After meticulously checking through her luggage, Natsume Sonoko confirmed she hadn't forgotten anything.
Oh well, even if she had missed something, it probably wasn't a big deal.
The car refueled once at a gas station along the way, then headed straight toward Academy City.
The journey was smooth and uneventful, and by the time they approached the city, evening was already falling.
Just as the sun completely disappeared below the horizon, the group finally arrived at Academy City's entry and exit control station.
During the journey, Hayashimura Takeshi and the others had already secured entry permission for Academy City through the Metropolitan Police Department. Natsume Sonoko's ID status was now updated to 'Permitted Entry.'
Sonoko had long since changed into her Tokiwadai Middle School uniform: a short-sleeved blouse with a thin sweater and a gray pleated skirt. Her hairstyle remained unchanged—the same black bun she always wore.
She was in good spirits. Perhaps because she'd been away for a while, Sonoko found herself eagerly wanting to return to her little room, even feeling a hint of nostalgia for the strict dorm supervisor.
Outside Academy City's wall, Sonoko was scanned by some unknown machine before the staff finally approved her re-entry into the city.
"So this is Academy City," Saito Naoto, leaning against the business van and quietly watching Sonoko complete the procedures, glanced curiously at the silent Hayashimura Takeshi beside him.
"Hayashimura-senpai, do you plan to send your kids here someday?"
For many in Japan, Academy City was increasingly becoming a place of aspiration.
It wasn't just the advanced technology, but also the fantastical esper powers that held great appeal for plenty of folks.
"I'm not interested," Hayashimura shook his head, not agreeing with Saito's view. "It's not as wonderful inside as you might think."
"Let's go. Our job here is done. Time to head back to headquarters."
Lugging her suitcase, Sonoko turned back only to see the van that had brought her already driving off into the distance. A strange feeling tugged at her heart, but her steps didn't falter. Following the staff's directions, she entered Academy City through the personnel passageway.
'Back to life in Academy City again. I just wonder when I'll get to leave next.'
Lost in thought, Sonoko casually flagged down a clunky-looking cleaning robot, swiftly pressing her hand against its 'forehead' and holding it firmly in place.
The cleaning robot had incredibly high evasion stats, but alas, it couldn't teleport, utterly incapable of escaping Sonoko's clutches.
Taxis in Academy City were so expensive, and she was flat broke right now. Pinching pennies meant she had to keep relying on these hard-working Academy City robots.
But then Sonoko ran into a problem. She had quite a bit of luggage, and it was a bit too much to fit on just one cleaning robot.
This little hiccup didn't stump the clever Sonoko for long. She quietly pulled out her phone and dialed Shirai-san's number.
"Hello, this is Natsume Sonoko. Am I speaking with Shirai-san from the Judgment 177th Branch?"
When in trouble, find Judgment. That was Sonoko's survival rule in Academy City, even if the Judgment member she ended up calling was pretty much always the same person.
"Can I say no?" a familiar voice, carrying that distinctive ojou-sama tone unique to Shirai-san, came through the phone.
"Go on, what do you need help with this time? You should know I've been swamped lately. The moment the holiday started, all sorts of troubles began popping up nonstop."
A hint of resignation colored Shirai-san's voice. While regular Judgment work actually decreased during student breaks, it was no match for Shirai-san's overflowing sense of justice.
"It's nothing major, really. I just need help carrying some things." A faint blush touched Sonoko's cheeks, sounding a bit embarrassed.
"You came back to Academy City early? Alright, tell me your address. I'll be right there." Shirai-san was momentarily taken aback but didn't refuse Sonoko's request.
Just after giving her location, a mere three or four minutes later, a figure clad in a Tokiwadai uniform, with chestnut-brown naturally curly twin tails, materialized in mid-air.
"Shirai-san! Over here!"
Sonoko waved from a distance, her voice tinged with delight.
"Why are you back so suddenly? I thought you still had a few days left before you were supposed to return." Shirai-san, hovering in the air, landed on a streetlamp nearby. Then, with a forward dash and a spatial jump, she appeared right beside Sonoko.
"It's... kind of hard to explain. Ran into some tricky problems, so I had to request an early return." Sonoko thought about it but essentially explained nothing.
"Is that so? Seems the issues you faced weren't simple."
Shirai-san didn't press further, considering it Sonoko's private business.
"But let me say this upfront, that luggage of yours looks pretty heavy. I can't carry you and all that stuff at once."
"It's fine! I'm just glad you're willing to help me with the luggage," Sonoko said softly, a shy expression on her face.
"Honestly, what am I going to do with you? Fine, I'll just make a couple of trips." Shirai-san put her hands on her hips, her face a picture of resignation.
The surrounding scenery kept shifting and changing. Sonoko couldn't comprehend the mechanics of spatial teleportation, so amidst the constantly altering views, the only thing she could do was hold tightly to Shirai-san's arm.
"Shirai-san, has something been happening in Academy City these past few days?"
During the rapid movement, Sonoko caught glimpses of severely damaged shops, with cracks even snaking across the ground, as if some incident had occurred recently.
"Mhm, the frequency of earthquakes in Academy City has been a bit high lately."
Sonoko nodded. Accessing the city's internal networks from outside was impossible, so her information was somewhat outdated.
"But we had a meeting at our main branch office in District 7 recently. It's not actually a real seismic phenomenon, and it's definitely not supernatural. It's caused by the collective outbreak of RSPK Syndrome."
Sonoko had read about so-called RSPK Syndrome before in the Tokiwadai library.
Back when she went all out, causing her computational power to drain uncontrollably fast, that could actually be considered a manifestation of RSPK Syndrome, though it didn't trigger any external phenomena.
"RSPK essentially refers to a state where espers temporarily lose self-control, causing their abilities to run wild unconsciously. Individual manifestations vary—like furniture suddenly moving on its own."
"And when a collective outbreak happens simultaneously, these out-of-control abilities merge and interact. We call it a 'Poltergeist.' If a Poltergeist expands, it can create phenomena similar to earthquakes," Shirai-san explained patiently.
"I see. Sounds pretty serious."
Sonoko took a moment to pull out her phone and search a certain website. The familiar interface loaded on her screen.
[Academy City's Destruction! The Apocalypse Approaches!]
Pinned at the top was an urban legend about the Poltergeist. It seemed rather sensationalist; that clickbait title writer was on a whole other level compared to Sonoko.
"Some people always believe these rumors. That's exactly why our job is so difficult." Shirai-san glimpsed the phone's content and let out a sigh.
--+--
Tokiwadai Middle School Dormitory, District 7.
The dorm supervisor had planted some flowers in the nearby garden, so a very faint floral scent lingered around the dormitory.
The two girls stood steadily at the dormitory's main entrance, with Sonoko's luggage piled in a corner of the lobby.
"Is Misaka-senpai not around?"
With Shirai-san's help, they hauled the suitcases up to the second floor. Gazing at the closed door of room 208, Sonoko asked.
"Onee-sama went to help Uiharu. A new roommate just moved into Uiharu's dorm recently. She seems like a very nice person," Shirai-san said after a moment's thought.
Shirai-san didn't stay long. Soon, only Sonoko remained in room 210.
Busy unpacking and putting things from her suitcase back in their places, Sonoko suddenly froze mid-action.
"I remember now. I forgot to buy souvenirs."
Her expression shifted oddly, and she remained crouched on the floor, stunned for a long moment.
--+--
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.