On the way back from the shopping street to Tokiwadai Middle School's School District 7 dormitory.
Natsume Sonoko was having a friendly chat with her classmate, the urban legend enthusiast Saten Ruiko. During their warm and amicable exchange, the two finally reached a consensus on a certain topic.
Sure enough, Saten-san had also learned her rumors from the "Seeing is Believing" urban legend website.
In this case, they could probably be considered online friends, right?
Speaking of which, this website was different from other similar sites with their irresponsible, slapdash attitudes.
Not only did it document various urban legends, but it also conducted follow-up investigations. You could often get first-hand information on this site.
"It's really amazing! So many new hotspots have popped up recently. Academy City is anything but peaceful," Saten Ruiko said excitedly. She was particularly thrilled to have found a fellow urban legend enthusiast who shared her interests.
"Yeah, things have been pretty chaotic lately."
Natsume Sonoko shared a very similar view with Saten.
Just from the noticeable increase in posts on the website recently, you could roughly deduce how turbulent things in Academy City had been these past few days.
If, for example, posts about vending machines being mysteriously damaged started increasing, it might mean Misaka-senpai's mood hadn't been great lately.
Lost in her thoughts, Natsume Sonoko accidentally bumped into Misaka-senpai, who was walking ahead of her.
Unlike her usual self, Misaka-senpai now wore a look of pure terror on her face.
"It's the Dorm Supervisor! But she looks... different." Shifting her gaze from Misaka-senpai, Natsume Sonoko spotted the Dorm Supervisor not far away, holding a bag and seemingly unsure of where she was going.
Whenever the Dorm Supervisor wasn't wearing that stern, perfectly pressed women's suit, it was like she became a completely different person.
She looked just like an ordinary, slightly older young woman.
A far cry from the usual terrifying Supervisor whose wrath could be lethal, where even being one second late meant punishment, now she was dressed in light summer clothes, her hair draped over her shoulders, walking absentmindedly down the street.
"Thank goodness, she hasn't spotted us." Noticing the Dorm Supervisor hadn't seen them, Misaka-senpai finally let out a sigh of relief.
Even though Misaka-senpai hadn't done anything wrong recently, she still instinctively feared the Dorm Supervisor's authority.
"Misaka-senpai, are you scared of the Dorm Supervisor?"
Saten Ruiko, who had been watching Misaka-senpai's expression, asked curiously.
"Of course not! I just don't want to disturb the Supervisor's rest time," Misaka-senpai hurriedly retorted, quickly wiping the fear from her face and explaining herself.
--+--
Back inside Tokiwadai Middle School's School District 7 dormitory.
Natsume Sonoko dumped all her bags, big and small, onto the bed. Her whole body was already starting to ache again. 'Ugh, I really have been overexerting myself lately. I keep getting sore muscles so easily.'
Since Saten and Kazari still wanted to go to the music CD shop to check out some celebrity's music album, and Misaka-senpai was heading to the comic book store to read free manga, Natsume Sonoko just wanted to return to the dorm to organize her things and maybe lounge on the sofa for a bit.
By the time she got back to the dorm, she was the only one left.
She pulled out several large boxes from under the bed, each with its own specific purpose. Even though there were shelves in the room, there were some things Natsume Sonoko didn't dare just leave out on them.
Unlocking the boxes, she replenished her snack stash in two of them. Not only were the two large boxes completely filled, but there were even some leftovers. Natsume Sonoko felt a deep sense of fulfillment. 'Maybe this is the joy of being a squirrel at heart.'
"I even bought soy sauce this time. Oh well, it'll go perfectly with my camping gear." After shoving the two snack boxes back under the bed, she dragged out another one.
Placing the soy sauce in the designated condiment section of the box, she finally finished putting away all her shopping for the trip.
Lying back on the sofa, nestled against a giant teddy bear, Natsume Sonoko turned on her tablet.
She had already decided. Today, she would rest properly. Starting tomorrow, she would actively participate in club activities and work hard to complete club tasks.
Opening a specific app—not the urban legend website, but one more like an encyclopedia—Natsume Sonoko typed in a term and started searching.
"Ryouran Maid School Open Campus Day."
Natsume Sonoko's information came from a forum on a certain website.
There was a rumor about a super incredible food festival held every year at a certain school where you could eat your way around the world's cuisines in a single day. Not only was there an immense variety of food, but there was also eye-catching maid service.
Most importantly, Natsume Sonoko had already confirmed this rumor with Tsuchimikado Maika.
That's right. The school and event involved in this rumor was precisely what Natsume Sonoko was now searching for: Ryouran Maid School Open Campus Day.
After skimming the introduction, Natsume Sonoko pulled an invitation card out from the teddy bear's stomach, her eyes full of anticipation.
Given Natsume Sonoko's financial situation, she could afford a few meals in the 4th School District, which boasted cuisine from 190 countries.
But compared to that, she much preferred attending the food festival—no, the Open Campus Day—where she could sample all the food for free.
Every year during the Open Campus Day, Ryouran Maid School sent invitation cards to all students' parents and relatives. Various wealthy individuals and celebrities were also invited.
Ordinary students like Natsume Sonoko usually had no chance of receiving an invitation. However, after asking Kongou-senpai for a favor, she managed to get her hands on one.
"Now I just have to wait for the Open Campus Day to start. But wait, Tokiwadai's own dormitory open day—the Midsummer Festival—seems to be happening first, doesn't it?"
Natsume Sonoko couldn't help but worry a little. 'My own school's open day... Do I still have to wear a maid outfit and do a bunch of work? It sounds like such a hassle.'
--+--
[It's real! That urban legend is real!] — The Elegant Photographer.
[Are you talking about the rumor about the 'Level Upper'? I heard about that too. Seems like a lot of people have tried it.] — The Anonymous Natsume.
In an effort to keep up with the group's trends, Natsume Sonoko had found time to change her nickname, though it was still obvious to anyone who she was.
[No, it's a different one. It's already trending.] Another comment from the group's sole Level 3, The Elegant Photographer.
['Academy City's Secret Immortality Project: The Semi-Successful Experimental Subject Rumored to Exist Somewhere' — Is it this one?] — Quiet Night Color.
[Yes, that's the one! Someone recently managed to take a picture of that experimental subject! Rumor says she's 35 years old, but she looks so young!] — The Elegant Photographer.
Curious, Natsume Sonoko downloaded the photo. It showed a girl who looked about twelve years old with pink hair, wearing a pink dress with white cuffs, standing on tiptoe struggling to write on a blackboard.
'Was this taken secretly during a class?' Natsume Sonoko suddenly wondered.
Estimating the girl's height, she was only slightly taller than the lectern. She really did look like a child.
[I think this urban legend is quite credible. Maybe they really have developed immortality technology in the city. I've decided—this will be my next investigation target.] Another message from Maeda Kana-senpai.
Quietly closing her phone, Natsume Sonoko was now contemplating how to proceed with her own urban legend investigation.
Even though she had been investigating within School District 7 for many days, as expected, she had basically found nothing.
It was time for another day of club activities. After her confident declaration yesterday, Natsume Sonoko today began her first investigation task with 100% enthusiasm.
"Seriously, who leaked the thing about 'a right hand that can defeat the Railgun'? That's supposed to be my target! Don't they understand first come, first served?"
When Natsume Sonoko first saw it, she just thought the news was spreading too fast. But now, she felt a wave of inexplicable panic.
She didn't want to end up in a future where the only urban legend left to investigate was mysteriously damaged vending machines.
Even though she knew a ton of urban legends, she couldn't keep up with the rapid pace at which new ones appeared.
Last time, it was the whole right-hand incident. But today, Natsume Sonoko saw a post about Misaka-senpai breaking the record on that punching machine game.
'Shocking.' Natsume Sonoko felt this definitely wasn't just a simple urban legend website. Maybe there was some hidden secret behind it all.
But Natsume Sonoko felt she could still salvage the situation. From now on, she would be a frontline reporter in real-time, rushing to the scene whenever a new urban legend emerged.
['Mobile Area of Temperature Anomaly'? I have indeed heard people talk about this rumor. But since the person involved wasn't very certain, it hasn't been officially added to the website yet.]
[Yes, I've been tracking this rumor recently. I've already been investigating for quite some time. I think I'm close to figuring it out.]
Natsume Sonoko declared confidently in the group chat. Club President Amakusa Yū-senpai immediately sent an encouraging emoji.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.