The School Garden was a closed-off district jointly established by five prestigious girls' schools, including Tokiwadai, along with their associated facilities.
Tokiwadai itself was situated within the School Garden, co-developed with the other four aristocratic academies. The entire School Garden spanned more than fifteen times the size of a standard school campus.
However, anyone who had actually entered the School Garden would be surprised to find that it didn't feel particularly spacious. Besides the numerous specialized laboratories required for ability development, the area was densely packed with production and retail facilities.
This was because all equipment used for esper development was manufactured within the Garden itself—none of it was outsourced to outside vendors. Everything was produced and sold internally to prevent any leakage of confidential technology.
All the buildings shared a unified Western architectural style, making the entire place look like a small Mediterranean town. Even the road signs and traffic lights within the School Garden had completely different designs compared to those outside.
The entire district gave the impression of a small, self-contained nation—though, in this "nation," every citizen was a girl.
...
Tap. Tap. Tap.
At that moment, Kongou Mitsuko of Tokiwadai was walking alone down a deserted path after finishing her day's classes. At this hour, most of the nearby shops were already closed, the surrounding buildings empty, and the area eerily silent.
Carrying a black handbag with both hands before her, Kongou walked slowly, her back straight and her posture refined. Every movement exuded elegance—one might easily say, "As expected of a Tokiwadai lady."
"Someone there?"
Sensing something, Kongou abruptly turned around. But the empty path behind her remained deserted—no one was there. Still, she was certain. Someone was there. The faint sound of movement behind her was subtle, but in this level of silence, even the slightest noise stood out.
And that gaze—she could feel it. Someone was watching her.
Raising her folding fan before her, Kongou adopted a defensive stance despite the unease creeping up her spine.
"Who's there? Don't you know who I am? I am Kongou Mitsuko of Tokiwadai Middle School!"
Yet still, no one appeared. She began backing away cautiously, fan raised to cover her face, her expression tense.
Suddenly, as she stepped back, she seemed to bump into something solid.
A faint bzzt of electricity crackled through the air.
"Ah—" Kongou barely managed a weak cry before her body went limp, collapsing to the ground.
Moments later, a girl with a bun hairstyle and side-swept bangs emerged from the shadows. She pulled out an ink pen and slowly approached the unconscious Kongou Mitsuko.
...
"I'm so excited! The School Garden!"
Inside the bus heading toward the School Garden, Uiharu Kazari practically radiated enthusiasm as they neared their destination.
However, thinking back to that incident a few days ago, her excitement dimmed slightly. "But... don't you think it was kind of rude that we left so suddenly that day? Hm? Saten-san, what are you looking at?"
"Ah, nothing. I was just wondering what the School Garden's really like. From what I've heard, it's basically a small town made up of girls' schools, right?"
"It's not just any schools! Those are all elite academies for high-class young ladies! Of course Tokiwadai needs no introduction, but the others are just as prestigious!" As if a switch had been flipped, Uiharu became increasingly animated.
"Today's visit is all thanks to Selene-senpai's invitation. Normally, ordinary students like us would never even get a chance to step inside!"
"How self-deprecating... We're just going there for a visit," Saten Ruiko replied helplessly, unable to deal with Uiharu's noble-lady obsession. "Honestly, Uiharu, you..."
"Huh? What's this...?" Just as Saten was about to tease her friend further, Uiharu's attention was drawn to something sticking out of Saten's handbag.
In a flash, she snatched it away—a meticulously detailed School Garden guidebook filled with handwritten notes.
The first page she flipped to was a description of a cake shop.
"So that's it! You've already planned out everywhere you want to go, haven't you, Saten-san? How sneaky~!"
Blushing slightly under Uiharu's teasing tone, Saten retorted stubbornly, "That's the Pasticceria Manicagni pastry shop we're talking about!"
Just as Uiharu became fanatical whenever the topic involved upper-class ladies, Saten displayed the same energy whenever it came to popular trends. The two truly complemented each other—best friends through and through.
"They use only carefully selected ingredients, baked with authentic Italian recipes—their cheesecakes are genuine works of art, indistinguishable from the ones in Italy itself! It even says so right here! I've been wanting to try them for ages, but the only branch in Japan is inside the School Garden!"
Uiharu was momentarily speechless by the rapid-fire enthusiasm, staring at Saten's flustered yet honest expression. "You're surprisingly trendy, Saten-san," she said teasingly.
At that moment, the voice announcement broke the laughter. "Next stop: School Garden Station."
After disembarking, the two stopped by the bus stop. "Wow, the bus arrived earlier than expected."
It was still raining lightly, and neither of them had brought umbrellas—but there was no need.
"It's fine. Three, two, one—" As Uiharu finished counting down, the rain abruptly stopped. In Academy City, that sort of thing wasn't strange at all.
"Wow, the weather forecasts here are still this accurate, huh?"
It wasn't just "accurate"—for a city with supercomputers, predicting the weather down to the second was trivial. Uiharu explained, "Rather than a forecast, it's more like they calculate and confirm future conditions through predictive computation."
"I think it'd be nice if it failed once in a while," Saten muttered with a grin.
"Anyway, let's hurry. We shouldn't keep Selene-senpai waiting."
As they entered the School Garden, patrol robots became noticeably more numerous. At the main gate, over a dozen Security Robots stood guard. Truly, this was a prestigious zone—the level of security was leagues above their own schools.
After passing through the gate's inspection, both girls were struck by the atmosphere. It truly felt as if they had stepped into another country. Unlike the outer districts, the architecture inside the School Garden was entirely Western in design.
"Huh? Why aren't there any Security Robots inside the School Garden?" Saten asked. Outside, patrols were everywhere, but within, not a single one could be seen.
"Hehe, you don't know? The School Garden is made up entirely of girls' schools. There's no way they'd allow Security Robots inside—most of their operators and surveillance staff are male," Uiharu explained proudly, clearly well-informed.
"Ohh, that makes sense."
As they walked toward Tokiwadai, the two chatted while admiring the elegant European-style buildings. Yet, Uiharu couldn't shake off a strange feeling. "Um... I get the sense that someone's watching us."
"Eh? That's normal, isn't it? The School Garden's a closed campus. Just look at us—we totally stand out as outsiders. It's rare to see non-resident students here outside of visiting season."
When they glanced up at the clock tower, both girls suddenly realized the time—they were late. They started to run, but neither noticed the wet cobblestone path still slick from the recent rain.
"Ah!" Saten cried as her foot slipped on a puddle, losing her balance and falling straight to the ground.
Water splashed everywhere. Hearing the commotion, Uiharu turned back to find Saten soaked from head to toe.
"Saten-san, you're so careless," Uiharu sighed.
"Ughhh, what bad luck! Uiharu..."
Meanwhile, Misaka Mikoto and Shirai Kuroko were standing by Tokiwadai's main gate, waiting.
"They're really taking their time," Misaka muttered, frowning. "Are you sure this is the right meeting spot?" She was starting to suspect they might've gotten the wrong location.
"Yeah," Kuroko replied, equally puzzled. "They said they wanted to see our school, and Selene-senpai gave them the invitation passes. That's why I arranged to meet them here at the gate. Honestly, making Onee-sama wait like this..."
The moment Kuroko mentioned Selene's name, Misaka's temper flared again. "Seriously, she's the one who invited them, yet we're the ones waiting to pick them up. And where is she, anyway? With her ability, couldn't she have just gone to get them directly...?"
"Uh, maybe Selene-senpai's busy setting up today's plans..." Kuroko trailed off, too afraid to comment further. To her, Selene was equal parts elegant and terrifying—with a taste for teasing others.
Just then, Misaka noticed movement across the street. "Ah, they're here! Uh... what happened to you?"
She blinked in surprise at the sight of a drenched Saten Ruiko, who looked as if she'd walked through a rainstorm. Beside her, Uiharu wore an awkward smile. "N-nothing serious."
"She slipped on a puddle..."
Since Selene hadn't arrived yet, they couldn't just leave Saten in that state. Worried she'd catch a cold, they decided to take her to the public bath inside Tokiwadai Middle School to clean up and dry off.