The St. George's Cathedral in London.
This building was somewhat too big to be called a church, and too small to be called a Cathedral. Inside this construct that was unimpressive in a certain sense, the leader of the Anglican Church, the Archbishop Laura Stuart, was standing around leisurely.
Right now, it was 9 AM in Japan, and in England, which used the world standard clock, it was midnight now. Although this was the capital of a country, there was a sense of tranquility around Laura, which could even be described as serious. Under the gentle night and the cooling night breeze, the day came to a close.
She was alone inside the church, where the candle lights were blown out.
Laura set a chair in front of the altar and sat on it. She was wearing a simple nun's habit that had a pure white base color, with recognizable colored threads like black, red, green, purple, gold and silver woven into pictures. Besides that, her clothes were covered in decorative cloth used for higher-order clergymen. This was formal attire worn when she was visiting other people.
Christian society was like any ordinary culture; clothing was a method used to declare the person's identity and position. Although it sounded serious, it was like how tall a chef's hat was or a student's uniform, or anything that signified status.
For someone like Laura, who was different from normal nuns, she had to prepare different sets of nuns' robes according to the season, time, location, occasion, position on the matter, and ambition. Sometimes she would purposely wear clothes that indicated a lower standing in order to raise the status of the guest; sometimes she would purposely wear clothes that indicate a higher standing to show her dissatisfaction…there were a lot of ways to do this that were really complicated and troublesome.
(In front of God, everyone's an equal brother…is it? This statement is rather impressive.)
The Archbishop couldn't help but scoff regarding things like stand and status. Laura felt that it was too cumbersome to do all that. Her graceful look didn't just rely solely on her clothes.
The most noticeable thing about her was her golden hair that was 2.5 times the length of her body. She normally clipped her hair, but she didn't do so this time. The fluffy hair that was released hung over her shoulders and went all the way down, with the remaining part lying on the floor.
Laura, who was sitting on the chair, placed an entire set of gold and silver combs on her legs. She selected one from the pile of combs, which had different teeth length, width and spacing, and carefully let her hair go past the comb like the strings of a harp. It was impossible to reach the end of her hair, that was even longer than her height, just by stretching her hands. So Laura gracefully pulled the hair nearer with her hands.
Suddenly, she accidentally dropped her comb. Her golden hair faithfully demonstrated this by flapping up and down, like waves near a beach.
After combing all her hair through once, she changed to another one, and after that was done, changed to another one. She continued to do this, as if the order of the combs used was very important.
Shining on her hair was the moonlight passing through the window and the LCD display on the altar.
The set up of the screen and the communication equipment, which were already there, had been done at the last minute by an organization based in Academy City that had associates in London.
It was supposed to have been Stiyl's job, but he was not in England now.
Kanzaki Kaori had said several times that 'this is something similar to a cell phone,' and had tried to connect this brand new gadget. But after she sat down and analyzed the instruction manual, she stared back like an abandoned puppy.
"What are you doing?"
A displeased voice came from the screen. It was hard to tell whether that voice belonged to a man or a woman, an adult or a child, a Saint or a criminal. Laura did not turn to look at where the voice came from. Besides, the one appearing on the screen should be a 'man' floating upside down in fluid.
The General Director of Academy City, Aleister.
Laura, whose extremely long hair hung down from her shoulders, quietly said,
"Don't you know? I'm combing my hair. A man shouldn't be seeing a woman doing make-up."
She chuckled,
"Several centuries ago, among the English Noblewomen, there were methods to scorch their hair by either using the sun or the moon. The best-looking blonde hair was called the 'Sun's hair', and it was the greatest virtue for one to accomplish this. Isn't it stylish to do this without the need of dyes?"
Laura tried to stifle her laughter, but there was no response from the screen.
She twisted her neck and looked at the LCD screen.
"What's wrong? To remain silent while I'm talking with you..."
There was no response from the screen.
Just when Laura was feeling puzzled, a voice came from the other side.
"No...actually, I've been trying to ask you something."
"Hm?"
"To be honest, your Japanese sounds really weird. Or are you treating me as an idiot by saying this? Which one is it?"
Laura stopped what she was doing.
The comb that was gliding through her hair trembled slightly.
"You...you...do you know what you're talking about!? There's no need to talk about etiquette with a man who doesn't believe in God, just some simple words are enough for you!"
"I see...if you prefer to use such a special accent, it's alright. What I'm trying to say is that if you're really frustrated about this, I can send a Japanese teacher to teach you the language. I am the one who ruled over knowledge after all!"
"Uu! I'm not bothered by it! Why would I bother about a language used by a small country in the Far East?"
Laura, who was combing through her hair quickly, loudly declared.
There was no response from the screen, and there were no bystanders as the sound of Laura combing her hair quickly echoed throughout the hall.
After a while, Aleister seemed like he wanted to change the topic, and said,
"However, why do you want to comb your hair in front of the guest? Shouldn't you have done it before having a conversation?"
Although she didn't like this topic, Laura felt that at least they could break away from the original topic, as her tone and attitude seemed calmer than before.
"There's no time. Actually, night is the time when women are in their bedrooms doing their make-up. Please don't mind me doing this during our conversation."
"Hmm, I guess that's the result of the 'Sun's hair' that you talked about, right? The myth about the moonlight should be a superstition, but the myth about the sun is actually due to the ultraviolet rays that caused the hair to lose colour pigments. This is probably an idea gained from books fading in colour due to overexposure to the sun. But I'll give you some advice...you'll get hair loss!"
"...…This is rather rude when we're still developing our diplomatic relations."
Laura looked away. The hair that was lying on the floor like a rug was reflecting light from the LCD screen. The shiny hair that had been carefully combed with the gold and silver combs now reflected other colors like red and blue.
She again muttered, "So rude."
"I have informed you earlier the reason why I wanted to contact you, so let me confirm it again. Also, I would like to thank you for agreeing to our unreasonable request."
"If you're talking about the time difference, there's no need to worry about it. This is the time when we start our work anyway."
"What I want to say is that it's rude of us to interrupt you when you're doing your work."
Laura looked at her hair that was reflecting light, and said,
"It seems like the opening ceremony is under way. As the leader, shouldn't you go up to the stage and say hello to them?"
"...Do you think I can let people see me like this?"
"Hoho, you're right, this isn't appropriate for the occasion."
At that moment, Laura turned to look at the LCD screen on the altar.
There was a person floating upside-down inside a transparent cylindrical tank filled with red liquid. No matter how one saw it, it was unsuitable for this person, who was wearing a green lab coat, to appear in public like that.
Also, he would be able to remain in this state for a thousand years (maybe, since Laura wasn't sure about the exact details). People would find that there was something wrong if he were to appear in public quite often. Of course, he would have to change his looks and name if he was to do this.
Laura Stuart's actual age didn't match her looks as well, but she was not the type that would look at others who were learning from their mistakes and laugh at them.
"Then I'll go on, if you don't mind. I'll give a short summary, for I don't have much time left."
A sigh came from the LCD screen.
"...Is it regarding someone who invaded Academy City?"
Um.
Laura nodded her head.
"Right now, you're unable to identify the invaders from the visitors. It's impossible to carry out security checks smoothly because you people have to accommodate ordinary civilians."
Laura was rather familiar with this. During a large-scale gathering like a worship or Christmas celebration, if they wanted to use tight, almost foolproof security to protect the people, the people's actions would have to be limited, and it would affect the proceedings of the events severely. In order not to delay the proceedings of the events, they had to give a certain amount of 'freedom'.
"The magicians seemed to have taken this opportunity to attack Academy City when there's a hole they can thread into. According to our reports, there are two confirmed invaders. One is an important member of the Roman Catholic Church, and the other is a transporter that she hired."
"A transporter? Let me confirm this, is she here to destroy and do battle?"
"Yes. The name of the transporter is Oriana Thomson, and the one who hired her is Lidvia Lorenzetti. They're trying to buy a certain good."
Laura grabbed a bundle of notes that was lying beside the LCD screen, and waved it in front of screen. The words were very small, but since the other party was from Academy City, which boasted the use of technology unknown to the outside world, he wouldn't use words like 'I can't see clearly' so easily.
"First, Oriana Thomson. As her name indicates, she's born in England, but she's probably now Italian. She's known as Route Disturb, a top-notch courier in the magical world. This woman's ability is that she's able to run and hide, and that she's able to get away from pursuers even if they find her."
More accurately, Oriana was a woman who would do anything to get away from her pursuers. Also, nobody was able to keep track of her actions. Even when they were prepared, she would still be able to get away. Oriana Thomson was a magician with many spells at her disposal, and she would destroy bridges, create fires, set up many talismans to get her pursuers off her. Also, she was a beauty who would sometimes use that weakness of humans.
One could imagine from Oriana's original British nationality how many times she had clashed with the Anglican Church while she was in London. While Necessarius had been pursuing Oriana, they had been stopped by many people, who had no links with magic, claiming to be her 'best friend.' She was not just a battle berserker, she knew how to use a 'human wall' formed by the crowd and slip inside.
"Next, Lidvia Lorenzetti, a radical among the Roman Catholic Church, also known as 'Mardi Gras'. She's known for evangelising to the people that the Church rejected, and got some converts to further carry out evangelism."
She was different from Oriana, and was a Roman Catholic born in the Vatican. She was in a very high position, but never 'tried to aim higher'. Instead, she found spreading the gospel to the world much more meaningful. She was a person 'who would do anything to spread the Word'. As a reward, the pope himself specially gave her a platinum staff that was decorated with silk, but she immediately sold it without thinking to finance her travels.
Those that were 'saved' by Lidvia, and who wanted to 'save even more people', were geniuses who had never seen the light of day, and most of them were people like criminals and cult believers. Lidvia's talent was in finding these talents that would normally be executed.
Not only did she have the ability to find hidden talent, she was also able to control and manage problematic people.
Even if it was the Roman Catholic Church, who would kill any sinner that they meet and burn any non-believer, they couldn't formally attack anyone who was properly recognized as converted. The higher ups who hated these problematic people viewed Lidvia as a thorn in their side. And to the Archbishop Laura, she was a formidable opponent.
If she was just brazenly raising magicians, the Anglican Church could still stop them; but they would be seen as evil if she was teaching them about the Bible and the gospel as well.
"They're rather prominent in your world, huh? I've never heard of them before. Who's the guy they're dealing with?"
"It's unknown as of now. Right now, the biggest suspect is Bishop Nikolai Tolstoy of the Russian Church."
Although Nikolai wasn't as extreme as the Roman Catholic Church to abandon 'the non-believers', he was known as a cunning man who would reap the benefits in an argument between two parties.
"Then, the good that they're delivering…can you tell me what it is?"
"If I don't tell you the name and the item, you guys probably won't be able to find it, right?"
Laura's gaze left the screen as she said "Coming!" She raised 'something' that was placed on the ground.
"Is that a sword?"
"It's just a duplicate that I borrowed from the British Museum. Like as how you see it, however, there are no magical effects."
The sword that Laura was holding was made of marble. It was 1.5m long, and the width…of the cross-guard was 35cm on both sides, making it 70cm wide. It was about 10cm thick. As it was a duplicate, there was no blade. Instead, the edge of the sword was as sharp as a sharpened pencil.
"It's called the 'Stab Sword'. I can't explain its effect, but it's said to be able to slay a dragon in half and stitch it to the ground. It's magical value and effect is enormous. If it's successfully delivered, we'll be in immediate trouble. Britain herself may end up being involved in a war."
The 'Stab Sword' was a spiritual weapon that could take down the 'pillar' that was extremely important to a Christian sect. Once they destroyed the 'pillar', the surrounding enemies would take advantage when the sect was weakened and attack them in one go.
The 'pillar' referred to the Saints in Christianity.
The 'Stab Sword' could utterly destroy the Saints, who had combat capabilities and powers equivalent to that of a nuclear bomb.
"Mm, it's like that tactical weapon that your side developed."
Aleister looked at the sword in question through the screen, and said,
"Would you mind explaining what the error is if this sword is used in Academy City? According to the situation, it seems that we have to evacuate ordinary civilians."
"You don't have to worry. This is a weapon that can only be used on the magic side. There won't be any effects if it's used on your side."
"I see. If you can give us its structure and origin, we can come up with some strategies."
"Oh, the citizens of the science world can plan against magic? Don't tell me there's a magician hidden among you guys?"
"..."
"..."
Both sides remained silent. The tension was like thin yet sharp threads that were tied all over the place, as if they would break when there was even the slightest movement, like breathing. But there was no sign of anxiety, and one might even think that they were enjoying it.
Like she just snapped those taut strings with a 'Pow' sound, Laura started to speak in a cheery tone.
"Let's not do these useless limitations, time is really precious."
She shook her head, and the hair that extended onto the floor like a rug started to shake slightly.
"The biggest problem is that the deal involving the 'Stab Sword' is in Academy City."
"The enemy should also be clear about this. Letting Anglican magicians into our territory…we can't possibly make that exception."
If they gave an exception to the Anglican Church and allowed them in, other groups would request to 'give them the permit'. Not all the people were well-intentioned. Among them, some might even sneak into Academy City and do all sorts of sabotage work.
The original circumstances were already quite troublesome. If they were to add more fire-starters to the mix, nobody could know how it would develop. Especially since it was Daihaseisai now, with so many civilians and the media around, Aleister wanted to prevent any chaos from taking place, let alone a tragedy.
A similar situation had happened when an alchemist took over 'Misawa Cram School'. At that time, Academy City hired the Anglican Church and the Roman Catholic Church to stop Aureolus Izzard from going out of control.
But the circumstances were different now.
It was Daihaseisai now, there were many civilians from 'outside' Academy City. If Aleister were to propose that 'we'll decide who'll settle the problem that happens in our city', and the other party proposed that 'there are tourists from our country, so we'll protect our citizens', it would create lots and lots of chaos.
Of course, there was a difference in power among these organizations.
Academy City, as the leader of the science world, had a base difference in ability compared to many small forces of the magical world. So there would be differences in the influence, but they couldn't suppress the other party just like that.
Once they rejected the proposal from the small groups of the magic world, larger groups would come up with excuses to go with their requests. Even if they could reject their suggestions, other large groups would speak up. As this continued, the problem would snowball, ending up with the magic side facing off against the science side.
Daihaseisai was already an event that the world was watching out for.
It probably wouldn't even take a day for the problem to develop.
"Even so, if any resident of Academy City is to beat a magician, it'll cause a problem as well."
Both the science and magic sides had their own interests and responsibilities. If the security forces of Academy City weren't careful when they captured the magicians, it would create a risk of unauthorized access to the other side.
"Those guys really thought of everything. Even if we are to sense that something is amiss, we can't just go and attack the enemy without expecting any reservations. With this, they can just focus on the deal."
"But what if we give up now? Wouldn't we have nothing on them?"
Laura stood up.
The overly long hair of hers wouldn't leave the floor just like that.
The set of gold and silver combs on her lap fell onto the ground.
However, Laura never even bothered looking at them.
"Since you are hosting ordinary civilians, I assume there's no problem if people from our side are to go in on a holiday, right?"
Hearing her serious tone, the man on the monitor screen chuckled,
"Let's see…even if we disguise it as a holiday tour, if all the members are from the Anglican Church, we'll have a headache. Once anyone finds out that it's a planned action by some organization, we'll have to accept the rumor that 'the Church has already invaded Academy City'. But if we limit it to a single person…and that person happens to have friendly relations with some residents of Academy City, we might be able to confuse them."
Aleister happily whistled, and quipped,
"...O, so now, we'll just have to use that boy as a guide then."