"Why do you know Shokuhou Misaki?" Misaka Mikoto asked this question in an almost interrogative tone.
The reason was simple: Misaka Mikoto genuinely couldn't stand Shokuhou Misaki.
"Don't say I didn't warn you," Misaka Mikoto cautioned Fang Li. "That woman doesn't have any principles. She may have already used her Ability on you without you knowing, interfered with your mind, or, at the very least, peeked into your memories. You'd better be careful."
From an outsider's perspective, Misaka Mikoto's words would probably sound like she was badmouthing Shokuhou Misaki.
But Fang Li knew that Misaka Mikoto wasn't deliberately trying to slander someone.
This straightforward Tokiwadai ojou-sama was not the kind of person who enjoyed speaking ill of others.
And yet, despite that, Misaka Mikoto still said things that sounded very much like insults.
That alone showed just how terrible Shokuhou Misaki's image was in Mikoto's heart.
It also showed that these words came entirely from genuine feelings rather than exaggeration.
And Fang Li knew it too.
Indeed, Shokuhou Misaki was exactly the sort of person Misaka Mikoto described, someone who never hesitated to use her Ability whenever she deemed it necessary. Even though being subjected to mental interference was an extremely unpleasant experience for the victim, Shokuhou Misaki would still use her Ability whenever needed.
To Shokuhou Misaki, her Ability was simply a weapon.
Like firearms, everyone feels fear and disgust when a gun is pointed at them, yet people still use guns all the same.
Shokuhou Misaki used her Ability with exactly that mindset and felt no psychological burden about doing so.
However, there was one thing Misaka Mikoto had gotten wrong.
"Even though that girl doesn't treat her Ability as something that needs to be used cautiously and can freely use it on anyone, that doesn't mean Shokuhou Misaki has no principles."
Fang Li shrugged and said this to Misaka Mikoto.
"Just like you, she also has her own set of principles when it comes to using her Ability."
And this was something that had already been mentioned many times before, so there was no need to bring it up again.
"Is that really true?" Misaka Mikoto asked somewhat skeptically. "That woman doesn't seem like that type."
For Misaka Mikoto to speak of her to this extent, one could imagine just how many excessive things Shokuhou Misaki had done to her.
But Fang Li still said:
"As far as I know, it's true." Fang Li smiled and added, "Besides, Shokuhou Misaki has never used her Ability on me."
"She's never used her Ability on you?" Misaka Mikoto looked surprised.
Was that true?
That woman actually chose her targets before using her Ability?
Misaka Mikoto's first reaction was disbelief.
Not because she doubted Fang Li's words, but because she doubted that such a thing could really be true.
(With that woman's Ability, manipulating other people's memories is ridiculously easy.)
In other words, even if Shokuhou Misaki had used mental interference on Fang Li, he wouldn't remember it afterward. Without realizing it, he would dance in the palm of her hand and be manipulated by her.
That was the terrifying part of Shokuhou Misaki's Ability.
Aside from specific individuals and people with perfect countermeasures, everyone else was essentially just Shokuhou Misaki's toy.
In some ways, Shokuhou Misaki was even more terrifying than Aleister.
At the very least, Aleister couldn't manipulate people's hearts.
Shokuhou Misaki could.
If her methods and schemes weren't far inferior to Aleister's, then Shokuhou Misaki truly would have had the potential to become a mastermind lurking behind the scenes.
With that in mind, it was impossible for Misaka Mikoto not to feel suspicious.
And Fang Li naturally saw through what Misaka Mikoto was thinking as well.
Thus, Fang Li smiled slightly and said:
"Don't worry. Have you ever seen me suffer a loss before?"
Hearing this, Misaka Mikoto looked directly at Fang Li, staring fixedly at his face.
After a while, Misaka Mikoto crossed her arms and huffed.
"Fine then. I've already warned you, so whatever happens afterward has nothing to do with me."
This tsundere girl really could have done a better job hiding how insincere those words were.
Even though she said that, the furtive glances she kept sneaking toward him still revealed the feelings of the Tokiwadai Electric Princess.
"Oh right." Misaka Mikoto coughed lightly and changed the subject awkwardly. "Then what's the deal with that Diva?"
Sure enough, besides Shokuhou Misaki, Misaka Mikoto was also very concerned about Sylvia.
Only this time, Fang Li didn't answer. Instead, he leaned his face close to Misaka Mikoto's and stared straight at the charming face of the young girl.
"W-Why are you getting so close?!"
Misaka Mikoto's face immediately turned bright red. She forcefully shoved Fang Li away and even retreated several steps herself, as though she had encountered some kind of plague god.
Seeing Misaka Mikoto's adorable blushing reaction, Fang Li suddenly felt reassured deep down.
Thank goodness.
Though she was somewhat tsundere, this was how an ojou-sama should react when facing the opposite sex.
Unlike those ojou-sama from Shokuhou Misaki's faction earlier, every single one of them had looked like wild beasts starved for affection their entire lives. It was terrifying.
This reaction was much more like a normal girl's.
Thinking this, Fang Li smiled at Misaka Mikoto.
"What? Are you planning to investigate my entire background now? Are you going to ask about everything?"
Fang Li's teasing only caused Misaka Mikoto to react even more intensely.
"I-I don't have such terrible taste!" Misaka Mikoto first shouted that before lowering her voice into a mutter barely audible like a mosquito's buzz. "Especially after you said those things to my mom…"
"What are you talking about?" Fang Li became somewhat uncertain and pressed further. "I didn't hear that clearly."
"N-Nothing!" Misaka Mikoto hurriedly shook her head, throwing those incomprehensible thoughts out of her mind. Then she pointed at Fang Li and loudly declared:
"Anyway, don't think I'll let you off so easily! If we run into each other in the competitions later, I'll completely crush you!"
After saying that, Misaka Mikoto stormed off rather viciously.
In the end, whether it was Sylvia's matter or Shokuhou Misaki's matter, Misaka Mikoto never managed to ask everything clearly.
Even the matter of how Fang Li knew Shokuhou Misaki remained unanswered.
Compared to Shokuhou Misaki, who had gained a huge amount of information today, Misaka Mikoto had instead been repeatedly angered half to death by Fang Li while remaining completely confused.
Still, that was simply this Electric Princess's personality.
Straightforward, yet not honest with herself.
Pure-hearted, yet not naive.
Kind, yet never pretentious.
Direct, yet never unpleasant.
That was Misaka Mikoto.
Fang Li even found himself wondering why his life had become entangled with a girl like her in the first place.
"It must be some kind of karmic bond, right?"
With that thought in mind, Fang Li smiled faintly, turned around, and started walking toward home.
(End Of This Chapter)
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