In front of the bank near the exchange plaza, a barefoot man with half his trousers burnt off was desperately tap-dancing, while a creeping layer of ice on the ground pursued him like a persistent parasite.
The moment he let his guard down, he'd be frozen solid right where he stood.
Not far away, a Judgment member watched him like a hawk. If heaven would give him one more chance, he'd definitely pick a different day to rob a bank.
Judgment member Shirai Kuroko showed no sympathy for the two criminals already frozen to the ground.
Still, she was a little surprised—among the bank robbers, there was actually a fire-user with a fairly high ability level.
"You bastard, don't think I'm out of tricks yet!" the pyrokinesist snarled, his movement space shrinking relentlessly. There was almost nowhere left to step.
He hurled several fireballs at the ground, scorching the road surface black. For a moment, the lingering heat dissipated the icy crystals on the pavement.
Temporarily freed from the trouble under his feet, the fire-user unceremoniously launched a fireball toward Kuroko. The sphere even curved mid-air, transforming into a long, twisting fire dragon that lunged for her.
"I'll burn you to ashes—don't even think of escaping!" With his control, the fire dragon accelerated again, the scorching wave of heat nearly catching up to Shirai.
"She vanished?"
The instant the flames were about to strike, Shirai's figure suddenly disappeared. When she reappeared, she was already face to face with the fire-user.
"A teleporter!"
A look of shock spread across the pyrokinesist's face. Before he could react, Shirai vanished from in front of him and materialized behind his back—impossible to guard against.
A lady's leather shoe, aided by gravity, slammed into the back of his head, throwing off his balance and sending him crashing to the ground.
Shirai reappeared in front of him once more, her hand lightly brushing the utility belt on her thigh. Several metal darts appeared between her fingers.
Using her spatial abilities, she teleported the darts through the fire-user's clothing, pinning him firmly to the ground.
The ice swiftly spread again, finishing the job by freezing his hands to the pavement.
"If you keep resisting, these will be moved inside your body," Shirai said calmly, holding up a metal dart while wearing a ladylike smile.
"Tch." Seeming to admit defeat, the fire-user lay still. Out of the corner of his eye, he could just make out two partners in crime, similarly flattened against the ground.
The Anti-Skill team arrived late, as usual.
Miss Tessou Tsuzuri, fully focused, directed the criminals into an armored vehicle. Even though it was the middle of a blazing summer day, the three men were shivering, their skin unnaturally red, as if badly frostbitten.
Shirai briefed the Anti-Skill officer on the situation, while the others helped calm the frightened bystanders.
"Natsume Sonoko, I think we need to have a little talk."
A spatial ripple stirred the air, and a girl with chestnut twin-tails and a Judgment armband appeared beside Natsume Sonoko, the sound of rushing wind whispering in her ears.
With the incident mostly resolved, Kuroko felt it was time to have a serious chat with a certain someone about casually interfering in Judgment operations.
"While I'm grateful for your help—both times—joining Judgment activities without authorization causes trouble for us," Kuroko said, smoothing down a few stray strands of hair as she spoke sternly to Natsume Sonoko.
Clearly, Kuroko had already figured out who'd helped out on the road the previous time.
Aside from a certain suspicious temperature-manipulator who acted uninvolved, there weren't any other suspects.
"Huh? But isn't Judgment's duty to maintain order within the school? The 177th Branch you belong to only has jurisdiction over Sakugawa Middle School, right?"
"So technically, Kuroko, you're operating without authorization here too," Sonoko retorted, eyeing the serious-faced Kuroko with skepticism.
"You're such a pain, knowing Judgment's rules that well. Anyway, students like you without any authority running wild could easily draw attention from Anti-Skill or even higher-ups," Kuroko sighed, rubbing her forehead in resignation.
"But I never admitted to doing anything. The surveillance footage can prove I was just by the bench, cheering you on," Sonoko said, pointing toward a security camera mounted nearby.
With the video as her alibi, she firmly denied any involvement.
Natsume Sonoko hated trouble.
If her school or Anti-Skill found out, she'd be in for questioning or an investigation.
'I was just standing quietly in the crowd—when did I ever help Judgment? Maybe it was some helpful ice-user hiding among the people. No proof? Careful, or I'll sue for slander.'
Getting real combat experience, honing her abilities, helping a friend, and avoiding any fallout—that was Sonoko's ideal scenario.
"...Fine, whatever. Students without authorization shouldn't get involved in incidents," Kuroko pressed her lips together, looking resigned.
She wasn't going to keep interrogating someone who played clueless.
With the scene at the exchange plaza finally winding down, the group of five made their way to the arcade.
Since Misaka-senpai was a regular, the staff kindly provided complimentary drinks for everyone.
They played from noon until sunset. Sonoko skillfully fished a brand-new model robot from a claw machine, satisfied enough to hand her remaining tokens over to Misaka-senpai, who was desperately trying to grab a Gekota plushie.
"So close, just a little more!" Misaka-senpai's face was a mix of frustration and determination as she stared at the Gekota plush, so near yet so far.
Refusing to give up, she kept feeding tokens into the machine.
Sparks of electricity were starting to crackle around her, popping like firecrackers. Clearly, her patience was wearing thin.
"Got it, I got it!" After nearly ten more tries, Misaka-senpai finally succeeded in securing the Gekota plush. A blissful smile spread across her face, and she practically skipped out of the arcade.
--+--
Sunday—the very air seemed to carry a sense of laziness.
With the first light of dawn, another routine day began for the students of Tokiwadai Middle School.
Even on Sundays, the school's strict schedule remained unchanged: wake up at 7:00 AM, breakfast at 7:30. This completely dashed any hopes of sleeping in for a certain someone.
Aside from a few clubs, most had no activities scheduled for Sundays.
By the flowerbed at the dormitory entrance, Natsume Sonoko took a deep breath of the fresh morning air, intently studying a book labeled as an internal Judgment document.
She flipped through the pages of *Basic Combat Skills Simplified Edition - Judgment 23rd Revision, Version 6.13*, growing increasingly annoyed.
'As expected, you really can't find anything decent from those sketchy street vendors.'
It wasn't that Sonoko was planning to join Judgment, nor was she so inspired by Kuroko's cool moves that she wanted to abandon her powers for martial arts and unlock her physical potential.
She'd just been hoping to kill two birds with one stone—learning some combat skills while getting a workout.
But after reading through it, the guide seemed less reliable than the combo moves in arcade fighting games. And the first few pages had looked so promising!
'Next time I get the chance, I'm giving that shady seller a piece of my mind.'
Tossing the book back into her dorm room, Sonoko hopped on her bicycle and headed out.
Nothing urgent was on her schedule today, and her four-person club was quiet lately.
The "Stripping Woman" rumor they'd spread earlier had blown up on urban legend websites. With so many alleged eyewitnesses, it was now trending as a hot search topic.
Maeda Kana had been especially active in the group chat lately, seemingly hyped up by the popularity of their trending topic.
The school's pleated skirt wasn't the most practical for cycling, but according to Tokiwadai rules, students had to wear their uniforms outside the dorm, even on breaks.
Following Misaka-senpai's advice, Sonoko had bought the same type of safety shorts her senior wore. It made a world of difference—cycling for exercise felt much easier now.
She pedaled steadily through the streets, stopping at red lights, crossing on green, and dismounting at crosswalks as traffic rules required. Her destination: the School Garden area.
During her physical exam the day before, Senior Kongou—whom she'd only met once—had invited Sonoko to a tea party today.
Tea parties were a staple of social life for young ladies. As a Tokiwadai student striving to be a proper lady, Sonoko couldn't very well skip such events.
Still, remembering how assertive and somewhat overbearing Kongou-senpai could be, Sonoko wasn't sure she could keep up with the conversation.
She didn't know how many others would be there either.
Feeling a touch of nervousness about her first tea party invitation, Sonoko cycled on, her mind drifting to what the afternoon might bring.
--+--
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.