Hovering steadily in the air, Natsume-san's eyes shone with intensity as she watched the magical construct shatter into countless fragments.
After withstanding that tremendous impact, the stone giant had, as expected, lost all vitality—whether because its core was destroyed or it had passed its recovery limit.
Even a magical creation couldn't ignore the laws of physics; it's just that the method of destruction had to be more specific, more thorough.
Shifting the direction of her wings, Natsume Sonoko began moving in reverse.
She didn't even glance at the stone debris below, fully embodying that refined style of "brushing off one's sleeves without taking a single cloud."
As expected, harnessing the power of gravity made things considerably easier.
Generating an airflow strong enough to lift several tons of stone was something even a Level 4 Aeromaster could manage with ease. But when it came to a struggling, moving stone golem, the difficulty shot up—though it still fell well within Natsume Sonoko's capabilities.
On the other side, Index sat weakly by the roadside.
She wasn't in terrible condition, but her face was clouded with worry as she spoke with classmate Kazakiri.
"Really, Hyouka, that was far too reckless of you! What if you'd been hurt?"
Index pouted, carefully examining Kazakiri-san for any injuries.
She'd been given quite the scare earlier when Kazakiri-san rushed forward to block the stone giant's attack.
But Index soon breathed a sigh of relief; Kazakiri-san didn't seem to have any major wounds.
"It's alright, Index-san, please don't worry about me."
"But that other student, um… Natsume-san… will she be okay?"
Assuring Index she was unhurt, Kazakiri Hyouka found herself strangely concerned about Natsume Sonoko.
Kazakiri wanted to help, but Natsume-san's mobility was simply too high—she and the stone giant had long since vanished from sight.
"If it's Sonoko-chan, I'm sure she'll be fine."
Index's face showed a flicker of hesitation at first, but it soon solidified into certainty.
"As long as you destroy the inscriptions on it or dismantle over ninety percent of its components in a short time, you can defeat these kinds of illusory homunculi made with Kabbalistic rituals."
Index stated with confidence. The magician using this ritual was from the Anglican Church, so Index naturally had relevant records on it.
"Besides, Touma said Sonoko-chan has become something like a Level 5 now—really famous, like those TV stars. She might even get endorsement deals or a ten percent discount on train fares. Dealing with a half-baked magical construct like that should be no problem for her."
Though Index didn't pay much attention to so-called espers,
Touma was a Level 0, so by that measure Sonoko-chan ought to be much stronger. Index counted on her fingers seriously as she spoke.
"I see."
A look of understanding dawned on Kazakiri Hyouka's timid face, and she nodded.
She didn't really grasp concepts like inscriptions, Kabbalistic rituals, or magic, nor could she see why being famous would help defeat a magical construct.
But she did know what Level 5 meant—after all, the place she inhabited was essentially a mirage of Academy City.
In the midst of their conversation, the ground shook violently once more—coinciding with the moment the stone giant crashed into the ground, leaving a massive crater.
When the tremors subsided and Index and the others regained their bearings, they found a certain bun-haired girl had already returned.
The twin wings on her back dissolved into air and dust. With a sudden burst of compressed air, the girl landed gently. Her bundled hair swayed in the wind.
She'd deliberately fastened a Judgment armband to her shoulder, her expression full of gravity. Natsume Sonoko imitated Shirai-san's mannerism by tugging at the armband shield on her shoulder, then thrusting that shoulder forward.
"Judgment here. The stone giant has been successfully dealt with. Do you two require any further assistance?"
Clearing her throat slightly, Natsume Sonoko spoke earnestly, a hint of pride soon appearing on her face.
"Sonoko-chan, that was so cool! I want to be a Judgment officer too!"
Index's eyes widened as she stood and practically threw herself at Natsume-san, clearly impressed by her entrance.
"I'm afraid that won't do. Being a Judgment officer requires not only a heart for justice to protect Academy City's peace, but also extremely strict training."
"You have to go through long periods of study and drills, plus pass a whole set of aptitude tests. There's no way you'd stick with it, Index."
Natsume Sonoko declared seriously, righteously rejecting a certain Index.
She'd always thought Shirai-san's pose was particularly cool; trying it out today felt really satisfying.
Come to think of it, didn't Index lack a student ID? Without one, she couldn't even take the Judgment exam. Did nobody at the supermarket where Index worked care about that?
"Thank you for all your help earlier."
Kazakiri Hyouka stepped forward, bowing slightly in gratitude with impeccable manners.
"It's no trouble. Both Index and Kazakiri-san are my friends. Helping friends is only natural."
Natsume Sonoko was slightly taken aback—so Kazakiri-san, like herself, had a habit of thanking people profusely. But thanks weren't really necessary; everyone was being too polite.
She took off the Judgment armband and let Index, who was a year or two older, wear it for a bit.
"Only for a little while, and you have to give it back quickly," Natsume Sonoko whispered.
After scanning the area and confirming Shirai-san was nowhere in sight, she finally relaxed. That Shirai was particularly strict about such things.
Really, Index, why can't you be mature like me?
Just then, Natsume Sonoko frowned slightly—had she forgotten something again?
"That's right, where's Touma?"
Index had put on the Judgment shield emblem, but soon looked up curiously to ask.
"I believe Kamijou-san should have been following us."
Kazakiri Hyouka thought for a moment, then glanced vaguely in the direction of the underground tunnel.
"So we forgot about Kamijou-senpai."
Natsume Sonoko nodded quietly to herself, understanding immediately with just that reminder.
"Let's hurry back and look for him! What if Touma's in trouble?"
Index said anxiously, quickly returning the armband to Natsume Sonoko.
The three of them, now aware of the issue, began retracing their steps. But before they reached the underground tunnel, they spotted a spiky-haired high school boy sprinting toward them.
"Touma, you're so slow!"
Index cried excitedly, running over to Kamijou Touma and latching onto him before biting his head. She held on for a good while before letting go.
"Sorry, Index, I'm late."
He didn't offer any explanation, despite being covered in wounds. Kamijou Touma just scratched the back of his head and gave an apologetic smile.
A certain bun-head who knew the inside story couldn't help but glance sideways; this Kamijou-senpai was really something else.
"Natsume-san, Kazakiri-san, thank you for looking after Index earlier." Kamijou Touma brought Index over to stand before the two.
Another round of routine thanks and polite dismissals followed. Natsume-san gazed thoughtfully at Kamijou Touma beside her.
"As I thought, I still can't directly sense the heat radiating from Kamijou-senpai's body."
Natsume Sonoko had tried many times. Her ability couldn't directly affect the human body, but she could observe the heat emitted from its surface.
Yet Kamijou-senpai was an exception. It wasn't that the heat disappeared—she just couldn't observe it.
Perhaps it was because her observation was comprehensive, covering Kamijou-senpai's right hand as well, causing her ability to fail.
However, once the heat dispersed away from Kamijou Touma's body, it became observable again, since heat was objectively present.
So, in Natsume-san's mind, Kamijou-san's thermal map remained extremely blurry.
"Oh, I almost forgot, Natsume-san—Misaka was just asking if I'd seen you."
Now that he'd found Index, Kamijou Touma finally relaxed and suddenly remembered something.
"Misaka?"
Natsume Sonoko tilted her head, figuring he meant Misaka-senpai. If you counted all the Misakas in Academy City, there were probably over ten thousand.
"Misaka Mikoto, from Tokiwadai. Misaka Mikoto."
Kamijou Touma quickly clarified, also recalling the issue of the Misaka clones.
"She seemed to know you were here. She was still looking for you right before the underground mall was sealed off, but I think that Shirai girl from Judgment teleported her away."
"Speaking of which, Natsume-san, since when are you in Judgment?"
Kamijou Touma remarked, noticing the Judgment armband still in Natsume Sonoko's hand.
About five or six minutes later, some Anti-Skill officers stationed outside the underground mall, having noticed Natsume-san's dramatic commotion, arrived on the scene.
Kamijou Touma informed them about the illegal intruder's location, but by the time Anti-Skill arrived, the place was already empty.
"It's Sphynx! How did you get all the way here from home?"
As they walked, a small cat ran up to Index. She crouched down and scooped it into her arms.
Sphynx—what a strange name. Did it refer to that sphinx monster?
But this cat had three distinct colors, reminding a certain bun-head of something familiar.
Natsume Sonoko suddenly realized—wasn't this the same calico cat that had followed that black cat to her dorm to mooch food?
Lately, the black cat's visits to her dorm for free meals had noticeably decreased. Maybe it, like this calico, had been adopted by someone.
Thinking this, Natsume Sonoko unconsciously reached out to stroke Sphynx's head.
Sphynx looked pleased and licked Natsume-san's hand.
"Sonoko-chan, Sphynx really seems to like you!" Index said in surprise.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.