At 12:30 PM, the mall delivered the items purchased by Krul and the others to Tama Central Park.
Even though it was lunchtime, there were still many pedestrians in Tama Central Park, and some were there for a picnic as well.
The others spread out the Picnic Mats and took out everything they needed. Luke set up the Grill and put the Smokeless Charcoal inside, but then he paused, realizing they didn't have a fire!
He scanned the group and asked, "Does anyone have a light?"
Seeing that no one spoke up, Misaka Mikoto assumed no one had brought one and walked over.
"Let me do it!"
Luke nodded; Misaka Mikoto's ability was more than enough to start a fire.
Misaka Mikoto took a piece of Smokeless Charcoal from the Grill and held it between her palms. Electricity surged between her hands. Due to the high resistance of the charcoal, heat was generated as the current passed through it. Before long, the charcoal began to glow red. Before she could get burned, Misaka Mikoto tossed it back into the Grill and then picked up some fallen leaves to ignite it.
Soon, all the charcoal in the Grill was burning.
Luke had intended to serve as the Grill master for everyone, but Saten Ruiko snatched the job away, even jokingly flexing her non-existent biceps.
"Since you guys bought so many things, the grilling should naturally be left to us!"
Luke had no choice but to give in.
However, Saten Ruiko couldn't do it all alone; Uiharu and Kuroko took turns helping out as well.
The others, lacking culinary skills, could only help with the preparations.
Then, they placed all the grilled skewers on biodegradable disposable plates in the center of the Picnic Mat. The seven of them sat together, chatting and eating in a harmonious atmosphere. Even the foul-tempered Accelerator rarely said anything biting.
"Aaaah, so spicy! Who put the seasoning on this? There's so much chili oil!"
Saten Ruiko pointed to the plate from which she had just grabbed a meat skewer. Her face was flushed red, and she kept fanning her mouth with her hand, hoping for some relief.
Misaka Mikoto hurriedly handed her some Yogurt. Saten Ruiko ignored her image and tilted her head back to gulp it down.
"Ah, I'm saved. Thanks, Misaka-san."
Everyone looked at the plate Saten Ruiko had just pointed to. It looked very appetizing, but compared to the skewers on the other plates, these were noticeably redder.
Accelerator's lip twitched. Seeing Saten Ruiko so overwhelmed by the spice, he rubbed his neck.
"Sorry, I'm the one who put the chili oil on those."
He looked very reluctant, but Luke and Krul knew that Accelerator was just not very good at expressing himself.
Accelerator picked up a skewer from the plate and tried it himself. He frowned and couldn't help but hiss from the heat.
He had tasted one earlier, and it definitely wasn't this spicy! He liked spicy food, but even he wouldn't add this much!
Sitting next to Accelerator, Luke scratched his face sheepishly and said, "Ah, Accelerator, you already added chili? I thought you hadn't, so I added quite a bit too."
So you're the culprit!
Saten Ruiko glared slightly at Luke, but since it was their first meeting, she eventually waved it off. "It's okay. Although it's very spicy, it's actually quite satisfying!"
After that, none of the five girls touched that plate of skewers again, leaving Accelerator and Luke to finish the super spicy meat skewers with furrowed brows.
As Luke picked up the last skewer, both of them were constantly hissing; clearly, even they, who liked spicy food, were struggling to handle it. Krul couldn't help but tease them.
"Are you two trying to suck all the air out of the... mmph!"
Before Krul could finish, Luke used his gloved hand to slide the meat off the last skewer and stuffed it all into Krul's mouth.
As Krul felt the spiciness begin to ravage her taste buds, her face instantly turned red.
Luke had a look of pure schadenfreude on his face.
"Hiss-ha~ Haha, why is your face turning red while eating? Is it because you're sitting with me? Hiss-ha~"
"I'm going to kill you! Hiss~"
Krul was so spicy she looked like a snake demon. She chased Luke all over the place. Finally, realizing that Krul wouldn't stop until she dealt with him, he had to surrender and was eventually forced by Krul to eat her specially made Wasabi Burger.
"That's too cruel! Krul, if I die, you'll be single!"
Tears streamed down Luke's face, choked by the wasabi.
Krul didn't indulge him at all and gave a cold snort.
"Is that so? That sounds quite appealing."
This scene had the other four girls laughing uncontrollably. The stereotypical impression Uiharu Kazari and Saten Ruiko had of Level 5s being cold and aloof was shattered. Through this interaction, they also found that the quiet Accelerator was actually quite thoughtful and not difficult to get along with.
At the same time, they were shocked beyond words when Krul chased Luke. At first, neither of them was running at full speed, and the girls were just amazed by their athletic nerves. It wasn't until the two of them started leaving afterimages that they realized something was wrong.
Their bickering wasn't interpreted as a bad relationship. Uiharu Kazari and Saten Ruiko looked at the Tokiwadai sisters next to them.
"Ah~ Onee-sama, open wide! This is my masterpiece, filled with love!"
"I... I can do it myself!"
"No, I must feed you personally!"
Shirai Kuroko held a peeled shrimp and kept trying to get close to Misaka Mikoto, while Misaka Mikoto used her hand to hold back Shirai Kuroko's face to prevent her from succeeding.
Saten Ruiko looked at Uiharu Kazari and said with a serious, thoughtful expression, "Do you think we could also bicker like that to strengthen our friendship?"
Uiharu Kazari hadn't expected Ruiko to have such an idea. Sensing something bad was about to happen, she quickly covered her skirt, her face turning slightly red.
"Ah, it's white today. White is good; white is pure."
At some point, Ruiko had already crouched behind Uiharu Kazari and peeked under her skirt. Since there were boys present, she was still mindful and didn't flip the skirt all the way up.
"Ruiko!"
Uiharu Kazari looked ashamed and indignant, which was exactly the effect Ruiko wanted.
Accelerator held his forehead as he watched these three groups of people. Frowning, he used his ability to block out the sound.
He realized his previous decision not to socialize was correct. So what if he was treated like a monster? Although he didn't know what normal boyfriends and girlfriends, upperclassmen and underclassmen, or good friends were supposed to be like, they certainly weren't like these abnormal people he was socializing with now!
After the Great One finished socializing, he realized that his reclusive self was actually the most normal!
...A hospital near Tama Central Park.
"Hand over all the money! Then take me to the pharmacy's cold storage!"
Three men wearing gas masks suddenly burst into the hospital, grabbed a man who appeared to be the Attending Physician, and held a knife to his throat.
The Security Forces in the hospital immediately surrounded the three men and called the Security Forces.
The leader of the three signaled to a shorter accomplice. The accomplice nodded, stepped forward, and pulled a small vial from his coat containing about 25 milliliters of a pale green liquid that looked unsettling.
The short man threw the vial directly at a guard blocking them. The guard raised his shield, trying to block it. In his mind, it was likely some kind of corrosive drug, and as long as he blocked it with his shield, it wouldn't be a threat.
However, when the vial collided with the shield, a sudden explosion occurred. The shield-bearing officer was blown away by the blast, and the guards near him were also caught in the shockwave, flying several meters. When they landed and everyone looked, they couldn't help but be shocked.
The uniforms on these men looked as if they had been corroded. The liquid in the vial actually possessed both explosive and corrosive properties!
The leading thug sneered.
"Move if you don't want to die! We have plenty more bombs like this! We just want to get some medicine from the cold storage; we don't want to kill anyone!"
The Attending Physician he was holding had a knife at his throat and looked terrified.
"Don't kill me! I'll take you there!"
The leader said to the short man, "You get the money here; we're going to the cold storage!"
He seemed very urgent because he knew there were many Level 5s in Academy City District 7. If the Security Forces couldn't handle them, Academy City would ask Level 5s for help. By then, even with countless vials of this medicine, they would be helpless.
The reason they chose this hospital was that there were many civilians nearby, and hospitals in other districts didn't have enough of the medicine they needed.
The leader and the taller accomplice were led toward the cold storage.
The short man placed a handbag on the front desk, signaling for it to be filled with money, while clutching a vial of the medicine from before.
The other officers didn't dare to act rashly and could only stand their ground, not daring to step forward. The power of that medicine was too great!
But after a while, they realized something was wrong. Why did their heads feel so heavy and groggy?
The short man noticed their abnormality, and the corners of his mouth curled up beneath his gas mask.
The three of them had originally come to Academy City hoping to awaken abilities, but they all turned out to be Level 0s. They met while working at a chemical plant, but after working there for a long time, they discovered that long-term exposure to radioactive substances had caused health problems. Only one kind of medicine could treat it, but their wages weren't enough to cover the treatment costs. Upon learning that the factory had developed a dangerous chemical substance, the three of them hit it off and decided to take their fate into their own hands!
They were exactly the missing persons reported on the airship news!
After stealing the chemical substance, they diluted it to create corrosive explosives. When this substance was exposed to the air and inhaled, it also affected the mind.
Once they got the medicine vials, they planned to use the explosives to blast a path through the Security Forces and pass through Tama Central Park. There were many ordinary people there, so even if the Security Forces caught up, they would be hesitant to act for fear of harming bystanders. As long as they successfully crossed Tama Central Park, they could use a pre-prepared route to shake off the Security Forces.
Then they would rob a bank and escape from Academy City! He didn't believe they would happen to encounter an Level 5 in the park.
...Tama Central Park.
Krul and the other six had finished their barbecue and were getting to know each other, chatting. The relationship between Krul and the girls had clearly deepened.
Luke was happy to see this. After all, in the world of seraph of the end, Krul had been tormented by curses and much of her emotion had been locked away. Now that her emotions were restored, she naturally felt curious about unfamiliar things like friendship, though it was mostly the others initiating the topics.
Luke said to Accelerator, "Are you staying quiet to act like a pro?"
Accelerator was currently lying under a tree with his eyes closed, not responding to Luke.
Luke knew he had blocked out the sound again.
But after a while, Accelerator was shaken awake.
Saten Ruiko held up her phone and asked somewhat nervously, "Excuse me, can we exchange contact information?"
By now, Saten Ruiko had already gotten the contact info for Krul, Luke, and Misaka Mikoto, leaving only Accelerator. After all, in her view, since they had a picnic together and the process was very pleasant, they were friends.
Accelerator was stunned for a moment. Finding it a bit troublesome, he declined, "No thanks, we might not see each other again."
How blunt!
Luke stepped in to help. "Don't listen to him; he's just a total tsundere. I'll save his contact info for you."
Accelerator turned his body slightly and muttered under his breath, "Tch! Mind your own business!"
Seeing that Accelerator didn't stop him, Saten Ruiko handed her phone to Luke to let him help save the number. When she got her phone back and saw the note Luke had written, she almost couldn't help laughing out loud.
"Tsundere Spicy Boy!"
She felt it was a bit inappropriate, so she eventually changed "Spicy Boy" to "Accelerator." As for the tsundere part? She didn't know!
Uiharu Kazari also got everyone's contact information. Accelerator's number was saved for her by Krul as just a normal "Accelerator." Although Krul would sometimes be mischievous, she was mostly serious, saving all her mischief for Luke.
Luke also kindly offered a reminder.
"Be direct when messaging Accelerator; he doesn't like pleasantries."
Saten Ruiko and Uiharu Kazari looked like they had learned something valuable, and they were very happy at the same time.
They had the contact info for four Level 5s; who could compare to that! Even now, they still felt a bit like they were in a dream.
Saten Ruiko also wanted to take a group photo, partly to show off and partly to commemorate them becoming friends. Just as she was looking for an angle, she suddenly noticed many Security Forces members appearing outside the park through her phone.
"Eh? Did something happen over at the hospital?"
Hearing this, everyone looked toward the hospital and indeed found many Security Forces members surrounding the hospital entrance.
Misaka Mikoto was a bit worried.
"Something happened at the hospital? Should we go help?"
Shirai Kuroko nodded, also wanting to go check the situation.
But Luke shook his head.
"Let's just observe from here. If it's something small, they won't need us; if it's something big, we won't be able to go all out in a hospital anyway."
"But..."
Misaka Mikoto frowned. Although Luke was right, what if the Security Forces couldn't handle it and people got hurt?
Inside the Windowless Building, the Board of Directors received the news.
"The hospital has been hijacked by Terrorists?"
The people sent to monitor the four Level 5s happened to notice the trouble at the nearby hospital and reported it.
Although the situation hadn't escalated enough to alarm the Board of Directors, now that they knew about it, they still had to deal with it.
"What are the Terrorists' demands?"
"They say they just want some medicine and money, and for the Security Forces to mind their own business, otherwise they won't be responsible for any injuries."
The corners of the Board members' mouths all twitched. Terrorists telling the Security Forces to mind their own business? Why did that sound so strange?
You will get 30 chapter ahead for this fanfiction.
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