Kamijou was nearly beaten into a pulp by the railguns and metal spikes, and because he was tired over running around for that long, he was now panting as he rested on a bench. Index was taken by Mikoto and Shirai to replace her skirt (or so it seemed, as while he was running away, he seemed to hear those words from Mikoto). Looked like he had to do something else now.
(This…)
The display on his watch read 3 PM.
There was no contact from Tsuchimikado Motoharu or Stiyl Magnus.
Considering that Oriana and Lidvia's objective was not 'to hand over a spiritual item in Academy City', but to 'activate it inside', they might be hiding somewhere to avoid being pursued. So it was hard for them to carry out the tactic of capturing Oriana and Lidvia while they were moving to prevent this deal that was proposed before. This was Stiyl's suggestion.
Right now, they were looking for the conditions to use the Croce di Pietro. Now that they had lost track of Oriana and there was no clue that could lead them to her, they could only rely on finding this out.
Tsuchimikado's view was that: If the Roman Catholic Church's aim was to take over Academy City using the Croce di Pietro, then there was no need to wait, so why hadn't they used it earlier? Since they had not done so, perhaps there were some special conditions to be fulfilled?
If 'there were no special conditions, they couldn't possibly use the Croce di Pietro', so by destroying that special condition, they could prevent Oriana's objective from being fulfilled. Since it was impossible for them to just chase after her, in order to counter those women who were hiding in Academy City, the only thing they could do was to look in this direction.
However…
"…They're so slow."
Kamijou couldn't help but mutter.
It should be a few hours since he had separated from Oriana. Though there was nothing that Kamijou could do, he was worrying about whether he should be idling around. In this situation when they didn't know how the Croce di Pietro could be used, they felt rather anxious about it.
And the thing that made Kamijou even more worried was,
He had the best trump card with him.
(Index…)
She was a person with complete memory of 103,000 grimoires, a living magical library. Among that vast pool of knowledge, there would definitely be information about the Croce di Pietro.
The easiest way was to ask her. If it was Index, whether it was about the Croce di Pietro or anything else, if it was any question related to magic, one would get the answer within 5 seconds. The original reason why Necessarius had set up this 'Magical Index' position was because of this.
They'd immediately get the answer once they asked her.
However, they couldn't ask.
('External forces' outside Academy City?)
There were major and minor magical groups outside Academy City. Once they found out that there were magic-related incidents in Academy City, they'd rush in.
However, not all of them were friendly to Academy City. Among them, some even wanted to barge into Academy City, which normally prohibited entry, to do some sabotage work.
Most of these groups were outside Academy City, using 'magic searching' spells. And most of their searches centered around Index, as there had been quite a few magic-related cases in the past. Thus, if something happened, she was the biggest suspect.
Thus,
(If we let Index get near the core of this issue, the searching magic can find Oriana's magic. Thus we can't afford to get Index involved the case, nor can we allow her to get close to it. It'll be dangerous the moment she realizes that something's amiss.)
Index had a vast amount of knowledge about magic. Thus, she couldn't possibly miss any magic-related presence. And once she got the slightest clue, with her personality, she'd immediately jump into the situation even if Kamijou told her not to.
"Really, the clue's right in front of me, and I really want to ask. But we're doomed if I ask a question. Damn it, I'm in a dilemma."
Kamijou couldn't help but sigh as he muttered.
"What do you mean by a dilemma?"
On hearing a voice beside him, Kamijou suddenly trembled. He timidly looked around, and there was a girl with long black hair sitting on the bench for who knows how long. The girl was wearing PE attire, Himegami Aisa. Under the school regulated attire of short-sleeved shirt and shorts, there should be a silver Cross hanging around her neck. Right now, there should be a thin chain under the black hair that covered all the way from the neck to the clavicle. This necklace extended from her neck to inside her shirt.
"Hi…Himegami? Why are you here…?"
"There's a troublesome situation, so I'm here looking for you."
What's going on? Kamijou tilted his head. Himegami Aisa was a girl whom lacked facial emotions, so it was normally hard to tell whether she was angry or sad. One could still believe her when she said 'I'm hungry,' and no one would question her when she said that 'I want to raise a cat' as well.
Thus, Kamijou asked honestly,
"What's the troublesome thing now?"
"Ngh, Komoe-sensei had a bit of trouble. She looks rather angry."
"???"
After hearing this, Kamijou decided to follow Himegami first. Himegami grabbed Kamijou's wrist, and pulling him along and saying "Here, here."
Kamijou saw that the two of them were holding hands. Seeing Kamijou stare at the hands that were held together, Himegami slightly frowned.
"Is there a problem?"
"Oh, it's nothing. Himegami doesn't seem to mind at all."
"—"
At this moment, Himegami suddenly let go. She was still stoic, but it seemed that she was a little red now. She pulled the hand that had been holding Kamijou's hand near her chest, and covered it with the other hand. Though one couldn't really tell, it seemed that she was mindful about it.
Himegami Aisa brought him to a rather large park.
Maybe it was because lunch break was over that there were very few people around. Today's main event was Daihaseisai, so the competitors and spectators were headed to the crowded arenas. So many people were walking on the streets, and they were basically either moving from one arena to another, or were buying souvenirs. Especially those tourists from the neighborhood nearby who'd buy entrance tickets in order to sightsee around Academy City, everyone was busy attending the events, and there was no time to slack.
In this deserted park, there was a bench.
On the bench, Komoe-sensei, who was wearing a similar cheerleading attire, was rather angry. She was passionately talking about a smoker's etiquette and under aged smoking.
On the other hand, treating these words as a mere distraction was the magician Stiyl Magnus. His face didn't show a frustrated look just because he was being lectured, but he was showing a smile that made him look somewhat tired and bothersome.
Komoe-sensei was trying to confiscate the cigarette packs from Stiyl's hands, but Stiyl was tossing it around like a ball, and Komoe-sensei couldn't catch up. From afar, the way she continued to leap and miss was like a dog chasing after a plastic ball.
"It's there, there. The man who saved me the last time is arguing with Komoe-sensei. I don't know what to do."
Himegami looked at the scene in front, seemingly finding it awkward. To her, though Komoe-sensei was her savior, but originally, in the 'Misawa Cram School' case when the alchemist was highly active in the shadows, Stiyl Magnus was also her savior. She probably didn't want to see both sides arguing. But, on seeing that priest, who had the smell of perfume all over him, Kamijou showed a look of irritation and disgust that he had been feeling.
"I say…Himegami, there's no need to stop them. For that guy's good, he should let Komoe-sensei scold him badly."
Hearing Kamijou say this, Himegami looked troubled, and said,
"But, that smoker man has been staring at us. He looks disturbed."
"That guy is now so happy because a little girl hooked up onto him, it's alright even if we don't bother them."
"But, Komoe-sensei's face is all red now, it seems that she's so angry that she's tired now."
"That sensei would be even happy on seeing a bad kid; no need to worry about her."
Seeing Kamijou shaking his head nearby, Komoe-sensei didn't stop trying to grab the hand in the air that was holding the cigarette pack.
"Ah, Kamijou-chan!! What are you standing around for, come and help sensei!! This child is a terrifying heavy smoker! I say, can you help me get that cigarette pack and hand it over to me!?"
At his wits end, Kamijou could only approach Komoe-sensei and Stiyl.
Kamijou first stared at Komoe-sensei, then turned to look at Stiyl, who was sitting on the bench.
"…How nice, there're still people who are willing to be angry because of you."
"I'd like to agree with you on this, Kamijou Touma, but I'm a bit busy now. She's really noisy."
Stiyl said.
He tossed the cigarette pack high up, and at the same time, in a manner like he was arranging his work tie, he pointed to the phone strap in his chest pocket. This tasteless skeleton-shaped light was flashing, indicating an incoming call. He let Kamijou see it, again caught the cigarette pack naturally, and continued to play 'toss the ball' with Komoe-sensei.
The contact that the man was contacting…should be a member of the Anglican Church. If it involved information about the Croce di Pietro, he definitely couldn't allow Komoe-sensei to hear it.
"Ah! You tossed it to the other side!"
Just as Kamijou was thinking about this, with Komoe-sensei's words, something flew over from the corner of his vision. He frantically grabbed it and examined it, it seemed to be a brand that was commonly seen in movies.
Stiyl ignored Komoe-sensei's words, as he made a gesture with his index and middle fingers, and brought them to his mouth. Don't tell me it's a disgusting kiss!? Kamijou readied his guard before realizing that it was a sign that he wanted a smoke.
Kamijou, who realized this, shifted the hand with the cigarette pack over to Himegami, and asked,
"Himegami, do you have a lighter?"
Eh?
Compared to Himegami, who was slow on the realization, Komoe-sensei turned around at quite a speed.
"Kamijou-chan! What kind of useless fighting spirit are you trying to use! Himegami-chan, you should be stopping him too!!"
Komoe-sensei approached at a very fast pace. Seeing this, Stiyl pulled out the cell phone in his chest pocket, put it near his ear, turned and left.
(It's great if it's information about the Croce di Pietro. If not, it'll be useless if I ticked off by Komoe-sensei. I don't want to smoke at all, so how should I explain this misunderstanding!?)
Seeing Komoe-sensei start to tear up due to pure rage, Kamijou started to panic. At this moment, it was his phone that rang now. Who was calling now? Kamijou tilted his head as he reached for his shorts' pocket.
"Kamijou-chan! Shut your phone when sensei is lecturing!!"
"Wa!!"
Being pestered by Komoe-sensei, Kamijou inadvertently fell backwards. Komoe-sensei grabbed the cigarette pack that Kamijou accidentally let loose into the air, and at this moment, Kamijou grabbed the phone in his pocket. He saw the screen; it was from Tsuchimikado Motoharu.
(For that guy would call at this time, it means that there's some activity going on from Oriana's side? …Damn it, that means that I can't straggle around here, and I can't let Komoe-sensei hear the contents of the conversation…)
In front of Komoe-sensei, who shouted "KAMIJOU!!", Kamijou suddenly darted behind Himegami. The black-haired girl blushed upon being grabbed on the shoulders from behind, but Kamijou, who was behind, didn't notice this.
Kamijou thought about his strategy as he wondered how to settle the situation.
"Hey, Himegami, I'm handing this over to you! I've already done what you requested, to break Komoe-sensei and Stiyl's argument, so the rest is up to you!!"
With an almost desperate cry, Kamijou ran away from the scene. As Komoe-sensei was about to chase after him—
"Wa, Himegami-chan! What are you doing! Why are you hugging sensei out of a sudden!!"
The other person seemed to be fulfilling her part of the deal as she prevented Komoe-sensei from moving forward any further.
Deep inside, Kamijou was swearing that he'd treat Himegami Aisa to some okonomiyaki from some stalls later as he rushed out of the park.
It should be something important, as the phone continued to ring for quite a while. Just as Tsuchimikado was about to leave a message, Kamijou pressed the call button.
"Oh, Kami-yan! Stiyl's phone seems to be busy, I can't contact him. Is he with you nya!? If you know where he is, can you help me pass a message?"
"What?"
Kamijou pondered for a while,
"…Ah, someone seems to be contacting him just now. Is the thing you're going to talk about related to Oriana? Did she do anything bad again!?"
"No, the situation's not that serious…ah, it's better for Kami-yan to know. I'm using a unique way to check Academy City's security, the method that Anti-Skill and Judgment members use nya. As machines are unable to handle magic, I didn't expect too much from it — I found it."
Hearing this, the fine hair on Kamijou straightened up.
Tsuchimikado continued,
"Around 3 minutes ago, in District 5— I found her walking out of the entrance of the 'Seibu Hill Station' in the next area, but she's gone after that. She must have used a spell that blocks visual information, or she's hiding in the blind corner of the cameras. I can't tell as of now."
"3 minutes ago…that's kind of hard."
The shortest distance for getting to District 5 from where he was at was around 4 kilometers.
If they were to head towards the station in question, Oriana might take this chance to escape.
"There's no need to pursue Oriana completely. Once you reach Seibu Hill station, ask Stiyl to use the seeking magic. You just need to grab the correct coordinates and take her down, thus ending everything."
The seeking method.
He remembered that it was called the 'all-around reality array'.
It was originally Tsuchimikado's spell, but now Stiyl was using it. It was a spell that could carry a search with a radius of 3 kilometers with the caster as the center. The condition for using it was that it required a spiritual item of the search target in order to work. Right now, they had Oriana's flashcard.
"If the enemy heads forward by 3 kilometers, she'll leave the search vicinity. If so, we have to move forward by 4 kilometers in order to carry out our search. Can we still make it!?"
"That's why you have to be quick, Kami-yan. Even if you have to use an auto-bus, you have to make it to where Stiyl is!!"
The line was cut.
If they couldn't find out the conditions and weaknesses of the Croce di Pietro, this might be their last chance. Rather, they had to treat it as game over the moment they couldn't find them.
"Damn it! Stiyl!!"
Kamijou shouted out. He returned to where Himegami and Komoe-sensei might be—the park. Right now, the only one who could use the 'all-around reality array' to sniff out Oriana was Stiyl.
Kamijou was looking around quickly. The good news was that Oriana might not have realized that she was spotted. If she ran away, they might not make it in time.
The enemy was walking, while Kamijou was running.
He could only use this speed to make up for the difference in time.