Editing Toaru Majutsu no Index:Item4 Chapter3 (section)

===Part 1===

Mugino Sakuya was clearly up to something.

Mugino Shizuri and Butler Mujinayama were glaring quietly at each other.

However, Frenda Seivelun needed to be keenly aware of the fact that the enemy of your enemy was not necessarily your friend.

Item was a professional criminal team.

Meaning…

(In the end, Item was ordered to execute me, so there’s no guarantee at all they’ll give up on that job ''just because they feel like it''!!)

Sakuya’s betrayal of the Mugino Family and the order given by Academy City were two separate matters.

In fact, one exchanged look with Mugino Shizuri was enough to eliminate any hopeful thoughts Frenda might have had.

Clear up the misunderstanding and regroup with Item?

Presenting Mugino with the conspiracy documents from the vault was no guarantee she wouldn’t just blast Frenda with Meltdowner.

Discussing things with Item would require safely setting things up in advance.

“Kh.”

The stage was nowhere near set for that, so there was no point in hesitating.

There was only one option here.

She couldn’t wait.

While Mugino Shizuri and Butler Mujinayama were clashing at close range, Frenda made a beeline for the exit.

A beam of light flew in.

She couldn’t tell if that had been aimed at Mujinayama in his tuxedo and monocle, or if it had been intentionally aimed at her.

“Eek!!”

Once outside the mansion, she was back in the spacious yard. It was large enough for an official game of soccer, so thoughtlessly cutting across it could easily get her shot to pieces without any cover to hide behind.

Frenda stuck to the building’s wall and circled around back where she found a parking lot.

That meant there had to be a rear gate.

The otherwise full parking lot had one spot left open.

Someone had left here in a car.

“…”

Frenda of course had no time. She scanned through the luxury cars filling the parking lot, chose one without bulletproof glass, and smashed the door window with her elbow. She wasn’t interested in driving it. She snatched the small radio inside and scanned through the frequencies.

Within an organization that disliked making phone calls and sending emails that went through central exchanges and servers, there were those who preferred toys like this. They would of course use high-level encryption, but that was no defense against one of their own radios.

“Ksh. Ksh! New orders from Sakuya-sama. Crossword needs to get out of here! Top priority!! This is all for nothing if we lose our negotiator!!”

“Sorry, but you’ll have to take care of things here. I’ll head to the forest safe house!”

(Hm.)

Frenda didn’t have time to sit and think.

She tackled open a side entrance next to the big gate leading out of the rear parking lot and scrambled on out.

She heard gunfire.

Had the firefight between the Mugino Family and the other criminal organization spread back here?

Frenda worked her body without even giving herself a chance to catch her breath.

She kept on moving.

She clenched her teeth and just kept running.

Gasping for breath, she clung to a nearby power pole and slid down to sit on the pavement. She chose to view her unpleasant sweat and heavy breathing as signs that she was still alive.

She took a deep breath.

“Phew.”

She had escaped by the skin of her teeth.

Somehow she had gotten out of the Mugino Family mansion, but she couldn’t stop here.

“Damn!! …In the end, Mugino Sakuya was right. Knowing the truth isn’t enough to improve my situation.”

She forced her weary body to get back up.

She had a new goal now.

She wasn’t interested in being a hero, but she still had to stop the Sakuya faction from killing the parents.

Frenda thought of her 7-year-old sister back in Academy City.

And that girl’s ordinary friends.

(It’s not my style, but in the end, I want to avoid some shitty future where something happens to Azumi-chan’s family and that 7-year-old ends up on the path of revenge.)

A kid like that shouldn’t be part of the dark side.

For that, Frenda was willing to push her worn-out body just a bit farther.

(So where can I attack to bring down Sakuya’s plot all at once? That is, what is her Achilles heel?)

In a direct attack, the Mugino Family could not defeat Academy City.

But by focusing their attacks on the parents scattered throughout the outside world, they could bring down Academy City’s defenses.

Sakuya was an embodiment of guile.

By setting the conditions just right, it would be possible to trap even Academy City.

(But I can’t thoughtlessly try to attack Sakuya herself when she has such sturdy defenses. Trying to protect the parents scattered across the country isn’t realistic either. Then what can I do?)

There was another option.

Killing the parents across the country on its own would simply be indiscriminate murder.

Violence on its own was only violence.

An initial threat and a later announcement were necessary. By making demands, they could profit greatly, either directly with money or not. If they wanted to extract cutting-edge tech from Academy City, they could do that. And if the criminals wanted to safely negotiate with the VIPs, they would need someone with specialized skill other than violence.

As a bomber, Frenda was very familiar with this idea.

(Still, they want to threaten Academy City of all places? That’s a much greater challenge than disarming a cruelly-designed bomb. A reckless job like that will require a specialist.)

In other words…



“A negotiator. They’re going to need someone who specializes in that kind of threat.”



So if that negotiator could be eliminated, Sakuya’s parent killing plan would fall apart. And if Frenda took the negotiator hostage, she might just learn some interesting things about Sakuya.

This wasn’t about being a hero. Frenda wasn’t that shameless. Still, she couldn’t just ignore the imminent threat to the parents.

Proving her own innocence could wait.

She had already decided she would be watching her sister in the Daihaseisai, right? How could she do that if she failed to defend the gentle environment surrounding that 7-year-old girl?

Plus, she did have a hint.

She only had to think back.



''“Ksh. Ksh! New orders from Sakuya-sama. Crossword needs to get out of here! Top priority!! This is all for nothing if we lose our negotiator!!”

''“Sorry, but you’ll have to take care of things here. I’ll head to the forest safe house!”



Frenda Seivelun looked down to the small radio she held.

They likely changed frequency and encryption method periodically, but it would still work for now.

She could use this to pursue them.

(Crossword. So you’re my next target.)

Now that she had a plan, she had to act on it.

Immediately.

She forced strength back into her weary body and slowly stood back up from the pavement.

Orange was creeping into the darkness.

Dawn had arrived.