Natsume slipped into the abandoned apartment building through a narrow, hidden alleyway—the very same place Nunotaba Shinobu had used before.
Not just the floor, but the very air in the apartment lobby was thick with the heavy, stifling smell of dust.
The environment was grimy and chaotic, with only a few fresh footprints on the ground standing out noticeably.
Natsume-san trod upon the thick layer of dust.
A faint airflow scattered the fine particles that static electricity had drawn toward her, yet her clothes remained completely spotless.
This was her second time here.
Last time, she'd stumbled in without really taking in the surroundings, but she remembered it being much cleaner then—at least someone had been cleaning it occasionally.
Judging by the state of the place, Nunotaba-senpai hadn't been here for a while, Natsume-san thought, lowering her head in contemplation.
Sunlight streamed in through the window, brightening the interior slightly.
It was already around afternoon. Ever since leaving the hospital, Natsume-san had been busy until now.
Because of the urgency surrounding Febrie's situation, Natsume-san had unusually requested a day off from school, and Misaka-senpai and the others had done the same.
Together with Misaka-senpai and the rest, they had reinvestigated the park where they'd encountered Febrie, as well as the abandoned factory where they'd previously found the powered suits. But in the end, the results were the same.
Worse, due to pressure from Anti-Skill headquarters, not only had the case—originally under District 7's jurisdiction—been taken over, but even the various pieces of evidence had been confiscated and moved there.
Ascending the stairs, Natsume-san pushed open a slightly ajar door and entered what had once been Nunotaba-senpai's workspace.
"Nunotaba-senpai's things are still here. It looks like she left in a hurry—maybe she was even taken by force."
Picking up a dust-covered lab coat from near a desk, she compared it to Nunotaba-senpai's build and found it matched perfectly. Natsume Sonoko's mind immediately began racing.
But as she lifted the lab coat, something round and cylindrical tumbled out from its pocket.
To think it would be something like this.
Natsume Sonoko froze for a moment. What had fallen from the pocket was a used syringe.
In Academy City, there was a commonly used signal transmitter crafted to an incredibly minute scale—so small it could even be injected into the human body.
This transmitter was the so-called nano-tracker. Natsume-san had even been injected with one before when she'd left Academy City.
These things weren't common; you certainly couldn't buy them in shops or supermarkets.
Moreover, such needles were supposed to be strictly controlled, accessible only to a limited number of authorized personnel.
"If I recall, this kind of tracking device should be assigned to a specific terminal first," Natsume-san murmured in realization.
Back when she'd left Academy City, the terminal her tracker was linked to had been the electronic information database under the Academy City Board of Directors.
This was a standard model nano-tracker. Its data would be sent back to the manufacturer's servers, then forwarded to the client's designated terminal.
So, if they could just investigate, they might find out where Nunotaba Shinobu had set her terminal. Or they could simply ask Uiharu.
--+--
By the time Natsume-san returned to the Judgement Branch Office 177, Kongou-senpai and Wannai-san were already there.
Checking the time, it was still club activity hours. Had Kongou-senpai and the others also taken time off?
With the information they had so far, the group thought to have Kongou-senpai identify the Dark Side member she'd encountered at the research society.
"He won the Science Fair two years ago and is a regular award-winner every year," Uiharu explained, swiveling her chair to make space so everyone could see the screen.
"Even within Academy City, he's quite a remarkable rising star," Konori-senpai remarked from the side, sounding somewhat impressed.
Based on Kongou-senpai's identification, the researcher named Aritomi Haruki had been officially confirmed as a suspect.
"I've never heard of him at all," Shirai-kun said, frowning.
"I thought as much. Compared to high-level espers, Aritomi Haruki is relatively inconspicuous."
Noticing some movement behind her, Konori-senpai turned and saw Natsume-san joining the group.
"Found it! The tracking signal appeared in this area previously."
Everyone gathered around the computer desk. Uiharu-chan was using the product code engraved on the syringe to trace its corresponding location.
Uiharu's fingers flew across the keyboard. On the screen, red dots representing locations appeared one after another on a map. When connected, they outlined a general area of activity.
"There's no real-time feedback data, and the earlier signals were intermittent. I think it's probably being blocked or jammed."
"The last clear signal was fifteen hours ago, and it lasted a full five minutes, but that was on a highway. If the signal appears again, I'll notify everyone immediately," Uiharu-chan said, turning to the gathered group with an apologetic look.
Natsume-san had said she found the item at Nunotaba Shinobu-senpai's place. Unless something was wrong, it was tracking that senior's location.
"Can you check this location? The red dots are mostly concentrated around here," Misaka-senpai suggested, pointing to where the signal had cut out, a thoughtful expression on her face.
"Sure, but this data is from three days ago."
Uiharu nodded and continued typing.
"This location has over a dozen unmanned factories. It's pretty ordinary, nothing stands out. The only notable thing is that one of the factories was sold at a high price half a year ago to a company called 'STUDY Corporation'."
"As for this 'STUDY' company, it focuses on pharmaceuticals and chemicals, and currently supplies various parts and components to Anti-Skill."
Before long, Uiharu pulled up some documents, sounding surprised.
"Uiharu, look—one of the company's directors is that Aritomi Haruki guy," Shirai-kun said, removing her chin from her hand and pointing at the company information.
--+--
Speaking of Natsume-san, her luck seemed to be getting better and better lately.
Just as she planned to get involved in the Febrie matter, she first received a call from Nunotaba-senpai, and now she'd found a new clue at the apartment.
Luck sounded a bit mystical, but in this world, it seemed to be a real thing. After all, they had that perpetually unlucky Kamijou-senpai as a prime example.
She remembered Index saying once that wearing the talisman she had could gather elusive good fortune, making things proceed smoothly and effortlessly, reducing troubles before they even arose.
But Natsume-san still found it hard to believe a small talisman could be that useful. Maybe she was just naturally very lucky.
So, this is the place.
The unmanned factory was in a rather remote location, and Natsume-san had quite a time finding it.
But it seemed unusually lively here—sounded like a fight was going on inside the factory.
A familiar white beam of lethal light sliced through a wall, causing massive collapses in the factory's load-bearing structures.
The attack was naturally from Mugino Shizuri, the legendary Level 4, and her opponents were some familiar-looking powered suits.
Her mind easily registered the temperature of those white beams and their composition—pure, concentrated electron beams.
So that's why the fourth ranked was called Meltdowner, Natsume-san thought, a stream of data and information flashing through her mind.
But Meltdowner's beams were fleeting, and Natsume-san could only gather limited data.
Meltdowner essentially used her Personal Reality to forcibly split atoms, separating them from their electrons.
These separated atoms quickly reacted with electrons or anions in the air, but the transformation was very real.
Unlike Misaka-senpai, who directly manipulated free electrons from the air, this ability to extract electrons directly from within atoms held unusual significance for Natsume-san.
By applying certain thermodynamic conversion formulas and altering the electrons' trajectories to separate them from their atoms, Natsume-san thought she might even be able to use Meltdowner herself.
--+--
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.