"Hm? What's wrong?" Selene looked strangely at Misaka Mikoto beside her. "Do we know each other?"
"Y-you..." Sparks began crackling around Misaka's forehead—bzzt bzzt—as her anger reached its limit. She looked seconds away from exploding.
"All right, all right! Don't damage public property, I was just joking!" Selene quickly raised both hands in surrender, signaling her truce.
"You traitor! Why didn't you warn me earlier?" Misaka glared furiously.
"I didn't want to interrupt you and Kuroko's... affectionate moment. You seemed—"
"Shut up! It's all Kuroko's fault!" Misaka snapped, cutting her off in embarrassment and rage.
"Yes, yes. Anyway, here—these are for you two." As Misaka turned her death glare toward Shirai Kuroko, the sound of clinking metal interrupted her. Selene handed them each a canned drink.
"Ah, thanks..." Misaka instinctively took it, but the moment her fingers touched the can, she flinched. Lifting her head in shock, she looked at Selene. "It's... hot?"
When she glanced down and read the label, her expression froze even more. "Green... bean soup?"
"Uh..." Misaka's face went blank as she stared at the steaming can in her hands. "Why is it a hot drink... in this kind of heat?" She looked to Selene with pleading confusion, hoping for an explanation.
"Drinking something warm in hot weather is actually good for your body," Selene replied with a calm smile. "And green bean soup helps cool you down and promotes metabolism."
"Seriously, what kind of retirement-lifestyle logic is that? We're young! We're supposed to drink cold stuff!" Misaka grumbled, but despite her words, she obediently took a sip anyway.
On that topic, Selene couldn't help but sigh. Academy City's technology was indeed decades ahead of the outside world—fifty years at least—but that "advancement" applied to everything. From daily life to food and drink, the city overflowed with innovation. But not all progress was a blessing.
Take, for instance, the vending machines. Whether due to the research-driven environment or simply madness, even the restaurants and vendors in Academy City shared the same experimental spirit as the city's scientists.
As a result, the vending machines distributed across the city had become wildly unpredictable—turning students' stomachs into testing grounds. Countless bizarre drinks and foods had been invented.
Forget strange foods; just look at the drinks. There were legends of "Bitter Gourd Natto Vegetable Juice," "Eel Energy Drink," "Kimchi Blend Beverage," and other such monstrosities—true abominations in the beverage world.
Compared to those, normal things like "passion fruit energy drink" or "cherry cola" suddenly seemed perfectly reasonable—at least they were made for carbon-based lifeforms.
Still, this phenomenon wasn't entirely bad—it just tended to extremes. The results were either surprisingly good or instantly nauseating.
For example, the green bean soup Selene held actually tasted decent. It was clearly made from real blended beans and sugar, thick but drinkable.
Maybe I should get Shuji Matsuzaki to start developing stuff like this...
As Selene's mind began to wander, galloping freely into irrelevant thoughts, a familiar commotion snapped her back to reality.
"Onee-sama! Would you like to share Kuroko's drink...?"
Right. Kuroko was at it again.
There's a saying: if it tastes bad, drink it fast. As long as you drink fast enough, your taste buds can't catch up. Misaka followed this philosophy, not wanting to waste Selene's good intentions. Despite the heat, she finished her entire can of green bean soup.
"You drink it yourself!" she snapped, pinning Kuroko down and, with a sharp side kick, sent her empty can flying straight into the trash bin nearby—completely ignoring the stunned onlookers.
"Ah~ even though it's hot, it's surprisingly refreshing," Misaka said, exhaling in satisfaction.
The movement caused her skirt to flutter slightly, revealing her safety shorts—again giving Kuroko a perfect view. But instead of satisfaction, the twin-tailed girl crouched on the ground, covering her face in disappointment.
"...She's still wearing such unrefined things under her skirt... sigh~"
"Onee-sama's taste is truly concerning. To think the ace of Tokiwadai has no sense of style—wearing those dreary shorts under her skirt! The lingerie I showed you before was far more fashionable! The black mesh, the sheer lace—hehehehe~"
"How could anyone wear something like that outside, Kuroko?! Only a pervert like you would even consider it!" Misaka Mikoto shouted, face flushed with both anger and embarrassment.
"That has nothing to do with being a pervert, Onee-sama! This is fashion—fashion!" Kuroko protested with a tone dripping in honey and heartbreak.
The overly sweet, syrupy voice sent shivers down Selene's spine. There was no way she could ever speak in such a tone.
"Really, even if Onee-sama can't handle such a bold style, she shouldn't wear something so boring either! Wouldn't pantyhose like Selene-senpai wears be a better choice?"
"Cough cough cough..." Selene nearly choked on her drink. Why is the 'battlefield' suddenly shifting to me?
As the topic drifted further off course, the atmosphere began turning weird. Saten Ruiko and Uiharu Kazari stared blankly, their smiles growing increasingly awkward.
"Everyone's tastes are different! Mind your own business! And—wait a second, why did my underwear go missing the other day...?"
"Who knows~ Maybe a stray cat dragged it away, or perhaps... a devoted underclassman who idolizes you took it as a treasure... hahaha..." Kuroko's tone was filled with guilty laughter.
"That underclassman wouldn't happen to be you, would it, Kuroko?! You're the only one who'd do something like that!"
"O-Onee-sama, please believe me! I would never commit such an unladylike and despicable act!"
"Kuroko, you're acting suspicious. Why are you sweating so much?"
Staaare~
Realizing something, Misaka's body trembled in fury. With an angry shout, she raised her fist and brought it crashing down on Kuroko's head.
Thud!
As Misaka Mikoto once again slammed her fist into Kuroko's skull—who knew how many times it had been now—Selene couldn't help but think with a hint of malice, No wonder Kuroko's calculation ability hasn't improved much since reaching Level 4.
"Ow, ow, ow!" Kuroko immediately curled up, clutching her head and crouching defensively.
Bzzt—crackle—bzzt...
Seeing that the electric storm was about to start again, the two girls from Sakugawa Middle School instinctively took a step back, silently expressing with their posture: We didn't hear a thing. You two carry on...