Misaka Mikoto had once again hit a major snag in her life—the kind of situation serious enough to demand her full attention, yet not so hopeless as to leave her completely stumped.
It had instantly consumed most of her mental energy.
But what could she even do?
Dressing up as a boy and going with Kuroko to claim it hadn't worked—after all, they still needed to show student ID for proof.
It wasn't completely out of the question to find an actual boy to help, but who would be willing?
Just as the Railgun was sighing helplessly, Index and the others suddenly popped up right in front of her.
They'd been chattering away about all sorts of meaningless things earlier, thoroughly enjoying themselves—clearly, they were kindred spirits when it came to being gluttons, and seemed to share a mutual understanding.
"What's wrong, Senpai? Huh? It's a Gekota poster!"
Natsume Sonoko's eyes widened suddenly, her attention immediately caught by the unusual content on the poster.
Couples purchase, super rare—it was clearly a clever marketing tactic.
Had even an esper like Misaka-senpai been instantly won over?
That said, Natsume-san's own interest in Gekota had been fading lately. After all, she'd outgrown the younger age bracket and matured into a refined middle school girl.
Still, the poster made her take notice.
The company behind Gekota was no longer satisfied with just the children's market—they were aiming to invade middle schools en masse. They were truly a rival to watch.
Looking at it from a competitor's perspective, Natsume-san scrutinized the Gekota toy in front of her, observed the crowd gathering around, and came to a conclusion: This is an opponent we really can't compete with head-on.
Their own Magical Girl brand still lacked depth. Fortunately, having Index as a potential customer gave Natsume-san some peace of mind.
"You know, I actually have one of these limited-edition Gekotas right here."
Blinking, Index pulled a silver-limited Gekota figure from her pocket. It had a comically large mustache stretching down its chin and wore thick black-framed glasses—clearly a newly released character.
"Please… could you let me have it? I'll trade you two—no, five—other Gekotas for it!"
Spreading her hand to show five fingers, Misaka-senpai's face lit up with hope. Just one glance was all it took to get her completely excited.
"But… there are plenty more in the warehouse," Index replied, slightly bewildered and hesitant. The one in her hand had been a gift from the supermarket manager.
The Gekota company had its own dedicated sales channels, but more often, the toys were distributed as freebies or event merchandise.
This happened to be a major part of Academy City's toy market—the so-called freebie economy and fan culture. This limited Gekota was part of a campaign to attract couples, in passing helping drive foot traffic to the supermarket.
As for building that kind of multifaceted business partnership—Daidouji Group still had a very long way to go.
"Please, take me to the warehouse! This is the request of a lifetime!"
Misaka Mikoto's expression turned deadly serious as she spoke in a solemn tone.
The couple's Gekota giveaway hadn't started yet, but now it seemed there might be a better solution. No matter what, she had to seize this opportunity.
Not far from the warehouse, two Tokiwadai young ladies and part-time employee Index stood with varied expressions, watching the Railgun desperately negotiating with someone.
Shirai Kuroko had also noticed her Onee-sama's unusual behavior. Her expression shifted from resignation to uncertainty, then finally to resolve.
Sure, her onee-sama had… questionable taste in underwear, a figure as flat as a washboard, and a habit of collecting childish toys—but that was the onee-sama Shirai Kuroko loved most.
With that thought, all hesitation vanished from Shirai Kuroko's face, and she strode boldly forward on her own path of love.
"Amazing… As expected of Misaka-senpai."
Natsume Sonoko's jaw dropped slightly as she watched, impressed. Misaka-senpai had been pestering the staff for half an hour already and showed no signs of giving up.
With a chance to obtain the item through internal channels, her senpai's sincerity and persistence were truly worthy of admiration.
This is the spirit an esper should have—never abandoning, never giving up. A strange sense of pride welled up in Natsume-san's heart.
"By the way, Natsume-san, that plan you mentioned earlier sounds pretty suspicious… but it's not bad that you've thought things through to that extent."
Briefly tearing her gaze away from her onee-sama, Shirai-san's eyes fell on the somewhat airheaded girl. Her tone carried a somewhat senior-like air, less harsh than before.
"If you think just catching a few attackers will earn the trust of those Skill-Out militants, that's far too naive. After all, those guys are still students. Almost every school has a Judgment branch, yet the conflict between the two sides has never gone away."
"And just like the data says, that armed Skill-Out group maintains a kind of gray-area order, preventing meaningless violence. That in itself makes them more dangerous—far more dangerous than other similar violent groups."
"If someone like you blindly starts sympathizing with them, you'll end up paying for it. If you rounded them up, nine out of ten would deserve it."
Shirai-san spoke thoughtfully, and this time, she was being serious.
After all, she was the one who'd tricked Natsume-san into joining Judgment—Shirai Kuroko did feel some responsibility as a senior.
Of course, it'd be even better if this girl would stay away from her Onee-sama.
Her understanding of these armed Skill-Out members went far deeper than some bun-girl's.
While it was true that some had banded together after being bullied—and there were a few who weren't so bad, maybe even decent—there were also plenty of narrow-minded, rotten individuals among them.
A large number of violent incidents and robberies were linked to them.
Don't assume that just because they maintain some order, they're the good guys.
The more people there are, the more chaotic their motives become. It's not something that can be easily sorted out—which is exactly why Anti-Skill has them under strict surveillance.
Though she wasn't entirely sure why Natsume-san had suddenly changed her attitude toward these delinquents, the righteous Judgment member could roughly guess—she'd probably been influenced by recent events.
The opinions of inexperienced girls like her changed day by day. She'd almost thought this bun-girl had turned over a new leaf, but the fact that she'd happily gone shopping at a supermarket the moment she stepped out said a lot.
That said, Shirai-san was willing to discuss it properly with her. While cooperating with a dangerous armed group like Skill-Out was clearly unfeasible, simply getting their help might still be possible.
If she could receive a report properly, with the advantage of her Teleportation, catching a few troublemaking espers in District 7 would be a piece of cake.
"Then what should I do?"
Natsume-san's thoughts were in disarray. Somehow, what Shirai-san said made sense.
Her various ideas tangled together, and before long, she'd been led astray by Shirai-san's reasoning.
"It's simple—we go to them directly. After all, we have you, Natsume-san, as our trump card."
Shirai-san didn't completely oppose her teammate's idea, but her approach had shifted from gentle to considerably more forceful.
If you don't want to be dragged to Anti-Skill headquarters, then hand over the attackers' descriptions—or better yet, a name list—and cooperate obediently with Judgment's sting operation. —From a certain anonymous and menacing Teleporter.
In a way, these two girls, both formidable presences in Academy City's gray zones, seemed to have entirely different ways of doing things.
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T/N: 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!
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If you guys wanna check it out.