One-way traffic

"Huh? This is the first time I've heard that Misaka-senpai has a cousin..."

"And why would my older sister's cousin come to Academy City? I remember that now is not the time when outsiders are allowed to enter."

"Haha, of course you wouldn't know about my family affairs! Besides, she's actually been here for quite a while now, don't you think, cousin?"

"Hmm... I can't understand what my sister is saying at all," Misaka Misaka couldn't help but feel confused by her sister's strange behavior.

Please don't sabotage me at a time like this!

Suppressing her urge to complain, Misaka Mikoto controlled her trembling lips and could only continue making things up.

About ten minutes later.

"Wow... there's such a deep history behind it."

The group has evolved from a simple group of four to a group of seven. Six girls and a ten-year-old boy are sitting together at a public table in an open-air cafe, eating the ice cream they just bought.

"I never imagined that you, Haru, would know Hatsune Miku, and that Misaka-senpai would have a distant cousin who is unknown to anyone?"

"That's truly shocking news..."

"It's unbelievable, how many secrets does my sister still have that Kuroko doesn't know...?"

Anyway, at least we managed to get away with it.

Misaka Mikoto, who had finally breathed a sigh of relief, then looked at Hatsune Miku sitting to the side.

"And then there's... Hatsune Miku, right?"

"Eh? Yes, what's wrong, Misaka-san...?"

"Well, although I'm a little curious about how you and this child met, let's leave that for later... What are you planning to do today?"

After this question was raised, the others couldn't help but turn their gazes toward Hatsune Miku.

"...Actually, Last Order and I originally just came here to have fun."

As she said this, Hatsune Miku looked at the other person with some concern.

The little boy sitting next to her.

"This child's older sister...is she lost?"

"Really? And they haven't been seen all day?!"

"Why didn't you report such a serious matter to the police?"

The four girls reacted immediately, but the two who reacted the most were, as expected, the other two.

"In early spring, shouldn't this kind of thing be handed over to the disciplinary committee?"

"Yes, I will report this to my superiors immediately."

Shirai Kuroko and Uiharu Kazari reacted immediately and looked at Hatsune Miku.

"Miss Hatsune, please take this child with you and do not leave. We are disciplinary committee members and will investigate this matter as quickly as possible."

"Huh? Really, is it really okay?"

Hatsune Miku looked at the two of them with some surprise, seemingly genuinely not expecting them to have such an identity.

Even Hatsuharu Kazari, who had only met her once before, thought she was simply acting out of a sense of justice, never imagining that she possessed such a high-ranking status.

"it's okay."

Misaka Mikoto chuckled softly, while also glancing at Hatsune Miku.

"If we leave it to Kuroko and the others to handle, there won't be any problems. Besides... we two need to have a good talk too."

"Eh?"

Under Hatsune Miku's somewhat astonished gaze, Misaka Mikoto stood up with a half-smile.

"Excuse me, Ms. Hatsune, could we talk alone for a moment?"

"I want to ask about my cousin."

Chapter 215 There's work to do!

The rest of the group stayed at the open-air cafe for the time being.

Misaka Mikoto immediately pulled Hatsune Miku into a distant alley. To prevent others from overhearing their conversation, she made sure no one was following them.

Then, as she walked directly into the alley, her eyes completely changed.

In her memory, there were 20,000 Misaka Sisters, but there shouldn't be any bodies as small as Last Order.

I had seen her before on September 30th, but I just missed her in a hurry. Today, she was with this girl, and the two seemed to have a very close relationship. It even seemed that Uiharu Kazari knew her.

This is no longer something that can be easily brushed off.

Misaka Mikoto was determined to find out what had happened herself; no matter what, she had to ask the girl standing in front of her a good question.

and so.

At that moment, Misaka Mikoto spoke with a fierce tone.

"…you."

"...?"

"Your clothes aren't on properly..."

Hatsune Miku blinked, only then realizing that her chest seemed somewhat empty.

"what…!!"

It must have been because of the tugging at Hatsune Miku's sailor uniform with cherry blossom edges when she left; the front of the uniform was slightly drooping, almost exposing her chest.

The girl with pigtails blushed immediately, straightened her clothes, and quickly bowed to express her gratitude.

But that's not the only reason Misaka Mikoto said that.

'...She looks like she's only fourteen or fifteen, right?'

But what I saw through her chest just now... far exceeded what Misaka Mikoto herself could see.

Although it wasn't particularly large in size, it was unimaginably huge to Misaka Mikoto. Coupled with the way it unconsciously exuded, just one glance was enough to ignite a nameless fire within her.

Why is it that even a girl I've just met has bigger breasts than me?!

"Um...Misaka-san?"

"Ah...it's alright, it's alright, ignorance is no excuse."

"???"

Seeing Hatsune Miku's bewildered, blinking expression, Misaka Mikoto decided not to waste any more time there.

"Then I'll get straight to the point: how did you meet that child?"

"That child...does it refer to The Last Work?"

"You should be aware of her existence. What I care about is why you're by her side."

At this point, Misaka Mikoto's expression also became serious.

"The existence of the sisters should be unknown to ordinary people. The person who can stay by their side is definitely not an ordinary person. Answer me, who exactly are you? And what is your relationship with Last Order?"

"And most importantly... that absurd experiment, they wouldn't still be planning to do it, would they?!"

In Academy City, the ability levels are ranked in only six on the surface.

There are only seven Level 5 superpowered individuals in this ranking, from Level 0 (no ability) to Level 5 (superpowered), but in reality, there are more than that.

Yes, all of this is merely a ranking within the human realm.

Above Level 5, there lies the ultimate realm, a world known as the Realm of Gods, which no one has been able to reach until now.

With a non-divine body, one comprehends divine consciousness and becomes a person who descends to the mortal world as if guided by divine will.

That is the goal pursued by Academy City, collectively known as SYSTEM, but its actual name is more likely to provoke thought.

Absolute Ability User (Level 6).

According to calculations by the designers of Academy City's supercomputer tree diagram, all seven Level 5 espers could actually evolve into Level 6 espers. However, these six would likely make serious mistakes in the final stage, some even experiencing a breakdown during the process, and some even facing extinction as a result.

It is absolutely impossible for a human body to accept the mind of a god. Even a Level 5 superpowered person can never become an absolute power user (Level 6).

—But, except for one person.

Accelerator is the strongest esper in Academy City, ranking first. Only he can evolve into an absolute esper (Level 6) with the most stable ability.

Even someone with such qualifications like Accelerator would need nearly 250 years to reach that level of strength. Humans might not even live to see a hundred years, so this method is simply unrealistic.

The final decision was based on new content created by the tree diagram designers, which stipulated that if the third-ranked Railgun killed 128 times on 128 different battlefields, Accelerator could evolve to this level.

Since Misaka Mikoto couldn't possibly have 128 clones, Academy City created 20,000 clones using her own DNA before that, calling them the "Sisters." They were clones created to be killed by Accelerator.

This is the Absolute Ability User Project.

This is why Misaka Mikoto takes this matter so seriously. Several months ago, the Absolute Level 4 Project was secretly resolved by a certain spiky-haired youth. Now, seeing her sister whom she has never met before, Misaka Mikoto has become unusually vigilant.

What about the girl in front of us? What connection does she have, or is she also one of the experimenters?

"Eh... I don't understand."

"what?"

In that instant, everything in Misaka Mikoto's mind collapsed, and she could no longer contain her emotions.

"You, what did you say?"

"Um... well, I mean I don't understand, Misaka-san. I do know Last Order, but what you're saying about sisters... does Last Order have sisters?"

This scene left Misaka Mikoto completely dumbfounded.

"No, no... You're not pretending, are you? I—you didn't know?!"

"Well, um... Last Order initially lived with her guardian, and then I moved into their apartment with her after that, but I never saw the sister or anything like that you mentioned she should have..."

"...So, you really don't know anything at all?"

It's actually quite normal.

Although Accelerator spent a long time with Hatsune Miku, he never mentioned anything about Level 1 users to her during that time.

As such, Hatsune Miku had no idea what Last Order was, and simply thought she was a little girl staying at Aiho Yomikawa's house.

So even if Misaka Mikoto wanted to get something out of Hatsune Miku, it would be to no avail.

"Ms. Misaka...?"

Seeing Misaka Mikoto looking completely frozen, Hatsune Miku quickly asked her what was wrong.

"Are you alright? You look terrible..."

"Ah... I'm fine. I'm sorry I was so serious with you earlier..."

Although it's hard to believe no matter how you look at it, Misaka Mikoto can definitely tell that the girl isn't lying.

It's really...unbelievable.

I wonder who the little sister named Last Order lives with on a regular basis? Hmm... this girl named Hatsune seems to be a very nice person, but what kind of person is her so-called guardian?

I have so many questions in my mind, but I can't just ask people these kinds of questions directly... Ugh! This is so troublesome!

"Never mind, what's the purpose of you coming out with Last Order today?"

"Your purpose... is simply to come and check out the newly opened amusement park rides?"

It really is just an ordinary daily routine.

Realizing she had completely misunderstood the other person, Misaka Mikoto sighed and quickly pulled Hatsune Miku out of the alley.

"Sorry, I was being too reckless. But, what did you say about that child?"

"Are you still talking about the final work...?"

"No, it's that boy over there."

Misaka Mikoto waved her hand and said.

"Didn't he say his sister was missing? Do you have any clue?"

"Well... we can only find out about him verbally."

As she spoke, Hatsune Miku recalled what the boy had said earlier.