Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, Misaka Mikoto was still fuming from Kamijou Touma's indifferent attitude. Her irritation had turned into full-blown anger, and she ended up chasing him around half the night—despite the fact that he was still carrying a huge pile of cash.
By the time Misaka dragged her exhausted body back to the dorm, she was filled with frustration. Even though Kamijou had admitted defeat in the end, she knew deep down that she was the one who had actually lost. Worst of all, Selene had witnessed everything. Her embarrassment was at an all-time high.
Pushing open the door, she noticed Shirai Kuroko was nowhere to be seen.
"Sigh, I'm back... huh? Where's Kuroko?"
She let out a tired sigh and sat down on her bed. "...Today was exhausting." Helping Kiyama Harumi find her parking spot in the morning, then battling and chasing Kamijou all evening—it had been one hell of a day.
"Onee-sama..."
Just as she was about to undress and sleep, a low, eerie voice came from under the bed, startling Misaka so badly she jumped.
"Eh? Kuroko?" Realizing the voice belonged to Shirai Kuroko, Misaka bent down to look—but before she could react, a figure suddenly lunged at her. Too tired to dodge, Misaka was knocked flat onto the floor.
Blinking in confusion, Misaka found Kuroko sitting on top of her, wearing panties on her head and glaring dramatically as if she were enacting some bizarre ritual. "You came home and immediately started undressing... Just as Saten predicted—you've been cursed by the 'Stripping Lady'!"
Before Misaka could respond, Kuroko pulled out a small pink pair of panties, lifting them high above her head like some sacred relic.
"Come! Let us drive out the spirit of the Stripping Lady from Onee-sama!"
"What the hell are you doing now..." Misaka said, horrified as she stared up at her roommate acting like a cultist in some exorcism ceremony.
"Wuwu! To lift the curse of the Stripping Lady, this is the only way! Begone, spirit of nudity!" With dramatic flair, Kuroko tore open the pink underwear and tried to press it over Misaka's head.
"Ahh! Kuroko, stop it already!!"
What followed, naturally, was Kuroko's punishment—an electric shock feast courtesy of Misaka Mikoto, complete with a brand-new binding package.
...
"Miss, have you heard the recent rumors about the Academy City explosion incidents?" Sebas asked casually as he walked beside Selene along the street.
"You mean that aluminum explosion case from before?" Selene took a sip of her red tea as she walked. "I heard the blast power reached the level of a Lv4 esper, though aside from me, there doesn't seem to be anyone else in the city capable of that."
"Yes, Miss. According to the data, there have already been six such incidents."
"What about Judgment? How are they handling it?"
"Judgment has officially classified the gravity-accelerated explosion events detected by satellite as malicious attacks, codenamed [Graviton Bombings]. They've examined the residual materials at the scenes but found no useful leads. To prevent further casualties, they plan to cooperate with the security forces to strengthen patrols and resolve the incidents."
"So they're just going for passive defense? Hmph, I suppose I shouldn't expect more from them. After all, they're just a neutered branch of law enforcement." Selene shook her head slightly. While Judgment certainly played a positive role in maintaining public order, it ultimately existed as a tool under Academy City's system of control—unfit to handle high-risk or large-scale cases.
In essence, Judgment's role was closer to that of part-time civilian patrol officers, often used for community service—cleaning up streets, helping find lost items, managing traffic duty, and so on.
"They did identify one esper who matched the reported power output," Sebas continued, "but that person had a solid alibi. Others didn't have the required ability level."
Hearing Selene's tone of skepticism toward Judgment's methods, Sebas gave a small, helpless smile.
"Yes, they did propose taking the initiative, but without the proper authority, all they can do is warn students to stay safe."
From Selene's perspective, however, resolving this case was actually quite simple. Not because she had a god's-eye view of the situation, but because—if a similar case occurred in another country's jurisdiction—it would have been solved far more efficiently.
By using the [Bank] to filter all espers, they could monitor every individual with quantum acceleration abilities, regardless of level. As long as any suspect made a move, comparing the incident locations with their movements would make identifying the culprit a matter of days.
It sounded simple enough—but that was only possible with a strong, centralized law enforcement system.
Unfortunately, Academy City had none. The city's various departments were strictly divided by authority. While this maintained balance and control, it also stripped away the ability to respond swiftly and effectively to incidents.
"Whatever. Inefficiency isn't my problem anyway. Uiharu just called to ask me to go to some store called 'Sevent... something.'" Selene shook her head, dropping any further thought about the city's bureaucratic flaws. "It's not like I run this place—why bother worrying about it?"
"It's Seventh Mist, Miss. You really don't pay attention to these things, do you?" Sebas sighed helplessly, then hesitated. "Also, are you sure you want me to go to Seventh Mist? That's... a women's clothing store. Isn't that a bit... inappropriate for me?"
"So what? It's not like I'm buying clothes for you." Selene smiled mischievously. "I have terrible fashion sense when it comes to women's wear, and I trust your judgment."
In truth, Selene had never actually bought her own clothes before. Katy had always handled that for her. She honestly had no idea what would suit her now. In her previous life, her fashion philosophy was basically "the less fabric, the better."
"Very well, Miss. I suppose I have no choice but to accompany you," Sebas replied with a resigned sigh.
The two chatted casually as they made their way to the entrance of Seventh Mist and stepped inside.
This department store was enormous, spanning seven floors. The second through fourth floors were dedicated mainly to women's clothing—particularly casual and youth fashion. The second floor, in particular, was a popular spot for elementary and middle school girls.
Selene strolled leisurely through the aisles, while Sebas followed behind with his usual stoic expression. However, the faint twitch at the corner of his eye betrayed his discomfort.
"This is... rather awkward," he murmured inwardly. The reason was simple—aside from him, there didn't appear to be a single other male presence on the entire floor.
Being in such an environment didn't scare him per se, but it clashed entirely with his lifelong sense of decorum. As a proper gentleman, walking into a women's lingerie shop was... less than ideal.
"Well, no helping it. I'll just pick a few outfits for Miss Selene and be done with it," Sebas muttered to himself reassuringly.
Just then, as they turned a corner, Selene's gaze was caught by a figure inside a sleepwear boutique.
That chestnut-brown shoulder-length hair...
It looked very familiar.