Misaka Mikoto, one of only seven Level 5 espers in Academy City, ranked third, codename
“Railgun.” Her ability is the Electromaster, generating electricity, and she earned the codename from the electromagnetic shot she fires by using that power to propel a coin.
Beyond that, her ability can also create magnetic fields with electricity to manipulate metal.
In a certain sense, she’s even more formidable than Magneto.
At Tokiwadai Middle School, Misaka Mikoto, Shokuhou Misaki, and I are all celebrities.
Because of her ability, Misaka Mikoto gets called the Electric Shock Princess… no, the Electric Princess, and her faction is no smaller than mine or Shokuhou Misaki’s.
Even so, I still have to say, Misaka Mikoto may have a tremendously powerful ability, but she’s still too green; she can’t even notice someone tailing her.
I hid behind a utility pole not far behind Misaka Mikoto, watching her walk along ahead of me with a blank expression.
School had just let out.
Given Misaka Mikoto’s personality, she definitely wouldn’t head straight back to the dorm.
Tailing her during this window was the most direct way to get a read on her daily habits and her character.
Of course, the reason I was following Misaka Mikoto was definitely not because I wanted to do anything weird to her.
In fact, as the third-ranked combat power in Academy City, I really couldn’t think of more than a handful of people who could push her down.
If I rushed up and tried to force myself on her, the end result would definitely be getting fried into a lump of charcoal.
My real target was that mouthwatering living-expense subsidy of Misaka Mikoto’s.
Academy City hands out students’ living expenses according to their ability level, so as a Level 5, the living expenses allotted to Misaka Mikoto are naturally a hefty sum.
As far as I know, at least, Misaka Mikoto spends without holding back every single day and still has more than half of her monthly subsidy left over…
I don’t even dare imagine how long the string of numbers in Misaka Mikoto’s bank account must be.
That said, getting Misaka Mikoto to support me financially or anything like that is eight times out of ten impossible.
So I just wanted to borrow a bit of money from her.
The kind nature of Tokiwadai’s Electric Princess is fairly famous around school too.
I figured that once she heard my situation, Misaka Mikoto would help me out…
“Tenshouin-san, what are you doing over here?” Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
Just as I was thinking about how to bring up borrowing money in a way that suited Misaka Mikoto’s temperament, a somewhat cold, eerie voice suddenly came from behind me.
The words themselves sounded polite enough, but the sneering undertone was quite obvious, and besides, I recognized this voice.
I turned my head and looked at the girl standing behind me in the same Tokiwadai uniform, and immediately felt a headache coming on.
“Shirai Kuroko, why aren’t you off chasing your Onee-sama? What are you running over to me for…”
“Because the second I showed up, I saw you tailing my Onee-sama.”
Shirai Kuroko folded both arms across her chest and watched me with a sneer, her two slightly loose twintails trembling like an octopus’s tentacles, rather amusing, really.
“I really never expected the Ice Queen of Tokiwadai would stoop to tailing someone, the kind of creepy thing only some perverted middle-aged molester would do.”
“That’s right, I’m following Misaka Mikoto.”
Even though I’d been caught red-handed, I had no intention of weaseling my way out.
As Misaka Mikoto’s loyal mount, Shirai Kuroko definitely wasn’t going to listen to any excuses.
Rather than that, I figured I might as well just brazenly admit it, much more satisfying.
Sure enough, hearing my words, Shirai Kuroko’s expression instantly froze, then turned a little ugly, looking like a fountain about to gush that had suddenly been jammed back down by a giant cork…
“So then, what’s your motive, tailing Onee-sama? Don’t tell me you mean to fight me for her?”
Maybe because my flat-out admission left her no good opening to blow up, Shirai Kuroko’s eye twitched before she finally managed to ask in a barely passable, level tone.
“I think you might have misunderstood something?”
My face still carried no real expression, partly because my facial expressions barely change to begin with, and partly because showing my emotions while I spoke would only make it easy for Shirai Kuroko to misread me.
“I’m looking for Misaka-san just to borrow a little money, that’s all.”
“Borrow money?”
Shirai Kuroko blanked for a moment, then quickly caught on.
“Ah, right, your Tenshouin family fortune—ah, sorry.”
She seemed to realize her words were about to tear open someone’s old wound, so Shirai Kuroko cut herself off halfway and quickly apologized as well.
It looked like, fanatical as she was about Misaka Mikoto, she wasn’t an unreasonable person who made trouble out of nothing.
“It’s nothing.”
I shook my head.
Sure, it had thrown my living expenses into crisis, but normally I didn’t have much to do at home anyway, and this situation actually made my daily life a little more eventful.
“Ugh… even if it’s because of money troubles that you want to find Onee-sama, still…”
Even though she’d accepted my explanation, Shirai Kuroko’s brow stayed knit.
I could understand her thinking.
The kid was eight times out of ten afraid that, in the back-and-forth of borrowing and repaying money, Misaka Mikoto and I might develop feelings over time or something.
In Shirai Kuroko’s heart, anyone who got close to Misaka Mikoto was probably treated as a romantic rival.
It seemed borrowing money from Misaka Mikoto was going to be a bit difficult.
I sighed and was just about to give up on the Misaka Mikoto route when Shirai Kuroko, standing in front of me, suddenly spoke up:
“H… how about this. I don’t have much money either… but meals and that sort of thing, those aren’t a problem…”
“Huh?”
Hearing the seemingly flustered note in Shirai Kuroko’s tone, I tilted my head, puzzled.
“What I mean is, from now on your meals, I can handle them.”
Seeing my confused expression, Shirai Kuroko gritted her teeth and said,
“From now on, just wait for me on the second floor of the cafeteria at lunch and dinner. I’ll buy your food then!”
“Uh…”
Shirai Kuroko’s sudden declaration caught me a bit off guard.
But she quickly laid out her condition:
“But! From this day on, you’re not allowed to go near Onee-sama again! Otherwise I’ll tell everyone about you tailing her!”
I really wanted to say, “Even if you tell everyone, nobody’s going to believe you,” but seeing the somewhat shamed and indignant look on Shirai Kuroko’s face, I could only nod.
Whatever.
Let’s just call it humoring a kid.
And just like that, in a total daze, I somehow got my meals taken care of.