The joy of reunion could make one forget all sorrows, and Natsume Sonoko gazed delightedly at the recovered bicycle before her.
Thanks to the thieves' proper maintenance, the bicycle didn't have any noticeable scratches. However, the original IC chip inside had been damaged, losing its remote tracking function.
"Aren't you taking the day off, Natsume-san?" Misaka asked, school bag in hand. It was almost time for school.
"I am, but only for P.E. class. Taking the whole day off would be such a waste." Natsume Sonoko chuckled, feeling as if she'd gained a little bonus.
There was P.E. today, but because of her injury, the teacher definitely wouldn't make her participate.
"Alright then, just don't push yourself," Misaka replied hesitantly.
"Kuroko, since Natsume-san is injured, please help her get to and from school today."
"Kuroko is very busy, you know! I don't have time to escort people around. Besides, don't be fooled by her pitiful look, Onee-sama. I heard from the Anti-Skill officers that she can fly now."
Shirai Kuroko spoke with clear displeasure. Ever since running into this bun-haired girl, she'd inexplicably been saddled with more tasks, and it was starting to feel like she was being treated as some kind of tool.
"Actually, I don't want to keep troubling Shirai-san either. I'll be fine on my own," Natsume Sonoko insisted seriously, shaking her head with determination. She even hopped a few times on one foot to prove her point.
"...Fine, fine. What can I say—I did promise you could come to me if you needed anything."
Shirai sighed quietly, a resigned look crossing her face as she reached out and steadied Natsume by the arm.
"Onee-sama, I'll take Natsume-san to school now," she said, her tone still carrying a hint of elegance despite the sigh.
"Go ahead, don't worry about me," Misaka said, snapping out of her thoughts.
Space fractured, and the two figures vanished. Misaka slung her bag over her shoulder and began walking toward Tokiwadai Middle School.
As a student who never took the school bus, she was long accustomed to crossing nearly half of District 7 on foot.
Sometimes along the way, she'd stumble upon things that made the walk less boring—far more interesting than sitting in a bus engaging in tedious, "ladylike" activities.
"Kuroko really does care about Natsume-san, deep down," Misaka murmured to herself as she walked.
"Oh, it's that guy." Noticing something, she suddenly halted.
Their eyes met for a split second—and the spiky-haired boy instantly bolted into a nearby alley, with Misaka hot on his heels.
At the main entrance of Tokiwadai's school building, Shirai landed steadily, making sure Natsume was balanced beside her.
"Good morning, Natsume-san, Shirai-san," a voice called from a distance. Turning, they saw their classmate, Wannai Kinuho.
"Morning, Wannai-san!" Natsume called back cheerfully.
"Morning," Shirai replied, her voice noticeably lacking energy.
--+--
Time flew, and before long, P.E. class had begun again.
Natsume had been instructed to rest on a stone bench near the sports ground, which was now a scene of bustling activity.
After sitting for a while, she carefully made her way off the field—not back to the classroom, but toward the school library.
Tokiwadai's library was enormous, even more impressive than the main academic building. Its collection was vast, ranging from basic textbooks to highly specialized academic papers—truly, it had everything.
And the school regularly updated the inventory.
Even someone as studious as Misaka often came here to study and recharge, though some still called her "all brawn, no brains."
Academy City never lacked brilliant minds. Even though Natsume considered herself quite diligent, at best, others saw her as having "decent comprehension."
"I remember the books on ability miscontrol were around here somewhere…"
When she used her ability without holding back, Natsume noticed her computational power drained far too quickly—a common issue among espers.
She wasn't sure if it counted as ability miscontrol, but it was probably related.
Still, this near-loss-of-control was confined to her own mind and didn't affect the outside world. The root cause, she figured, was her formulas being poorly suited to the task. She needed to study more, think more, eat less junk food, and get more sleep.
Truth be told, Natsume didn't visit the library often—mostly to tackle difficult assignments from teachers—but she was generally familiar with the layout.
Finally, she found some relevant books and papers on one of the shelves. Clutching a few, she made her way to the reading room on the first floor.
With classes still in session, the library was nearly empty. Natsume loved the quiet atmosphere, though she struggled a bit with the dense, difficult texts.
"Ah, here's something useful," she murmured, frowning as she sifted through scattered content to find what she needed.
"What an extreme perspective—assessing the value brought by ability miscontrol. Is this even feasible?"
She set down one particularly headache-inducing thesis. It contained little practical information, reading more like an introduction to a series of papers—except Tokiwadai's library didn't have the follow-ups.
Natsume checked the author's name: a certain Kihara Gensei.
Sounds familiar… I feel like I've heard that name before. If it's this recognizable, he's probably a villain, right?
There did seem to be a lot of people named Kihara in Academy City, with all sorts of strange given names. It was a bit hard to keep track.
She continued browsing the remaining material, her brow furrowing more and more. Sometimes, you just have to do what's necessary—like fixing the bugs in her own formulas.
And this ability miscontrol-like issue wasn't limited to her ice-forming equations; other formulas might have similar flaws, even if she hadn't noticed them yet.
As the saying goes, grasp one and you grasp all. Solve the ice formula issue, and the rest should follow.
"My, my, if it isn't Natsume-san."
Lost in the paper, she suddenly felt a tap on her shoulder. Turning, she bumped straight into something soft.
A light fragrance reached her nose. Looking up, she saw a golden-haired upperclassman whose figure didn't look anything like a middle schooler. Her starry pupils held a unique sparkle. Staggering back a few steps from the impact, the senior smiled.
Besides the Tokiwadai uniform, she wore white stockings with a spiderweb pattern, pure white gloves, and carried a fashionable shoulder bag.
"Shokuhou-senpai! I'm so sorry, I didn't know you were behind me!"
Natsume scrambled to her feet, flustered and stumbling over her words.
"It's quite alright. I'm not the petty type. More importantly, what you're reading is rather intriguing."
Shokuhou Misaki picked up one of the papers—the very one by Kihara Gensei.
"Trouble with ability miscontrol? It really is a bother. I've struggled with it too—though in my case, it's because my ability is simply too powerful to control easily," she said with a playful yet serious smile.
"Wow, as expected of Shokuhou-senpai," Natsume said, genuinely impressed. If anyone else had said that, it might sound like boasting—but from this senior, it was probably the truth.
"Also, you're better off not reading this paper. The old man who wrote it gives me the creeps just thinking about him."
Shokuhou sat across from Natsume, stretching lazily before slumping over the table.
"...Okay."
"Shokuhou-senpai, aren't you supposed to be in class?" Natsume asked after a pause. Speaking with this senior always made her a little nervous, especially someone so incredibly accomplished.
"Same as you—it's P.E. right now. I just skipped," Shokuhou replied, propping her chin in her hand and gazing absently at the ceiling.
"I see." Natsume nodded, a look of understanding in her eyes. She completely approved of Shokuhou's methods.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.