The Legend of Level 0 in Academy City

"Mmm, goodnight~~ kiss!"

Mwah~~

Quickly lowering her head, Inoue Hideka touched Misaka Mikoto's cheek with her lips, then with the back of her hand to the side, she flew out before Misaka Mikoto could even notice.

"That bastard...he took advantage of me again! Next time, next time..."

Looking in the direction where Inoue Eika gradually disappeared, Misaka Mikoto complained a couple of times in frustration, her voice growing softer and softer.

Raising her head, Misaka Mikoto touched the spot on her face where Inoue Eika had just ambushed her, where some kind of mark still remained. Unconsciously, she revealed a gentle and sweet smile that she herself was completely unaware of and that had never appeared on her face before.

------

On her way home, Inoue Hideka stopped at a store that was still lit up and bought a rice cooker.

Inoue Eika had never bought anything like this before, but he wasn't worried about the vendors cheating him. With his 'mind control' ability, the thoughts of these ordinary people were completely exposed.

Fortunately, the vendor we encountered this time was an honest businessman.

Therefore, Inoue Hideka was satisfied with the rice cooker he bought, finding it to be good value for money.

Worried that Saten Ruiko was already asleep, Inoue Eika did not knock when she arrived home, but simply opened the door with her own key.

The lights in the living room were still on, but no one was in the living room or kitchen.

Quietly, Inoue Hideka took the rice cooker to the kitchen and put it away. Then, she pressed her ear against Saten Ruiko's door to listen for any sounds inside.

Very quiet.

It seems she's already asleep.

Thinking it best not to disturb her sleep, Inoue Hideka turned off the living room light and returned to her room.

With her eyes still adjusting to the darkness, Inoue Hideka could see almost nothing. Relying on her memory, she walked to her bedside and reached for the light switch near the headboard.

Huh? What's that?

Feeling something slippery, Inoue Hideka was startled.

Something seems to have appeared in my room.

He tentatively reached down, wanting to know the full picture of this thing—and then he felt something cylindrical, smooth and delicate.

"Ah! Haha! It tickles! Stop, Yinghua! It's me, it's me! Haha!"

Chapter 364 Saying Ten Thousand Sweet Words

"Huh? Ruizi? What are you doing here?"

As his eyes gradually adjusted to the dim light, Inoue Eika could finally see clearly that the person sitting on his bed was actually Saten Ruiko.

"Wait, let me turn on the light first..."

"Don't turn on the light, just leave it like this, okay?"

Saten Ruiko reached out and pressed down on Inoue Eika's arm, which was reaching towards the headboard, and said softly.

"okay."

Inoue Hideka stopped what he was doing, puzzled, and sat down on the edge of the bed next to Saten Ruiko. Using the dim light from the streetlamp streaming in from the window, he looked at Saten Ruiko's profile and asked:

"Tears, why aren't you sleeping? Why are you waiting in my room? Is something the matter?"

"kindness……"

Saten Ruiko frowned, rested her chin on her hand, and tilted her head back as if deep in thought.

"Well! It's nothing, I just wanted to scare Yinghua, but I didn't manage to scare her. I'm so disappointed..."

Seeing Saten Ruiko turn her head and make a funny, aggrieved expression on her face, Inoue Hideka helplessly tapped Saten Ruiko's forehead with his finger and laughed:

"You!"

The person in front of her was a girl who was often eccentric, something Inoue Hideka knew.

However, Inoue Hideka also knew that Saten Ruiko wouldn't do something like waiting for him to come back in her room just for that reason.

However, since she doesn't want to talk about it, Inoue Eika will force her.

Inoue Hideka took out an exquisite box containing an amethyst bracelet from her pocket and handed it to Saten Ruiko.

"Well... it's mainly because I feel sorry for Ruiko, who always cooks for me so hard, so I wanted to buy her something. Don't overthink it, and don't compare her to Mikoto. Next time I buy something, I'll get one for Mikoto too."

Inoue Hideka understood Saten Ruiko's thoughts perfectly.

This silly girl is so mature and has such high emotional intelligence that she always thinks of others.

Inoue Hideka now knows that Saten Ruiko didn't accept her gift at the door earlier, but changed the subject because she knew Misaka Mikoto was home and was afraid that she would overthink things if she saw it.

Now, even if Misaka Mikoto isn't present, if Saten Ruiko knew that Inoue Eika only bought her a gift and not Misaka Mikoto's, she probably wouldn't be happy at all, but would instead blame Inoue Eika for not caring about Misaka Mikoto.

Therefore, even though Inoue Hideka knew it was inappropriate to mention another girl in front of one girl, she still made sure to explain the matter clearly to Saten Ruiko.

"Oh? Is that so? It's rare for Yinghua to have a conscience like this! Let me see, what is it?"

Saten Ruiko took the box from Inoue Eika's hands, smiling happily.

She was very happy.

It's not because Inoue Eika seems to care more about herself than Misaka Mikoto.

It wasn't because Inoue Hideka valued her as much as Misaka Mikoto.

Although Inoue Eika bought her a gift specifically to make up for her hard work all this time, which made Saten Ruiko a little happy, this was not the main reason.

Importantly, she could feel that she and Inoue Hideka were of one mind.

Although the person in front of me is a bit slow and not very intelligent, he is able to understand my thoughts.

He knew that the purpose of what he did in the evening was to prevent his senior from overthinking.

He knew he wanted to be treated equally by Misaka-senpai, without favoring either of them.

Because he understood what he was thinking, he knew how to explain it to himself and took action.

For this reason, Saten Ruiko felt very happy.

Although it's a love triangle, she has reason to believe that none of the tragedies caused by love triangles in society will happen between the three of them.

Neither Misaka Mikoto, nor Inoue Hideka, nor even herself would do such a thing, nor would they allow such an ending to occur.

The three of them understand each other, and regardless of gender or nature, they all love each other—in their own way.

She broke up with Inoue Hideka because she knew Misaka Mikoto would never get entangled with someone who already had a girlfriend.

She could imagine Misaka Mikoto leaving heartbroken, or how she could never let go, but she was determined not to disturb herself and Inoue Hideka, and could only wipe away her tears alone in the deep of night.

Just thinking about such a scene makes Saten Ruiko feel waves of pain in her heart.

She could understand what it felt like to love someone, so she could also empathize with how Misaka Mikoto felt at that time.

Just as she loved the boy in front of her, she would feel suffocated by the pain if Inoue Hideka left her.

That's why she endured the heartache and proposed breaking up with Inoue Hideka.

She did this so that Misaka Mikoto wouldn't feel guilty or like an outsider.

Afterwards, she had a long talk with Misaka Mikoto and reached a consensus—to deliberately distance herself from someone in order to prevent them from becoming arrogant and neglecting the two of them.

Even so, not long afterward, this person encountered a life-or-death danger.

That was the time when Inoue Eiji fell in a pool of blood while protecting her. After that, the atmosphere became somewhat strange, and the consensus between Tsuyoshi and Misaka Mikoto was broken.

Moreover, Saten Ruiko also discovered that the preconditions for this consensus did not exist.

Inoue Hideka was not proud because both girls liked him, nor did he look down on them because of it, nor did he stop valuing them after he got them, or go out and flirt with other women.

Many things happened after that, and today, Saten Ruiko is finally able to confirm that the boy who entered her life on the first day of junior high school has always been in tune with her heart.

Without needing to say much, he can see through my thoughts and give the response I want.

Thinking of this, Saten Ruiko's mood became increasingly light. Smiling happily, she opened the box and looked expectantly at the contents inside—

It was a bracelet.

In the dim light, the square amethyst crystal reflected a beautiful glow.

Saten Ruiko fiddled with the amethyst bracelet in her hand, looking at it curiously from top to bottom.

Do you like it?

Inoue Hideka smiled as she looked at Saten Ruiko's beaming face.

"Yes! I like it very much! Yinghua, thank you!"

"I'll put it on for you."

"I can bring it myself! It's not like I can't bring it~~"

As she spoke, Saten Ruiko put the bracelet on her right hand, which was free of electric shocks, and then raised her hand to examine it carefully.

"It's so beautiful! This bracelet is practically made just for Ruiko!"

Inoue Hideka praised without reservation.

"kindness……?"

Upon hearing Inoue Hideka's praise, Saten Ruiko was not pleased; instead, she turned her head and looked at Inoue Hideka with suspicion.

"Why do I feel like Eika is so skilled at sweet talk now? Tell me! How many times have you said it to Misaka-senpai?"

"Forehead!"

Meeting Saten Ruiko's scrutinizing gaze, Inoue Hideka's face stiffened, and cold sweat seemed to be brewing on his forehead.

With her eyes darting away, Inoue Eika turned her head to the side, not daring to look at Saten Ruiko.

"Hmph! You scoundrel! No man is any good!"

Saten Ruiko narrowed her eyes, angrily cursing at Inoue Eika. She raised her hands and forcefully turned Inoue Eika's face towards her, pouting and saying defiantly:

"I don't care! I want to hear sweet words too! Right now! Yinghua, say ten thousand sweet words to me right now, and not a single one can be repeated!"

"Hey!!! Ten thousand sentences?? And not a single one can be repeated?!?"

"Ah! What? Can't say it? I remember Yinghua bought a whip today, right? Bring it out for me now. I'm telling you, repeating one sentence will get you one whip!"