Okay! To be completely honest, our main character doesn't get any screen time this chapter (Sorry Miyano!).

It just sort of ended up that way lmao.

This is why I'm just going to call this an "Intermission" of sorts. (Though this is slightly longer than some other chapters lol.)

Let's get started.

Mikoto immediately began her search. Of course, finding the identity of this author was nothing to scoff at. She still had the spirit to try though. To start, she probably had to go to all of her connections outside of Tokiwadai middle school.

Two girls came to her mind when she thought of people she knew outside of the school.

I shouldn't waste any time. She thought, and immediately got to it.

"Saten-san!" A high pitched, girly voice protested. "I couldn't care less about a light novel! I'm busy with work!" The girl, Uiharu, was tapping away at a computer, earpiece covering an ear. She was in the middle of guiding Kuroko to catch an everyday misbehaving member of Skill-out.

"Oh come on!" Saten insisted, almost shoving a novel into her friend's face. "You have to trust me this time, it's an absolute tearjerker!"

"But I don't trust you!" Uiharu said, leaning away from the book. "Last time, you handed me what was supposed to be a textbook to help me study, but it ended up being a prank!" She clearly recalled when a folded-up snake leapt at Uiharu's face as soon as she opened the textbook. "I nearly fainted there!"

"That was so worth it though!" Saten shot back with a smile. "Did you see your face!? This time, it's not a prank, I swear!"

"There's absolutely no way I can trust you!" Uiharu noticed a new visitor come in, she recognized her. "Misaka-san!" She shouted. "Talk some sense into her!"

Mikoto had just walked into the situation without much context. The book in question Saten was shoving in Uiharu's face was the recent bestselling novel Mikoto had decided to base her project on.

If Mikoto had to be honest, she was quite surprised by the fact that Uiharu had not read the famous work of art yet. Well, I better do her a favor.

"Kuroko could probably do this mission alone this time, right?" Mikoto asked with a devilish smile. She calmly walked towards her ignorant friend.

In response, Uiharu was taken aback by Mikoto's unexpected answer. Her face paled, as if she had seen a ghost. "M-Misaka-san…? You wouldn't, right…?"

Uiharu had felt like she had just been violated. However, she didn't regret it in the least. What kind of story is this? Since when has the series been released?

"Her face is just like mine when I've read the book!" Saten teased with a laugh. She continued to poke her friend's wet cheek, soaked with tears.

"The power of this single book series is scaring me…" Mikoto muttered.

Saten gave UIharu some time for herself. It was pretty clear what Uiharu was doing in the middle of reading the book, so Saten had already prepared an extra box of tissues.

"I'm surprised an Ojou-san like you would have read a book like this before, Misaka-san." Saten mentioned with a smile, satisfied that she finally convinced Uiharu to read Sincerely.

"Uh, yeah…"

"It's seriously on a different level compared to the other light novels I read in my free time." Saten said. She gestured towards Uiharu. "I assume you bawled your eyes out like what she's doing right there?"

Mikoto turned red, but she couldn't deny it. Attempting to dodge the question, she asked another question of her own. "Saten-san… do you have any leads towards our author?"

Saten-san laughed. "Heck no!"

"Literally anything would help!" Mikoto insisted. "You've read a bunch of light novels right? Don't you have at least a little experience with this?"

"Well, I can't deny that I read more novels than you, this novel seriously is a new league y'know?"

"I see…"

"Well, don't quote me on this, but I think the fact that this novel is Ayaka Hiiragi's first novel may actually say something." Saten said, with her index finger pointed up.

Mikoto listened intently.

"Think about it. Hiiragi-Sensei has the talent of a well refined writer, but she probably was unaware of it, considering her humble behavior in her only public interview. Also listening to her interview, her voice isn't much like an adult. All this might tell us that Hiiragi-Sensei is just a highschooler, or maybe younger."

Saten's logic was on point. Mikoto, who also watched Ayaka's interview, could verify everything Saten had said. "A highschool student, huh?"

"Not to mention, most authors and directors usually use their own past experiences as inspiration for their first novel or film." Saten added. "Though that might not be the case for this novel, cause I don't know how Violet's backstory or any of the sob stories can be relatable in the least."

She was right, the story was clearly non-fiction, meaning that the story is fabricated and unrealistic. Not to mention that this sort of thing was almost unheard of when it came to light novels and manga in general. Nonetheless, she felt like the information was going to be important anyway.

She glanced at Uiharu, hoping to access the Judgment databases so she could somehow get another hint.

"U-uwahhh… S-Shaten-chan, where can I get the nesht volyume?"

"There, there." Saten said, patting the Judgement member in tears. "Here's another box of tissues, I pretty much saw this coming."

Yeah, that's probably not happening anytime soon. She thought.

"As much as I hate it, I'll probably have to rely on her." Mikoto muttered under her breath.

Shokuhou Misaki sat on the outdoors, sipping her tea slowly in a dignified manner. Next to her was a girl named Hokaze Junko.

Hokaze was Misaki's loyal second-in-command. She appears as a beautiful middle school girl with a slender body frame. She has long lavender hair with ringlet curls and purple eyes.

Misaki was one of the seven level 5 espers in Academy City. Being the 5th ranked esper, she was capable of controlling people like puppets, insert memories, read memories, and even erase memories out of people's minds. With this ability, she clearly stands top when it comes to access to information.

Her power was probably the only ability among the level 5s that doesn't resort to violence and destruction. She probably couldn't really beat any of the other level 5 espers in a fight. It is only confirmed that Mikoto Misaka, the Railgun has pre measures to block her ability, but it wouldn't be a surprise if the others did too. However, it is a frighteningly convenient and useful ability for almost every given situation.

Right now, she is currently using it to read the memories of other students whilst trying to hold back her tears. She stared intently at another student's head, picking up the narrative of the story. She sniffed the aroma of the teacup she had been holding and had almost forgotten about it.

Misaki looked down at the rich-flavored tea. She suddenly saw a droplet plunge into the cup, letting out ripples. One might assume it's the rain from her standpoint, but she knew exactly what it was.

Mortified, she rubbed her star-shaped eyes to find herself letting out the waterworks. She had been holding back her tears looking further into a novel that had been popular lately.

"Queen?"

"Eek!" Misaki was caught by surprise. This wouldn't usually happen if the book didn't quite literally suck up all of her attention. "Yes, what is it?"

"Are you sad about something?"

Misaki's smile stiffened. Her exterior seemed completely fine (ignoring the tears…), but her interior was at a complete dismay.

My reputation is about to drop…! How did it turn out like this!? This new book everyone's been reading, it's been on everyone's mind lately. So much that it's difficult to think of anything else besides that specific book. Just when I looked into it a little, I couldn't stop myself from reading!

Misaki's finger slammed onto the remote, making everyone at the scene controlled, standing up at once.

Taking a deep breath, she took the precious time she made for herself to shuffle into her bag and pull out a handkerchief. Using it to gently wipe the tears that had been coming out of her eyes.

"I want to know what I love you means." A quote from the book echoes in her mind. Despite only being written in text, the sheer execution of the words hit hard.

"W-why…?" Misaki muttered to herself, unable to keep up with the additional tears that had been flowing out. "It's just a work of fiction, but why is it making me cry so much…?"

"I take it that you're reading Violet Evergarden?" A familiar voice asked.

Misaki got on reflex, looking where the voice came from. I should have controlled everyone…! She thought.

As she expected, it was the 3rd ranked esper, one of the only people immune to her Mental Out.

"I see you don't physically have the book." Mikoto figured it out quickly. "You probably read the memories of others to read the book, didn't you? So even the great Queen of Tokiwadai cries too sometimes, huh?"

"So what if I cry!?" Misaki burst out, slamming her hands into the table. Her face slightly red, shot back a counterattack. "You probably cried just as much as I did if you read the book yourself!"

"Wha!?" Mikoto calmed down. "Well, I can't deny it…." She made a little blush of her own. "Nevermind that, you're interested though, right?"

"What do you mean?"

"About who the author is." Mikoto said. "Do you want to try and find the Identity of Ayaka Hiiragi, the author of this book with me?"

"Why would I want to do that? There's nothing in it for me. Besides, I don't want to get associated with someone who made a terrifying book such as this." Misaki reasoned. If someone had told her that the author had some kind of ability related to feelings, she would believe them without a doubt, even without her own ability.

"Oh? Would this change your mind then?" Mikoto pulled out her phone, which took on the shape of a cute frog mascot. On the phone, was a photo of Misaki sobbing on the outdoor seat of the expensive cafe.

"DELETE THAT!" Misaki shouted on impulse.

"Nevermind that, it would be quite bothersome for you if it goes around the school, won't it?" Mikoto said. She dodged a controlled student's attempt to steal her beloved Gekota phone.

"Fine. I'll help you out." Misaki finally gave in. It shouldn't be much of a challenge for her anyway. "You better delete it once we're done."

"Of course."

Misaki sighed. "To think a barbarian would rely on such sly methods." she muttered under her breath. She clicked her remote once again, and the students of the school had this consciousness back, with their usual confused reactions of being released. Junko, the student Misaki had been sitting with, sat back down.

Junko tilted her head as she gazed at Misaki. "Your eyes are red- '' She pointed out.

"It's your imagination." Misaki interrupted.

"You sur-"

"It's your imagination." Misaki stated firmly once again.

Now that Mikoto had successfully recruited the number 5 esper, she was feeling pretty confident. The only thing she was a little worried about was that Misaki might help another student working on the same project, or simply refuse to disclose the information.

It was true that Mikoto's photo of a sobbing Misaki served as a bargaining chip, but it probably didn't mean much if Misaki could simply erase the memories of everyone who saw the photo. Nonetheless, it still would be tedious and troublesome to do so.

Right now, Mikoto was walking with Misaki along the sidewalk. Their current strategy was to simply wander around until Misaki senses someone who is acquainted with the author, or the author herself.

"..."

"..."

There haven't been many people around the streets. The two stay silent, casually taking a stroll with their gazes straight ahead.

In the midst of the walking, Misaki gave Mikoto a look.

"...What?" Mikoto asked bluntly, breaking the long silence.

"Whatever could you mean?" Misaki gave a reply that beat around the bush, something Mikoto didn't appreciate.

"I mean that look. Why are you staring at me?"

"Oh, DO YOU want to know why?" Misaki suddenly bursts out. For someone who is usually so collected, this stunned Mikoto a little. "HOW LONG have we been doing this!? A few hours? It's dark out! There won't be anyone around here!"

Apparently, as it turns out, the two have been walking along the streets past midnight. It explained why there was no one around the streets.

To stay out after curfew, Mikoto took a favor from Kuroko, and Misaki used her ability. Of course, the result wasn't rewarding as there hasn't been a single person seen since they left.

"You know that there will be some shady people who are willing to get us the information we need! Right?"

SMACK!

As if it is some kind of comedy routine, Misaki smacked Mikoto with her purse directly on the top of her head.

"You think that a singular author would be associated with the dark side!? Are you dumb!? Why are you bringing me into your dumb antics!?" Misaki said, straight after delivering the clean hit.

Mikoto rubbed the bump on her head. "W-well, we never know if-"

The two halted when they came across a group of men. Several had scars, some were burly, and everything characteristic they had just screamed 'Skill-Out' to them. Suddenly, more came from behind the girls, leaving them no room to escape.

"Heellooo!" Said one, whistling.

"What are you doing so late?" Said another.

"Didn't your mommies tell you to go to bed at this time?"

"Want to have fun with us?"

The rest chuckled evilly, as they had the two girls surrounded from both sides in an alleyway. The two girls sighed.

"I'll take the front." Mikoto said, "You can handle the ones behind us."

"I can just deal with them all at once you know?" Misaki pointed out.

"I know, but I wouldn't want to miss out on the fun." Mikoto said, with a devilish smile.

Suddenly, before anyone could comprehend what happened, the two groups of delinquents become one group of servants and one group of fried, electrocuted, knocked out delinquents. It wouldn't be hard to tell which girl dealt with which group.

"You resort to violent methods as always." Misaki said, gazing upon the pile of fried humans.

"That's the type of person she is after all." A new voice said.

The owner of the voice was a girl who was just walking into the scene. She had an average looking build. Her most prominent features are her unkempt hair and her wide open eyes.

"It's you!" Mikoto said out of reflex. She got a chop in the head.

"Didn't I tell you to call me with more respect?" The girl replied.

"…Nunotaba Shinobu?" Misaki asked.

"Shokuhou Misaki." Shinobu replied.

After addressing each other, everyone stayed silent. It was then until Shinobu decided to speak first.

"So, what are you doing here so late in the night?" She asked.

"We're actually looking for intel on a certain person…" Mikoto trailed off.

"I'm quite surprised you haven't done so yet with the 5th ranked esper by your side. Who are you looking for, if I may ask?"

"The author of a light novel series called Sincerely. Y'know, with Violet Evergarden?" Misaki explained.

"…"

"It's a really good series, you've got to trust me on this." Mikoto said.

"…"

"As much as I hate to admit it, it forced some emotions out of me as well." Misaki said bitterly.

"…"

"Some is clearly an understatement" Mikoto pointed out.

The two level 5s suddenly realized that Shinobu was being strangely quiet.

"What's wrong?" Mikoto asked with concern.

Shinobu looked directly at the other two girls. "B-by any chance, could one of you spare me a handkerchief?"

'Oh. She's also a victim.' Mikoto and Misaki thought at the same time.

"Here." Mikoto handed her handkerchief over, as Misaki had already used hers.

"Thank you. I have only recently read the entire series, and I cannot help but cry every time I think about it. It definitely does remind me of a certain experiment I had participated in."

Could she mean the SISTERS project? Mikoto wondered.

"Anyway, you'll probably won't find Hiiragi-Sensei in the streets during the middle of the night like this. What were you thinking?" Shinobu said.

Mikoto drooped. "Yeah, you're right. Maybe we should go back to the dorm. Right Misaki."

Misaki didn't reply. Instead she froze, focusing.

"Misaki?" Mikoto asked. Misaki put her finger up, silencing her.

Finally she spoke.

"…I think I found a lead towards our author."

"WHAT?" Mikoto and Shinobu shouted.