"Wah! Wah! Wah!!!"
Misaka, who had been lifted into mid-air by Chinatsu, let out a series of shocked, strange cries, but the next moment, Misuzu, who was standing nearby, grabbed his ear and physically cut his strange cries short.
"What are you yelling for? How high is this, anyway?"
Misuzu stared at her husband with dead fish eyes. Although he was lifted into mid-air, how tall was Chinatsu? Even if a child lifted him up until his head touched the room's ceiling, anyone with a fear of heights would say that this height was an insult to them.
"Ahem, al... allow me to defend myself."
Ryogake, having come to his senses, awkwardly cleared his throat and let out a few laughs to ease the tension. He wasn't afraid of heights, of course, but being suddenly lifted up by his own delicate daughter was so surprising that it turned into a shock.
But come to think of it, their two daughters were truly extraordinary. It was no wonder Misuzu had said earlier that the Research Institute workshops in Academy City wanted them to stay long-term.
If it were just periodic check-ups and resource assistance, Ryogake and Misuzu would not refuse, but long-term residency was equivalent to depriving them of a significant degree of freedom.
For example, Shokuhou Misaki, one of the future Level 5s from the Tokiwadai workshop, had her personal freedom strictly controlled. However, she was a mental-type Ability User, and the highest-ranking one at that, so she later directly mind-controlled all the Researchers watching over her.
Furthermore, those Researchers could not possibly provide free, unconditional, one-sided help. Investing resources into an Ability User also meant using them to provide data and serving as a special test subject.
However, Ryogake was confident in his ability to protect his wife and daughter. After Chinatsu released her ability and he landed back on the floor, Ryogake stretched out his hands to straighten his slightly messy suit, let out a deep breath, and tried hard to maintain his image as a reliable husband and father.
Such a harmonious family atmosphere was truly rare. One had to know that the childhood experiences of several other Espers in the original work were quite difficult to comment on, perfectly demonstrating the definition of Academy City as a massive experimental ground.
Therefore, she had to become stronger.
Chinatsu looked happy on the surface, but deep down, she secretly clenched her fists. She didn't know if it was her imagination, but the moment she solidified her resolve just now, the feeling belonging to the ability release part gradually changed from sticky to solid.
"Huh? Wait, I need to solidify my resolve?"
"I can't become the second Hamazura Shiage, right?"
Chinatsu blinked in a daze, instantly imagining herself with a headband tied around her head, imitating the look of Hamazura Shiage—saying "Guts" with every word and firing a "Strong Punch"... or rather, "Gravity Impact."
"Ahem!"
Chinatsu couldn't help but laugh at the scene she had imagined. In the real world, she suddenly burst into laughter, and the three people nearby all showed expressions of confusion and surprise at this sight.
"Chinatsu, are you... did you choke on your own saliva?"
"N-no... that's not it... wait, yes, I just choked on my saliva. I suddenly thought of something funny." Chinatsu hurriedly spoke while holding back laughter, but as she recalled her mother saying she had choked on her saliva, a new wave of laughter bubbled up before the previous one had even faded.
After wiping the corners of her mouth with a tissue, Chinatsu did not try to tap into that feeling of power transformation again, because sitting cross-legged and meditating in front of her family would look too strange, not to mention she still needed to be wary of the observation by those nano-scale robots hidden in the air.
That day, at nine o'clock in the evening.
"Stop watching TV, go to sleep!"
"That's right, children shouldn't stay up late."
Misaka Misuzu, who was sitting on a chair in the living room reading a book on number theory, turned her head and shouted at the two sisters watching TV. Beside her, Misaka placed two cups of coffee on the table; it was clear they were going to continue enjoying their night.
"Alright~"
"Okay!"
Amidst their parents' urging, Chinatsu and Mikoto returned to their room and obediently went to bed. As the light bulb was pulled and the surroundings went dark, Chinatsu, who was pretending to sleep, began to explore the world deep within her mind.
［Gravity Manipulation］
The preliminary judgment by Academy City's Researchers was undoubtedly a powerful and rare ability, possessing a considerable advantage among Ability Users of the same level.
But this result was ultimately just a preliminary judgment by those Researchers. Although, like Hamazura Shiage, Chinatsu did not fully understand the true nature of her ability, her perception was at least clearer than that of the Researchers looking at experimental data filled with question marks.
"Is my ability really just Gravity Manipulation?"
"Probably not, or at least, not only that..."
"Calm down, be confident."
With her eyes closed, Chinatsu truly seemed asleep, her aura as calm as water; anyone who saw her would think she had entered a deep sleep.
［AIM Diffusion Field］
This was the weak energy that an Ability User unconsciously diffused into their surroundings. Different Ability Users diffused slightly different AIM Diffusion Fields. If tested with specific machines, one could even determine their ability type and level based solely on the AIM Diffusion Field.
Even Mikoto, at Level 1, had an AIM Diffusion Field.
As a Gemstone Esper, Chinatsu also had this field, though it appeared quite abnormal compared to ordinary Ability Users. At this moment, the AIM Diffusion Fields released by Chinatsu and Mikoto were colliding like ripples on the surface of water.
A faint electric current was actually emanating from Mikoto, who was fast asleep on the bed next to her—the kind that couldn't even be detected from up close.
Of course, even if it were detected, no one would pay much mind to it. Just like getting up and walking around in one's sleep, releasing some weak ability reactions in a dream was not an especially rare occurrence.
However, if outsiders knew that the weak electric current emanating from Mikoto was the result of Chinatsu's stimulation, that would be a different story...
"S-success?"
With her eyes still closed, Chinatsu felt that her actions had actually yielded a successful result, and ripples of excitement couldn't help but stir in her heart.
Although she still didn't know exactly what the ［True Identity］ of this ability was, it was enough for now to know that her ability was not limited to Gravity Manipulation.
Chinatsu, lying on the bed, turned over to face the corner, pulling the quilt up to cover her entire face.
And in the darkness beneath the quilt, the corners of Chinatsu's mouth curled up uncontrollably, revealing a smile she could not suppress.
Time flew by. After spending a few years developing cautiously and growing slowly, Chinatsu and Mikoto soon graduated from elementary school and were about to embark on the day they would join Tokiwadai, the prestigious girls' school in Academy City...