Whirr...
Accompanied by the faint grinding of gears, drive shafts, and hydraulic rods meshing together within the metal gate of the luxurious castle, Kakine Teitoku and the other former members of the Dark Side organization SCHOOL slowly walked out of the enormous multi-section Gothic building behind them as the servants saw them off.
Beneath the blue sky and white clouds, brilliant sunlight hung high overhead. On both sides, the leaves and branches of towering, thick-trunked trees broke the warm sunlight into countless fine golden flecks.
"A normal life..."
Kakine Teitoku walked down the steps, each constructed from a single slab of stone. He raised his head, narrowed his eyes slightly, and lifted one hand above him. Mottled light streamed through the gaps between his fingers. It was somewhat dazzling, yet at this moment, he felt freer and more at ease than ever before.
From where he stood, fountain sculptures within the gardens descended in sequence along the steps, while lawns and flower beds filled the spaces between the main buildings. A vast plaza encircled the palace.
At the outermost edge of the estate, beyond the elegant, slender fence gate, stood a towering gatehouse more than twenty meters tall and over sixty-five meters wide. Three vaulted arches rose beneath pointed towers, the gates were decorated with gold and silver reliefs, and bronze floral carvings atop the roof glittered beneath the blazing sun.
"Um, Captain, are you really..."
Yobou Banka, the boy known as "Saturn Ring" who wore specially made circular goggles over his head, opened his mouth with a complicated expression as though he wanted to say something, but ultimately stopped. This was Kakine Teitoku's own choice. He had no right to interfere.
Within SCHOOL, Yumiya Rakko was a Level 0 and, to put it harshly, not particularly important. Gokusai Kaibi was more like a collaborator with a much stronger independent streak. In the original story, she had voluntarily withdrawn from SCHOOL. Yobou Banka was probably the only one who harbored a certain special sense of admiration and loyalty toward Kakine Teitoku.
Before challenging Kakine Teitoku, Yobou Banka had been extremely confident, particularly dissatisfied with the classification system for espers. He believed his strength was comparable to that of a Level 5 and had made becoming one his goal. After losing his challenge against Kakine Teitoku, his view of Level 5 espers seemed to change. Then, through various coincidences, he joined Kakine Teitoku's team.
"Yobou, SCHOOL has already been dissolved, and I am no longer your captain. You should completely end your Dark Side work as well. Taking a position at the Schicksal Research Institute is far better than living in constant fear within the Dark Side, where you might die violently at any moment..."
As he spoke, Kakine Teitoku stopped, turned around, slipped one hand into his trouser pocket, and patted Yobou Banka on the shoulder with the other.
"I don't want to lose one of the few friends I have either."
The moment he said the word "friends," he immediately burst into laughter. At that instant, even he realized just how much he had changed over the years.
Before Selene came to Academy City, he had been suppressed by Accelerator's advantage, which was so slight it might as well not have existed. He had always believed he should have been ranked first. Combined with the unfair distribution of resources, the suffocating frustration of being undervalued, and years spent roaming the darkest side of society, it had shaped him profoundly.
Back then, he had been arrogant, hypocritical, overbearing, and utterly unrestrained. He treated everything around him with the attitude of someone who had already given up. He would not even have cared if his fellow SCHOOL members died.
However, after Selene overwhelmingly crushed him, beat him half to death, and nearly sliced him into human sashimi, he watched Accelerator become his "fellow patient." Then came a series of blows from every direction as the gap between them only widened. Instead, Kakine Teitoku gradually learned to let things go.
To some extent, he had even imitated many of Selene's habits. At first, he believed Selene was just like him, someone arrogant and hypocritical. The only difference was that he made no attempt to hide it, while Selene was a master of disguise and performance.
As for the idea from the original story, where he learned part of Academy City's true situation and attempted to kill Accelerator so that he could speak to Chairman Aleister Crowley as an equal and rise to a higher position, that thought had never crossed his mind.
What kind of nonsense was that? Killing the first-ranked esper would have made sense, but Accelerator was only second now. Killing him would accomplish nothing. Then should he kill the first-ranked esper instead?
That would be outright suicide. Had there been visible hope of victory and only a small gap between them, he might have considered it. Given the current situation, however, he would rather forget it. He still wanted to enjoy a few peaceful days of ordinary life.
"I understand." Yobou Banka tightly gripped the invoice bearing Selene's signature and seal.
Kakine Teitoku's meaning was perfectly clear. After SCHOOL's dissolution, he wanted Yobou Banka to avoid joining another Dark Side organization, withdraw from the darkness completely, and focus on his position at the Schicksal Research Institute.
With Selene protecting him, no one would come after a former Dark Side operative unless both sides openly turned against each other. Selene would naturally speak to Academy City's upper management about the matter.
The invoice in his hand could also be regarded as severance pay. Just moments earlier, when Selene presented him with several choices, Yobou Banka chose to remain under her command and take a position at the Schicksal Research Institute in School District 2. His psychokinetic ability was relatively well suited to the institute's work.
Beside him, Gokusai Kaibi and Yumiya Rakko each held an invoice as well. However, the two of them would have to find their own paths.
As for Yumiya Rakko, she was a Level 0 and still a middle school student who had not even completed her education. She possessed neither an ability nor sufficient academic qualifications. Her hunter's instincts might have been her specialty, but unfortunately, Selene had no shortage of mercenaries. She would be better off taking the money, returning to Private Shidarezakura Academy, and concentrating on her studies.
In Selene's more tactful words:
"You long for attention and friendship, but that is also connected to the way you always prioritize sniping and Dark Side missions above everything else, causing you to miss many opportunities to interact with your classmates. End your Dark Side career, begin a new life, and try talking to your classmates more often."
In summary, it amounted to a single sentence: You are too weak for me to care about. Go back and study.
As for Gokusai Kaibi, her decision came down to personal factors. Selene did not care either way.
They passed along the main road, where layered lawns and rows of trees wound around both sides, then exited through the towering, heavy marble gate built in the style of a triumphal arch. Their view suddenly opened up as they officially stepped beyond Selene's estate.
Although it was noon and the sunlight was brilliant, this was School District 7, the area with the highest concentration of students in Academy City. Moreover, the city was already entering the feverish warm-up period before the Daihasei Festival. Yet there were remarkably few pedestrians on the broad road, with only a handful of streetlights scattered along it.
In contrast, the number of cleaning robots, security robots, and heavily armed riot-control robots was exceptionally high. No wonder this area was known as the safest part of Academy City. The appearance rate of delinquents, hooligans, and similar troublemakers was effectively zero.
"Then, goodbye."
With that, Kakine Teitoku took the lead and stepped from the shadow of the gateway into the sunlight. He waved, slipped both hands into his pockets, and walked away without looking back.
The remaining three exchanged glances before silently separating. Each had a new destination of their own. One would report for reassignment, another would continue earning money on the side, and the last would return to school.
From this moment onward, SCHOOL, the highest-ranked Dark Side organization in Academy City's underworld, was officially dissolved.
Hummm...
Inside the now-quiet conservatory, only the faint sound of the French press heating remained.
Red light flickered within Selene's eyes as she watched the direction Kakine Teitoku had taken.
That way leads to the shopping district, doesn't it? It looks like he's going to buy daily necessities for that girl named Yuzuriha Ringo. Now that he has formed a bond and found someone to care about, along with receiving my explicit permission, he's clinging to her like a drowning man grasping a lifeline and doing everything possible to treat her well...
At that thought, Selene could not help laughing aloud.
What was this supposed to be? Accelerator had Last Order, Kakine Teitoku had Yuzuriha Ringo, and two of Academy City's top three Level 5 espers were raising children.
Oh, she would soon be raising one too. Not only did she need to introduce Arisa to Mother Katy, but Mother Katy had also written back saying she would bring Arisa's younger brother Ferdinand to cheer for his sister during her Daihasei Festival competition.
Withdrawing her gaze, Selene slowly drew the curtains shut, walked to the table, and placed a call.
Meanwhile, in a certain district of Academy City, inside a secretive and inconspicuous "research institution" that was not open to the public, a tall, thin man in a white coat sat with both feet propped on his desk. He had closely cropped golden hair and a black tattoo covering the left half of his face, giving others the immediate impression of an extremely irritable man.
With a mocking expression, he flipped through documents titled Tree Diagram Information Receival Center, Musujime Awaki Surveillance Report, and Analysis Report on External Organizations Entering Academy City.
"Idiots who don't know whether they live or die. Since Judgment and Anti-Skill have already taken over, let's see what they're capable of. Send someone to maintain constant surveillance..."
Leaning back in his swivel chair, the man hooked the heel of his shoe beneath the landline telephone on the desk and lifted it. Just as he was about to speak, another strange communication device on the desk suddenly rang.
The man looked puzzled. This was a private line reserved for members of the Academy City Board of Directors. Who could it be?
Click.
"Kihara Amata, it's me. Selene."
The instant he heard her voice, Kihara Amata's mocking expression vanished. He dropped his feet to the floor and rolled his chair closer to the desk. "Lady Selene? What can I do for you?"
"To be precise, this isn't about me. It's about Kakine Teitoku. He has decided to stop participating in Dark Side affairs. SCHOOL is dissolved as of this moment, effective immediately. Spread the word."
At her residence, Selene tapped one finger against the solid wooden table and offered Kihara Amata a courteous compliment.
"You oversee Dark Side affairs and are an expert in this field. A great deal of intelligence passes through your hands, and you are well informed. Tell them that the Dark Side organization SCHOOL has made a dignified exit. The market belongs to them now."
Selene heavily emphasized the word "dignified." After pausing for a moment, she continued, "Naturally, should any former SCHOOL member choose to join another Dark Side organization or voluntarily involve themselves in Dark Side affairs again, the previous protection will no longer apply."
"Haha... You flatter me, Lady Selene. I'll handle this minor matter properly. Rest assured."
Kihara Amata did not ask the foolish question of why Kakine Teitoku wanted to retire. He nodded and indicated that the matter would be handled shortly.
Relaying new intelligence and managing Academy City's underworld were among his responsibilities, though certain Dark Side organizations tended to behave recklessly and were not particularly obedient.
As a member of the Kihara family that ruled over Academy City's darkness, and as the commander of Hound Dog, a Dark Side organization directly subordinate to Chairman Aleister Crowley, he truly served as Academy City's official intermediary with the "civilian" Dark Side organizations and controlled an enormous intelligence network.
Communicating with a noble young lady like Selene was honestly quite pleasant. Regardless of what anyone else thought, Kihara Amata believed that as long as one did not step on her toes, she was remarkably efficient and comfortable to deal with.
It was true that he was cruel and treated human lives as worthless, but that did not mean he was some kind of masochist. This perfectly measured art of conversation always made interactions far more pleasant, particularly when the other party possessed both higher status and greater strength.
Naturally, if he were dealing with Board Director Oyafune Monaka, whose ideals completely opposed his own, Kihara Amata's attitude would likely be very different.
When communicating with the second-ranked, third-ranked, and fifth-ranked espers, he had to deal with their hysterical madness, intolerable arrogance, and tendency to lash out at anyone who approached them, at least in his eyes. Accelerator was especially bad. Compared with the first-ranked esper, Kihara Amata truly had no patience left to speak politely with that fellow.
Perhaps without Selene realizing it, she had indirectly caused Kihara Amata's attitude toward a certain Level 5 under his supervision to become even worse.
"Then I'll leave it to you."
A slight curve remained at the corner of Selene's lips as she ended the call.
Ahem. For some reason, Selene always found it exceptionally easy to communicate with "villainous" figures like Kihara Amata.
She benefited from Academy City's rules of the game. She was not one of the miserable challengers struggling against them. Regardless of what he had done to others, his attitude toward her was decent, and he had never provoked her. Since they were both aligned with Aleister, treating him pleasantly cost Selene nothing more than moving her lips.
"Still, the documents on his desk concerned the Tree Diagram Information Receival Center..."
For Selene, the phrase "I'll follow the internet connection and kill you" was not an empty threat.
Through their communication link, she had casually used the camera on Kihara Amata's computer to glimpse several interesting intelligence summaries on his desk.
"Musujime Awaki... the guide. Tree Diagram Designer."
Selene vanished and instantly reappeared atop one of the castle's Gothic spires, balancing on one foot. Her pupils contracted slightly. She could see the Orihime 1 satellite suspended in low Earth orbit above Academy City, along with the Tree Diagram Designer installed aboard it, both completely intact.
At that moment, Selene's phone rang again.
She took it out and saw the caller ID: Misaka Mikoto.
Beep.
"Hello? Hey, you're not in another meeting again, are you..." Selene first heard a burst of muttering, followed by an abrupt exclamation. "Ah, it connected! Selene, are you there? Hurry up and use your invincible top-tier spatial ability to think of something!"
"Huh?"