The ointment issued to Judgment officers was all Dr. Heaven Canceller's work, and it worked way better than the bottle she'd bought herself.
Staring at her right arm, Natsume Sonoko blinked with a sense of novelty. The red, swollen, and inflamed skin was already starting to flake, and even the blisters had visibly shrunk.
It hadn't completely healed her burns yet, but it was enough that she could move normally without much trouble.
This ointment was probably reverse-engineered from abilities related to the body's regenerative systems. Simple and convenient to use, the once quite noticeable stinging pain had already mostly faded.
"It can treat most external injuries, and should be somewhat effective for things like burns and frostbite as well," Shirai-san explained quietly from the side.
Her face didn't show any particular expression, but her mood metrics were plummeting in a straight line.
At first, the joy of finding her Onee-sama had overwhelmed her, making her overlook some important details temporarily.
This place wasn't far from the area of the suspected esper rampage incident—just a few hundred meters at most.
Now, learning that Natsume Sonoko was injured, it was clearly caused by her own ability.
And then there were the clothes Onee-sama was wearing; she'd had her tracksuit on before.
Put together, these clues didn't spell everything out, but it was clear Onee-sama and the others had been caught up in the incident that just happened.
Shirai-san seemed to hesitate, her expression somewhat distant.
She'd known for a while that her Onee-sama was keeping things from her. She'd pieced some of it together, but most of the information was still being withheld.
'If it's just because it's dangerous and you don't want me involved, can you really keep ignoring my feelings like this, Onee-sama? You're so unfair.'
'Even that lazy bum knows about it.'
"Shirai-san, next time, don't just fling a wheelchair around so carelessly. What if you hit someone?"
Perhaps because of the soothing ointment, Natsume Sonoko's tone had softened as well. With a casual control of airflow, she righted the high-tech wheelchair that had landed face-down.
It seemed a waste letting Shirai-san use this kind of multi-speed adjustable high-tech product.
"Onee-sama, was it because of the Level 6 Shift Project again? The incident just now, and the injury on Natsume-san's arm… it's all because of that project, isn't it?"
She ignored someone's pointless attempt at conversation.
Having sorted through her thoughts, Shirai Kuroko fixed her gaze squarely on Misaka-senpai, her expression utterly serious.
If an esper rampage seemed unlikely, then what about a Level 6? Wouldn't that fit the situation better?
During the Tree Diagram Remnant incident, Shirai-san had learned about the Level 6 Shift Project and the suffering her Onee-sama was enduring.
These thoughts had been circling in her mind for a long time, and now she couldn't hold them back any longer.
Watching as Misaka-senpai's expression shifted abruptly, Shirai-san's heart clenched—this confirmed it for her.
"I know you're carrying a heavy burden, Onee-sama. And I'm glad that when you needed help, you had Natsume here to rely on."
"Maybe this matter is dangerous, so dangerous that even a Level 5 gets hurt. But the one thing I can't accept is standing by, unaware, while you're facing danger."
"If possible, please rely on my strength as well, Onee-sama. Please don't keep everything bottled up inside."
Shirai-san spoke each word deliberately, her tone growing more impassioned.
"That's right, Misaka-senpai, seeing you like that is really worrying." Saten-san's voice of agreement came through the earpiece.
The perceptive Saten Ruiko had long noticed something heavily amiss with this Tokiwadai senior. Though she hid it well, her distracted state during that time was obvious to anyone.
"But—" Her eyes reddening slightly, Misaka-senpai beside her was visibly moved, but the word 'but' still escaped her lips.
It was just like how Shokuhou-senpai refused to let the Queen's followers get involved. Misaka-senpai was also deeply hesitant; this matter was simply too dangerous.
She never considered her own safety when helping others, yet chose to bear danger alone when it concerned herself. This kind of girl was truly a headache.
Though it did make her even more endearing—one of the unspeakable charms of this Railgun, perhaps.
"But everyone seems quite confident," Natsume Sonoko said, standing up and brushing off non-existent dirt from her tracksuit.
She seemed to be trying to match the solemn mood, but still ended up looking a bit spacey.
Natsume Sonoko didn't want to drag Uiharu and the others into this either; Kihara Gensei was far too dangerous.
But the more they understood each other, the clearer it became—their feelings were all similar. No one would truly stand aside, so they might as well strive together.
'If you really want to bear everything alone, at least remember to do a better job keeping it secret,' Natsume-san couldn't help but muse.
--+--
The saying 'many hands make light work' is a simple truth.
With the influx of fresh support, Natsume Sonoko and the others finally had enough manpower. Even seemingly troublesome tasks became much simpler.
Even if Misaka-senpai still had some objections, it was too late to change things now; she just became especially anxious about potential gains and losses.
Actually, breaking through that layer of hesitation wasn't too difficult; it just lacked an opportunity for communication, a chance to understand each other's feelings.
After a moment's hesitation, Misaka-senpai laid out the current situation openly. To save time, she skipped many details, but still let Shirai and the others know the gist of things.
Amidst the lively discussion, Natsume Sonoko's suggestion to split up was agreed upon by everyone.
Misaka-senpai, who couldn't get close to the incident zone, would search for Shokuhou Misaki, while the others present would handle the Kihara Gensei side.
With Shirai-san's Teleport and Natsume-san's real-time tracking, they might be able to dismantle Kihara Gensei's combat ability from within. This made the operation plan seem quite feasible.
"There happens to be a satellite at a suitable angle right now. If we cross-reference the signal pattern Misaka-senpai provided, we should be able to locate Shokuhou Misaki-senpai's position," Uiharu's confident voice came through Misaka-senpai's earpiece.
She had gotten a spare earpiece from Shirai-san to stay in contact with Uiharu and the others.
The original plan involved building a satellite dish to receive the special signals from the nanomachines, but with Uiharu's help, that could be handled by a few satellites Academy City had launched.
Academy City's nanomachines used satellite positioning anyway, so this similar method was actually more efficient.
This feeling of having maxed-out logistics support was also very comforting for Misaka-senpai. She didn't need to worry about anything else; just focus on the task at hand.
A skilled support member could save the team a tremendous amount of effort.
"However, the signal on Shokuhou Misaki cuts in and out, so we might need to capture it in real-time," Misaka-senpai reminded.
"Got it," Uiharu replied with a light laugh.
"Found it! This is the one." Not long after, Saten-san's voice came from the other side of the earpiece, unable to contain herself as she stared at the overlapping waveforms on the computer screen.
--+--
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.