Natsu Sonoko carefully took a bite of her oversized fruit shaved ice, unable to resist tasting the sweet and tangy strawberry syrup on top. Instantly, she felt every pore on her body relax in delight.
While enjoying her shaved ice, Natsu never used her ability. After all, eating shaved ice on a scorching hot day was pure joy—doing so on a mild day just wasn't the sa.
For once, Natsu had dropped the constant temperature layer she usually maintained over her skin, finally experiencing the blazing heat and intensity of Academy City's weather.
Don't ask why—it was all about the atmosphere.
Without the right vibe, it'd be like eating yogurt without licking the lid—totally missing life's simple little pleasures.
And it seed this newly opened drink shop truly understood the essence of "atmosphere." On a street full of stores, this was the only one fully equipped and freshly renovated, yet for so reason, it had no air conditioning.
'Maybe it's broken and being fixed,' Natsu thought, 'or maybe they never installed one to begin with.'
Because of that, Natsu Sonoko was the only custor savoring the "vibes" inside.
The only other person was a boy who'd ordered his shaved ice to go. Plenty of people passed by outside, but almost no one was willing to step into an un-air-conditioned shop on a day like this.
'People really don't appreciate the deeper joys of eating shaved ice!' she mused.
On a hot, sweltering day, there was nothing more satisfying than enjoying a bowl of ice—now that was atmosphere.
What atmosphere, my foot! If anyone had known what this girl, who usually enjoyed perpetual spring-like temperatures, was really thinking, they would've roasted her for a solid minute.
But right now, Natsu's attention wasn't entirely on her giant bowl of shaved ice.
Just monts ago, she'd witnessed an attempted shooting—a drive-by incident.
Violent cris like this weren't too common in Academy City, but you'd still see them in the news now and then. Beneath the city's prosperous surface lay plenty of dark undercurrents.
Guns… they were truly terrifying.
The mont she saw the assailant pull out a pistol, Natsu's breath hitched.
She didn't have Shirai Kuroko's teleportation, nor could she control bullets with electricity like Misaka-senpai.
If she'd been the target, given her current reflexes, she doubted she could've dodged in ti.
Natsu quietly ran through her current abilities, and even the sweetness in her mouth seed to fade.
Could she create a dense enough layer of ice to block a bullet? Her mind wandered. Maybe she ought to get a little more creative.
What about lting the bullet with high heat? Hmm… with her current abilities, that didn't seem feasible.
Create mist and pull a Hidden Mist Jutsu? Then charge at the shooter with an ice kunai?
Or maybe Mirror Ice Crystals? 'You'll never find —how will you beat that? How?'
In her mind, she could almost hear the arrogant laugh of a certain small-town police chief.
'The Hidden Academy Village's Scientific Ninja, Natsu Sonoko, at your service!?'
But pulling off sothing like that would require the computational power of a Level 5! And she'd probably need a moisture-rich environnt too. She wondered if there was a way to make a simplified version.
"Shirai-san is just so cool, no matter what," Natsu murmured, her thoughts returning to the present as she gazed at Shirai Kuroko in the distance. Though A Certain Scientific Railgun tended to highlight her… quirks, when she was on Judgnt duty, she was undeniably impressive.
No doubt about it—when that masked man tried to attack earlier, the one who stepped in to stop him was none other than Shirai Kuroko's first-year schoolmate, Natsu Sonoko.
Natsu was afraid of bullets, true, but she was confident she could've kept him from firing. Besides freezing the gun, she could also overheat the bullet's gunpowder and set it off.
A gun that can't fire is just trash! —By Natsu Sonoko.
'In the past, I didn't have a choice. Now, I want to be a good person.' Wait, wrong script.
By now, Shirai Kuroko had regained her composure.
Looking at the frozen masked man, she breathed a sigh of relief, then walked over to the motorcycle rider, grabbed his hands, and tied them behind the pole with special restraints.
"This is Shirai Kuroko of Judgnt Branch 177. Thank you for your assistance," she called out, scanning the area. But she couldn't spot the person who'd helped her, so she simply voiced her gratitude aloud.
She rembered not too long ago, when she'd been saved by a certain Misaka-senpai—no, by Onee-sama—rescued from a desperate situation with a bank robber.
That flash of blue-white lightning… an anonymous helpful citizen, the Railgun, had unexpectedly co to her rescue.
Natsu Sonoko was busy finishing her shaved ice. Helping others and being thanked felt nice, but she wasn't in it for the gratitude—that just sounded like a hassle.
Honestly, Natsu didn't consider herself a do-gooder like Misaka-senpai, always ddling in trouble and leaving without leaving a na. She'd just been testing her abilities a little.
In her opinion, the traits "hard-working (sotis lazy)" and "hobody" were more than enough.
Sirens wailed as the Anti-Skill squad arrived. After a brief exchange with the Judgent mber, both criminals and the badly damaged motorcycle were loaded into Anti-Skill's reinforced armored truck.
Looking at that intimidating vehicle and the fully ard officers, Natsu could just imagine how severe the violence and esper-related cri in Academy City really was.
But thanks to the efforts of Anti-Skill and Judgent, students like Natsu Sonoko could still enjoy their drinks in peace.
After finishing the last spoonful of shaved ice, Natsu decided to order several more to take back to her dorm. With her ability, she could keep them frozen for days, ready for whenever she wanted to savor that hot-day chill.
Though it'd be best to finish them today—she didn't want to lug them around everywhere.
With that in mind, after seeing Judgent's Shirai Kuroko and the Anti-Skill team off, Natsu placed a large order with the shop owner—five extra-large shaved ices, each in a different flavor.
So heavy… She should've bought fewer. Her small figure swayed slightly as she walked, and before long, she was panting a little.
Carrying five extra-large shaved ices, Natsu finally faced her own inadequacy: her stamina was just too poor. If only she had endurance like Shirai Kuroko.
Even with the constant-temperature layer around her skin, Natsu was sweating buckets, her hair damp and clinging.
"Let help you, new neighbor and kouhai." A familiar yet unfamiliar voice reached Natsu's ears—a boyish yet gentle tone.
Natsu wondered if she was hearing things. She was out on the street—how could she be hearing Misaka-senpai's voice? She must be so tired her ears were playing tricks.
Misaka-senpai's voice wasn't exactly sweet, but it was oddly pleasant to listen to.
How she'd love to hear her sing the Railgun the song! Maybe she could sneak into the music room and listen in, or even record it and play it back in her dorm…
Stop! Natsu took a deep breath. Even though her affection for Misaka Mikoto-senpai was at a solid 100, she told herself, 'Natsu Sonoko, don't just randomly adopt Shirai-san's character settings!'
Suddenly feeling deeply sinful, she decided she needed to cool down with video gas, manga, and snacks.
At that thought, Natsu's shoulders slumped. Her life as a Tokiwadai young lady was just one thing after another.
"Can't you hear ? You, the kouhai over there, lost in thought with a face full of changing expressions."
Again? This ti, Natsu jolted awake and finally turned around. There stood a girl with chestnut-brown hair, one hand on her hip, wearing a slightly strained smile.
She wore the standard Tokiwadai uniform, carried a black school bag, and from it dangled a Gekota charm.
Chestnut hair, chestnut eyes, a lovely and spirited face, and eyes that held a determined, never-say-die spirit.
Misaka-senpai… is talking to ?!
Misaka Mikoto. Age 14. Female. Second-year at Tokiwadai Middle School. One of only seven Level 5 espers in Academy City, ranked Third. An Electromaster known as the "Railgun."
Capable of freely manipulating billions of volts of electricity, electromagnetic waves, and magnetism. Her signature move: firing a coin at three tis the speed of sound—the "Railgun."
So. Incredibly. Cool.
Natsu's mind raced through everything she knew about Misaka Mikoto, her face suddenly flushing with excitent and nerves.
"It's nice to et you, Misaka-senpai! I'm Natsu Sonoko, a first-year. I've always liked and admired you," she stamred.
Misaka Mikoto! The one and only Railgun! In the flesh!
Her reaction wasn't too different from an ordinary person eting their dream idol—not that Natsu would ever admit it.
"Nice to et you, I'm Misaka Mikoto. Are you settling in well at Tokiwadai, Natsu-san? Also, thank you for your help the other day," Misaka said with a nod.
Talking to Misaka-senpai was surprisingly easy—she didn't put on any airs at all.
But… the other day?
Then Natsu rembered: a few days after moving into the dorms but before classes started, there'd been a day when all the air conditioning in the building went down, probably due to an electrical overload or sothing. And of course, it happened to be unusually hot that day.
She'd volunteered to be the dorm's personal AC unit. Everyone gathered in the common lounge, and she'd used her ability to lower the temperature by about ten degrees Celsius for several hours, until the workers finally fixed the AC that evening.
Misaka-senpai had been there too, she recalled.
Even the dorm supervisor had, for once, made an exception and didn't punish Natsu for using her ability inside.
"You worked hard that day," Misaka-senpai said with an apologetic smile. Natsu wasn't sure why she looked apologetic, but she quickly assured her it hadn't been much of a burden and there was no need to worry.
-- --
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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