"Our scouts have reported two suspicious characters there. They're likely from the Amakusa, but we haven't tipped them off yet."
After hearing Index's explanation a while ago, Agnese had given the orders, and within 15 minutes, she had gotten a report from her subordinates.
It's really easy to do things when there are so many people, Kamijou thought. The Angel Fall incident had been a whole lot more troublesome, even though this situation was just as chaotic.
"There's no sign of the main force of the Amakusa, The Book of the Law, or Orsola, however."
"Of course not. It'd be very obvious if they were all there at the same time. And it's still 'business mode' over there."
Although Kamijou did not know what time it was exactly, he guessed it was not even 8 PM right now.
If the Amakusa wanted to use the map magic created by Ino Tadataka to escape, they had to head toward the portal's location. Kamijou and the rest intended to attack the Amakusa before they could reach the portal and take back The Book of the Law and Orsola.
"Since they might use other portals that we do not know of, or not use any special teleportation magic at all, I can't gather all my people into one group before we find the main force of the Amakusa. If we don't maintain the perimeter and search for them within the area, we'll probably let them escape. That place is where they're most likely to appear, though." Agnese said worriedly.
Index did not seem to mind and said,
"You've done the right thing. Besides, even I don't have any concrete evidence."
"Because of those reasons, the number of people that can be deployed is only 74, including me. Right now, we're readying our weapons and equipment. With that amount of manpower, if we meet the main force of the Amakusa, we won't have a sure chance of winning. I'm sorry, but you guys will have to take care of yourselves."
Up until now, there had only been less than 50 people in the Amakusa, and yet they had been able to fight it out against the Roman Catholics for such a long time. So, Agnese was not just saying that to be humble.
Stiyl lit another cigarette and said,
"You don't have to worry; we're sorry that there's been no notice from the Knights who had agreed to arrive. So we won't burden you guys. Oh, yeah, how long will it take for the preparations to be complete before we leave?"
"Besides the weapons and equipment, we still need to bless everyone here by pouring holy water and reading Bible scriptures…" Agnese thought for a while before saying, "Around 3 hours…we'll likely finish by 11 PM at the latest."
"If we count the time it takes for us to travel...that means that we only have 30 minutes to settle this? Ah, well; at least we may end up arriving there before the Amakusa's main force; so far, we've just been waiting around aimlessly."
Just like that, the time of the operation was set to 11 PM.
Agnese clapped twice, and after giving orders in a foreign language, all the nuns in black went into action. The 74-strong group of nuns split into smaller groups of 2 to 4 people. Each group then proceeded to do its own job.
For someone who was used to seeing lone striders like Stiyl, Tsuchimikado and Kanzaki--or to put it crudely, magicians who were stubborn and lonely--the orderliness of the Roman Catholics surprised Kamijou.
Agnese and the nuns participating in the "Retrieval of The Book of the Law and Orsola Operation" went into their preparations for war, and those who had already finished their own preparations took turns to eat or sleep. Kamijou was intrigued, not understanding how these people could still sleep before a battle. But Agnese told him that, once the battle was at a stalemate, nobody would even dare wish for a good nap on a comfy bed, so they could only dare rest up for 10 to 20 minutes to replenish their energy. To the nuns, this was already basic knowledge.
Seems like this is a specialized group of people who are really used to fighting for a long time.
Kamijou thought, his mind running wildly.
Since Kamijou, Index, and Stiyl had nothing else to do, they had time to enjoy their dinner and take a little nap. Kamijou thought,
Maybe this is the hospitality that Agnese shows to her guests.
Remarkably, they had to take their dinner and sleep inside a tent. This was supposed to be the capital of Japan, and yet they were setting up their own tent. That was really unexpected. Come to think of it, if these 70+ people wearing such strange clothes and preparing for war were to gather in a multi-chain restaurant or a hotel, then that would be an even more amazing sight.
Now that I think about it, we're starting at 11…will I be able to make it school tomorrow? AH! Wait! The due date for submitting the summer holiday homework should be approaching soon, right?
Kamijou hastily looked toward the direction of Academy City, not knowing what to do.
Due to several complicated reasons, Kamijou had not completed his summer homework. So, Komoe-sensei had given Kamijou a "punishment assignment"--which she had made specially for Kamijou--and the last day to submit this assignment was tomorrow.
AHHHHHHHH! Kamijou turned gray as he screamed within his heart.
To be honest, Kamijou had thought that he could complete it. Up until now, the hard-working Kamijou had to block Index's "Play with me!" attacks and fend off the calico cat, Sphinx's, "Give me food!" attacks in order to do his homework. So, unfortunately, his abilities alone had not been enough. But yesterday, he had begged Misaka Mikoto to teach him how to solve those questions, and although Mikoto had grumbled, she had still stayed with Kamijou for many hours; thus, the rate at which he had been solving those questions had gone up, and there had been hope that he would be able to complete it today.
But now, that bubble of hope had burst.
Oh man! Oh man! I'll be scolded! What to do? What am I going to do? It's not just Komoe-sensei--even Mikoto will be angry! Ahhhhhh! I haven't said this for quite a while, but…such misfortune!
Kamijou's entire body trembled as he tilted his head slightly upward, looking up at the night sky. He continued to tell himself that the transparent liquid flowing down from the corners of his eyes was just sweat.
Kamijou dejectedly walked towards a corner of the campsite, got a piece of bread and a bowl of soup--the latter of which he could not identify--and ate as he looked around.
Small semi-circular tents were set up everywhere in the abandoned parking lot of the Gloaming House. Yet, no matter what anyone thought, there was no way this area could accommodate everyone. It seemed like some of them would be sleeping inside the building. Besides, all the Roman Catholic nuns were be busy preparing, so it was likely that more than half of them would not have time to sleep.
Seeing these people being so busy, Kamijou felt embarrassed and did not dare sleep. According to Stiyl, however, people who had nothing to do and kept moving around would only cause them more trouble.
Come to think of it, wouldn't the police notice a group of people living in a dump? Or did they use something like a spell that turns away passersby?
Kamijou went from the campsite to his own tent, snuggled his body under the futon, and thought about all these things. Stiyl was sleeping just beside him, and Index seemed to be sleeping in another tent. In order to protect Index, Stiyl had actually intended to sleep with Index in the same tent, but that idea was rejected. Later, Kamijou had seen a disappointed Stiyl mutter to himself, "If Kanzaki, who is of the same gender, were around, it'd have been alright..." as he placed rune cards near her tent. It was said that Innocentius became stronger the more rune cards there were, and Stiyl appeared to be grumbling because there was a limited amount of space inside the small tent where he could stick them.
Unable to sleep, Kamijou rolled around in the tent. It was not because he was not tired or overly nervous because of the upcoming battle, but because he could not sleep on his own when there were so many people busy working outside. Even more, once he thought about how they were dressed, he could only think about Orsola, who was dressed in the same nun's habit.
"…I should just go help them."
As Kamijou got out from under the futon, Stiyl's irritated voice rang out beside him.
"Do whatever suits you, but please don't use your mysterious right hand to destroy their artifacts...If they're broken, you'll have to pay for them yourself; it'll be none of the Anglican Church's business."
After listening to that seemingly sarcastic reminder, Kamijou got out of the tent.
The summer night was extremely hot. The nuns ran around, busy doing their own things. Some of them carried a lot of silver candlesticks; some of them, stacks of old Bibles; and some of them, large wooden wheels that seemed to be used for horse carriages. Kamijou wondered, What use do those things have?
Is there something that I can help with…Eh?
Kamijou suddenly realized that something was strange, and stopped. Beside the tent he had just walked out from, the zipper to the entrance of Index's rune-card-filled tent was open, and there was no one inside.
Now where did she run off to--WA!
Seeing that Index's tent was empty, Kamijou moved toward it--and noticed that the feeling of ground below his feet was gone. Actually, he got careless, and had already stepped into the equilateral triangular hole made by the Amakusa.
Oh, no…! I'm about to fall in--!
"Swish!"
Before Kamijou could fall entirely into the sewer, a nun grabbed Kamijou's waving hand in the nick of time. The nun pulled Kamijou out and started telling him off in a foreign language, but Kamijou did not understand what she was saying.
Oh, man, have I already started giving them trouble?
A dejected Kamijou turned around again to look at the triangular hole which he had nearly fallen into, and observed it carefully.
The Amakusa had been lurking in the sewers since a while ago, and had launched a sneak attack from below. Up until now, Kamijou had thought that this place could be considered the Roman Catholics' base, and no matter how one moved around, there should not be any danger.
Thinking about it carefully, though, danger could still be nearby. The Amakusa could have set up something that could destroy the Roman Catholic command base before they had escaped, making their escape a lot easier.
Even if they were to launch a stealth attack, they wouldn't attack a layman like me, right? No matter how hard I think, they'd choose an important place to attack, such as the command post.
The problem was that Kamijou was unable to distinguish the important tents from the unimportant ones. He saw one in front of him that was a lot bigger than the rest. Kamijou casually thought, That tent looks like the most likely to be attacked.
Suddenly, an extremely loud crashing sound came from within that large tent.
Then, a girl's scream was heard.
"…!?"
Kamijou felt the water content in his throat evaporating. Those wild thoughts that he had a while ago now came running back into his mind.
The Amakusa could launch a direct attack from below.
The more important the tent was to Agnese and the rest, the more likely it would be attacked.
No way; don't tell me it came true…
"Damn it!"
Luckily, that tent was rather close to Kamijou. He clenched his fist as hard as stone and rushed forward. Although there were many nuns around, they were too shocked by this unexpected situation to respond. Kamijou ran to the entrance of the tent and pulled the zipper.
"Amakusa!"
Just as Kamijou shouted, a heavy object suddenly flew out of the tent and crashed into Kamijou's belly. It was a heavy and warm object that brought with it some humidity.
WAAAHHH…!
An indescribable feeling flowed through Kamijou's entire body, his fine hairs standing still. Kamijou quickly raised his fist and was about to swing it down…
Before realizing that it was Agnese Sanctis, now entirely naked, who was clinging to his waist.
"…Eh?"
A loud voice boomed inside Kamijou's head, and then his mind went blank.
Agnese, who was completely naked, was wet, her skin dripping and moist. White steam continued to rise from her slightly pink and soft skin, and while clinging onto Kamijou, she continued to tremble. She buried her face into Kamijou's stomach, shutting her eyes and muttering some foreign language. It seemed like she was confused.
Kamijou did not understand a single thing that Agnese was saying. Agnese pointed her finger at something, so Kamijou turned to look in that direction.
A small slug was in one corner of the large tent.
Agnese pointed to that small slug while speaking in that foreign language that no one could understand.
"Wait…wait, wait, Agnese! Let me go first, and put on some clothes! Also, I can only understand Japanese!"
Kamijou blushed as he shouted. Once Agnese heard that, her trembling stopped.
She lifted her head in fear.
And saw Kamijou.
The next moment…
Agnese fainted, and fell backwards.
WAH!
The ground was hard asphalt. Kamijou quickly grabbed Agnese, who was about to hit the ground. An amazing sensation passed through Kamijou's shirt, making him feel strange. Agnese was a lot slimmer than Index overall, so she was a bit skinny, but that made her soft parts more pronounced.
Ugh…!?
Kamijou, who was still hugging Agnese, looked up, and trembled.
Actually, there was a large golden basin in the middle of the tent, and above it, hanging from the roof, was a metal can. Attached to the bottom of the metal can was something that looked like a shower nozzle, and a tap above it. It seemed like this was a simple set-up for a shower, and by turning the tap, hot water from the metal can would flow out from the nozzle. And right now, hot water was flowing out of it.
Within that large, golden basin in the middle of the tent, drenched in hot water, was a silver-haired, emerald-eyed nun.
"…Touma."
The nun spoke in a very low voice. Of course she was not wearing anything. Whether it was her wet hair, her flat chest, or her little belly button that was now filled with water, they were all in full view. Her skin was originally white, but after she had washed it with hot water, it was rather reddish.
"Wait… wait, wait, wait a minute! I thought that the Amakusa attacked, and was worried, so I rushed in, so I hope you can carefully re-evaluate this…"
"Sniff—"
"...? 'Sniff?'"
Startled, Kamijou observed Index's every movement.
"—Sniff sniff… Sniff sniff…"
SHE…SHE-SHE-SHE-SHE-SHE-SHE-SHE'S CRYING!?
This completely unexpected situation made Kamijou tremble mysteriously. Large teardrops continued to flow from the corners of Index's eyes, and she used her hands to wipe them away.
Suddenly, Kamijou found many people looking at him coldly.
Over 100 nuns were labeling Kamijou as "a guy who would make a young and naked girl cry--and even our superior is naked and has fainted beside him".
Kamijou went pale.
"Wait…please…please calm down, Index-hime! This isn't like you! You aren't like this normally! See, Kamijou's head is here, right? Come bite it, quickly, bite it… Eh? Wait…wait! Why do you look so serious all of a sudden? I…I'm just joking! Please don't give me that expression, like you're going to chew on a thick slab of beef--WAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"
"Didn't I tell you not to cause them trouble? Hm? Why are you holding your head and crying?"
Stiyl, who was lying inside the tent, coldly asked Kamijou, who was bare able to drag his body back into the tent. As the tent's entrance was zipped up, Stiyl figured out that there had been a commotion, but he did not know that it had something to do with Index. If he were to know about it, the next scene would probably be one where a crazed priest wielding a flame sword chased after Kamijou. Kamijou was told by Agnese, who had voiced her displeasure, "We're about to discuss battle tactics; please LEAVE." Of course he did not want to cause anymore trouble.
Kamijou stroked his scalp and snuggled into his futon. As long as he could get some time, whether it was five minutes or ten minutes, he should quickly rest and get some sleep. It was said that this was common knowledge for all magicians. Kamijou could not sleep before the pain went away, though.
"Hey, Stiyl."
"What? I'm rather annoyed right now. If there's anything, we can talk later."
"I'd like to ask you something."
"Their ability to handle danger is so lousy. So what if it's The Book of the Law? They're already panicking like this over just a grimoire. This is really unthinkable. Compared to this, that girl who possesses 103,000 grimoires in her brain... Who knows how many magicians have coveted her…"
"Which girl do you like?"
"EH?"
Hearing Kamijou ask that question, Stiyl sucked in a breath of cold air, his body trembling slightly.
During nights in training or camp, that question would always be raised. That seemed to be something unique only to Japan.
"Answer quickly; I still have other questions to ask."
"The lady I respect is Elizabeth the First, and the lady I admire is St. Martha; it's said that she subdued a dragon with a prayer full of love and compassion, and that's really admirable. Any other questions?"
"The Amakusa Church...isn't that the organization which Kanzaki was serving?"
"…"
Stiyl squinted his eyes, and remained silent. He stretched his hand, wanting to get a cigarette, but realized that smoking while lying on the ground was not good, and pulled his hand back.
"Who told you? Kanzaki most likely wouldn't say where she's from. Did Tsuchimikado tell you?"
"Yeah. It was when you became the owner of the seaside resort." [5]
Stiyl looked like he did not understand. Kamijou did not bother explaining and continued,
"In other words, the Amakusas are Kanzaki's compatriots, right?"
Kamijou paused at this point, obviously looking perplexed. "…Should we continue to take action? Like that time against the Misawa Cram School?"
Kamijou and Stiyl had once fought on the same side before.
That battle could only be described as appalling. Many people had been injured, and some had even lost their lives. From that moment on, Kamijou had vaguely understood what a battle between different magical organizations was all about. In the real magical world, not a single hint of innocence was allowed. Thus, magic specialists like Index and Stiyl were born.
But,
Since these people knew how cruel a battle between magicians was, would that not create a sense of compassion?
"Of course."
Stiyl answered without hesitation, however.
"Isn't it obvious? I'll do anything to protect that kid. Even if I'm not ordered by my superiors to do so, or even ordered not to, it's the same to me. I can kill anyone, whether it's burning them alive, or burning their corpses to ash--whether it's in front of that kid or somewhere where she can't see me," Stiyl said in a self-depreciative manner. "Don't get the wrong idea, Kamijou Touma. That I'm lying right here, right now...it's all for that kid. Once you have no more value to that young child, I'll burn you to a crisp anytime."
"…"
Kamijou could not help but swallow his saliva.
This was the sole conviction that Stiyl Magnus had.
Being a member of the Anglican Church, becoming an extremely strong battle magician, being ordered to bring back The Book of the Law and Orsola...all his actions were based on this conviction.
"A long time ago, I swore, '―Sleep well; even if you forget everything, I'll remember it forever. I'll live for you, and die for you.'"
That made Kamijou tremble.
But Stiyl's words were filled with passion.
Kamijou pondered carefully on how to answer.
If he was not careful, it would be disrespectful to Stiyl.
"But even so, why must you get Index involved in this?"
"The one who planned this wasn't me. If possible, I would not have gotten her involved either."
Stiyl said calmly.
"But I can't settle this on my own. If I do, that child will be seen as 'useless' by my superiors. As of right now, if we can't make them see the value that Index has, it's likely that she'll be brought back to London. Right now, to her, not being able to live in Academy City would be much more painful than anything else."
Stiyl's voice was filled with frustration and reluctance.
They were both members of the Anglican Church. As for Stiyl, he must be hoping to bring Index back to Britain.
But Stiyl Magnus replied with such reluctance.
"Let's sleep; there's only 2 hours left before the operation starts. We'll get nightmares if we continue talking."
After saying that, the rune spellcaster shut his mouth and eyes.
In a few hours, it was going to be a battle for keeps. In such an intense atmosphere, Kamijou had thought that he would not be able to sleep, and he did not expect himself to, after getting under his blanket and closing his eyes. Maybe it was because the preparations for Daihaseisai had taken more out of him than he had expected, but Kamijou soon fell asleep.
Uh...ah...?
Sensing something heavy pressing against him, Kamijou woke up. At that moment, a message inside Kamijou told him: something as heavy as a human was pressing on him, the blanket had risen for some reason, and his body felt some warm and soft skin.
In addition, there was subtle breathing coming from under the blanket.
Wai—Wait, wait…oh, no, no way! Oh, man, I forgot that the tent doesn't have a lock!
In his dormitory, Kamijou would normally hide inside the bathroom, lock the door, and sleep inside the dry bathtub. The reason was simple: if he did not do this, Index would snuggle into Kamijou's futon while she was still dazed and sleepy. Because of that, Kamijou was grateful that the bathtub was large enough for him.
Besides this sin—-Index snuggling into his futon—-which would cause a severe adverse emotional impact on the young and healthy Kamijou Touma, the more important thing right now was that Stiyl slept beside him--and he had been rather stern when he gave that relentless speech before he slept. If this continued, Kamijou would likely die in Stiyl's hands later.
Drenched in sweat, Kamijou suddenly noticed that the tender flesh of the girl was constantly rubbing against him.
The rubbing of different body parts together made Kamijou's heart stop beating.
…Wooo…whoooaaa! Wait a second, wait a second! Index! Coming from the side is enough, but isn't it too much to press onto my body!?
Kamijou hastily whispered--or so Kamijou thought, but it was actually very loud--voicing his objection.
"Hm…Touma, what are you saying…?"
Suddenly, a familiar voice came from the entrance of the tent; it was Index, half-asleep and dazed and her eyes half-open as she unzipped the entrance to the tent, preparing to enter Kamijou's futon.
"Eh?" A large question mark appeared inside Kamijou's head.
"Umum… Papa…Io non posso mangiare alcuno più qualsiasi più lungo…"
The face that was revealed from inside the futon was that of Agnese Sanctis.
Agnese, who was still sleeping soundly, did not realize that she was less than 5 cm away from Kamijou's lips.
No way...Another person who snuggles into other people's futons when she's sleepy and dazed? Didn't this girl order me to leave their bathing area a while ago?
Kamijou panicked as he pulled away from the approaching pair of peach-like lips. He then tried to crawl away while under Agnese's body. The moment Kamijou tugged at the futon, however, it was lifted open.
"Wa!"
Kamijou was stunned. Agnese, whose entire body was revealed from within the futon, wore only a white laced bra and a pair of panties with small bow ties on both sides. Maybe she was used to sleeping like this, as her nun's habit was neatly stacked and placed in one corner of the tent.
Stunned, Index stared at Kamijou and Agnese.
"…'Papa'?"
"Wait! Index, I've no idea what's going on! I don't have an inkling of why I'm being called that by a young girl!"
Because of the previous incident involving Agnese, which ended up with him having bite marks all over his head, Kamijou was frightened, and trembled, trying to explain his actions. Index observed Kamijou's frightened expression closely, and said,
"Whoa…this…should probably be a dream…"
"Eh?"
"Um, even if it's Touma, he can't possibly have so little integrity. So, this must be a dream. Mm-hmm."
"Yeah…yes, yes! It's a dream, it's a dream! How can a real man like Kamijou Touma, who'll forever treat nuns nicely, do such a shameless thing!?"
Kamijou continued to misguide Index, who was sleepy, like a hypnotist.
"Hm, ya, since it's a dream, there should be no problem. It's alright no matter how hard I bite. Since it's a dream, it's alright if I take this opportunity to vent all my daily dissatisfaction. Mm-hmm."
"EH? AH…what? Wait, Index! You're wrong! This is a real and authentic…"
Kamijou frantically tried to correct himself, but it was too late. Index bit his head with all her strength. The scream of the healthy high school boy, Kamijou Touma, made Agnese, clad only in her underwear and lying beside him, wake up in shock. As for Stiyl Magnus who was sleeping in the same tent and was annoyed, he simply took a glance at Kamijou and the rest, turned over to the other side, and continued his sleep.