To Aru Majutsu no Index:Volume12 Chapter2
From Baka-Tsuki
 | Warning: This translation is considered a PREVIEW Script.
Be warned that the degree of translation error may be higher than usual due to the translation method employed.
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Contents |
[edit] Chapter 2: What kind of penalty game? Pair_Contract.
[edit] Part 1
Misaka Mikoto was in the plaza in front of the concert hall.
It is a place for appointments.
"...not here."
As here and there, groups of friends and couples met up and left the plaza, one person who still waited alone was becoming impatient.
Mikoto is still wearing her Tokiwadai Middle School uniform. And she's carrying her cheap student bag and violin case. It was troublesome considering she is going out for fun, but to carry them back to her dormitory would be even moreso. Usually, she would come and go as she pleased, but if she happened to be caught by the dorm head, she'd have to explain her reason for going out.
And so, to avoid being late, she didn't dare return to her dorm and went ahead to the meeting place ahead of time. She thought of getting Shirai Kuroko, who was apparently somewhere nearby, to take her things off her hands and so she had called, but then,
"How come neither of them are here yet...?"
Mikoto grumbles dubiously.
She originally planned on pushing the baggage to Shirai then killing time at the cafe, but Shirai, the linchpin of her plans, has yet to show up to begin with, so in the end, she was stuck standing around the whole time.
After I tried so hard to be on time, Kamijou had to be so tactlessly late, I wonder why I even wasted my time trying to be considerate, she sighs.
But then, if she were to leave to drop off her baggage at her dorm right now, it would be past the meeting time. They might even miss each other just as she left here.
Haah, Mikoto tiredly lowers her shoulders,
"Come to think of it, I don't know that idiot's number... though asking for it now will be bothersome."
Too tired to stand, she squats down and places her cheap school bag and violin case on the ground. The case, of course, may have had just a bit more value as an antique than the bag, but Mikoto didn't really care either way. Cases would only ever be useful as cases.
And, to this young lady who's pretty much exhausted at this point,
"There there there you are! You're Misaka Mikoto-san, no doubt!"
A cheerful young girl's voice called out. "Eh?" Mikoto, on hearing her own name being called, raises her head.
Standing there is a middle schooler even smaller than Mikoto. A girl in school uniform, her short black hair topped with lots of artificial flowers. If I remember correctly, Mikoto thinks, she belongs to Judgment just like Shirai Kuroko. She was usually seen wandering aimlessly around Shirai rather than talking to Mikoto directly.
"You're... Uiharu Kazari, right?"
"Wah, so you remember me!"
Uiharu's eyes twinkle.
That is surely a look of envy. It is aimed not at Mikoto herself but at the "role model senpai of Tokiwadai Middle". As it is only admiration, that twinkling is a little different from that of Shirai. The respect she shows is wholesome, through and through.
Uiharu inquires with a timid expression,
"Eh-, I believe I was told by Shirai-san to come here to pick up your things..."
Hm? Mikoto frowns.
Uiharu glanced at the school bag and violin case lying down on the ground,
"Well, you see. Shirai-san was on Judgment business, forcefully... well, working hard, so she was worried about being late. She wanted to come here herself, but because of time constraints, I'm here instead of her --"
So that's what happened, Mikoto nods along, but she hesitates.
Shirai (to put it delicately) was someone Mikoto was close with, so she didn't mind asking for favors, but she couldn't just leave the carrying and stuff to such a fragile girl as this. Furthermore, Uiharu is no Tokiwadai student. Since she can't enter the dorm, it's necessary that she would hand the baggage *to a dormer and have it brought to her room*.
And it's the worst case scenario if that dormer is the dorm master herself.
The dorm mistress would probably be all smiles to Uiharu and willingly accept the baggage, but when Mikoto returns to the dorm, she would be a raging demon.
So Mikoto lightly waves her hands,
"It's okay if Kuroko can't come. I'll just put them in the cloakroom at the hotel over there. I may have to get a room, but at least then I'll be able to use it."
"Ha-, how clever of them not to have any coin lockers around here."
Uiharu is looking at the violin case with her sparkling eyes. Surely, with that high-priced item, ordinary people like herself better restrain themselves from touching it, her entire self complains.
Mikoto again waves her hands,
"No! no! no! It's not that I'm telling you politely that I have doubts about you carrying, don't be so down!"
"But..."
Uiharu is mumbling something ambiguous.
But she stops there and changes the topic.
"Even so, Tokiwadai Middle really is amazing -. To be using a violin during school is rather uncommon."
"Yeah, I suppose. But if you try it out, it isn't all that difficult."
Mikoto notices a subtle light of enviousness in Uiharu's eyes as she stares at the violin,
"Hm, could it be, are you saying you'd like to go to our school?"
"N, no way! That's nonsense!!" She's obviously flustered. "Me, a lowly civilian, there's no way I could intrude on such a realm filled with upper class ladies!!"
"No, as long as you have the ability, you can get as much financial assistance as you need. I'm pretty sure that my school values substance over appearance. On the other hand, I've heard that even some members of royalty have flunked out before."
"Th, that uber-barrier area where even royalty are kicked out makes me feel even more hopeless - ... I've never even touched a violin before, you see. I just thought it'd be nice if I could learn to play it well."
"Well, how would you ever know if you never try?"
Mikoto picks up the violin case that lied on the ground,
"Right. Let's try it out and see."
"Eh!? Are you letting me listen to you?"
"You'll be the one playing, of course."
"Eehh!?"
Uiharu looks at Mikoto with shocked eyes, but the Tokiwadai young lady already unfastened the case's lock and brought out an antique, shiny-looking violin and its playing bow.
"Here's the instrument."
"B..!? D, don't toss it!!"
Fearful of the unimaginable price of the violin, Uiharu nervously accepts it. Will breaking or sweating on it not devalue it, thought a tense Uiharu.
Mikoto stands beside Uiharu, with proper gestures pointing out every part of the violin.
"Then try to follow my instructions. Grasp the main part with your left hand and that pole-like thing with your right hand to play it. Place and fix the instrument's bottom between your chin and collarbone. It's a cheap one, so you don't have to worry about pressing it too hard."
Nevertheless, this so-called cheap item was still something with sentimental value. Uiharu seems like she wants to quickly shove this bomb back into Mikoto's hands and run away, but she couldn't bring herself to do such a daring thing should the instrument break then and there. And so, Uiharu remains stiff and unable to move even a single finger as Mikoto looks at her with a dubious look.
"Sorry, sorry. It's not something you can understand through words alone after all."
"Um, huh?"
"Then I'll be guiding you manually. You do it like this."
"Eeeh!?"
As Uiharu nearly screams, Mikoto calmly brings her arms around Uiharu from behind, grasping the violin. They look quite like a very young child being guided gently by her parent.
Uiharu freezes at the sudden closeness, but Mikoto, sticking behind her, paid no mind. And though it is completely by accident, it looks as if Mikoto is blowing into Uiharu's ear as she starts lecturing.
"Though control of the strings with your left hand is important, let's start first with the bow in your right hand. It may look tough, but it's the only way to get the correct angle of playing with the bowstring and generate the usual sound."
Overlapped with Uiharu's, Mikoto's damped hands start moving. Just like when tuning a musical instrument, only a fine sound is sustained.
Incidentally, Uiharu, with her face blushing and eyes spinning, is no longer paying attention to what Mikoto is saying, but Mikoto, being who she was, is completely unaware of that. As long as it was someone other than Shirai, Mikoto was generally kind to girls.
"The playing changes depending on the way you use your left hand. Pizzicato, glissando, flageletto. Well, there are others, but none of them are really difficult, so let's try doing them one by one. Hm, you'll get used to it soon, so I'm sure you'll be fine!"
Uiharu's back is receiving body warmth, her ears sweet breath, and her loosening fingers of both hands are being wrapped up.
(S, so this must be the ojou-sama mentoring relationship Shirai-san is so wrapped up in.)
And Mikoto finally notices Uiharu is practically frozen solid.
She begins to speak in order to release Uiharu's tension.
"There's no problem! In this wide plaza, there aren't any particular performance rules, so even if we play here, you don't have to worry about being chastised by passersby."
"N, no, that's not it... you said public act (performance)!? Hya, a crowd might come and and surround us before we know it, we'll become somewhat the center of notice, and---"
Uiharu's shocked voice is suddenly cut off.
The reason is...
In the crowd of people, she finds Shirai Kuroko making an unbelievable expression.
"Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaa--!!"
Uiharu's shoulders shake audibly.
Her arm, filled with an unexpected power, lets out a *gigigi--!* dreadful noise from the violin.
Shirai, who was watching them, focuses on her colleague who was standing at the center of the crowd.
"(......Ah, so this is it, I thought it's worth praising when you for a change offer assistance to my luggage-carrying errand, but who would have thought there was a catch, so this is what they mean about keeping your guard up, though in the first place, I've never been treated this way by you before, Onee-sama~!)"
Her face seems like it's stuck in some sort of TV broadcasting code.
Uiharu Kazari is continuously dripping with cold sweat, but of course, Misaka Mikoto doesn't notice it.
"What's wrong?"
"N, no, it's nothing!!"
"Is some suspicious person staring at us?"
"D, don't say something like 'suspicious'!!"
Uiharu speaks, nearly in tears, but to the very end, Mikoto doesn't even think of Shirai's presence.
[edit] Part 2
The appointment time was 1:00 PM.
"It's already 1:30 PM, what's the big idea-!!"
Standing alone in the plaza in front of the fairly conspicuous concert hall in school district no. 7, Misaka Mikoto's scream echoes across. Kamijou Touma rushes over with hands clasped together and head lowered.
"Ya-- so sorry about that -- !!"
As a matter of fact, he's late since he got into a provisions problem that led into a quick fistfight, but it's prudent at this time not to make a poor excuse but rather meekly apologize.
Mikoto was beside herself, her arms folded, right foot tapping rapidly on the ground, and from her bangs bursts of pale sparks were unleashed.
"Even though I'm the winner of that fight for a penalty game, I wonder why I have to be pushed around by some reason of yours. Do you understand the feelings of a person being humiliated by having to stand for almost one hour alone? While waiting, I was called out by some weirdo, and every time I politely chased him off with my lightning bolt; don't you even find that annoying-?"
"Yeah -- yeah -- !! I told you, I'm really sorry!"
Kamijou tries to let what was basically a zero-context conversation go, but at that time he suddenly rememberes something uncomfortable from Mikoto's words.
"Eh, what? The appointment time was 1 PM."
"...You, don't tell me you ignored it when you said that, isn't it?"
"That's not it. When you said you've waited for an hour, you were already here for 30 minutes? Well, sorry about that."
Snap!! Mikoto has her shoulders quivering and eyes go round.
She unfolds her crossed arms, waving her palms,
"Wro-... I, idiot. Even if I only say it broadly, it doesn't mean I was really here for precisely 60 minutes! W, why is it that I, the winner of this contest, go wait for you around the premises. Is that mandatory? I don't want you to go expounding on strange thoughts and grinning on your own, got it?"
"You..."
Kamijou lets out that word with an instinctive feeling.
He stares squarely at the flustering middle-school girl's face,
"...So, you did enjoy looking at my miserable face during the penalty game. Though I've thought about it well in advance, as a matter of fact, you're one sweet wily --"
Before he could finish speaking, a lightning bolt flies out from Mikoto's bangs.
Kamijou uses his promptly raised right hand to repel the attack. *Zubachi---* an intense explosion is only heard, its potential probably reaching hundreds of millions of volts.
In his right hand is the power of the so-called Imagine Breaker, with a capability of negating sorcery, ESP, or any other kind of strange power.
But even then, scary ones are scary.
Kamijou, while trembling, has a single word.
"...Bull's eye?"
Another lightning bolt flies out.
*Dobam!!* with that loud noise, the couples gathered at the concert hall front plaza shout, "Waah!!" and then escape. Even then, Kamijou, having barely blocked the attacked, is a bit teary-eyed. "What!? Misaka-san, just what kind of word would you like to hear!!"
"Enough already, let's go!" Mikoto has the sides of her lips twitching, merely quickly inclining her neck horizontally, "...just like those people, at the time of defeat, you shouldn't have opposed, you bastard."
"This lady of Tokiwadai Middle is just strange or something!!"
Kamijou shouts, but somehow the really ill-humored Mikoto doesn't give any reaction. It looks like she's anxious up ahead, he scratches vigorously.
"Well, Misaka. What is specifically this penalty game? You said we're going quickly, but which place are we going to?"
Just when it's heard.
Oh? Mikoto's face becomes vacant for a while.
She looks at his direction.
Kamijou is amazed,
"...You, don't say you didn't think of anything."
"I, I'm thinking!! Let me see, well, that! I want you to return the man-hours spent to win at the Daihaseisai!!"
"In short, you didn't think of anything substantial, yeah."
"Listen to what someone is saying!!"
"Since you proposed it yourself, you're the one who'll do the planning. Or perhaps I should say I understood from the beginning that there's no reason I should work out the details when I accepted the penalty game plans. God, this is idiotic--"
"..."
Mikoto goes silent for a bit, and then looks again at Kamijou.
"Uh, Misaka --- ahhh!?"
Kamijou, having talked to the ever-silent girl, now instinctively backs away.
The reason is simple.
The young lady has her eyes set.
Kamijou has a very bad premonition.
"You, in this penalty game, will listen to anything I say, right?"
"Well, that! Even if you say anything, there is something like scope in what one can do, you know!!"
"You * will * listen * right?"
"--------,"
"Then come with me."
"To where!?"
Kamijou shouts, but Mikoto with a *gashi!!* grabs his hand and doesn't let go. As it is, she's dragging him far away from the concert hall plaza.
She then says,
"I said shut up and come with me! That's the first penalty game!!"
"The first!? There's more than one penalty game!?"
Side by side, Kamijou Touma's face, which for some reason is getting pale, is the angry reddening face of Misaka Mikoto.
They're currently walking down the streets secretly holding each other's hand, but the couple was really not aware whether it's good or bad luck.
[edit] Part 3
What Accelerator is looking up at is an apartment block built for faculty.
Since Academy City's residences are basically only student dormitories, this sort of facility, whether it's called a mansion or an apartment, has not much relation to the students.
Looking only at its outside appearance, it has no big difference with either student dorms or mansions, but there are small differences when it comes to services; accumulating them is what makes their individuality. They can say one thing or another, but student dorms are "child control" buildings. Hostels under the influence of a just cause called security was characterized by stuff like surveillance cams installed without restraint; this mansion had consideration of some degree.
"What floor?"
As Accelerator asks, Yomikawa Aiho, their guide thus far, answers as she chuckles.
"13th floor. On brownouts, using the stairs is a pain, you know--"
Oooooh--, it's Last Order who's saying it as she looks up at the tall building. She probably tried to look at the 13th floor in question, but midway she looked directly at the sun and shook her head in dizziness.
Supporting those little shoulders from the rear is Yoshikawa Kikyou.
"Well, compared to the 1st or 2nd floors, the chances for an attack are low, no doubt."
"...However, in the case where the building is blown away, the upper floors would suffer massive damage."
In Accelerator's time as a dormer, of course they wouldn't go that far- just that it doesn't mean it's guaranteed, especially from here on.
Yomikawa must have used auto-locks on the doorways; as she brings out a laminated card, she says,
"Well, then. We're a bit late, so we'll have to eat lunch. Let's head quickly for the room, 'kay?"
The mansion's doorway at first glance looks like transparent glass on an automatic door; closer examination reveals it's bomb-proofed. Even the card-slotted lock mechanism basically looks like it takes data like bio-electric signals and fingerprint patterns from the fingers holding the card.
This might be a so-called high-class mansion, thought Accelerator as he looks at Yomikawa with a suspicious eye. "Aren't government employees heading toward wage cuts?"
"I may have a really low salary, but I can manage. Since this is also a [facility] that served a double purpose for practical tests in the construction field, some of the rent is paid for by the universities. In exchange, though, things like the security system can suddenly be changed."
"And besides," Yomikawa adds, "Anti-Skills are volunteers, so we're not paid for it, but we are sometimes given good service here and there, like getting the meat at the supermarket inexpensively, you know."
"...So the cheap rent and special sale days are the same service."
With these and those, Accelerator, Last Order, Yomikawa, and Yoshikawa enter the mansion. By the way, Komoe-sensei was not with them now, as she had some other things to do.
Perhaps this, too, is one of their trial models, as they get on the low-vibration elevator and finally arrive at the 13th floor with nary a floating feeling. The door right after the elevator was Yomikawa's room.
"Come in --"
Says Yomikawa as she opens the door to the entranceway; waiting for them inside was a 4LDK. (!) No matter what one thinks, this room's meant for a family, and yet it was a room being continually paid for with a lifetime's worth of loans. Even though much of the rent is shouldered by the university for the experiment cooperation, can a government worker's low salary really manage it?
The living room, with its sparklingly polished flooring, was neatly arranged, in contrast to the stereotypes of so-called solitary life. Alcohol in cans and bottles decorated the shelves, and newspapers and magazines were stowed in their exclusive racks; TV, AC, component, and VCR remote controls were lined up on the table. The sofa cushions were separately, carefully arranged. Last Order widens her eyes.
"'Awesome, awesome, there's almost no dust,' Misaka, Misaka praises as she dives on top of the sofa."
In contrast to the cheerful voice of Last Order sinking in the soft sofa, Yoshikawa exhales in amazement,
"...You, you were made to write a report at your workplace again, right?"
Yomikawa's jersey figure, with a start, shakes greatly.
"A, ahahaha. Of what sort?"
"'What do you mean?' says Misaka as Misaka inclines her head while rolling."
"Since the old days, she's one of the people that begins cleaning up the room whenever she has a problem. Moreover, since she, without even thinking of the consequences, recklessly cleans up, what happens next is that the key to the room she left somewhere would be lost; we should be careful in advance."
"Are those words for your patron who would be searching with you for your next job?"
While Yomikawa and Yoshikawa rarely talk to each other, they talk like brats when they do, thought Accelerator. That possibly came from their past relationships. If Yoshikawa plays the helpful committee chairman, Yomikawa probably plays the always-late problem child.
Yoshikawa then looks towards the adjoining kitchen,
"Speaking of habits that won't die, it looks like it's the same as ever for your kitchen habits."
"Hey, hee-y! I admit to my compulsive cleaning, but I take offense at you pointing it out there. Kikyou, even you wolfed down the cooking I served."
"*If only you know the recipe*, sure."
"..." Accelerator and Last Order are looking at each other. Since Yomikawa said, "My skills are improving everyday, so go ahead and see for yourself--!" as she led Yoshikawa into the kitchen, the two of them follow behind them.
In accordance with "experiment cooperation", Yomikawa's kitchen had various cookware lined up. With stuff like electric ranges that utilize steam and AI-equipped high-frequency fully-automatic dishwashing machines, it was somehow a gathering of only the fully mechanical.
But Yomikawa probably didn't use this stuff much.
Conspicuously standing out amongst the overwhelmingly unused cookware that were being declared "abandoned", as it were, are 4 or 5 hastily placed electric rice cookers. Looking at the spots where steam whistles out, it looks like that's all they do.
Accelerator, with a bored face,
"...One man, one machine. You've got to be kidding, rice nut."
"No, no, it's not what you think!" Yomikawa points at the rice cookers one at a time, "Rice cookers can cook, boil, steam, bake, anything, so this one is for baking bread, that one is for boiling stew, that over there is for steaming white-meat fish..."
"......"
For some reason, what Yoshikawa wanted to say becomes clear.
Yoshikawa, already aware of the status, is sighing at the sight of the usual scenery,
"Lazy one."
"I want you to quit those weird, animal-like, brief reviews. These items aren't that bad. This, even if I prepare in advance, cooks on its own with a single button, and this excellent item doesn't use an open flame, so you can go have a siesta with totally no problems at all."
"You, when you had white flour before, no matter the leftovers, you said you could make okonomiyaki and got a large hot place, and you even talked in your sleep that even when you only had a pressure cooker, you could create a lifetime's worth of menus that would make the rest unnecessary... Whatever you do, you always go over the top, just like an antimatter reaction when a pair is split."
"The taste, nutrition, and fullness are exactly obtained, so there's no problem, you know. Gathering stuff like cylindrical saucepans and frying pans are a pain. I want an all-purpose item that can do anything."
"Haah. You better remember that once you enjoy making things the hard way,"
Said Yoshikawa as she persuades, but the one speaking thus has genetics as her specialty; if one thought about the fact that she created over 20,000 human clones, it's not much of a funny comment.
[edit] Part 4
Mikoto stores the violin in a cloakroom before dragging Kamijou through the underground shopping center.
This was the place where on September 1st, an English mage named Sherry Cromwell and her golem Ellis caused extensive damage; now any signs of the damage were nowhere to be found. The destroyed floors and pillars were repaired, and even the cafe windows were replaced with new ones. Unless one gets close to a panel and looks carefully, he probably can't spot the differences.
Such an amount of construction work being performed at such an accelerated pace must have been a result of the Daihaseisai's influence, because almost half of the opening objectives in the propaganda were attempted to create a better image for Academy City, so destroying the streets was out of the question (though one would say it eventually did happen that day). (!)
The so-called underground was not dark; LED light bulbs that comprised fluorescent lamps or luminescent diodes bound together lighted up like broad daylight, making polished floors and walls sparkle. The cafes and fashion boutiques facing the street use glass liberally, no less than the entire area practically giving out a liberating feeling.
Kamijou is looking around at his surroundings,
"Ooh-. Even the air conditioning is gradually weakening-"
"In two weeks, it'll switch to heating," says Mikoto as she trudges in front, "There, this way!"
She points at a single store with her thin finger.
Here is where the characteristic of underground places is best exploited. There are too many places like game arcades, karaoke boxes, live houses, etc. where too much noise is generated; because of this, Kamijou thinks she was requesting something outrageous like "Clear this hard-ass game in one round or prostrate yourself before me!" or things of that nature... but Kamijou's prediction was way off the mark. (!)
She was pointing at a mobile phone service shop.
It's only half the size of a convenience store. Across the glass windows are a counter and a chair lined up horizontally, and behind them are only very light catalogs stacked in magazine racks. The ads in the oblong banners placed in front of the entrance are especially those for major brands and Academy City originals.
Academy City, when its technology is compared with the outside world, is leading by 20 to 30 years. Outside and inside, even having both types of equipment has its pluses and minuses, though since one can't know which service will come back up first in an emergency, it seems there are students who agonize for more than a week over which one to choose.
As Mikoto turns towards the service shop,
"Hey, you know anything about the 'handy antenna service'?"
"Hm? Ah, that. That service where each mobile phone becomes a backup cell site, to the point that even when you're not near a real cell site, you can still make calls."
In short, the entire mobile phone-carrying populace in town becomes antenna relays. For example, though Kamijou is not within a cell site, if he connects through antenna relays of person 1, person 2, person 3, and so on and so forth until finally reaching person X who was nearest to an established cell site, he can make calls as-is. Since a mesh-like route of multiple connecting users is constructed, it appears that even disconnection is not quick and simple. This was probably originally developed to preserve the wireless range, because if the ground cell sites are annihilated during earthquakes, only a few blimps with antennas can be deployed. Consequently, there seems to be occasions where the sound quality isn't given much thought.
On the plus side, since the universities are pouring money into it as a test run, word is out that the service's charges are ridiculously low.
"You know, I've thought about signing up for it."
"I see. But on the minus side, everyone who uses it must keep their mobile phones on while carrying them; otherwise, the relay antenna effect won't work. Because of this, the battery would discharge at a ridiculous rate. Word was that there's no sense in it because there were only a few participants in this service beforehand."
"So, for that service to spread out, we should be joining in. If we go into a pair contract, not only the 'handy antenna' but also other phone charges will go down considerably, you know."
"Pair contract... ah, that one. Surely, that's between two people already registered; stuff like call charges and packet prices are waived for that one."
"Yeah, yeah. Furthermore, if we accept the 'handy antenna service' and the pair contract as a set, we would get a Lovely Mitten Geko-ta strap. A frog mascot."
"...Hey."
"Just get it. So, let's make a contract together."
"Does this mean the strap is your goal!? If this means changing phones, then I'm totally out of it! I intend to use my dilapidated phone for the next half year!!"
And Kamijou points at the student bag a blazer-wearing Mikoto was carrying. As he glares at the green frog mascot hanging there,
"Look, if it's ordinary frogs, you're already carrying one!"
"Don't lump together Geko-ta and this tadpole!!" gyaa--!! Mikoto shouts, "Geko-ta is the old man living next to this tadpole, and since he's weak to vehicles and goes geko-geko, he's been called Geko-ta since! Are you an old fart since you can't even tell such a simple difference?"
"...Is he really lovely, that old man Geko-ta character?"
Kamijou grumbles dishearteningly, but Mikoto, as far as frogs are concerned, is only looking at him with eyes meant for ignoring the elderly. Somehow, she's a bit disillusioned.
"Hmm. You don't have to worry about replacing your phone. The 'handy antenna' originally doesn't involve exchange of equipment; word is it's just an insertion of an expansion chip and it's good to go, and with the mobile provider giving full support even with the pair contract, I don't think a change of equipment is important- though we shouldn't care whether your phone is especially tampered with."
"So? This means it's okay for my number and address to be written into a document."
"That would be the case," Mikoto says as she squeezes the tiny frog attached to her bag with her fingers, "We go to the store together, fill out lots of documents, and wait for quite a while-- in those cases, assistance from an obstinate person would be difficult, you know. Well, it probably wouldn't take half a day; we'll just have to be patient."
Hmm-, as Kamijou stared at the banners he thinks of something for a bit.
Since it should be a man-woman pair, what should it be called, he thought.
"? What's the matter?"
"Well, I'm fine with going along with the registration. It's this pair contract, you know... isn't this like a normal exchange between lovers in the first place? It says that it's limited to a man and woman pair."
"... ...!?"
*snap* !! Mikoto's shoulders shake greatly.
As she squeezes hard on the frog mascot attached to her bag,
"N, nnnoooo, idiot, you're way off, just what were you blurting out! Just because it's limited to a man and a woman doesn't mean it has to be a pair of lovers; for example, married couples shouldn't have problems with that!!"
"Excuse me. That's way beyond lovers, Misaka-san." (!)
He was sure she settled down, but a lightning bolt immediately flies out. Kamijou, in panic, flicks away Mikoto's attack that came from her bang with his right hand.
"You, just what do you want?!!"
"I, it's quite obvious to you! Hora, enough already; let's finish this quickly!!"
"Ehh, you sure you're going for it!?"
"Listen up: this is a penalty game, so quit complaining and come with me!!"
Mikoto grabs Kamijou's arm and enters the store, dragging him along.
Compared to the underground shopping passage, the air conditioning's a bit more subdued, Kamijou thinks with an uncertain expression. Since stuff like ventilation routes were carefully calculated, it was a perfect condition where sweat was drawn back; there was even no chilly feeling on the skin.
The shop clerk, a young lady sitting in front of the counter, fades her smile a bit towards the figures of Kamijou being pulled along and Mikoto pulling along; even then, she doesn't forget the support manual. After words are exchanged on stuff like "I want to register with this idiot, I wonder what remains for me to do to get the Geko-ta strap", the shop clerk says something as she gathers a myriad of documents on top of the counter.
"Signatures on these documents and a photograph are required. Should I wait?"
Hm? Mikoto, with her eyes round, further inquires.
"Are shots from a ID photo booth all right? Also, are there specifications on stuff like size and count?"
"No, no. You don't have to do something difficult like that," the shop clerk chuckles, "For this pair contract, only proof that the applicants are pairs are required, so it's alright even if you have a two-shot photo of yourselves from a mobile phone camera. We've even prepared a picture frame-formed battery charger for yours- free if you bring one in now. The four companies have common standards, so you can use any number combination without worry."
Bu--!? Mikoto almost spurts.
"... ...T, two-shot?"
"Oh, dear. You're not very much into that? Well, then, you should certainly take that chance. Since handing in a photo 20 min before registration completion is fine, it's advisable to use your waiting time to take a picture."
All told, after rushing through a bunch of documents, Kamijou and Mikoto temporarily go out of the service shop to deal with the problem of taking a photograph.
Kamijou took out his mobile phone, still quite working after being damaged in a battle with a mage and falling into the Adriatic.
"Searching for an ID photo booth is a bother; let's finish this with a mobile phone camera already. Misaka, don't you have any other mobile phone cameras?"
"Eh? Yeah, and, well, my phone's at the counter for custody."
Mikoto was somewhat absent-minded, but Kamijou didn't mind. As he looks at the display, he pushes some buttons to switch to camera mode, and, stretching his arm as much as he could, he places some distance between himself and the phone.
As he peers at the display,
"Well, I'm taking one -- ..."
"Wh, what!?"
Kamijou makes an unpleasant expression at Mikoto letting out a flustered voice.
Before she realizes it, Mikoto somewhat backs off. Will it take a shot even if it quickly turns to panoramic mode? Even though she thinks, But it's not a big deal, she felt prone to saying it out loud. (!)
Kamijou lowers his shoulders at Mikoto looking ready to run,
"...Let me confirm this first: you're the one who suggested this, right!?"
"I, I know that!!"
As a matter of fact, Mikoto's face was quickly reddening and both her hands holding on to her schoolbag were moving restlessly; it appears it didn't make much of a favorable impression to Kamijou.
The hesitation on whether to come near or stay back from Kamijou soon became a feeling of desperation,
"~~ !! Wait up, Geko-ta!!"
She quickly approaches Kamijou as if to bump into his shoulders. Shoulder to shoulder, Mikoto slightly leans her head onto Kamijou's shoulders. Within the mobile phone's display, an exact shot of two faces was in place.
At the same time, Kamijou had started to think if they really had to go that near, considering where he is. As he stiffens for a bit at the scent of Mikoto's hair,
"Ch, cheese-"
"Okay-, ready when you are!!"
*SNAP*, along with an electronic sound, a shutter clicks.
Kamijou draws back the mobile phone, now displayed with the acquired photo.
......
"Your face was stiff, Misaka."
"And why are you averting your eyes as if you're avoiding me?!"
Kamijou and Mikoto exchange looks,
"I don't think this is a pair shot."
"W, we're taking the shot one more time!"
*SNAP*, the electronic sound clicks again.
Kamijou and Mikoto peer into the display and,
"So, why would you stiffen up, Misaka!!"
"And what's your reason for keeping your center away from me!?"
Hm-!! Kamijou and Mikoto glare at each other, their eyebrows almost colliding together; as it is, it would keep going. At worst, if the situation "I'm so sorry. You must have a photograph or the registration has to be canceled-" happens, all their efforts so far would go to waste. Even Kamijou and Mikoto are worrying that the clerk might be bothered at them. (!)
And so, Kamijou is getting a bit desperate,
"At any rate, it's okay if we take a two-shot of a pair acting out as if they're lovers! Misaka, get over here! Just like this --!!"
"Eh, what? Kyaa!!"
Gashii--!! Mikoto's face suddenly turns bright red as an arm wraps around her shoulders.
A highly desperate Kamijou, unmindful of her reaction,
"Smile, Misaka! Taking any more pictures again and again is a pain! This means anything goes to complete the documents! Being practical is no problem for this kind of situation!!"
"Eh? W, well, you're right. Ahaha! We're not particularly taking an authentic picture. That's right; we're just quickly taking a picture! Okay, go for it--!!"
No doubt about it: though she's mindful of those words, Mikoto turning from desperation to being red-faced was an unpleasant and forcible change of feelings. In answer to Kamijou wrapping his arm around her shoulders, she wraps her own arm around Kamijou's back and closes the distance. More like a couple... a passerby looking at Mikoto and the other person would say "ooh" and look on with a bit of envy, but this is something not worth showing to girls who would freak out.
Kamijou holds out the mobile phone in his hand and,
"Say 'cheese'--!"
"Yes!!"
*SNAP*, before that clear electronic sound goes off,
The back of Kamijou Touma's head takes a drop kick from Shirai Kuroko, who had quickly teleported in.
*Goki!!*, along with that roar, the mobile phone flies off Kamijou's hand, his body flies forward, and the shutter of the mobile phone flying in mid-air snaps.
What comes out in the display of the mobile phone tumbling on the ground should have been a two-shot; instead, it is a high-speed blur of Kamijou's head, a surprised Mikoto, and Shirai's panties in an extreme three-shot.
Kamijou tumbles along, and as he lies prostrate on the floor,
"J, just what the hell!?"
"J, just what are you doing when I turned my eyes away from you for a moment...?"
Landing from her drop kick, the level-voiced twin-tailed Shirai Kuroko takes up position right beside Mikoto. This is my place, her feelings silently express.
"Even when I'm through with half a day's worth of classwork I took up as Judgment for some errands from Uiharu, just when I was finally finished and went straight for Onee-sama, Uiharu's violin attack was waiting for me, and even though I say afterward that even with more work piled up on me I would do my best and make it here... Good grief, I knew that underestimating the newcomer slave is a mistake. Even so, Onee-sama has been giving the generous treatment here and there for some time..."
"Idiot, you're the one who has the wrong idea, Kuroko!" Mikoto waves her hands, "Even I never wanted to do this! I asked for a pair contract because I only wanted the Geko-ta strap, so we're only taking the picture required for it!!"
Rather than tell that excuse to Shirai, she should have done the same to him; either way, Kamijou was at the loser's end of a kick or an order.
Well, that's expected for a penalty game.
Shirai, beside herself, replies to Mikoto's words in an unspeakably shocked manner,
"S, so, if that's the case, rather than lowering yourself to a man like him, if you could pair up with me, then it wouldn't be a problem! Come, let's take the photo, let's do this quick and create right here a lifetime memory--!!"
Mikoto stiffens for a bit at Shirai, who was seething a moment before but now in high spirits; however, Kamijou, lying face forward on the floor, suddenly raises his head and says,
"Eh? If that's so, then is it okay if I go home already?"
"Not without the pair contract you won't!!"
For that plain question, Mikoto strikes him with her lightning bolt with all her might.
[edit] Part 5
Accelerator slightly opens his eyes as he lied on top of the sofa.
He softly clicks.
"...I fell asleep."
Looking at the watch, just for about 15 min.
Since the TV is left on, he was probably awakened by the noise coming from there. Recently, he's gotten this feeling that he gets into the habit of impulsively sleeping lightly and then easily waking up.
With no one in the wide living room, Accelerator swings his head horizontally for a bit.
You've let you guard down too much, you shitty idiot.
Running through his head was his own annoyed voice.
Accelerator was originally a person who set his own sleeping pace. An alarm clock placed by his ears may go off, little brats may shout, a bomb placed on top of his stomach may explode, and he'd still very much continue to sleep soundly.
Because his power is "vector manipulation", everything except the minimum necessities like oxygen and gravity are reflected back.
With this ability, even if Accelerator took a direct hit from a nuke, he would come out unharmed.
It's for this reason that Accelerator, with "extremely numerous enemies", has no hesitation in going to sleep mode, the so-called most defenseless mode.
But even that power- his power- was a story for the perfect past.
Accelerator touches the back of his neck.
There, he feels a black choker; inside it, an electrode was installed. It is a device that links with the brains of the weak 10,000 Sisters scattered about and grants him massively parallel processing functions.
Accelerator's brain was damaged on August 31st.
With the operation support device, he, as an ESPer, can live a normal life like others. Normal mode -- like walking, conversing, and counting numbers -- is guaranteed for about 48 hours. But in ESPer mode -- where vector manipulation functions are utilized to their fullest -- since handling massive calculations in an instant is necessary, the battery totally discharges after 15 minutes; it's quite considerably a severe limiting item.
In short, his safety time now is essentially only 15 minutes.
When the 15 minutes are up, until it recharges to 48 hours, he's a flat-out weakling that can't even walk.
With this condition, he can no longer have the luxury of indulging in inactivity within his ability- his shelter.
"..."
Accelerator turns a suspicious eye towards the flat-panel TV.
In the cable channel (boasting a ridiculously high pay-per-view fee), the first talk show in the afternoon is being streamed. Looking at the VCR placed below the TV in recording mode, Yomikawa the landlord must be a fan of today's guest performer.
"And so, how about Hitotsui Hajime also participating in this film as the leading role this time? I think a Japanese playing the lead role for an overseas-oriented work is considerably rare in itself, so for that aspect, do you have any special mental preparations?" (?)
The host and guest are facing each other, a small table interposed between them.
As Accelerator looks at the display,
**he switches the horizontally oriented switch attached at the choker-shaped electrode off.**
**"No way. The most special designations for the plot's breadth are appropriately being followed for a Japanese. Don't they carry EVEN, and also, are other people very much aware that you're Japanese?"** (?)
**The words turn out sloppy.**
In truth, the guest is saying, "That's so. The best unique instruction from the director was 'behave like a Japanese'. Nowadays, do we even understand how to act like a Japanese?" but Accelerator's brain cannot process the context of the conversation entering his ears. (?)
His own body's balance aimlessly collapses.
Without even feeling that he's going down, his body sinks into the sofa. Even as he can see the numerical digits in the VCR, he cannot determine what are they indicating. The gears in his head pop up. He totally feels like looking at a board examination question for about 100 hours straight without rest.
Tch...
Accelerator tries to reach the back of his neck with his hand.
His body randomly shakes unsteadily; even flicking a tiny switch takes several seconds. After solidly failing so many times, the flat of his thumb finally touches the switch's bump.
*kachin* goes the tiny sound.
Switching to normal mode, Accelerator finally returns to the normal world.
"Though I'm using the native American English language itself out of necessity, I've been pointed out as 'he's Japanese' by other factors like acting, manners, and behavior; this time, I've been thinking about them again, I tell you." (!)
In his field of vision as he lay down sideways, the performer continues with his blatant bragging.
Once called Academy City's strongest ESPer, he's now in a pathetic state.
Aside from starting to use Last Order for borrowing the Sisters' auxiliary operations in order to perform ESPer actions, he can't do normal conversation, walk, or even count numbers. Since those proxy operations require the neck choker-like electrode, the battery can only last for 48 hours at most.
After all, batteries run out of power, so he can no longer utilize it to go underground or unleash EMP jamming.
That's how far normal mode goes.
If it goes to ESPer mode, since processing vast amounts of data is important, the time limit immediately goes down to 15 min. First and foremost a medical device, it's simply not created for use in an ESPer-level battle environment. Even the battery's a special creation of Doctor Frog-face, so replacement is impossible; none of the batteries sold on the market can substitute it. Preparing large quantities of battery sets and then exchanging them at every time limit... even that method is impossible.
In short, it's an authentic 15-minute time limit.
Nevertheless, if he goes to this mode, he doesn't have to prop himself onto a walking stick.
Even memorizing these shitty rules one by one is a pain. Good grief; I will not be a Cinderella, and this time limit isn't even funny!
"..."
Might as well take a shower, thought Accelerator as he stands up from the sofa.
He wants to change his mood.
The always-defenseless Last Order is to be expected; Accelerator thinks both Yomikawa and Yoshikawa are too naive. Every one of them relies too much on Academy City's strongest ESPer. Who said I will surely live up to their expectations? Both Yomikawa and Yoshikawa have no idea of that horror. Accelerator is no stranger to destroying something, but he has totally zero experience when it comes to protecting something. His original defensive attack, with its risk of engulfing the surroundings into a large disaster zone, is something to think about thoroughly.
Oh yeah, there's no one in this room. Are those idiots out shopping?
As Accelerator thinks halfheartedly, he opens the door to the dressing room.
There they are.
A nude Last Order using a bath towel to wipe her brunette hair into a mess,
and bare Yomikawa and Yoshikawa sloppily wiping themselves.
*snap!!* Last Order is the first one to react.
"'Wh, why did you enter suddenly without notice --!' says Misaka as Misaka tries to get her towel but can't reach it!!"
Ignoring a noisy Last Order, Accelerator turns his attention to blank-faced Yomikawa and Yoshikawa.
"...and why you didn't lock yourselves in?"
"Ah - my bad, my bad. I've been living alone until now, so I totally forgot about that feature. Sowee, sowee--"
"Aiho. Enough of that and wrap yourself up first."
Yoshikawa, already wrapped in a towel herself, sighs as she hands over a towel; Yomikawa tiredly wraps herself with it. For it to be hidden, it was hidden, but as the thighs were not exposed like those of mini-skirts, the moisture that wasn't wiped off randomly shows up in her body.
...just what the heck is going on with this?
This, this is now Accelerator's living pattern- rather, he should be laughing hard should he encounter women changing clothes and doing whatever else every time he opens a door.
Last Order, having noticed that her towel could not cover herself, secretly and hastily hides herself behind Yoshikawa and says with teary eyes,
"'...Why didn't either of you make an uproar and merely annoyingly hand me a towel?' says Misaka as Misaka asks naively."
Oh? Yomikawa turns a dubious eye towards Last Order and says,
"You like to hear why...? That boy there is still a child, and we're grown-ups, I tell you."
"'You totally ignoring him, maybe that's obasan-like rather than adult-like,' says Misaka as Misa- owowowowowowow!! 'Both of you, don't grind my head!' says Misaka as Misaka is making a firm protest!!"
As Yoshikawa strikes down Last Order's head from above,
"Not 'obasan', 'otona', got it?"
"'So, that way, the time when one treats children seriously is when one is an adult,' says Misaka as- oooooooooouuuch!! 'You there, help me and please hand over the towel!' says Misaka as Misaka implores for protection with an upward glance!!"
The shitty little brat screams something; Accelerator ignores her, closes the door to the dressing room,
And lets out a sigh.
"...So, maybe it's time to be alert for a bit..." (?)
[edit] Part 6
"'That's a fact,' says Misaka as Misaka reports retroactively."
Last Order says that as she leaves Yomikawa's mansion. She's putting on a man's long polo shirt over a sky-blue camisole.
That little girl was talking to a girl that looks like a grown-up Last Order- serial number 10032, Misaka-imouto.
Misaka was wearing Tokiwadai Middle's winter clothing: a beige blazer and a navy-blue checkered, pleated skirt. Them being the same form with the original Misaka Mikoto was a question of convenience from the "Experiment", but even after it was over, it's only the customs that remain.
As a point of difference with the original, Misaka-imouto has a large pair of electron goggles affixed to her forehead. It looks like NVG, but it's a device for visualizing the invisible electromagnetic lines of force.
Misaka-imouto was fixedly staring at Last Order with her emotionless eyes.
"'If that report is true, since it was already being delivered to all Misakas through the network, isn't it especially important to restate it orally?' says Misaka as she performs confirmation work on the question as a matter of course."
"'Sometimes it's important to pick up the five senses used in communication and correct the clock readout errors!' says Misaka as Misaka is making a plausible reason!"
"'I'll agree to what the superior- you- is saying,' says Misaka as she ignores the superior's complaints with an amazed expression. 'So, even Misaka's rehabilitation might be useful, after all,' so says Misaka as she searches for the reasons behind her coercion to consent."
She herself says she was amazed, but her expression basically remains still. Even she was unaffected by Last Order noisily pacing about and waving both her hands and feet.
Misaka-imouto is taking her sweet time as she looks up at the mansion in front of her,
"'But then, standing dumbfounded by the auto-lock door as it shuts in your face if you stagger about in its zone is a funny situation,' says Misaka as she states the situation up to now. 'Had Misaka not unexpectedly walked by, you would have been totally alone by now,' says Misaka as she is secretly snickering while holding in doubt the personal specifications of this superior."
"'Misaka is not to blame, it's that single-minded auto-lock door!' says Misaka as Misaka is indignant. 'It's an electronic lock yet Misaka's power is ineffective, and it giving off a peeping sound is depressing!' says Misaka as Misaka lets off steam by noisily waving both her hands!!"
"'Remaining cool-headed even if you inherit the Electromaster's power, isn't that something that shouldn't be spoken well of?' says Misaka as she makes her objective evaluation."
Uuuhhh-, Last Order groans like a dog holding onto something.
But then, this little superior's inexperience with the world means that her fickle interests probably can change relatively easily.
"'By the way, I've noticed that one before,' says Misaka as Misaka is pointing at your forehead."
"'? Misaka's forehead is of normal size, so Misaka is not a character with an oversized forehead,' says Misaka as she touches her own forehead in confirmation."
"'That's not it; it's those goggles,' says Misaka as Misaka points at it again."
Last Order is noticing Misaka-imouto's equipped electronic goggles.
The little girl says with a dubious look,
"'You know, even though other Misakas carry that, only Misaka didn't carry those goggles,' says Misaka as Misaka looks on enviously."
Oh? thought Misaka-imouto as she touched again with her finger the goggles that were attached to her forehead, looking at Last Order who was looking at her own forehead, and then confirming that Last Order has no goggles attached to her own forehead, "'That Misaka is that Misaka as this Misaka is this Misaka,' says Misaka as she is implicitly informing her to give it up."
"'Misaka can't accept that 'No two houses are the same' kind of words,' says Misaka as Misaka immediately complains! 'It's generally because if that reasoning holds, only Misaka becomes the kid of the other house,' says Misaka as Misaka furthermore raises a serious question!!"
Amidst a barrage of "Misaka!", Last Order pouts on and catches Misaka-imouto's skirt, vehemently turning it over while instigating,
"'Misaka-wants-that-too, Misaka-wants-that-too-!' says Misaka as Misaka is negotiating, using the outward appearance of a spoiled brat to its utmost!!"
"'Misaka thought Misaka would go with a sweet gesture, but that would be counterproductive since even our kind would see through it and be offended,' says Misaka as she kindly explains."
After Last Order groans at her frozen expression,
"'Hey, 10032, bow down for a bit,' says Misaka as Misaka asks a favor."
"?"
Though Misaka-imouto has doubts, she nevertheless follows her superior's instructions but,
"'Hahaha, my chance-!' says Misaka as Misaka succeeds in her seizure tactics!!"
And she vigorously grabs the goggles away from the head where it hung.
Before Misaka-imouto could say anything, Last Order is all smiles as she turns the other way around and,
"'Perhaps Misaka might have to recheck the entire routine of such a basic sleight of hand,' says Misaka as Misaka tells her parting words! 'Yaaay, if Misaka's frustrated, come and get it-' says Misaka as Misaka savors the victory while making a mad dash!!"
*Dodadadada-!!*
And with an unlikely powerful sprint, she disappears somewhere.
"..."
Misaka-imouto, overcome by surprise for a bit, looks towards the direction where Last Order disappeared to.
"'It can't be helped if it's the superior's direct order,' says Misaka as she confirms the situation while very unwillingly takes out a sub-machine gun and rubber bullets from her school bag."
*Ka-chak* the unnerving metallic sound echoes across the peaceful town.
"'Even if it is training, even if the opponent's a superior individual seriously challenging an inferior individual like Misaka, this is not childish behavior,' says Misaka as she states her point of view as expected. 'This is by no means Misaka getting angry- only a reasonable judgment grounded on logic,' says Misaka as she compliments herself for her calm thinking ability as she sprints at full power with a real gun in one hand."
Misaka-imouto commences her pursuit; she may look expressionless, but if one looks closely, one can see that her eyes were twitching and trembling.
Meanwhile, Last Order, having detected too accurately Misaka-imouto's change of mind, runs around the back alleys while unleashing provoking words at the Sisters' brainwaves and weak electromagnetic waves that comprise the Misaka Network.
"'Hahaha! There's no way a mere Misaka can win against this Misaka-' says Misaka as Misaka laughs soundly at victory against mere plebians."
"'The time for revolution has come,' says Misaka No. 10032 as she declares it here."
[edit] Between the lines 2
There's a Necessarius women's dorm in London's Lambeth district.
Speaking of appearances, it was no different from a street-facing stone-built apartment. Unlike those made of wood, this stone structure was difficult to date by its appearance, and it's probably hard to imagine what historical period this building existed in; to that extent, it was a structure completely polished and carefully managed. It was not fortified like the Archbishop's Lambeth Palace; on the other hand, it was constucted as a building that "functions as a spare even if destroyed"- though up to now, there are no records of its total destruction. It seems unusual for it to receive attacks even from hostile magic guilds out for its origins; in fact, the dangerous elements aiming for here were buried before they could carry out their plans- Necessarius's way of implicitly showing its military achievement. In short, it's an easy-to-find bait.
It's early afternoon in Japan; this means that a late night curtain is over London.
This district, away from the main streets even though it's in the capital, is yet to be enveloped within the cradle of the night, but a light from a lone window served as a symbol for staying up late.
It is the dressing room.
It has sufficient space because it faces a large bathhouse. In a corner, a huge empty cardboard box was placed there as a writing desk. Lined up on the floor were a service manual and a warranty certificate.
Those instructions were for a washing machine.
One made in Academy City.
In an antiquated dormitory, it is a very mismatched electric appliance.
"That Archbishop... why did she have to get such a complex and bothersome thing?"
Kanzaki Kaori is connecting the ground connections with a pained face.
She's a woman with waist-long black hair in a ponytail. Normally, her active clothes of choice are a short T-shirt narrowed down to show her navel and a pair of jeans cut off at the thighs, but tonight, she's in a simple yukata. As usual, her ridiculously long nodachi was standing just near the wall.
At least up to now, she used a washing machine that shook so hard, one didn't know when smoke would come out from it; it finally broke down some time ago. The Archbishop, in spite of herself, is probably one who would accept a subordinate's petition.
The replacement machine was received in the evening, and it was a cutting-edge, AI-equipped, fully automatic washing machine, but for Kanzaki and others, who were too disconnected with machines, it was a close encounter with a mystery from a super-civilization. As they twisted their necks, their eyes going through the manual doing this and doing that, it was getting late at night by the time they noticed it.
As Kanzaki was so immersed with this kind of work, a cardboard box that arrived this noon and sent by Tsuchimikado of Japan, its contents discovered to be maid clothes + α (an "angel halo" or "fallen angel wings" set), was somehow totally forgotten.
"Well, Laura-sama's words were 'With this *cutting-edge drum or something*, we can forget stuff like troublesome laundry work!'"
Ursula Aquinas says this with a smile. Just a few days ago, she was a sister affiliated to the Roman Catholic Church, her pitch-black habit completely covering her from head to foot. Her figure's the same as Kanzaki's, but compared to the latter's firm feeling, Ursula seems to have her roundness emphasized somewhere.
Other former members of the Roman Catholic Church are also here, like the impudent Anieze Sanctis, the disciplinarian Luccia, and Angelene, weak to sweets and slow to waking up.
These girls seem to have no intention of converting to Anglicanism, saying, "250 people at most, and we would have set up a new branch of the Roman Catholic Church in London." Had Lidvia Lorenzetti (!) (currently imprisoned at the London Tower) heard of this, something disastrous might happen, but when Laura Stuart saw the relatively peaceful situation, she somehow seemed to have settled the question by taking it under its jurisdiction as a small denomination, just like what she did to the Amakusa.
Aside from the five of them, a real Puritan named Sherry Cromwell is at the dressing room. A tan-skinned woman with totally disarrayed blond hair, she normally has a taste for Gothic Lolita fashion, but for now, she wore a light negligee. Nevertheless, she wore twice as much sleepwear, so only the outline of her body was transparent- a bit unfair. It's as if her body was hidden behind steam.
Sherry, in spite of being the head of the Royal Arts Academy, is using a chisel to shave a palm-sized marble piece, preparing the outlines of a chess piece. A small bowl was made for the fine dust that gathered around her shoulders. It may have practical uses for her golem she's using, Ellis.
Sherry says as she lifts her eyes from her chess piece she's making,
"If it were washing, then the river wouldn't be a problem!"
"Even I thought it wouldn't be a problem if we had a washboard, though as expected, doing it in the river would raise an environmental problem."
Kanzaki, finished with the connections, answers as she knocks on the side of the washing machine.
Sherry has her golem Ellis and Kanzaki has her 20-man-strong holy arms, so she doesn't care, but the faces of all the others stiffen for a bit.
"Damn it, we took our time with stuff like earthquake-proofing compensation and lightning-protection devices, but for now, giving it electrical power should do the trick." *Pi* goes Kanzaki as she presses the large button; next thing she knows, the waterproof-finished tiny LCD screen reflects back some infinite number or symbol.
Kanzaki, after staring at it expressionlessly for a short while,
"...Honestly, shouldn't we be doing handwashing?"
"N, no! We must hold on a little longer!!"
Among the members, the especially incompetent Angelene is objecting, almost in tears.
"For a little while, you say! That was a fully automatic washing machine! During the time this was being sent, I had to temporarily bring a heavy laundry load to a laundromat, and even both my arms were at the limit!! It's definitely impossible, even if you say I have to hand-wash them!!"
As far as Angelene's tiny hands are concerned, being in turn for laundry duty this time in that organization instantly becomes a death sentence.
Ursula sets her eyes on the instructions manual,
"Kanzaki-san, Kanzaki-san. But as far as we can read the instructions, it appears it will operate on its own after we press the wash button!"
"?"
"It is written that when we put some detergent in its little box in advance, the machine analyzes and automatically adjusts the water and detergent quantities according to the laundry load. Water input, rinse, drain, spin dry: looks like it can do all of these on its own."
"It really is one troublesome mechanism. It would have been better had we done the measuring ourselves and been given a simpler operation!"
So just press the button already, Anieze, Luccia, and Angelene think almost simultaneously, but as they are tentatively newcomers here, they just stay silent.
Ursula pounds on the brand-new washing machine.
"If it were such a convenient item, I would like to see it run!"
"...Ursula, it's already late at night. Is there an operating time period for this washing machine?"
Kanzaki says in shock, but Ursula still points at the instructions.
"It's written that it's designed to run silently, so you can operate it even at night!"
"Did you really understand what was written there, like 'phone' or 'decibel'? In the first place, before then, today's entire laundry has already been stored away to the storage cabinets."
This is the Necessarius common dormitory for female members. With even one stitch pattern of their vestments containing magical symbols, when those so-called [offensive-defensive vestments] are plopped onto the undressed clothes basket, the defensive properties of the clothes would come into conflict on their own. Concerning that there are incompatibilities between sects when it comes to art and doctrine, taking them into consideration is the norm when it comes to laundry.
Sherry, carving on her chess piece as always, says in an tired voice,
"If I remember right, the storage cabinets are guarded with three magical locks. Trying to solve this is already tiresome; what's more, unlocking the cabinet is something I don't want to do even more."
Yahooo! Because of this, Kanzaki's face brightens up, and so she straightens up.
"Now then, we can't use the washing machine since we don't have any laundry now. Tomorrow's coming up fast, so let's quickly put out the lights and retire for the night."
"Oh, we have laundry right here if that's the case!"
No sooner than said, Ursula starts to energetically and quickly take off the vestments she's wearing. Kanzaki, with a shocked face,
"Th, there's no need for you to deliberately add laundry! That kind of action is causing a bad influence even on you newcomers. You too, Anieze, don't follow Ursula's speech and actions with that 'I wonder if that was custom' kind of look!!"
"Now, now, Japanese yukatas are designed for easy removal. And the dyeing patterns in the obi are quite beautiful."
"You still didn't hear what someone's saying, please don't grab the obi on your own!!"
By the time Kanzaki tried to stop her, the indigo-dyed obi wrapped around her lower back was already untied, dropping with a thump on the floor. The front of the yukata open up as if all the buttons of a coat were unfastened.
Oh? Ursula's eyes go round.
"Is Kanzaki-san the type of person that does not put on any underwear?"
"It's like that when you're in a yukata!!"
Since she used both her hands, filled with mystical explosive strength, to hide her body, she, as expected, couldn't even seize Ursula's entire yukata.
Impatient, Ursula tosses Kanzaki's yukata obi, her own clothing ("Which reminds me, what about my nightgown..."), and the vestments of Anieze, Luccia, and Angelene (they were quarreling like "at any rate, if you can't sleep, then we're sleeping in our underwear.") in; closes the transparent lid; and presses the giant "Wash" button.
Just as advertised, water is silently pouring into the washing machine tub, and the contents inside the tub start to spin around without any vibration. Somehow, the washing machine tub is not in the traditional drum shape but probably a spherical shape; it was rotating 360 degrees in every direction. Looking at it for a bit, it seems like one amazing washing machine.
"Oooh, it really is silent!"
Ursula raises her voice like a child in front of a roller coaster. Even Anieze and Angelene are looking over her shoulder, observing the washing machine's operating condition. They treat it as a very old color TV; with everyone's underwear there, it's extremely eerie.
"...You robbed me of my obi so you could just see this...?"
Only Kanzaki was downhearted, hanging her head in shame, but at that time, Sherry suddenly says something to her.
"Hey, Far East girl."
"Right now I'm a runaway ninja, but what is it?"
"The manual. Did you read it thoroughly?"
"?" Kanzaki looks at Sherry's face again. The double-negligee-wearing tan-complexioned woman moves her chisel with an amazed look, and, with its edge aimed at the manual lying on the floor,
"It was written that 'For items that lose color, please separate them from the normal items as a separate load.' I wonder if your dyed obi would be alright?"
*Gyaaaah!!* As Kanzaki screams, she jumps onto the washing machine.
With a saintly feature more likely to drive rather than beat into the washing machine, she looks like she could hold down the four underwear-clad former Roman Catholic sisters, but Kanzaki Kaori uses her tremendous power to force her way between them and cling onto the control panel of the washing machine.
"S, stop! Where's the stop button!?"
Kanzaki, in her confusion, is looking at this or that, but she's originally weak against machines, and so she's only adding to the chaos, unable to find the button that should be nearby at all.
All the while, the laundry kept on turning round and round.
Ursula, as she gazed at the washing drum that filled the transparent cover on the other side, lets out an "Oh!" in wonder,
"Kanzaki-san's dirt on the obi is being removed very fast!!"
"That's merely only decolorization! Curse them, those vanguards of scientific civilization!!"
Kanzaki, finally unable to bear it and in spite of the washing machine still in operation, partly pried open the transparent cover forcibly.
But that was a state-of-the-art spherical-shaped 360-degree-rotating washing tub.
Without even a flash, Kanzaki Kaori is bathed with a large volume of water sped up by the centripetal force, becoming slogging wet and very transparent.
"W, wah. She really didn't put something on, did she...?"
After Angelene says that single careless word, she unusually breaks down into tears amongst the jeers.
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