George’s Cathedral first, and then have them put me through to Academy City…Even if I told them it was an emergency, it would probably take anywhere from seven to ten minutes. Also, if we get permission to intrude upon the city, things will turn into a hassle. It’s technically possible to sneak in, but realistically, I’d want to avoid that.”
“Oh, you can just ask them for now, so if you could do that quickly that would be gre—”
Agnes suddenly paused in the middle of her sentence and froze.
He followed her gaze to the entrance of the building in the front of the lobby. It was a large entryway with five glass double doors.
“What is it? What’s wr—”
Stiyl also stopped mid-question.
“?”
Finally, Index followed where they were looking.
On the other side of the glass entryway was an open square of asphalt that used to be a parking lot. Despite the size of the building, it was an extremely small space. There should have been nothing there at the moment but robust weeds growing through the hardened cracks in its surface…but in the former parking lot that should have been empty, there was something.
Or rather, there was some
body
.
“Oh, it’s Touma!”
Index said the name of a familiar boy.
“Or…sola…Aquinas?”
Agnes spoke the name of the sister in black walking next to the boy.
The two whose names had been voiced didn’t seem to have noticed the sorcerers inside Hakumeiza yet.
6
A little while earlier…
Though the evening sun was cooler than other times, Kamijou was cursing the heavy manual labor of walking three kilometers in the summertime.
C-come to think of it, I was already totally beat from gym class and that other stuff today
…
He had left his wallet in his dorm, so obviously walking was his only method of transportation.
The sister in black walking beside him didn’t have any money, either. He couldn’t help but wonder how in the world she planned on actually taking the bus. Dripping with sweat from all that had happened, he had trekked three kilometers down the road in the harsh last heat wave of summer in September and had arrived at Hakumeiza, but…
“Umm…Miss Nun Lady? You’re wearing black clothing in this blazing heat. How are you going along smiling and not sweating at all?”
“Well, the agony of the flesh is nothing compared to the agony of the soul.”
“…You’re a nun
and
a masochist?”
“Excuse me, but how much longer must we walk until we arrive at the bus stop?”
“Are you still on that whole bus joke?! I told you we were going to go see a guy from the English Puritan Church! Were you just ignoring every single thing I said back there or what?!”
“Oh, my. Please excuse my rudeness—you seem to be sweating quite a bit.”
“Argh! You keep taking the conversation in totally different directions!!”
“Now, now. I will wipe your sweat for you, so please hold still for just a moment.”
“Eh, what? Hey, wait,
brfgh
?!”
The sister suddenly took a handkerchief out of her sleeve and wiped his face. It was only a handkerchief, but it was made of expensive-looking lace, and was faintly warm, and smelled like roses. He tried to escape from it, but she was pressing it against his face unexpectedly hard, so he couldn’t.
“There, there. All finished.”
The sister smiled at him brightly enough to shoot sunbeams at him.
“…Well, thanks.”
Exhausted, Kamijou stepped into the site of the Hakumeiza theater.
Though the building looked giant even from far away, the parking lot right out front was so small it must have been for employees only. It was probably because there was a train station nearby, as well as a parking garage next door. The property was enclosed with two meter-tall metal plates, but the entrance for workers to go in and out had been forcibly opened—a thick chain and padlock were lying on the ground.
There was no heavy construction equipment or anything of the sort in the tiny parking lot. Even the
“Oh, you can just ask them for now, so if you could do that quickly that would be gre—”
Agnes suddenly paused in the middle of her sentence and froze.
He followed her gaze to the entrance of the building in the front of the lobby. It was a large entryway with five glass double doors.
“What is it? What’s wr—”
Stiyl also stopped mid-question.
“?”
Finally, Index followed where they were looking.
On the other side of the glass entryway was an open square of asphalt that used to be a parking lot. Despite the size of the building, it was an extremely small space. There should have been nothing there at the moment but robust weeds growing through the hardened cracks in its surface…but in the former parking lot that should have been empty, there was something.
Or rather, there was some
body
.
“Oh, it’s Touma!”
Index said the name of a familiar boy.
“Or…sola…Aquinas?”
Agnes spoke the name of the sister in black walking next to the boy.
The two whose names had been voiced didn’t seem to have noticed the sorcerers inside Hakumeiza yet.
6
A little while earlier…
Though the evening sun was cooler than other times, Kamijou was cursing the heavy manual labor of walking three kilometers in the summertime.
C-come to think of it, I was already totally beat from gym class and that other stuff today
…
He had left his wallet in his dorm, so obviously walking was his only method of transportation.
The sister in black walking beside him didn’t have any money, either. He couldn’t help but wonder how in the world she planned on actually taking the bus. Dripping with sweat from all that had happened, he had trekked three kilometers down the road in the harsh last heat wave of summer in September and had arrived at Hakumeiza, but…
“Umm…Miss Nun Lady? You’re wearing black clothing in this blazing heat. How are you going along smiling and not sweating at all?”
“Well, the agony of the flesh is nothing compared to the agony of the soul.”
“…You’re a nun
and
a masochist?”
“Excuse me, but how much longer must we walk until we arrive at the bus stop?”
“Are you still on that whole bus joke?! I told you we were going to go see a guy from the English Puritan Church! Were you just ignoring every single thing I said back there or what?!”
“Oh, my. Please excuse my rudeness—you seem to be sweating quite a bit.”
“Argh! You keep taking the conversation in totally different directions!!”
“Now, now. I will wipe your sweat for you, so please hold still for just a moment.”
“Eh, what? Hey, wait,
brfgh
?!”
The sister suddenly took a handkerchief out of her sleeve and wiped his face. It was only a handkerchief, but it was made of expensive-looking lace, and was faintly warm, and smelled like roses. He tried to escape from it, but she was pressing it against his face unexpectedly hard, so he couldn’t.
“There, there. All finished.”
The sister smiled at him brightly enough to shoot sunbeams at him.
“…Well, thanks.”
Exhausted, Kamijou stepped into the site of the Hakumeiza theater.
Though the building looked giant even from far away, the parking lot right out front was so small it must have been for employees only. It was probably because there was a train station nearby, as well as a parking garage next door. The property was enclosed with two meter-tall metal plates, but the entrance for workers to go in and out had been forcibly opened—a thick chain and padlock were lying on the ground.
There was no heavy construction equipment or anything of the sort in the tiny parking lot. Even the
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