This was a matter of great importance to Natsume Sonoko.
Having diligently cared for Reiko for so long, the girl had come to see herself firmly in the role of an elder sister.
So, being casually mistaken for the younger sister just because of her height and… development… was a source of some irritation for the bun-girl.
"In a way, Reiko-chan is a product of an experiment. And due to some complicated reasons, I'm the one looking after her now," she explained.
"Even though an experiment was involved, Reiko-chan herself isn't dangerous at all. She's just a slightly special girl, that's all."
She shot a rather serious look at Shirai-san, carefully choosing her words and schooling her expression.
Now that Reiko's existence was out in the open, she saw no point in hiding things further. After a moment's thought, she decided to share some information about Reiko with Shirai-san and the others.
Of course, Reiko was tied to some of Academy City's secrets, so letting others know still carried some risk.
"A product of an experiment?"
Shirai-san seemed momentarily stunned, words catching in her throat.
Right, Natsume-san was an esper too. It was perfectly normal for Academy City to conduct experiments on her.
This girl called Reiko was probably just a byproduct of one such experiment.
Just like Onee-sama, Natsume-san must bear hidden pressures, burdens difficult to speak of. Was that why the two of them clung to each other for warmth?
Thinking this, Shirai-san grew quiet, her enthusiasm dampened, a vague sense of clogging in her heart.
Like everyone else, she cherished this city and was willing to strive for it.
Yet, the more she felt this way, the harder it became to accept reality. She upheld her own justice, fought crime, yet had overlooked the struggles of an important companion right beside her.
"Mhm."
Natsume-san nodded gently, giving Shirai-san a strange look as she observed the shifting expressions on the Judgment officer's face, feeling a bit baffled.
Had Shirai-san misunderstood something?
But Natsume-san's mind wasn't usually sharp enough to decipher the hearts of others. After a moment of puzzlement, she simply let it go. For espers, seeming distracted wasn't unusual.
Especially for a certain bun-girl whose body lagged far behind her brain. Her new senses remained locked onto Kihara Gensei.
In her perception, the old man moved sporadically, finally stopping at a spot tinged with residual energy.
The location happened to be facing away from their position, and Kihara Gensei seemed distracted. It looked like the perfect chance for a sneak attack.
"Shirai-san, that spot."
"Aside from his brain, most of Kihara Gensei's body is prosthetic. Don't hold back."
Suddenly, Natsume-san gave Shirai Kuroko's hand a sharp squeeze.
A faint, inexplicable mist began to coalesce around Kihara Gensei, outlining a shallow silhouette. Simultaneously, Natsume-san activated her ability.
After observing for a while, Natsume-san still hadn't detected any potential traps on Kihara Gensei. He just seemed like a somewhat gloomy old man.
She had also constantly shifted her own position, continuously searching for a moment of carelessness from him while minimizing her own risk of exposure.
Silently nodding, Shirai Kuroko briefly released the hands of the two beside her.
Her fingers swept over the weapon strap on her thigh, and several dozen steel darts vanished abruptly.
Heeding Natsume-san's advice, Shirai Kuroko this time did not specifically avoid the opponent's body.
However, she still refrained from directly targeting Kihara Gensei's brain—that remained her bottom line.
Against troublesome foes, Teleportation possessed a unique convenience other abilities lacked, capable of unexpectedly taking down an opponent.
This held true even for Accelerator, though the method required some adaptation.
'Teleport can take shortcuts through the eleventh dimension, bypassing the limitations of the human body and soul,' was one of the conclusions Natsume-san had recently reached.
But Accelerator could still reflect teleportation attacks (A/N: it was mentioned in the original works, though it caused peculiar phenomena).
The exact reason was debated, and the interplay of counters between espers remained an unsolved mystery.
It seemed as long as a 'direction' existed, he could interfere with the damage. The abilities Accelerator displayed had already surpassed the scope of mere Vector Manipulation.
It was like how Natsume-san's Temperature Control had long since broken free from its initial confines, showing trends of advancing towards the control of microscopic particles.
These rigid, outdated preconceptions were still advantageous for espers.
The more generic and widespread a Level 5's title, the safer it was. The more specific, the more dangerous.
Like Misaka-senpai's 'Railgun' title—it practically revealed her trump card outright.
But for a Teleporter, dealing with Accelerator didn't necessarily require a direct attack on his person.
Simply teleporting his bowl away every time he tried to eat, depriving him of energy replenishment, or perhaps adding something to his food, layering on a mental attack… there was still hope of defeating Accelerator one-on-one.
Although the time and effort required would be staggering, and one would have to guard against his wide-area assaults, it was theoretically feasible.
In practice, Awaki Musujime, who could teleport without physical contact just by confirming coordinates, would be better suited for that job.
But back to the matter at hand. Shirai-san's attack tore through the barriers of space.
Detouring through the eleventh dimension, traversing the actual distance of over eighty meters, it shot directly towards Kihara Gensei.
Just as Natsume Sonoko's voice fell, a strange spatial fluctuation manifested on Kihara Gensei's body.
Dozens of specially made steel needles densely embedded themselves into his frame. As expected, Kihara Gensei fell to the ground with the impact.
But instead of the anticipated metallic 'clang' of contact with the floor, there was a sound unnervingly identical to that of a real human body hitting the ground.
"Teleportation, is it?"
"How disappointing. It seems the Vector Control Calculation Suit still can't reach Accelerator's level. It fails to simulate reflection across the eleventh dimension. It's merely a half-finished product."
The fallen Kihara Gensei slowly opened his eyes. He wanted to turn his head to see the position of his attacker but found it difficult to move.
Faint lights abruptly surfaced on his body.
The high-tech product known as the Vector Control Calculation Suit was performing real-time calculations, but it wasn't fulfilling its intended function.
Technology reverse-engineered from Accelerator had long been applied to some of Academy City's important projects.
For example, the Windowless Building, or the Vector Control Calculation Suit Kihara Gensei had specially prepared.
The reason Natsume Sonoko couldn't detect his temperature or figure wasn't due to any Multi-Skill, but rather the capabilities loaded into this very suit.
The initial concept for this equipment was proposed by the Special Ability Institute, with the Virtual Intention Research Institute and the attached Mist Lake Research Academy refining the production theory.
It eventually made its way to a direct department under a certain anonymous member of the Board of Directors for development. A small number of trial products currently existed.
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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!
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If you guys wanna check it out.