Part 5

There was a beautiful garden filled with roses and intricately designed gazebos, located on Tokiwadai Middle School's campus. At this time of the year, many students occupied this area, due to its relaxing nature.

"So at the end of the day, no matter where you shop, you'll always end up being on a long waiting list!"

A high-pitched voice resounded among trees and bushes.

"Just because we're in School Garden doesn't mean you can get a brand new Bourquin that easily! And without even having a sales associate, your chances are close to 0."

Ogura Iori was walking down a narrow pathway surrounded by greenery. With her, was Minami Himeka and Mizushima Sayuri. They had just finished their tea party at the gazebo.

Minami was not participating in the current conversation at all.

"I know what you mean, Ogura-san. Sigh, you're so lucky to have Matilde working with you. I bet you're always notified on all the limited edition collections."

"You could have one too, Mizushima-san. It's way more efficient than going through online auctions yourself."

"Hm... we could go there right now and just browse the stuff they already have."

The fascination with designer bags was foreign to Minami. She was eyeing the two blonde girls walking side by side and non-stop chatting as if there was that much to actually talk about.

She was dozing off slightly and not paying attention to what they were saying.

While Mizushima's and Ogura's voices were playing in the background like an ambient noise, her ears picked up something from further away.

She noticed two female voices coming from behind the thick foliage.

"Ah! Shokuhou-sama spotted at the Exhibition Assembly promo pop up event!"

"We need to go there! Now!"

"Call your limo driver! We need to be there in like 5 minutes! Hurry!"

Minami was listening with intrigue until both girls ran away somewhere else.

She smiled bitterly.

The celebrity culture was strong in School Garden and especially in Tokiwadai. Shokuhou Misaki, the #5 Level 5, was universally treated by these girls like some sort of legendary guardian. A being so perfect and magnificent, that witnessing her presence was considered a magical blessing.

Minami could somewhat understand their adoration for someone so successful and, quite frankly, rare, but she would have thought everyone at Tokiwadai had gotten used to the Level 5s by now. Despite being a popular idol-like figure, Shokuhou Misaki was not new to the school at all.

The thing that piqued Minami's interest, however, was the first part.

She opened her mouth to speak.

"I didn't know there was some pop-up event happening."

Ogura turned in her direction as she had remembered something suddenly.

"Aah, right! Ayako said she'll be going to that. No clue what they're doing there, though."

"Apparently Shokuhou-sama is there as well. Seems like a big event."

The blonde-haired girl responded with a nonchalant shrug.

"Who knows. It's probably more advertising for the Exhibition Assembly. They're desperately trying to make some noise for it, but it's not really working." She uttered tiredly. "And besides, after our work for Judgment, I'm really sick of it."

Of course, Minami felt the same way. But it wasn't the pop-up event itself that intrigued her. Because it was related to the Exhibition Assembly, she knew some people, which had been lately hard to access, would be present there.

A certain clique she had been keeping an eye on.

(I wonder how Shokuhou-sama feels about this whole thing...)

Part 6

"Oh my..."

A young lady wearing Tokiwadai's uniform arrived at a big city square.

In front of her, there was a crowd consisting of more than a hundred people occupying this spacious area, all of them students. Further away, she could notice a stage with big screens, displaying 3D renders of machines and robots. Dozens of exhibition booths were placed around the square, each occupied by students of different schools.

A sea of various uniforms was filling up the area to the brim.

Shokuhou Misaki was standing in place, amazed by the sheer scope of the event.

The two girls behind her were looking around.

"Who would've expected this type of crowd...?"

"It's busier than I thought..."

This place was clearly not suitable for the Queen of Tokiwadai. Getting spotted surrounded by a crowd of commoners would be unsightly for someone of her status.

But they were already here, so there was no helping it.

She rested her hands on her hips.

"Well? We're here to say hello to our girls and then go back to the meeting." She said nonchalantly. "You two, go find the Tokiwadai booth."

"Yes, Queen!"

The young lady with ringlet curls and the short-haired girl quickly disappeared in the moving crowd.

Shokuhou could only sigh at that moment.

Something did not seem right.

(Why on Earth is a pop-up event for the Research Exhibition Assembly getting so much traction? Is there some kind of celebrity appearance planned for today? What's going on here?)

She wondered while waiting for her two clique members to give her a sign.

The crowd began gradually growing.

She was surrounded by outside people, regular students. While her appearance might have been striking compared to everybody else, she could feel safe here. The only thing that could expose her identity was the Tokiwadai uniform, but even that was ambiguous enough. The second she stepped out of the School Garden, she was almost completely anonymous. And she hid from the public eye in order to maintain that.

She was not as heavily marketed by the City as Misaka Mikoto, despite going to the same school. Of course, everyone knew who the #5 Level 5 was, but her appearance was not widely known by the general public.

Mid-thought, she noticed Hokaze Junko waving towards her in the distance.

(Seems like they found it...)

The blonde-haired Queen took a firm step forward and entered the crowded area.

She began squeezing her way through dozens of people, to reach the other side of the square.

"Oh, excuse me!"

"Sorry!"

"Pretty lady passing through!"

"Oh, sorry, I'm trying to go through here!"

This was quite the sight for her two colleagues.

They quietly watched with smiles on their faces until the leader finally reached her destination.

"Hah... Hah..."

The exhausted Queen leaned forward while loudly trying to catch her breath.

"Sometimes I wish I could use my Mental Out for situations like these... Hah..."

"It's quite surprising how many people showed up, huh."

Shokuhou flipped her hair and inspected the surroundings.

The answer she had been looking for was right in front of her face. This was the Tokiwadai Middle School booth.

"And I'm guessing this is the main selling point?"

"Exactly."

It was obvious.

There was only one project for the Assembly making enough noise to justify this type of popularity. Tokiwadai was the only big contender this year and the Akiyama clique stood at the forefront.

However, the appeal of it all still was not clear to Shokuhou. Was it because of the reputation that rich, high-class girls had? Was Tokiwadai really that adored by the commoners that no matter what they came up with, everyone would still talk about it?

But Shokuhou did not buy that.

She remembered her own clique's project for the event last year and it had not gained this much popularity at the time. At least, not until she had shown up in person.

Something about that project had to be exceptional.

Something about that clique...

"Right this way, Queen."

The girl with ringlet curls gestured with her hand.

"My, what an adorable little pop-up."

Shokuhou spoke without any enthusiasm as she entered a dome-looking construction.

The walls were made of metal, but the roof was see-through. Inside the dome, there was a row of white tables resembling marble counters, with girls wearing Tokiwadai uniforms lined up behind them. It all looked like a giant reception area of some summer resort hotel.

The rest of the construction was empty in order to contain the massive amount of people.

The crowd was lining up in front of the booth and Shokuhou walked right past it.

The second she got noticed by the girls, they stopped everything they had been doing in a second.

"Sh-Shokuhou-sama! My, what a surprise!"

(And they already blew my cover...)

She gestured towards them with her hand signalling they should keep it down, as if she was an off-duty model trying to avoid getting caught by the paparazzi.

Nevertheless, the heads of everyone in the line started to turn. All of the students present at the dome were looking in the Queen's direction as her dazzling person entered, accompanied by the sudden and dramatic namedrop. Despite not making an attempt at stealing the spotlight, she already had all the eyes on her.

She decided to ignore it all, however, as she sighed quietly and walked towards the counter, completely cutting the line.

"Hii~ ✩! Quite the busy event, huh."

She spoke with enough charm to make all the Tokiwadai girls blush.

"Y-Yes!"

"W-We're so honored to have you visit us here!"

"We didn't expect to have such a high-profile guest!"

Hokaze and Kobayashi joined, while bowing gracefully with warm smiles.

Shokuhou glanced at the booth itself, while leaning on the marble counter with her gloved hand.

There was a big LED screen right behind the counter, which displayed a looped advertisement, presenting all sorts of mechanical gadgets with too many eye-catching words and phrases popping up every half a second to really pay attention to anything. There was a lot of storage under the counters and in the back and Shokuhou had seen groups of people coming out of the dome holding small paper bags.

There was no big stage showcasing machines, nor were there any presenters with microphones talking about their projects. If not for the advertisement on the screen, Shokuhou would have thought this was a cosmetics pop-up.

Now she understood what was going on here.

This was simply a promo-oriented event, specifically one of those where freebies are handed out to the people that show up, aimed at promoting new products from a company. Of course, it wasn't uncommon for corporations to try to buy people's attention through pop-ups like these. After all free gadgets are guaranteed to bring a crowd of curious passer-by's, while full-on technology exhibits and demonstrations require more of people's attention and are less rewarding. With all that being said, though, Shokuhou thought a Tokiwadai clique would have more dignity than to participate in something like that. This practice certainly cheapened the experience and trivialized the significance of the Assembly, while also seeming quite desperate. It was now clear to her that the Akiyama Clique simply wanted to get as many people talking as possible and this was just the means to get there.

However, the girls at the booth were probably just following orders. In fact, Shokuhou wondered if they were even significant enough in the clique to had taken part in the project. After all, they were tasked with job like this.

The Queen knew almost every Tokiwadai student, especially those who had made a name for themselves in some way, however nothing rang a bell when looking at the girls behind the counter. This was almost like meeting complete strangers.

So she went easy on them.

"See, me and my girls were just in the area and we ended up having some free time in-between meetings, so we decided to see what this whole event is about. Thought it wouldn't hurt to pay our Tokiwadai representatives a visit."

She did not care about the dozens of frustrated people that she had cut in front of.

"My, we're so glad you made time for us, Shokuhou-sama!"

"We had no idea you'd be interested in the Exhibition Assembly!"

Shokuhou brushed hair off of her shoulder in a graceful manner.

"Well, recently it's been gaining quite a popularity-ability. Mainly thanks to you girls."

"We're curious to see what you are showing off here." Hokaze added.

The Akiyama Clique ladies clapped their hands in joy.

"Well, then!"

"Please, take a look at this!"

Suddenly, a metal object hit the marble counter.

BAM!

Held by two hands of a middle school girl, a small robot presented itself.

"Everyone gets one of these for free. Do you want one for each of you?"

Shokuhou had no clue what she was even looking at. The sheer confusion on her face was enough of a sign for them to begin explaining.

"Aah, sorry! You probably haven't heard of our ChargeBots?"

"ChargeBots?" Hokaze repeated quietly.

Another girl at the booth spoke.

"They're just a part of our full presentation for the Assembly. Of course we have more exciting inventions to showcase, but we're giving the public a little taste of what is coming."

The honey-blonde girl was eyeing the device with her finger pressed against her chin.

The robot laid on the counter looked very typical for a piece of technology from Academy City, with a minimalistic design and handy size. It was not much bigger than her palm and looked lightweight.

But Shokuhou still had a big question on her mind.

"What does it do exactly?"

The Akiyama clique girls were happy to answer.

"They're energy generators. It's a new form of technology that Akiyama-sama made possible thanks to her ability."

"It's an extension of her power which radiates electromagnetic fields and produces electrical power through resonance."

"Take one home, turn it on and all of your devices will never require manual charging! You might not even need a heating system in your house!"

Hokaze clapped her hands in joy.

"My! That is incredible, isn't it, Queen?"

"W-Well, yes..."

A troubled expression painted the honey-blonde girl's face. Was she impressed or doubtful about this? She couldn't tell herself.

Esper-related technology was at this point very common in Academy City but machines replicating abilities were usually much bigger and much more complicated than this. On top of that, this one could supposedly emanate another esper's power endlessly. Shokuhou wasn't sure she even believed that.

And there was something about it that made her think.

The two girls behind her seemed much more enthusiastic.

The ringlet curls girl picked up the robot and spun it in the air.

"Fascinating, huh, Kobayashi-san?"

"Seems very convenient for sure. If I had one of these I could pack my hair straightener wherever I want and use it on the go without worrying about there being a charging port."

The Akiyama girls smiled warmly at that response.

"This model is just a prototype to promote our campaign and let people test it out. It won't work quite like the real one."

Another girl was standing beside her colleague with a smartphone in her hand.

She was showing the screen to Hokaze and Kobayashi.

"By the way, we would appreciate it if everyone who received a ChargeBot gave us feedback on our official website. We're still looking for room to improve the technology."

"For the actual release, you girls will have to wait until the Assembly is done."

They responded with polite smiles.

"That's fair." Hokaze said as she put the robot back down onto the counter. "This all sounds very interesting, girls! We'll gladly take them and test them out."

"And I'll for sure grab a couple copies when it officially releases." Kobayashi added. "You can always count on the Shokuhou Clique supporting its competition."

The ladies running the booth giggled playfully.

"We appreciate it, as always!"

"So, one for each of you?"

"Yes, please!"

One of the girls reached for a stack of paper bags under the counter, ready to pack the gadgets.

However.

Suddenly, Shokuhou, who had been awfully quiet, opened her mouth to speak.

"That's okay. We actually need to get going now."

...

This shook the air slightly.

All the girls widened their eyes and exchanged a startled glance.

"Eh?"

"Ah..."

The sudden rejection came out of left field.

Not to mention, came off as incredibly rude.

The Akiyama girls stood frozen in place, with paper bags still stuck to their hands.

This was awkward.

Hokaze turned to Shokuhou and waved her hands around in an act of confusion.

"Huh? W-Wait, Queen, we-"

But the blonde girl gave her no time for asking questions. She was already turning around, about to take her leave when she spoke adamantly from behind her shoulder.

"Would you look at the time! Sorry, girls, the gadgets look so fascinating, but we're in a bit of a hurry and we can't really be taking anything with us right now as we're on our way to a very important meeting."

"B-But Queen! We could just store the bags in the-"

An almost unnoticeable beep interrupted the girl with ringlet curls as she stopped mid-sentence and seemed to forget what to say next.

Shokuhou flipped her hair and waved towards the booth-runners elegantly (with a remote in her hand) while not directly facing them. Her loafers were click-clacking as she was walking away.

"So sorry to leave this early, but we really have pressing matters. The booth is stunning, girls, and we will for sure tune in to the Exhibition Assembly to see your genius-ability on full display. See you!" She spoke in a sweet tone despite there being almost no enthusiasm in her voice. "Hokaze, Kobayashi."

The two girls smiled awkwardly towards the Akiyama Clique ladies and bowed their heads.

"G-Goodbye."

"Have a good day."

"You too."

They had an exchange of sad looks before walking away to follow the Queen.

The duo had no clue what could have caused Shokuhou to turn down the Akiyama girls so suddenly, especially since it was her idea to even show up. She had turned stone cold almost in an instant, but what could have caused that?

Whatever it was, she was the leader here, and a competent one at that. The girls in her clique could fully trust her judgment in any situation, despite her reasons being a mystery most of the time. But she always had her reasons.

Hokaze and Kobayashi followed her lead in every aspect of their life and tried not to question her actions, however...

As the girls exited the dome, all they wanted to do was ask Shokuhou what had happened but they quickly realized this was not the right time.

Their gaze was focused on her.

She was quite ahead, walking away with a remote pressed against her chin.

Her eyes were not focused on the way in front of her, in fact, they weren't focused on anything in particular. She had a blank stare, but her eyebrows were frowning slightly. She was walking, but without much thought or energy put into it.

In short, her mind was evidently preoccupied with something.

She looked a bit annoyed as she thought to herself.

(This electromagnetic field business sounds a little too familiar.)

...

well yes!