"I don't think that was really what that Nunotaba-senpai intended," I said. "Maybe it was just like everything else she said—perfectly normal pleasantries."
Shirai-san, ever the contrarian, had seriously considered the ponytailed girl's opinion only to arrive at a completely different conclusion.
"As a Judgment officer, you can't just play word games and jump to completely unrelated conclusions. You're being rather naive, Natsume-san. If you ask me, it's entirely possible that Nunotaba-senpai really is just involved in some experiment."
Not even bothering to look at the ponytailed girl's somewhat resentful gaze, Shirai-san leaned in close to Misaka-senpai and spoke with an air of importance.
"Shirai-san has a point," Saten-san mused, resting her chin in her hand.
Honestly, everyone's arguments sounded reasonable.
Whether it was guessing that the person who told Febrie Misaka-senpai's name was Nunotaba Shinobu, or concluding from Nunotaba's research focus that Febrie might be an artificial creation—the evidence for either seemed insufficient.
"And just like Natsume-san, you're being naive too, Onee-sama. Charging off all angry before you've even confirmed everything properly... I really don't know what to say about that."
Shirai-san shook her head, looking utterly unruffled as she held forth.
"Is that so? I didn't think that much about it earlier. But I still think Natsume-san's guess is quite possible."
Misaka-senpai's face showed hesitation, clearly led astray by that annoying teleporter's reasoning.
Yet for some reason, Misaka-senpai instinctively felt that Natsume-san was right.
Perhaps she was remembering that night when Natsume-san had charged into that building without a second thought.
'Stay calm,' Natsume Sonoko told herself, but her cheeks puffed out involuntarily, and she glared at Shirai Kuroko.
'Darn it, I don't even know how to refute that.'
She suddenly felt deflated. This was exactly why sometimes Sonoko didn't want to explain too much—it wasn't like she could say she had memories from a past life to reference, could she?
"Actually, I think Natsume-san's guess is correct," Uiharu spoke up again.
"This would explain the conversation Kongou-senpai overheard at the academic conference."
Uiharu's expression shifted slightly as she spoke, her worry for Febrie growing. If this were true, then Febrie was just too pitiful.
"But... artificial consciousness? Is something like that really possible? It's just too cruel," Kongou-senpai finally said, her voice trembling slightly.
Everyone else fell quiet then, unsure how to respond.
Soon it was late at night, well past Tokiwadai's official lights-out time.
Since Kongou-senpai had left Wannai-san and the others behind earlier, she was in a hurry to get back now.
As for the remaining Tokiwadai students, they made a trip back to the dormitory, sneaking out again after the Dorm Supervisor finished bed checks.
They spent the night in the hospital corridor, with Natsume-san and Uiharu-san fully utilizing their warming abilities.
On this crisp, cool autumn night, everyone actually managed to sleep quite soundly.
The only downside was how hard the hospital benches were.
You really had to lean on Shirai-san to sleep comfortably.
Early the next morning, Natsume Sonoko groggily opened her eyes and looked down at Shirai-san, whose shoulder was now covered in red marks from being used as a pillow.
It was still very early, too early for her body clock to wake up, but she rubbed her eyes and surveyed her surroundings.
Just moments ago, a formula in her mind had been triggered, detecting an unmarked heat source approaching her.
Ever since she'd fallen asleep that time at the research facility related to Accelerator, Sonoko had spent some time and processing power researching how her ability worked while she slept, and she'd achieved some small results.
She'd significantly reduced the detection range of her radar map, limiting it to about five meters around her.
But the success rate wasn't high—her processing power was too weak in an unconscious state. And because she was unconscious, she couldn't draw on Reiko's processing power either.
Plus, the radar formula for tracking moving objects was relatively complex, nothing like the simple formulas for her thermostatic layer or Accelerator's reflection.
But a low success rate didn't mean zero success.
"You're awake."
Not far away stood a doctor with a face like a Gekota, hands clasped behind his back with a kind expression.
"Good morning, Gekota Doctor."
Natsume-san forced herself to sound cheerful as she spoke, but immediately regretted it.
Oh no, it's supposed to be Doctor Heaven Canceller.
"...Sorry," Sonoko quickly corrected herself, scrambling to her feet.
"It's quite alright," Heaven Canceller said, not bothered in the slightest. He shook his head and continued, "But Febrie is awake now."
In the hospital bed, Febrie blinked quietly, even the stray hair sticking up from her head seeming somewhat listless.
"That's great, her fever's gone down." Saten-san gently placed her hand on Febrie's forehead, her face relaxing with relief.
"How do you feel? Is your body still uncomfortable?" Uiharu asked, sitting on the edge of the bed with concern.
Natsume-san didn't need to touch Febrie's skin—her mind could already feed back Febrie's body temperature data.
Though Sonoko was also happy that Febrie had recovered, her eyes suddenly drifted to the Gekota doctor outside the hospital room.
Misaka-senpai was talking with him, and they'd been conversing for quite a while now.
Judging by Misaka-senpai's furrowed brow, perhaps Febrie's situation wasn't so optimistic.
Natsume Sonoko had complete faith in Heaven Canceller's medical skills. If even this doctor couldn't find a solution, then the problem was truly serious.
Just then, Misaka-senpai walked in with her head lowered, a somewhat forced smile on her face.
"Misaka-senpai, what did the doctor say? Can Febrie be discharged?" Saten-san asked anxiously, looking at Misaka-senpai with hopeful eyes.
"Yeah, the doctor said she can go home," Misaka-senpai replied, turning her head slightly away as she spoke, seeming somewhat evasive.
"That's great!"
"Febrie, we can go home now!"
Uiharu-san and the others were delighted, and even Shirai-san smiled. But like the ponytailed girl, Shirai-san had also noticed something off about Misaka-senpai.
"Misaka-senpai, did Heaven Canceller say something else?" Natsume Sonoko suddenly asked, watching the hesitant Misaka-senpai.
At her core, Natsume-san wasn't one to trouble others, but when faced with difficult problems, she would actively seek help and rarely refused others' kindness.
She believed in the simple values of strength in numbers and reciprocal help—she'd even once considered gathering helpers everywhere.
But Misaka-senpai was different from Natsume-san.
She always tried to solve problems alone, stubborn and adorable in equal measure.
--+--
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.