The blue-and-white maid uniform showed not a speck of dust, and the headband atop her head neatly pulled back her hair, leaving a smooth, gleaming, broad forehead.
Honestly, it was hard to look away from Maika's forehead.
A certain Index, who was secretly stealing glances at Tsuchimikado-san's forehead, couldn't help but think so.
Yet, after this crisp and efficient young maid had spent several minutes scolding a certain esper and the magical girl beside her, her sharp tone finally began to soften.
'Really, what can you do with them?' This was probably the fate of an excellent maid, after all.
Worrying over the friends by your side could probably be considered a form of happiness.
"Thank goodness. If the Dorm Supervisor found out, I'd be completely finished."
"Just thinking about the Dorm Supervisor's imposing presence makes my calves tremble."
Unlike Index, whose focus lay elsewhere, Natsume Sonoko's attention was completely captured by the news Tsuchimikado-san brought. Her expression shifted from flustered to surprised, finally settling into one of pure relief.
Having lain on the lawn for so long, she'd completely forgotten she'd sneaked out in the first place.
It started as not wanting to waste a perfectly good school day, then turned into searching for someone with Index, and now she was busy rescuing Kazakiri Hyouka-san from her unfortunate confined life—it had strayed far from Natsume Sonoko's original plan.
Luckily, the Dorm Supervisor was very busy and hadn't had time to bother with a certain bun-head convalescing in the student dorm.
"Hmph, for Natsume-san, this certainly is an emergency."
"Although that Dorm Supervisor probably wouldn't give a sick/injured student like Natsume-san too hard a time, some things are like dominoes. One careless move can trigger a chain reaction."
Crossing her arms, Tsuchimikado-san nodded in agreement.
No one had ever appeared in Tokiwadai Middle School Dormitory who dared to oppose that Dorm Supervisor.
As for those who habitually broke dorm rules, the cold wind at the entrance was their fate.
"Still, Natsume-san, you should hurry back to the student dorm. It's a very high-security location."
"Academy City isn't very peaceful today."
Holding up a finger, Tsuchimikado-san prepared to lay out a few things to persuade a certain bun-head who had sneaked out.
Of course, Tsuchimikado Maika wouldn't snitch to that Dorm Supervisor who always kept a stern face and subjected even the trainee maids to strict management. But out of concern for her friend, she felt it necessary to persuade her to return.
"Not peaceful?"
Natsume Sonoko looked skeptical. Had Tsuchimikado-san just stated the obvious?
Was there ever a time when Academy City was quiet and nothing happened?
Although the official propaganda claimed it was the safest place in the world, propaganda was just progapanda, often differing from reality.
Still, the Anti-Skill teachers in Academy City were very responsible, and there were many Judgment members working hard to stop incidents. To some extent, you could live here with peace of mind.
"Actually, I'm not too sure myself."
Tsuchimikado Maika's tone became hesitant, clearly unsure about her own words.
"It's my onii-san who told me. He said I should stay inside the School Garden all day today. And if I go back at night, I should find a close classmate to accompany me."
"He said the public order in Academy City would be terrible today."
Tsuchimikado Maika thought for a moment and continued, in passing repeating what her onii-san had said.
To bring food to a certain bun-head, Tsuchimikado-san had left the School Garden. And since she hadn't seen any terrible public order incidents yet, it made her a bit doubtful.
But as a little sister accustomed to relying on her onii-san, she still trusted his words unconditionally.
"Tsuchimikado-san's onii-san?"
Tilting her head, Natsume Sonoko immediately fell into recollection.
An image surfaced in her mind: a high school student who looked like a delinquent, exuding a sloppy aura, with spiky yellow hair, and if she remembered correctly, wearing sunglasses.
Spiky hair seemed quite popular among Academy City's middle schoolers.
Getting back on topic, Natsume Sonoko had heard about Tsuchimikado-san's onii-san from her many times before, but only officially met him that time at the top of the space elevator.
To be honest, he was a bit different from how Tsuchimikado-san had described him.
Moreover, his presence on the space elevator had puzzled Natsume Sonoko. Normal people, even if not running far away, wouldn't go to the epicenter of a disaster.
Plus, he had greeted her and Misaka-senpai so familiarly, even though it was their first time meeting.
But back then, Natsume Sonoko's mind wasn't on Tsuchimikado Motoharu at all, focused solely on handling the crisis that threatened the entire Northern Hemisphere.
Thinking back now, she remembered that Tsuchimikado Motoharu was with Kanzaki-san and that red-haired guy.
Since Kanzaki-san and the others were clearly from the magic side, did that mean he was a magician too?
"Eh."
"That's really strange."
Natsume Sonoko frowned, realizing things weren't so simple.
If her guess was correct, that Tsuchimikado Motoharu's identity was probably quite unusual. But could an esper become a magician?
Basically, every student in Academy City had undergone ability development, right?
Turning things over in her mind, yet not taking it too seriously, Natsume Sonoko wasn't particularly interested in probing others' identities.
She had someone from the magic side, Index, right by her. Thinking of it that way, it wasn't so strange after all.
Only then did she seriously take Tsuchimikado-san's words about the city being 'not peaceful' to heart. Maybe some major incident had happened somewhere.
But what did 'public order will be terrible' mean?
Incidents that even Anti-Skill and Judgment couldn't handle?
Thinking this, a contemplative expression appeared on Natsume Sonoko's face. The number of aircraft that had flown over her dorm this morning was indeed much higher than usual.
Although aircraft and similar arms weren't directly under the Anti-Skill department, they were one of the armed forces that cooperated with Anti-Skill operations.
"Relax, Tsuchimikado-san. Have faith in the Anti-Skill teachers."
"Besides, I'm a Judgment member. No matter the situation, I can protect myself."
Shaking her head, the certain bun-head spoke up seriously, pulling a crumpled Judgment armband from her jacket pocket.
If something really happened that even the Anti-Skill teachers couldn't handle, then the situation must be truly dire.
In that kind of scenario, hiding in the student dorm wouldn't necessarily guarantee safety.
Simply put, Natsume Sonoko still didn't want to go back.
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T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL