Toaru Majutsu no Index

Volume 11, Chapter 1: The Streets of Chioggia. Il_Vento_di_Chioggia.

Part 1

The Marco Polo Airport in Northern Italy was often called the Gate of Venice.

The main purpose of the airport in Venice, which was floating on the Adriatic Sea and opposite of the Italian mainland, was to transport tourists. From there, the only way for people to take buses or trains was to walk across the 4km long Liberia (Note: this means ‘freedom’ in ancient Latin) Bridge to the Italian mainland, and then move through the remaining tourists that were being brought there through the sea routes.

Besides the main island Venezia (Venice), the roads also lead to Vicenza, Padua, Bassano del Grappa (Note: Grappa is a type of Italian alcohol, while Bassano is a city that makes Grappa), Belluno and other cities. Anyway, all the tourists who were in Northern Italy for sight-seeing would land on this airport first; this included Kamijou and Index. Normally, this place couldn’t be reached directly from Japan, but Academy City was an exception.

After breaking through the interrogation of foreign security with some random and last minute Italian and sweating over the luggage that wouldn’t show up for a long while, they managed to get out of the airport successfully after everything was done.

On a side note, Index, who had bought some simple shirts and skirts at Academy City’s airport, was now changing out of them and back into the white nun's robes. Since she couldn’t bring the safety pins into the plane, she removed them, and after she reached the Marco Polo airport, she put them back on. To Kamijou, who was in Italy for the first time, for a girl’s first request be to wear those safety pins again, he was somewhat depressed.

On the bright side, come to think of it, the fact was that they had managed to land on foreign ground safely.

Now, they only needed to meet up with the tour group members and follow the tour guide. Here in Italy, they would definitely choose the main island: Venezia, rich in historical culture and full of places where they could sight-see. In fact, Kamijou was clear about this after reading the tour guidebook overnight.

Just Venezia alone, there’s the San Marco Piazza, Ducal Palace, the bell tower, the Ponte dell'Accademia, the natural history museum, the maritime museum, the world’s first Teatro La Fenice!! Then there are native workshops of glass handicrafts and the place where Galileo taught after leaving Venezia, these are all tourist attractions!! They practically introduce them all in the tourist information!! Wa~!! I’m, I’m so touched!! (Note: these are all actual locations.)

Kamijou thought.

“Not here yet...Touma.”

“Ah, come to think of it, the guide said that we can’t gather alone...”

It had been over two hours.

There were a lot of places that they wanted to go see, but without the guide, the places they could go were limited. Maybe the guide had misread the time or something.

Right now, they were at the bus interchange in front of the airport. However, this was still of part of the airport. The ceiling and pillars were not illuminated by sunlight, but by ceiling lights. As the floor and the ceiling were flat and smooth, it didn’t feel like it was outside. No matter what, the lighting resembled those of a multistory car park.

All the buses passing by were blue and orange in colour, although of different models. Maybe they have different destinations, Kamijou observed.

Even so, they could act according to the time.

I can see now how Orsola could get lost even by taking a bus...

Kamijou remembered the smile of that former Roman Catholic nun, understanding the situation somewhat. On the other hand, Index still seemed to be affected by heatstroke, swaying about a bit.

The average latitude of Europe was close to Hokkaido. Because the humidity was lower here than it was in Japan, this was not comfortable at all...the tourist information noted that this was inevitable.

The airport faced the Adriatic Sea, and the warm wind of the tide mixed with the exhaust of buses to form a little cyclone. The temperature might be more comfortable if the body and face were warm like this. Time was passing by and the heart was becoming like a water-eroded rock. The Western European tourists and businessmen were also looking up at the sky, wiping the sweat off their faces.

“Touma, are we abandoned here?”

“Damn it, they should’ve been here by now...really, we can’t use the phone to contact them; we don’t even have an idea on what to do!”

As result of the hard work from telephone companies of Academy City, Kamijou could use his phone in Italy. However, the number that he asked for was prerecorded in Japanese, so he couldn’t call them.

The members weren’t gathered, and the guide couldn’t contact us, Kamijou thought. But he couldn’t just take the plane back like this; they had already booked their schedules and a hotel.

“There’s a familiar nun here, so there should be no problem. Anyway, we can’t just stand around here. And we can’t do anything by just standing around here. Let’s put our luggage in the hotel. We’re all staying at the same place. Maybe we might meet up with the tour guide.”

“Ah,uuuu...Touma, can we rest? I’m tired now, my legs are tired.”

“Don’t complain, I’m tired as well. Either way, let’s get to the hotel first. There’re beds and air-conditioning there, so we can rest before going out to sight-see.”

“Uuu...I can’t energise myself with that. Without that famous Italian ice cream, I won’t be able to revive. I have never eaten it before, but since it’s so famous, it must be good.”

“That kind of thing, huh? People would normally go for those famous things during a sightseeing tour, normally speaking.”

“Mn, on a side note, Venezia is famous for its Italian Squid Ink ice cream.”

“...Let me ask something: is it really that famous?”

On hearing this slightly delicate request, Kamijou went near the pillar to read the rectangular schedule board and check when the earliest bus was.

“— No point worrying about it, I might as well see it for myself...Index! Sorry, can you check and tell me which bus goes to the hotel?”

“Eh, mm, okay—”

Seeing Index walk towards the board, Kamijou sighed and thought that it was great that he was with her. To be honest, he could read a bit of English, but Italian was completely foreign to him. He wouldn’t know what to do if he was alone. Just as Kamijou was thanking this nun who was reading the board intently in his heart, she said,

“—but Touma, how do you read a bus schedule?”

“YAAAAAHHH!!! MY TUBE OF HAIR WAX BROKE!!!”

In the end, after chasing each other for quite a while, it took them 15 minutes to get onto the bus.

Part 2

The first target of the 7 day 5 night trip in Italy was the main island of Venezia..

However, Kamijou and company were staying at a hotel 20 km south of that (in fact, it was even further away because the coastline was curved) in a town called Chioggia.

The accommodation here wasn’t cheap, and it seemed to lack a night life because all the shops in Venezia closed rather early. If they wanted to play for 24 hours, it was not rare for tourists to choose hotels that were farther away from Venezia, at least that was what was written in the guide booklet...but even as a highschool student, Kamijou didn’t find it credible.

“But it’s close to the sea.”

Kamijou blurted as he disembarked from the bus. The hand carrying the luggage bag quickly felt the weight.

Though the airport was also near the sea, Chioggia got more of the sea breeze.

However, there was no beach. The coasts were made of stone canals, letting the rivers flow into the sea like a saw cutting the land.

And Index, who was standing beside him, said,

“I think it’s more like we’re surrounded by the sea than being near it.”

“What’s going on?”

Kamijou paused among the crowd, looking for Index. As he was holding the luggage, he looked like someone who was here for business or to tour about.

“We’re in the middle of Chioggia right now, an island on the Adriatic Sea that’s separated by 3 rivers. This is a small town that’s 400m in length. The land wouldn’t increase no matter what, so the buildings are packed together. When you see it, you can see why the gaps between the houses are so small.”

Really? Kamijou wondered as he looked around.

The said canal was in front of him. The turquoise waters separated the town like lines. It was about 20 to 30 metres wide, and there were flat roads on both sides, and suddenly blocked in front by a house. The rice-white surface of the wall looked like the first layer of a dike. The space between every house was so small that not even a soccer ball could pass through it. How do they clean that area? Kamijou wondered.

Suddenly, a motorboat sailed past Kamijou’s eyes.

There were many ports along the canal, occupying half of the area of it. This meant that it was a necessary quantity, a basic way of transport that linked all the way to the sea. The ports looked like they were used for entertainment; each one of them had an antique feel. Looking closely, cloth rags and pails were just randomly placed there.

Kamijou, who was not used to seeing these, felt that they were very troublesome, and said,

“That is rather troublesome, isn’t it?”

Index looked surprised as she replied,

“As this place is separated by so many canals, the bridges have to be winding. You can’t go down the canal if you don’t use a boat. Although, to be honest, the best way of transport is still by land.”

She bitterly laughed,

“This place is like Venezia. Before Chioggia became a tourist destination in the 16th century, it was supposed to be a town that’s meant to preserve the original street environment of Venezia. In other words, including the weaknesses.”

“...”

After hearing such words flow so fluidly, Kamijou pondered silently.

He stared at Index.

“What now, Touma?”

“Index...Index is someone who knows about things other than magic, huh...”

“Touma’s saying that I’m stupid, right!!? Why do you feel that way even when I told you so nicely!!? If Touma feels that way, I’m going to bite you to death—no mercy!!”

“Don’t bite me!! Anyway, you shouldn’t say that you won’t forgive someone in this situation—sigh, never mind—sigh, never mind, it hurts before you even tried!!”

Facing Index, who was baring her teeth, Kamijou backed away without a second thought. Even if he used the luggage bag as a shield, this level of defense would easily be bitten through. Kamijou slightly felt the danger to him.

But in contrast to the trembling Kamijou’s prediction, Index didn’t rush forward, but dropped her shoulders down and sighed.

“Never mind, we came here happily to go on a tour, no point in getting angry over such a thing. Come on, Touma, put down the luggage bag.”

“...To counter with words and win without a battle, won’t you attack me when I let my guard down?”

“No.”

“Will you attack me once I’m relaxed?”

“No, no.”

“Last time...really?”

“No.”

“NO WAY! YOU’RE DEFINITELY ANGRY! EVEN FOR GIRLS, WHO MATURE FASTER THAN BOYS, THIS SORT OF ACTING WON’T FOOL THIS KAMIJOU!! HAHAHA, HOW CAN I EXPECT THAT WHEN I’M ALWAYS UNFORTUNATE! YOU’LL DEFINITELY BITE ME IN THE END! GOT TO GUARD MYSELF TIGHT, THE VICIOUS NUN INDEX IS EYEING MY HEAD, WANTING TO BITE ME!”

“...”

“AREN’T YOU ANGRY NOW? YOUR PITIFUL ACTING IS CRACKING...EH? YOU’RE REALLY ANGRY? YA! THE GENTLE NUN IS SILENTLY OPENING HER MOUTH!? DAMN IT, THIS IS THE CASE! ISN’T THIS WHAT I EXPECTED!? THOUGH I’M NOT HAPPY ABOUT THIS AT ALL WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH—!!”

The sound of flesh being bitten could be heard.

At the same time, the boy who often angered Index let out a dying cry.

Part 3

Upon reaching northern Italy, the first thing that was requested from Kamijou was the safety pins.

Upon reaching Chioggia, the first memory Kamijou made was being bitten.

“...I can’t explain this. What’s going on?”

“Touma, what’s with you saying this with blood and tears?”

A completely innocent-looking Index looked completely relaxed now.

This was just the road heading towards the hotel. Having moved through it once, one could understand that this place was extremely narrow, such that only 2 people could pass through it. Vehicles couldn’t move through freely, thus they was unable to move into the alley and would have to wait at the square.

Kamijou and Index were now heading towards the road. Though there were three lanes, there wasn’t a white line on either sides of the road, and there were no lines to distinguish which were roads and which were trails. There were a lot of people walking on the roads, so this place looked somewhat like a haven for jaywalkers. Of course, they normally saw Asians in Academy City, and a lot of Westerns on television.

Light red and yellow buildings were arranged on both sides of the road. Those from 3 stories to 5 stories tall seemed to be cafés or hotels. A tent-like awning extended out from the second level to cover the open-air area of the coffee shop, making the road look like a tunnel.

They were at a corner of a café.

The reason why Index was happy was basically because there was a lot of good food around. Seeing that there was no other reason, Kamijou sighed.

“Let’s put our stuff in the hotel before we go out to eat.”

“Uu, I know that without you telling me!!”

Index blushed as she frantically shouted, but Kamijou didn’t know whether she really knew or not. She was still looking at the café, for one thing.

“Ha, though the food looks nice, the main thing we came for are the tourist attractions. For example, that temple! Though I don’t know how it originated, it does look cool!”

“Touma, that’s the St Mark’s Basilica, it’s a magical core built out of water that’s meant to preserve the remains of the protector of Venezia—St Mark.”

“Forget about those boring explanations; wouldn’t it be better for us to go there?”

“Uu! Touma’s ignoring my kind explanation?”

“After we check in at the hotel, we’ll catch that stupid tour guide and go to Venezia! VENEZIA BANZAI!!”

“Listen, Touma! I’m not always thinking about food!!...Wa, there’s no hope now; Touma’s now completely consumed by the Italian atmosphere and can’t hear anyone!?”

Though Index was saying this as she waved her hands, Touma didn’t notice her at all. This battle nun had never thought that once someone mentioned "Italy" to a Japanese high school student, they’d only talk about pizza and soccer, and would become so excited upon entering to the streets that they would only see in television.

“Quanto costa?” (Note: How much is it?)

“Posso fare lo sconto del 10%.” (Note: I can do a discount of 10%.)

All this Italian, which seemed foreign to Kamijou, echoed around. The tourist atmosphere was abundant here.

“Desidera?” (Note: Do you want it? (This is what the seller is asking.))

“Wa! Is that the local squid ink salad...?”

“Sto solo guardando. Grazie” (Note: I’m just looking, thanks.)

Eh? Isn’t that mixed with some Japanese? Kamijou thought, but dismissed it as him hearing it wrongly.

Kamijou, who was in front dragging the luggage bag, said,

“Oh ya, Index. What about lunch...”

He paused halfway.

Kamijou Touma remembered the ‘final words’ that he said just now.

The reason was simple.

Index, who had still been there three seconds ago, had disappeared.

“SHE’S MISSING!? IN ITALIAN STYLE!!? SO THAT PERSON WHO SAID THAT SHE MISHEARD THAT SALAD WAS INDEX!!”

Shocked, Kamijou looked around, but was unable to find that girl in nun's robes.

“Damn it! It’s the crowd and the alleys' fault that I can’t find that gluttonous nun! Damn it, you’re only thinking about food alright!!”

No one replied to Kamijou’s sighs, and there was no sign of Index around. The wallet was still with Kamijou, so she couldn’t possibly have gone too far. Even if he didn’t chase after her, she would come back, but...if Kamijou didn’t stop her, who knew what kind of trouble she would stir up.

“OI~INDEX!”

Kamijou started to look around, from the roads, and in tenterhooks, back into the alleys. Looking around, he didn’t even know where he was now. He panicked as he walked into the alleys, and ended up going back onto the road.

“Wa, I seem to be the one lost!!”

Kamijou broke out in cold sweat as he stood there.

Looks like I have to rely on the handphone!

But,

Obviously, Index’s free phone was turned off (very likely, Kamijou had helped her turn it off before they got on the plane and had forgotten to turn it back on). Hearing the conventional synthetic voice (In Japanese, not Italian), Kamijou hung up the phone and dropped it into the luggage bag, completely forgetting to put it into his pocket.

Right now, Kamijou was thinking,

WHAT DO I DO NOOOOWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This voice made everyone who was walking around look at him, but nobody had the time to wonder what Kamijou’s problem was. At this moment, a local aunty moves towards Kamijou, who looked like he was bogged down by the luggage bag.

A hearty smile appeared on her face that looked like she was energetic enough to do manual labour,

“Ci sono delle preoccupazioni?” (Note: What’s the problem?)

“Ha?”

Kamijou didn’t know that she was inquiring what the problem was. On the other hand, the aunty wasn’t angry, slowly saying word by word,

“Non puoi parlare l'italiano? Là c'è un ristorante dove un giapponese fa il capo.”

You don’t know Italian? There’s a Japanese restaurant down the road. The aunty was saying this, but Kamijou was still unable to understand. However, there was a friendly feeling in the tone and expression.

(Though I don’t know Italian, I’ll really be alone if I miss this opportunity! Alright, let’s try speaking in Japanese...may be impossible, but at least let’s try English. But I don’t even know how to say ‘please English’! I wouldn’t be worrying about this Italian if I knew that!)

Kamijou was troubled. If it was in English, he might be able to say ‘please English’, but being unaccustomed to foreign languages, Kamijou was unable to catch up. His head was finally starting to heat up.

“Senta.” (Note: Listen to me)

He heard a woman’s voice.

“Lui è un mio amico. La ringrazia per la Sua gentilezza.” (Note: He's my friend. He's thanking you for your kindness.)

On hearing such fluent words, the aunty looked surprised, and said.

“Prego.” (Note: No problem, this aunty is mistaken.)

After ending with a happy tone, the aunty left Kamijou and disappeared into the crowd.

On the other hand, Kamijou didn’t know what was going on as he was abandoned there.

“Ah! I rejected the aunty unknowingly? Damn it, I thought that I could make friends with that aunty and use two hours of work to go find Index, and make this kind of story! Come to think of it, who’s the one who left me here? Damn it, I’ll just use Japanese, even if I can’t say it, at least I can express it!”

He said out loud.

In this wide world, nobody could hear it even if he shouted. Kamijou’s reasoning was almost killed off entirely, but,

“Oh my, that’s disrespectful. I’ll be troubled if you say that.”

He finally heard this language that he was so familiar with.

Besides the language, the lady’s voice was also familiar.

“You...”

Kamijou turned around.

At Chioggia, which had an eight hour time difference, the person he met here was...

“On a side note, I just said ‘He’s my friend; thank you for your kindness,’ though saying it so kindly...I’m not so familiar with you to call you a friend.”

“Orsola! Why are you here!?”

Kamijou shouted. The nun wearing black nun's robes smiled.

Part 4

Orsola Aquinas.

A nun who was formerly of the Roman Catholics, but had converted to the English Puritans. The reason was because she decoded ‘The Book of the Law’. Since that was settled, she should be in London.

Like the last time he met the nun, she was covered with nun's robes; her entire body was covered except for her face. She had white gloves on her hands, and her hair was covered by a nun's headpiece. In contrast to the lack of exposed skin, the voluptuous body of this nun caused the simple nun's robes to emphasise the curves of her body.

She said,

“I should be the one asking you. Why are you here? Shouldn’t you be in Academy City?”

“I came here for a tour. You?”

“I was here since a few days ago.”

“Wait, Orsola, you should be in London, right? You were giving advice in the English Library during Daihaseisai.”

“Yes. The conversion from the Roman Catholics to the English Puritans was rushed; my luggage was still left here. Also, I have to come back to send my valuables over to London.”

“This is your hometown?”

Facing Kamijou’s question, Orsola simply replied, ‘Nn’. Though this was a colourless exchange, to be able to converse so freely, Kamijou was honestly about to cry. Anyway, even if it’s a coincidence, you’ve helped me a lot! Kamijou thought.

“Oh, come to think about it, you’re still wearing this robe after converting to the English Puritans? Wouldn’t the guys at ‘Necessarius’ be angry?”

“Ha, but the people from the Amakusa said that they will help me move my stuff, and so they came along.”

“Wa!? Not again, you’re back to the previous topic!? But those Amakusa, don’t they belong to that Tatemiya? How is he?”

“There’s no problem with the clothing. The English Puritans are very enthusiastic and accepting to all sorts of magic spells and cultures. Right now, I’m a Roman Catholic of the English Puritans. The remaining Amakusa Catholics are also the same.”

“Now it’s the nun robes!! Not only did you ignore it, you even touched on the Amakusa! It’s hard to understand!”

This form of talking wasn’t very suitable. Besides, she was speaking how her brain processed her thoughts. However, it was hard for the person listening to understand.

On the other hand, she didn’t notice it at all, even tilting her head in a cutesy manner.

“Come to think of it, are you here to buy something?”

“Nope...I’m here with Index. However, she’s drowning in the dream of Italian salad, and has disappeared! What do I do now, Orsola? How about I tie a rope to a cake to incite her to come back!? The success rate is half-open!”

“Ma ma. Calm down. It’s rare for you to come out and tour about with Index, no? Especially since you’re not working on Academy City’s orders.”

“We’re back to this again!!...No? There’s no job. Besides, being on the other side of the world, it’s too far.”

“Anyway, there’s still some time left, right? To meet each other here, what a coincidence. Actually, there aren’t enough people to carry the luggage, so since you’re free, please help out till dinner time.”

“NO!! To give up this holiday that I meant to use as a breather!? Anyway, we’re going someplace to sightsee, at least it’s not as troublesome as having to cook my own meals.”

Though it was an ordinary reply, Orsola still looked surprised as she examined Kamijou. She noticed the chain of the wallet and the luggage bag in his hand.

“Oh my, may I ask, is that attire appropriate?”

“I DON’T WANT TO BE LECTURED BY YOU IN TERMS OF ATTIRE!!!”

The heat from the end of summer hadn’t subsided, and Kamijou was roaring at this nun for wearing completely black nun's robes in the season when it was more appropriate to wear short-sleeved or maybe shorter than long-sleeved clothes.

But Orsola looked uninterested, saying,

“Compared to Japan, there are many more nuns here.”

“Eh, Orsola’s replying normally?”

“Compared to that.”

No matter how surprised Kamijou was, Orsola pointed at the items that Kamijou had, and said,

“Dragging a brand new luggage bag around, holding a tour guidebook and a handphone with camera functions...ha, soon there will be conmen saying ‘welcome, do you want a wallet or a passport?’ or something like that.”

“Uuuu!?”

Kamijou frantically hid the handphone and notebook.

“But, but for Orsola to say this, I’m somewhat surprised.”

Orsola just blankly sighed.

“This is just a small city, so there won’t be anything major happening. To all the tourists around the world, the Italian city environment is very tough. Even on the tourist streets, the restaurants extort the tourists. The menus are 10 times the normal prices. No matter whether they’re on the roadside or if they’re billboards in Japanese, this level of information isn’t so different, you’ll be making a huge loss...get it?”

“Wa! That’s a wake-up call!! What do I do?”

“So, the conclusion is that you should have your meal with me so you won’t be slaughtered badly by those kinds of shops. I’ll tell you what to take note of. Come on, there’s no point in standing around here. You need a place to meet up with Miss Index, right? Even though I say this, Chioggia’s central is 1.3km by 400m long; there’s no problem even if you don’t think of a plan.”

To say such words unambiguously, Kamijou was touched. Of course, one should ask an Italian about stuff in Italy. Being educated on the basics of the basics, Kamijou suddenly thought of this.

“But in the end, I still want to sightsee...”

“No, that ice-cream shop was able to make Miss Index very happy.”

...................................................Huh?

“Wait wait, Orsola, what are we talking about now?”

“Right, about sightseeing, it’s good to tour through Chioggia’s settlements. It’s nice to spend money to see those sights, but the natural living environment of the residents isn’t something one can see by going with a tour guide.”

“Wait wait, rewind! Rewind! Although those suggestions are rather logical, I have to find Index first...!”

“That’s enough. I know it without having to confirm it. This lucky man.”

“WA!? ARE WE GOING FORWARD OR BACKWARDS?”

Kamijou shouted, but Orsola smiled vaguely.

“If it’s Miss Index, I just saw her at the window of the ice-cream shop.”

“I WOULD HAVE LIKED IT IF YOU HAD SAID THAT RIGHT FROM THE BEGINNING!...If so, where’s Index?”

“Thus, the way to read the bus stop sign is—”

“Basically, where is Index!!?”

“Oh yes, oh yes, I let my friend bring her back to my house.”

“THAT IDIOT LEFT ME BEHIND!!??”

“I just saw her say ‘let’s go for lunch’ as she followed along happily.”

“DDDDDDAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMNNNNNNNNNNN IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!”

‘Leave Italy to me,’ which nun said that? Kamijou was grumbling inside, his body all frozen up.

“Ugh, uu...Orsola, what should I do? Though I have been bitten by her—IT’LL BE MY TURN. JUST YOU WAIT, INDEX!!!”

Seeing the cross-popping veins on the hand that was holding the luggage bag handle, Orsola just blankly smiled.

“Be careful not to get counter-killed when you take revenge.”

“UUU!!?”

Just like that, Kamijou was defeated.

Orsola smiled happily.

“Anyway, the fastest way to meet up with Miss Index is to come to my house. Enough talk, the conclusion is to come over to my house.”

Come to think of it, going to Orsola’s place was the fastest method. It was much better than rejecting her and being alone.

“...Looks like I got into something unfortunate again.”

“Don’t mind it, don’t mind it. There would be plenty of accidents when you’re going overseas.”

Orsola said these words that seemed to be life lessons or something. Kamijou nodded his head.

Thinking about it in another way, the reason why travelling was so fun was because there were all sorts of things happening.

Speaking of travelling, as Kamijou had lost his memory, he had no memory of leaving Academy City on vacation.

Between the lines 1

Two horse carriages were parked on the road.

Though this was so, the ones pulling carriages were donkeys—in the past, they were pitiful animals which only fools would ride on.

The carriage was red in colour, with gold decorations on it.

Not only was there a license plate, but a lot of effort had been put into the measurements and specific adjustments. If used for touring, this carriage wasn’t so strange. Like those Venezia tour boats, as long as the customers needed it, any carriage, no matter how old, could be used.

But,

The carriage was in a different position from a normal carriage — it was horizontally placed. It looked like it had skidded, but that was not the case. The front right wheel of the four-wheel carriage was shocked loose, very unnaturally, like it was separated for some sort of reason.

At this moment, a hitting sound could be heard.

With the anguished cry of a male, an explosion could be heard as if trying to cut the cry off.

“Coo...to make a dying sound, such an atrocious sound.”

Saying this, a tall nun walked out of the shadows of the carriage. It was the nun, Lucia. Like St. Catherine of Alexandria, she wielded a large carriage wheel as her weapon. Compared to the gentle impression of a female, her dyed red hand would make anyone tense.

It was blood.

Lucia’s nun's robes were basic black robes with zips on the sleeves and skirt to make it easy to wear. Attached to the robes were yellow sleeves and a skirt. Yellow wasn’t a recognised colour for a nun’s robe; it was a spiritual tool that used the ‘forbidden colour’ to turn a nun’s robes into a seal.

The ‘forbidden coloured robe’ used the caster’s life-force and converted it into magical energy. It was not something that one could easily obtain. The spiritual tool itself didn’t have the effect of ‘clothing illumination’ (using that powerful effect would make it more dangerous); using the magical power on useless tasks would end up with the caster unable to use magic no matter how much the person trained.

But right now, she needed to dye the ‘forbidden coloured robe’ to seal off some of the magical properties. Of course, only her blood was effective.

“Sister Angelene, is everything ready there!?”

“Seems, seems like it’s done...”

After hearing the petite girl’s reply, Lucia looked inside the carriage. From the exterior, one wouldn’t imagine that the inside was slightly stained—in that carriage where the ceiling and walls were dark, the petite nun’s voice could be heard, seemingly struggling as she continued to work.

Compared to Lucia, who was wearing short sleeves, Angelene’s sleeves were so long that one couldn’t even see her fingers. “Can she really work like that?” Lucia muttered.

“...Ready! I’m now going to release the spell and retrieve the contents!”

With a soft voice.

The girl called Angelene took a metal box out of the carriage which it was fitted onto. The inside contained a magical weapon that was used to deal with traitors. Normally, people other than the designated personnel couldn’t use it. To seal it up like this, Angelene forcefully removed the seal.

Lucia nodded her head.

Not far away from the carriage was a tourist street, from where noise echoed over in full force. The sound in this ruckus was rather distinct, making a ‘th’ sound that wasn’t present in Italian, instead of using the ‘gli’ and ‘sci’ sounds, and also reading ‘s’ and ‘z’.

“This kind of reading...it sure feels like Laguna Gamagori style...but there are some differences from the original.”

Angelene muttered as she carried the thin and long metal box.

“If so, this means, that we’re going to be brought back to the ‘queen’, right, Sister Lucia? The ‘queen’...why must this be exaggerated...”

“We came out here to investigate it, Sister Angelene. I’m worried about Sister Agnese’s condition. I can’t relax with that seal alone. Let’s prepare to hide that tracking spiritual tool first.”

Angelene nodded her head in agreement.

The petite nun confirmed everything before getting off the carriage, and Lucia grabbed the wheel that fell off with both hands. Her weapon was based on the ‘Wheel legend’ of St Catherine, using a wheel that exploded and regenerated.

The two nuns took up their own weapons and silently left the street. In contrast to their black nun robes, the yellow sleeves and skirt danced in the wind abnormally, attracting attention like the warning colour of a hornet’s abdomen, but they ignored this handicap as they moved into the scenery.

I will not agree to it.

As she walked, Lucia thought.

Sister Agnese is the nun that will cause my back to shiver out of respect. God is judging her like a sinner, the Church is discarding her like a tool or something... because I believe in the Roman Catholics, I will not agree to the method that’s like abandoning someone.

Lifting up her eyes that had been fixated on the ground, she looked forward as she quickened her pace. She was holding onto this unreliable weapon.

They had made their stand.

But because of that, and because they had focused too much on their own conscience, they were too slow to react to the outside world.

With a huge sound,

“BOOM”...!!?

Like being hit in the chest, the air in Lucia’s lungs was forced out. Her leg that was extended out instantly lost strength, and the fingers on her hands which were holding the carriage wheel became numb. Her only weapon, the wheel, rolled out and slammed hard onto the floor.

This pressure...which spiritual tool is causing it!?

Lucia just thought of this, unable to take in enough air to say this in time.

Her body was pressed hard onto the dusty stone floor, and she didn’t even have anything to support herself. Her soft face was hurting from the sand grains pressing against her face. Looking sideways, Angelene, who was hit by the same attack, instantly lost her consciousness. She lost consciousness due to the initial hit, not by lack of oxygen.

Within her blurry vision, something was shining.

Turning her head around, Lucia saw a red light inside the carriage.

To move the carriage and the ‘forbidden colour point’ together...is it to prevent us from escaping? Maybe it’s when we move a certain distance away from the carriage, or when the carriage loses its mobility, or maybe after a certain amount of time or something...

Thinking about this, she exhaled a huge amount of air.

...To think that it’s over at this point.

In this slanted vision, she saw a new carriage coming over. For that spiritual tool to have such an effect, they were a bit too hasty. Maybe before the driver and the guards of the carriage were defeated, they had contacted the others through an emergency method.

Her fingers couldn’t even react.

She couldn’t even use any spells that only required the use of her head.

Though her hand could almost reach the wheel and use it as a weapon, Lucia, who had lost the preemptive chance, was about to lose consciousness.

Only a person’s name appeared in her mind.

Sister Agnese...

And then, she lost consciousness.

She was lifted up by the back of the collar of her nun's robes and was tossed inside the carriage like a rag sack.

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