"How about it, join us, you're not content to stop at your current level, right?"
The Deadlock members were still trying to recruit Haruto.
After a brief silence—
Haruto smiled.
"Sure."
Hearing this, although still suspicious, the Deadlock members couldn't hide their joy.
If they could bring in a space-type esper, their plan's feasibility would increase drastically.
"Speaking of which, Deadlock's promotion method, is to kill an LV5 to break through the AIM field restriction, right?"
Haruto continued.
The Deadlock members frowned.
How did he know before they even said anything? Could it be… their information had already leaked out? That someone else had gotten hold of it?
Perhaps it was time to tighten internal security.
While they were still thinking, Haruto went on:
"If that's the case, then as a greeting gift for joining Deadlock, I'll help you get your targets. After all, LV5s are rare, and hard to locate. I can lend a hand."
Saying that, Haruto reached into his twisted Kamui space.
Before the stunned eyes of the Deadlock members—He pulled someone out of thin air.
"Huh?"
The newcomer was clearly confused, and clearly annoyed.
It was a white-haired, red-eyed person.
With no obvious gender traits, their sex couldn't be determined. They appeared, looking around with a face full of irritation.
"These guys said they wanted to kill you."
Haruto said, patting the person's shoulder.
And the Deadlock members finally realized what had just happened. They stared in horror at that white-haired figure.
LV5, lacking sunlight, white hair and red eyes, ambiguous gender, and that unique aura of a villain—
Put those traits together, and the identity was obvious.
"LV5's Number One… Accelerator!"
One of the Deadlock members stammered out the truth.
"So you bottom-feeders actually recognize me, and even knowing who I am, you're saying you want to kill me? What a pain. Just a bunch of trash, disgusting to the core. This is why I hate the current Level system. There's always some worthless nobodies, coming at me thinking they stand a chance. Completely failing to understand the gap between us."
Accelerator—also called Suzushina Yuriko—spoke with absolute disgust.
She truly hated challengers who didn't know their place.
Too troublesome.
It was exactly because she hated these constant pests, who couldn't see reality and kept coming after her,
That she wanted to advance to LV6—into the realm of the "Absolute Esper." The Deadlock members, right now, wished they could just die on the spot.
Yes, they were hunting LV5s.
But who the hell would target that LV5!?
From the very start of Deadlock's formation, Accelerator had been excluded as a target. Only as high-level espers themselves could they truly grasp,
Just how terrifying her Vector Control was.
That wasn't power humans should ever wield.
"Wait!"
One of them shouted, wanting to explain.
But it was already too late.
With dirt and stone exploding beneath her feet—Yuriko launched forward with terrifying speed, propelled by reaction force, charging straight at them.
Haruto, watching, could only shake his head helplessly.
See, this was exactly the problem.
That girl never learned.
She's a mage, yet always insists on close combat.
Still, with this group, there wasn't really anyone who could cause trouble. And Haruto had no interest in watching any longer.
His body sank into Kamui space, reappearing outside the arena.
Meanwhile, Shirai Kuroko was still locked in a standoff with Shokuhou Misaki.
When she saw Haruto return, Misaki smiled happily.
"See, I told you, Haruto's super reliable, absolutely no need to worry."
Kuroko rushed over immediately, asking:
"What about over there, did you catch the culprits?"
Haruto nodded.
"I called in a friend to help, it's taken care of."
That way of putting it made Kuroko a bit furious.
For the sake of Kuroko's mental health, Haruto once again interrupted her ability activation mid-cast.
And then, Misaka Mikoto walked out of the arena, looking dejected.
"Onee-sama!"
Kuroko threw herself at her, sounding rather pitiful.
Normally her teleportation never failed.
But Haruto was practically her natural enemy.
Mikoto, who had been downcast, blinked in confusion at Kuroko clinging to her with such rare, vulnerable behavior.
But she hugged her back anyway.
After all, Kuroko almost never showed weakness.
Just as Mikoto was about to ask what had happened—
Things went wrong.
Kuroko's breathing grew heavier.
Her head was rubbing back and forth against Mikoto's chest. Clearly, her perverted nature had beaten out her feelings of grievance.
"Kuro…ko!"
A bolt of lightning crashed down.
Kuroko got fried.
Watching the scene, Haruto clicked his tongue.
As expected of Kuroko. That kind of charge, anyone else would be flat on a stretcher. But Kuroko only twitched a couple of times.
She'd been electrocuted so many times, she'd actually built up lightning resistance.
Thanks to Kuroko's antics, Mikoto's gloom had completely lifted.
After the opening ceremony and the Balloon Hunter event, it was already noon.
Because all dorm restrictions were lifted for students today, the restaurants in the streets were packed to bursting.
Getting a meal wouldn't be easy.
"Shall we go eat? I can stand in line for everyone."
The little angel Nishimiya Shouko offered.
Haruto patted her head.
"In this weather, standing in line would make even delicious food impossible to enjoy. Better to skip it—today, I'll make lunch myself. The only question is, where can we borrow a kitchen?"
At Haruto's words, several pairs of eyes instantly lit up.
Haruto himself, cooking!
Expectations skyrocketed.
Even though none of them knew what his cooking skills were like, sometimes, who makes the food matters more than the taste itself.
"Let's go to Tokiwadai. Their kitchen can be freely used, and it's fully equipped."
Misaki suggested with a sweet smile.
Haruto's lips twitched.
Not a good suggestion.
His first visit to Tokiwadai had left… scars.
Yet Mikoto and Kuroko, surprisingly, didn't object.
Returning to Tokiwadai meant they could stop by the dorms to change clothes. Especially Mikoto—after the Balloon Hunter battle, her gym clothes weren't exactly clean.
Seeing this, Haruto reluctantly agreed.
Talk about shooting himself in the foot.
Kuroko touched each of them, activating her teleport.
A few transfers later, they were back inside Tokiwadai.
Because it was one of the rare open days, the school was nearly empty.
Teachers and dorm staff were also off.
"Then Kuroko and I will stop by the dorm first. We'll meet at the cafeteria later."
Mikoto said, and the two teleported away.
Misaki led Haruto and Shouko toward the cafeteria. She had expected it to be almost empty. But when she pushed the door open—she froze.
Her entire faction of Tokiwadai girls were there.
And the scene was… rather tragic.
Most of the girls' faces were dusted with flour. Their clothes streaked with white. When they saw Misaki, they froze too.
"Eh? Queen?"
"Wait, Haruto-sama's behind her, quick, hide the stuff!"
"Ugh, too late, Haruto-sama already saw."
Haruto: ?
Misaki: ?
Though she didn't know what her faction was up to, Misaki had a feeling… another backstab was coming.
"What are you girls doing?!"
She rushed forward.
Finally, under Junko's explanation,Misaki learned—her faction had wanted to make sweets themselves, as a heartfelt gift, to win over Haruto.
They were just practicing.
Originally, they'd wanted to invite Misaki to join. But since she was busy accompanying Haruto today, they hadn't.
Understanding that, Misaki nodded.
Yes, that made sense—
Like hell it did!
This was still a backstab!
Haruto himself felt a headache coming on.
Never mind what disaster they'd already made of the kitchen. Just the number of them, making lunch was going to be a huge job.
And he couldn't exactly drive them out.
That'd be undercutting Misaki.
Yet Misaki herself said—
There was absolutely no need to hold back!