"Did Kiyama-sensei come to see them?" Yuuya asked, looking at the sleeping Sisters.
"Yes. I'm a little worried about her," Heaven Canceller nodded, his expression serious. "After I transferred the rescued clones here, I told her what you had been doing recently. It surprised her greatly. She said she almost didn't recognize you anymore."
Kiyama Harumi had obviously heard rumors about the Level 6 Shift Project and the mass production of the clones. Such crazy plans were approved by the General Board of Directors. Whoever wanted to violently stop such a plan had to go against Academy City itself.
She had been deeply shocked to learn that this student—the boy she had taught three years ago—had actually done something so astonishingly dangerous.
"Don't worry, Doctor. They'll be fine in this hospital," Yuuya said softly.
"I know," Heaven Canceller nodded. "I have a lot of patients to check on, so I won't chat with you any longer."
With that, the frog-faced doctor turned and left.
As he walked down the hall, Kiyama Harumi watched him go from around the corner, her heart heavy. She felt a mixture of shock and relief at Yuuya's heroic actions, but also a deep, terrible dread.
'If you knew what I am about to do to Academy City next, you would probably be very disappointed in me as your teacher,' Kiyama thought, lowering her head. She clenched her fist, tapping her fingernails against her palm. 'When the time comes... you'll stand in front of me to stop me without hesitation, won't you?'
But she couldn't find any other way. The Level Upper network was her only option, and she would not hesitate to use it, even if her own student stood against her in the end. She would do anything—even if it meant fighting against Academy City and being shattered to pieces—so that her comatose students could wake up and run in the sunlight again.
'When the time comes... please don't stand in my way, Takahashi-kun.'
...
Unaware of his former teacher's turmoil, Yuuya turned back to the room and smiled at the Misaka Sisters.
"How about we play cards for the rest of the visit? If you beat me, I'll contribute a glowing, five-star dish for your lunch today. Of course, if you lose to me... hehe, then I get to stick funny stickers on your faces," Yuuya proposed, producing a fresh deck of playing cards in his hand.
The Misaka Sisters looked at each other, their shared memories instantly retrieving the rules of playing cards with Takahashi-san.
"Playing cards?! I know about those!"
Index's eyes lit up, and she proudly puffed out her chest. "When it comes to the origin of cards, I'm an absolute expert!"
"Oh?" Yuuya rubbed his chin, amused.
"Playing cards are derived from the Tarot deck! Originally, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn interpreted the mysteries of the universe by dividing the deck into 56 cards, representing the original combinations of the elements! Later, the greatest and most evil Magician in history linked the Tarot deck with the Kabbalah, dividing it into 22 Major Arcana representing the 22 paths of the Sephiroth, and 56 Minor Arcana representing the four elements: Cups, Swords, Wands, and Pentacles—which eventually became Hearts, Spades, Clubs, and Diamonds!"
Watching Index speak so confidently and eloquently about magical lore, Yuuya said jokingly, "So, Miss Index is extremely knowledgeable about the history of poker."
"Of course! The use of Tarot cards is also called the Fool's Journey!" Index said, her nose high in the air.
"In that case, let's begin. If you lose, I get to draw flowers on your face," Yuuya grinned wickedly, pulling out a washable marker.
"Hmph! I'm not going to lose when it comes to magical knowledge! But don't cry when I win, Yuuya!" Index boasted proudly.
"Alright, let's begin," Yuuya said with a smirk.
...
Five minutes later. A Nearby Rooftop.
Two pairs of binoculars were peering into the hospital's inpatient ward from a distant apartment building.
'Index is alright... she actually seems happy right now,' Kanzaki Kaori thought.
She lowered her binoculars, a complicated expression on her face. "Ever since I saw her with that boy today, Index's smile hasn't disappeared."
"Index is always happy when she doesn't know what's coming. But there's nothing we can do about it. The thing we've been trying to avoid has happened," Stiyl exhaled a large puff of smoke, venting his immense frustration. "There are only a dozen days left before her memory capacity is full. For that child, being happy now will only make her suffer more when we have to erase it all."
"What is that boy's identity? He teleported inside Academy City's borders from Tokyo in an instant. That's not something an ordinary Esper could do," Stiyl said thoughtfully.
"I used Necessarius's intel network to look him up, but the file is highly classified and heavily redacted. The upper echelons of Academy City don't want the Magic Side to know his true capabilities," Kanzaki said, squinting her eyes. "However, the basic data says he is the Eighth Level 5—a Space Master, supposedly capable of manipulating spatial coordinates at will."
"A Spatial Esper! Even in the Magic Realm, teleportation magic is exceptionally rare and difficult. What a troublesome opponent. According to our intelligence, a Level 5 from Academy City possesses the military capability to defeat a fully armed army, and the top three can even single-handedly conquer a small country. Tsk, what a nuisance." Stiyl gritted his teeth as he looked at the hospital room through his binoculars.
"Do you think Aleister Crowley ordered him to take Index?" Kanzaki asked.
"It must have just been a coincidence that he ran into her in Tokyo. If Academy City's General Board of Directors officially wanted to seize Index and the 103,000 Grimoires, she would be locked up in a windowless vault by now, not playing cards in a public hospital," Stiyl reasoned.
"I'll go in first," Stiyl spat his cigarette butt onto the rooftop and stomped it out.
"Can you actually beat that boy? He is a Level 5," Kanzaki warned.
"A Level 5 is supposedly comparable to the combat power of a Saint. I'd like to see if the so-called 'monsters' of Academy City are actually as powerful as they're advertised. Don't forget, I am a genius Rune Magician who has completely analyzed the twenty-four Futhark runes and developed six entirely new ones of power."
Stiyl bared his teeth like a wild dog, his confidence absolute.
"Besides, we have no choice but to intervene violently, right? To that child, we are just evil Magicians hunting her. Even if we tried to explain the memory wipe, she wouldn't believe us, and that Esper certainly won't let us near her peacefully."
"And if I can't beat him... don't I still have you?" Stiyl added.
Kanzaki remained silent, her hand resting on the hilt of her massive Nodachi. "If you really can't beat him, I will step in."
...
Two Hours Later. Outside the Hospital.
Yuuya and Index walked out of the hospital doors.
"You should accept the consequences of your bet! How dare you try to bite me?!" Yuuya looked at Index, who was teary-eyed and puffed up with anger, rubbing her sore jaw.
"Who told you to bully me and draw a turtle on my face?! And why is your arm so hard?! It's like biting solid rock! My teeth hurt so much!" Index whined fiercely through gritted teeth, rubbing her cheek to smear the marker ink.
"That's just my ability. And I didn't want to get bitten," Yuuya joked.
"Hmph!" Index snorted angrily.
As they walked less than fifty meters from the hospital entrance, Yuuya suddenly stopped. He frowned and looked around.
The streets, which should have been bustling with pedestrians and cleaning robots, were completely deserted. The area was eerily, unnaturally quiet.
"What's going on?" Yuuya frowned as he looked at a nearby convenience store. The automatic doors were wide open, but the clerk was missing.
"Hmm?" Index blinked in confusion.
At that moment, the sound of heavy footsteps and a menacing, arrogant growl echoed down the empty street.
"Opila (Ward). It's basic Magic. I've subtly driven all the ordinary people away so we won't be interrupted. You've never seen this before, have you... Esper?"
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