In the convenience store at the Exchange Plaza, the two of them had arrived quite early.
Near the entrance stood several racks filled with comic magazines and books, occasionally attracting people who just wanted to read for free.
Natsume Sonoko held two cups of shaved ice in one hand, while the other hand gripped a newly released comic magazine, her attention completely absorbed.
Compared to keeping up with the latest serialized chapters, Sonoko was more accustomed to buying the compiled volumes directly.
Beside her was Misaka-senpai, equally engrossed, holding a copy of Weekly Shōnen Magazine.
When it came to reading free comics in convenience stores or anywhere else, Misaka-senpai was quite experienced.
"Heh heh."
Misaka-senpai couldn't help but chuckle softly as she read, clearly drawn into the story.
Sonoko glanced at the content—Misaka-senpai was flipping through a manga called Locked Room × Locked Room Detectives.
It seemed Misaka-senpai had a real passion for mystery comics involving locked rooms and murder cases.
That might explain why she sometimes took such a keen interest in various incidents.
"Looks like it's about time. Saten-san and the others should be here soon," Misaka-senpai remarked contentedly after finishing the latest chapter of Locked Room × Locked Room Detectives, carefully placing the magazine back where she found it.
"Yeah, just about. They should be arriving at the Exchange Plaza any minute now."
Sonoko closed the comic she was reading as well, picked out a few more interesting comic magazines from the shelf, and headed to the checkout counter together with them.
Even when life gets tough, you should face it with a smile. And if you've got comics and games, even better.
She declined the plastic bag offered by the store clerk and stuffed the newly purchased comics into her schoolbag instead. Then, she followed Misaka-senpai out of the convenience store.
"Sonoko, do you have a habit of collecting comics?" Misaka-senpai asked, sounding a bit surprised.
"Not really. I just wanted to bring them back to the dorm to read slowly."
Sonoko looked up at Misaka-senpai, a slightly puzzled expression on her face as she replied.
In the center of the Exchange Plaza, Sonoko spotted the duo from Sakugawa Middle School walking over together and waved at them from a distance.
"Uiharu-san, Saten-san," Sonoko called out softly, but the two of them, still far away, didn't hear her.
They finally gathered at a nearby bench.
"Here, have some shaved ice." Sonoko cheerfully pulled out the two cups of shaved ice and handed them to Uiharu and Saten.
"Wow, thank you so much!" exclaimed Saten Ruiko, her face still glistening with sweat from the long walk.
"Thank you, Natsume-san," Uiharu said a bit shyly as she accepted the shaved ice, her voice sweet and soft.
After resting on the bench for a little while, Uiharu and Saten finally caught their breath.
"Do you need to rest a bit more? Or should we head straight to the dorm?" Misaka-senpai asked with concern.
"We're fine. Let's go now," Uiharu replied earnestly.
--+--
The sun was as glaring as ever, and almost in unison, they raised their hands to shield their eyes from the direct sunlight.
"Mhm, so that means Maeda-senpai agreed to help look for the culprit?"
Sonoko squinted slightly, finally able to see the path ahead clearly, and made small talk with Uiharu as they walked.
"Yes, that senpai is really easy to talk to. She agreed as soon as I asked," Uiharu replied. Thanks to her help, they already had several leads on the case.
"That's good. With her on the case, this incident should be resolved soon," Sonoko nodded, expressing full confidence in the senior's abilities.
"Misaka-senpai, Natsume-san, do you know what Shirai-san has been up to lately? She's been rushing off right after Judgment duties end, acting all mysterious these days," Uiharu asked curiously.
"I'm not sure either… Now that you mention it, she has been acting pretty strange lately," Misaka-senpai said, slinging her schoolbag over her shoulder with a thoughtful expression.
"I don't know much either, but last time I saw Shirai-san secretly browsing in a cosmetics store."
Sonoko recalled the scene vividly—Shirai carrying several bags and even using her teleportation ability with Sonoko in tow. When Sonoko asked what she had bought, Shirai had been evasive and refused to tell her.
"That girl... she actually went to a cosmetics store behind our backs?" Misaka-senpai's face showed a hint of indignation.
Even though she was a second-year, she wouldn't dare buy cosmetics so openly.
They finally arrived at the Tokiwadai School District 7 dormitory. The Dorm Supervisor was out on business, and most of the Tokiwadai students hadn't returned yet.
Misaka-senpai and Sonoko first showed the two around the dorm's dining hall and small garden, then took them on a loop around the building.
After the tour, Sonoko led the Sakugawa duo to her second-floor room, while Misaka-senpai went back to her own room first to drop off her bag.
Opening the door, Sonoko warmly invited Uiharu and Saten into her room, Dorm 210.
"Wow, so this is a young lady's dorm room! Tokiwadai's rooms really are beautiful. I'm so jealous," Uiharu said with a solemn, almost excited expression.
"And the dorm's dining hall is huge! The garden is so Western-style too," Saten Ruiko added in agreement.
--+--
Meanwhile, things were quite different in Room 208.
Inside the private bathroom of Room 208, a certain recently mysterious individual had finally appeared.
Shirai had just finished bathing and was meticulously combing her hair, carefully smoothing out every split end. The delicate fragrance of her specially selected shampoo still lingered around her.
She cautiously retrieved the contraband she had bought at the cosmetics store—a light pink lipstick.
Applying it carefully to her lips and using a light foundation to cover minor imperfections, Shirai finally gazed with satisfaction at her radiant reflection in the mirror.
"Today is the anniversary of Onee-sama and Kuroko's meeting—the Full Moon Memorial Day, bound by the red thread of fate." A faint blush spread across Shirai's cheeks. Just thinking about Onee-sama made her feel intoxicated.
Leaving the bathroom, Shirai took out specially prepared wine glasses, filled them with lemon-flavored soda she'd bought from a vending machine, and even added a maraschino cherry to each.
Perfect. Shirai Kuroko's specially crafted date beverages were complete.
'It's a shame that item hasn't arrived yet, but Kuroko has no way back now. This time, I must succeed.'
A determined look flashed across Shirai's face as she psyched herself up. A few days ago, she had even gone to that company to place an order, but it still hadn't been delivered.
'Shirai Kuroko's Full Moon Date Operation with Onee-sama begins now!' Chanting the slogan silently in her heart, Shirai felt almost fully prepared.
All that was left was to wait for Onee-sama to return.
Sitting on the bed, Shirai changed into a rather indescribable purple "battle outfit." An unspeakable atmosphere filled the room. To fully commit to her... unique tastes, Shirai had truly gone to great lengths.
'What I love is Onee-sama herself, not the so-called Railgun. Kuroko's feelings are pure and genuine.' Shirai firmly believed that her affection had nothing to do with Misaka-senpai's fame or abilities—she simply loved Misaka-senpai for who she was.
--+--
"But isn't that a bit strange?"
Back in Room 210, Uiharu spoke hesitantly.
"What's strange about it? Why should a young lady's room necessarily have a futon or bedding? Sleeping on a sofa is perfectly normal too."
Sonoko sounded puzzled by Uiharu's question. In her opinion, existence had its reasons, and one shouldn't judge everything by conventional standards.
"I also think a young lady shouldn't sleep on a sofa. Doesn't that sound a bit odd?" Saten chimed in agreement.
"Mhm, and a young lady's bed should have an imported pure wool bedsheet, with pillows and a duvet filled with pristine swan down," Uiharu added, as if recalling details from some shōjo novel.
"Where did you hear such bizarre ideas?"
Sonoko felt a headache coming on and rubbed her forehead helplessly. Uiharu seemed to know all sorts of strange "facts" about young ladies.
"Alright, everyone, I'll treat you to snacks. I've got all kinds here." Sonoko crouched down, pulled out a large box from under her bed, and opened it to reveal it packed full of snacks.
Well done, Natsume Sonoko—successfully changing the subject. She mentally gave herself a thumbs-up.
"Are these from our last trip to the supermarket?" Saten asked, picking up a pack of weird-flavored candy.
"Yep. Want to read some comics too? I've got plenty here, all genres available," Sonoko said proudly, crouching down again to search for another box.
"So impressive! Do young ladies usually have this many boxes under their beds?" Uiharu exclaimed in surprise.
"Maybe. Or maybe it's just Natsume-san," Saten replied offhandedly, curiously examining the layout of Sonoko's dorm room.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 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.