Editing Toaru Majutsu no Index:GT Volume4 Chapter2 (section)

===Part 9===

Othinus had reached absolute zero on the diner table.

The 15cm god had woken up in a bad mood.

“So when the 10-year-old ran off in tears, she managed to slip past you? How slow are you?”

Kamijou wilted beneath the pressure of her straight back and crossed arms, so he could not even look her in the eye. Her anger was a calm thing, so it scared him in a different way from Index’s chomping jaws.

But it wasn’t his fault. It hadn’t been an issue of simple strength.

The girl who only came up to his hips had moved as unpredictably as a rubber ball bouncing around the room. He had lost track of her after she ducked below the counter. He did not even remember when she had managed to slam her shoulder against the back door and escape outside.

“Human, do you know what this means?”

“That you’ve finally run out of patience with me?”

“I will never give up on my understander no matter what happens, so stop cowering.” With that said, she switched over to an exasperated sigh. “Helcalia did not run away because of that immature smoker priest’s hateful words. If you already dislike someone, nothing they say will affect you all that much. Besides, you said you were speaking in Japanese.”

“Then…”

“Human. It was you gasping and not defending her mother that shocked her enough to run away. She saw you as the only person she could rely on and then you pushed her away. That’s a lot of pain to force onto a 10-year-old. You didn’t mean to? No, probably not. She’s a stranger you only just met, so you’re not obligated to do anything for her. You were well within your rights to abandon her…right?”

“…”

Kamijou Touma silently bit his lip.

Othinus softly uncrossed her arms.

“But if you still feel like cursing your own gutless behavior, then you’re not lost yet. You earned 0 points here, but there’s still time to make up for it. So before punching yourself in the face, figure out what you can do that will actually help Helcalia.”

Stiyl was examining the paper documents he had picked up and he made no attempt to approach the divine lecture. He was only interested in discovering what happened between the joint force and R&C Occultics, why the 30 million people disappeared, and if the threat still remained so they could pave a path to the HQ building.

Now that he knew Melzabeth Grocery was guilty, he had no need for her daughter Helcalia. No matter how unpredictable she was, it was odd for a professional magician to let a small child escape like Kamijou had.

“Well, if he isn’t interested in listening in, then this is your chance.”

“Othinus?”

“Hey, library. You sit at that table over there.”

“Mh! Why only me?”

“(Because with you as a shield, the smoker priest will be hesitant to interfere.)”

“?”

Index tilted her head, but she happily moved to the other table when the tiny god pointed out it was closer to the fountain drinks.

And…

“Human, what are your plans now?” asked Othinus.

Kamijou blinked in confusion but then hesitantly spoke up.

“Well, if possible, I want to find Helcalia and tell her that her mother isn’t a bad person.”

“Not what I meant.” Othinus cut him off with an exasperated snort. “Searching out the truth is easy enough, but keep in mind that the 30 million people disappeared before you got involved. You can’t guarantee that there’s nothing to worry about when you didn’t witness those events yourself. Once you investigate, you might discover that Melzabeth Grocery really was one of the villains working with Anna Sprengel. That is a real possibility. In fact, it’s the boringly straightforward answer you’re more than likely to find.”

“…”

“So.” She paused for emphasis. “I’m asking what your plans are for every scenario, from best case to worst case. You can find an answer, but that doesn’t mean much. The truth could be exactly what you wanted to find, or it could be the exact opposite. But you can’t let fear of the past slow you down. What matters is the future you create from there. So what will you do? That is what I am asking, human.”

Kamijou Touma thought for a bit before answering.

“I want to catch up to Helcalia and tell her there’s nothing to worry about.”

“The odds of that being true are very nearly zero.”

“I’ll say it anyway.”

“The more you defend Melzabeth, the more foolish you will look down the line. This thoughtless empathy could mean never returning to Academy City again. You will lose everything that just flashed through your mind when I said that. Do you really understand that? It’s even possible the ‘good guys’ will destroy you along with R&C Occultics. They’ll see you as a villain defending one of the criminals, so they won’t even give you a chance to argue your case.”

“''I don’t care if Melzabeth planned the whole damn thing herself''!! If she did, then I just have to punch her as hard as I can to bring her back to her senses and then drag her back to apologize to her daughter. It’s 20 below out there, 30 million people have disappeared, and the magician who defeated a Saint like Kanzaki is out there. I have to go save her! I’m not giving up on her life because someone else is a villain. And Helcalia doesn’t have to give up on her own life over it either!!”

“I see.” Othinus breathed an utterly exasperated sigh. “Nothing I say can shake you from the path of salvation, can it?”

In the end, his answer must have satisfied her.

Because this time, she gave him a cruel grin.

“Then I’ll just have to guide you to victory.”

“Othinus?”

“I’m pissed too, you know? Listen, not even you can deny my feelings here. But if you’re going to do this, you can’t just lead Helcalia on with irresponsible, half-baked assurances. Your promise only means something if you thoroughly investigate Melzabeth until you’re certain whether or not she’s a villain. Saving someone is supposed to be a meaningful act, isn’t it?”

“Investigate her? But how?”

“How else?” Othinus snorted and pointed over at something. “With that watch you found.”