District 10, Juvenile Correctional Facility.
Less than a ten-minute drive away stood seven or eight high-security research institutes. In some areas, you could still see the massive ruins left behind by certain experiments, and nearby even lay the city's only cemetery.
At a glance, it looked no different from an ordinary prison; this Juvenile Correctional Facility essentially served as a special prison within Academy City.
Thanks to the large lake nearby, the climate here was quite pleasant and comfortable, with occasional sightings of resting birds.
At that moment, several heavily armed guards opened a heavy iron door and escorted two girls towards an interrogation room within the facility.
Due to the unique nature of the inmates here, all the guards were professionals specially hired by Academy City from outside.
Some had even seen intense combat, were accustomed to fighting all sorts of enemies, and were fully capable of handling any unexpected incidents within the juvenile correctional facility.
Item member Rikou Takitsubo walked ahead at a measured pace, followed by a yawning Saiai Kinuhata.
Unlike regular students, they didn't feel oppressed or uncomfortable in this environment; on the contrary, it was almost like coming home.
Rikou Takitsubo suddenly looked up, sensing a familiar presence the moment she stepped into the interrogation room.
"Mugino, you're finally here."
Saiai Kinuhata spotted Mugino Shizuri sitting on the interrogation room chair right away. Next to her was a middle-aged man in a suit.
"Number Four, the parole procedures for Saiai Kinuhata and Rikou Takitsubo are complete. However, because surface-level law enforcement departments of Academy City are involved, we cannot release them directly," the middle-aged man said with a slight bow, his demeanor somewhat humble.
"I understand," Mugino Shizuri replied, standing up and brushing off non-existent dust from her clothes. She shot the man a look of disgust.
"Well then, if there are any further issues, please feel free to contact me directly."
As soon as he finished speaking, the middle-aged man slowly took a few steps back before turning and leaving the interrogation room.
"These board members are as annoying as ever," Saiai Kinuhata remarked abruptly, glancing at the departing man.
Despite his respectful demeanor, the arrogance in his eyes was unmistakable, like a total two-face.
"Sorry, Mugino, for causing so much trouble for everyone because of us," Rikou Takitsubo said apologetically, her eyes half-closed as if she hadn't quite woken up.
"Wasn't your fault. I didn't expect so many people would try to interfere, but they were probably all from the Railgun's side."
"That young lady from her cushy life actually dares to cause trouble for me."
Mugino Shizuri's expression darkened as she spoke, her emotions playing clearly across her face—it was easy to see what she was thinking.
"Right, the ones who attacked us were from Tokiwadai too," Saiai Kinuhata agreed with a slight nod.
"So, what do we do now? Do we go cause trouble for the Railgun and her friends too?"
"This is personal between me and the Railgun. I'll handle it myself," Mugino Shizuri said, letting out a breath.
"Mugino, I'm super confident in you."
--+--
Dozens of capsule-like units, resembling life-support pods, stood before them. These sealed units generated breathable air via internal oxygen systems.
Each pod was equipped with a sophisticated brainwave conversion device that could translate electrical signals into brainwaves and vice versa, achieving synchronization through electrode patches connected to the human brain.
All these devices were controlled by the laboratory's central computer, which even utilized some processing power from a supercomputer.
Over ten children, including Edasaki Banri, were already lying inside these pods, wearing the brainwave conversion devices on their heads. Unnoticed, nearly two hours had passed since the awakening procedure began.
Standing outside the glass wall, Sonoko Natsume looked in, a worried expression growing on her face as time ticked by. The Judgment armband was visible on her shoulder.
Beside her were the actual Judgment members, Shirai and Uiharu, who were also peering through the window.
As for Misaka-senpai, she was on the first floor, using her ability to stabilize the supercomputer's operations.
The research institute's power circuits weren't fully repaired yet. Compounding that, the supercomputer's power consumption had increased significantly after the repairs. To ensure the awakening proceeded smoothly, Misaka-senpai had volunteered to act as a power generator.
Everyone was getting a bit anxious. What was supposed to take only tens of minutes had now dragged on much longer.
It wasn't a problem with the developed suppression program, but rather with the brainwave conversion devices.
These instruments had been affected during yesterday's battle, drastically reducing their data transmission efficiency. This resulted in the current awakening process moving at a snail's pace.
"Mmm, so comfortable."
It was like waking from a nap. Edasaki Banri stretched inside the pod, only to bump her head against the outer wall as she tried to sit up, immediately raising a small bump.
Rubbing the bump on her head, a faint blush spread across her face as she noticed the group of people watching her with gentle smiles not far away.
The tempered glass outer wall slid open quickly, letting fresh outside air rush in. Banri sat up again and began deftly removing the conversion device from her head.
"Sensei!"
Seeing Harumi Kiyama enter the experimental area, Banri's face immediately lit up with joy. Her movements slowed as she waved enthusiastically from a distance.
Kiyama Harumi looked exhausted; she hadn't slept for several days leading up to this moment.
Kneeling beside Banri's pod, Kiyama helped remove the various wires and electrode patches from the girl's head. But halfway through, she found herself hugging Banri's shoulders, quietly sobbing.
"Teacher, what's wrong?" Banri asked, flustered, gently patting Harumi's back.
"It's nothing, Banri. I'm just... really happy," Harumi Kiyama said, standing up again and composing herself.
"Ah! It's Sonoko-neechan! And Shirai-san, and Misaka-senpai!" Edasaki Banri, looking past Harumi, saw Sonoko Natsume and the others who had just opened the lab door and entered.
"Why does she only call you 'neechan'?" Shirai couldn't help but quip once more.
"Banri-chan, what about me?"
Uiharu, who was last to enter, pouted slightly and ruffled Banri's hair, feigning hurt.
"Hehe, of course, you too, Uiharu-san! I love the food you make the most!"
As if remembering something, Banri suddenly swallowed, and her stomach chose that moment to let out a loud gurgle.
Her face turned even redder. With the device removed and a hairband now revealing her smooth forehead, she looked like one giant, blushing apple.
Then, Banri's gaze started wandering around the room as if searching for someone, soon spotting Haruue Erii.
Haruue was diligently pushing a small cart carrying a massive fruit cake, even bigger than the one Sonoko Natsume had brought before.
This cake was Haruue's own creation, a project she'd worked on for many days under Uiharu's guidance before finally succeeding. It looked pretty impressive.
'Looks like everyone has cake-making skills,' Sonoko Natsume thought, standing amidst the crowd, her eyes fixed on Haruue Erii. 'Well, I'll just stick to eating them then.' The thought suddenly lifted her mood.
"Let's eat!" ×N
Misaka-senpai was in charge of cutting the cake.
Her superhuman precision was evident in the perfectly even slices, each piece looking nearly identical in size, with an equal amount of fruit on top.
After finishing the cake, everyone still felt a bit unsatisfied. Luckily, there was still the full meal Uiharu had prepared to look forward to, sparking a little unexplainable anticipation.
After lunch, Sonoko Natsume rubbed her stomach ruefully; she might have eaten a bit too much.
The bobbed-hair girl stood there, torn between taking a walk to aid digestion or just staying put and letting her stomach handle it, when she spotted the resident science fanatic, Kiyama Harumi, sitting alone on a windowsill, lost in thought.
"Kiyama-sensei, are you thinking about Banri and the others? Since they've recovered, I think you should go to the hospital and get yourself checked out properly. Those dark circles under your eyes are almost giving pandas a run for their money."
Always one to meddle—or, more charitably, to help—Sonoko Natsume walked over to Kiyama Harumi. She knew a thing or two about dark circles herself, but Kiyama-sensei's were on another level.
"The hospital? Perhaps I should find the time," Harumi Kiyama said, snapping out of her thoughts and looking at Sonoko, her expression unreadable.
"Um, Kiyama-sensei, will Banri and the others be discharged soon?" Sonoko Natsume asked.
"They need observation first. If there are no abnormal reactions within three days, they can smoothly reintegrate into normal life. Once we find schools willing to accept them, they'll be able to attend classes," Harumi Kiyama explained, gently brushing away a stray strand of hair from her forehead.
They left the research institute around one or two in the afternoon.
Uiharu stayed behind; she still needed to look after Banri and the others for a few more days. But after three days, she could return to her normal life.
This, however, meant a certain Sonoko Natsume, who had only been a Judgment member for two or three days, was facing unemployment.
Her plan to find someone seemed to be on the verge of failure right from the start.
"Shirai-san, please take me back to the Judgment Branch 177 office first."
Walking down the street, with only Shirai by her side now, Sonoko Natsume remembered they still had to uphold peace in Academy City.
"Not today. Konori-senpai is on duty at the branch right now. Natsume-san, you're coming on patrol with me today."
Shirai had already fastened the Judgment armband on her arm. She stopped and looked back at a rather unenthusiastic Sonoko Natsume.
"Natsume-san, didn't you used to do morning exercises every day? Patrolling can achieve the same goal of physical exercise. If you're genuinely interested in Judgment work, patrols are an essential part of it," Shirai added after a moment's thought.
From her performance these past few days, Shirai had to admit that Natsume-san took her Judgment duties quite seriously. It made Shirai see her in a new light; she never expected someone like her could actually sit through a whole day of monotonous surveillance footage.
"Morning exercises and patrols are two different things, you know."
Sonoko Natsume grumbled. She'd rather sit in the branch office watching boring surveillance feeds all day than run around outside until her legs ached and her feet went numb.
About a month and a half ago, Sonoko Natsume had persisted with early morning runs for a solid ten-plus days. But ever since she'd left Academy City for a trip, her self-discipline had taken a nosedive. She absolutely refused to get out of bed before 7 AM these days.
This made the Dorm Supervisor, who had initially thought Sonoko was turning over a new leaf, shake her head in disappointment, convinced these young ladies had far too little self-discipline.
She vowed to enforce even stricter daily routines for every student, a policy that had even left Shirai looking a bit thinner lately.
"Natsume-san, I'm not negotiating with you. Do you remember what you promised earlier?" Shirai put her hands on her hips, speaking with a bit of force and a hint of undeniable pressure.
"Fine, we'll patrol then!"
Sonoko Natsume refused to be outdone in spirit, glaring fiercely at the space in front of her where a certain teleporter stood, her face full of mock authority.
The bargaining had failed. It seemed she did care about keeping her word.
Didn't someone say once that spoken words are like spilled water, and that integrity is a person's second face, or something like that?
The patrol route for Judgment Branch 177 wasn't fixed, or rather, Shirai's patrol range was extremely wide.
To protect the safety of all Academy City, Shirai's patrol speed was astonishingly fast—far more than Sonoko Natsume could keep up with.
"So annoying! Doesn't Shirai-san consider other people's speed at all?"
Watching Shirai's back get farther and farther away, nearly disappearing at the end of the street, Sonoko Natsume leaned over, hands on her knees, panting heavily.
People like Shirai-san and Misaka-senpai, who were all-around athletic geniuses, were seriously discouraging.
While Sonoko considered her own stamina to be average for a middle schooler, it was clearly on the lower end of that average.
Turning her head, she spotted a cold drink shop by the roadside. She patted her pockets, found no money, and her eyes nearly welled up with crystalline tears.
'Just two more days until the scholarship money comes through. Hang in there,' Sonoko Natsume muttered to herself, using sheer willpower to suppress the urge to spend.
It seemed she was channeling her determination into the wrong thing. Right now, she should be focusing on catching up to Shirai-san.
"Hey, are you sure you really found a prepaid card here last time?"
"Absolutely! That card had a full ten thousand yen on it!" Two high school students emerged from a nearby alley, their conversation immediately catching her attention.
"Ten thousand yen? Dude, you're way too lucky!"
"Of course! Come on, let's hurry up and look before someone else finds it."
Sonoko Natsume, still catching her breath by the roadside with her hands on her knees, overheard the two high schoolers' conversation entirely by accident.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.