"Mugino," Kinuhata looked at her, face completely red. "You okay... like, seriously okay?"
She was mostly just asking out of politeness—she already knew Mugino probably wasn't in a great mood. Her face was so red, she might just explode from anger.
That girl was seriously something else... Who has the guts to slap a tigress like Mugino?
As she thought about it, Kinuhata couldn't help but feel a bit impressed by Ruiko.
But truth is, Mugino wasn't actually all that mad right now.
Or rather, what she felt more than anger was embarrassment. This was the first time in her life someone had smacked her butt, and that strange tingling sensation left her oddly shaken.
It was kind of like a bad girl running into a punk—surprisingly fitting. Too bad the other person was a girl.
Of course, Mugino Shizuri wasn't about to say any of that out loud. She kept a cold look on her face and glanced sideways. "Why didn't you warn us, Takitsubo?"
Standing there was a girl with short black hair hanging to her shoulders. She looked delicate, but her eyes were unfocused, like she was half-asleep.
Her name was Takitsubo Rikou, a member of the ITEM team with sensing abilities. She could detect the number, location, and level of enemies through the AIM diffusion field.
When Mugino asked, the girl calmly replied, "Her AIM field was really weak—I could barely feel it at all."
Mugino's eyes widened in surprise.
The AIM diffusion field is a kind of special energy that espers give off without even trying. In simple terms, it's like a glowing tag above your head showing your power level.
Different level espers give off different AIM fields. It's automatic—no one can control it or hide it.
But that girl just now clearly showed power beyond a Level 4 esper.
Normally, someone at that level would have an extremely strong AIM field. So why was hers so weak that even Takitsubo could barely sense it?
Everything about that girl, and what she did to her, made Mugino seriously curious. She was sure that girl was hiding something big, something beyond what she could understand.
She wanted to dig deeper.
"Mugino, what do we do now?" Kinuhata Saiai asked.
"Chase them—they shouldn't have gotten far!" Mugino answered without hesitation, scanning the area. "Where's Frenda?"
"She's over there," Takitsubo looked toward the left side of the main hall downstairs.
Right in that spot, a flat-chested girl with wavy blonde hair was hanging in the air, tied up by some kind of strange rope. Her body twisted around like a caterpillar.
Meanwhile, in the livestream chat:
Doujin Artist: Impressive, Ruiko! You had Mugino Shizuri so flustered she didn't even fight back. How'd it feel?
Skirt-Flipping Maniac: Hmm... not bad? Kinda like soft bread.
Scarlet Lotus Fairy: That's way too detailed... You've been planning this, haven't you?
Doujin Artist: Totally. Ruiko acted like a real perv back there. You better learn some self-control!
Curly-haired Guy: Being a perv is fine, but being this nice? Come on. If it were me, I would've just gone all the way!
This is an Actor: That "gone all the way" of yours... can you not be gross for once?
Amegakure Village's Angel: We all know Gin's never serious—unless the sun rises in the west. But still, Ruiko just letting Mugino Shizuri go like that? Kinda hard to accept. Did you forget your friend who got cut in half?
Shark-Faced Guy: If I remember right, her name was Frenda?
Scarlet Lotus Fairy: Yeah, the blonde one? Ruiko just tied her up and whipped her a minute ago. It was rough.
"Hey, I didn't have much choice, okay?" Ruiko muttered toward the camera as she walked along the lab's front corridor. "I had to save Misaka, there was no time to mess around. As for Mugino Shizuri... I don't think she's completely evil. Maybe I can talk her out of it someday."
Shark-Faced Guy: "Talk her out of it"? Ruiko, you're sounding pretty confident lately.
Curly-haired Guy: What kind of "talking" are we talking about? Using your body to reform her? She almost killed your friend, and you still want to reform her? What are you, a saint?
Scarlet Lotus Fairy: Even saints don't use their bodies for that. What kind of twisted monk are you talking about?
Curly-haired Guy: Miroku?
Scarlet Lotus Fairy: ...
Li Mochou was stunned for a second. That "Miroku" answer seriously messed with her view of the world.
Doujin Artist: Miroku my butt. Is that the only monk you know?
Curly-haired Guy: Of course not! I know, uh... Inari!
Doujin Artist: That's Shinto! Has nothing to do with Buddhism! Why would you bring up a Shinto god in a talk about Buddhist monks? Even ignorance should have limits!
Curly-haired Guy: Whatever. There are so many religions, who can keep track of all of them?
Doujin Artist: You're clueless *and* proud of it. That's so you.
Amegakure Village's Angel: Okay, enough arguing. Ruiko took down Academy City's fourth-ranked esper like it was nothing. No matter how she plans to reform her, I'd say she's earned the right to try.
Saten Ruiko's face turned red after hearing what Konan said. She looked like a steaming kettle.
"I-I only pulled that off because I caught him off guard! It really wasn't a big deal! And it was just normal friendship that changed him! What are you all thinking?!"
As she spoke, she was about to push open the research lab door in front of her.
This is an Actor: Wait a second, Ruiko.
Seeing the message pop up in the chat, Saten Ruiko stopped and sent a confused emoji.
This is an Actor: Don't rush in yet. Try sensing your surroundings with your spiritual pressure.