So this soul memory was about this adorable little girl.
Natsume Sonoko was a bit quiet.
Running into this sort of situation was always a real hassle; one annoying thing after another just kept happening.
Life was hard enough as it was. Why did her peaceful days have to be disturbed like this?
Whoever was behind it, she couldn't just let it slide.
Still, these memories at least gave Natsume-san some buffer time, so she wouldn't be caught completely off guard when things actually went down.
'Better focus up. What's going to happen this time?'
Natsume Sonoko also widened her eyes, looking the lollipop-sucking little girl up and down.
Natsume-san now took these memories very seriously.
She wanted to slowly sort out and organize the chaotic memories within her soul, rather than leaving them as scattered fragments where she knew what happened but not why.
She was sure she could glean more information this time, instead of just having her head filled with Febrie's unbearably cute little face. Natsume Sonoko silently cheered herself on.
"It's actually related to Nunotaba-senpai."
With a sudden jolt, Natsume Sonoko connected the memory fragments of Nunotaba-senpai with Febrie. A pathway instantly formed, and another portion of the scattered memories fell into place.
Still, she hadn't gotten any truly useful intel.
Her past self must have been too busy staring at the adorable Febrie. 'Typical me,' she thought wryly.
Her thoughts drifted back to Nunotaba-senpai.
It had been a while since she'd last heard from her, back when she'd reported successfully implanting the emotional programs into the Misaka Sisters.
She wondered how the senpai was doing now.
"Natsume-san, I think she just mentioned your name," Saten Ruiko recalled.
Next to her, Shirai-san nodded in agreement.
"Not only did she mention you, Natsume-san, but she also mentioned Onee-sama. However, I believe it's likely just a coincidence. In truth, Febrie is probably just a dedicated Level 5 fangirl," Shirai-san stated with her characteristic seriousness and precision.
Shirai-san's expression had returned to normal, and she even smoothed down her flowing chestnut-brown hair.
But if one looked closely at the top of her head, a faint, lingering bump was visible. Clearly, Natsume-san hadn't arrived before she'd spouted some of her usual, cryptic nonsense.
"Misaka-senpai had no information about Febrie at all, which is why we hurriedly called Natsume-san over, to see if you had any clues," Saten-san said, raising her phone. Uiharu's familiar voice came through the speaker.
Uiharu-san had never really left; she was just accompanying them in a different way.
"I've run a search through the Academy City's missing persons database and also checked Judgment's internal records. I couldn't find any data on Febrie. Besides, the Anti-Skill teams are all busy dealing with the aftermath of that incident in the underground mall right now, so they can't handle Febrie's case," Uiharu's voice sounded disappointed, clearly feeling she hadn't been able to help Febrie.
As soon as Uiharu finished speaking, everyone's gaze shifted to a certain someone who was intently staring at Febrie.
However, due to the intensity of that stare, Febrie's lips unconsciously puckered, and she hurriedly stuffed the lollipop back into her mouth.
"I know a little. I think she might be the child of a certain senpai," the girl with the bun-hair said uncertainly.
While she thought Nunotaba-senpai might be connected to this child, she couldn't pinpoint the exact relationship.
"Let me make a call."
Natsume Sonoko took out her phone and tried to contact Nunotaba. She waited a good five or six minutes, but there was no answer.
"No one's picking up?" Misaka-senpai asked anxiously.
"No. Actually, do you know her too, Misaka-senpai? It's Nunotaba-senpai."
Natsume Sonoko shook her head and ended the call. It looked like things were getting complicated.
The night in the park grew deeper. The streetlights had long since flickered on. Because the park was located in the heart of District 7, they could still see the brilliant neon lights of the nearby commercial buildings.
"If we can't reach anyone now, we'll just have to try again tomorrow," Shirai-san said, placing her hands on her hips with a sigh of resignation.
Nearby, Natsume Sonoko was chatting with Febrie. When she mentioned Nunotaba, little Febrie tilted her head, seeming to react slightly.
"Hey, Febrie, do you know Nunotaba-senpai?"
Natsume Sonoko noticed the change in Febrie's expression and her own face immediately turned serious.
"Febrie, can you tell us?"
Misaka-senpai also leaned in closer, a sweet smile appearing on her face.
Febrie glanced at Misaka-senpai, took the candy out of her mouth, then hopped off the bench and hid behind Saten-san.
"Febrie doesn't know," Febrie's voice piped up softly from behind Saten-san's skirt as she peeked out.
Stare~~~~
Febrie's gaze remained fixed on Misaka-senpai, seeming somewhat wary.
"Am I really that unpopular with children?"
Seeing Febrie's reaction, a look of utter dejection crossed Misaka-senpai's face. Her shoulders slumped as she walked off to the side and let out a quiet sigh.
"They say children's instincts are very sharp. Maybe Misaka-senpai gives off a… not-so-safe vibe," Saten-san remarked, thoughtfully resting her chin on her hand.
"Onee-sama's charm is for Kuroko alone to appreciate! After all, Kuroko is a mature adult!"
It seemed some utterly meaningless words had been inserted here. Best to just ignore them.
"But it seems Febrie really likes Saten-san," Misaka-senpai lamented, her confidence in her own charm shaken for the first time. Was she really not welcome with children?
"It's getting very late. So, for tonight, I'll take care of Febrie," Saten-san said, hoisting Febrie onto her back. The little girl was fast asleep in no time.
"I guess that's the only way. We'll have to rely on you tonight, Saten-san," Shirai-san nodded in agreement.
Under the dim, yellowish glow of the streetlights, the two groups parted ways. For now, Saten-san would take care of the lost Febrie.
The Tokiwadai trio, bound by their dormitory's strict management, couldn't very well take Febrie back to the Tokiwadai student dormitory.
On the way back, Misaka-senpai suddenly remembered something. Holding up a bottle of juice Natsume-san had just bought from a vending machine, she grew excited.
"Natsume-san, did you win any prizes? These drinks are running a promotion lately. You can win limited edition Gekota finger puppets!" Misaka-senpai exclaimed, her voice rising with excitement.
Misaka-senpai had an obsession with Gekota that far surpassed normal understanding, something Natsume Sonoko was long since used to.
Thinking of the drink prizes, the vending machine had dispensed a small something along with the can.
"This one?"
Natsume Sonoko fished out a small item, tightly wrapped in plastic packaging, from her pocket and handed it to Misaka-senpai.
"What a shame. It's the green Gekota, the one with a one-in-fifteen chance. Not the pink one with a one-in-twenty-four chance," Misaka-senpai's enthusiasm and excitement immediately deflated.
She put the Gekota away somewhat dejectedly; it seemed she already had the green one in her collection.
Back in her dorm room, Natsume Sonoko went through her usual routine: brushing her teeth, washing her face, and then helping Reiko with the same.
Although she hadn't gone to the Misaka Apartments lately, she was well aware of the situation there.
The cell adjustment treatments for the Sisters had been underway for some time now, with no major complications.
The only thing that worried Natsume Sonoko a little was Little Misaka. But according to Misaka 9982, Little Misaka was regularly backing up her memories within the Misaka Network.
She was apparently getting along quite well with that white-haired guy, and he was even supervising the progress of her cell adjustments.
It's just that Accelerator's living conditions left something to be desired.
Closing her eyes, Natsume Sonoko lay motionless on the sofa.
A part of her consciousness shifted to Reiko, beginning the usual accelerated research. After an hour or two, she sank into a deep sleep.
By now, Natsume-san had shifted the main focus of her ability research to thermo-mechanical energy conversion.
The subject of thermo-mechanical conversion was exceedingly complex. Natsume-san was still at the stage of optimizing existing formulas.
She didn't plan to branch out into researching other elements for the time being. Just understanding the intricacies of copper and iron alone was a massive undertaking.
Especially since Natsume Sonoko was still figuring out how to extract energy from within these two materials themselves. Her ability seemed to originate from that minute, internal level.
--+--
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.