Misaka’s thoughts drifted away from the events of half a month earlier and returned to the present.
She was sitting at the Parker family’s dinner table.
Warm light filled the room.
Aunt May was once again putting more food onto her plate.
“Mikoto, have some more.”
May smiled warmly.
“You’re still growing, after all.”
Uncle Ben watched her from the side with a warm smile.
Over the past half month, scenes like this had already become part of her daily life.
Misaka lowered her head and dug into the food on her plate, while mentally taking stock of her “assets.”
Ever since that night, the blue panel before her eyes had become a secret that only she could see.
She had long since grown accustomed to bringing up the interface in her mind whenever she wanted.
[Guardian Faction Player: Misaka Mikoto]
[Current Total Reputation: ???]
Compared to the initial 8,000 Reputation, the additional 6,000 had mainly come thanks to Peter’s two best friends.
A week ago, Peter had introduced her to his closest friends with an awkward excitement that was almost like he was showing off his family’s newest member.
“Harry, Gwen, this is Mikoto. She’s… she’s my sister.”
The boy had scratched his head at the time, his cheeks slightly flushed as he desperately tried to put on the airs of an older brother.
The girl named Gwen Stacy had beautiful long blonde hair and a bright smile.
She won Misaka’s favor almost immediately.
She was like a friendly older sister from next door, taking Misaka’s hand and curiously asking all sorts of questions about life in Japan.
There wasn’t the slightest hint of rejection or suspicion in her eyes—only genuine friendliness.
[Key plot character “Gwen Stacy” has reached “Trust” in favor toward you. Reputation gained: 3,000.]
The other one, Harry Osborn, was completely different.
He wore a well-tailored designer casual outfit and had a handsome face with a hint of rebelliousness.
When they first met, he looked Misaka up and down with an assessing gaze, a playful smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
“Parker, where’d you pick up such a cute little Japanese doll?”
Peter immediately became flustered.
“Harry! She’s my sister!”
Misaka merely raised an eyebrow without saying a word.
She’d seen plenty of rich-kid types like him back in Academy City.
However, after she calmly handled all his jokes and probing questions with the elegant poise she’d cultivated at Tokiwadai—a level of refinement that could make practically any young lady feel ashamed of herself—Harry’s expression changed.
The initial flippancy disappeared, replaced by genuine appreciation and curiosity.
[Key plot character “Harry Osborn” has reached “Acknowledgment” in favor toward you. Reputation gained: 3,000.]
So building good relationships with this world’s “key characters” was another shortcut to earning Reputation.
Misaka silently made a note of that.
Of course, the most important development over the past half month wasn’t making new friends.
It was finally escaping her status as an undocumented immigrant.
The Parkers had gone to extraordinary lengths to make it happen.
They were law-abiding citizens and didn’t want to resort to any underhanded methods.
Uncle Ben had used what little he earned to consult several lawyers, but the answers he received were all discouraging.
For a sixteen-year-old girl with no identity records whatsoever to obtain legal status was an incredibly complicated process.
It was practically as difficult as reaching the heavens.
Just when the couple were at their wits’ end, a breakthrough appeared.
After Gwen learned about the situation, she went home and told her father.
George Stacy, a captain with the New York City Police Department.
A few days later, a serious-looking middle-aged man wearing a trench coat knocked on the Parker family’s door.
He had brought no entourage. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
He had come simply as “Gwen’s father” to visit the family of his daughter’s friend.
He carefully questioned them about Misaka’s “background”—the tragic story that the Parkers and Misaka had fabricated together about a Japanese distant relative whose family had been caught in a maritime disaster, leaving the girl as the sole survivor and causing her to lose her memory.
Misaka kept her head lowered throughout the entire conversation, playing the role of a timid girl suffering from post-traumatic stress.
Her acting was so convincing that she almost believed the story herself.
George Stacy listened in silence.
Then he glanced at the case file he’d brought with him concerning the robbery.
The robber’s injuries had been classified as top secret.
According to the medical examiner’s report, his palm had been “instantly vaporized by some kind of unknown Gauss kinetic weapon.”
George’s gaze remained fixed on Misaka for more than ten seconds, as though he were trying to see through the harmless-looking girl sitting before him.
In the end, however, he simply closed the file and said to the worried Parkers:
“I’ll take care of it. This girl needs a normal environment in which to grow up.”
With the captain’s special approval, everything proceeded smoothly.
A week later, a brand-new identity document bearing the name “Misaka Mikoto,” along with a Social Security card, was delivered into her hands.
“That’s wonderful!”
Aunt May hugged Misaka, tears of joy streaming down her face.
“You can finally go to school with Peter!”
Uncle Ben excitedly patted Peter on the shoulder.
“Peter, make sure you take good care of your sister at school.”
And so, Misaka Mikoto—the former esper from Academy City and now an ordinary middle-school student in Queens, New York—officially enrolled at Midtown High.
She was a freshman, while Peter, Harry, and Gwen were already seniors preparing to graduate.
“Hey, Peter.”
Misaka nudged the boy beside her with her elbow.
He was still lost in thought.
“The chicken wraps on your plate are getting cold.”
“Huh? Oh!”
Peter snapped back to reality and hurriedly picked up his knife and fork.
He’d been doing that a lot lately.
Every so often, he’d zone out, and sometimes he’d even stare blankly at a corner of the wall, as though he were thinking about something.
Misaka glanced at him but didn’t ask.
Ever since they had become “siblings,” Peter had entered some kind of strange “big brother mode.”
Every morning and afternoon, he insisted on walking to and from school with Misaka, supposedly to “protect his little sister.”
At school, whenever a boy looked at Misaka for a little too long, Peter would shoot him a wary look like a dog guarding its food.
Once, Flash Thompson—the school’s resident bully—deliberately tried to shoulder-check Misaka in the hallway, apparently wanting to show off.
Peter was just about to rush over when he saw that Misaka didn’t even break stride.
She didn’t so much as glance at him.
She simply walked straight past.
Flash’s muscular body slammed into Misaka’s petite shoulder.
The scene he’d expected—of the girl being sent flying—never happened.
Instead, Flash himself looked as though he’d crashed into an invisible wall.
“OW!”
He stumbled backward several steps before landing hard on his backside, his expression more spectacular than if he’d seen a ghost.
The surrounding students were stunned.
Misaka merely turned her head and swept Flash with a look of utter contempt.
“Don’t you have eyes when you walk?”
With that, she walked away without another word, leaving behind a stunned silence and a bewildered Flash clutching his shoulder and questioning his entire existence.
From that day on, everyone at Midtown High knew one thing: Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
That beautiful Japanese transfer student among the freshmen was not someone you wanted to mess with.
Peter Parker, the newly appointed “big brother,” finally realized that his protection…
was probably a little unnecessary.
That didn’t stop him from continuing to fulfill his duties as a brother, though.
For example, the moment he saw Misaka finish everything on her plate, he immediately asked enthusiastically:
“Mikoto, want some more? I’ve still got some.”
“No, thanks. I’m full.”
Misaka wiped her mouth with a napkin and leaned back in her chair, wearing a satisfied expression.
She had to admit, Aunt May was an excellent cook.
Looking at the smiles on everyone’s faces, Misaka felt something strange in her heart.
It was warm.
And comforting.
She knew this peace was only temporary.
The red skull representing the [Raid Faction] on her system panel was like a thorn, constantly reminding her of the dangers lurking in this world.
She needed to become stronger.
She needed to earn more Reputation.
Not only for the ridiculously expensive “ticket home,” but also to protect this hard-won warmth.
“All right, kids.”
Uncle Ben stood up and began clearing the dishes.
“Go do your homework. Especially you, Peter. College applications are coming up soon, so you can’t let yourself slack off.”
“Got it, Uncle Ben.”
Peter answered and got up to help.
Misaka hopped down from her chair.
“I’m done eating,” she told Aunt May and Uncle Ben before turning and heading back to her room.
Once she closed the door, the only light in the room came from the warm orange glow of the desk lamp.
She sat down at her desk but didn’t take out her textbooks.
She had already finished her Midtown High homework during class.
Instead, she raised a hand and gently swiped through the air.
The blue virtual panel appeared once again.
Her eyes immediately skipped over the dazzling selection of items and landed on the “Bond Summoning” list.
One familiar name and portrait after another lay quietly on the screen, each followed by a long and despair-inducing string of zeroes.
Her finger slowly scrolled through the list.
Eventually, it stopped on the name that had been causing her so much turmoil.
[Kamijou Touma — Summoning Cost: 1,000,000 Reputation]
One million…
It was still an astronomical figure, but compared with the four million required for Kuroko and the others, it seemed…
just a little closer.
“Idiot…”
She muttered under her breath, her cheeks growing slightly warm.
As though angry with herself, she abruptly closed the system panel.
The room fell silent once again.
Misaka lay face-down on the desk, burying her face in the crook of her arms.
She missed home.
But she also knew that until she had accumulated enough Reputation to pay the price of returning home…
this was her home.