I was taken to the teacher's apartment where Yomikawa-sensei lived, and the next morning arrived (since sleeping in a woman's bedroom was out of the question, I slept on the sofa).
When I woke up, Yomikawa-sensei was already gone. On the table, there was some breakfast bread and a note that read, "It seems the room will be fixed in a week, so stay here for a while. You can go out, but make sure to be back by the end of the official school hours." Also, a key-like object was left there.
She seemed eager to take care of me.
Still, there was no one else I could turn to for help, so I had no choice but to accept.
After finishing breakfast and heading outside, I decided to follow Kamijou trail.
I went to the boys' dormitory area once, but he still wasn't there.
If I assume that he fought against a magician and survived, he might be hiding somewhere with an acquaintance. In that case, the number of possible candidates becomes quite limited.
To confirm, I tried contacting a few people, and I received valuable information from Aogami "Kami-yan asked me for Komoe-sensei address last night."
Let's not delve into why he knows Komoe-sensei address at this point.
I immediately used my smartphone to search for the route to the destination and started walking.
However, during that journey, I saw a junior high school girl I had recently become acquainted with running in a rather unusual manner.
In front of a soon-to-be-demolished abandoned building with no one around, three individuals who appeared to be delinquents were violently attacking a young man who seemed like he had never been in a fight before.
Saten, who happened to be there, initially tried to escape from the scene.
(It can't be helped... I can't really do anything, and those guys look like the typical troublemakers. On the other hand, I was just an elementary school student not too long ago.)
She tried to convincing herself, but in the end, she found herself returning to the scene.
"Sto-stop it! ... That person... is hurt... and the security guards will come soon!"
But Saten was powerless.
Her brave words, her trembling yet valiant plea, weren't enough to transform the situation into a heartwarming youth drama where the delinquents would have a change of heart.
The leader with blond hair sneered unpleasantly, showing off his crooked teeth, and kicked the wall right next to Saten's face.
"Ah!"
"What did you say just now?"
Instinctively, Saten hunched down and covered her head. The part of the wall that had been kicked was noticeably dented, even though it was just a temporary construction barrier. It was clear that they had shown no restraint.
"Listen carefully, young lady."
The leader of the group lifted Saten's hunched head roughly with one hand.
"A powerless kid like you has no right to boss us around."
"Do you have that right yourselves?"
"Ah!"
Turning towards the source of the voice, another person emerged from where Saten had appeared earlier.
Seeing Saten's odd behavior, I became curious and followed her. She headed towards an increasingly desolate area, a place that seemed unlikely for a middle school girl to approach.
"Kyaaaa!"
Suddenly, a high-pitched scream echoed, and I heard a dull sound as if something had been struck or kicked. What was certain was that the person who had just screamed was unmistakably a woman.
When I reached the area near the scheduled demolition site of an old building, I found Saten there. She was being grabbed by one of the men who seemed to belong to a group without any supernatural abilities.
"What right does a powerless kid like you have to boss us around?"
"Do you guys have that right?"
"Ah!"
I stepped forward because the situation was dangerous.
"Ah... Ayanokōji-san."
"It's been a while since yesterday, Saten."
"Huh? Who the hell are you?"
The dim-witted, blonde guy with two broken front teeth approached while saying that.
"Just passing by. Get away from her," I replied.
"Huh? Don't act all tough, you weakling. You better disappear or you'll regret it."
"Hahaha hahahaha."
Certainly, it's not hard to understand the principle that most people tend to yield in violence. However, to consistently uphold that principle, you always have to surpass your opponent's strength.
The three of them here won't be enough to stop me.
I ignored the men and addressed Saten.
"Are you okay, Saten?"
"Huh? Oh, yes."
"Don't just ignore us!"
One of the men raised his fist towards me, as if striking an unresisting baby, with a monotonous motion that even elementary or middle school students could easily evade.
I caught the incoming right fist with my left hand.
"Huh...?"
"If you're gonna do it, do it properly."
I warned him once. However, he seemed to be slow to understand even when his fist was halted.
It was a move that wasn't worth resisting. My force was deliberately kept minimal.
With the man's right fist still caught in my hand, I tightened my grip using my left hand.
"Oh? What, wait, huh...!?"
The man's expression gradually hardened, and his knees began to tremble.
"Hey, what's going on?"
"A-ah, sto-stop it! Pl-please!"
Unable to support his body any longer, he collapsed onto his knees, his hands desperately trying to pry my arm away, but it was futile.
A strike to the man's cheek with my right hand made him slump down.
...First one down.
"You!"
Seemingly driven by a heightened sense of danger due to his companion being defeated, a narrow-eyed man moved his hand in the air, causing a stack of debris leaning against a wall to levitate and respond to his gestures.
An esper, perhaps.
As the debris came flying toward me, in response to the man's hand movements, I arched my upper body backward just enough to narrowly evade it. The errant debris continued to roll along the ground, missing its mark.
"What was that weird move just now?"
"No need to add 'weird'."
The man continued his attack by levitating various construction materials, including steel bars and pipes, attempting to throw them at me.
The man continued his pursuit, using the construction site's abundant steel bars and pipes, levitating and hurling them towards me.
It was unexpected for someone from what appeared to be an armed group of non-ability users to suddenly exhibit powers. However, it seemed he wasn't proficient in using his ability. His attacks were nothing more than basic throwing motions, with predictable trajectories and the components grouped together.
Avoiding the steel pipes and bars with minimal movements, I closed the distance to the ability user and extended my right fist in front of me.
"Guah!?"
...And then there were two. Only one remained.
Witnessing this scene, both Saten and the unfamiliar bystander seemed unable to utter a word.
"Hah, acting like a hero or a suicidal idiot, I thought, but you're actually holding your own pretty well!"
"Unfortunately, I don't have hero aspirations or a death wish. I simply believed that even as a powerless person, I could defeat the likes of you."
"Huh? You beating me? You think an incompetent like you can win against me, who possesses the power of the level upper? Hahaha, that's a masterpiece! No matter how experienced you are in fights, there's no way you, a powerless nobody, could beat me with level upper in my hands!"
The remaining blond-haired man maintained his smile and drew a large knife from his pocket. He swung his arm back and charged at me, still wearing that grin.
Since he had mentioned Level upper earlier, it was likely that he was also an esper.
I needed to observe his attack closely and assess his ability before deciding how to counter it. My aim was his abdomen, not his face.
I watched his arm's trajectory closely, planning to narrowly avoid the attack, but then something extraordinary happened. The blond-haired man's arm began to bend at an impossible angle, and the tip of the knife grazed my left arm.
"Ugh..."
I leaped backward to create distance. Blood began to flow from the cut, dripping onto the ground.
"Are you okay, Ayanokōji-san!?"
"I just got a scratch."
"Kukukuku... Come on, don't try to act tough in front of a lady."
Something was off.
I should have been able to dodge the attack, but I couldn't.
Wait, the trajectory seemed twisted earlier. Was he contorting his own movements? Or was the scenery I was seeing being twisted?
I picked up a small stone from the ground and tossed it experimentally. The stone, aimed straight at the blond-haired man, twisted and changed its trajectory in mid-air.
His arm was bending at an impossible angle, and the object I threw was following an unnatural path.
The way light traveled around him seemed peculiar.
... I see.
"Your ability... seems to twist the light around you, making others perceive you in a different position," I deduced.
"Huh!? You figured that out in one shot?"
It worked on the same principle as a mirage.
While light usually travels in a straight line, it tends to bend towards denser, colder air when encountering varying air densities.
However, it seemed the blond-haired man's ability forcefully twisted the light, creating false images of his position.
"It's called 'Polarization Ability,' but even if you understand, what can you do about it? You can only rely on your own eyes," he sneered.
What an idiot.
"What I can do... well..."
I understood the trick. It was simpler than I thought. If that's the case, what I can do...
"I can land a hit on you," I replied.
"Hahaha! Are you an idiot? You can't even touch me, you'll be finished!"
Suppressing his laughter, the blond-haired guy advanced toward me. It seemed my provocation had worked.
-Clang
There it is.
Without dodging or blocking, I charged straight into the empty space ahead, extending my fist faster than the blond-haired guy.
"Gubooh!?"
There was nothing in my sight, but I could definitely feel the solid sensation of bones against my fist. Following that was the resounding, vivid sound. The form of the blond-haired guy that should have been in front of me vanished, and his figure appeared at the tip of my fist before flying through the air and crashing into the wall of the abandoned building.
"Why... why?"
"Hmm? I told you earlier. I said I'd land a hit on you."
"Not that... it's not about that, but..."
Saying that much, the blond guy crumbled and collapsed, freezing in place. He seemed to be breathing, so he should be okay.
"Disciplinary committee here! Surrender quietly, everyone- Eh?!"
Out of nowhere, Shirai appeared, ready to deliver her catchphrase while showing off her disciplinary committee armband. However, she seemed dumbfounded by the situation around her.
Did I steal Shirai's moment in the spotlight?
"Really... why are you fighting with a skill out on the second day of summer vacation?"
"Well, you know, it just happened."
A few minutes later, security guards arrived at the scene, and I was currently in the process of receiving both a lecture and first aid from Yomikawa-sensei.
"By the way, Ayanokōji, were you always good at fighting?"
"Well, you could say it was a burst of strength in the heat of the moment."
"Seriously, Ayanokōji-san, you were amazing! You're just like me, a Level 0, and yet you managed to break through the enemy's ability! How did you do it?"
Saten, who had been in shock just a moment ago, energetically approached me.
"Oh... well, if I had to say, it was the sound of footsteps."
"Footsteps?"
"Yeah, that guy could deceive visible locations, but apparently, he couldn't deceive his own footsteps."
When your visual sense isn't reliable, you have to rely on your other senses.
I listened closely and used the sound of his running footsteps to get a rough sense of his location, then landed a single strike to finish him off.
"That's about how it went."
"Oh, I see."
"Ugh, if only I had arrived in time, I could have taken down all of them in less than ten seconds."
Saten gave me a look of respect, and Shirai was in the corner with a frustrated face.
"Does Shirai have the ability to move through space?"
"Yes. My ability is to instantly move myself and anything I touch to the specified coordinates."
"Do you rely on visual cues to specify the target location?"
"Huh? Yes... Ah."
As I suspected.
"Oh... Shirai-san ability is incompatible with the person from earlier."
"Ugh!"
"Indeed, if you had rushed to the scene like you usually do, you would have had a tough time, right?"
"Gahaa!"
Saten and Yomogawa-sensei's words pierced through Shirai.
This is probably my fault for asking the initial question.
"...W-Well, it's fine. After all, we've finally grasped a clue about level upper "
Shirai muttered to herself, as if trying to reassure, she held a music player as she spoke.
"All right then. At least we've given you basic first aid."
"Thank you."
Thanking Yomikawa-sensei, I checked the condition of my arm wrapped in bandages.
"If you're in pain, we could stop by the hospital on the way..."
"No, there's no particular issue."
"...Wait, could it be that you're not feeling any pain?"
Huh?
"Why are you asking such a thing?"
"Well, you always have that expressionless face like an iron mask, so I've occasionally wondered if you might be a robot or something."
That's quite impolite.
"I don't think that's the case."
"No, no, no. Even when you were punched by Misaka-san yesterday, there was absolutely no change in your expression."
"Is that so?"
"Huh? Why did you get hit by a Tokiwadai Railgun?"
"To put it succinctly, I happened to be there when a female neuroscientist suddenly started undressing in a café."
"Huh?"
As I explained, Yomikawa-sensei seemed to be giving a "What is this guy talking about?" expression.
"Oh... Actually, I was there too... I was really surprised at that time."
"That teacher was quite the eccentric person."
"I-I see..."
With testimony from Saten and Shirai, it seemed Yomikawa-sensei believed me.
"Well, anyway, there are bones and flesh properly underneath my skin, and I do feel pain. It's just that I seem to have a harder time expressing emotions on my face."
I did feel pain but I just don't really care, because I know all about it.
Hm come to think of it, there have been times when people like Kamijou have said they can't figure out what I'm thinking.
"Hmm... Well, once in a while, it's nice to show a smile and have some charm."
"Well... I'll try to make an effort, at least."
"What do you mean, 'at least'?"
Just as Yomikawa-sensei was trying to pull up the corners of my mouth and make me smile, a teacher in an iron suit approached and started talking.
"Yomikawa-sensei, I've packed the three of them into the transport vehicle. The injured boy is covered in bruises, and we're about to take him to the hospital."
"I see. Well, if that's the case, our interrogation is done here. You guys can go home now. Shirai, make sure to submit a report on this incident by the day after tomorrow."
"Wait a minute!?"
"Getting involved in incidents outside our jurisdiction without permission is a clear violation of the rules. How many times has this been now?"
A habitual offender, huh?
With those words left hanging, Yomokawa-sensei and Tetso-sensei got into the security vehicle and left the scene.
"Well then, I'll be going."
"Yes, thank you so much!"
Leaving Shirai in a daze, I parted ways with saten and left the abandoned building.
Now then, I took a detour, but it's finally time to pay a visit.
About a fifteen-minute walk away, there it was.
It was quite unexpected, but for someone who looked like a twelve-year-old, the apartment building was a rundown two-story wooden structure that seemed to have survived the Tokyo air raids. Seeing a washing machine in the corridor, it seemed that the concept of a bathroom didn't exist here.
Quite different from Yomokawa-sensei place.
Checking each doorplate one by one, I climbed the rusted iron staircase and walked to the far end of the second floor to find a hiragana doorplate that read 'Tsukuyomi Komoe'
I pressed the doorbell once.
"Umm, who might you be?"
"This is Kiyotaka, your neighbor."
The door flung open, revealing a spiky head.
"Y-Yo"
"Look like you're still alive, I see...and Index too."
In the room beyond the door, a silver-haired sister wearing pale green pajamas was lying on the futon. The monk's uniform, which had been torn apart by Kamijou's right hand yesterday, was covered with safety pins and hung on the wall with a hanger.
"Oh, it's Ayano. It's been a while!"
"It's been a while, didn't we just meet yesterday?"
There was a basin filled with water and a towel nearby. Did she catch a summer cold?
"Index is here too... So, that means Index was also there at that scene yesterday?"
"W-What are you talking about?"
He seemed to be trying to dodge the subject.
"Don't play dumb, Kamijou. Yesterday evening, pursuers came all the way to the boys' dormitory, and a battle broke out, right? After hearing such a story, anyone would think that way if an unnatural fire occurred."
"Um, well..."
"Moreover, my room was drenched from the water that came out of the sprinklers."
"Gulp."
So, the one who triggered the fire alarm was you, right?
"That, well, it was an unavoidable situation... Regarding that matter, I'm really sorry!"
While Kamijou was bowing his head, I calmly considered my next move.
"Then tell me what happened yesterday."
"Well, if I tell you, you'll get dragged into this. That's why I can't say."
"Hello, is this Yomikawa from security? There's a man in a teacher's house right now, holding a young girl hostage-"
"Wait a minute!? That false accusation isn't funny at all! Okay, okay, I'll talk, so please don't make that report!!!"
Holding my phone in one hand, I watched as Kamijou knelt and pleaded desperately.
After that, with teary eyes, Kamijou recounted the events of that day.
"...And since I didn't have an ID, I couldn't go to the hospital either. So, I had no choice but to carry the injured Index and come to Komoe-sensei place."
"Why did you go to Komoe-sensei place? And what about the injuries?"
"Well... Komoe-sensei used magic to heal Index injuries."
"Huh?"
That teacher used magic?
"Hey, what have you two been talking about this whole time?"
While we were discussing, Index had gotten up from the futon.
While we were discussing, Index sat up from the futon.
"I heard about what happened yesterday. About how Komoe-sensei used magic to heal the injuries you got from those pursuers."
"Yeah, but Komoe-sensei shouldn't use magic anymore."
"What do you mean?"
"A grimoire is dangerous, you see. It contains different common sense, 'anomalous sense,' and laws that deviate from 'this world.' They're toxic to 'this world' before anything else, regardless of good or evil."
The knowledge of the 'different world' would cause the brain of someone who learned about it to be destroyed, Index says.
"...It's like there's a completely different world from here... It's similar to saying that a fantasy world, an alternate dimension, exists."
"What are you talking about, Kiyotaka? There's no way that's true-"
"But it is!"
"Really!?"
"It's amazing, Ayano! No matter how many times I explained it to him, it never got through!"
"That's because it's Kamijou."
"I guess that makes sense, coming from you."
"...Um, is it just my imagination, or is there a valid equation between Kamijou Touma and stupidity going on between you two?"
"Don't worry, it's not your imagination."
"I can't find any reassuring aspects to that statement!?"
"Unfortunate...," murmurs Kamijou, as if it's his usual catchphrase.
Well, let's leave it around here.
"Well then, now that we've confirmed everyone's safety, I should head back."
"Head back? But you can't use the boys' dorm, can you?"
"...I'm staying over at Yomikawa's place."
"Wait, seriously?"
"Yep. By the way, it's a 4LDK apartment for teachers."
"What the heck is that!? It's like night and day compared to here!"
"Hey, Touma, what's a 4LDK?"
"Well, um... it's..."
While Touma keeps himself busy with Index, I head towards the entrance. Just before I touch the doorknob, the door swings open.
"Huh? Isn't that Ayanokōji-chan?"
I lower my gaze and find Tsukuyomi Komoe-sensei, the legal loli, holding shopping bags.
"I'm sorry. I entered while you weren't here, sensei."
I apologize in advance for entering while the owner of the house is absent.
"Oh no, it's perfectly fine... Wait, huh? Ayanokōji-chan, what happened to your arm? You're wearing a bandage."
"Well... I got injured a little while ago, too."
"Injured?!"
She looks incredibly concerned. What is this adorable creature? Is she really older than me?
"I say 'injured,' but it's just a scratch. It doesn't hurt that much."
"I see..."
Upon hearing it's just a scratch, Tsukuyomi-sensei expression relaxes.
"...Speaking of which, Sensei, may I ask you something?"
"You want to ask me something?"
"Yes, about music... Can improving your abilities solely through sound be possible?"
"Just through sound, you mean?"
With a cute and thoughtful hum, Tsukuyomi-sensei seems to ponder the question.
"Well, that's a tricky one, you know. Unless you're talking about the 'Learning Device Testament.'"
"...The Learning Device?"
The Learning Device is a device that directly installs technology and knowledge as electrical signals into the brain. It can input information electrically for all five senses: sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch. However, there's no effect of leveling up abilities with it.
"Huh? Ayanokōji-chan, do you know about the Learning Device?"
Uh-oh.
"I happened to come across information about it while looking for a way to cure Kamjou of his stupidity."
"Is that so..."
Wow, she easily believed the made-up lie I just came up with.
"Let's put the Learning Device aside for now. If we consider the effect of sound on the senses, what if it could affect multiple senses at once?"
"Well, in that case, it would be synesthesia."
Synesthesia?
"What's that?"
"In simple terms, it's when a single stimulus triggers multiple senses. For example, when you hear the sound of wind chimes, you not only feel the sound but also perceive a cooler temperature. Similarly, if you see shades of red, you not only feel the color but also a sense of warmth. By applying this concept, you could achieve such effects."
So, senses trigger associations with other senses, stimulating different sensations.
"I see. That's very helpful."
"Oh no, answering students' questions is only natural for a teacher."
With a proud expression, I thanked Tsukuyomi Komoe-sensei and left the place.
The sun was directly overhead, and I was searching the map for a good nearby restaurant to have lunch when...
"Ooohhhh!"
In the midday park, I noticed girls exclaiming in amazement. A girl with her hand raised, and beyond her, another girl floating in the air.
"Wow"
"This is amazing Ruiko! I could barely lift a paper cup before!"
The girl who seemed to be using her ability was calling out to an acquaintance she had just parted ways with.
"Saten?"
"Huh? Ayanokōji-san?"
Saten also noticed me and turned towards me. The other girls also looked in my direction.
"Ruiko, do you know him?"
"I knew it! Is this about that?"
"No, no! It's not like that at all!"
In a fluster, Saten started explaining to the other three girls about our relationship.
She had raised her right pinkie finger for some reason, but I had no idea what that gesture meant.
"So, Ayanokōji-san, these are my middle school classmates, Akemi, Mu-chan, and Mako-chin."
"Hellooo!"
"Uh... Nice to meet you."
Encountering middle school girls seems to be quite common lately.
"So, what are you all doing in the park?"
"Haha... Well, I actually got the Level upper recently... Watch this!"
Flaunting her ability, Saten raised both hands, creating a small whirlwind that lifted the scattered leaves in the park.
"So, is this the power that was in the music player you showed me yesterday?"
"Oh, you figured it out, Mr. Detective."
Saten tension is higher than before, perhaps because she's happy to be able to use ability.
Unlike me, they came to Academy City to become psychics, so I guess this figure is exactly what students in Academy City should look like.
Nevertheless, the power of "Level upper" is quite impressive. Though I'm not sure about any potential side effects it might have...
"So, what are your impressions now that you've become an esper?"
"It's the best!! I've always admired espers for so long! I'm just... so happy!!" She's practically radiating excitement. "Honestly, I wish I could use abilities as amazing and flashy as people like Shirai-san or Misaka-san..."
"This is just my speculation, but once you grasp the basics, you'll likely get better with time."
"Do you really think so?"
"Think about it this way, nobody starts out being able to ride a bicycle perfectly. For now, since your ability seems to involve manipulating air currents, try to visualize something related to wind to help you imagine how to control it better."
Superpowers are often rooted in an individual's personal reality, which could be likened to imagination or strong beliefs. It's said to be the power of will that can understand and grasp even the most nonsensical phenomenon as reality, and to turn the impossible into possible.
If that's the case, for someone like Saten, once she recognizes that she can indeed do something, she should be able to use her ability more effectively.
Despite not being a researcher or anything, Saten seemed to ponder my advice. After a short moment of contemplation, she nodded slightly as if she had come to some understanding. Then, she slowly extended her arm forward.
Taking a deep breath and a moment later, she swiftly moved her arm. The motion was refined, almost as if she had done it countless times before. Yet, the action wasn't aggressive; it was more like a casual sweeping gesture.
I waited to see what would happen next.
I half-expected a sudden gust of wind or perhaps even a miniature tornado, but nothing seemed to occur. The breeze against my skin felt just the same as before Saten had used her ability. I began to think that her attempt had failed, but then I noticed something odd. The "absolute territory" of the girl among Saten's three friends who was wearing a skirt was no longer absolute. In other words, her skirt had been gracefully flipped up, revealing more than it should have.
Wait, what?
"Yahoo! I think I got the hang of it! You were watching right, Ayanokōji-san?"
"I was watching, but... Saten, what was that just now?"
"Well, the first thing that came to mind was the skirt-flipping trick that I've been doing to Uiharu all the time."
What on earth was she up to?
The girl whose skirt had been flipped up let out a shriek and hurriedly held down her skirt, giving Saten an accusing glare as she yelled:
"Ruuuiko!!"
"Sorry, Mako-chan! But I managed to flip the skirt without using my hands! I think I can use this on Haru-chan too!"
"Uh... yeah, that's good to know."
Saten ability had taken an unexpected turn, leaving me rather lost in how to respond to the situation.
