Academy City's Weather Report! (Toaru) Chapter 1: Academy City Weather Report! - 1

The weather in Academy City this year was as scorching as ever. Even though it was still that transitional period between spring and sumr, the high temperatures had already begun their relentless assault.

Even with technology twenty years more advanced than the outside world, the power of the heat hadn't diminished in the slightest.

If anything, it felt worse, amplified by the dense buildings and teeming crowds.

According to the weather forecast, this heatwave was supposed to last for at least another half-month.

And once sumr truly arrived, these blistering days would just co in waves. The weather lately really was getting more and more abnormal.

The blare of car horns was drowsy and hypnotic. On the streets, small groups of students walked together, taking hurried steps as they rushed towards the shopping district in the distance, no doubt seeking its air-conditioned relief.

Night fell, the sky gradually darkened, and the once-bustling shopping street was nearly all closed up for the day.

The streetlights in the vicinity had long since flickered on, one after another.

"Shirai-san, the caras in District 7 picked sothing up. There's so abnormal weather… ah, it seems to be snowing there!" The exclamation from Uiharu Kazari rang in Shirai Kuroko's earpiece, so loud that Kuroko couldn't help but rip the device from her ear.

"Uiharu, what are you doing? You have to rember, I'm wearing an earpiece to hear you," Shirai Kuroko grumbled, rubbing her ear before quietly turning down the volu.

She placed the earpiece back in her ear, then proceeded to smooth out the slightly wrinkled Judgent armband on her sleeve.

She clasped her hands together, raised them high above her head, and stretched with a languid sigh.

"Sorry, Shirai-san," Uiharu's voice ca through again, accompanied by an embarrassed chuckle. On the other end of the line, the flower-wearing girl's cheeks flushed a light pink.

'Really, what am I going to do with you,' Shirai Kuroko sighed internally. "It can't be helped," she said aloud, her voice taking on a deliberately ladylike cadence.

"Alright, tell the location. I'll go check it out, hopefully I can still make it in ti." Kuroko's expression shifted to one of seriousness as she listened carefully to the location Uiharu relayed.

It was near School Garden in District 7, at a small, out-of-the-way park.

The cara coverage there was a bit sparse compared to inside School Garden, but fortunately, there was a road nearby. The traffic caras had captured clear signs of teorological changes.

"Snow in this kind of weather? How strange. I wonder which esper is responsible this ti." A private thought crossed Kuroko's mind. 'It's already so late, and I still have to get back before lights out.'

It had been several days since she enrolled in Tokiwadai, and she'd only just found out that her esteed Onee-sama didn't actually live in the Tokiwadai dormitory located inside School Garden.

Instead, she lived in Tokiwadai's District 7 Student Dormitory, located outside of School Garden.

"What a blunder, aah, aah, aah!" Shirai Kuroko scratched her head frantically, clearly recalling sothing that drove her mad.

Because she'd been so overjoyed about entering Tokiwadai and getting to see Onee-sama, she'd completely forgotten to have Uiharu investigate the location of Onee-sama's current dormitory.

If there had been a table nearby, Kuroko would have gladly banged her head against it a few tis. 'Wasting precious ti that could have been spent with Onee-sama… my cris are unforgivable!'

'I've already started the paperwork to transfer dorms these past few days. Tomorrow, I will move into Onee-sama's dormitory!' Shirai Kuroko bit her lip fiercely, as if centing so monuntal resolution.

The mont Uiharu finished speaking, an invisible spatial tremor rippled around Shirai Kuroko, and her entire body vanished from the spot.

The distracted young lady quickly shifted into work mode. While she could sotis seem a bit excitable, when it ca to her duties as a Judgent mber, she was consistently ticulous and thorough.

In the secluded little park, a girl wearing a white short-sleeved blouse, a beige knitted vest, and a gray pleated skirt appeared abruptly. Her arrival stirred up a minor shift in the air currents.

The skirt was quite short, barely brushing her knees. But, lacking any LV6-caliber upward drafts, and thanks to reasons that would make the elusive Newton weep, it remained firmly pressed against the girl's skin, completely undisturbed by her recent spatial jump.

"Uiharu, I've reached the location. This park really is out of the way, probably doesn't get many visitors, huh? Hm?" Shirai Kuroko had landed on a large tree branch, furrowing her brow as she carefully scanned her surroundings.

"There's no trace of any snowflakes left now; they must have lted. But there's residual water on the ground and the trees. It hasn't rained in District 7 recently, and it's not morning dew either. We can basically confirm there was so kind of teorological anomaly here."

Shirai Kuroko lightly touched a leaf. A single, glistening drop of water fell into her palm.

After a careful inspection of the park area, she found the water droplets were scattered across roughly half the park, forming a sowhat irregular circle.

A rough estimate put the average radius of this circle at about ninety to one hundred ters.

'A range of effect up to a hundred ters from the user? Or perhaps the effect applies to any location within their line of sight? But it seems the perpetrator has already left.' Kuroko mused. Her own line of sight through this grove of trees was also limited, to about ninety or a hundred ters.

After a general inspection of the snowy phenonon, Shirai Kuroko was leaning towards it being just an accident caused by an esper or so piece of machinery.

If it was an esper, their level probably wasn't low—at least a Level 3, Strong, what they call the 'practical stage.'

"Uiharu, given that the individual involved didn't cause any large-scale impact or damage public property, I recomnd we docunt it in the files and conduct follow-up observations," Shirai Kuroko said, enunciating each word clearly. As she spoke, she took a deep breath of the still-chilly air.

'So refreshing…' Shirai Kuroko closed her eyes briefly, savoring the feeling. In this sweltering heat, finding such a cool spot was truly wonderful.

She cast a sowhat regretful glance at the park, which was gradually being reclaid by the oppressive heat, and in the next second, her figure vanished once more, destination unknown.

anwhile, under the glow of a streetlamp, a figure was pedaling a brand-new bicycle along a road that cut through a large part of District 7, speeding quickly towards the rembered location of Tokiwadai's District 7 Student Dormitory.

Academy City had a population of 2.3 million, 80% of whom were students. Its technological prowess far surpassed the world's level, with cleaning and security robots visible everywhere.

Standing at the peak of these 2.3 million people were seven Level 5 espers. With those seven as her goal, this cycling figure always sought opportunities to train her ability, striving to beco the eighth Level 5.

Although currently only a Level 3 'Strong' esper, the young girl before us was confident she wouldn't lose to a Level 4 'Superior'.

This ti, she'd managed to affect the ambient temperature across an entire area with a radius of one hundred ters—a full doubling of her range since sixth grade.

Within this vast area, Natsu Sonoko could influence the temperature by roughly 30 degrees Celsius, and that was her absolute limit.

Of course, if she shrank the area of effect, concentrating her control on just a small part of that hundred-ter radius, the temperature change she could achieve was far greater than just thirty-so degrees.

Temperature Manipulation. Such an ordinary ability.

She considered its applicability, research value, and combat practicality all rather average. 'Air conditioners and heaters were invented ages ago, for heaven's sake!'

And that nickna, 'The Mobile Central Air Unit'—her elentary school classmates had called her that for years!

To get a clear picture of her current strength, and also in preparation for her first comprehensive periodic examination since entering Tokiwadai, this twelve-year-old girl nad Natsu Sonoko had been pushing herself to the limit these past few days.

The scholarship for Level 4 was a full twice that of Level 3. Even though the Level 3 scholarship was already quite generous, the penny-pinching nature ingrained in Sonoko's bones just wouldn't fade away.

Despite her significant progress, she still felt a bit anxious about whether she could actually advance to Level 4.

"Still thirty minutes until lights out. Need to shower, brush my teeth, rinse… but there should be enough ti." Natsu Sonoko gritted her teeth as she pedaled. She could have taken the last Tokiwadai school bus back, but she couldn't bring herself to leave her bicycle behind.

This bicycle was a brand-new model she'd bought not long ago to exercise, spending nearly a month's scholarship on it. She'd only been riding it for a few days—what if soone stole it?

Click-clack. The bicycle ca to a steady stop near the flower bed of the Tokiwadai Student Dormitory. A glance at the ti confird she hadn't passed curfew.

Then, with a touch of practiced nonchalance, she shot a glance towards the Dorm Supervisor standing at the entrance, stopwatch in hand, before quickly walking into the dormitory.

This Supervisor was a terrifying existence who had taken down a Level 4 with her bare hands and made a Level 5 cry. How could a re quasi-Level 4 like herself hope to escape her clutches?

"Natsu-san, wait a mont." The Supervisor adjusted her glasses, turning her gaze towards the now-stiffening figure of Natsu Sonoko.

"Long ti no see, Supervisor," Natsu Sonoko said with a bow, her heart filled with trepidation. 'I know I'm not late, and I made sure to keep my ability tucked away without breaking any dorm rules…'

"There's a crease on your blouse, and your skirt has water stains. While I don't object to you riding a bicycle, you must not forget to maintain the image of a Tokiwadai student, even when outside. This is sothing every Tokiwadai student must rember." The Supervisor's glasses reflected the light, radiating imnse authority.

"Yes…"

"That was close. As expected of the Supervisor-sensei." Natsu Sonoko let out a long sigh of relief and hurried towards her room.

Passing by one particular door, Sonoko couldn't resist taking a few extra curious glances. The naplate bore the number 208. Inside lived Tokiwadai's strongest—the Railgun.

"I actually live next door to Misaka Mikoto-senpai? This has to be the price for staying up late binge-watching 'A Certain Scientific Railgun T'."

Thinking these sowhat ambiguous thoughts, Natsu Sonoko rubbed her head in mild vexation and walked towards door number 210.

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