Sunlight spilled over their shoulders, making them feel like free souls.
Dodging through the gaps in the shade, skirting the street corner food carts, a somewhat unsteady Natsume Sonoko pulled Index along for quite a distance, only stopping once they were completely out of sight of that Kihara Nayuta.
It was her first time feeling such intensely fervent emotions directed at her, and it left her feeling a little at a loss.
Although she clearly understood that classmate was probably thanking her for helping Banri and the others, her mind was still a jumbled mess. Thinking back on it now, she realized she might have done something incredibly foolish.
Deliberately avoiding someone who held goodwill towards her was, for Natsume-san, a stupid thing to do.
'It's all Shirai-san's fault for being such a pervert.'
'And with my thoughts just returning to my body, plus the overlaying of all those unfavorable factors, my head just isn't working clearly.'
Mentally reviewing what she had just said, Natsume Sonoko carefully considered if there had been anything rude, but fortunately found no problems.
'I'll just have to properly entertain that Kihara-san next time.'
'But I never thought someone would still remember something from so long ago, holding it silently in their heart. Even if I don't mind others' gratitude, I still feel a little happy.'
A smile instantly reappeared on Natsume-san's face, clearly belying her words.
When praised or thanked, Natsume-san's heart was actually quite pleased.
"Sonoko, you were really worrying just now. Was something wrong?"
Hands on her knees, breathing slightly heavily as she looked up at the certain bun-haired girl, Index finally found a moment to ask about Sonoko's earlier strangeness.
"Index, I think I've really found a way to let Kazakiri-san live a normal life."
"I'm not a hundred percent sure, but I want to give it a try."
Her expression shifting, Natsume-san thought for a moment before responding.
She didn't directly answer Index's question, because that period had been truly unpleasant, and there was no need to make her friend worry more.
As long as she could deduce the data of the 'formula' in her head back to its most primitive state, Natsume-san could understand how the person behind the scenes was using the AIM diffusion field energy.
Even if it was just a tiny part, it represented a new possibility.
It was a pity she temporarily couldn't record more data. The pain in her head had faded, but the messy feeling would take a long time to return to normal.
But with just the data Natsume-san had collected now, if she could hand the sorted-out formula to Kazakiri-san later, Kazakiri-san's situation should improve significantly.
Even if the other party only saw Kazakiri-san as a platform for ability release, since Kazakiri-san possessed the capacity for thought, she must necessarily possess some calculation ability.
If she could perform calculations on the formula like an esper, Kazakiri-san might be able to stay in the real universe for extended periods.
However, there was still a very serious problem: Natsume-san didn't know how the other party brought Kazakiri-san out of the Imaginary Number District. This was also an issue that needed solving.
But there were actually quite a few ways to gather AIM diffusion fields in reality. Natsume-san knew the simplest method was to gather everyone's fields, allowing quantitative change to trigger qualitative change.
Simply put, it required the anchoring of a large number of espers to manifest the AIM diffusion field energy in the real universe.
'So, if the subject is Kazakiri-san, who would need to be her anchors?'
Random thoughts churning in her heart, Natsume-san felt somewhat puzzled, but couldn't find an answer.
Anyway, she'd just have to play it by ear. A good plan needed to adapt to circumstances.
Perhaps when the mastermind behind this returned Kazakiri-san to the Imaginary Number District, she would be able to observe it directly.
--+--
Kazakiri-san was still under Natsume Sonoko's observation, and time was advancing from morning towards noon.
She didn't immediately choose to meet up with Kazakiri-san, because their plan was still in progress.
Although she couldn't record more data for a while, figuring out what the mastermind was trying to do was still very important.
During the time Natsume-san was unconscious, a full hour and a half had actually passed—no wonder Index had been so frantic.
But seeing Index now, happily clutching a certain bun-headed lunchbox, it was clear she had completely recovered.
"Tsuchimikado-san, sorry for the trouble."
Looking somewhat apologetically at the certain small maid who had specially come all the way to District 18, Natsume Sonoko said, her face slightly red.
"What else could I do? I can't very well let a secretly escaped injured person go without food, can I?"
"I knocked on the door at Room 210 for a full five minutes, but didn't see hide nor hair of Natsume-san. Who would have thought someone temporarily blinded would run off to another district over ten kilometers away."
"By the way, Natsume-san was really lucky today. Your Dorm Supervisor apparently has to stay on campus at Tokiwadai all day dealing with some trivial matter. Heard they're discussing new dorm rules for the external student dormitories. Otherwise, seeing Natsume-san in this state, she probably would have come to drag you back already."
Sitting atop a local cleaning robot in District 18, a certain properly seated, hands-on-hips small maid was speaking, her face wearing a look of feigned seriousness, though her tone remained as leisurely as ever.
In short, she was quite angry with a certain someone today. She'd only managed to track down this bun-headed girl defying the Dorm Supervisor's wishes after making a phone call.
And how had this Natsume-san character ended up hanging around with Index anyway?
Based on the time, Index should have been working her part-time job at the supermarket.
"So delicious!"
"Just eating Maika's cooking makes me feel like I'm coming back to life. I really can't do without Maika, can I?"
A blissful Index spoke up, holding an already empty lunchbox.
She hadn't refueled for over an hour; if it had dragged on any longer, she might have collapsed from hunger on the street.
Fortunately, Sonoko's appetite wasn't big. She could only eat about a third of the nutritious lunch from the large box before she was full, and gave the rest to Index.
This was also because Tsuchimikado-san had specially used an extra-large lunchbox, probably wanting a certain bun-head to eat more since she'd been looking increasingly thin lately.
Pity Natsume-san's stomach was only so big; she simply couldn't eat much, especially since she'd already snacked quite a bit earlier.
"So thick-skinned, Index-san."
The small cleaning robot carrying Tsuchimikado Maika spun in a circle on the spot, her muttering mouth looking particularly noticeable.
In fact, she was already thoroughly familiar with Index.
Not only did this Index live near her brother Tsuchimikado Motoharu, lodging at Kamijou Touma's place, but she also seemed to have memorized Maika's routes, always managing to run into this pitiful, perpetually hungry little nun at certain street corners.
Probably because the soft-hearted Maika always ended up feeding Index, their relationship had already warmed to a degree that made people take notice.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL