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Academy City, a city with a total population of 2.3 million, 80% of whom are students.
It gathers the most cutting-edge scientific technology in the world; in other words, it is a giant experimental city. It is said that the technology used in Academy City and its surrounding areas is twenty to thirty years ahead of the rest of the world.
On a tour bus entering Academy City from outside, a female tour guide dressed in uniform held a microphone and explained the city's details to the passengers with a warm smile. When she finished, she suddenly extended her left index finger, looked out at the many children on the bus, and asked:
"Question! What do you all learn here?"
The children shouted back in unison:
"Superpowers!"
"Superpowers!!!"
The female tour guide smiled and nodded, then looked at the young man who had shouted the loudest.
"Hehe, this gentleman seems very excited, doesn't he?"
"Of course! These are superpowers, how could I not be excited!"
The young man's face was shining with pure longing. The girl sitting next to him covered her face with both hands, looking like she wanted to disappear.
"Then, take this opportunity to have a good look around the city."
The female tour guide finished with a smile, then glanced out the bus window and continued:
"To protect the important children here, Academy City has a complete public security system. Parents, please rest assured that..."
Before she could finish, the tour bus suddenly went into a violent skid and, through some feat of the driver's skill, came to a stop sideways in the middle of the road.
Kaito watched the bus finally come to a halt, then turned to Shinobu Kocho beside him and said in a low, conspiratorial voice:
"Shinobu, do you know what the biggest joke in Academy City is?"
"What is it?"
"Safety! Hahahahaha!"
Shinobu Kocho stared at him in surprise. "Bad guy, are you saying someone is causing trouble around here right now?"
"Of course. A certain Bilibili is probably out there discharging electricity at random again."
"Bilibili?"
"Hehe, you'll get to know her later."
At this moment, in a deserted alley nearby, a hooligan was fleeing in a panic, as though some terrifying monster were on his heels.
"Damn it, what rotten luck, what kind of monster is that guy!"
He could see the alley exit. Freedom was right there. And then a very distinctive female voice rang out right behind him.
"Please stop!"
A pink twin-tailed girl in a Tokiwadai uniform appeared out of thin air above him, dropped down, and pinned him to the ground in an instant. She held him down firmly and said with casual ease:
"I am a Judgment member. You're the thug someone reported, aren't you?"
As she spoke, she produced a pair of handcuffs, cuffed the hooligan to a nearby pipe, and teleported away.
She reappeared a short distance off, already moving, pressing her right hand to her ear. "This is Shirai Kuroko. I've apprehended one suspect. Kazari, where are the remaining ones?"
In a room somewhere across the city, a petite girl stared at a computer screen, fingers flying across the keyboard. A floral wreath sat neatly on her head. Hearing the voice in her earpiece, she said softly:
"Turn left at the end of that alley, go five meters forward, then turn left again."
"Understood!"
Shirai Kuroko shouted back in response and moved quickly through the alley according to the instructions. Upon reaching her destination, she pulled her Judgment armband into view and called out:
"I am a Judgment member! I'm here because of a report. Please do not offer futile resistance!"
Then she looked at the scene in front of her, and the serious expression on her face went slack with surprise.
"Eh? This is..."
Several hooligans lay sprawled across the alley, hair still frizzy, very much out of commission. Standing in the middle of them was a girl with short brown hair, also in a Tokiwadai uniform, a faint electric arc flickering across her forehead. She turned her head at the sound of Kuroko's voice.
"Oh, Kuroko!"
"Onee-sama!!!"
"...Break time is one hour, everyone. Please don't wander too far!"
The female tour guide called out to the crowd of children with a worried expression as they poured off the bus.
"Yes!"
The children raised their hands and answered with beaming smiles.
"Shinobu, come on, I'll take you to get crepes."
Kaito spotted the group of four approaching from a distance and, as though something had just occurred to him, quickly pulled Shinobu Kocho over to a crepe stand and joined the queue.
Just as the two of them had settled into line, a girl with long black hair walked up and stood behind Kaito, holding a flyer. She was wearing a sailor uniform.
Kaito turned and looked at her, and couldn't help muttering to himself:
'Saten Ruiko - the one with titles like LV6 Rising Airflow, Script Master, and Storm Commander! Oh right, as the production team's beloved daughter, she also has all sorts of outfits, which netizens jokingly call "H&M Ruiko, Grandpa's Wardrobe"!'
"Um... sir, is there something wrong with me?"
Saten Ruiko had noticed the handsome stranger staring at her and couldn't help asking.
"I'm sorry, I was just lost in thought. No offense intended, please forgive me."
Kaito said to her with an apologetic expression.
"Oh, oh, it's okay, I don't mind at all."
The kind-hearted Saten Ruiko quickly waved her hand.
"Hehe, meeting like this is fate. Take this as compensation for the offense."
Kaito produced a dark green jade pendant from inside his jacket and held it out to her. Saten Ruiko looked at the exquisite pendant and quickly shook her head.
"No, this is too valuable, I can't accept it. And besides, you didn't do anything wrong, you really don't need to apologize."
"Is that so? Then take this instead."
Kaito looked at the girl in front of him who had firmly refused his jade pendant, and a smile flickered in his eyes. As expected of Ruiko - even without much to her name, she could refuse wealth sitting right in front of her without a second thought. He tucked the pendant away and drew out a rolled piece of parchment from his jacket, holding it out.
"Um... what is this?"
Saten Ruiko looked at the parchment with a puzzled expression.
"Hehe, just something I sketched when I was bored. You can take it back and have a look."
"Is it really for me?"
Saten Ruiko looked at the slightly worn parchment, figured it probably wasn't anything particularly valuable, and accepted it.
"Of course. Go on, open it."
Saten Ruiko unrolled the parchment, and the moment she saw what was drawn on it, her eyes lit up.
"Ka... Kawaii!"
On the parchment was a super cute little blue slime.
A certain Gekota-lover standing behind Saten Ruiko heard her exclamation and craned her neck to look.
"Kawaii!!!"