Editing Toaru Majutsu no Index:Item6 Chapter1 (section)

===Part 4===

Mugino Shizuri took on the bearing of a wealthy daughter.

After all, she had been caught in a bank robbery.

There were Anti-Skill checkpoints everywhere and the drum-shaped security robots had been deployed en masse. She had nothing to do with the robbery itself, but she wanted to avoid being questioned about it and risking discovery of her ''extremely illicit'' secrets.

After slipping out of the bank’s front entrance to escape the chaos, the Item members split up (while getting rid of the fire extinguisher foam covering them), vanished into the streets, and made sure they weren’t being watched or tailed before regrouping at the luxury hotel they were using as a temporary home. They were specifically using a suite in a massive tourist hotel in District 5, which was full of college students.

Mugino scratched roughly at her head in the elevator.

(They always increase security here whenever anything happens. We really should’ve gone with an apartment instead of a hotel anyone can stay in.)

“Huh? Where’d Takitsubo go? And Kinuhata?”

“Don’t ask me. In the end, I’m not their chaperon,” casually replied Frenda who had arrived in the suite before Mugino and was mixing a non-alcoholic cocktail in a shaker.

Were those two together, or were they acting separately? Surely they weren’t stupid enough to get questioned by Anti-Skill and then screw it up so badly they got arrested. Mugino considered the possibilities for a moment, but then her phone emitted a tone. She grimaced after checking the screen.

Frenda hopped into the sofa and sipped at her blueish drink as she glanced over.

“In the end, who’s that?”

“You don’t want to know.”

For some reason, Frenda answered that with a nod. That had apparently told her exactly who it was.

It was the Voice on the Phone.

“We only just got back after dealing with some trouble. What do you want?”

“I have a job for you.”

“…”

“Have I ever called you for any other reason?”

Mugino Shizuri very nearly threw her phone into the wall.

“You expect me to head back out into that heat and work some sweaty job when I’m already goddamn furious!?”

“Suit yourself. This is one of the best jobs that’s ever come your way, so it would be a waste to let it go. I’ll just have to give it to someone else.”

One of Mugino’s eyebrows shot up.

The Voice on the Phone was an expert negotiator. This might be nothing more than bait, so she remained cautious.

“You don’t normally talk like that.”

“Ah ha ha. The client must be panicking because they set the reward wrong. It’s turned into an easy job you can solve with a single shot but the pay is excellent☆”