The faint wail of sirens still lingered in the air, and the flashing red and blue lights occasionally seared themselves onto her retinas.
Seemingly lost in thought, Natsume-san rested her chin in one hand while the other held a Magical Powered Kanamin charm.
She leaned her head gently against the glass wall.
Natsume and the others had already sorted things out with the Anti-Skill officers and had returned to their seats in the family restaurant.
Aside from the food having gone completely cold, it was as if nothing much had changed at all.
They'd originally wanted to invite Index along, but Kamijou-senpai had practically dragged her away, insisting that dinner was already prepared at home. Index hadn't looked too happy about it.
Glancing around, she saw that the other customers and the waitresses had been drawn outside by the commotion, leaving the restaurant feeling rather deserted.
"Meigo-senpai, did the school already agree to Anti-Skill's request?" Natsume asked, her voice full of concern as she tilted her head slightly.
A full table of dishes was now steaming hot again, with Natsume having taken on the role of reheating chef.
Mmm, Yomikawa-sensei already informed the school," Meigo Arisa replied with a nod. "I'll be staying at her place until they figure out this attack business."
The original plan had been for her to stay in the subordinate dormitories at the Anti-Skill building.
But after they learned Meigo-senpai was performing at the opening ceremony for the space elevator 'Endymion,' Yomikawa-sensei decided to have her stay at her home instead.
"Speaking of which, the opening ceremony is the day after tomorrow, right?"
Misaka-senpai said, distractedly stirring the fruit on her plate with a spoon as she looked across the table at Meigo Arisa.
"Isn't that cutting it a bit close? Usually, there'd be rehearsals and stuff, wouldn't there?"
"If it's about the performance itself, I'm actually pretty confident. I've been ready for a long time to sing on a bigger stage," the senior replied, her eyes seeming to light up at the mention of singing.
"It's seriously amazing, both Meigo-senpai and that elevator," Natsume-san chimed in, her own eyes sparkling as she pictured the tower reaching for the heavens, like the Tower of Babel from ancient myths.
She had a sweet tooth, loved manga and robots, but deep down, she held a genuine admiration for science.
Magic was mysterious, sure, but Natsume sincerely felt that science was even more incredible. She was really looking forward to the chance to ride that elevator one day.
"I thought someone like Natsume-san wouldn't be interested in a space elevator," Meigo Arisa remarked, a faint smile appearing on her face as her gaze unconsciously drifted towards Yomikawa-sensei, who was waiting outside the restaurant.
"Girls your age usually prefer cuter things, don't they?"
"But who were those people, and why did they attack you, Meigo-senpai?" Misaka-senpai let out a sigh, looking thoroughly vexed.
Whenever problems cropped up around her, the Railgun senpai had a habit of taking them all upon herself.
"Everyone, you really don't need to worry so much about me. I might not look it, but I have some… supernatural power of my own. I can protect myself," Meigo Arisa said with a warm smile, though a flicker of something else—a trace of concern—seemed to pass through her eyes.
Within her songs, there was something deeper than mere vocal technique.
Her wish for everyone to find happiness through her singing, coupled with that unknown supernatural power hidden within her voice, had made her the most famous street and online singer.
"Eh? Supernatural power?" Natsume-san looked puzzled.
"As long as my singing can bring everyone happiness, then no one would want to hurt anyone else," Meigo-senpai explained, her smile growing even brighter.
Even after just being attacked, she remained as optimistic and cheerful as ever.
Watching the Anti-Skill armored vehicle drive away, Natsume found herself alone with Misaka-senpai once more.
Shirai-san was still in the hospital, and things felt a bit quiet and lonely without her.
Natsume wasn't really the type of girl who was good at livening up the atmosphere.
This was already the second day. If Shirai-san didn't have any major issues, she could probably be discharged tomorrow.
Thinking about it that way, these current moments of peace felt particularly precious.
Walking along the street, Natsume Sonoko glanced at the distracted Misaka-senpai beside her and knew exactly what was going through the older girl's mind.
It seemed she was still hung up on what happened with Meigo-senpai.
They passed by a huge advertisement screen cycling through the latest news.
It happened to be featuring a story about the space elevator, though much of the coverage was devoted to the development company, an organization called 'Orbit Portal Company.'
The president of the 'Orbit Portal Company,' Ladylee Tangleroad, her photo was prominently displayed.
She appeared to be just a minor who favored gothic fashion, looking neither older nor taller than Natsume herself.
"She's really something, managing a huge company like that at such a young age," Misaka-senpai remarked, looking up at the screen with a touch of admiration.
Academy City truly never lacked for prodigies, with exceptional talents emerging in every field.
No sooner had she finished speaking than Misaka-senpai glanced curiously at Natsume beside her.
She noticed that Natsume-san seemed to have fallen into a deep, contemplative trance.
It was as if she'd been mesmerized by something, standing stock-still and growing unnaturally quiet.
A familiar feeling. She felt she should know this person.
Maybe they'd lived together, maybe they'd been friends, or maybe they'd simply met once.
But why did it feel familiar? No matter how hard she racked her brains, she had no memory of this person at all.
Natsume pondered, shifting her focus to her own soul.
She realized this sense of familiarity originated from the soul's depths, buried beneath countless fragments of memories.
Besides memory, was there something else that carried information?
And this wasn't the first time she'd felt this familiarity. The last time was concerning Kamijou-senpai's right hand, though she hadn't pursued it then.
Her soul told her she possessed something called past lives, told her about things that would happen in the future.
There were no coherent scenes playing out like a story. Instead, this feeling of familiarity arose, something she could perhaps call a soul's instinct.
It was like, if one day Natsume forgot all about Misaka-senpai, her body and soul would still remember the feeling of their time together.
"Natsume-san, are you okay?"
Misaka-senpai called her name a few times, but failed to pull Natsume out of her reverie.
Just as Misaka-senpai was starting to get worried, Natsume finally snapped out of it, though her eyes were now filled with confusion.
Was it an illusion, or something else?
Stepping back from the perspective of her soul, Natsume began to doubt the feeling she'd just experienced, finding it somewhat unreal.
Her soul seemed to hold many undiscovered secrets.
Left to its own devices, Natsume had managed to piece together some fragments of her past lives, but far more remained in chaos.
Strangely enough, Natsume Sonoko could think using both her soul and her brain. Her consciousness was like a fish, freely moving between two separate lakes, or even existing in both simultaneously.
But if she wanted her brain to know the information stored in her soul, she first had to transfer those soul memories—a process akin to extraction.
She'd never tried putting a copy of her brain's information into her soul, though. She was worried it might end up as fragmented as those soul memories.
'Maybe it would be better to sort out those chaotic memories,' Natsume thought.
It wasn't the first time this idea had crossed her mind, but she always ended up abandoning it.
The information was too vast, too disordered.
Piecing it together was like attempting the world's most difficult jigsaw puzzle—one without a reference picture, and with pieces that might not even be complete.
Just then, Misaka-senpai waved a hand in front of Natsume Sonoko's eyes, her gaze fixed on the girl's bun hairstyle.
"What're you suddenly thinking about so hard?" Misaka-senpai asked, clearly concerned.
"It's nothing, really," Natsume-san replied honestly. "I just felt like I've seen that person somewhere before." Her eyes drifted back to the gothic-style beauty on the screen.
Back at the Tokiwadai dormitory, Natsume-san took out her ID card for the daily check-in, while Misaka-senpai simply used her fingerprint and iris for verification.
Natsume really wasn't used to this rigid formality, though it wasn't much better before.
All Natsume could hope for now was that the Dorm Supervisor would scrap this annoying rule after the Daihaseisai was over.
--+--
T/N: 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.