A Scientific Urban Detective.

Chapter 769 is truly... peaceful.
"Strange... Why haven't my sister and the others come back yet?" Shirai Kuroko muttered to herself, looking at her phone.

At this moment, they were standing at the entrance of the "Embroidery Enthusiasts Association" exhibition hall.

There happened to be a simple hands-on activity here, and Shiori Ueharu was very interested in it, so she participated with Ruiko Saten.

She herself was part of the organizers of the "Midsummer Festival" and already knew the specific details of these exhibits, so she didn't go to participate in the experience.

On the contrary, Junko Hokaze was quite interested in this, so she replaced Kuroko Shirai and accompanied Kazari Uiharu and the others.

“Nameless Senior,” Shirai Kuroko said, choosing to stay at the back and observe with Lin Wuming, “is this kind of exhibition a bit boring for you?”

“No, you’re overthinking it.” Lin Wuming shook his head. “If it’s just a visit, I think it’s quite interesting.”

The "Midsummer Festival" is, after all, a festival event for girls' schools, so what is exhibited here are naturally all activities of girls' clubs.

Under these circumstances, those who are willing to personally participate in the experiential projects are mostly girls.

In fact, Lin Wuming's reaction was only average, just like most of the other boys who participated in the festival, mainly watching.

But we absolutely cannot say that they will get bored.

In fact, it should be said that they were enjoying it.

"That's good." Shirai Kuroko seemed relieved. "I thought you were getting bored...you seemed so distracted the whole time."

—Oh, I've been noticed. Is it that obvious?
Lin Wuming thought to himself.

Shirai Kuroko was right; Lin Wuming wasn't paying attention at all during the visit.

Even a large part of the attention is focused on things other than the festival itself.

"I just feel..." Lin Wuming surveyed his surroundings, "It's such a peaceful day..."

It even feels a bit too peaceful.

The whole trip was just about eating and strolling around, just like attending an ordinary festival—so ordinary and uneventful that it was almost unremarkable.

Since Lin Wuming had already received the news, and Final Signal and Accelerator had also arrived; in addition, there were Hamazura Shiage and the four "tools"; plus the eyewitness report about Index in the restaurant, it wasn't hard to imagine that Kamijou Touma was definitely in this building as well...

In the original story, it would be surprising if the three main characters didn't get together.

Shirai Kuroko couldn't understand Lin Wuming's worries, but she wasn't particularly surprised. She just thought that Lin Wuming was a little stressed because he had been through too many cases recently.

“Don’t worry, Nameless Senior,” Shirai Kuroko said. “The security level for this event is very high.”

After all, it was Tokiwadai Middle School's open day event, so it's no surprise that the security measures, both overt and covert, were at their maximum.

So much so that Shirai Kuroko doesn't even need to participate in the disciplinary committee work.

"Not to mention," Shirai Kuroko also received the relevant information, "a large portion of the Level 5s are here, so even if there is any unexpected situation—such as a mage invasion—it will not be a problem to repel the enemy."

While saying this, Shirai Kuroko was still somewhat unwilling, but since she didn't have the status of a disciplinary committee member today, she could take a more calm view of "high-level ability users among ordinary citizens" from the perspective of an ordinary citizen.

“That makes sense…” Lin Wuming nodded.

However, what he was really worried about was the occurrence of some kind of event that was beyond the capabilities of Level 5.

In fact, after the original storyline has fully unfolded, the intensity of the battles and the strength of the enemies exceeding Level 5 have become the norm. Now, Sherry Cromwell, who was supposed to appear on the first day of school, has made an early appearance, and Lin Wuming dares not gamble that other events will also occur ahead of schedule.

Of course, only Misaki Shokuhou could understand Lin Wuming's worries. If he were to voice them, people would probably just think he was worrying unnecessarily.

Shirai Kuroko stared at Lin Wuming's face, then suddenly sighed, "Just as I thought, it's true..."

"Hmm? What's wrong?" Lin Wuming looked over. "Did Mikoto say something?"

“It’s not exactly a complaint,” Shirai Kuroko shrugged, “but my sister has mentioned more than once that the nameless senior seems to be hiding a lot of secrets in his heart. And only Shokuhou Misaki can share those secrets.”

"Huh? Is that so..."

“My older sister is very envious… no, you could even say jealous,” Shirai Kuroko said. “Ah, don’t tell my older sister about this, she’ll definitely not let me off the hook.”

Lin Wuming smiled and said, "No way, I think that with the relationship between Mikoto and you... she wouldn't get angry over something so small."

"You still don't understand girls' feelings," Shirai Kuroko shook her head. "Especially Onee-sama, her personality..."

Lin Wuming simply smiled without saying a word. How could he not understand Misaka Mikoto's personality?

Not only Misaka Mikoto, but he also knows Shirai Kuroko... the Shirai Kuroko from the original work.

For some reason, the real-life Shirai Kuroko is much more normal and restrained than the character in the original work.

Judging from Misaka Mikoto's reaction, it seems that her sexual orientation has not yet been revealed.

Or perhaps, due to a subtle change in the plot, Shirai Kuroko's affection for Misaka Mikoto stopped at the "best friend" level?

But at least in reality, Shirai Kuroko no longer receives electric shocks every now and then, as she did in the original work.

From this perspective, Misaka Mikoto's attitude towards her was indeed much better...

At that moment, Haruharu Kazari and Saten Ruiko, feeling satisfied after completing the experience, came over.

"Wow, that's amazing! To be able to create such a high-quality piece in such a short time!" Haru Shiori exclaimed enthusiastically.

"You flatter me, Haruharu. I guess it's because I've done something similar in class that I'm more comfortable with it?" Junko Hokaze replied with a smile. "I think Saten's work is also very cool."

“Is that so?” Saten Ruiko said. “Because you often make similar little things for your younger siblings, right?”

Shirai Kuroko went up to greet them: "Where do you want to go next?"

"I'm sorry to have kept you both waiting." Junko Hokkaido felt a little ashamed—Her Majesty the Queen had asked her to accompany the nameless senior on the tour, but she had been having fun on the sidelines...

“Isn’t it time to take a break?” Saten Ruiko said. “Let’s also let our Haru-kun cool down a bit.”

“Let’s go to the restaurant then,” Shirai Kuroko said. “It’s a bit early, but it’ll be good to avoid the lunch rush.”

"That's a great suggestion," Saten Ruiko's eyes lit up. "Let's go get something delicious!"

So the group headed towards the restaurant.

(End of this chapter)