Toaru Majutsu no Index

Part 1

The battle was over.

Kamijou thought that maybe it was because the Amakusa were in a mess over losing Tatemiya, their leader. No fighting could be heard from afar, and the tension in the air was gone; these signs told Kamijou that the battle was over. As they hadn’t met up with Agnese, they didn’t know the situation, but it seemed like the Roman Catholics had won; otherwise, during that intense battle, more Amakusa members would have arrived as reinforcements.

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

Slightly farther away, Tatemiya Saiji was sitting on the floor. There were rune cards on his hands, legs, chest, back, and forehead. These represented some really terrifying magic, and once he moved, his entire body would be set ablaze.

Right now, Stiyl was bringing Orsola to meet Agnese, so there was only Kamijou, Index, and Tatemiya.

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

Index looked pale as she frantically took off Kamijou’s clothes.

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

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

Index cried out with tears in her eyes. Kamijou finally realised how worried she was, but he didn’t know what to say in response, so he could only follow Index’s orders and check his body.

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

“Really? Are you really alright?”

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

“Um... that’s good...”

Index looks liked she was going to either smile or cry. Kamijou felt awkward and couldn't resist looking away.

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

“WHAT!?”

When those terrifying words were heard, the beast-like girl leapt towards Kamijou’s head.

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

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

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

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

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

Kamijou continued to scream an awful cry that he had never made even on the brink of death. After a while, Index finally let go, feeling satisfied.

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

Index gently said, letting her chin rest on Kamijou’s hair.

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

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

Kamijou became wary deep inside. However, Index unexpectedly let go of Kamijou without a single word.

She looked at the sky, as if she was opening her ears and listening to something.

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

“Yeah.”

Kamijou casually agreed. Right now, silence would only give off a sense of tranquility. There was nobody swinging weapons around, nobody shouting about, no breakage that could be heard.

“Oi.”

At that moment, Tatemiya Saiji, who was sitting far away from them, called out to Kamijou. He sounded anxious. Before Kamijou even started to turn around, Index had already raised her two hands and was standing in front of him, using herself as his shield.

Tatemiya stared at the duo,

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

“What?”

Kamijou frowned. After thinking about it for a while, he realised that the "her" Tatemiya was referring to was Orsola Aquinas.

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

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

“What?”

Kamijou was speechless.

“No, Touma.”

Index was rather calm, and said,

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

“She’ll be killed.”

Tatemiya’s words drowned out Index’s.

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

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

As he was overly angry, Kamijou shouted until his throat was hoarse, as if he was about to damage it.

But Tatemiya didn’t mind.

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

“Eh?”

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

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

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

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

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

Tatemiya smiled.

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

Kamijou suspiciously asked,

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

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

“Ah...”

Kamijou felt that Tatemiya’s words were starting to shake him up.

That was right. Among the many teleportation "portals", there were only twenty-three that they knew of.

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

That was true, Kamijou thought.

The objective of that battle had been to save Orsola before the special teleportation magic activated. And the reason why they had to do this was that nobody knew where their main base was. Once the Amakusa escaped, Orsola’s whereabouts would sink to the depths of the oceans.

In other words, nobody could attack their main base.

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

“So that means...”

The Amakusa were searching for "The Book of the Law" to defend themselves... by increasing their military strength?

Or...

"Hey, let me ask you something... What kind of magic book is ‘The Book of the Law’?”

Since Tatemiya asked this, Kamijou, an outsider, could only look at Index. Index then proceeded to explain reluctantly.

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

Index continued on,

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

“Here’s the problem.”

Tatemiya smiled as if there was some hidden meaning behind it.

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

Tatemiya paused, and then continued,

“But not everyone wants this power.”

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

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

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

Kamijou was confused now. However, Index seemed to have understood what Tatemiya's trying to say, and couldn’t help but look down.

“The answer is simple.”

To the boy’s naïve question, Tatemiya silently laughed, and answered,

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

“Ah...”

Kamijou finally understood it.

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

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

The night seemed to get even darker.

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

Tatemiya sighed heavily, and said,

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

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

Everything was reversed in Kamijou’s view.

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

“...”

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

Hearing Tatemiya Saiji’s growls, Kamijou breathed deeply, and closed his eyes. 𝗳𝔯𝙚e𝒘e𝚋𝘯𝚘ν𝙚l.𝑐o𝙢

He sorted through every single piece of information in his head, and thought through every argument.

He thought carefully.

Which was saying the truth: the Roman Catholics or the Amakusa?

Was there anything amiss?

“No, I still can’t trust you.”

“...Why?”

“If what you said is true,”

Kamijou slowly said,

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

He continued,

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

If the Amakusa were really Orsola’s friends, why had she run?

Hearing Kamijou voice his argument, Tatemiya just smiled slightly.

It was weak, as if he had given up on life.

“You’re all the same.”

“What same?”

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

Kamijou remained silent.

Tatemiya seemed to be looking at Kamijou, and yet seemed to be looking at something far away.

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

“Then, why did you save Orsola?”

Kamijou cautiously asked. 𝘧𝚛𝗲𝘦𝚠𝙚𝙗𝙣o𝙫𝗲𝚕.𝐜o𝓂

Tatemiya replied without hesitation,

“Do we need a reason?”

He then continued,

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

The way Tatemiya said this, it was like he was reminiscing the old days.

And it was like he was praising his family members.

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

For quite some time, everyone remained silent.

Finally, Tatemiya broke the silence by gnashing his teeth.

“...But we ruined her life.”

“What?”

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

Tatemiya sounded bitter, as if there was a knife poking through his face.

There was touching emotions flowing from this resentful speech that was barely squeezing from his throat.

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

In other words, they were a group that wouldn’t fight for power or profit. They fought for themselves, without desiring any benefits.

But it was hard for anyone to understand their motives, so Orsola misunderstood all that.

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

Kamijou really wanted to trust him, but there wasn’t any proof. To trust him, he had to have proof to verify it. Kamijou gnashed his teeth. Which side was saying the truth? Which side was saying a lie? Kamijou tried to compute this in his head.

Right at that moment, there was a loud scream from afar.

No, a "scream" simply wasn’t enough to describe it.

A blood-curdling cry, a screech, a wail. If one were to describe it, it could barely be called a "lady’s scream". But Kamijou wasn’t certain that that was the scream of a human. It sounded like a sharp scratch on a piece of glass or a blackboard that made people feel weird when they heard it. But in the voice, there was a shocking amount of human emotions mixed in. Fear, rejection, despair, and pain; a large number of emotions began to pour out like a sponge saturated with mud water being squeezed.

Index looked at Kamijou, but Kamijou didn’t look back.

“Or... sola?”

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

“...”

This reminded Kamijou of his conversation with Orsola a while back.

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

―Why had Orsola Aquinas asked that question so carefully?

“Yeah.”

―Why had she look relieved upon hearing his words?

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

―She had even tried to confirm it again.

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

―A seemingly meaningless reply had seemed to make her feel relieved.

“I... see.”

―How many thoughts were involved in that sentence?

Up until now, she had always trusted Kamijou Touma.

She had always thought that Kamijou Touma was someone that could be relied on.

“...Damn it.”

Kamijou gnashed his teeth, and turned to look at the direction of that cry's origin.

Come to think of it, when Kamijou had first met her, he should have risked his life to bring her back to Academy City. She'd have been a lot safer if he had done that.

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

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

“What?”

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

Tatemiya shouted frantically, indicating that they couldn’t delay any longer.

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

Tatemiya looked serious.

That even made Kamijou feel uncertain.

At that moment...

Footsteps could be heard. Kamijou turned to look at where these footsteps were coming from. Two nuns wearing black robes came from the darkness. They were most likely Roman Catholics. One of them was tall, while the other was short. The tall one was carrying a large carriage wheel that was much larger than a round table, while the short one had four leather bags hanging on her waist belt. The bags were rattling around, and they seemed to be filled with coins or something like that. The bags were about as large as softballs, and if coins were put in them, each would probably be as heavy as the ball used in a shot put.

The taller nun took out an old leather-covered notebook, and flipped open its contents, checking it. She then nodded, and walked towards Kamijou. It seemed like there was a photo of him inside.

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

Before the tall nun finished speaking, the shorter nun walked towards Tatemiya, who was covered with rune cards.

The four bags on her waists started to rattle continuously.

“Ah, wait a moment.”

Kamijou shouted, but the short girl didn’t seem to hear. She was about to pull Tatemiya, but froze, and didn't do so. She then circled around Tatemiya a few times, examining the rune cards covering him.

And the tall nun’s eyes were now staring at Kamijou.

“Is there a problem?”

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

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

A perfect, flawless answer.

This made Kamijou even more suspicious.

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

“But according to the regulations...”

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

Kamijou placed his hand on her shoulder, and pushed her aside.

“...”

The tall nun looked down, like she was helpless against a guy who caused people to worry all the time. She grabbed the large wheel on her back, and placed it in front of her like a shield.

Suddenly, Index looked worried—

“No! Touma—!!”

Before the girl’s shout finished, *BAM!*, the carriage wheel exploded.

“...!”

In an instant, Kamijou didn’t understand what happened. Several thousand pieces of shrapnel flew towards him at an alarming velocity like a shotgun. Sensing this, he used his arms to protect his head and chest. Then, numerous pieces of shrapnel hit his arms, legs, and stomach. Just when he felt pain, his feet left the ground. Ping Piang! He was knocked back about five to six metres.

Index let out a short scream.

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

The shorter nun seemed to panic. She looked at the taller nun, and said,

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

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

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

Her expression changed. Although the change was rather abstract, he could feel it. The tall nun stared at Kamijou, her two eyes reminding him of hot, melting butter.

Kamijou was surprised. He couldn’t believe that she was one of the nuns who had given him bread and soup at the camp.

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

The tall nun was beginning to look flushed.

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

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

Hearing such a terrifying thing, Kamijou was unable to reply.

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

But those pieces of shrapnel that had gotten under his skin suddenly vibrated.

“KWA-AAAAAAAAAAAA!!!”

Kamijou screamed. Pieces of shrapnel popped out of his flesh like an axe being pulled out from a tree trunk. The shrapnel, now stained with blood, returned to the nun’s hand like they were being pulled away with a magnet. They came together like a jigsaw puzzle being pieced together, forming back to the carriage wheel.

“Touma!”

Index cried, and frantically tried to get back to him, but the tall nun turned and glared at her, shouting,

“Sister Angelene!”

“Ah, yes!”

The petite nun uttered, hurriedly pulled off the four bags of coins on her waist, and threw them above herself. The bags suddenly gave off a loud sound like a large piece of cloth being slapped onto a wall. Also, each bag sprouted six sharp wings like those of a swallow. The four bags radiated different colors: red, blue, yellow, green.

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

The petite nun raised both her hands high, as if she was hugging the sky.

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

“Damn it... ah?”

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

Kamijou went pale instantly.

No...! If those things hit her!

The coin bags were likely heavier than the metal balls used in a shot put competition. Index, whose legs were tied up, would definitely be unable to escape, and she couldn’t possibly block the attack with her hands.

“Damn it! INDEX!”

Kamijou shouted, and attempted to get back to Index. Luckily, the coin bag that was tied to Index’s feet must be controlled by magic. It would release itself the moment Kamijou hit it with his right fist.

At that moment...

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

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

—!?

Kamijou trembled until his throat went dry. Punching the wheel with his right hand, and the wheel exploding; no matter how anyone looked at it, the former would definitely be slower.

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

The tall nun laughed madly, like she was intoxicated,

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

Kamijou didn't want to listen to her nonsense, but the wheel in front of him was restricting his movements. During this time, the three coin bags may be plummeting towards Index from several meters above.

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

The tall nun said this rather slowly, which made Kamijou even more panicky. The three coin bags that were aimed at Index would come flying down at the speed of a cannonball, and smash her head apart.

Seeing Kamijou so nervous that he was sweating, the tall nun couldn’t help but smirk from behind the wheel.

“The innocent are not punished, and the guilty are... Realise this now, non-believer; your end has come. Stupid Sister Orsola will be executed once the special ‘procedures’ are complete, but killing you guys won’t be such a hassle.”

“Peh...”

Kamijou's thoughts were occupied on Index who was all tied up, wondering what he could do to save her. At that moment, the wheel in front of him started to crack. As if time had slowed down, with the central axis of the wheel as the vertex, the wheel started to split into six equal pieces like a pizza, and rapidly expanded outwards.

“Woo... OOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”

Kamijou clenched his right fist, and roared. But it was too late, he couldn’t make it. Before Kamijou’s fist was raised, the wheel in the tall nun’s hand had already given off a loud sound.

*BAM!*, the wheel flew sideways.

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

It was the coin bags.

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

The tall nun who had lost her weapon frantically landed from above Kamijou’s head, and pulled distance from him. She then glared at the petite nun.

“Sister Angelene! You—!!”

“No... It’s not me...”

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

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

At that moment, Index’s clear voice rang out...

The next moment...

*PA!*, the sound of metal bending echoed through the air. The rope seal of the green coin bag that was tying up Index’s feet unraveled. Together with the blue and yellow bags, the green bag went flying towards the petite girl at a terrifying speed.

The three bags collided two centimeters in front of Angelene’s nose, and stopped. The giant pressure caused several hundred pieces of coins to coagulate into one large lump of metal. *Dong!*, it landed near the petite nun’s feet.

The petite nun gave a stiff yet mysterious smile as she landed on her butt.

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

Index calmly gave her cruel evaluation.

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

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

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

The tall nun looked around her, smacked her mouth, and readied herself. Losing her weapon didn’t dampen her fighting spirit. She slowly drew a cross in front of her chest.

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

*TWEET—!*, it was like the cry of a bird.

The tall nun heard this, and angrily turned to look at the night sky.

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

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

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

The tall nun ran into the darkness, and the petite nun followed suit.

“Now you understand?”

Tatemiya Saiji looked at the night sky, and reluctantly said,

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

Part 2

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

Stiyl said this after walking out of the "Parallel Sweets Wonderland" theme park. He had also heard Orsola’s scream, but hadn’t turned to ask Agnese what it was all about. Maybe he didn’t know the reasons or didn’t want to take rash action and cause relations between the British Puritans and the Roman Catholics to become strained. Either way, Kamijou didn’t understand Stiyl’s actions.

Kamijou had just ran to see Agnese, but they had retreated, and there was no one left. No one even picked up Tatemiya. Maybe they thought that the Amakusa was dissolved now that they had captured most of them.

The fact that a group with so many people was able to retreat so cleanly made Kamijou freeze up. The fact that they never left the British Puritans a note showed that they had never trusted them in the first place. Maybe to the Roman Catholics, getting Orsola back was their priority, and it wouldn’t hurt them if they didn’t take care of Tatemiya and the rest. Or maybe the Roman Catholics were gathering their forces that were scattered in the city, intending to use overwhelming force to wipe them out.

Right now, the quartet- Kamijou, Index, Stiyl, and Tatemiya- were exchanging information. On a side note, as Kamijou had been hit by the shrapnel of the wheel, he was covered with bandages everywhere.

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

Being warned, Kamijou twisted his mouth, and said,

“...What regulations?”

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

Kamijou was still confused after hearing all this, and tilted his head. At that moment, Tatemiya explained,

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

Stiyl impatiently blew a puff of white smoke, and said,

“To the Roman Catholics who have so many factions, the enemies within far outnumber those outside, so they’re extremely careful about settling this. Although decoding ‘The Book of the Law’ would be extremely threatening to the Roman Catholics, Orsola Aquinas herself has done no wrong. If they were to kill her like that, Agnese would be viewed as an enemy by all of her other comrades.”

“Yeah? But we also haven’t done anything wrong, right? They’re still willing to attack us without hesitation.”

Kamijou gently prodded the bandage on his arm with his fingers. The summer night was so hot already, and it was too much for him to have to put on all the bandages.

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

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

“...”

Kamijou looked away, and looked at the tree under the streetlight. A concern appeared in his head.

If the Roman Catholics had a rule that "one cannot kill a comrade within the Roman Catholic Church", why did the Amakusa need to step up and "prevent Orsola from getting killed"?

When Kamijou raised this question, Stiyl casually replied,

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

“Exception?”

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

Tatemiya walked behind Stiyl, carrying his extremely large sword. Kamijou was worried; if that sword were seen by the police, how were they going to explain it?

“Sinners, witches, disillusioned believers... these people who did something wrong would be chased out of the Church, and tagged as ‘Antichrists’.”

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

“This is ridiculous...!”

Kamijou shouted,

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

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

Kamijou thought that this was too much.

Using such a stupid method to decide Orsola’s future was unreasonable.

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

The Roman Catholics didn't care of how she thought or how she felt going up against the original copy of "The Book of the Law". Because it was too tiresome, unnecessary, bothersome, impossible to solve, and they didn’t want to add on to their worry; they decided to kill for these stupid reasons.

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

Their thoughts weren’t different. Both sides felt that "The Book of the Law" was something dangerous, and decided to take action to solve this problem. Orsola tried to decode the book in order to find a way to destroy an original-class book when ordinary people thought that it was impossible.

She just wanted to make some contribution.

Because she was more aware of the potent threat of "The Book of the Law", she couldn’t leave it alone. It was just that simple.

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

-Is this wrong?

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

―For what reason is Orsola Aquinas being treated like this?

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

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

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

―No!

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

―Definitely not!

“I can’t accept this...”

Kamijou gnashed his molars tightly, almost breaking them.

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

Kamijou Touma had lost his memories before.

So, what he had was very little. He only had memories of the previous month, during the summer holidays, so what he cared about was only a small percentage of an ordinary high school student's. Most of his memories were built on "hiding his memory loss", and he could break down anytime.

Even so, even if Kamijou was so empty inside, he would go berserk if anyone unwisely took away anything he cherished.

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

But this wasn’t right.

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

Why couldn’t they try another method?

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

Kamijou clenched both his fists until they were about to bleed. On the street under the midnight darkness, the scattered light of the streetlamps coldly shined on him.

“...Where are they? Do you know?”

“I can guess. Why do you ask this?”

Stiyl calmly asked. Kamijou couldn’t help but grab his collar, asking him why he could remain so calm.

Facing the furious look on Kamijou’s face, Stiyl elegantly shook the cigarette in his mouth. However, Index, who was outside Kamijou’s vision, was scared stiff.

“I understand your feelings.”

Stiyl slowly puffed out white smoke, and said,

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

“...!”

Kamijou clenched his fist tightly.

That was right.

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

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

Except...

They were like those real fighters depicted in manga or serial dramas... and the magicians were like these fighters.

But the magician just stood around and laughed, puffed out white smoke, and said,

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

“What... did you say?”

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

This time, Kamijou grabbed Stiyl Magnus’s collar without hesitation.

Index tried to lower her volume as she exclaimed. Tatemiya just stared at Kamijou and whistled.

The rune magician, however, remained unmoved. In this lonely midnight, only his voice was echoing through the neighborhood. The flashing lights seemed to flicker as they shined on his face.

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

“...This...”

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

The magician, who was being grabbed by the collar, calmly explained.

Like a devil that was forcing someone to sign a contract.

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

“...”

The hand grabbing Stiyl’s collar gradually released. Index opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but finally sighed.

This was the difference between a specialist and a layman.

This was the difference between a person and a group.

Stiyl indifferently spit the cigarette onto the ground, stepped on it to extinguish it, and looked at Tatemiya.

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

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

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

Hearing these words, Kamijou looked up.

Index, who was beside Tatemiya, looked at him and asked,

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

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

Tatemiya replied, swinging the white longsword. Stiyl coldly asked,

“You’re going there alone?”

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

Tatemiya used a delighted expression to hide his nervousness inside.

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

He swung the blade around, saying,

“We, the Amakusa, are used to being chased, so we know the strengths and weaknesses of a large organisation. The weakness of a large group is when they’re moving; there’ll definitely be one when hundreds of individuals are moving. Think about it: the Roman Catholic members and the Amakusa number more than 300; you can’t move that many Christians at the same time. When several hundred nuns dressed in black robes are walking on the streets, people will think there’s a protest, and even the media will come over to interview them. So, they’ll use some kind of disguise. Maybe they’ll split up into several groups and move on their own. During this time, it’ll be impossible for them to retain their original fighting strength, and it’ll be the best time to attack.” According to Tatemiya, the Roman Catholics were not like the Amakusa, who used magic to move about. But it was too late to arrange for a boat or a plane. So they would probably wait until daylight, when the harbor or airport was open, before they moved out.

“...”

The best time to strike was when they were moving.

But in other words, it meant that they could only move when the Roman Catholics move.

Stiyl had said that they had to follow a religious procedure and trial before they could execute her.

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

In a certain sense, having 250 carry out cruel violence against Orsola was even scarier than the procedures. As there was no clear guidelines on what they could and couldn't do, the boundary was rather gray.

Anything went as long as she didn’t die?

They could do anything they wanted as long as she was breathing?

Kamijou’s face darkened. Tatemiya understood his concern, and said,

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

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

Kamijou Touma swung a punch at an electric pole nearby.

He could imagine what was happening right now, but he couldn’t do anything. Kamijou felt really useless right now.

Stiyl coldly said to Kamijou, who was speechless right now,

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

At this moment, Stiyl lit a cigarette.

“Unless the British Puritans can come up with a valid reason for saving Orsola Aquinas, we won’t step in.”

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

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

“What?”

Kamijou tiredly turned around, Stiyl revealed a mocking smile, and asked,

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

“...”

Kamijou thought about it for a while, and recalled that,

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

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

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

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

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

Kamijou was obviously confused, and could only walk back into the darkness.

Just like that, this boring event ended with a boring outcome.

Part 3

Tatemiya Saiji had left.

Stiyl seemed intent on escorting Index back to Academy City. Kamijou dejectedly walked under the night sky. Index wanted to comfort him, but she didn’t know what to say.

Although this was the capital of Japan, the night away from the centre of the city was still dark. It was past one in the morning; most of the lights in the city were out. Lights could be seen from the windows of the apartments, like an incomplete set of teeth. There would occasionally be taxis driving past them, carrying drunkards inside. The streetlights continued to shine, attracting numerous flies to them.

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

“What should I do?”

Kamijou muttered.

Index heard this, and looked at Kamijou. But Kamijou still looked down.

He really wanted to help Orsola Aquinas.

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

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

“Touma...”

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

Kamijou Touma thought.

The first time he had met Orsola Aquinas, she had sounded perturbed when she asked him how to get to Academy City. When she had smiled in the theme park, it was because she had found a friend she could trust that she had continued to talk.

Also...

That cry full of despair that had come from nowhere.

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

Kamijou understood that him thinking like this showed that he was an amateur who lacked a sense of danger. The situation was completely unrelated to him. A high school student had gotten a rather harsh insight into the magical world, and was about to return to his own world; it was just that simple. Nobody could blame him. Anyone could see that the magical world was dangerous and scary, and to see a common civilian like Kamijou come back would be a huge relief for them.

Maybe Stiyl had already said what he wanted to say a while back that he remained silent about Kamijou’s accusations.

In the meantime, Index turned to look at Kamijou’s face, and said,

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

“...Really?”

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

“I see.”

Kamijou gave a machine-like answer, but he was feeling quite surprised deep inside. Index should be able to imagine what would happen to Orsola, so why was she telling him to not interfere with the situation any further?

Maybe it was because...

There was no way to comfort him besides saying something that contradicted his feelings?

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

Index continued on, trying to persuade Kamijou.

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

“...”

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

It was true. Seeing a mass murderer commit a crime didn’t mean that the eyewitness had a duty to stop him. The eyewitness wouldn’t be condemned if the murderer was subdued by the police.

“Will Tatemiya succeed?”

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

“Un.”

Kamijou nodded his head.

He might as well mention it, Kamijou thought. Since the situation could be resolved without him getting involved, an outsider didn’t need to get involved. It was a logical way of thinking. If an outsider who didn’t know anything got involved, it was likely that the situation may get out of hand, so he might as well stay on the sidelines.

The law never decreed that Kamijou had to settle everything on his own.

From a larger point of view, there was a majority of scenarios that Kamijou wasn’t involved in.

Even if he saw one, he didn’t need to mind.

Even if Kamijou wasn’t involved, someone would settle it.

Kamijou looked at the night sky, raised his hands, and stretched. The fatigue in his body was starting to build up, and at the same time, he was starting to miss the futon in his dormitory.

“Alright, let’s go home.”

Kamijou said.

Just this sentence alone created a segment between what was daily and what was non-daily.

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

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

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

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

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

“Touma—!”

Index shouted out, not caring that it was the middle of a silent night.

Kamijou laughed upon seeing this gluttonous girl turn pale so easily.

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

“Hm? How about everyone go together?”

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

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

Stiyl shook the cigarette in his mouth, and said,

“However, do you know where it is?”

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

“Very good.”

Stiyl gave a cynical smile, and brought Index back into the darkness of the night. Index wanted to accompany Kamijou, but he waved his hands profusely, indicating to her to not follow.

When those two disappeared, Kamijou turned around.

And headed down the road he had originally walked on.

“That guy seems to have noticed...”

Kamijou smacked his lips, and muttered to himself.

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

Kamijou pulled his cellphone from his pocket. The white light from the screen illuminated his face.

He pressed several buttons, and opened up the GPS satellite search map. Of course, the target wasn’t a nearby convenience store. Kamijou thought of what Agnese Sanctis had said.

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

The GPS function of Academy City was extremely accurate and updated really fast. Besides the latest buildings, it would accurately display buildings that were about to be built. In contrast, old businesses that had closed, like the "Gloaming House", would disappear quickly from the map.

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

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

Kamijou looked at the image on his cellphone, and quickened his steps. Just like Agnese had said, the "Church of Orsola", the gathering point of the Roman Catholics, was in this city. Since moving in a large group was a weakness to that group, they would use the Church of Orsola nearby to act as a deport base. Although the building wasn’t complete, it wasn’t a problem to them because they had much more magic that Kamijou didn’t know of.

The Roman Catholics should be there.

Including Agnese Sanctis and Orsola Aquinas.

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

Kamijou remembered that joke that Agnese had first made, and chuckled.

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

Since their objective was clear, he had no need to stop.

He walked faster, and unknowingly started running on the pitch-black road in the night.

He had no reason to get in and fight.

Even if he didn’t interfere, others would come in to settle it.

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

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

But...

What if the infant left behind in the fire always believed that Kamijou would save him?

The smartest way was obviously to call the fire brigade.

But no matter how stupid it was, Kamijou was not willing to let the child see his back. Even to himself, when it was the safest method, Kamijou wasn’t willing to let down the child’s expectations.

Maybe up until now, Orsola Aquinas still believed in Kamijou Touma.

Even when Kamijou had made so many bad decisions, she still believed in him like a child.

Luckily, Kamijou wasn’t affiliated to an organisation like the British Puritans or the Roman Catholics. He was just an ordinary student, an outsider. So there was no burden on him. Although he couldn’t ask insiders like Index or Stiyl for help, he could do what they couldn’t.

If he had a slight concern, it would be that he would be considered a citizen of Academy City, a member of the Science side. However, if the situation wasn’t good, it was likely that Academy City would settle it quickly by expelling him in order to disassociate themselves from him.

It was alright even if they expelled him, Kamijou thought.

Either way, Kamijou still insisted on what he believed in.

Thinking about it, he laughed.

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

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

But he wanted to.

Part 4

Right now, the Church of Orsola couldn’t be called a church. It was about the size of four to five school gymnasiums. If it was completed, it would likely be the first real cathedral in Japan. Building such a thing near Academy City, it was likely that they were trying to suppress the Science side. However, as it was only built halfway, the empty space gave people a sense of loneliness.

The outer wall had just been built, and there were many steel pedals and ladders. It seemed that they hadn’t started work on the interior, like it had been ravaged by greedy soldiers. There was a large black hole in the window that was to be covered with colored mosaic glass, and the place where they were planning to put a huge pipe organ was still rather unnatural. The marble floors and walls continued to shine like they were still new, but the huge Cross that was to be hung on the wall was leaning on the wall behind the podium.

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

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

The nuns weren’t looking outside the building.

Their eyes were fixated on the centre of the circle.

There was the sound of beating.

And the groan of pain as the person grit her teeth and endured.

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

Dong! It sounded like a heavy bag being kicked.

At the same time, a cry that seemed to come from hell echoed throughout the darkness.

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

Orsola Aquinas didn't reply.

She had been beaten really badly, and was lying on the ground. Her clothes were torn, the zippers were broken, and the cloth was flipped over, like she had been dragged on the ground by a horse.

Agnese and company weren’t using any special magic to torture Orsola; they were just taking turns kicking her arms, legs, or stomach. But repeating such an action for a long time would bring tremendous pain. It was a violent act involving more than 200 people, and although they were somewhat lenient, they were hurting her to the point of near-death. Orsola was lying on the floor, unable to move.

Agnese brutally kicked Orsola’s legs. This terrifying power traveled through the thick soles, pressing on Orsola’s already immobile legs.

“Ugh...!”

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

“...!?”

Maybe it was because of the pain caused by the kicks to her legs that Orsola couldn’t say anything. Were she to open her mouth, she might even bite her tongue.

How did it end up like this? Orsola continued to think.

To anybody, the original copy of the magic book, "The Book of the Law", was something that was evil and had to be removed. Everyone wanted to destroy it, and everyone who got it would be annihilated- truly a "fallen magic book". But humanity had no way to destroy it, and could only seal and guard it.

Orsola Aquinas only wanted to solve this issue.

Her objective was the same as the Roman Catholics': to destroy the notorious "Book of the Law".

Why did it become like this?

For this to go completely differently from what she had expected, where did it go wrong?

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

Why did that boy hand her over to Agnese?

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

Agnese stared down on Orsola as she spoke.

She continued to kick Orsola’s calves, looking intoxicated, like she had been mesmerised by some magic. Orsola felt that every single nerve within her was being torn as the pain reverberated through her bones.

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

“...Tri... ck?”

Orsola, who was losing consciousness due to the pain, woke up upon hearing this.

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

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

But Orsola tried hard to ask the question.

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

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

“...”

“I see.”

The tension of Orsola’s face lessened.

They hadn’t betrayed Orsola to the Roman Catholics. Those smiles and words hadn’t been a pretense. They had really been concerned about Orsola’s safety, and had done something so dangerous to save her.

Even if it had ended in failure.

Even if their hard work didn’t pay off and made Orsola so worse off that she was about to die.

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

“What are you laughing at?”

“Really...? I’m... laughing?”

Orsola slowly and gently said,

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

“Ah?”

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

“—”

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

Orsola laughed.

Her devastated face revealed an expression full of sadness.

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

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

Dong! Agnese’s thick sandals pressed viciously on Orsola’s legs. Orsola still remained calm, as if Agnese was only stepping on an empty can.

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

Agnese said it like this, but she was actually looking down on Orsola, who was still resisting. There were 200 nuns beside her ready for action anytime, and there was a strong boundary around the church, so Orsola was unable to escape either way.

Although Orsola and Agnese were within close proximity, Orsola could only hear Agnese’s words vaguely as she was still groggy. She thought using her brain that was about to shut down, and said,

“Who... should I really hate?”

“What...?”

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

That was right, she shouldn’t hate.

Definitely not hate them.

They didn’t manage to successfully save Orsola, but they shouldn’t be blamed; they were not entitled to save her. They were not acting under a strong sense of "duty". They really wanted to save Orsola deep inside, so they used their "authority" to take part in a battle they shouldn’t be taking part in.

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

So, Orsola didn't resent them.

Seeing such a group of people that was willing to help a stranger was a wonderful thing. Orsola felt proud. Knowing such people at the end was such a wonderful thing, and Orsola was thankful for God’s grace deep inside.

So satisfying.

So enriching.

The happiness up until now made Orsola Aquinas feel that nothing could be added on.

Unexpectedly, though, her fortune didn’t end here.

Because the next instant...

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

Agnese could not help but look away from Orsola.

Something extraordinary forced her to.

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

Agnese quickly gave the orders.

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

“Ah...”

Orsola Aquinas saw it.

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

But there was only an ordinary boy standing there.

Although he was just an ordinary teenager, he was not running or hiding.

For who?

For what?

The 200+ nuns standing around Orsola turned their eyes to stare at the boy. There were so many nuns, it was scary, and they weren’t ordinary people. Of course the boy was scared. He was just an ordinary teenager; how could he not be scared?

But...

The boy never backed away, as he stepped forward.

In order to save Orsola Aquinas, he stepped into the dark church hall.

This step signified that...

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

Part 5

Kamijou Touma stepped into the empty church.

He saw a terrifying thing.

On a summer night, several hundred people were gathered in this building without air conditioning. Although the place was big, it was a closed room, and warm air permeated everywhere. A strong stench of sweat spread from a dark corner deep inside, like he was stepping into the lair of a large beast.

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

In the middle of the crowd, there was a girl lying on the ground. Kamijou saw this, and silently squinted his eyes.

At this moment, Kamijou heard a laugh, as if it was laughing at his feelings.

Turning around, it was Agnese Sanctis. Her image was completely different from before.

“I’ve been finding this weird.”

Agnese giggled,

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

“...”

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

Agnese sounded very excited, as if she was drunk, looking carried away.

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

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

That was true, one versus 200 was too much of a difference. Kamijou couldn’t win if he went up against so many people. Or maybe it was because Agnese understood this so well that she smugly walked towards Kamijou. Not only did she not care about her defense, she was even taunting him.

Agnese believed that Kamijou wouldn’t do anything to her. Once he did, he would start a battle where there was no chance of victory for him.

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

Hearing Agnese say this with such confidence, Kamijou weakly smiled.

“My last chance... I should know what to do...”

His voice contained a strong, strange sense of calm.

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

BAM! Kamijou Touma’s right fist cut through the air.

Agnese quickly crossed her arms to protect her head. At this moment, her feet left the floor.

Agnese, who had blocked the attack, flew backwards. She then glared at Kamijou like a fierce dog.

Without a second to delay.

Without hesitation, the boy let the enemy in front of him see his realisations.

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

Agnese roared.

But Kamijou Touma was louder than her.

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

The two of them were rather emotional, almost at a breaking point.

In a nutshell, it was "anger", but the reasons and auras were completely different.

The muscles on Agnese’s face vibrated irregularly as she muttered.

The nuns in black robes, who had originally been standing around, all turned and face Kamijou Touma, brandishing the many different weapons in their hands. They marched forward like an army, giving off a cold and scary sound all at once.

“You’re really... interesting.”

Agnese’s voice and body trembled.

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

After Agnese said this, the black nuns raised their weapons.

Kamijou Touma, who was alone, had no help, and was weaponless, clenched his fists.

Just when the battle was about to start...

A voice suddenly appeared.

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

“What...?”

Agnese was stunned. She turned around. Bam! As the sound of flames absorbing oxygen echoed throughout, the church wrapped in darkness was blown apart by an explosion and orange lights.

The light came from inside the church, just opposite Kamijou.

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

“...Stiyl?”

The cigarette-smoking priest stunned Kamijou, as he inadvertently called out his name.

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

Before Kamijou could speak, Agnese said,

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

“Too bad; that argument is invalid.”

Stiyl coldly puffed out some white smoke, and said,

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

Stiyl revealed a cynical smile.

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

“So that’s how it is...”

Kamijou vividly remembered how happy Orsola had been the moment he casually said that he was giving the cross to her. So there was such a meaning behind it.

Agnese was flushed red now, and was flabbergasted for a while before she said,

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

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

Stiyl shook the cigarette in his mouth, and said,

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

Stiyl jumped down from the window, and silently landed in front of the podium.

Next, he pointed the tip of the flame sword at Agnese, who was standing far away, saying,

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

Stiyl bared his fangs, continuing on,

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

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

Agnese angrily said this. But she was cut off by another voice before she could finish.

“It’s not just two people.”

“!?”

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

“Tatemiya...”

The tall man was wielding a white flamberge whose material was unknown. Kamijou inadvertently called out his name.

Tatemiya Saiji.

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

Behind him were the Amakusa members who had been imprisoned in the other buildings. There was around fifty of them, and it seemed like they had found their freedom.

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

Stunned, Kamijou said,

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

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

Tatemiya Saiji said this reluctantly.

Finally, footsteps could be heard behind Kamijou, followed by a familiar girl’s voice.

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

“In... dex...?”

Kamijou sputtered. A small hand grabbed Kamijou’s shoulder, and though small, it was rather forceful.

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

“Un.”

Kamijou nodded his head.

Seeing this, Agnese Sanctis gave an order angrily,

“KILL THEM ALL!”

Several hundred nuns rushed out from the darkness.

The final battle had begun.

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

Between the Lines 2

In the middle of the night, Kanzaki Kaori was standing on the rooftop of a certain building.

The night scenery in front of her included the Church of Orsola that was being built. The building was so much different from what someone would expect of a church: not quiet, and filled with growls and sounds of things breaking.

Although she was standing far away from the church, her sharp ears could hear everything. She heard a group of people stepping forward to save a girl.

From the start, Kanzaki had never intended to help her fellow Amakusa members or attack the Roman Catholics who the Amakusa were against. Although she snuck away after this situation happened, she never thought of using violence to settle this.

She just wanted to witness it for herself.

Even when she was gone, the Amakusa hadn’t changed.

She had wanted to witness that.

Right now, she was seeing a truth that she had always believed in.

She narrowed her eyes.

That gentle expression seemed to be reminiscing something.

It was a place where she could no longer go to.

But because of that, it was a precious place to her.

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

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

“Tsuchimikado!”

Kanzaki hastily made a long face, and turned away. But Tsuchimikado was still grinning as he looked at Kanzaki. Seemed like Kanzaki’s feelings were written on her face.

In order to hide her embarrassment, Kanzaki coldly said,

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

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

“...”

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

Tsuchimikado announced that his mission had failed, but he sounded extremely happy. Did he think that his mission's unimportant? Or was he saying a lie, and "The Book of the Law" was already in his hands? Which was the answer? Kanzaki didn’t know.

Tsuchimikado walked beside Kanzaki, placed his two hands on the metal handrail used to prevent people from falling, and stared at the scene which Kanzaki's looking at. After a while, he said,

“Are you satisfied now?”

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

Kanzaki again turned to look at the church, saying,

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

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

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

Kanzaki proudly said, but there was some loneliness in her tone.

There was not even the faintest sign of perplexity or hesitation.

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

“What are you laughing at, Tsuchimikado?”

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

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

Kanzaki sternly replied.

Tsuchimikado seemed to have remembered something, and let out a huge laugh. His laughter was extremely loud, so loud that one may worry that his voice could reach the Church of Orsola. He laughed until tears rolled out of his eyes, and after a while, said,

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

“...!?”

“Ugn? Whoa, whoa, Nee-chin, what’s wrong with you? Why that deadpan look, and your temples are still moving... wait a minute! Wait a minute! I’m unarmed! Your Shichiten Shichitou isn’t to be used for play! I don’t want to be bandaged earlier than them, WA—!”