Editing Toaru Majutsu no Index:GT Volume7 Chapter1 (section)

===Part 1===

“Yes, I’m back! Huh, did my room always smell like this?”

“I don’t notice anything different. And my memory is perfect, so I know I’m right!”

Kamijou may have been feeling the same thing anyone did after returning from a trip.

Regardless, he set down the ''luggage'' he had been lugging around over his shoulder bandit style and then got into the kotatsu.

However…

“Why is it cold!? What, is someone using this kotatsu to store Hokkaido salmon!?”

“Yawn. Human, salmon is usually salted so it can be stored without refrigeration.”

15cm Othinus would be entirely buried by the blanket around the kotatsu, so she curled up on the table instead. When the heater was switched on, the table apparently felt like a heated floor. Which was why carelessly placing your laptop on the kotatsu could lead to it overheating.

“Index, plug that cable into the wall. Then I just have to flip this switch.”

“Ugh…”

“Don’t complain just because it’s a machine. You’re the closest to the outlet and we’ll never get warm unless someone does it.”

He wanted to take it easy on January 1.

When he had said he couldn’t bear doing a shrine visit right away after everything, Kumokawa Seria had wandered off somewhere. That upperclassman girl remained strong on New Year’s despite all the danger she had survived the day before.

Once inside the kotatsu up to his shoulders, Kamijou lay on the floor and grabbed the TV remote, but nothing happened no matter what he pressed. They had only just returned from a trip, so he hadn’t turned the main power back on. He grumbled about misfortune as he emerged from the kotatsu, hit the button, and returned.

The TV turned on to a program introducing Shinto shrines across Japan with pleasant music in the background. It was less meant for its content and more meant as background noise to help you drift off to sleep. It was perfect for the new year. Who needed some shocking footage putting a strain on your heart first thing New Year’s morning?

“Index, are you okay with doing the shrine visit after lunch?”

“I’m taking a nap, Touma. And I hope you understand how bad things are if I’m choosing to skip a meal for sleep.”

“Welcome to the 5-minute Short News. For our top story, the anti-elite Winter Cleaning unofficially held inside and outside of Academy City is continuing to spread under a new name.”

But someone else was not onboard with the “relaxing New Year’s morning” plan.

The luggage placed on the wood flooring groaned loudly and rolled side to side. That was in fact Transcendent Aradia tied up with duct tape.

The witch goddess apparently had something to say. Did she want inside the kotatsu? It was January and she was wearing a modified bikini that made her look like a dancer. She was like that one kid in every class who insisted on wearing shorts year round. You know, like Kanzaki.

Aradia was a Transcendent from the Bridge Builders Cabal.

She acted like she was the leader of this group called the Wiccans, but it wasn’t clear if that was really true. The Transcendents like the Bologna Succubus all had their origins in fictional stories or reports and Index had said the history of a goddess named Aradia stood on pretty shaky ground.

Was she a human magician who had wanted to use the fictional goddess’s reputation?

Or was she a being so powerful humans had failed to accurately record her existence?

(I need to get a straight answer about that later.)

That thought came to Kamijou’s mind while he enjoyed the kotatsu. Index was on another side of the square kotatsu, so she was sort of lying on top of him down where no one could see.

“Hey, Touma? Are you sure it was a good idea to put Aradia on the floor?”

“She mixes her witch’s ointment using her bare feet on the ground, right? Her legs are bound and her feet are wrapped in duct tape up to the ankles, so she can’t directly touch the floor. We’ll be fine…I hope.”

“Human, if this is going to be a problem, why not use that duct tape to hang her from the ceiling? You can tie her up all sexy like and trap her in essentially a giant spider web.”

Aradia raised a muffled protest. She bent her knees to try and protect her stomach while lying on her side, but she didn’t seem to realize that just emphasized her butt. It wasn’t much of a defense.

“Then why did you cover her mouth?” asked Index with a tilt of the head.

“Wait, why did I do that? It isn’t like she uses incantations.”

He tore the duct tape from the tied-up goddess’s mouth. After all her resistance earlier, she proved to be quite obedient when he was removing some of her restraints.

“Pwah.”

She started by sucking in as much oxygen as she could get.

“What do you people plan on doing with me!? How dare you treat the goddess of all witches this way! Don’t you know I am Transcendent Aradia of the Bridge Builders Cabal? I will never forget what you did to me today!!”

Her ankles and her hands behind her back were still bound by the duct tape, so as threatening as she tried to sound, she was still flopping around like a mermaid caught by a fisherman.

Kamijou turned back toward the kotatsu that Index still occupied.

“Hey, Index. I don’t think she’s going to tell us much.”

“Yawn. Well, she’s being loud, so why not tape her mouth up again?”

“Othinus?”

“Magic researcher who dares disturb my divine slumber, I hope the human ties you up with some sexy bondage and stuffs you in the closet or in the below-floor kitchen storage. All using that super-strong foreign tape he bought at a discount store.”

“W-w-w-wait!?”

Aradia began to panic. Index and Othinus were only interested in getting some sleep, so they didn’t seem too concerned with what might become of her.

Kamijou removed the cover from the below-floor storage and then noticed something.

“Huh? Oh, right. I forgot all about this.”

“Why are you actually opening the storage space!? Barbarian clinging to the trappings of civilization, you need to embody the grace of god!! Or at least consider my free will!!”

Aradia paled and bristled. She loathed Christianity, so mentioning the grace of god had to be a major compromise on her part, but the pointy-haired high school boy didn’t know enough about religion to notice her determination.

Kamijou Touma next opened the refrigerator’s giant door.

“I was right.”

“Eh? Uh, oh. You aren’t thinking of stuffing me in there, are you? And that white mist escaping tells me that door is to the freezer, not the crisper!”

Aradia was at a loss for words with clear drops forming in her eyes, but the pointy-haired boy was not interested in eating a homemade witch goddess sherbet made with brown sugar syrup and rice dumplings to fit the New Year’s season.

“This isn’t good. I managed to earn some money, but I didn’t go shopping. We’re still completely out of food and on the verge of starving to death!!”

“Settle down, human. Academy City is an urban area in Japan’s capital of Tokyo. They have stores open on New Year’s these days.”

“Maybe, but are you absolutely certain the local supermarket is open? I can just imagine walking around seeing nothing but closed shutters with signs saying they’re closed for the holiday. Starving to death with a wallet full of money is an absurd level of misfortune, but that’s exactly why I can see it happening to me!”

“Zzz… Don’t worry, Touma. We have Aradia if worse comes to worst…”

“Time out,” interrupted Aradia. “Where did this extreme survival situation come from? Why do I feel like every second brings me closer to being turned into an unwilling noble sacrifice!?”

Aradia’s throat was entirely dry now, but she still couldn’t move.

Wiccan spells were all about an ointment made by mixing a variety of chemicals with oil. That Transcendent was powerful enough to rival the entire magic side on her own when the conditions were right, but she was only a weak (and sexily dressed) young woman when the conditions were not right.

Index, Othinus, and the cat showed no sign of leaving the kotatsu.

After they fell asleep in the kotatsu, woke back up, and were overcome by enough hunger to forget their humanity, Magical Girl Aradia-chan would meet her end. The rules of the world would not apply in this small room where starving stomachs ruled all.

Goddess Aradia would be devoured by them all, and not in the sexy way☆

Whether they were wild spells people were forbidden from even mentioning or they were slanderous inventions of the Christian church, Aradia had detailed knowledge of ancient rituals from around the world. At times, being an avid learner had its drawbacks.

“W-w-w-wait, you there! Kamijou Touma!! Go grocery shopping right this instant! Isn’t that the obvious solution here!?”

“Yeah, but I need to recharge my motivation first. I might be used to misfortune, but not even I could bear to head out into the cold when I’m this sleepy and find nothing but closed shutters greeting me.”

“The more you refuse to challenge yourself, the lower my odds of survival!! Food isn’t going to magically appear if you stay here. Besides, can’t you check if the store is open on your phone!?”

Could you do that?

Kamijou was shoulder deep in the kotatsu again (much to the displeasure of Index who had briefly had the entire space to herself) and now he reached for his phone. But a smartphone beginner like him could only find their ordinary weekday and weekend hours. Stare as he might at the small screen, he couldn’t find anything about New Year’s in particular.

Lying on his stomach, he lowered his head, kissed the floor, and groaned.

The old folk’s smartphone slipped from his hand.

“I can’t do it. I’m too sleepy and hungry to think. I don’t even have the willpower to do a search.”

“There’s a popup for a New Year’s sale flashing on the screen right now, so they’re obviously open today!! Please don’t give up, Kamijou Touma!! You’re the only one left who can hear me and actually do something about it!!!”