Because her attempt to use her ability on Misaka Mikoto failed—and seeing Mikoto remain so calm—Shokuhou Misaki had her subordinates stand guard. That was her strategy with a hot-headed Misaka Mikoto. Misaka's personality was belligerent, prone to flare-ups, but she wouldn't randomly harm unrelated people. Because of that, even though Shokuhou Misaki's power got neutralized, she wasn't particularly afraid to oppose Mikoto.
Unexpectedly, though, Misaka Mikoto didn't blow up this time the way she'd anticipated.
Mikoto didn't even show annoyance at Shokuhou's attempt. She actually seemed quite composed—almost pleased.
Not that Mikoto had any masochistic tendencies; she had simply used Shokuhou's move as a test—to see whether Shokuhou's ability could actually affect her.
And now she had her answer: it still didn't work.
Plus, from Shokuhou's genuine confusion and impatience, Mikoto was basically certain the mysterious "chat" in her head had nothing to do with Shokuhou Misaki.
Having her result, Mikoto no longer had a reason to stay.
"That earlier mess was my fault—sorry about that. Also...thanks."
Then she turned and left.
That left Shokuhou Misaki, who was just about to get angry, completely baffled. She might understand the apology, but thanks—for what?
After a long silence, Shokuhou couldn't help muttering:
She pressed the remote again.
"What happened just now?"
Her ability canceled, the surrounding students awakened from control. But she had lost her appetite for pudding, thanks to Mikoto.
Sure enough, at this moment Mikoto, holding her "test results," typed into the chat group:
Misaka Mikoto: "All right, I guess I do believe this chat group is real now."
After all her testing, she hadn't found any loopholes in the chat group. At least, with her power, she couldn't prove it fake or detect that it was just someone else's ability. And the group never vanished. She had no choice but to tentatively accept its authenticity.
Still, there was one thing she was curious about.
Misaka Mikoto: "So, @Rei Ao, why did you add me to this group?"
Rei Ao: "Nothing to do with me."
Misaka Mikoto: "Huh?"
Busujima Saeko: "In fact, group invitations appear to be random."
Yukinoshita Yukino: "Probably random world, random person."
Stella: "Wrong—random female."
Yukinoshita Yukino: "..."
Misaka Mikoto: "But why me? What's this group's objective?"
Akame: "It's a 'trade' chat group."
Frieren: "Yep, a trade chat group. The key thing is all about trading."
Yomogawa Ayame: "If there's any common thread, maybe the group decided we all needed some form of trade."
Misaka Mikoto: "But I don't need to trade anything."
Hiiragi Shinoa: "That means you're living a very happy, satisfying life?"
Misaka Mikoto: "Of course. And in Academy City, I'm one of the strongest."
Rei Ao: "Lv5, Railgun, 'Biri-biri'... In Academy City, you do have decent power."
Misaka Mikoto:"??? 'Railgun'...? The heck is that nickname?!"
She paused in her steps toward the dorm. What did he mean? She typed:
Misaka Mikoto: "How do you know that?! And—
what's with calling me 'Railgun'?!"
Rei Ao: "Haha, I'm the chat group's owner. It's only natural I'd know my dear group members' info, right? As for 'Railgun,' doesn't it sound pretty fitting?"
Kasuga Hijiri: "It does sound fierce."
Sakurajima Mai: "Somehow I got a weird feeling from that label."
Tohru: "You mean like 'firing cannons'?"
Misaka Mikoto: "Don't say weird stuff, you jerks!!"
She was trembling in anger. Actually, it was more like she was hot with embarrassment. This is some bizarre nickname!
Misaka Mikoto: "Just call me by name or something! Don't use that stupid nickname!"
Misaka Mikoto: "What do you mean 'Alright'? Stop sidestepping! I won't pursue how you found out, but why mention my personal info out of nowhere?"
Rei Ao: "No reason. Just me, as the group's admin, giving a small reminder to my beloved group member: don't be overconfident."
Rei Ao: "Academy City is deeper than you realize. Your world as a whole is deeper than you realize, too."
Whether it involved the conspiracies within Academy City, or the complex, rigid magic factions, or maybe even higher-level "Magic God"-like existences... The water surely went far deeper than the self-assured Misaka Mikoto imagined.
Misaka Mikoto: "Huh???"
She felt suspicious. Was he cautioning her about something? She hardly saw why. She was Misaka Mikoto, the 3rd-ranked Level 5. The only people ahead of her were the 1st and 2nd. She didn't see what else could threaten her.
Sui: "Looks Misaka Mikoto isn't buying Rei Ao's warning."
Frieren: "As someone who's gone through it, Rei Ao might come across as a womanizing scoundrel, but he doesn't do false scare tactics."
Izawa Shizue: "She probably just doesn't see the bigger picture yet."
Stella: "Mmm, that bastard's an absolute romance maniac, but he won't lie to you for no reason. So, newbie—don't get too cocky. You can't just 'sit at the bottom of the well' and imagine you see the entire sky."
She spoke from experience. She'd thought herself strong enough but discovered opponents stronger than she was. Had she not gained Rei Ao's strength, she'd have been unable to defeat Toudou Touka.
She calmed down. Indeed, Rei Ao had no motive for random scare tactics. If he truly knew something and was kindly warning her... Could Academy City be more perilous than she'd imagined?
Truth be told, she had no real sense of it but decided to keep this in mind. Better safe than sorry.
Shiba Miyuki: "Um, I don't seem to have anything that needs trading either."
No matter how she pondered it, she, Shiba Miyuki, didn't need any trades. So she typed:
Shiba Miyuki: "I can't think of any trade needs at the moment."
Then Rei Ao turned his attention to that. He, too, was curious about her situation, about her famed "onii-sama," Shiba Tatsuya.
Rei Ao: "Do you have anyone you like?"
Shiba Miyuki: "Eh—?!"
Seated in class, Shiba Miyuki's eyes went wide. Wh-why so suddenly asking such a weird question?!
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