Tokiwadai Middle School.
It is hailed as one of the five prestigious schools in Academy City.
Unlike other prestigious schools, Tokiwadai Middle School only has a junior high division, admitting only young ladies from wealthy families whose abilities are rated Level 3 or higher, with a student population of around 180.
Elegant! Graceful! Refined!
At this moment, the strongest Esper in Academy City, Shokuhou Misaki, was sitting quietly in the outdoor courtyard with her friend Hokaze Runkko, enjoying a delicious snack.
"Runkko, this dessert isn't right, is it?"
Shokuhou Misaki frowned slightly as she looked at the delicate small cake placed on the table, while beside her, Hokaze Runkko crossed her hands in an apologetic gesture and replied: "Sorry, that dessert was snatched up by other students. Limited editions are really tough. If they could sell more every day, that would be great. I wouldn't mind if they raised the price a bit more~"
After she finished speaking, she stuck out her tongue; while it looked like one party was sternly questioning and the other was nervously apologizing, in reality, their relationship was not the rigid superior-subordinate dynamic it appeared to be, but rather that of very good friends.
By the way, the nutritional set meals provided by the Tokiwadai cafeteria were quite high-end; in the underground streets of Academy City, someone had once bid up the price of this cafeteria meal to 40,000 yen.
The cost of living in the area around Tokiwadai was also not just generally high, but no matter how high it was, for these young ladies, it was at most the extent of complaining that it was a little expensive before smiling and buying it.
"Hm?"
Shokuhou Misaki felt someone approaching from behind her and instinctively reached for her bag, which contained a newly purchased remote control used for her ability.
"Don't be nervous, I don't have any ill intentions~"
Chinatsu walked up to the two of them with a smile, and Hokaze Runkko looked at Chinatsu in surprise; although she couldn't tell which of the Misaka Sisters Chinatsu was, no matter which one it was, they were all Level 5 Espers.
An Electromaster or a Graviton user?!
Shokuhou Misaki and Hokaze Runkko stared at Chinatsu as if facing a great enemy, and Chinatsu felt a bit like crying without tears; a dignified school for young ladies, yet when students met, they were at daggers drawn and ready to fight at any moment.
"Runkko, forget it. Two Level 5s fighting in school... she shouldn't be that kind of idiot."
Shokuhou Misaki said, while simultaneously dropping the move to pull the remote control out of her bag.
Her hands appeared plainly in Chinatsu's line of sight, a gesture that seemed to say she had let go of any desire to attack; if it were an ordinary person, they might really let their guard down, as it was a common misconception that Shokuhou Misaki necessarily needed a remote control to activate her ability.
However, Chinatsu wouldn't point that out.
Under Runkko's gaze, Chinatsu sat on the chair next to them and cleared her throat slightly to introduce herself first, as she looked very similar to Mikoto, and if they weren't particularly close, it was hard to tell who was who.
"My name is Misaka Chika, you can just call me Chinatsu from now on. If you call me Misaka, it's easy to confuse me with Mikoto."
Chinatsu said calmly, one hand pressing against her chest.
"Chinatsu... is the older sister among the Esper sisters?"
Hokaze Runkko clasped her outstretched hands, showing a surprised expression, while Shokuhou Misaki wasn't very surprised, as she had already recognized that Chinatsu was not the younger sister, Mikoto.
At the same time, Sekikura Rei, one of the three major factions of Tokiwadai, also walked over with a member of her faction, likely having come specifically to find Shokuhou Misaki; Chinatsu's appearance was undoubtedly beyond her expectations.
"Are the two of you... friends?"
"Yes."
"No."
"..."
Shokuhou turned her head like a wary cat to look at the smiling Chinatsu, while Runkko, caught in the middle, felt a bit helpless and could only lower her head to eat the dessert cake she had bought earlier.
There were five people present in total.
Two Level 5 Espers.
Three Level 4 Great Ability Users.
This lineup was nothing short of astonishing; even leaving aside the Espers, these three top-level Level 4 Great Ability Users would be difficult for any institution other than Tokiwadai to produce, and some institutions would even offer high salaries to poach them, just to add some prestige to the institution.
Sekikura Rei leisurely moved a chair from the side and sat down, while the member of her faction stood faintly behind Sekikura Rei, her eyes beneath her glasses as sharp as a hawk's.
Even though she was the only person standing among those present, the one who felt awkward was Hokaze Runkko, who was sitting; after all, sitting next to her were either Level 5s or the head of a faction full of imposing energy.
"So, the two of you coming to find me one after another, what exactly do you want to talk to me about? I'm a very busy person."
Shokuhou Misaki grumbled.
She didn't believe that Chinatsu and Sekikura Rei had just happened to run into her while wandering around, as this kind of judgment could be easily deduced without needing to activate her ability.
Hearing Shokuhou's words, Sekikura Rei couldn't help but turn her head to look at Chinatsu, who was sitting beside her; previously, she had really thought that the two were friends, pretending to be distant out of tsundere-ness, but now it looked like they really weren't that familiar with each other.
"You're Mikoto's sister, right?"
Sekikura Rei greeted with a smile, and Chinatsu was a bit surprised; after all, she wasn't familiar with the other party, and it was the first time she had been recognized at a glance with that level of familiarity.
"Don't look at me with such eyes. I've always been confident in my judgment. In reality, there are still quite obvious differences between you sisters; I'm talking about temperament."
"That's right, acquaintances all say that."
Chinatsu smiled softly in response to Sekikura Rei's judgment; after all, everyone's temperament is unique, and even if one tries to imitate it seriously, there will still be slight deviations, not to mention that Chinatsu never thought about imitating anyone.
As the hostess, Shokuhou Misaki watched the two who seemed to be overshadowing her presence, and finally, she couldn't help but open her mouth to interrupt.
"Hey, hey, hey, speak quickly if you have something to say. You both came to find me, so why are you chatting away on your own?"
Shokuhou Misaki said, puffing out her cheeks.
Chinatsu and Sekikura Rei looked at each other, and then Sekikura Rei yielded the right to speak first to Chinatsu; Chinatsu nodded, and then without beating around the bush, she went straight to the point.
"Shokuhou, do you have any thoughts about establishing a faction?"
Chinatsu asked so bluntly that Sekikura Rei, who was beside her, showed a surprised expression because what she wanted to say to Shokuhou was roughly the same content.
Shokuhou Misaki's face, however, drooped upon hearing this, and she let out a long sigh, her whole body exuding a listless, gloomy aura.
"I'm asking you... are you serious?"