Academy City on a holiday was bustling with life, a river of students flowing through streets jam-packed with traffic, everyone soaking up the festive atmosphere.
Even the shops lining the roads had been opening especially early these days, all vying for the hard-won customer traffic.
Natsume had just returned from the administrative office, nursing her arm with a frustrated sigh. A small cotton ball was still taped to her finger, a tiny spot of blood staining its surface.
"So painful, what a bother."
She couldn't help but grimace, thoroughly annoyed.
They'd just injected a tracking device into her bloodstream.
Even though she hated this surveillance-like procedure, it was a necessary step to get permission to leave Academy City.
And these trackers had a pretty long lifespan. By Natsume's estimate, even after she returned to Academy City, the device in her blood would keep working for over a month before her body finally metabolized it.
Of course, if she deliberately messed up her body's pH balance, the monitoring period could be cut short, ending right on the day she returned.
Besides 24/7 tracking, the device also monitored blood loss and reported the implantee's health status. Based on that feedback, Academy City could even decide whether to dispatch a rescue team.
But that was all small potatoes. In Academy City, being watched was just part of daily life.
She quietly opened her phone. Right there, glaringly obvious, was an approval notice from the Board of Directors. They'd only granted a fifteen-day leave based on Natsume's application. It was a bit shorter than she'd hoped, but still fell within Natsume Sonoko's expectations.
Though coming back would land her right in the middle of her dorm's summer festival, which left Natsume feeling a bit sour. She wasn't exactly a fan of these dorm-hosted reception events.
--+--
Meanwhile, on the second floor of that same administrative office.
One of the twelve members of Academy City's General Board of Directors, the elderly man named Kaizumi, stood amiably by the window, a thoughtful look in his eyes as he watched the visibly disgruntled Natsume Sonoko walk away.
"You're here." He turned around, his gaze settling on Kumokawa Saria as she approached him slowly.
"Director, what brings you here today?" Kumokawa Saria showed a flicker of surprise, but quickly regained her composure.
Kumokawa Saria, the intellectual advisor to Director Kaizumi. No special powers, no drug enhancements—she held her ground within the Board purely on the strength of her conversational skills.
She was the kind of senior who could quiet a crying child, and the actual person in charge of this administrative office.
"Director, do you know Sonoko too?" With a serene smile, this senior quietly stepped up beside Kaizumi.
"I do. After all, she's one of the very few students with that kind of natural talent who's been permitted to leave and re-enter Academy City twice," Kaizumi replied with a faint smile, as if recalling something.
"She originally came to Academy City just seeking refuge, without any deliberate favoritism from the Board's resources. Yet she's managed to come this far... truly impressive..."
Kaizumi's words trailed off, and he suddenly fell silent.
"Director, if we're talking resources, Mental Out has provided quite a few, you know. Honestly, that girl isn't very likable. She's always doing things that get on people's nerves," Kumokawa Saria said, looking up at the sky with an unreadable tone.
"Is that so? Well, I won't meddle in you young people's affairs."
"As long as Academy City itself doesn't have to take an official stance, it's fine."
--+--
Out on the street, a certain Natsume Sonoko inexplicably received a call from an unknown number outside Academy City.
Normally, aside from the numbers registered by students' parents, outside numbers like this couldn't get through at all. But it was a different story if Academy City allowed it.
"Hello? Is this Sonoko? I'm your Uncle Mori!"
"Uh, which Uncle Mori?"
"I'm the famous great detective Kogoro Mori! You must've seen my reports in the papers or something, right?"
"Never heard of you." Natsume Sonoko stopped walking, a sudden urge to hang up welling inside her.
"Uncle, Uncle Mori, are you calling someone inside that huge walled city? Isn't that place completely cut off from the outside world?"
"Let go, you brat! Get out of here! Ran, pull this kid away!"
A chaotic ruckus erupted on the other end—it sounded like a chicken coop in an uproar. After some struggle, the man's voice returned.
"Never heard of me? That's fine. I'm the guarantor your father, Mr. Natsume, invited. Speaking of which, your father was just an assistant police inspector back then. He's been promoted really fast."
"But I'm getting off track. Once you get to our place, I promise I'll get you back safe and sound," the man on the other end declared, thumping his chest audibly.
"Okay." Just as Natsume was about to thank him, the speaker suddenly changed.
"Sis, sis! My name is Edogawa Conan! Do you go to school in that Academy City? Is the technology there really twenty years ahead of the outside world?"
"You little brat, give me that phone!"
"..."
Beep... beep... beep...
Natsume Sonoko hung up, looking up at the sky as if it had somehow changed color.
Academy City's cleaning robots whizzed past. Perhaps sensing the dangerous aura Natsume Sonoko was giving off, they all swerved to avoid her.
"Hah?" A buzzing filled Natsume Sonoko's head—not from anything like Capacity Down, but just pure bewilderment.
"The world's definitely the one that's wrong here!"
Scratching the bun on top of her head, Natsume Sonoko suddenly made a strange resolution.
If her cheap cousin Natsume Takashi's place had some 'Cat Teacher' running around, she was absolutely going to lose it!
What was that?
Spotting something out of the corner of her eye, she pushed the extra thoughts aside and looked up.
There, on the roof of a distant high-rise, a tiny figure in white nun's attire was running back and forth. Someone seemed to be chasing her, but before Natsume could get a good look, they vanished in the blink of an eye.
--+--
Since she'd be away for a while, Natsume Sonoko needed to say her goodbyes to the people she knew.
"Natsume, I heard you're leaving Academy City soon?"
In the Tokiwadai Dormitory of the School Garden, Kongou-senpai sat opposite Natsume Sonoko, sipping tea slowly and gracefully like a proper lady. Wannai and Awatsuki were by her side.
Somehow, without anyone quite noticing when, Kongou-senpai had become close with Wannai and the others.
"Is that true?" Wannai was surprised; leaving Academy City wasn't an easy thing to do.
"It's true. I'm leaving tomorrow. I wanted to say goodbye to you and Kongou-senpai today," Natsume nodded, taking a slow sip of the tea beside her.
"Hmm~~ Hmm~~ This lady originally wanted to go out too, but I have special Level 5 training at the research institute this holiday, so it'll have to wait until next time. The next Level 5 in Academy City will definitely be Tokiwadai's Kongou Mitsuko!"
Snapping open her ornate fan and hiding her face behind it, Kongou-senpai peered over the top with utterly confident eyes.
It had to be said, Kongou-senpai was a hard worker. Even during holidays, she never forgot to improve her abilities.
"What research institute?" Natsume Sonoko seemed a bit curious.
"In the School Garden within Academy City. There are five research institutes under Kongou Aviation Holdings."
Kongou-senpai's face showed no hint of boastfulness; she said it as if stating a simple fact. Truly, she was the super-ojousama of the prestigious aviation industry giant, Kongou Aviation.
"Ah, I see."
Natsume Sonoko was used to the immense financial power of the Kongou family and nodded, completely unsurprised. Of course, these institutes were still quite different from Academy City's direct research facilities, but pooled together, they represented a massive resource.
"Ah, that reminds me. This might come in handy for you, Natsume." Kongou-senpai closed her fan, a thoughtful expression crossing her face as she pulled a card from her bag.
"It's a VIP card for the Tokyo Kongou Holdings store. You can get a thirty percent discount on everything there," Kongou-senpai said earnestly.
"Thank you, Senior." Natsume Sonoko was taken aback for a moment, then accepted it happily.
After saying goodbye to Kongou-senpai, it was time to visit Shokuhou-senpai.
But the moment the dorm door opened, she found a drowsy-looking Shokuhou-senpai.
Even a Level 5 in Academy City could... occasionally be lazy. Speaking of which, the flab on Shokuhou-senpai's arms seemed a bit excessive.
"Natsume, that's a very rude thought, you know?" Shokuhou-senpai pouted, puffing her cheeks as she pinched Natsume's face in annoyance.
"...Sorry, I didn't mean to." Natsume's face flushed slightly with embarrassment. In front of this senior, she couldn't hide even the smallest thought.
"But it's fine. As long as you remember to bring me back some souvenirs, I'll forgive you."
"Using a Capacity Down device... Natsume's ideas are certainly eye-opening." Watching Natsume leave, a trace of astonishment showed on Shokuhou Misaki's sleepy face.
--+--
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.