The Legend of Level 0 in Academy City

Even as he guessed, Inoue Hideka continued to respond to Chao'an.

After a moment's thought, Inoue Hideka did not take over the topic brought up by Chao'an. Instead, maintaining a composed and respectful tone, she spoke to Chao'an on her own:

"Generally speaking, I can guess what Mr. Chao An is worried about. It's nothing more than whether an unstable element like me, who kills members of the General Council without hesitation, will pose a greater threat to Academy City, is that right?"

Inoue Hideka's statement was actually quite lenient towards Chao'an.

After all, Chaoan claims that everything he does is to protect Academy City.

Inoue Hidekazu's statement is basically in line with Chao'an's philosophy.

If you were to bluntly expose his true colors, Inoue Hideka would say, by name, whether someone like him would threaten the safety of the cowardly Chao'an.

However, if that were to happen, it would essentially mean that the negotiations had broken down.

It has absolutely no meaning.

"To be honest, I think I underestimated Inoue-kun... I didn't expect you to have such outstanding insights! You were able to investigate to this extent, and cutting off your intelligence network doesn't seem to have had much effect! So, Inoue-kun, having obtained certain intelligence, did you come to me specifically to say something? If you can dispel my wariness of you, I don't mind rescinding the order to kill you."

"Well……"

Upon hearing Chao An's words, Inoue Hideka fell into a brief moment of contemplation.

He certainly couldn't believe that Chao An would so easily retract his order to kill him.

Most likely, it was Chao'an's way of calming Inoue Eika's emotions and preventing him from desperately retaliating or running away to hide somewhere.

However, Inoue Hideka scoffed at Chao'an's claim of cutting off the intelligence network.

Although the 'group's' intelligence network was cut off, it did have some impact on Inoue Hideka.

But Chao'an will never know that Inoue Eika himself is a huge intelligence network!

Apart from Misaki Shokuhou, who had seen Inoue Eika's memories, Inoue Eika dared to say that no one in this world understood this world better than him!

Even if he doesn't know every single detail about the characters who have appeared on the grand stage of A Certain Magical Index, he can at least point out one or two of their strengths and weaknesses.

For example, the drive armor that Chao An wears to protect himself 24 hours a day would be completely destroyed if it were exposed to even a little bit of the Venusian light reflected from Aizali's 'Toraviska Bangtik Utori Spear'!

There was no way to protect his life, which he cherished so dearly!

Thinking this through, Inoue Eika organized her thoughts and said to Chao'an:

"In my opinion, Mr. Chao'an and I don't have any irreconcilable differences that necessitate a fight. The killing of Director Hong Chengli was not without reason, as you should know. He resented me for taking over his headquarters and secretly plotted to assassinate me. Under such circumstances, if I didn't retaliate, I would definitely be the one to die. Moreover, Hong Chengli was a director; even if I reported it to the police, no one could handle it. I had no choice but to do such a heinous thing. I'm not saying this hoping you'll understand; I just want to ask, Mr. Chao'an, how can I make you lower your guard against me?"

"Hmm... this? Let me confirm, are you really asking sincerely?"

"That's right! I just want to be an ordinary student and don't want to get involved in those big issues. So, please feel free to name your conditions!"

"Then how about making your 'group' obey my orders?"

Chapter 310 Clash with Chao'an!

"...To be honest, I don't object to your request. However, isn't the 'Group' directly under that person? Aren't you afraid of angering him by doing this?"

Based on the text message on her phone, Inoue Hideka deduced that the nameless phone number must belong to Aleister.

In other words, the 'group' he took over was at least one that Aleister had been involved with.

That's why I tried to raise questions.

"There's no need for Inoue-kun to worry about that. I will naturally consult the person you mentioned. However, there is still one thing that doesn't put my mind at ease. Inoue-kun and the forces and powers involved with him are simply too vast. Accelerator, Railgun, mind control... even the one who defeated Atomic Collapse this morning—Inoue-kun's girlfriend—all possess considerable strength. Allowing Inoue-kun to roam freely under such circumstances is not a prudent approach."

"Mr. Chao'an, please speak frankly."

"What I mean is, if Inoue-kun could carry something that would allow me to know your every move, wouldn't that be perfect? ​​Wouldn't that prove that Inoue-kun truly just wants to be an ordinary student, as he claims? Only then can I feel at ease rescinding my order to kill you. What do you say, Inoue-kun?"

"..."

After Chao An finished speaking, Inoue Eika did not reply immediately.

What exactly is this so-called 'trinket'? Anyone with a brain can figure it out with a little thought.

It's nothing more than a monitor that constantly tracks the person carrying it, or a device specifically designed to be remotely controlled for instant kills in critical moments, or something like that.

If Inoue Eika agrees to Chao An's proposal, she will truly be selling her life to Chao An, and it will be virtually impossible for her to be free again.

He truly lives up to his reputation as a cunning old fox.

Inoue Hideka originally only wanted to temporarily fool Chao'an; the claim that he could obey Chao'an's orders was just a temporary excuse.

Anyway, even if Chao'an does issue some orders, whether or not they are actually carried out is up to Inoue Hideka.

Moreover, in at most another month, Chao'an will be defeated in its confrontation with the group.

With the help of Chikafune Monaka, who is also one of the twelve directors, there's absolutely no need to worry about political stance.

But Inoue Hideka didn't expect that Chao'an had a backup plan.

Of course, although I didn't think of it beforehand, it makes sense now that I think about it.

If seasoned veterans like Chao'an were to let people pass without resorting to any tricks, Inoue Hideka would later worry that things might have gone too smoothly and there might be hidden traps he hadn't discovered.

That being said, Inoue Hideka would never sell herself to Chao'an.

Once you accept his so-called little gadgets, it's hard to say whether you'll be able to get rid of them in the future.

After thinking it over, Inoue Hideka once again used the same excuse as before, and said to Chao'an:

"I think Mr. Chao'an can understand my thoughts. No one else would agree to Mr. Chao'an's little trinket so easily. However, I really don't want to live a life of being chased every day, so I can accept Mr. Chao'an's proposal."

However, as I said before, I am acting under orders from that lord. If that lord agrees to Mr. Chao'an tampering with me, then I have nothing more to say.

Inoue Hideka is gambling.

Since Aleister recruited him into the "Group" before its establishment in the original story and appointed him as a minister, he must have had his reasons.

He was betting that he was still somewhat useful to Aleister—though he couldn't quite figure out what value he actually held.

Similarly, the gamble is on whether Aleister will allow someone else—Chao'an—to take control of the fate of the pieces he had firmly grasped.

Although he seemed to be in a passive position, Inoue Hideka had no choice but to accept it, since he himself had no power.

Caught in this turbulent vortex, he was a pawn so insignificant that even the powerful wouldn't notice him.

Or it can't even be called a chess piece!

Even people like Touma Kamijou and Accelerator are just important pawns in Aleister's game, not completely irreplaceable ones.

When Touma Kamijou dies, the Phantom Killer will reside elsewhere; Accelerator was originally a pawn existing as a reserve.

People like them, who are very active in the original work, are such beings in the eyes of those who are high above and looking down on the earth, let alone a mere level 0 like him!

Inoue Hidekazu has always understood these things.

Although he usually chats and laughs with his friends and appears calm and collected, only he knows best what a huge vortex he is in!

Only when he was with Misaki Shokuhou could he feel a little at ease.

Because, like him, Misaki Shokuhou understood the dangers of this world.

Their gazes were on the same line, and they saw the same world.

Instead of being like others who can only see the peace or conflict in front of them, superpowers and high technology!

but……

It's no use!

Inoue Hideka has decided to shut down her feelings for Shokuhou Misaki.

Although I will still consider her a friend, I will definitely not spend much more time with her anymore.

There will absolutely be no more overstepping or rude behavior.

……

Just as Inoue Eika's thoughts were becoming increasingly pessimistic, Chao An's voice pulled him back to reality.

Chao'an seemed to be weighing the pros and cons of his suggestion, as well as its impact on Aleister's mind. After pondering for a while, he calmly said:

"Then I'll leave you with good news from me, Inoue-kun!"

Snapped!

After Chao An finished speaking, he immediately cut off the connection.

Seeing this, Inoue Hideka also took off her headset and looked at the nervous faces of everyone in the department office.

"That's roughly how it is. I know everyone has a lot of questions, but actually... there are some things I'm not entirely sure about myself."

At this point, Inoue Hideka looked to Misaka Mikoto for help, hoping that Misaka Mikoto could say a few words on her behalf.

After all, among the people present, only Misaka Mikoto knew that Inoue Eika had once suffered from amnesia.

Inoue Hideka genuinely had no idea how he got involved with Aleister or what kind of agreement was reached.

Through their conversation with Chao An, although no one could hear what Chao An was saying, Inoue Eika's words revealed a close relationship with Aleister, the chairman of the board of directors and the actual controller of Academy City.

Misaka Mikoto was incredibly clever. Recalling Inoue Eika's words and seeing his pleading eyes, she immediately understood Inoue Eika's predicament.

"Humph!"

After giving a disdainful snort, although she appeared reluctant on the surface, Misaka Mikoto didn't hesitate to speak up to help Inoue Eika out of the predicament:

"It's getting late, and I'm starving! Now that things are resolved, can we go eat first?"

"Well... I'm sure everyone has worked hard today because of me. How about I treat you all to dinner?"

Inoue Hideka promptly went along with it and offered suggestions, echoing Misaka Mikoto's words.

"Well, Inoue, I wasn't able to help much, so I won't go."

Upon hearing this, Aizali was the first to object, and while speaking, he glanced at Soqite beside him.

The general meaning is quite clear. He's probably afraid that Sokite will discover his feelings for Misaka Mikoto, so he doesn't dare to expose himself to Sokite's gaze whenever he can see Misaka Mikoto.

After all, when facing someone you like, sometimes you can't control the temperature of your gaze.

“I don’t want to go either. If possible, could the minister give us the money so the four of us can go out and have a meal? It would be better than suffering with people we don’t like.”

Without asking the other members of 'New Moon' for their opinions, Ueno Rei directly and bluntly rejected Inoue Eika's suggestion, giving Misaka Mikoto a few displeased glances.

"Humph!"

In response, Misaka Mikoto merely gave a haughty snort, then crossed her arms and turned her head away with an arrogant expression, not even glancing at Ueno Rei.