Editing Toaru Majutsu no Index:Item4 Chapter4 (section)

===Part 9===

The greatest threat, Mugino Shizuri, had been neutralized.

It didn’t look like Sakuya was going to wake back up and regather her maids and butlers.

She was currently being dragged out of a trench by a young butler, but the troublesome villain showed no sign of waking.

In fact…

“Wh-what do we with Mugino now? Even if we handcuff her and super wrap her in rope, I’m afraid she’ll still use Meltdowner and go wild again.”

“The Molotov maid had hexachloroethane, remember? The anesthetic. In the end, why not put her to sleep with that until we’re back in Academy City?”

In fact, would that be what had put Frenda herself to sleep when she was initially taken from Academy City? By ordering the truck driver. If so, that drug had a lot to answer for.

And while they were discussing this…

“Everyone alive?”

Someone approached them.

As if taking a casual stroll.

The old man wore a fancy Italian suit and held a bouquet of flowers.

The mood changed. Due to the maids and butlers. They all – yes, even the ones who sided with Sakuya and participated in the coup – kneeled and bowed their heads. As if they so respected him they considered it wrong to even gaze upon him without permission.

The attitude likely came from appreciation.

The young maid who had never left his side even during the chaos remained by his side now. This had all been a conflict over succession in the Mugino Family, but the affiliations within the maids and butlers appeared to have been redrawn.

The old man smiled and approached Item.

“Oh, you don’t need to worry about Academy City. No more Two Wings will be flying this way and there’s no risk of lasers from satellite orbit either. I had a chat and resolved all that trouble.”

He sounded carefree.

Then he looked elsewhere and raised his voice.

“One more thing! Who was it that dragged the 8.8cm out from my collection and then blew it up!? Don’t worry. I’m not mad. But we are all going to have some painful discussions tonight!!”

Frenda couldn’t react.

Lasers from satellite orbit? That was something not even the dark side girls had been aware of. Had Mugino not been the only threat?

The Academy City bomber gulped.

“I-in the end…who are you?”

“''Do I really need to say it''?”

That was as good as an answer.

Why were all the butlers and maids here displaying absolute obedience to him? Why were they so reluctant to break the silence that even the injured ones weren’t so much as groaning?

Put all that together and this man’s identity couldn’t be more obvious.

“In the end, Mugino doesn’t look anything like her grandfather.”

“Pff!! Our family is famous for our beautiful women. As her grandpa, it’s a little sad that she doesn’t take after me more, but it’s probably for the best she didn’t inherit my thuggish looks.”

The Italian suit man shrugged.

He pulled off the suit even better than blonde-haired, blue-eyed Frenda would have.

“I do apologize for how rude our younger generations have been to you. I owe you one. Now, the Mugino Family could make you very rich, but…hm, I get the feeling that isn’t what you want. There’s no point in discussing money with someone who’s already wealthy.”

“In the end, were you checking the brand names of my clothes? Don’t look over a teenage girl from head to toe when you’re supposed to be apologizing, you creep.”

“Ha ha ha,” laughed the old man.

You aren’t even going to deny it, you old lecher? Look, that young maid is giving you an exasperated look.

“I see Shizuri is asleep. Sakuya too.”

“Hey. In the end, don’t wake them up. Let them smell some ammonium carbonate now and their claws will come out again.”

“Sounds like you’ve been through a lot. Sorry about my kittens.”

That said, a weary tone entered his voice.

“Fighting over who gets to be heir, hm? I don’t care who it ends up being, but I’m not going to agree to it until they bring in a trophy bigger than mine. I thought I’d made that clear to my adorable dragon and tiger.”

He still sounded carefree.

But linking together the fragments of information made the meaning clear.



This was the man who had successfully made a direct deal with Academy City.

The higher ups had succumbed to his threat.

Anyone who really wanted to take the Mugino Family for themselves would have to accomplish something even greater.



Most likely, not even Item could manage that.

The higher ups of that city had made it clear they were willing to dispose of the #4 Level 5 if necessary. That meant talent held by only seven people wasn’t enough to shield her. They had weighed the risks and the costs and decided it wasn’t worth keeping her around.

“Wh-what did you do?” asked Frenda.

“You know I can’t tell you that. Underworld jobs are generally kept secret.”

He really was head of the Mugino Family.

It didn’t look like his position would be shaken anytime soon.

The young maid who had stuck by him throughout the coup hesitantly spoke up.

“Th-then is it all over? That’s good.”

“No, not yet.”

The atmosphere froze.

No, he took control of the atmosphere.

The family head spoke quickly.

He never did let go of the bouquet.

“A debt must be paid. Especially in our world.”

No one there was unaware what he meant.

On either side.

There was one person Frenda had failed to save.

“There was an explosion in Shinjuku. The truck driver was an ordinary person, even if he was threatened by a villain. Someone did that. Who was responsible?”

“I was,” said Hanagai.

“''I see.''”



Gunpowder detonated with a “bang!!”



The bouquet had hidden a double-barreled shotgun. The stock and barrels had been shortened as much as possible.

The Molotov cocktail maid collapsed backwards like a piece of wood.

It happened so easily.

No one was even able to move.

The head of the Mugino Family didn’t bat an eye.

“No emotion or feeling. …That is what human death is like. You can’t force that on someone else, now can you?”

All was silent.

A scent similar to fireworks hung in the air.

The Mugino Family head commanded hundreds of thousands of troops across the world.

He may have seen scenes like this countless times.

That he stood on the front line himself instead of commanding from deep inside the mansion may have been to prevent himself from treating human death with businesslike detachment.

And…

“…Cough…”

There was a sound.

A breath.

The Molotov cocktail maid appeared to be trying desperately to fill her lungs with oxygen as she trembled on the ground.

The family head rested the gun smoke smelling bouquet on his shoulder.

“I used blanks. But even that’s going to cause some real pain to your heart. Death is frightening. ''Of course it is.'' But the Mugino Family deals in death because that last resort is sometimes necessary. Make no mistake. No matter how many extra trump cards in your deck, the value of a human life doesn’t change. You can’t just play that card whenever you want. Now you should have some idea what it feels like to have your heart senselessly stopped by someone else. Right, Hanagai?”

The maid had only been following orders.

In a way, that was what the Management who served the Bloodline were meant to do.

The truly responsible party was the one who had used their tool incorrectly.

The family head made an announcement while staring down at the unconscious dress woman who had butlers and maids in position to protect her.

“Bring Sakuya with you. I will calculate out exactly how much trouble she caused the world and punish her. In accordance with the inviolable rules of the Mugino Family which has existed since the Bunmei Kaika.”

Mujinayama simply watched on.

He had the look of the loyal retainer watching his lord’s castle crumble.

After agonizing over the issue more than anyone else could imagine, the old butler in a tuxedo and monocle had ultimately sworn to himself he would continue to fight alongside Mugino Sakuya. He had gone astray in accordance with his own righteousness, so how did it feel to see the many other butlers and maids carrying her away?

Molotov cocktail maid Hanagai had been forgiven, so perhaps he would be spared by the same logic.

But while forgetting his own injury, he seemed to curl up as he bowed toward the family head and spoke with a tremor in his voice.

“I only ask that I can spend my final moments by Sakuya-sama’s side.”

“What? No. You need to get the hospital. That wound is from a 9mm. You were shot in the back and the bullet’s still inside you, isn’t it?”

“But this is far too light a punishment for what I have done!!”

“Oh? Were you under the impression I wasn’t upset with you, Mr. Lady Killer?”

The old man grinned as he crouched down to bring his face in close. With no expression on that face.

“(If you ever make my adorable granddaughter cry again, I will break every one of your 206 bones and hear you scream 206 times before I kill you. And I will be counting the screams.)”

“…”

“This is the head of the Mugino Family talking. My words carry more weight than the death threats thrown out by a random drunk on the street. You know that, don’t you, Mujinayama?”