"Natsu-san, are you serious?"
It seed to take a mont for Uiharu to process it. The idea of Natsu stepping in as a substitute Judgnt mber was pretty surprising.
"Mhm. It's the holidays anyway. Rather than wasting ti cooped up in the dorm, I'd rather do my part for Academy City's public safety," Sonoko Natsu declared with an air of solemn duty, her face etched with a righteous, world-weary expression.
"If that's the case…" Uiharu hesitated slightly, falling into thought.
"Absolutely not. Do you think just anyone can be a Judgnt mber? It requires signing nine separate agreents, passing twelve aptitude tests, and completing four months of training. It's not so cushy, easy job that any clueless civilian student can just waltz into," a certain Teleporter imdiately objected, forming a large 'X' with her arms in front of her, her face showing no room for argunt.
"Every Judgnt mber must possess the resolve to fight the evils of Academy City and the perseverance to protect the safety of all students, day in and day out," Shirai stated sternly.
This gave a certain Level 5 a pause, leaving her montarily speechless.
'Was that dig about 'clueless civilian students' ant for ?' she wondered. Shirai really didn't pull her punches. Even Misaka-senpai seed to be fidgeting a little awkwardly.
Sonoko Natsu's plan had hit a major setback before it even began. But sotis, she wasn't one to give up so easily.
"Shirai-san doesn't get the final say. We should ask for Konori-senpai's opinion."
Natsu thought of their senior, Konori. Compared to Shirai, Konori-senpai was much easier to talk to and happened to be one of the few people who could keep Shirai in check.
"Hmm, I suppose it's not entirely out of the question. Sotis we do hold events where students can experience being a Judgnt mber. It's one way to help the public understand our work better," replied Konori Mii from the other end of the line.
At that mont, she was relaxing in a public bath, a skincare mask on her face, her hands resting on the edge of the tub, in a state of pure bliss. Not far away sat a full bottle of Musashino Milk.
"Eh? This is the first I'm hearing about such an event?" Uiharu's face showed confusion.
"They do exist! Look here, Uiharu." Natsu pointed to so photos she'd dug up, showing a Judgnt activity day at a certain elentary school.
"Such events do exist, but they're aid at elentary school students. Natsu-san, you're already in middle school. Furthermore, their purpose is to recruit new mbers," Shirai said, massaging her temples.
"But Konori-senpai already agreed," Natsu insisted.
"...Fine, this 'Judgnt experience' can only happen when Uiharu is unavailable. And during this ti, you must listen to , your senior," Shirai relented, though very reluctantly.
"Okay, okay, Shirai-san. I'll listen to you," Natsu replied with a shy smile, before zoning out and gazing blankly at the sky.
"Well then, Natsu-san, do your best!" Uiharu encouraged with a smile. Who knows, maybe Natsu-san was well-suited to be a Judgnt mber after all.
-- --
Early the next morning, right after taking care of her chores, Natsu, now wearing a Judgnt armband, boarded the express vehicle headed for Judgnt Branch 177.
Even though Sonoko Natsu was only an 'experience' mber, she still had the right to wear the shield-shaped armband. This one was Shirai's spare, temporarily lent to her.
"We're here."
After a not-too-long teleportation journey, Shirai released Natsu's arm and gave the sowhat distracted girl a light pat.
"So this is what it feels like to wear the armband."
Natsu gently touched the shield emblem on her arm. It felt… surprisingly nice.
"Natsu-san, the first rule of being a Judgnt mber is this: once you put on this armband, you're on duty. No matter where you are or what you're doing."
"Therefore, there's no such thing as 'off-duty' for us. Your work starts now, so take it seriously."
Shirai pulled Natsu over to Uiharu's workstation and pointed at the Judgnt computer.
Once Natsu was seated, Shirai opened the map software for all of Academy City. There was not only the Judgnt version but also the one dedicated to Anti-Skill.
"Part of your job, Natsu-san, is to answer incident reports and check various emails."
"If an incident occurs, you need to relay the location and details to via wireless comms. Afterwards, you must file and back up all the incident information. You're also responsible for monitoring the security caras, ensuring the safety of over two hundred public areas around Sakugawa Middle School," Shirai explained Uiharu's duties earnestly.
She had full confidence in Uiharu handling these tasks, but she was considerably less sure about a certain seemingly spacey girl with her hair in buns.
With that in mind, Shirai went through everything again, explaining every detail ticulously.
"I'm heading out on patrol. Judgnt work gets especially busy during the holidays. Natsu-san, you focus on your work. If you run into any problems, you can ask Konori-senpai; she'll be here soon."
Shirai gave a few more instructions, sounding like a worried parent listing off reminders before a trip.
"I'll be carrying a tracking device. You can confirm my location via the red dot on the map. This headset allows for real-ti communication with ; it has a microphone and comms equipnt built-in."
"Alright, I got it, Shirai-san. Don't worry!" Natsu nodded vigorously, promising earnestly that she would handle all the work.
Right after Shirai left and the door closed behind her, a strange sense of novelty washed over Sonoko Natsu.
Leaning back comfortably in the chair, a hint of excitent on her face, she carefully put on the headset, switched it on, and fiddled with the microphone volu.
"Hey, hey, Shirai-san? Can you hear ?" Natsu spoke into it, curious.
"An incident already? So soon? What's the location? How many perpetrators?" Shirai's voice ca through the headset. She had already left Branch 177 and was on a nearby shopping street.
"Ah, well, I was just testing the volu," Natsu replied, slightly embarrassed.
"…"
Clicking the mouse, Natsu cycled through the various security cara feeds. Dense crowds of students were everywhere, monitored by countless caras.
She quietly morized the locations of these caras, cross-referencing each one with its corresponding area.
After about half an hour, Natsu could easily identify each cara's location without having to double-check the mapped reference every ti she switched views.
All in all, Natsu was getting the hang of it quite quickly. 'As expected of .'
-- --
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, 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.
User Comments
0 comments from readers