The roar of a passenger plane taking off filled the air, the intense pressure making it hard to keep one's eyes open.
Standing dozens of meters away, Saten Ruiko waved vigorously toward the aircraft until it vanished into the thick clouds.
"I hope Febrie and the others have a smooth journey."
Saten-san wiped her eyes, finally managing to compose herself.
"Don't be sad, Saten-san. Oh, by the way, here's Arisa's autograph. Shirai-san asked me to handle this."
Natsume Sonoko let out a soft 'oh', her throat feeling a bit better as she trotted over to her school bag left near the airport fence.
"Arisa-san's signed CD, and a limited-edition poster that's one of a kind. The CD was prepared by Shirai-san, and Arisa-san gave me the poster later."
Spreading the items out before her, Natsume Sonoko nodded with an air of importance.
Now that she thought about it, her job had just been to get Arisa-san's signature.
"Cheer up, Saten-san."
Pushing the items into Saten-san's hands, Natsume Sonoko raised her arms in an encouraging gesture.
"Thank you, everyone's the best."
Her voice still tinged with a sob, Saten Ruiko opened her arms and hugged a certain bun-headed girl, her emotions bubbling up once again.
"It's really not that big a deal."
Making a small, aborted gesture to rub her nose, Natsume Sonoko offered an embarrassed smile, but her gaze drifted unconsciously toward the direction Febrie and the others had departed.
The world outside wasn't exactly safe.
After saying goodbye to Kongou-senpai at the airport, they boarded an automated bus back to District 7.
With the Daihaseisai approaching, many trial automated bus services had been added alongside the regular routes.
"Oh, let's all go visit Shirai-san at the hospital together," suggested Uiharu Kazari, her voice always soft-spoken, an unreadable, slightly strange expression on her face.
Regarding Shirai-san's injury, Uiharu seemed to be carrying some guilt.
Sitting bolt upright in the very center of the automated bus's back row, Natsume Sonoko was flanked by Misaka-senpai, who was gazing out the window at the scenery, and Saten-san, who was intently examining the signed CD.
An invisible aura seemed to dominate the entire bus. For five or six stops, no new passengers boarded, leaving only the bus's soothing music to fill the silence.
"You know, about Shirai-san getting hurt, Uiharu, you were probably the first to know, right?" Natsume Sonoko turned her head, a thoughtful look on her face.
Shirai-san's actions were usually backed up and supported by Uiharu.
"I'm so sorry. If I hadn't told Shirai-san about the robbery case, she wouldn't have gotten so badly injured." Uiharu hung her head, her voice full of self-reproach.
"Eh? Uiharu, you mustn't think like that! Shirai-san's injury isn't your fault at all."
Seemingly having triggered an unexpected reaction, Natsume Sonoko waved her hands frantically, her flustered, slightly dense demeanor almost painful to watch.
"What I meant was, next time something like this happens, Uiharu, you shouldn't just listen to Shirai-san and keep it to yourself. You should tell everyone immediately." Natsume Sonoko hurriedly explained.
It was normal for Judgment members to get injured, but pushing themselves to pursue justice while already hurt was just asking for trouble.
Who knows how things might have ended, but Shirai-san's injuries would definitely have been worse than they are now.
"I understand." Uiharu's face went blank for a second. The Thermostat Grim Reaper seemed to buffer for a few moments, her cheeks flushing bright red before she nodded firmly.
"Actually, the Anti-Skill department sent a notice today. They've forbidden Shirai-san from participating in any more dangerous cases," Uiharu added.
Once Shirai-san was hospitalized for her injuries, the truth about the case couldn't be hidden.
But a notice was just a notice. Knowing Shirai-san as they all did, stopping that girl from meddling in trouble was about as easy as getting Misaka-senpai to willingly give away a Gekota toy.
Those filled with a sense of justice always had nerves of steel compared to ordinary people.
As the automated bus slowly departed from District 23, the towering space elevator came into view, instantly capturing everyone's attention.
Recently, countless web pages and TV programs had mentioned this very elevator; even the most out-of-touch person had heard something about it.
The space elevator, Endymion. Its name originated from an ancient Greek myth.
No one really cared about the story behind the name, merely gazing curiously at this fantastical, miraculous structure.
A direct line from the ground to outer space… it was truly alluring.
"Now that you mention it, the space elevator's opening ceremony is scheduled for just three days before the Daihaseisai," Saten-san said, her eyes widening slightly with sudden interest.
"Then let's all go see it then," Misaka-senpai chimed in, seeming quite interested in the elevator herself.
They bought some get-well gifts for the patient along the way—fruit, flowers, and a large box of Musashino Milk.
On the road, they ran into Konori-senpai, who was also coming to visit Shirai-san, along with a few other classmates from Tokiwadai Middle School, most of them members of Judgment Branch Office 003.
Looking at it this way, Shirai-san's popularity was surprisingly decent.
"Misaka-sama, Natsume-san, I didn't expect to run into you here."
Their classmate, Makigami Komaki, school bag in hand, was just coming out of Shirai Kuroko's hospital room.
She had been carefully, quietly closing the door, only to turn around and find Natsume Sonoko's group standing there.
Her hair was tied into cute braids on both sides, her neat side bangs just covering her eyebrows. Her round face held a hint of barely perceptible nervousness, and her thick eyelashes made her eyes seem especially large.
"Good afternoon, Makigami." Misaka-senpai waved a greeting, open and enthusiastic.
"Hello, Makigami-san." As for the certain bun-head girl, she merely offered a polite nod.
While they often saw each other at school, they weren't particularly close.
In their first year, she was the undisputed celebrity; rather, everyone knew her.
She'd heard from Amakusa Yū-senpai that the number of applications to join the Urban Legend Investigation Society had already reached over a dozen recently.
It's just that Natsume-san wasn't very good at handling these things, so she subconsciously avoided dealing with them.
"We meet again. I'm Tokiwadai's Makigami Komaki." Makigami Komaki glanced toward Saten-san and the others, giving a slight nod of acknowledgement, though her gaze was drawn to the flower ring on Uiharu's head.
She'd met Saten-san and the others at the Academic Research Assembly venue before, so it wasn't their first meeting.
"Hello! I'm Uiharu Kazari from Sakugawa Middle School!" Uiharu's expression instantly turned serious, her words delivered with the forceful clarity of a musical theater performer.
This girl before her perfectly matched her idealized vision of a fine young lady.
"Please don't mind her, she's just like that. And I'm Saten Ruiko from Sakugawa Middle School." Saten Ruiko rubbed the back of her head, offering an awkward explanation.
Watching Makigami-san's retreating figure, Misaka-senpai pushed the hospital room door open and walked in.
An extra futon was laid out in the corner of Shirai-san's room—the one Misaka-senpai had used yesterday. As for Natsume-san, anywhere was fine; she didn't mind squeezing in with Misaka-senpai.
A brand new wheelchair was parked near the hospital bed, Shirai-san's new mode of transport.
Electrically powered with auto-navigation, she'd heard it could even shift through three gears and had a catapult launch function. Far more advanced than the crutches Natsume-san had back in the day.
Still, it probably couldn't compare to a cleaning robot.
"Onee-sama!"
Following Shirai-san's sharp cry, the frenzied Judgment girl landed squarely in front of Misaka-senpai in a princess-carry pose, forcing a certain Railgun to firmly catch the considerable mass.
"You're so heavy, Kuroko. Have you gained weight recently?" A flicker of surprise crossed Misaka-senpai's face as she asked the question.
"Onee-sama, how cruel!" Shirai-san's cheeks puffed out, clearly displeased.
"Febrie and the others have left."
"Talk about bad timing, it had to be today of all days." Setting Shirai-san back down on the hospital bed, Misaka-senpai sighed with genuine regret.
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T/N: New hi3 fic!
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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.