Without activating her Esper ability, Shokuhou Misaki simply used words to further reinforce the psychological suggestion she had planted earlier.
—Quite often, not relying on superpowers at all and instead using the most straightforward, plain methods could yield even better results.
She hadn't yet figured out exactly how she would proceed, but laying the groundwork with Kobayashi in advance was never a bad idea. There might come a time when she would need his help.
As she spoke, she continued trying to move closer.
And, as expected, she was once again stopped by the invisible telekinetic barrier.
It was clear that Kobayashi's guard against her was extremely high.
Though she felt a bit regretful, Shokuhou Misaki didn't take his wariness too personally. From another angle, Kobayashi's vigilance was actually strong evidence that he truly knew the "original storyline."
At this point, aside from herself, no one else should have had such a clear and comprehensive understanding of how terrifying Mental Out truly was.
To outsiders, Shokuhou Misaki was merely a Level 4 "mind reader."
While that alone was certainly unsettling, compared to freely rewriting memories and thoughts—or outright controlling another person's mind—it seemed relatively mild and harmless.
Kobayashi clearly knew the truth, which was why he remained so cautious and refused to allow any direct contact between them.
—Ah~ so he has a clear, thorough understanding of my ability, yet doesn't know whether I've already reached Level 5… I see, I see. That explains this overly cautious response.
Shokuhou Misaki narrowed her eyes, seeing straight through the boy in front of her.
Kobayashi rolled his eyes inwardly. At this point, there was no way he could keep deceiving himself into believing that Shokuhou Misaki's abilities were limited, or that she couldn't easily peer into his thoughts.
This future Queen Bee had most likely already reached Level 5—or at the very least, was at the absolute peak of Level 4, just one step away.
However, her acting was flawless. Kobayashi couldn't confirm his suspicions through her expressions or demeanor.
So, since Shokuhou Misaki remained outwardly calm, as if she hadn't obtained anything particularly valuable, Kobayashi simply pretended that his secrets hadn't been exposed and continued playing along.
It was a kind of tacit understanding.
As long as both sides maintained this unspoken agreement, Kobayashi didn't really care whether his memories had been peeked at or not.
After all, in the big-data era before his transmigration, personal privacy and secrets had long become relative concepts. As long as it didn't affect everyday life, most people didn't truly care that much about information leakage.
Better to play dumb. There was no need to waste excessive energy on such matters—especially since, even if he cared, there was no way to stop Shokuhou Misaki's ability anyway.
Catching his thoughts, Shokuhou Misaki nearly lost her composure and shot him a big, annoyed glare.
Compared to the researchers of the Talent Development Facility, Kobayashi's open-minded attitude shocked the newly promoted Level 5 girl.
While she felt reassured, she also couldn't help worrying about the safety of his memories.
"I'm someone with high moral standards who wouldn't abuse this power to do evil," Shokuhou Misaki frowned slightly. "But other espers with similar abilities might not be so kind. If a bad person were to get hold of your memories, wouldn't that be very dangerous?"
As Shokuhou was considering whether she should use Mental Out to install some kind of anti-peeping protection on Kobayashi's memories, the sound of the hospital room door opening came from behind her.
At the same time—
"Who are you?! What are you doing to Kobayashi?!"
A sharp, killing-intent-laced shout pierced the room.
Shokuhou Misaki turned around to see another blonde girl standing at the doorway, glaring at her with undisguised hostility.
Having done her homework in advance, Shokuhou Misaki immediately recognized her.
This was Kobayashi's partner in the incident that destroyed the "Dark May Project," the other half of the duo jokingly referred to as the "Male and Female Twin Fiends"—
Torahachi Toumi.
Without hesitation, Shokuhou Misaki used Mental Out to extract even more information about her.
One could say that, aside from Torahachi Toumi herself, Shokuhou Misaki might now be the person in the world who understands her best.
And precisely because of that, she also understood just how ferocious and dangerous this "Toumi" truly was.
This was someone who could genuinely draw her sword and kill without hesitation.
Her attacks were faster than conscious thought—she struck first and only reflected on right and wrong afterward.
Faced with such an opponent, Shokuhou Misaki didn't dare let her guard down.
Torahachi Toumi seemed to be in a good mood lately and had changed her hairstyle. Her beautiful blonde hair was tied into a single ponytail that fell from the left side down to her chest.
A black ribbon was wrapped around the hair tie as decoration. From a distance, it looked just like the vivid stripes on a tiger bee's body.
Kobayashi, however, knew the truth.
That so-called "ribbon" was merely another one of Toumi's weapons. Her previous pale-yellow wrist straps had been dirtied and damaged in battle, so she'd replaced her equipment.
Dangerously, Toumi's right hand was already resting on the ribbon at her chest. Within a single second, she could activate her ability, draw her blade, and strike to kill.
Shokuhou Misaki had also reached toward the remote control in her waist pouch. But it felt as if she were being locked onto by a ferocious predator—her body froze, unable to make even the slightest unnecessary movement.
In the end, she gave up on using the remote and was prepared to activate her ability directly.
So what if the precision was a little worse? This girl was vicious enough—using a bit more force and making her suffer wouldn't be a problem!
"Toumi-san," Kobayashi quickly spoke up, keenly sensing the sudden tension in the room. "This is Shokuhou-san. A Security teacher asked her to help evaluate my mental condition."
Then he added, "If things go well, she might help us get a reduced sentence."
Toumi immediately understood what he meant, though she still said disdainfully, "I don't need any 'sentence reduction.' Psychological counseling isn't dangerous anyway."
"But it's troublesome, isn't it?" Kobayashi replied. "And psychologists love digging up old wounds. If we get emotional and end up injuring the psychologist, that'd be even more troublesome. So if we can shorten the counseling period, we should do it."
Hearing this absurd excuse, Shokuhou Misaki almost blurted out a retort.
What do you mean, getting emotional and injuring the psychologist? And psychologists don't dig up wounds like that—they're not interrogating criminals!
But then she saw Toumi at the doorway nod deeply, wearing an expression that said, That makes perfect sense.
Shokuhou Misaki was rendered speechless once again.
She became painfully aware, all over again, just how abnormal this blonde girl really was.
(End of Chapter)
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