The Legend of Level 0 in Academy City

"Stop right there! Come and chase me if you dare!"

"Aaaaaah! You bastard!"

……

……

The quiet street seemed to become a little more lively with the two chasing figures.

Inoue Hideka and Misaka Mikoto, one after the other, staged a familiar chase in the nighttime Academy City.

Normally, it wouldn't take long to get to the Tokiwadai dormitory following the designated route.

However, because she still had something to say to Misaka Mikoto, Inoue Hideka, who was leading the way, deliberately took a detour to lengthen the distance.

Of course, given Inoue Hideka's stamina, Misaka Mikoto would have no chance of catching up.

Even though Inoue Hideka deliberately slowed down and kept a proper distance from Misaka Mikoto, she was slowly falling behind.

Later on, he could barely keep running, and he didn't even have the strength to curse Inoue Hideka anymore.

After running for an unknown amount of time, and estimating that Misaka Mikoto no longer had the strength to rage, Inoue Eika stopped in front of a vending machine, put in money, took out two cans of drinks, and waited for Misaka Mikoto to come over.

Da~~Da~~

The footsteps drew closer, and Misaka Mikoto stopped less than five meters from Inoue Eika. She rested her hands on her knees, panting heavily, and began to hurl insults at Inoue Eika again.

"You bastard~~ Ha~~ Keep going~~ Ha~~ Keep running~~ Mikoto-sama~~ Hmph~~ I'll beat you to death today~~ Ugh!"

Amused by Misaka Mikoto's defiant act, Inoue Hideka took two steps forward and slapped the cold canned drink onto Misaka Mikoto's face.

"Alright! If you still have the energy, why don't you have a drink to soothe your throat? If you really want to hit me, just wait. As long as you don't use electric shocks, you can do whatever you want with me. Of course, electric shocks are fine too, since I don't mind if Mikoto offers me a kiss..."

"You... you idiot! Who... who would kiss you willingly?!"

pat!

Inoue Eika opened her drink and drank it without saying a word.

After a while, once Misaka Mikoto seemed to have regained some of her speech, she continued the previous topic and asked the question that had been bothering her for a long time.

"Speaking of which, how did you know about my amnesia, Mikoto?"

Glug glug~~Pfft!

When Misaka Mikoto, who was taking a big gulp of her drink, heard this question, she immediately spat out the drink she had just put in her mouth.

"kindness?"

Seeing Misaka Mikoto's reaction, Inoue Hideka was confused again, secretly guessing:

Could it be yet another bizarre and surprising incident of self-destruction that I committed before losing my memory?

Just as I was thinking that, I saw Misaka Mikoto cough with a flushed face. I didn't know if she choked on her drink or if she remembered something that would make her blush.

Regardless, Inoue Hideka walked up behind Misaka Mikoto and gently patted her back to help her catch her breath.

The hand that patted Misaka Mikoto's back felt a slight bulge along her spine, and Inoue Hideka couldn't help but wonder if Mikoto had already started wearing an X-shaped bra.

For some reason, at this moment, Inoue Hideka suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu.

It seems that when Himegami Akisa choked on Touma's bento, Touma patted her back and accidentally unhooked the back of her bra?

Although he knew it wasn't the right time, Inoue Hideka still wanted to complain: his best friend was quite a genius!

Getting back to the main point, after seeing that Misaka Mikoto was feeling better, Inoue Hideka tentatively asked:

"Um, may I ask how Mikoto knew I had amnesia? If it's inconvenient, it's okay if you don't answer."

"Um... that... that..."

The blush on Misaka Mikoto's face had just faded a little when it returned because of Inoue Eika's question.

"It was that time...that...that time...um..."

what……

Inoue Hideka sighed helplessly.

When will her overly tired personality improve?

"That time? Which time? You should be more specific. You've been stammering for so long and haven't said a single crucial word!"

"That was the time! You idiot, Eika! Humph!"

Misaka Mikoto caught a glimpse of Inoue Eika's disdainful expression from the corner of her eye. Suddenly, she yelled and jabbed Inoue Eika in the stomach with her elbow before striding forward angrily.

Bastard! Idiot! Fool! Bad guy! You blockhead!!

Do you expect people to talk about that time I stole a kiss from you?! I, Misaka Mikoto, would rather die than utter such a thing!!!

"Well!"

Inoue Hideka pretended to rub her stomach, which didn't actually hurt, and followed Misaka Mikoto with a fawning smile. She firmly grabbed Misaka Mikoto's hand and said with a grin as they walked:

"Hey! Mikoto, don't be angry! I won't ask anymore, okay? Please don't be angry!"

"Humph!"

"Huh? So stingy? Well, as an apology, this time it's your turn to ask me. Ask me anything you want, because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

With a sly, enigmatic tone, Inoue Hideka deliberately lured Misaka Mikoto into her trap.

"Ugh... you bastard!"

As expected, Misaka Mikoto's expression softened; she had taken the bait. She did indeed have a question for Inoue Eika.

However, before asking the question he wanted to ask, he first cursed Inoue Hideka, as usual.

"Hey, you idiot! I remember you said that before you met me, you...you...you..."

call!

Inoue Hideka sighed again, looking at Misaka Mikoto's embarrassed and blushing face, and said the words she couldn't say herself.

"Yes, I liked you before I met you, and then what?"

"Hmm... then why do you like... me? It can't be because I have superpowers, right?"

Chapter 362 Reasons for Liking You

"of course not."

Inoue Hideka gave a negative answer without hesitation to the speculation about Misaka Mikoto.

"Speaking of espers, isn't Mugino Shizuri an esper too? And she's a super hot girl with a great figure... Ah!"

With her stomach attacked again, Inoue Hideka had to stop her seemingly suicidal remarks.

"You despicable pervert! So you still care about body image after all?"

Misaka Mikoto tugged at Inoue Eika's hand, which was clasped together with hers, and nudged Inoue Eika's stomach with her elbow before turning her head away, muttering resentfully in a low voice.

"I'm so sorry! I was wrong, but I didn't hear what you just said."

Realizing her mistake, Inoue Hideka quickly apologized and looked down at Misaka Mikoto, who seemed to have just said something, with a puzzled expression.

"Nothing. Oh, don't change the subject. What is it? It can't be because of my appearance, right? Although, although Mikoto-sama is... somewhat confident in her looks... but, my sisters look just like me! And, there's one among them..."

You silly girl, you're always nagging me!

The voice trailed off, and Inoue Eika didn't hear Misaka Mikoto's words after "there's one more inside."

However, he didn't seem to care, and instead said seriously:

"No, not either. Although my sister looks exactly like Mikoto, even their sizes and clothes are the same..."

"You bastard! How did you know the size?!"

Before Inoue Eika could finish speaking, Misaka Mikoto interrupted her with a loud shout, her face flushed.

"However, there is one difference."

Ignoring Misaka Mikoto's humiliated and frantic state, Inoue Hideka suddenly stopped, looked intently at Misaka Mikoto, and said seriously:

"Mikoto is Mikoto, and her younger sister is always her younger sister. No matter how much they resemble Mikoto, there is only one Misaka Mikoto in this world. No one can replace her, no one can substitute for her. Only the one I've chosen is my goddess!"

"..."

Gazing at those dark eyes under the quiet night sky, with every word spoken by Inoue Eika echoing in her ears, Misaka Mikoto was stunned.

Everything around her seemed to be sucked into those black hole-like eyes. Misaka Mikoto's gaze gradually became hazy, and her entire mind was completely captivated by the boy in front of her.

"puff!"

A burst of laughter broke the silence.

After laughing, Inoue Hideka teased Misaka Mikoto:

"Didn't you say my sweet talk only makes people disgusted? Mikoto, your expression right now doesn't look disgusting at all! Hehe!"

hum!

Instantly, Misaka Mikoto's face flushed a deep crimson, her body stiffening as she stood frozen in place for a full five seconds, then—

Bilibili, Bilibili~~

Crackle, crackle~~

Blue electric light illuminated a section of the night sky in the 7th District of Academy City.

Accompanying such a sound and such a flash of lightning was Misaka Mikoto's thunderous roar that echoed through the heavens:

"You big idiot! Go to hell!!!!"

------

Ten minutes later.

Misaka Mikoto sat casually on a bench by the street, legs crossed and arms folded, still pouting angrily as she watched Inoue Hideka, who had finally recovered from her numbness, approach with a fawning smile.

"Humph!"

"Um... I'm sorry."

"Humph!"