Unlimited Ambition

"To be honest, I think you have a ulterior motive in doing this."

Despite my criticisms, I couldn't resist the Misaka Sisters' pitiful eyes.

In the end, I had no choice but to make some concessions. At the same time, I requested that Aleister set up a cooperative department in Jerusalem so that I could see No. 10032 more often.

It can also keep a close watch on Aleister's plots.

I silently added in my mind.

As my power as a high angel gradually recovers, I no longer need to worry about someone like Aleister. However, I can clearly sense another power beside him—a power comparable to mine in my prime.

It's true... My identity is that of an angel, a seraph, a six-winged seraph—you could say I'm second only to one person in Heaven, above all others, you bastard.

In my memory, apart from that biased old man Jehovah, no one in the entire world is my match—wait, maybe there's one more… well, if it really is him, I might actually have to give him some face…

I rolled my eyes, then secretly gave the middle finger to that place that exuded a faint air of authority. That was my way of agreeing to Aleister's request.

"So, the other girl I asked you to investigate..." At that moment, I felt it was a bit inappropriate to discuss this topic in front of Misaka Mikoto. So I quickly shut my mouth.

“If Your Highness is referring to Lady Himegami Akisa… she’s doing quite well now.” Aleister gave a faint smile.

"Not bad? What do you mean by not bad?" I frowned.

"After the incident that day, she was found by Ms. Tsukuyomi Komoe, a faculty member of Academy City (wait, you said found?). She was then adopted by Ms. Komoe and is currently living in her home. Ms. Komoe seems to want Ms. Himegami to attend her school," Aleister explained in detail.

...Is that so? Tsukuyomi Komoe... um, that pink-haired loli? She seems a bit unreliable, but she seems like a good person. If Akisa entrusts her to her, there shouldn't be any problems. But...

Does this count as indirectly handing the hostages over to Aleister?

Thinking of this, I remained silent, then tentatively asked, "If I want to take Qiusha to Jerusalem, can Academy City cooperate?"

Aleister readily agreed: "It's nothing, just a small matter."

"Is that so..." I hesitated for a moment, "Then, it's best to keep Akisa in Academy City for the time being. I hope you can take care of her. Chairman Aleister."

Aleister was naturally delighted and readily agreed, repeatedly assuring Himegami Aisa that she would not be affected in any way. He made concessions in various aspects.

And so, I casually asked Aleister for a villa in Ward 14. Misaka and I moved in. Since we had nothing else to do these past few days, we've been spending time in Academy City together, treating it like a vacation.

I never expected to run into Mikoto here.

Ugh, what a hassle.

I rolled my eyes as I ran.

※※※

After that, what happened to Mikoto was pretty much what I had imagined. There was only one slight difference.

That is, after Mikoto found out the reason for the experiment's termination, she was preparing to go back to catch up on sleep with mixed feelings. At that moment, Kamijou appeared.

Having witnessed the tragic death of Misaka 10031 yesterday, Kamijou is filled with fervor. He feels it's time for him, the savior, to step in. After recklessly deciding to challenge Accelerator to a duel, he encounters Misaka Mikoto along the way.

Kamijou immediately misunderstood Mikoto's actions, thinking she was going to fight Accelerator. So he unleashed his verbal barrage, declaring confidently, "Leave this to me! Even if it costs me my life, I'll stop Accelerator! I'll shatter his illusions with my right hand!!"

Mikoto rolled her eyes and said, "Sorry, it looks like you won't have a chance to appear—the experiment is over."

After Mikoto finished speaking, she continued moving towards the dormitory with mixed feelings.

Kamijou stood there, stunned. For a long time.

"Huh? The story is over? What about my part?"

Chapter Twenty-Seven: A Strike and a Sweet Treat

And so, Misaka and I ran ahead, with Mikoto chasing after us. After a while, I heard "Onii-chan!" again. It must be Shirai Kuroko catching up too.

After a while, Misaka and I, unfamiliar with the area, ended up in a dead end. Looking at Mikoto, whose resentment had materialized, and seeing Shirai Kuroko, another "Onee-sama," lost in blissful confusion, I rolled my eyes. I decided to just confront her.

"You ran pretty fast just now," Mikoto said, her voice tinged with resentment.

"You were really pushing me just now," I thought to myself. At the same time, I smiled generously, ignoring Mikoto's comment. Instead, I said to Kuroko, "Kuroko, come here. Let me introduce you. This is Mikoto's younger sister, and also my good friend. Misaka Misaki."

"Eh~ I've never heard Onee-sama mention this before." Shirai Kuroko could also see that the situation was quite complicated. But with her twisted masochistic mind, she quickly made a judgment: Onii-chan + Onee-sama with a cold and emotionless personality > Onee-sama.

So, without realizing it, Kuroko had switched sides to mine. Her eyes were sparkling; she didn't know what to do.

"Kuroko..." Just as I expected, this tactic of diverting the blame was quite effective. Mikoto, who was already very annoyed, saw Kuroko turn against her at the last minute and her anger flared up. She unleashed a super-powerful bolt of lightning with a "boom" and struck Shirai Kuroko.

And so, cannon fodder number one, M-zi, collapsed amidst blissful groans.

I had just given Misaka Sister No. 10032 a ridiculous name, and before she could even feel happy about it, her older sister stood before her and me, radiating boundless murderous intent.

Although Mikoto didn't say anything, Mise, with a woman's intuition, sensed a threat—and stepped forward to stand opposite Mikoto, her hands still tightly gripping my arm.

"..."

"..."

Neither of them spoke. The two sisters, who looked almost identical, faced each other in silence. Mikoto was furious, while Mise remained calm and composed.

I thought to myself, "This won't do! If we don't stop this, something bad will happen." Then I laughed, shook my arm, and broke free from Meser, standing between the two of them.

Seeing that Mise was still staring blankly at her hands, I spoke up: "Sisters should get along well. Can't Mikoto be a little more generous? As the older sister, you should give way to your younger sister. Mise almost died a few days ago."

Then she said to Mise, "Mikoto is your older sister. She's worried about you so much these past few days. Mise, you should behave yourself and give your sister a break, okay?"

The two sisters exchanged a glance, thinking, "You've said both good and bad things to me, and now you're acting all innocent after getting the benefit. What more do you want, you bastard?!"

And so, with a fearless revolutionary spirit of sacrifice, I took on the role of the second cannon fodder.

Afterwards, Mikoto looked into my innocent eyes (illusion spell). Then she thought about it again, and regardless of the reason, I had done her a great favor. Ultimately, the choice of whom to choose was my own. With that, Mikoto's anger subsided considerably.

—She only lost to her own clone. Mikoto felt very uncomfortable. This feeling was probably like a writer watching their readers go to pirated posts. They think: "If it weren't for me, those guys wouldn't exist. Why did they have to go to them..."

It's that feeling of being wronged, jealous, confused, and dumped.

"Speaking of which, I'm going back to China in a few days. Meise is coming with me," I said "casually."

"Is that so..." Mikoto forced a smile, looking very disappointed, and almost blurted out "I wish you happiness".

I watched her lips move and had a bad feeling. Before that, she continued, "But Messer has always been alone and seems very lonely. After going to Jerusalem, she couldn't speak the language. So I thought about it and decided to take her on a trip for a while."

"Oh, I see." Mikoto forced a smile. Then she opened her mouth again—

"Should Mikoto come along too?" I decided to stop teasing her, lest things turn out badly and things fall apart.

"Me too?" Mikoto's mind was a little confused.

"Yeah, you and Meise haven't met many times, so you're not familiar with each other. That's understandable. Just spend some time together then. Besides, it's a bit inconvenient if it's just the two of us." I gave a forced wry smile.

Misaka thinks two people are better—

Before Mise could object, Mikoto's eyes lit up: "That's right! It's a bit unhealthy for two people, but it doesn't matter for three."

"Three people together is truly unhealthy," I thought to myself, while outwardly I smiled happily. Meise, though somewhat displeased, didn't object further.

"Kuroko...Kuroko wants to go too..." Hearing this good news, Kuroko tried to get up from the ground to show off. However, Mikoto and Misaki mercilessly stomped on his face, one on each foot. He let out another blissful groan and lay back down on the ground, motionless.

...Playing dumb is the smart thing to do in this situation: "Huh? I think I just heard a strange sound...it sounded like—"

"It's a hallucination! My ears are ringing because I was running too fast!" Mikoto interrupted me, saying this quickly.

Miser nodded vigorously beside her.

"Is that so?" I was still a little unsure. Then I calculated the distance... Hmm, not bad, I can reach it.

"It's nothing, don't worry about it." That's how Mikoto betrayed her roommate.

“A man should be broad-minded,” Misaka earnestly advised Light. Miser chimed in from the side.

"In that case, let's go back to the ice cream shop. We can chat while we drink." My suggestion was met with unanimous agreement from both sisters. And so, looking straight ahead, we stepped across without hesitation.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch... It hurts so much... But... it feels so good." Shirai Kuroko rolled her eyes.

"I think I stepped on something weird just now," I continued, pretending to be clueless.

“An illusion,” Messe spoke first this time.

Mikoto was nodding vigorously over there.

"But it seems that thing is making strange noises..." I continued, pretending to be clueless.

"Why are you being so suspicious today?" Mise, who'd been with me for two days, had become incredibly cunning. I was a little surprised when she said that. Mikoto, standing next to me, was also stunned. She thought to herself: Was this child really created using my genes?

And so, with tears streaming down her face, Kuroko watched as my two sisters and I walked away side by side.

"Ah...though I reached out my hand, I couldn't grasp...this kind of light, ah~"

As a result, Shirai Kuroko, who had suffered inhumane treatment, died.

At that moment, Haru and Ruiko, their faces etched with worry, watched the three of us return side by side. They finally breathed a sigh of relief. But Haru, with her sharp eyes, noticed something amiss after another glance and asked, "Where's Kuroko? Didn't she come back with you?"

Mikoto's expression was slightly unnatural, and she chuckled awkwardly, "Kuroko... I haven't seen her."

In contrast, Mise and I were much calmer (Mise is emotionless and has no personality). I then asked, "Is Kuroko here too? Where is she?"

Chu Chun replied, "Um... I chased after them just now too."

"Did they chase after them?" I continued to play dumb. "Maybe they took the wrong turn."

While it's true that the probability of a powerful spatial ability user like Kuroko taking a wrong turn isn't higher than that of World War III, everything in the world is subject to the principle of "human effort can make all the difference." Kuroko's detour is an example of this, and so is World War III.

"Let me reintroduce you. This is Misaka Mise, Mikoto's younger sister. She's been in Academy City lately because of work (that's right)."

"Mikoto-senpai's younger sister...they really do look alike," Ruiko remarked.

“Misaka is Mikoto’s younger sister. Nice to meet you.” Misaka said sincerely, nodding to the two girls.

"Please take good care of me." These two children are quite polite, really. Seeing Meser bow to them, they immediately stood up and returned a ninety-degree bow.

The five of them then sat down again. They bought new cold drinks and chatted while drinking. Being surrounded by a group of young girls felt quite nice. In a good mood and high spirits, I opened up and made witty remarks, which really charmed the girls.

When the other two girls heard I was taking the Misaka sisters on vacation, they seemed quite envious. I simply agreed to let them come along too. It'll be more lively with more people. As for the communication work in Academy City, leave that to me.

"Really? Light-senpai is so generous!" The two girls' eyes sparkled. The Misaka sisters, though not entirely pleased, didn't show it. Mise had already made up her mind to defend her spoils. Even her older sister wouldn't back down.

Mikoto was coaxed by me. Her naturally carefree personality was now on full display. Considering that the other two girls were also her friends, she naturally didn't say a word. She had been running around lately for her sisters' sake and really needed some rest.

And so, the temporary travel group of five people, four women and one man, was decided.

...Have I forgotten something?

Oh well, since it's been forgotten, it must be unimportant. It doesn't matter if it's forgotten.

After discussing the trip, Mikoto gave me a lot of instructions, mostly about taking good care of my sister and not doing anything strange while I was away. After nagging for a while, she finally got a little proud and ended with, "Anyway, I'm only so nervous because of Misery, not because of you."