Editing Toaru Majutsu no Index:Item5 Chapter2 (section)

===Part 8===

Item had a support group working for them.

Frenda Seivelun could befriend anyone, so one might think she was most popular with those tough delinquents…but she wasn’t.

Takitsubo Rikou was.

She entered the dimly-lit bar the delinquents hung out in. Alone. There was generally no one else in the bar during the day and she hadn’t asked why they were able to use it during the day like this.

The track suit girl had one main question.

“Can you gather the information I asked for?”

“There are still two or three difficult ones.”

“Don’t push too hard. It’s good to know when to tap the brakes yourself even though the goal is in sight.”

The support group cleared a path for her. They all looked at her like someone on a different stage from them.

Violence was not a card in Takitsubo Rikou’s deck.

Which meant she had earned the delinquents’ obedience some other way.

She scanned through the paper documents spread out on the billiards table.

“Hm. The missing information would probably be…here. These District 10 exterminators. They specialize in termites, but…yes, they also do repairs to damaged homes.”

“That’s the most dangerous district.”

A delinquent glaring down at the same billiards table breathed a heavy sigh.

Apparently there were parts of the world even delinquents preferred to avoid.

“When you say repairing damaged homes, you actually mean they help people to break open the front doors to mansions and to open safes for a fee, right? A burglary adviser who uses their own termites to create a reason to enter the house. If you need any rough jobs done, just ask. I’m sure the building is well guarded, but if a few of us charged in, it would create enough of an opening for others to sneak in the back and swipe some documents.”

“Don’t,” immediately cautioned Takitsubo. “We’re in the middle of the Daihaseisai, so there are even reporters from outside the city around. Stick to the safe and sure route, okay?”

“But isn’t this information Item needs right away?”

“If it comes to it, you can investigate the victims. Since you mentioned mansions and safes, they must go after fairly valuable targets, right? If any big names are among their victims, you can threaten to tell the victim who was responsible and I’m sure the exterminators will gladly give you the information. Without any bloodshed.”

This here was why she was so popular with her subordinates.

Unlike the other three Item member, Takitsubo Rikou generally avoided direct violence. (This was partially because she didn’t know all that much about violence and combat.) So she did not give commands that would reduce the numbers of the support group. Even if their numbers could easily be replenished. She would reject the shortest route and think up a safe method even if it required a bit of a detour. The trust this engendered had spread to every one of the delinquents.

The support group could not disobey any order, so Takitsubo was like the one empty chamber in a four-shot revolver. That would naturally give her support from those playing Russian roulette.

Unfortunately, Takitsubo had little influence and decision-making power in Item, so she was rarely the one giving instructions like this.

“Takitsubo-saaan.”

A support group delinquent called out to her.

While carrying a thin box bigger than a pizza box?

“A caterer just delivered something. I’ve checked inside and it doesn’t look like there’s any risk of a bomb or gas. What do you want to do with it?”

“Who is it from? A friend?”

“If the name on the ticket is accurate, it’s from Mugino-san.”

“Hm.”

“I think it’s food for you. The handwriting matches, so I don’t think we need to change locations right away. But the decision is yours.”

Takitsubo opened the box and saw a large plate of smoked snacks. A lot of it was salmon. There was also some thin slices of smoked cheese and ham. It may have been a Hokkaido special.

“This is definitely from Mugino.”

Mugino clearly hadn’t given any thought to nutritional value or other practical matters.

This was simply what Mugino liked.

It was full of something other than efficiency and functionality. There wasn’t a message card, but Takitsubo received a message all the same.

Work was work.

Working too hard and harming your health was wrong.

“I see.”

However, Takitsubo had no intention of changing her lifestyle.

She was Item’s searcher.

How much information she could supply in advance would determine how many injuries the ones in the line of fire would receive. That was her job, so she couldn’t hold back.

Was that way of thinking the result of the false charges in her past?

The main reason she acted as the brakes within Item was to protect Mugino who had a tendency to run wild. She protected Mugino not from simple violence but from nastier and more troublesome powers like society and systems. It had been that way ever since Item was just the two of them.

(It isn’t often she sends something like this. Now that Item has more members, is she starting to see herself as a leader?)

Takitsubo smiled a little.

Then she gathered the support team who were helping her with an investigation.

That she didn’t keep all the food to herself was another reason she had so much support from them.

“Time for a break, everyone. This should help you focus a while longer.”