Editing Toaru Majutsu no Index:GT Volume7 Chapter2 (section)

===Part 5===

They were both part of winter break, but January 1 and 2 felt subtly different.

The 2nd was something of an in-between time, where everything was calmer with the shrine visiting over. The 3rd and 4th may have been busier again with people starting to head back home, but that wasn’t here yet. Convenience stores and gyudon shops were open on New Year’s nowadays, but the beginning-of-the-year vacation mood still seemed crammed into January 2 more than any other day. Kamijou couldn’t be sure though, since he didn’t remember any of the previous years.

After making sure the windows were shut and the gas was off, Kamijou, Index (with cat on head), and Alice left the dorm room.

“What did you even eat after leaving last time?”

“Heh heh. Good, Old Mary made the girl the classic: turkey, fries, and a fluffy chiffon cake!!”

“Touma.”

“Stop. Please don’t store up a long list of requests in your perfect memory.”

When Index was given unnecessary ideas like this, she would start demanding he fix it for her. That wasn’t so bad with a cooking show that taught you how to make something an amateur could manage, but she reacted the same way when she watched a gourmet show that introduced some delicious brand-name dish from a fancy restaurant in a big city.

And he just knew the next two days of his relaxing break would be ruined by this.

“(Hey, human.)”

“(I’d like to say I know what you’re getting at, but I doubt I can assess the risk on the level of a war god.)”

To start with, he could not refuse Alice’s invitation. If he explained his reasons why, she might give up on the idea, but who knows what the Transcendents trying to keep her in a good mood would do afterwards.

They might kill someone, take a hostage, or even destroy half of Academy City.

If things got that serious and then every single Transcendent showed up asking him to play with Alice, he would be entirely out of his league.

At the same time, he could not carelessly leave Aradia behind.

Taking her to the Bridge Builders Cabal’s base was a bad idea, but they already knew where his dorm was. If he left her to hold down the fort (in her duct tape cocoon), there was a decent chance of another Transcendent attacking the dorm room.

Was this the right answer?

Had he really not overlooked anything?

Alice’s whims played as big a role as the cabal’s interests and plans, so he doubted any amount of thinking would be enough.

“It is so nice to get some fresh air,” sighed Aradia after they rode the run-down elevator to the ground floor. Then she glared hatefully down at her own left hand. Needless to say, it was still tightly held by Imagine Breaker. “Now I just need to do something about this.”

“Yeah, if only keeping you in your duct tape cocoon and carrying you around bandit style wouldn’t gather so much unwanted attention. I need to research an easier and less conspicuous method of carrying you around. Maybe one of those dollies delivery workers use for bigger packages?”

“You do realize there are better alternatives than carrying me around, don’t you!?”

Aradia bristled, but they must have looked like a couple teasing each other. An old lady walking her dog smiled at them and Kamijou ended up exchanging New Year’s greetings with a stranger.

But…

“Boo. Why does Aradia get all the fun?” said Alice on his other side.

Before he could say a thing, the small girl tackled into him from the side and grabbed at his left arm.

“Hee hee. This hand belongs to the girl!”

“Um, Alice?”

“?”

She looked up and smiled at him like she always did. She didn’t seem to notice Index wandering side to side, unsure where to go. The cat was struggling not to fall off her head.

“Alice…you are Alice, aren’t you?” hesitantly asked Kamijou.

“Eh heh heh☆”

She wiggled ticklishly for some reason. It may have been a bashful response to him saying her name so many times.

Based on that, this did seem to be the Alice he knew.

This was the mysterious but reliable girl who had used her power to protect everyone on December 29 when the dark side threatened to engulf everything. He hadn’t known if he would see her again when she left with Anna Sprengel. If nothing else had happened, he might have hugged her and wept with joy at this reunion.

But…

“…”

He felt a tremor.

It came from the other side than Alice. So from Aradia on his right. Transcendent Aradia had caused so much trouble in Shibuya on December 31, but she was trembling like a small child afraid to go home because she thought her parents would scold her.

It was so unusual and wrong that he couldn’t just ignore it.

Alice Anotherbible.

Even the kind Bologna Succubus had called Alice a tyrant, but what exactly did the girl carry inside her?

“Touma. Are we taking a train again?”

“I can hardly believe it, but yes. And to think I was broke at the end of last year. Hwa ha ha! I can afford normal expenses again!”

The Bridge Builders Cabal had a new headquarters.

The mysterious consulate was in District 12, so they only had to pay 200 yen at the subway to get there.

“Tah dah!! This is the place!” said Alice with a huge smile, hopping in excitement with no concern for her skirt.

The place would have stood out in any other district, but it fit right in among the giant pyramids, five-story pagodas, and other structures that made District 12 feel like an amusement park.

Past a grassy garden larger than a soccer field was a gate leading to a white marble building resembling an amusement park castle. But it wasn’t built according to a specific style like gothic or something-or-other garden. None of it felt real, so the entire space felt like part of an amusement park. If you had to describe it, it was a white mansion similar to the White House but with pointy towers added on without any sort of pattern. It wasn’t even symmetrical.

According to Alice, the white building in the center was called a tower despite not being all that tall. In a castle, that was where the lord’s living area and the administrative functions were concentrated. It was known as the keep, or in French, the donjon.

Were those roses in bloom? It sure looked like a red rose garden at first, but a closer inspection showed them to be white artificial flowers painted red. The place was still being prepared, so some areas had been left incomplete. On that note, castles and temples normally took more than a century to build just by stacking up the stones, so how did they get this built so quickly without anyone noticing?

Roses.

Painted from white to red.

Were the out-of-season honeybees the result of agricultural selective breeding? They were colored black and yellow.

Hadn’t he seen that coloration when fighting in deserted Los Angeles?

“…”

A relevant question came to mind, but Kamijou shook his head. He had directly clashed with R&C Occultics and Anna Sprengel a few times, but the worst thing to do when your life was on the line was assume you knew everything already. For magic expertise, he had Index and Othinus with him. And he had Alice and Aradia from the Bridge Builders Cabal with him too. Instead of making assumptions based on his imagination, he was far better off speaking with them and seeing what useful information they had.

And in fact, Othinus – a god of war, magic, and deception – had noticed something he hadn’t.

“(They call it a consulate, but it’s built like a fortress or like a castle built on the front lines. So did they openly build themselves a bridgehead inside enemy territory?)”

“Oh?”

A young man in the garden noticed them while pointing out where the delivery workers should set up the giant sculptures wrapped in packaging and cushioning.

He had black hair and wore a tailcoat. He even wore an old-fashioned black cloak.

He was still young(?), but he held a smooth, glossy black cane.

The young butler had a somehow gloomy air to him.

“I know you couldn’t exactly escape when Alice came for you personally, but I still can’t believe you showed up. And bringing our own Aradia with you? That I didn’t expect at all.”

“Who are you?”

“H. T. Trismegistus.” The young butler pulled a leather notebook from his pocket. “Come to think of it, I didn’t introduce myself yesterday, did I? As common sense would tell you, I am a Transcendent.”

He did not offer to shake hands. Whether or not that was due to the notebook was unclear.

He too was a member of the Bridge Builders Cabal. That meant he was one of the special magicians who held meetings with the other Transcendents to discuss how to change the world for the better. That meant he would be less than fond of Kamijou who – they believed – was capable of guiding Alice’s whims.

Index frowned and repeated something under her breath.

“''Trismegistus''?”

“Yes!! H. T. Trismegistus is amazing. He makes the best tea in the world. He also folds the girl’s clothes and puts her shoes away!”

“You should really be able to handle that much on your own, Alice.”

Even as he said that, the young butler kneeled and cleaned off some mud that got on Alice’s skirt as she hopped around. He wiped it off with a handkerchief, applied detergent, dried it with a dryer, and even ironed it.

But…wait?

Where did all of that stuff come from???

“(Don’t freak out yet, human. A stage magician could do that. He could have multiple storage cases hidden inside that cloak like a tackle box or a pop-up book.)”

“Um, are you Alice’s tutor?”

“Heavens no. I am no more than one of her servants. I wouldn’t dream of holding that much influence over my beloved master.”

H. T. Trismegistus answered the grimoire library’s gaze with no more than a meaningful smile.

There was one thing Kamijou had wanted to ask the next time he met a Transcendent. He hadn’t wanted to ask Alice because he got the feeling her answer would change based on what she thought he wanted to hear.

“Wh-where is the Bologna Succubus? Is she alright?”

“She is inside. But common sense says she should be allowed to rest for the time being.”

That was a relief…or was it?

Was this H. T. Trismegistus one of the Rescuers or one of the Killers?

The young butler welcomed back Alice while indicating the consulate with a sweep of his arm.

“Everyone is familiar with Alice and her tea party, but in the original story, it is held at a house in the woods. But outside the house, not inside it. But common sense says the real highlight of the setting arrives with the Queen of Hearts shouting to have everyone executed. There is nothing better than the queen’s castle or the courtroom.”

Kamijou felt like a dull, invisible object was slowly stabbing into his chest.

He ended up holding Aradia’s hand tight. She took it as some kind of sign and gave him a wordless, wide-eyed look, but he hadn’t meant it that way.

Executed.

And a courtroom.

What did the Bridge Builders Cabal intend to do with Aradia after her defeat? He still didn’t know why they had come to Academy City. If it was a whim of Alice’s, there might not be any real reason, but that didn’t mean they would ignore a potential information leak like Aradia.

Alice, being Alice, smiled like she wasn’t concerned about any of that.

“H. T. Trismegistus! The girl wants to show her teacher around her secret base! But just looking around would be boring!! Do you know a fun game we could play? You know, like a treasure hunt or something else where everyone can see the whole place while playing!!”

“Ah ha ha,” laughed the young butler as he pulled out several movie pamphlets and TRPG rulebooks. Those paper booklets had to be heavy with so many of them.

“Common sense says you only need to speak this magic phrase: ‘I will grant my whole inheritance to whosoever reveals every one of my secrets.’ ”

“Ohh, that sounds like fun. Then should the girl share her power with the winner? You’re the best, H. T. Trismegistus!”

“Not at all. It is merely my job to gently support my master by granting her every wish.”

“Then I’ll give them a whole half!!”

“Hold on,” interrupted a graceful woman’s voice.

Kamijou realized someone else was already standing next to Alice. The woman wore a maternity dress and a wide-brimmed hat that covered her eyes. That was Good, Old Mary, one of the Transcendents, and she was currently pinching and slightly stretching one of Alice’s small cheeks.

“Alice really would give someone half of the planet while in this sort of mood, so if you see her start on something like that, please stop her even if you have to physically restrain her.”

“Eh? Um, you mean me? You’re telling me to do that?” said Kamijou.

“''Mama is only asking an outsider because none of us can do it.''”

That sent a tension similar to static electricity through them all. The Transcendents, Index, and Othinus all carefully observed Kamijou and Alice.

“?”

Even the cat instinctually sensed something was amiss and put up his guard, but Alice herself tilted her head and then grabbed Kamijou’s arm again.

He was afraid to say anything.

He had temporarily captured Aradia, but he had been helpless against her on the 31st. He had been killed more than once and had only barely pulled off a victory thanks to two Transcendents providing assistance that felt like cheating.

What if he was thrown out onto the battlefield with no assistance this time?

Or what if several Transcendents attacked him at once?

Or what if Alice turned on him???

He had no idea when he would be killed or by whom, but he couldn’t predict what the other Transcendents would do if he turned down Alice’s invitation. He worked to organize what information he had while asking some questions.

“So is this consulate about that stuff the Bologna Succubus was telling me about? You know, about the Transcendents of the Bridge Builders Cabal being split between a group that wants to rescue me and one that wants to kill me?”

“Uh, oh,” gasped H. T. Trismegistus.

The young butler’s gaze lowered to young Alice.

She silently and emotionlessly tilted her head.

And she spoke.

“''What. Is. He. Talking. About?''”



“Gasp!?”

Kamijou opened his eyes.

He shook his head several times and stood up.

Only then did he realize he had been collapsed on the grass.

(What? Eh? Wait. What happened? What in the world just happened!?)

He checked his old folk’s smartphone to find time had skipped forward by about 10 minutes.

No.

''What had happened'' immediately after Alice Anotherbible spoke in such a low voice? Kamijou at least seemed to have lost consciousness at that point.

He took a look around.

H. T. Trismegistus had seemed so above it all, but he had fallen onto his rear with his cane a good distance away from him. Where it had come from was a mystery, but in his panic, he had produced an entirely useless life jacket which he clutched in his arms like a stuffed animal.

For some reason, Good, Old Mary was trying not to look in that direction.

After sensing a tremor shaking and a sweet aroma, Kamijou realized Aradia was holding onto him from the side. Just like a small child afraid to let go of her teddy bear after having a nightmare.

Index and Othinus had to be around there somewhere. Probably doing their best to hide in one of the large garden’s flower beds or shrubberies.

Alice alone remained on her feet.

Her head was still tilted and she spoke in her usual tone again.

“You were saying?”

“Yes! Yes!! We’re all good friends here!! Common sense says we would never be so rude to an important guest!!”

The young butler’s voice was cracking.

The Bologna Succubus had said only Kamijou could guide and control Tyrant Alice. He still didn’t understand what this was all about, but if this was how things worked, he could see why everyone was so afraid of her.

But anyway.

“T-to be clear, our objective is not Kamijou Touma,” said H. T. Trismegistus while trying to catch his breath. “Common sense says we made this direct visit to prevent an information leak. In other words, we are here for ''a fellow Transcendent''.”

“…”

“You heard a lot about us in Shibuya on the 31st, didn’t you? I believe a few Transcendents other than Aradia contacted you. But common sense says this decision cannot be overturned. The Bologna Succubus, Good, Old Mary, and even Alice herself have already agreed that the traitor who left our cabal must be punished accordingly. Because these are not false accusations placed upon an innocent’s head.”

“Punished?”

“Correct.”

Someone walked up next to the young butler.

She was a girl of about 15. She had long, wavy blonde hair, brown skin, and a skinny build decorated with thin belts and pure gold ornaments. She reminded Kamijou of Nephthys, but maybe it was his lack of knowledge that made him think of an Egyptian goddess or a dancer when he saw her.

Alice hopped around proudly.

“This is Mut Thebes! She’s a Transcendent just like the girl!!”

They had finally reached the point where he wasn’t even sure what kind of god they were talking about. He at least recognized names like Alice and Mary – ''whether or not the associations he made were accurate'' – but some of the other names like Aradia and Trismegistus meant nothing at all to him.

Since Alice sounded so proud, the young butler went ahead and introduced her.

“She is an Egyptian mythology Transcendent who specializes in punishment.”

The matter-of-fact way H. T. Trismegistus said it sent a chill down Kamijou’s spine.

Punishment.

He gave Aradia’s hand a squeeze.

“She carries the symbolism of the mother protecting her children – or of the queen protecting her people. She will do whatever it takes to protect what she had decided is her territory. And of course, that is currently defined as the Bridge Builders Cabal.”

That made her sound super powerful, but Kamijou wasn’t sure if it made her an enemy or an ally. He gave the brown girl a nervous look and, for some reason, she bowed. Now, should he feel glad that this assassin or hitman was impeccably polite? He wasn’t sure.

She was a Transcendent who specialized in punishment.

The brown girl stood next to…something not quite the same as a metal fence with spikes jutting out in a giant X. Several sharp spears were contained in the same binder, creating something that looked a bit like a barricade. The spearheads were made of glass and a strange fluorescent pink liquid sloshed around inside. At about 150cm long, they didn’t seem to have much reach for spears. Hold the shaft near the center and they wouldn’t reach much further than a sword.

That meant they were probably javelins.

Notably, they each had the same phrase written on the shaft: Drink Me.

“(Th-this is related to Alice in Wonderland,)” whispered Aradia, unable to hide her trembling.

“…”

Kamijou remained silent.

“I used the word punishment because I have a graceful heart and common sense told me to avoid stating it so directly, but perhaps it would have been simpler to say ‘execution’ instead.”

The young butler’s voice was calm as could be.

Although he was nervously tapping his cane against the ground.

“Transcendents can be killed. Especially when you have an expert in executing them,” he said quite plainly.

The next thing Kamijou knew, there was a long, narrow coffin there. Was it another stage magician tool? It was about the right size to hold an adult woman and it had strange slits all over it, so it may have been a prop for stabbing swords into.

“You should already understand this on some level after what you saw during all that ugly fighting in Shibuya on the 31st. One specific method is to weaken the Transcendent by taking away their power. The spiritual item called the Shrink Drink does just that. In the story, it was a drink that causes the imbiber to physically shrink, but- oh, you should already be familiar with the general idea since one of your companions is a weakened god.”

They had traded one problem for another.

(At least it looks like I don’t have to worry about all the Transcendents attacking me at once. Still, this is bad. I’m not thrilled about their target being Aradia either.)

Kamijou turned to look at someone.

Not Alice who was kind but capricious. He looked to Good, Old Mary who had selflessly helped save him and the Bologna Succubus on the 31st.

Aradia and the Bologna Succubus had both had something they wanted to protect, so Good, Old Mary – who could return a corpse to its state when the heart had stopped – must have had her own reasons for wanting to become a magician.

But she did not return Kamijou’s gaze.

In fact, her large hat shook as she turned her head away from him, but that may have been to avoid Aradia’s eyes more than his.

(Are we out of options?)

Kamijou clenched his teeth.

He was wrapped in an extreme tension that told him he had to avoid letting them notice even that.

(Then what do I do? What good is Imagine Breaker alone against an entire group of Transcendents!?)

But while all this was going on in his head…

“Oh, I think you have the wrong idea,” continued H. T. Trismegistus, to correct the puny boy’s misunderstanding. “It is true Aradia neglected to return to us after her defeat at your hands and the possibility of her revealing critical information does put our cabal at risk, but she already understands and shares in the cabal’s ideology and – more importantly – she understands in her very bones ''what it would mean to make herself an enemy of Alice''. Common sense says no amount of cajolery or torture would get her to talk. That sturdy vault door can be dealt with later. It is the flimsy back door we must deal with first.”

“Back door?”

“Indeed.” The young butler nodded and explained. “Our top priority assassination target is none other than the newest Transcendent, the international information expert who created R&C Occultics, and the traitor who shows insufficient respect for Alice and who got you involved in all this in the first place. I am, of course, referring to ''Anna Sprengel''.”