Temperature Control in Academy City

"According to my experience, it's more appropriate to use something like force majeure as the reason." Senior Misaka thought for a moment and said, she has more than a year of experience in dealing with the dormitory supervisor.

"That's good."

Listening to what Misaka-senpai said, Natsume-san nodded hesitantly.

...

"That is, Natsume-san and Misaka-san are both punished to clean the restaurant for three days."

The maid's light, Tsuchimika, was blinking and looking at Misaka-senpai with curiosity as she pushed the mop around the restaurant cleaning up the water stains.

As for Natsume, due to her mobility problems, she was assigned a rag and was wiping the table diligently.

After wringing out the water stains, Natsume Sonoko's face showed a look of despair.

For three days in a row, every morning, noon, and evening, she and senior Misaka came to help clean the restaurant.

Although Natsume Sonoko is happy to help Tsuchimikado-san, this is definitely not the case.

However, when Natsume Sonoko saw the serious look on Misaka-senpai's face, the negative emotions on her face disappeared. No matter what, the best outcome is that everyone can be safe and sound.

Chapter 157 Rejection of Invitation

He picked up the rag and in a short while had wiped the tables, chairs and benches in the dormitory cafeteria spotlessly clean.

Especially the table that a girl with a bun often worked on. She even wiped the gaps between the table meticulously, and completed the task assigned by the dormitory supervisor in excess.

After bringing the waste water to the sewer behind the restaurant, Natsume Sonoko poured it out suddenly and watched the water gurgling down, indicating that the midday cleaning was completed.

After packing up her things, Natsume walked out of the restaurant listlessly, with Misaka-senpai next to her, still full of energy.

"See you tonight, then."

Tsuchimikado-san was leaning against the door of the restaurant, speaking in a leisurely manner.

"I understand." Natsume answered with some resignation.

It is already the end of August, and according to the start date of Tokiwadai Junior High School, school will start in about four or five days.

Even though the school starts soon, it does not prevent everyone from enjoying the upcoming holidays, as the holiday homework has been completed long ago anyway.

However, what concerned Natsume was that not long after she left the restaurant, she received a meeting invitation from a research institute. This research institute was located in the 18th school district and was a research institution specializing in ability development.

According to the other party, they will carry out personalized capacity development according to Natsume Sonoko's needs, and will also receive a considerable amount of subsidies during the development.

The other party had all the necessary procedures and qualifications. It was a formal institution affiliated with Academy City and possessed many sophisticated instruments, including supercomputers.

The subsidies they provide seem to be quite a lot. The amount of subsidies ranges from basic cooperation to in-depth cooperation, and the monthly value ranges from 500,000 yen to 5 million yen. It is indeed a very lucrative contract for a junior high school student.

After just a few seconds of consideration, Natsume decisively rejected the invitation.

Although she was somewhat envious of the generous subsidies and high-precision equipment, she did not believe in the private development of any capabilities.

To put it simply, it means renting yourself to the other party to cooperate in the research. With the help of a certain Ito classmate, Natsume Sonoko, who has experienced being studied once, is very familiar with all this.

Natsume Sonoko had no interest in lending herself to others for research. Besides, she already had Zero, and the development of some of her abilities did not require the help of a supercomputer, so she refused flatly.

Thinking about it this way, Natsume Sonoko felt even more grateful to Mr. Kiyama.

When I pressed the red button on the phone screen, a rejection message was sent.

This was the first time that Natsume had received such an invitation email. He had almost never received one before, which made him frown slightly.

It was similar to what senior Butsuko Toshin analyzed, and it seemed that many people were indeed paying attention to me.

The fight between the unknown person and Accelerator has just ended, but many people seem to have guessed the identity of the unknown person, and I don’t know how they guessed it.

Thinking of this, Natsume couldn't help but feel a little troubled. She didn't show her face at all, and she only said one sentence. A certain girl with a bun was not used to being noticed by too many people. After all, she was a magical girl who was used to staying in the dark.

As expected, it was because I stood out too much when I was with the Misaka sisters.

Speaking of the Misaka sisters, I wonder if Futsuka-senpai has had her emotional program implanted.

However, according to the information from Reiko, the Misaka sisters have not changed much now.

.....

In a university hospital, the ghost-chasing doctor sat in front of Banri and helped him remove the examination equipment from his body.

"Doctor, doctor, can I be discharged from the hospital?"

Wearing a headband, revealing her smooth forehead, the girl named Edasaki Banri blinked her lively eyes and asked expectantly.

"The test results are very healthy. Banri, you have fully recovered. However, remember not to overeat after you are discharged from the hospital, otherwise you will easily accumulate fat."

Doctor Guatai had a broad smile on his face, with a slight curve in his eye.

After Dr. Quata finished speaking, Banri's smile fell involuntarily.

Because of the nutritious meals in the hospital, Banri seemed to have gained some weight, and looked quite plump and white, which was much better than the skinny one when he just woke up.

"Okay, thank you for the doctor's advice." Edaseki Banri muttered with his head down.

"Banri, we're here to see you."

Uiharu-san walked in first, followed by Saten-san, Shirai-san, and Harukami-san.

"Everyone is here. Is this takoyaki? I love it."

Banri said this with some excitement, he took the two takoyaki and bit into them directly, his lips immediately puffed up.

Standing on the balcony of the hospital, Natsume Sonoko was talking to the ghost-chasing doctor, while senior Misaka chatted with them from time to time.

"I also learned about it recently. The Absolute Escort Evolution Plan was unexpectedly aborted. There were traces of the Power Generation Escort and the Heat Generation Escort left at the scene. Rather than saying that Accelerator was defeated by one person, it's more like the result of two people working together."

There was a calm expression on the face of the Hell Chaser, but when he opened his mouth, Natsume and the other student were startled.

"It turns out that this is why the doctor came to see us, and we do know a little bit about it."

Senior Misaka quickly calmed down, neither denying nor admitting. She still looked a little surprised, and she couldn't imagine that the ghost-chasing doctor who had nothing to do with this matter also knew about it.

As for the incident itself and even the people involved, they are no longer a secret among certain groups.

"This is a big deal. Whether the first person was defeated or tied, it spread quickly in our circle. Now even some student groups are spreading rumors."

The Ghost Chaser nodded and said, but he seemed not very interested in these things, and his face remained calm.

Listening to the words of the Ghost Chaser, Natsume Sonoko was stunned. She suddenly thought of a senior in her club. It was not too difficult to understand that the researchers knew the situation, but it was too strange that all the students knew about it.

No matter how secretive something is, as long as it happens it will spread on the Internet. This has become a truth in Academy City. As one of the driving forces behind the scenes, Natsume Sonoko has a deep understanding of this.

Originally, I thought that the battle with Accelerator would not have much impact, but in fact, the consequences it caused far exceeded the imagination of a certain Maru-headed person, and now he can only bite the bullet and accept these not-so-good news.

Fortunately, Natsume-san has not been exposed on a large scale, or there is no direct evidence.

"But I didn't call you here to talk to you about the first thing, but about Misaka-san's clones." Doctor Ghost Chaser said with a serious expression.

Chapter 158: Arrangements for the Sisters

The sudden change of topic felt a bit abrupt.

"Sisters' business?!"

Natsume-san, who had been a little quiet, said in surprise.

"Yes."

The ghost chasing doctor lowered his head slightly, looked at the two of them and said.

"After receiving the news, I looked up some information this morning. The bodies of the 'sisters' are cloned from Misaka-san's cells, and they will be given various drugs to make them grow quickly."

"So this also makes the cloned cells, which were already short-lived, even shorter-lived. If the 'sisters' who have been temporarily shelved due to the end of the experiment want to live a normal life, they need to be modified at the cellular level. Each individual needs to make long-term adjustments."

The Ghost-Chasing Doctor thought for a few seconds before continuing.

"Need some adjustments? Do you have any suggestions, doctor?"

Misaka-senpai asked hurriedly, and Natsume-san beside her blinked and looked over with concern.

"Many research institutes have the technology to adjust cells, but with Academy City's current capabilities, it can only accept a small number of 'sisters' at most. After all, there are more than 10,000 'sisters' still alive."

The Ghost Chaser frowned and said apologetically.

"But I heard a message from the board of directors. Maybe we can send the 'sisters' to the outside world and make commission adjustments with the research institute that has cooperation with Academy City."

The Soul Chaser of the Underworld paused for a moment, remembering a document sent down from the top.

Judging from this document alone, it seems that the senior leaders of the board of directors have found their conscience.

"Send it to a research institute outside."

Natsume listened carefully, but according to the doctor, this is indeed a solution.

A certain lousy prophet classmate is actually quite worried about the future of the Misaka sisters.

"So in this way, none of the Misaka sisters will face being destroyed, right? Are they all considered free?"

Natsume suddenly asked, and she remembered what senior Butsuka Toshinori said, that those Misaka sisters who have not yet walked out of the incubator actually have the possibility of being destroyed.

"Well, all of the 'sisters' will be released and will exist as important assets of Academy City. Perhaps they will become ambassadors of Academy City in the future."

"Although they are Academy City's assets, they are no different from ordinary students, so you can rest assured, Misaka-san. And as the provider of the genes, Misaka-san can also get a certain degree of guardianship." The Underworld Soul Chaser added.

"I understand."

Senior Misaka nodded slightly. This situation was much better than she had expected.

"If it is officially implemented, I will apply to be personally responsible for the adjustments of the 'sisters' who remain in Academy City." The Underworld Soul Chaser nodded and said finally.

Looking at the departing figure of the Underworld Soul-Chasing Doctor, Misaka-senpai finally came to her senses.

At this time, Natsume, a classmate standing next to him, held up his cell phone again, with a look of something wrong on his face.

Just like what the Ghost-Chasing Doctor said, what happened last night became a hot topic on a certain small website. It attracted a lot of people's attention. The number of readings and posts surpassed the second place by a large margin, giving people a feeling of being the only one seeking to be defeated.

With just one or two blurry photos and some intriguing oral accounts, part of the facts were restored, and even a puzzling post from the person involved appeared.

"It's okay, it's not a big deal."

Natsume thought silently that there was no Absolute Ability Plan, nor was there Misaka-senpai, he just simply took a picture of Accelerator.

In the ward, the strong smell of disinfectant permeated everywhere.

On Edasaki Banri's bed, a box had been opened.

Natsume handed his gift to Edasaki Banri, which was a pink pig that he named Peppa.

"Thank you, Sonoko-sister."

Banri showed a happy smile on his face, and he put his arm around Paige and waved to a few people.

"Then, next is my gift."

Senior Misaka came forward and quickly opened the box, revealing a school uniform inside.

"Ah, it's our school uniform."

There was a hint of surprise on Hatsuharu's face, and she immediately looked at Banri who was sitting on the hospital bed.

"Yes, we will be alumni soon, Hatsuharu-san." Edaseki Banri said with a smile, a hint of pride on his face.

Banri's physical condition is now very good, and his limb rehabilitation has reached its final stage, so he can be discharged from the hospital and go to school.

Tanori's school registration has also been settled, and Chun Shang and Ui Haru are in the same school. As soon as the term starts, he can be inserted into the first grade of junior high school at Sachuan Middle School.

"Congratulations, I'm going to have another classmate."

Saten-san said happily, rubbing the back of her head, although the start of school made her feel a little sad.

"Well, let's eat some cake." Harukami, who was sitting nearby, picked up a cake from his feet.

In the hospital corridor, Natsume had a little cake on the corner of his mouth. He was still savoring Harukami's increasingly sophisticated cake-making skills. He felt that the happiest thing in life was to eat sweet things.

She was holding seven bottles of drinks in her hand. She ranked last in the guessing game just now, and gloriously won the task of buying drinks for everyone.

There was a loud stampeding sound on the ground, and a faint wind and waves were stirred up. Three strange guys were running in the corridor.

Natsume looked over there with some confusion. Two people were wearing nurses' clothes, and one was wearing patient's clothes.

But is it really good to run around in the hospital? It will definitely disturb other people's rest.

"Don't move. Come with us obediently, or I will shoot."