Beep. Verification approved.
Natsume Sonoko swiped her card at the entrance reader, glanced into a facial recognition scanner, and a synthesized, human-like voice acknowledged her.
The warning light above the heavy door switched to green. As Sonoko stepped inside the research institute, the door automatically sealed shut behind her.
Directly ahead lay a narrow corridor, flanked by emergency equipment cabinets. Glancing up, she spotted several security cameras monitoring the passage.
She gave a casual wave towards one of the cameras and ambled over to the elevator.
The elevator ascended slowly, coming to a stop on the third floor.
"Wow, it's a big sister!"
The moment the doors slid open, an exclamation reached Sonoko's ears. A girl about her own height came darting towards her.
Sonoko felt a sudden tug and found her hand already clasped in the girl's grasp.
The girl was dressed in a patient gown, her long hair cascading down to her waist.
Her eyes were wide and bright, a cheerful smile playing on her lips.
"Hey, wait a second!"
Sonoko broke into a light jog, allowing herself to be pulled along without resistance. She was led towards what appeared to be a temporary ward area on the third floor.
"Um, do I know you?"
Sonoko was curious. Logically, this should be their first meeting.
"Nope." The girl finally stopped and shook her head slightly. "But Kiyama-sensei just told me that a very nice big sister would come visit us today."
Her face etched with seriousness, the girl tilted her head. She always trusted what Kiyama-sensei said.
The teacher might be a bit awkward and introverted, so old and still without a boyfriend, often just standing there flustered when the class troublemakers teased her.
But if Kiyama-sensei said something would happen, it always did. It had always been that way, and this time was no different.
"'Very nice,' huh?"
Sonoko murmured the words softly, a faint blush warming her cheeks. So that's how Kiyama-sensei saw her.
The 'big sister' title suddenly felt a little odd.
Age-wise, this girl was probably almost ready for middle school, possibly even older than Sonoko herself. But considering the years they'd spent in suspended animation, their mental age was likely closer to eight or nine.
"Oh, right! What's your name, big sister? I'm Edasaki Banri! You can call me Banri!" the girl said after a moment's thought, her expression brightening.
"My name is Natsume Sonoko."
"Then I'll call you Sonoko-neechan!"
Edasaki Banri laughed happily. She loved making new friends more than anything. Whether it was the teacher or everyone here, they were all her best friends.
'It still feels strange, being called 'sister' by someone practically my own age,' Sonoko thought to herself.
No sooner had the words formed in her mind than Edasaki's smile vanished. She bit her lip, her face suddenly pale. She swayed unsteadily, looking as if she might collapse at any moment.
Sonoko was startled, quickly moving to support Edasaki.
"Banri, are you okay?" Sonoko asked, her voice tight with concern.
"It's nothing. The teacher told us not to run around, that we need to do recovery training first. I actually snuck out. The others are so silly; they still haven't figured out how to walk properly after a whole day." Edasaki shook her head gently, indicating she was fine.
"Banri, there you are. You shouldn't run off like that."
A portly figure entered Sonoko's field of view. It was Heaven Canceller, dressed in his white lab coat, his face bearing its characteristic Gekota-like smile.
"Ah, Doctor! Please, please don't tell the teacher!" Edasaki wailed, immediately clasping her hands together in a pleading gesture.
"That depends on whether you behave yourself. Now, back to your bed you go," Heaven Canceller said after a moment of apparent consideration, his tone becoming stern.
After seeing Edasaki back to her bed and leaving the cake, Sonoko followed Heaven Canceller out of the ward.
"Natsume-san, you came to see them."
"Yes, Doctor. How are they doing?"
"The program is running relatively normally, and the medication regimen is underway. But according to the computer projections, without implanting the complete suppression program, they can maintain consciousness for six months at most. And during the final three months, they'll likely be largely bedridden."
"At that point, we would have no choice but to induce suspended animation again," Heaven Canceller said, a note of regret in his voice.
"Kiyama-sensei would never agree to that."
Sonoko shook her head. Knowing Kiyama-sensei as she did, the woman would absolutely refuse to take that path. She might even cross her final line, fully triggering the Level Upper and destroying Academy City.
"Indeed," Heaven Canceller sighed. Matters of difficult choices were outside his purview as a doctor. His role was simply to do his utmost.
Sonoko found a knife in a corner of the institute and began carefully cutting the cake she'd brought.
Including herself, Kiyama-sensei, and Doctor Heaven Canceller, there were fifteen people in total, so it needed to be divided into fifteen pieces.
A group of children had already gathered around Sonoko, watching her work on the slightly misshapen cake with eager eyes. A few of the boys were even swallowing hard.
"As your doctor, I generally wouldn't recommend you eat anything too rich just yet."
"But we'll make an exception this time," Heaven Canceller said with a smile.
"Yay!"
"Thank you, Doctor!"
After finishing her own slice of cake, Sonoko found an unnoticed corner and licked a bit of leftover cream from her lips. Her gaze fell upon Kiyama Harumi, who was looking rather haggard.
"Kiyama-sensei, are you thinking about the original sample?" Sonoko asked, walking over.
"We only have six months."
Kiyama's expression wasn't much better than it had been before the children woke up; if anything, she seemed more anxious now.
"Such crucial data would never have been simply destroyed. It must exist somewhere."
"Mm."
Sonoko nodded in agreement, a woman with a deceptively affable appearance coming to her mind.
Therestina Kihara Lifeline.
The name sounded Western, but she held a position within MAR here in Academy City.
MAR, the Multi Active Rescue—a special branch of Anti-Skill.
But according to some information Sonoko had dug up, this MAR unit had apparently been reorganized not long ago, seemingly due to a major incident involving casualties.
This differed slightly from her own recollections. Well, it was best to just treat those memories as a rough reference guide.
Back in the temporary ward, Edasaki and the others sat on their beds, completely absorbed by the large television. It was playing a currently popular anime, Hyper Mobile Girl Kanami.
The protagonist, Kanami, wielded her 'Lotus Rod' and used 'Magic Hyperspace Fission' to defeat the masked leader of the evil organization 'Chain' from the World's Dark Side. But it turned out 'Chain' was just a subsidiary of a higher-level organization called 'The Gate.'
Sonoko personally felt she was long past the age for watching cartoons. She had little interest in such a cliché-ridden show and found her attention waning after just two episodes.
"Therestina Kihara Lifeline Steps Down as MAR Captain, Remains Director of MAR Affiliated Research Institute."
Scrolling through her phone, Sonoko finally found a relevant news item amidst the vast sea of information. According to the timestamp, it was already a month old.
The MAR Affiliated Research Institute was located in District 18, very close to District 7; the two districts were practically neighbors.
'Looks like I need to find some time for a trip to District 18,' Sonoko thought, forming a plan. She felt it was necessary to pay District 18 a visit.
She stayed at the institute until evening, even helping Kiyama-sensei prepare dinner.
It was a far cry from the instant noodle diet that had dominated the institute before. In a corner of the third floor, a makeshift kitchen had been set up. The kitchen's refrigerator was stocked with fresh vegetables, meat, and even Musashino Milk.
If she recalled correctly, Komoe-sensei and some of the others liked that brand too.
"Kiyama-sensei, do you know how to cook?"
Sonoko watched Kiyama Harumi's flustered movements with some concern.
"I learned a little once," Kiyama-sensei replied expressionlessly, upending a pan containing a creation that had turned into charcoal-gray lumps onto a plate. Sonoko sighed inwardly, struggling to see any edible value in it.
"Kiyama-sensei, would you let me try? I'm not much of a cook either, but I'm somewhat confident about controlling the heat," Sonoko offered, unable to stand by any longer. She had to volunteer.
Truth be told, nobody understood heat control better than she did. Sometimes, she didn't even need fire at all.
--+--
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.