A smear of cream clung to her lips, the sweet, velvety sensation coating her teeth. Tsuchimikado-san's cake was a masterpiece, showcasing the pinnacle of the maids' culinary skills.
After swallowing a delicious bite, Natsume Sonoko found her mind wandering. Even the delightful taste couldn't anchor her focus today.
"Natsume-san, is the cake not to your liking today?"
Tsuchimikado Maika had approached quietly, holding an now-empty coffee pot.
Unlike her usual self, who unconsciously wore a blissful smile while eating, Natsume seemed distracted, even missing a bit of cake smudged on her cheek.
As a trainee maid on her fieldwork at Tokiwadai Middle School, Tsuchimikado Maika usually carried herself with a leisurely air.
This dormitory in District 7 wasn't their only training ground; she and the others often moved between Tokiwadai and its two affiliated dorms, so her presence here wasn't a daily guarantee.
"Tsuchimikado-san, could you hold onto this cake for me? I'll be back later," Natsume said, putting down her cake knife.
Her head turned mechanically, her gaze locking intently on the younger maid.
"Why the sudden request?" Tsuchimikado Maika, sensing the serious look directed at her, hesitated for a second.
Though unsure of the reason, she nodded in agreement. If this was the Natsume Sonoko she knew, something serious enough to kill her appetite must have happened.
"Thank you so much!" Natsume Sonoko's face filled with gratitude. She gave Tsuchimikado's hand a quick squeeze before hurriedly dashing off in the direction Misaka-senpai had gone.
"Misaka-senpai! Shirai-san! Are you there?"
She sped up to the second floor, arriving at Room 208 in moments. Natsume Sonoko knocked gently on the door, but no response came from within.
However, right there at the doorstep of room 208, Natsume-san spotted a dropped arcade token.
Recognizing the design, she knew it was from the arcade Misaka-senpai frequented.
The Tokiwadai dorms were cleaned regularly; trash from the morning wouldn't still be lying around. Misaka-senpai must have returned to her room and picked up some tokens.
Natsume-san wasn't as skilled at deduction as Shirai-san, but this was simple enough to figure out.
Just as she was about to call Misaka-senpai, Natsume Sonoko heard a thud from inside the room, followed by a muffled, pained gasp.
"Shirai-san? Are you okay?" Hearing the noise, Natsume quickly began patting the door again.
"What do you want? I'm taking a bath! You made me fall, you know. That really hurt!" Shirai-san's voice came from inside, strained, as if she was gritting her teeth against pain.
"Sorry! But, did Misaka-senpai come back earlier?" A hint of apology colored Natsume's voice, but even her usually slow nerves picked up that something was off.
"Onee-sama picked up some things and left. Alright, if you don't have any business, stop bothering me!"
Shirai-san's temper seemed no different from usual, yet it felt sharper, more irritable.
"If you need any help, you can come find me anytime." Natsume-san lingered by the door for a moment longer before finally lowering her knocking hand.
Then, images began coalescing in Natsume-san's mind, spreading out like invisible ripples, covering the surrounding area.
Respecting others' privacy was basic manners; Natsume-san rarely used her Thermal Vision outside of her own room, 210. But now, under its scrutiny, Shirai-san in the room was laid bare.
From the data her ability fed back, Natsume's mind constructed a somewhat blurry image of the room's interior.
Not just people, but even the arrangement of furniture became visible to her.
However, since objects and buildings were usually close to ambient temperature, Natsume-san typically didn't waste processing power to render them in detail.
She'd once encountered a Penguin Girl who used special materials to wrap her body, maintaining it near environment temperature.
By tightly fitting the material to her skin and exploiting its excellent insulation, she forced his body's naturally emitted heat back inside, preventing even sweat from escaping, temporarily evading her detection.
'Forehead temperature is about 0.8 degrees Celsius lower than normal. Seems she's bandaged up.'
'The bandaged areas are the right shoulder, left abdomen, right thigh, and right shin. The injury on the right shin is more severe; the heat signature there is noticeably cooler than the others.'
In just a few breaths, Natsume-san understood Shirai-san's condition. She was in the dorm bathroom, tending to her wounds, and had just fallen, now sitting curled on the floor.
A pang of heartache, sudden and unbidden, surged in Natsume-san's chest.
Though Shirai-san spoke harshly, Natsume deeply cared for this classmate.
Getting injured was almost routine for a Judgment member. Confronting criminals directly was inherently high-risk. Perps armed with firearms or who were ability users themselves were hardly rare.
This wasn't Shirai-san's first injury, but it was the first time she'd been hurt this badly, with so many wounds.
Natsume-san suddenly remembered the scene when she'd agreed to Konori-senpai's request to join Judgment.
Her initial thought had been hoping it could mean less injuries for Shirai-san and the others.
However, due to the few conditions she'd set at the time, Natsume-san remained somewhat peripheral within the Judgment structure—a Judgment member by whim.
Yet, many knew the eighth-ranked Level 5 had joined, as Natsume-san sometimes openly wore the armband. It had even become a widespread urban legend.
Even so, Shirai-san was this severely injured. It made a certain bun-haired girl feel she absolutely had to do something.
'Shirai-san is bandaging in secret… which probably means the culprit hasn't been caught yet.'
She gave a somewhat dazed look towards the wall separating her from Shirai-san, her mind churning. While Judgment had certain authority, they were still students.
The most dangerous work was mostly handled by Anti-Skill. If the higher-ups found out about Shirai-san's injuries, they'd undoubtedly suspend her.
So, Shirai-san must still be on the case, the perpetrator still at large.
--+--
T/N: 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.