Leaving Keigunen Private Academy with a complex expression, Su Yuzu began to feel distressed about the 'cat and dog war' that might happen next.
There was Zero, who was an Aberrant but seemed almost harmless to humans and animals.
And then there was Kujou Katora, who would kill Aberrants on sight.
Once these two came into contact, Su Yuzu could almost see the picture of the entire Keigunen Private Academy being turned upside down.
No wonder Director Saionji would rather foster Zero in my dormitory than bring Zero back to the Laboratory. She probably already foresaw how difficult Kujou Katora would be to deal with.
At this stage... probably only I can suppress Kujou Katora's momentum a little bit.
Of course—
The best solution is still to try not to let Kujou Katora and Zero come into contact. But how does that saying go? The more you don't want something to happen, the more likely it is to occur.
Su Yuzu had to be prepared for the worst-case scenario.
After tidying up her thoughts a little, Su Yuzu focused her attention on the more important matter at hand.
On the tram traveling from the platform at the entrance of Keigunen Private Academy to the suburbs, the empty carriage contained only Su Yuzu and Mihou Sakai.
Mihou Sakai sat somewhat reservedly beside Su Yuzu. The girl was wearing a neatly ironed Keigunen Private Academy uniform.
Beneath her mini pleated skirt, dark black velvet over-knee socks slightly squeezed her flesh, outlining the girl's already fine lines to near perfection. Yet even so, Mihou Sakai's knees were pressed tightly together.
It wasn't because of Su Yuzu's bad habit of dropping the [Primary Combat Records] bomb on the girl. It was simply due to nervousness.
This was also the fundamental reason why Su Yuzu didn't bring Soga Yura and Sakura Mai along to accompany Mihou Sakai home.
Su Yuzu had seen Mihou Sakai's family survey. Mihou Sakai's family situation wasn't very good, and even... 'wasn't very good' might be a euphemism.
The girl was born into a commoner family in the suburbs of the Guanzheng District. Aside from providing for the family's expenses, her parents' salaries might only be enough for Mihou Sakai, or perhaps Mihou Sakai's sister, to study.
The cost of cultivating an Esper is extremely high. Especially for a Physical-type Esper like Mihou Sakai.
For a commoner family to raise a powerful Physical-type Esper is almost a fool's dream.
If Mihou Sakai's talent hadn't happened to be [Perfect Execution], then according to the girl's terrifying volume of training, she would have ruined her body long ago.
Good luck had favored her from the very beginning. Yet even so, Mihou Sakai had made up her mind long, long ago to give up on that unrealistic dream.
It would be better to let her sister study.
But fortunately... Lady Fate favored her once again, allowing her to enter Keigunen Private Academy as a rare honor student.
Mm... last year, Su Yuzu also entered Keigunen Private Academy under the same title.
Su Yuzu, having lived two lives, understood that for Mihou Sakai, who was born into such a family, that kind of inferiority complex... was not something she could wipe away in a day or two.
All she could do was care for Mihou Sakai's fragile heart as much as possible.
And the facts were exactly so. Under Mihou Sakai's near-crazy, day-and-night training, she had practically no friends. She wouldn't invite anyone to her home to play.
She had no goal, and... didn't dare to.
In her heart, she felt jubilant that Senpai Yuzu could spare half a day solely to accompany her, yet she also felt panicked about the itinerary for the next half-day.
Mihou Sakai had heard of Senpai Yuzu's identity. The Soga family's young lady.
A young lady from a class completely different from hers since birth. Even a girl as arrogant as Miss Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi and her father had to bow their heads before Senpai Yuzu.
Mihou Sakai was incredibly terrified of today's trip.
Just Su Yuzu alone made the girl panic to this extent. Su Yuzu could completely foresee how much psychological pressure it would cause the girl if she brought her sister and the others along in a flock.
She was here to help Mihou Sakai relax, not to make Mihou Sakai feel uncomfortable.
That was the reason why there seemed to be only Su Yuzu and Mihou Sakai in the tram carriage.
Of course—
Su Yuzu glanced at [Operator Development].
Soga Yura and Sakura Mai, including Teacher Unohana Chiyo... the backgrounds of their Q-version Operators were all a tram carriage similar to the one she and Mihou Sakai were in.
They had followed as well; they just hadn't let Mihou Sakai discover them.
Su Yuzu gently held Mihou Sakai's small hand.
The girl's pale green eyes looked at Su Yuzu, watery and at a loss. The closer they got to her home, the more panicked she became.
Afraid... afraid that Senpai Yuzu would see her family's poverty. But when her hand was held by Senpai Yuzu, she felt so reassured.
Without saying a word, Su Yuzu just gently held Mihou Sakai's hand, her fingertips tracing patterns in the girl's palm.
Because of the extremely high intensity of training, even Mihou Sakai, who possessed [Perfect Execution], still had calluses on her palms that couldn't be worn away.
Those were the traces left by the girl training like a madwoman. Because she desperately desired to become stronger.
Desired to change her own destiny. Desired to change her family's destiny.
Perhaps... it wasn't even about changing destiny. Mihou Sakai just didn't want to disappoint her parents, didn't want her sister to work as hard as she did.
Thinking about it this way... under such terrifying high-pressure training, it didn't seem like anything major if the girl just used her handiwork to release some stress every day.
Perhaps... Little Sakai just purely wanted to make herself 'faint', escaping the soreness and fatigue caused by a day of crazy honing.
After leaving the tram station, Su Yuzu, carrying bags big and small, followed Mihou Sakai through deep and shallow crooked alleys before finally seeing the detached house of Little Mihou Sakai's family.
It was a very dilapidated small house that probably hadn't been painted in a long time. The mailbox at the door was crooked and mottled, with a cute Gekota sticker stuck on it.
Pursing her lips, Mihou Sakai looked back with the tiniest movement. She was really so afraid... so afraid...
Afraid that she would see a trace of disdain on Senpai Yuzu's face, see Senpai Yuzu's furrowed brows, or even... see the pity revealed by Senpai Yuzu.
But this was her home. The home she had to face calmly.
However, it was very unexpected... when she turned her head, Mihou Sakai didn't see a shred of unhappiness, disdain, or pity on Su Yuzu's face.
On the contrary. Senpai... seemed a little at a loss.
Smoothing out the dress on her body, she looked at her. "Little Mihou..."
"Is my outfit a bit too casual? Would it be better if I wore a uniform like Mihou?"
"Will Uncle and Auntie think I'm the kind of delinquent who's going to kidnap Little Mihou..."
Senpai was at a loss, just like a teenager meeting a girlfriend's parents.
After realizing that such a strange thought had suddenly popped into her head, Little Mihou Sakai's mind immediately couldn't stop beginning to fantasize.
Biting her lip, she shook her head vigorously.
"It looks very good—"
"There won't... be anyone better looking than Senpai."
She wanted to grab Senpai's hand.
If... Senpai really was the delinquent she spoke of... who wanted to kidnap her.
How wonderful that would be.
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