Seemed like Tsuchimikado would only wake up a while later.
Kamijou was wondering whether he should be chasing after Oriana, but finally decided to stay behind. He couldn't leave behind the unconscious Tsuchimikado and the 'Stab Sword' that was disguised as a large billboard. If he was to run around with it, his speed would slow down, and if it was taken back by Oriana, it'd be adding insult to injury.
Thus, Kamijou decided to call Stiyl.
But he didn't know Stiyl's number. Although Kamijou felt a bit sorry, he decided to rummage through Tsuchimikado's pockets and borrow his phone. Searching through the call records, he pressed the call button.
Stiyl's suggestion was rather simple and straightforward.
"Alright then, destroying the 'Stab Sword' with your right hand should be a piece of cake. With that, we can prevent the deal that Lidvia Lorenzetti is planning. I'm not too sure about the situation with Academy City's security, but they should have received contact about a bus burning. Before anyone else gets there, hurry up and destroy that thing, then leave."
"But, is it alright to destroy it so easily? If we anger Oriana and the rest, wouldn't they attack Academy City?"
"If they do that, the one getting surrounded will be them. This is Academy City, and to the magic side, it's equivalent to being in the midst of the enemy's camp. If they're people who'll plan this trade calmly, they'll calmly leave the place. Even if there are disputes among the parties, they'll proceed with it once they reach a safe area. To a magician, this place is too dangerous."
Academy City was a dangerous place. To Kamijou, who practically stayed here, this explanation didn't seem real to him. However, since it was a professional speaking, Kamijou decided to follow.
"Roger that. I'll use my right hand to destroy the 'Stab Sword'."
"Hurry up. I'll be discussing with the higher ups on what to do later on."
After Stiyl finished speaking, he hung up the phone.
"Can't you even say the word 'please'?"
Kamijou cut the call, and put the phone back into Tsuchimikado's pocket. Seeing Tsuchimikado like this without reacting at all made Kamijou feel chilly, but as one listened carefully, one could hear him breathing as if he was sleeping. Seemed like his life was not in danger.
"Alright."
After saying this, Kamijou turned to look at the billboard that had fallen onto the ground.
It was a large rectangular billboard that was covered with a piece of white cloth. Maybe because of the length and width of the 'Stab Sword', the excess areas were filled with other materials to keep the rectangular shape. Though it was covered in white cloth, once the shape of the sword was revealed, it would immediately garner attention.
Just using the power of the Imagine Breaker would be enough to destroy the 'Stab Sword'. Kamijou decided to remove the white cloth, wanting to see whether he could really destroy it.
"Ugh…! What is this? It's…rather hard."
Seemed like an imitation of how the industries wrap their products, as the white cloth was wrapped rather tightly. The knots were tied so professionally, and so it was hard to release when one didn't even know where to begin with. It wasn't like a rope where he could just tear it apart using force. Kamijou, who was at his wits end, could only tug at the cloth, and after pulling it for a while, he at least felt that the cloth was loose.
As long as a side was loose, the white cloth that was used to wrap the item would lose its hardness. Kamijou peeled the layers of white cloth one by one, and the item that had been wrapped in several layers gradually revealed its original shape.
(What kind of shape does that 'Stab Sword' have?)
As Kamijou thought about this, he undid the cloth.
But, upon undoing the white cloth,
He didn't see the 'Stab Sword'.
"What?"
Kamijou inadvertently stopped undoing the white cloth.
Like the bandages of a mummy being unraveled, the thing inside the white cloth was revealed. It was a long thin billboard. Seemed like this billboard, a thin piece of iron that was painted on, was made by students, and it was a decorative item to be placed at a student's stall during Daihaseisai. The words 'Ice-cream stall' were written in a cute form.
But.
"What…is this?"
Wasn't the billboard a disguise? Transporting the 'Stab Sword' directly in Academy City would be too obvious, and with those dimensions, it was almost impossible to even put it inside a bag. So Oriana had disguised herself as a painter, disguising the 'Stab Sword' as a billboard, wrapped it with white cloth, and spent some effort in letting others see it.
However, no one expected her to take a real billboard.
The entire premise of this had collapsed.
Where was the 'Stab Sword'?
Why had Oriana appeared in front of them, only to escape?
Was the premise that Stiyl Magnus and Tsuchimikado Motoharu talked about true?
Also, were they really dealing the 'Stab Sword'?
"What's going on…?"
Kamijou Touma muttered.
Nobody could answer his doubts. The professional magician, Tsuchimikado, was now unconscious, and the person who had planned this, Oriana Thomson, wasn't around.
But he continued to ask again.
The exact line.
"What's going on…?"