Editing Toaru Majutsu no Index:Item6 Epilogue (section)

==Epilogue: Is It Solved?==

It was an overcast day, dimming the sun a bit.

However, it wasn’t enough for rain.

A certain apartment building in District 7 would have looked like any other if not for the giant military transport helicopter stopped on its flat roof.

The large craft with a coaxial rotor on the front and back was in fact an extremely high-end medical helicopter. Although it might be better to call it a mobile black market hospital.

Since it could provide surgery but not carry hospitalized patients, its hospital rooms were distributed among cheap hotels and weekly-rented apartments.

Kinuhata Saiai lay in a room on the seventh floor of this particular apartment.

She had been moved from the helicopter, which doubled as an operating room and an ICU, to the “general ward”, so her condition must have been improving.

“You lost some flesh, but none of your major organs or blood vessels were harmed. …If you did that on purpose, you have talent at faking serious injury. You would make a decent scammer.”

“In Academy City where dashcams are super common?”

“I never said anything about going after cars. These days, people will get insurance for their roller skates and scooters to protect themselves.”

Standing by her bed was a picture perfect sexy doctor.

That was probably a form of self-promotion.

She was apparently a black market doctor who Mugino Shizuri and the rest of Item relied on…so it was possible she had customized her own face and figure. After all, the miniskirt battle nurses guarding the place with full-auto shotguns were apparently drug soldiers pumped full of military pharmaceuticals.

“Once I remove the stitches three days from now, you’ll be good as new. On my pride as a doctor, I promise you it won’t leave a scar. I’m giving you a week’s worth of antibiotics, but every last human being alive starts feeling sick around when the drugs run out. Don’t let it worry you.”

“Is there super any reason to load me up with antibiotics?”

“The most basic and most troublesome part of medicine is disinfection and sterilization. Or are you one of those people who doesn’t trust anything a doctor tells you?”

“That depends on the type of doctor. Seems to me a black market doctor would want to threaten her patient with baseless lies to super make as much money as possible.”

“Probably so,” The sexy doctor smiled a little. “Any other changes?”

“My body feels warm.”

“Part of the remedy.”

Kinuhata wasn’t sure what that was supposed to mean.

But apparently there was a reason for it.

“Now, the lethal limit is generally calculated based on your weight, but it is also influenced by the rate of blood flow. Ultimately, what matters is keeping your blood pressure stable. That’s really what saved you. The shard that pierced your side caught the clothing around it and shoved it inside the wound, which meant you lost less blood than you otherwise would have.”

“Is that super so?”

“Do you feel dizzy or have a headache? Giving blood transfusions takes practice. I can’t believe a complete amateur would sloppily fill you with blood right there after only taking a look at the blood type label. And forcing so much blood in you during an emergency is especially bad. When the amount of blood increases too rapidly, your body can’t keep up and you come down with symptoms similar to hypertension. That will go away in a few days.”

The sexy doctor suddenly stopped talking there.

And after a pause, she made a suggestion.

“When you return to Item, you’ll wind up in more life-or-death battles, won’t you? I hate to save a life only to have it lost soon thereafter. Black market doctors aren’t exactly known for their ethics, so I could rewrite some documents to extend your stay here. You would of course have to pay to use the bed that long.”

Taking a break was a valid option.

And with a medical expert recommending it, maybe she should take her up on the offer.

“No, that won’t be necessary.”

But that was Kinuhata’s response from the bed.

With an expression she likely would never have shown to the rest of Item.

Kinuhata Saiai smiled like a child her age was meant to.

“I want to get back to them as soon as I can. If things there are going to be that dangerous, they’ll super need their shield!”



“Hello, hello! I’ve read through your report and…the ability to communicate unchecked data with the outside world? This one could have had truly deadly consequences, huh!? Norsitro Chatellenie was it? It’s a good thing she wasn’t the kind of Information Broker to sell tech indiscriminately. Oh, and the vulnerability mentioned in your report has already been patched, so trying to abuse the fact checking that way will be immediately detected and you will be assassinated for it. So be careful, okay!?”



The Voice on the Phone was cheerful even now.

Although she was an expert at controlling people remotely without revealing her true thoughts, so the smile on the other side of the connection may have actually been stiff.

Only three of the girls were in the District 5 tourist hotel.

The blood transfusion had saved Kinuhata’s life, but that didn’t mean she could be up and about right away. She was currently hospitalized with the usual black market doctor so she could recover.

“Phew.”

Frenda Seivelun wiped the sweat from her brow.

Cardboard boxes, packing tape, scissors, and such were strewn about.

She had wanted some old newspapers and it turned out a large hotel had her covered there. Which made sense since each room was given a newspaper each day.

If asked why they couldn’t let the delinquents of the support group handle this, they would say it was to preserve their privacy as girls…but the real reason was they couldn’t trust those low-level thugs to handle their dangerous possessions with sufficient care. Especially the personal possessions of the Academy City Bomber.

“Where are we headed next?”

“Ask Mugino.”

They had just caused a major incident.

They had no way of knowing how many of the Dark Rescue Squad and the rest of the Information Broker’s people were left. Given the scope of the profits, she had to have had a decent-sized group. Staying in one place too long would be dangerous, so Frenda and Takitsubo were packing. Quickly changing hideouts was best at times like this. …Ideally, any fools who attacked the recently abandoned hideout could be traced back to the rest to wipe them all out. That would probably happen this time too.

Mugino wasn’t here and no one questioned it.

In fact, it would have seemed unnatural and creepy if the arrogant #4 had been actively helping prepare for the move.

“In the end, this was a really close one. We completely lost control at the end there.”

“It comes down to what will resonate best with a villain like Mugino.”

Nevertheless, they had cleanly resolved everything.

…Or had they?

Since her own life and future hung in the balance, Frenda Seivelun couldn’t leave this up to assumption and speculation. She wanted solid facts.

Yes.

“I think Kinuhata at least…has escaped any danger.”

“Right.”

“Um. ''But in the end, what about us''?”

Mugino had personally forgiven Kinuhata Saiai after she cried and told the truth.

But some others had missed that chance.

Because they were ''too perfect'' a villain.

“In the end, Mugino might end up killing us.”

“Don’t worry.”

Frenda smiled in self-deprecation, but she hadn’t expected a response.

The quiet villain had given one.

As those girls took another step closer to death.

“''I know how to handle Mugino better than anyone.''”



Refusing to have anything to do with the packing, Mugino Shizuri was in the bedroom with only a single door separating her from the other two.

The incident was over.

It had been a close thing, but Kinuhata Saiai had returned to Item.

There shouldn’t have been any more to it.

And yet.

“…”

Mugino lay curled up and unmoving in the bed.

She didn’t even need to call him again. The conversation was already replaying in her head.

Mugino Shizuri recalled his words.



''“How far must a betrayal go before you can truly call it a betrayal?”



Those were Mujinayama’s words.

But he hadn’t stopped there.

''“This world isn’t a lost cause. Complete traitors are in fact rare. Even a police officer who goes undercover with the intention of dismantling the system of violence will soon find it hard and painful to betray the people they get to know there. …Most traitors move back and forth between sides. When a traitor leaves some small sign of their treachery, it means they still feel some guilt about their actions. They may not even notice it themselves, but it means a part of them doesn’t want to harm their allies, even if it means their own destruction.”

Those could be seen as kind words.

Cherry picking just that part, it could sound like a lovely lesson about offering forgiveness no matter what someone has done.

But it wasn’t.

Butler Mujinayama was the advisor who stood alongside and assisted the leader of an international gang with hundreds of thousands of soldiers around the world. He had to have seen more than the just and the beautiful.

''“But people can adjust to anything,”'' he had stated.

He must have seen it time and again during his long years serving the Mugino Family. He must have seen trustworthy companions undergo a transformation. He may have even executed those former companions personally.

''“Even if they feel powerful guilt at first, they will gradually adjust as time goes on. The guilt will fade. So there are traitors who have diluted their guilt to nearly nothing at all. You could say those are the most dangerous enemy for a system of violence like the Mugino Family that cannot go to the police. Enemies do not appear out of nowhere. But if you give them room, they will grow. Lady Shizuri, please be cautious. It is too late once they have grown. You must nip them in the bud before they can grow. You must correct your own people. This is the most necessary task in supporting a large and powerful Family that’s members support each other.”

“Shut up,” muttered Mugino Shizuri.

She spat out the words as if cursing someone who wasn’t here.



“I can hear every damn word you’re saying.”

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