Academy City's Weather Report! (Toaru)

Chapter 455: Academy City Weather Report! - 455

Realizing the possibility that this upperclassman was being controlled, Natsume-san's expression relaxed noticeably.

An indescribable pressure lifted from her shoulders, and even the stinging pain in her eyes seemed to lessen somewhat.

At least this hadn't escalated into a violent clash between classmates because of some unintentional mistake she'd made.

Natsume-san cared deeply about cause and effect like that.

Though she'd been furious after being attacked, her first instinct had been to figure out why the archery upperclassman would target her.

She'd mentally reviewed every interaction she'd ever had with the archery upperclassman in record time, only to conclude they had no irreconcilable conflicts—they'd barely even spoken before.

There was simply no reason for her to do this.

Likewise, while Natsume-san often found the constant stream of admirers tiresome, she always handled their affections with grace.

Maintaining basic courtesy and decorum was second nature to her; there was no way she'd sunk to the level of being collectively bullied by her peers.

Besides, the idea of a powerful esper being bullied was just too absurd, no matter how you looked at it. Natsume-san refused to believe she'd fallen to such a pathetic state.

As for that certain someone who frequently had paint dumped on his house and regularly faced challengers—Accelerator—his circumstances could hardly be called schoolyard bullying.

The gap in combat power was so vast it felt more like some bizarre form of performance art born from sheer audacity.

Which meant these students suddenly surrounding her, including Iruka-senpai, were most likely under some form of external control.

Yet the control method felt peculiar. Unlike what Natsume-san had experienced before—where both body and mind were trapped in some dark corner of consciousness—Iruka-senpai and the other Tokiwadai girls clearly retained full control of their movements.

More likely, their perception had been altered, or they'd simply been given direct commands.

After spending so much time around a certain someone, Natsume-san had become familiar with the tricks of mental-type espers.

Their methods were predictable, practically lifted straight from anime and movies.

In a way, Shokuhou-senpai's abilities were almost transparent. Nearly every conceivable psychic power could be attributed to her.

Still, this attack definitely wasn't her doing. Natsume-san's trust wasn't easily earned, after all.

"Ways to alter perception... besides esper abilities, there's also the possibility of magic."

Natsume Sonoko recalled her time outside Academy City, when some external force kept tampering with her perception of dates. Looking back, it might have been a form of cognitive interference.

It wasn't until she overheard Index and Kanzaki Kaori's conversation about phases that she gained a basic understanding of such phenomena.

But really, the thought that phases could connect with the real world, that humans could be swept into their influence and lose chunks of time... it felt too fantastical to grasp.

For someone unfamiliar with magic or phases, that revelation had been worldview-shattering. It was how Natsume-san learned science wasn't the only extraordinary force in this world.

"Of course, there's also the Indian Poker."

"Could that be the cause? If so, this might get complicated."

Just yesterday, she'd learned about incidents possibly linked to Indian Poker and secretly observed the AIM field fluctuations within her dorm. The implications left a deep impression.

From obsessed fans attacking idols to various violent outbreaks, everything Shirai-san had told her pointed to one conclusion: those cards could manipulate people's minds.

This manipulation, however, stemmed from the user's own weaknesses. Strictly speaking, it amplified existing obsessive or violent tendencies—the users weren't entirely blameless.

The classroom windows stood open, carrying occasional whiffs of fragrance from the flower beds outside.

Yet the usual tranquil campus atmosphere had vanished, replaced by a stifling tension that engulfed all of Tokiwadai Middle School.

Further away, both the gymnasium and the clique building seemed to be experiencing disturbances of their own.

After following the bag-snatching monkey into the gym, the doors had suddenly slammed shut, trapping over a dozen members of Shokuhou's clique inside.

Tokiwadai's educational facilities were built to exceptionally high standards, making them effective prisons against the students' escape attempts—especially with fellow students actively obstructing them.

Meanwhile, inside the clique building, a meticulously planned kidnapping was quietly unfolding.

Shokuhou Misaki, now separated from her remote, faced an entirely new crisis.

Overcoming the psychological dependency on her remote wasn't difficult, but it raised a serious problem: using the remote was actually a safety measure to prevent her own power from running wild.

Without that limiter, the risk of accidental mental devastation—of destroying someone's future—increased dramatically.

That crossed a line she refused to cross.

One thing was certain: Shokuhou Misaki could still use her abilities without the remote, but the risks and mental strain would multiply.

But let's return to our temporarily blinded Natsume-san, who remained unaware of these parallel crises. Her focus remained entirely on the circle of Tokiwadai girls surrounding her. Both the gym and clique building lay beyond her radar's effective range.

Being encircled by her classmates felt deeply unpleasant. A restless irritation simmered in her chest, demanding an outlet.

Yet Natsume-san would never take her frustrations out on her peers—especially not when they might be victims themselves.

'Eight girls... nine, counting Iruka-senpai.'

'More than half are classmates from my year.'

'This is exhausting. What a mess. People who toy with others' minds without any restraint... they're truly despicable.'

Natsume-san couldn't help but think.

Compared to them, her own plump, lazy, and delightfully manipulative Shokuhou-senpai seemed almost saintly. So what if she was a gluttonous taskmaster? At least you never had to worry about her using her powers for crime.

A quick scan confirmed the facial features of every girl present.

Cross-referencing with the personal AIM field signatures she'd discreetly recorded over time yielded a clear conclusion: these were the real girls, not some cross-dressing imposters.

And that made holding back even more necessary.

Suppressing everyone here wouldn't be difficult for Natsume-san, even with several Level 4s among them. Level 5 espers operated on a completely different plane, especially ones like her who specialized in handling weaker group attackers.

But the world wasn't just about brute force; social nuance mattered too.

Since mind control was a real possibility, Natsume-san had to consider the feelings of these upperclassmen and classmates.

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