Academy City's Weather Report! (Toaru)

Chapter 459: Academy City Weather Report! - 459

To aid that worrisome princess-curl purple-haired girl, the spectral lady who traverses the boundary between reality and nothingness had given far too much.

'Thinking about Junko-chan, who clearly cares so deeply yet stubbornly pushes the one she admires toward someone else, is enough to give anyone a headache. Her excessive fixation on Level 5s has plunged her into profound self-denial. This Junko-chan is both foolish and naive.'

'So, if we can make Junko-chan understand how amazing she truly is, perhaps she can finally recognize her own worth.'

'Then again, is worth really that important? If you have no "worth," does that mean you shouldn't do anything? And whose "worth" is it anyway? In my heart, even after forgetting everything from my past, I still can't forget you, Junko-chan. Don't let the "worth" defined by adults negate your own self.'

Dancing gracefully in mid-air, defying gravity and physical laws, the spectral lady pondered these things.

A power emanating from her very being, instinctual in nature, gradually spread out and thoroughly linked with the purple-haired princess-curl girl before her.

Even in her non-corporeal state, the spectral lady indeed possessed a means to interact with the physical world. This was also the reason she had always been able to control Junko-chan and make her do strange things.

The ability known as Astral Buddy used moisture to create a tangible phantom body distinct from an AIM field aggregate, capable of enhancing another's physical body or controlling their mind within the physical world.

In other words, it could influence others' brains and bodies, sharing some similarities in principle with a certain Mental Out's abilities.

Similarly, this ability also seemed to possess the potential to separate one's own AIM diffusion field, allowing it to exist independently as an AIM field aggregate bearing one's own appearance.

This was precisely the non-corporeal state the spectral lady currently existed in.

Though merely an AIM field aggregate in a special state, she still seemed capable of using her own ability.

This suggested a possibility: that an AIM field is an effective extension of one's Personal Reality, even capable of carrying one's thoughts and intentions.

This probably proved another point: that a Level 5 could potentially transcend the limitations of the physical body. Perhaps the part of themselves sustained within the AIM field had already ascended beyond a human state of being.

If they completely discarded their physical bodies, they might even be able to exist in the world as field-based lifeforms.

However, a Level 5 shouldn't have the spectral lady's problem of being unable to easily touch reality.

They could likely gather sufficient field aggregates at will to invade the real world.

They probably also lacked the rigid requirement of forming a field core, as the ability user themselves essentially served as an anchor point to reality.

'If the adults say you can't do it, then prove them wrong! When protecting someone important, having to beg for help from those deemed "valuable" is just too pathetic.'

'Junko-chan, unleash the destructive impulse hidden in your heart! Summon the courage you used to secretly hide those Gekota cosmetics in your dorm room. Ignore your prim and proper ojou-sama instincts, knock all these troublesome people flat, and then use your fists to tear this building down completely!'

Waving her fists fiercely behind Junko, glaring venomously at the Tokiwadai girls closing in, the aura around the spectral lady gradually merged with Hokaze Junko's, revealing an eager, instigating expression.

"What are you saying all of a sudden? Now is not the time to talk about such things!"

Covering her face involuntarily, Hokaze Junko's cheeks flushed red, seemingly finally affected by the endlessly chattering, socially fearless spectral lady behind her.

However, she didn't quite agree with the spectral lady's words.

It was true she cared deeply about the status of Level 5, but saying it was self-denial was too severe.

She just wanted to help her Queen and that Railgun get together. After all, she was graduating next year, and she simply couldn't compare to a Level 5 anyway.

As for the spectral lady knowing so much of her private thoughts, Hokaze Junko considered it par for the course.

This was the same person who had previously controlled her to sneak into the Queen's room at night, causing her immense embarrassment for a long time.

Come to think of it, thanks to this spectral lady, she had been fortunate enough to see her usually lazy Queen practicing yoga and working out diligently.

Even the Queen had desires to change her current situation, it seemed.

As for some hidden destructive instinct, she wasn't that kind of violent girl.

"Junko-chan, you must bravely face your own heart."

The illusory figure shook her head, as if lamenting the girl's dishonesty. She could easily discern Junko-chan's true thoughts.

In fact, most people were dishonest. Even when aware of their true desires, they were always influenced by their own personalities and experiences, unknowingly straying from their initial intentions.

Hokaze Junko, whose ability developed in the direction of physical enhancement, actually harbored a beast-like violent heart within. Personal Reality represented an ability user's view of the world, equivalent to their purest essence. It couldn't be deceived.

"But you're right. Although seeking Natsume-san's help is an important way to protect the Queen, in this current situation, we have no choice but to fight to the end."

"I'm just worried that I, merely a Level 4, cannot protect the Queen properly."

Suddenly noticing the reduced calculation pressure on her mind—knowing it was related to the spectral lady—Hokaze Junko nodded firmly. It was also due to this sudden reduction that she could spare the focus to maintain this conversation with the spectral lady.

Perhaps in her heart, protecting the Queen was slightly more important than herself.

"Really now, even with my help, you're still saying such discouraging things. Junko-chan, let's go together. Let them see our power properly."

--+--

Hovering in mid-air, a certain bun-girl, her eyes tightly closed, appeared above the faction building.

Behind her floated several Tokiwadai girls, each wrapped securely in spheres of air.

If it weren't for the fact that backup from Judgment and Anti-Skill never arrived, Natsume-san wouldn't have had to bring her captives along with her.

If she relaxed her suppression on her fellow students even slightly, they might immediately rejoin the hostile forces, which was quite a headache.

Also, because part of her calculation power was tied up managing the captive girls, Natsume-san's combat ability had decreased again, requiring her to constantly suppress the captives' resistance.

"This level of AIM field emission... it's almost at the standard of a Level 5."

Startled slightly, Natsume-san's gaze seemed to pierce through the steel forest, perceiving the situation unfolding inside.

The situation at the gymnasium wasn't severe; the Shokuhou faction members there were merely trapped and hadn't come under much attack. In contrast, the situation at the faction building was critical.

Enveloped in a thin aura, Hokaze Junko's gorgeous princess curls floated and billowed around her.

The immense power released from her hands was so great that the resulting air currents alone formed powerful, audible shockwaves.

This was the sonic boom phenomenon caused by her 'Rampage Dress' expanding the contact area with the air, creating an intense compression of airflow in an instant.

"Eh... Hokaze-senpai is being so ruthless. She usually seems so much like a proper ojou-sama."

"This is probably what they call the dual nature of people."

Her pupils slightly dilated, Natsume-san's mind struggled to keep up, suddenly feeling that her understanding of ojousama might have been somewhat mistaken.

Anyone would be surprised to see the usually dignified and elegant noble young lady, eyes wide, hair flying wildly, punching a 'kid' and sending them flying into a wall.

However, unlike Natsume Sonoko, who could choose gentler methods, Hokaze-senpai clearly didn't have the luxury of freely selecting her combat approach.

The belated young lady maintained a surface calm, present like the azure sky but without its noise.

"Their target is the Level 5s, and they laid many traps in advance. But choosing to disperse their forces to deal with two people simultaneously is just too confusing."

"And given the current situation, the one they were confident they could handle was only ever Shokuhou-senpai. Whether it's using the sensitivity of human perception to create light-sensitive traps or preparing helpers in advance, none of it was enough to instantly incapacitate me or Misaka-senpai."

"In fact, the earlier attack on me was completely a gamble."

Frowning, Natsume-san found it increasingly strange the more she thought about it. It was likely a confusion in behavioral logic.

These attackers chose moves that heavily relied on luck to deal with her, while also specifically trapping a large number of Shokuhou faction members. It seemed more like a stalling tactic.

If that was the case, why didn't they wait until she left the School Garden to act? Wouldn't that have saved them a lot of trouble?

"However, if they anticipated from the start that I could handle the attackers, and they still prepared this way, then the mastermind's intentions become guessable. Everyone, including Yumiya Iruka-senpai, are essentially disposable pawns."

"They didn't need to defeat me, only to hinder my movements. The most crucial step was hidden in the initial trap. The high-intensity strike directly to the eyes, designed to cause temporary loss of vision. By collecting data on flash attacks beforehand and calibrating the required light intensity, they could indirectly estimate my recovery time after being blinded."

"That means the attackers probably knew I was on good terms with Shokuhou-senpai and were worried I would interfere with their subsequent actions. But they seem to have some significant misunderstandings about my ability, likely due to a severe lack of intelligence on it."

With thoughts jumbled in her head, a peculiar expression surfaced on Natsume-san's face.

They were both Level 5s, yet the attackers focused on her and Shokuhou-senpai, seemingly ignoring that 'biribiri'-loving senpai of hers.

Following this line of thinking, a tentative conclusion formed in Natsume-san's mind.

The reason she and Misaka-senpai received differential treatment from the attackers was probably related to their differing levels of closeness with Shokuhou-senpai.

The other party would rather deal with an additional Level 5 to ensure their plan didn't have overly obvious flaws.

"However, those attackers probably never expected Hokaze-senpai to be so strong."

"So, the success of a plan really depends on the accuracy of the intelligence gathered."

Snapping back to reality, Natsume-san stared blankly, sensing the greenhouse-reared ojousama brawl happening not far away.

Clear fist marks dented the walls in the central part of the faction building. A classroom door made of solid wood was kicked to splinters, collateral damage from some ojou-sama's ability.

That purple-haired princess-curl girl, holding Shokuhou-senpai with one arm and swinging her fist with the other, her face radiating a passion for destruction, seemingly venting all her inner frustrations and impulses with full force.

--+--

T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL