The road was busy with a steady stream of vehicles. As she approached the traffic lights, Natsu Sonoko ca to a stop well before the crossing, dismounted her bicycle, and walked it across the crossroad.
With so ti still left before class, she thought about finding an ATM to check her balance and withdraw so cash.
To be honest, Natsu Sonoko didn't have many expenses.
als, clothing, and accommodation were all provided by Tokiwadai Middle School, along with free school bus services. The essentials of daily life required zero effort on her part.
Most of her spending was focused on snacks, gas, and the occasional big-ticket item. For instance, the bicycle she was riding now counted as her most significant recent purchase.
'I should get a decent laptop this ti. The tablet is fine, but it just doesn't have that satisfying feel of tapping away on a physical keyboard,' Sonoko thought to herself.
As a seasoned denizen of the internet, she knew full well that you need good tools to do good work.
Technology products in Academy City were a di a dozen, and computers weren't particularly expensive. Compared to bulky desktop models, Sonoko preferred the portability of a laptop.
Once she had one, looking up study materials online would be much more convenient.
Even a high-end laptop with excellent specs wouldn't be priced too exorbitantly at a specialty store. The actual cost really wasn't that much.
Setting aside Sonoko's plans to buy a laptop for 'studying,' as she passed a costics store, she was surprised to see, through the display window, none other than Shirai-san, ticulously selecting costics.
Shirai was hunched over the lipstick counter, completely absorbed in picking out her preferred shades.
A strange smile played on her lips, and she seed imrsed in a state of inexplicable bliss, as if her spirit had attained imnse satisfaction.
Looking at the assortnt of shopping bags piled at Shirai Kuroko's feet, it appeared her shopping spree had been quite productive.
They had just seen each other at the dorm, and only about half an hour had passed since they parted ways. To have already bought so much... Shirai-san's efficiency was truly impressive.
'But hasn't Shirai-san been really busy lately? How does she have ti to buy costics? Don't tell she's planning another date sche...'
Sonoko's mind whirred. This unusual behavior from Shirai imdiately gave her a foreboding feeling, a sense of an approaching storm.
The feeling was irrational, but she couldn't help feeling a wave of concern for Misaka-senpai.
'Just the other day, she wouldn't co shopping or to the supermarket, and now she's sneaking around buying costics that the school explicitly forbids. Sothing is definitely up with Shirai-san.'
Shirai, a master strategist when it ca to these things, seed to be brewing a new plan, likely after her long string of failed dating sches.
Sonoko pedaled past the costics store, picking up speed. Since there were quite a few pedestrians on this road, the dust she kicked up wasn't actually that much, and she was only going slightly faster than walking pace.
Before long, she finally found an available ATM. Since the ATMs inside convenience stores charged a small fee, Sonoko always preferred to use the public ones.
Pulling her bicycle to a stop by the roadside, a hint of anticipation on her face, she opened the ATM booth's door, inserted her card, entered her PIN, and checked her balance.
So many zeros. No need to divulge the exact number here. After all, yen aren't worth that much anyway.
After carefully checking the balance, which matched her expectations, Sonoko roughly calculated her upcoming expenses and withdrew a modest amount of cash.
The cash used within Academy City was slightly different from the yen circulated outside.
It was produced by the Academy City Mint and even contained an anti-counterfeiting IC chip. Counterfeit bills probably didn't exist here.
She slipped the money into her small wallet, stuffed the wallet into her schoolbag, and completed the whole routine with practiced ease. She was out of the ATM booth in about two minutes.
But just as she prepared to get back on her bicycle and leave, she froze. A slight frown creased her forehead. Sothing felt very wrong.
'It must be the way I opened the door.' She turned in a complete circle on the spot, then, stubbornly refusing to believe it, went back into the ATM booth and ca out again, but she still couldn't locate a certain missing item.
'My bicycle? Where's my bicycle? Where did my perfectly large bicycle go?' Sonoko stood there, schoolbag in hand, one fist clenched tightly.
An intense internal struggle seed to be raging within her.
'It's not possible. Sothing must be wrong.' Her mind was in a jumble. She stood there blankly, rooted to the spot, her thoughts far away.
-- --
"Natsu-san, Natsu-san, you seem distracted today?"
In class, Watanabe Aya glanced worriedly at Natsu Sonoko. From the start of the lesson until now, Natsu-san hadn't seed like herself.
Gently nudging Sonoko with her elbow, Watanabe whispered softly.
This wasn't like the usual Natsu-san. The usual Natsu-san almost never let her mind wander.
"Natsu Sonoko, please solve this problem." Just then, the math teacher called on her, pointing to a question on the blackboard.
Sonoko walked up to the podium, her face expressionless. Being a bit too short, she had to struggle onto her tiptoes to write the answer on the board, but her face still wore that sa vacant look, which was strangely concerning.
"Very good. Not only the correct answer, but also a very simple and efficient thod." The math teacher nodded in satisfaction.
"What's wrong? You seem really off today, Natsu-san?"
As Sonoko returned to her seat, Watanabe Aya beside her patted her arm again and whispered inquiringly.
"Watanabe-san, do you know the saying 'you can't have your cake and eat it too'?" Sonoko turned her head blankly, looking at Watanabe Aya as she spoke softly.
"Huh? I don't get it." Watanabe was clearly unable to follow Sonoko's train of thought.
"This morning, my bicycle was stolen. At the sa ti, school was about to start. I could only choose one: look for the bike, or get to school." Sonoko explained.
Her stiff expression instantly changed, her eyes now filled with a look of pure frustration.
"So... you ran all the way to class, Natsu-san?" Watanabe seed to have understood sothing, but what ca out of her mouth was completely unrelated.
"No. I asked a Judgnt mber for help. Shirai Kuroko-san brought to school. If I'd run, I definitely would have been late. I couldn't have found a taxi in such a short ti either."
Sonoko explained honestly.
Although she had asked for Shirai-san's help again, she absolutely did not think of Shirai-san as so sort of tool.
They were both just heading to school anyway, right?
Even though Shirai-san seed a bit annoyed that a certain soone had called Judgnt again, she still rushed to the scene, laden with her shopping bags, which inexplicably made Sonoko feel sowhat touched.
"That's amazing! Shirai-san can carry soone and travel that far? As expected of our school's only spatial ability user." Watanabe exclaid in surprise.
"Did Shirai-san agree to help find your bicycle?" The two chatted back and forth, until Watanabe finally arrived at the most crucial question.
"She agreed. After school, I'm going to the 177th Branch Office where Shirai-san is, to check the surveillance footage." Sonoko replied after a mont's thought.
Checking the caras when you lose sothing is perfectly logical.
Their whispered conversation in class didn't cause any ripples. Even while talking with Watanabe, neither of them fell behind the teacher's lecture.
They even managed to finish the practice problems during gaps in their conversation.
Finally, it was ti for club activities. A certain soone's club activities were always so… straightforward.
Today, the first place to investigate was decided: the Judgnt 177th Branch Office.
The Judgnt 177th Branch Office was located in Sakugawa Middle School. It took Sonoko a long ti to walk there, leaving her limbs feeling tired and sore.
"Is Shirai-san not here?" Arriving at the 177th Activity Branch, Sonoko didn't see Shirai, only Uiharu-san was there alone.
"She's not. Shirai-san has already responded to a report and is out," Uiharu replied, seated in front of a computer. A small red dot moved constantly across the screen as Uiharu busied herself giving directions to Shirai Kuroko.
"Is it about that series of bombings? Has the situation gotten worse recently?" Sonoko asked curiously.
"Yes, the bomb incident has escalated. Several innocent people have been injured recently. This ti, a shop's windows were shattered, and a number of people at the scene sustained cuts from the glass," Uiharu explained slowly, a slight frown on her face.
"Natsu-san, I heard from Shirai-san that your bicycle was stolen. Would you like to check the surveillance footage now?" Uiharu, who seed to have learned about the situation from Shirai on the other end of the headset, looked up at Sonoko.
"Yes, the location is near the ATM on Third Street in School District 7," Sonoko said, her spirits lifting instantly.
"Okay, there are twenty-one surveillance caras in the vicinity. I've pulled up all the feeds," Uiharu said. Almost as soon as Sonoko finished speaking, Uiharu's voice ca again, "All set."
-- --
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 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.
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