One-way traffic

As Accelerator drove, he turned his head and saw the girl next to him looking at him with a somewhat nervous expression.

"How do you plan to make it later?"

"ah…?"

The ambiguous words caused Accelerator to frown.

Are there any particular ways to soak in a hot spring?

"No, that's not what I meant. Well... how should I put it..."

Hatsune Miku seemed to really want to say something else, but... she couldn't say anything.

I have absolutely no idea what they're thinking.

Ignoring Hatsune Miku, who was inexplicably blushing, Accelerator once again took control of the steering wheel and quickly arrived at the destination.

Click.

After parking the car, the enormous skyscrapers standing in front of them came into full view.

It looks like an office building for a high-end company, but from higher floors, it seems impossible to find any windows. At the very top, you can see the iconic sign.

Antaiquan Super Leisure Center.

"This is it! I've been wanting to come here for ages!"

"...Could it be that you're the one who actually wants to soak in the hot springs?"

With a look of astonishment, Accelerator watched as Yomikawa Aiho and Yoshikawa Kikyo walked into the room together.

But he noticed that Hatsune Miku remained standing in the same spot, looking hesitant about whether to go in.

Why do you seem to be dawdling even more than the kid?

"Huh? Me, my words..."

Upon realizing that Accelerator was looking at her, Hatsune Miku's expression turned completely panicked.

The last work on the side couldn't help but reveal a suspicious look.

"...Hmm, something's very strange. Misaka Misaka, acting on instinct, sensed something extremely ominous!"

"W-what's strange? There's nothing there!"

Picking up the Last Order in her arms, Hatsune Miku flew into the building in front of her at superluminal speed.

Only the first one remained alone in the same spot.

"Looks like I shouldn't have agreed to let them get involved in such a stupid thing."

That's what he said, but Accelerator still shook his head and followed him inside.

Oh well, let's just treat it as half a day of experiencing a holiday.

——————————————————————————————————————————————

"—Waaah!"

It's called a hot spring, but it's actually just a man-made bathhouse.

The enormous bathroom resembles a private room, luxurious yet shrouded in mist, resembling hot spring water, but it's essentially a simulated hot spring artificially synthesized using scientific methods.

Each floor has a different hot spring, and their effects are completely different. Different hot springs have different effects, and there are even springs that can cure fatigue like medicine.

The place where Yomikawa Aiho and the others were located was a hot spring that used mist to create a steaming effect.

"So comfortable~! Is this what it feels like to be in a hot spring?!" Misaka Misaka exclaimed in a voice filled with emotion!

"Even though it's not open-air, it would be nice if we could open a window."

"To open a window in a high-rise building, especially in a women's bathroom? Aiho, you have a really bold idea."

"But it's really hot! Isn't it?"

The women in the bathroom shared their thoughts on the so-called hot spring... except for one who remained silent.

"What's wrong, Hatsune Miku?"

Seeing Hatsune Miku, who hadn't made a sound since she came in, Aiho Yomikawa couldn't help but look at her.

"Do you feel uncomfortable with the steam effect of the hot spring?"

"See? I told you we needed to open a window, it was so stuffy!"

"It's always been like this, so boyish, Aiho..."

Although the two believed that Hatsune Miku was overheated because of the steamer, that was not actually the case.

The girl with the blue twin ponytails tied her long hair up, then draped a towel over her head and submerged her entire body in the spring water.

She felt a sense of relief.

Fortunately, it wasn't a mixed bath. Accelerator seemed to have gone to another bathroom, which was probably a private room with no distinction between men and women.

That way she wouldn't be soaking in the same hot spring as Accelerator... But despite this, Hatsune Miku felt a deep sense of disappointment.

Moreover, there are even more important things.

'...It's huge.'

She looked at Aiho Yomi's chest, her radiance undeniable despite her boldness.

Of the people present, besides Last Order, she was the youngest, after all, she was still a teenager, a sixteen-year-old girl was still in the process of growing up.

Just seeing the area in front of Yomi Kawa Aiho that could cover everything made Hatsune Miku feel like she was under a gloom.

Mine isn't small either, so why do I feel so angry...?

Grrrrrrrrrrrr.

She couldn't resist submerging her entire upper body in the spring water, while blowing small bubbles into the water like a carp.

...I'm so annoyed!

——————————————————————————————————————————————

He had no intention of staying in one place like an idiot and soaking in this kind of stuff.

If it were a real hot spring, that would be one thing, but Accelerator is well-versed in all sorts of scientific knowledge and can tell at a glance that these things are just artificially processed spring water, which can't be considered a hot spring at all, and the atmosphere is completely lacking.

He immediately got up, walked out of the private room (which he couldn't tell was for men or women), changed his clothes, and left the building.

Turning back, Accelerator gazed at the building in front of him. Those people were probably still soaking in that so-called hot spring inside.

"This is not something I would do."

Looking back at my past self, I probably never went to hot springs, let alone crowded places. At most, I would just stroll around a convenience store or the street, and I hardly ever met anyone.

Is he now capable of agreeing to a request from Aiho Yomikawa?

He has indeed become more worldly-wise—Accelerator has clearly realized this, something his past self would probably never have been able to admit.

However, I still feel that there should be some changes.

Where exactly is it? Is it a state of mind, or something deeper?

Bathed in the glow of the artificial moon in the underground streets of the 22nd School District, he bought a can of popular canned coffee from a nearby vending machine and drank it without caring about the bitterness.

I had just taken my first sip of the bitter liquid.

—A kind of earthquake-like tremor instantly affected the surrounding area.

"…ah?"

Accelerator felt the liquid sloshing in the cup and couldn't help but look over there.

It seemed like an earthquake; the tremors lasted for less than a second, but—something felt off.

then.

Bang——! !

His reflexes kicked in.

"What…?"

Accelerator stood still, and although the reflection was indeed activated, he had no idea what it had reflected.

Moreover, even though the reflex had been activated, he still felt a strange sense of unease filling his heart.

I don't know what it is, and I have no idea what it reflects.

If he knew magic, he would probably know that this is the most basic magic spell used by magicians to ward off idlers.

His superpowers directly interfered with this magical technique.

It's not so much a reflection as a complete neutralization of the other party's effect.

He himself was unaware of what kind of situation this was.

"..."

Accelerator looked further ahead, towards the source of this sense of unease.

He lost interest in drinking coffee.

"Ha, interesting."

A more refined expression suddenly appeared on the face of the person in first place; it was a smile of interest.

His intuition told him that something had happened.

That would probably be something completely unrelated to him, and something he shouldn't be involved in at all.

—Are you kidding me?

"That brat and those women are nearby. How can I just let things develop as they please?"

Whatever it is, he has to find out the situation.

He finished the liquid in his cup in a few gulps and walked straight in that direction.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————

The ground was covered with signs of destruction.

The bridge, which spans a vast area, is covered in dents and looks as if it might break at any moment. In the very center of the bridge, there are bloodstains scattered all over the ground.

Someone fell to the ground.

"Is this your limit?"

pat.

Footsteps sounded, and an incredibly tall figure appeared directly there.

He was wearing a white shirt with a jumpsuit underneath, like the kind you'd wear when playing golf. On the right side of his chest was an anchor-like icon, a very prominent dark blue cross.

He held in his hand a huge stick that was much taller than him.

"Then, I'll give you one last chance."

He wasn't talking to the person lying on the ground.

Instead, it was the poor girl in front of him, struggling to support the spear.

"—Are you willing to hand over Imagine Breaker to me or not?"

Amakusa-style cross-shaped religion, five harmonies.

The girl who once appeared in Avignon, France, has now returned to Academy City, and her purpose is quite simple.

To protect the person who has fallen to the ground.

"Is it really worth protecting?"

A tall man.

His identity is that of a member of the "Right Seat of God," a dark organization from the innermost part of the Roman Catholic Church.

The Water Behind, it is said, is someone who can even handle the land on the left.

The area on the left alone had already put Touma Kamijou, who possessed Imagine Breaker, and Itsuki in a difficult battle. Such an existence was almost impossible to contend with.

even so.

"certainly…"