Editing Toaru Majutsu no Index:RailgunSS2 Chapter5 (section)

=== Part 8 ===
<br>
In a security guard office, Enirya G. Algonskaya looked at the investigation materials being displayed on the wall’s Semipublic AR.

Misaka Mikoto still had not been found.

There had also been no hints related to the possible group that had killed someone and removed their body from the production plant for the oranges and crimson long-legged army ants.

Were those two different things?

Or was there a connection between them?

“…”

As a security guard, it was Enirya’s duty to protect the peace of that shopping mall. She was shocked at the fact that someone knew how to escape detection within that shopping mall better than her. She had thought the security guards understood that city perfectly.

In other words…

(There is something lurking in this city in an even deeper area than I know of.)

She had a vague feeling that her normal methods of investigating would not directly lead her there. But at the same time, it was necessary for that to be the case. If the construction of the shopping mall was completely within what they thought it was, then it would be impossible for a suspect to slip through their fingers like that.

Whether it was Misaka Mikoto or some group that had removed the body, they were passing through places Enirya did not know of and doing things she was not aware of.

If she checked the parts of that incident that even she did not understand, she might be able to find some logical answer.

Was it Misaka Mikoto or someone else?

Pursuing the suspects in the crimson long-legged army ant case was her job as a security guard, but after coming that far, she felt the need to take a bit of a detour.

(…The higher ups, hm?)

Enirya simply looked up at the ceiling and thought of something else.

She had barely been aware of them up until then…or rather, she and her colleagues actually on the scene had felt they knew more about the city than them. But now their existence seemed to grow.

Those people who had done everything from designing to managing the city would likely know even the things Enirya did not.

If she thought through everything again once she had that information, she might be able to see the logic of the incident. Or she might be able to see what was to come. It was possible she would be able to predict where the suspects would head and what they would try to do.

(But the problem is whether a mere pet dog has enough freedom to get that information.)

As Enirya silently thought that, she heard the voice of a colleague.

“You got a second? I’m not sure if this has anything to do with the case, but…”

“What?”

“Look at this.”

By operating the wall’s Semipublic AR, Enirya’s colleague set it at a level where she could view it, too. The screen displayed an internet board. The heading said “Mysterious Phenomena Special Feature”.

“If I recall correctly, on the day of the crimson long-legged army ant incident, the story of the very valuable orange spread around explosively and the actual incident occurred shortly thereafter. A few days before, the story had involved a cactus and scorpions, but it suddenly changed to the story of the orange on the day the primary suspect appeared here. …Look at this other story here. It’s an utterly absurd story, but it seems to be spreading over boards all over the place. What if…?”

“What if the next incident occurs with that story as its motif?”

“It seems possible to me…”

“Have you checked where the posts were sent from?”

“Yes, but they’re most likely innocent. There’s a flower shop worker, a hotel worker, a tourist from Brazil, and even a fellow security guard… I don’t see any connection.”

“…”

It had been the same with the orange story. The posts had spread in no time at all, but there had been no connection between the individual people. That was when they had started to focus on Misaka Mikoto as the person who had initially brought the story to the local network of the shopping mall.

“So this urban legend is about…” Enirya frowned. “The necklace of death?”

“No.” Her colleague scrolled down. “It’s this next one.”

<br>
<br>