Academy City—hailed as possessing the most advanced technology in the world, decades ahead of anything beyond its borders. With a population approaching 2.3 million, over eighty percent of its residents were students, each enrolled in institutions dedicated to cultivating the unique "esper abilities" born from their own Personal Realities.
For some reason, that narration felt strangely familiar to Kurokami Gen.
His ability was called—[Heal].
When Gen came back to his senses, he was already in Academy City. His past was a blank slate. Relying on his excellent "aptitude," he had, through a series of coincidences, secured an internship at a hospital in District 7. And so, he became a trainee physician.
It was mid-July. Gen sat before a computer, finishing an electronic medical record in fluent Japanese—so practiced it was almost painful to witness.
"Hurry, hurry!"
"It should be this way… Queen, please hang in there!"
A commotion erupted outside the door, pulling his attention away from the screen. Before he could react, the examination room door was violently slammed open.
Bang!
Two refined young ladies burst in, escorting a stretcher bearing a blonde girl. They looked to be middle schoolers.
"Patient: female, age unknown. Significant mechanical trauma to the occipital region of the skull and the lateral thigh…"
Her cascading golden hair was stained red with blood. Her chest rose and fell rapidly; exposed skin showed abrasions and bruising. The white blouse, brown blazer, and dark pleated skirt identified the uniform instantly—Tokiwadai Middle School, the prestigious academy for elite young ladies.
"What happened?" Gen stood up. "You've come to the wrong place. The emergency department is on the first floor at the main entrance."
A girl with lavish violet drill curls forced herself to remain calm. "Doctor, it's like this. Our Queen… Shokuhou-san accidentally fell down a flight of stairs…"
Meanwhile, the blonde girl on the stretcher curiously examined the small room.
On the plaque outside the door were the words: "Special Esper Treatment Room."
The young doctor appeared only seventeen or eighteen. White coat, glasses, surgical mask—his features obscured. Black hair, black eyes. Delicate, almost refined.
A high schooler? A university student?
Her gaze drifted to his name badge.
Kurokami Gen.
An uncommon surname in Japan. A foreigner? And merely an intern, yet allowed to see patients alone? What exactly was this man capable of?
"Hanakawa, this is too troublesome. I'll just confirm it with my ability."
The speaker was a girl with fluffy, marshmallow-like chocolate hair. Her long, beautifully shaped legs were impossible to ignore. She pulled out a sleek smartphone and aimed its camera at Gen.
A mental-type esper?
A powerful sense of danger flared within him. Instinctively, he tried to resist.
Beep—
Mental Stinger.
"I see. An exchange student from overseas, hm? So the urban legend about a 'man with one-hundred-percent healing ability' is true. Just like the rumors said—hidden here. That means we don't have to worry about Queen leaving scars."
The blonde girl scolded lightly. "Mitsuari-san…"
"Shokuhou Queen, you understand, right? Basic caution is necessary for people like us. I've already eliminated any threat he might pose."
With that, Mitsuari Ayu lowered her phone and stepped aside. In just a few seconds, she had used [Mental Stinger] to conduct a superficial scan of the young doctor's brain.
Aside from the peculiar ability called [Heal], there was nothing abnormal.
The Queen Bee disliked abusing her power to control others—especially delving into the darkness of the human mind. That was what her "worker ants" were for.
"Even though Academy City has the most advanced cosmetic regeneration technology… I heard stitching a wound this long means cutting off my beautiful hair…"
The blonde girl tapped her cheek, looking troubled. Her white lace gloves were still pristine. Most eye-catching of all were the star-shaped pupils in her eyes, glittering like something straight out of a shoujo manga.
"So, could I trouble you, Doctor Kurokami?"
The moment she finished speaking, Mental Stinger was lifted.
The haze cleared from Gen's eyes. He frowned slightly.
He wasn't sure what had just been done to him—but saving the patient came first.
It seemed the girl had suppressed her sense of pain with her mental ability. Otherwise, she would have fainted long ago.
Shokuhou… why did that name sound so familiar?
"I can try. But I'll need physical contact. Excuse me."
Mitsuari shot him a hostile look. The thought of a boy touching her Queen clearly stirred jealousy.
Hanakawa hesitated. "If it's within medical necessity… please endure it, Queen."
"We'll help move Shokuhou-san onto the bed—"
"That won't be necessary. Just a moment is enough."
Gen stepped forward and placed one hand on the blonde girl's shoulder.
To a doctor, there was no distinction between male and female. Still, to avoid complaints from middle school girls, options were limited. A noble young lady's shoulder carried no special meaning to him.
Heal.
A faint green glow emanated from his right hand.
Before everyone's eyes, the wounds across Shokuhou's body healed at visible speed.
There was a saying: "It takes a hundred days to recover from broken bones." Yet this young doctor restored her fracture in a single second, without even resetting the bone. The miraculous "medical skill" left the girls in awe.
"Incredible…"
"Even stronger than Academy City's regeneration tech!"
But Gen paid no attention to their praise.
His seemingly perfect healing carried a fatal flaw.
The moment [Heal] activated, all the pain, fear, and despair the target had ever endured flooded into his body.
Not just the current injuries.
Everything this body had experienced since birth.
His pupils contracted. His delicate features twisted.
Shokuhou's eyes widened. "Don't tell me…"
"My [Heal] restores the patient… but I experience their pain in full." Gen steadied his breathing. "Don't worry. Since I cannot feel pain… it doesn't hurt at all."
Mitsuari couldn't help but glance sideways.
No sense of pain? Good thing she hadn't probed deeper into his mind—that would've been horrifying.
"Truly, you've saved me."
The girl named Shokuhou sat up gracefully on the stretcher, brushing her golden hair back behind her ear. Not a trace of blood remained. As beautiful as ever.
When she looked at the young doctor, her expression turned subtly complex.
Now Gen had the chance to observe his patient properly. Her chest was far more developed than one would expect from a middle schooler. Slim waist. Doll-like features. From any angle, undeniably a "beautiful girl."
Shokuhou… could it be—
"Thank you for your help today. They were simply too worried and ended up offending you. If there's ever an opportunity, I'll help resolve your own problem as repayment☆~"
Fully restored, the blonde girl flashed a sideways V-sign near her eye. Her syrupy voice ended with that peculiar verbal tic.
"Unnecessary. I'll be filing a complaint to Tokiwadai regarding unauthorized ability usage inside the hospital." Gen replied flatly. "Please swipe your insurance card at the machine outside. Pay the treatment fee. And for the broken door."
"What a cold reaction."
It was the first time Tokiwadai's Queen had encountered a boy completely immune to her charm.
"My apologies! We'll compensate properly!"
Hanakawa Junko bowed deeply.
Gen glanced at her knowingly. In an emergency, it must have been this physically enhanced girl who smashed the door open and carried her "Onee-sama" all the way here.
Perhaps a strength-type esper.
Had they stopped the bleeding en route? Tokiwadai had students skilled in water manipulation. Likely so.
After a month working here, Gen had grown accustomed to all manner of espers.
"So. How did the accident occur?"
Shokuhou's smile froze.
Mitsuari sighed. "For someone who gains weight easily, being limited to one slice of cake per day was apparently unbearable…"
"It's my fault for being too strict with Queen-sama," Hanakawa said guiltily.
"So she ordered us not to follow her, stormed off in a huff, missed a step on a long staircase, and rolled all the way down."
Mitsuari turned her head, clearly suppressing laughter.
"She fell?" Gen found it unbelievable.
These days, people didn't just trip on flat ground. One fall resulting in a fracture and a nearly ten-centimeter gash on the back of the head requiring over a dozen stitches?
How fragile were modern Japanese middle schoolers?
"If not for the cushioning in front," Mitsuari teased, "she might not have landed safely."
"Urusai!"
The "fragile" Shokuhou flushed red.
Hanakawa offered a strained smile. "As you can see, Doctor Kurokami. We heard from our seniors that you have scarless treatment methods, so we rushed her here."
If not for her Queen's direct order, Hanakawa would have eliminated all danger before it ever reached her.
The self-reproach weighed heavily on her.
"Should we perform a head CT, just in case?"
Gen shook his head. "The patient is fully healed. No concussion risk. Remove the splint from her leg. Next patient."
After all, she had her "shock absorbers."
The blonde girl hopped off the stretcher and twirled once in the examination room. Her skirt swayed lightly. Her long hair blossomed like a golden flower. A sweet, honey-like fragrance drifted toward him.
"Your Japanese is excellent. Goodbye, Doctor Who Feels No Pain."
It was as if stars accompanied her every word.
"For discharged patients, I prefer never seeing them again," Gen replied.
Once the girls left cheerfully, the young doctor returned to his seat and typed up the latest record. When the insurance card was processed, the patient's information appeared in the hospital system.
Shokuhou Misaki. Fourteen years old.
If memory served, she was one of the seven who stood at the pinnacle of Academy City—Level 5, Rank Five.
Mental Out.
Only seven in this city could truly be called "superpowers."
"Hm? When did blood get on my sleeve?"
With no patients waiting, Gen headed to the restroom. Nurses greeted him along the way.
"Good work, Kurokami-kun."
"It's nothing."
He washed his hands thoroughly—thirty seconds, standard method. Even with sanitizer available, he preferred water.
"[Heal]… huh?"
Recently, he had been having a strange dream.
A certain adult series called Redo of Healer. Yet in this world, no such work existed.
What appeared to be [Heal] was not mere recovery—but magic that restored a target to its original state. Through [Imitation], it could copy all memories, skills, and experience.
Most enviable of all was the ability to raise the level cap of one's harem through "mana replenishment."
I endure identical pain as the patient… if only I could copy esper abilities too.
Gen removed his glasses and mask, splashing water onto his face. He looked up at his reflection.
Beneath damp bangs was a refined face.
At that moment, Shokuhou's starry eyes surfaced in his mind. Her hidden past. The curves beneath her uniform. Everything about Mental Out.
Wait… when did I start assuming I couldn't copy esper powers?
He jolted awake.
In the mirror, his pupils were changing.
Not Shokuhou's starry pattern.
But reshaping according to his own will.
The essence of esper powers—the manifestation of Personal Reality.
Within his eyes, crimson birds seemed poised to take flight. He could faintly sense fragments of Shokuhou Misaki's life experiences.
Residual pain.
"So that's it… I remember now."
His lips curved upward.
Memories sealed away by his former self.
Level 5 Mental Out—
Acquired.