Natsume Sonoko carefully took a bite of her oversized fruit shaved ice, unable to resist tasting the sweet and tangy strawberry syrup on top. Instantly, she felt every pore on her body relax in delight.
While enjoying her shaved ice, Natsume never used her ability. After all, eating shaved ice on a scorching hot day was pure joy—doing so on a mild day just wasn't the same.
For once, Natsume had dropped the constant temperature layer she usually maintained over her skin, finally experiencing the blazing heat and intensity of Academy City's weather.
Don't ask why—it was all about the atmosphere.
Without the right vibe, it'd be like eating yogurt without licking the lid—totally missing life's simple little pleasures.
And it seemed this newly opened drink shop truly understood the essence of "atmosphere." On a street full of stores, this was the only one fully equipped and freshly renovated, yet for some reason, it had no air conditioning.
'Maybe it's broken and being fixed,' Natsume thought, 'or maybe they never installed one to begin with.'
Because of that, Natsume Sonoko was the only customer savoring the "vibes" inside.
The only other person was a boy who'd ordered his shaved ice to go. Plenty of people passed by outside, but almost no one was willing to step into an un-air-conditioned shop on a day like this.
'People really don't appreciate the deeper joys of eating shaved ice!' she mused.
On a hot, sweltering day, there was nothing more satisfying than enjoying a bowl of ice—now that was atmosphere.
What atmosphere, my foot! If anyone had known what this girl, who usually enjoyed perpetual spring-like temperatures, was really thinking, they would've roasted her for a solid minute.
But right now, Natsume's attention wasn't entirely on her giant bowl of shaved ice.
Just moments ago, she'd witnessed an attempted shooting—a drive-by incident.
Violent crimes like this weren't too common in Academy City, but you'd still see them in the news now and then. Beneath the city's prosperous surface lay plenty of dark undercurrents.
Guns… they were truly terrifying.
The moment she saw the assailant pull out a pistol, Natsume's breath hitched.
She didn't have Shirai Kuroko's teleportation, nor could she control bullets with electricity like Misaka-senpai.
If she'd been the target, given her current reflexes, she doubted she could've dodged in time.
Natsume quietly ran through her current abilities, and even the sweetness in her mouth seemed to fade.
Could she create a dense enough layer of ice to block a bullet? Her mind wandered. Maybe she ought to get a little more creative.
What about melting the bullet with high heat? Hmm… with her current abilities, that didn't seem feasible.
Create mist and pull a Hidden Mist Jutsu? Then charge at the shooter with an ice kunai?
Or maybe Mirror Ice Crystals? 'You'll never find me—how will you beat that? How?'
In her mind, she could almost hear the arrogant laugh of a certain small-town police chief.
'The Hidden Academy Village's Scientific Ninja, Natsume Sonoko, at your service!?'
But pulling off something like that would require the computational power of a Level 5! And she'd probably need a moisture-rich environment too. She wondered if there was a way to make a simplified version.
"Shirai-san is just so cool, no matter what," Natsume murmured, her thoughts returning to the present as she gazed at Shirai Kuroko in the distance. Though A Certain Scientific Railgun tended to highlight her… quirks, when she was on Judgment duty, she was undeniably impressive.
No doubt about it—when that masked man tried to attack earlier, the one who stepped in to stop him was none other than Shirai Kuroko's first-year schoolmate, Natsume Sonoko.
Natsume was afraid of bullets, true, but she was confident she could've kept him from firing. Besides freezing the gun, she could also overheat the bullet's gunpowder and set it off.
A gun that can't fire is just trash! —By Natsume Sonoko.
'In the past, I didn't have a choice. Now, I want to be a good person.' Wait, wrong script.
By now, Shirai Kuroko had regained her composure.
Looking at the frozen masked man, she breathed a sigh of relief, then walked over to the motorcycle rider, grabbed his hands, and tied them behind the pole with special restraints.
"This is Shirai Kuroko of Judgment Branch 177. Thank you for your assistance," she called out, scanning the area. But she couldn't spot the person who'd helped her, so she simply voiced her gratitude aloud.
She remembered not too long ago, when she'd been saved by a certain Misaka-senpai—no, by Onee-sama—rescued from a desperate situation with a bank robber.
That flash of blue-white lightning… an anonymous helpful citizen, the Railgun, had unexpectedly come to her rescue.
Natsume Sonoko was busy finishing her shaved ice. Helping others and being thanked felt nice, but she wasn't in it for the gratitude—that just sounded like a hassle.
Honestly, Natsume didn't consider herself a do-gooder like Misaka-senpai, always meddling in trouble and leaving without leaving a name. She'd just been testing her abilities a little.
In her opinion, the traits "hard-working (sometimes lazy)" and "homebody" were more than enough.
Sirens wailed as the Anti-Skill squad arrived. After a brief exchange with the Judgement member, both criminals and the badly damaged motorcycle were loaded into Anti-Skill's reinforced armored truck.
Looking at that intimidating vehicle and the fully armed officers, Natsume could just imagine how severe the violence and esper-related crime in Academy City really was.
But thanks to the efforts of Anti-Skill and Judgement, students like Natsume Sonoko could still enjoy their drinks in peace.
After finishing the last spoonful of shaved ice, Natsume decided to order several more to take back to her dorm. With her ability, she could keep them frozen for days, ready for whenever she wanted to savor that hot-day chill.
Though it'd be best to finish them today—she didn't want to lug them around everywhere.
With that in mind, after seeing Judgement's Shirai Kuroko and the Anti-Skill team off, Natsume placed a large order with the shop owner—five extra-large shaved ices, each in a different flavor.
So heavy… She should've bought fewer. Her small figure swayed slightly as she walked, and before long, she was panting a little.
Carrying five extra-large shaved ices, Natsume finally faced her own inadequacy: her stamina was just too poor. If only she had endurance like Shirai Kuroko.
Even with the constant-temperature layer around her skin, Natsume was sweating buckets, her hair damp and clinging.
"Let me help you, new neighbor and kouhai." A familiar yet unfamiliar voice reached Natsume's ears—a boyish yet gentle tone.
Natsume wondered if she was hearing things. She was out on the street—how could she be hearing Misaka-senpai's voice? She must be so tired her ears were playing tricks.
Misaka-senpai's voice wasn't exactly sweet, but it was oddly pleasant to listen to.
How she'd love to hear her sing the Railgun theme song! Maybe she could sneak into the music room and listen in, or even record it and play it back in her dorm…
Stop! Natsume took a deep breath. Even though her affection for Misaka Mikoto-senpai was at a solid 100, she told herself, 'Natsume Sonoko, don't just randomly adopt Shirai-san's character settings!'
Suddenly feeling deeply sinful, she decided she needed to cool down with video games, manga, and snacks.
At that thought, Natsume's shoulders slumped. Her life as a Tokiwadai young lady was just one thing after another.
"Can't you hear me? You, the kouhai over there, lost in thought with a face full of changing expressions."
Again? This time, Natsume jolted awake and finally turned around. There stood a girl with chestnut-brown hair, one hand on her hip, wearing a slightly strained smile.
She wore the standard Tokiwadai uniform, carried a black school bag, and from it dangled a Gekota charm.
Chestnut hair, chestnut eyes, a lovely and spirited face, and eyes that held a determined, never-say-die spirit.
Misaka-senpai… is talking to me?!
Misaka Mikoto. Age 14. Female. Second-year at Tokiwadai Middle School. One of only seven Level 5 espers in Academy City, ranked Third. An Electromaster known as the "Railgun."
Capable of freely manipulating billions of volts of electricity, electromagnetic waves, and magnetism. Her signature move: firing a coin at three times the speed of sound—the "Railgun."
So. Incredibly. Cool.
Natsume's mind raced through everything she knew about Misaka Mikoto, her face suddenly flushing with excitement and nerves.
"It's nice to meet you, Misaka-senpai! I'm Natsume Sonoko, a first-year. I've always liked and admired you," she stammered.
Misaka Mikoto! The one and only Railgun! In the flesh!
Her reaction wasn't too different from an ordinary person meeting their dream idol—not that Natsume would ever admit it.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Misaka Mikoto. Are you settling in well at Tokiwadai, Natsume-san? Also, thank you for your help the other day," Misaka said with a nod.
Talking to Misaka-senpai was surprisingly easy—she didn't put on any airs at all.
But… the other day?
Then Natsume remembered: a few days after moving into the dorms but before classes started, there'd been a day when all the air conditioning in the building went down, probably due to an electrical overload or something. And of course, it happened to be unusually hot that day.
She'd volunteered to be the dorm's personal AC unit. Everyone gathered in the common lounge, and she'd used her ability to lower the temperature by about ten degrees Celsius for several hours, until the workers finally fixed the AC that evening.
Misaka-senpai had been there too, she recalled.
Even the dorm supervisor had, for once, made an exception and didn't punish Natsume for using her ability inside.
"You worked hard that day," Misaka-senpai said with an apologetic smile. Natsume wasn't sure why she looked apologetic, but she quickly assured her it hadn't been much of a burden and there was no need to worry.
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T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 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.