Kamijou Touma's expression shifted oddly.
The furrow in his brow began to ease, the helplessness at the corners of his eyes gradually fading away. He finally stopped brooding over the bicycle incident.
'Ah, forget it. My luck's always been rotten anyway.'
"Maika-chan, another plate of yakisoba and sashimi, please!" Index raised her hand high, her mouth stuffed with a chicken leg, her fingers glistening with grease.
She called out to Tsuchimikado, who was just then approaching.
"I'll have one too—a plate of fried chicken, please," Kamijou raised his hand quietly, a look of anticipation on his face.
Natsume Sonoko didn't raise her hand. In front of her was a stack of seven or eight empty plates—that was already her absolute limit. Even Juufuku-san's capacity seemed a little better than hers.
But compared to the near half-meter tower of empty plates piled before Index, both of them could only feel thoroughly outclassed.
'She looks so slender and fragile, like a breeze could knock her over… So how can she possibly fit that much inside? Is this the legendary power of the magic side? Does her stomach secretly connect to some pocket dimension via magic?'
'Sure is unexpectedly hard to keep her fed, huh…'
A little lost in thought, Natsume Sonoko finished the last meatball on her skewer, collected the used sticks neatly on her plate, and finally leaned back against her chair with a contented sigh.
"Well, we'll be going now. Sorry if Index caused any trouble," Kamijou Touma said very politely as lunch came to an end, holding Index's hand.
"I didn't cause any trouble at all!" Index puffed out her cheeks, looking annoyed, before chomping down on Kamijou's head.
'So young, yet already facing the risk of balding in high school…'
"Not at all, Index was really quite lovely," Natsume Sonoko said.
As soon as the words left her mouth, Index's face lit up with a proud expression.
"Index got along very well with everyone," Juufuku-san added with a smile.
--+--
Afternoon had arrived, the sun already beginning its descent.
Without Natsume Sonoko even noticing, the Student Dormitory Auction had quietly begun.
Meanwhile, a certain someone was toiling away, clearing plates and food scraps from the restaurant tables while pushing a serving cart.
Short on staff—perhaps because a certain teleporter had mysteriously vanished and other students were assigned to keep order at the auction—Natsume Sonoko had been roped into service by Tsuchimikado, who'd been wandering nearby.
Juufuku-san had originally wanted to wait for her, but Natsume Sonoko refused, urging her to go explore instead.
'Shirai-san must've gone to the auction. Well, that's to be expected.'
Her hands sticky and greasy, Natsume Sonoko grumpily stacked another set of plates onto the cart.
According to insider info, Misaka-senpai had donated a set of bear-themed stationery for this auction, and a certain Shirai, having learned about it in advance, had long since gone to lie in wait.
'But considering how many times Shirai-san has helped me out without complaint, I'll let it slide this time.'
'So many plates… How did this table manage to eat so much?'
Pushing the cart to the next table, she found it so piled high that some plates still wouldn't fit.
Taking a closer look at the spot—'Well, speak of the devil'—it was exactly where she had been sitting earlier.
"Ten thousand yen! Congratulations to this student for winning the bear stationery set!"
"Next up for auction is a manga series called Hikaru no Go, all 15 volumes. The starting bid is two thousand yen."
The restaurant wasn't far from the auction venue. If she pricked up her ears, she could hear the noisy commotion. The host's amplified voice was practically piercing her eardrums.
'Seems like my donated item is finally up.' Natsume Sonoko paused her work, listening intently for the bidding outside.
'This manga set is pretty rare in Academy City. It should be fairly popular, right?'
For some reason, she felt inexplicably nervous, straining to catch the activity over there.
"Repeating the starting bid of two thousand yen. Bidding starts now!"
Apart from the host's voice, the other bids were simply too faint to make out. All she could do was wait for the final result.
But the bidding seemed rather lukewarm, leaving Natsume Sonoko uncertain.
"Five thousand three hundred yen! Congratulations to this student for winning the manga set! Alright, next up is…"
The final result was announced. Natsume Sonoko's face showed neither joy nor sorrow, just a blank, somewhat dazed expression. Perhaps she was a little shaken.
'I'm not upset at all. It's all for a good cause.'
She forced a smile. The final price was quite far from what she'd secretly hoped for. By her own estimate, it should've gone for at least twenty thousand yen.
"Natsume-san, are you done clearing the plates over there?" It was Tsuchimikado's voice.
"Almost!" Natsume Sonoko hurriedly sped up.
'Seriously, why do I have to work so hard…?'
After half an hour of labor, Natsume Sonoko's impromptu conscription finally ended. Her whole body ached, and she felt completely drained.
Not long after leaving the restaurant, she ran into Shirai-san and the others.
Not just Shirai-san—Saten-san and Uiharu-san were there too.
"Natsume-san, you're so late! The auction's already over," Shirai-san said, clutching the bear stationery set with a hint of regret.
"Quite unfortunately, I managed to buy Onee-sama's stationery set myself," Shirai-san declared, waving the set triumphantly.
Natsume Sonoko looked at Shirai Kuroko with a sense of helplessness. What could she say? Shirai-san really had money to burn.
"Congratulations, Shirai-san," Natsume Sonoko replied weakly, not really in the mood to discuss it further.
"Natsume-san, you came just in time! We were just about to go watch Misaka-senpai's performance," Saten-san said excitedly, clenching her fists with enthusiasm.
"Is it already that time?" Natsume Sonoko was startled, only just remembering the event.
"Yes! I'm really looking forward to Misaka-senpai's performance," Uiharu-san said earnestly.
"Oh no, we can't waste any more time here! We need to hurry and grab good seats. I must capture Onee-sama's brilliant performance!" Shirai-san suddenly burst into a frenzy, a camera somehow already in her hand.
After sending a quick message to Juufuku-san, Natsume Sonoko followed the group to the venue.
Everything was set up. The hall was impeccably clean, with a stage erected in the center, draped with deep blue curtains.
There was still plenty of time before the performance, so the seats were mostly empty. They found some spots with a good view and settled in.
Juufuku-san arrived shortly after. Natsume Sonoko also spotted Kongou-senpai and Wannai-san, and even the Dorm Supervisor was leaning by the window, watching. Soon, all several hundred seats were filled.
'Misaka-senpai is really popular,' Natsume Sonoko thought, her gaze tinged with yearning and admiration.
"It's starting! It's a violin solo," Uiharu said excitedly. Beside her, Shirai-san instinctively straightened her posture.
There, on the stage, appeared a figure in a white evening gown, a pure white ribbon tied in her brown hair, holding a violin. She walked gracefully to the center.
Offering a slight bow to the audience, Misaka-senpai in her white dress rested the violin on her shoulder, an aura of elegance radiating from her—like a white swan.
'Truly worthy of being Tokiwadai's Princess.'
The Summer Festival ended, and everything returned to normal.
--+--
Waking at sunrise, resting at sunset—life was back to its usual rhythm.
In Natsume Sonoko's dorm room sat a large cake, a leftover from yesterday's handmade cake exhibition.
Since there were quite a few cakes left over—after giving some to Index and the others—Natsume Sonoko had taken one for herself.
[Kiyama-sensei, I'll come by at noon.]
After sending the message to Kiyama-sensei, Natsume Sonoko slipped on her shoes, ready to head out, tucking the research lab ID card into her pocket.
She wanted to visit the children who had just woken up from their comas, and bring this cake along as a gift for them.
--+--
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.