Toaru Majutsu no Index

Part 1

The school bus that Shirai Kuroko was riding was shared by the five schools in ‘School Garden’.

With the financial power that each school had, having their own buses wasn’t a problem. However, each school had the ideal of ‘letting students engage society more for their own safety’, and gathered the bus system as one.

The buses owned by the five schools had large and luxurious interiors, earning it the moniker ‘double procession limo’. The student seats were located below, while the top was a café. The bus would always move in a fixed route, down the roads to the five dormitories.

The place where Shirai Kuroko was alighting wasn’t in front of the Tokiwadai Middle School dormitory.

She alighted in front of another school’s dormitory, mixing together with female students from other schools, stretched her back and gently sighed, thinking, “Does that kind of bus really allow ‘students to interact more with society’?”. There were other bus services passing through in front of the Tokiwadai dormitory, and they were ordinary buses. There was absolutely no comparison between the school buses and these ordinary buses.

The time was 7:30 PM.

They could still see the sunset at this time during summer vacation, but since it was the middle of September, the sky was completely dark now. Shirai pulled out the ‘Judgement’ armband from her bag, put it on the sleeve of her uniform, and headed off in a completely different direction from where the girls around her were moving to. Once the mood changed from ‘after school’ to ‘work’, the shriveled bag became even more cumbersome. Because what she needed wasn’t ‘items required for school’, but ‘items required for battle’.

Beside the student dormitory, there was another school.

It was an ordinary rectangular concrete school compound, completely different from the ‘School Garden’. Shirai walked inside, getting a pair of slippers at the staff entrance, where there were hardly any students around, and headed down the corridor lit by a neat row of overhead lamps. After walking on the icy and hard plastic floor for a while, one could see a door with a signboard. The words on the signboard read ‘Judgement 177th Branch’.

There was a glass board beside the door. After going through a fingerprint, pulse and finger motion scan, Shirai Kuroko didn’t knock on the door, but choose to push the door forcefully.

BAM! The door created a loud noise.

The girl behind the door was terrified. Her name was Uiharu Kazari. She was of similar age as Shirai, but as her body frame was more petite, and her shoulders were narrow; she looked somewhat child-like. It was rare to see someone like her who, despite wearing a summer sailor uniform, didn’t look like a middle school student. She wore decorations of roses, hibiscus and other flowers on her short black hair, and from afar, it looked like a colourful flower vase.

Uiharu looked absolutely terrified as Shirai stormed into the ‘177th branch office’.

“What’s going on? There’re so many Judgement members, so why look for me?”

“Hm, thinking about it again, it need not necessarily be Shirai-san.”

“...You knew that I was shopping with Onee-sama. Since you stubbornly called me over, shouldn’t you say something?”

“BANZAI—!”

“You have got to be kidding me! Why are you raising your hands and cheering?”

Shirai used her teleport, got right in front of Uiharu, and used both fists to squeeze her temples. As Shirai was still holding onto the shriveled bag, the buttons on it were touching Uiharu’s ear slightly.

They were both first-year students.

But as Shirai was a Level 4 esper from Tokiwadai Middle School, there was a significant difference between both of them. Besides, while Shirai had been working on her first mission after joining Judgement, she had saved Uiharu, who had still been an ordinary student. Shirai herself didn’t mind at all, it was just that it bothered Uiharu a lot.

The 177th branch office didn’t look like a school classroom, but rather like an office. There were many of those metal desks seen in a city hall, and there were several sets of computers on them.

Uiharu was facing a computer, sitting on a chair. The ergonomic chair had curvy lines on it, making it look like a clock that Dali designed (Note: Salvador Dali, 1904-1989, the famous Spanish surrealist painter). It was a scientific chair that was hailed to be able to ‘reduce fatigue to the minimum. As Shirai moved behind Uiharu and pressed on her temples, her narrowed eyes naturally saw the computer screen.

The screen seemed to be showing a GPS satellite map. On it, there was a red X; seemed like something happened. Other places were also being indicated on the map, and in other windows, there were photographs or something like that.

What did these things mean, Shirai could only learn by asking Uiharu.

However, Shirai just glanced at it for a while, and said,

“Ah, isn’t that happening in school?”

If it was something that was happening in school, they would be using a school map, and not a GPS map.

Judgement was basically an organisation meant to maintain law and order inside school compounds. Thus, Judgement had a branch office in every single school. It was also unlike Anti-Skill, which operated on a 24 hours basis without rest. Everyday, till school ended for the day, the office would be locked, and there wouldn’t be anyone inside guarding (today was an exception).

Unless it was an emergency situation, anything that happened ‘outside school’ was basically Anti-Skill's responsibility. It was because the adults felt that they shouldn’t allow students to patrol around in dangerous alleys or in the middle of the night. Shirai stopped pressing onto Uiharu’s temples, and Uiharu seemed to be relieved.

“I’ve already followed through the procedures and contacted the police. However, the situation does seem really weird. The police will immediately ask us to provide the relevant information. I thought that Shirai-san would be clearer on how to answer this. Ah, I’ll prepare some red tea.”

“No need, I don’t like to have tea with my stomach empty.”

To Shirai, red tea was just a supplement to snacks or sweets. Afternoon tea or anything that had tea as the main course wasn’t Shirai’s type.

Hearing Shirai’s casual reply, Uiharu was nevertheless shocked, her face turning pale.

“Ugh...uuu...! I studied books about red tea in order to follow a rich lady’s lifestyle, and even prepared special aromatic stuff like rose oil...only for you to reject it with an even more lady-like sentence! Doesn’t it sound nice to drink red tea in school? It really feels posh!”

The rich ojous of Tokiwadai Middle School were the idols of all the girls in Academy City. However, most of them did not know what kind of life the Tokiwadai students went through. Thus, some of them became fanatical regarding these elite girls schools and would often learn some strange things, ending up in this situation like Uiharu.

“Sigh, such formality can only be done by upstarts. Anyway, what’s going on?”

“Ah, to be able to be rich, it’s alright to be an upstart...to have these kind of thoughts, I’m really just a girl from the streets. As for what happened, it isn’t anything major, basically, it’s just a robbery on the street. However, there are many of these robbers, it’s not really a smart way to do it.”

Shirai digested Uiharu’s words in her mind, placed the dry and shriveled bag on the chair, and focused on the screen.

The computer screen displayed the map of the 7th School District, and in a corner on the road in front of a bus station, there was an ‘X’. On the road nearby, there were some coloured arrowheads, which probably indicated where the robbers ran.

Shirai revealed an intrigued look.

”We shouldn’t be settling this, should we?”

“But there are several suspicious things about this case. According to eyewitnesses, what was stolen was a luggage bag.”

“A luggage bag?”

“Ah, Shirai-san, don’t you know? They’re as big as a suitcase, only that they have wheels underneath. It’s not often for people to use this when they’re travelling alone, so most of the time, it’s the air hostesses that are using it.”

Uiharu explained simply yet effectively.

“According to the eyewitness, there is also an invitation slip on it.”

“So basically, it’s just a luggage bag that has an invitation slip on it? What’s so strange about this?”

“Eh, anyway, just look at this image. This is a photograph taken by a self-defense type robot; I’ll enlarge the part where the luggage bag is.”

Uiharu pressed a few buttons, and a new window opened. On it, one could see the serial number, owner and destination on the slip.

On seeing the ‘destination’, Shirai couldn’t help but frown.

“Subsidiary calculus facility of Tokiwadai Middle School...? I’ve never heard of this before.”

“Ah, so there’s no such place, is there? It’s hard for us to contact ‘School Garden’, so we couldn’t confirm it. Oh yeah, even when Daihaseisai is approaching, ‘School Garden’ isn’t an arena, so it’s not open to outsiders.”

From how Uiharu said this, it seemed like Shirai was making her even more bothered.

“I’ve checked the serial number on the slip, and it doesn’t seem right. Even though it’s true that there is a good with this serial number that is to be delivered, the contents seem to be a cooling device that’s to be installed on a computer simulator. No matter what, that kind of thing can’t just be stuffed in a luggage bag?”

“What did you say...? It’s alright if it’s just metal parts, but I’ve never heard about ‘School Garden’ using any machinery from the outside world.”

“Just by analyzing the image of this slip, it’s hard to tell whether it’s a fake. Maybe it is just that someone just randomly placed a slip on it.”

“...Wait a sec, instead of asking around for eyewitnesses’ testimony, why not ask the person who was robbed to make things simpler?”

“Because the person is missing...”

Uiharu casually explained.

Shirai gasped and turned around to look at Uiharu.

Uiharu then explained,

“Seems like this victim doesn’t want to rely on us, but to use his own power. Do you want to see the actual video? There are more than ten criminals, and only one victim. But after the incident, it looks like he made a call, and even pursued them.”

Uiharu pressed a few buttons, and another window appeared on the screen full of windows. The location seemed to be a road in front of the bus stop, as a man wearing a classy Western outfit looked around before making a call urgently. He was not using a handphone, but radio equipment.

“It’s here.”

Uiharu suddenly stopped the video temporarily.

“Is there anything strange that you captured?”

Shirai gazed at the still screen, but she couldn’t see anything strange. The man in western clothes holding the radio equipment was shaking his head around, so his face couldn’t be seen clearly.

“Shirai-san, when the victim’s western clothes flip up, is there something underneath?”

“Eh, now that you mention it, actually...”

Underneath the western clothes, which were flipped up due to the man shaking about, a black tape-like thing was beside his stomach.

“By widening the image, we can see the model number. L_Y010021. A special large-scale manufactured gun strap, one that can be hidden underneath the clothes. Don’t the policemen in those cop shows pull out their guns from their clothes? It’s that thing.”

Uiharu said after enlarging the image of the gun strap. Shirai smiled,

“Maybe it’s just a decoration.”

“Yeah, maybe so, including this.”

Next, Uiharu pressed another few buttons. The area of the chest of the man wearing western clothing was enlarged, and there were several hundred arrowheads pointing at it. These arrowheads indicated the slight movement of the clothes. As if they were being attracted by a magnet, the numerous arrowheads formed the shape of a pistol.

“We got very few images here...these are all we have. Shirai-san, what do you think?”

If it was not that man trying to avoid being caught on camera all this time, it was while the criminals were running away and avoiding the cameras, with the man chasing after them, which ended up with that man not getting caught on camera. Shirai thought of this, and said,

“Haiz, I have a feeling that this is going to be one really tough case.”

"Huh? Shirai-san, did a Far Vision type power awaken within you?"

“Stop going off topic. The gun, it’s hard to tell whether it’s real with these pictures alone. However, that radio equipment looks similar to those that the experts use during my Judgement training. If so...I see, this is truly a troublesome case. Besides, it’s also suspicious that the victim didn’t report the case to us.”

A victim who acted on his own.

And a luggage bag that was related to Tokiwadai Middle School.

A full suit preparation that was too professional.

The case did seem weird. Also, if there was the possibility of a gunfight, Anti-Skill would have to change their armour equipment. The chances of Judgement taking part in this were slim (since not all of them were Level 4s like Shirai), but it was beneficial to have someone who knew the situation inside ‘School Garden’ and Tokiwadai Middle School.

“Shirai-san, should we focus more on the robbers or the victim?”

“We should chase both sides. If we can’t do that, we’ll take the robbers first. Besides, we don’t have to chase after the victim once we get the luggage bag back. Without pursuing the victim, the victim will still come over and contact us.”

Shirai sighed and took a step back.

Next, she ordered Uiharu.

“Alright, can we check where the robbers ran? Come to think of it, it took me 30 minutes to get here, we should have their whereabouts now, right?”

“I don’t think so.”

Uiharu said casually.

“After stealing the luggage bag, they didn’t use a vehicle, but ran away into the underground. Maybe they want to avoid satellite surveillance.”

“...Avoid satellite surveillance? But aren’t there many cameras underground? Besides the fixed ones, there are also many self-defense robots patrolling around, aren’t there?”

“Yes, however, it’s easier to hide underground. As long as they don’t get caught on tape by the satellite camera, they can use the blind spots caused by the presence of the crowd to avoid getting caught on camera. Also, it’s faster for them to go underground now. Right now, the electricity isn’t working properly, causing the traffic lights to not function, and now, there are traffic jams around lines 3, 48, 131, and the area around the crime scene. So it’s beneficial for the robbers to run away underground, in terms of speed and stealth.”

“I see.”

Shirai gently nodded her head.

After being contacted by Uiharu, Anti-Skill should be getting to work. The problem was, in this traffic congestion, Anti-Skill's vehicles couldn’t reach the scene. Also, they couldn’t tell how serious this situation was, so it might take some time for them before they could even request for helicopter assistance. Though the complicated procedures were meant to prevent members from taking actions on their own, it took up a lot of time when they had to adapt quickly. This was a disadvantage of working as a group.

“Sigh, looks like it’ll be faster for me to make a personal trip.”

“Eh? Shirai-san is leaving? Wouldn’t I have to face Anti-Skill’s interrogation alone? So troublesome—!”

Uiharu loudly protested. However, Shirai just replied calmly.

“Don’t worry, I’ll settle it immediately.” 𝗳r𝗲𝙚w𝐞𝚋𝘯𝚘ѵ𝗲l.𝑐oｍ

Shirai Kuroko grabbed the shrivelled bag that was lying on the chair and headed towards the exit.

Without turning her head back, she said,

“Who do you think I am? No matter whether it’s underground or anywhere else, it’s all the same to me.”

Part 2

Shirai Kuroko’s ability was ‘teleportation’.

However, this sort of power couldn’t be done at will. The maximum mass of the thing to be teleported was 130.7kg, and no matter how large or small the item was, she couldn’t teleport more than 81.5m. Also, she could only teleport away ‘things that she can touch’, so she couldn’t teleport things that were far away back to her.

But on the other hand.

The source of the teleportation energy was ‘her own body’, so it was not hard at all.

The sound of air being cut could be heard.

For every 80m that Shirai Kuroko moved, she would target the next point that was 80m away. From an observer’s viewpoint, it was like she was appearing at one spot, disappearing immediately afterward. Of course, it would be faster than using her own legs to run, and converted to speed, it was about 288km/hr.

(Luckily, teleportation is a point-to-point movement and not a straight line movement, so there’s no inertia. If not, it’ll be embarrassing if my skirt flips up due to air resistance.)

Shirai thought as she continued to teleport. The sidewalks, handrails, and even the top of the vending machines had become her stepping board.

Though such an action would cause surprise among the pedestrians, everyone here was an esper. Also, Shirai was wearing a Tokiwadai Middle School uniform, and there was a Judgement armband on her, so there wasn’t too much commotion caused.

The robbers were running underground, but Shirai was moving above ground. It was because there were a limited number of exits, by confirming where the exits were, there was no fear of the target escaping. Also, if she chased the robbers from behind, it would cause psychological pressure on them, causing them to hurt ordinary civilians in the process (though she didn’t know whether they were armed, even if they were unarmed, there were ten of them, which was a big threat to any ordinary person). Basically, as there were a limited number of exits, once there was a commotion, it was hard for any ordinary person to escape. Thus, the underground streets were places where she had to be more careful than the surface.

To catch the robbers, she should choose a place where there were no ordinary people around, and the best place was on the surface.

It would be perfect if she could settle it quickly.

At that moment, the phone rang.

Shirai picked up the phone but did not stop her teleporting. The voice she heard interrupted at times, and this was because Shirai was teleporting around, the electrowaves positioning continued to change as a result.

“Shirai-san, I located...the robbers...from the underground street at ‘Eriya pavilion’, exit A03...they’re exiting the underground...seems like their intention is to run to the end of an underground street, and then run off to another one...”

Shirai Kuroko just answered,

“I see them.”

She then cut the phone line and slipped the phone into her pocket.

At a construct that looked like a subway station, there was a group of people passing through the gaps between the cars that were packed together. These men clad in western clothing were moving through the honks of the cars, and one of them was holding onto a white luggage bag. Maybe they wanted to maintain a low profile, as their attitudes were rather low key. After passing through a road, they dashed into an alley.

Shirai tightly grabbed onto her shriveled bag.

She stamped hard onto the ground.

In an instant, she was already in the alley, and standing right in the middle of the 10 men. Shirai was smiling at the man dragging the luggage bag, who was staring back with a stunned expression. Shirai’s fingertips were already touching the luggage bag.

Teleport.

Shirai again disappeared before appearing in front of the men, blocking their escape route. The luggage bag accompanied her as it was teleported and was right beside her.

Placing one hand on her waist, Shirai touched the luggage bag on the ground with the other, and said,

“Excuse me, I’m from Judgement. Why I’m here, I believe there’s no need for explanation, is there?”

It sounded like an inquiry. However, the tone was rather mocking.

The men’s reactions were fast. They all stuffed their hands into their western clothing, pulling out black guns that were of the same model. These guns gave the sense that they were rather heavy.

(Peh, as expected, it’s not an ordinary robbery! Are we filming a cop show?)

Shirai immediately bent down and hid behind the luggage bag, but the men seemed rather confident in their shooting; and without a single sense of hesitation they squeezed the trigger. Their target should be the part that was not blocked by the luggage bag. Shirai’s throat made an unnatural whistling sound. Her teleporting ability was unable to accurately teleport the bullets away one by one.

The ten guns opened fire.

But before that, Shirai had already activated her teleport, the target being behind the last man at the rear.

Shirai Kuroko and the luggage bag vanished, leaving behind her shriveled bag behind. Then, the bag landed on the floor.

The men saw the enemy vanish and panicked. Using the opportunity, Shirai used both hands to grab onto the luggage bag and slam it into the back of the last man.

“Ugh!”

The man standing the furthest back gave a scream, causing the other robbers to turn around. At that moment, Shirai touched another man and activates her teleport. The man was immediately teleported, but only by a few centimetres, and his body was turned around 180 degrees.

The eight men turned around, and the man who had been teleported was facing them. Like a coup, their guns were pointed at each other.

“Ah!”

The man who had been turned around frantically pointed his gun upwards. At this moment, Shirai kicked him in the back. Like dominoes, the robbers fell down one by one. Shirai raised the luggage bag and slammed it into the man’s wrist which was still holding onto the gun. Short screams constantly echoed throughout the air. Every man was being tangled up by their comrades, and they didn’t dare to shoot in fear of hitting them. Finally, this group of men armed with instruments of death was knocked unconscious without any resistance.

“Too easy to handle. Besides, it’ll make people uncomfortable.”

Shirai said mockingly, but there was no one who could answer her.

Using the tips of her toes, Shirai gently kicked the robber, trying to confirm if he was awake, and used special non-metallic handcuffs to cuff them up. She used them all the moment she reached the fourth one, and then had to use abandoned wires left around to tie them up. Though bound, the men still hadn’t woken up.

After calling Anti-Skill with her phone, Shirai looked at what they were armed with.

She couldn’t see the name and serial number of the gun, but they were different from the guns used during Judgement’s training. The guns used in Academy City weren’t made of metal, so they were rather light. But these guys' were as heavy as lead. There were numbers and alphabets carved into the side, so Shirai guessed that it was the serial number. However, there didn’t seem to be anything of particular note. Since Shirai wasn’t a member of Anti-Skill, who specialised in gunfights, and that she normally relied on her powers, she didn’t have the necessary weapon technical knowledge.

Besides that, after searching through the men, she couldn’t find any identification. Maybe they had been deliberately removed. Shirai saw the men’s faces before she inadvertently clicked her tongue.

“...A gold tooth?”

A certain unconscious man had his mouth wide open, and that attracted Shirai’s attention. Academy City had developed many new and quality materials, so there wasn’t anyone here who used gold teeth.

Checking through their pants and handphones, the phone books were completely blank, and the models were old. They didn’t look like they were sold in Academy City.

Academy City’s scientific technology was hailed to be 20 to 30 years ahead of the outside world. Besides electronics, small parts that didn’t seem to be related to technology on first glance were rather different.

(From the way they’re holding the guns, at least they have some form of training, but they couldn’t do anything to my power. It was like they met an esper for the first time... maybe they are experts from the ‘outside world’, so powers are foreign to them.)

“...”

A luggage bag that people from the ‘outside world’ would do all this for.

Shirai again looked at ‘that thing’ beside her hand.

The luggage bag was extremely large. It was like an ordinary one, rectangular, and it seemed like she was able to squeeze herself in. The color was white, and it seemed to be made of some special material, with some sort of wax covering it.

She touched the ring on the luggage bag.

“As expected...it’s locked.”

But on observing it closely, she found that the lock was made rather intricately. Besides the traditional locks and an electronic one, there was a so-called magnetic field of infinite permutations on it.

“Too bad, with this in my hands, the lock is useless.”

Shirai had the ability to teleport. As she could only teleport the things that she could touch, she couldn’t teleport away what was inside. However, she could teleport the bag that was on the outside to achieve a similar effect.

If it was a large ‘case’ like a bank vault, she wouldn’t be able to move it. But it was no problem for her when it was just a luggage bag.

Shirai casually placed her right hand on the luggage bag, feeling the surface with her fingertips.

(Un?)

At that moment, Shirai realised something.

There was no gap on the luggage bag at all. It was as if it was waterproofed, as something was wrapped around it, maybe rubber, blocking all the gaps.

(Is it...something light sensitive like film? Is it...something brittle? Damn it, I used it to smack those men unconscious.)

Shirai thought before coming to a conclusion anyhow.

(Before I get a telepath or someone with X-ray vision to check this out, I shouldn’t open it so casually.)

Shirai observed the luggage bag for a while, feeling that it was completely airtight. Coincidentally, she saw something that was similar to tape, like a seal stuck on the side of the luggage to prevent people from randomly opening it. It was the slip that Uiharu first saw. The printing was as intricate as that of paper money; maybe there was an IC chip inside or something like that.

The contents on the slip were the same as what Uiharu had shown her.

They could only tell if it was a fake through a machine, but at least through the human eye, there was nothing suspicious about it.

(This logo is...)

Shirai Kuroko again touched the surface of the luggage bag.

Besides the slip, there was some sort of logo on the surface of the luggage bag, like a seal or something similar. It was circular, with many squares inside, the image was very simple. She seemed to have seen it before, but she couldn’t think of it.

“...If there’s anything I don’t know, asking others would be the quickest way to get the answer.”

Shirai was too lazy to think about it, and pulled out the phone from her skirt pocket. She pulled out the scroll from the small cylinder, revealing the extremely thin body of the phone, used the camera function to take photos of the luggage bag, the slip, and the logo, attached a few words ‘please check these out’, and sent them to Uiharu.

120 seconds later, there was a response from the phone.

The moment after first tone of the receiving tune, Shirai pressed the call button.

“Shirai-san, this is Uiharu. I completed the mission, request permission to report the results and to reward myself.”

“I allow you to report the results, but you’re not allowed to reward yourself.”

Shirai casually said, however, she was speechless at Uiharu’s investigating ability (though she kept it under control). Though Uiharu had the authority to check the records, this searching speed was way too fast.

“You can’t refuse a request!! Um, anyway, the results, Shirai-san, basically, that luggage bag is a highly airtight one, it can reflect away any cosmic rays. Do you see that the surface is rather shiny?”

Now that she mentioned it, it was true. Shirai looked at the surface of the luggage bag. It was like a layer of wax had been applied on it, so shiny that Shirai could see her face on it.

“You can treat it as a deluxe version of an astronaut suit or space shuttle surface. Such technology is obviously made in Academy City.”

“But...why must the case have an extra layer to protect it from cosmic rays?”

“The purpose, obviously, is to protect it from cosmic rays. There’s no point in doing this on Earth, or maybe it’s because recently, there are holes in the ozone layer.”

(If so...this thing is to be used outside the atmosphere...even in outer space...?)

Such unexpected information stunned Shirai.

“Next, the slip. Before that...Shirai-san, there is something that I need to ask you to do. Please change the phone to RWS format and take a photo of it again. There should be a red box on the right side of the slip, so take the photo with that as the centre.”

“What is RWS format?”

“The mode that’s used to read an IC chip’s electronic information! As a Judgement member, everyone has a duty to have this sort of phone! Didn’t I install an expansion chip inside your phone before? You didn’t read the instructions?”

“The phone’s operating method is the same, so I was too lazy to read the details...”

“Really! Anyway, please open the selection menu...”

Shirai followed Uiharu’s instructions and operated the phone. The screen was showing something that she had never seen before. She took another photo of the slip, and then sent the photo and the attached data back to Uiharu.

“Oh, I got it. Eh...according to the results...no doubt about it. This slip itself is an authentic one made by Academy City.”

Uiharu’s tone became extremely serious.

“An authentic one...if so, the receiving address is ‘School Garden’?”

“Yes.”

On hearing that, Shirai sunk into deep thought.

The ‘Subsidiary calculus facility of Tokiwadai Middle School’ on the slip didn’t exist.

If the receiver didn’t exist, there was no point in sending it like this. If so, these words were just codes.

“The reading of the information on the IC chip is complete. What’s on it is supplement information on a bar code. It includes the plane’s model and the atmospheric work schedule number. These are definitely the internal numbers of Academy City; it’s the same as those of the 23rd district. Seems like this has become more dangerous.”

“The 23rd district...it’s that school district which has the only airport, launch area, and other related facilities set up for aeronautical development that ordinary students aren’t allowed to enter, isn't it?”

“That’s right. Isn’t there a logo on it? Yes, that circular logo with many squares in it. That’s the logo of the 23rd district, it’s similar to a school logo.”

On hearing this, Shirai clicked her tongue again.

She should have thought of it before. But thinking back, it was normal not to remember such things that were unrelated to ordinary students. It was just because she saw it every day on the screen when the reporters were reporting news regarding the launch shuttles every time, which was how it ended up making a deep impression on her.

“The sender is also from the 23rd district. The security there is extremely high, so according to regulations, it won’t accurately display the name of the facility.”

Shirai again stared at the slip.

The date and time was exactly the same as when Academy City's space shuttle had returned.

The sender was from the 23rd district, the school district that had the only airport and focused only on aeronautical research.

(Who does the 23rd district want to send this to...? And who are these people that tried to steal it...?)

Thinking about it for a while, Shirai decided to say her thanks to Uiharu first.

“Thanks for the help. I’ll think about it while escorting these men and the luggage bag.”

“Ah—! I just said it, I want a reward! Like a real ojou’s afternoon tea! It can’t be just drinking red tea, I must have a refined lady’s attitude and atmosphere!”

Uiharu frantically said, only for Shirai to ignore it and cut the phone line.

Seeing the ultra thin main body of the phone roll back into the side of the cylinder like a scroll, Shirai slipped the phone back into her pocket, still thinking.

However, Shirai didn’t have any knowledge about aeronautical development.

Thinking back, the recent ‘space’ knowledge that she had was only about Academy City and other world organisations firing rockets or some space shuttles.

“By linking these two together...it’s a bit forced...but...haiz, no matter what, I can’t conclude anything without finding out what’s inside.”

Shirai sighed and sat on the luggage bag.

These men clad in western clothes were suspicious, but so was the original owner of the luggage bag.

“Anyway, the situation now is completely out of my range of duty, there’s no need to think so much about it.”

After randomly coming up with this conclusion, Shirai obediently waited for Anti-Skill to arrive. Maybe it was due to the traffic congestion, as Anti-Skill still hadn’t arrived.

Besides, they did not have powers. It couldn’t be helped, so Shirai didn’t feel irritated about it.

At this point, Shirai’s phone suddenly rung.

On checking the small screen on the phone, it was Misaka Mikoto. Shirai frantically turned towards the men who were still on the floor. They didn’t seem to be awake, but if they were to accidentally hear the conversation, it would be troublesome for them. The problem was that she couldn’t leave the scene because of personal matters. After some struggle, Shirai decided to cup her mouth and speak softly before pressing the call button.

“Ah, Kuroko...? The reception doesn’t seem to be good; where are you?”

“Eh? Erm...somewhere not convenient to reveal.”

“Um? Oh, you’re still working? Sorry to disturb you.”

“No problem. What’s up?”

“Never mind, since you’re working, never mind. I heard from the kouhais that dorm mothers may call for a sudden inspection. I wanted to ask you to hide all the personal stuff in my room.”

“Eh? Onee-sama, aren’t you in the dormitory?”

“Erm, yeah. Then I’ll just have to ask someone else, I’ll also call her to hide your stuff as well, okay?”

“Ah...wha...what? O–Onee-sama! Don’t ask them...? Please wait, Onee-sama! Please don’t take away my right to accept this reward! I’ll get back to the dorm immediately!”

“...Who said that there is a reward or something? Besides, aren’t you working? However, it might rain tonight, hurry up and finish the work if you don’t want to get caught in the rain, bye bye.”

The other person mercilessly cut the phone line.

Shirai stared blankly at the phone, as if she had been abandoned, her feelings had taken a huge hit.

Da.

At that moment, a set of light footsteps could be heard.

(Ah...yes, I forgot to seal up this place with the ‘no access’ tape due to the fight just now.)

Shirai sat on the luggage bag and casually said.

The next moment,

The feeling that was supporting her weight vanished. It was like she accidentally fell from a chair, she couldn’t feel her own weight. Shirai’s vision spun around quickly, her back falling towards the dirty ground. Just as she was about to feel the pain of landing on the floor on her back, she could see the rectangular night sky formed by the gap left behind from all the buildings around.

(What...?)

Shirai’s first reaction was to struggle and get up, but she immediately felt that something was amiss. Shirai reached around her, only to find that she couldn’t touch anything. The luggage bag which she had used as a chair had vanished without a trace.

Like air.

Like it had been teleported.

(Tele...ported...)

The sudden situation caused Shirai’s mind to go blank. She knew that something was happening, yet her thoughts were blurry.

Just as she was feeling imminent danger...

DONG!

Something appeared on Shirai’s right shoulder, who was facing the sky.

“GAACCCKK...!”

Her shoulder felt hot and painful, it felt like something within her broke. This heavy sound wasn’t heard from the ear, but echoed throughout her entire body.

Looking down, a sharp metal object pierced through her short-sleeved shirt, nailed into her flesh. It was like a heavy piece of wire, however, the front continues to swirl around like a spring, and there was a white ceramic handle attached to it.

(A grapewine...bottle opener?)

Shirai tried desperately to calm her mind that was going erratic due to all the pain and activate her teleport. She only moved a few centimetres, but her body that had been on the ground was flipped 90 degrees up. Thus, she was now standing.

The thick liquid dripped and landed on the ground.

Someone was looking at her, clearly enjoying all of this.

Shirai Kuroko turned and stared at the entrance of the alley.

There was a girl there.

She was taller than Shirai. Her hair was tied in two ponytails, and she was wearing a western school uniform. However, it was a winter uniform. The western style coat wasn’t worn, but draped over her back, unbuttoned. She was not wearing any shirt underneath, her upper body exposed, with only a light pink cloth wrapped around her chest like underwear or bandages. There was a belt hung around her waist, but it didn’t seem to fix the belt in place, it was more like a decoration. The belt wasn’t made of leather, but rather, many pieces of metal. There was a ring on it, with a black metal cylinder that was longer than 40cm and 3cm in diameter placed through it. It was a military flashlight that could be used as a baton.

Probably a high school student, Shirai boldly guessed. Though it was unreliable to use appearances to gauge a person’s age, to a middle school student, there seemed to be an insurmountable wall between a middle schooler and a high-school student, the difference was very noticeable.

There was a white luggage bag beside the girl.

The one that Shirai had been sitting on.

“As expected, it’s teleportation. But...”

(She didn’t touch the luggage bag at all? Maybe she went behind me first and then brought it back to where she originally was? No, but...)

An alarm rang inside Shirai’s mind, telling her that this was no ordinary teleportation.

The girl’s laugh snapped Shirai, who was lost in her own thoughts, back to reality.

“Oh my, you already realised it? As expected of a fellow teleporter, to see through it immediately. However, I’m a little different from you.”

On hearing this, Shirai frowned.

Same type, but with some differences.

“My ability is ‘Move Point’. Compared to your third-rate ability, I don’t have to touch anything when I ‘teleport’ something. So, impressive, isn’t it?”

The girl plainly stated.

She glared at the men clad in western clothing that were behind Shirai, and said,

“Come to think of it, these guys are totally useless. Actually, I knew that they were useless, so I only told them to do such a trivial thing as to retrieve the bag, but I didn’t expect them to even be unable to do such a simple thing.”

Useless, guys, retrieve, trivial, told them.

From these words, Shirai could tell that the girl was working with the men clad in western clothing.

Shirai warned her,

“Since you’re doing all this, you should know my identity, right?”

The armband that indicated her status was now dyed black due to the blood that was flowing out from her wound.

“Of course I’m clear about it. That is why I dare to take action, Miss Shirai Kuroko of Judgement. If I wasn't certain, why would I show myself so easily?”

Shirai didn’t understand what was inside the luggage bag, and she didn’t know what the intentions of the person in front of her were. But she knew that the girl, who was smiling at her, wouldn’t let her off so easily even when she was injured.

She was the enemy.

That was right, the girl in front of her wasn’t an ordinary girl, but the enemy. 𝑓𝑟eℯ𝒘𝗲𝑏n𝑜𝚟𝙚𝒍.𝒄o𝐦

“Cheh!”

Shirai used her strength and opened her legs wide. Due to inertia, her thighs were exposed. The belts strapped onto her thighs had numerous metal needles on them, like how a sharpshooter carried his bullets with him in a western film. This was her final resort. By using teleporting, she could immediately teleport the needles into the target—a deadly technique.

However, the girl’s movements were faster than Shirai.

From the western coat that was draped over her, her slender arms quickly pulled out the military torchlight that was attached to her waist.

After spinning it in her hand like a conducting baton, she aimed the torchlight at Shirai. She then slightly lifted the front tip of the torchlight, as if she was saying hello.

A change happened.

The men who had been beaten by Shirai and tied on the hands instantly vanished and appeared before the girl. The ten unconscious men were packed together like a shield.

However...

“Too naive!!”

Shirai fired the metal needles at the men without any hesitation. The numerous needles silently crossed the space, appearing at where the girl was. As it was not a straight movement, the men who were between them couldn’t block it. Shirai’s target was the girls’ limbs, and she even took measures to prevent hitting the vital points.

Teleportation didn’t move in a straight line, but rather, was a point-to-point movement, so there was no problem if there was anything in the middle. The needles that appeared in mid air would pass through the girl’s soft muscles easily. Such an attack wouldn’t be affected by the texture. The basis of teleportation was that the ‘the object teleported’ would displace ‘the object at the target’.

So, there was no reason why Shirai’s attack wouldn’t pierce through the girl’s body.

However...

“Ah...”

Shirai let out a surprised cry.

The girl was no longer at that position.

She had already moved back by 3 to 4 paces, sitting on the white luggage bag, dangling her legs elegantly. Seemed like she had just sat on the luggage bag, and kicked the ground to force herself back using the wheels of the luggage bag.

The needles that Shirai had released floated in mid-air before landing on the ground like the unconscious men.

Teleport was basically a point-to-point movement, so once the target moved away from the original position by even the slightest bit, the attack wouldn’t hit her. Those men weren’t armour or shields, they were just tools meant to block Shirai’s vision.

The girl continued to dangle her legs as she sat on the luggage bag. The military torchlight that she was twirling in her hands pointed towards the needles, and like a fishing rod, she swung it up.

One of the needles that landed weakly after Shirai had launched it appeared in the girl’s hand.

(Here it comes—!!)

Shirai concentrated, ready to guard herself, only for the girl to throw the needle back at her without using teleport (or her so-called ‘Move Point’). The needle proceeded on to move towards the centre of Shirai’s body in 3 dimensions.

In this narrow alley, there was nowhere to escape to.

Though she could use teleport to get to the other side of the wall, or in the building, Shirai didn’t know what was inside. It would be terrible if she was to teleport in and overlap with other people.

But facing the incoming needle, there was no purpose in moving backwards.

Thus, Shirai decided to teleport forward. Past the needles, and appear in front of the girl. Shirai clenched her fist. Besides wanting to avoid the attack, she wanted to give a counter punch at the girl in front of her.

Dong!

A metal needle pierced Shirai Kuroko’s abdomen from the back.

“...Ah...!?”

Shirai felt the inside of her body trembling. She couldn’t take it anymore; the strength was instantly sapped away from her, and her legs weakened as she tumbled onto the ground.

Where she fell was beside the girl who was sitting on the luggage bag.

“Didn’t I say it before?”

The girl continued to sit there, dangling the other leg this time, smiling,

“My teleport is different from yours; I don’t have to touch the object.”

Hearing this mocking voice, Shirai Kuroko was unable to even lift her head up.

The girl’s method was actually very simple.

First, she used her hand to throw the needle over. As Shirai dodged it, she directed the needle through teleportation, letting the needle appear behind Shirai.

The momentum of the needle didn’t decrease, it had just been turned around 180 degrees, only stopping when it drilled deep into Shirai Kuroko’s abdomen. The terrifying sound of friction echoed throughout her body.

Screech! The sound of air being cut could be heard.

On closer inspection, all the metal needles that had been on the ground—were now in the girl’s hands.

“Too bad. You’re from Tokiwadai? I thought that Misaka Mikoto isn’t the type that would be desperate enough to involve her own kouhai. Come to think of it, when she first stopped ‘that experiment’, she didn’t exactly do it alone. Seems like she’s risking everything, is she?”

On hearing this, Shirai Kuroko trembled.

Her body, which was trembling and growing numb due to pain, was trembling for a different reason.

“What did...you say?”

Shirai concentrated and looked at the girl. She grit her teeth, using all her strength, as if she was looking at the sky from the bottom of an abyss.

“Why...did you mention Onee-sama’s name?”

The girl ignored Shirai’s question.

To her, a severely injured Shirai was no longer a threat. In order to enjoy Shirai’s remorseful expression, she would rather do the best thing, which was to make an unnecessary reply to Shirai’s question.

“Eh?”

The girl dangled her leg again, covering her mouth with her hand in an exaggerated manner, saying,

“Didn’t you know? To be used like this while not knowing anything...no way? Tokiwadai’s Railgun shouldn’t be that sort of person.”

But the girl didn’t answer Shirai’s question anyway.

The question that Shirai had managed to squeeze out with her last ounce of strength only garnered a self-satisfactory answer from the girl.

“Don’t you think that this is too coincidental? After stealing the luggage bag, these men were caught in a traffic jam—it’s like it was pre-planned. The electricity flow to the traffic lights was lost...haven’t you thought of the reason? Don’t you know what kind of power the Ace of Tokiwadai has?”

Shirai Kuroko glared at the head that was right in front of her, yet looked like it was in the sky.

The mysterious luggage bag, and the enemy sitting on top of it.

“What are you...”

Shirai let out a voice that sounded like she was going to let out blood from her mouth anytime.

To think that Mikoto’s lip balm felt so heavy.

“...What are you saying now...”

“You probably don’t know what ‘remnant’ is. Or maybe ‘Silicorundum’ will confuse you.”

The girl happily twirled the needles in her hand, creating a clanking sound.

“I suppose, that’s the remnants of the ‘Tree Diagram’, you’d probably understand that now, wouldn’t you? Even if it’s beyond repair, it has the core of a supercomputer simulator.”

Shirai Kuroko gasped.

“No...no way. Isn’t that supposed to be floating in orbit...?”

This ridiculous truth stunned Shirai. It was because the ‘Tree Diagram’ was the strongest simulator in the world that Academy City was so proud of, it should be inside a satellite that was in orbit. No matter what the people on earth did, they couldn’t do anything to it. Also, if that thing malfunctioned (or even was destroyed), it would definitely be headline news.

But...

The luggage bag that the girl was sitting on now was definitely created for outer space environment.

And the date and time on the slip were exactly the same as the moment when Academy City’s space shuttle had returned.

Also, the fact the numerous organisations all around the world were rushing into space.

Shirai’s mind was in total confusion. The girl pulled out a photograph from her skirt pocket and flung it with her fingers. The photo continued to spin like a flying saucer, landing in front of Shirai.

“This is an attached photograph in Academy City’s internal report. No ordinary person can see it.”

On the photo, there was the black outer space and a large Earth. In front of the blue planet, which had a gradual arc, there was the debris of a satellite. Shirai had seen this certain satellite before on the news and the guide.

“Impossible...”

Just as Shirai was struck speechless, the photo suddenly vanished, appearing between the girl’s index and middle fingers. It must have been claimed back by her ‘Move Point’.

“The ‘Tree Diagram’ was already destroyed, which is why there are many people rushing to grab the ‘remnants’ that are floating in orbit.”

The girl seemed to see something in Shirai’s expression.

“Misaka Mikoto is so pitiful. Her nightmare was finally ended with much difficulty because someone destroyed the ‘Tree Diagram’, and now everyone else wants to repair it. Once this gimmick is repaired, the ‘experiment’ will likely continue. Hm, I can’t really say that I don’t understand her feelings.”

The girl again said that name, causing Shirai’s abdomen muscles to tighten.

Misaka Mikoto.

Shirai didn’t understand what this had to do with Mikoto. No matter how much she tried to think of a link, she couldn’t understand it. Though she still didn’t know what had happened, Shirai’s glare at the girl became even sharper. Just hearing Misaka Mikoto’s name from this dangerous person, one could tell that there was lots of trouble.

“Hehe, oh my, seems like you don’t know about anything. If so, it means that you don’t know anything about the ‘experiment’. However, you should have seen some clues about it. Like for example...let me think, half a month ago, wasn't there a huge explosion at the depot? It ended up causing a disruption in the entire train service. In that situation, for you guys to let the train service become fully operational in a week, I’m rather impressed.”

The girl said happily, but Shirai was unable to say anything.

Shirai was anxious, as if a flame torch was burning her mind. However, she couldn’t understand what the girl was talking about.

“Don’t you understand? I said so much, don’t you know? 21st August, that special day, did anything unusual happen around you?”

After hearing this date, Shirai couldn’t even think of anything. Last month, on the 21st, it was not even a festive holiday.

(What on earth...is she saying? Is this just some meaningless talk...?)

Shirai was feeling suspicious deep inside. But the girl’s words had some form of regularity, it didn’t seem like it was randomly uttered.

“Alright, if you can find the truth, I can become friends with you.”

The girl smiled and said, but Shirai wasn't in the mood to reply to her.

Her lips were cracked, the taste of blood oozing out.

Shirai only knew two things.

One, she couldn’t let the girl in front of her leave so easily.

Two, she couldn’t hand the contents of the luggage bag over to anyone.

Shirai Kuroko put her hand in her skirt, drawing out the only needles left on the strap attached to her thigh. There were two of them. In order to increase her determination, she tightly grabbed hold of the needles, roaring unnecessarily at the sky.

In contrast, the girl was sitting on the luggage bag. She gracefully dangled her leg, knocking the large number of needles around, making clanking sounds, and then activated the military flashlight that also functioned as a police baton. She flicked her wrist around like a musical conductor holding a conducting baton, drew a circle, and in a gentle and proud manner, looked down at the weakling lying beside her.

In an instant, everything remained still.

On the road outside the entrance of the alley, a car’s engine ignited.

As if predetermined, both of them launched their attacks.

It took less than a second for the victor to be decided.

The metal needles flew through the sky, a girl’s clear blood splattered all over the place, screams echoing throughout the sky. Dong. Shirai Kuroko fell onto the floor, letting out a sound that reminded people of a dirty bag landing on the ground.

It was windy now. The girl turned and left, leaving the Judgement member alone, and nobody could pursue her.

Without using ‘Move Point’, it was like she was enjoying her own footsteps.

Carrying a white luggage bag.

(Onee-sama...)

Shirai grit her teeth in remorse, apologizing in her own heart. She couldn’t say this result was good.

She knows clearly what she had to do.

But a teary Shirai Kuroko couldn’t do a single thing.

Between the lines 2

In the hospital, there was a bathroom that was for patients use.

The P.E. teacher clad in green sportswear attire, Yomikawa Aiho’s back was leaning on the bathroom door. She had a beautiful face and glamorous body, the apparel could be said to spoil it. Especially her wonderful breasts that gave off an inexplicable mature charm even if they were suppressed by her sports attire. She herself didn’t seem aware of her beautiful appearance, but this naïve character caused people to go even more ga-ga over her.

(Sigh, that Kikyou, finding trouble for me again.)

Yomikawa thought of that female researcher, her old friend, who was now hospitalised, and sighed. The researcher wasn’t completely out of the woods yet, so Yomikawa was only allowed to visit her once. At that point, the female researcher immediately asked Yomikawa to take care of two children, and after saying that, lost consciousness, which gave no chance for Yomikawa to inquire further, nor any right to refuse.

The ones that needed to be cared for were two children with special abilities.

The sounds of the children were coming out from the other side of the door, or inside the bathroom.

“‘Splash splash splash!’, says Misaka as Misaka makes splashes in this narrow bathtub. ‘With a petite body, any place can become an indoor entertainment facility’, says Misaka as Misaka thinks of this new concept.”

“Cheh...the hot water has gotten on me...! STOP SWIMMING AROUND IN THIS BATHTUB, YOU!”

“‘It’s too bad that you can’t ‘auto-reflect’’, says Misaka as Misaka reveals a pitiful expression. ‘Come to think of it, the strongest esper is about to cry just because shampoo got into his eyes’, says Misaka as Misaka finds it strange.”

“It’s not that I can’t use ‘auto-reflect’ completely. Though I have to use your network to do the calculations, this is really embarrassing. But if I have to use ‘auto-reflect’ in the bathroom, can I even bathe? Also...I’m not going to cry! Getting shampoo in my eyes won’t hurt, it’s just that I never felt this before!”

“Splash splash splash—”

“YOMIKAWAAAAAA! WHY DO I HAVE TO PUT UP THIS DAMN BRAT’S WATER KICKS—!?”

Being dragged into the conversation so suddenly, Yomikawa frowned.

“That won’t do. There’s the possibility that the kid will drown in the bathroom, there must be someone to take care of her-jan.”

“THEN WHY AREN’T YOU PROTECTING HER!”

“That won’t do. I’ll be soaked if I bathe that naughty kid. Oh yeah, you haven’t bathed in quite a while, got to scrub yourself cleanly-jan.”

“Damn it...why is it that no one will listen to me properly!”

“‘Don’t be agitated, don’t be agitated’, says Misaka as Misaka comforts you. ‘Misaka knows that you’re embarrassed’, although Misaka verifies Misaka is properly wrapped in a bath towel. ‘The atmosphere will be even more awkward if you’re mindful of it’, says Misaka as Misaka gives advice as a lifetime elder.”

“Thank you. Let me reward you with a water column.”

“‘Wah!?’, says Misaka as Misaka is scared by this sudden attack! ‘How mean! Before summer vacation ended, you risked your life to protect Misaka’, says Misaka as Misaka protests with a pale face!”

“What...oi, wait.”

“‘When Misaka was hit with the virus code, you were so gentle, and now you’re treating Misaka like this!? Don’t tell me you got tired of Misaka!?’, says Misaka as Misaka trembles in fright at the thought of this possibility!”

“...Ah? What did you say...? Virus code...?”

“‘Oh no!’, says Misaka as Misaka immediately covers her mouth!”

“‘Oh no!’ your head! How the hell do you remember what happened that day!?”

“‘About that’, says Misaka as Misaka scratches her cheek with her forefinger.”

“Didn’t I delete your memories when I was deleting the virus code in your brain!?”

“‘Misaka serial number 10032 to Misaka serial number 20000 have a common memory through the network’, says Misaka as Misaka honestly testifies.”

“...Oh?”

“‘Basically, even if a Misaka loses her memory, there are many backups that can be duplicated, so there is no problem at all’, says Misaka as Misaka sticks her tongue out as she acts cute. ‘Though Misaka lost her memory, she can regain her memory through the brains of the other Misakas’, says Misaka as Misaka tries many postures to appease your anger.”

“So that means...you also remembered what I said that day...?”

“That’s right, I killed over 10,000 of the Sisters, but this doesn’t mean that I should just leave the remaining 10,000 to die. I know that these words are hypocritical, I know that I have no right to say such words, no matter how much of scum bags we are. No matter how many excuses we put forward, those can't be the reasons to kill this brat! ...Ahh, says Misaka as Misaka is touched to tears while thinking back on this.”

“I’m gonna kill you... I’M GONNA KILL YOU, BRAT!”

“That won’t do; my friend has already asked me to take care of you, so you guys better not cause me any trouble.”

From the outside, Yomikawa heard the duo attacking each other with bathwater, and shouted. The doctor that looked like a frog had once said that ‘taking care of these two kids is a real challenge’, but right now, there wasn’t anything that was worth noting.

There seemed to be no need for her to look out for them, and so she could head back to work.

Yomikawa sighed, her back leaving the door, and said,

“You two, Nee-chan is going to settle some Anti-Skill stuff, so stop quarreling. Wait for me here obediently; I’ll treat both of you with goodies-jan.”

“‘Okay—’, says Misaka as Misaka uses her sure-kill water kicks to whip up large amounts of water as she answers.”

YOU BRAAAAT! Yomikawa Aiho heard the roaring continue behind her, picked up the large sports bag that was placed beside her foot on her shoulder, and left the hospital.

Her eyes were now abnormally sharp.

There was standard Anti-Skill equipment inside her bag.

After Yomikawa left, both of them, who had used up all the resources in the bathtub, finally reached a truce.

“Damn it, the water’s now only at knee level...”

“‘There’s already not enough water to kick’, says Misaka as Misaka will not give up, and will use all sorts of methods to accomplish her aim.”

“Stop kicking the water already. Did you forget that I’m still severely injured!?”

“‘Come to think of it, your hair grows really fast; there’s no sign of any operation scars’, says Misaka as Misaka is impressed. ‘Using the electric signals inside the human body to promote hair growth, that’s foul play’, says Misaka as Misaka can’t help but be enthusiastic about the wonders of the human body.”

“No matter how impressive it is, it can’t grow back the scars on the cranium!”

“Splash, spin, kick water, kick water!”

“...”

“‘If Yomikawa knew how Misaka wasted so much water, she would immediately start scolding’, says Misaka as Misaka can’t help but shudder in fear. ‘Luckily, Yomikawa won’t be coming back to the hospital today’, says Misaka as Misaka feels relieved.”

“Huh? What did she say to you?”

“‘About that, it didn't come from Yomikawa herself’, says Misaka as Misaka—”