Editing Toaru Majutsu no Index:Item5 Chapter1 (section)

===Part 4===

“Hey, hey. In the end, do you know what this symbol means? My phone’s map updated and now it’s covered in these weird icons. And the thing is…”

Someone casually stopped passersby and changed the subject in only five seconds.

She did this with girls her own age and even with salarymen in suits and sports reporters who come from outside the city.

Frenda’s ability to make friends with anyone meant this questioning was primarily her job. Kinuhata was instead wandering around trying to see whatever she could see.

“Huh? I’m asking if anything happened around here. No, I’m asking! Don’t answer my question with a question. C’mon, there are tons of things that could change the flow of pedestrians and cars. Like a speed trap or the street being closed for an event. Was there nothing like that?”

Elsewhere, Mugino was speaking in obvious annoyance while switching between different phones.

She was likely speaking to the support team that knew a lot about cars. But Takitsubo was pretty sure her effort would be in vain. The examples she gave sounded plausible, but the murder(?) happened before 7 AM. That was too early for any of that.

With her back against a concrete wall below the overpass, Takitsubo Rikou watched it all play out from a short distance away.

“Phew,” she sighed.

The sound expressed the weight of the atmosphere.

She was picturing some of the ordinary people who had ignorantly passed through here. Specifically the small children who had been huddled around a single phone to watch a streaming quiz show.

The distinctive tone of a correct answer wouldn’t leave her mind.

(A streaming show…)

She pulled her rectangular mobile device from her pocket.

She tapped the video site icon and the initial screen displayed some video titles in large text. Was the selection based on an analysis of her preferences, or was it simply what was trending?

She had the phone in her hand. She could bring up the quiz show with a single finger.

But she didn’t move.

That dream was already over.

“I’m back. In the end, I’ve gotten all the information I think I’m going to get. Huh? What’s wrong, Takitsubo?”

“Nothing.”

Frenda approached with a smile and Takitsubo shook her head.

With her usual lack of expression.

“Because I belong here.”