On the lawn near the arcade, close to the site of the explosion.
The spot still bore scorch marks from the blast, leaving a hole in the turf about the size of a basketball.
Since no one had been hurt and no property seriously damaged, the nearby shops had settled down after the initial panic. Still, quite a few curious onlookers lingered around the blast site.
"No way. Absolutely not."
"Onee-sama! I know exactly what you're thinking—'This sounds interesting, maybe I can test my skills here,' or something along those lines, am I right?"
Kuroko wagged her finger in refusal, clearly seeing right through Misaka's intentions.
Then she leaned in close, squinting and scrutinizing the evasive look on Misaka's face.
"And as for you, Natsume Sonoko, I bet you're just following Onee-sama around, aren't you? Trying to become Onee-sama's new sidekick and take my place!"
Kuroko shot Sonoko a sharp, appraising glare.
"Anyway, like I always say, you and Onee-sama are just ordinary students. Keeping the peace is the job of Judgment. Don't think a passing curiosity qualifies you to take on our responsibilities—you'd be seriously mistaken."
Kuroko struck a stern pose as she spoke.
When it came to Judgment's rules and regulations, she was every bit as knowledgeable as that one girl who had the school code memorized by heart—after all, Kuroko had years of experience writing apology letters.
She moved toward the blast site to begin her investigation, taking out a container to collect samples of the scorched earth.
Feeling that their presence might disturb someone dedicated to her work, Misaka and Sonoko exchanged a look and slipped into the arcade.
Borrowing some tokens from Misaka's personal arcade stash, Sonoko happily began her investigation—arcade style.
Excellent. Another day, another round of beating the AI to a pulp. When it came to competitive fighting games, Sonoko considered herself something of an expert.
The only question was whether a flawless victory or a last-second comeback better suited her mood today.
Of course, with so many games in the arcade, there were naturally some that Sonoko didn't care for.
She had zero interest in the punch machine by the entrance, but Misaka seemed particularly fond of it.
Using an electromagnetic burst to propel her fist, Misaka landed a powerful blow on the machine's target.
The display screen lit up, the bar climbing from light green to dark green, then yellow, red, deep red—finally shattering the machine's all-time record.
The entire machine's LED lights flashed to life, accompanied by celebratory music from the speakers, all cheering for the new record-holder.
Thump, thump, thump.
But this record didn't last long. With each successive punch against the target, the record was broken again and again, quickly drawing a crowd of onlookers—including Sonoko.
"Whoa, is she some kind of brute?"
"Can a person really do that? Maybe the machine's broken."
"That uniform looks familiar…"
Overhearing the comments from behind her, Sonoko couldn't help but frown. Brute? This was clearly the power of science!
Truly, this was the same Misaka who had developed the Railgun—a little electromagnetic propulsion was child's play for her.
If she went all out, she could probably smash the punch machine entirely. Of course, that would require her arm to withstand the massive recoil.
"It seems Misaka's been under a lot of pressure lately. Kuroko really has her hands full," Sonoko thought, watching Misaka hammer the target as though releasing pent-up stress.
"Huh? My phone's camera isn't working. The screen looks… disturbed or something," remarked one bystander trying to take a picture of Misaka.
Others pulled out their phones as well, but for some reason, every image came out blurry.
The next day, on a certain urban legend website called "Seeing is Believing" within Academy City.
A post titled [Punch Machine Records Repeatedly Broken: Arcade' Mysteriously Strong Girl Appears]was prominently featured on the forum. It detailed how this "strong girl" had broken the punch machine record multiple times, alongside the strange phenomenon of phones malfunctioning.
The post didn't get much traction, and it was only days later that Sonoko stumbled upon it while browsing the forum.
--+--
The sun hung high in the sky, slowly dipping westward as the after-school club activities at Tokiwadai Middle School drew to a close.
The daylight seemed unusually dim that day, the wind rather restless, and even the people on the streets moved with a lazy contentment.
Most of the buildings within the School Garden were designed in Western style, and in the faint light, they took on a hazy, almost dreamlike beauty.
At that moment, Tokiwadai's Kongou Mitsuko was walking along a secluded path in the School Garden. The student shops nearby had already closed, and the research institute buildings in the area were empty at this hour.
Kongou held a black schoolbag pressed against her skirt with both hands, her elegant folding fan gripped in one hand and resting atop the bag.
The sound of breathing?
Kongou sensed something and turned to look behind her.
No one?
The surroundings were eerily quiet, free from any distracting noise. Though the breathing was faint, in such stillness, it was unmistakable.
A flood of suspicions rose in Kongou's mind. She raised her folding fan in front of her, opening it slightly into a defensive stance.
"May I ask who's there?"
"If you know I'm Tokiwadai's Kongou Mitsuko, and you still dare to target me?"
Standing her ground, Kongou kept the fan covering part of her face, her tone grave as she searched for her unseen foe.
"Hm? My phone's ringing."
Just as Kongou was growing increasingly tense, her phone, tucked inside her bag, suddenly rang. The cheerful ringtone seemed to shatter the nervous atmosphere.
"Of all times, now?" Kongou's eyes darted around, her anxiety mounting.
"Did they leave? Or did they give up?"
The phone continued to ring, but the mysterious breathing gradually faded away.
Kongou let out a slight sigh of relief, though her body remained tense. She leaned partially against the nearby Western-style building, minimizing her exposed profile.
Feeling marginally safer, she finally took out her phone and answered the call.
"Oh, Natsume? What can I do for you?"
Seeing that it was Natsume Sonoko on the line, Kongou's tense expression softened, replaced by a hint of delight.
"Kongou-senpai, I received the invitation card you sent over. Thank you so much," Sonoko said, gratitude evident in her voice.
"Oh, that little thing? It was nothing. For someone of my stature, obtaining it was hardly a challenge—almost beneath me," Kongou replied, an unwarranted proud smile spreading across her face, as if she'd forgotten her current predicament.
"I've run into a bit of trouble at the moment. Someone has foolishly chosen to make an enemy of me. But just to be cautious, Natsume, could you please contact Shirai? Tell her Tokiwadai's Kongou Mitsuko requires her… modest assistance. My location is near the 18th Research Lab, Kongou Aviation Holdings, in the School Garden."
Kongou's tone turned serious again. Even though the breathing had stopped, that didn't necessarily mean the threat was gone.
As much as she disliked Shirai Kuroko, Kongou's first thought was of that teleporting girl.
Just as Kongou finished speaking, a faint bzzzt sound filled the air—the unmistakable noise of an electroshock device powering up.
Kongou began backing away, her phone still in hand, unable to respond properly, when she suddenly collided with something invisible.
"Ah—" Kongou managed only a soft gasp before collapsing like a deflated balloon.
Not everyone possessed Shirai's level of resistance to electricity, and Kongou clearly couldn't withstand the shock from the device.
Her hair splayed out around her, the elegant fan clattering to the ground, while her black bag and phone landed near her hand.
Kongou lay on the ground like a sleeping beauty—but instead of a prince, all that met her was a sturdy ink pen.
"Hey, Kongou-senpai, are you okay?" Sonoko's voice came through the phone, but there was no response.
A sudden sense of déjà vu washed over Sonoko. Without wasting another moment, she hurriedly called Kuroko.
This felt different from watching it in an anime before she'd crossed over. Sonoko was genuinely angry. Kongou might be arrogant, but she was a true friend who cared deeply about those close to her.
Sonoko knew exactly what was happening and had some idea of who was behind it. But this time, the incident had caught her off guard—it seemed to have happened earlier than expected.
--+--
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.