Unlimited Ambition

Mugino Shizuri remained silent, but I noticed her pupils suddenly contract.

"It seems that's the case." I chuckled twice.

"That's about it. The feeling of being betrayed by a subordinate... However, you've got one thing wrong, Ms. Mugino Shizuri."

"what's up?"

"...Frenda was never your subordinate from the beginning. She was a spy I sent to Academy City, and it was my idea to defect to School."

"How could this be?!"

Hearing me say that, both girls wanted to say the same thing, but as soon as Frenda opened her mouth, I rubbed her head and made her swallow her words. Therefore, only Mugino Shizuri spoke.

"So, the one you should really hate is me, not this guy."

I said this, and then prepared to fight Mugino Shizuri.

Just then, I suddenly noticed that behind Mugino Shizuri, the two girls who should have been part of the same item as her (there was also a handyman, please ignore him) were running towards us—and then, upon seeing Mugino Shizuri's back, they seemed startled and turned to run away.

Um, it can't be such a coincidence, can it?

Could it be that those two girls are also planning to defect?

Mugino Shizuri, just how much of a failure are you as a person?

Chapter 43: His command skills were so poor, he deserved to be overthrown by his subordinates.

Mugino Shizuri, observing my gaze, noticed that I was looking behind her. Turning around, I saw two other subordinates, Takitsubo Rigo and Kinuhata Saiai (along with a negligible henchman), running in the opposite direction. It didn't look like they were there to support her at all.

Immediately, Mugino Shizuri understood what had happened. She was so angry she almost vomited blood. This time, she had completely lost face. She abandoned me and Frenda and ran straight towards the other two.

“Hey, Boss,” Frenda whispered, tugging at my sleeve, “Why don’t we take this opportunity to run away?”

"Why are you running?" I rolled my eyes. "With me here, do you think anyone would dare to touch you? You can rest assured."

"But..." Frenda naturally wouldn't say that she was burning with desire and wanted to find a secluded place to take care of herself as soon as possible. She couldn't think of any other reason, and seeing that I had followed her out of curiosity, she could only continue to hold my arm and follow me step by step, even though she could barely walk at that time.

In that instant, Mugino Shizuri had cornered the two girls in a narrow alley. He was about to unleash a massacre.

"...I'll hold her off! Hamazura, you take her and go first!" I vaguely remember that big-headed loli; I think her name was Kinuhata Saiai. Judging from the nitrogen-covered arms, that's probably her ability.

The little girl smashed through the wall behind her with a single punch, then gestured to the handyman to take Takitsubo Risa, who seemed to be in bad shape, and left first. She then decided to fight Mugino Shizuri alone.

The odds of winning seem too low.

Besides that, I also noticed something else—that is, the guy standing around the four beautiful girls was really an eyesore.

Thinking about it again, I think I remember him too. It seems like it was last night, the thug leader who said to me, "Damn it, everyone, let's go!" and then I punched him to the ground.

What's going on with this guy?! How did he sneak into the item section?!

"He's just someone sent by a subordinate organization to do odd jobs."

I asked Frenda this question. This is how Frenda answered.

Oh, a menial worker.

If that's the case, then this child's fighting power should not be underestimated.

He's just a lowly henchman. He's only known the other two girls for less than a day—and he'll be able to hook them up and elope with them.

Such a guy absolutely cannot be allowed to live.

In a flash, Hamazura Shiage across from me appeared to be a dead man.

"No way! How can we let a girl face danger alone at a time like this?!" the handyman said.

“That’s right, that’s what I was thinking too.” I smiled and accepted her words. Then I happily led Frenda over.

"Your Highness, are you really that bored?" Seeing that I had followed him again, Mugino Shizuri's expression became even more unpleasant.

Mugino Shizuri hadn't expected me to admit so readily: "To be honest, I am a little bored... How about Miss Mugino Shizuri, could you spare some time to keep me company?"

"Hmph..." Mugino Shizuri snorted coldly, but noticed the chill in my eyes. She knew that someone here was definitely going to die soon. She couldn't guarantee that the killing intent I unintentionally released wasn't directed at her.

Mugino Shizuri immediately felt the urge to back down. In her heart, however, she harbored resentment towards me.

"You are... that incredibly powerful prince?!" In just a short while, Kinuhata Saiai recognized me too. Her voice sounded somewhat surprised. It seemed she mistook me for a gullible fool who had come to my aid.

"Please help us!" Kinuhata Saiai asked me for help without even thinking.

"Ah, ah, this is really difficult... Ms. Mugino Shizuri?" I turned to look at Mugino Shizuri, who was almost furious, and then walked to her side and whispered, "You... how should I put it... as a leader, you are really a complete failure."

"You?!" Mugino Shizuri was on the verge of exploding: "Don't go too far!"

"So what if I've gone too far? What are you going to do about it?" I continued to tease her.

Immediately following was a wave-shaped particle acceleration cannon—naturally ineffective.

"So-called atomic collapse... is that all you've got?" I chuckled, then stretched out my left hand and swiftly struck several vital points on Mugino Shizuri's body.

It turns out that the human anatomy of superpowered individuals is not much different from that of normal humans. Mugino Shizuri felt similarly to Frenda at that moment, except that she didn't have someone to lean on, so she simply fell to the ground.

"What do you want?!" Mugino Shizuri, momentarily careless and at the mercy of others, still retained his arrogant nature, looking at me with eyes full of hatred.

Why add the phrase "as much as possible"? It's because Mugino Shizuri's gaze was so unfocused and suggestive that it seemed more like she was looking at her lover. So, any hint of hatred could only be barely shown, as much as possible.

"I have a plan." I chuckled and helped Mugino Shizuri up from the ground. Then I helped her stand against the corner of the wall.

"Hey you, you little punk over there, come here for a second." After saying that, I beckoned to the guy named Hamazura Shige.

I beat this thug leader badly last night, and he even lost his position as leader, fleeing like a stray dog. It's impossible for him not to hate me. However, he also knows that although the situation seems to have calmed down, it's still incredibly dangerous. Naturally, he didn't dare argue with me. He obediently helped Takitsubo Risa closer.

"What exactly happened? Why did they defect from Item for no reason?" I asked, but in doing so, I was implying that he was the culprit behind this defection.

“Because of this guy.” Hamazura Shiage thought to himself: It’s not something shameful, and maybe I can even gain some sympathy if I tell him. He then pointed to Takitsubo Riko, whom he was supporting: “If this guy uses her tracking ability again, his body will collapse. And given Mugino Shizuri’s personality, he will definitely force her to use her ability regardless of whether she lives or dies. That’s why I took her with me when I ran away.”

"To risk being killed and defect from the Dark Side of Academy City for someone you've only known for less than a day. Young man, should I call you brave or foolish?" I rolled my eyes and said to Hamazura Shiage.

"It's not a matter of being brave or foolish; I just did what I was supposed to do," Hamazura Shiage replied.

"Let me ask you something quietly," I suddenly lowered my voice, "If Takitsubo Rigo wasn't a beautiful young woman, but a middle-aged woman with bad character, would you still save her?"

"Huh?" Hamazura Shige hadn't reacted yet when I patted him on the shoulder, giving him a "I understand" look.

Immediately afterwards, Hamazura Shiage, who had just been considered a hero, was met with disdain from four girls (including Takitsubo Riko, whom she was supporting).

Hamazura Shiage suddenly felt like crying.

"Alright, this matter is more or less settled. I will treat this girl. As for Ms. Mugino Shizuri... to put it bluntly, that Kakine Teitoku is really not someone you can contend with. So how about putting aside your hatred for now? I guarantee that the outcome for that guy will definitely not be good."

Mugino Shizuri's mind was foggy right now, and she was basically unable to make any judgments. After hearing what I said, she clearly wanted to resist, and opened her mouth, but couldn't say a word.

"Alright, that's all for now. Please settle down with me. Ms. Mugino Shizuri, if you don't mind, I can help you up."

Mugino Shizuri shook her head with difficulty, then glared fiercely at Kinuhata Saiai: "Help me up."

With Mugino Shizuri's lingering power still intact, Kinuhata Saiai didn't dare to offend her too much. After saying "Oh," she went over to help her up. Anyway, with her nitrogen armor ability, Mugino Shizuri's weight of over 100 pounds was no problem for her.

Half an hour later, at the temporary settlement. The four girls from Item (plus a helper) arrived and settled in temporarily.

After that, I carefully examined the condition of Takitsubo.

"It seems... well, it's similar to the feeling of severely depleted magic power. If that's the case, I'm confident I can heal her."

After the inspection, I said this to the others. After hearing me say this, everyone, including Mugino Shizuri, breathed a sigh of relief.

"But it's a little difficult..." I frowned after saying that.

"Are there any other difficulties?" Of these people, Frenda considered herself to be the closest to me. So she asked the question.

“Because we don’t have any tools—I mean, healing tools.” I shook my head and said.

"So, what kind of tool do you need to heal her?" Mugino Shizuri asked. After all, Takitsubo Riko was a very useful subordinate to her. It would be a loss to let her become useless for no reason.

"In Jerusalem."

A Certain Magical Index: Science and Magic Volume

Chapter One: The Rise of Europe

And so, I returned to Jerusalem, laden with goodies—by the way, my odd-job guy didn't come along. The reason was that the day before he was to catch his flight, he was brutally beaten up by some thug who pounced on him from an alley, and he's currently in the hospital.

By the way, according to the handyman, the person who beat him up claimed to be a member of Skill Out, but he himself had never seen the guy with the blue hair and earring.

"Frenda hasn't seen that guy either, has she?" Seeing Frenda's hesitant expression, I leaned close to her ear and whispered.

Then, Frenda nodded repeatedly, like a chicken pecking at rice.

"Very good, what a good girl." I leaned close to her ear and gently bit it. Then I said this.

So, let's calculate the spoils of this trip: the four-person item group, the proud middle school girl with electric powers, the perverted yuri, the black-haired girl with amnesia, and the taciturn vampire killer.

There are eight people in total.

And so, I returned to Jerusalem.

The girls who came to pick them up seemed to be used to it—even the few newcomers who weren't used to it got used to it under the guidance of their seniors.

At least the scene seemed relatively harmonious. So I didn't interfere much.

However, this time the situation is different from the previous ones. Most of those children had never met before—or they were already friends, sisters, or colleagues.

This time, however, Mugino Shizuri and Misaka Mikoto are rivals.

Years ago, Mikoto infiltrated the experimental facility for the strongest esper project alone. Mugino Shizuri, the leader of the ANBU Item, was ordered to intercept her, leading to a fierce battle between the two sides. This incident created a grudge between them.

Logically speaking, this wasn't a big deal. It's just that Mikoto was holding a grudge. After arriving in Jerusalem, she saw that my family was hiding a dozen or twenty beautiful girls, each with their own unique charm. Mikoto immediately wanted to go back to Academy City and tear me to pieces. In the end, it was her group of sisters who managed to persuade her to stay.

But Mikoto was still very uncomfortable, only thinking that she would have a good talk with me when I got back, and wouldn't let me get away with such a big advantage. Meanwhile, Kuroko, watching her different versions of her older sister, was so happy she almost fainted. She didn't care about anything else.

"Mom..." Seeing that her only ally in the harem had failed, Mikoto could only look to her mother.

But Ms. Meiling was an experienced woman. Although looking at this group of girls, she couldn't help but sigh, "Young boys are unreliable." Yet she also knew that with her status, even a harem of three thousand was not impossible. Meiqin was now tied to her for life. If she continued to cause trouble, it wouldn't be good for anyone.

And so, the mother and daughter chatted for most of the day. When Meiling looked at her again, although her daughter still looked unwilling, she had mostly accepted her bad luck.

As I stepped off the plane, Mikoto seemed to have missed me. Just as I was about to go over and say hello, I noticed a few more girls had joined me. Mikoto got really angry and immediately started picking a fight with me.

As luck would have it, aside from the others, Mugino Shizuri was an old acquaintance. Mikoto seized the opportunity and unleashed a Railgun attack.

Mugino Shizuri wasn't one to take a loss lying down, and retaliated with a high-speed wave-shaped cannon. It looked like someone was about to die.