Unclear what connection there was between the Six Wings and the Juvenile Reformatory, Natsume-san knew that Academy City today still carried the distinct scent of 'nuclear peace'.
Fortunately, nothing on the scale of last time's city-wide incident had occurred.
Otherwise, the much-anticipated Daihasei Festival would've been ruined for everyone.
The lively scenes around her flickered past like a swiftly turning magic lantern, and Natsume-san felt somewhat out of place.
Perhaps her initial feeling had been right all along—something like the Daihasei Festival really wasn't for her.
"Sonoko-chan, are those students your friends as well?"
"You know, not many people can pull off the princess curls look."
The voice of Ms. Tomoyo came from behind, her soft, gentle tone as distinctive as ever. She seemed to be pondering something, one hand resting under her chin.
"They're upperclassmen from my school. They need my help with something, probably to find someone."
Turning her head abruptly, her expression went blank for a moment as Natsume-san struggled to rein in her wandering thoughts.
First, she had to explain things to her mom, then find Shokuhou-senpai, and hopefully get it all sorted within an hour.
Even if the problem Shokuhou-senpai faced was tricky, simply extracting that senpai from a dangerous area was something Natsume-san could manage easily.
"Is that so? I found a spot over there. Would you like to join me?"
Ms. Tomoyo's voice dropped to a murmur as she suddenly reached out and ruffled Natsume-san's hair.
"Mom, something really urgent just came up."
"Actually, I joined the Judgment here in Academy City, and everyone needs my help with something. After all, that's what Judgment does—help people."
Hesitating, Natsume-san couldn't find a better way to put it. Her vocabulary seemed inversely proportional to her processing power.
She didn't want to reveal the real problem. Any normal parent would absolutely forbid their child from getting involved in that kind of mess.
The dangerous situations she'd encountered? She'd basically never mentioned a single one to her parents.
Many incidents remained only in the memories of those involved, at most spawning a few urban legends.
"I see, our Sonoko-chan is a Judgment member now." The lady paused, seeming thoughtful.
"The badge is a green shield armband, I saw it on the Academy City promotional video. But if you're on duty even today, it must be quite a demanding job."
Her brow furrowed slightly as she spoke with a touch of emotion, as if forming a new impression of Judgment.
"But if there's something Sonoko-chan wants to do, then you should do it. Take me, for instance—if I have something important on my mind, I just can't fall asleep no matter how hard I try once night comes."
"Poor sleep is the start of a bad life. I wouldn't want my Sonoko-chan to be unhappy."
The lady lowered her head, a smile still on her face, but she widened her eyes into a look of earnestness.
Beside those large eyes, faint traces of dark circles were visible, though mostly concealed by makeup.
"Is that really okay?"
Seeming a bit uncertain, Natsume-san also widened her eyes.
"Of course. I didn't come to Academy City to be a burden. I came to give you strength, Sonoko-chan."
Ms. Tomoyo gently raised her arm, showing just as little muscle as Natsume-san.
Then again, maybe girls don't really need muscles anyway.
"Strength?"
"It just means encouragement, really."
"Oh."
--+--
Her mother's words still lingering in her mind, Natsume-san now stood poised high in the sky.
Leaning forward slightly, maintaining a posture akin to sleeping mid-air—though she could fly standing up, Natsume-san preferred lying down.
Shrouded in the light, her entire form resembled the most common, restless gust of wind, drifting through this deeply fractured city.
That Six Wings had long since departed, and the air here had calmed. But the subsequent Academy City micro-cyclone instantly shattered that tranquility.
Radar system activated. Target lock initiated. All offensive weapons loaded.
The moment she set foot on the path toward the Juvenile Reformatory, the certain bun-headed girl armed herself to the teeth.
Natsume-san defaulted into her combat state, her brain operating at a significantly higher capacity than usual, yet the drain on her processing power remained remarkably low.
Only during intense clashes would her consumption outpace replenishment, sometimes draining completely with no replenishment in sight.
Thankfully, Natsume-san had moved past the state where intense ability use would cause her processing power to spiral out of control. Even moments before depletion, she could maintain relatively stable output.
This was a key issue every esper needed to resolve—stability was a crucial metric for becoming a high-level esper, arguably just as important as raw computational power.
To the south of District 7 lay District 10, with the Juvenile Reformatory situated in its central area.
Natsume-san had visited District 10 numerous times. Her earliest memory traced back to following the Dorm Supervisor to the 'Asunaro Park' located here.
(T/N: Asunaro Park is in District 13, but i assume the author forgot)
The Dorm Supervisor was a truly good person, rigorous and strict in everything she did.
Though she'd suffered a crushing defeat under Shirai-san's romance plan, she still came every week to volunteer.
Natsume-san paled in comparison. Sometimes she asked the Supervisor to deliver items, but truth be told, she hadn't visited often herself.
Come to think of it, the orphans living in the 'Asunaro Park', like the Sisters, couldn't participate in the Daihasei Festival either.
To prevent these young students from getting lost, they weren't even allowed to leave these care facilities.
Natsume-san had crossed mountains and seas, flown over vast crowds of people.
The influx of outsiders into Academy City seemed to have reached this overly quiet school district as well. Though the open areas were far smaller than those in normal districts like Seventh, it still brought a rare buzz of activity to the place.
Gradually slowing from high subsonic speeds, Natsume-san easily located the Juvenile Reformatory using her memorized map of Academy City.
It wasn't far from the cemetery. An abandoned nuclear lab stood nearby, and perhaps somewhere underground, a bacteriological research institute lay hidden.
The most striking landmark was a completely dried-up lake, its bed turned an unsettling shade of black.
Facilities like the Asunaro Park were mostly located near the borders between District 10 and other districts. But venturing deeper into this school district, one found only various less-than-pleasant establishments.
Slowing to a halt, Natsume-san's gaze fell upon the Juvenile Reformatory. From a distance, everything seemed normal—just a cluster of interconnected buildings, covering an area roughly equivalent to two Tokiwadai Middle Schools.
The structures strongly evoked images of prisons. In truth, aside from the fact most inmates were students, they shared many similarities with actual prisons.
Scanning the surroundings, she noted the Six Wings wasn't here. 'So I was overthinking it after all,' Natsume-san thought, the sense of urgency in her heart easing somewhat.
--+--
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.