"Haah... I feel like my motion sickness level just increased by another 10%..."
After crouching on the ground for about a minute, Konata finally felt that nauseating, stuffy feeling fade slightly. At the very least, the urge to vomit had finally passed.
At the same time, the rest of Class 1-A had just gotten off the bus.
Waving toward Tsuyu, who was approaching her with a worried look, Konata stood up with a pale face and walked toward the group.
She originally planned to hang back and walk alone, just like the last time they came to the USJ. But Midoriya, Tsuyu, and the others instinctively stuck close by her side. Iida even had that ever-ready, alert expression on his face.
She didn't need to think hard to know what they were doing—and couldn't help but laugh a little in exasperation.
"Relax, okay? The League of Villains can't possibly be that dumb. No one trips over the same stone twice, right? And besides, this time All Mi—"
She looked around but couldn't spot All Might. Konata's expression instantly stiffened as she quickly raised her hand and asked Aizawa-sensei, who was walking in front:
"Aizawa-sensei, where's All Might-sensei?"
"How would I know? He probably got caught up in something again."
Aizawa's tone was as emotionally flat as ever.
"Relax. After the USJ incident, the school seriously upgraded security here. If the League of Villains dares show up again, teachers will arrive immediately... Now then, Thirteen-sensei will give you your briefing."
With that, Aizawa stopped and stepped aside.
"I've got a really bad feeling about this..."
Konata's eye twitched as she instinctively looked down at the USJ plaza. After the recent repairs, the once-destroyed area had been restored to its original state.
She wasn't afraid of another villain attack or anything like that. This time, both of her transformations were ready to go. Heck, even if the League dumped a hundred bootleg Nomu types on her, she was confident she could protect herself.
"…Now then, please follow me. We'll begin with mountain rescue training."
While Konata was zoning out , Thirteen-sensei had finished her whole explanation and led them to… the cliff.
A big. Frickin'. Cliff.
Standing at the edge and looking down into the seemingly bottomless gorge, Konata couldn't help but admire U.A.'s insane budget. This wasn't some cheap prop. This was full-on Fantasy-level terrain built INDOORS.
"The hero biz is one heck of a money sink…" she muttered, nodding solemnly like an old sage.
"Let me first explain the training exercise," Thirteen-sensei began, spreading her arms as the students gathered around.
"The scenario is this: three climbers have fallen into a ravine. One is unconscious from head trauma, the other two have broken legs and can only call for help. Your job is to split into groups and—"
"IT'S SO DEEP!!"
"Wait—they only broke their legs?!"
"No way they're still alive falling from that height!!"
Three voices shouted over Thirteen's explanation, clearly unable to suspend their disbelief.
Everyone turned to the last speaker. Their expressions were... complicated.
"…What? Did I say something weird?" Konata asked, blinking innocently. "With that height and gravity, a normal person would totally be pancake-tier by now."
Right? Unless they were all like Kirishima and had Hardening or something close to Unbreakable Diamond Stand Power orwhatever."
She turned next to Kaminari.
"Right, Pikachu? You'd agree with me, right?"
"Don't go giving people weird nicknames!! And what even is a Pikachu!?"
Kaminari had lines of stress on his face.
"What's a 'Stand Power'?" Kirishima asked with genuine curiosity, ignoring the nickname drama.
"A Stand is a special supernatural power that manifests as a spirit shaped by mental energy. The user is called a Stand User. Oh, and by the way—'The World' is the strongest."
Konata raised a single finger and declared this with great seriousness.
Yep. Her chuunibyou was acting up again.
Everyone, except for Tokoyami, reached the same silent conclusion.
"This is a serious mission! There's no time to mess around!!"
With Iida's outburst, he dashed to the cliff and cupped his hands around his mouth, yelling toward the empty ravine below:
"Are you alright?! Don't worry—I'll rescue you!!"
…There wasn't even anyone down there.
…He got into character real fast.
Everyone near the cliff—Konata, Kirishima, and Kaminari—all facepalmed in sync.
"Looks like everyone's really hyped about this, huh…"
Leaving the cliff trio aside, Konata turned back to observe the others, looking contemplative.
This was a society led by heroes. In a world where nearly everyone had superpowers, the hero profession was born. Konata used to think that heroes were just fighters—people who captured villains and stopped crime. But now, another thought surfaced in her heart.
Heroes weren't born to fight—they existed to protect.
Just then, her eyes met Midoriya's. She lifted her hand to wave hello—only for him to quickly look away and meet Bakugo's intense, villainous grin.
For some reason, watching those two stare each other down so passionately, a certain lyric popped into Konata's head:
♪ "It's a love story, baby, just say yes..." ♪
Ah yes… this is what bonds between boys looks like.
Konata clutched her chest, full of emotion.
She remembered that day.
The run under the sunset.
The moment everything changed.
…Wait a second. That sounds like someone's tragic death monologue or something.