re extremely careful about it. Although decoding the ‘Book of the Law’ is extremely threatening to the Roman Catholics, Ursula Aquinas herself has done no wrong. If they were to kill her like that, Anieze will be viewed as an enemy by all her other comrades.”

“Yeah? But we also haven’t done anything wrong, right? They’re still willing to attack us without hesitation.” Kamijo gently prods the bandage on his arm with his fingers. The summer night is so hot already, and its too much for him to have to put on all these bandages.

“The situation is different for non-believers and heretics. Do you know how many people in the past were killed based on a single sentence—‘Any sinner who disobeys the Word of God must be judged’?”

“The two nuns that attacked us most probably have this sort of thinking as well. But in other words, it means that they can’t anyhow execute Ursula. For ‘those who believe the Word of God shall not kill.’”

“……”

Kamijo looks away and looks at the tree under the streetlight. A concern appears in his head.

If the Roman Catholics have a rule that ‘one cannot kill a comrade within the Roman Catholic Church,’ why do the Amakusa need to step up and ‘prevent Ursula from getting killed?’

When Kamijo raised this question, Stiyl casually replies,

“The answer is simple. Because there’s an exception.”

“Exception?”

“That’s right. Although there’s the rule that ‘one cannot kill a comrade within the Roman Catholic Church’…those that are chased out of the Church are considered as ‘people who disobey the Word of God,’ so it’s alright to kill them.”

Tatemiya carries his extremely large sword and walks behind Stiyl. Kamijo is worried—if that sword is seen by the police, how’re they going to explain it?”

“Sinners, witches, disillusioned believers…these people that did something wrong will be chased out of the Church, and will be tagged as an ‘Antichrist’.”

“Setting Ursula up is actually very simple; they just need to give her a ‘test’. Like say, force her to hold a hot metal rod. If she’s innocent, God will protect her and not let her get hurt. But if she gets hurt, it means she’s a sinner that God feels isn’t worth saving. Sounds funny, doesn't it? Among the British Puritans, we call this the ‘Trial of sin’. We see it as a test, a trial that tests a person’s faith in God. It’s now banned.”

“This is ridiculous……!”

Kamijo shouts,

“It’s obvious the person will be burnt! It’s impossible not to!”

“That’s right. So even if they aren’t burnt, they’ll still be guilty, as they’ll be seen as being protected by the devil. No matter the outcome, the victim will have the bad luck of being labeled a witch.”

Kamijo thought that this is too much.

Using such a stupid method to decide Ursula’s future, it’s unreasonable.

“However on the other hand, while the prosecution of this religious trial……or Holy trial is pending, the Roman Catholics cannot kill Ursula. According to proper procedures, they have to return to Rome and spend another two to three days doing all these. In other words, besides killing her, any other action is allowed.”

The Roman Catholics neither cared of how she thought, nor how she feels going up against the original copy of the ‘Book of the Law’. Because it’s too tiresome, unnecessary, bothersome, impossible to solve, and they don’t want to add on to their bother; they decided to kill for these stupid reasons.

The beliefs of Ursula and the Roman Catholics should be the same.

Their thoughts aren’t different. Both sides feel that the ‘Book of the Law’ is something dangerous, and decide to take action to solve this problem. Ursula tries to decode the book in order to find a way to destroy an original-class book when ordinary people think that it’s impossible to.

She just wanted to make some contributions.

Because she’s more aware of the potent threat of the ‘Book of the Law’, she can’t leave it alone. It’s just that simple.

(“Do you know what kind of thing is an original magic book? Do you know that one can’t destroy an original through any means?”)

-Is this wrong?

(“With our spells now, we can’t destroy any magic book. The most we can do is to seal it and not allow others to read it.”)

―For what reason is Ursula Aquinas treated like this?

(“However, ‘being unable to do so now’ doesn’t mean that it can’t be done in the future.”)

―What wrong did she do that the higher-ups have to decide on the procedures through a unique trial, and suffer silently without anyone helping her?

(“We can use it on the magic book itself to destroy the magic array.”)

―No!

(“The power of a magic book isn’t going to give anyone happiness, and it’ll only bring about war. So I’ve been analyzing this book, hoping to destroy the original.”)

―Definitely not!

“I can’t accept this……”

Kamijo gnashes his molars tightly, almost breaking them.

“Even if there’s a reason or difficulties, I won’t allow that to happen! What kind of a sick joke is this! What do these people treat human lives as!? Taking away something precious from someone one by one through procedures? WHAT DO THESE PEOPLE TREAT OTHER PEOPLES’ LIVES AS!?”

Kamijo Touma lost his memories before.

So, what he has is very little. He only has memories of the previous month, during the summer holidays, so what he cares about is only a small percentage of those of an ordinary high school student. Most of his memories are built on ‘hiding his memory loss,’ and he can break down anytime.

Even so, even if Kamijo is so empty inside, he’ll go berserk if anyone unwisely takes away anything he cherishes.

Maybe the Roman Catholics are trying to protect what they cherish, so they had to give this order.

But this isn’t right.

Having a group of people watch and snatch something a person cherishes in front of him, this isn’t right.

Why can’t they try another method?

Why must they choose to do something as easy yet stupid as ‘kill’?

Kamijo clenches both his fists until they’re about to bleed. On the street under the midnight darkness, the scattered light of the streetlights coldly shines on him.

“……Where are they? Do you know?”

“I can guess. Why do you ask this?”

Stiyl calmly asks. Kamijo can’t help but grab his collar, asking him why he can remain so calm.

Facing that furious look on Kamijo’s face, Stiyl elegantly shakes the cigarette in his mouth. However, Index, who’s outside Kamijo’s vision, is scared stiff.

“I understand your feelings.”

Stiyl slowly puffs out white smoke, and says,

“But you better calm down. In this city alone, they have almost 250 comrades. Can you beat them all with just a single fist?”

“……!”

Kamijo clenches his fist tightly.

That’s right.

Kamijo is clear about it. His combat capability is about equal to that of a delinquent fighting in the alleys. He’ll probably win if it’s one on one, but he can’t guarantee if it’s one on two, and it’s impossible for him if it’s one on three. That nun who’s wielding that large carriage wheel was able to beat through Kamijo’s resistance with just one attack.

In real life, bare-handed fighting isn’t like those movies, where one man single-handedly beats several people from the front. No matter how good the fighter is, he can’t win if the number of enemies is more than what he can handle. This is a cruel and harsh rule.

Except……

They’re like those real fighters depicted in manga or serial dramas……and the magicians are like these fighters.

But the magician just stands around and laughs, puffs out white smoke, and says,

“Anyway, if the report given by the Amakusa is true, we can’t interfere by any means. Too bad, this case is over.”

“What……did you say?”

“Think about it. To put this bluntly, isn’t Anieze Sanctis chasing Ursula Aquinas because Ursula went against the teachings of the Roman Catholics? Since the ‘Book of the Law’ is still kept within the Vatican, the Roman Catholics can’t use it for evil purposes; and since the Amakusa declared that they don’t intend to use the ‘Book of the Law’ for evil purposes, do the British Puritans have any reason to butt in? Are you going to blame them for not saying goodbye to them and angrily dispute with them?”

This time, Kamijo grabs Stiyl Magnus’ collar without hesitation.

Index tries to lower her volume as she exclaims. Tatemiya just stares at Kamijo and whistles.

The rune magician however remains unmoved. In this lonely midnight, only his voice echoes throughout the neighbourhood. The flashing lights seem to flicker as they shine on his face.

“This is something among the Roman Catholics, and they can only solve it with their own regulations. Since this situation won’t affect the outside world, the British Puritans can’t interfere, or we’ll be seen as interfering with internal politics, and there will be conflict between England and Rome……so, give up, Kamijo Touma. Don’t tell me you’re willing to start a war just to save her?”

“……This……”

“No matter whether it’s the British Puritans or the Roman Catholics, most of the believers aren’t fighters like us. These people go to school, meet some friends, buy a burger; these are what they feel the world is about. They don’t know that magicians are running around in the dark, and they don’t know all these organisations that are arranging deals with each other to prevent a magical war. They’re like kind, harmless lambs with no power.”

The magician, who’s being grabbed on by the collar, calmly explains.

Like a devil that’s forcing someone to sign a contract.

“Let me ask you, do you want to get these people involved? These people don’t know the truth, and only belong to the British Puritans or the Roman Catholics. You want to get these people involved in a war, looted, killed, or even lose everything, all for a single Ursula Aquinas?”

“……”

The hand grabbing Stiyl’s collar gradually releases. Index opens her mouth, wanting to say something, but finally sighs.

This is the difference between a specialist and a layman.

This is the difference between a person and a group.

Stiyl indifferently spits the cigarette onto the ground, steps on it to extinguish it, and looks at Tatemiya.

“I have no power to stop you. You’re free to rescue Ursula, your client, or your subordinates. But you can only go on your own, don’t drag the British Puritans along. If you do, even if I have to burn the entire island into ash, I’ll kill every single Amakusa member.”

Hearing Stiyl’s threat, Tatemiya expression didn’t change.

“I understand this without you telling me. That boy down there, you don’t have to despair. Although the Puritans have no reason to start a war, I do. Right now, we’re going to their main base, save my comrades, and save Ursula at the same time. Don’t worry, fighting against a large but weak organisation with some elites is our speciality. Our group is established during the Bakumou era, after all.”

Hearing these words, Kamijo looks up.

Index, who’s beside Tatemiya, looks at him and asks,

“You’re going to call the Amakusa members in your base to come here as well? But the special teleportation magic only works after one day. At that time, the Roman Catholics would have left Japan already.”

“You’re right, although this is safe, it’s not practical.”

Tatemiya replies, swinging the white broadsword. Stiyl coldly asks,

“You’re going there alone?”

“Since that’s the only option, I can only do this. Luckily, those idiots from our clan haven’t been executed……if they wanted to kill them, they would have done so at the beginning and not carry them along. Maybe the Roman Catholics want them to stand trial together with Ursula, so that the crime of ‘Ursula teaming up with the Amakusa to steal the ‘Book of the Law’’ will be even more convincing. If so, as long as I release them and do something behind the scenes, we might have a chance.”

Tatemiya uses a delighted expression to hide his nervousness inside.

“I’ll choose to take action when they move.”

He swings the blade around, saying,

“We, the Amakusa, are used to being chased, so we know the might and weaknesses of a large organisation. The weakness of a large group is when they’re moving. There’ll definitely be one when hundreds of individuals are moving. Think about it, the Roman Catholic members and the Amakusa number more than 300. You can’t move that many Christians at the same time. People will think there’s a protest when several hundred nuns dressed in black robes are walking on the streets, and even the media will come over to interview them. So, they’ll use some kind of disguise. Maybe they’ll split up into several groups and move on their own. During this time, it’s impossible to retain their original fighting strength, and it’ll be the best time to attack.”

According to Tatemiya, the Roman Catholics are not like the Amakusa, who’ll use magic to move about. But it’s too late to arrange for a boat or a plane. So they’ll probably wait till daylight, when the harbour or airport is open, before they move out.

“……”

The best time to strike is when they’re moving.

But in other words, this mean they can only move when the Roman Catholics move.

Stiyl once said that they have to follow a religious procedure and trial before they can execute her.

But he also mentioned that they can do anything else besides killing her.

In a certain sense, having 250 carry out cruel violence against Ursula is even scarier than the procedures. As there’s no clear guideline—what they can do, what they can’t—the boundary is rather grey.

Anything goes as long as she doesn’t die?

They can do anything they want as long as she’s breathing?

Kamijo’s face darkens. Tatemiya understands his concern, and says,

“……Although you may not forgive us for this, I hope you understand that we’re powerless in certain situations.”

Tatemiya’s voice hints at a deep frustration. Being a magician, he’s more aware than an outsider like Kamijo on what will happen to the people caught by the Roman Catholics.

Kamijo Touma swings a punch at an electric pole nearby.

He can imagine what is happening right now, but he can’t do anything. Kamijo feels really useless right now.

Stiyl coldly says to Kamijo, who’s speechless right now,

“Seems like we have a common agreement. Then, we’ll disperse here and find some place to hide. I’ll have to contact my superiors and ask them what to do. The situation between the British Puritans and the Amakusa is settled, but I’ll have to prepare to settle the situation with Kanzaki. Kamijo Touma, you and Index are to head back to Academy City. The Roman Catholics should be busy dealing with their important person, and probably won’t provoke a war with the Science side by attacking you.”

At this moment, Stiyl lights a cigarette.

“Unless the British Puritan can come up with a valid reason to save Ursula Aquinas, we won’t step in.”

He puffs out some white smoke, seemingly uninterested deep inside.

“Ah, yeah, Kamijo Touma, I’d like to ask you something.”

“What?”

Kamijo tiredly turns around, Stiyl reveals a mocking smile, and asks,

“That Cross I gave you, it doesn’t seem to be with you… Where did you leave it?”

“……”

Kamijo thought about it for a while, and recalls that,

“Sorry, I gave that to Ursula. When I helped her to put it on, she was rather happy. Is that something precious?”

“No, that’s an ordinary metal Cross. It’s likely manufactured in a village that specialises in mass producing gifts. Like that St. George Cross, it’s a common sight in England, even the national flag has it.”

For some reason, Stiyl’s smile contains a trace of delight.

“That Cross has no decorative or antique value, and has to be useful in your hand……never mind. It doesn’t matter since you’re not going to use it now.”

Stiyl says this with a hidden meaning, puffing out white smoke at the same time.

Kamijo is obviously confused, and can only walk back in the darkness.

Just like this, this boring event ends with a boring outcome.

Part 3
Tatemiya Saiji left.

Stiyl seems intent on escorting Index back to Academy City. Kamijo dejectedly walks under the night sky. Index wants to comfort him, but she doesn’t know what to say.

Although this is the capital of Japan, the night away from the centre of the city is still dark. It’s past one in the morning, most of the lights in the city are out. Lights can be seen from the windows of the apartments, like an incomplete set of teeth. There’ll occasionally be taxi carrying drunkards inside driving past them. The street lights continue to shine, attracting numerous flies to them.

The days full of battle are about to be over. In a few hours, his daily life will consist mostly of school. Kamijo will bring his tired brain along to school, listen to some boring lessons and talk nonsense with Tsuchimikado and Aogami, get electrocuted by Mikoto because he infuriated her by not completing his punishment—holiday assignments.

“What should I do?”

Kamijo mutters.

Index hears this, and looks at Kamijo. But Kamijo still looks down.

He really wants to help Ursula Aquinas.

But he can’t think of any way to help her.

“As an amateur, I can’t possibly beat an expert no matter what I do, I understand this. But an outsider should be able to turn the situation, right? Like the first time when I met Ursula, I should have brought her to Academy City. Or not help the Roman Catholics and allow the Amakusa to escape with the special teleportation spell.”

“Touma……”

“I understand, I didn’t see the consequences of these options, so I was hopeful. Even if Ursula escapes to Academy City, the Roman Catholics will invade Academy City to hunt her down. Even if we didn’t help the Roman Catholics, they can use human wave tactics to form a perimeter and find where the Amakusa gather. No matter what, the result is the same. I’m clear on this.”

Kamijo Touma thought.

The first time he met Ursula Aquinas, who sounds perturbed when she asked him how to get to Academy City. When she smiled in the theme park, it’s because she found a friend she can trust, as she continues to talk.

Also……

That cry full of despair that came from nowhere.

“But……really. What should I really do that’ll be right?”

Kamijo understands that him thinking like this shows that he’s an amateur who lacks a sense of danger. This situation is completely unrelated to him. A high school student gets a rather harsh insight into the magical world, and is about to return to his own world, it’s just that simple. Nobody can blame him. Anyone can see that the magical world is dangerous and scary, and to see a common civilian like Kamijo come back, it’ll be a huge relief for them.

Maybe Stiyl has already said what he wanted to say a while back, that’s why he remained silent about Kamijo’s accusations.

In the meantime, Index turns up and looks at Kamijo’s face, and says,

“……Touma, this is an issue between magicians, you don’t have to blame yourself. I can’t help out, so I can’t say anything much, but since Tatemiya Saiji said that he’ll handle this on his own, we can only rely on him……”

“……Really?”

“Yeah. The law never said that you have to settle every conflict between magicians. I have to be blamed for being unable to take on a magician. But even without Touma, there’ll be a solution to the problem. As an outsider, Touma has already met quite a number of magicians. But the world has many more magicians that you don’t know of, and these people have their own problems. Even without your help, they’re able to settle these problems on their own. It’s the same right now. This is only the first time that you aren’t involved with the final events.”

“I see.”

Kamijo gave a machine-like answer, but he’s feeling quite surprised deep inside. Index should be able to imagine what will happen to Ursula, so why does she tell him not to interfere with this situation any further?

Maybe it’s because……

Besides saying something that contradicts his feelings, there’s no way to comfort him?

“Hm, the previous situations can be considered as abnormal. Nobody can solve all the problems in front of them. Touma, you should learn to rely on others, and let others settle the problems. Even if there’s a house on fire in front of you, and there’s an infant inside, you don’t have to rush in yourself. Asking others for help isn’t a shameful thing.” Index continues on, trying to persuade Kamijo.

“Touma, you should rely more on others. ‘Necessarius’ exists for this purpose. Even an organisation like us faces tough issues like these. If you can’t solve it on your own, who’ll blame you?”

“……”

He’s not involved in this final scene. Maybe it’s just like this. His part is over, but it doesn’t mean that the scenario will suddenly end like this. Next, Tatemiya Saiji will be the lead and end this on his own.

It’s true. Seeing a mass murderer commit a crime doesn’t mean that the eyewitness has a duty to stop him. The eyewitness won’t be condemned if the murderer is subdued by the police.

“Will Tatemiya succeed?”

“There is some chance, since he’s a real magician, and the Amakusa, who’re used to being suppressed, are rather skilled in doing this. He won’t be stupid enough to try and take on an enemy when there’s no chance.”

“Un.”

Kamijo nods his head.

He might as well mention it, Kamijo thought. Since the situation can be resolved without him getting involved, an outsider doesn’t need to get involved. This is a logical way of thinking. If an outsider who doesn’t know anything gets involved, it’s likely that the situation may get out of hand, so he might as well stay on the sidelines.

The law never decreed that Kamijo has to settle everything on his own.

From a larger point of view, there’s a majority of scenarios that Kamijo isn’t involved in.

Even if he sees one, he doesn’t need to mind.

Even if Kamijo isn’t involved, someone will settle it.

Kamijo looks at the night sky, raises his hands and stretches. The fatigue in his body is starting to build up, at the same time, he’s starting to miss the futon in his dormitory.

“Alright, let’s go home.”

Kamijo says.

Just this sentence alone creates a segment between what’s daily and what’s non-daily.

“Oh yeah, before we go home, I have to buy some things. At this time, the supermarkets and department stores should be closed, and there’re only convenience stores open. But there’s nothing in the fridge, got to buy some food back……oh well, I’m interested in what the convenience stores outside Academy City are selling. Maybe we can find bentos inside.”

“……Touma, why are you so concerned with everyday life now?”

“I’m sorry, I’m an ordinary student who recently begins to like to remember things.”

“I feel like forgetting all these, and eating a good meal.”

“It’s alright if you don’t let me go. But there’s only an empty tray and water for breakfast. You have to think of the rest yourself.”

“Touma—!”

Index shouts out, not caring that it’s the middle of a silent night.

Kamijo laughs upon seeing this gluttonous girl turn pale so easily.

“Alright, then I’ll be looking for a convenience store, and buy tomorrow’s breakfast along the way.”

“Hm? How about everyone go together?”

“If I bring you along, you’ll stuff everything you see into the basket, and it’ll be really difficult for me to buy things. I’ll be leaving for a while, so Stiyl, please bring Index back to Academy City. Since you can bring her out, you can probably bring her back in, right? Of course……with you being so carefree, I’m somewhat troubled.”

“Since it’s beneficial for her, I can grant your request.”

Stiyl shakes the cigarette in his mouth, and says,

“However, do you know where it is?”

“……Finding a convenience store shouldn’t be too hard, right?”

“Very good.”

Stiyl gives a cynical smile, and brings Index back into the darkness of the night. Index wants to accompany Kamijo, but he waves his hands profusely, indicating to her not to follow.

When those two disappeared, Kamijo turns around.

And heads down the road he originally walked on.

“That guy seems to have noticed……”

Kamijo smacks his lips and mutters to himself.

(I left my wallet in the dormitory, so why would I go a convenience store?)

Kamijo pulls his handphone from his pocket. The white light from the screen illuminates his face.

He presses several buttons, opening up the GPS satellite search map. Of course, the target isn’t a nearby convenience store. Kamijo thought of what Anieze Sanctis said.

(“Our specialty is that we have a lot of people. Our compatriots are in 110 countries throughout the world, and even in Japan, so there’re many of our Church Ministries there. Also, we’re building a new house of God, called the ‘Church of Ursula’. If I remember correctly, it’s located near here. Once it’s complete, it’ll be the largest Church in Japan. It’s about the size of a baseball stadium.”)

The GPS function of Academy City is extremely accurate and updates really fast. Besides the latest buildings, it’ll accurately display buildings that are about to be built. In contrast, old constructs that have terminated business, like the ‘Gloaming House’, will disappear quickly from the map.

Of course, the name of the construct that’s about to be built won’t appear, as it’ll appear as ‘to be built’ on the GPS. But it’s easy to spot by looking at the image, as there’s only one building as big as a baseball stadium.

(“Yes. Ursula once went to 3 pagan countries to preach Christianity to them, therefore her contributions are large, so the superiors specially allowed a Church to be built in her name. Doesn’t she speak Japanese really well?”)

Kamijo looks at the image on her handphone, and quicken his steps. Just like Anieze said, the ‘Church of Ursula’, the gathering point of the Roman Catholics, is in this city. Since to a group, moving in a large group is a weakness, they’ll use the Church of Ursula nearby to act as a deport base. Although the building isn’t complete, this isn’t a problem to them, because they have much more magic that Kamijo doesn’t know of.

The Roman Catholics should be there.

Including Anieze Sanctis and Ursula Aquinas.

(“After the Church is built, we’ll be sending invitations. However, before this, let’s settle the problem before us, and not let this bother us.”)

Kamijo remembers that joke that Anieze first made, and chuckles.

“Although the party isn’t set up, and the invitations may not be finished, I can’t wait.”

Since their objective is clear, he has no need to stop.

He walks faster, and unknowingly starts to run on the pitch black road in the night.

He has no reason to get in and fight.

Even if he doesn’t interfere, others will come in to settle this.

Index has said this before, ‘Even if there’s a house on fire in front of him, and there’s an infant inside, the law doesn’t decree him to rush in to save the infant.’

Asking others for help or letting others settle the problem isn’t a bad thing.

But……

What if the infant left behind in the fire always believes that Kamijo will save her?

The smartest way is obviously to call the fire brigade.

But no matter how stupid it is, Kamijo is not willing to let the child see his back. Even to himself, when this is the safest method, Kamijo isn’t willing to let down the child’s expectations.

Maybe up till now, Ursula Aquinas still believes in Kamijo Touma.

Even when Kamijo made so many bad decisions, she still believes in him like a child.

Luckily, Kamijo isn’t affiliated to an organisation like the British Puritans and the Roman Catholics. He’s just an ordinary student, an outsider. So there’s no burden on him. Although he can’t ask insiders like Index or Stiyl for help, he can do what they can’t do.

If he has a slight concern, it’ll be that he’ll be considered as a citizen of Academy City, a member of the Science side. However, if the situation isn’t good, it’s likely that Academy City will settle this quickly by expelling him in order to disassociate them from him.

It’s alright even if they expel him, Kamijo thought.

Either way, Kamijo still insists on what he believes in.

Thinking about it, he laughs.

There’s no reason for him to fight, but he’s running in the night.

There’s really no compelling reason for him to interfere at all costs.

But his reason is that he wants to.

Part 4
Right now, the Church of Ursula can’t be called a church. It’s about the size of four to five school gymnasiums. If it’s completed, it’ll likely be the first real Cathedral in Japan. Building such a thing near Academy City, it’s likely they’re trying to suppress the Science side. However, as it’s only built halfway, the empty space gives people a sense of loneliness.

The outer wall was just built, and there’re many steel pedals and ladders. It seems that they haven’t started work on the interior, like it was ravaged by greedy soldiers. There’s a large black hole on the window that’s to be covered with coloured mosaic glass, and the place where they’re planning to put a huge pipe organ is still rather unnatural. The marble floors and wall continues to shine like they’re still new, but the huge Cross that’s to be hung on the wall is leaning on the wall behind the podium.

However, just these alone isn’t going to create this bizarre sight.

There’s no artificial lights in the hall, just starlight that’s shining through the huge black window. Several hundred nuns wearing black robes are standing in this dark corner silently. They’re gathered in a circle. Some are wielding objects that can be easily seen as weapons, like swords and lances. Others are wielding religious ritual tools like gears and hooks. Every single item is reflecting light, and besides the nuns, there’s no one else. The Amakusa members that were captured were put in another building in the same construction site, and there’re more than ten members guarding them.

The nuns aren’t looking outside the building.

Their eyes are fixated on the middle of the circle.

There’s the sound of beating.

And the groan of pain as the person grits her teeth and endures.

“Really, we wasted so much effort. Everyone’s rather busy, including me, and we don’t have time to play games with you. If you understand, then behave yourself and accept your punishment……Hey, you listening!? ARE YOU LISTENING!? Damn it!” Dong! It sounds like a heavy bag being kicked.

At the same time, a cry that seems to come from hell echoes throughout the darkness.

“Humph! What is this cry about? You completely forgot about the image of a lady, and you don’t feel ashamed? Damn it, we might as well change the name of the Church. We’ll be the laughing stock for coming up with a derogatory name like this.”

Ursula Aquinas did not reply.

She’s been beaten really badly, and is lying on the ground. Her clothes are torn really badly, the zips are broken, and the cloth is flipped over, like she’s been dragged on the ground by a horse.

Anieze and company weren’t using any special magic to torture Ursula, they’re just taking turns to kick her arms, legs or stomach. But repeating such an action for a long time will bring tremendous pain. This is a violent act involving more than 200 people, and although they’re somewhat lenient, they’re hurting her until she’s almost dying. Ursula’s lying on the floor, unable to move.

Anieze brutally kicks Ursula legs. This terrifying power travels through the thick soles, pressing on Ursula’s already immobile legs.

“Ugh……!”

“I don’t understand how you feel about running away. Think about your fate, actually, dying here is much better for you. Have you seen the religious trials hosted by the Cardinals? Hahaha, although they’re rather serious, the process is indeed appalling. But for something like this, we really can’t match up to the British Puritans. Compared to their trials, ours is like a game. This is the conclusion I gained upon seeing both types of trials. Ha…haha! Those old geezers, being so old, and still love to play these games. And your fate is to be toyed to death by these geezers, doesn’t this sound wonderful?”

“……!?”

Maybe it’s because the pain caused by the kicks to her legs, Ursula can’t say anything. Were she to open her mouth, she might even bite her tongue.

How did it end up like this? Ursula continues to think.

To anybody, the original copy of the magic book, the ‘Book of the Law’, is something that’s evil and has to be removed. Everyone wants to destroy it. Everyone who gets it will be annihilated, truly a ‘fallen magic book’. But humanity has no way to destroy it, and can only seal and guard it.

Ursula Aquinas only wanted to solve this issue.

Her objective is the same as the Roman Catholics, to destroy the notorious ‘Book of the Law’.

Why did it become like this?

Where did it go wrong for this to go completely different from what she expected?

Up till the final moment, she thought that she was saved.

Why did that boy hand her over to Anieze?

“Really, the number of friends that you can rely on is truly few. To think you’d ask the Amakusa for help when you reached Japan.”

Anieze stares down on Ursula as she said.

She continues to kick Ursula’s calves, looking intoxicated, like she’s been mesmerised by some magic. Ursula feels that every single nerve within her is torn as the pain reverberates through her bones.

“Being so desperate that you’ll ask those foreign Eastern people from a small filthy country? Haha…hahaha! This is really stupid; those pigs don’t even know how to read the Bible, so how much can you expect from them? According to our law, once someone marries a non-Roman Catholic, they’re guilty of bestiality — you should be clear about that. Don’t tell me that you think everyone’s like you because they’re Christians? What Amakusa? What British Puritans? These people don’t have the right to talk about Christ? They aren’t humans, they’re pigs! They’re mules! Of course this will happen when you hand over your life over to them. Tricking an animal is so easy! Just appease them and they’ll automatically turn their prey over!”

“…Tri…ck?”

Ursula, who’s losing consciousness due to the pain, wakes up upon hearing this.

“You said that…those people…were tricked?”

Her cracked lips are filled with blood, making it difficult for her to speak.

But Ursula tries hard to ask the question.

“They…didn’t help you willingly…but…were tricked?”

“Isn’t this unimportant? Anyway, you’re caught by us now! Hoho, hahaha! Oh yeah, I remember. They even said something like ‘we’ll save Ursula from those Amakusa bastards,’ really interesting right? This is stupid! The people who are supposed to protect you have handed you over to the enemy, what a bunch of idiots!”

“……”

“I see.”

The tension of Ursula’s face lessened.

They didn’t betray Ursula to the Roman Catholics. Those smiles and words weren’t a pretense. They’re really concerned about Ursula’s safety, and are did something so dangerous to save her.

Even if it ended in failure.

Even if their hard work didn’t pay off, and made Ursula so far off that she’s about to die.

Up till the end, they’re standing on the side of Ursula Aquinas. They never gave up or betrayed her. They continued to work hard till the end. They’re Ursula’s warmest and most trusted friends.

“What are you laughing at?”

“Really……? I’m…laughing?”

Ursula slowly and gently says,

“I finally know…what kind of people…we Roman Catholics are.”

“Ah?”

“Their actions…are based on trust…because they trust in others, their ideals, their feelings…they’re always willing to give their best…compared to them…we’re truly ugly. Our actions…can only be built on lies…in order to kill me, they’re lying to the public by using a show trial…and even lie to themselves, thinking that that’s what God wants……”

“—”

“HoweverI have no right to……criticise you people. If I had trusted the Amakusa right from the start…the situation wouldn’t have turned out like this. If I had followed the Amakusa’s plan…they wouldn’t have to meet so much danger. In the end…our principles…are based on the Roman Catholics’ nature.”

Ursula laughs.

Her devastated face reveals an expression full of sadness.

“……I can no longerrun away from you people. According to your plan……I’ll be sentenced for a false crime…and buried in darkness…but I don’t care…I can’t lie to myself any longer…and can’t even lie to those friends of mine who never asked for anything in return…I don’t want to…be seen as one of you.”

“Just like what a martyr will say. You think you’re a Saint or something?”

Dong! Anieze’s thick sandals press viciously onto Ursula’s legs. Ursula still remains calm, as if it’s only an empty can that’s stepped on.

“Since you so want to die, I’ll grant your request. Our work will be so much easier now that you’ve given up. You just need to blame the fools who harmed you, and carry that sense of remorse and hatred to death!”

Anieze says it like this, but she’s actually looking down on Ursula, who’s still resisting. There’re 200 nuns beside her ready for action anytime, and there’s a strong boundary around the church, so Ursula is unable to escape either way.

Although Ursula and Anieze are within close proximity, Ursula can only vaguely hear Anieze’s words as she’s still groggy. She thinks using her brain that’s about to stop moving, and says,

“Who…should I really hate?”

“What……?”

“They never…had a reason to jump into the battlefield from the very beginning. It’s said that one teenager among them…doesn’t belong to the Roman Catholics…or the British Puritans…a really ordinary boy. They don’t have power…or reason…but they did so much…for an acquaintance like me. Is there a greater gift than this…in this world? As for those friends who gave me this gift…what can I hate them for?”

That’s right, she shouldn’t hate.

Definitely not hate them.

They didn’t manage to successfully save Ursula, but they shouldn’t be blamed. Because they’re not entitled to save her. They’re not acting under a strong sense of ‘duty’. They really want to save Ursula deep inside, and so they use their ‘authority’ to take part in a battle they shouldn’t be taking part in.

Just them coming forward without hesitation is something one should be grateful for.

So, Ursula does not resent them.

Seeing such a group of people that are willing to help a stranger is a wonderful thing. Ursula feels proud. Knowing such people at the end is such a wonderful thing, Ursula is thankful for God’s grace deep inside.

So satisfying.

So enriching.

The happiness up till now makes Ursula Aquinas feel that nothing can be added on. Unexpectedly though, her fortune doesn’t end here.

Because the next instant……

Bam! Together with something breaking, the boundary covering the church vanishes.

Anieze cannot help but look away from Ursula.

Something extraordinary forced her to.

“It’s destroyed……? Impossible!? Quick! Someone go check the St. Giles’ talisman on the gate, and check for enemies nearby! Damn, which group is doing this? That barrier can’t be broken by one person alone. We don’t know where the enemy’s army will be attacking from……!”

Anieze quickly gives the orders.

But before the orders are carried out, she got the answer she wanted.

“Ah……”

Ursula Aquinas sees it.

The twin oak doors of the Cathedral’s main entrance are flung open by something powerful. A person is standing at the door. This scene is like a crude fairy tale story, where the prince steps up to save the princess.

But there’s only an ordinary boy standing there.

Although it’s just an ordinary teenager, he’s not running, or hiding.

For who?

For what?

The 200+ nuns standing around Ursula turn their eyes over to stare at the boy. There’re so many nuns it’s scary, and they aren’t ordinary people. Of course the boy is scared. He’s just an ordinary teenager, how can he not be scared?

But……?

The boy never backed away, as he steps forward.

In order to save Ursula Aquinas, he steps into the dark church hall.

This step signifies that…

Don’t worry, everything’s going to be alright.

Part 5
Kamijo Touma steps into the empty church.

He sees a terrifying thing.

On a summer night, several hundred people are gathered in this building without air-conditioning. Although the place is big, it’s a closed room, and warm air permeates everywhere. A strong stench of sweat spreads from a dark corner deep inside, like he’s stepping into the lair of a large beast.

Several nuns dressed in black robes are crowding in the darkness.

In the middle of the crowd, there’s a girl lying on the ground. Kamijo sees this and silently squints his eyes.

At this moment, Kamijo hears a laugh, as if it’s laughing at his feelings.

Turning around, it’s Anieze Sanctis. Her image is completely different from before.

“I’ve been finding this weird.”

Anieze giggles,

“How can an amateur who’s not even a magician be recruited for help? Seems like……although I don’t know how you do it, but the ‘power’ you have can break any boundaries. Am I right?”

“……”

“Aiya, what’s wrong? Did you forget something? Or you’re looking for payment? Or……if you’re unwillingly to leave that woman on the floor behind, you can strip her, I don’t mind.”

Anieze sounds very excited, as if she’s drunk, looking carried away.

“Let me ask you something. You’re not bothering to pretend now?”

“Pretend? Pretend what? Don’t you understand the situation? Can’t you tell which side has the advantage? Don’t tell me that you think our positions are the same? What will you do in front of so many people? I feel like hearing what you want to say.”

That’s true, one versus 200 is too much of a difference. Kamijo can’t win if he goes up against so many people. Or maybe it’s because Anieze understands this so well that she smugly walks towards Kamijo. Not only does she not care about her defense, she’s even taunting him.

Anieze believes that Kamijo won’t do anything to her. Once he does, he’ll start a battle where there’s no chance of victory for him.

“Fool, what a fool. Seems like the British Puritans are smart enough to run away. What’s wrong with you? Hm, even so. What can one person do? If you want to run, do so now. This is the last chance. You should know what to do?”

Hearing Anieze say this with such confidence, Kamijo weakly smiles.

“The last chance……I should know what to do……”

His voice contains a strong, strange sense of calm.

“Yeah, this is the last chance. I understand.”

BAM! Kamijo Touma’s right fist cuts through the air.

Anieze quickly crosses her arms to protect her head. At this moment, her feet leaves the floor.

Anieze, who blocked the attack, flies backwards. She then glares at Kamijo like a fierce dog.

Without a second delay.

Without hesitation, the boy lets the enemy in front of him see his realizations.

“You……bastard, you dare to do this to me—!”

Anieze roars.

But Kamijo Touma is louder than her.

“What should I do? WHAT NONSENSE, OF COURSE I SHOULD SAVE HER!”

The two of them are rather emotional, almost on breaking point.

In a nutshell, it’s ‘anger’, but the reason and heat are completely different.

The muscles on Anieze’s face vibrate irregularly, as she mutters.

The nuns in black robes, who were originally standing around, all turn and face Kamijo Touma, wielding their many different weapons in their hands. They marched forward like an army, giving off a cold and scary sound and the same time.

“You’re really……interesting.”

Anieze’s voice and body trembles.

“Facing 200 people, what can you do in this condition? Let me witness it! Haha! With the vast difference in numbers, we’ll beat you to dust in 60 seconds!”

After saying this, the black nuns raise their weapons.

Kamijo Touma, who’s alone and without help, doesn’t have a single weapon, as he clenches his fists.

Just when the battle’s about to start……

Suddenly, a voice came.

“Really, we finally slipped past the hole in the barrier with great difficulty, and you blasted it apart. At least give me some time to set up the rune cards, okay?”

“What……?”

Anieze is stunned. She turns around. Bam! As the sound of flames absorbing oxygen echoes throughout, the church wrapped in darkness is blown apart by an explosion and orange lights.

The light comes from inside the church, just opposite of Kamijo.

On the wall behind the podium, near the second level, there’s a large hole that’s to be covered with stained glass. A British Puritan priest is standing at the window, wielding a flame sword. Seems like he climbed the construction platforms at the outside wall to get there.

“……Stiyl?”

The cigarette-smoking priest stuns Kamijo, as he inadvertently calls out his name.

“The original plan is to chase the outsider home, and let the magicians handle this. A shame I had to say so many lies, and yet everything’s wasted.”

Before Kamijo can speak, Anieze says,

“British……Puritans? Damn it……this is an internal affair of the Roman Catholics! Don’t you understand that you’ll be interfering with internal politics if you step in?”

“Too bad, this argument is invalid.”

Stiyl coldly, puffs out some white smoke, and says,

“Look at Ursula Aquinas’ chest, there’s a British Puritan Cross on her neck. The outsider over there hung it on her.”

Stiyl reveals a cynical smile.

“Once someone puts a British Puritan Cross on another, it means that the person wearing it will be protected by the British Puritan Church. This means that she’s baptized and is now one of us. That Cross was prepared by our Archbishop, and I was supposed to hang it on Ursula’s neck……but as this order wasn’t that important, I delayed this and handed the Cross to that man. I thought that when that outsider is to be captured by you guys, you’ll see the Cross and might think that he’s ‘a member of the large British Puritan Church’, and show mercy to him……however, due to some accidental and strange circumstances, the Cross is on Ursula’s neck. Right now, Ursula Aquinas does not belong to the Roman Catholics, but to the British Puritans.”

“So that’s how it is……”

Kamijo vividly remembers how happy Ursula was the moment he casually said that he’s giving the Cross to her. So there’s such a meaning behind it.

Anieze is flushed red now, and is flabbergasted for a while before she says,

“You……you guys think that you’re able to stand firmly with such a ridiculous argument?”

“It’s really a weak base to rely on, since it’s not done in a British Puritan Church, not done by a British Puritan priest, and she’s not baptized according to British Puritan regulations.”

Stiyl shakes the cigarette in his mouth, and says,

“But at least Ursula’s identity right now is rather delicate. She’s a Roman Catholic who however accepted the British Puritan Cross, and the person who gave her this Cross is someone from Academy City of the Science side. As for which organization she belongs to, I believe it’s necessary to take some time to negotiate. But if you insist on carrying out a trial on her, the British Puritans will not sit back and watch this.”

Stiyl jumps down from the window, and silently lands in front of the podium.

Next, he points the tip of the flame sword at Anieze, who’s standing far away, saying,

“And most importantly, you dare to attack that child!”

Stiyl bares his fangs, continuing on,

“Don’t tell me you guys think that I will ignore this? I’m not so kind!”

“Peh! Even if there’s one or two of you, what can you do……!”

Anieze angrily says this. But she’s cut off by another voice before she can end.

“It’s not just two people.”

“!?”

This rough male voice made Anieze turn around again. Suddenly, the side wall exploded, causing a large hole. A tall man wielding a large sword walks in through the dust.

“Tatemiya……”

The tall man is wielding a white Flamberge, whose material is unknown. Kamijo inadvertently calls out his name.

Tatemiya Saiji.

The current substitute Supreme Pontiff of the Amakusa Catholics, a multi-religious based Catholic organization.

Behind him are the Amakusa members who were imprisoned in the other buildings. There’s around 50 of them, and it seems like they found their freedom.

“You don’t have to ask why I’m doing this, right?”

Stunned, Kamijo says,

“Didn’t you say……that the easiest time to strike is when they’re moving……?”

“I thought that you’d go home quietly the moment I said this. In order to settle everything before you do anything, I talked it out with the British Puritan, and now everything’s wasted. Seems like you’re a bigger idiot than I thought. However, I don’t hate such an interesting idiot like you.”

Tatemiya Saiji says this reluctantly.

Finally, footsteps can be heard behind Kamijo, followed by a familiar girl’s voice.

“Really, Touma. Didn’t I tell you that someone will settle this, and that you don’t have to worry?”

“In…d…ex……?”

Kamijo sputters. A small hand grabs onto Kamijo’s shoulder, and though small, it’s rather forceful.

“However, seems like we can only do this……let’s save Ursula Aquinas with our own hands, Touma.”

“Un.”

Kamijo nods his head.

Seeing this, Anieze Sanctis gives the order angrily,

“KILL THEM ALL!”

Several hundred nuns rush out from the darkness.

The final battle has begun.

In order to end something that shouldn’t have happened, they started the final battle.

Between the lines 2
In the middle of the night, Kanzaki Kaori is standing on the top of a certain building.

The night scenery in front of her includes the Church of Ursula that’s being built. This building is so much different from what someone will expect of a church, not quiet, filled with growls and sounds of things breaking.

Although she’s standing far away from the church, her sharp ears can hear everything. She hears a group of people stepping forward to save a girl.

From the start, Kanzaki never intended to help her fellow Amakusa members, and never intended to attack the Roman Catholics who the Amakusa are against now. Although she sneaked away after this situation happened, she never thought of using violence to settle this.

She just wants to witness this for herself.

Even when she’s gone, the Amakusa haven’t changed.

She wanted to witness that.

Right now, she’s seeing a truth that she always believed in.

She narrows her eyes.

That gentle expression seems to be reminiscing something.

It’s a place where she can no longer go to.

But because of it, to her, it’s a precious place to her.

Not trying to hide, a set of footsteps can be heard as someone approaches Kanzaki from behind.

“Haha! What a touching scene, Kanzaki nee-chan! Very good, very good! Your former comrades didn’t kidnap Ursula for the power of the ‘Book of the Law’.”

“Tsuchimikado!”

Kanzaki hastily pulls a long face, and turns away. But Tsuchimikado’s still grinning as he looks at Kanzaki. Seems like Kanzaki’s feelings are written on her face.

In order to hide her embarrassment, Kanzaki coldly says,

“Is your mission over? Didn’t you say that you’re going to seize this opportunity to steal the original ‘Book of the Law’?”

“This? Hm, do you think that I succeeded or failed?”

“……”

“I’m joking, don’t stare at me like that. Aren’t you also clear about what’s going on? The Amakusa never stole the ‘Book of the Law’, this is all planned by the Roman Catholics. In other words, the Roman Catholics never had the need to bring the original ‘Book of the Law’ to Japan. Right now, the one in Japan is a fake, while the original is still inside the Vatican.”

Tsuchimikado announces that his mission has failed, but he sounds extremely happy. Did he think that this mission is unimportant? Or he’s saying a lie, and the ‘Book of the Law’ is already in his hands? Which is the answer? Kanzaki doesn’t know.

Tsuchimikado walks beside Kanzaki, places his two hands on the metal handrail used to prevent people from falling, and stares at the scene where Kanzaki was looking at. After a while, he says,

“Are you satisfied now?”

“……Yes, and they even exceeded my expectations.”

Kanzaki again turns and looks at the church, saying,

“As long as they’re around, even without me, the Amakusa will walk on the right path. They became stronger.”

“Un, seems like they’re in a tough battle. You’re not going to help them?”

“I have no right to stand in front of them now. And they don’t need my power now. I’m like an auxiliary wheel of a bicycle.”

Kanzaki proudly says, but there’s some loneliness in her tone.

There’s not even the faintest sign of perplexities or hesitation.

Although Kanzaki’s saying this rather seriously, Tsuchimikado is trying really hard to hold back his laughter.

“What are you laughing at, Tsuchimikado?”

“Nee-chan, seriously, you never expected Kamiyan to be involved in this, right? The ‘Angel Fall’ incident last time, and when you were retrieving Index, you owe him quite a few favours, don’t you? Right now, you got him involved in your own personal issue, and you’re thinking how to say sorry to him after this, right?”

“No it’s nothing like that……that scenario you thought of will never happen………”

Kanzaki sternly replies.

Tsuchimikado seems to have remembered something, and let out a huge laugh. His laughter is extremely loud, so loud that one may worry that his voice may reach the Church of Ursula. He laughs till tears are rolling out of his eyes, and after a while, says,

“Let me ask you, why are you holding bandages in your hand? Don’t tell me you intend to bandage the wounds of your unconscious comrades after the battle? And after bandaging their wounds, you’ll gently stroke their faces, give a slight smile, and stealthily leave? Eh hehe! Nee-chan, you can do such an old-fashioned thing? Don’t you feel ashamed doing this with such a stern face?”

“……!?”

“Ugn? Woah woah, nee-chan, what’s wrong with you? Why that deadpan look, and your temples are still moving…wait a minute! Wait a minute! I’m unarmed! Your Seven Heavens Seven Sword isn’t to be used for playing! I don’t want to be bandaged earlier than them WA—!?”