Toaru Majutsu no Index Light Novel Volume SS/Chapter 1

Title - Chapter 1: Pot with Meat and the Appetite for Great Tactics. A_Required_Thing.

Volume SS

Previous Chapter → Prologue

Next Chapter → 2

Part 1
Various things are presented during lunch break.

"Bwah. My stomach is growling like an animal..."

Missing out on breakfast due to various circumstances, Touma somehow made it through the morning classes.

As soon as break started, he dashed from the classroom to the cafeteria to make a purchase.

From the hallway, you could hear, "Hey, no running in the hallway and-!!" coming from a small teacher, "if you're going to run, take off your indoor shoes and slide on your socks!!"

"Unfolded socks drift!!" a Sports Club member's voice mixes in.

What speed! The Sports Club's way is the Doppler effect.

Even with his average strength, Kamijou would always get a late start.

Always being delayed to lunch break would be fatal, but today is fine. With a bang, he pulls a thin student bag out and places it on his desk, and from it he pulls out a killer bento box.

"Now, time to eat," he said while pulling off the lid, but the cell phone in his pocket suddenly vibrates by chance.

Checking, he sees that the latest number and email address came from Misaka Mikoto.

"Ah?"

Seeing that, he scratches his head while staring at the LCD screen.

"Data is corrupted, this mail cannot be opened" appears.

(What? How did she send mail over here in the first place?)

Kamijou, little by little, presses the buttons to send a message that he couldn't read the mail, so send it again.

He shoves the phone back in his pocket, as in the first place it's time for lunch.

"Mnmn. Today seems weird, somehow."

Getting closer while holding a small bag was Himegami Aisa.

A girl who looks really Japanese, with long black hair — truthfully, she had a bento everyday.

"Again, you've brought something delicious."

"The side dish isn't divided. I'll trade you."

After saying this, Himegami drags over a chair with a "zuzuzuzuzu" sound.

Kamijou himself pulls open the top of his bento.

"...There was food left over from yesterday, and I had packed a decent breakfast, but...it was eaten this morning by that girl..."

"?"

Kamijou felt faint as Himegami tilted her head to understand.

After lunch break starts, the majority of the class disappears into the hallway to buy food from the cafeteria. The remaining take out their lunches and encamp at some desks, without worrying about space.

Kamijou pulls out the cold barely tea that he obtained on the way to school(and is lukewarm now) from inside his bag.

"Himegami, you have the drive to make nicely prepared bentos everyday. I just pack leftovers and it's tiring to do."

"Once you make a habit of it, you won't have so much trouble."

The difference between their bentos is obvious. Himegami's has vegetable tempura as the staple food and it wasn't mixed with rice; it looks very tasty. While Kamijou merely packed in leftovers, Himegami had planned from the beginning to make her bento. Even worse, because of his way of cooking it, the broth surprisingly eroded and leaked into the rice's zone.

There was a small look of pity in her eyes while watching him grip the plastic chopsticks, "This doesn't look like a bento. The broth has unexpectedly, skillfully soaked in."

"...Sore loser?"

"I am not! Today's meal is simmered in broth made from the perfect soft potato; soaking it into the rice was clever! Tch, if you wanna make that kind of face, then try this taro! You'll know Kamijou Touma's underlying strength of using Mirin to kick it up a notch!!"

Then Himegami & Kamijou's chopsticks cross each other's as they swap her Pumpkin Tempura.

(What a hassle, frying it in the morning, but it's good; just how early does this person get up?)

Maybe she's a surprisingly hard-worker, Kamijou thinks as he put the Tempura in his mouth. It's frustratingly delicious. It should have been a long time since it was put into the Bento box, but it was still crisp. He pleads with her to teach him the recipe.

On the other hand, Himegami vaguely recalls her learning to cook after her father's work-related transfer left her alone while staring at the Taro, she says while chewing,

"Hm. Not bad—"

Her words are suddenly cut off with a "Nugh!" and a moan. Like that rounding out the back, she places her hands on her throat.

Apparently her throat is blocked.

"A-Are you okay!?"

He reflexively says in a loud voice, but she doesn't reply.

With tears in her eyes, she reaches for the bottle of mineral water. Kamijou panics when she grabs his hand and pulls it to her back, "Eh, what? I'd better pat you on the back?!"

He cries, as Himegami was nodding with water in her mouth.

Touma moves her long hair to expose her back, while deciding to gently rub her back up and down, as she painfully shivers in her seat.

"Damn!! I should take you the infirmary—!"

"Mugu! Mugugu!"

"Oh, you want me to do it harder!?"

Pointing at her back with his hand, she nods little by little. Kamijou, wanting to help her as soon as possible, loses himself in her instructions and pats her back, before a snap is heard.

The irregular feeling of her bra unhooking could be felt on his fingers.

To that, she silently molds her hand into a fist, and mercilessly drives it into his stomach (Her breasts shaking upwards slightly).

*Zudom!!* It's as if his stomach is making that sound as his body flies backwards, rolling on the floor. Himegami held her chest area as she ran to the bathroom.

"Guagh. I–I just did it like she said to do it. What were those unpleasant eyes for...?" Kamijou is on the ground, shaking little by little from his core when a classmate with long brows, long black hair, and huge breasts named Fukiyosei Seiri comes in while holding a Side Bread Plastic bag in one hand. It seems she went to her locker to get the food she had there. In an amazed voice, she says,

"What are you doing?"

"Fu–Fukiyose?"

He slowly gets up and sits in a chair while looking at her lunch.

"Why are you always eating that sort of horrible bread?"

"It's not horrible! It's perfectly delicious!!"

She shouts shamelessly while holding a bundle of the bread with the wrapper that says "Carries 21 nutrients to increase the brain's capacity." It's like medicine for lunch.

Frowning, Fukiyose sits at Kamijou's desk while biting into and guzzling down the bread, which still doesn't look appetizing.

"If you don't have any side dishes, you can have my taro."

"I'll tell you now: today I'm wearing a front hook.*"

(TC: She's referring to her Bra has a front hook as opposed to a back hook)

"?"

Not understanding the reason for that outburst, he tilts his head in confusion. Watching him in that state, she clears her throat.

"Still, it's rare for you to make a bento."

"Earlier, Himegami said the same thing. Even I find it unusual."

Kamijou once again starts poking at the bento with his chopsticks, while the rest of his classmates, who went to buy side dish bread at the last moment, begin returning to the classroom in groups with it in one hand. It seems the cafeteria will be set a little later. This season's trend seems to be going outside the school, like to buy Oden at convenience stores, now that the ban has been lifted. This is how students pass their lunch break.

After eating, they roll up a handout flier to play catch with, and others pulled out their cell phones to watch a variety show while eating. But the most common topic here is the most common. As if listening to them aimlessly, the same thing comes out of Fukiyose mouth,

"...War, is it?"

She sighs as those dangerous words come out, and Kamijou unintentionally stopped his chopsticks. Fukiyose, while hiding a frown on her face from his visage, says, "What, you don't know? Try checking the news a little more."

"I know. I really do."

Rather, he knows better than anyone. Still, he could never tell her that.

"Well, at least you know about that. Some fighting from sects of a religious group somewhere has caused a worldwide movement of protests."

The degree of this second-hand story Fukiyose heard somewhere is a bit unreliable.

"Maybe I'll go."

Her tone holds a sense of anxiety and fear in those words. Kamijou's face went dim. He stopped noticing his chopsticks and she let out a sigh before continuing,

"But if war starts, the price of things—such as meat and vegetables—would rise. So would the usual oil."

Those sudden, out-of-place words confuse Kamijou a little.

However, there are rumors about it circling around as well.

The Sports Club group, who are watching TV on their cellphones, say, "They've placed tighter restrictions on the exits, so the story is that there won't be anymore school field trips."

"Really!? Ichinarasai will still be affected!!"

Other things are said by girls next to them,

"But earlier in the staff room, I heard from the Anti-Skill teachers that because of the counter-plan, the midterm test got lost."

"Lucky~!! I wasn't confident in the body inspection, so this saved me!!"

"Excuse me? I've been training extra hard to outdo everyone at bending a spoon with one hand; what am I suppose to do now?"

And they all laughed.

This school...or rather, this entire city is filled with the current "War causes big problems" issues.

Academy City and the Roman Orthodox Church disputes happen; even if they know that, they are so cemented into their positions that they can't even imagine it.

So good, Kamijo thinks.

So that such an environment where you can imagine such a blood drenched battle, was at an end.

So that it doesn't happen, Kamijou Touma took action.

"Why've you been quiet for so long?"

"N–No–Nothing!"

"...Stop looking at other people's breast when they're talking. Geez, what were you imagining?"

"I'm not imagining anything like that! Once in a while I have to shoulder serious things!!"

In a fit of irritation, he thrusts his chopstick into the taro in the bento box.

"But, why would meat and vegetables be so expensive? Academy City clones meat and has artificial vegetables. Look, there are agricultural buildings everywhere. Even the 17th district, which is famed as the industrial area."

"Besides, isn't there a limit? There's no such thing as complete self-sufficiency — from working with partner organizations, you can just take it from somewhere else!"

"Hmph."

Kamijou sees that Himegami just returned to the classroom at a glance from the corner of his eye.

"Then, I wonder if it's better to get Nabe now. After the price rises, you can't help but think it was a good value."

"Well, there's a reason. The prices in the supermarket rise bit by bit during the winter. It's still early, but I better buy Nabe quickly."

And after those words, he could hear Aogami Pierce and Tsuchimikado Motoharu near the blackboard in a deep discussion,

"Like I said, the lap pillow doesn't really exist. That was only a product of fiction!"

"...No, it does, Nya~."

They stopped their conversation and looked over to Kamijou. Aogami Pierce says, "So Kamiyan, do you want to go out for Nabe today?"

Tsuchimikado follows up,

"Nya. If it's Sukiyaki, I know a cheap but delicious shop."

That conversation spreads to the neighboring student,

"It's October and too soon for Nabe. Right?"

The circle of the conversation expanded from there at once.

His classmates got closer, one-by-one.

"What? You guys aren't going to the store somewhere today?"

"We won't allow you to have a monopoly of the delicious shops."

"I prefer Nabe to Yakiniku, personally."

"Wait, wait, everyone pull out your cash. We'll let the majority decide where we go."

"Huh," Kamijou's eye spots it.

The subject of the conversation went from "I'll eat nabe" to "Go out to eat with everyone in class."

"Why did it suddenly go to nabe again?"

"The launch of this was the Daihasei some time ago."

"This feels like preparations for the Ichinarasai, doesn't it?"

The group surrounding Kamijo exchanges a variety of suggestions, until he finally says "Nevermind the reason! Just Nabe will be fine!!" to change the direction. But Kamijou, who's at the center of the conversation, is left alone.

"Majority voting!!"

"Sukiyaki!!"

"BBQ!!"

"Oden!" "I want oden too!!"

"Who was using ventriloquism?"

"*Speak* *Speak* x 6"(Tl: Basically, six people were talking at the same time.)

"5.1 channel surround. Someone raise the sound!!"

Then the whole classroom became like a stadium with an explosion of loud noise.

In the end, Tsuchimikado screams out "This Tsuchimikado-style hidden store can meet all of your needs nya~!"

Aogami Pierce countered with "Hop by my place where there's waitresses! There's one with huge tits and the smile of an angel with no boyfriend!"

An uproar of, "No, I want cheerleader uniform waitresses!"

"I've seen it, it's more like tennis-wear."

The debate is moving on to where it isn't understandable.

Kamijou let out a nervous "Gyaa."

"Fukiyose-san, what should we do about this difficult thing!?"

"Geez..."

Fukiyose takes a short breath and hides her face with both hands, and then raises them both behind her head at once, sweeping her back hair behind her ears perfectly. After that, she fixes her hair clips.

She's serious.

Kamijou lets out a small cry reflexively.

"—Fukiyose forehead DX!!?"

"Now!! I'll take care of the voting quickly and quietly!!"

Fukiyose goes to the podium and cleanly clears the blackboard.

Part 2
The female teacher with the appearance of a 12-year-old, Tsukiyomi Komoe, and the female gym teacher with enormous breasts and wears a jersey all year long, Yomikawa Aiho, are walking along the corridor. Lunch break will be over soon.

"So they say that a neko-chan's brain is roughly the same as 1½-year-old human's. Academy City's curriculum begins at 5-years-old at the earliest: this conclusion was drawn from the neko-chan's being unable to use abilities... This was the basis of Isoshio-san's thesis from the Kirigaoka Female College, but—"

"Seems like a lie to me. How would you even know if a stupid animal's ability manifested itself? Well, the irregular ability development is the gimmick of that place. It wouldn't be strange if various ideas like that came flying out of the place."

Yomikawa halfheartedly swings around her bundled black hair, while saying,

"Kirigaoka is where that runaway girl under your care is from, right? What's up with her?"

"Tee-hee. When Himegami-chan enrolled in the school dorms, it was a little lonely, but since Musujime-chan came, it's fine now. She must've had a bad experience over there, but Sensei will wait for her to tell me. Because it's different from doing housework, she can study better now."

"Oh really?" Yomikawa lets out in an admiring, honest tone.

"My freeloader heartlessly left rather quickly. He didn't even leave a note. I get the impression it had something to with the scrap of paper I found this morning from Nagatenjouki Academy. Seems like he got into the dorms over there."

(TC: Only accelerator left, not Last Order)

"Eh! They are said to be the number one when it comes to ability development! Look, at this year's Daihasei festival, they even beat Tokiwadai middle school and became the champions."

"Maybe, but still. Somehow, it doesn't make sense; for other freeloaders to go where yours left from seems unnatural... well, there are various things over here, too."

Be it an argument or whatever else, each one respectively takes charge as Komoe-sensei and Yomikawa's classes are next door to each other.

They may be the same class grade, but the atmosphere—or so to speak, the "color" of the classes—are different. Yomikawa's way of ending lunch break is to gather up the next history book and the like about 5 minutes before the end, and use the remaining time to show each other homework assignments. Her being in charge of gym had nothing to do with history. It's said that the history teachers are crying in their minds from happiness.

Komoe-sensei's class on the other hand...

"It's settled!! Everyone's going out for Sukiyaki tonight!!!"

"Doooh!" Like after lost time in a goal in a soccer stadium had been decided, a cheer can be heard. This loud cheer topples Komoe-sensei. Even the glass windows in the hallway are shaking from it.

Komoe-sensei struggles to get up.

"Waaaah! Yo–Yomikawa-sensei, I tried to take control of the class earlier, but I'm sorry—!!"

Komoe-sensei jumps into her classroom, all shook up with anger.

Looking at her back, Yomikawa sighs and feels dizzy.

"It's fine. It looks like it's just a stupid issue..."

Part 3
Various things led tonight's dinner being Sukiyaki.

The party that consisted of the entire class + Index + Komoe-Sensei + Sphinx walked to the nabe shop that Tsuchimikado knew. Since the start of the Daihasei, Index had already barged into the class five times and became familiar with them, so there was no need to explain to others anymore.

Since it was past the time to go home, no buses or trains were running. So it was decided they'd walk to the store in the 7th district.

There was a complicated corner inside the underground shopping complex, which has various experimental school cuisines and nutrition shops. Thinking that Tsuchimikado's sister-in-law's home economics school's shop must be there as well, Kamijou silently sighs.

As they entered the passage to the sukiyaki shop,

"Uwah.."

Kamijou unintentionally lets out a moan.

Maybe because every store in this underground mall was built around a modern design, this one looks uncannily run-down. A wreck, to be more familiar. There was no sense of it trying to attract customers.

"You wouldn't expect this place to be surprisingly good, but the stubborn old boss won't paint it."

"On the contrary, because it looks so rundown, wouldn't it serve as good cover?"

Attempting to gain confidence by taking a deep breath, Kamijou is in the front row as they pull open the door with a rattle.

They only find an unmotivated-looking student clerk near the cash register, but from the interior of Kamijou's group, whose total count was 40 people, heard an exchange, with thick provincial accents, "Whoa-!! We've got a big catch!! The sales from today alone will top the charts," an exposed voice says in a flurry.

Kamijou's shoulders drop, "Well, they don't seem to be organized."

"In the first place, it's strange for 40 people to come without calling ahead. I wanted to see that guy's smiling face instead of his boring empty one, nya," Tsuchimikado said. In the middle of it,

"By the way," Komoe-sensei interrupts. She is leaning on the wall, viewing a somewhat, seemingly oil-stained catalog. "Tsuchimikado-chan, this shop has 30 kinds of beers, and that's only the local brews. Also, their alcohol is top-notch. How did you come to know about such a place?"

"Guh!? N–No!! It's unthinkable, nya!! How could a highschool senior even drink alcohol, nya!!"

"Tsuchimikado-chan? Tsuchimikado-chaaan?"

Komoe-sensei's infinitely shady eyes point at him until the long awaited nabe finally arrives. Touma's classmates grab her whole body while saying "Now-now-now" and forcibly take her to the banquet hall for the group.

Sensei tries to say something, but they seem to ignore her.

Naturally, having one table of nabe for 40 people to peck at would be impossible to do, so it was decided to split off into different groups and tables.

"Let's eat!" "Let's eat some nabe!" Everyone's tension rises; some twist the knobs on the gas-range on the tables for no reason, while others keep busy with a contest on who can cleanly divide the wooden chopsticks.

The calico cat's little nose begins twitching in delight as it meows while watching, as it is banned once again from sukiyaki that has negi* in it.

(TL: Negi is a type of green onion and onions can cause anemia in cats, along with liver damage.)

Pitying it, Kamijou had lumped in an order of onigiri earlier with the nabe, and places it in front of the calico cat. "Curses!! Everyone gets meat while I only get salmon," the calico cat seemingly pouts while raising its tail, grabbing both sides of the onigiri with its front paws and nibbling on it in jealousy.

While waiting for the order of nabe, the class begins talking on the topic of the chaos on the "outside" of Academy City.

Himegami, in a whispering voice, is talking to Fukiyose while back-to-back.

"Come to think of it, apparently there is talk that children with higher abilities should submit papers ascertaining their identities."

"If you're talking about stronger esper abilities, it's a proper way to handle them, isn't it? Humph, as I thought, if it becomes very bad we might be the ones paying the dearest price!"

On the contrary, sitting next to Fukiyose, Touma ponders about it quietly. Nearby, Index is tilting her head in confusion.

As seen by the relationship between Misaka-imouto and Misaka Mikoto, ability can be determined by DNA information. Truthfully, they wouldn't want to lose students with valuable skills. Especially "Level 5" espers alone, who've been worth it to make a professional laboratory.

In a related topic,

"Hey, is it true Tokiwadai Middle School's buses are bulletproof and explosion-proof? Rumors like that have suddenly popped up; I'm worried."

"Nya. Gossip like that being whispered on the "School Garden" reeks of lies. Information there is highly classified, so I doubt it'd be leaked without reason."

Sitting across from Kamijou is Aogami Pierce, who had left to use the telephone and came back during Tsuchimikado's speech, felt it was ridiculous but has a strange credibility.

For example, if the Ojou-samas of Tokiwadai Middle School were lost, it would without doubt be a major blow to the financial and political worlds. People's lives aren't all worth the same, Kamijou sighs.

"Haa! The number of parents making inquiries that say "If war breaks out, Academy City will be dangerous for their children" has multiplied."

"Eh, such conversations are being raised as well?"

Komoe-sensei speaks in a small, tired tone, while Kamijou is puzzled. She is sitting across the table from him and waiting for the nabe to come with a glass of cold water in her mouth.

"Well, getting their children may be important. But I can also understand...where is there another place safer than Academy City? Whether inside or outside the country, I don't think any other security measures are enough."

Doubting it, Kamijou makes a bitter smile. He can't even count how many times he's been sent to the hospital in the last few months.

Sitting next to Touma is Index.

"Touma, I'm hungry."

"...The nabe will come soon. But you really go at your own pace."

"I want an Onigiri, too."

"No way! That's for the cat!"