Today's first class was his. When he arrived in the classroom and saw the real person, Ren felt a bit strange, but he quickly adjusted.
After finishing the lesson for everyone, a message from Shokuhou Misaki arrived. The position of the "Number Two" was already known, and the reason for their exposure was simple.
The man in the suit had gone to Accelerator again, but after being beaten, he had no choice but to turn to Number Two instead.
Naturally, this was tracked by the people Shokuhou Misaki had hypnotized earlier.
Ren wasn't in a hurry. Until Kiyama Harumi's experiment was ready, the experiment probably wouldn't start anyway. If so, there was no harm in waiting until evening to find Number Two.
In the afternoon, he gave another lesson to the students. He felt relieved. Somehow, being a teacher was more enjoyable than being a researcher.
Misaka Mikoto had been troubled recently. She had keenly noticed that the new math teacher would occasionally look at her with complicated emotions. She was certain she had never met him before.
As for romance, she didn't think so. That unintentional emotion was sympathy. Regardless, she had to figure out what was going on with the new math teacher.
Especially since he was a researcher, and despite having a foreign-sounding name, he claimed to be Shokuhou Misaki's older brother. It all seemed suspicious.
She planned to follow Ren. With her powers, she wasn't afraid of any ill intentions he might have.
Meanwhile, somewhere in Academy City, not a single corner of the place was intact.
"Damn it! The Number One refused, so now they come for me? Who do they think I am?" The man shouted in frustration at the furniture.
"Replacement for the Number One?"
"What did you say?" His gaze instantly turned dangerous. Being Number Two meant that for any experiment or opportunity, he was always the backup.
"Nothing…"
Soon, after venting his anger, the only intact sofa held a graceful blonde girl. She looked at the man lying on the ground with sympathy.
"So, are you going to refuse?" the girl asked their leader, Lv5's Number Two, Kakine Teitoku.
"Of course, we'll accept. Since that guy doesn't want it, I'll take the Number One—no, the title of the strongest in Academy City," Kakine Teitoku replied, still somewhat displeased.
"Then you won't have free time for a long while?" the girl asked.
"Yeah, you can do whatever you want," Kakine Teitoku said indifferently. In the face of Level 6 Shift Project, everything else seems useless.
"Okay," the man on the floor gestured.
"When are you planning to go?" the girl asked.
"The other side is still experimenting. I heard there's a technical problem they haven't solved yet. During this time, School won't take on any missions," Kakine Teitoku declared, setting the schedule for the near future.
…
After school, Ren drove, taking Shokuhou Misaki with him.
"Ren, are we going now?" Misaki asked from the back seat.
"Well, if you don't want to come, I can go alone."
"Really… fine, take me with you," she said, though she hoped to avoid meeting Number Two. But it seemed unavoidable. Even though everyone here was Level 5, she knew very well that the top two were leagues above them.
They arrived at the secret base of the "School." Ren and Misaki entered alone. Naturally, the ordinary residents here reported them to Kakine Teitoku.
"Hmm, Number Five has intruded?"
"Kakine Teitoku, she's yours. Judging from her ability, she's extremely troublesome for me." The girl glanced at the monitor and said.
"Psychics… what a pain," muttered the man with the mechanical ring above his head.
"Heh, does she really think she can challenge me?" Kakine Teitoku sneered. The opponent might have the title of strongest psychic, but titles meant little against him.
"School really does live in these creepy places… just dark for darkness' sake," Misaki muttered as she looked at the ruined building.
It had once been a man-made facility, now completely destroyed and lavishly redecorated.
"The destruction is recent. If I'm right, the number two guy must be upset with this place."
"Upset?" Miskai stayed alert while chatting with Ren.
"Think about it. The researchers initially approached Accelerator, got rejected, and then came after number two as a substitute."
Ren casually mentioned "number two" and "substitute" enough to ignite Kakine Teitoku's anger. He decided to eliminate this man first, then deal with the Number Five.
As a strong esper, Kakine Teitoku appeared before them without waiting. No need for them to seek him out.
"You're number two?" Misaki held up her remote.
"Using your power on me? You think it will work?" Kakine Teitoku snorted.
"Only one way to find out." Misaki activated her ability, but unsurprisingly, an unknown force blocked it.
"You see, there's a clear gap between Number Two and Number Five," Kakine Teitoku said. Wings appeared behind him. He didn't care about Shokuhou's audacity.
What concerned him was the "perennial number two," Accelerator's substitute mentioned by Ren—he could never tolerate that.
"You're the one talking, huh?"
"Well, if the number two and Accelerator's substitute are what you mean, then yes, that was me," Ren said, intentionally provoking him further.
"Heh." Kakine Teitoku launched an attack without hesitation, covering almost the entire floor. It wouldn't destroy the building, but any ordinary person caught in it would be dead for sure.
"Seriously… I still have so much to do. I haven't even dated yet," Misaki murmured, closing her eyes. The overwhelming difference in strength left her frustrated.
"Kid, what did you do?" Kakine Teitoku's expression stiffened.
"Of course I stopped your attack," Ren said, gesturing as he shielded Misaki behind him. That was why he had brought her along—he knew the gap in power.
"Are you Number Six?" Kakine Teitoku sneered. He despised hidden identities, but since this was also a Level 5, there had to be something special. After all, the Number Seven was already a strange case.
"Lv0."
"Are you kidding me!" Kakine Teitoku launched a full-scale attack. This time he didn't hold back; he didn't care if the building was destroyed.
Shokuhou Misaki was also confused. When they were still in the artificial lab, she could easily hypnotize him, read his thoughts, but ever since a while ago, everything had changed.
But now was not the time to figure it out. She had to deal with Kakine Teitoku first.
"Whoa, this guy is insanely strong. He's actually taking Kakine Teitoku's powers head-on with just his fists," a man watching from the top floor commented.
"This is bad. These two have an advantage over me," the girl said, though her expression remained calm.
"Could Kakine Teitoku lose?"
"Judging from the outcome, yes. That man is still handling things effortlessly," the girl said, observing Ren's expression. Her ability, Measure Heart, allowed her to set affection values for both sides, quickly bringing them closer or pushing them apart.
With this ability, other espers found her extremely troublesome. Of course, against someone with the same type of ability at Lv5, she had no way to defend herself. After all, what she could do, Shokuhou Misaki could do too.
"This is troublesome." The man had no intention of betraying Kakine Teitoku. From the video, the upcoming events looked extremely tricky.
**********
Support me on my patreon and read upto 20 early chapters.
patreon.com/PirateKing24