Toaru Majutsu no Index Light Novel Volume 07/Chapter 1

Title - Chapter 1: 学園都市　Science_Worship.

Volume 07

Previous Chapter → Prologue

Next Chapter → 2

Part 1
"So— the second semester is rather hectic. There are so many activities during this time that we can’t count them all: Daihaisai, Ichihanaransai, hiking, training, school excursions, Arts Appreciation Day, Social Learning Day, Cleaning Day, end-of-term exams, tuition, and the dreaded after-class remedial! To prepare for all these festivals, everyone will be very busy." (Note: The curriculum in Japan for primary and secondary school education has 3 semesters. A school year starts in April, and the second semester starts in September, after summer vacation.)

September 8th.

In the afternoon, while walking through the corridor, Tsuchimikado Maika speaks casually. She's about as old as Index and maybe a bit smaller than her, but she always wears a maid uniform. What’s more amazing is that she normally sits on the cylindrical cleaning machine. If the cleaning machine were to move according to the instructions it gets, Maika would put a broom in front of it so that it can only shake about gently.

“But I’m bored now. What should I do? Touma didn’t even care about me or play with me!”

Index rattles on, shaking her body around and protesting at Maika. Her silver hair sways together with her white nun cap. The calico cat in her slender arms seems to be attracted to the shiny gold embroidery on her cap, raising its front paws and swinging them around.

Index understands that Kamijou seems to be busy recently. But in Academy City, Kamijou is the only one who talks to her.

Of course, Kamijou Touma did not confine Index to his room in the dormitory; Index has the spare key to the room, and when Kamijou is at school, Index would go around spending her time (but she’s powerless when it comes to the automatic ticket gates, any fingerprint, pulse, or human nervous flow identifier, or anything related to electronics and will run away from them).

However, Academy City is different from any other city.

Academy City was built soon after the development of west Tokyo, and 80% of its population are students. When Kamijou goes to school, Himegami and Komoe will also be at school. So, even if Index wants to find someone to talk to, the streets are empty, although after spending a week exploring, Index found that the big sister at the clothes shop will talk to her when she’s not arranging the goods. However, Index feels that her objective is not just to talk to her only.

Only Tsuchimikado Maika can be considered an exception.

In Academy City, where everyone has to act according to time, only she is not constrained by it. Even if it was morning or afternoon, Index will occasionally find her on the streets. She can be found everywhere: convenience stores, department stores, parks, bakeries, station buildings, student dormitories, streets, schools...

The robot continues to try and move forward, and as Maika smacks it with her hand, she says,

"Kamijou Touma has his own things to doyou can’t give him too much trouble. Anyway, it’s not like he intentionally left you behind. Studying is a really tiring thing."

"Uhm... I understand... but why does Maika not need to go to school?"

"Hoho, because I’m an exception— a maid doing practical work is a very normal thing!"

The home economics school that Tsuchimikado Maika attends isn’t just any ordinary weird school that still produces maids in this age. The maids in that school are specially trained to "assist" their masters. From cleaning up chewing gum on the streets to having a meeting with the leaders of the world, nothing can stump them. So, Maika has to go everywhere to do all sorts of "practical work". However, not all the school's students can go out and do "practical work" like Maika; this is a special privilege that is earned after the school tests the student and feels that "although she’s an apprentice maid, she’s capable enough to not disgrace the school’s name".

Index, who does not understand the toil and tears behind all that, tilts her cute little head and says,

"As long as I’m a maid, I could go wherever I want anytime? Not confined by school? Even able to go to Touma’s school?"

"No, a maid isn’t really like that—"

"Then I want to be a maid! Then I can go and play with Touma!"

"Although it sounds touching, the life of a maid is really tough, especially for someone like you who can’t do housework and waits for the boy to prepare your lunch in the morning. Being a maid would be really tough for you."

"Then let Touma be the maid! Then I’ll call Touma to play with me!"

"This really sounds so touching that someone could cry, but for Kamijou Touma’s sake, I advise you not to tell him that."

"Uuu—uuuu---"

The bored girl beats her cheeks, rapidly swinging her body around.

"Hm, I’m sorry; no matter whether it’s you or him, neither of you will have the time to be maids."

A voice suddenly comes from behind the pure white girl.

"Eh?"

Index’s mind instantly goes blank. Maika, who was facing Index, sees the figure behind her. Besides panic, there is a look of fear on her face.

Who is it...?

Before the nun could turn and ask, a large hand covers her mouth with tape.

Part 2
The ordinary high school student, Kamijou Touma is walking slowly down the street in the evening.

The cylindrical cleaning machines pass by him. The blades of the windmills, which have replaced electric cables, keep spinning like they’re chasing away the crows in the city. There are many hot-air balloons floating in the orange sky, but the things hanging below them aren’t just ordinary billboards, but the latest ultra-thin screens. Like an electronic billboard with vertical marquees, the text reads from bottom to top: "Be prepared! Let’s work hard for Daihaisai! –Discipline Council"

Well, Daihaisai is basically a sports carnival. But as Academy City has several million students and all the schools are participating, the scale of the event will be extremely large. All the students are espers, and the management committee of Academy City will use the excuse of "collecting data when there is mutual interference between different powers" to encourage the students to use their powers during Daihaisai. Thus, intensive battles between different espers can be expected. For example, during soccer or dodgeball matches, it is common to see vanishing balls, fireballs, and iceballs.

Daihaisai lasts for one week, and during this time, Academy City is open to the public; even television cameras are allowed. It is said that in these showdowns that cannot be seen in normal sport matches, the viewer ratings are rather high. Because of this, the discipline committee is putting all its efforts in preparing for Daihaisai. Also, Academy City hopes to use these few days that are open to the public to improve its image. Of course, Academy City did not forget about terrorists, as guards would be deployed at several important power development facilities, preventing them from entering these secret areas.

“This… this is so tiring…”

This is what Kamijou learned during this past week.

Because of certain circumstances, Kamijou lost his memories, and thus forgot everything about Daihaisai. But according to what he heard, this activity is extremely dangerous for Touma. The objective of Daihaisai isn’t just "no restraint of powers", but rather "if you do not use your powers, you’re going to be friends with the medical squad". In other words, even in a war horse game, there might be fireballs, lightning strikes, and flying knives.

Kamijou looks at his hand. This hand has the Imagine Breaker ability. No matter whether they’re magic or psychic powers, once they touch this hand, they’ll disappear without a trace. But a power like this isn’t going to help Kamijou to survive in a warzone between several espers.

…Why must I be tired out in preparing for this event that will send me to hell…?

Today, Kamijou set up a tent in the campus for visitors. Just after finishing, a female PE teacher came with a wry smile and said, “Sorry, we won't be using this tent.” Then Touma took it down again. When he finally finished, a female teacher who looked like a primary school student angrily ran over and shouted, “Ah! What are you doing, Kamijou!? Haven’t you heard the news? We still need this tent!” Anyway, "Such misfortune" isn’t enough to describe Kamijou today.

After meaninglessly toiling for a long time, Kamijou could finally start dragging his tired body back to the student dormitory.

“Oh, yeah, there doesn’t seem to be anything left in the fridge.”

The supermarket is just in front of him, but he is penniless and has to go back to his dorm to get money first. The thought of having to go out again after returning home makes Kamijou extremely frustrated.

The soles of his cheap basketball shoes are rather hard, making his two legs extremely tired as he walks.

When he finally approaches the student dormitory, Kamijou hears a girl’s shout from above.

“Ah Ka… Ka, Ka… Kamijou Touma, Kamijou Touma—”

“Hm?”

Kamijou looks up and sees Tsuchimikado Maika sticking her head out, and waving her right arm from the seventh level. She’s still sitting on the top of the cleaning robot, so it seems rather dangerous. However, she grabs onto a mop, and lays it on the ground, seemingly to prevent the robot from advancing.

“It… it’s terrible. Why did you turn off your phone?”

“?”

Kamijou hears this, and pulls the handphone with global GPS out of his pocket. Sure enough, the power is off. After turning on the handphone, he sees several messages from Tsuchimikado Maika. Maika continues to speak slowly, though her expression is pale. Although suspicious, Kamijou still runs to the elevator.

Kamijou arrives at his room on the seventh floor. Maika removes the mop and the cleaning robot slowly moves towards the elevator. For some reason, the calico cat that would normally be with Index is now sitting alone in the corridor. The cleaning robot arrives in front of Kamijou, and Maika again prevents the cleaning robot from moving forward by putting the mop in front of it.

“It’s an emergency! The silver-haired nun has been taken away.”

“What?”

Kamijou could not help but shout out. Maika’s face looks pale as she continues on.

“It’s a kidnapping, abduction. The culprit said that if I call the guards, he’ll kill her, so I didn’t do anything. I’m sorry, Kamijou Touma.”

The silver-haired girl she’s talking about should be Index. Maika doesn’t look like she’s joking. Also, there are too many possible reasons why Index could be kidnapped.

She’s a magical library with 103,000 magical texts memorized in her head. All the magicians in the world want the knowledge in her brain, and on August 31, she was kidnapped once because of this reason.

“Wait a minute, what is going on? Could you explain?”

Being asked by Kamijou, Maika stutters as she explains the details.

Two hours ago, Maika came to the student dormitory for "practical work". While sweeping the floor, she saw a bored Index in the corridor of the seventh floor, and went to talk to her. In the middle of their chat, someone suddenly covered Index’s mouth from behind and abducted her.

“When the kidnapper left, he gave me an envelope. There is something written on the letter inside…”

Maika hands over a long, rectangular letter normally used for sending advertisements. Her voice is trembling, likely not just because of fear, but probably also because she is blaming herself for her uselessness.

Kamijou lowers his head, looking at the letter, and says,

“You don’t have to blame yourself; it’s better than doing something and making the situation worse.”

Although it is intended to console Maika, this statement makes her even more distressed. It can’t be helped, since in an ordinary school life, there are very few chances to feel this burning tension.

“Oh, yeah, what does that bastard look like?”

Maika looks up, thinks for a while, and says,

“Uhm… His height was above 1.8 m; he was white, but his Japanese was still very fluent; and I couldn't tell what country he was from just from his appearance…”

“Uh huh.”

“He was wearing priest’s robes.”

“Hm?”

“But he had a strong perfume smell. His hair was dyed red and hung on his shoulders. There was a silver ring on each of his fingers, and a tattoo which looked like a number under his right eye. He had a cigarette in his mouth, and he wore earrings…”

“…Oi, I’m rather familiar with that bastardly British priest.”

Maika reveals a look of suspicion. Kamijou opens the envelope, and finds a letter inside. On the letter are neat rows of words which seems to have been written with a mechanical pencil. It looks like a ruler was used to make them neat.

"Kamijou Touma: If you want her alive, at seven tonight, go to the abandoned theater ‘Gloaming House’ outside Academy City alone."

“…There‘re still people nowadays who would use a ruler to disguise their handwriting?”

In this age, it’s naive to believe that using a ruler disguises someone's handwriting. Using the technology of having a laser read the information on a CD surface, investigators had developed a way to identify the "different characteristics when a person’s fingers slightly tremble" through the grooves on the text. Moreover, many people in Academy City are mind-readers.

Maybe this guy is doing everything the proper way, but to Kamijou, this is just a lame joke.

''What on earth is that idiot doing? Don’t tell me he came to play with us just because it’s summer holidays now?''

According to Maika’s testimony, the culprit who abducted Index is her colleague Stiyl Magnus. But this guy would never do anything to endanger her; on the contrary, this guy would rush into the enemy’s territory to protect her.

The tension vanishes in an instant.

Kamijou can’t help but sympathize with the distressed Maika.

“Erm… Maika, don’t worry. The culprit should be a friend of Index's and mine, so don’t worry…”

“The cul… culprit is a friend? Then isn’t the motive because of twisted love?”

“Ah, erm… It isn’t really that sort of thing… though it’s true that this twisted love may exist…”

Seeing Maika’s face become even paler, Kamijou sighs.

Flipping the envelope upside down, a stack of papers falls out. Opening and looking at it, Kamijou realizes that they are exit permits and other related documents. All the blanks are filled in. Kamijou couldn’t help but think, ''How did they do all these? It’s true that one can leave Academy City easily with these documents, but to request for all these would require serious examination…''

The strong contrast between the stupid threatening letter and the well-preparedness of the required documents stuns Kamijou.

What on Earth is that priest thinking?

Part 3
The abandoned ‘Gloaming House’ is located about 3 kilometers away from Academy City.

Business stopped just about 3 weeks ago, which is why the building still doesn’t look damaged. Furthermore all the interior equipment has been removed, so it seems rather empty inside right now, and because no one has swept since then, everything is covered in dust. It couldn't be considered a ‘ruin’ though. This place could be reopened, if you would clean up and reinstall the equipment back again.

This place looks like a ‘hibernating building’. Maybe the owner does not plan to take down this building for now, and is looking for a new buyer.

Index waits on the empty stage. It is a large hall, the auditorium and the stage are joined together, and the hall is about as big as a sports hall. There are no windows, and the lighting has been removed, so the only source of light comes from the setting sun outside the five opened doors. On the dim stage, Index kneels on the floor. She frowns, showing her displeasure.

“Despicable man.”

“I can’t deny that, nor will I do so.”

The girl’s hostile look made Stiyl Magnus look a bit fearful before he held it back. In the dim area, the flaming tip of the cigarette twitches up and down. The white smoke sways in the air, before grazing the ‘no smoking’ sign and disappearing.

“You should be able to understand all of this, don’t you? I won’t ask you if I need to repeat myself, because with your memory, repeating the same thing over again is meaningless.”

“……An official order from the British Puritan Church.”

Index remembers the explanation she was given when she first arrived here. There is finally someone who can decode the ‘Book of the Law’ that no one was able to decode. That person’s name is Ursula Aquinas. It is feared that once someone successfully decodes the ‘Book of the Law’, the ‘Angelic Technique’ could be used. The book was stolen when Ursula came to Japan, and the culprit is believed to be the Amakusa Catholics. Thus, the Roman Catholics have begun a series of actions to get back the ‘Book of the Law’ and Ursula.

The former leader of the Amakusa Catholics, now a member of the British Puritans, Kanzaki Kaori is now missing, and might possibly do something she shouldn’t do.

On the surface, it looks like the British Puritans are on the side of the Roman Catholics, but in actuality, they want to defuse this situation before Kanzaki Kaori does anything troublesome.

“Such a formal ‘job’, and you want to get Touma involved?”

“To be honest, I also don’t see the need to get him involved, however, these are orders from the higher-ups.”

Stiyl twitches his cigarette around and says, “Besides, our position is rather awkward too. If we are to ask Kamijo Touma directly, who belongs to Academy City, people may view it as ‘the science side interfering with internal affairs on the magical side’. If this were to happen in Academy City, we could use the excuse of self-defense, but such an excuse won’t work now. So in order to get him to participate, we need to give him a motive.”

That’s why Stiyl kidnapped Index.

In other words, the reason Kamijo leaves Academy City will be ‘to rescue Index’, and will not be related to Ursula or the ‘Book of the Law’. But while rescuing her, he ‘just so happened’ to meet the Amakusa Catholics, and in order to protect Index, he has to fight them. This is the excuse that Stiyl planned for Kamijo.

Index can, although she is from the magic side, temporarily stay in Academy City due to a certain deal between Academy City and the British Puritans. Thus, for Kamijo Touma, a resident of Academy City to rescue the guest, Index, is not a strange thing.

“I understand everything up till now, but I can’t accept it.”

“Really?”

“That’s right, there’s no need to beat around the bush to do this. Just a little ‘please help me’ will be enough to get Touma to come to my rescue. No matter how dangerous the place is, he will always come over. This is why I don’t want his help.”

“……Really.”

Stiyl faintly smiles.

Like a father listening to a girl talking about her favourite boyfriend, Stiyl reveals a slight smile.

“Okay, what will you do next? The ‘Book of the Law’ and Ursula Aquinas are now In the Amakusa Catholics hands right? If so, you’re going to rush into the enemy’s base?”

The girl asked rather seriously. Now that Kamijo is involved, she wants to get accurate information and try to decrease the danger that Kamijo Touma is going to face.

“No, the situation has changed.”

Distressed, Stiyl blows out white smoke as he says,

“Eleven minutes ago, in order to rescue Ursula, the Roman Catholics have begun a fierce battle with the escaping Amakusa Catholics.” Index squints her eyes.

The method of communication is most likely that smoke from the cigarette. Several times, Index finds that the long trails of smoke has magic in it, and though there is no wind, the white smoke will unnaturally quiver. No matter the age, ‘smoke signals’ have been used as a tool of long-distance communication. In Index’s memory, there are many ways to utilize smoke signals.

“There isn’t a need for me to be here, if the battle was successful, right?”

“That’s right. However, it wasn’t a complete victory as well. It seemed to have been an intense battle. Luckily, no one was killed. But the ‘Book of the Law’ is still missing and Ursula is reported to have escaped amidst this chaos.”

“When you said that she escaped, does this mean that she hasn’t met up with the Roman Catholics?”

“That’s right. She’s still missing, so she might end up in the hands of the Amakusa Catholics again.”

“……This doesn’t sound good.”

If the hostage tries to escape, the kidnapper will respond with violence. If a hostage who escaped once were to be recaptured, the kidnapper will use whatever cruel means to make the hostage not think of escaping again.

It seems that in this situation, time is of the essence. Right now, the Roman Catholics and the Amakusa Catholics must be trying to find and recover Ursula, who has escaped.

“Too bad that I can’t change the contents of the letter, or else I would call Kamijo Touma to get here faster. If possible, I would like to meet him before my co-combatant from the Roman Catholic Church arrives….”

Right after Stiyl finished speaking, a figure appeared at the wide open entrance of the hall.

“……Too bad, seems like we can’t wait for him. We have to go.”

The figure belongs to the co-combatant.

Part 4
“It seems like I’ve been out quite often……if possible, I would like to do some good sightseeing.”

Now on the ‘outside’ of Academy City, Kamijo proceeds through the perimeter wall as he mutters to himself. The height of the wall is more than 5 metres and is about 3 metres thick.

(Come to think about it, during the preparation of Daihaisai, the security is rather lax.)

Kamijo turns back and looks at the entrance from a distance. For a festival with an attendance of 2.3 million, the preparations for Daihaisai are rather vast, and there are many outsiders from different industries coming to Academy City. Normally, the security in Academy City is rather tight, but now is a situation where they have to let down their guard. Regarding the documents that Kamijo has, the guard inspection has become even more relaxed.

To cut a long story short, after Kamijo had handed the calico cat over to Tsuchimikado Maika, he left Academy City.

Looking at the watch, the time now is just past 6pm. There’s still nearly one hour to the time indicated on the letter.

Because the GPS map in the phone did not indicate any abandoned buildings, Kamijo had to put in a lot of effort in order to find the location of the ‘Gloaming House’. At this point, Kamijo realized that refreshing information too fast had its own downsides. Kamijo thought of an alternative plan, and therefore went to a convenience store and bought one of those faded, ‘updated and slower’ Tokyo tourist handbooks. But upon searching his pockets, he realized that he didn’t bring his wallet along. Thinking about it, he immediately rushed out of Academy City after talking to Maika and so forgot to get his wallet. Out of ideas now, Kamijo could only endure the stare of the store clerk and memorise the map into his head.

(Erm……after walking through that lane, past that road……ugh! I'm forgetting just about everything! How I really envy Index’s brain……)

Kamijo let his thoughts run wild, as he walked towards a bus stop.

There’s still one kilometer to the designated location. Tired after the day at school, Kamijo really wanted to sit on a bus, and enjoy the air-con while heading towards the designated location. Too bad he doesn’t even have a penny on him.

(Damn it……sigh, I don’t care if I can ride a bus, all I want is a place where there’s an air-con.)

This bus stop was rather small. There were only two long benches and a large plastic umbrella over them, which was so old that there were a number of cracks covering it.

At this moment, Kamijo finds someone standing at the bus stop.

She seems like a foreigner, and is about as tall as Kamijo. Her eyes were fixated on the timetable. However, looking at this for so long, it seemed like she was having a hard time.

Her attire was rather unique, wearing a black nun’s robe in such hot weather. Of course, the sleeves and dress were long. Looking closer, there were long silver zippers on the elbows and about 20cm above the knees. It seemed like once they were pulled, the sleeves and skirt of the nun’s robe would be short, but she didn’t do that. Her hands were covered with thin white gloves, and her hair couldn't be seen, for it was not only covered by a nun’s cap like what Index was wearing, but also by a scarf covering her hair. Since her hair could be covered just like that, it seemed like she had short hair.

From the corner of his eye, Kamijo looked at her, and thought:

(Uh, it’s a nun……could it be a killer nun related to Index?)

This thought might be considered as a severe discrimination to all the nuns in the world, but Kamijo suffered during the summer thanks to people like Stiyl and Tsuchimikado. Now, when Kamijo sees a girl in nun clothing, he would naturally be cautious.

Part 5
“I’m sorry……”

The nun suddenly talked to Kamijo, speaking in rather polite Japanese.

“Sorry to take your time, may I ask, can I take this bus to get to Academy City?”

Not only is she courteous, there is a sense of awkwardness.

Kamijo stopped and looked at the nun. That attire which covered her entire body made her large breasts and slim waist stand out even more (Some may even suspect that she’s emphasizing these on purpose). Anyway, she’s a weird one.

“No way, there’s no bus that leads to Academy City.”

“Eh?”

“There’s no transport link between Academy City and the 'outside world', so one can’t take a bus or tram there. Only those taxis that are registered by Academy City can go in there, but one can save a lot by walking.”

“I see, so that’s why you chose to walk out of Academy City.”

The nun spoke nonchalantly.

Kamijo looked up. It wasn’t possible to see the entrance to Academy City from here. He looked back at the nun, who pulled out something from her sleeve. Looking closely, it was actually a cheap-looking mini telescope used in theatres.

“I used this to watch you leave Academy City.” She smiled as she said.

At this moment, a bus came from afar. Like the bus stop, it looked rather dilapidated.

The automatic doors of the bus opened, releasing a sound like a bottle of soft drink being opened.

Kamijo did not intend to take the bus, so he went away from the bus stop. He turned and said to the nun.

“Anyway, taking the bus is not going to bring you to Academy City. If you have an entry permit, you just need to walk to the entrance. It takes only about 7 to 8 minutes to get there.”

“Many thanks, I’m grateful that you would take some time off your busy schedule to guide me.”

The nun dressed in black gave a brilliant smile, and bowed to Kamijo,then—

-Got on the bus.

“……Oi! Didn’t I tell you that you can’t take the bus? Like 5 seconds ago!”

“Ah, ya. You did say that alright.”

The nun grabbed the hem of her dress with both hands, and hastily got down the bus, now parked on the road. Kamijo then went on:

“I just told you. There is no transport link between Academy City and the ‘outside world’, so one can’t take a bus or a tram there. If you want to get there, you just have to walk there, do you understand?”

“You did say that. I’m sorry to bother you so many times.”

The nun smiled bitterly, nodding to show her appreciation. She then stepped on the steps of the bus, and got on the bus.

“Hey! You aren’t smiling just to let my words fall on deaf ears, are you?”

“Eh? No, I never had that intention.”

The nun again rushed down the bus. The bus driver showed a look of irritation, closed the doors, and rudely drove off.

Kamijo feels worried upon seeing that the nun still looks confused. This lady will most likely get lost in ten minutes if no one is looking out for her. However, the nun didn't seem to sense Kamijo’s worries, and said,

“Aiya. Why do you look so frustrated? Would you like some candy?”

“I’m not really frustrated…… What flavor is this candy? Orange?”

Kamijo instinctively took the orange-red candy. Because he was too embarrassed to throw it away, he put it into his mouth. After sucking on it for a while……

“So bitter! What is this? It’s definitely not orange!”

“……Erm, it seems to be of astringent persimmon flavor. I’m not sure about the details, but I heard that it can quench thirst.”

“……Oh, that’s because it can easily stimulate the secretion of saliva. But the weather is so hot now, all the water content in the body would have evaporated, so it makes no sense to produce saliva.”

“Ar, you want to replenish your body fluids? Why didn’t you say so earlier? I have some tea here.”

“Although I really want to ask why you would put the thermoflask into the sleeve of your robe, nevermind, I just so happened to be thirsty. What tea is this?”

“Barley tea.”

“Oh, I want it, can I have some?”

Kamijo says happily. Drinking ice cold barley tea in the summer is the best, Kamijo thought. He receives the cap of the thermoflask, now filled with barley tea.

“So hot! Why is this barley tea so scalding?”

“Eh? I heard that drinking hot drinks during hot weather is part of your country’s culture……”

“An old granny! You’re an old granny right? No wonder I feel that your mannerism is too weird! Your thought process is like that of an old granny!”

Kamijo roared while the nun gives a friendly smile. At this point, she can’t just poor away the barley tea in his cap. Thus, he trembles as he pours that barley tea, as hot as lava, into his throat.

“……Er……thanks. Oh yeah, Miss Nun, may I ask you something? Are you going to Academy City? Erm, I just said this, to enter Academy City, one must have an entry permit issued by Academy City. Do you have one?”

“Entry permit……?”

Of course, the nun revealed a surprised look. Needless to say, without an entry proof, one cannot get through the entrance gate.

After Kamijo explained the entire situation to the nun, she gave a troubled look. She placed her hand on her head, and said,

“May I know how can I get this permit?”

“……I’m sorry, it’s impossible for any ordinary person to get one. Only a close relative of a student or any industry workers delivering goods and materials can get one, and they have to be vetted first.”

“Oh…… if so, then I’ll have to give up.”

The nun dropped her shoulders, looking rather sad. But for her to give up so easily, made it look like it wasn't really important for her to get inside Academy City.

(It’s not that I didn’t want to help, but I can’t help her out now……)

A sense of guilt crept into Kamijo’s mind. The nun said to Kamijo, “Then I shall say goodbye here.” And then walked towards Academy City.

“Stop right there! Didn’t I tell you that you can’t go into Academy City without an entry permit……are you listening!?”

The nun revealed a look of realization, stopped and then turned around. She was smiling happily a while ago, but now she looked rather disappointed, like a cloud of haze hovering over her.

Kamijo saw the troubled look on the nun’s face, and did not know what to do. While those magicians without permits are able to get past the wall easily, and whenever they want to, the nun in front of him does not seem to have this sort of ability.

Thinking about it for a while, Kamijo couldn't think of anything that would help the nun. No matter the situation, one has to have an entry permit to get into Academy City. He has no time to dilly-dally at a place like this, now that he has to deal with Index first. No matter what, he has to get to the designated location at the designated time.

“Oh yeah, why do you want to get into Academy City?”

“Erm……”

The nun slightly tilts her head, and says,

“Actually, I’m being hunted right now.”

Upon hearing this, Kamijo felt like the surrounding temperature had decreased by several degrees

“Being hunted……?”

“Yes. It’s a bit complicated, but right now, I’m trying my best to escape. I heard that even with the power of many churches, they can’t enter Academy City, so I wanted to escape to Academy City and hide there.”

“The church……hey, don’t tell me you have something to do with the magicians…”

On hearing this, the nun was somewhat surprised. She said, “Do you know about the existence of magicians?”

“Looking at your reaction, I guess I’m right.” Kamijo sighs, and continues, “But, if you’re really hunted, even escaping into Academy City wouldn't be completely safe. Academy City has been invaded by magicians constantly.”

After seeing what happened to Index first hand, Kamijo understood that the magicians will never give up just because the target has escaped into Academy City.

“Then what should I do……”

The nun looked like she was going to cry. Kamijo obviously understood how scary the magicians are, so he did not want to abandon her.

“……Can you read the bus route map?”

“Buses are such old news now! Like several hundred years ago! Where did this ‘route map’ come out from!? Weren’t we talking about how to get to Academy City!?”

Kamijo exclaimed out.

The nun again reveals a stunned look. Kamijo is really in a fix thanks to this nun.

If this nun is really being hunted by the magicians, then he can’t just leave her alone. But right now, Kamijo has something really urgent that he needs to take care of. Now that Index has been ‘kidnapped’, he is worried. Although this kidnapping sounds like a hoax, he can’t just ignore it. Kamijo, who unwillingly had to make a choice between these two and not knowing what to do, roughly pulled his hair.

Suddenly, he thought of a good idea.

(Wait wait wait……if I bring this nun along while I find Index, wouldn’t that solve the problem?)

It really was a good idea, except that it was clearly written in the letter that he has to ‘go there alone’.

Part 6
Stiyl and Index walked out of the theater hall of the ‘Gloaming House’, arriving at the lobby, which seemed to be the place where originally the ticket booth was.

A girl in black nun robes is walking in front of them.

She seemed to be a year or two older than Index. Her tea hair is slightly reddish, or red, and is tied into many braids as thin as pencils. The sleeve of her robe nearly covers her fingers, but her skirt is so short that her thighs are exposed. Looking closer, there seems to be something which looks like a zipper on the lower edge of her skirt. It seems like the skirt is part of a detachable dress, but only the lower half is removed. She looks extremely thin, so her slim waist is even slimmer than Index's, who’s rather thin herself.

She’s about as tall as Index, but she’s wearing soft wooden sandals with the soles about 30cm thick; when she walks, they create a sound like horseshoes tapping on the ground. These sandals are called ‘Chopine’, and were very fashionable in Italy during the 17th century.

She’s a nun from the Roman Catholic Church.

Her name is Anieze Sanctis.

“The situation right now is extremely chaotic. There’s so much information that we can’t handle it all. We have no idea where Ursula is right now. Also, the ‘Book of the Law’ is still missing. This really bothers us.”

None of the people present are Japanese. However, Anieze is speaking fluent Japanese.

“Just now, we ambushed the Amakusa Catholics as they were deporting Ursula. Though some of us managed to save her, before we could meet up with her, she got taken away by them again. Then we got her back again. But then another group of Amakusa Catholics captured her again……and this went on and on and on. Because the area in which we encircled them was too big, it ended up with each group having too few people despite having large numbers, and the Amakusa Catholics getting an opportunity. Just as both sides were fighting to get Ursula, she disappeared.”

Anieze’s Japanese is mixed with polite honorifics and rude words.

(If she learnt her Japanese while doing her mission in Japan, it seems like the Japanese whom she talked to were mostly detectives or policemen.) Stiyl thought.

He saw Anieze turn around to look at him, her short skirt slightly lifted, revealing even more of her snow-white thighs.

“What, got a problem? Ah, I’m sorry, it’s not that I don’t speak English, but my English has a very heavy Italian accent. I don’t really mind if I’m talking to people of other countries, but I don’t dare to show my inferior English to you British.” Stiyl did not seem to mind, as he shook the cigarette in his mouth and said,

“You don’t have to worry about these trivial issues, we can even talk in Italian.”

“Please don’t speak Italian. If I were to hear anyone speak Italian with such a strong British accent, I'd probably laugh so much that I couldn't focus on my work. In this situation, it’s better to use another language that we can communicate with, like Japanese. No one will argue if we use a language that we aren’t comfortable with.”

Anieze’s thick sandals continue to make that horseshoe tapping sound.

Although it sounds like she has a point, if she were to follow this logic, how would she communicate if she were to meet someone Japanese? Stiyl unnecessarily thought for her. Also, if she isn’t going to use the native language to speak with the people there, what’s the point of learning their language?

Up till now, Index remained silent, not saying a single word.

Stiyl steals a glance at Index, who is still unhappy as she curls her lips, not saying a single word. He then turns back to Anieze, and says,

“Then, does that mean that the Amakusa Catholics who stole the ‘Book of the Law’ and Ursula away from you guys are a threatening force?”

“You were trying to say that ‘the largest Christian sect in the world—the Roman Catholics, are useless despite looking so strong’, right? To be honest, we can’t argue about that. Just by looking at the numbers and armaments, we have the upper hand, but they have the geographical advantage. Especially since Japan is their territory. We’re really angry for being overwhelmed by a much smaller organization, but I have to admit, they are really strong.”

“……So it seems that they won’t just surrender quietly.”

Stiyl’s voice hints a sense of disappointment.

‘Forcing an opponent to surrender after showing the power disparity’ is the fastest and most peaceful way to resolve this situation. But now that the enemy has enough ability to reject any negotiations, it seems a long fight is inevitable.

The longer the battle against the Amakusa Catholics, the more likely Kanzaki will intervene. This means that in order to complete the mission, Stiyl has to give up all forms of compassion and take them out quickly before Kanzaki realizes what’s going on.

The objective of the Roman Catholics is to retrieve back the ‘Book of the Law’ and Ursula Aquinas, and not destroy the Amakusa Catholics. Once they complete their objective, the Roman Catholics will immediately pull out.

Now, they just have to try and make the Amakusa Catholics lose their will to fight.

“I’m quite unfamiliar with the Christian history in Japan. Do you know what kind of techniques they use? Maybe I can make use of how the enemy fights to prepare some searching or defensive types of magic arrays or talismans.”

Although Stiyl often fights alongside Kanzaki, who is originally a member of the Amakusa Catholics, he did not intend to analyze the techniques she uses. This is because Kanzaki is a saint, one of less than twenty people in the world who possess the ‘Stigma’. Even if he were to do the analysis correctly, an ordinary man like Stiyl would be unable to use it anyway. It’s like how no one would use a 50cm ruler to measure the distance between the Earth and the Sun.

Regarding this question that the priest raised, Anieze seems to find it difficult to answer.

“To be honest……we’ve not yet gathered enough information regarding the techniques that the Amakusa Catholics use. Since they’re derived from Saint Francisco’s (Francisco de Jaso y Azpilicueta: the first Christian Missionary to preach to the Japanese) Society of Jesus, they should be a branch of the Roman Catholic Church. But since they have been so greatly influenced by Japan and China, they’re now completely different from the Roman Catholic Church.”

Hearing this, Stiyl did not blame Anieze. These people are able to sense that the Amakusa-style is mixed with some aspects of Buddhism and Shintoism after fighting them for just two days, which shows that their analytical abilities are rather strong.

Stiyl turns to look at Index, wanting to seek her advice.

Now is the right time for Index, who has knowledge exceeding ten thousand times that of a normal person, to fulfill her role. The pure white nun remained calm and composed as she said,

“The Amakusa’s speciality is ‘secrecy’, because they’re Christians whose nature is to deceive others. They hide the teachings of Christianity inside Shintoism and Buddhism completely, and use the rituals and techniques as part of their greetings, diet and behaviour in their everyday life. They cover all their tracks, so others won’t even notice their existence. Thus, they don’t use any spells or magic arrays. They use pots, pans, kitchen knives, bathrooms, quilts, showers, humming……anything or action that looks rather ordinary to activate their magic. So, no matter how skilled the magician is, they’ll be fooled once they enter the ceremonial area of the Amakusa, because it just looks like an ordinary kitchen or bathroom to them.”

Stiyl shakes the cigarette in his mouth, and says,

“So, this is a group of experts highly skilled in the idol theory. Hm, seems like their speciality is long-ranged sniping and not close-ranged combat. Hopefully, they don’t have a large technique like that of the ‘Gregorian Chant’.”

“No. They’ve been learning other countries’ cultures ever since the Edo period, and fused sword techniques of all ages to create their own unique style. They’re able to use any weapon with ease, whether it is a Japanese sword or a Western broadsword.”

“……They’re well-versed in both literature and martial arts? This is really troublesome.”

Stiyl feels vexed. Anieze, who was unknowingly left out of the conversation, angrily kicked the floor with her soles. With every kick, her extremely short miniskirt would slightly flip up, making a rather funny ‘pop’ sound in the process.

Dangling the cigarette in his mouth, the priest turns to look at Anieze.

“Can you tell me where we’ll be looking for the ‘Book of the Law’ and Ursula Aquinas? We can’t just idle around and do nothing. Tell me, where do we start?”

“Ah, we’ll do the searching.”

Suddenly being involved in the conversation again, Anieze was obviously flustered. She quickly straightens herself.

“Human wave tactics are our speciality. We have about 250 of our members here, it doesn’t matter even if we were to add one or two more, it won’t make much of a difference. Also, a different command system will likely cause confusion.”

“……Then why bring me here?”

Stiyl frowns as he asks. Anieze smiles and says,

“Simple, there’s some place we can’t search, and we need your help.”

“Which place? Japan doesn’t have a church that’s directly governed by the British Puritans. The only place we’re allowed to search is the British embassy.”

“No, I’m talking about Academy City.” Anieze raises her hand as she says, “Once Ursula escapes to Academy City, the Amakusa won’t catch her. This isn’t impossible, is it? No, maybe it might be harder to capture her. So, I hope to use you guys to get contact with Academy City. The Roman Catholic Church has no connections within Academy City, so it’s a bit bothersome for us."

“I see……but, since it’s for that sort of reason, you should have told me earlier. That way, it’ll save a lot of hassle.”

Index, who is temporarily staying in Academy City, understands that there’s a certain level of relationship between Academy City and the British Puritans. Of course, the significance of this ‘diplomatic relationship’ isn’t large, but if the Roman Catholics, who do not have any ‘diplomatic relations’, were to contact Academy City through the British Puritans, who do have some link with them, there would be less of a disturbance.

“……Anyway, if Ursula were to escape to Academy City, the situation would get rather complicated.”

“This is just a possibility though. Hopefully, our Ursula here will not panic until she loses her common sense. Anyway, how long would it take for you guys to contact Academy City, and confirm whether Ursula is in there or not?”

“It’s impossible to settle all these things with just a phone call. I have to call St. George Cathedral first, and then communicate with Academy City through them……even if it’s an emergency situation, it’ll take about 7 to 10 minutes. If we want permission to enter Academy City, it’ll be even more troublesome. Technically, we can still sneak in, but being in an official position, it's better not to do this.”

“Anyway, please try and confirm it, as fast as possible.”

Speaking halfway, Anieze suddenly froze.

Following her line of sight, he realises she’s looking at the entrance on the other side of the lobby. This theatre entrance is rather big, being made of 5 glass doors that open outwards.

“What? What’s going on”

Even Stiyl froze after asking halfway.

“Hm?”

On the other side of the window panes, there’s an open patch covered with asphalt, which means it was probably the car park. Although the theatre is extremely big, the open area is so small. The tenacious weeds have grown and emerged from the cracks in the hard asphalt. There’s nothing else on the empty area……except for two shadows on this abandoned car park with nothing left.

The two shadows belong to two people.

“Ah, it’s Touma.”

Index says the name of the rather familiar looking boy.

“Ur……Ursula Aquinas?”

Anieze says the name of the nun dressed in black robes beside the boy.

The two people whose names have been called did not see the magicians inside the ‘Gloaming House’.

Part 7
Let’s rewind time back for a little bit.

Although its evening now, when the weather is cooling even more, the fatigue brought by walking 3 kilometres in the summer seems to far exceed Kamijo’s imagination.

(Come……come to think of it, today’s Physical Education lesson and several other things have tired me out……)

Kamijo, who left his wallet in the dormitory, could only walk on.

Notably, the slightly older nun dressed in black walking beside him is also penniless. God knows how she was going to take the bus.

Anyway, Kamijo has already walked for 3 kilometres in this hot September, sweaty and tired as he arrives at the entrance of the Gloaming House.

“May I ask……Sister, the weather’s so hot, and you’re wearing a long-sleeved black robe. How can you smile so happily and not even sweat at all?”

“Ah this, compared to spiritual suffering, physical pain is almost nothing.”

“……You’re one heavily abused sister.”

“Excuse me, how long will it take for us to reach the bus stop?”

“Could you stop asking about the bus already!? Didn’t I tell you that I’m bringing you to the British Puritans? Don’t tell me that the words I’ve just spoken went in one ear and came out the other ear again?”

“Ah, excuse me, you’re sweating a lot.”

“Damn it! Talking to you is so hard when you keep changing the topics!”

“Don’t move. I’ll wipe it off for you.”

“Eh? What? Wait a……”

The nun suddenly pulls a handkerchief from her sleeve and wipes Kamijo’s face. Although it’s just a handkerchief, it’s decorated with some high quality lace on the sides. It feels warm, and it has a slight aroma of roses. Kamijo wants to escape, but he is held back by the nun, who uses her unimaginable strength to hold onto his head.

“Okay, I’m done.”

The nun reveals her vibrant smile as she looks at Kamijo.

“……Um, thanks.”

Kamijo drags his tired body into the abandoned Gloaming House.

The Gloaming House looks very large from afar, but the parking lot in front of them is rather small. One might suspect that it’s for the employees. Maybe it’s because it’s close to a bus stop, and there's already a multi-storey parking lot next to it. Although the entire Gloaming House is surrounded by metal plates and iron bars about 2 metres tall, the entrance used by employees has been forcefully opened. (One can see a very thick chain and a large lock on the floor.)

There’s no large machinery on the extremely small parking lot. None of the walls in the building has been vandalised, and the glass isn’t broken. Maybe there’s already a buyer, and because of that someone comes over to maintain this building.

Going closer, one can observe that the Gloaming House is larger than a stadium, and is square-shaped. Maybe the designers wanted to imitate a certain famous theatre, or maybe they were too lazy to design anything fancy.

(It’s so hot outside, so they should be inside, right?)

Kamijo looks past the entrance of the Gloaming House. It’s a rather large entrance, with five glass doors facing outwards. The entrance isn’t sealed with anything, like planks, so it looks like it’s just a suspension of business rather than looking like a dump. Just as Kamijo was thinking, one of the doors opened.

“Eh?”

Kamijo could not help but shout out.

Two of the three people walking out of the building, are familiar to him. They’re Index and Stiyl.

The last one is a girl who looks even younger than Index, one whom Kamijo never met before. She wears a black nun robe, similar to the nun he met at the bus stop. However, this girl has removed the lower part of her skirt below the zipper, so the skirt has now become a tiny mini-skirt. Looking downwards, he realises that she is wearing wooden sandals with soles 30cm thick.

The moment she sees Kamijo, Index asks.

“Hey Touma, where did you meet that nun?”

“……You’re asking that the moment we meet? Honestly, I would like to ask that evil priest beside you. Why do you have to go to such great lengths to play this kidnapping game with me? I want to know, why do I have to walk for 3 kilometres on such a hot day!? I really want to know why!”

Kamijo bellows. Stiyl shows an impatient look, saying, “So, you just realised that I tricked you? I called you here to help us find a certain person. Index is the bait to lure you out. Oh yeah, this is the person in charge now, Anieze Sanctis of the Roman Catholic Church.”

Stiyl nonchalantly points his cigarette at the girl wearing thick soled sandals. The girl gives a deep bow, and says, “He…hello”. Maybe she did her research and knows that the Japanese will habitually bow towards others. But for her to bow so low, it’s like she’s a hotel receptionist.

Kamijo feels panicky regarding how he has to talk to a stranger now. Although his heart is filled with rage right now, he can’t just vent his frustration on a person whom he met for the first time.

Seems like Stiyl wants to seize the opportunity now that Kamijo is so panicked, as he says,

“So sorry. I have no time to listen to your stupid problems. I just said, the reason I called you here is to help me find a person. Although there are 250 people looking for her now, there’s still no news as of yet. This mission is rather urgent as it concerns a person’s life, so I hope that you can give us your fullest attention.

“No time to listen to my stupid problems? You bastard, called me all the way here, and you give that smug look! Damn it, what is going on? How does it concern a person’s life? Tell me everything! And to be honest, what kind of searching ability does an outsider of the magic world like me have! Is it alright to leave such an important task to a high school student!?”

“Hm, well, you don’t have to worry so much. You just need to hand over the nun beside you.”

“What?”

Kamijo widens his eyes. Irritated, Stiyl blows the smoke from the cigarette out of his mouth, and says, “The sister beside you is who we’re looking for. Her name is Ursula Aquinas. Thanks for your help, Kamijo Touma, you can go back now.”

“……Oi oi. Using a kidnap as an excuse to lure me out, forcing me to use these documents that came from who knows where to leave Academy City, then I have to walk 3 kilometres under the big, hot Sun when the temperature is around 40 degrees Celsius, and now you’re telling me to go back?”

Kamijo mutters.

“Didn’t I thank you already? What, you expect me to treat you to some shaved ice?”

Kamijo Touma lowers his head, gritting his teeth. Index stood near him, her face looking pale, not knowing what to do.

“Pow!” Something broke near Kamijo’s temple, creating this sound.

“Up till now, I thought that even though our personalities don’t match, at least I could make a friend. Really! This is what I thought at first! But now, I changed my mind!”

“Stop saying all this nonsense and hand Ursula over to Anieze. Don’t tell me you want me to remove that loneliness? Such a pity, I can’t do it, and neither do I want to do it, because that’s too gross.”

Even the words he said in anger have been emotionlessly dismissed. Kamijo Touma looks like he used up all his energy, as he lies on the ground.

“Ahhh….huuuuu! I have no more energy to cook dinner today! Index, our dinner tonight will be a simple takeaway pork bento.”

“No way! Touma!”

The girl with such a large appetite desperately shouts.

Kamijo didn’t care as he says to the nun dressed in black, Ursula Aquinas.

“……Oh yeah, didn’t you say that you’re being hunted? Does that situation have to do with these people looking for you? Anyway, now that you’re reunited with your comrades, you should be fine, right?”

For some reason, after hearing Kamijo’s words, Ursula trembled. It seems like she wants to suppress her shock, but failed, causing her to slightly tremble.

Upon seeing this, Kamijo felt suspicious. But Ursula isn’t looking at Kamijo, but Stiyl and the rest.

At this point, Stiyl closes one eye, and slowly says.

“Mm, you don’t have to feel insecure. Once the mission is over, the British Puritans will pull back. Of course, for someone of a different sect like you, to be wary of us is alright.”

To an outsider like Kamijo, these people are either ‘church members’ or ‘residents of the magical world.’

But in fact, these people are divided into different sects, like Roman or British. They may even turn on each other. Just as Kamijo thought about this, a loud yet deep voice rang.

“No way. It won't be so easy to take Ursula back.”

This voice came from above Kamijo. Everyone looked upwards, and saw that a softball-sized paper balloon floated about 7 metres above them.

The thin paper surface of the balloon continues to vibrate, as that man’s voice came out of it.

“Ursula Aquinas, I believe you know this well yourself. Instead of returning to the Roman Catholics, how about you join us, and enjoy a much more meaningful life?”

The next instant.

Suddenly, an ear-piercing sound could be heard, as the blade of a longsword sprang out from the ground between Kamijo and Ursula. As everyone’s attention has been taken by the object above, the sudden change below their feet scared them.

Then, the same sound could be heard another two times, and two more blades came out from the ground. The three blades surround Ursula.

The swords which came out were like sharks swimming near the surface of the water, revealing its fins. With Ursula at the centre, the three blades cut an equilateral triangle about 2 metres on each side.

“AHHHHH”

Ursula, who feels that her feet have lost support, screamed out, 30% in fear and 70% in confusion. But before her voice could properly converte into a scream, her body, together with the triangular asphalt ground, fell down into a deep abyss.

“Amakusa!”

Anieze shouts as she stretches her hand out, but it was already too late. Ursula’s body has been swallowed by the darkness. Kamijo rushes to the side of the triangular hole, and regretfully covers his mouth.

“Sewers……?”

The paper balloon above them gives a slightly delighted yet clear and powerful voice.”

“I knew that if I were to follow the commander of the Roman Catholics, no matter where Ursula Aquinas would run to, or who would capture her, she would always be brought here. Hiding underground for so long, my efforts have finally paid off!”

Kamijo completely did not understand the situation.

He did not know who’s in the sewers, and why Ursula is taken away.

But he knows something.

This guy suddenly appeared and used sharp swords to take a person away. And by listening to what that guy said, this isn’t a sudden event, but rather a premeditated plan, and so he must have been waiting for this chance all this time.

“Damn it!”

Kamijo looks down the triangular hole. It’s too dark inside to estimate the depth, though it doesn’t look so deep. Kamijo decided to jump into the hole.

“Wait! Don’t go! Touma!”

Just as Index frantically shouts out.

Suddenly, several swords start flashing in the darkness.

The numerous swords flashing in the darkness reflect the weak sunlight and this dim orange light faintly shows the figure of the person in the sewers. This is like a scene where bandits will wield rusted axes or knives, hide in the tall grass along the road, hold their breaths and patiently wait for their prey.

The thick killing intent gathers to form hot wind, which blows out from the hole into Kamijo’s face. Instantly, Kamijo’s body went numb, he couldn’t move. Stiyl steps beside Kamijo, pulls out four talismans with runes on them and throws them on the ground around him.

“My hand brings fire, shape into a blade, and bring forth thy judgment!”

Stiyl shouts, and using his fingers, points the cigarette upwards.

The trail of cigarette smoke changes into orange lines. After that, the trails of orange lines converges into a flaming sword.

The newly created strong glow now lights the sewer clearly.

Stiyl grabs the flaming sword, and swings it downwards……but halfway through, he stopped.

Under the glow of the flames, there is no one in the sewer.

The black figure in the sewer seemed to have vanished like the darkness. One cannot see the figure wielding the sharp swords nor Ursula, who fell into the hole. Like ligiidae scattering from the banks of a sea cave, they dispersed, leaving nothing behind.

The paper balloon floating above them slowly descends.

It floated into the triangular hole, and no one bothered to stop it.

“Damn it, what’s going on?”

Kamijo bitterly said.

“Hey, you better give me a proper explanation!”

“If I were to explain it to you, then who’s going to explain it to me?”

Stiyl Magnus says in disdain.

Between the lines 1
Meanwhile—

On the artificial coast, one finally cannot see the setting sun as night approaches.

This is a shore located several hundred metres away from a beach, and near this shoreline is a tall cliff about 10 metres tall. In order to prevent the base of the cliff from being eroded, the ground is laid with wavestones.

After the sun had completely set, the sea became a deep black colour.

As if waiting for night-time to arrive, a ‘hand’ quickly stretched out from the black sea.

It is a hand with a bracelet on it. The heavy hand with this shiny silver bracelet grabs onto a wavestone. Then, a full set of western armour leaves the sea and gets on the wavestones. From top to bottom, every inch of skin is covered by metal armour, making them look inhuman.

Once the first one lands, the other 20 ‘knights’ also followed suit, appearing on the sea and climbing up the wavestones. Every single one of the bracelets, which the knights are wearing, has the words ‘United Kingdom’ engraved on it. This meant England.

These knights swam all the way here. This is not an analogy or a figurative way of speech, but rather a fact. They started swimming from England, past the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, past the Indian Ocean and came to Japan.

They use a sea current manipulation magic spell handed down by St. Blaise—Simpley put, this is a high-speed swimming spell that allows humans to swim around the world in only three days—however, this spell isn’t cast on the armour, but rather, every knight has to use his own body to activate this magic spell. Right now, the armour that the knights wear does not have any magical capabilities. This is because the power of the knights is too strong, and that any effects from any artefact would however make it cumbersome. All these knights are far stronger than any of the artefacts could make them possibly be, so if a knight wears a magical armour, it would very likely just be destroyed by their strong powers.

The organisation that these knights belong to doesn’t have a special name, they’re just called the ‘Knights of England’.

In the past, the British used names like ‘Rod knights’, ‘Dual-axe knights’, but these names have been abandoned 7 years ago. This isn’t because the knights today have lost their original expertise, but because they have learnt every technique, allowing the knights to enter a whole new realm.

The knights want this power because of the internal worries in England, and these worries are also the reason why the ‘Knights of England’ were originally formed.

The command system in England rests on three equal powers.

The ‘British Royal Family’ composed of the Queen and her committee.

The ‘Knights of England’ made up of its leader and his fellow knights.

The ‘Puritans’ formed by the Archbishop and the believers.

The relationship between these three is as follows:

The ‘British Royal Family’ controls the ‘Knights of England’ through orders;

The ‘Knights of England’ makes use of the ‘Puritans’ through political items;

The ‘Puritans’ manipulate the ‘British Royal Family’ through Holy advice.

The trinity formed by the three powers creates a sense of unparalleled beauty. Once one of the members were to act on its own, the other two sides would create a large commotion through several means, and prevent them from acting on it. However, the reason why Britain has the ‘Most complicated Christian culture in the world’ isn’t just because of this.

‘Britain’, also known as the United Kingdom, is made of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Up till today, some places still use their own currency.

Even if they belong to the same ‘Puritan’ sect, there still can be quarrels among its members, like between England and Wales. On the contrary, even if they were to belong to the ‘Puritans’ and the ‘knights’, if they’re both Scottish, they might secretly smuggle some money or information out. The reason why the decoder, Sherry Cromwell betrayed the Puritans wasn’t just because she had her own motives. Her culture also influenced her passively.

Three sects, four cultures.

The inter-connected relations between each side makes Britain so complicated. And the mission of the ‘Knights of England’ is to maintain this status quo. However, the United Kingdom has turned this to rubble.

Because of this, the ‘Knights’ and the ‘Puritans’ have some grudge between each other.

The ‘Knights’ cannot accept that the British Puritans—the ‘puritan sect’ could have a power equivalent to that of the knights.

The original purpose of the British Puritans is to counter the Roman Catholics. Britain doesn’t want other countries to meddle in its politics, but the influence of the Roman Catholics has spread throughout the world. If Britain wouldn't listen to the Roman Catholics, they would be labeled with the crime of ‘disobeying the teachings of Christianity’. So, Britain created the ‘British Puritans’ within its country, an independent Christian sect. With this, Britain could declare to the world that ‘we’re following the orders of the British Puritans’, and so didn’t have to be ordered around by the Roman Catholics anymore.

In other words, the British Puritans were originally just a political tool.

If the ‘British Royal Family’ and the ‘Knights of England’ could be described as large gears, the British Puritans could be described as lubricants.

But today, the British Puritans have gained enough power to be of equal standing with the Royal Family and the Knights.

The knights don’t want to be restricted by a ‘tool’.

So, the knights will only listen to orders from their leader or the Queen. As for the orders issued by the leader of the British Puritans, the knights will normally be apathetic about it, sometimes even disobeying orders.

The Knights had their own ideas regarding the order from the Archbishop, which was “Assist the recovery of the ‘Book of the Law’ and Ursula Aquinas”.

They just need to kill off all of the Amakusa.

The Knights had no reason to follow the orders of someone they didn’t recognize—the Archbishop, and sacrifice their lives for her. They also didn’t care about the relationship between the British Puritans, the Roman Catholics and the Amakusa Catholics.

Even if the Amakusa were to disappear from this world, in terms of the welfare of their country, there wouldn't be any loss.

With the abilities of the Knights, killing off the Amakusa would be too easy. The techniques of the Knights—inherited from the crusaders of the tenth century which attacked the middle east-- these techniques have buried who knows how many believers of other religions since ancient times. Their power is even great enough to cause an island to disappear from the map.

Destroying this weak sect, the Amakusa, in the far East won’t even take a day.

Even if the Amakusa have a hostage like Ursula, they couldn’t care less.

Even the British Puritans aren't interested in the ‘Book of the Law’, because its contents have been memorized in Index’s brain. No matter whether Ursula lives or dies, it doesn’t affect Britain. The Roman Catholics might try and put pressure on Britain, but isn’t it the Archbishop’s job to ‘pacify the Roman Catholics’?

The Archbishop has already warned the Knights to be wary of Kanzaki Kaori’s actions, the former leader of the Amakusa Catholics, but they did not take it to heart. If Kanzaki were to attack in rage because of the destruction of the Amakusa, the Knights would just send her into oblivion.

This was the ‘original’ plan that the Knights had.

But such a plan is completely decimated within 3 seconds.

Just when the Knights got out from the sea and climbed onto the rocks,

An explosion occurred in the area full of wavestones.

Among the explosion, every wavestone, each weighing more than one ton, was blasted into the air like a volcanic explosion. The Knights, who were originally standing on the wavestones, fliped in the air to regain their balance. They then look at the ground, looking for a suitable landing spot.

At the centre of the explosion, which blew up the 21 knights and numerous pieces of the rocks, stood a lady.

She has black hair tied behind her head in a scoop, and snow-white skin covering her thick muscles. She wears a short-sleeved T-shirt with a knot tied below, a pair of jeans with one side being cut off, and top-boots. A belt runs around her waist, and under that belt is a Japanese sword more than two metres long (Seven Heaven Seven Swords).

Kanzaki Kaori.

She did not say a single word as she attacked the 21 knights in the sky.

Now that the Knights were in the sky, they couldn’t move their bodies about freely. Kanzaki’s way of attack is rather simple, and that’s to attack each of the Knights in order with her Japanese sword. Kanzaki did not unsheathe the sword, and just swung it together with the sheath.

But, she was as fast as lightning.

In actuality, they were only in the air for one second. But, they got the feeling that their bodies were stuck in the air. Because Kanzaki was really too fast, it was like time had stopped and only she was moving.

If one were to see this through the normal flow of time, it would be like observing an invisible whirlwind in the midst of an explosion. After being hit by the sword, some of them flew to the ground, some buried into the cliff, some beside the cliff, and some jumping on the water surface like flying rocks.

After attacking the 21 knights, Kanzaki steadily lands on a wave rock.

When the moist night wind started to gently stroke her hair, the knights came falling from the sky, and bell-like percussive sound reverberated through the entire coast as they landed in the sea.

“I didn’t use my full strength, so this sort of attack will most likely not cause any deaths. Good thing you all were wearing sturdy equipment, it allowed me to attack without any worry.”

“You……”

Kanzaki’s calm voice however became the biggest mockery to the knights. One of the knights tried to stand up, but his body couldn’t move; even moving a finger was difficult to him.

So, the knight could only use his mouth, which was the only part of his body that could still move.

“Do you know who we are? Such an action from you means declaring war on the United Kingdom!”

“I’m also a citizen of the United Kingdom. This has nothing to do with the Roman Catholics or the Russian Orthodox Church. This is an internal conflict within the British Puritans, so I believe that it won’t bring too much trouble for the people above……huh?”

Before Kanzaki finished speaking, she realised that the knight who was speaking a while ago has now fainted.

“Some of them fell into the sea……but then, they haven’t removed their swimming spells, so they probably won’t die.”

Kanzaki muttered as she faces the dark, peaceful surface of the sea.

“Saying all these with a worried expression, yet there’s not even a sense of spirit in it.”

“!?”

Kanzaki looked mystified by this familiar voice. She turned around and saw a teenager with messy blond hair, blue shades, an aloha shirt and shorts.

Tsuchimikado Motoharu.

Once Kanzaki noticed where he was standing, she was shocked. Kanzaki’s senses are rather acute, and logically, no one would be able to get near her without being discovered. But right now, the distance between the two of them is merely ten meters, and yet Kanzaki couldn’t sense any presence from Tsuchimikado.

“So you came to stop me?”

Kanzaki grabed the sword handle. But the eyes behind Tsuchimikado’s sunglasses were still smiling.

“Don’t bother, Kanzaki. You can’t beat me.”

Facing such a critical situation, Tsuchimikado remained calm and collected. He didn’t have any weapon on him, neither was he in a battle pose.

“You’re strong, but you don’t kill. I’m an esper now, and if I were to cast magic on you, I might die. In other words, no matter whether one of us wins, death is the only option for me. Let me ask you, do you have the resolve to kill Tsuchimikado, who doesn’t want his own life?”

Kanzaki gritted her teeth.

Her magic is supposed to save people, not to kill them. A battle where lives would be lost no matter which side won is meaningless to her, or one may say, she’ll avoid it at all costs.

Her fingers, now touching the sword’s handle, start to tremble slightly. At this moment, Tsuchimikado suddenly revealed a smile like an innocent child, and said,

“You don’t have to stare at me like this, big sis. My order isn’t to stop you, but to resolve the situation before you get into trouble. Also, I have another job to do.”

“Job……?”

“That’s right. My order is to steal the original ‘Book of the Law’ when the Roman Catholics and Amakusa are fighting furiously against each other.”

Kanzaki squinted her eyes, and asked,

“Is this an order from the Puritan church, or from Academy City?”

“I can’t comment on this. But, if you think, you will find the answer. Think about it, the magical side and the scientific side, which side would want the magic book more? And, which side am I working for?”

Hearing Tsuchimikado’s words, Kanzaki remained silent.

A mysterious atmosphere surround these two, the warm air flowing between them has been frozen.

Several seconds later, Kanzaki looked away from him.

“……I’m leaving. If you want to give a report to the higher-ups, go ahead. I don’t mind.”

“I understand. Ah, I’ll take some time to clean up this place. It’s troublesome if we let these guys be captured by the police.”

“Thank you.”

Kanzaki bowed towards Tsuchimikado. Tsuchimikado then went on.

“Oh yeah, big sis, what do you want to do, coming all the way back from England?”

Kanzaki, whose head was still lowered, froze up.

After ten whole seconds, Kanzaki raised her head.

“Yeah—”

Kanzaki forced a stiff smile showing her anger and her sorrow, and said,

“---What did I come here for?”