After a moment's hesitation, Natsume-san finally pulled that Indian Poker card from her pocket.
It was an orange card, promising sweet dreams. The protective film was still snugly attached, untouched—exactly as it had been when first purchased.
Even though she'd already learned plenty about these cards, and knew full well they held a kind of brainwashing power, Natsume-san had sought out Shokuhou-senpai once again because of it.
Power itself isn't good or evil—it all comes down to how the user wields it. Just the idea of experiencing someone else's dreams, of learning all sorts of knowledge so effortlessly, was enough to make even an esper like Natsume-san feel tempted.
Still, it would be so tragic if something so fascinating were used for wicked purposes.
"Sonoko, you're surprisingly hung up on this Indian Poker, aren't you?"
"If I recall, I already shared what I knew with you days ago. And you really don't need me to remind you how dangerous something of unknown origin can be, do you?"
Setting her teacup down gently, Shokuhou Misaki spoke with an air of seriousness, a touch of resignation coloring her tone.
Having once peered into Natsume-san's memories, Shokuhou Misaki understood her all too well—her insatiable curiosity, her love for excitement, and that deep admiration for science.
For a girl like that, faced with a temptation that ticked all three boxes, hesitation and second-guessing were the norm.
It would be more surprising if she just left it alone without a second thought.
Normally, after being warned so explicitly—and with the threat of potential brainwashing thrown in—any sensible person would steer clear and keep their distance.
The fact that Natsume-san had managed to resist using the Indian Poker up till now was probably because her instincts were screaming that it was dangerous. In a way, she'd been following her gut.
But now, it seemed her surroundings had stirred up that curiosity even more, leaving her stuck in an agonizing state of indecision.
Ah, the restless heart of a teenage girl.
Still, before her curiosity could completely overwhelm her caution—before she could talk herself into believing that a little probably wouldn't hurt—she'd come to ask for her senpai's opinion.
That, Shokuhou supposed, was a change those past experiences had brought about in her.
Just like during the Level Upper incident.
If the school hadn't issued such a stern ban, and if she hadn't had friends in Judgment, Natsume-san might have given in to her curiosity and downloaded it just to see—even knowing it might not do much for a high-level esper.
"Sonoko, are quite a few people around you using Indian Poker now?"
"It seems these Indian Cards are already spreading through the student dormitories outside the school."
As soon as that thought crossed her mind, Shokuhou-senpai's expression turned thoughtful.
It's only when everyone around you is doing something that you feel that herd mentality kick in. And when you see others using it without any obvious ill effects, you get that survivor bias clouding your judgment, muddling your thinking.
Come to think of it, that herd effect—the person-to-person spread—was part of why the Level Upper had spread so quickly too.
Though most caught up in that were low-level espers or Level 0s.
At that time, Tokiwadai Middle School had not only cut off those social channels promptly, but its students, being high-level espers, also had little need for the Level Upper.
There simply wasn't fertile ground for it to take root.
But Indian Poker Cards were different. Marketed purely as a new form of entertainment, without touching on anything as sensitive as ability development, they didn't raise any red flags for the school—or even Academy City itself.
By the time the adults realized how serious things were, some hidden danger might have already erupted.
As for whether this tech was developed within Academy City, Shokuhou Misaki didn't share the same suspicions as a certain bun-haired girl.
Nearly all technological developments in Academy City undoubtedly had official backing somewhere behind the scenes.
But judging by how these cards were being distributed—through underground channels or street vendors—it didn't seem like an officially sanctioned effort.
More likely, it was some technology that had emerged from Academy City at some point, now being exploited by certain parties for their own ends.
And when it came to the technology behind Indian Poker, it stirred deep memories in Shokuhou-senpai. She was no stranger to this kind of tech—the sort that guided and altered others' perceptions through dreams.
"Huh?"
"If you mean people close by… Misaka-senpai is using it."
Natsume-san blinked, then immediately thought of a certain Railgun who'd been listless since morning, even grinding her teeth through breakfast, and spoke up.
Misaka-senpai probably wasn't the best advertisement for Indian Poker. She seemed pretty miserable—the classic case of hoping for sweet dreams but getting a nightmare instead.
"So it's Misaka-san after all."
"That explains it. Then again, it's Misaka-san we're talking about."
Shokuhou-senpai nodded knowingly, as if to emphasize just how well she understood. To drive the point home, the golden-haired girl repeated Misaka-senpai's name twice.
That girl was the type with muscles for brains, after all—not exactly the most cautious sort.
Still, given that she'd come all that way to rescue Shokuhou last time and even apologized on her own initiative, Shokuhou-senpai had to admit Misaka-san had her good points.
"Also, this morning I heard Misaka-senpai say she dreamed about you, Shokuhou-senpai. Something about turning into a maid…?"
Leaning into her natural gossipy side, Natsume-san casually spread a little rumor about her own senpai, a reminiscent look crossing her face.
"Goodness, that Misaka-san. Even if she admires me, she doesn't have to go that far."
"I had no idea I occupied such a big place in Misaka-san's heart. How troublesome—I'm not really interested in simple-minded girls."
Shokuhou-senpai lightly brushed through her golden hair and sighed with a hint of drama.
Even as she said that, Shokuhou-senpai knew perfectly well that a certain Railgun had most likely been tricked.
"To be honest, I don't know all that much about Indian Poker myself."
"But one thing I'm fairly sure of is that the Indian Poker uses technology from a certain era of the Clone Dolly workshop—from the Internal Evolution Project that the Clone Dolly lab spearheaded. For some reason, that technology was refined and released into Academy City."
Slowly steering the topic away from Misaka-san, Shokuhou-senpai grew more serious. She rested her chin on the back of her hand, her other hand pausing mid-air, teacup in hand.
Natsume Sonoko's eyes widened slightly. The Clone Dolly lab's Internal Evolution Project? What was that?
Star-eyed senpai and wide-eyed kouhai found themselves locked in an unexpected staring match. Even Kouzaku Mitori, passing by nearby, could tell the two young ladies were discussing something important.
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T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL