Editing Toaru Majutsu no Index:MvM Chapter3 (section)

===Part 8===

“What do we do now?”

“Going back to that fake Academy City probably wouldn’t help.”

So Shokuhou also thought that was the wrong idea.

It slipped their minds from time to time, but Mikoto and Shokuhou were both having an out of body experiment and only partially existed in this world (likely due to a mistake on that idiot goddess’s part). Their real bodies had probably been taken to a hospital on Earth. Staying here for too long would be dangerous, so they needed to get back as soon as possible…but they had a feeling the secret to that wouldn’t be found in the fake Academy City.

The core of Celesaqphere was found outside the city.

Or so it seemed.

(If everything unusual in this world is defined as magic, then we need to search the world outside the city. If there is some strange technology that they could call “return magic” here, I don’t think it would be hidden ''inside that city of science''.)

“Okay.”

With that settled, Mikoto had Shokuhou and Patissiet grab onto her.

She took a magnetically fueled leap to jump from one floating rock to another. She took a path diagonally upwards that seemed like it would take her over her target rock and then switched her magnetic force to land on it. The trajectory was a lot like hitting a golf ball up to land perfectly atop a hill.

“Wow. You can travel without using an airship, winged bicycle, or dragon.”

“Kyah! Gyahhhhh!?”

“What, is there no wind magic to make you fly?”

“No, there’s nothing that convenient.”

“Wait, Misaka-san! Slow down- eeeeeeeeeeeeek!?”

“Travel must be expensive here. …And will you shut up, Boobs Queen?”

A single jump easily took her 10m up, about the same as three stories. The elf’s eyes widened at the unfamiliar speed and trajectory, but Shokuhou blanched with terror and clung on tight. Was she simply afraid of heights, or did she not trust Mikoto’s power? And when she held on that tight, her enormous boobs were so damn distracting.

“So do you normally need money or food to pay your way?”

“You can either work jobs at the guild or harvest plants and mine minerals in the mountains.”

“Huh, so they have guilds here? Well, either way, it sounds like you’ll be stuck on one of those floating lands if you don’t work. I’m so glad I’m an Electromaster. I can travel for free and cross any border I want without permission. It’s like this world was ''designed for me''.”

“You’re so cool, Lady Misaka.”

The elf innocently smiled without noticing Shokuhou who had nearly fainted from fear.

“Hey,” Mikoto began casually.

She cautiously drew in a fragile thread in her search for solid information.

“If everything mysterious in this world is magical, then is there a magical system or technology that will get us back to Earth? Like some treasured largescale magic that your average person doesn’t know how to use?”

“Hm. You’re looking for a special magic?”

She had no specific goal in mind, but Mikoto wanted to take a break after arriving on what felt like solid ground(?) instead of just some rock. She wanted to reach a flying “continent” with stability and greenery. Something with water, food, and civilization, where she wasn’t afraid of breaking through the ground with every step.

They had taken away the slaver woman’s luggage and “merchandise”. She could come after them at any time, so Mikoto didn’t want to stop anywhere near the crash site.

“Oh, come to think of it, I have heard of something like that. It’s an old legend, but if you defeat the three Demon Lords who rule over the land, sea, and sky and acquire their treasures, it’s supposed to open a portal between worlds.”

“A portal, you say?” asked Mikoto as a long, arching path took them to the edge of a relatively large floating continent.

Yes, continent.

A green plain continued as far as the eye could see – all the way to the horizon. It reminded Mikoto of an ad for milk or butter, or of an enormous American farm. Maybe the livestock had run away and gone wild, but she saw a flock of white things resembling sheep or goats in the distance. With this much vegetation, there had to be plenty of fresh water too. That they could see the horizon suggested this piece of land continued for at least more than 5km. No, that figure was based on a planet the size of Earth, so it might not apply here. Regardless, it was a large place. Mikoto could see another high layer of floating land, but she didn’t see any need to jump that high.

For now, she wanted to see the local civilization.

In other words, the nearest town or village.

Shokuhou and Patissiet let go of Mikoto’s hips.

“But what is with this heavy trunk. That merchant sure carried a lot of changes of clothes with her!!” said Shokuhou.

“Stop complaining after you stole it. And isn’t having too many changes of clothes better than having none? They might not fit us, but we can probably fix that by removing the stitching and making some adjustments.”

“…”

“And I really don’t want to go on a sweaty journey without any changes of underwear.”

“Misaka-san, that’s the kind of thing a girl is supposed to leave unsaid.”

Anyway, they had to continue on foot.

In a strange new world, they had no idea what trouble they might run into. Mikoto wanted to preserve enough stamina to make a magnetic jump at any time.

The elf held a hand against her forehead to shade her eyes as she stared into the distance and spoke.

“5 Continents.

“4 Kingdoms.

“3 Demon Lords.

“2 Goddesses.

“1 Portal.

“The portal I mentioned comes from that saying. It is traveler’s poem found on ancient slates, but I believe the story is that defeating the three Demon Lords and acquiring the three treasures allows you to complete a magical ceremony to open the special portal.”

This elf had to be far older than she looked, so how old did something have to be for her to call it “ancient”?

But at least they had an information source to go off of. They could also use Shokuhou’s Mental Out to read people’s memories or the residual thoughts in slates and such, but there was no guarantee that the scheming #5 would reveal all the information she received. Mikoto wanted to avoid adventuring and puzzle solving with false clues mixed in.

“(I can tell what you’re thinking, you know?)”

“(Oh, really? Strange since Mental Out isn’t supposed to work on me.)”

The two Tokiwadai girls glared at each other (while making sure innocently-smiling Patissiet didn’t notice).

If they wanted to know about this world, it was best to ask its people.

“So our first task is to battle the three Demon Lords. Hey, Patissiet, where are they?”

“?”

For some reason, she tilted her head at that one.

It was cute.

But also concerning.

“U-um. Do you at least know the Demon Lords’ names? Or what they look like?”

“No. They are from an ancient legend, after all.”

This was a problem.

Based on the new information she had revealed, this fantasy world was large enough to have five floating ''continents''. It was unclear how big a land had to be to earn that classification in this world, but how long would it take to, for example, travel the Silk Road to cross Earth’s Eurasian continent on foot? And these Demon Lords probably weren’t human. Were they humanoid, or were they giant beasts? It was even possible, they were pumpkins or rice-sized bugs that could talk but normally stayed silent. There were too many options to do a thorough search. Even a century wouldn’t be long enough if they were a giant bivalve on the ocean floor or a microscopic plankton.

Which meant…

“The first thing we need is better information. I at least want some names and an image of what we’re looking for.”

“The standard tactic in another world is to ask people, but we’re talking about a legend ability that even an elf who might have lived for centuries barely remembers. I doubt a random villager is going to know.”

Then would they have to search out slates, grimoires, and other ancient storage media?

It was sounding like the only way to gather information would be to work the #5 like a workhorse.

Mikoto decided to leave all the work to the Queen (while keeping in mind that schemer loved lying more than most anything).

“If you want to know more than I do, I think the elder would be your best bet. She might know where some ancient slates and grimoires are.”

“You mean the elf elder?”

“Yes,” said Patissiet. The little elf probably didn’t realize the weight of what she said next. “But you should probably hurry because working a slave to an early grave is more economical. She was captured along with me and we were separated during the sorting, but if we were bought and put to work at about the same time, her time should be ''about up''.”

What an awful world.

The elf elder had apparently been sold to a village near here.

Mikoto wanted information on a way to return home, particularly details on the three Demon Lords and their three treasures used for some ceremony, but more than that, the reminder of the slave trade pissed her off.

Patissiet looked confused, like she couldn’t figure out what had Mikoto so angry.

“Well…”

Visiting that village couldn’t hurt.