Chapter 45: Cutting Through the Chaos

In other words, I needed to call Stiyl and Kanzaki.

Even though they’re magicians, they apparently both carry cell phones, and Reicia-chan had exchanged contact info with them during that incident. The plan was to give them a call and ask for an official decision from the Church of England.

Well, considering this whole mess was caused by Sherrey's rampage, the Church of England is clearly the one at fault this time. So if someone from the receiving end—Academy City—says, “Hey, we want to take down the person you guys let loose,” they can’t really refuse, can they?

The problem isn’t attacking without permission—it’s attacking without asking. As long as we get permission, we’re good.

…Reicia-chan seemed a little fidgety, but since she didn’t object, I’ll take that as a sign there’s no major flaw in the plan.

That said, calling before we even find Sherrey would raise its own problems, so we’ll make the call after we locate her.

So, for now, we wait until the end-of-term ceremony wraps up.

“…That’s—”

As I wandered the city searching for Sherrey—thinking vaguely that she might be in the underground mall where that fight happened—I spotted a girl firing a flare straight up into the sky.

“…Shirai-san. And—”

Following her line of sight, I saw a woman standing there.

She had dark skin, blonde hair, and wore a gothic lolita outfit… Sherrey Cromwell. The third magician I’ve encountered.

As I was wondering how to intervene, Kuroko suddenly teleported right in front of Sherrey. Man, teleportation is really overpowered.

Kuroko then used teleportation again to slam Sherrey to the ground, pinning her down with metal darts. But in the very next moment, the ground exploded and she was blown away.

《Reicia-chan, let’s move.》
《Y-Yes… I-I suppose we must.》

Something about her response felt unsteady, but I quickly deployed the Jagged Edge—white-black serrated blades in a spherical barrier, this time in stealth mode—and isolated everything within a ten-meter radius, including myself.

…Yeah, it kind of gouges up the ground, but let’s just let that slide.

With this, Sherrey can’t escape. I pull out my phone and call Stiyl. Electricity passes through stealth mode just fine, so signals work too. Super convenient.

“……Ah, hello?”

“Reicia? What is it? I’m sticking around in Academy City even though things are hectic. Don’t tell me it’s another crisis—”

“Oh, it’s Shiren. I’m the one calling.”

“…!?”

So Stiyl is in Academy City…

Didn’t seem like it in the novels, but I guess he’s still here because of our whole incident.

“R-Right! Then forget what I just said. I’m currently in… Britain…”

“There’s no need to tell such obvious lies.”

…Is Stiyl hiding something too? But what’s his connection with Reicia-chan? Actually, maybe there isn’t one. Still, I’m curious.

Regardless, if Stiyl’s here, things just got easier.

“More importantly, since you’re here, I’d like to ask for a favor.”

“…What is it?”

“A magician seems to be attacking, so I was hoping you could take care of it. If I were to defeat her, it might cause complications…”

“………………Why does this always happen at the worst possible time…”

It was the kind of statement that made it crystal clear Stiyl was holding his head in his hands. I don’t know what he’s plotting, but good luck with that.

“…Got it. Just stall her for a bit until I get there.”

With that, the call ended.

………………Alright, guess it’s time for us to get to work too.


Final Chapter: The Comeback of a Certain Villainess – We_are_"a_Villainess".
Episode 37: Cutting Through the Chaos – Tool-Assisted_Superplay_Playing.


When I returned my focus after ending the call, I saw Kuroko bound up in one of Sherrey’s golems.

Teleportation’s strong, sure—but when you’re injured or cornered like that, it becomes unusable right away. The calculation load is just too heavy. I guess it’s well-balanced in that sense.

《Heheh, how pathetic of you, Shirai.》
《Reicia-chan, you’ve got a dark sense of humor.》

Seriously, it’s kind of a crisis here.

Just then, I noticed a familiar face inside the barrier I’d formed with the “crack.” It was Mikoto.

Looks like she was planning to use magnetism to form iron-sand blades and disable the golem. Her eyes silently said, “Leave the goth-loli girl to me,” so I nodded and created a new “crack” barrier.

Zzzzzzash!! A brilliant white cocoon of “cracks” surrounded Sherrey like a shell. She’s probably screaming something in there, but I can’t hear it. The Jagged Edge reflects sound too, after all.

With Sherrey sealed in, I can now cancel the initial ten-meter barrier.

Just then—

A thunderous boom echoed as the golem collapsed. Looks like Mikoto fired her railgun and destroyed it.

“Thank you for your help, both of you.”

“…Reicia-san? What are you doing here? Actually, same question for you, Onee-sama.”

“Just passing by. More importantly, we’ve restrained the suspect, but who was she?”

“A terrorist. …Thank you for your assistance—and for helping secure the suspect.”

“Oh, no. The one who did the saving was Misaka-san. I merely provided support.”

As I smiled and answered Shirai, Mikoto came over.

《…You’re the Shiren one, right?》
《That’s right. I’m surprised you figured it out.》
《Your vibe gives it away in an instant… But looks like you’re okay. Good, good.》

With a satisfied nod, Mikoto walked off.

…Is Mikoto hiding something too? At this point, I’m starting to wonder if everyone’s keeping secrets from me. …What the heck?

“…Still no response from Anti-Skill. Maybe the lines are congested. Reicia-san, Onee-sama—sorry, but can I leave this place to you while I go contact HQ directly?”

“Hm? That’s rare of you to ask. Sure, leave it to us. Honestly, we’re more reliable than most people anyway.”

“Quite so. Leave it to us.”

With a polite nod, Kuroko teleported away.

………Hmm. The whole “network congestion” thing is probably a setup by Academy City. They don’t want Kuroko around when we hand Sherrey over to Stiyl.

As for Mikoto—well, she’s vaguely familiar with Stiyl, so she probably won’t get in the way.

“—You okay?!”

Just as I was thinking that, a group of Anti-Skill officers arrived—passing by us on the way in. …Huh? Weren’t we supposed to hand her over to Stiyl? Why are they showing up now? I thought Academy City had already arranged everything?

“You’re the ones who captured the terrorist? That’s reckless… So, where is the suspect?”

“O-Over there…”

I pointed toward the “Rift,” now wrapped up like a white cocoon.

《What do we do, Reicia-chan?》

《The problem might be that they’re too competent on the scene… Still, we don’t really have the option to not hand her over, do we? At best, we can try to delay things.》

《Yeah, pretty much…》

If we handed Sherry over to regular Anti-Skill officers, it’d be a nightmare. Way more trouble than just letting Kamijou beat her down.

As I hesitated, still mulling over what to do, the Anti-Skill officers heartlessly kept things moving.

“…I see. Good work. We’ll handle the rest from here. Step aside.”

“B-But…”

…At this point, I had no choice but to keep stalling in this stammer mode! If it comes down to it, I’ll claim the suspect might use some kind of ability, get them to gear up more, and buy some time!

“There’s no need to worry.”

Just as I was thinking that, a calm voice interrupted.

“…Stiyl-san.”

I turned around and saw that Stiyl had just arrived. So there really was no problem after all… Oh, wait. Maybe these Anti-Skill guys aren’t just regular security. Maybe they’re undercover from the dark side.

If that’s the case, it makes sense why they had Kuroko step away before showing up like this.

What came after that was, well, basically just cleanup.

Once I deactivated the black-and-white jagged-edge Jagged Edge, Sherry—now freed—tried to resist, but several Anti-Skill officers immediately restrained her.

Stiyl said something to her, and Sherry slumped over in defeat and was led away without a fight. Judging by her state, I doubt she’ll put up any more resistance.

Good, good. That wraps up the incident from Volume 6. …I think there was a scene where Sherry causes Kazakiri to realize she’s not human, but that could’ve happened differently anyway. Yeah, it’s fine.

From here, I’ll tag along with Kamijou’s group and subtly nudge Kazakiri toward realizing the truth—that she’s not human—and then help her through it so she doesn’t get hurt.

“…By the way, who the heck are you? I didn’t get a chance to ask yesterday, but showing up with Anti-Skill like this is way beyond normal.”

“Hmph. If we’re going there, you and that esper aren’t exactly normal either.”

“Well, sure, but still…”

“More importantly, are you sure everything’s fine? This situation is full of irregularities…”

“That part’s under control! And hey, you’re being loud!”

“You’ve got no room to talk!”

As I watched, Misaka and Stiyl were arguing again about something or other.

………………What are they hiding? I’m super curious. But I probably shouldn’t ask.

“So, what are you guys doing after this? I’m staying here to wait for Kuroko.”

“I’ve got no reason to stay. I’ve still got things to do.”

“I was thinking of going to find Kamijou-san. I owe him a thank-you from yesterday.”

At that, the two of them suddenly made complicated faces.

Even Reicia-chan made a weird face. Hey—why’s that reaction showing on your actual face?

《…I’d advise against dealing with that guy, honestly. You know… his surroundings are always a mess.》

《Yeah, totally. And besides, that guy probably hasn’t finished his homework and is super busy right now. Better to leave him be…》

《………………So Kamijou-san is the key, huh.》

When I muttered that, both of them instantly looked startled.

Even Reicia-chan was startled. …Okay, now this is getting downright bizarre.

“W-What are you—”

“Look, even I can tell you’re all hiding something. I don’t know what it is, but… if that’s the case, then I understand.”

“H-Hey, Shiren-san? It’s not like that, really! It’s not anything bad, just… some dumb thing, nothing important, okay!?”

“If that’s how it is, I’ll just let it go.”

“Right, Shiren, take it easy and… huh?”

When I lowered my metaphorical spear, they all blinked in surprise.

Even Reicia-chan—no, not this time! I kept a straight face and overrode her reaction!

“So, I don’t know what you’re all scheming… but if it involves Reicia-san, Misaka-san, Stiyl-san, and even Kamijou-san, then it probably isn’t anything bad… so I’ll leave it alone.”

When I added that, the two of them visibly relaxed.

Still, I couldn’t help but think—man, everyone here is terrible at keeping secrets… But then again, aren’t they all fourteen? If that’s the case, I guess it can’t be helped.


After that, I obviously couldn’t head over to Kamijou’s place, so I returned to Tokiwadai Middle School.

It’s our day off today, but there’s probably some faction meeting or another. I was getting a little bored of wandering around anyway, so Reicia-chan and I figured we might as well head over there.

Besides, I hadn’t properly reported the issue with the dual personality yet.

“R-Reicia-san!? Why are you here!? I thought today was your day off!?”

…Or so I thought, but the first thing Yumetsuki-san hit me with was that reaction. So they’re involved in this whole mess too, huh?

…………Honestly, at this point I’ve basically figured it out, but I’m not going to say anything. I’m not that tactless.

“It’s Shiren here. I was just bored, so I decided to drop by.”

“O-Ohhh, I see! It’s great to see such enthusiasm! (...Hey! What are you doing here!? Hurry up and clean this up already!)”

The way she braced herself against the door with both arms made it blatantly obvious there was something behind it, but I pretended not to notice. Because I’m an adult.

“Still, is it really okay for you to be up and about already? Weren’t you supposed to be on bedrest…?”

“Yes, the doctor did give me the green light. I’ve had no issues today either. —But perhaps we should leave it for now. It seems like you’re in the middle of something.”

As I said that, I turned my eyes toward the door Yumetsuki-san was currently blocking with all her might.

She immediately started sweating bullets. Way too easy to read...

《Tch… Idiot Shika. At least try to keep a poker face…!》

Uh, Reicia-chan? You’re not exactly one to talk.

“Well then, I’ll be going. Good luck with your preparations, Yumetsuki-san.”

“...Huh? Just now, Shiren-san, did you call me Yumetsuki…?”

Ignoring the dumbfounded Yumetsuki-san, I turned on my heel.

Now that I’m officially a separate persona, I don’t need to match how I address people anymore. Besides, Reicia-chan always calls her ‘Shika’ anyway.

It wasn’t exactly payback for all the secrets they were keeping, but still—leaving behind the stunned Yumetsuki-san, I walked away from the scene.

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