Alright, that's enough puzzling over annoying problems for today.
Better not to dwell on all those confusing matters after such a long, busy day.
I can just ask Uiharu-san to look into the funding source tomorrow. She's got that hacker team the city's so proud of at her fingertips, after all.
Thinking about it that way, there's really no need to get so worked up.
Dinner time at the student dorm had long passed, but it was still too early for bed.
Feeling a bit bored, Natsume Sonoko headed next door to Room 208 to visit. But after just a few knocks, it was clear Misaka-senpai and the others hadn't returned yet.
Even though she'd gotten some information that made her a little worried about Misaka-senpai, the fact that a certain teleporter was almost always by her side offered a decent guarantee of safety.
After standing in front of Room 208 for a moment, light, brisk footsteps sounded behind Natsume.
Turning around, she saw it was that little maid with the broad forehead.
"Tsuchimikado-san, you're not back yet?"
According to the normal schedule for the maids, this excellent maid named Tsuchimikado Maika should have been on her way home after finishing a full day of fieldwork at Tokiwadai Middle School.
"What a coincidence, Natsume. Are Misaka and the others not in?"
Tsuchimikado-san seemed rather pleased, her form of address even becoming noticeably more familiar.
"No one's here. They said they were coming back first, but they're even later than me."
Couldn't help but complain about it, Natsume-san continued, "But did you need something from them, Tsuchimikado-san?"
"It's not really a big deal, actually."
"Natsume-san, do you remember the open day at Ryouran Maid School?"
Suddenly raising a finger, Tsuchimikado Maika asked with considerable seriousness.
"Huh? Of course I remember! Your school's food festival... wait, no, the open day."
Natsume-san's memory suddenly surged, hurtling back to what felt like the distant past.
She remembered that a long, long time ago, she had asked Kongou-senpai to get her an invitation to Ryouran Maid School's open day.
The thought of being able to eat your fill of delicious food from all over the world in a single day, without paying a single yen, felt incredibly blissful just thinking about it.
Not only would the school's maid trainees in attendance, but even fully-employed professional maids would make an appearance, all learning from and inspiring each other, striving to create those legendary dishes that practically seemed to glow.
Compared to that, the summer festival Natsume-san and the others had put on before seemed far too ordinary, its standards falling short of the professional maids in every aspect.
That invitation card had been stuffed inside her teddy bear's stomach before. Because it wasn't stored properly, a few corners got bent. It was only then that Natsume-san, a bit slow on the uptake, finally moved it to a box, even finding a notebook to press it flat inside.
Just considering that kind of careful storage method showed how much Natsume-san had valued it back then.
But with everything that had happened recently, Natsume-san's mind had been pulled in other directions.
"This year's open day has been moved up by a week. It's just a few days after the Daihaseisai."
Tsuchimikado-san said, her tone full of enthusiasm.
Just like any normal student, having an event at your own school was something to be happy about. It was a complete contrast to a certain bun-head's attitude during the summer festival.
Forget slacking off; she'd seemed completely listless, her attitude utterly perfunctory.
Her attitude towards the Daihaseisai was similar, like she was being forced against her will.
But when it came to events at other schools, or things like the space elevator opening ceremony, Natsume-san became incredibly eager.
It seemed that beneath her quiet exterior, Natsume-san possessed a heart that loved to be where the excitement was.
"Is that really true?"
Life recently had been... hard to describe. Fortunately, after getting her new desk, Natsume-san now heard this wonderful news, making her feel quite excited.
"Of course. I came specifically to give Misaka-san her invitation card. Since Natsume already has one, you won't be using up one of my invitation slots."
Holding a delicate invitation card in her hand, Tsuchimikado-san said seriously.
Just like during Tokiwadai's summer festival, each student had a certain number of invitations they could give out.
Besides that, Ryouran Maid School also sent out invitations to various sectors of society months in advance. Natsume-san's original invitation was one that Kongou Airlines had received.
"Doesn't Shirai-san get one?" Natsume-san suddenly asked, curious.
"Shirai?"
"Now that you mention it, she stood me up last time during the summer festival. And she said she had no appetite for the strawberry cake I made. I remember that perfectly clearly. Most importantly, a patient should be resting properly!"
Suddenly putting her hands on her hips, the little maid Tsuchimikado stated matter-of-factly, a trace of a maid's wounded pride shimmering around her.
Last night, the strawberry cake Shirai-san had taken was the work of a certain little maid, and it seemed Tsuchimikado-san, who had been circulating around the dining hall, had overheard the comments.
"It's true. Tsuchimikado-san's cakes are so delicious."
Nodding in agreement, Natsume-san also felt that Shirai-san was unable to appreciate the true essence of fine food.
As a seasoned food connoisseur, Natsume-san declared that good food was the elevator of human progress.
"Oh, right, Tsuchimikado-san, do you have any extra slots left?"
Brushing aside the unfortunate circumstances of a certain teleporter, Natsume-san thought of something else.
"Let me see... Misaka-san, Kamijou Touma, Index, my idiot brother... Looks like there are two left."
"Could I have one of them?"
Blinking, Natsume-san asked expectantly.
"For someone else?" the little maid muttered.
"It's for Juufuku-san," the bun-head girl replied.
"Juufuku? That new transfer student? Now that you mention it, she's a second-year, Natsume-san. You should be calling her senpai."
Tsuchimikado Maika keenly discovered the issue.
"That's not important. Anyway, please?"
"Hmm~~, well, alright. After all, Natsume-san has lent me so many manga."
Tsuchimikado-san's tone was as leisurely as ever.
Slowly, she reached into her maid uniform pocket and pulled out another invitation card.
"Great! I've bought some new manga here too. Would you like to take a look, Tsuchimikado-san?" This was Natsume-san's voice.
--+--
The moon was bright and the stars sparse, the corridor lights casting a tawny glow.
All sorts of transactions were hidden in the shadowy corners of Academy City.
Backlit by the harsh lighting, two girls whispering furtively finally reached some sort of under-the-table agreement.
Upholding the principle of equivalent exchange, a certain girl who was always widening her eyes in surprise acquired an invitation card, while a certain girl whose eyes were perpetually large happily gathered an armful of manga, beaming with joy.
A happy outcome, satisfactory to all.
After placing the open day invitation card at the door of Room 208, and specifically noting it was for a certain Railgun, the little maid's figure gradually disappeared down the far end of the corridor.
Meanwhile, a certain bun-head girl knocked on the door of Room 215. She waited a good while before there was any movement from inside.
As neighbors on the same floor, a certain Visual Obstructor opened the door.
"Natsume-san, I'm sorry, I was listening to music."
A hint of embarrassment flashed across her face as Juufuku Miho, blushing, removed one earbud.
Judging by the melody playing from the earbuds, it seemed to be Arisa-senpai's singing too.
"Juufuku-san, you're also listening to Arisa's songs?"
Natsume-san said happily.
"Yes. I suddenly felt that Arisa's singing can really calm a person down. Even some of the faster songs feel really nice to listen to," Juufuku Miho nodded and said.
"I think so too! Here, this is for you."
A smile appearing on her face, Natsume-san handed over the invitation card she was holding.
"Ryouran Maid School Open Day."
"This is from Tsuchimikado-san."
"Tsuchimikado-san?"
Juufuku-san looked puzzled, not really familiar with a certain little maid.
"You know, the one with the round face, always very precise, speaks in a leisurely way, likes riding the cleaning robots to and from work."
Carefully recalling Tsuchimikado-san's characteristics, Natsume Sonoko said as if describing someone of great importance.
"Oh, it's her."
A look of realization dawned on Juufuku Miho's face. If you mentioned the cleaning robots, the image became much clearer.
The cleaning robots and the little maid, that strange, constantly rotating life form... it certainly left a deep impression.
As for a certain bun-head's frequent use of invisibility, she was spotted far less often.
--+--
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.