Editing Toaru Majutsu no Index:RailgunSS2 Chapter2 (section)

=== Part 3 ===
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There were many different types of night leisure activities.

That area was like an amusement park lit up with many lights giving it a different look from a daytime amusement park. There were clubs for youths filled with booming music and alcohol. There was an opera house that required formal wear and an otherwise nice appearance to get in. There were various amusements of every genre, for every rank, and for every target demographic. All of it filled that area of the dark night with light.

However, the areas that would fulfill Mikoto’s requirements were limited.

She needed a place with a large server that dealt with a large amount of data.

“The casino, hm?”

(…I’m more used to arcades.)

As Mikoto muttered both out loud and silently, she was not wearing her Tokiwadai uniform. Instead, she was wearing a mostly red dress. She had taken it from the back of a dress shop she had found along the way. It was labeled “Misaka Mikoto—Demonstration Outfit”, so she did not think it would be a problem.

Mikoto was fired up, but when she actually entered the casino, it turned out not to have as formal and dignified an atmosphere as she had thought. There were a lot of gentlemen and ladies in formal dress at the roulette and baccarat tables that had dealers, but the area full of slot machines had plenty of Asians in T-shirts and jeans. That area looked just like the slot machines in a pachinko parlor.

Mikoto had no idea what the laws were in Russia, but in the shopping mall, both adults and children were allowed in the casino hall. Most of the children were with their parents, but that was not because they were required to be accompanied by an adult. It was simply due to the fact that most of the kids in the shopping mall were there on a trip with their families.

As such, a middle school girl like Misaka Mikoto did not especially stand out upon marching into the casino.

In fact, she seemed right at home.

(Is that really something to be proud of?)

There were plenty of human eyes she could not fool with her power like she could with the cameras and sensors. However, no one pointed her out as a wanted criminal and the security guards did not come charging over.

Perhaps her atmosphere had changed due to the dress, perhaps the security guards had hidden the information on her from the general public, or perhaps the people were simply too used to the Semipublic AR so they were unable to focus on her as long as a “danger” icon did not appear above her head.

If she did not take action while she could, she would be cornered before long.

(Now then…)

Mikoto looked around.

[[Image:RAILGUN_SS2_02_007.jpg|thumb]]

(There are all sorts of chips clattering around either increasing or decreasing in amount. This can’t just be the money they have on hand. There must be a system for using your credit card data to buy chips. There has to be a large server here that is linked to credit card companies across the world.)

However, the interior of the casino was made to look like an aristocratic mansion, so the ugly boxes like an air conditioner were not just left out in the open. They were likely stored somewhere possibly underground or in an adjacent room.

The walls, pillars, floor, tables, show windows, and everything else in that place were a terminal for the Semipublic AR, but those were just the very ends of the system. Those were far from the computers that managed all the accounts. Simply put, there were a lot of defensive walls between those two parts of the system and the data that could get through was limited.

However, if she made the commands directly in a large server, she could force her way through all the defensive walls at once.

Mikoto lightly looked around as she took a mixed drink known as a non-alcoholic cocktail from an unknown bunny girl.

There were stairs at the end of the hall that seemed to lead to the VIP seats on the second floor.

In other words, the area below that was a giant box.

“So it’s there.”

Mikoto lightly brought the cocktail glass to her lips and walked closer to the VIP seats while making sure not to go against the flow of people and the music being played within the casino.

There was a poker table below the VIP seats.

The cards were dealt by a physical dealer, but the betting and dividing up of chips seemed to be done digitally by the Semipublic AR on the table.

The dealer had his back to the wall, so it would be difficult to get up next to the wall.

You were free to watch the players, but hanging out in the back too much would probably make people suspect you were trying to spy on the cards and let one of the players know.

The best way to stay by the wall for a long period was…

(Sigh… I guess I have no choice but to join in.)

But while that game of poker used paper cards and a dealer (perhaps to ensure fairness), it also used the Semipublic AR for the betting and dividing up of the chips.

Mikoto could not use her own account, so was it even possible for her to join in?

“Hee hee hee. You seem troubled.”

“Wah!?”

Mikoto’s shoulders jumped in surprise at the sudden voice from behind.

Standing there was the girl named Lessar from the occult convenience store. For some reason, she was dressed as a black bunny girl and was piling variously colored chips onto a silver tray.

“I’m not sure what it is that has you so troubled, though. Did your allowance run out?”

“Wait a second. You said something about an orange to me, right? I need you to tell me what you were—”

As Mikoto tried to speak, Lessar stretched out her index finger.

She touched Mikoto’s lower lip with that finger.

“Non non. Should you be talking about that here?”

“(…I need to speak with you later.)”

Mikoto had no idea who this Lessar girl really was. She had given her a hint about the orange. Due to that, she had somehow managed to deal with the first orange explosion, but she still did not know if Lessar was good or bad. However, it was clear that she had something to do with the incident.

But Mikoto still had no allies she could be completely sure of.

She did not need to wish for that much.

(I suppose I have to use everything I can…)

Mikoto reconfirmed her plan.

(As such, I still need to work on getting a new account allowing me to freely walk through the facility like I originally planned.)

“Are you working now? Or are you dressed like that for fun?”

“Nihon Daruma is a shop for souvenirs that bring good luck and certain victory, so its true value can be seen in a place like this. Even those who would normally find it ridiculous come to buy things. Although I don’t think there is actually anyone who can use spells that twist probability theory or statistics. To answer your question, I do not work for the casino, so I am not prohibited from gambling on the job.”

“And you can use the Semipublic AR, right?”

“What about it?”

In response to Lessar’s question, Mikoto pointed toward the poker table.

“I’ll help you win some easy money, so help me out.”

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