A Scientific Urban Detective.

Chapter 870 Let's talk about it, Shirai Kuroko

The school dormitory area, Tokiwadai Junior High School.

"Good morning, Your Majesty." Junko Hokaze opened the door without permission and entered Misaki Shokuhou's room.

Sure enough, although Misaki Shokuhou had already gotten up, she still looked like she hadn't woken up yet, sitting in front of the dressing table in her pajamas, lost in thought.

"You must have come back too late last night. Did you not get enough sleep?" Junko picked up a comb and gently smoothed the Queen's slightly messy blonde hair. "Would you like a cup of coffee?"

“No,” Misaki Shokuhou shook her head, “I don’t want to drink that stuff~ Don’t worry about me, it’ll be fine in a bit…”

“I’ve already submitted my leave request to the teacher,” Junko Hokaze said without insisting, “but I don’t know if it went well with Misaka-san.”

"Hmm..." After a moment of contemplation, Misaka Shokuhou said, "Don't worry, since we're going to the nameless senior's place, Misaka will definitely do her best."

After thinking for a while, Misaki Shokuhou continued, "Did they come to school?"

"They already left the dorm when I contacted them just now," Junko Hokkaido said. "With Shirai-kun's superpower, they should have arrived by now, right?"

Unlike Misaki Shokuhou and Junko Hokkaido, it's more difficult for Mikoto Misaka and Kuroko Shirai to get leave, especially the dormitory hurdle, which is very difficult to overcome.

So they decided to come to school first and ask their respective homeroom teachers for leave.

"Hmm?" Misaki Shokuhou immediately perked up. "Shirai-san has already arrived at school?"

“Yes.” Junko Hokaze nodded. “Spatial teleportation is very fast. I believe we’ve arrived at the classroom by now.”

In Junko Hokaze's eyes, Shirai Kuroko is somewhat similar to herself—both are "support" type characters.

Therefore, when contacting the other party, she subconsciously chose Shirai Kuroko.

"Quick, seize this opportunity, I need to stop her!" Misaki Shokuhou immediately said, "Junko-nee, go and stop Misaka Mikoto for me, don't let her cause trouble."

“Okay.” Junko Hokaze nodded without hesitation. “But, is there something you need to see Shirai-san about, Your Majesty?”

“Of course something’s wrong.” Misaki Shokuhou rested her finger on her chin. “But I’ll have to wait until I see her to find out the details.”

"Eh? Shirai-kun... I didn't offend you, did I?" Junko Hokaze knew perfectly well that Misaki Shokuhou's words meant she was preparing to use "Mental Control."

"That's hard to say." Misaki Shokuhou narrowed her eyes, revealing a villainous queen-like smile.

Seeing the queen's image in the mirror, Junko Hokkaido sighed inwardly: "Your Majesty, Shirai-san's 'spatial teleportation' is quite troublesome, so let's call Hojo Ayane-san along later as well."

"You're right. It's all thanks to you, Junko-nee." Misaki Shokuhou showed a normal smile this time.

……

"So~ don't even think about running away, Shirai-kun~ am I that scary? Why do you want to run away the moment you see me?"

In the corridor, Misaki Shokuhou fiddled with the remote control in her hand as she walked towards Kuroko Shirai.

Influenced by the "mental control" suggestion, the entire corridor was empty except for Shirai Kuroko, Shokuhou Misaki, and Hojo Ayane.

Shirai Kuroko sensed something was wrong and tried to use "spatial teleportation" to leave, but was grabbed by Hojo Ayane.

Hojo Ayane's ability is Level 2 "Emotional Tuning Fork," which, strictly speaking, does not meet the admission requirements for Tokiwadai Middle School.

However, thanks to her highly developed ability, she achieved a practical effect equivalent to or even higher than Level 3. For example, just now, because she "heard" the prelude to Shirai Kuroko's attempt to activate her superpower, Hojo Ayane intervened in time to interrupt and prevent the normal activation of "spatial teleportation."

Shirai Kuroko looked at Hojo Ayane beside her with surprise and a hint of resentment.

Because of her training in ninjutsu, Hojo Ayane has mastered many inconspicuous but effective attack methods.

The reason she was able to interrupt "spatial teleportation" was quite simple—she did launch an attack, using the brief impact and pain to suppress Shirai Kuroko's mind, preventing her from using her superpowers normally.

However, Shirai Kuroko quickly lost her resentment towards Hojo Ayane.

Seeing Misaki Shokuhou closing in step by step, Shirai Kuroko panicked and turned pale, feeling like prey that had fallen into a trap.

"I've already told you, what are you afraid of me for, Shirai-kun?" Misaki Shokuhou asked again. "I won't do anything to you, and besides, I haven't activated my superpowers yet."

"Your Majesty, you look like a villain right now," Hojo Ayane couldn't help but complain. "If I were in your shoes, I'd want to run away too, wouldn't I?"

“No,” Misaki Shokuhou shook her head, “If it were Hojo-san, the first thing she would think of would be defeating him, right?”

Hojo Ayane thought for a moment, then nodded seriously: "You're right, Your Majesty."

“Alright, thank you for your hard work this time,” said Misaki Shokuhou. “Now let me have a private chat with Shirai-kun.”

"Aren't you worried she'll escape?" Hojo Ayane glanced at the twin-tailed girl she had caught.

“It’s different now. Shirai-san won’t run away anymore~” Misaki Shokuhou said, looking at Shirai Kuroko. “Am I right, Shirai-san?”

Shirai Kuroko nodded silently with a stern face.

Hojo Ayane shrugged, then released Shirai Kuroko: "I'll be going now, bye-bye."

As expected, Shirai Kuroko showed no intention of using "spatial teleportation" again, and instead stood silently in place.

Misaki Shokuhou took a step forward, and Shirai Kuroko involuntarily took a half step back. Then, as if she had thought of something, she took the half step back, looking like she was unwilling to show weakness.

But she never looked into Misaki Shokuhou's eyes.

"You... what do you want from me?" Seeing that the other party still wanted to get closer, Shirai Kuroko had no choice but to speak first.

She wanted to run away, but ultimately held back, feeling caught in a dilemma, and could only lean against the windowsill.

Misaki Shokuhou finally stopped, then turned around and leaned against the wall of the corridor, playing with the remote control in her hand.

The two were separated by a corridor.

"Why did you run away?" Misaki Shokuhou asked again. "Yesterday too, why did you want to run away after seeing them? No, before that, why did you leave in advance and refuse to act with us?"

"Because of the Disciplinary Committee activities..." Shirai Kuroko's voice trailed off.

She valued her role as a disciplinary committee member, so even though it was partly true, she still felt that using it as an excuse was somewhat contrary to her beliefs.

"There's no reason why, I just want to do it." Shirai Kuroko suddenly became annoyed. "Seriously, do you have to go through all this trouble asking questions? Wouldn't it be easier to just use your superpowers?"

Shirai Kuroko felt like prey being toyed with.

(End of this chapter)