A Certain Magical Index: The Primal Spirit Descends to My Side

In late July, sunlight streamed through the glass dome of the seaside plaza, casting dappled shadows on the polished marble floor.

The interior of this complex, located in the Second School District, resembles a luxurious hotel, appearing opulent and glittering. The floor is paved with single slabs of marble, 3000mm long and 1800mm wide, with perfectly continuous veins, polished to a gleaming shine.

The wall features a lattice carved from a single piece of imported North American black walnut wood, interspersed with a few pieces of Thai teak as accents, giving it a glossy, smooth appearance.

The ceiling is also covered with solid marble slabs, with only an opening where a rectangular linear light fixture meets the ceiling. The smooth surface reflects soft light, making the space appear more open and airy.

"Wow—" Saten Ruiko was the first to step into the enormous space, which had a ceiling height of eight meters, and was instantly captivated by its powerful sense of space. "Just looking around gives you the feeling of a large corporation..."

"This is kind of exciting..." Uiharu Kazari followed behind Saten Ruiko, also looking at the outrageous ceiling height in shock.

Seeing the two girls constantly looking around ahead, Misaka Mikoto stood behind and smiled helplessly. Awafuki Manbin stepped forward and nodded to Misaka Mikoto.

"Thank you for inviting your friends too..."

"Don't worry about it, since we're all coming, it'll be more fun if we all come together..."

Saten Ruiko and Uiharu Kazari, who were ahead, realized they seemed to have run too far, so they quickly jogged back. Uiharu Kazari looked at Awafuki Manbin, somewhat hesitant.

"But is it really okay? Let's become swimsuit models..."

Shirai Kuroko and Kofumi Miwa also entered the house and came to Hatsuharu Kazari's side. Shirai Kuroko smiled and patted Hatsuharu Kazari on the shoulder.

"It's okay, any child's body shape can be corrected using the power of science!"

"That's too much... Shirai-san..."

"Sorry to keep you all waiting—"

Just then, a waitress wearing a white French-style off-the-shoulder blouse and a gray-blue peak lapel fitted blazer walked briskly over from a distance. A light-colored matte hazy blue ribbon was tied around her neck, and she wore a black pencil skirt that reached above her knees, 10D black stockings, and black chunky low-heeled matte sheepskin shoes.

Saten Ruiko looked over in confusion and whispered to Uiharu Kazari, "Who is this person?"

"This is the business manager here." Wanai Kinuho's voice sounded from behind, startling Saten Ruiko. She felt embarrassed, like she had been caught talking about someone behind their back, so she chuckled dryly.

The person approached and bowed slightly. "I hope you'll all take good care of me today..." Turning towards an elevator, he extended his right hand. "The changing rooms are at the top of that stairs. I'll lead you there..."

"Well then, please choose your favorite swimsuit..." After escorting everyone to the changing room, the person bowed again and left.

With a click as the door closed, Wannai Kinuho and Awafuki Manbin entered the nearby Dragon Gate Maze and began selecting swimsuits.

"How about this one?"

"Ah~ that's pretty good..."

Seeing that both Wannai Kinuho and Awafuki Manbin had started choosing swimsuits, Saten Ruiko pushed Uiharu Kazari among the clothes. She casually picked one up and placed it in front of Uiharu Kazari, resting her chin on Uiharu Kazari's shoulder.

"Look, this one is so cute!"

"Ah... um..."

Shirai Kuroko had already gone ahead and arrived at a clothes rack where no one was around, starting from scratch and searching through the clothes one by one for the one she liked.

"This one is almost there...and this one is almost there too..."

Seeing everyone starting to choose their swimsuits, Misaka Mikoto sighed and sat down on the sofa, waiting for everyone to finish. Suddenly, her gaze inadvertently fell on a cute swimsuit on the rack.

Before she knew it, the swimsuit had appeared in her hands. Looking at the two-piece halter-neck swimsuit in her hands, decorated with polka dots of various colors, and even a pink bow at the waist.

Misaka Mikoto stared blankly at the swimsuit in her hand. It had completely pierced her defenses; she hadn't even noticed the two people standing behind her. Saten Ruiko looked at the swimsuit, cautiously nudged Uiharu Kazari, and then gave her a meaningful look.

"Ah! This is so cute..."

Misaka Mikoto was startled by the sudden sound, almost jumping up and down, nearly dropping the clothes she was holding.

"well?"

"Really, that light, floating feeling is really nice..."

Looking at the two people behind her, Misaka Mikoto felt she might have embarrassed herself in front of her juniors, so she tried to appear calm and put the clothes back. "Ugh...no, I didn't want to wear this..."

Saten Ruiko narrowed her eyes, then smiled happily, "I've always wanted to see what Misaka-senpai would look like in this swimsuit~"

Uiharu Kaori Saten Ruiko, who was standing next to her, immediately joined in, approaching Misaka Mikoto from behind: "Me too... Please try it on at least once..."

Misaka Mikoto was caught in the middle. She couldn't easily refuse her junior's request, especially since the swimsuit was her type. However, she still had to maintain a facade, so she said, "No, no, no… no matter what, this is a bit…"

Seeing that Misaka Mikoto's wavering was becoming increasingly obvious, Saten Ruiko shook her fists up and down in front of her. "Don't say that! Even just trying it on would be nice~"

Seeing that Misaka Mikoto's psychological defenses had been broken, Uiharu Kazari quickly followed up with another attack: "She must be so cute!"

After being affirmed by two juniors, Misaka Mikoto's heart wavered slightly. Why not just go along with them and try it on...?

"Well... since we've come this far... then..."

"Oh my, Misaka-san really likes childish swimsuits..." Misaka Mikoto's voice came from behind her. Misaka Mikoto, who was about to take off her clothes, stopped, then quickly hung the swimsuit back up, grabbed a common racing-style one-piece swimsuit from the hanger, and ran into the changing room.

"This one! I choose this one!"

Saten Ruiko and Uiharu Kazari Rimi Misaka Mikoto put down their clothes and let out a deep sigh. Sensing the awkward atmosphere, Kofune Miyuki looked at the two of them with suspicion. "What's wrong? What happened?"

Inside the changing room, Misaka Mikoto tossed her beige V-neck sleeveless knit vest from Tokiwadai's summer school uniform into a basket in the changing room. Then she sat down on a stool.

"Ha... why can't I ever be honest with myself..."

A short while later, everyone had changed their clothes. Wannai Kinuho stood in front of the dressing mirror, looking at her green bikini. The orange straps complemented her fair skin, giving her a very summery look.

Pao Fu Wanbin chose a black school swimsuit that closely resembles the school uniform. After abandoning the racing design, he began to add fabric to the back and chest, while the arms on the sides were fully movable. The openings under the arms extended below the chest, and the chest and armpit areas on both sides were decorated with blue accents. Two decorative strips ran down to connect to the back of the swimsuit with the same color decoration.

Saten Ruiko chose a white bikini with shoulder straps that contrasted with her fair skin, making it appear even whiter. She paired it with a light blue fabric skirt that accentuated her curves while concealing her legs, making her figure appear longer and more slender.

In early spring, Shiori chose a light yellow one-piece swimsuit. The dress-like neck tie design made the outfit look very flattering. The double-layered skirt design concealed her hips, making her legs appear longer. Although light yellow can make skin look darker, Shiori didn't seem to have any noticeable difference.

Misaka Mikoto emerged wearing her indigo school swimsuit. Unlike Tokiwadai's swimsuit, this one featured a completely enclosed design at the back with no freedom of movement, and several stripes on the sides, making the front and back of the outfit very distinct. This made Misaka Mikoto's slightly tanned skin appear much fairer.

"I feel a little shy..." Seeing everyone forming a circle, Uiharu Kazari awkwardly approached Saten Ruiko from behind. Saten Ruiko pulled her out and patted her on the back.

"We're all girls, there's no need to be shy, right?"

"It fits you perfectly~" Awafuki Manbin praised gently from the side, and Wannai Kinuho also smiled warmly. Just as Misaka Mikoto was about to say a few words of praise, the sound of a curtain being pulled open came from the side.

"Sorry to keep you all waiting..."

Shirai Kuroko pulled back the curtain and came out. Everyone turned around to look at her, took two steps back, and let out an incredulous scream.

Shirai Kuroko emerged wearing a mini bikini. The deep purple color contrasted sharply with her fair skin, and the triangular shape of the fabric and the matching straps clung tightly to her body, creating an unparalleled level of exposure that made everyone's eyebrows tremble.

Shirai Kuroko pulled up and down a thread on her side, looking at herself with a troubled expression. "Even though it's a design for adult tastes, it's still missing something... Oh well..."

"The ones I tried on were just so-so..."

Shirai Kuroko walked out like that, the ribbon bow on her waist swaying as she walked.

"Well…"

"How should I put it..."

"As expected of you... Shirai-kun..."

"Personality is also very important..."

Seeing the expressions on her classmates' and junior's faces, Shirai Kuroko felt a little disappointed. However, looking at Misaka Mikoto's incredulous gaze, she picked up one of her twin tails and struck an elegant pose.

"Ah~ Big sister, this might not be enough for you, but we're outside the dormitory, so please bear with us a little longer~"

Seeing this, Misaka Mikoto quickly waved her hands: "No, no, no... I never endured it at all..."

"Huh?" Uiharu Kazari looked around and, noticing that Kofunomi Miwa hadn't appeared yet, turned to Shirai Kuroko. "Shirai-kun, have you seen Kofun-senpai?"

"Coming, coming..." Hearing her name called, Kofumi quickly came out of the dressing room. "It's a little tight, but we don't have that big of a size anymore... oh well..."

The white fabric with black polka dots, the simple cut, the black ruffles and bow on the bottom, and the tightly bound straps all reminded everyone of the origin of milk.

When the group entered the room, all they could see was a bulging white material; the walls, floor, and ceiling were all made of a strange substance.

"Isn't there nothing here?"

"Shall we film here?"

The staff member smiled, took out a remote control from his pocket, and pressed a few buttons. The scene instantly changed to a beach.

"This studio is the result of our latest research. It can create all kinds of backgrounds, and the things we create are actually tangible..."

Saten Ruiko stretched out her foot and stepped on what looked like sand. After stepping on it, a footprint was left on the ground. Moreover, it did feel like sand, and there was even a rustling sound of sand.

"oh--!"

Shiori Uiharu looked around nervously before finally asking the question that had been troubling her most. "Um... is the photographer a man?"

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at Uiharu Kazari, then at their own attire, and let out the same sigh as Uiharu Kazari.

"That's true..."

"I understand this kind of thing, but it still feels a bit... right?"

"It'll be filmed automatically the whole time!" Seeing everyone starting to worry, the staff member approached them. "No cameras will be in sight, so just stay relaxed..."

"Huh?" x7

After filming ended, everyone began to leave. Shirai Kuroko was called away by the dorm supervisor, while Uiharu and Saten went back to their dorm together, and Wannai and Awafuki also left. After confirming that the system was fixed, Kofuku-senpai left first, saying she still had work to do.

The staff had already gone home, and only one light was still on in the venue.

Misaka Mikoto stood in front of the changing room, holding the floral swimsuit in her hand.

She should have gone back, that's how it should have been. But as she looked at the swimsuit in her hand and then at the empty photography area, a thought suddenly came to her mind.

"Anyway... no one saw it..."

She changed into the floral two-piece swimsuit and walked alone to the center of the photography area. The lights were mostly off, with only the faint glow of emergency lights emanating from the corners. She stood in the middle of the room, looking at the white backdrop.

The remote control in her hand had no labels, and all the buttons looked exactly the same, so she couldn't tell which one would switch scenes. She just pressed a bunch of buttons randomly, and the beach scene appeared successfully.

Misaka Mikoto happily wore her floral swimsuit, ran barefoot into the sea, scooped up a handful of water, and splashed it into the distance.

But she didn't know that she had just switched the camera to screen mirroring mode. As a result, she was now being live-streamed on the huge screen outside the building.

And at this moment, among the people walking on the street…

"Touma, something over there is lit up."

The gray-haired girl stopped and pointed to the glass facade of the seaside plaza. Touma Kamijou looked in the direction she was pointing and his eyes widened in surprise.

On the giant electronic screen, a brown-haired girl wearing a floral two-piece swimsuit stood in the center of the empty photography area. Her back was to the camera, her head tilted slightly upward, as if looking at something in the distance. The white swimsuit with colorful polka dots made her back look exceptionally slender, and the bow tie at her waist swayed gently in the dim light.

Even through the glass, you can feel the relaxed and comfortable atmosphere.

Touma Kamijou's expression froze.

"That is..."

"It's that guy who used electricity the other day..." the gray-haired girl said calmly, her gray eyes reflecting the light and shadow on the screen, and the corner of her mouth seemed to twitch slightly. "Is that swimsuit guy?"

On the screen, Misaka Mikoto seemed completely unaware that she was being projected onto the screen. She stretched, then turned and walked towards the changing room, her figure disappearing at the edge of the screen.

The image froze for a few seconds before going completely dark.

"What is that guy doing...?"

"Touma..."

"Um?"

"Your face is red..."

"No!"

The gray-haired girl tilted her head, her gray eyes reflecting the boy's flushed face, which even the setting sun couldn't hide.

"Does Touma like swimsuits?"

"I wasn't thinking anything! Let's go back quickly! We still have homework to do!"

Touma Kamijou turned and quickened his pace, almost as if fleeing. The gray-haired girl followed behind him, her steps still steady. She glanced back at the building one last time, her gray eyes shimmering slightly in the twilight.

"A swimsuit? I'll buy one next time..."