Having been chased out of the classroom, Index puffed her cheeks as she walked along the classroom.
She was holding 2,000 yen. That was what Komoe-sensei had stuffed into Index's hands after saying 'why did you come here? Go home! Don't follow strangers! Here, use this to take a taxi back!'.
(…Touma actually showed such an expression.)
On remembering the scene just now, Index's jaw dropped. It had been a month since she had started living together with Kamijou, but that was the first time that Kamijou had actually given such a painful look the moment he saw her. Obviously, he had 'rejected' her.
Just as Index was wondering what to do with this lonely feeling, she got hungry again. When it rains, it pours, Index thought as she bit her lip unhappily.
At this moment, she passed by a cafeteria.
The aroma of fried vegetables and food floated in, causing the calico cat that Index was carrying to purr. Index stopped.
"…I'm hungry."
As she recalled, as Kamijou had been in quite the rush this morning, the breakfast that he had made was a little subpar. In terms of satisfaction, the grade was only about 40%.
Like a zombie, Index crept into the cafeteria.
Though the cafeteria was large, the set-up was rather simple. There were about 100 sets of 1 round table and 4 metal chairs. There was a counter at one corner of a wall, and the kitchen seemed to be behind. The sound of food being fried could be heard from the kitchen, and there were three coupon vending machines near the other wall.
(Mm, I did read it up in a manga before. If I put money into that thing, there will be a food coupon.)
Index compared the image in front of her with the knowledge in her brain and made this conclusion. Right now, besides 'The Kinugyokutoshū' (The Moon and The Rabbit), 'The Book of Creation', and 'The Book of the Law', the library in Index's brain had stockpiled a few shounen manga. Stiyl and the rest would definitely faint if they were to know of this, but for Index, who was able to store her memory appropriately, this didn't seem to be a major problem.
Index was standing in front of the vending machine.
She pulled the crumpled piece of 2,000 yen note flat and inserted it into the machine.
(See, I can do it. Touma always said that I can't catch up to the times, said that I'm old fashioned. This sort of thing won't stump me. Now, all I need to do is just to press the button.)
Index felt slightly proud, and just as she reached her hand out and intended to press the button…
She stopped.
Because there wasn't a single button on the coupon vending machine.
(Ah? Eh? This…what's going on? Where should I press?)
There seemed to be some table lamp strip on the vending machine, and there was a liquid crystal display on the front, each showing the prices. Other than those, there was nothing else. There were no other options to choose from.
In fact, this coupon vending machine was similar to the ticket vending machine at a train station; both used touch screen display. However, Index didn't know that.
(Ah…eh? Ah…uuu, yeah, that's right, got to get back the money first. Ah…eh? How do I get the money back? Where's the button?)
The 'cancel' button was also at the edge of the display, but that had already become a psychologically blind spot to Index. Ever since she had seen the calico cat claw at a cooking show on the TV screen to no avail, Index didn't think that 'reaching out to touch it' was a meaningful thing to do.
Index grabbed the vending machine and shook it as she peeked into the coin outlet, but this action obviously wouldn't do anything.
"Uu…uuuuuuuu…I became as unfortunate as Touma…"
Index collapsed weakly in despair. She was like the High School baseball players who lost in the Koshien Finals as she sighed in despair. Only the calico cat didn't understand the situation as it casually yawned.
At this moment, footsteps could be heard from behind.
Just as Index was feeling rather intrigued, someone tapped her shoulder.
The opening ceremony was held in the sports hall.
The students were all exiting the classrooms and heading to the sports hall, causing the entire corridor to be crowded like a train station during a vacation.
At this moment however, Kamijou didn't move along together with his classmates. The reason was simple, because he was worried about leaving Index alone.
"Damn it…though I have no right to say this, she gets into trouble very easily!"
Besides that, there was also another problem. Since Index had photographic memory, if she were to see the esper development program, the magic side may have ended up getting information on the science side's secret intel, but of course, Kamijou hadn't thought that much.
Anyway, he had to find Index. Kamijou kept his sleepy mind active as he ran along the corridor.
The one who had tapped Index on the shoulder was a girl who she had never met before.
She was taller than Index, but shorter than Kamijou. Her hair was black with a light tinge of tea, but it seemed like she didn't dye her hair; instead it seemed to be a natural color. Her hair was long, about waist-length. However, there was a small bunch of hair that split at the ears, with a rubber band holding. She had a knowledgeable look with those spectacles on her, but they seemed to slide down for some reason. Index stared at the chest of the person. Unfortunately, based on this protrusion from the inside, the girl beat Index by quite a margin.
(Who is she?)
Though Index didn't have the right to say that to someone else, this girl was wearing a different uniform from the people at Kamijou's school. The female students here all wore white short-sleeved sailor blouses with a deep blue skirt. However, this girl was wearing a short-sleeved collar shirt and a long blue skirt. The red tie that seemed to be used by the men looked rather eye-catching over the white and blue clothing, but this was also obviously different from this school's uniform.
Index exchanged looks with that girl.
A pair of tiny animal-like eyes could be seen behind the spectacles that dropped down slightly.
"That…you need to press that button."
"Eh?"
"That…button on the screen…"
The girl said softly as she pointed at the coupon vending machine with her finger. After a while, Index recovered as she saw the liquid crystal display that was attached to the vending machine.
Right now, Index was showing a look of a child who was lost in a country where she didn't know the language.
"Button? But there's no buttons on it?"
"Eh…"
The girl seemed to be rather puzzled.
"What I meant is that…you just need to touch the screen…don't you know? Ah, uu…please don't look like you're about to cry."
"You're lying. I know that there won't be any change even if I touch the people in the TV."
"…"
The girl silently walked towards the vending machine and pressed the cancel button on the corner of the screen.
With a 'crack—' rotor spinning sound, the vending machine spat out the 2,000 yen it had just swallowed. Index was stunned by this.
"How…how did it become like this?"
"That…that's why I said that you just need to touch the screen…"
"A…amazing! Is this TV connected to the inside?"
"Eh…this isn't the TV…"
"Amazing, this is amazing! Do it again! Do it again!"
Facing this sudden shout, the calico cat purred in protest. For some reason, Index was so abnormally excited that she forgot that she was hungry, as she reinserted the 2,000 yen note that was had just been spit out back into the vending machine, staring at it like a girl watching a magician.
The girl revealed a reluctant look as she again pressed the 'cancel' button.
The 2,000 yen note was ejected again. Such a simple thing, and Index was already giving a look of admiration.
"Then…then what about this? What's this 'filter condition search' thing?"
"Eh…you just need to insert the keywords here, and it'll list all the things that doesn't include the keywords…for example, those who are allergic to eggs just need to type in the word 'egg', and this thing here will list out all the things that don't include eggs…"
"Then what's this? What's this information search?"
"Exactly as what it says…it can use numbers to search for nutritional values like Vitamin C or Iron…for example, if you're looking for less than 150 kcal…it'll come up with a diet meal."
The girl continued to explain the unnecessary details, yet Index was as excited as a child, as if she was some kindergartener who dreamed of being an astronomer hearing the introduction of a spaceship. The girl again continued to get praised, revealing a look of whether she should be happy or not.
After explaining everything, Index smiled at the girl, and said,
"Thank you. What's your name?"
"…Mm, Kazakiri Hyouka."
In the end, Index and Kazakiri didn't order anything, instead merely taking up the chairs of the cafeteria as they started to talk. Though they were talking, it was mainly just Kazakiri hearing Index complain. Index was concentrating too much about complaining and forgot that she was hungry.
"In the end, I called Touma's name, but Touma didn't answer me, and he even looked away. Really, it's Touma who forgot about making lunch…"
Kazakiri stared at Index, and then at the calico cat Index was carrying.
"Uu…mm…but basically, outsiders are prohibited from entering school…if you're seen by the teachers, it may be troublesome…"
"But Hyouka, didn't you do the same thing?"
"I…I'm alright, because I'm a transfer student…even though I don't have a uniform…"
"Then I want to be a transfer student too."
"…Eh…"
Kazakiri Hyouka frowned, giving a look of not knowing what to say.
"Anyway, I want to floor Touma up pretty good. I don't want to go home like this, and if I don't ask about lunch, I might really have a hunger crisis."
"But…your attire is too eye-catching…"
"Hm?"
Index noticed the clothing on her.
A pure white nun's habit with gold laces, it was as eye-catching as one huge princess robe, but Index was too used to it that she didn't notice it.
"If you're caught…that person will be rather bothered, right…"
"Then what should I do?"
If it was someone with a tougher personality that didn't have a good choice of words, the likely words would be 'hurry up and go home'. However, Kazakiri Hyouka could only frantically roll her eyes and say,
"…Eh, the infirmary may have extra uniforms…but they may be ordinary PE attire instead of standard uniforms…"
"PE uniform? We won't get discovered if we wear them?"
Facing this naïve problem, Kazakiri Hyouka revealed a bothered look.
If one was to consider through common sense, no matter what, it was less conspicuous than the nun's habit Index was wearing. However, today was the opening ceremony, and there wouldn't be any lessons, so it was too eye-catching for them to wear PE attire. Also, no school would allow pets to be brought in. However, she couldn't think of any better idea…after thinking about it for a while, Kazakiri said,
"…Nn, definitely…should be…possibly…maybe…unlikely?"
Unable to respond properly, Kazakiri finally gave an ambiguous answer.
Index and Kazakiri walked down an empty corridor.
"Oh…that's right, how does a PE attire look like?"
"Eh…how should I describe it…they're clothes meant for sports. The materials are specially selected, and are rather elastic, so they're rather comfortable, and dust won't stick on it easily…"
"A…amazing! Is this the 'hi-tech stuff' that Touma talked of?"
"…Eh…"
"Amazing! Oh yeah, Hyouka should wear it too! It'll be great!"
"...Eh…that…"
Being weak in personality, Kazakiri was unable to imagine the wild imagination of the petite Index as she could only let herself be dragged away by Index, the corner of her eyes behind the spectacles secretly shedding a tear.
At this moment, Kamijou was still looking for Index.
Right now, the crowded corridors just a while back were completely empty. Kamijou continued to run throughout the corridors as he secretly sighed. The opening ceremony should be starting soon.
(…Damn it! And I was so close to mixing into the class! Oh well, at least the opening ceremony is just about listening to what that principal has to say…how does that principal look like anyway? Oh well, better go find Index first.)
Kamijou looked around in all directions as he continued to run.
At that moment, he could hear a familiar voice.
(Hm? This voice is—ENEMY PLANE DETECTED! THE MODEL IS A STUPID NUN!)
He stopped and pricked his ears. It was the sound of a girl happily chirping about. There was no one nearby, but the voice was extremely clear. Kamijou turned to where the voice came from and frowned. The sign on the door said 'infirmary'.
Kamijou's mouth inadvertently twitched.
(Da…damn it! I dragged my sleep-deprived brain all around to look for you, and you're actually fooling around on the bed of the infirmary? That's too much!)
Kamijou placed his hand on the infirmary door and pulled it open.
"Oi! Index! What are you doing inside the infirmary? You'll only get one disease called the 10,000 year 5 month illness!"
Pa! Kamijou pulled open the door of the infirmary hard.
Feeling extremely motivated, Kamijou decided to lecture Index good today.
But like a manga scene, what he saw was girls who were changing clothes, two of them.
One of them was the nun he was familiar with, but for some reason, she was not wearing the nun's habit, but short-sleeved gym shirt and shorts…and she was only wearing the shorts halfway through. She was bending her back, with both hands on the sides of the shorts. She stopped what she was doing, her mouth was twitching.
The other was a girl he had never met before, she was wearing some other school's summer uniform. The girl had long hair, but a small bundle of it was tied up in a rubber band and extended out to the side. Maybe it was deliberate or second nature, but the spectacles of the girl slid down slightly. However…the main point was that the girl's shirt was unbuttoned. She was holding onto a short-sleeved shirt, and she was completely frozen to the spot. Only those small animal-like eyes behind her spectacles looked like they were about to tear up anytime soon.
The two girls who were unable to register the current situation stared blankly at Kamijou.
Only the calico cat was unable to register the danger as it washed its face with its front paw.
Facing this almost certain death situation, Kamijou could only shout,
".........…EH, I GOT INTO THE WRONG ROOM!!!"
The next moment, both girls' faces were blushing.
Kamijou sincerely hoped that the reason they were blushing was because they were embarrassed, but that wasn't the case.
The next moment, the angry scream and the sound of something breaking roared into the skies.