He briefly explained the concept of Curse Power to the girls, and when Saten Ruiko learned that Jujutsu was an innate Item that could not be Acquired later, her mood visibly plummeted. She became dispirited.
The fantasy of becoming a transcendent from another direction ended before it even began, and this disappointment caused Saten Ruiko to sigh repeatedly.
"Saten Ruiko." Seeing her friend in low spirits, Haruue Erii patted her shoulder comfortingly.
"Actually, being an Item user isn't so bad…"
"Ahem!" Misaka Mikoto was about to speak words of comfort, but she was interrupted by Rhode's cough. Misaka Mikoto subconsciously looked at Rhode and saw him gently shaking his head. Although she was puzzled, she stopped speaking and began to ponder her words.
After a moment of thought, Misaka Mikoto felt extremely embarrassed. Her comforting words earlier would undoubtedly sound like mockery to Saten Ruiko, and also gave off a feeling of speaking without understanding the pain, even if she didn't mean it.
Misaka Mikoto gave Rhode a grateful look, then looked at Saten Ruiko a little cautiously.
For Saten Ruiko, Haruue Erii, and Shirai Kuroko, these three were Misaka Mikoto's few friends, and she naturally cherished them and was considerate of their feelings.
"Hmm~ It's fine, Misaka-san." The highly emotionally intelligent Saten Ruiko naturally noticed this. She forced a smile and shook her head, indicating that she didn't mind.
"Well, there's no need to rush too much. Believe in yourself." Rhode gently patted Saten Ruiko's shoulder, saying with a hint of meaning,
"Believe in myself?" Saten Ruiko tilted her small head, quite puzzled.
"Yes, Saten Ruiko, I believe you will definitely Awaken your superpower." Haruue Erii said with a serious expression.
"Well, if everyone says so, then I'll trust myself." Hearing this, Saten Ruiko revealed a bright and cheerful smile, warming the atmosphere.
Only Rhode knew the gloom hidden beneath her smile. Living as an ordinary person in this Academy City, bearing the expectations of her family, pressure had quietly seeped in. This pressure would erupt when it accumulated to a certain point.
As the sun set, it quickly became evening. The twilight painted the sky golden. Everyone said their goodbyes and parted ways at a certain crossroads.
"Oh, right, today there's a discount on mackerel cans. Haruue, you go back first. I need to go to the convenience store."
Saten Ruiko, who suddenly remembered the convenience store discount, greeted Haruue Erii and then disappeared like the wind before Haruue Erii's eyes, leaving Haruue Erii alone and bewildered in the wind.
Convenience store,
Rushing into the store in a hurry, Saten Ruiko grabbed a basket and dashed towards the canned goods section. What met her eyes were the last three cans of mackerel. Seeing this, the girl breathed a sigh of relief and couldn't help but exclaim,
"Lucky! Such good luck!"
Reaching out and putting the three cans into her basket, the girl hummed an unknown tune as she walked towards the counter.
"Wait for me!?" A girl's sweet cry came from behind Saten Ruiko. She subconsciously turned to look and saw a small, cute blonde girl standing in front of the shelf, looking directly at her.
Saten Ruiko looked around, then pointed at herself uncertainly.
"Me?"
"Yes, that's right, it's you!? What's in your basket, if I'm not mistaken, should be mackerel cans, right!?"
"Huh? That's right." Saten Ruiko replied, not understanding.
"Give them to me!?"
She saw the blonde girl pounce on her like a hungry tiger. Saten Ruiko, completely unprepared for this, was caught squarely. Saten Ruiko, thinking she would fall and see stars, closed her eyes tightly, but the expected pain never came.
Cautiously opening her eyes, she saw the blonde girl's undisguised fear, like a startled rabbit, she bounced back and quickly moved away.
Looking back in confusion, Saten Ruiko exclaimed,
"Mr. Rhode!?"
"What a coincidence, you're also here to buy things." Rhode lifted the basket in his hand and asked with a smile.
"Yes… oh, thank you, otherwise I would have fallen." Saten Ruiko's pretty face flushed as she moved out of Rhode's arms, stammering her thanks.
"Where do you think you're going, Frenda?" Rhode glanced at Frenda, who was about to slip out the door, and asked.
"I… I… I wasn't going anywhere, Lord Rh-Rhode." Frenda shivered, quickly ran back, and replied tremblingly.
No one who witnessed that battle feared the terrifying strength of the person in front of them. That was a ruthless individual who had even hung up and beaten the First-ranked of Academy City.
Not to mention the four members of Item who witnessed everything. The loyalty of the four had reached an unprecedented level.
"Apologize." Rhode said casually.
"Eh… no… eh!?" Saten Ruiko, who was about to say it wasn't necessary, saw Frenda already in a dogeza posture and couldn't help but exclaim.
"I am truly sorry!?" Frenda shouted loudly, attracting the attention of everyone in the store. Seeing this, Saten Ruiko was so embarrassed that she wanted to find a secluded corner to hide.
Before everyone's gaze could continue to focus on Frenda, the doorbell rang continuously, and a team of high school students wearing Judgment badges entered the convenience store, shouting loudly,
"We are Judgment. Please everyone, leave the convenience store."
"Um, what happened in our store?" The store manager uncle asked in a panic.
"We detected an acceleration of heavy particle activity. There might be a bomb installed in this store."
"A bomb!?" With this explanation, it was naturally understood, and the crowd instantly surged towards the outside of the store, but only Rhode's trio remained in place.
"Please evacuate quickly." The Female Disciplinary Committee Member leading them stepped forward and warned.
"It's too late." Frenda said slowly, patting her skirt and standing up.
"What?" The Female Disciplinary Committee Member was about to ask when, in a part of the convenience store's rear, the acceleration of heavy particles caused a spatial distortion.
"Run!?" A Judgment member first noticed the situation and shouted loudly for his companions to leave, but a strong explosion suddenly echoed, and the shockwave caused by the explosion enveloped the three Judgment members.
When the smoke and dust cleared, the Female Disciplinary Committee Member was astonished to find that the area she was in had not been affected in the slightest, but now was not the time to think about such things.
She rushed towards the center of the explosion, but saw three Judgment members, her companions, covered in blood. The one closest to the center of the explosion had already lost an arm. Seeing such a tragic sight, the Female Disciplinary Committee Member suppressed the fear in her heart and trembling, dialed the emergency number.
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