The robots' wheels scraped against the pavement, retreating like a receding tide. When needed, they also possessed the capability to patrol.
The young ladies residing in Tokiwadai Dormitory were like princesses in a castle, firmly guarded by these robotic knights in various forms.
Yet, all their hard work earned nothing but merciless treatment from a certain young lady. She pulled a round, white cylinder from the midst of the robot crowd and whizzed off toward her destination.
The wind was gentle today, the weather fine, perfectly suited for a sports festival brimming with passion and sweat.
The white cylinder slipped through a narrow alley. A few floating camera drones, deployed by some media outlet or other, flew over Natsume-san's head before darting off to who-knows-where.
These little spheres, like unidentified flying objects, were equipped with lenses capable of rotating in all directions. They were becoming a common sight throughout Academy City these days.
The city's television broadcasts relied on these flying camera machines, rather than bulky shoulder-mounted cameras.
Most of the television stations and media from around the world stayed within their assigned areas in Academy City, controlling these machines to capture footage. Only media outlets authorized by Academy City were permitted to conduct interviews with the student body.
However, these flying spheres were also restricted to certain zones, used only for filming the opening ceremony or the various competition events.
For instance, their very own Tokiwadai Dormitory had installed corresponding sensor radars and deterrent measures in the vicinity to prevent these machines from getting too close.
Following the path, she eventually arrived at the central plaza. Even though it was still early morning, the place was already teeming with outside visitors.
She finally found her mother at a nearby hotel. Today, she was wearing a light white tracksuit, looking particularly spirited.
Her hair was even tied up into twin tails, and she wore a white sun hat on her head.
"Good morning."
Tilting her head with a faint smile, the woman seemed to be in excellent spirits.
"Sonoko, aren't you going to wear your tracksuit today? You haven't even changed your shoes."
The two sat facing each other in the hotel's dining area. Tomoyo-san rested her chin in her hands, gazing quietly at Natsume-san as she asked curiously.
Natsume-san was still wearing her Tokiwadai uniform, with a pair of little leather shoes on her feet, despite today being the day of the sports festival.
During the Daihasei Festival period, it was one of the rare occasions when Tokiwadai students didn't have to wear their uniforms outdoors.
"My tracksuit? I left it at school before. I need to go pick it up in a bit."
Natsume-san lifted her head, blinking her eyes innocently.
In her 'good girl' mode, Natsume-san always seemed so harmless.
In truth, her tracksuit had been stuffed in her school locker the entire time, never once brought back to the dorm.
--+--
After returning to the dorm clutching her new teddy bear and manga, she ran into Misaka-senpai and Shirai-san, who had just gotten up.
Shirai-san was sitting in her wheelchair, discussing the evening parade with Misaka-senpai, when she spotted a certain bun-headed girl returning from outside, looking somewhat surprised.
"Onee-sama, what's up with her today? She actually woke up earlier than us."
A thoughtful expression crossed Shirai-san's face as she couldn't help muttering with a hint of suspicion.
"Natsume-san's mother has come, you see."
"Eh? No wonder."
Shirai-san had originally intended to thoroughly interrogate the girl before her, but suddenly lost the heart for it.
She hurried off to Tokiwadai Middle School to change into her tracksuit. During normal hours, Tokiwadai students could enter the school, and many even came to the school library to read on weekends.
By the time all the preparations were complete, Natsume-san was already dressed neatly and standing in the front row of Tokiwadai's formation at the main stadium for the opening ceremony.
The Daihasei Festival's opening ceremony was held in District 7.
The main stadium could hold over thirty thousand people. Looking around, a sea of people stretched in every direction, a rather spectacular sight.
Standing within the crowd, Natsume-san's thermal senses ran rampant, scanning the people around her. Dense heat information flooded her mind.
In such situations, Natsume-san could only barely grasp the movement trajectories of those nearby, letting fixed formulas replace her brain's discriminative ability, filtering the threat levels of various targets around her.
Natsume-san's sense of security was always lacking. Whenever she was in a large crowd, she couldn't help but employ various preventive measures.
However, Natsume-san was clearly overthinking it. At the very least, no one would try anything untoward under the watchful eyes of everyone during the opening ceremony.
She listened to the boring principal's speech for a while.
Most of these principals also served as chairpersons of their respective schools' boards of directors. Their speeches were sleep-inducing, and they went on for a long time.
At first, Natsume-san managed to keep her spirits up, but later she simply grew listless.
She stood within the formation, her whole body seeming weak and lethargic. Natsume-san's eyelids were about to droop shut.
Under normal circumstances, she should be outside with Saten-san and the others, browsing the various stalls, eating delicious takoyaki or oden, then comfortably waiting for her first event to start—not standing here acting as part of the background.
"Natsume-san, perk up. It's almost our turn."
Arisugawa-san, the standard-bearer for Tokiwadai's formation, stealthily turned her head and poked the arm of the distracted girl behind her with her finger.
Even though Natsume-san was an esper, it was all the more reason to handle this occasion properly. She couldn't afford to be so sloppy.
But then a spherical camera device suddenly floated over their heads, emitting a whirring sound.
It hovered in the air for merely a few seconds, yet it made many in the Tokiwadai formation straighten up with a jolt. Arisugawa-san was also startled and immediately turned back around, striving to stand up straight.
'Oh no, did it just capture me?'
Seeming to recall her own little actions, her expression instantly grew tense, her face flushing bright red.
Among the first-year students at Tokiwadai, this particular student was famously serious and super meticulous.
That was also why the teacher had singled her out to be the standard-bearer.
"Are you worried about those cameras?"
A certain bun-headed girl opened her eyes wide, revealing a lovely smile.
"Actually, I've adjusted the light around us. The cameras probably can't capture things clearly, so it's fine. Arisugawa-san, just stay relaxed, OK."
Noticing the other girl's change, Natsume-san thought for a few seconds before speaking in a comforting tone.
"Really?"
Arisugawa-san paused for a moment. Without turning her head, she whispered to Natsume-san behind her.
"Mhm." Natsume-san also replied in a soft voice.
"Thank you very much."
It seemed she had been mistaken about something from the start. The student let out a sigh of relief, then cast a grateful look behind her.
'As expected of a Level 5. She's so reliable.'
--+--
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.