Editing Toaru Majutsu no Index:Crossover Chapter 2 (section)

===Part 13===

Hel, queen of the underworld, left the inn.

She could have gone for another round, but she decided to call it a day since the Black Dragon Níðhöggr was wagging its tail around as if saying, “Can I get them? Let’s get them, boss!!” Even the true queen of Niflheim would not be able to bear becoming a wall rafflesia twice in one day. The only person who could endure that would be Light God Baldr whose invincible body could deflect any attack. (And Index and Mikoto needed to perform some maintenance on their clothes before they were entirely destroyed.)

The sight of an ice queen sitting on a black wyvern was exactly the sort of thing some teenager might draw, so the images in the human heart may not have changed much since the days of the myths.

However, voices reached that queen just as she was about to fly away.

“Ehhh!? But salmon sandwiches would definitely be the best!”

“Do not be ridiculous. Meatballs are the undisputed champion.”

She turned toward the arguing voices and saw a short boy clinging to Waltraute’s waist and arguing with a four meter giant.

That giant was Surtr who supposedly led a great army that would destroy the world alongside Hel.

“What are you doing in Midgard!?”

“I could ask you the very same question.”

“And where’s your fire sword!?”

“Oh, I threw that away ''due to certain circumstances''.”

Hel felt faint when she heard the giant nonchalantly deny his very reason for existence.

The boy standing between Demon King Surtr and Hel, queen of the underworld, (a hopeless position on a mythological level) did not seem to feel any danger whatsoever.

“We’re talking about what’s the best food to go with rice. Hel, you think it’s salmon sandwiches too, right!?”

“I will admit salmon is delicious, but it doesn’t exactly go with rice when made into sandwiches, does it? Small meatballs are the best and you cannot convince me otherwise. But they have to be small! When they’re made to fit inside a lunchbox, they feel so luxurious, don’t they!?”

“Salmon sandwiches can to go with rice.”

“Nh. Don’t tell me you’re like those takoyaki fundamentalists!”

Hel had initially been too shocked to say anything, but something about it had irritated her for some reason.

Specifically, why had they not mentioned the true best option?

“Wait! Isn’t this when you’re supposed to go with fries!? You can eat them as-is, you can share them with all your friends, and you can trade them for something else, so there’s nothing to complain about!! Fries are the best when hanging out. It’s so simple, so why don’t you get it!?”

Hel suddenly vented her frustrations, but…

“Ehhh?”

“Fries? Are you serious?”

Hel grew enraged at the boy and giant’s low-key reactions.

“What!? Aren’t you supposed to be trembling in awe at my amazing choice!?”

“Um, Hel. You clearly don’t understand how boxed lunches work. Fries are good when they’re just cooked, but what happens when you leave them in a lunchbox for a while? Everything good about them vanishes.”

“Croquettes are the same. They’re no good once they aren’t crispy anymore. We’re talking about boxed lunches here.”

“Eh? Th-that isn’t true. It’s not the fries’ fault! It’s because you put them in the same box as moist things like… Yes, like fish and meatballs!! They wouldn’t lose their crispiness if you didn’t trap them inside with all that moisture! If you don’t use too much oil and divide up the contents of the lunch, they’d be just fine!!”

“You can’t get rid of salmon for some potatoes.”

“Throwing out the meatballs is a blasphemy against the world itself.”

Hel’s lips began trembling.

“You just don’t understaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd!!”

Níðhöggr flapped its wings and Hel flew swiftly away.

The boy waved below.

“Oh, you’re leaving already? Bye bye, Hel!”

“I’m never coming back!! Never again!! Stupid, stupid!!”

The shock of having her fries rejected had left Hel half in tears as she flew across Midgard with Níðhöggr. The queen soon returned to Niflheim, that white and hopeless land at the end of the nine worlds where the light of the sun never reached.

It was entirely covered in ice and snow.

No matter how much one dug, they would never find any water or food. They could only experience the pain of the afterlife as the cold wind tore at their soft skin.

And none of this was penance for anything they had done. No matter how much work they completed, their soul would not be cleansed.

The system simply said anyone who ended up down there would suffer eternally.

The truck-sized guard dog Garmr came out to meet Hel.

“Oh, sorry about the wait, Garmr. You did well looking after the place while I was out.”

She raised a hand and Garmr lowered its giant head so she could pat it.

“There, there.”

While taming the guard dog, she glanced to the side.

Beyond the white screen of blowing snow, humans with scraps of cloth wrapped around themselves were walking in a line through the snow. Their arms and legs were bound by chains that linked them to the person in front of and behind them.

Their ages and sexes were a complete mix, but if they were here in Niflheim, they had a single point in common.

They had not committed any kind of crime or sin.

Odin, the head god who ruled the world, had simply considered them unnecessary and closed the gates of Asgard to them.

That was all that had sent them to Niflheim, where they would be forever tortured with no chance of salvation.

“More of them have shown up again. Looks like some died of starvation in addition to disease and old age.”

As Hel muttered that, Níðhöggr rubbed its giant head up against her as if saying “That doesn’t matter, so pat me too!! Reward me for putting up with this cold!!” Before long, a fierce fight broke out with Garmr over who got her attention.

As she patted both their heads with a bitter smile, she felt a prickling sensation in the back of her mind.

It was like a tiny thorn, so she barely even noticed it.

It was nothing but a small story from those strangers.

“…”

But that thorn was certainly there.

She was not aware that this throbbing would remain even after overcoming the pain in her heart.

Or that this tiny thorn…no, this tiny wedge was powerful enough to very nearly clog up some truly giant gears.

Before long, the world would change.

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