"H-hello, I'm Kuroko's partner, Haruue K-Kazari, please… please take care of me."
Yowane smiled as she looked at the girl in front of her with grass… oh no!… a flower on her head. Of course, she knew who this person was. This was a soft-spoken girl with very high-level hacking abilities, and she often played the 'fan service' role in 'A Certain Scientific Railgun,' often being used by Ruiko, who possessed 'Level 6 rising air currents,' as an object for her abilities. However, now the soft-spoken girl was even softer; when she saw Yowane, she suppressed the urge to ask for an autograph and stammered through her self-introduction.
"Please take care of me too, Haruue-san."
Yowane politely replied to Haruue's words. However, the soft-spoken girl's head was so excited it seemed to be steaming, and the flower on her head seemed to bloom even more vibrantly. This made Yowane sigh with a bit of emotion, thinking, 'It really does change with one's mood!'
"I'm Haruue's good friend, Saten Ruiko, Yowane-senpai, I'm a fan of yours. Could you give me an autograph?"
Although she felt a little wary of Ruiko's special ability, Yowane maintained a warm, morning-like smile on her face. Hmm! If only one could ignore the faint green psychic power on her skirt, it would be perfect.
"Of course, Ruiko-san, it's my pleasure. Please take care of me."
The three chatted happily, completely ignoring the two people still squatting on the ground: Mikoto, who was in a state of collapse from having her embarrassing situation witnessed, and Kuroko, who was in a state of shock because her 'beloved' had been 'stolen' by another person she liked. Neither of them had yet recovered from their own worlds.
"Um, Yowane-senpai, is it really okay to just leave them like this?"
Finally, the kind-hearted, soft-spoken Haruue, unable to bear it, consulted Yowane.
"That's true, we can't just leave them like this."
Hearing Haruue's suggestion, Yowane turned her head to look at the two who were unable to recover on their own, and nodded in agreement.
"Then, what should we do?"
Ruiko picked up a branch from the side, carefully poked the unresponsive Kuroko, and then asked Yowane and Haruue.
"Oh, that! Look, a UFO!"
As Yowane spoke, she suddenly looked in a certain direction in the sky with a surprised expression. Haruue and Ruiko followed Yowane's gaze, and after looking carefully for a few moments, they couldn't find any amazing object Yowane was looking at. Slightly disappointed, they turned back, intending to ask Yowane if she was playing a trick on them.
"Yowane-senpai, we didn't see…"
"Kuroko, have you two recovered?"
The two looked in surprise at Mikoto and Kuroko, who were standing up, holding their heads, and asked.
"Recovered? I just feel a headache. What happened? I remember I was having tea with Kuroko just now."
"Me too, my head hurts so much."
The two touched their aching occiputs, not knowing why. It felt like they had been hit with a stick, but there was no bump on their heads.
"Yowane-senpai, what is this?"
Briefly suppressing her nervousness towards Yowane due to the joy of their recovery, Haruue, with stars in her eyes, asked Yowane.
"They suddenly recovered on their own when you two turned your heads."
With one hand hidden behind her back, Yowane smiled and answered Haruue's question. Of course, if one ignored the golden 'short stick' she was currently trying to hide, it would be fine. This item was a very interesting small Noble Phantasm that Yowane had found while searching through the gate of babylon. It ignored all defenses, left no physical marks, and could instantly awaken those who had lost control or self-awareness. The cost was a brief headache and the random disappearance of a small memory.
Just now, Yowane had attracted their attention, and then quickly and 'gently'—it really was 'gently'—tapped Mikoto and Kuroko on their heads. When the two turned to look at her, she quickly put it away.
"Let's go play quickly! Don't forget, we have a curfew, so we probably can't play for too long."
While the four were still contemplating what had just happened, Yowane began to change the subject. Today, she couldn't waste so much time on such matters, otherwise, the purpose of coming out to relax today would be quite frustrating.
"Okay, let's go!"
After a brief self-introduction, the five began their planned outing. However, Haruue and Ruiko seemed very surprised, not expecting that the third and fourth of the only eight Level 5 espers in the academy would be so 'approachable.' At first, Ruiko had thought they would be very arrogant, but she didn't expect them to show no discrimination towards her, a Level 0 esper, unlike those high-and-mighty young ladies.
Instead, they were exceptionally generous, and their hobby was playing video games.
"Today, I really learned a lot. Not only did I get to meet the academy idol, Lady Yowane, up close, but I also got to travel with two young ladies. It's absolutely wonderful."
Haruue said to Ruiko with a spring-like expression. Whenever she talked about 'young ladies,' she seemed to transform into a different person.
"Right! Right! Right!"
Ruiko replied to Haruue three times, then looked at the gekota disc signed by Yowane in her hand, then at the two walking ahead, and finally wrapped it in a small handkerchief. This was a treasured item.
"Crepes! The first one hundred customers get a limited edition gekota doll!"
Upon hearing this advertisement, Mikoto, who was beside Yowane, visibly stiffened, as if she had been frozen by something.
"Let's take a break, Mikoto. I want some dessert, you know."
Knowing what had attracted Mikoto, Yowane glanced at Mikoto, who was sweating and couldn't find an excuse. She finally sighed, relieved Mikoto's awkwardness, and gave her an excuse.
"Don't worry! It's on me."
Mikoto gave Yowane a grateful look, patted her meager chest, and said. Then, without even taking the money Yowane offered, she quickly ran to queue. Yowane watched this scene helplessly. She didn't know who had instilled this childish doll obsession in her since childhood, but she still couldn't get rid of it. However, it seemed that Ruiko hadn't gotten in front of Mikoto, so she should be able to get a gekota!
"I'll go too! Haruue, what flavor do you want?"
"Thank you, Ruiko-san, I want strawberry."
Seeing Ruiko suddenly run off to queue, and feeling a bit hungry herself, she told Haruue and left her by Yowane's side.
"Let's go rest under that tree over there!"
Yowane glanced at the tightly shut bank, then pulled the unusually fidgety Kuroko and the shy, soft-spoken Haruue to wait under the tree for the other two to return.
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