Dreams have everything you could ever want.
That was probably the best summary of Indian Poker and the Dream Rankers. Perhaps this thing really could offer people a certain kind of false satisfaction.
A tool that could make everyone smile, a way to break free from the monotonous, tedious cycle of student life—in a way, it really felt like a blessing.
Everyone could give birth to dreams filled with whimsy and joy.
It's just that most students, as they grew up and were shaped by their environment, gradually lost this ability, turning into dull, half-baked adults. Maybe that was the true value of those who walked the path of a Dream Ranker.
"I need to figure out this Indian Poker soon."
"Assuming there aren't any serious problems with it..."
Where this conviction came from, she didn't know, but Natsume-san always maintained a voracious curiosity for interesting things like this.
Protecting everyone's dream world, spreading love and happiness—that was also the duty of the Judgment committee.
Today, we are all members of Judgment.
Something felt a little off about that thought, though.
--+--
Somewhere in Academy City's District 7, a corner of this utterly unremarkable concrete jungle.
About two buildings away from the Misaka Apartments, a straight-line distance of roughly eighty meters, on the third floor of an ordinary apartment building.
Kouzaku Mitori, wearing Kirigaoka Academy's affiliated middle school uniform and with a face full of smiles, was teaching Dolly how to use the latest scroll-style phone.
A gentle touch to the edges of the scroll, combined with gesture commands, would summon a screen into being.
Limited by the phone's current technology, it couldn't yet achieve full 3D holographic projections, so its use hadn't really transcended the realm of a normal phone.
After finding Dolly again, this girl who seemed to enjoy cosplaying as a nurse had truly taken on the role, caring for the endlessly curious girl before her with evident joy.
All that talk of Dark Side work, all the school studies—tossed to the wind. Her eyes held only this friend, lost and found again.
They had initially planned to live in the Misaka Building or the Misaka Apartments, but Dolly didn't like the idea of living with too many people, even if they were Sisters.
Dolly was different from most other Sisters. She possessed fully developed emotions and memories, didn't need any emotional modules implanted, and was a complete person in her own right.
Because she had her own thoughts and plans, she and Kouzaku Mitori had found a clean, spacious apartment nearby to live in instead.
"Did little Misaki-chan bring a friend?"
Dolly turned her head to see two Tokiwadai girls standing gracefully in the now open doorway.
"Ah, it's little Sonoko-chan from last time!"
Her face immediately lit up with clear delight as Dolly spoke, sounding quite surprised. She and Kouzaku Mitori moved to welcome the pair of girls who had arrived together.
Even counting today, this was only their second meeting, yet Natsume Sonoko had left a rather deep impression on Dolly.
Back at the facility, the bun-girl had stood alone in a corner, quietly watching her senpai with silent tears, before leaving just as quietly.
She's little Misaki-chan's friend, isn't she? How nice. Little Misaki-chan has made many friends.
"Good afternoon, Dolly. And of course, you too, Kouzaku Mitori-san over there."
Shokuhou Misaki waved her hand and naturally took a seat next to Dolly, just like she used to back at the Child Error facility.
"Hello."
The slightly reserved bun-girl followed her in. It had to be said, Natsume-san was always very restrained in other people's homes.
It was only upon entering that she realized this was where Dolly and the others lived.
So this was the place Shokuhou-senpai said she was busy coming to this afternoon.
Come to think of it, Natsume-san had sought out Shokuhou-senpai to ask about Indian Poker, but ended up being invited to this apartment instead.
Even though they'd only met once, it seemed Dolly hadn't forgotten her.
Was it because Dolly was already connected to the Misaka Network?
But being called 'little Sonoko-chan'... that was a first.
The weirdest part was that it didn't feel strange at all, probably because Shokuhou-senpai and Kouzaku-senpai were already 'little Misaki-chan' and 'little Mii-chan' to her.
Everyone in Academy City was a lab rat in a cage, it seemed. Whether you were an esper or a regular student, nobody could escape that fate. It was a natural disadvantage determined by the students' position.
Even if there wasn't any solid proof for that claim, you could see it in the way some scientists carried out dangerous experiments without a second thought.
Luckily, after enduring those brutal experiments, the Sister who had inherited Dolly's memories could see this bright world once again.
Maybe the current Dolly wasn't the true Dolly, but for Kouzaku Mitori and Shokuhou-senpai, this was still an incredibly important form of salvation.
"My, how affectionate."
"But what an extravagant luxury, hardly fitting for your station. I'm surprised someone like you has the money to buy such expensive things for Dolly."
"If I recall correctly, because that Kihara Gensei issued your death certificate, Kirigaoka has stopped your scholarship payments. Meaning your current income should be zero, correct? And for an unregistered person like you, it's best not to wander the streets so freely."
Shokuhou-senpai rested her chin in her hand, her starry eyes narrowing slightly as if pondering the origins of the other girl's questionable finances.
The money issue was actually secondary. If the identity problem couldn't be solved, it would be a real headache.
Creating a fake student identity out of thin air was easy enough. The simplest method was to forge a student ID.
But to truly reintegrate into Academy City's student management system, let alone rejoin the scholarship management system... the difficulty of that was no less than challenging the authority of the Board of Directors.
Not only would you need to fabricate a complete student history, you'd also need monthly physical examination records, plus forged spending records and scholarship transfer histories.
And even if you met all those conditions, you'd still have to make it all run seamlessly within Academy City's various systems.
However, taking over the identities of some 'ghost students' was a feasible option. These students were officially recognized within the city's systems, complete with spending and scholarship records.
To facilitate certain operations and the creation of false identities, Academy City maintained a number of these ghost students—individuals who maintained their student status without attending classes, effectively official-provided aliases.
Perhaps some of these aliases could be acquired through transactions within certain organizations.
"I know, I'm working on the identity issue."
"As for the money, it's all from the operational funds of the Dark Side group 'Member.' It's on anonymous bank cards, so there's no risk. I appropriated it while working as a Dark Side broker. I have roughly eighty million yen left on hand."
She didn't seem the least bit angry. This Kouzaku-senpai simply nodded lightly, completely ignoring the pointed tone in the Mental Out user's words.
As for why a mere broker had control over such a large flow of funds, it probably had something to do with the fact that the Director's personally overseen Dark Side groups were just that flush with cash.
"Wha?! Eighty million yen?!"
Natsume-san, who still had the earpiece connecting her to Uiharu in her ear and the Judgment armband on her sleeve—and was, in a way, still on a stakeout—gasped in shock.
She wasn't staking out this former Dark Side girl, though; it was still about the previous Skill-Out attack case. It was just that no suspects had entered the alert zone yet, leaving Natsume-san with a lot of free time.
"Is Dolly-chan fully recovered now?"
Snapping back to reality, Natsume-san blinked and stared intently at Dolly's face as she spoke seriously.
She simply saw Dolly as an ordinary Sister, but for Shokuhou-senpai and the others, her meaning was entirely different. After just a short interaction, Natsume-san had clearly noticed the differences between her and the other Sisters.
The other Sisters, once their emotional programs were implanted, would probably end up much like the Dolly before her.
"Mhmm. Her appetite has been very good lately. She's recovered well from her long period of sleep."
Kouzaku Mitori nodded, a happy smile spreading across her face.
Because Dolly's body had spent so much time in the cultivation tank, she wasn't as frail as the other Sisters. There was no need for further cultivation or treatment at Heaven Canceller's hospital or any other research institute.
Come to think of it, she didn't hold much of a grudge against the #8 standing before her.
Even though the #8 had pinned her down hard on the lawn and hit her hand with a drink bottle, Kouzaku Mitori felt that she was a good person.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon!
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