"Is it an earthquake?"
Uiharu realized it instantly. As a Judgment member, her emergency response training kicked in automatically. She immediately pulled the slightly dazed Haruue beside her under the shop counter.
Saten, for her part, quickly grabbed onto a nearby clothes rack, watching with concern as Natsume Sonoko, who hadn't found anything to hold onto, swayed unsteadily.
Natsume Sonoko was acting a bit strange, standing rooted to the spot without moving.
"Sonoko, get over here, quick!"
Uiharu called out anxiously, waving her arm vigorously.
Beside Uiharu, Haruue tightly hugged her own legs, her eyes dim and downcast as she stared at the ground.
"It's alright... So this is what it feels like to resonate with someone else's AIM field."
Natsume Sonoko murmured this to herself, shaking her head at Uiharu and the others.
The vibrations were still bearable for her.
Although her steps were a bit unsteady, her mind was unusually clear. She could even sense a special diffuse field active around her, and now it was resonating with someone else's field.
This field was, naturally, the AIM diffusion field—a faint energy unconsciously emitted in all directions by espers.
The collective outbreak of RSPK Syndrome was essentially caused by this resonance of AIM fields.
Research on AIM fields, here in Academy City, was closely tied to espers yet rarely received much attention. It was only someone like Natsume Sonoko, repeatedly dragged into related incidents, who would proactively choose to learn about it.
For example, if one esper within a shared ability system lost control of their power, it could affect all espers of the same system.
At this stage, it was relatively mild, only causing undetectable, chaotic development phenomena.
If the number of individuals losing control increased, the situation would intensify, affecting espers from different systems. This could be enough to trigger a massive, city-destroying bout of chaotic development—exactly the kind of earthquake-like phenomenon happening right now.
The destruction of Academy City was actually a threat very close to everyone. If the current shaking didn't stop, it would soon spread throughout the entire city. As it intensified, it could even destroy Academy City, only ceasing when those out-of-control espers died.
But just as Natsume Sonoko had expected, after only about ten seconds, the intense shaking subsided, and everything returned to normal.
"It's over. It seems Kiyama Harumi-sensei still lacks the courage to destroy Academy City."
Kiyama Harumi was the former developer of the Level Upper. To a certain extent, she was also one of the masterminds behind this collective RSPK Syndrome outbreak.
Natsume Sonoko let out a sigh of relief. While she hadn't truly believed Kiyama-sensei would go through with destroying Academy City, it was only now that the tremors had stopped that she could fully relax.
She recalled Kiyama-sensei's past bold declaration of being willing to stand against Academy City, yet the woman had still held onto her own gentleness and bottom line.
"Natsume-san, do you realize how dangerous that was?" Uiharu said, her voice cross as she ran over and glared at Natsume Sonoko.
"Sorry, I won't do it next time," Natsume Sonoko immediately replied with an apologetic look, waving her hands dismissively.
Her gaze then drifted to Haruue's face, noticing her utterly dejected expression.
"Where... where is it?"
The girl murmured to herself, her tone laden with indescribable sorrow.
"Haruue-san, are you okay?" Saten had also noticed Haruue's strange behavior, but Haruue didn't seem inclined to answer, merely repeating the same phrase over and over.
"Are you looking for someone?"
Natsume Sonoko patted Haruue's shoulder, interrupting her melancholy.
Haruue hung her head, remaining silent, but the sharp-eyed Natsume noticed she was tightly clutching a pendant.
Haruue shook her head without speaking, seemingly unwilling to share what was on her mind.
"That's a photo locket, right? Can I take a look?" Natsume Sonoko asked after a moment's hesitation, appearing genuinely interested in the pendant.
"This... alright."
Clutching the pendant hesitantly for a good while, Haruue slowly opened her palm and nodded.
Opening the locket revealed a photo of a young girl with short hair, looking only about seven or eight years old. Her bangs were held back by a hairband, revealing a smooth forehead.
The moment she saw the photo, Natsume Sonoko's memories became a little clearer, and a peculiar feeling welled up inside her.
This person was one of the lab rats discarded by Academy City, and also the student whom Kiyama Harumi had staked everything to save.
"Is this someone very important to you, Haruue-san?" Saten Ruiko leaned in, a spark of curiosity in her eyes.
"She's a good friend of mine," Haruue replied with a slight nod.
--+--
Back at the Tokiwadai Dormitory, Natsume Sonoko seemed preoccupied.
The place had changed quite a bit. Decorations now adorned every corner of the dormitory. Sky-blue drapes were fixed to the walls of the main hall, with flowers placed at regular intervals, from which two crimson ribbons cascaded.
The main hall and some auxiliary buildings had been utilized, each arranged differently according to their purpose.
No sooner had Natsume Sonoko stepped through the door than she spotted the Dorm Supervisor, her expression stern. Ever since her breakup, the Supervisor had become increasingly strict, showing no mercy even during holidays.
"The placement of these flower baskets is problematic. You need to leave at least a gap here. And this carpet needs to be relaid."
Listening to the Supervisor's criticisms, Natsume Sonoko deftly made her way to the second floor and returned to Room 210.
Sitting at her desk, she carefully sifted through her memories before starting a targeted search for information on what she recalled as the main antagonist of the first season of A Certain Scientific Railgun.
A click of the mouse, and the computer screen soon displayed a professional woman with orange-yellow hair, wearing a ladies' pantsuit. She looked very approachable, like the big sister next door.
Therestina Kihara Lifeline, Captain of the MAR and Director of its affiliated research institute.
So her surname was Kihara. That explains everything.
In Academy City, anyone with that surname was, to the last one, a bona fide mad scientist. No matter how perverse or inhumane the experiment, they could almost always face it with a smile.
She also looked into the Advanced Education Bureau where Kiyama Harumi had previously worked. It was completely abandoned now, nothing left but an old, decrepit building.
Closing her laptop, Natsume Sonoko digested the information she'd just gathered, a trace of worry involuntarily appearing on her face.
Due to her own butterfly effect, the original plot had already undergone massive changes.
Not only had Kiyama Harumi not been captured as in the original story, but Misaka-san hadn't used her ability to read Kiyama's memories like she was supposed to, hadn't even met Kiyama Harumi. The subsequent plot was already completely unrecognizable.
Stories happen through a series of coincidences, and these coincidences lead to an inevitable outcome. If one link in that chain breaks, no one can guarantee what will happen.
Natsume Sonoko, who always tended to overthink, couldn't help but worry. Without Misaka-san's involvement, would things develop in a worse direction?
She truly sympathized with those cast-off children, the ones turned into vegetables by the experiments.
--+--
After lights out, the entire dormitory grew quiet, save for the familiar sound of the Dorm Supervisor's footsteps echoing in the hallway.
The Supervisor's nightly room checks were a given. The timing was usually fixed, but sometimes she'd double back unexpectedly.
With the lights off, Natsume Sonoko buried herself in the sofa. Her closed eyes suddenly snapped open. Half an hour had passed, but sleep was nowhere to be found.
'I'm going to find Kiyama Harumi-sensei.'
Eyes wide open, Natsume Sonoko finally stopped hesitating. She quietly climbed out of bed.
A window on the second floor opened. Natsume Sonoko peered down.
Then, a figure in a Tokiwadai uniform leaped down from the dormitory's second floor. Having previous experience jumping off a speeding armored vehicle, she didn't need any mental preparation this time.
--+--
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.