Editing Toaru Majutsu no Index:GT Volume10 Chapter1 (section)

===Part 4===

“You expect me to head home at night? Why is the school curfew in effect during winter break!?”

“Go to hell!! I’m not going back to school. We didn’t get a real break because your stupid martial law! Extend the break for as long as that was in effect and then we can talk!!”

“We’re free!! No one can tell us what to do!! Get them!!”

A large group of boys and girls shouted and climbed on top of an armored vehicle that was swallowed up by the crowd after its occupants tried to put a stop to the rioting but couldn’t actually fire their weapons.

Would you call this Acute Kotatsu Syndrome?

Human Aleister and Golden Retriever Kihara Noukan were also watching Academy City innocently fall apart.

“U-um, Fukiyose-chan? I know that’s supposed to be cosplay, but what are you thinking? What is that character even from? I don’t think I’ve ever seen a character who’s naked except for a bunch of color-changing rainbow LED ribbons! So, um, I think it’s my duty as your teacher to tell you…”

“Eh!? What’s that!? It sure is loud out here! You’re going to have to speak up, Sensei!!”

“I have one piece of advice for today: I think that outfit shows off way too much of your boobs!!!!”

The children probably saw this as making use of their rights.

Whether they were flipping cars or throwing burning tabloids into the air, they may have been diluting the responsibility and guilt by acting as a group.

But more than any of that, this reckless behavior was caused by the subconscious influence of Alice Anotherbible’s powerful charisma.

They would do things they would normally never even consider yet not find it strange. They could go completely off the rails and simply laugh it off. This was a unique space, ruled by irrational thought processes even worse than “they were drunk, so they couldn’t help it”.

Had Kihara Noukan wanted him to see this state of the world?

Aleister wondered this and creased his brow as he followed the golden retriever around.

A severed head.

A bisected torso.

Anna Kingsford.

Another life lost. He was well aware of what his own inexperience had wrought.

“...me…”

Aleister clenched his teeth as a trembling voice spilled out.

“She died because of me…”

Once he got started, the rest came so easily.

Like a dam breaking.

That human was half howling as he cursed himself.

“It’s so obvious I used her in the wrong way! If I had more sense and if I was actually strong enough to fight by her side, Kingsford might not have died!! Maybe someone had to die, but it didn’t have to be her. If I had only stepped forward instead of abandoning her, she would be right here with us!!!”

But.

That was when Kihara Noukan saw something in Aleister’s blind spot.

Directly behind him, in fact.

Anna Kingsford had the most awkward smile on her face.

[[Image:GT Index v10 BW1.png|thumb]]

This was no ghost.

Kihara Noukan firmly rejected the existence of anything so unscientific.

She was unharmed. She was perfectly fine.

Eliminating all of the silly unscientific terms and logically assessing the situation led him to a single conclusion.

(Th-that bitch survived!)

This was not good.

A change came over Kihara Noukan’s round doggy eyes. They stared far, far into the distance. Extremely complex and advanced calculations rapidly unfolded in his mind. The relative locations of Aleister weeping and howling and of Kingsford blushing, smiling bashfully, and tapping her index fingers together was very bad indeed. It was a lot like a mother looking in her delinquent son’s closet and finding the knit scarf he had used as a small child stored with great care in the back. At any rate, their relative positions were at odds with romance. Depending how this turned out, Aleister’s very existence could explode in violation of all physical laws!!

...Was there any way of safely defusing this situation?

Kihara Noukan had to let his friend know.

It was too soon to give up. Romance’s doom had already approached within 5m of that human’s back.

“Are you listening, Kihara Noukan!? I am trying to tell you about my great sin!!”

“Um, yes. B-but everyone dies eventually, so shouldn’t you see all goodbyes as inevitable?”

“Maybe so! But my point is it didn’t have to be then and there!!”

“My advice as your friend is to take deep breaths to calm this swelling of emotion! When you learn the truth, it will be a great shock and you may curse the world, but I hope you can view it as a reason why this world has its positive side and that you can peaceably lower your raised hand!!”

“What are you talking about!? Hold on, why do you keep glancing behind me?”

“No, my old friend, do not turn around!! Do not, I said!!!”

Aleister ignored that advice.

This was a mistake that human continued to make again and again.

Then his eyes met hers.

Aleister saw it all and petrified.

“Ah.”

It took a full five seconds before that sound escaped his throat.

Kihara Noukan was so nervous he actually failed to get a new cigar in his mouth. The thick, fancy cigar that cost as much as a tenderloin fell to the ground unlit, but he didn’t even glance down at it.

The cat was out of the bag.

“Anna Kingsford?”

Aleister received bitter laughter in response. The glasses woman gave a little wave.

There was some bashfulness mixed in.

She must have heard everything he said.

Aleister squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath.

But this was not a ritual meant to calm his feelings.

Kingsford was an expert, so she immediately recognized this as preparations to refine life force into magic power.

“Hm, so should I 🏃 away now?”

As always, she was correct.

The magician who authored the Book of the Law unleashed all sorts of forbidden spells from his hands.