4:30 PM.
Using the bus stop where he lost Oriana Thomson as the center, Kamijou Touma looked around as if he was drawing a circle.
Of course, there was a high likelihood that Oriana had taken the auto-bus and got away. However, it was possible that she defied their expectations and chose not to take the bus. Since they couldn't track Oriana down using the offensive methods, and Kamijou couldn't find out about the methods of using the Croce di Pietro since his technical abilities were inadequate, he could only eliminate the possibilities of these ordinary methods.
The lead, Tsuchimikado, was analyzing Oriana's movements from a while back, trying to find out where the Croce di Pietro could be activated. Kamijou could only let a specialized magician handle it as he waited for the report.
Kamijou continued to run, his skin feeling the 4:30 PM air.
From noon to afternoon, the streets were still rather warm, but the feeling of the sun beating down on the skin was much gentler now. The only thing that hadn't changed was that Kamijou was running through the crowd that was heading towards shops, buying gifts, as well as towards the next arena. On the way, he could see someone with fluffy blond hair in the crowd.
(…!? No, no, that's not Oriana.)
As there were several students who dyed their hair, and there were also tourists from other countries, it was not uncommon to see people with blond hair.
In order not to block other people who were moving about, Kamijou went to the side of the road and stopped for a while.
(Oriana doesn't seem to be waiting for me to leave…however, this is the situation if she's not in the building.)
He thought as he looked up from the pavement. The windows of the towers that were of uneven height reflected sunlight.
(It's hard to look through everything in one go…but then, that's better than not doing anything at all. Alright, let's do it!)
Kamijou pat his face with both hands, and headed towards a tower near a large electronics store.
On the way…
"'Wait a second,' says Misaka as Misaka chases after and looks. 'Misaka just wants to look at souvenirs, so don't abandon me,' says Misaka as Misaka tries to argue back but has no intention of stopping."
He could hear a child's voice.
Kamijou casually turned around, and among the crowd, he heard someone that he shouldn't be seeing anywhere around here. It was like a child's voice, and may be hiding among the crowd, but Misaka…? He thought about it for a while, but right now, there were more important things to do.
(Right now, Tsuchimikado is doing the main task. I can only silently cheer him on.)
He passed through the auto-door and looked around the spacious and bright store.
The air-conditioning was rather comfortable, and the store was sufficiently laminated. The feeling of sunlight beating down on his skin was also rather slow. Kamijou slowly looked around the store, checking whether Oriana was in the store, occasionally looking outside the large window panel.
The glaring sunlight was fading from the 4:30 PM sky. Though the sky wasn't red yet, it felt that the blue color was becoming lighter. In an hour, it would be an evening sky.
Then the first star would twinkle.
Before the curtain of the night completely settled, the brightness of the constellation would probably reveal itself first.
"…If our estimate from a while back is correct, there's only two hours left."
Just as Kamijou sighed, the phone rang.
The display showed not Tsuchimikado's name, but an unknown number.
He picked up the phone. It was from Stiyl Magnus.
"I asked Tsuchimikado what your number is, but I don't intend to record it."
Maybe Stiyl was smoking, as Kamijou could hear the sound of air puffing out.
"I'm done with that female student. Where are you right now?"
Kamijou's breathing momentarily stopped.
He hastily gripped the phone tightly.
"!? How's Himegami now!?"
"…It'll be troublesome if you expect perfection from me. It's a method that I'm unfamiliar with. One can't possibly be successful the first time he uses a healing spell. To be honest, I don't want to use that kind of spell again. I'm only using a layman's knowledge as reference, carefully inspecting through these vague words to find the magical meaning behind it, and then recombining them to form a healing spell. Such an action is like walking on a tightrope. I was sweating over whether I'll lose control of the spell, and even now, I'm crossing my fingers about it."
Stiyl said unhappily.
For a man with such pride to say this, it meant that it was a really dangerous operation.
Kamijou felt that something heavy fell off his abdomen.
"Anyway, I've already strengthened her blood vessels, added blood in them, and eased her pain signals to get her away from her shock state. What's next is the doctor's job…the paramedics are rather confident, saying that in a nearby hospital, there's a miracle doctor who can fulfill much more of his ability the more critical the situation is."
It sounded embarrassing.
It was like a hooligan saving a cat on the roadside, and then caught in the act by an ordinary citizen.
"You…"
"Ah? What's with this lifeless tone? I said it several times, I can't possibly live with you cheerfully…WAHH!!"
Dong!! An unbelievable voice came from the phone.
A voice besides Stiyl's…
"Uuu! Sensei hasn't thanked you yet! Uwahhh~!! If you weren't here, Himegami…Himegami would have—!!"
"Stop…stop it!! Why are you hugging me and crying!! I never guaranteed that I could heal her. If we can't restore her strength, she'll still fall in the end… ARE YOU LISTENING!!?"
Putting the phone next to his ear, Kamijou was silently worried (maybe) that Komoe-sensei, who was clinging onto the magician, would be burnt to a crisp, but Stiyl unexpectedly didn't seem to be using his powers. Seemed like if the other person was a small girl, he would let down his guard.
He couldn't talk about the magic battle in front of Komoe-sensei.
Kamijou intended to say "Call you back later," and end off the call, but—
"Call Tsuchimikado."
In the midst of this ruckus, Stiyl said,
"He seemed to have gotten some clue. I'll get over there as soon as I get rid of her."