Temperature Control in Academy City

Putting down the phone, Natsume Sonoko held her chin and looked out the window. The food she ordered was almost getting cold, so she used her ability to keep it warm.

However, Natsume Sonoko had no plans to eat in advance, as that would be too impolite, so it would be better to call and ask first.

When it comes to making a phone call, a guy with a bun on his head suddenly becomes deflated.

Come to think of it, she didn't seem to have the phone number of Archery Tiger Hunter Senior. If she had known earlier, she would have asked in advance.

More than ten minutes passed, and Archery-senpai still hadn't arrived. Seeing something through the window, Natsume Sonoko suddenly stood up and walked towards the front door of the family restaurant.

A member of the Anbu organization 'school', a girl named Archery Hunter, was hurriedly mixed in the crowd with an obvious look of anxiety on her face.

Although she served as a sniper in the Anbu, usually her tasks were mostly tracking and investigating, and dealing with traitors and arresting people were rare.

"It's already four fifty."

Gritting his teeth, Archer Tiger Hunter quickly walked into a high-end club and handed some information he had just investigated to Yucai Haimei.

"Hunting Tiger, your speed is unexpectedly fast this time."

Yucai Haimei spoke up and took the information from Bow and Arrow Hunter.

She was wearing a gorgeous dress and even her makeup was meticulously done. You couldn't tell at all that she was the same age as Misaka-senpai.

At this time, there was a middle-aged man sitting next to Yucai Haimei, who was constantly pouring out his troubles, while ignoring the tiger hunter with a bow and arrow next to him.

As an Anbu, it is normal to occasionally work as a psychological counselor - - the words from Umi Yucai's heart.

"This mission is completed. I'm leaving now."

After handing over the information, Bow Hunter Tiger took a deep breath, hoping it was not too late.

"The tiger hunters seem particularly anxious today."

Yucai Haimei turned her head and looked at the middle-aged man with a faint smile on her lips.

The Archer Tiger Hunter walked straight out of the guild hall's gate at this time, and then instantly blended into the crowd as usual.

At around five o'clock, Bow and Arrow Tiger Hunter finally arrived at this family restaurant on Queen's Road.

Her face was a little red at this time, and there was even some sweat on her ears. The Shideye Sakura school uniform was stained with dust, and she looked a little tired.

"Is she gone already?"

Looking around, Archer Tiger Hunter showed a little disappointment on his face.

"Excuse me, have you seen a girl from Tokiwadai? She is about this tall and has a bun on her head."

Archery Tiger Hunter gestured at someone's height while asking the waitress here.

"It's the girl from Tokiwadai. I remember she was here just now, in that position."

The waitress came to the window seat with a bow and arrow tiger hunter, and there were steak and pasta for two on the table.

"It turns out that girl has left. She hasn't eaten these things yet. I don't know if she will come back."

The waitress hesitated and looked at the tiger hunter with a bow and arrow nearby.

There were signs on the table saying "dining" and "meal completed", but they were not used. The waitress was in a dilemma.

"I'm late for a long time. The girl should have left."

Bow and Arrow Tiger Hunter shook his head and said.

It was the first time someone invited me to dinner, and it ended without any incident.

Just as Archer Tiger Hunter walked out of the restaurant, her expression suddenly became strange.

A guy with a bun on his head was running towards here, panting, holding two large ice cream cones in his hands.

I just saw an ice cream truck passing by through the glass. Since the weather is starting to get cooler, we haven't seen this kind of business in Natsume Sonoko recently.

Natsume Sonoko hurried out to queue up, but because there were too many people she had to wait in line for several minutes.

"Yujian-senpai, you're finally here." Natsume Sonoko said with some joy. Although Yujian-senpai was late, she didn't stand me up.

"Let's go back to our seats. I've been away for too long. The waitress might have taken away the things."

Remembering something, Natsume Sonoko suddenly felt a little worried.

Chapter 200: Still Not Friends

Wearing a black and white maid outfit and with a formal smile on her face, the waitress walked through the central aisle of the restaurant carrying the cleared plates.

But before she could return the guests' plates to the kitchen, she was blocked by Senior Archery who had reacted quickly.

"I'm very sorry, we still have to continue eating here."

Senior Archery moved very quickly, and in just a moment, she had already reached the center of the restaurant.

With a hint of sincerity on her face, Senior Archery lowered her head and bowed slightly, while the waitress next to her waved her hands to indicate that everything was fine.

"That was a close call. It was almost taken away."

Natsume Sonoko looked at the archery senior in a daze, then she breathed a sigh of relief and seemed very grateful.

However, Natsume Sonoko also felt a little complicated. It turned out that the archery senior had such a side to her. She was completely different from her appearance when she was active in the Anbu.

She is a polite and cute girl, why would she join the Anbu? I don't know the specific reason, and it's not easy to make a statement, but I just feel confused.

Natsume Sonoko actually has a pretty bad impression of the Anbu, mainly because of an organization called "Tools" that once kidnapped Banri and the others.

Although he didn't know why the archery senior from the Anbu helped him last time, it didn't matter whether it was a mission or for some other reason.

Her relationship with Senior Archery ended at this dinner, and she just wanted to thank her for her help last time.

Maybe I also have some thoughts of helping Senior Sister Gongjian to get rid of social problems, so we can just consider it as mutual help.

Natsume Sonoko returned to the table and several dishes that had been taken away were brought back. The waitress even kindly reheated them.

In fact, it doesn’t make much difference to Natsume whether it is heated or not, but he is still very satisfied with the service of the family restaurant.

"I didn't do a good job today. I made you wait half an hour longer."

Sitting face to face, Archer Hunter raised his head slightly, his bangs falling to cover his vision.

"It's okay, Archer-senpai, don't take it to heart."

Drinking the black tea with plenty of sugar, Natsume Sonoko felt refreshed. Is this the feeling of replenishing energy?

In fact, Natsume Sonoko could almost guess the reason why Senior Archery was late. If it wasn't because her academic performance was too poor and she was kept back by the teacher for tutoring, then perhaps it was because of her work in the Anbu.

To be honest, a certain girl with a bun who is a member of the Discipline Committee was too lazy. She was so carefree that she was drinking tea and chatting with the girls working in the Anbu. But to be honest, the Anbu and the Discipline Committee are both organizations supported by Academy City, but their roles are very different.

However, Natsume Sonoko didn't seem to be aware of this problem, and subconsciously didn't talk about the Anbu. She just ate simply and didn't even mention the matter of helping that time.

"Sister Archer, the pasta tastes pretty good, right?"

Natsume Sonoko raised her head and asked absentmindedly.

"Yeah, very good."

Archery Tiger Hunter nodded, also looking like he meant what he said.

The atmosphere seemed a bit awkward. Unlike the girls in other seats who were laughing and chatting, Natsume Sonoko felt a bit of inexplicable alienation.

This gap may be related to the differences between the surface world and the dark world, and also to the fact that Natsume Sonoko couldn't find a suitable topic for a while.

"Um, does Senior Archer have an older sister?"

Suddenly thinking of something, Natsume Sonoko finally found a good insertion point.

I thought of senior Yuya Iruka from the third year at Tokiwadai. After all, the last name Yuya is quite rare.

"Natsume-san knows this too." Archer Hunter Tiger showed a surprised expression on his face.

"I do have a younger sister. Speaking of which, Iruka is a third-year student at Tokiwadai Middle School and the captain of the Kyudo Club."

The bow and arrow tiger hunter felt inexplicably relieved, as the somewhat depressing atmosphere was finally broken.

"It's Archery Iruka-senpai as expected. Her archery posture is so cool."

Natsume Sonoko immediately became interested and recalled the heroic figure of the senior schoolmate at a certain archery exchange meeting.

"At that time, I was thinking that if I hadn't already found a club, I might have joined it." Natsume Sonoko continued, looking very serious.

If he just used a bow and arrow to hit the target, Natsume would be able to hit the target easily now, but bow and arrow must be used after all, and using abilities would be considered cheating.

The topic turned to a senior from Tokiwadai, and the two of them finally found common ground.

After the meal, Natsume Sonoko learned some information about the senior schoolmate whom she had never met before, which was an unexpected gain.

After finishing dinner, the two walked out of the family restaurant.

The cost of a family restaurant is not high. Even though Natsume Sonoko ordered a lot, she only spent 5,000 yen in the end. The most expensive item was two cups of black tea, because they can be refilled.

"I ate a bit too much, so when I heard that I could have a refill of the tea, I drank a little more."

Natsume Sonoko stretched slightly, rubbed her belly with some contentment, and a comfortable smile appeared on her face.

This kind of life where you can eat out whenever you have nothing to do is really nice.

"Thank you for the treat. I should leave now."

The bow and arrow tiger hunter still lowered his head because he had to look at a certain girl with a bun.

In fact, after getting to know Senior Archery, her original social problems began to disappear, and she could now have natural conversations like those between friends.

Senior Archery is not lacking in communication skills, but she is not good at expressing herself to others and finds it difficult to make new friends.

"Bye." Natsume Sonoko waved and said, it was quite late.

We walked along a small path and followed an old alley into a building.

Senior Archer's nose twitched slightly, and she smelled a very familiar perfume in the air.

"Come out." Bow and Arrow Tiger Hunter said in a low voice.

"Hiehu, I'm not against you making friends, I'm just a little curious. After all, that person is the eighth in Academy City."

Yucai Haimei walked out from the corner, still wearing the same evening dress, and it seemed that she had ended her part-time job.

As to why it appears here, that is up for debate.

"You are following me." Archer Tiger Hunter couldn't help but frown.

"We have a rule that we cannot contact other superpowers without permission. You should know this, Tiger Hunter. But if we can maintain a good relationship with superpowers from non-hostile forces, it's actually not bad."

"And I was just passing by, not following you." Yucai Haimei said, rubbing her shoulders gently.

"It's not what you think. We are not friends yet. She just wants to thank me for my help last time." Archer Hunter Tiger exhaled slightly, shook his head and said.

Chapter 201 Out of Control Robot

"Hey, Misaka-senpai, you guys are in the bath."

Leaning against the glass railing beside the curb, quietly watching the figure of Senior Yujian disappear, Natsume Sonoko was talking on the phone with Senior Misaka.

"Natsume-san, let's take a bath together. The water temperature here is just right."

On the other end, Saten-san leaned closer to the phone, her tone slightly pleased.

"Take a bath together, that sounds like a good idea."

There was a change in Natsume Sonoko's face, and she was obviously quite interested in this.

Although my body always maintains room temperature, it is nice to take a comfortable hot bath occasionally.

"But Natsume, are you done with your issues? Just now we were wondering whether we should disturb you." Senior Misaka asked with some concern.

"It's over. The senior has left, and she's a little different than I imagined."

Natsume Sonoko answered and couldn't help but look in the direction where the archery senior left.

The meal and chat just now were quite pleasant, but Natsume Sonoko knew in her heart that if nothing unexpected happened, they would not have much interaction with each other, and maybe they would just say hello when they met in the future.

A certain girl with a bun on her head knows very well what kind of person Senior Archery is. A student who can join the Anbu is definitely not as simple as it seems on the surface. The sniper rifle hidden under her sleeves is real.

But the archery senior on the other hand is unexpectedly sympathetic.

"It's a bit far, I'll be there soon."

A smile appeared on her face, and Natsume Sonoko put aside all the thoughts in her head.