The world was never fair.
You don't always get what you work for—that's just how things are.
Natsume-san became an esper smoothly, without even hitting a bottleneck in computational power, while others remained stuck as Level 0s, powerless.
Whether to survive together in this brutally realistic city or to find some comfort in life, the first armed Skill-Out groups came into being just like that.
Her gaze lingered on that tall boy, and Natsume-san's brow furrowed slightly. She even paused mid-dial on her phone.
That tall boy was definitely part of an armed Skill-Out group—Natsume-san suddenly felt sure of it.
Some time ago, while that certain ponytailed girl was sweeping through Skill-Out groups across school districts over some incident, she'd run into this overly tall boy.
With his extreme height, burly build, and that fierce, almost menacing face, Natsume-san still remembered him.
Now, looking more closely, those old memories resurfaced.
Before long, the scene not far away grew intensely tense.
Violence couldn't solve everything, but in this glittering city, plenty believed in it—some even fanatically so.
The darkness in this city had always been the darkness in people's hearts.
Bystander students began to steer clear, since those high schoolers were espers and had started using their abilities.
A fight seemed ready to break out any second. One of the high schoolers produced flames in his hand, and a blazing fireball shot mercilessly toward the two on the other side.
The tall boy stood his ground, using his large frame to block the scorching fireball.
The fireball burst apart, sending waves of hot air in all directions.
The tall boy, who stood a full 230 cm, had a large burnt hole right in the chest of his leather jacket.
A fierce look crossed his face as he swung his fist to retaliate.
He aimed a heavy punch at his opponent's face, but another high school esper—a physical enhancement type—easily caught it.
With two espers teaming up, they completely overwhelmed the tall boy, forcing him on the defensive. Wounds began to appear on his body.
The third high schooler turned his attention to the golden-haired girl behind the tall boy.
Natsume-san didn't know the cause of the conflict, but this was clearly not an attack targeting espers—it seemed more like an assault on the powerless.
She felt a bit startled; she'd just seen similar reports at the Judgment branch.
Parts of the documents still fresh in her mind, she never expected to witness it firsthand so soon.
The tall boy mustered all his strength, shoved the physical enhancement esper aside, and scooped up the golden-haired girl from the ground.
Ignoring the fireball chasing him from behind, he gritted his teeth and dashed out of the alley toward the main road.
Once on the street, his eyes met those of a certain bun-girl. Noticing the Tokiwadai uniform she wore, he turned and ran off down the road without looking back.
To a Level 0 like him, that uniform was especially conspicuous.
The high schoolers rushed out from the alley after him, but just as they gave chase, the scene before them suddenly shifted—they smacked right into the wall beside the road.
"Is this Anti-Skill? I'd like to report an incident."
Quietly canceling the call to Judgment, Natsume-san instead dialed the Anti-Skill hotline. After that, she turned and walked back into the accessory shop.
It would take some time for Anti-Skill to arrive, so she figured she might as well browse a bit more. Even if she bought extra, she could always give it as gifts.
Natsume-san didn't really know how to prevent incidents like this, but she felt the best approach was still official intervention.
But then she noticed a beret in her hand—it had fallen at the alley's entrance. After a moment's thought, she realized it must have belonged to that blonde girl.
"Did we lose them?"
Stopping in front of a casual family restaurant, the tall boy known as Komaba Ritoku panted heavily.
He took off his leather jacket, inspecting the large charred hole left behind.
Even so, as the leader of 'Skill-Out,' he wasn't about to back down from those espers.
"Komaba-nii, you always show up whenever I'm in trouble."
Her cheeks flushed, Fremea Seivelun clung to Komaba Ritoku's arm, smiling happily.
Ever since they'd met, the girl Fremea had latched onto this oversized boy.
Despite his size, he was only a high schooler of about 16 or 17. Their actual age gap was just six or seven years.
"Komaba-nii, I'm hungry."
Fremea pointed at the family restaurant beside them, mumbling a little.
"Sorry, this place is too expensive… I don't have much on me. How about that fast food place we went to last time with Hamazura and the others?"
The delinquent leader smiled awkwardly, looking a bit embarrassed.
He glanced back again, making sure no one was following, then lowered his voice to reply.
Though the Skill-Out group had some operating funds, he couldn't just use them for food. His only real income was the monthly Level 0 scholarship from Academy City.
"That place? Okay! But I want a double order."
Fremea nodded obediently, then suddenly reached up to touch her head, her expression turning blank.
"I think… I lost my hat. It must've fallen back in that alley."
Her eyes widened, and she bent over, looking around anxiously before pouting.
"That beret?"
"Mhm, my sister bought it for me, but I picked the style."
Fremea nodded emphatically, counting on her fingers seriously.
Her sister, Frenda, was a super mature high school girl.
Steeling themselves, they returned to the original alley, just in time to see Anti-Skill loading a few dazed espers into an armored vehicle.
With statements from nearby witnesses and a certain bun-girl, even though the victims weren't found, the espers were still taken in for questioning.
"Fremea, someone picked up your beret and turned it in to the lost-and-found here."
Komaba walked out of the accessory shop across from the alley, holding a red beret, a hint of relief on his face.
"So lucky. The shopkeeper said a Tokiwadai girl found it."
Komaba's eyes shifted to the three unconscious espers, a thoughtful look crossing his face.
Only a few minutes had passed since they'd fled and returned, yet their attackers had been taken down effortlessly.
If someone with that kind of combat power was around, the most likely candidate was that Tokiwadai girl he'd made eye contact with earlier.
"Komaba-nii, there are two hair clips inside too."
Two butterfly hair clips suddenly fell out from inside the hat. Fremea stared wide-eyed, curious.
For any ordinary student returning to Tokiwadai Dormitory, the first step was always to scan the area for the Dorm Supervisor, just in case something unexpected popped up.
Though their Supervisor seemed perfectly ordinary, rumor had it she was skilled in combat, expert in grappling and takedowns—a real surprise package.
As for our Natsume-san, she looked completely confident, having already assessed the whole situation in her mind.
You could say Natsume-san was the type to detect the enemy from a thousand miles away.
As long as the Supervisor, standing three meters from the ID verification machine, didn't suddenly walk over, everything would be fine.
"Natsume-san, come here for a moment."
Arms crossed, the Supervisor adjusted her glasses, staring straight at a certain bun-girl who'd just put her ID card away.
"Yes."
Natsume Sonoko answered obediently.
"Regarding the representative for the Daihasei Festival, it's been decided: it will be second-year student Shokuhou Misaki-san."
"And one more thing. Our dormitory received an anonymous donation, with your name specifically mentioned. About that, I'd like to ask if you know anything, Natsume-san."
The Supervisor seemed to be in a good mood today—a faint, rare smile touched her lips.
A smile is the most contagious thing, and the Dorm Supervisor's smile was no exception.
As one of the most formidable espers in all of Academy City, a certain bun-girl promptly offered a benign smile of her own.
It was easy enough to understand why Misaka-senpai wasn't chosen; it had always been a selection between the three of them from the start.
The popularity of a certain Mental Out far surpassed that of both Railgun and herself within the school. If Shokuhou-senpai had any intention of taking the role, the position of oath-taker would undoubtedly be hers.
"But this talk of an anonymous donation… I'm completely lost," Natsume Sonoko said, shaking her head in bewilderment to show she truly had no clue.
If it was someone she knew, an anonymous donation would be entirely unnecessary.
After all, the number of individuals and organizations donating to Tokiwadai Middle School every year was as plentiful as hairs on an ox, which also made joining the school's Board of Directors exceptionally difficult.
Furthermore, with Tokiwadai now boasting a third Level 5, the amount of public donations this year was surely going to break records again.
In comparison, the scholarship awarded to a certain twin-bunned girl was just a drop in the bucket.
"Are you truly unaware? This is the first time our student dormitory has ever received such a substantial sum of donated funds," the Dorm Supervisor remarked, a note of concern in her voice.
While Tokiwadai Middle School frequently received donations from all sectors of society, it was quite rare for one to be specifically earmarked for the Tokiwadai student dormitory.
Coincidentally, as soon as Natsume returned to her own room, 210, she received a call from her upperclassman.
"Wha— ten million yen in club activity funds?!" Natsume's eyes shot wide open, and she nearly dropped the phone in shock.
Before she could even make sense of the situation with the dormitory, a new problem had already cropped up.
"That's right. The donation specifically mentioned your name, Natsume-san. I've looked into it, and the source of the funds checks out—it was a transfer from Daiichi Bank. However, the donor chose to remain anonymous."
"And the teachers said we're free to use these externally donated funds as we see fit."
On the other end of the line, the senior—Amakusa—was lounging comfortably on a recliner in her own dorm room. Sunlight streamed in through the window, casting a warm glow that brought a faint, happy blush to her cheeks.
Getting Natsume to join the club had definitely been the smartest decision she'd ever made.
Once she graduated next year, she could smoothly hand over the club to a certain bun-girl.
"So, have you got any leads, Natsume-san? Could it be a secret admirer of yours?" Amakusa-senpai's tone suddenly turned playful with curiosity.
"Senpai, please don't joke about that. A secret admirer is completely out of the question."
"I really don't know who it is. And our dormitory received a similar donation, too."
Natsume fell silent for a few seconds, at a loss for words.
The situation seemed to be getting more complicated. Two places connected to her had now received anonymous donations.
While she wasn't the direct beneficiary in either case, it was clear she would ultimately benefit from them.
Natsume had suddenly become the focal point of someone's generous charity, a notion that left her feeling both baffled and strangely uncomfortable.
'Honestly, don't let me find out who's behind this.'
Yet, try as she might, Natsume found she couldn't summon any real anger. No matter how she looked at it, her dorm and her club receiving donations were both good things.
--+--
T/N: 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.