Uiharu Kazari, dressed in a Tokiwadai uniform, walked into Konori Mii's line of sight, momentarily stunning her.
"Uiharu, what on earth are you wearing?"
"Haha, that's not the main point, Senpai. Why did you call us here?" Uiharu laughed awkwardly, quickly diverting the topic to ask why their break had been cut short.
Konori didn't pursue the matter further. There were indeed more pressing issues at hand. She opened her laptop and began explaining.
"From after school yesterday until late last night, a series of attacks specifically targeting Tokiwadai students occurred. As of now, seven students have been assaulted. And all of these incidents took place within the School Garden."
"From what I can infer, the person targeting Tokiwadai students—and defeating them so easily—must be a rather powerful esper. We just haven't determined what kind yet."
"The victims' condition is quite... unpleasant. There are photos, but they're not for the faint of heart. If you want to see them, prepare yourself." Her heavy tone made both Shirai Kuroko and Uiharu Kazari swallow nervously.
However, the images showed only crude drawings on the victims' faces.
(Uh... the first time I saw it, I thought it was something much worse.)
In the video, Kongou Mitsuko covered her forehead with a folding fan, responding irritably to a Security officer's questioning.
"I told you, I didn't see anyone!"
"But, from the surveillance footage..."
"Even so, I didn't see them!"
Although Kongou kept her fan up to hide the thick eyebrows drawn on her forehead, just thinking about her expression made Shirai Kuroko's lips twitch slightly.
"Ahem." Suppressing her amusement, Kuroko shifted into work mode. "None of the victims could see the perpetrator. Not a single one."
"Uiharu! Judgment has [Bank] access, right? Go through the database and check for espers with relevant ability profiles."
"Understood."
...
Café.
Some time later, the trio's coffee had already been refilled once. Seeing how slowly Judgment's investigation was progressing, the ever-helpful Misaka Mikoto offered to lend a hand.
Just then, a commotion from outside caught their attention. The three immediately sensed something was wrong and went to investigate.
As they opened the café door, they saw a group of medics carrying two unconscious Tokiwadai students from a nearby alley.
One had short, wavy brown hair, the other long, straight black hair. Selene found them familiar but couldn't recall their names—something about the "Anti-Newton Trio," perhaps?
Misaka Mikoto's startled exclamation answered that question for her. "Awatsuki Maaya and Wannai Kinuho?!"
Upon hearing that, Selene immediately realized what had happened. So this was the change she had caused. Perhaps because she and the others had stayed in the café longer than usual, the attacker had shifted their target elsewhere.
Once Misaka confirmed that the two victims were indeed her underclassmen who had helped her at the pool before, she immediately decided to head to the Judgment Branch Office 177 to assist.
...
"Huh? The victims couldn't see the attacker?"
Shirai Kuroko hadn't expected Misaka Mikoto to show up at the office. Though she didn't want her Onee-sama involved in such cases, she couldn't stop her and could only accept it helplessly.
"That's right. At first, we suspected an optical manipulation esper. However, there are only forty-seven individuals in Academy City capable of true invisibility, and all of them have solid alibis."
"Then why did the surveillance cameras capture the scene? That doesn't add up. It shouldn't be an optical manipulation type, right?" Selene interjected, clearly uninterested in wasting time on such trivial deductions. She already knew that the attacker's motive was rather ridiculous.
"Don't get trapped in assumptions. Just because someone can't be seen doesn't necessarily mean they're invisible. If the ability interferes with cognitive functions, it would have the same effect," Selene explained calmly.
"The cameras can record the image, but the victims' eyes can't perceive it. That means the ability targets human cognition directly. Generally speaking, there are two main types of invisibility: complete visual concealment and cognitive interference."
"If it were the former, no camera could capture it. Since it can be recorded, it must be the latter—an ability that disrupts human perception."
"With that in mind, try searching for espers whose powers can interfere with human cognition. I'm sure the culprit will be among them."
"Ah, wait a moment, let me check." Following Selene's reminder, Uiharu Kazari immediately thought of the key point.
"Got it! Among espers with abilities matching this description, there's... uh... Selene-senpai?"
The moment Uiharu finished speaking, everyone turned their gaze toward Selene. Stare~
"How could it possibly be me? This is merely a sub-application of my ability. If I really wanted to mess with you all, do you think it would be that simple?" Facing their subtle yet suspicious looks, Selene could only spread her hands helplessly.
"That's true... Still, Selene-senpai really has so many sub-abilities. Whenever I look through the [Bank] for various ability applications, your name always shows up. I'm so jealous," Uiharu said teasingly.
Having browsed the [Bank] frequently, Uiharu was well aware of Selene's numerous ability usages. Her earlier remark had been more of a joke than genuine suspicion.
"Anyway, there's another one listed here. Ability name: Dummy Check. It directly obstructs human cognitive recognition of observed objects. Only one esper possesses it—Juufuku Miho, a second-year student at Sekisho Middle School."
"Then that's it. It's her," Selene declared confidently.
"But, Senpai... according to the [Bank], she's only a Level 2. Her ability shouldn't be strong enough to completely erase her presence. The experimental data says so."
Selene chuckled softly, her tone carrying a hint of meaning. "That's not necessarily true. As the saying goes, 'Three days apart, and one should look at a person with new eyes.'"
"You can't be sure her ability hasn't improved. The [Bank] data tends to lag behind reality. Relying solely on subjective assumptions could lead to a serious misjudgment. If you still doubt it, you can always compare the footage captured by the surveillance cameras."
"Her ability only interferes with direct visual recognition through the eyes. If we can't see her with the naked eye but the camera can, then everything adds up perfectly," Misaka Mikoto said, agreeing with Selene's deduction.
"In that case, I'll just bring her in right away."
"Wait, wait—! We haven't even confirmed it yet. Are you sure it's okay to act now?" Seeing that Selene intended to seize the suspect immediately, Shirai Kuroko voiced her concern.
"Of course it's fine. Whether she's the culprit or not will become clear once we question her directly. And when dealing with a criminal suspect, certain formalities can be... conveniently overlooked."
"Then let's do it," Misaka Mikoto said. Though she worried about catching the wrong person, she didn't object—after all, she wasn't exactly one to strictly follow the rules herself.
"Alright then. If the culprit's confirmed, I'll bring her here right now."
Instead of going through the tedious process of connecting to the School Garden's surveillance network as described in the original record, Selene simply expanded her sensory range. By tracing the approximate movement areas of the assaulted Tokiwadai students, she quickly pinpointed the suspect's general location.
After a moment of careful focus, she smiled faintly. "Yes... it's her."
Snap!
With a sharp finger snap, a spatial gate appeared before them. A small figure fell through it with a terrified scream.
"Aaaahhh!!!"