Hello, everyone! Last chapter, Mikoto and Touma had sex for the second time. This chapter will cover what happens the following morning.

Rekuta: I'm glad you enjoyed all the scenes from that chapter, and yeah, the upside-down kiss was probably amazing. They will meet up with the Railgang in this chapter. Mikoto and Touma meeting Kongo or Sogiita are interesting ideas, and I have already planned scenes for them meeting Kongo later on in NT. It's good to hear that your fanfic is going well.

Aminadab Brulle: Haha, perhaps, though Mikoto can cover up the hickey at least with her ability.

Clearwing Yuta: Thanks, I'm glad you liked it.

Diablosgod: I'm happy you liked that small scene, it was something I've wanted to add somewhere in the story for a while.

Eddie199: They did use protection, I just neglected to mention it.

dragonghoul9707: Yes, their relationship is very far along now, and it's nice that their friends support them, even Kuroko now. This chapter will have them meet up with the Railgang, and NT12 is coming up afterwards.

xellos540: Well, Pizza Hut is pretty cheap in the US, so I figured it wouldn't be that much more expensive in Japan. Mikoto has been keeping the hotel booked every day since August, just in case she needs it. That's an interesting bet regarding Othinus. They shrug off the Shokuhou issue for now, but Mikoto will probably get more and more suspicious once it keeps happening. There is that body fat-controlling girl who was introduced in the latest Railgun arc, though it's not clear if Shokuhou did actually use her. Mikoto should be able to float in mid-air. Mikoto shocked the Windowless Building in her Level 6 Shift form, and Touma and Thor damaged it in NT6. Her power really is quite versatile, making her an ideal household companion. They both do have nightmares about traumatic experiences, though they are far enough along in their relationship that they can easily talk about sleeping together. Yes, they may have already been in upside-down positions in the bedroom too. It is a normal hotel room, so it does have two beds. Othinus does indeed want better shelter from the cat. Mikoto can and probably will ask her friends for help with packing everything. Her winter uniform does have black socks, and there's no King or Jack of Tokiwadai, since it's an all-girls school. Mikoto was quite bold there at the end, and they both sort of switched between being dominant and submissive. She really has come a long way, and Touma is enjoying all of it.

Stryper88: I'm glad you liked the welcome back date. Mikoto will probably remain confused about that for a while before she realizes what's happening. The skyscraper scene was fun to write, especially with that upside-down kiss. The good sides of Academy City do seem to get fewer and fewer indeed. They are both really horny, and yeah, that was the idea I was alluding to. Though just to clarify, Mikoto took off her underwear in the bathroom, she didn't go commando for the entire date. He probably grabbed her in a more intimate place afterwards, and they can both last quite a while. They're used to wearing pajamas, so that's why they put them back on. A sex scene during NT16 is a fun idea, though I don't know if they'd do it in that emergency situation when there are Elements running about and they need to save their energy to fight. I've started writing my version of NT12, and there'll be a few fun scenes throughout that arc. I'm still not quite sure how I'll write Kamisato, but he'd probably still say Touma has a harem but ignores all the girls besides Mikoto.

OdeClock: Yeah, Mikoto definitely helped out a lot in Hawaii, and she can definitely be a powerful ally for Touma in battle, since she knows about magic.

The following morning, Touma was the one who woke up first. He found his girlfriend nuzzling against his chest, and her legs intertwined with his. He gave her a loving smile, soon noticing that she was talking in her sleep, like usual. Mikoto was muttering, "Here, I made you a bento, Touma. Have a good day at school!"

The boy chuckled, fondly picturing that nice domestic scene. He moved his hand from her back to her head, and started combing his fingers through her soft locks. Touma contented himself with gazing at the girl's angelic sleeping face until she finally woke up.

When she did, Mikoto saw that her boyfriend was already awake, so she rubbed her fingers along his back and groggily said "Mmm, good morning, Touma."

Touma gave her a kiss, which lasted for a few seconds, before pulling away and replying, "Good morning, Biri-Biri." He hugged her a bit tighter against himself, continuing to cradle her head, and asked, "So, do you have any plans for the rest of the day?"

Mikoto rested her head against the boy's shoulder and sleepily replied, "Well, I'll probably go hang out with my friends later today." She briefly thought back to the previous time the four girls had been together, when she had partially told them about what happened with Othinus and GREMLIN. The girl then asked, "What about you, what are you going to do today?"

The boy thought for a bit and answered, "Hmm, I'll probably just go home, I don't really have any plans for today."

The two of them continued to lie in bed together, perfectly happy to delay getting up for some time. After all, they didn't have school that day, and with no other plans, they could afford to laze around somewhat.

A little while later, they finally got up and made their way to the bathroom to brush their teeth. This routine was starting to become familiar to the couple, and they settled into a comfortable silence.

However, once they finished, Mikoto had a big revelation for Touma. As they walked out of the bathroom, she told him with a grin, "You know, there's actually an attached room with a private bath here."

Touma looked over at her in surprise, reacting, "Wait, really?" He saw her head towards a door, which he'd previously thought led to either a closet or an adjoining room. But when his girlfriend opened the door, he saw that there was indeed a large private bath, with a window showing the view outside. He questioned, "You really spend that much extra money to rent a room with a private bath every day?"

Mikoto just shrugged, "Well, I can afford it, so why not? Sometimes I just need a nice, long, hot bath." This was especially true whenever she got into major fights. A hot bath in her hotel room was much more soothing than a shower in her dorm room.

The boy sighed, knowing that he couldn't change her point of view. But since she had so excitedly pointed the bath out to him, Touma wondered, "Wait, does she want us to go in together?" His cheeks reddened as he imagined the scene, and he nervously scratched his cheek and asked, "Hey Mikoto, can we bathe together?"

The girl blushed as well at his blunt question, but she replied, "Y-yeah, sure! That's why I showed you the bath in the first place!" She walked into the new room and turned on the hot water, letting it fill the tub.

Touma nodded and quickly started taking off his clothes. Mikoto was a little surprised at how eagerly he was doing it, but she was feeling just as eager too. By now, they had seen each other naked multiple times, but this would be their first time bathing together.

Once the tub was fully filled up, they each grabbed a towel from a nearby shelf to set down at the edge of the tub. They then slowly lowered themselves into the water next to each other, sitting down on a step that was below the surface. The sensation of the warm water against their bare skin was sharp at first, but soon became relaxing and soothing.

Touma grabbed onto his girlfriend's hand and gently squeezed it, receiving a squeeze back. They both leaned back against the edge of the tub and closed their eyes, letting out relaxed sighs.

The two of them stayed like that for a few minutes, slowly swinging their legs up and down, the buoyant force of the water giving them a floating feeling. But eventually, they had to actually get to cleaning themselves, so they each grabbed a bar of soap and began scrubbing their bodies.

As they did so, both Mikoto and Touma stole glances at each other, admiring each other's figures. The girl then suggested, "How about I wash your back, and you can wash mine?" That way, they could reach each other's hard-to-reach area and enjoy some skinship.

Touma nodded and replied, "Sure!" He was also excited about this, and turned away from the girl. He soon felt Mikoto's soft, soapy hands on his back, as she pressed her fingers against his skin.

Mikoto made sure to wash every square centimeter on his back. While doing so, she saw some of the scars he'd gotten from his many fights. This wasn't a new sight for her, but it just underscored how much danger he put himself in almost every single day. She resolved as his partner to do everything she could to relieve that burden.

The boy noticed that his girlfriend was being silent, so he looked back at her, asking, "Is something wrong, Mikoto?"

The girl's head snapped up as her thoughts were interrupted. She shook her head and answered, "N-no no, I'm fine! Anyway, I'm done, so it's your turn to wash my back."

Touma chuckled, "All right, then." Both of them turned around, so now he was behind her. He rubbed some soap onto his hands, and proceeded to start washing her back as well. Mikoto closed her eyes and let out a happy sigh at the sensation.

Touma observed that her skin was very smooth, though it was also quite well-toned due to her constant physical activity. It just made her even more attractive in his eyes.

Once they were done washing each other's backs, they could focus on just relaxing, since they were now fully clean. Touma sat back down on the step, but when Mikoto did the same, she came up with an interesting idea, suggesting, "Hey Touma, if you want, I can give you an electric bath."

The boy looked at her with a skeptical expression, replying, "I don't know what you mean by that, but it sounds very dangerous." Mixing electricity with water was generally a bad idea, after all.

Mikoto shook her head and said in an excited tone, "No, no, I promise it's safe! I'd just send out small amounts of electricity to give you a tingling feeling. I've done it before for the girls at Konori-senpai's favorite bathhouse, and they all loved it! Though I think you'll have to keep your right hand out of the water for it to work."

Touma's eyes widened in surprise as he listened to her explanation. He still felt a little unsure, but he nodded and said, "All right, I'll give it a shot. I trust you not to electrocute me." As she had suggested, he raised his right arm out of the water so it wouldn't interfere with the process.

The girl took this as her cue, and let out some small arcs of electricity, which soon reached the boy's body. To his surprise, it didn't feel painful at all. Instead, he felt a pleasurable tingling feeling throughout his body, kind of like an electric massage. He said, "Wow, this biri-biri bath does feel nice!"

Mikoto smirked upon seeing the effect she was having on him, exclaiming, "Great!" She then reached over and began massaging his shoulders, while directly sending tiny amounts of electricity into them, saying in a soft tone, "Now, how does this feel?"

Touma couldn't help himself, letting out a moan and exclaiming, "So good!" She continued applying pressure against his shoulders and sending small shocks down his body, and this combined with the physical proximity to her naked body was starting to get him a bit aroused. He squeezed his eyes shut and muttered, "Mikoto, if you keep doing this, I think I'll explode!"

The girl's face reddened as she looked down and saw the evidence of his current state. She quickly pulled her hands away, stammering, "S-sorry. I didn't realize it would be that stimulating."

Touma blushed as well, nervously rubbing his neck while replying, "It's okay, it really felt amazing, but I didn't want it to go too far right now. This is supposed to be a relaxing bath, right?"

Mikoto nodded, "Yeah, you have a point there. Still…" She paused for a moment and gave him a seductive smirk, continuing, "I could try that technique in the bedroom next time. What do you think?"

The boy's jaw dropped at her proposition, and he gulped as he began to consider it. But he had a few concerns, saying, "Hold on, don't you lose control of your electricity when you're feeling strong emotions? If I let you try this out, I might really get electrocuted."

Mikoto frowned, considering what he said, before eventually responding, "That's true, but it should be fine if we're careful and I only do it at the beginning, during foreplay."

Touma grinned at her and said in a teasing tone, "Foreplay, huh? You know, if you combine that electricity with your hand or your mouth, I don't think I'd be able to last that long. But it sounds very hot!"

The girl rolled her eyes and lightly elbowed his chest, groaning, "Your flattery could use some work, but thanks." Despite her reaction, she still blushed as she imagined herself performing those acts on her boyfriend.

Both of them then looked at each other for a moment before bursting out into laughter, amused at where their conversation had taken them. They decided it was a good time to get out of the bath, so they both stepped out of the water, using the towels they'd placed earlier to dry themselves off. After wrapping the towels around themselves, they headed back out to the main part of the hotel room. Touma walked behind his girlfriend, admiring how the towel hugged her curves and the view of the back of her legs.

The boy had a hard time resisting the sight, and he actually ended up lightly slapping Mikoto's ass. Mikoto was startled by this, and turned to face him with a raised eyebrow. She gave him a dangerous grin and asked, "Did you really just do that?"

Touma gulped, thinking to himself, "Damn it, why did I do that? I'm so screwed!"

Mikoto stepped up to him, raised her arm, and slapped his ass in return, causing him to yelp. She then immediately turned back around and sashayed away from him. Touma was left to follow her, rubbing his butt through the towel to soothe the stinging.

Once back in the main room, both Mikoto and Touma quickly pulled out a fresh set of clothes from their bags and started dressing themselves, taking the time to ogle at each other while doing so. However, just when they finished putting on their clothes, they were interrupted by someone unexpected.

From a shelf in the open closet, Othinus jumped down onto Touma's shoulder, exclaiming, "Good morning!"

Touma jumped back a bit, shouting, "Othinus! What are you doing here?"

Othinus crossed her arms and scoffed, "What do you think, human? I caught a ride inside your hoodie so I could get away from that monster cat."

Mikoto was equally freaked out, exclaiming, "What the hell? This was supposed to be a private night for the two of us!"

Othinus sighed and waved her off, saying, "Relax, Railgun. I didn't interrupt any of your precious romantic moments, did I? And don't worry, I didn't watch you two engage in intercourse. Unfortunately, I couldn't avoid hearing your sounds, even after burying myself under a towel in the closet."

Mikoto's entire face became red, and she buried it in her hands, groaning, "Y-you heard all that?" She frantically thought, "Is this some kind of twisted dream, or is this really happening?"

Othinus smirked and said, "Yes, you two were not bad at all for inexperienced lovers. If you want, I'd be willing to give you a few tips to make it even better."

Touma then exclaimed, "Othinus, you can't just secretly come here with us! This was supposed to be a private night for me and Mikoto!"

The girl on his shoulder raised her eyebrow at him and retorted, "Hey, if you don't want me to tag along when you leave me alone with that beast and that nun who doesn't restrain him, you should find a way to keep him away from me."

Mikoto narrowed her eyes at Othinus, questioning, "Are you really trying to blackmail us?"

Othinus shrugged and replied, "It's not blackmail, I'm just proposing a deal."

Touma sighed, scratching his head and saying, "Fine, I'll see if I can think of something."

Othinus gave him a short nod and muttered, "Good. Now, let's go get some breakfast. I had to skip dinner to get here, so I'm starving."

Mikoto and Touma let out simultaneous groans, deciding not to point out how her problem was self-inflicted. They gathered all their things and finally left the hotel room, after which they would get breakfast, check out of the hotel, and head back home.

A little while later, Mikoto and Touma had left the hotel, and they were now walking by their usual vending machine, which was where they planned to split up to head to their respective homes. Othinus had once again hidden herself inside the boy's hoodie, feeling satisfied by their earlier breakfast.

Mikoto turned to her boyfriend and asked while gesturing to the vending machine, "Hey, do you want to get some drinks?"

Touma smirked at her and replied, "I don't know, you're going to kick it for free drinks, right? I don't want to get in trouble for profiting from your crime."

The girl just rolled her eyes and walked towards the vending machine anyway, muttering, "Yeah, yeah." When she reached it, she jumped up and down a few times, spun around, and delivered a powerful kick to the machine, yelling, "Chaser!" Two random drinks fell down, so she took them both and walked back to Touma. She handed him one of the drinks, which he reluctantly took while avoiding her smug look.

They both opened their cans and began drinking from them, though Touma's face grimaced as he experienced the weird taste of his random drink. Mikoto's drink also had a strange taste, but she was more used to this routine, so she was able to mask her expression more effectively.

Once they finished, they threw away the cans in the nearby trash can, and were about to say goodbye to each other. However, before they could do so, Mikoto's friends suddenly arrived in front of them.

Mikoto was surprised to see them, and she said, "Hey guys, what are you doing here?"

Saten grinned at the couple and asked in a suggestive tone, "Hi Misaka-san, Kamijou-san. Did you two have fun last night?"

Both of them blushed, and Touma answered, "Y-yeah, we did." He hoped that the girls weren't there to interrogate them for full details about their night.

Kuroko crossed her arms and said to her friend in an annoyed tone, "Saten-san, that's not what we came here to ask them about. We came here for a serious talk about something else that onee-sama has been hiding from us."

Her blunt statement immediately caused both Mikoto and Touma to feel anxious. Mikoto had a pretty good idea of what Kuroko was referring to, but just to be sure, she asked, "Wh-what exactly do you mean, Kuroko?"

Kuroko narrowed her eyes and simply replied, "You know what I mean. I'm referring to those strange supernatural powers that originate outside of Academy City. Something unbelievable called magic!"

On hearing that last word, Mikoto's shoulders slumped down, and she let out a sigh, thinking, "So, it's finally happened, huh?"

Meanwhile, Touma's eyes widened in shock. He had talked with Mikoto the previous day about the possibility of her friends finding out about magic, but he hadn't expected it to happen so soon. Eventually, he also let out a sigh, and said, "Okay, let's find somewhere we can talk privately." Since his girlfriend had already been thinking of telling her friends, he figured that they might as well spill the beans now.

Mikoto nodded and gestured to a nearby stretch of grass, saying, "Let's go over there." The five of them proceeded to that area and sat down in a circle.

Once they were all settled in, Uiharu began the conversation by recounting, "After you told us about the leader of GREMLIN, Othinus, we found that Othinus was referred to as a Magic God. We thought about what that meant, and about some of the other strange events we've witnessed or heard about, and we're pretty sure that there are other supernatural powers."

Saten then took the opportunity to chime in, pumping her fists up and excitedly asking, "Is it true? Is magic a truly real thing?"

Mikoto and Touma glanced at each other for a moment, and Mikoto decided to be the one to answer. She nodded, "Yes, it is. Touma is the one who's encountered it more, but he told me about magic soon after we started dating."

Kuroko then placed her head on her hand and mused, "I still find it a little hard to believe that there are supernatural powers outside of Academy City, let alone ones that are seemingly not based on science. But the evidence does seem to point that way."

Touma nodded and stated, "That's right, magic powers are based in religion or mythology, rather than science."

Mikoto then elaborated on her boyfriend's point, "Yeah, for example, those things we saw in Liberal Arts City were based on Aztec mythology. And that giant rock thing we faced at the end of summer vacation was a magical golem."

Kuroko's eyes widened, and she exclaimed, "That was magic too? I'd thought that it was an earth-based esper. But we did figure that out about what happened in Liberal Arts City." Even with this small new piece of information, she was starting to gain insight into how the Magic Side influenced events around the world.

Saten, feeling very curious, then asked, "So how do magic powers work, exactly? Do people have to train and learn and go through something like the power curriculum program to become magicians?"

Mikoto scratched her head and answered, "I'm not an expert or anything, but from what I understand, they don't need to go though a complicated program like espers do, but they do need to learn how to use powers that draw from certain mythologies. For example, there was a magician we faced in Hawaii called Cendrillon, and she could use a spell related to Cinderella's glass slippers to crush people's feet if they're not the right size."

Uiharu furrowed her eyebrows and mused, "Wow, that seems rather specific, though it does have a powerful effect."

Touma then elaborated, "It doesn't always have to be so specific. There's a magician I know who uses rune cards to create fire magic, and another magician I know can use spells involving fire, water, wind, or earth."

Kuroko's eyes widened, and she asked, "Wait, so magicians can use unrelated types of powers?" For an esper that had to focus on developing a single ability, this fact seemed both incredible and a little unfair. She then remembered a conversation she'd had with Mikoto previously, and asked, "Hold on, was that powerful opponent you faced during the Ichihanaran Festival a magician?"

Mikoto nodded and explained, "Yes, she was actually a Saint, a magician with super strength and super speed. From what I know, they're on the same order of magnitude as Level 5 espers in terms of power. I had a really hard time fighting against her, and even when I landed a big hit on her, she shrugged it off."

Saten and Uiharu, who hadn't heard about that specific detail, were absolutely stunned. Saten muttered, "There are magicians that are as powerful as Academy City's Level 5's? The Magic Side sounds amazing!" She then looked up and excitedly said, "Hey, since I've been stuck for years without an ability, maybe I should become a magician instead!" While the Aero Hand ability she'd exhibited when using the Level Upper would be cool, particularly for her hobby of flipping up Uiharu's skirt, it seemed to Saten that magicians could use many different cool abilities without being fundamentally limited.

Mikoto winced as she watched her friend's excitement, because she knew it wouldn't be that simple. She glanced over at Touma, who also winced at the situation. The girl then gently placed her hand on Saten's shoulder and told her, "I'm really sorry Saten-san, but espers can't use magic. Magic is incompatible with our AIM fields, so any esper, even a Level 0, who tries to use magic will suffer a backlash and get severely injured."

Saten was pretty upset to hear this, exclaiming, "Aw man, are you kidding me? What kind of ridiculous restriction is that? Did the people in charge of the city do that deliberately to keep most of us powerless?" Although it had only been a momentary prospect, she still felt the pain of gaining hope and then having it be extinguished.

Mikoto looked over at Saten with a sad expression. She wanted to console her, but she was unsure if she'd be able to do so, thinking to herself, "It's just like the last time. How can I say anything to her when I'm the one with Level 5 powers?"

Touma glanced over at his girlfriend. From seeing her expression, he had a pretty good guess about how she was feeling. He wanted to try appealing to Saten as a fellow Level 0, but he knew that he and Saten weren't in the same situation, since he did have an ability.

Eventually, Mikoto sighed and began speaking, "You know, I want to say that if you keep working hard, you'll eventually develop your ability. Everyone says that's what happened with me, after all." She then looked down at her lap and paused for a moment, wondering how much truth there was in that exhortation. She muttered, "But I know that you've been working hard this whole time, and so have all the students in Academy City. So I don't know if I can say for sure that hard work is enough."

Saten looked at her friend's doubtful expression, feeling bad for making Mikoto worry so much. Saten grinned at her and said, "It's okay, Misaka-san. It would be cool to have a power, but I'm already having fun hanging out with my friends and looking into urban legends. I'm already lucky enough to live in this city and to have met all of you!"

Mikoto looked up and smiled back at Saten, glad that her friend wasn't feeling too distraught about the subject. This just reminded Mikoto that there was more to a person than just their powers, even in Academy City.

Meanwhile, Kuroko brought up something that she hadn't previously given much thought to before she'd learned about the existence of magic. She asked, "Kamijou-san, does that nun I've occasionally seen with you have anything to do with magic?"

Her question made Touma recall that Mikoto's friends didn't really know about Index. He nervously scratched his head and answered, "Yes, her name is Index, and she's actually how I got introduced to magic in the first place." Of course, he didn't remember how exactly that had happened, but he knew enough information to tell the girls. He continued, "She's from the Anglican Church, and she's a very important person in the Magic Side. She has a photographic memory, and she's memorized 103,000 grimoires about magic from all over the world."

Uiharu's eyes widened, as she realized, "So her mind is like an entire magical library. It sounds kind of like the esper data bank. Wait, so are the world's religions also magic organizations?"

Mikoto nodded and said, "Pretty much. The Anglican, Roman Catholic, and Russian Orthodox Churches are all major players on the Magic Side. And by the way, speaking about Index, Touma ended up saving her soon after meeting her, and she's been living in his dorm ever since."

Touma felt blindsided by his girlfriend blurting that out, and he shouted, "Mikoto!" But her only reply was a smirk.

Kuroko glared at the boy and growled, "Something must be wrong with my ears. Surely I didn't hear that you are living with another girl while dating onee-sama?"

The boy nervously gulped and held out his hands, saying, "It's not like what you think! There's nothing going on between us, and we each sleep in separate beds!"

Mikoto decided she'd had enough fun, and added, "Yeah, I've known about their living situation from when we started dating. They're just friends and roommates, so you guys don't have to worry about me."

Saten and Uiharu weren't completely sure how to feel about this information. They hadn't met Index in person, but it seemed that Mikoto was fine with the situation, so they figured that it was all right.

Uiharu then decided to change the subject to something less contentious. She said, "So we figured that those people falling into comas on September 30 fell victim to magic, especially since the news used that word, even if as a codename."

Touma nodded, "That's right, the person who did that, she was a powerful magician from the Catholic Church. I had to fight against a number of such magicians all the way up to World War 3."

Saten then said in an awed tone, "World War 3? Wait, was that why you were in Russia, to save Index from a magician?" Mikoto had told them that Touma had gone there to save a friend, and she figured that Index was the friend in question.

The boy replied, "Yes, that's why I was there. I had to battle against that magician on top of a giant floating island in the sky."

Uiharu's hand went up to her mouth as she recalled, "Wait, Misaka-san mentioned that too! Saten-san, you were right, it was held up by magic!"

Saten just laughed and replied, "Wow, that's amazing!" She also recalled the reports of a similar object appearing above Academy City, and guessed that that had also been due to magic.

Mikoto chuckled and said, "Yeah, it is. Actually, Touma has been to Italy, France, and the UK to fight against magicians. He got involved in the coup attempt in London, and then hitchhiked to Russia when the war started."

All the other girls' eyes widened as they began to grasp just how many international incidents he'd been involved in. Kuroko muttered, "So, you get into even more trouble than I thought. And since then, you've been involved in incidents in Hawaii, Baggage City, Tokyo, and Denmark." She was beginning to learn that Touma was one of the key players in the world, despite just being a high-schooler.

Saten then let out a sigh, lamenting, "Man, I wish I could travel around the world like you, Kamijou-san. Liberal Arts City was nice, but something like that doesn't come up too often."

Touma chuckled and retorted, "I don't think you'd want to travel so much if you had to spend the entire time there fighting people."

Saten grinned at him and agreed, "Yeah, probably not."

At this point, Kuroko looked at Mikoto and said in an inquisitive tone, "There's one last thing we found. Onee-sama, you told us that Othinus was currently facing punishment after Kamijou-san saved her in Denmark. But we found foreign news footage of her dying and vanishing into thin air. Why did you lie to us?"

Mikoto's eyes widened at first, but when she processed what her friends had seen, she could only grit her teeth and think, "Damn, how did I not see that coming? What am I going to say now?" She glanced over at her boyfriend and saw that he was equally anxious about how to respond to Kuroko's inquiry.

At that moment, Touma felt something wriggling in his hoodie. It took him a moment to realize what was happening, but by then, it was too late. Othinus emerged from her hiding spot and climbed up onto his shoulder, announcing, "She didn't lie to you. As you can see, I'm still alive, and my punishment is being his prisoner."

Touma frantically asked her, "Othinus, why did you come out? You're supposed to stay hidden!"

Othinus told him, "I don't see any harm in them knowing the truth. Besides, your girlfriend shouldn't need to risk her friends' trust for my sake."

Mikoto's friends were absolutely shocked to see this smaller form who looked exactly like the Othinus they'd seen in the news footage. Kuroko looked over at Touma and said, "What is this? Did magic somehow turn her into a lewdly-dressed doll for you?"

Uiharu muttered, "As if you can scold anyone for dressing lewdly, Shirai-san."

Kuroko didn't take kindly to Uiharu's comment, and gave her a chop to the head, causing Uiharu to groan and hold her head in pain.

Othinus scoffed and replied, "I can dress however I want. I am a god after all."

Saten peered over at Othinus and skeptically asked, "How exactly are you being punished? By being forced to live with him and not being able to go out on your own?"

Othinus answered, "There's that, but even worse, I'm constantly chased around by that nun's beast of a cat." She glared up at Touma after saying this.

Kuroko then glared at Othinus and asked, "Why exactly did you commit all those terrorist attacks? Just so you could gain more power as a Magic God?"

Othinus looked down guiltily, considering how to answer. She eventually answered, "That was my aim, yes. But once I obtained that power, I realized that it didn't really satisfy me."

Touma continued with the explanation, "Othinus became afraid of her own power, because it was too strong. That was why we went to Denmark, so she could disarm and surrender. In the end, she was turned into this form, and she can't use her powers anymore, so she's no longer a threat."

Both Othinus and Mikoto looked over at him, realizing that he didn't want to tell them about the entire world being destroyed. They both decided to go along with it.

Saten then asked, "How powerful are Magic Gods, exactly? Did you really have god-like powers?"

Othinus nodded, "Yes, I did. You can think of it as being somewhat like a hypothetical Level 6 who could manipulate not just this one planet, but the entire universe.

The girls found that fact really hard to believe. After all, a Level 6 was currently only a hypothetical possibility. They had encountered Shundan Kimi, whose power had apparently created a black hole far away in the universe, but it was something else to imagine a person being able to deliberately influence and manipulate the entire universe.

Uiharu said in an awed tone, "So the Magic Side has achieved something even beyond the fabled Level 6! And magicians can use more powers than espers can, and there are Saints that rival Level 5's in power. It seems like the Magic Side is more powerful than the espers of Academy City!"

In response to this, Othinus shrugged and replied, "Perhaps if you look at it like that, but there are only a few magicians in the world who are that powerful. The Magic Side has the advantage that magicians can be from anywhere in the world, so the Science Side is still very powerful for being contained in just one city. And it's not as if the Magic Side is a united alliance against the Science side. There are multiple different factions and organizations."

Mikoto then took this moment to say to her friends, "Anyway, as you can probably tell, getting involved in these incidents have been very dangerous for Touma and I. I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys before, but I didn't want to get you involved in that danger."

Her friends were already familiar with this desire of hers, since it was similar to the situation with her sisters. However, Kuroko said, "I understand, but please don't hesitate to ask us for help if you need it. We may not be as strong as you and Kamijou-san, but we can still help out."

Mikoto and Touma eyed each other for a moment, before she sighed and conceded, "All right, I'll keep that in mind."

Saten then excitedly leaned forward and asked, "Kamijou-san, could you tell us some stories about encounters you've had with magicians?"

Touma shrugged, "Sure, I guess I can stay for a little longer before going home." He and Mikoto proceeded to regale her friends with tales of their magical adventures for some time.