Toaru Kagaku no Railgun: Garden of Maidens

by p1ka chuu

School Garden is Academy City's secluded, all-girls district where five elite schools for rich, young ladies are located. The story follows a group of girls who attend one of the most prestigious schools in the world, Tokiwadai Middle School. The first volume contains their day-to-day hardships and solving the mysteries of School Garden.

5. Chapter 5 - A Guest

Chapter 5

Part 1

" 'I-I-Iori...-chan'...? "

The two ladies wearing Tokiwadai's uniforms were stunned. They were standing in place, frozen from shock, with their party poppers dropped on the ground.

The girl in Ogura's arms had black hair, tied into a high ponytail. She wore a salmon mini skirt and a white polo shirt. She looked perfectly ordinary.

" 'M...M...M-M-Miyu...-chan'...? "

Was that the girl's name?

Both ladies were so confused, and in such utter shock, that they could not collect their thoughts.

Mizushima and Minami were not the only ones staring with disbelief. The ladies passing through the entrance gates in the back and the herds of high-class girls present at the cobbled square, were all witnesses of this unbelievable scene.

Ogura and her friend were not aware of just how big the audience around them was, until the blonde girl had opened her eyes.

"Hwah?!" She blushed suddenly as she looked around the area. Dozens upon dozens of girls wearing prestigious uniforms were giving her the most unpleasant eyes while an unnatural, even for School Garden, silence was causing her to sweat with embarrassment. "(Ah, M-M-Miyu-chan!)"

She whispered while pressing her hands against the black-haired girl's shoulders, giving her a sign that she should let her go.

"(E-Eh? Iori-chan, why is everyone looking at us?)"

"(Ah. Um. Well.)" Ogura's eyes were watering. "(W-We should probably not do that anymore. At least not when we are... here.)"

"(Huh?)"

"(Th-The best way to get out of this situation is to pretend like nothing happened...)"

With a swift change of mood, with a happy smile on her face, the blonde-haired girl spoke to her two classmates, standing by the two columns like lifeless marble sculptures.

"I-I'm sorry, Minami-san, Mizushima-san. The surprise didn't really work out... Tee-hee!"

The wavy-haired girl had lost all energy.

She thought to herself with a lifeless expression on her face.

(Th-Then what was the point of all this?!)

The ponytail girl had noticed them just a few seconds ago, but it wasn't until now that she had connected the dots.

"Oh, my! S-So you planned all that for me?" She squealed while placing her both hands on her red cheeks. "E-Even engaging your classmates in this, too! I-I'm ashamed!"

The black-haired girl hid her face in her hands as the embarrassment had just now hit her like a speeding train.

Ogura Iori smiled nervously and a drop of sweat dripped down her cheek.

Mizushima and Minami looked at their guest with troubled expressions. They felt a bit of pity for her, even though it was her who had made them feel uncomfortable.

Both of them looked at each other and soon they came into a realization at the same time.

They didn't really have closer contacts with people living outside of School Garden, thus their experience with them was non-existent. They didn't know how people were living outside, they were only familiar with standards of behavior existing in this small society. What they had witnessed was a clash of cultural (?) differences, but they couldn't really blame the person, who had never been to School Garden, for acting in a different way.

She was, indeed, just an unaware tourist.

She might not have been a high-class lady like them, but it didn't mean she was deserving of the embarrassment. The Garden residents didn't like to even let that thought inside their heads, but if they were to spend a day in a group of commoners outside in Academy City, they would most likely be the ones acting out of place.

It was the matter of how you looked at it.

Mizushima and Minami smiled bitterly to each other.

The headband-wearing lady cleared her throat and spoke to Ogura's friend in a gentle voice.

"Um. Even though our first impressions of each other might have been a bit... unusual... we are still glad to be showing you around School Garden today." She then gracefully bowed her head, with her hands put together around her thighs. "My name is Minami Himeka. Glad to meet you."

The Tokiwadai lady's elegance struck the black-haired girl immediately. This was the kind of behavior she would normally see in European-focused dramas or old shoujo manga. Her voice was very delicate and she was using beautiful language which was nowhere to be found in Academy City.

Minami Himeka was a true high-class lady of School Garden. A one bow and one sentence was enough for Ogura's childhood friend to understand the level of exquisite manners that the local students had. Almost as if this whole district was frozen in time, raising only the daughters of royalty.

She was expected to reply.

But after hearing this beautiful introduction coming from such a high-class person, the ponytail girl started to tense up and feel self-conscious.

She did not know how to use those complicated, magnificent words that the rich, young ladies of School Garden had in their day-to-day dictionary, and also she did not know if there was something she needed to do additionally.

Was there some sort of ritual? Like an old custom of some African village that visitors have to know in order to get accepted.

She hated herself now for not researching such things further.

So she decided to just copy exactly what the wavy-haired girl had said to her.

The guest girl bowed her head, just like Minami Himeka.

"M-My name is H-Hironaka Miyu... Glad to meet you, too." she said in a high-pitched, shaky voice. It was nowhere near as delicate and elegant as Minami's.

After that, the honey-blonde girl responded.

"I'm Mizushima Sayuri." she smiled in a comforting way. "Nice to meet you, Hironaka-san."

"N-Nice to meet you, too."

Ogura Iori clapped her hands.

"Alright, with that said, I think we should get going." She grinned with confidence and with a small hand gesture pointed at a road expanding from the big square. "Our first stop is Tokiwadai Middle School!"

Part 2

"Ah, so you go to Inarizawa Girls' Academy?"

"Y-Yes."

The four girls were walking in a tight group together, while passing by beautiful bakeries, shops, cafés and boutiques. They were on a big, main road connecting the Square of Golden Archways with Tokiwadai Middle School, one of the five prestigious schools of School Garden.

The sky was clear like a freshly polished window, the sun was striking the European-style asphalt with rays of hot summer light, while the Japanese cicadas were drowning the girls' footsteps with their loud, continuous sound.

The one girl who was visibly standing out from the crowd of high-class ladies populating School Garden, was Hironaka Miyu. She wasn't wearing Tokiwadai Middle School's uniform, nor any other uniform of the prestigious schools from this town. She had a short-sleeved, white polo shirt with a salmon-colored collar, a short tennis skirt, which was salmon-colored too, and simple white running shoes. Her hair was black, tied at the back of her head in a high ponytail.

Minami Himeka's question was obvious. The girl had an emblem of her school embroidered on her shirt's chest. It was very simple and the design had very clean, minimalistic lines, so it couldn't possibly be a logo of any school from School Garden.

The wavy-haired girl smiled politely.

"I've heard from Ogura-san that you have a lot of physical training during summer. I can only imagine, it must be a really strict school."

(She's talking in such a ladylike tone...)

The black-haired girl felt tense again.

"Ah, it's really just about preparing us for the future. Whether it's for the upcoming competition or for our future careers, our teachers say it's all about preparations."

"Do you have normal classes like history of literature or physics?" Mizushima Sayuri asked with a strange excitement.

Hironaka Miyu smiled bitterly.

"We only have the necessary subjects like math and English... But we are mostly outside, practicing for competitions in the sport that we've chosen, and P. E. classes that you can also choose the field of. Most people pick swimming and tennis because it's easy during both summer and winter."

Minami Himeka grew pale just by hearing that.

"A-Ah, so that's how it is..."

Mizushima's reaction was no different.

"H-hah, so it's really all about sport, isn't it?"

The Tokiwadai ladies were high level espers, but most of them had a difficult relationship with sports. Minami Himeka and Mizushima Sayuri belonged to those fragile ladies, who would faint after having to swim across an entire pool. It was strange, but they felt a bit of admiration for someone who could survive in a school focused on physical activities.

"Then, what sports have you chosen, Hironaka-san?"

"Well, my main is volleyball, so it's for all of my future competitions and tournaments. As for P.E. classes, I have both volleyball and tennis."

Mizushima tilted her head.

"Do you practice in those uniforms or do you have separate gym clothes like our school?"

The ponytail girl scratched her cheek with her index finger.

"W-Well, we have a different uniform for each sport that is available. But, yes, when we are inside of the school building and have regular classes, we wear sailor uniforms."

Finally, Ogura Iori had realized something and spoke to her friend.

"Could this uniform be for your tennis classes, Miyu-chan? I don't think I've ever had a chance to see you in this."

"Ah, haha." She nervously laughed in response. "Today was a bit of a tight squeeze... I had to run from my tennis practices to make it in time for my bus. Those going to the School Garden's bus stop circulate so rarely..."

Minami Himeka smiled towards her.

"But your school must be taking Daihasei Festival really seriously. Especially since it's starting in around two months."

The black-haired girl shook her head.

"No, it may seem like it but it's not like that at all." She told the surprising information in a calm voice. "Our school doesn't really accept Daihasei and doesn't take the results of it seriously. Our teachers say that it's just a stage performance for the audience delivered by espers and that it's not really a true sports competition. Students who win are generally those with high level abilities, not those who possess actual physical skill in any sport. The tournaments organized outside of Academy City are those we are practicing for and seriously participating in."

"Ah, I understand." Mizushima said fascinated. "So it's not about your powers at all. It's purely just a bare-bones sports academy."

"Yes. Well... many students do have esper abilities but just choose not to use them. Some time ago in their life they have developed powers but, with time, they realized they want to do something different than chasing higher and higher levels. Those students usually pick field-specific schools."

Tokiwadai was very different from what Hironaka Miyu was describing. It was prestigious and very strictly centered around the esper power development.

For the two high-class ladies, the schools from outside sounded like they offered a lot of freedom. And also it wasn't just a pick between five, like in School Garden. There were so many different schools, having so many different views on education, yet Tokiwadai was like an obvious choice for them. And they couldn't even think of other school, located in a more suitable place, with more suitable standards, the moment they had finished elementary school. As if there was Tokiwadai and nothing else besides it.

Maybe they were ignorant.

...

The girls' conversation had to naturally stop as the group of four had finally arrived at this prestigious school's entrance.

Tokiwadai Middle School was grand and monumental even from that far.

There was a spacious, empty road right before the imposing front gate. The school's entire campus was enclosed by brick fence and a natural fence behind, made of planted trees and bushes. There was also a cobbled sidewalk all around the fence, so you could go in circles around the entire campus without actually entering through the gate.

But the main school building was only visible from the front. It obviously had very traditional, European-style architecture. The tallest part was the clock tower in the front of the building, while two wings were extending north and south.

The girls were in an area of School Garden dominated by ladies wearing light brown vests and short grey skirts. Just the campus itself wasn't enough to contain the students. Tokiwadai's influence was even seen on the area nearby. There were many shops around here exclusive for Tokiwadai students and many locals were reserved to serve as clique meeting spots. After all, the ladies studying in this prestigious school had enough money to even buy out a venue if they wanted to use it, so it wasn't anything unusual.

"Uwoh..." an uncontrollable gasp of delight escaped from the black-haired girl's mouth.

She had never seen a school building looking even remotely like the one right in front of her.

"This is our school." Ogura said as she made three steps forward. She was now on the sidewalk constructed around the campus' brick fence, while the other three girls were standing on the wide road. "Now, this is the main entrance. Normally this gate over here is opened, but because it's summer and afternoon already, the building is probably empty. But many students still use the swimming pool, the courtyard and, of course, the dormitories."

She then came up to a visibly taller part of the brick fencing, which had one small window. It was the gatekeeper's station.

She reached to her Terre Cuite ostrich Bourquin hanged on the crook of her arm and took out her wallet from it. When she opened it, there was an ID card put into a see-through sleeve visible. She put the wallet on a small windowsill and a pair of eyes belonging to the gatekeeper hidden behind a foggy glass gave it a quick look.

In an instant, the gate opened with a quiet "beep".

It was a surprisingly easy procedure for a school like Tokiwadai, but the security inside the Garden itself did not have to be as strict as the one on the entrance gates. People who were let inside were either the high-class girls living here or strictly selected people, which could be trusted. If any, a potential danger could only come from outside of Academy City, not from within School Garden.

So, entrance gates to even highly prestigious schools like Tokiwadai did not bother with checking the visitors' bags or building electronic gates to check for any metal objects or anything of this sort. There was simply no need for that. After entering the town, you were assured that everything and everyone was safe anyways.

The entrance to Tokiwadai was wide open and a long, sett-stone path was expanding before the girls' eyes. It was bigger and wider than the road they had been walking down in order to get here.

It was truly just a big square at the school building's front.

"Let's go!" Ogura said quickly and stepped her loafer on the pathway.

"Ah, this... this is amazing." Hironaka Miyu automatically gasped as she followed her friend.

She felt like the world she was stepping her commoner feet on, was like an enchanted Wonderland where only ladies coming from the wealthiest families could live in. A place where she was not supposed to be, yet somehow it did not bother her at all.

It was like getting a free ticket to a full tour of a magnificent royal palace, except you could not get that ticket with money or any other way. You could only wish to be given one for free. That was the only way to enter the Garden's gates. A special chance like that one was something she had dreamed of.

"Do you like it, Miyu-chan?"

"Of course! I mean, this is just... something else. I feel like I'm in a foreign country."

Minami Himeka giggled from behind.

"That's the impression it is supposed to leave you with."

They were getting closer to the main doors of Tokiwadai Middle School, as they arrived in front of a fenced off island made of plants in the middle of the sett-stone square. It was like a massive, round flowerpot containing exotic plants, such as palm trees, banana trees, ferns, plumerias, anthuriums and many others. Just like with big fountains, the palm tree island had benches around its wooden fence.

It wasn't until now that Hironaka Miyu noticed how much of the front of the school was hidden. If you looked at Tokiwadai's façade from the front gate's perspective, you would only see the wide, straight path leading to the main building and you would think that it is all that this prestigious school consisted of.

But, actually, the Tokiwadai campus was more like a big hotel conglomeration or an artificially created town for rich, young ladies. And also, from that far, the monumental aspect did not hit the black-haired girl as hard as it did now that she was standing barely ten steps away from the stairs leading to the main door.

The grand façade of the school building and its overwhelming size made her gasp again while she looked all the way up to the clock tower.

It turned out that the wing to her right was expanding the school by a whole another building and magnificent, stone archways were leading to it. There were all kinds of additional extensions to the original north wing, with taller and shorter roofs, two stories or three stories tall, with arched windows or rectangular windows, probably each serving a different purpose.

To her left, she saw the long, south wing, probably containing dozens of similar classrooms, as the entirety of it had rows of the exact same windows divided by the same space.

The main building was lifted. To the right and left to the stairs, there were planted rows of rose bushes, hiding the stone foundations behind them and delicately decorating the area.

The entrance to Tokiwadai itself was hidden behind three arches, leading to a dark, opened foyer room and finally to the grand wooden doors.

The four girls were just about to go up the stairs, but Ogura Iori suddenly stopped as her head turned right and her eyes noticed something.

Someone was in the school building's front area too.

A girl whose voice was very familiar to the blonde girl called out to the group of ladies.

"Ioriiii! Wait for me!"

Hironaka Miyu looked at her with curiosity.

The girl had brown hair tied into two straight pigtails reaching her elbows. They were jumping left and right with each movement. She was carrying the Tokiwadai Middle School black suitcase in her right hand while running towards the group of four.

"Ayako?" The blonde-haired girl tiredly put a hand on her hip. "Why are you here all of a sudden? Weren't you supposed to have the very important clique meeting which caused you to be late for our outing?"

Ogura Iori was frowning, but she lifted her eyebrows as she had now noticed another girl running behind Hisakawa. She wasn't peculiarly distinguishable from the crowd of Tokiwadai students she was seeing everyday. She had short black hair and bangs swept to the left side of her forehead.

Hisakawa tried to explain something, but she was out of breath. But even in that breathy sentence of hers, she still sounded irritated.

"Wah, haah... Well... We arrived at the meeting spot, but... haah... Akiyama-sama wasn't... there..."

"Huh?" Ogura tilted her head.

This was more than three times this week that she had heard that same thing happening from her roommate.

As she realized that Hisakawa had trouble talking, let alone breathing, the Tokiwadai student that stood behind her answered hesitantly.

"Well. Um..." She placed her gentle fist on her chest. "When we arrived, Inoue-san told us that Akiyama-sama had already gone out of School Garden to the Power Plant in which we are developing our new project..."

The brown-haired pigtails girl scoffed as her heartbeat calmed down.

"Pfft, yeah, sure." She flipped her hair in an aggressive way. " 'We' is an overstatement."

Her clique mate smiled towards her bitterly.

This truly felt unusual.

No, it was plain weird.

But not that one situation.

It was perfectly ordinary in a context of what was happening for the past month.

Yes, that was what was weird. The constant cancellations of Akiyama Izumi's clique meetings.

Ogura Iori could not understand how someone like Akiyama, who had so many students adoring and idolizing her, could act like she did not care about anything. She did not even in the slightest respect these girls' time or efforts, and Ogura knew that too well, as one of this clique's members was a person she shared a room with. She fully understood how many preparations had to be made the day before a clique meeting, so then just having it cancelled meant that all those efforts were for nothing. And Akiyama Izumi was somehow getting out of it all the time.

There was never an apology. There was never an explanation.

It was always "she's a busy woman". "She's ambitious". "She's competing with top schools".

But what about those poor clique members devoting themselves for her?

The two blonde girls, Mizushima and Ogura, looked at each other confused and troubled.

Hisakawa supported her weight on her leg and sighed tiredly.

"Aaah anyways." She said as she stretched her arms. "Looks like the clique meeting is cancelled~! So I have time to join you girls. Are you going to Tokiwadai now?"

"Y-Yes. We've just started showing Miyu-chan around." Ogura responded mechanically.

Hisakawa looked at the black-haired ponytail girl with interest.

"Ah, so you are 'Miyu-chan'? Iori has been talking about you ever since the first grade." She laughed quietly, but then smiled. "I'm Hisakawa Ayako, her roommate. So nice to meet you." She said in a surprisingly warm tone.

Hironaka Miyu felt somehow less tense around the brown-haired girl. She seemed less like a strict high-class lady, but more like a type of person she could get along with in her own school. She felt surprised that someone like Hisakawa was even in Tokiwadai.

"I'm Hironaka Miyu. Nice to meet you, too." She said with a slight bow.

"Okay, let's go inside!" Ogura spoke cheerfully while putting her hand up in the air.

"I'm really excited!"

"Haha, but you better prepare yourself for the main dish! Tokiwadai is just a starter! I'm telling you!"

"Iori-chan, slower! I'm going to slip on those stairs!"

"Wah, Ogura-san! Calm down! Don't push my back! Kyah!"

"Let's go! Let's go!"

The distinct chatter and laughter of the girls was getting quieter and quieter, with a slight echo as they entered through the arches leading to the main door.

The one who was listening to them was Minami Himeka.

She was still standing in place at the sett-stone pathway, along with Hisakawa and the black-haired Tokiwadai student, who now bowed to her clique mate.

"Well, then. We will see each other tomorrow."

"Oh, yeah. See you later!"

As she was about to go separate way, Minami's beautiful voice suddenly stopped her.

"Excuse me." She said confidently, while her eyes were perfectly focused.

"Eh?" The black-haired girl turned around and looked at Minami Himeka shyly. "Y-Yes?"

"I would like to know something." She spoke to the timid girl, but her tone was not at all making her any less scared. "Is... Isn't this 'Inoue-san' person that you've mentioned, the right hand of Akiyama Izumi by any chance?"

"Eh? U-Um. Well. S-She is..." The girl answered in a shaky, high-pitched voice. "Is something the matter?"

Minami's expression did not change at all. She answered casually, but her face was still intimidating.

"No. That is all I wanted to know. Thank you. Have a nice day."

"Y-You, too."

The student turned around and started to walk, while taking hopping steps as if she was actually running away.

The three girls that had already went up the stairs were laughing and chatting, and Hisakawa Ayako was about to join them. All of them had carefree expressions on their faces as they were about to go inside the school building.

All of them but Minami Himeka.

She was standing on the pathway, with her eyes turned in the direction of the main Tokiwadai gate, through which the black-haired girl had gone. She was the only one who could be seen with a concern on her face.

And also.

The only one who had not ignored the situation like the rest of them.

It was strange to everybody, but it felt like she was the most troubled by it. She was not letting that thought leave her head, as long as she could try to connect the dots presented to her.

But even if she tried, even if she really focused her mind, which was developed enough to give her the title of a Level 3 Esper, she would not be able to explain it to herself. She really did not like that feeling.

Something was really troubling her, but she could not get an answer, nor even find it herself. As someone who would always get the knowledge she had wanted to possess, she grew irritated when she tried to solve something, yet it turned out to be so strange that even she could not comprehend it.

"Hm? Minami-san?" The voice of Hisakawa Ayako could be heard around three steps behind her.

She was staring at Minami for quite a while with concern on her face.

"Is... everything okay?" She asked and tilted her head.

"Hm." The lady responded arrogantly flipping her dark brown hair and turning around to face the stairs.

She decided to let it stop bothering her head. Either because Hisakawa Ayako and the rest were waiting for her and there was no time for thinking about it, or because she had realized that her thoughts were not getting her anywhere in the first place. She could be trying to find an answer to this strange thing invading her mind, but she would not find any reasonable ones.

"Of course. Everything is fine." She answered the pigtails girl's question with a long delay, as she stepped her loafer on the marble step.

With subtle clacking sounds, she was making her way up the stairs.

Hisakawa was staring at her from below.

She heard the high-pitched, echoed voice of Ogura Iori who was waiting in the opened vestibule of the entrance doors.

"Minami-san, hurry up! Ayako, you too! Let's go!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming." Minami responded in her melodic voice as she finally entered through the arch.

Hisakawa Ayako followed after her.

Part 3

"Pwah~!"

The day was really sunny.

In the completely silent town of School Garden, the cicadas were performing a perfect concert. There was nobody that could interrupt them. Each distortion in their melody and each, even the slightest, change of tempo could be heard. As if they were actually a string orchestra, playing one song over and over again to fill in the quiet, European-style space.

The girls were walking down a cobbled road of the Garden, as they had already left Tokiwadai Middle School's campus.

Ogura Iori was stretching her arms behind her head.

"Your school was really amazing! I would have never imagined that a campus for middle schoolers could be so huge! A~ah, I-I mean... grand... enormous..?"

Minami smiled faintly towards the black-haired girl.

"You don't have to be so nervous around us. Say what you want to say."

"O-Okay." she responded while she felt a faint blush appear on her face.

Hironaka Miyu somehow found those words comforting, especially since they were coming from Minami Himeka's mouth.

"Hah" Hisakawa Ayako sarcastically let out a tired laugh. "It took us an hour to go everywhere."

"You're right. Oh goodness, I never knew the entirety of our school was so big." Mizushima Sayuri gasped.

"What part did you like the most, Miyu-chan?" The blonde-haired lady tilted her head while looking at her friend.

The ponytail girl put a finger near her mouth.

"Hmm, I think the auditorium impressed me the most."

Minami smiled proudly and melodically hummed to herself.

"Hmm~hmm. Of course it did. It's where the real stars of Tokiwadai appear."

"Ah, that's right. Minami-san, you've said that you are a professional violinist?" Hironaka Miyu asked impressed.

"Yes, that is true."

Ogura spoke suddenly, while placing her hands on the black-haired girl's shoulders.

She had a vicious smile on her face.

"You know there is that big exchange program in Academy City at the end of August?"

"Y-Yes, our school participates, too. What about it?"

"Well, Minami-san has been chosen as the main violinist at the international music festival in Paris."

"EEH?! IN PARIS?!" She screamed suddenly, as if not fully controlling herself.

She received a harmonious "shush" from the four Tokiwadai girls.

"I-I'm sorry." Hironaka Miyu whispered as she was scratching her cheek. "B-But is it true, Minami-san?!"

The wavy-haired girl sighed quietly, but then she smiled.

"Y-Yes it is." She spoke in a monotone voice. With a quiet gulp, she continued. "But the amount of practices and preparations the teachers put me through feels more like preparing me for a battlefield, with a possible chance of me failing. Not because the piece I'm going to play is particularly difficult, but because I'll have to, as Ms. Watanabe says: 'synchronize my heart and soul with twenty other people around me, bearing different instruments and playing in a different rhythm, in order to create a multi-layer, exquisite performance'. It's no longer about playing it properly, but to add my own soul to it. With each competition, Tokiwadai wants to score the best position in rankings but competing with professional violinists from around the world, some even being thrice as old as me, is going to be a really difficult fight."

The rest of the girls remained silent, in a bit of fear and stress invading their bodies, even though they were not the ones involved in the concert.

Just by how Minami Himeka was explaining it, they could imagine how much pressure was sitting on her shoulders.

"Tokiwadai is really strict, isn't it?" Hironaka Miyu spoke with a sad smile.

"Minami-san, we believe in you!" The ribbon-wearing lady added in a comforting voice.

"Of course!"

"We will always cheer you on, Minami-san."

Hisakawa and Mizushima joined the blonde girl.

The wavy-haired lady bitterly smiled while slightly raising her eyebrow.

"Thank you." She spoke softly and looked at the girl in a white polo shirt. "Are you participating in the exchange program, too, Hironaka-san?"

"Ah, yes." She mechanically answered. "Although, we are not going too far. In fact, we are not even going abroad. Each year, our school participates in the national sports competition in Tokyo. But it's not for everybody. Only students with scholarships are allowed to go."

"That sounds like fun." Mizushima said as she smiled warmly.

"It is! Our volleyball team is really pushing itself to its limits. It's probably the biggest competition we have this year, so everybody wants to win the golden cup. Especially since we're going to stay in Tokyo for around five days and we would probably get eaten alive by our own nerves if we didn't practice as much as we do now. But, honestly, any chance to get out of Academy City every now and then is worth taking, even if it means we're not gonna do so well."

Hironaka Miyu formed her lips in an awkward smile, but Hisakawa Ayako giggled at her.

"Ah, right! You play volleyball, huh?" She said cheerfully. "I've always wanted to try it, but Tokiwadai has very limited sports club options. So I'm stuck in a lacrosse team."

The ponytail girl's eyes sparkled in excitement. She felt a strange connection between her and Hisakawa.

"Wah! Lacrosse, huh?"

In response, Ogura Iori rolled her eyes irritated.

"Aurgh, oh yes, how could I forget? You two are sport maniacs, aren't you? I knew something would go wrong if I let you two into the same group."

But they completely ignored her.

"Is the equipment really that heavy? I've been thinking about joining the lacrosse team in our school, but I was both afraid that I would get a heatstroke in the summer because of the equipment, and because I didn't feel confident with my skills. You know, I have never in my life played lacrosse, but with volleyball, I'm more experienced. Same with tennis."

"No, honestly, it's a very good release of stress or frustration. And, yeah, it does get kind of hot especially now that August is coming, but trust me, it's something you can get used to. The first year, we were basically just learning how to play. I did have some experience with it in elementary school, but I was pretty much a newbie. I don't know how strict your school is, but I think you would learn quickly."

"Oh? Really? Tell me more!"

The two girls were nonstop chatting behind Ogura, who was frowning with annoyance.

She was a girl who would get irritated if the topic of conversation was not involved with her interests.

She was as distant to sports as the South Pole is to the North. But not being athletic wasn't really anything to be ashamed of in Tokiwadai Middle School. With so many students being pure, gentle princesses, a vast majority did not have anything in common with sport.

It could even be considered trendy to avoid P.E. lessons, as the one and only Queen of Tokiwadai had unknowingly spread that ideology through her own actions. She was never seen doing those low-class activities herself, always staying chic and classy, sitting down with her clique members at the most exclusive venues.

She was someone who just couldn't, even in the students' wildest dreams, perform physical activities. She was too elegant and high-class for that.

So neither Ogura Iori, neither Minami Himeka, nor Mizushima Sayuri were feeling bad because of their lack of athletic abilities. When someone compared to a real Queen, to a real life legend, was ignoring sports herself, it was more than prideful to stay away from them too.

They were considering themselves an Elite.

But.

Hisakawa Ayako, who did not exactly fit the description of an elegant princess and Hironaka Miyu, who was a student of a big sports academy, were very different.

They were continuing their conversation without a single worry about Ogura Iori.

They were like a randomly picked pair of people, who just so happened to be very similar in their interests and the excitement caused by that fact had struck them both.

"Urgh." Ogura groaned quietly.

The five girls turned left, as they arrived at a crossing of two big roads.

The street they were walking down right now had rows of almost identical Parisian apartment buildings with French roofings. They were extending before their eyes, like a never ending Avenue des Champs-Élysées.

The cobbled sidewalk that their group was occupying, was wide enough for even three groups of the same size to pass each other. There were also rows of wrought metal, ornamental lamps and perfectly trimmed elm trees on the edge of the sidewalk.

The road was so grand, so wide and so gorgeous, that it truly felt like it could be in the middle of Paris. It was occupied by a lot of high-class ladies living here, as the shops and locals stored in those Parisian buildings were one of the most popular and luxurious ones.

The group of ladies was passing by shop façades with brand-name store signs displayed with shimmering gold, cozy-looking restaurants with their tables put in the open and multi-storey mega boutiques offering hundreds and hundreds of luxurious products - from expensive bags to jewelry.

This street was bustling.

But it was not Ogura Iori's destination.

Sure, it was a very popular hang out street for School Garden's residents, but she preferred more secluded, exclusive places.

The amount of venues here that required 'keys' in order to enter them was nearly zero. It was a gorgeous, massive agglomeration of shops, boutiques, cafés, bakeries and restaurants but they were meant to be accessible to anybody living here. Even though they were fairly expensive, as any local in School Garden, they did not require anything else from a customer besides money.

And it meant they weren't really all that special compared to what was hiding behind those monumental buildings.

And the group led by Ogura Iori was now walking in the direction of those hidden places.

The blonde-haired girl heard Hironaka Miyu's voice from behind her back, as she had apparently stopped chatting with Hisakawa Ayako.

"Iori-chan, is the surprise spot that you've been talking about maybe around here? I see a lot of people around."

The ribbon-wearing lady responded with a faint smirk of confidence on her face.

"I can't tell you~."

"Uuuhh... I'm dying to know..." the ponytail girl mumbled quietly while looking around the magnificent cobbled road, trying to catch a glimpse of every single different school uniform that she could notice.

There were herds of School Garden's ladies walking in front of them, behind them and on the opposite side of the road. But it was so peaceful and quiet that only slight voices in the distance could be heard along with a pleasant sound of their loafers clacking against the cobbled sidewalk.

And the absolute lack of cars in the pure garden of maidens was a big factor that was able to maintain this rare, precious silence. Cicadas were the only loud residents of this district. And their sound was not something to get rid of either.

It was in a way relaxing and calming, as the group of five ladies was making their way through the big, magnificent road.

Minami looked through the windows of the locals and shops they were passing by. There was a wide variety of things she could find on displays. Necklaces, rings, handbags, luxurious fur coats, then pastries, macarons, ornamented cakes. Everything sold in here looked like it belonged to the highest class of whatever the shop specialized in.

And there were rows and rows of those flashy, expensive-looking displays, almost as if there was no end to them.

"Looks like lots of new products have been added to the offer here. As every summer, I guess the stores are just flooded with clients." The wavy-haired girl voiced her amazement with a faint smile on her face as she was peeking through the glass and admiring the displays that were appearing and disappearing in front of her eyes as she was walking.

"Well, this is just a general shopping area." Ogura shrugged her shoulders. "And I don't like it. Because it's so various and diverse, it lacks exclusivity and prestige. I barely recognize half of the brand names that are here. Those stores are thankfully not fast fashion brands yet, but they are barely scratching the surface of true high fashion. And if anyone can enter those, I don't want them."

The tone of her voice was casual, and a flip of her hair concluded her statement.

As the shiny strands of blonde hair were falling back down, something had caught Mizushima Sayuri's attention.

She spoke in her high-pitched, childish voice.

"Now that I think about it, I've been meaning to ask you this many times, Ogura-san, but... why do you always wear those ribbons in your hair?"

It was a question everybody somehow reacted to.

A strange feeling struck Minami.

She felt as if something was right in front of her eyes this whole time, but she just hadn't been questioning its existence until now. The honey-blonde girl's question really started to make her think.

"You're right." She mumbled with a slight fascination in her voice. "I don't think I have ever in my life seen you out in the town not wearing one of those in your hair, Ogura-san."

Hisakawa and Hironaka responded to that by looking intrigued at Ogura Iori. They were demanding an answer from her, too.

The blonde girl was staring at the group of girls behind her for a while. She then smiled awkwardly, as if not confident if she understood them, and touched the ribbon everyone was eyeing with her hand.

"Oh, you mean this?" She asked in the most oblivious tone possible, as if what she had on her head wasn't the most iconic and recognizable feature of her appearance. "Hm~hm. There's actually a fun story behind it."

"Tell us!" Hironaka Miyu voiced her demand and jumped slightly while walking closer to Ogura.

The blonde-haired girl giggled at her friend.

"Alright." She nodded and looked up in the sky, trying to visualize the scene from her old memories. "So one day during Christmas, when I was 5 years old, I received a gift under the Christmas tree from my father. When I opened it, it turned out to be a bag. But not just any bag, it was my very first piece from Hermèise. The Bourquin. Mmm, it had this beautiful deep blue color. It was also fully custom-made, but at the time I did not know that. Even as little as I was, I could sense that this was going to become my favorite purse out of all of them. All my father said was 'treat it with love and be delicate with it'. So the next day, I decided to open it to put my dolls inside and when I did, I found out that there was something at the bottom. When I picked it up, it turned out to be a silk ribbon! It was in the exact same deep blue color and I remember being so obsessed over the fact that it was perfectly matching. A ribbon and a bag as a matching set. That felt so genius to me that I think I liked the concept more than the bag itself. And also, the fact that my father did not tell me about the ribbon at all beforehand and I had to discover it myself, was like finding a golden coin at the bottom of a lake. I instantly asked my governess who was taking care of me at the time, to tie it into my hair so I could see myself wearing those two things in the mirror. The instant I saw how they looked together, I just knew that was how I would finish all of my looks from now on. And now, to hold that tradition, with every new Bourquin bag that I order from Hermèise, I also ask for a silk ribbon with an identical color to match the purse."

Everyone was left speechless for a moment.

Some reactions were positive, some weren't.

Minami Himeka's eyebrows lifted to the top of her forehead, as she let out a tired sigh.

But Mizushima Sayuri clapped her hands in excitement.

"S-So all of those ribbons are your own custom-made pieces made by Hermèise?! This Hermèise?!"

The honey-blonde girl's high-pitched screams of disbelief caused Hironaka Miyu to rise her eyebrow in confusion.

"You mean... The Hermèise that makes the world's most expensive handbags?"

The rest of the girls nodded to her in confirmation.

A silence filled the group.

For a couple of seconds, the only thing noticeable was the continuous sound of cicadas and the clacking of their shoes against the sidewalk.

...

"EEEEEHHHH?!"

Like an exploding firework, the ponytail girl voiced her absolute disbelief.

Once again, the group responded with a harmonious "shush".

"S-Sorry." She whispered with a blush of embarrassment on her cheeks. "B-But... this is crazy! Can a brand like that even accept custom commissions? They don't normally make ribbons for their bags, don't they? Isn't that like a huge privilege?!"

Ogura Iori looked at her friend as if she was a teacher, about to lecture a student who had marked a wrong answer.

"Oh, Miyu-chan, please." She said in a confident manner, while putting a hand on her hip. "When they know who you are and the amount of money you can pay, they can even build you a house out of handbags if you just so happen to want it. For high-fashion brands like Hermèise, the most important is that one client. In other words, you as a person. They pay close attention to their clientele because they know it's more profitable to have one wealthy customer that can buy a bag whenever they want, rather than having 50 customers who are going to buy one bag for their entire life and never go back into the store again."

"Ah."

"And when they notice that you are that one special client, you are being bombarded with e-mails and letters asking if you would like to get a custom-made item for some made up anniversary or something."

The girls turned right, finally leaving the big shopping road and entering a more narrow, but still fairly populated street. It was squeezed in between two Parisian apartment buildings. Stone balconies were hanging from above, limiting the amount of sunlight that was entering the alley. They were also giving shade to anyone walking closer to the walls of the two buildings.

Ogura Iori continued her lecture.

"You see, the world of high-fashion being so exclusive and secluded from the others, makes every customer very special. And when every customer is special, it creates a system that no longer resembles the one of big chains of fashion brands or supermarkets or whatever. You could say it's more about quality than quantity. You are seen not as some random customer, but more as a trustworthy supporter of the brand. And, by giving you presents, custom designs and free limited edition products, they hope they can keep you around with them for as long as possible. So, you are getting some exclusive, unaccessible for others items and they get your financial support through buying their products. It's like symbiosis."

Hironaka Miyu was listening up to this point carefully, with her facial expression being genuinely amazed.

She spoke quietly.

"Th-That really is something, Iori-chan."

"Well then..." Ogura's voice resounded at the same time as they arrived at a completely new location. "...Now it is time to put theory into practice!"

The five girls had reached the end of the street.

Something completely magnificent and breathtaking appeared in front of their eyes.

It was the fashion square.

The row of buildings on the sides of the street widened the space between them and shaped a rectangular cobbled plaza, surrounding it like an enormous stone fence containing shops and boutiques inside.

It was an almost 1:1 recreation of Place Vendôme in Paris, but instead of having the Napoleon's statue, the middle of the empty square was graced by a grand, imposing stone fountain.

The old, traditional European architecture of the buildings surrounding the square was contrasted with the design of what was contained inside them.

High-fashion boutiques.

They were trying their hardest to catch the eyes of the pedestrians strolling around, with their flashy façades, logo signs dripping with gold and interiors lit up so bright that anyone could see them from any point of the square. They were either stored just on the ground floor, with row of identical arched windows, or expanding onto higher levels of the buildings.

"Wow..."

"This is the fashion square." Ogura said as she came forth and pointed at what was behind her with a subtle hand gesture. "This is the place you go to if you want to find the best fashion items in School Garden. There is a total of eighteen high-end boutiques around this entire plaza. Chânelle, Cucci, Rosiello, Louise Vuitton among many others."

"Aah... it's beautiful... W-Wait! What do you mean by 'putting theory into practice'? And... is this the surprise?"

The blonde girl put a finger to her mouth and smiled.

"Hmm not quite." She then turned around and was now facing the big fountain in the middle of the square. "Let's go, everyone."

The group started walking towards the square, but there was a kind of reluctance in Hironaka Miyu and Minami Himeka.

The wavy-haired girl knew exactly what the surprise that Ogura had prepared was, and because of that she grimaced her face in the most ladylike way one can do. The fashion square was a place she would only see if hanging out with Ogura Iori, like on the July 12th when the vacations had not started yet. She didn't feel the need to buy new items like it was some sort of hobby, but she could not deny that it was quite a common activity in School Garden.

And even with that, she still thought it was a massive overkill.

"My goodness..."

The five ladies looked like ants in comparison to the size of the square. It wasn't just any average square styled in a European way. Because it was meant to serve a purpose of storing the most expensive and luxurious boutiques of School Garden, it had to stand out with its grandeur and monumentality.

It was the size of two soccer courts, paved entirely with cobble and adorned with metal lamps placed around the Parisian-style buildings bordering the plaza. The big fountain in the very center, was made of stone and featured many sculptures of unicorns, lions and Greek gods and the spouts of foamed water were surrounding them while creating a series of aggressive sputtering sounds.

The place was rather well occupied as well. You could see groups of high-class girls entering the boutiques, walking around the square, sitting on the fountain benches, taking pictures of each other, chatting and giggling. Although it wasn't as busy of an area as the main shopping road, there was something peculiar about the pedestrians here.

They were all holding something.

There was not a person without some sort of outstanding accessory in their hand or on their shoulder.

In other words.

The ladies were all carrying purses.

It could be something to be expected, as it was not only an agglomeration of the most luxurious fashion stores but also it was a place where items known as 'keys' could be bought.

The concept of 'keys' was very secretive and hidden behind a multi-layer curtain, only known for the people of a class high enough to shop at boutiques like the ones here, so it was completely unheard of for the outsiders and average students.

Yes.

The game of 'keys' was only played by celebrities or very rich people. They were the only ones who could afford it after all.

A game of "what can I get if I spend this much money on a special object?", from a financial standpoint, wasn't necessarily profit-making, contrary to many people's beliefs. Buying 'keys' just to play that dangerous game was sometimes considered a good investment and a smart money move, as people thought that, with time, the money spent on the object would be recompensed by the value of privileges it could provide.

But, sadly, it was nothing more than just a game created for bored, rich people.

For example, if you had to spend 200 million yen on an expensive violin to let you enter every single exclusive venue in Academy City, even by using 100% of your valuable 'key' for five whole years, the true value of what you could get by using it would cover barely 30% of its original price. Just by comparing how expensive those 'keys' were with what you could actually get for them in exchange, anyone could realize it was a bad investment.

And the whole justification of 'keys' was created purely for turning simple greed and desire into something more meaningful.

However.

People who were truly rich, like Ogura Iori and many other School Garden residents, did not need to find an excuse for their overly expensive purchases. Using a custom-made handbag worth 50 million yen as a 'key' was just another way of utilizing it.

In fact, maybe the game of 'keys' was created in order to force people to finally take their old, expensive items from their home displays and finally give them some 'life'? Like when people get upset when some billionaire buys an old, antique violin on an auction just to place it in their cabinet and never touch it again.

Maybe it was to add a 'purpose' for stupidly expensive items because some people felt like the money spent on them was wasted?

But it did not matter.

True rich people did not buy items just to use them as 'keys'. And all those ladies wandering around the fashion square were examples of it. They could buy something really high-priced and hide it in their bedroom if that would make them happy. But it would not be considered a waste at all.

Buying an expensive handbag or an expensive necklace was both buying the object, buying the prestige, buying the brand name and buying the 'key'. The items sold in the fashion square's boutiques all had those attributes. But none of them could be considered less or more important.

One could say that, of course, the 'key' factor was significant but it was all those other aspects that played a huge role, too. In fact, whatever felt more right to do for the owner of the item mattered the most.

Every pedestrian visible in the closest space could be seen carrying a 'key'. An object letting them enter a world of exclusivity and luxury, hidden behind many layers of thick curtains.

Whether they were using their 'keys' or not, those were highly valuable pieces of leather. Dozens of millions? Or maybe even hundreds of millions?

Hironaka Miyu could only guess how high were the prices surrounding her.

However.

She had no idea what was about to happen next.

The four girls following Ogura Iori stopped after she has done so. For a moment, the ponytail girl did not know exactly why.

To get that answer, she needed to look all the way up in order to see a big, golden store sign placed on a stone building which was a part of the "fence" surrounding the square.

"Eh?!"

They were standing in front of one of the eighteen boutiques.

But it wasn't just any brand name you would see on wannabe celebrities, who could only afford a certain class of luxury and flaunt it as much as they could on their social media.

No. This was different.

This store belonged to a very special type of clients. The brand's logo displayed on the shimmering façade was saying it all.

Hermèise.

A luxury only for the chosen ones. You had to make yourself known in order to be able to purchase anything at all. Of course, money in and of itself could make you famous but without a stable celebrity status you had to prove that you had it. You needed to at least buy four luxurious bags in order for the brand to look at you and say 'they might be that special client that we need'.

It was exactly who Ogura Iori, standing in front of the store's glass door, was. Except, she did not have four or five or even twenty bags from this brand. She, in all honesty, probably didn't even know how much she possessed. This was the kind of wealth that fashion square customers could say they had. They were so rich, some of them (mostly the younger girls) didn't know that their credit cards had any sort of limit. They were so used to getting anything they wanted after a quick "beep" of the payment terminal and because they had never experienced this method failing, they just believed their wealth was unlimited.

Somehow there was always just enough money to buy anything they wanted.

And Hermèise was a perfect store for customers like this. They did not have to worry about their clients declining an offer because of a bag's price. It was whether they liked it or not that mattered and it made the boutique's employees' work much easier.

So.

Why were they here?

Why were they standing in front of the boutique of a brand who was making the world's most expensive handbags?

Ogura Iori's voice, which had excitement written all over it, filled the air.

"This... IS THE SURPRISE!"

She rose hair hand with a clutched fist above her head as she looked at Hironaka Miyu.

The black-haired girl was stunned.

This could not be true.

"H-Huh? What?!"

The ribbon-wearing lady smirked.

"Yes. Hermèise. A brand which I love. And a brand which loves me. Their bags are the most luxurious items as far as fashion goes. The only way to get them is to either fill online applications and hope that they accept your offer or... stand in line as you can see here."

Ogura stepped to the side in order to show off the boutique's façade to the rest of the girls.

Yes, they had finally noticed it.

There were two entrance doors to the store. The left one was opened wide and a queue of around thirty girls could be seen coming through it onto the cobbled sidewalk. It was completely blocked off and crowded.

On the other hand, the door to the right was closed shut and guarded by an older lady wearing a black suit.

Why were there two entrances to the exact same store?

Hironaka Miyu was confused.

She looked at Ogura with a hope of getting an explanation.

The blonde-haired girl cleared her throat and continued.

"But, of course, I'm not a cruel monster that would make you stand in line and wait for god knows how long, Miyu-chan. This is a surprise, don't worry. I have made some preparations."

As she said that, she headed towards the guarded door.

Ogura stopped and stood in front of the suit-wearing lady, who eyed her carefully from head to toes.

"Those girls behind me are my friends. Let them enter, too."

"Understood." She responded with an elegant bow. "Welcome, Ogura-sama. Your order is waiting for you at the 1st floor's register."

"Perfect."

She looked at the group of girls behind her and gave them a nod, as the Hermèise's employee stepped aside and grabbed the door's handle with her gloved hand.

The exclusive entrance to the boutique opened and a gorgeous smell accompanied by warm lights invited the girls inside.

Part 4

What a privilege that was.

To cut in line and ignore all the rules that the crowd of girls to the left had to obey. But it also wasn't like getting an exclusive rollercoaster ride in an amusement park. It was something much more valuable and serious.

Entering Hermèise's stores without having to waste your time was basically an equivalent of obtaining a celebrity status. This brand was meant to be inaccessible for the ones who just went by the "non-priority clients" title, making them fill in all kinds of different online applications which 90% of the time were getting declined anyways.

The only people who could enter it like any other store were the very special customers, the ones noticed and selected by the brand because they might have been a big financial support.

One could say that opening a boutique inside a luxury town like School Garden would make their strict exclusivity lose its meaning, but it only meant that it was harder to get on top when all of your competitors were as rich or even richer than you. While in Paris or Milan customers were divided by "the ones who do not buy at all" , "the ones who buy sporadically" and "regular customers", the School Garden ladies were divided by "the ones willing to spend dozens of millions" or "the ones willing to spend hundreds of millions".

In other words, the structure of Hermèise's clientele was fairly similar to the one outside of School Garden, but the proportions of the amount of money spent on items, was simply on a different scale.

And the girls currently waiting in line to get any item from this boutique, could have been now shopping like queens of the world at Hermèise's stores in real European cities like Paris, Rome or Milan. Here, in School Garden, in order to become a "special client", you needed to jump over a really high bar. 50 million yen was not a lot in comparison to numbers which other ladies were willing to spend like it was nothing.

So, naturally, such clients were getting privileges others could only dream of.

One of those privileges was entering through exclusive, guarded door.

But it obviously didn't end there.

Hironaka Miyu just wasn't aware of it, but the experience of entering the boutique just like that, when other girls, probably twenty times wealthier and more cultured than her, had to wait in line, was already making her feel like a celebrity.

Even though that was not all.

They stopped at the first floor after going up the store's marble stairs.

Surprisingly, the interior was not something that the black-haired girl would expect of a School Garden's high-fashion boutique at all.

It just looked... simple.

It did not seem luxurious at all.

Of course, it was nice, tidy and pristine.

But it lacked something that would cause her to gasp, just like she did when she had first seen Tokiwadai or the fashion square.

The floor was tiled. The walls were white and bare. The displays and shelves were wooden and simple.

There were many ceiling lights, making the room brighter than the sun.

There were rows of big, arched windows onlooking at the fashion square. Hironaka Miyu could notice the big fountain from here.

She sighed with relief.

(Thank goodness. At least it looks like a completely ordinary clothing store. I think I would get sick from remorse if I cut in line in front of all those girls and then entered a palace-like interior... like I am some sort of entitled princess. Well... Iori-chan is to be blamed for that.)

But.

There was another weird thing about this over-simplistic interior.

...

There weren't any clothes.

Nor bags.

Nor shoes.

Nor even belts or scarves.

It lacked everything that every store, big or small, cheap or expensive, should have had.

It was all giving her an impression of an emptied out boutique after a big sale.

Was everything gone? Did they lose every single pair of shoes, gloves, every purse, every scarf, every dress?

...

But she did not even think of a possibility that maybe those items weren't supposed to be displayed in the store in the first place.

"After me." Ogura said gently as she turned right and started walking towards the cash register that was located in the corner of the spacious room.

Because everyone was so calm, Hironaka Miyu pretended to ignore the emptiness, too.

After all, there might have been a possibility that...

She just didn't understand it.

Like in a case of the works of Pablo Picasso or Salvador Dali which may look like a bunch of nonsense to an ordinary person, to someone who possesses a specific level of artistic sensitivity and knowledge, they are valuable and outstanding pieces of art.

So maybe also in this case, Hironaka Miyu needed something which could allow her to understand this level of luxury. A luxury aiming higher than just showing itself off with gold and crystals. Maybe it was a level of luxury which her brain could not decode and translate into a sensical image, that's why all she was seeing was a simple, empty shop interior.

Minami Himeka, Mizushima Sayuri, Hisakawa Ayako and Ogura Iori, all being high-class Tokiwadai students, were not reacting to the store looking like that at all. So that couldn't be at fault here.

It must have been just Hironaka Miyu, a normal girl, not fully understanding the luxury that was hidden behind many layers of mental barriers.

She wasn't a high-class girl.

So maybe that was the reason why she did not understand it.

The store clerk politely smiled as she saw the group coming closer.

"Welcome, Ogura-sama." The lady said in a kindly manner.

The tone of her voice sounded like that of a maid welcoming her princess who had come back home after a long time of absence.

"Ah, Mathilde. Glad to see you again."

"Eh?"

The other four girls gasped with disbelief upon hearing such an overly-familiar way of addressing someone.

The store clerk behind the counter was at least ten years older than Ogura.

And also she was an employee of a high-fashion boutique.

Minami Himeka thought she would never in her life hear someone talking so rudely to an adult.

"(O-Ogura-san?! Where are your manners?!)" She whispered nervously to the blonde girl's ear as her face was covered with a blush of embarrassment.

"Hm? Oh. No, no." Ogura Iori smiled defensively and scratched her head, trying to explain everything quickly. "This is Mathilde. My sales associate. She manages my orders, notifies me about new collections and gets me custom commissions. We know each other for about a year now. We do not have to be formal at all here. Come on, let's go."

The girls, even though fairly confused, followed the ribbon-wearing lady and were now standing beside the cash register.

The suit-wearing woman quickly rummaged through some boxes hidden behind the counter.

While she was doing that, she spoke to the group of girls.

"What do we have here this time, Ogura-sama? Didn't you order a similar-looking custom one like a week ago?"

"Mathilde, didn't I tell you to be quiet? Goodness... Just find me what I ordered. That's your job anyways." the blonde girl scoffed.

Something inside Minami Himeka bursted and was slowly driving her into insanity. This rude response was not targeted towards her, but she felt more disrespected instead of the employee.

Mathilde completely ignored her and said in a singsong way.

"Hmm~ I think that's the one~."

She finally took out a large, orange box from the hidden shelf. It was beautifully tufted, with a golden "Hemrèise" logo embroidery on the cover.

The suit-wearing lady gently placed the box on the wooden counter and wiped its surface a little bit with her gloved hand in order to fully let the girls appreciate its elegance.

What could be inside?

"Now." Mathilde spoke in an impatient tone. "Is this some kind of surprise or what? Should I pack it into a shopping bag or do you want to open it now or-"

"Mathilde! Do you want to get fired?! I told you, be quiet!" Ogura screamed in a flustered voice. "M-Miyu-chan. You can open it."

"EH?!"

The ponytail girl jumped with utter shock.

She looked around, trying to find confirmation in the girls' faces.

Minami Himeka was the only one with a tired frown, but Mizushima and Hisakawa were both smiling genuinely towards her.

As if they were encouraging her to open the box.

"I-Is it for me?" The black-haired girl asked while looking at everybody around her, even Mathilde.

"Yes, it's a present." Ogura answered while nervously rubbing her kneesocked legs together.

Hironaka Miyu slightly moved her hand towards the orange box, but she hesitated for a second.

"B-But...!"

"Don't worry, just open it!"

She bit her lip, but did not respond.

She looked at the object in front of her, which was probably containing something very expensive inside. Something she did not feel she was worthy of having.

But she knew her friend was Ogura Iori. This wasn't the first expensive present she would get from her, but still, every time she was about to unpack anything from her, she would hesitate and question if it really was appropriate to accept it.

Even though she did not know what was inside, that thing was expensive. It was an obvious assumption.

She just knew it's going to be too much. She knew how overboard Ogura Iori could go with things like this.

Hironaka Miyu gulped.

She placed her shaky palms on the box's cover as she felt the tension in the air rising up.

She could feel the impatient eyes of Tokiwadai ladies creeping behind her, ready to see her reaction on whatever that item was.

She slowly removed the cover.

Everyone was ready to hear a gasp, but it wasn't the time for it yet.

A couple of layers of protective paper were still hiding the item from the audience.

She grabbed it and started removing it while a series of rustling sounds could be heard.

And...

The present was finally unfolded.

It presented itself in its full glory to the group of girls wearing Tokiwadai uniforms and, of course, to the receiver of the gift, Hironaka Miyu herself.

"Ah!"

Her gasp was short, but deep.

She had been storing the anticipation and excitement only for the endorphins to flood everything else and drown it to the very bottom.

In that moment, she forgot how to form words, sentences.

She placed her hand on her chest and admired the item while forming an emotional smile of disbelief.

What was laying on the wooden counter, in an opened box was a purse in a classic tote shape.

But.

It obviously was not just any purse.

Even if someone was not a big fashion enthusiast, connecting the dots was easy in this case.

She was in a Hermèise boutique. A brand who was famous for making the world's most expensive handbags. This was a present from Ogura Iori, someone who possessed many of those legendary handbags.

And.

What appeared in front of Hironaka Miyu's eyes was a leather purse in a tote shape.

She knew what it was.

But maybe she just couldn't believe it was given to her.

Yes.

The Bourquin graced this ordinary girl with its magnificence and glory.

It was 30 centimeters at its base, the same size as the one Ogura was carrying right now.

It was made of white leather, accentuated by Fuschia piping and stitching. The bag featured gold hardware and a flap with a turn lock closure.

Yes, it did not have anything that other Bourquins did not have.

But that was not the point.

Ogura Iori's intention was to give her friend a standard Bourquin, but with a custom design, not found on any other bags from Hermèise. It wasn't anything special in terms of Bourquins at first glance, but in that completely ordinary design, it was one of a kind. And also, because it was a custom-made bag, it was naturally more worth than the items from the brand's permanent collection.

Hironaka Miyu was left speechless.

So Ogura continued.

"S-So... this one, I've been meaning to give you for a while. Th-This is a custom Snow White Bourquin in size 30. It's made from popular Epsom Leather. I chose it for you since it's resistant to scratching, it's lightweight, it's easy to clean with just a wipe and it holds its shape at all times. I didn't want to give you anything too hard to maintain, since I know you would be in a hurry everyday and taking care of it would be a pain. So you can just carry it around without thinking about its condition much."

"H-Huh? What? M-Me? Carrying that bag around?"

"Yes, it's very handy and roomy."

"I-Iori-chan, I..." She spoke quietly with shakiness in her voice. "Th-That's not the point at all. I... I don't think I can accept it."

The other ladies standing behind Ogura raised their eyebrows.

"Miyu-chan, it's fine! You don't have to worry your head over anything. Just take it." The blonde-haired girl said as she came closer and placed her hand on the wooden counter. "It's for you. I don't accept any returns."

Hironaka Miyu eyed the gorgeous, shiny item placed in the opened box.

Then she looked Ogura in the eyes, with a troubled expression on her face.

"B-But... Th-That is so much! You really did not have to do that. I... I'm really happy, but I don't think I can..." She stopped suddenly as she looked down once again at the item laying on the counter.

She felt like a rock had been stuck in her throat. Partially because she was excited and overjoyed. And also because she would feel awful if she could give herself the permission to take this magnificent handbag.

It was not something designed for ordinary people. Only pristine, perfect, shining hands were supposed to carry those bags. The hands of billionaires.

She was conflicted.

But Ogura Iori's voice soothed her stress.

"This... This is also a sentimental gift." She said calmly and continued with a melancholic smile. "Remember when we gave each other those keychains when we were little? The ones with our names written on them."

Hironaka Miyu nodded hesitantly.

"Y-Yes... And I lost yours in the 5th grade."

"Yeah."

Both of them remained silent for a while.

But.

Ogura Iori put her hand inside the box. She was looking for something.

"Iori-chan?"

She took out an object from a pouch hidden below the layers of white paper.

Her two slim fingers were holding a white clochette, with that same leather and the same Fuschia stitching as the bag.

Hermèise's clochettes were completely made of leather most of the times, but this one had a gold string. At the end of it, there was a shiny padlock.

However.

This one was also not like the others.

It had something written on it.

" 'M-Miyu' ?!"

Suddenly, a series of gasps filled the room.

"What?"

"Huh?"

"Oh my goodness!"

The three Tokiwadai ladies pressed their palms against their mouths.

Ogura Iori could only respond with a flustered smile.

"It... It's completely the same as the one we had! The font, the underlining too! I-It's the same! H-How did you...?"

"I gave the craftsman a picture of what the keychain looked like and asked him to recreate it on the lock. Hmm~ when you're someone as influential as me, you can even ask for small changes like that!" She chuckled and formed a three finger peace sign beside her left eye.

Hironaka Miyu looked at the white Bourquin once again.

And...

She smiled. She smiled warmly because she remembered her past with her friend. A nostalgic feeling hit her as she spoke softly to Ogura Iori.

"Iori-chan..."

Her voice was trembling with joy.

The blonde-haired girl smiled in a comforting way.

"A clochette might not be the same as a keychain, but I wanted to include that symbolic touch to let you feel that it is fully your bag now. It is completely customized just for you. Nobody in the world has anything like it!"

They were both looking at each other.

"Th...Thank you." The black-haired girl said instinctively in a sweet voice. "Thank you, Iori-chan. Thank you!"

Before anyone could blink, they were already in each other's arms.

It seemed like they were hugging on every single occasion.

A concept so unknown and so bizarre to the high-class ladies of School Garden that it once again caused them to gasp with shock and astonishment.

But it did not matter at all.

They were in an exclusive side of the boutique where you could talk with an employee like with your friend. There were no restraints of a natural behavior here.

Hisakawa smiled instead of being surprised.

She looked at Minami and Mizushima who were also more or less used to that by now.

"Let's let them have their moment."

Hironaka Miyu embraced Ogura Iori's head and ran her fingers through her friend's shiny blonde hair.

"This really reminded me of the old times..." The ponytail girl whispered quietly. "When we were still in elementary school. Together."

"Yeah..." She mumbled in a gloomy tone. "Me too."

"?"

The black-haired girl placed her hands on Ogura's shoulders and gently pushed her away from herself.

But she did not remove her palms from her friend's shoulders covered by a fabric of a soft, light brown vest.

She looked into the blonde girl's eyes while forming a bittersweet smirk on her face.

Even though she was not confident in it, that smile was somehow comforting.

"I'm grateful for everything that you've done to me. For organizing this entire thing just for me, for engaging your friends in it, too. But also for everything that you've done for me in the past. I am grateful for being your friend." She said in a sweet, warm voice. But a moment after that, her facial expression changed. "HOWEVER!"

"Oh..."

"Iori-chan! Buying someone an entire custom Bourquin is crazy! You realize that you didn't have to do that, right?! I'm more than fine without any gifts at all! As long as you are with me, I don't need anything else from you! Seriously, you went overboard! How much money did you have to spend just to buy that?! You think I don't know how expensive those are?!"

Ogura felt weak in her position. There wasn't much she could do to defend herself.

"D-Don't worry about the money! I-It's a gift and I've decided to buy it for you." She said nervously while overly gesticulating with her hands.

"But it doesn't change the fact that you overdid it!"

"I-I know, I know! Just take it!"

Hironaka Miyu sighed in exhaustion. She couldn't fight it anymore.

Ogura felt relief as well, when she saw her friend's expression changing.

"Come on, pick it up!" She spoke in an enthusiastic tone.

"Wah, b-but... Can I touch it with my hands? Don't I need gloves or-"

"Oh, please. Of course you can. It's just a bag."

"Is it?" The black-haired girl raised her eyebrow.

The group of three Tokiwadai ladies flocked around them and were all looking at the opened box.

"Hironaka-san, pick it up!"

"Yes, yes! Try it!"

"See if you like how it fits you."

She looked around nervously as the pressure started to make her tense.

She curled her hands near her chest and almost looked like a startled hamster.

"Hwah?! U-Um..."

"Madame.." A gorgeous voice reached Hironaka Miyu's ears.

The girl looked up just to see a gentle, comforting smile of Mathilde standing behind the counter.

With her gloved hand, the woman grabbed the white Bourquin's handle and lifted it to be on the exact same height as the girl's eyes.

"Please, you can check if everything is fine with your order." She said while presenting the bag to the ponytail girl. "The ordered bag was a Snow White Epsom Leather Bourquin with gold hardware, Fuschia stitching and custom-made clochette, size 30. Is everything matching the model, madame?"

"O-Oh, yes."

"Perfect. Here, you can hold it."

Mathilde passed the Bourquin as quickly and casually to the black-haired girl as a loaf of bread.

Hironaka Miyu was not ready for a direct physical contact with a legendary bag to happen so suddenly.

...

She was holding an item worth at least 10 million yen in her hands, but she needed a couple of seconds to truly process it.

...

The Bourquin felt amazing.

Her hands were graced by an incredibly soft leather. It wasn't like anything she had touched before. It looked like it was made of a typical harsh material but her fingers were feeling an almost velvety, fine surface.

And also, the purse was incredibly light. Mainly because there was nothing inside, but also due to the Epsom leather itself. It was one of the most lightweight leathers Hermèise possessed in their offer.

The black-haired girl was dazed. She spun the bag around while staring at the gorgeous, shiny gold hardware.

It felt unreal to hold such a luxurious purse in her hands.

And the thought that she just have become the owner of it felt like a dream.

"How is it?"

"Is it too small? Too big?"

"What do you think of it?"

"Do you like it, Hironaka-san?"

The Tokiwadai ladies around her bombarded her with questions.

Were they so enthusiastic because a regular girl like Hironaka Miyu was holding the Bourquin bag?

"U-Um... It's... It's amazing. It's fantastic. I've... never had anything like that in my hands before."

Her mind was focused on admiring the item. She has lost the words to describe her feelings.

She could feel Ogura Iori suddenly pulling her by her bent arm.

"Come on, let's see you in the mirror!"

The group of girls ran across the room, while slightly pushing Hironaka Miyu's back and giggling in excitement.

They stopped in front of a medium-sized mirror which was placed on the wall.

"Ah!"

"Uwah~!"

A couple of gasps could be heard as the ladies caught a glance of their reflection.

But the reactions were not about them. They were caused by Hironaka Miyu's look.

Her white and salmon-colored tennis uniform suddenly felt a whole lot different.

Quite frankly, it did not look like a tennis uniform any longer.

Now, it was more like a high-end couture, designed with a sprinkle of inspiration drawn from women's sportswear.

Hironaka Miyu was wearing her usual uniform made for students of a sports academy. There was nothing of exquisite quality in it. It was made from the most simple fabric you could find in a fast fashion store.

But somehow that uniform was given an impressive power. Something changed a simple tennis skirt and a polo shirt into a gorgeous look.

It was the power of the Bourquin.

The white tote bag hanged on Hironaka Miyu's elbow made her look like a completely different person. It radiated a mysterious, magnificent aura which could not be replaced by any other bag.

"Hironaka-san, you look amazing!"

"It really suits you!"

"And it's a perfect size."

Ogura was standing behind the ponytail girl.

She placed her hands and her head on Hironaka Miyu's shoulders.

"And?" She smirked while looking at her friend's face in the mirror. "How do you like it?"

The girl was lost for words for a moment. She still didn't fully grasp the item's beauty with her mind.

Was it her that she was now looking at?

If it was, she could not believe her eyes.

She opened her mouth and spoke dazed.

"It's... amazing. I... I think I love it."

After that, she could see a bunch of cheerful smiles behind her and a series of thrilled giggles filled the room. The Tokiwadai ladies were rejoicing in their true mannered fashion.

A sound of high-heel shoes clacking against the tiled floor reached Hironaka Miyu's ears. Mathilde was approaching them.

The woman looked at the group of ladies formed around the black-haired girl and placed her hand on her hip.

"So." She spoke. "Are we keeping it?"

Hironaka Miyu turned in her direction and smiled bitterly.

She still felt conflicted about such a high-priced item coming into her possession.

...

But she could not resist when Ogura Iori was standing behind her, squeezing her shoulders aggressively.

"Y-Yes!"

Part 5

The line of impatient high-class girls looked to the right. With their crossed arms and frowning faces, they did not at all look like they were enjoying their time, but now they were aggravated.

A group consisting of four Tokiwadai Middle School students and one girl wearing a tennis uniform left through the exclusive, guarded door.

The same line of ladies was seeing them enter and exit the boutique after about ten minutes. This scene was truly infuriating.

Mainly because the completely normal-looking girl was holding something.

It was an item those girls were standing in line for.

It would not matter to them so much if the girl was one of them, one of the high-class ladies of School Garden. But this complete commoner, whose uniform suggested that she belonged to a sports academy, was holding a bag none other than the Bourquin. A bag that was so exclusive and sought after that even daughters of billionaires were willing to stand in line for it.

But the ponytail girl now seen leaving the boutique had gotten it after barely 10 minutes of an exclusive appointment on the 1st floor.

She did not hear the disapproval of the ladies standing in line, but she could feel their hateful eyes scanning her body and analyzing her every move. The thought that some of those girls could have been high-level espers sent a chill down her spine.

But she could finally sigh with relief. The suit-wearing lady standing outside of the boutique shut the door behind her.

They were already out of the Hermèise's store, currently stepping their shoes on the fashion square's cobbled pavement. An immense heat of the sun along with the drowning sound of cicadas both hit them at the same time.

Ogura Iori stretched her arms behind her head.

"So, how was it?" She asked while looking at Hironaka Miyu who was shyly holding her white purse.

"You mean the boutique?"

"Yeah, and the entire experience."

"I mean... it was quite empty, wasn't it? There weren't many people, either."

Minami responded while twirling a strand of her wavy hair with her index finger.

"Well, that's Hermèise's entire brand. Their expensive bags, which are their most popular and valuable items, like Bourquins and Khellys are manufactured in small workshops by craftsmen who make each bag by themselves. It's really similar to how small businesses work, except in this case, it is supposed to show the luxury and high-quality they provide you. Normally, even high-fashion brands take the more capitalistic approach, simply because it makes more money. So their boutiques may look flashier and more rich, but in reality, their products are lower quality and most likely made in a similar way that fast fashion brands' products are. Hermèise has created their brand by hiring talented craftsmen and using high-quality leathers, but in exchange, having an exclusive clientele and minimalistic designs. We are talking about real handcrafted bags after all. It's like paying an artist to paint you a ceiling fresco in your house. It's art which requires talent, work, time and an enormous pay check."

"Exactly." Ogura nodded her head. "Every stitch, every detail, every leather grain you see, they all have been handcrafted by a real person. It was not made in a big factory by a programmed machine. It's all authentic and it is all talent. That's what you're really paying for."

Mizushima Sayuri put a hand on her hip and spoke.

"And it's not like they can just stock their shelves and display their bags around the store, either. Every piece requires around 48 hours of work, every single one worth at least 2 million yen. They are not even supposed to be visible to the people just strolling around the store. That's why everything is being kept in a safe place and only the most trusted customers can walk in to pick up a bag they ordered."

"I've... never heard anything more ridiculous in my entire life..." Hironaka Miyu mumbled with shock on her face.

"Yeah, it is pretty extreme." Ogura responded while her lips formed an awkward smile. "But the legend says; anyone who gets this incredibly rare chance of possessing one of Hermèise's bags, becomes a celebrity on their own."

The ponytail girl tilted her head and smiled sarcastically.

"M-Me? A celebrity? Because of this...?"

Ogura Iori flipped her hair viciously.

"Yes. There's another reason why I gave you this specific gift."

"Huh? Is there more to that?"

She received an enigmatic smirk from the blonde-haired girl.

Ogura Iori did not care to answer with words, so she just pulled out her smartphone from the Terre Cuite bag on her elbow and sighed.

"Hmm~? It's already past 6? Oh, well. We still have some time to roam around here." She placed her hand on her hip and looked at the ladies standing around her. "Where do you want to go now?"

Mizushima Sayuri wasted no time. As any mannered Tokiwadai student would, she raised her hand while politely voicing her suggestion.

"Oh, um, I actually wanted to check Louise Vuitton. I've been wanting to visit their boutique in School Garden for a long time. I've been only shopping at the one outside in District 15 since it's the biggest one in Academy City, but I've heard that here they have those rare Crocodile City Steamer bags I've been keen on trying out."

The ribbon-wearing girl clapped her hands.

"They do? Oh, I'll buy a bunch too! I've seen those on their website, but I've heard they are sold out in most of the stores."

"No, apparently the School Garden boutique is the only place in the City where you can find them!"

"Wah! Maybe this time we'll be able to buy the same bag on our first try, Mizushima-san!"

Hisakawa Ayako interrupted their conversation. She loudly cleared her throat and frowned annoyed at Ogura Iori.

"Um, Iori? I hope you remember our closet situation, right? Your 'impulse purchases' are soon about to make us face real trouble. Where is all that junk supposed to go when you use up all of our storage?"

Instead of reflecting on her roommate's words, Ogura tutted irritated.

"Tch. That's why I don't go shopping with you, Ayako." She scowled while crossing her arms like a spoiled little child. "You kill all the fun that buying things gives me."

"Because I'm the only one who truly knows how bad the situation in our room is? Besides, when you buy something new, you then instantly regret it anyways." Hisakawa sighed.

She was wholeheartedly exhausted from having to keep an eye on her roommate at all times. They were both the same age, but the blonde-haired girl was so unreasonable and illogical, somebody could say she was actually a 10-year-old spoiled little princess. And Hisakawa Ayako did not have enough energy to lecture her about things that should have been obvious from the very beginning.

"Don't worry." Hironaka Miyu said while placing her hand on Ogura's shoulder. "I'll make sure that she doesn't go overboard this time."

"M-Miyu-chan?!"

She felt betrayed.

A little tear could be seen dripping down her eye.

"Miyu-chan, how could you?! Turning your back on me?"

"But Hisakawa-san is right. You need to open your eyes and realize that you're not in your home anymore. You need to adapt to Academy City's standards of living."

"Then what's the point of all those stores filled with things I want to buy if I can't even keep them anywhere in my room?!"

"Iori, didn't you buy at least 10 things from every one of those boutiques? I think that's more than enough."

"N-No, that's not true!"

Minami Himeka clapped her hands twice.

She silenced the group of girls and spoke in her gorgeous voice.

"Alright, enough of that. Let's get going."

But that did not make Ogura any less depressed.

Whenever she felt any sort of restraints limiting her, she was getting upset like nobody on the planet. Someone who had been handed everything they had wanted their whole life, could not just simply adapt to an environment so strict.

"Ogura-san, let's go." She heard the wavy-haired girl's voice behind her.

The ladies were already heading towards another store.

But what was the point in following them if she could not buy as much as she would want? Would she even enjoy shopping if it wasn't her buying at all?

"Come on, don't be so dramatic!" Minami pulled on her hand as she grew annoyed.

"Waah! Minami-san, please, can I keep some of my bags in your dorm room?! You must have a lot of space!"

Hisakawa Ayako rolled her eyes in response to her roommate's desperate cries.

"Oh, please. Now you're just being an addicted leech. Come on."

"Ah, if it isn't a problem, I can lend you some space, Ogura-san. My closet has a lot of extra storage, so..."

"No, Mizushima-san! Don't do it. She's just going to keep going and never learn from her mistakes if you let her get exactly what she wants."

"Pleeaaase, just let me this one day! This one time, let me buy what I want!"

The voices resounded in the fashion square as the group of five was walking towards another store.

However, the big fountain's splashing water and the singing cicadas were loud enough to make them barely noticeable for the other ladies strolling around.

Part 6

The Louise Vuitton boutique was two stories tall. Contained in the "fence" with traditional architecture surrounding the fashion square, it looked like any other store you could find around here.

The five ladies were currently shopping at the first floor. They were walking on a floor made of fine, dark wood. The walls were covered by painted paneling with golden accents, reminiscent of those which can be found in royal palaces from the baroque era. The items were not displayed on racks or shelves or hangers. Instead, there were enormous, lit up constructions made along with the walls, containing everything you could buy.

And also, all of those displays were protected by thick glass. It was almost like a museum interior, except you could actually buy the objects that have caught your attention.

The 1st floor was large enough to get lost inside it. Even though it was not particularly crowded or crammed with displays, the store had a confusing floor plan. It was almost like a maze, with different sections resembling geometrical figures or just leading to dead ends.

The whole interior was so bright that it could give someone a headache after an hour of shopping inside it. The ceiling lights were a popular design choice in high-fashion boutiques, but some of them preferred traditional chandeliers.

Nevertheless, it was the kind of luxury Hironaka Miyu could understand. Some purses and shoes that she had caught a glimpse of would still make her confused as to why would anybody want to wear that, but it was more or less easy to grasp with her mind.

Compared to Hermèise, this brand was not at all that luxurious. However, by looking at both of those brands' boutiques located in the fashion square, somebody could strongly disagree with that statement. But in this case, judging a book by its cover could not be any more inaccurate.

Customers could quite literally go into the store, look at an item and then purchase it a minute after. There was no exclusivity. All you needed was money.

The brand did not care as much about their clientele and there was no reason to give out special privileges to special customers. Everyone was equal, from a poor visitor who came in just to sightsee and catch a glimpse of the luxury rich people consumed, all the way to the highest classes possessing billions and billions of yen.

Of course, if you tried enough, you could get as many custom commissions done by Louise Vuitton as by Hermèise, but because the brand was not at all exclusive in the first place, there wasn't much value you could get from a custom bag besides it being purely just a custom bag.

For those rich ladies studying in Tokiwadai, buying from brands like this one was simply a fun activity. Just how regular students go to their local mall to try on things in the fitting room, those girls were buying items worth millions of yen. They were just trying new things out and experimenting, but in School Garden, those things were coming with a high price.

"Waah! Those are so pretty! Which one do you like the most, Ogura-san?"

Mizushima Sayuri's high-pitched voice could be heard at a big section, with at least four big lit up wall displays, containing dozens of bags, suitcases and wallets.

She was alone with Ogura Iori, as the rest of the girls had scattered around the store.

"I have to pick the beige and the pink one! Those are so gorgeous."

"Ooh, and I have to feel this crocodile leather. It looks soft, but we won't know if we won't try it ourselves." She said while looking at the items through the glass.

"Excuse me!" Ogura said suddenly from behind her shoulder.

An employee was standing a couple of meters behind, ready to serve the two Tokiwadai ladies.

"Yes, madame?"

"Could we maybe try out two of those City Steamer bags? One in beige and one in pink."

"Of course. Please wait for a moment."

The suit-wearing lady bowed her head and headed towards the cash registers located somewhere on the 1st floor.

Ogura smiled bitterly while rubbing her legs against each other.

"I... I have to be more picky about things now." She spoke to Mizushima as if trying to find comfort in her. "Minami-san, Miyu-chan and Ayako are going to get mad if they find out that I've bought more than two items in here."

"Don't worry. We are just trying things on. Right?" She winked secretly while forming an enigmatic smirk.

Ogura Iori breathed a depressed sigh. The Bourquin hanged on the crook of her arm almost fell to the ground as her arms lost any sort of energy and were now dangling freely like thin tree branches.

"Mizushima-san, what should I do? I'm living for one and a half year in Tokiwadai's dormitory and I can't buy things anymore because my closet is just full of everything. I've been thinking of selling some of my least favorite bags online, but then I realized that even my least favorite ones are like humans to me. Would you sell a human dear to you, Mizushima-san?!"

"Y...You... really have a problem..." The honey-blonde girl mumbled with a terrified expression, but then cleared her throat and continued while forcing a comforting smile onto her lips. "U-Um, I would suggest buying things that you really feel you're going to use and that you truly like. Do not buy things just because you think they are nice in the moment, you need to really think this through."

" 'Think this through' ..."

"Think of it as a big purchase. An investment. Yes! Let's say you're about to buy a house! A big lot in which you have to invest a lot of money. Just think about it, buying an insurance, hiring staff, renovating it - it all takes a lot of time and effort. So, would it not feel better if you just... did not bother to buy it? Of course, if it is worth all of the above, you may decide to actually buy it. But what if it was all just an illusion? Maybe there's something about the house you just liked at the beginning but then after researching it further, it turned out to be its biggest flaw? You need to find deeper meaning in things that require a lot from you. And in this case, it's space. If something takes this precious space from you, have big expectations from it. You are investing, so it needs to be worth it."

"Mizushima-san..." Ogura mumbled quietly, but then her eyes sparked suddenly. "You're a genius!"

The petite lady curled her hands around her chest as her eyes widened.

"H-Huh? Am I...?"

"Yes! You just opened my eyes!" She said energetically while placing her both hands on her hips. "I lacked expectations! When I said I liked something, I already trusted my feelings like they were set in stone. But maybe I was just bad at investing in my space?!"

"Y-Yes, that does seem to be the problem... S-See? It all depends on your motivation and perspective!" She clutched her tiny fists as if she was cheering her friend on.

They both radiated a full of hope, positive energy.

However.

Quiet footsteps resounded in the section they were in.

"Thank you for waiting." A mature, feminine voice reached the girls' ears. "Here are the two Crocodile City Steamer bags in Beige Crémeux and Rose Poudré."

The suit-wearing employee was holding two large boxes stacked on top of each other.

Ogura did not hesitate to respond.

"I'm sorry, but we have changed our minds. You can put those back, we are not interested anymore."

"?"

Before the woman could say anything back, Mizushima Sayuri raised her hand slightly and spoke.

"Oh, but I would like to look at them."

"WHAT?!"

This was a response Ogura did not expect to hear.

Her heart was pierced by an invisible force.

She felt as if her only support and help had cruelly betrayed her and did not even seem to care about it.

"Of course, madame." The woman bowed and placed the two boxes on a small ottoman near the displays.

This must have been a misunderstanding.

Ogura looked at Mizushima Sayuri and spoke enraged.

"M-Mizushima-san?! W-Weren't we just talking about overcoming greed and becoming rational?! How could you betray me like that?!"

"Eh?!" The honey-blonde girl raised her hands slightly, as if showing a defensive and surrendering sign.

She was confused and shocked. She responded quietly, while her voice was timidly shaking.

"U-Um, I was just giving you advice on how to help your buying problem... B-Besides, I've wanted to buy those bags for a really long time, so..."

She could her the ribbon-wearing lady's fists clenching aggressively and loudly. There was so much frustration in this young little girl right now, that even the employee stepped away while trembling in fear.

"U-Um, I'm going to leave those two bags here. H-Have a nice look at them, madame, and let me know when you're going to make a final decision."

The suit-wearing lady walked away, but she might as well been invisible this whole time.

Ogura Iori was still fuming with anger, to the point of almost tearing up.

Mizushima Sayuri gulped loudly. There was an only one way to help in this situation.

She forced a smile onto her face and spoke to her classmate.

"B-But if it helps you feel better somehow, I won't buy them. Y-Yes! We will both stay strong and not give up! Those bags aren't even that amazing anyways, right?"

The tears in Ogura's eyes did not disappear.

However. Her facial expression turned softer after hearing the girl's words.

"Mizushima-san?"

"O-Of course! Yes, let's do that! I'll stay with you and not buy a single thing, either! Don't worry, you can count on me!"

Her eyes were now profusely watering.

And those weren't angry tears. Her mouth was formed in an emotional smile.

"M-Mizushima-saaaan!" She wailed in a cracking voice while grabbing the girl's palms and pressing them against her chest. "I knew I could trust youuu!"

To say that Mizushima Sayuri's smile was awkward and puzzled would be an understatement.

But she decided to say what Ogura wanted to hear.

"I-It's okay. Just be strong and don't give up."

The ribbon-wearing lady, while sobbing quietly and embracing Mizushima's palms, nodded her head.

"Yes! Yes, I will!"

Part 7

Minami Himeka looked around a small compartment she was in, along with Hironaka Miyu and Hisakawa Ayako.

She finally noticed two familiar faces appearing from around the corner and coming towards them.

"You two are finally here. Did you look around the section you were interested in?" The wavy-haired girl asked.

But she might had already gotten her answer the moment she had seen them.

Ogura Iori looked like someone who had stayed up for 10 days straight just by unhealthily drinking coffee. There were also no shopping bags visible in their hands.

The ribbon-wearing lady spoke.

"I... have just wasted a chance to get the new, limited edition City Steamer... B-But it's fine... It's not like this bag is special or anything... There will be many special edition items... Yes, it's not w-w-worth investing in our closet space, r-r-right, Ayako?"

The other girls looked at her with utter worry.

But the scary part was the way how her voice spat out those words, not their meaning.

Hisakawa Ayako voiced her concern, as if she was a nurse witnessing her patient hallucinating.

"What in the world happened there?"

Mizushima Sayuri smiled troubled. She wanted to belittle the problem with her expression, but deep down she felt just as concerned as the brown-haired girl.

"Ogura-san had... a little bit of a mental breakdown a while ago..."

Somebody scoffed at that.

"Everything is normal then." Minami Himeka flipped her wavy hair while raising an eyebrow at Ogura Iori. "Then? Why have you not bought anything, Mizushima-san?"

A nervous and awkward giggle responded to that at first. The honey-blonde girl tensed up her shoulders.

"Y-You know, I've been thinking that maybe I could use a little detox, too. Ahaha..."

"Huh. Interesting." Minami mumbled with suspicion in her voice. "Well, I think we are ready to go, right? I mean, there's nothing here that we have wanted to buy, so- Oh, um. Hironaka-san?"

"... Oh, yes?!"

The black-haired girl dazed off. Her eyes were not set on Minami Himeka nor even on the exhausted Ogura Iori.

For a longer while, she could be seen eyeing the displays constructed along with the white wall panelling of the store.

More precisely, she was looking at clothes.

"Hm?"

"Oh..."

The ladies were observing her slowly coming back to their reality.

"Wh-What...? D-Did you want something from me, Minami-san?"

The Tokiwadai ladies exchanged a glance.

Yes.

Even Ogura Iori came back to life just to realize this.

It was clear for them.

The blonde-haired girl covered her mouth with her hand.

"Wh-Why are you all looking at me?"

"This is exactly what I needed." The ribbon-wearing girl spoke enchanted.

"Huh?"

Yes, this was an unusual reaction.

But in cases like this, she absolutely did not expect the rest of the ladies to be acting the same way as Ogura.

Minami Himeka, Mizushima Sayuri and Hisakawa Ayako were all staring at her with that same expression.

They were flabbergasted.

Something had come into their minds that they had never expected to see in their life. It was an ever stranger concept than screaming and hugging inside School Garden.

It was...

"Hironaka-san! Y-You... You can wear normal clothes!"

"You do not have to wear your uniform like we do all the time!"

"You can look at different sections at a store other than accessories!"

Those sheltered Tokiwadai Middle School ladies had been struck by a wave of shock.

They were all living in a strict mindset ever since they had transferred here. Their school's uniform being their only everyday outfit had become such an obvious norm that it felt impossible to imagine any other type of clothing on themselves. Seeing students walking around and always wearing the same clothes as you was as normal and automatically expected as waking up with hair on your head.

It was there, but they had become so used to it that their brains were perceiving it as the only normal way of dressing.

But Ogura Iori's reason for reacting that way was different.

She knew Hironaka Miyu's school's dress code like her own pocket. The fact that she wasn't wearing her uniform all the time was old news for the blonde girl.

However.

There was still something she had not realized until now.

Something that had caused her to abandon her depressing thoughts as she had finally found a solution to her issue.

"Miyu-chan!" She said loudly while clenching her fists in excitement. "I haven't thought about it earlier, but... maybe what I needed to cure my never dying greed was you!"

"M-Me?!"

"Yes! I have finally understood how my shopping addiction works! If I can pick some items for you and dress you up in the clothes that they have here, my greed is going to be satisfied!"

Hironaka Miyu could not believe what she had just heard.

She scowled with annoyance at her friend, but before she could say anything, the Tokiwadai ladies flocked around her with enthusiasm written all over their faces.

"E-Eh?!"

She was surprised.

She had no idea how much of an amazing idea that was for those rich, young girls. She had no clue how sheltered they were in reality.

Even the most collected, mature and ladylike one out of the group, Minami Himeka, exploded with excitement at that thought. She could be creating the best image of herself possible, but a girl's heart can never lie when it comes to clothes. It's like a destined love, which you can't fight or abandon.

Even after all this time spent in Tokiwadai, their beating hearts of agitation were a sign of an undying emotion towards fashion deep down inside.

"Oh, my goodness! I haven't done a real shopping in so long!"

"Hironaka-san, please, could you be our model?!"

"W-We have an entire store for ourselves! I'm excited!"

"Miyu-chan, please!"

She could not move an inch.

But even though she felt like a target of an unhealthy admiration, she smiled at the rich, young girls surrounding her.

"A-Alright. I guess it can be fun."

A little bit of a pink blush appeared on her cheeks as the ladies' cheering voices reached her ears. Even though it was probably the most toned-down and manner cheer she had heard in her life, she could detect many emotions showing themselves in their beautiful voices.

She smiled at the small crowd around her.

She decided that the most proper thing to do now would be to act the same as them.

She raised her hand above her head, while happily and joyfully rejoicing for herself too.

Part 8

It was evening.

The sky was getting more and more orange with each minute.

And the sound of summer cicadas was getting more and more faint with each played note. As if a violinist's bow was slowly and gradually losing all its hair during a concert until becoming a simple piece of wood, unable to produce any sound left.

The atmosphere at the fashion square was getting blissful and sleepy. The row of connected European buildings bordering the square with lit up stores inside, were basking in the evening aura. The big fountain's water was shining like falling crystals, while reflecting the sun's orange rays.

...

A big, double door belonging to one of the boutiques opened suddenly and a group of five girls came out of them.

"That felt so good!"

Ogura Iori's voice resounded with satisfaction.

Although they were not holding shopping bags and not a single yen had been spent in the Louise Vuitton store, the blonde-haired girl seemed overjoyed.

It could have caused a big shock in her classmates if they did not know the context for this situation.

Mizushima Sayuri smiled while stepping onto the cobbled sidewalk of the square.

"It really brings back memories, doesn't it? Shopping at clothing stores with friends, going into fitting rooms, creating looks out of the clothes you could find, aa~h! I feel like I'm in elementary school again!"

Hironaka Miyu scratched her cheek.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know you couldn't even change your clothes in fitting rooms... Tokiwadai sure is strict, huh?"

"Getting caught by another student would be a huge issue." Minami responded while breathing a tired sigh. "We can't risk it. After all, if the school has evidence of you wearing casual clothes just for fun, you might get into a lot of trouble."

Hisakawa Ayako responded to that with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Yeah, but today was fun, wasn't it?"

"Yes! I don't think I've had this much energy while shopping in a while." Ogura said while putting her hands on her blushing cheeks.

"And the clothes were beautiful." Hironaka Miyu added. "I felt like I was in a fashion show."

"Oh, and you looked amazing!"

"Yes, the Bourquin and Louise Vuitton's fur coat combination was my favorite." Mizushima Sayuri spoke delighted.

"Y-Yeah... I didn't know I could ever look that luxurious."

Minami Himeka giggled quietly, but then looked in the blonde girl's direction.

"Ogura-san, could you check if we have some time left until our next stop?"

The ribbon-wearing lady nodded while gently opening the Terre Cuite purse on her elbow. She took out a big smartphone and turned on the screen.

"Oh, my. I'm afraid we won't be able to visit another store. We need to hurry."

Hironaka Miyu looked at them while slightly tilting her head.

"Where are we going now?"

"To a restaurant." She answered with a confident wink. "But I can't say anything more, it's a surprise."

"Oh, finally! I'm getting hungry."

Hisakawa grinned

"Yeah, me too."

"I mean, we can always go back at some point if you want." Said Minami while looking at the blonde-haired girl with a bit of worry.

"N-No... Maybe it's for the better. I really can't be thinking about bags and accessories for a while. Besides, I'm perfectly fine now."

Ogura Iori responded while flipping her long, shiny hair and walking towards the center of the square. The big stone fountain.

The square had a street going straight through it, so there were two ways to leave - either going back the same way you've come here or going ahead, deeper into the agglomeration of small alleys and narrow streets. This was the direction they needed to take in order to reach Ogura Iori's secret destination.

The other girls followed her. They were going around the big fountain and passing by groups of high-class girls sitting on the benches around it.

"How do you like School Garden so far?" Minami casually asked the ponytail girl.

"It's really gorgeous." Hironaka Miyu automatically responded without hesitating. "I mean, the atmosphere here is just so nice... I've never been to a place so soothing, peaceful and... quiet."

The headband-wearing girl giggled at that response.

"Well, I would imagine someone from Academy City to be amazed by that."

"And to think that I could live here if I was a higher level Esper..."

Minami raised her eyebrows as Hironaka Miyu's words brought something back to her mind.

"Ah, that's right. Ogura-san was telling me about your applications to the schools here."

She received a faint nod as an answer.

"Y-Yes... I mean, I wouldn't be able to attend Tokiwadai even if I did have a higher level ability, since all the payments, fees and very hard entrance exams would eliminate me at the start. But even I was surprised that some of the schools in the Garden aren't that strict. So I tried to apply."

Mizushima Sayuri nodded.

"I've heard that Seiyo Girls' Academy is quite mild with its rigors."

"But apparently it's a school with a really, really long list of applications. And it's very expensive."

Then Minami looked up to the sky and spoke.

"From what I've heard, it's a school for the daughters of the richest people in this country, who simply want their children to live in Academy City with a hope of them developing any powers at all, as they are all mostly Level 0s. You could argue that whoever has money can afford the best Esper Development Program for their child, with the best technology on this planet, but in reality, even that isn't a guaranteed way of obtaining abilities. In fact, maybe 5% of the girls living in School Garden have powers on pair with those of Tokiwadai students."

Ogura Iori smiled bitterly to that.

"Well, we would be living with maybe a 100 people if every school had the same expectations as Tokiwadai."

"Exactly. Some girls just want to hide in here from the rest of Academy City and it's fine. As long as they are well-mannered and aren't just a bunch of spoiled princesses, I'm okay with that." Hisakawa said with a shrug of her shoulders.

The girls entered an alley after leaving the fashion square. To their right and to their left, there were antique-looking clock shops, small cafés and dark passageways leading to the tiny courtyards of the apartment buildings on both of the sides of the street.

An echoed sound of shoes clacking against the pavement filled the narrow, but long space.

"I've also wanted to try Shidarezakura, but they told me I need to play at least two instruments."

"Ah, that's right. They are really encouraging their students to be musically talented."

Minami scoffed at Mizushima Sayuri's statement.

"I have a couple of friends from Shidarezakura and they are busy with all of those activities all the time. They need to know flower arranging, reciting poetry, playing on all kinds of instruments, tea ceremony and many more."

"But even though they are so talented in many things, they are still mostly Level 0s." Ogura Iori, a high-level Esper, grinned.

"That's not what they focus on." Minami shook her head. "They want to cultivate tradition and strict etiquette in their students. This concept may be detached from Academy City's entire purpose of existing, but it is arguably the best school in the world if you want to humble your child while teaching them basic skills that you feel they should possess."

The blonde-haired girl frowned.

"Urgh. Why would any parent want that?"

"Because some want their children to know the value of money and that it doesn't always come raining down whenever you need it." Minami Himeka responded with an irritated sigh.

Ogura pouted her lips.

"Wh-Whatever... You only live once so what's the point?" She mumbled while looking away.

But the wavy-haired girl heard her very clearly.

She didn't even want to start lecturing Ogura Iori. She felt powerless against someone so dependent on their parents' fortune that their entire mindset had been built with having everything on the planet. Minami was also rich, but she was coming from a completely different family, with completely different rules. Money didn't mean the same to her as to Ogura.

The ribbon-wearing lady pointed at a small crossroad in front of them.

"Now we're just going to turn left and then-"

Suddenly, she froze.

She saw someone in the crowd of pedestrians. That same light brown vest, the same skirt. The blonde girl noticed her right away.

Yes, there were lots of girls strolling around School Garden at this time of the year and specifically at this hour. And Ogura had seen many Tokiwadai students today.

But.

That meeting was just purely unfortunate.

A girl Ogura knew oh so well was around 5 steps away from them, coming in their direction. If they were a bit slower with their walking, they could have bumped into her head-on.

The girl was wearing Tokiwadai's summer uniform. She had shiny black hair tied into two long pigtails which were curled at their ends.

"Ugh..."

Ogura's groan was of disappointment. Anger. Exhaustion. Regret.

Sakibasu Yuri.

She had barely glanced at the girls she was facing right now, but she was already ecstatic to talk to them.

"(Quick! Hide your bags, everyone!)" The blonde girl whispered nervously from behind her shoulder as the twintail girl was approaching them.

Hironaka Miyu was confused for a millisecond, but she eventually repeated her friend's action. She hid the white Bourquin behind her body, while holding its handle near her rear thighs.

"Oh, my, my, my, my~! If it isn't Ogura-sama! We bump into each other a lot, don't we?" Her obnoxious, high-pitched voice filled the space around them.

The ribbon-wearing girl could not hide her frown. Her blood was boiling, but the forced smile on her lips was supposed to distract herself from that fact.

"Y-Yeah... A lot..." She mumbled while grinding her teeth against each other.

"M-My! There's so many of your friends with you! A-Are you on, like, a friendly outing or something?" She squealed with her cheeks blushing and her hands clutched around her chest. "I-Is that what grown-up girls do during summer vacations?"

"What are you talking about?"

"K-Kyaah! N-No, I meant to say, where are you planning on going now...?" She said timidly while pressing her trembling index fingers against each other.

She was so shy, she didn't even look in their direction. Her shiny eyes were facing down, onto the cobbled sidewalk they were standing on.

"We are going to eat somewhere now. How about you?"

"A-Ah, I was heading towards the fashion square."

"Oh, what a coincidence. We've been there a moment ago. Are you planning on buying something specific?" Ogura said in a lifeless tone.

Making a fake small talk was not an easy task for her. Especially since she had to keep her large bag behind her skinny body. She wasn't even sure if she was covering it that well from Sakibasu Yuri's sight.

Ogura Iori knew that if this girl found out about the ostrich leather Bourquin hidden behind her butt, things could get incredibly messy.

Sakibasu answered in a high-pitched voice.

"I-I want to buy myself new hair accessories and maybe some jewelry... Did you buy anything? And why are you all standing so funnily?"

"D-Don't worry about it, we're just really tired from all the walking. B-But I think you should hurry to the... the... the Louise Vuitton boutique! Yes! That's right! They have a limited edition golden necklaces for half the price! I remember! We've been there like 5 minutes ago and we've seen the last 4 ones still available! I think you can still get them if you really hurry up!" She spat out those words nervously.

She was trying to get rid of Sakibasu Yuri as quickly as she could.

And...

Her lie worked.

The girl whose black pigtails were curled at their ends jumped with excitement and shock, while her eyes sparked like little stars.

"Wh-What?! H-Half the price?! I'm gonna make it! I can't lose such opportunity! Goodbye, Ogura-sama! Wish me luck!"

Before they could even respond, the young lady sprinted away from their sight and disappeared in the narrow, dark alley.

Her echoed footsteps could still be heard. She ran away faster than the sound.

"U-Um..."

The group of five ladies was left at the end of the street, completely flabbergasted.

But the most confused one out of them was Hironaka Miyu. She was the only one who had seen the girl for the first time in her life.

"Who was that...?"

Ogura Iori let out an exasperated sigh.

"She's... she's, um, a junior of mine from our school." She said while pressing her fingers against her forehead. "Let's just say that I've done something stupid and reckless, which caused her to be a little obsessed with me."

All of the ladies frowned at that.

Mizushima held up her white Cucci bag in order to show it to the ponytail girl.

"This is the bag that had caused it all."

"Huh?"

"Okay, Mizushima-san! Let's not go there once again!" Ogura voiced her embarrassment while punching the air. "All that you need to know, Miyu-chan, is that she can't see us holding those bags."

"Why not?"

"(Because they are made out of real leather.)" The blonde girl changed her tone into a harsh whisper.

"Oh, I get it. So she's vegetarian or something?"

"I guess you could now say vegan." Minami corrected her with a short scoff. "Honestly, this girl seriously needs some friends her age instead of bothering us all the time."

After that, the wavy-haired girl started walking towards the crossroad they were supposed to pass.

The rest of the girls followed her shortly after.

"But she felt so pitiful." Hironaka Miyu said with a bit of worry in her voice. "She looked like she wanted to join us. Wasn't she completely alone? Maybe some company could make her happier?"

Mizushima Sayuri gave her a troubled look.

"W-Well... After what has happened, we just kind of keep our distance..."

"Oh, please. Talking to an overly-obsessive girl who calls you '-sama' would be the most uncomfortable feeling ever!" Hisakawa added while quietly giggling.

Ogura Iori rolled her eyes.

"And I really don't have time to explain everything to her about that entire bluff, since she's already so invested in whatever she's doing now. It would just anger her."

"Hmm?"

Hisakawa Ayako hummed to herself dismally while looking at the clouds above.

"I thought she was a sweet girl. Just a bit shy, that's all."

All of the Tokiwadai ladies exchanged a tired smile after hearing this.

"My, Miyu-chan! You're so cute sometimes. Always seeing the best in people." Ogura chuckled at her friend and slightly nudged her while they were walking.

Part 9

"Ta-da!"

"W-Wow..."

The group stopped in front of a big Parisian apartment building. Considering the amount of similar-looking ones built all around School Garden, it was not anything special.

It had the distinctive balconies, ornamental balusters, Parisian style roof windows and blue French roofing. However, it was not the building itself that Ogura Iori was showing off, but rather what was accommodated inside it.

More precisely, on the ground floor.

The local had a classic and chic display. From the outside, it was made of wooden paneling and stone, the double door leading inside was protected from the evening sun by a red awning, and a big golden logo sign was gracing the customers with its decorative design.

Hironaka Miyu squinted her eyes.

"L-La... Lamb...Lamb rose...? I can't even spell it out."

Ogura giggled at her.

"L'ambroisie. It's one of my favorite restaurants in School Garden. They have a fantastic variety of exotic food, especially during summer. You'll see for yourself."

"A-Are we about to eat here now?" The ponytail girl blushed from excitement as a quiet growl of her stomach could be heard in the background.

"Yes." The blonde-haired lady smiled towards her warmly. "Although usually at this hour and at this time of the year, it would be impossible for us to normally get a free table. That is why this time I have made a reservation for all of us."

"Iori-chan!"

"Hah, even though I've made it four days in advance, it was still quite hard. Well, it's one of the most popular and busy restaurants in the Garden after all."

"Th-That sounds amazing. But you know you really didn't have to? To make a reservation at a restaurant like this must have been very expensive, I imagine."

The ribbon-wearing lady closed her eyes for a bit and let out a short sigh.

"Well it was, however today is a very special day. As I said, do not worry over those things and enjoy what I've prepared for us." She spoke in a pleasant tone, but then looked to her right at Mizushima Sayuri. "Mizushima-san, could you take out those two necklaces for Minami-san and Ayako?"

"Oh, yes."

Hironaka Miyu looked at them confused.

"Necklaces? Why?"

Ogura's shoulders twitched as she realized something and glanced at the black-haired girl.

"Ah, that's right. I was about to explain 'keys' to you, wasn't I?"

"Keys?" The black-haired girl tilted her head slightly.

While Mizushima Sayuri was taking out a golden necklace from her Cucci handbag, Ogura Iori cleared her throat and spoke.

"Many exclusive places in Academy City require special items in order to enter them. Whether it's a very rare violin, a bag or jewelry, 'keys' are meant to be a sort of pass card, proving that you're not just some ordinary person who has been saving money just to eat at a restaurant, but a suitable customer coming from higher classes. And L'ambroisie belongs to those places."

Hironaka Miyu spoke while staring at the honey-blonde girl handing two golden pieces of jewelry to Hisakawa Ayako's and Minami Himeka's hands.

"So why do Minami-san and Hisakawa-san have to use those necklaces?"

"Because they are both as modest as nuns." She shrugged her shoulders while letting out a short scoff. "They don't have anything worthy of a 'key' title, so I asked Mizushima-san to take her two rarest pieces of jewelry today so they could use them. On the other hand, our three is fine with the bags we have."

"E-Eh? So, you mean..."

"Yes, I've bought that Bourquin for you so you could use it as your 'key'. There's not a more trustworthy and valuable brand than Hermèise when it comes to that."

The ponytail girl was dazed.

"I'll act like you didn't just say that about us, Ogura-san." Minami said suddenly with an irritated tone.

"Yeah, we don't go to those over-the-top restaurants that you fancy to eat at, so we don't need all this expensive junk." Hisakawa Ayako added with a frown.

They were both wearing similar necklaces, with an outstanding golden shine and a gorgeous ruby gem closed in an ornamental crystal frame. This was the kind of jewelry you would see in costume films about 18th century's royalty. It was clearly not something you could just buy at a jewelry store.

They were worth enough to become 'keys', but even with that, the two girls did not seem ecstatic or overjoyed about the fact that they could wear them. They were angrily looking at Ogura Iori instead.

"Th-There, there. Shouldn't we hurry up and get inside?" Mizushima Sayuri said timidly while stopping between them. "I'm getting pretty hungry, and I think everyone is."

"I am!" Hironaka Miyu said joyfully while raising her hand. "And I can't wait to see the menu! This is going to be my first time eating at a restaurant like this!"

The wavy-haired girl gave her a comforting smile.

"Ah, we will show you everything you need to know about."

"Okay, let's go!"

Ogura Iori took a huge step forward and the glass doors opened right in front of her. The two ladies standing inside showed a welcoming sign to the group of girls, while each was holding a golden handle of the door.

Soon, the heat of the summer evening started to disappear, the cicadas seemed like they stopped their concert and a faint classical music playing quietly somewhere in the corner of the room replaced them along with a pleasant cold breeze of the air conditioning.

They entered the inside of L'ambroisie as the double door closed behind them.

It was quite chilly in here. A series of muffled violin variations could be heard in the distance.

And the interior was a lot to grasp.

The room was giving off the feel of a 5-star hotel lobby. Both the floor and the wall paneling were made of high quality dark wood, really setting a classical, serious atmosphere. There was a seating corner to their right, with antique chairs and old-looking coffee tables.

To their left, however, there was a long hallway leading to a supposed entrance to the actual restaurant. Except, it was completely covered by a thick, garnished velvet curtain and guarded by another pair of women wearing suits. This was something that Ogura Iori noticed first with a bit of surprise on her face. Normally, the restaurant would be visible at all times so why was it hidden behind a curtain now? Was it some sort of special occasion or something?

Either way, they had to have their 'keys' checked first by the woman sitting in a desk right in front of them. She was wearing an elegant, classic black midi dress and a pair of black loafers.

She spoke to the group of girls immediately.

"Welcome to L'ambroisie. How may I help you, madams?"

Out of the five ladies standing under a big chandelier, only one responded.

The blonde-haired girl stepped forward and spoke in a calm voice.

"Yes, I've made a reservation on July 22 for today. A table for five people, Ogura Iori."

She would normally now expect the receptionist to take out her traditional, pen-written list of reservations and look for her name to confirm that the appointment had been made.

However...

The woman was still sitting in her chair without a single movement.

Now, she was quite old.

So at first, Ogura Iori thought that she just had trouble with hearing or processing the information.

...

But.

After a while, the moment of silence started to get a bit suspicious.

"Huh?"

"Um."

The ladies standing behind Ogura exchanged a confused look.

Finally, the receptionist spoke.

"Sorry, madame. The local is closed for regular customers today."

A wave of absolute anger and shock flooded the Tokiwadai lady like a dangerous hit of a waterfall.

"Wh-What?!" She squealed enraged. "B-But I've made a reservation in advance! I've already paid money! Y-You can't just cancel that!"

The older woman looked Ogura dead in the eyes.

"We really apologize for the inconvenience, madame. We will make sure to give you your money back as soon as possible." She said in a somewhat lifeless tone.

After quickly clearing her throat, she spoke again.

Her words pierced through Ogura Iori's ears which were red with anger.

"Our restaurant is now hosting a casual dinner party for Shokuhou Misaki-sama and her clique members."

The blonde girl grew pale in an instant.

Any anger that she had stored inside of her, was now washed away.

She was just powerless.

Her legs started to shake like a flimsily constructed chair. She did not feel like she had enough strength in her legs to support her entire upper body.

Her face was white like death.

And.

She was obviously not the only one reacting that way.

That name.

It was a terrifying, but at the same time overpowering name for anyone living in Academy City.

So even Hironaka Miyu who wasn't a School Garden's high-class girl, along with the Tokiwadai ladies accompanying her, covered her mouth with utter disbelief.

She knew that name and the terrifying power it was connected to.

Mizushima Sayuri shook her head slowly, as if her automatic body language was deflecting that statement by itself.

Hisakawa Ayako's emerald-like eyes were widened in consternation.

And Minami Himeka's mouth was opened like a broken window shutter.

The blonde-haired lady took two steps backwards and soon bumped into Hironaka Miyu standing behind her. But none of them cared.

They were simply in an astounded state.

"Shokuhou... Misaki...-sama..." One of them mumbled in a high-pitched voice.

At this stage of fright, anyone's, even a man's voice, would sound the same.

"Shokuhou Misaki-sama... is in here..."

This name.

This bewitched name.

It belonged to an esper who possessed the strongest psychological powers in Academy City.

The #5 Shokuhou Misaki, also known as Mental Out.

She was a student of Tokiwadai Middle School just like Minami, Ogura, Hisakawa and Mizushima.

However.

This meant absolutely nothing.

It definitely did not mean that they were equal, nor did it mean that they could be friends.

Attending the same school did not make them connected to the 5th ranked Level 5 in any way.

She was like a celebrity.

She belonged to a different world than them.

Attending Tokiwadai was a representative matter for her. It wasn't like she was obediently sitting in her desk everyday, listening to the teachers' lectures. It wasn't like she was hanging out at the school benches talking with her classmates. It wasn't like she was accessible for anyone to just come up to and start talking.

No.

She wasn't just like any other student.

She was an esper ranked at the highest level possible, able to control minds with a simple click of a remote control button.

Just with that information in mind alone, thinking that she could be treated normally like any other student, would be plain stupid.

...

The Tokiwadai ladies were trembling from shock.

This was not something they could fight against by suing the restaurant or anything.

This situation was a whole another story.

Somebody who could control minds was behind it all.

And the restaurant, in a way, belonged to her.

It was her favorite local in School Garden.

So she could use it as her private playground all she wanted, even if other customers were technically still allowed to come.

Who knew what could happen to those who did not like that idea?

Maybe she needed to put her remote control into action?

This was a terrifying idea.

And she was a terrifying person.

"Gulp..."

Ogura Iori swallowed her saliva, while her own tongue was shaking.

"U-Um, for how long did the Queen say she's going to be occupying the local?" She said nervously.

She did not question how, why or when. This was Shokuhou Misaki. If she had taken over the entire restaurant in a whim, this was something to accept and deal with.

You could try and find a solution to that, but you could not question anything about it. Her power was absolute.

The old receptionist spoke.

"Shokuhou-sama said she can't stay for too long. She has a private meeting outside of School Garden at 9. So she is going to leave half an hour before that."

An hour.

This was how long it would take.

Ogura Iori nodded her head faintly.

"I... I understand." She said in a quiet, high-pitched voice. "B-But... Couldn't we get our table now? Please. There has to be at least one free one...? It means so much to us today. It's very important that we get to enter."

"Sorry, madame, but I simply cannot do that when I'm told something else by the Queen." She said in a cold tone.

But then...

The woman continued.

"Shokuhou-sama said clearly that she only accepts her clique members. And the space is very limited, because she allowed them to bring a company of their friends. She said she wanted to spend a little bit of time with acquaintances of her clique members in a cameral and informal dinner."

Her words somehow changed the atmosphere completely.

...

What she said was a surprisingly valuable information, which caught Ogura Iori's attention immediately.

Just when she thought there was no hope left, her eyes widened as she asked again.

"Excuse me, but... how many people can a clique member invite to the dinner party?"

"Each table is designated for a six people group, including a clique member of the Queen."

The receptionist's response was like a magical spell.

(Six people group...)

A nervous smirk appeared on Ogura's pale face.

She didn't need a lot of time to come into a conclusion.

Even though she was not confident in her thought, she knew that there was a solution to this problem.

And she had found it in that moment.

"Thank you."

That's all that she said.

Yes, there was still a bit of hesitation in her. The situation was purely suspicious.

However, if Shokuhou Misaki was not a Level 5 esper with strongest psychological powers, but rather just a "regular" rich girl of Tokiwadai, none of this would have happened. But because she was, everybody just looked at it like at a natural occurrence. She was the Queen of Tokiwadai after all. And the queens, naturally belonging to royalty, simply deserve formal, exclusive events for their day-to-day activities.

But also, because she was such an inaccessible celebrity, what Ogura had in mind was not waiting for Queen to finish her meal and empty the local.

No.

The truth is, the ladies were not angry and disappointed because the restaurant was occupied and their reservation had been canceled. After hearing Shokuhou Misaki's name, that is.

Yes, it was quite the opposite.

They were angry because they knew that they could be sitting at a table near the Queen at this moment. They were in the same local, and she was just a couple of steps away from them, hidden behind a luxurious curtain.

However, they did not belong to her clique.

Meeting the Queen was more than just a rare chance.

It was an honor.

And this honor was taken away from them.

But the ribbon-wearing lady had a plan. She wasn't sure if everything would go smoothly, but if she succeeded, the dinner that she had planned for today would become even more special and memorable. She would finally eat in the presence of Shokuhou Misaki, the Queen of Tokiwadai. This felt like a complete dream.

...

Yet, the receptionist felt suspicious. There was something about her that was sending a chill down Ogura Iori's spine.

She was about to turn around and walk away from the restaurant, but she hesitated for a moment to take the last glance at the old woman.

This was something that had been bothering her since she had entered the local today.

But...

Had she always had those little stars in her eyes?

The blonde girl was a regular customer at L'ambroisie, so she knew the receptionist well.

And she just could not remember if she had seen them previously. There was something enigmatic about it.

Either way, she needed to start her plan. She finally turned her head around and started walking towards the main door.

She passed by the group of four girls with startled faces and the exit opened in front of her thanks to two restaurant employees.

Bright sunlight and a faint sound of cicadas let themselves inside the lobby.

"Come on, let's go." Ogura gave a command to the girls standing in the middle of the room.

The Tokiwadai ladies along with Hironaka Miyu exchanged a confused glance.

They were hesitating for a moment, but there was no other way than to just leave.

They were not welcomed into the restaurant, so there was no reason for them to still stand there.

They walked through the big, glass door while the two suit-wearing ladies were keeping it open. They were back at the hot and antique-smelling Parisian street.

After a sound of the doors closing behind them, the five girls exploded with emotions.

"I- I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! THIS IS THE WORST DAY FOR HER TO RESERVE THE ENTIRE RESTAURANT!"

"OGURA-SAN BOOKED A TABLE SO THEY SHOULD AT LEAST LET US INSIDE!"

"R-RIGHT! YOU DON'T SEE SHOKUHOU-SAMA EVERYDAY! AND IORI IS LIKE THEIR NUMBER 1 CLIENT!"

"NOT LETTING US INSIDE IS JUST PURELY RUDE! OUR FIVE WOULD NOT EVEN TAKE THAT MUCH SPACE AT ALL!"

The girls behind Ogura were almost tearing their hair out of their heads from frustration.

Minami looked at the blonde girl.

"Don't you think the same, Ogura-san?! I mean, you've been pretty quiet! What are we supposed to do now?!"

She received no answer.

Mizushima Sayuri spoke instead after remembering something.

"Right! Every good restaurant in School Garden is probably full right now!"

"Oh, yeah! I can already imagine the never-ending lines near the entrances everywhere!" Hisakawa Ayako added with anger.

"S-So we have nowhere to go now?!" Hironaka Miyu squealed.

Their panic was finally interrupted.

The ribbon-wearing girl spoke while facing the road.

Her voice was monotone, but weirdly confident.

"I... I think we can still enter the restaurant."

...

This bold statement shocked the ears of her comrades.

The group behind Ogura Iori looked at her stunned.

"Wh-What?"

"Are you sure?"

She nodded in response.

"Judging by the way she was explaining it, there are still free tables. And each table is designated for six people. A clique member and a maximum of five guests." She spoke softly. "So the numbers are perfect."

Minami frowned slightly confused, but she was not the only one.

She looked at Mizushima Sayuri, both having puzzled expressions, before speaking again.

"U-Um, Ogura-san? How does this mean anything?"

"R-Right. We don't know anybody who is in Shokuhou-sama's clique." Mizushima Sayuri said while placing her palm on her chest.

Hisakawa Ayako tutted at that.

"And even if we knew, finding her in the middle of the city would be impossible!"

"But." Ogura Iori spoke almost instantly after that. "This time, we have a clue."

The girls were even more confused than a moment ago. Minami Himeka started to get impatient.

"What are you even talking abou-"

But she did not finish her sentence.

Ogura Iori was still facing the road, not them, but her voice was strong enough to interrupt the wavy-haired girl.

"I feel like you keep forgetting about our hidden ace." She spoke with a subtle joking tone. "At least we know where to look for her. Fashion square she said?"

Her last words sent a sudden chill of pure shock down the girls' spines.

Their eyes were widened.

"You don't mean-"

They were like a flabbergasted audience after realizing what Ogura's improvised plan was truly about.

Yes, they have now gotten the message.

How could they not think of that girl in the first place?

The ribbon-wearing lady started to slowly turn her head around, dying of curiosity to see her friends' faces.

She opened her mouth and spoke from behind her shoulder, while the orange aura of the evening sun was shining right through her long, blonde hair.

"We need to find Sakibasu Yuri quickly. She might be our only hope."

Part 10

Those were quite confident words.

Ogura voiced her plan, which could be the only way of entering L'ambroisie at the moment.

The only way of meeting the Queen.

Yes, if it wasn't for Shokuhou Misaki herself, she would not even bother to try and join whoever would be occupying the restaurant. The first thing she would do would be reporting the issue to Judgment or Anti-Skill or just not bothering with it at all and finding another place to eat at.

But.

L'ambroisie was currently hosting a dinner party to the biggest, most prestigious clique of Tokiwadai Middle School with a Level 5 esper as its leader.

There was no other option but to create a plan that could let them enter the restaurant through the VIP curtain.

"Sakibasu Yuri?"

The wavy-haired girl said shocked.

But not because she heard this name for the first time or because she didn't know that the girl belonged to the Queen's clique.

She was shocked because the girl was the last person she could think of in that moment.

Yes, nobody had expected this shy first-year to become their last resort, yet when they really thought about it, they realized that it was the best option they had.

Sakibasu Yuri was currently somewhere in the fashion square, so they had to act quickly.

"A-Alright, but how are we going to find her, Ogura-san?" Mizushima Sayuri spoke with a slight panic.

"She ran to Louise Vuitton, right? So judging by the time that has passed, she had probably left by now. And there's a high chance that she entered another store. So we're going to search around the ones closest to Louise Vuitton by splitting up. That way it's going to be faster."

"A-Are we really going to find her like that?" Hironaka Miyu asked in a trembling voice.

"Don't worry. School Garden isn't an enormous place, so finding her won't be difficult. Especially since we know where to look for her and we know the place like our own pocket."

Hisakawa Ayako gave her roommate a quick nod.

She seemed to be the least pessimistic one out of the group.

"We have an hour. In order to get to the fashion square, we need at least 5 minutes. Then, looking around the boutiques should take us another 5 minutes at worst. If we can manage to do it the quickest that we can, we'll be back here in around 20 minutes."

Ogura Iori nodded back.

"Miyu-chan." She spoke to the ponytail girl. "I'm sorry to ask you this, but could you stay here and keep all of our bags? We're going to have to move really fast, plus we can't let Sakibasu-san see them."

"B-But...!"

"I know, I know. You were supposed to be having fun with us, without any troubles and worries. But, please, can you do us a favor and keep an eye on our stuff? We will be back shortly. I promise, we won't make you wait for long."

Hironaka Miyu pouted at that.

"That's not what I meant. I-I wanted to help you looking for her, too! B-But... I guess I can wait here."

The blonde-haired girl gave her a warm smile.

"Thank you, Miyu-chan." She said while handing over her ostrich Bourquin to the black-haired girl's hand.

"Here, Hironaka-san."

The rest of the ladies did exactly the same.

Her own white Bourquin, the Terre Cuite ostrich Bourquin, the white ostrich Cucci Zumy NewVintage and the two golden necklaces with ruby gems.

Hironaka Miyu blushed as she realized how many valuable treasures were hanged on her body like on a clothing rack or a shop display.

She has never in her life touched so many luxurious items at once.

A faint nervousness appeared in her head.

(A-Am I going to have to stand here with all this luxury put on me, for twenty minutes or more?! I'm definitely going to get robbed!)

But then she remembered that this was School Garden. A place where the richest daughters of influential people from around the world were living in. Robberies here were as rare as nuclear explosions in the outside world.

So she calmed herself down and breathed a deep sigh.

"Okay, let's go, everybody." Ogura Iori said while taking a firm step in a direction of the crossroad. "We need to hurry up."

Minami Himeka, a gentle lady with pale complexion, raised an eyebrow at the girl.

"Hn? Wh-What? You mean..."

But she did not finish her sentence once again.

Ogura's hand grabbed the wavy-haired girl by her arm. She felt a sudden pull, forcing her to walk faster.

"O-OGURA-SAN!" She managed to let out a high-pitched scream, while her skinny legs were involuntarily making quick, unladylike steps under her classmate's pressure. "Y-You did not warn me that we will be running! No, I do not agree! Running across the sidewalk displays horrible manners! E-Everyone is going to stare at us! Kyaah! Somebody looked at me! What an embarrassment!"

Soon, as Minami Himeka's voice started to get quieter and quieter, the Tokiwadai ladies disappeared from Hironaka Miyu's sight.

She was left alone, drenched in gold and luxurious leather, in front of L'ambroisie's façade.

Part 11

"Did you find her yet?"

"No..."

Ogura Iori responded.

She had a nervous grimace on her face while lightly pressing her white smartphone against her ear. Her blonde hair was jumping back and forth as she was looking around impatiently.

She was in a small section of a high-end store belonging to the fashion square. Thankfully, this specific boutique was only contained on the ground floor of the European building's segment, so the space was smaller and more limited. But because of that, the customers were condensed in one place.

It was crowded.

And the shiny marble floor was reflecting the people's figures, doubling the dozens of high-class girls and showing them on its own surface.

Ogura's head was spinning. This was one of the most crowded places she has been in.

But.

Sakibasu Yuri had to be here.

"Ogura-san, this is our only store left." A high-pitched voice reached her ear through the phone. "We will be now checking the streets around fashion square, so let us know if you find her."

The ribbon-wearing lady clenched her teeth.

"But she's nowhere to be found..." She mumbled hesitantly.

Yes, she did not want to admit it, but her plan was not as easy to put into action as she thought.

She was walking around the shiny crowded room, with marble floor, marble walls and an enormous, lit up chandelier.

"Near the cash registers, around the shelves and displays, in the jewelry corner... I've looked everywhere!" She said to the phone anxiously.

Without hesitation, another voice responded to her, in a high volume.

"Try to look around the fitting room!"

Ogura Iori tensed up and her face started to get warmer.

"I-I've already scanned through that area! She's not there!"

"NO! I mean, go into the fitting rooms literally!"

The voice responded aggressively.

Even though the four ladies were talking through the phone and did not see each others' faces, Ogura could feel the other girls' embarrassment after those words, along with her own.

Her heart was beating fast as she was sweating.

"Wh-Wh-What do you mean by 'go into the fitting rooms' Ayako?! Y-You want me to invade someone else's privacy?!"

"Listen, we don't have much time left! Do you want to join the Queen's dinner party or not?!"

"W-Well..."

She was troubled.

Fitting rooms in clothing stores were somehow different than their school's shower room. In the former, you were supposed to undress in privacy, completely divided by a curtain. But in the latter, seeing crowds of naked girls was expected and normal.

It was the same as the swimsuit versus underwear dilemma that is still unsolved to this day. Maybe in the presence of water humans have some kind of natural normalization instinct about having less clothes or not having them at all? While inside of a regular room, you are expected to be fully dressed?

Ogura Iori was a high-class lady, so she knew etiquette and good manners like she knew how to speak and write. And everything was now telling her that entering the fitting rooms was a terrible idea.

On the other hand, the restaurant with the Queen of Tokiwadai inside was waiting, while the clock was ticking.

And Sakibasu Yuri, their only savior, could be hiding there.

She gulped loudly.

She felt embarrassed for agreeing to it, so she answered as quickly as she could.

"I'm going in."

She let out a short breath after feeling her classmates' disappointment, even though she didn't hear any audible response through the phone.

She just knew they were judging her now.

But also.

She knew that they would be the ones thanking her later.

Ogura squeezed her body through the crowd and entered a small hallway. There was a door to the restroom to her right and an archway leading to the fitting rooms to her left.

She could hear the sounds of rubbed clothing and clasping of metal closures. Those were the sounds of fitting rooms.

The blonde-haired girl frowned while thinking about what she was about to do. There were just so many wrong things about this idea, but it also wasn't like she would be doing this for nothing.

(I-I'm sure other girls from our school would do the same if they had a chance to eat with Shokuhou-sama...)

She bit her lip slightly and entered through the archway.

Immediately, she felt discomfort.

She was standing in front of a row of tiny fitting rooms with marble dividers and red curtains. She obviously couldn't see any people, but judging by the sounds, she realized that all of them were occupied.

She clutched her hands on her uniform's light brown vest and looked around like a scared little cat.

(Wh-Wh-Where do I even begin?)

(H-H-How do I do this?)

The sounds of other girls changing inside those tiny, closed off rooms were making her uneasy.

This situation was truly overwhelming.

She hesitated for a moment, but she made a tiny step forward.

(I-I'm doing this for Miyu-chan!)

(S-So she can have the best memory of School Garden in the w-world!)

She was walking down the hall of changing compartments. Her legs were shaking, creating faint footsteps on the fine carpet. Her hands were still clenching Tokiwadai's vest.

There was a mirror visible at the end of the "corridor" and this was the moment Ogura Iori saw how scared and intimidated she looked. Looking at her own face, while participating in such unladylike act made her sick to her stomach. She was disappointed in herself to the point of her eyes watering.

(Wh...What if she's not even here...?)

(I'm sneaking into the fitting room for no reason?)

She had almost let the panic overwhelm her body and defeat her motivation for doing all this, however...

(Huh?)

Her attention switched onto something else. Her eyes widened in surprise, as if something had directly poked her brain.

Besides the sounds of clothes, belts and jewelry being taken off and put on over and over again, another sound had suddenly let itself known.

It was humming.

A quiet, yet noticeable humming of a sweet, melodic voice belonging to a prepubescent young lady. It emerged from the rattling background noise like a lifebuoy in the middle of deep, dark ocean.

It was coming from somewhere near Ogura Iori, maybe that was the reason why she had noticed it so suddenly. She was not sure what compartment exactly that was, but it could not be far away.

And also.

The melody that was being hummed was an actual song. A classic, at that.

The blonde-haired girl, being a Tokiwadai student herself, recognized it right away.

Air on the G String.

Yes.

This timeless piece created by one of the most famous classical music composers struck her like static energy.

It was famous and well-known enough that anybody could hum it under their breath, especially in School Garden where listening to pop or rock music was almost equal to heresy.

Here, everybody was a connoisseur of classical music.

But.

Ogura Iori was familiar not only with the melody.

She recognized the voice itself, as well.

It was sweet, warm and pure. It was like freshly-made honey tea.

It had to belong to a first-year student.

And.

When the blonde girl connected the song with the voice, she had no doubts any longer. An excited smile formed around her eyes as she was listening to the humming.

(Which compartment is the sound coming from? This one?)

She looked to her right, then she looked to her left. Then she took two steps backwards and looked around one more time.

She was desperately trying to locate the person who possessed this sweet, pure voice. She was so invested in trying to find the humming person that she involuntarily ignored just how unsightly her behavior in that moment was. She was viewing the lower parts of the compartments surrounding her, trying to see if all of them really were occupied.

And in fact, they were.

Looking at strangers' feet, in all its disturbing nature, was also to check if any of them were matching the person Ogura Iori had in mind. But it turned out to be harder than she expected.

She bit her lip while an anxious frown formed around her forehead.

Ogura took one step forward. There seemed to be two compartments that she had skipped.

And...

"?!"

She inaudibly gasped as two things at once struck her suddenly.

(The voice is right here!)

She looked to her right.

A piece of clothing was laying near the pair of socked feet.

(That's... That's Tokiwadai Middle School's skirt, isn't it?!)

She was now sure about it.

This was the person she was looking for, and even if there was a chance that she might have been mistaken, it was a risk she was willing to take.

There was no time to waste.

She was aware that what she was doing was awful. The paralyzing feeling of angst had never really left her mind at all since she had entered this room. All she had to do now was to pull on the curtain, but at the thought of that, Ogura felt an indescribable fright.

Her trembling hand wouldn't even be able to get a good grasp of the fabric, let alone pull on it hard enough to uncover it. And also, if she had done that, the girl inside the fitting room would probably scream at the top of her lungs, creating a big, unnecessary commotion inside the store.

So...

Ogura outstretched her arm slowly.

The Air on the G String hummed by the high-pitched voice was so loud and clear that it almost felt wrong. Just like with singing in the shower, humming under one's breath while undressing was never meant to be heard by anybody else. It was so closely connected to those private moments that she felt a slight shiver going down her spine while listening to it.

Even though she hesitated for a second, she decided to do it the most safe and non-invasive way.

She bent her index finger and quietly knocked on the marble wall of the compartment.

"HYAAH!"

The girl inside instantly stopped humming the classical piece and screamed in a high-pitched voice.

Her cry was loud enough to catch attention of other ladies occupying the compartments nearby.

Ogura could feel her nervous shaking through the curtain so she spoke to her quickly with soothing, yet a bit anxious voice.

"D-Don't worry! It's me."

"Huh?"

The girl seemed to have calmed down, as she recognized the voice that said those words.

She gently grabbed the curtain with her shaky hand and revealed her face to the blonde girl.

"Ah? Ogura-sama?!

The young lady had long, black hair tied into two pigtails and shiny, innocent eyes. Her face looked very young and smooth, like that of a victorian doll.

Ogura smiled joyfully upon seeing her, something she would have never thought she would do.

It was Sakibasu Yuri. A member of Shokuhou Misaki's clique.

"B-But... Weren't you supposed to be eating out with your friends somewhere? What are you doing here?"

"Oh, yeah, right! Don't worry, I'll explain everything to you later. But I would like to ask you for a favor!"

"..."

Sakibasu Yuri could not hide her blush. The atmosphere around them resembled those lily-scented scenes from shoujo manga. The pigtails girl squeezed the fist that was resting on her chest.

However.

There was something unusual about her attire.

Ogura Iori's smile did not last for long. She looked down, in order to see her junior's entire figure.

"Huh?"

"Hn? AH, KYAAH!"

Sakibasu Yuri screamed one more time.

She hid her body behind the red curtain once again.

"D-D-Don't look at me! Y-You did not see that! P-Please, tell me you did not see that!"

Yes. The girl was not wearing her school uniform. Instead, she had a gorgeous pink dress reaching her thighs with short sleeves and an adorned collar. It also had three ribbons tied into the fabric - one under the collar, on the chest and on the waist line. Well, currently, Ogura could not see it anyway.

Of course, if she was a student of any other school from outside, it would be perfectly normal and acceptable for her to be wearing whatever she wants.

However, she belonged to Tokiwadai Middle School. Their students were not allowed to change from their school uniform even in fitting rooms.

Even though many ladies were doing that still, this practice was protected by a barrier of secret. As long as nobody had proof of them trying on clothes from a store, the students could continue doing it.

But now, the situation was different. Sakibasu Yuri had a witness of her breaking one of the school's rules. If Ogura Iori had told the principal about it, the pigtails girl could face real trouble.

However the blonde girl's expression resembled that of a bored spectator watching a badly-written theater play.

She spoke to the first-year without hesitation.

"Oh, please, Sakibasu-san. No need to react that way. I won't tell anybody about it."

A faint, muffled voice of a young girl reached her ears through the curtain.

"Y-You promise?"

"Of course. I mean, I was doing the same thing when I was in your grade. Until I realized how dangerous this is, so I would advise you against that." Ogura said with a bitter smile.

She could hear Sakibasu Yuri standing up. Was she curled on the ground this whole time?

The curtain was quickly opened and the black-haired girl stood in front of Ogura Iori, fully revealed.

"Um, thank you." She squealed timidly while placing her hand on her chest. "But, um, did you want something from me, Ogura-sama?"

The blonde-haired girl responded with a troubled smirk.

"Aa~h, err..."

She looked up at the ceiling, while playing with her hands behind her back.

She finally looked Sakibasu in the eyes and smiled nervously.

"Say, Sakibasu-san... aren't you maybe hungry by any chance?"

Part 12

Hironaka Miyu was crossing her arms while waiting in this summer evening's orange aura. She was leaning against a white mortar wall of the European-looking building with L'ambroisie restaurant accommodated at the ground floor. The entrance itself was just a couple of steps away from her, staying closed and empty for the entire time she was waiting there.

The black-haired girl was occasionally trying to catch a glimpse of what was happening in the actual restaurant, by peeking through the windows, however it seemed like every single one of them was covered by thick curtains. This level of exclusivity and seclusion was definitely fitting for the Queen of the most prestigious all-girls' school in the world. Not even pedestrians could be given the privilege of looking at her. And also, it seemed like nobody knew about the dinner party that was happening right now.

Normally, celebrities like her had a habit of sharing their life on social media by posting pictures, which then resulted in their biggest fans locating the place they went to and stalking them for the rest of the day. This didn't seem to be the case. Maybe it was because of the manners high-class girls possessed, but also, maybe the Queen tried to gain as much privacy as possible by not announcing it anywhere? Hironaka Miyu could only imagine the herds of Queen's fans flocking around the restaurant if the windows were opened. One person noticing her would spread the news around the entire town like a virus and it would create problems not only to the Queen and her clique, but also to L'ambroisie itself.

With three luxurious bags hanged on her stiff arms and two golden necklaces dangling from her neck, she looked like one of those street merchants selling fake designer items of questionable quality. Because of that and also of her unfamiliar uniform, from time to time she would receive stares and giggles from the groups of young ladies passing by her.

She let out a tired sigh as a drop of sweat ran down her cheek. She decided to look around once again. She was facing a rather narrow road, although by School Garden's standards, it could be considered quite spacious. A row of identical ornamental, metal lamps was extending all the way to the end of the street. Plenty of little shops and cafés could be seen along the sidewalk, with their colorful and decorative awnings.

Then, she looked to her right. The pavement she was standing on was expanded further, until an enormous Parisian building marked the end of the street. To her left, the road was also long, but this time, it branched out in every direction. It was a quite big crossroad where many alleys had their way out, such as the one leading to the fashion square.

Her eyes suddenly twitched.

She noticed someone walking towards her from the crowd of pedestrians strolling around in enormous numbers.

A group of five girls purely consisting of Tokiwadai Middle School students was approaching her. They appeared on the crossroad and started walking along the sidewalk she was waiting on.

Hironaka Miyu smiled relieved after standing in the hot weather for more than twenty minutes.

They had finally come back.

A one young lady in the middle of the group had red cheeks and tense shoulders. She was also making tiny steps. The ponytail girl could not tell if the girl was nervous, stressed or just excited, but she was glad that she had finally been found.

Their chatting could finally reach her ears.

"This is the first time I've been invited to eat out with a group of people." The voice of the young lady resounded while her long pigtails were bouncing up and down. "I'm a bit nervous..."

Her tone of voice had a sound of a thrilled heartbeat and her expression was as timid as a tiny rosebud.

"Don't worry. We are just as nervous to meet the Queen." Ogura Iori responded.

"A-Ah, but if the Queen said she is having an informal dinner, it means that she will not require very strict etiquette from her guests. Today must have been a pretty leisurely day for her if that is what she decided to do."

"So will we be able to have a chat with her?!"

"Ah, em, I don't think I can answer that question accurately. It all depends on the Queen's mood, Mizushima-san."

Upon receiving Sakibasu Yuri's sad smile, the honey-blonde girl lowered her head in disappointment.

They were now close enough to Hironaka Miyu, festooned with luxurious items, to wave towards her.

"Miyu-chan, sorry to keep you waiting!" The ribbon-wearing lady spoke cheerfully.

The ponytail girl responded with a short scoff.

"No, not at all. I'm glad to see you back."

"Hehe! But as promised, we were able to find her." Ogura said as she stepped back to show off Sakibasu Yuri, who had been timidly hiding behind her.

(Wh-Whoa...!)

The gorgeous young lady with a beauty of a victorian Goth Lolita doll stood in front of Hironaka Miyu with trembling, kneesocked legs. Her long black twintails were curled at their ends as well as the strands of hair dangling near her ears. She was holding a black suitcase in her hands, which was covering her thighs.

(A-Another beautiful high-class girl?!)

She gulped loudly. Sakibasu Yuri was staring at her with a nervous, timid expression. She was most likely scared of all commoners who did not belong to any school of the Garden, so her reaction was more or less understandable.

(Ugh, she's looking at me like I'm some sort of delinquent! I don't think I can talk with enough elegance to impress her, but...)

"Um, nice to meet you. I'm Hironaka Miyu."

"S-Sakibasu Yuri... Nice to meet you, too."

The pigtails girl closed her legs tight together and looked down at the sidewalk.

She spoke again with a nervous smile on her face.

"I-I'm glad that I will be enjoying dinner with you."

"Of course." Ogura and Hironaka said in unison while giggling.

Minami Himeka placed her hand on her hip and looked in the direction of the restaurant's entrance.

"Let's not waste our time. It's time to go."

"Ah, yes!" Sakibasu gave a quick nod and walked towards the double door.

When the two employees opened it like a book, the group walked inside. They were inside the dark and chilly reception room again.

"*sniff* *sniff* Hmm, yes, of course. Our Queen is in here." The girl with curled pigtails mumbled to herself delighted.

"(Psst! Ogura-san!)"

The blonde-haired girl heard a quiet, whispered voice near her ear. She tilted her head to the side which the sound was coming from.

"(What is it, Miyu-chan?)"

"(Don't you think it's a bit unfair on our side? I mean, we invited her just because we needed to get inside.)"

"(W-Well...)"

Ogura Iori scratched her cheek while a nervous smile appeared on her face.

"(And she doesn't seem like she has many friends, too. I feel bad using her just for a 'key'. She did not even react to the bags that I have.)"

"(I-It's because she doesn't recognize you. If she saw me or Mizushima-san holding those bags, she would become a completely different person. After what I told her, she became crazy. This just proves how amenable she is.)"

"What are you two talking about?"

Sakibasu Yuri spoke while staring at them with suspicion.

"N-Nothing!" Ogura Iori and Hironaka Miyu answered mechanically in unison.

The voice of the receptionist sitting behind a wooden desk reached everybody's ears suddenly.

"Welcome to L'ambroisie. How may I help you?"

She sounded exactly the same as the last time. Lifeless, cold and stiff.

Sakibasu Yuri turned around and lifted her black suitcase up by the handle.

"Ah, yes." She said while shifting her attention onto the old woman.

She walked closer to the wooden desk, while the other girls behind her were observing her carefully. They felt like they needed to witness this proper procedure that Shokuhou Misaki's clique members had to perform.

The girl with curled pigtails did not seem nervous or shy at all while she placed the suitcase on the desk and opened it. She quickly rummaged through the inside of it, trying to find a specific object.

Her wallet.

She took it out of one of the suitcase's partitions. There was something inside the wallet that was necessary. Her two slender fingers slipped inside it in order to grasp a golden card, which looked like a combination of a trading card and a credit card. However, it was too shiny and decorative to be a credit card but also too minimalistic to belong to a children's card game.

She outstretched her hand in which she was holding the mysterious card and showed it to the receptionist.

The woman did not even need another second to respond.

"Very well, Sakibasu-san. You may enter with the group of your friends. You will be seated by our waitresses when you enter the restaurant."

This caused the other girls to gasp.

Not even a single word had to be said. The receptionist looked at the small object and just like that, the holy gates leading to the Queen's exclusive dinner party were open for them.

They were shocked. They were struck by excitement and disbelief.

"It... It was that easy?!"

They simply could not believe their ears and eyes.

Sakibasu Yuri bowed like a proper lady.

"Thank you, Queen."

She spoke quietly and lifted her suitcase from the desk.

Now, why did she say that to the receptionist? The group of girls behind her had no idea.

They were busy rejoicing, while the pigtails girl hid the golden card back into her wallet which she put inside the suitcase. She turned around and approached them. They were jumping in place while their unstoppable emotions caused their hands to sweat and their faces to blush.

"W-We are free to go now." Sakibasu spoke to them with pinkish cheeks herself.

"Sakibasu-san! You helped us so much!"

Ogura Iori grabbed the girl by her tiny, gentle hands.

"E-Eh?!"

"Yes, yes! Who knows what could have happened if we did not have you here?"

"You literally saved us!"

The pigtails girl looked around, while her face turned completely red in a matter of seconds. Her eyes were spiraling all over the place, observing every face that was surrounding her.

"I-I'm happy th-that I could h-help...!" She squealed in a high-pitched, trembling voice. "B-But it's really n-nothing..."

"No! That's more than something!"

"We can't express how grateful we are, Sakibasu-san!"

The group of second-year students bowed to the startled, blushing first-year as if she was actually a goddess turned into a young girl. This looked like a scene out of a cult.

"Hwah?! P-Please, stop! Th-This is embarrassing!"

She was nervously gesticulating with her shaking hands while the older girls started to giggle.

Even though she might have looked like the most nervous and timid person in the world right now, an incredibly warmth hugged Sakibasu's heart like a gentle, loving mother.

She smiled adorably along with the giggling girls and embraced the blush on her face, instead of trying to hide it.

"A-Alright. Let's go." She said shyly, but her voice was kind and gentle. "The Queen is waiting for us."

She showed delicately with her hand that they should follow her.

The girls were looking at their junior all at the same time, with that same warmhearted thought in their minds.

(Sakibasu-san... is so adorable!)

The group of six was walking down a long, carpeted hallway with gorgeous paintings hanged on the wooden walls. Every single one of them had a golden frame and depicted magnificent landscape of France and England. Now, the lobby area and the hallway had almost nothing in common with the design of the actual restaurant itself. Everything in here so far was dark, wooden and antique. It reminded Hironaka Miyu of the Tokiwadai Middle School's interiors that she had seen today.

With each second, the tension and excitement were growing stronger. Shokuhou Misaki, the Queen of Tokiwadai herself, and her clique were just a couple of steps away. Sakibasu could hear a series of nervous whispers of the girls behind her, who could not contain their anticipation. The faint string symphony that could still be heard in the lobby, started to feel closer and more clear, even though it was still muffled. The awaited moment of reaching the luxurious, red curtain was at their fingertips.

And finally...

The group lead by Sakibasu Yuri stopped as the gallery of framed paintings had its end right in front of her. The pigtails girl was facing two women wearing black suits, who were guarding the entrance to the exclusive restaurant. The archway hidden by a red velvet curtain was between them.

You did not need to have a famous 'key'.

You did not need to have an item worth 100 million yen.

You did not need to be a trusted, special customer.

Sakibasu Yuri was a member of the biggest, most exclusive clique in Tokiwadai Middle School. In this moment, she had the highest priority above all people.

She had power which Ogura Iori could not even scratch a surface of with her collection of bags worth billions of yen.

...

A quick nod.

That was all it took for the guards to obediently open the curtain and let the light of luxury, gold, money and dreams reveal itself.

This was the light of Queen's presence.

It was beautiful and blinding...

Part 13

The guard's gloved hand slid the red curtain to the side.

…

The room full of dining tables revealed itself to the group of girls.

…

It was not like anything they had seen.

It clearly was not just a simple restaurant.

It clearly was not just a simple room.

It was…

An embodiment of beauty and wealth, shining and shimmering like the most precious golden ring, closed in a physical space and hidden behind thick curtains. And its shine and its magnificence was that of a real star, yet the aura of it was somehow contained inside those thick walls, preventing it from scattering anywhere else, where its beauty did not belong. No, it could only stay here, where the chosen ones were being graced by its beauty.

And the walls were keeping it safe. It was like a golden ring closed tightly inside of a jewelry box.

Opening it meant discovering beauty and wealth that you might not have even thought of before. Something which could not even exist in the most beautiful dreams. Something exceeding expectations, experience and logic. Something pleasing not only eyes, ears and heart but something that had enough beauty to also touch your soul. Academy City was a strictly scientific, cold place where things such as "soul" could only make somebody laugh if anything.

However, there was no denying that soul existed. Anybody after stepping their shoes inside this room at that moment, would find their soul, as well. If something creates emotions somewhere nobody can find nor explain, it is a clear sign that soul exists. But not everybody realizes this until something powerful and beautiful touches this secret place, awakening it at the same time.

Only something like this could create such an impact on those high-class girls of School Garden who had been living in the most gorgeous town in the world. Even their unfairly high expectations turned out to be a mere grain of rice in comparison to this enormous, shining star and its beautiful aura.

...

The room was big, almost three times the size of a regular classroom. The row of four arched windows did not provide any light, as every single one of them was covered by a beige curtain adorned with golden stitching and fringes. Without a big, crystal chandelier hanging from the vaulted, painted with frescos ceiling, the restaurant would be completely dark. Every single diamond piece was dangling 3 meters above the ground and reflecting the light of traditional candles which were lighting up the room with a pleasing warmth.

The white, baroque-inspired wall panels were completely coated with gold. Golden olive branches, golden Medusa heads, golden reliefs, golden ropes and many more. They were all presenting a story. Every detail painted with real gold was a piece reminiscent of some sort of legend and every motif had a deep meaning correlating to that legend. Those were not just wall panels. This was an agglomeration of exquisitely-made, incredible pieces of art which required an incredible talent to make.

An unbelievably soft, fine carpet was covering the floor. With its carefully-crafted flower designs, it was an example of true luxury and a product made of highest quality materials.

And there were about twelve large, round tables with layers of gorgeous, embroidered tablecloths placed around the big room symmetrically. There were four tables to the left and to the right side of the restaurant, two in the middle just below the enormous chandelier and two completely in the back, beside a beautiful, marble fireplace. Every single one of them had exactly six chairs around it, with golden frames and hand-stitched, ornamental seats.

Two tables stayed unoccupied, but in this gorgeous room lit up by a crystal crown of candles, if a table was occupied, it was full. A complete set of six Tokiwadai uniforms was surrounding each table, leaving only the chosen two completely empty. Ringlet curls, braids, straight, wavy, blonde, light brown, black, bows, ribbons, buns, ponytails, pigtails, and all kinds of other hairstyles - they were everywhere! Crowds of high-class ladies from Tokiwadai Middle School were occupying the seats.

Tall, porcelain, 3-tier cake stands were erecting from the surfaces of every table like mountains. Each plate on every tier was filled and packed with expensive-looking food. Beside them, there were gorgeously-painted teapots with a set of teacups on saucers, smaller plates, spoons, forks, flower decorations and candlesticks in the middle. Those tables looked absolutely full with everything shiny and luxurious.

Yes, this room was like the most beautiful painting. It was stunning, it was breathtaking, it was warm, it was graceful and it had a nostalgic atmosphere.

...

However.

...

All its beauty and all its elegance was just... an addition.

It was an accessory.

Yes, the room was simply just a background.

Expensive marble, handcrafted golden wall decorations, thousands of crystals hanging from the chandelier, dozens of sculptures, antique portraits, plants and mirrors - none of them mattered.

None of them mattered and none of them could allow themselves to go beyond the role of a simple background.

None of them could do that when someone like her was sitting at the very end of the room.

...

By the marble fireplace...

At the most decorative table...

On the most beautiful, main chair...

The Queen was gracing everybody with her presence.

Her entire existence radiated that shiny aura, that sacred light, that mysterious, heavenly energy powerful and breathtaking like the one of a real star, right from that distant, unapproachable place.

It was natural that material things, even as magnificent as the entirety of this restaurant, had no chance against her when it came to beauty. They could at best become the Queen's accessory. A nice finishing touch to accentuate the wondrous aura that she possessed.

Describing her beauty would be a difficult task even for someone like Ogura Iori or Minami Himeka, who were both incredibly well-spoken and sophisticated young ladies of Tokiwadai Middle School. They could surely use all kinds of gorgeous, elegant words when trying to verbalize beauty, since writing and reciting poems in the schools of the Garden was as ordinary of an activity as solving mathematical equations, but when it came to the beauty of the Queen...

Words suddenly became very limited.

Very flat. Lacking any depth, any emotions.

When compared to the Queen, yes, everything became bland. Nothing could quite match her beauty and nothing could quite describe it.

She was a living goddess of School Garden.

Her body was a work of art, being almost like a blueprint for all statues of greek beauties visible on stone fountains and in royal palaces, uncommonly mature and fully developed, yet pure and sacred. It was incredibly soft and curvy, while her skin was pale and delicate, looking glossy and polished at all times.

Her luscious, shiny hair in the color of deep, rich honey, reaching her thighs in its length, was thought to be the Queen's most valuable and precious attribute. Softer than the finest silk, glowing brighter than any crystal, it was the talk of the town. Everyone looked up to this incredible, gorgeous honey-colored hair with both adoration and envy. The Garden's residents wondered: "How is the Queen's hair always so beyond perfect?". It truly was an unsolved mystery. No matter how much time Ogura Iori would spend on buying the best products and hiring the best stylists for her hair, she would never be able to accomplish that result. Nobody living in School Garden could even come close to the heavenly glow of Queen's sacred hair.

Her eyes were said to be that of a true, mythical goddess. They were like a deep, bottomless ocean of galaxies, constellations, nebulas and supernovas. To say that they had an inhuman depth would be an understatement. People believed that her eyes were carrying an otherworldly power on their own, or that they at least had a major role in brainwashing people which she was practicing on a daily basis. They were both terrifying, beautiful, lustrous and overwhelming. Just like the entire cosmos itself.

Now, she was a Tokiwadai student. But her attire could not end only on the uniform. As the Queen of the school, she looked as distinguishable and discernible as possible. Her beautiful, gentle hands were covered by a pair of white gloves made of fine silk and adorned with custom-designed spiderweb lace on their cuffs. Her white thigh-high socks belonged to the exact same set, with the same design. (There were rumors circulating around her clique that the matching set also included her bra and panties.)

As a finishing touch, she liked to wear custom bags made by one specific designer. She had enough influence, by choosing it as her favorite, to not only make the brand the most exclusive store selling the most effective 'keys', but to also cause the collection created specifically for her, Étoile Chatoiement, to become the most famous line of bags in Academy City. Word has it that the only place where they had not been sold out yet was School Garden, however if you wanted to buy anything from that store, you would need to possess a valuable 'key' and show it to the cashier beforehand. And if the Queen decided to steep a bit lower and buy a regular designer bag available for anybody, it was guaranteed that the rumor would spread around the Garden at the speed of light, and the bag would be sold out after no longer than 30 minutes.

Yes, this was the kind of influence Queen had. Maybe it was solely because of her psychological powers, or maybe her outstanding and breathtaking beauty took part in it as well? Either way, the Queen had all of those girls wrapped around her little finger, like a puppet master playing with a collection of dolls.

The room could also be compared to the solar system. The Queen was the Sun, shining with the brightest light, illuminating the space and radiating a mysterious, mystical energy. She was the central point, while the other ladies occupying the tables around her were the orbiting planets, basking in the warmth of her aura, bound to their Queen for eternity.

This was the Queen's dinner party.

A royal banquet filled with elegant chatters, violin variations played from the wall speakers, and a sensual, rich smell of perfumes.

...

This was like a world of dreams. A pinnacle of lavishness and luxury of School Garden, only for the most privileged ones.

The group of five girls standing behind Sakibasu Yuri was hypnotized. The beauty in front of them touched their souls so deep that it could have caused tears to fall down.

They were in a state of disbelief. They could not accept the fact that they were in the presence of the Queen as true. But there was one out of two free tables waiting just for them.

The lady with curled pigtails seemed to be the most calm out of their six. She belonged to the clique, so she had to display gratitude to the Queen elegantly.

She bowed her head in a way that 18th century princesses probably used to.

But there was no one in front of her if we ignore the entirety of the restaurant. She greeted the empty space in an exquisitely-mannered way, as if someone invisible was standing here. But no, in reality nobody was present by Sakibasu Yuri's side. Only the group of confused ladies behind.

Yet...

Someone noticed that bow.

Maybe the tiny particles of air moved by Sakibasu Yuri travelled all the way back to the end of the room and got picked up by an aerokinetic esper?

No. That was not it.

If anything, it was detected by a psychological esper.

A bewitched smile formed on a beautiful face of a young lady, near the lit up marble fireplace.

She was leaning on her gloved hand, surrounded by a group of Tokiwadai Middle School students and sitting in a table crammed with teacups, teapots, 3-tier cake stands, flowers in decorative vases and rows of candlesticks.

That beautiful, yet a bit playful smile didn't go unnoticed.

A mature-looking lady with gorgeous ringlet curls spoke to the smirking girl.

"Queen? Is something the matter?"

Then, a quiet giggle resounded around the burning fireplace.

"Huhu ✩ See for yourself~." A frisky, but also a bit alluring voice responded.

The smiling lady pointed at the entrance to the restaurant with her slender, gloved finger while following the eyes of the ringlet curls girl.

On her command, the crowd of five high-class girls sipping their tea and eating cake glanced over to the archway with an opened curtain. This somewhat VIP table was carefully observing the area.

"My, if that isn't Sakibasu-san?" One of the Tokiwadai students sitting at that table mumbled in an unamused tone.

"How dare she come so late to the Queen's party!"

"And she brought a full group of five guests. Unbelievable."

However, the only girl who reacted to that with a smile, was the one with gloved hands.

She raised her eyebrows and spoke to the group sitting at a table with her.

"Ladies, quiet. She's a brand new addition to my clique, so I have got to make her feel welcomed, no matter what. Understood~?"

She said those words in that same childish, playful tone. However there was still a hint of maturity and seductiveness in it.

"Of course, Queen."

"Yes, Queen."

Similar responses reached her ears while the five girls sitting with her at the table bowed their heads obediently.

In an instant, the most beautiful chair present in the room squeaked and moved away from the table.

"Well, then. Excuse me for a moment."

A blonde lady wearing white, laced gloves stood up from her embroidered seat elegantly, while placing the napkin, which had been lying on her lap, next to her plate.

Part 14

"Q-Q-Q-Queen is on the move! D-D-Do not panic!"

Sakibasu Yuri's high-pitched voice warned the five girls behind her.

"O-Oh my, oh my, oh myyy! You're right!"

"Sh-Sh-She stood up! Th-The Queen stood up!"

"Sh-She's coming in our d-direction!"

"I-Is she about to greet us now?!"

They could hear each others' hearts beating.

Their bodies were shaking like stalks of grass during a strong wind.

Their faces were red and sweaty like a kettle with boiling water.

"I-I-I-I s-s-said, d-do not p-panic!"

"B-But you're panicking yourself, S-Sakibasu-san!" the group of five trembling ladies said in unison.

"W-Waah?! O-Oh, no! I-I p-promised myself t-to s-stay calm! H-How embarrassing!"

The figure of a beautiful goddess was getting closer and closer.

Now was not the time to depress herself over things like this.

Sakibasu Yuri clenched her tiny fists.

"A-Anyway, p-please, straighten up and stand still! A-And when the Queen gets closer, b-bow with your h-hands gently holding the bottom of your s-skirt!"

Yes, this was the Queen's etiquette. She required a special form of bow from anybody belonging to her clique. And although today's dinner was quite informal and casual, the bow was still required.

Ogura Iori, Minami Himeka, Mizushima Sayuri, Hisakawa Ayako and Hironaka Miyu all stood stiff in an instant, lined from the tallest to the shortest behind Sakibasu Yuri like lifeless statues. Their pale faces had a color of white paint.

The Queen was so close to them, it almost felt like reaching the gates of heaven. As if the world of their mundane mortality was being illuminated by the presence of an angel, or a goddess, possessing a light of all heavenly bodies. They were like plants feeding off of that light.

The smell of deep perfumes that could be noticed in the room, started to feel stronger. Was it the Queen that carried this enormous barrier of gorgeous smell around her this whole time?

The fragrance exploded at the tips of their noses.

It was deep and rich, but at the same time simple. It was a bouquet of hawthorn and frangipani, mixed with freesia flowers, subtly enhanced with notes of sweet honey as a finishing touch. The nostrils of those six ladies standing by the entrance could not be more delighted.

With each step of the Queen, they felt like they were getting closer to another, mythical dimension. Her long, honey-colored, shiny hair was flowing in the air like a glowing mane of a beautiful unicorn. Her walk was so elegant and graceful that it could match that of an irresistible, enchanting nymph.

She was the embodied Aphrodite, with her beauty, grace and wealth exceeding anything you could find in the world.

Standing beside her now was...

...A true honor.

It was an experience deeply and warmly touching one's soul. An experience which one cannot forget for the rest of their life.

The ladies... could not move for a moment.

They were hypnotized. The Queen's eyes must have taken them somewhere else, into the deep, deep ocean of glowing galaxies. Their golden aura was mesmerizing and their otherworldly shine couldn't ever be pictured even by the most beautiful paintings.

...

Yes. The Queen was standing right in front of them now.

The eyes of the entire restaurant, of the entire solar system, were focused on the Sun, on the dictator, on the ruler.

The planets that were orbiting around the Queen were now politely watching her greet the guests standing near the entrance.

And then...

Instantly, one after another, the hypnotized statues behind Sakibasu Yuri came back to life just to bow down with grace and gratitude, along with the pigtails girl herself. Like young princesses and duchesses of Versailles, in a true noble way, the group of six young ladies showed their affection and thankfulness to their Queen. Their heads were facing down, while their gentle hands were slightly lifting up the two ends of their skirts.

This very formal and royal gesture received a perfectly ordinary, casual response.

Shokuhou Misaki giggled.

"My, my! Nice to see you again, Sakibasu." She said light-heartedly. "And you have finally mustered some courage-ability to invite your friends. I'm glad~✩"

Even though she spoke in such an overly-familiar tone, her voice still sounded like an angelic harp.

"N-No, Queen... it's not like that!" Sakibasu Yuri squealed flustered while clenching her hands tightly around her chest. "Th-They invited me..."

"My, how polite of you, then." The young lady with a beauty of a greek goddess spoke to the group of five lined behind the pigtails girl. "You see, on every social event I held, I've been seeing Sakibasu all alone every single time. It's nice to finally see her with a group of friends."

A deep red blush exploded on the pigtails girl's face.

"Q-Queen! Please, th-this is embarrassing! Ouuhhh...!" She hid her face with her hands as she let out a muffled cry.

But the Queen of Tokiwadai only responded to that with a quiet giggle. She looked at the five girls behind Sakibasu once again.

However. Her eyes were dangerously focusing on Hironaka Miyu...

The Level 5 gasped suddenly, in the most ladylike way possible.

"My! Those bags must be very heavy. I'll quickly call somebody to seat you girls and take care of your luggage."

It felt like it was a dream.

The Queen of Tokiwadai herself spoke to her so casually as if they were friends.

(W-Was that real?)

Her gorgeous, noble voice addressed this ordinary girl, who did not even live in School Garden, in the same way she probably used to talk to her clique members. The black-haired girl thought that she would be taken as the Tokiwadai girls' servant, carrying their purses and necklaces while wearing a completely normal tennis uniform, yet Shokuhou Misaki, the Queen, acknowledged her as her own guest.

Hironaka Miyu could not believe her ears.

The lady whose hands were covered by sophisticated white silk, looked to her right. In a direction where around four waitresses were standing in a perfectly straight posture.

They were waiting just for the Queen's sign.

A nod.

That was all that Shokuhou Misaki, the absolute ruler of her clique and this restaurant, needed to do in order to summon the team of staff members.

The waitresses appeared beside her in an instant.

"Seat them at that table by the window. And take their baggage to the cloakroom."

"Of course, Queen."

The three women wearing white aprons bowed at the same time.

This was a display of absolute power that the Queen of Tokiwadai possessed. The entire staff of this exclusive, baroque-inspired restaurant was under her command... or rather... control?

From the receptionist in the lobby, to the waitresses in the restaurant all the way to the chefs in the kitchen. She was controlling everything.

While the Tokiwadai ladies along with Hironaka Miyu were handing out their belongings to the staff members, Shokuhou Misaki smiled alluringly.

"Well, then. I will leave you girls by yourselves. All I have to say left is... Welcome to L'ambroisie and have fun~✩"

Part 15

"Would you like your tea strong or weak, madame?"

The voice of a waitress resounded at a round table.

"Strong, please."

"Understood."

The woman was holding a big, porcelain teapot, painted with various flower designs and golden accents. She poured the tea into Ogura Iori's cup with so much grace and elegance that if there was an academy teaching those activities, she would at least have a diploma at what she was doing right now.

"Thank you."

The cup was filled exactly in 3/4th. The tea was not dark at all. It had a color of vanilla ice cream and was even a bit translucent.

The waitress gave a quick bow to the six ladies sitting at a table and walked away with the teapot.

Everyone present at the table, which was covered by a white tablecloth, had their cups filled with luxurious white tea. Ogura Iori, Sakibasu Yuri, Hironaka Miyu, Minami Himeka, Mizushima Sayuri and Hisakawa Ayako were all sitting on the royal chairs with golden frames around the table.

In the very middle, there was a gorgeous marble vase containing a thick, luxuriant bouquet of roses, orchids, peonies, lilies, hydrangeas, tulips and hyacinths, all standing up half a meter tall. Beside them, a pair of candlesticks was situated, lighting up the cramped space with a warm, orange brightness.

The tallest of them all, however, the 3-tiered cake stands were dominating over any other decoration on the table. Made entirely of porcelain, each tiered plate of every cake stand contained a specific, designated type of food. On the lowest tier, you could find all kinds of non-sweet dishes in small portions. Egg sandwiches, spoons of caviar, scotch eggs, finger sandwiches. The middle tiers were assigned to scones - small, lightly sweetened biscuit-like cakes, eaten with clotted cream and jam contained inside of small porcelain cups on the tier, next to the scones themselves. Then was the third, highest tier, with all kinds of sweets and desserts. Sponge cakes, profiteroles, éclairs, cheesecakes, petit fours, tarts, macarons, currant cakes, madeleines, and many more. It was a combination of French and English pastries, crowning the cake stands like a halo of sweetness.

However, it wasn't exactly like the afternoon tea you would get in London, Manchester or Liverpool. School Garden was a place where cultures and elements coming from different European countries were mixed together, so in most cases, many traditions didn't stay true to their nature. For example, a true British person would tell you that eating éclairs next to scones during afternoon tea is a complete heresy. And it would be true.

Although, having sweets belonging to different cultures was one thing. The most controversial aspects of this "dinner party", however, was its late hour and the meal itself. In a true English fashion, afternoon tea was supposed to be eaten at around 5 PM, between lunch and dinner. However, when it came to the high-class ladies of School Garden, the aesthetic and elegant aspect of it appealed to them so much that they have had every single one of their meals in an afternoon tea fashion. Whether it was breakfast, lunch, dinner or supper, afternoon tea's way of food presentation never missed the mark. It was all about the looks and display.

But, even within the standards of the Garden, the Queen's dinner party was quite unusual. Because not only did the visual aspect resemble the afternoon tea, but also the food itself. If she had wanted to just allude to it due to personal preference, she would go with the "high tea" variant instead, which would be quite suitable for a dinner, since its main aspect was food and the tea was just an addition. It had the same aesthetic and the same way of displaying food as the afternoon tea, but at the same time, it served as a substantial meal.

However, no. What everybody had on their tables was a pure and simple afternoon tea. The one that is supposed to be eaten in the early afternoon, with light snacks and lots of desserts.

Nothing on the tiered cake stands looked like it could be a dinner meal. After all, sour food only had one tier designated for it, while there was a plentitude of desserts higher up.

It wasn't anything new among Tokiwadai students that the Queen had a sweet-tooth, however having afternoon tea at 8 PM was a new experience even for them.

Yes, many European traditions were mixed, modified and misinterpreted in School Garden.

But it did not matter. Parisian-styled buildings were built next to Victorian-inspired cathedrals, language schools were built in a Mediterranean style while they were primarily teaching French, and afternoon tea, being an English tradition, also had French pastries. In its nature, School Garden was like a European theme park for rich, young ladies. Foreign cultures were mixed and blended everywhere you looked, without much care if they were historically and traditionally accurate or not.

It was the same as going into a Japanese-themed park only for you to see a Chinese Dragon rollercoaster ride or a Peking opera show. To many foreign people, as long as something looks Asian and feels Asian, it does not matter if it precisely fits a specific country or not. School Garden was no different. It was mostly France-inspired, but there were many elements coming from other European countries in it, too.

A tiny hand of Mizushima Sayuri picked up a porcelain cup full of translucent, steaming tea.

"Isn't Shokuhou-sama absolutely stunning?" Her dreamy voice trembled with delight as she placed her left hand on her cheek.

Ogura Iori shared the same expression.

"Mmmhhh... This gorgeous hair, just hoow does she do thaat?" She leaned on her hand while sipping her white tea.

The ribbon-wearing girl automatically turned her head around.

"Ogura-sama." Sakibasu Yuri's harsh voice suddenly made her flinch. "As a member of her clique, I do appreciate your adoration towards the Queen, but I would like you to stop staring at her every second. It displays bad manners."

"Ughh... B-Buuut..."

"We are here as her guests, not spectators. We are here to enjoy our tea along with her."

"I-I knooow..."

Hironaka Miyu reached her hand and grabbed a small finger sandwich from the lowest-tiered plate while quietly giggling.

"Huhu~! But I did not expect her to talk to us so casually~"

"Oh, right! Gah, you're lucky, Miyu-chan!" Ogura frowned with envy. "It's because you stood out from the crowd with your uniform and all those bags."

"Ehehe~"

Sakibasu was about to pick up her teacup, but she froze for a moment.

She looked at Hironaka Miyu while lifting her eyebrows with curiosity.

"Ah, that's right. I meant to ask you this, Hironaka-san, but... why were you holding those three bags at once, all by yourself?"

"Hwah?!"

Like an arrow, a sudden rush of panic paralyzed Ogura's and Hironaka's minds. They thought that every hurdle had been overcome and every problem had been resolved by now, but the pigtails girl's words reminded them of the last one issue they had which interrupted their peaceful, blissful thoughts.

They had to respond quickly to that troublesome question, or else they would seem suspicious.

"W-Well... you see, Sakibasu-san, she..."

"I... um, I've... bought them! Yes! I've bought them!"

The girl with curled pigtails tilted her head.

"You've bought them...?"

"Y-Yes. You know, w-we've been doing some shopping around the fashion square earlier and I-I've bought some bags for myself."

"But weren't you holding them loosely?"

"A-Ah, y-yes! You see, I'm totally eco, so I decided to go without any shopping bags. You know, they are completely not reusable."

Sakibasu Yuri frowned in response.

"But when we bumped into each other for the first time today, you didn't have them. Besides, weren't two of those the Hermèise bags and a one Cucci bag? They're made of real leather, so forget about the shopping bags, those are truly non-eco-friendly."

(SH-SHE READ ME THAT QUICKLY?!)

(No... wait...)

Everybody was shocked.

Sakibasu Yuri said those words in such a calm manner that...

It almost felt wrong.

This wasn't the same person they had in mind.

Everybody sitting around that table exploded at the same time.

"Y-YOU ARE NOT MAD ABOUT THIS?!"

The pigtails girl had her eyes closed this whole time, but after that she just let out a tired sigh.

"Well, no..." She spoke in an exhausted tone. "It may sound like I'm weak, but I gave up on the 'animal-free clothing' some time ago."

"Wh-What?!"

"Haaah... I realized how many of the brands that I love use exclusively real leather and fur. In general, high fashion is primarily animal-based. Even our school loafers are made of calfskin, so what is the point of pursuing this meaningless journey?"

The five ladies sitting at the table exchanged a relieved look.

They could finally sigh relaxed.

"Th-Then we have a confession to make too." Ogura Iori said while scratching the back of her head. "That bag that you were about to buy in Cucci store... remember? On July 12th? W-Well, I tried to discourage you from buying it because... I wanted it for myself..."

There was a noticeable blame in her voice.

"Eh?" Sakibasu Yuri gasped suddenly.

"Wh-Which I'm so sorry for! It was completely wrong and unfair of me to do that! I'm sorry, Sakibasu-san!" She squealed nervously with her hands put together.

"N-No, it's fine, it's fine. I-I've already forgotten about it, so don't worry." The pigtails girl said while timidly shaking her head. "I was just a bit shocked, that's all."

"Th-Thank you. Well, um, so the bags that Miyu-chan had were all ours, too. We were just hiding them from you because we thought you would get upset that we have them."

A comforting, yet sad smile appeared on Sakibasu's face.

"It's okay... We're young, right? We do reckless things all the time." She giggled at the end of her sentence.

Everybody smiled at her warmly.

Sakibasu Yuri was more mature than they would have thought.

This young girl first appeared to them as a startled, shy first-year student, but she was displaying an incredibly adult-like behavior right now.

It was now that Ogura Iori had completely changed her perspective on her.

Part 16

It was time to move onto the higher tier.

...

Afternoon tea was like a strict, sequenced sightseeing tour, starting from the bottom plate.

By eating the savory snacks first, such as sandwiches and eggs, you were supposed to cleanse your palette in order to move onto the sweets. The second tier, consisting of scones with cream and jam, of course, had a bit of sweetness, but the way it required from you to put on the topping yourself, to choose how much of it you want, or if you want to have a scone just with jam or cream, was the number one reason why some people called it the best part of the afternoon tea. It was like you were given a piece of paper and asked to make an origami figure out of it. Every person is going to end up with a different one, done by using a different technique. It was purely just an entertaining gimmick while enjoying your tea.

The highest tier, the desserts, was a finish line. After you've stuffed your stomach with satiating snacks, it was time to reward it with a bit of excessive pleasure.

Most of the ladies at L'ambroisie right now were probably working on the dessert tier, while some may have already finished it. But because the group of six girls with Sakibasu Yuri as their representative had gotten here quite late, they were yet to start enjoying the second tier.

Proper afternoon tea etiquette was saying to break your scone with your hands.

CRACK!

Mizushima Sayuri was now holding two crunchy pieces of a small, light brown cake in her hands.

"Hnh~! I still cannot believe that we actually got to eat in the presence of the Queen~!" She said in an excited tone.

Ogura nodded.

"Me neither! We were so lucky!"

"Well, it's all thanks to you, Sakibasu-san." Hironaka Miyu spoke with a warm voice, which caused the pigtails girl to suddenly blush. "Ogura-san, too. And all of you. It's all thanks to you that the little ol' me gets to eat at such an amazing place! I-I don't even feel like I belong here... Teehee~!"

Hisakawa Ayako smiled.

"This feels like a dream, huh?"

There was a permanent pink blush on Mizushima Sayuri's cheeks. She was sitting straight in her chair, as anyone during afternoon tea should, but her body language was signalizing that her thoughts were flying away somewhere else like fluffy cloudlets.

The girl was daydreaming.

"Aaah, I do not want to turn around and stare, but... just knowing that the Queen is watching over us somehow makes the food taste so much better... Don't you feel so, too?"

Sakibasu Yuri nodded proudly.

"Yes, yes. The atmosphere is completely different with our Queen around."

The girl with a Terre Cuite ribbon tied into her hair clenched her fist on a metal fork.

"Grrrr... I would like to be her friend so bad... So she could tell me what she uses for her hair to look so good!"

"Me, too! Me, too! I would like to know that, too!" Mizushima said while pouting slightly.

Hironaka Miyu concluded their thoughts with a dreamy voice while leaning on her hand.

"The Queen is amazing, isn't she?"

It was a statement that everybody in the room would agree with.

However.

It met with a long, deep sigh of Minami Himeka in exchange.

"She really is." The wavy-haired girl said frustrated while gently putting thick layers of jam and cream on her scone. "That's why I would like her to represent our school a little bit more often... She is the Level 5 we needed, yet for some reason, she decides to stay away from the public eye. What opinion does she think Tokiwadai gets when she does that? Goodness..."

The ladies wearing light brown vests smiled bitterly at that, as if they were agreeing to what she was saying, yet still having a harsh feeling about it.

The one who was left confused was Hironaka Miyu.

She asked obliviously before taking a bite of her scone.

"What do you mean, Minami-san? Doesn't Tokiwadai have a second Level 5? I'm pretty sure they call her 'Railgun' right?"

"BFFT!"

Mizushima Sayuri was unfortunate enough to be drinking tea at that moment.

The five Tokiwadai students all looked away troubled after the ponytail girl's words. They would rather have their eyes set on the ceiling, the floor, their teacups and their fingers twitching nervously on the table than to look straight ahead and face this problematic situation.

Nobody wanted to be the one touching on this subject. So it was easier to just ignore it and stay silent. It seemed to the ponytail girl that this topic was hidden behind a curtain of taboo.

But Minami Himeka finally cleared her throat.

She was a consequent girl, willing to explain any matter to the uninitiated ones, even if it was mildly uncomfortable for her.

"W-Well... She is a completely different story, you see..."

"Huh?"

The wavy-haired girl looked at Hironaka Miyu with an uncertain expression.

"While she is a Level 5, she should never represent any school, especially Tokiwadai. She brings more shame and bad reputation than anything positive."

"R-Really? What does she do?"

Minami sighed and closed her eyes for a moment.

"She's problematic, that's how I can summarize it. Even more problematic than Ogura-san, you see."

The blonde-haired lady clenched her fists while an embarrassed blush painted her face red.

"Wh-What is that supposed to mean, Minami-san?!"

The headband-wearing girl ignored her, however, and was still looking at Hironaka Miyu.

"I would go as far as to say that she does not belong in our school in the slightest. I mean, with the amount of complaints and disgustful gossips that Tokiwadai has to deal with because of her, we may as well turn into the most infamous school in Academy City." Minami flipped her hair angrily and continued while picking up her porcelain cup. "Please, somebody tell me how is kicking vending machines, getting into fights with civilians and dressing like a delinquent even acceptable at a school which advertises itself as a prestigious girls' academy? They clearly still insist on keeping her just because of her high level. But then we need to answer this question: what is more important? Manners and behavior or powerful ability?"

"Y-You really seem to dislike her..." The ponytail girl mumbled with a troubled frown.

The wavy-haired lady responded immediately after swallowing her tea.

"It's not that we don't like her. It's about how she makes our school look like."

"People perceive the schools that level 5 espers attend as big and important development facilities. They are in the news, all over the internet, there are even urban legends created specifically around them. And Tokiwadai, being the only school in Academy City who has two Level 5s, needs a very good representation right now. And, well..."

"...And those two do not want to cooperate." Minami finished the blonde girl's sentence. "Shokuhou-sama would be a perfect representative figure for us if she wasn't as inaccessible and hidden behind her clique all the time, while Misaka-san has troubles with the bare minimum, meaning, keeping her public image without any scandals."

"Hmm~? I understand now." The black-haired girl said under her breath while leaning on her hand. "It seems like Tokiwadai has a lot of stuff going on around it right now."

"Aaah, with the upcoming Daihasei Festival, I hope they at least pick Shokuhou-sama for the opening ceremony this year. This is one of Academy City's biggest events, so if we get humiliated once again, I think it's safe to say that it's over for our 'prestigious school' title. Haa..hawp! *Munch, munch*."

Ogura Iori smiled with a bit of bitterness on her face.

"L-Let's stay positive. I think everybody has time to grow and learn from their mistakes." She said with her mouth filled with crumbs of the scones.

But Minami Himeka just raised an eyebrow at her.

"That's a beautiful message you taught us there, Ogura-san. Now, how about applying it into your own behavior and not eating with your mouth full?"

Sakibasu Yuri exploded with a high-pitched giggle after taking a look at Ogura Iori's face. She caused a chain reaction of laughter and soon the round table placed near a covered window, emitted a wave of joyous chortling which resounded around the gorgeous, baroque-inspired restaurant interior.

The overjoyed sounds reached the ear of the Queen, who was sitting at a table by the fireplace, at the end of the spacious room.

The outstandingly gorgeous lady leaned on her gloved hand and looked in the direction from which the laughter was coming.

Her charming lips formed in a warm, nostalgic smile, like the one of a loving mother, finally seeing her child smiling for the first time.

(Isn't that nice, Sakibasu?)

...

It's over hehe xx

Rich girls doing rich girl things, Idk what else to say.

...

Okay, so it's LONG. Like, VERY LONG. It's three times the size of my 'usual chapters' if we want to go there. I tried to include everything along with the Queen's banquet, it was really important for me to end it there :)) Also, I know I was overly-glorifying ShokuHOE but it was supposed to show her image and her impression on ladies of School Garden, which is obviously way more overly-exaggerated and artistic. and also because I worship this bitch myself okay? Mind your business :,((

Idk what else to say so I'm gonna respond to those reviews x)

1. Will the girls see Misaka and Miss Hoe interacting in the superior novel (a.k.a. Railgun SS3)?

Of. freaking. course. BUT! Only if I decide to extend this fanfiction all the way to October (bcuz if my thorough calculations are correct, Railgun SS3 takes place in early October). But if I do, it's obvious that I will. This novel is the reason why I even started writing this and why I want to make Sakibasu a main character now xD

2. How would they react if somebody were to tell them that Rakko lives in School Garden?

Um. Shock? Panic? Umm. That's actually a really good idea. Well, if that information got leaked, Academy City is getting SUED. The families of School Garden's girls would probably want them back and the whole town would cease to exist. :'| Those girls live believing that they are 100% safe, so if there was a slight chance of danger, they would probably go back home. They would be like "Nope. Esper abilities are not worth my glorious future." - That's how I see it. Because, in the future, they will have to take over their parents' massive companies, so their health is more important in every aspect.

3. When's Touma gonna appear?

Not in the next 20 chapters, that's for sure LMAO

Anyways, that is it from me :))

I hope you did not read that chapter in one sitting (because that would be absolute TORTURE) but I hope that you enjoyed it!

There are mistakes in those 37k words I'm aware

I was possessed while writing it, so correct me if something's off as always!

K, bye :,)