The Legend of Level 0 in Academy City

Inoue Hideka suddenly felt a heavy pat on the shoulder and turned around in annoyance, frowning.

What he saw was Komaba Toshitoku with a gloomy face, and two men who looked like thugs standing next to him.

One of them had a nose ring, and his hair seemed to have been deliberately dyed brown; he had a completely idiotic look on his face.

The other one was wearing a headscarf and a navy blue outfit.

It was the other two members of the idiot trio, Hamazura Shiage and Hattori Hanzo.

"Ah... Komaba Toshinori, have a drink with me. If you can get me drunk, I promise I won't cause any more trouble, okay?"

"Do you keep your word?"

"Ugh! I'm really annoyed right now, but I'm not in the mood for jokes!"

"Okay! I promise you. If possible, I don't want to resolve this through fighting."

Although Komaba Toshitoku is tall and fierce-looking, he is actually the type of person who doesn't like to argue with others.

Seeing that Inoue Hideka's expression didn't seem to indicate he was lying, Komaba Toshitoku nodded readily and agreed.

Sitting at the same table with the three idiots, Inoue Eika was supposed to be drinking with Komaba Toshitoku, but after the bartender brought the drinks, she refused to let him refill them and started drinking one glass after another on her own.

"Hey! Public enemy number one, is it okay for you to drink like this? Aren't you still young enough to grow?"

Komaba Toshitoku felt that Inoue Hidekazu wasn't very old, and seeing him drinking recklessly, he frowned and tried to persuade him.

"Hey, are you heartbroken?"

Hamazura Shiage, whose nose ring hadn't yet been knocked away by Touma Kamijou, uncertainly voiced his guess.

"Tsk!"

Inoue Hideka kept chugging drinks, seemingly stung by Hamazura Shige's words. He clicked his tongue in annoyance, then picked up his glass again and continued chugging.

Glug... Glug...

"You'll ruin your health by drinking like this..."

"Don't worry about him, Hamazura. Heartbreak makes men mature; only by experiencing the excruciating pain firsthand can one truly grow!"

"Hmm... okay!"

----------

Inoue Hideka had no idea how much she had drunk, how long she had been drinking, or how she got home.

My memory started to go blank after I heard Komaba Toshitoku's statement that heartbreak makes men grow.

The reason I woke up was because of the angry shouts coming from the living room from Saten Ruiko.

"Yinghua! Yinghua! When are you going to wake up?! Get up right now!"

"Um... ah..."

I groggily turned over, and the feeling was...

My head hurts!

Inoue Hideka, clutching her throbbing head, got out of bed.

"vomit……"

The strong, foul smell of alcohol emanating from his body made Inoue Hideka's stomach churn, and she covered her mouth and ran in a panic toward the bathroom.

"Ugh...waaaah...waaaah..."

After vomiting violently for a while, Inoue Hideka finally felt a little better.

So I simply went to the bathroom next door, took off my clothes, and started taking a shower.

With such a strong smell of alcohol on him, Saten Ruiko would easily notice.

However, Inoue Hideka didn't want Saten Ruiko to see him as the kind of cowardly man who would just drink and run away when something happened.

Because he had rushed out in such a hurry that he forgot to take a change of clothes, and was extremely unwilling, Accelerator, with a face that looked like someone owed him 800 million yen, found a spare school uniform from Inoue Hidekazu's room, thus preventing Inoue Hidekazu from the tragedy of coming out naked.

Whoosh... whoosh...

After Inoue Eika finished washing up, she had just sat down on the sofa in the living room when Saten Ruiko, who was serving rice, came over and sniffed around Inoue Eika like a hound.

"W-What's wrong?"

Feeling guilty, Inoue Hideka asked Saten Ruiko, afraid that she had discovered something.

"Yinghua...have you been drinking? What a useless man! You've actually resorted to drinking to drown your sorrows, tsk tsk!"

"Huh? Rui, Rui, you..."

Has he lost his memory?

Why do you speak so casually?

And why does he look even more aggressive than before?

"Don't call me by my name! Yinghua and I are just friends now!"

Suddenly, Saten Ruiko unleashed her full power, loudly interrupting Inoue Hideka who was speaking, startling Inoue Hideka so much that she almost dropped the chopsticks she was holding.

"Yes...yes! Sa-Saten-san! But...but you called my name..."

"Huh? What? You have a problem with that? You eat my cooking every day, and you think you're losing out by just calling me by my name? Also! Don't use honorifics!"

Saten Ruiko still had the apron she wore while cooking tied around her waist. With her hands on her hips, she looked at Inoue Eika, who was sitting on the sofa, with an air of superiority.

"Okay, okay! I...I understand!"

The Last Order, Accelerator, Touma Kamijou, and Index, who were sitting at the table, seemed oblivious to what was happening around them, keeping their eyes down and pretending to be focused on their meal.

A bunch of bad friends! Bad friends!

Not a single person helped me when they saw me being taken advantage of!

snort!

Inoue Hideka sat quietly at the dining table, glancing resentfully at the four people who were putting on airs.

But what exactly is wrong with Ruiko?

It seems like they don't care about what happened yesterday at all.

but……

Since Ruizi can face this matter calmly, I can't embarrass myself by continuing to pester her.

If you're a man, you should show some manly spirit!

Just like Komaba Toshinori said, heartbreak makes men mature, so let's at least be a little more mature!

--------

The last class in the morning was a physics class taught by the homeroom teacher. Inoue Hideka had never been interested in physics in junior high school.

However, the first words that Shinjuku Rika said as she stepped onto the podium immediately drew Inoue Hideka's attention.

"First of all, as the homeroom teacher, I announce that starting tomorrow, a week-long field trip to the wider society will begin. You can have free time in the afternoon, and you will depart tomorrow morning to prepare yourself. Now I will read out the list of locations."

"Russia: Fujiwara Masaga, Shigefuku Shoho. Singapore: Wangchuan Qiuzuru. United States: Saten Ruiko, Hatsuharu Kazari, Inoue Hideka. United Kingdom: Higashigoshi Tomomatsu. Australia..."

Inoue Eika no longer cared about what Shinjuku Rika said after hearing her own name mentioned.

Whether it was a coincidence or someone deliberately arranged it, Inoue Eika was at ease as long as he was sure that he could go to the super-giant artificial island—Academy City—located on the western coast of California with Saten Ruiko and the others.

Even if she wasn't on the list, Inoue Eika would do everything she could to get herself on it, or remove Saten Ruiko, Uiharu Kazari, Shirai Kuroko, and Misaka Mikoto from the list of students going to the United States for study tours.

Because this trip to the learning city for an apprenticeship is not so safe.

It could even be said that Saten Ruiko is facing a major crisis.

Although everything was resolved peacefully in the end, no one can guarantee that things will unfold exactly as the original storyline suggests.

Therefore, Inoue Hideka must either go with them or leave them behind.

Chapter 164 Before the Departure of the Broad-Area Social Study Tour

Ring~~ Ring~~ Ring~~

As the school bell rang, Shinjuku Rika, who had been leaning against the door lost in thought, calmly turned to face the students who were reviewing in the classroom.

"Alright! get out of class dismissed! One last reminder: if you dare to smear my face during your observation period... Humph!"

With a sinister utterance, Rika Shinjuku snorted coldly, tossed her flowing long hair with a flourish, and walked towards the door.

The students who were reviewing the physics lessons taught in the Shinjuku Caspian Sea class felt a chill run down their spines and shivered.

They all breathed a sigh of relief once Shinjuku Rika turned and walked out of the classroom.

"I heard the study tour location in the US is on a huge artificial island, and it's also a romantic movie paradise! Hey, hey! Chuchun, shall we go buy swimsuits together later? By the way, you can choose any swimsuit you want!"

Saten Ruiko was very familiar with this kind of news and excitedly told Hatsuharu Kazari, who was sitting in front of her.

"Huh? Is that so? But before that, should we ask Misaka-senpai and Shirai-san where they're going? If they're also at the beach, let's go together. It's really lucky that the three of us got to be in the same place!"

"What a coincidence! Anyway, I'll call Misaka-senpai and ask her first."

As Saten Ruiko spoke, she took out her phone and started dialing Misaka Mikoto's number.

"Hey~~Misaka-senpai..."

"Um... Is Inoue-san leaving? Saten-san is still on the phone..."

When Inoue Hideka saw Saten Ruiko call Misaka Mikoto, he already knew what the outcome would be.

Since Misaka Mikoto and Shirai Kuroko are both going to the United States for their field trips, it's only natural that they'll buy swimsuits together in the afternoon.

However, Inoue Eika doesn't know how to face Misaka Mikoto yet, so she doesn't plan to act with them.

Anyway, there are plenty of swimsuits available, so there's no need to buy one separately.

"Ah... I have something to do this afternoon, so I won't be joining you."

After packing the books from the desk into her handbag, Inoue Hideka stood up and prepared to leave.

"Huh? Is that so? This is the first time... Inoue-san, you've been acting alone."

Shiori Haru seemed oblivious to Inoue Eika's unusual behavior, and like a natural airhead, she rested her finger on her chin and muttered to herself.