Two days had passed since Shokuhou Misaki walked into Samuel's trap. In that time, she'd realized she'd been outmaneuvered and adopted a tsundere attitude toward him.
Of course, it was just prideful posturing from being so thoroughly played. Deep down, she was immensely grateful to Samuel—grateful to the point of reverence.
To her, compared to Dolly, her own data was insignificant.
She was deeply thankful to Samuel for saving her friend's life and reuniting them.
But a maiden's pride wouldn't allow her to grovel before someone who'd schemed against her.
Samuel, meanwhile, had no time to indulge Shokuhou's tsundere antics. He was out on the streets, patrolling—or rather, looking for amusement.
Truth be told, he owed Shokuhou some thanks. Without her babysitting Dolly, he wouldn't have this much freedom.
His patrols weren't just for fun. He was observing the crowd, their behaviors, and expressions, running simulations to bolster his calculations.
These were minor additions to his computational arsenal, but every bit helped.
His immense computational capacity formed a tangible AIM Diffusion Field, which he deliberately kept in stealth mode.
In an instant, every person, change, and possibility on the street appeared in his calculations, as if hundreds or thousands of parallel streets unfolded, each weaving countless stories.
Amid this silent computation, his capacity grew slowly—about one Level 1's worth per second.
Wait… something wasn't right.
Samuel stopped in his tracks, sensing a glitch in his calculations.
It was odd—his calculations never faltered. Computation was a process; it shouldn't have "problems."
Either the calculation itself was wrong, or the results were chaotic, but this was the first time an issue arose within the process.
In those thousands of virtual parallel worlds, a single point—a singularity—disrupted accurate computation.
That point…
Samuel turned, and his eyes fell on…
A white beret, a lovely face, a well-fitted dress, and a striking figure—a beautiful girl who should've drawn every gaze.
Yet, only Samuel "saw" her.
It wasn't a flaw in his calculations. Every virtual parallel world included her figure. The problem was with him.
Without his calculations, his emotions and instincts would've overlooked her entirely.
"An esper ability!"
In Academy City, that was the most likely explanation.
"Stop!"
"Huh? Judgment officer? Is something wrong?"
On the bustling street, only she turned to look.
The moment Samuel called out, his vast computational capacity deployed Mental Out on the hundreds of people around, subtly altering their subconscious to filter his voice as mundane background noise—birds, insects, cars—while leaving a backdoor to restore their awareness in ten minutes.
"Hello! Please show me your student ID!"
"Eh… oh… here!"
Hozan Academy, third-year junior high, student name…
Katou Megumi!
So it's her…
The name sparked a fleeting recognition in Samuel's mind.
Katou Megumi was the protagonist of an anime from his past life, Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend, known for her faint presence.
With his prodigious computational capacity and photographic memory, Samuel instantly recalled her based on that trait.
But he dismissed preconceived notions. As a scientist, he sought to explore and understand anew—prejudgments were unprofessional.
"Is something wrong, Judgment officer?"
"Nothing much. Is your ability altering others' cognition or hiding information?"
Samuel sensed the unconscious AIM Diffusion Field emanating from her, confirming she was an esper.
"Huh? I call it Presence Suppression. It makes my presence extremely faint. It was rated Level 1 before… but no one's tested me since…"
A slightly troubled expression crossed Katou's face.
"…"
Samuel pieced it together. Her ability program was likely advanced, but her computational capacity couldn't handle it, causing passive Presence Suppression that made others overlook her, including those who'd test her ability.
"Hayasaka, look up a student named Katou Megumi, currently a third-year at Hozan Academy."
Samuel issued the order through his communicator to Hayasaka Ai at Judgment headquarters.
"Got it!"
Using Samuel's account, Hayasaka quickly accessed Hozan Academy's records and found the target.
"Katou Megumi, Level 1 esper, third-year junior high."
"As expected…"
Samuel's hypothesis solidified.
Her Level 1 rating was from her initial test. As her ability progressed, her presence became so faint that no one noticed her to update her records.
"You're lucky."
Samuel smiled, addressing Katou earnestly.
Honestly, her luck was remarkable. Without her ability hiding her, scientists would've snatched her up for research.
"Huh?"
Katou didn't quite understand, but it didn't matter. She only asked, "Can I go now?"
"No, you need to come with me to have your ability level retested."
"What? Why? I don't want to."
"Advancing your level increases your monthly stipend. From my observation, you're at least Level 4. Level 1 gets you 4,000 yen a month, but Level 4 gets 40,000."
"Tempting, but I really don't want to go with someone as suspicious as you."
Katou's calm tone carried a hint of skepticism. Being stopped on the street, interrogated, and asked to follow for a test was undeniably shady.
"Heh… you're coming today. Your ability is too dangerous. If you committed a crime, we'd struggle to catch you, so your records must match your actual level."
"Huh? Not because I'd commit a crime, but because I could?"
A troubled look settled on Katou's placid face.
She didn't want to go—Samuel was too suspicious. Her emotions triggered her ability program instinctively.
Samuel noticed, his AIM Diffusion Field surging to suppress hers, forcing her back to Level 1 in an instant.
***
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