Kamijou was dragged along the street by Fukiyose, who was holding onto his hand.
There were a lot of people there. Maybe it was because it was a place where the subway trains and the automatic buses met. From the train to the bus, from bus route A to bus route B...just like this, the passengers arrived and then proceeded on.
It was quite a distance from where he had gotten separated from Index. Fukiyose seemed intent on bringing Kamijou back to school to cheer for their schoolmates, but he had to get to work once Tsuchimikado and Stiyl, who were searching for Oriana, contacted him. This was bad, what could he do? Kamijou continued to worry on his own.
"Oi, Kamijou, is Daihaseisai really that boring?"
Fukiyose, who was holding hands with Kamijou, suddenly asked.
What?
Kamijou frowned.
"I've been feeling that you seem absent-minded, it's like something's on your mind."
Kamijou was startled inside.
Fukiyose stared at Kamijou,
"I can't force you to focus entirely on Daihaseisai. I can't stop you if you want out of Daihaseisai."
From the looks of things, it seemed that Fukiyose was purely suspicious about Kamijou's concentration, and not that she found out something about Daihaseisai.
"As an organizer of this event who worked so hard for this day, even if it's just my own stubbornness, I hope that everyone can get some wonderful memories. I'll be happy if everyone can laugh happily...but you seemed bored today. No matter what, it seems that there are still some shortcomings in my preparations."
"...Your sense of responsibility is really strong. I'm not feeling bored at all; it's interesting when everything's so hectic."
Kamijou didn't understand for what reason was Fukiyose a member of the Daihaseisai committee. She was not forced by anyone to be one, and since she had volunteered herself, there must be a reason for her to want this event to succeed.
But she didn't know.
She didn't know that there were magicians that wanted to take advantage of her hard work, she didn't know about the secret plot regarding the 'Stab Sword' trade, and she didn't know about the clash of ideas inside and outside Academy City.
I have to work harder, Kamijou thought.
Not just Fukiyose.
The other committee members wanted to make Daihaseisai a success. The students and the visitors from outside would also like to make wonderful memories out of this event.
Because of this, he had to work harder.
Seeing Kamijou's face like this, Fukiyose gave a surprised look as she stared at him.
"...There is something on your mind."
"Ah? There's nothing! I'm really motivated. Why are you so worried, Fukiyose-san?"
Seeing that Fukiyose looked so down that her glory was all gone, Kamijou panicked and ran in front of her while still holding onto her hand, staring at her face as he said this.
Dong!
He was pushed on the back.
In this busy road, it seemed that someone's shoulder had knocked into him.
Kamijou was knocked forward by this unexpected accident, and because of this, the distance between Kamijou and Fukiyose, who was staring at him, was shrunk in an instant.
The distance between their faces was merely about 30cm.
"GAH...!!"
"Eh...!!"
Just when both of them cried out, the distance between the two became zero. Bong! Kamijou and Fukiyose's foreheads gently knocked into each other. Their noses touched each other, and although their lips didn't meet, Kamijou could feel her soft breath blowing onto his lips.
(Wha...?)
Kamijou's inadvertently stopped breathing.
"Move away, Kamijou Touma!"
The next moment, BAM! Fukiyose rammed in hard at Kamijou with her head.
"WAH!?"
Kamijou's upper body swung backwards. The hand he was originally holding onto was let loose. He knew that his head was hot. Fukiyose's expression didn't seem to change, but she was becoming more irritated.
"...To think you'll do this even when people are talking to you seriously. You really can't change your habits."
"No...it's not that. I'm really thinking seriously about this situation!!"
"Let me say this to you, I won't reconcile with you ever in this lifetime."
"Uuuuu! Why is Fukiyose-san even colder now!!?"
Kamijou cried out. Fukiyose slapped him hard on the back of his head with her hand. If this was an act of rebuttal, it might be a bit too unaffectionate. Just when Kamijou bent down and gently rubbed the back of his head…
Poof!!
This time, his head hit something rather soft.
After he calmly confirmed it, he realized that it was the breasts of a female.
"WOAAAHHHH!!?"
Kamijou frantically moved backwards. What's with this sudden series of events!? Facing Kamijou, who was really scared, the female who had collided with him only said "Aiyaya," and didn't seem to mind.
Beside Kamijou, Fukiyose gave a low bellow "...Kamijou," her tone full of vengeance.
The person who had knocked into him was a female, about 18-19 years old, who was wearing plain working clothes. Her age should be similar to Kanzaki Kaori.
She was taller than Kamijou, and although she was tall for a Japanese, after seeing the eye-catching blonde hair and blue eyes, he couldn't say that this was an accurate guess. Fukiyose was considered to have a rather good body compared to his classmates, but it was lacking in comparison to this lady's beauty. Not only were the curves of her breasts and waist wicked, she was giving an invisible flirtatious sense.
The lady's hair seemed to be either curled or waxed, and it seemed like a lot of effort was put into it. She had separated her hair into many small bundles, and curled them using an electric perm, before she tied them into bundles of three. She also put in quite a bit of detail in other small areas, so this should be a hairstyle which she had spent quite some time creating. Although there weren't any decorations on it, the hair itself looked like a refined gold ornament.
She was most likely a painter, as there was paint all over her uniform. She was holding a 1.5m by 0.7m billboard that was covered by a white cloth. The tip of her fingers barely managed to grab the bottom of the board even after she stretched her other arm.
But.
"Wa..."
The one who cried out wasn't Kamijou, but Fukiyose, who was right beside him.
The woman was wearing a rather clumsy looking work uniform, but her clothes were wide open. It was not that she didn't button up the second button, but rather, 'beside the second button, all the other buttons were unbuttoned.' The cleavage of her breasts and navel were wide open for all to see. Kamijou felt that it was like she was wearing a swimsuit.
Her pants were rather loose, and it seemed like they were hanging onto her waist. Although Kamijou didn't purposely go behind her to confirm it, it was likely that he would see her butt on the loose side of the pants.
Not only was this get up revealing quite a bit, there was also the danger of her clothes dropping off if she moved in the slightest bit. Unlike the busty Anti-Skill nee-san who was dressed up in sports attire, this woman was rather conscious of her wonderful body.
The painter nee-san made a random movement to show her apology with the other hand that was free, and spoke in unexpectedly fluent Japanese.
"Ehyaya. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm not used to so many people around me. Is there any place that's hurting? Ah, here? Is the back of your head still hurting?"
"Uu… Although this isn't the case, your warmth has infected my entire body. I really feel like handing myself over to you..."
Seeing Kamijou complaining like this, Fukiyose closed one eye before smashing a fist into the back of Kamijou's head, causing his head to sink into the breasts of the painter nee-san. That nee-san didn't shriek, as she gently pushed Kamijou's head aside, saying,
"Haiz. Let me see, are you alright? You, cannot, fight, on like this forever. It's rare to have such an activity, so of course you have to make some wonderful memories."
Wah, Kamijou looked like he was going to cry.
"So magnanimous! So completely different from those girls who bite others and those who give others a punch! I'm about to sink in this warmth!"
"Aiya, to say that you like someone for your own benefit, isn't this a bit too childish?"
Fukiyose gave a 'you idiot' look at Kamijou, while the painter nee-san smiled and nodded at her.
"Ara ara. That Miss over there, I'm sorry about this."
Fukiyose looked surprised, and asked,
"Wh...why are you apologizing to me?"
"Because this onee-san seems to be the main reason why you're so angry, right?"
Hearing this direct adult speech, the girl inadvertently cringed.
Kamijou shouted out, "Watch closely, this is a mature woman; watch and learn, you iron wall girl!"
Fukiyose then gave him an overhead aikido throw, slamming him onto the ground.
"Ah, are you alright? If you still can fight, you should be fine, I guess."
Seeing the boy pinned onto the ground and the girl pinning him in front, the painter nee-san said this. She then extended her hand out, requesting a handshake with Kamijou.
"This is an apology for knocking into you. Normally, you Japanese would lower your head to apologise, but we normally do this."
"Ah...that's how it is?"
"Ara ara. Do I need to give a kiss?"
Poof!! Kamijou did a spit-take.
After trembling for a while, the pure and innocent Kamijou Touma shouted,
"I WANT A KISS!!"
Fukiyose Seiri's fist instantly smashed into Kamijou's solar plexus. The painter nee-san stared at him, who was still shaking his head, laughed, and extended her hand out again.
It'd be great if Index were to have such cultured habits and not bite others. Kamijou used his right fist to shake the painter's hand.
Pacha!!
A wonderful sound was heard, like something fell and broke into pieces.
"Eh?"
The one who made this sound wasn't Kamijou nor the nee-san, but Fukiyose Seiri, who was staring at them. As both sides understood what happened, they didn't make any noise.
Kamijou Touma suddenly remembered the power that his right hand had.
The painter nee-san was trying to confirm if anything was broken.
"Ara ara."
The nee-san tried to force a bitter smile, and failed.
"I should be going back to work. Can I go now?"
She said this, but left before Kamijou and Fukiyose could respond. Though her actions weren't any different, that regal feeling up till now was now lost.
"...What, she didn't shake hands with me? Why, Kamijou Touma!?"
"Ah? Maybe she doesn't want to be friends with you!?"
When he finally snapped back, his head got smacked again.
Deep inside, Fukiyose sighed. She grabbed Kamijou's hand, wanting to pull him away. At this moment, her cell phone suddenly rang. Seemed like she got a call from a committee member, as Fukiyose started to speak in a formal tone. Hearing her speak so softly, it seemed like something cropped up. Fukiyose stared at Kamijou's face, then turned to her watch, before saying, "Don't be late for the 'Bread Eating Race'!" She left behind this typical committee member sentence, leaving with her cell phone still in her hand. Kamijou looked at her back, and thought as he touched his face that had been punched hard with one hand.
The thing he just broke, was it 'magic' or 'esper power'?
After thinking about it for a while, Kamijou concluded that it was less likely to be 'esper power'. The espers in Academy City were all students. During Daihaseisai, they would be participating in competitions. Of course, he couldn't make this conclusion easily because there were exceptions like Tsuchimikado Maika. But the dress up of the painter, just looking at the label of the company gave a sense that it was an 'outsider retailer'. He had an impression on it because it was a name he had seen in television advertisements. Of course, students in Academy City would have no chance to wear clothes like that.
So that meant...
Kamijou Touma took out his phone, and scanned around to see if Fukiyose was still there. It would be troublesome if any Anti-Skill or Judgment members were to take action, so he didn't want her to hear this. He then proceeded to press Tsuchimikado Motoharu's number.
"Har Low. Kami-yan, have you tricked Index properly nya? We were checking security loopholes that Oriana may use as a trading point, there's quite a lot in District 7. So please don't let Index near—"
"Wait a minute, can I check with you something, Tsuchimikado?"
Tsuchimikado seemed to have realized that Kamijou's tone sounded urgent, and lowered his tone,
"...What do you want to ask?"
"It's that thing. We're trying to prevent the deal of that tool...er, the whatever sword, it's our objective, right?"
Kamijou looked back at the crowd, and could still see the back of that woman who was wearing loose work clothes.
"It's the 'Stab Sword'. Also, it's not a tool, but a spiritual armament. Eh, what now? You chickening out, Kami-yan? But there's no other reinforcements besides us, you know."
"Really?"
"What's that supposed to mean, Kami-yan?"
Kamijou straightened his back, trying not to lose sight of the woman. But the woman was turning around the corner.
"When I shook hands with someone, the Imagine Breaker seems to have broken something. I don't know what it was, but the person doesn't look like a student. From her attire, I'm guessing she's from outside Academy City."
"Wait a second, Kami-yan. Let me ask a question. Is that person holding some large baggage? The 'Stab Sword' is 1.5 meters long, and each side of the cross guard is 35 centimeters. If anyone is to try and hide such a large sword...what would that person use? It can't possibly fit into a luggage bag."
Hearing Tsuchimikado's words, Kamijou turned green.
"She's holding it."
"Holding what?"
"She's holding a billboard. That woman is carrying a billboard like thing that's covered in white cloth..."
"Kami-yan, where are you right now?"
"Eh? Wait a sec... in front of the Bank of Ichizai."
After saying a 'Wait for me there,' Tsuchimikado hung up the phone.
Seeing the phone which was cut off, Kamijou wondered whether he should chase after the woman or wait there for Tsuchimikado. After thinking about it for a while, he decided to dash towards where the woman had disappeared. They'd definitely lose her if he waited till Tsuchimikado arrived.
Kamijou had a premonition that some things were going to occur.
He thought about it at the same time, and it was not something to be happy about.