Now that she mentioned it, Natsume-san was probably the third person to know about Shokuhou-senpai's plan.
Natsume-san lowered her head slightly in thought, recalling the time she had met Shokuhou-senpai at Futaba Trading.
Though she was called the secret weapon by her senpai, Natsume-san only knew about things on the surface—so far, she hadn't actually been of much use.
She was still carrying out her own "wait-by-the-stump" plan pretty much in the dark.
And because she hadn't been in touch with that golden-haired girl lately, she had no idea what progress Shokuhou-senpai and the others had made.
"So what you're saying, Shokuhou-senpai, is that there's another mysterious force secretly protecting the Sisters."
The conversation between the two Level 5s continued, but they should still be able to make it before Natsume-san's first event.
Even though Natsume-san wasn't particularly fond of the Daihaseisai, she was surprisingly responsible about it.
A faint look of surprise crossed her face as she learned something unexpected from this senpai.
Maybe influenced by one too many Hollywood movies, Natsume-san set up a small vacuum barrier around them to keep their voices from escaping—just in case a passing aerial camera picked up their conversation.
"That's right. Whenever someone actively investigates traces of the Sisters—whether online, via satellite, or even sending people to search—they always lose the trail partway. For a while, the Sisters' presence was completely erased."
Shokuhou-senpai walked over to a corner of the nearby waiting area, followed by a certain girl with hair in round buns.
Both of them couldn't help glancing toward the oath-taking platform about a dozen meters away.
There, Sogiita Gunha was sitting, looking utterly unbothered by having possibly messed up the opening ceremony. He was lounging lazily on the five-meter-high platform.
Noticing their gaze, Sogiita Gunha flashed a bright, toothy grin and scratched the back of his head cheerfully.
Natsume-san, being the sociable type, waved casually in his direction.
She quite liked straightforward people like him.
"Huh, now that you mention it, it's true—posts about the Sisters are almost impossible to find online now."
The conversation continued. Natsume-san rested her chin in her hand, thinking it over before it finally clicked.
So there really was some unknown power or organization around the Misaka Sisters, protecting them from harm.
Could it be Dr. Heaven Canceller's doing?
After all, the Sisters still in Academy City all went to him for cellular adjustment. Natsume-san's mind immediately went to the living, breathing Gekota lookalike.
Speaking of which, Natsume-san was still a researcher under that doctor—her lab ID was still tucked away in her dorm room.
"If that's the case, then how did you manage to find the Misaka Sisters, Shokuhou-senpai?"
"Was it that foreigner with the golden hair?"
Remembering something, Natsume-san asked curiously.
That foreigner named Keitz had left quite an impression on her.
"I did seek out the security chief for the Level 6 Shift project, but not to find the Sisters. Or rather, I already knew where they were from the start."
A faint, almost imperceptible smile tugged at the corners of Shokuhou-senpai's lips.
Even though Natsume-san was the one who had asked for her help, it seemed she'd forgotten all about it.
"Eh, really?"
Natsume-san's brain seemed to short-circuit for a moment; her memory didn't seem much better than Sogiita-kun's.
But what struck Natsume-san more was the fact that the golden-haired foreigner had been the security chief for that experiment.
"Back then, it was you, Natsume-san, who asked me to alter the Sisters' memories. Once I accessed their memories, of course I also learned their locations."
Shokuhou-senpai adjusted her white gloves slightly, her attention focused more on the girl in front of her.
Shokuhou-senpai had been in contact with the Sisters for a long time—dating back to when someone had asked her to step in and modify their memories.
And because of some hidden connection between Shokuhou-senpai and the Sisters, she had paid close attention to their fate ever since that day.
"I see…"
Natsume-san finally had her "aha" moment.
"You know, Natsume-san, you've been sneaking around doing so many things—it's quite impressive."
Shokuhou-senpai gave a charming smile and reached out to gently ruffle Natsume-san's hair.
For some reason, it seemed like a lot of people enjoyed patting Natsume-san's head.
"However, the efforts of that mysterious organization have already failed in some respects."
"The dark-side organization known as 'Member' has repeatedly located the general area where the Sisters are. To counter that, I've both attacked their bases multiple times and erased the data they collected, as well as altered their members' memories to buy time."
Shokuhou-senpai's expression grew serious.
Attacking their bases wasn't just about hindering their operations—it was also to uncover the mastermind behind it all.
Since the other side was using a middleman to issue false orders to dark-side operatives, investigating that middleman, Kouzaku Mitori, was key—and it seemed Shokuhou-senpai had already dug up some intel.
"Why did their efforts fail?"
Natsume-san muttered under her breath.
"Because of eyewitnesses."
"Ah… now that you mention it, the Misaka Sisters have been going out a lot lately."
Natsume-san paused, then spoke with concern.
Although most of the Sisters had been dispersed around the world, the ones remaining in Academy City numbered only about one-tenth of the original total—but that still meant over six hundred of them, which was a staggering figure.
Originally, most of these Misaka Sisters were supposed to be sent to Academy City's affiliated facilities worldwide, with no more than a hundred staying in the city itself.
But because Academy City had built massive oceanic monitoring structures around the globe, some of those facilities had been repurposed and could no longer handle cellular adjustment.
Though the number wasn't huge, it still meant Academy City had to take on more adjustment tasks.
The cellular adjustment schedule was packed—at Heaven Canceller's hospital, there was almost always a Sister undergoing treatment.
And because of their numbers, aside from the two buildings at the Misaka Apartments, they had also secured an additional dormitory in District 7.
The apartments Natsume-san had picked were relatively old, with no large-scale dormitory areas nearby, while the newly assigned dormitory was in a completely separate zone.
Even though the Misaka Sisters didn't go out in groups and stayed near their residences when not undergoing adjustments, the chance of being spotted was still high whenever someone passed through those areas.
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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.