“Not interested.”
Misaka’s answer was short and decisive, given almost without a moment’s thought.
Peter’s expression fell, like a balloon that had suddenly been punctured.
“But… but Gwen said every girl would like this. She’s the hottest singer right now…”
“Not everyone likes her.” Misaka cut him off, calmly stating a simple fact.
“I’m not particularly interested in listening to people sing.”
“Don’t say that, Misaka,” Aunt May said from the side, her voice as gentle as ever.
“Peter meant well. You’ve been in New York for quite some time now, and apart from going to school, you spend nearly all your time at home. You should go out and have some fun. You’re young—you should act like it.”
Uncle Ben switched off the television as well and looked at Misaka with a warm expression.
“May’s right. We’re very happy that you’ve come to think of this place as home, but that doesn’t mean you have to spend all your time here.”
“Go with Peter and the others. See what kids your age are interested in and experience it for yourself. Think of it as… a little social field trip?”
He even winked at Peter, giving him an encouraging smile.
The atmosphere around the dinner table changed because of their words.
There was anticipation in Peter’s eyes, while Aunt May and Uncle Ben looked at her with nothing but genuine concern.
They weren’t forcing her to go.
They were sincerely thinking about what was best for her.
Misaka fell silent.
She looked at the three people before her, and something hard inside her seemed to soften slightly beneath the warmth of the moment.
When she had first arrived in this world, her only goals had been survival and finding a way home.
For the sake of those goals, she could disguise herself however necessary and play the role of a “family member” perfectly.
But after spending so much time with them, that act had gradually become mixed with more and more genuine feelings.
She knew they truly cared about her.
They treated her as a sixteen-year-old girl who needed to be looked after and deserved to have a normal youth, rather than as a superpowered esper capable of unleashing a million volts of electricity in an instant.
She couldn’t bring herself to refuse.
Doing so would feel like personally pushing away a completely genuine act of kindness being offered to her.
She glanced at Peter.
That idiot of a brother was still staring at her with the pitiful, pleading eyes of a puppy, as though he would burst into tears on the spot if she rejected him again.
What a hassle…
“Fine.”
She picked up the ticket, her fingertips brushing across its smooth surface.
“I’ll go.”
“Really? That’s great!”
A brilliant smile instantly spread across Peter’s face.
“That’s wonderful, sweetheart.” Aunt May smiled as well.
“I’ll make you some sandwiches to take with you that day. You’ll definitely be hungry after the concert.”
Uncle Ben nodded in satisfaction.
“Peter, you’d better take good care of your sister.”
Seeing how happy they were, Misaka lowered her head and pretended to concentrate on the spaghetti on her plate.
Yet, unbeknownst even to herself, the corners of her lips curved upward ever so slightly.
Maybe being an “ordinary high-school girl” once in a while wasn’t such a bad thing after all.
········
After dinner, Misaka returned to her room.
She closed the door, shutting away the warmth of the Parker family.
Inside, the only light came from the small circle of orange illumination cast by her desk lamp.
She placed the concert ticket on her desk and lightly tapped the image of the singer named “Uta.”
She knew almost nothing about the popular culture of this world, nor was she particularly interested in it.
But since she’d already agreed to go, she should at least find out what kind of event she was attending.
She took out the secondhand laptop Peter had given her, booted it up, connected to the Internet, and typed the name “Uta” into the search bar.
The instant she pressed Enter, a flood of information appeared.
News reports, fan forums, music videos, screenshots of her dominating the music charts…
They nearly filled the entire screen.
Misaka clicked on the video with the highest number of views.
Its title read:
“New Genesis — Official MV.”
An energetic and infectious opening melody rang out.
On the screen, a red-and-white-haired girl sang at the top of her voice on a magnificent virtual stage.
There was something strangely magical about her singing.
It pierced through the headphones and struck directly at the heart, making people instinctively want to sway along with the melody.
The video showed countless fans cheering and going wild for her.
Misaka frowned.
The singing was indeed good.
It had considerable power and energy.
But…
that was all.
She couldn’t understand the fanatical devotion displayed by the people in the video.
From her perspective, this was nothing more than a carefully packaged piece of commercial entertainment.
She closed the video and continued scanning the search results.
Suddenly, an inconspicuous headline caught her attention.
[In-Depth Analysis: The Rise of Songstress Uta—A Miracle of Music or an Unknown Power?]
She clicked on it.
It was an analytical article published by an independent media outlet.
Starting from Uta’s debut, the author meticulously documented her seemingly miraculous rise to fame.
The article pointed out that Uta’s singing appeared to possess an infectious quality far beyond that of ordinary music.
Many fans who had heard her perform live claimed that it was an extraordinary experience—one in which they felt as though their “souls had been cleansed” and “all their troubles had vanished.”
In the latter half of the article, the author went even further, proposing a bold theory:
Perhaps Uta’s singing wasn’t merely music at all.
Perhaps it was a form of “superpower” capable of influencing the human mind and emotions. New chapters come out on g.com first.
Superpower?
Misaka straightened in her seat.
The term wasn’t unfamiliar in this world.
The existence of the Avengers had long since forced the general public to accept the reality of superhuman powers.
But using singing to influence the mind?
That sounded a little like someone she knew who enjoyed playing with people’s minds.
She thought of Shokuhou Misaki—the other Level 5, the blonde queen whose ability was Mental Out.
Shokuhou Misaki needed a remote control as a medium for her ability.
But this Uta seemed to need nothing more than her voice.
Was it merely a coincidence, or…
Misaka’s eyes narrowed.
She suddenly felt that this concert might not be as simple as it appeared on the surface.
She looked at the ticket on her desk again.
The girl wearing headphones smiled with innocent brightness.
Her mismatched red-and-blue eyes seemed to glitter strangely beneath the lamplight.
“Now this is interesting.”
Misaka closed the laptop and leaned back against her chair.
What had originally been nothing more than a boring event she had reluctantly agreed to attend out of consideration for her new family now seemed to have acquired something worth investigating.
She raised a hand and lightly swiped it through the air.
A blue panel that only she could see materialized before her.
[Guardian Faction Player: Misaka Mikoto]
[Current Total Reputation: 3,000]
That number had increased by only 3,000 points over the past half month.
Her days had been completely routine—going to school and returning home on schedule.
The 3,000 Reputation points had come from the small display of her athletic ability during physical education class, which had earned praise from her classmates.
She had been worrying about the lack of opportunities.
But now…
It seemed an opportunity might have presented itself.
If that singer named Uta really was a superpowered individual, and if her ability possessed some kind of unpredictable characteristic…
Misaka wondered whether Uta was a native of this world or another “Player.”
The corners of Misaka’s lips curled into a confident smile.
It was the smile of the Railgun of Tokiwadai Middle School just before the hunt began.
“Then I’ll go and confirm it for myself.”
She placed the ticket inside her desk drawer.
It was almost as though it weren’t a ticket to a grand musical event, but a formal invitation to a battle that had been delivered straight into her hands.
Besides…
She was genuinely a little curious.
What kind of singing could possibly captivate a girl as intelligent as Gwen?