Editing Toaru Majutsu no Index:Biohacker Chapter5 (section)

===Part 4===

They were in the mountains.

And for whatever reason, Kumokawa and the mystery sisters refused to use the paved mountain road. That meant they were forced to go hiking through the thick forest full of who knows how many bugs.

“What else can we do? I don’t know who technically owns this mountain, but we should assume it is effectively that man’s backyard. There is sure to be something set up on the one mountain road in. The drones we sent in to check are far from perfect. I don’t know if there are cameras or sensors there, but we should avoid that road while we can.”

Kamijou and Kumokawa’s conversation was unexpectedly interrupted by Rikuri with the risqué slitted skirt.

She may have been the type to do everything she could for her client.

“It is frightening when you think about it, isn’t it? L.S.S. can create living creatures of any size, even microscopic, right? Isn’t the combination of an infectious stun weapon and a dam a horrifying thought?”

“Even kids show villains are written more complex than that these days. We should thank that man for being intelligent enough to not go for a cheap plot like that.”

In movies and dramas, villains tended to go for as much damage as possible, but real terrorist attacks and crimes would have a clear objective or profit motive behind them. In the latter case, a weapon to kill millions would be useless if there was no way of earning a single yen with it. From a cost perspective, a plan that earned millions of yen without killing a single person was much cleverer. And all the better if it also happened to be legal. Although once your crime was legal, people tended to call it a business plan.

“Ah!!” shouted Amazora when she slipped on some mud or something.

Kamijou was behind her, so he moved to support her from behind.

“Hey, can the rest of you slow down to match this girl’s pace!? She’s carrying a lot of weight and I’m pretty sure those are not the shoes you want to go mountain climbing in.”

His good will was meaningless to their underground world.

“Then how about you carry her?” suggested an annoyed Kaibi. “With gun and drum magazine, she’s carrying 100kg, so trying to be nice will just get you crushed like with an Onbu Obake.”

…

“Okay, I will!! If her and her stuff is only 130kg, that’s not much different from carrying the biggest guy in my class. That’s not impossible, so it’s fine. It’ll be fine. It’s to help a little girl, so I know I can do it!! I’ll do whatever it takes to not abandon a little girl in the mountains! Let’s do this!!”

“You don’t get to carry me after calling me a little girl so much. I don’t like this guy.”

“Ha ha ha. Forgotten what happened in the parking garage already, girl? Don’t you worry. This won’t be my first time carrying you. (Grin)”

“Y-you took my first time while I was passed out, Onii-chan!? How much of a super Onii-chan are you!?”

(While apparently entirely forgetting she had already climbed into his lap to get at his raw oysters,) Amazora began softly pummeling him with her fists and calling him “Onii-chan”, so he had apparently developed a decent emotional distance from her, no matter what she claimed. The other two sisters looked a little saddened by this, but that was a secret.

“Amazora,” said the girl in a dress.

“Ah!? No, wait, Kai Onee-chan! I don’t like this guy at all!”

She tried it again using the youngest sister’s ''emotional distance from Kamijou Touma.

“Amazora.”

“Heh heh. Eh heh heh. Oh, c’mon, Onii-chan. Don’t stare straight at me and whisper my name like that. But if you absolutely insist, I guess I can let you! …Wait, why did Kai Onee-chan just feel like a boy and why did I call her Onii-chan? H-how embarrassing!!”

“…”

Gokusai Kaibi’s mouth formed a small triangle as she stumbled across an incredible use for her power. Although her pride would probably refuse to let her use that method of attack.

Then Gokusai Rikuri made a noise while observing her sisters.

“Hmm.”

“Eek!?”

Kamijou shrieked when the sexy oldest sister leaned up against him from the side. The amount of body contact was the same as little Amazora, but the sensation was entirely different.

She rested her head on his shoulder and spoke with a sweet sigh that seemed not just ripe but rotting.

“I am letting it slide since we agreed to this deal, but we are supposed to be assassins, not bodyguards. I would really prefer it if you did not get so close to us. You need to show a little more fear lest it damage our pride.”

“Um, uh, uh, what are you trying to say? Could you translate that from your gang lingo into normal language!?”

A chill ran down Kamijou’s spine at the close contact with that lady who used poison needles and wires, but Kumokawa Seria (who was well on her way toward developing the curves needed to be in that same “sexy” category) put her hands on her hips and sighed.

“What she means is obvious enough: she hated how easily you were stealing her little sister from her and tried to steal the girl back using a honey trap, but then she started going down that route for real.”

“Let’s not be ridiculous. I simply need to remain in control if I want an upper hand in the payment negotiations.”

Kumokawa raised her index and middle fingers.

“I believe the standard is 2.”

“What did I just say about being ridiculous? We provided three people, so 3 would be the bare minimum.”

But.

The ignorant boy was honestly surprised by this.

“Eh? 3? As in 3000 yen? Assassins are that cheap!? That’s scary, but it’s a great deal.”

“…”

“Tell him he’s wrong, Nee-san!! His amateur ignorance is not as charming as you think it is!!”

That wicked woman may not have been accustomed to seeing such a positive outlook, so Kaibi bristled and frantically shouted at her older sister.

Kumokawa carefully observed their surroundings.

“There are no cameras on the tree trunks, no drones flying around, and no mics stuck in the ground. Did we overthink this? Or did we misread it somehow?”

“Why are you muttering to yourself, Senpai? Fishing for attention?”

Kamijou could barely stay standing with the weight of the Gatling gun girl on his back, but then the upperclassman girl hit him with a low kick. Since the kick was what made him fall over and end up tangled up with the youngest sister, he really wished she would not glare at him like that.

“First that honey girl and now this. You can never trust the girls who use their younger age as a weapon.”

That was when they heard the rustling of something parting the underbrush.

It was not Kamijou, Kumokawa, or the gaudily dressed sisters.

Then what was it?

“Here comes one of L.S.S.’s hot products!!”