"You... you know me?"
Kongo Mitsuko asked back in surprise, her face flushing red. She regretted it as soon as the words left her mouth, because they weren't assertive at all; what was the difference between her current self and these weak girls around her?
In reality, Mitsuko was essentially a straightforward young girl. Although she appeared overconfident to the point of arrogance on the surface, it was actually just a persona she had packaged for herself.
"[The peach and the plum do not speak, yet a path is worn beneath them.]"
This was something her father had once told her. Mitsuko mistakenly believed this meant that as long as she was outstanding enough, there was no need to actively cater to others; people would naturally approach and obey her.
In fact, this interpretation wasn't entirely wrong. Mitsuko did gain many friends through her talent and family background, but whether those friends were sincere was another matter.
Chinatsu looked at Mitsuko with a smile. She knew Mitsuko was a girl with a good nature, and since the other party had taken the initiative to speak to her, she had to have a proper chat with her.
"Thank you all for inviting me for tea, but I'll pass this time. If I have the honor of receiving your invitations in the future, I will definitely go."
"Then... then next Monday! It's a promise!"
The young ladies weren't discouraged by Chinatsu's polite refusal. Instead, they were delighted to have made an appointment with Chinatsu for next week's tea party and quickly ran off, wanting to share the good news with their tea party companions.
Chinatsu was somewhat amused by the frequency with which these young ladies held tea parties, but since she had made a promise, she would certainly attend. Anyway, nothing major was likely to happen for a while.
She then looked back at Mitsuko, only to see her staring at the students who were walking away laughing with a look of surprise.
"Excuse me, what is your name?"
"My name? Look at my memory, I actually forgot to introduce myself. I'm Misaka Chinatsu, please look after me from now on."
Chinatsu extended a hand toward Mitsuko. Mitsuko froze and subconsciously reached out to shake it. A few seconds later, she finally reacted, her eyes showing shock.
"Are you that Level 5?!"
Although she was already certain that Chinatsu was a prominent figure in school, she truly hadn't expected her to be one of the three Espers residing at Tokiwadai.
After all, during the year when Chinatsu and Mikoto were judged as Espers and became famous in society, Kongo Mitsuko was buried in her studies to deal with Tokiwadai's demonic transfer exams. Thus, her impression of the two remained at the level of only knowing their names.
Chinatsu patted Mitsuko's shoulder with a smile, indicating she shouldn't worry about the title.
The good attitude the current students had toward her wasn't earned through the title of Esper; on the contrary, she had been ostracized for quite a while when school started because of that title.
Afterward, Chinatsu walked with Mitsuko through the school, helping her familiarize herself with the terrain while introducing the locations of facilities like the Infirmary.
Gradually, the relationship between the two became more familiar. Mitsuko didn't even notice that she had dropped the burden of maintaining her image and was communicating with Chinatsu very easily.
"By the way, your dormitory should be at the tower in Academy City. I live there too; maybe we are dormitory neighbors."
"Is that so? My dormitory room number seems to be 603. Which room is yours, Miss Chinatsu?"
Mitsuko replied leisurely, unaware that the moment she said the room number 603, Chinatsu, who was walking side by side with her, suddenly stiffened.
Because room 603 was neither an upstairs/downstairs neighbor nor a left/right neighbor—it was exactly the room she lived in...
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