A wave of enthusiastic cheers rose around her, and Natsu-san's half-hearted promise began to spread.
After Natsu-san joined Judgnt, her frequent absence from duties and lack of public exposure ant that the changes she brought were mostly limited to rumors and hearsay.
This was probably the first ti she had openly appeared before so many people in her dual identity as a Judgnt mber and an esper.
To be honest, even she didn't fully grasp what kind of impact her offhand remark would have. But seeing how happy everyone suddenly beca, she couldn't bring herself to take back what she'd so casually declared.
All she could do was maintain a ladylike smile and act as though it were nothing.
But playing the refined young lady was seriously exhausting.
Ever since entering Tokiwadai Middle School, she'd been saddled with the inexplicable burden of acting like an ojō-sama, and lately, it seed an "idol image" had been added to the mix.
Natsu-san was struggling to maintain elegance in front of strangers.
As for those attackers—their punishnts wouldn't end for a good three or four months. Sothing that far off clearly didn't bother a certain bun-girl who lived firmly in the present.
"There are about a dozen or so attackers. Looks like there's no hope of wrapping this up in a day or two."
Gazing lightly up at the ceiling, Natsu-san tuned out the noisy surroundings and lost herself in thought.
All she wanted was to leisurely spend a relaxed afternoon, sipping the black tea that Uiharu-san had bought—was such a simple life really too much to ask?
"Hey, you. Ti to get to work."
Her train of thought was abruptly cut off as the silhouette of a twin-tailed girl ca into view. In the dim light, the outline seed sowhat blurred.
Before she could fully clear her vision, one of her hands was firmly grasped, and without any resistance, she was whisked away from the area.
The hand holding hers felt warm, and the chestnut-brown hair carried the familiar scent of the sa shampoo. The two Judgnt girls broke through the limits of space, appearing side-by-side in the open air.
"We've got a result from the negotiations with the ard group."
"Bringing you along, Natsu-san, was a wise decision after all."
Before she could even ask, Shirai-san had already gotten straight to the point, casually praising Natsu Sonoko, who was already starting to sulk.
"They agreed?"
After a brief pause, Natsu-san looked sowhat surprised.
Although she had guessed they were unlikely to refuse—partly because Judgnt had taken a strong stance, and partly because the other side saw a glimr of hope for resolving the incident—Natsu-san and the others also knew that agreeing would ultimately harm the ard group itself.
A normal leader probably wouldn't make such a decision, but then again, standing up for unrelated Level 0s was already an abnormal act in itself.
"They agreed to half of it."
Bracing against the strong headwind, Shirai-san gently landed on the roof of a building, gazing out at the endless cityscape stretching to the horizon.
"If the Anti-Skill and Judgnt can't manage to do their jobs, they'll resort to their own thods. But until then, they're willing to try things our way."
Shirai-san spoke, her expression growing more serious.
Those with power bullying those without—wasn't that the norm in this city? If you couldn't rely on the always-late Judgnt and Anti-Skill, then you might as well protect yourself.
"Honestly, I think Judgnt could do a lot more, but the adults don't want us involved in anything outside school grounds."
"When it cos to danger, what difference does it make whether it's inside or outside the school?"
A hint of complaint tinged Shirai-san's voice.
Though she treated writing apology statents as a daily hobby, that didn't an she enjoyed it. If nearby Judgnt mbers had stepped in earlier—even just patrolling the area—it could have reduced the number of victims.
To beco a Judgnt mber, one generally had to sign nine agreents, pass twelve aptitude tests, and complete four months of training.
Even soone like Natsu-san, who had taken shortcuts, had honestly signed those nine forms and understood the risks involved in being a Judgnt mber.
But as ordinary students, they couldn't defy the will of the Anti-Skill teachers—or rather, the will of Academy City's authorities.
"I don't agree with that."
"That kind of thinking is dangerous, Shirai-san. Judgnt already has plenty of work; we shouldn't add more to everyone's burden."
"Not everyone has as much energy as you do, Shirai-san. We all wish for a more relaxed afternoon."
Natsu-san shook her head with a serious expression, as though speaking her mind. This ti, she clearly sided with Academy City's official stance.
She believed the key to handling such incidents lay in addressing the gray zones and expanding the Anti-Skill ranks—not in making Judgnt work overti.
They went back and forth on whether Judgnt should take on more responsibility, but in the end, reached no useful conclusion.
Still, even though Natsu-san voiced strong opposition, her actions were quite honest—she obediently accompanied Shirai-san in dealing with the incident at hand.
Just thinking about the decision that ard group had made stirred a vague, hard-to-define feeling inside her.
There hadn't been enough ti to even get to know each other, let alone earn sothing as precious as their trust. Because of that, Natsu-san and the others now felt they were carrying a certain expectation and hope.
The mont Shirai-san chose to leverage soone's identity as an esper to negotiate with the ard group—and succeeded—even soone as carefree as Natsu-san knew she had to take those hopes seriously.
More and more people were placing their expectations on the ghostly girl wandering the urban jungle.
"Anyway, since 'Skill-Out' has agreed to withdraw from patrols in the gray zones and pull back all their personnel, the rest is entirely up to us."
"I'm fine with that—just don't you go slacking off."
Raising an eyebrow, Shirai Kuroko deftly pulled an armband from her pocket and handed a spare earpiece to Natsu Sonoko.
Negotiations weren't a one-sided affair, after all.
According to the final terms, the group's leader, Komaba Ritoku, would be hospitalized—officially due to severe side effects from the Hard Taper—and most mbers would cease activities in the absence of their leader, creating a vacuum in the gray zones of District 7.
As long as the "ga" continued, most of the attackers would gradually show themselves. They might miss a few especially cautious ones in the end, but stopping the trend would be the greatest success.
The main goal of law enforcent was to punish criminals, but ultimately, it was about preventing new cris from happening.
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