The Legend of Level 0 in Academy City

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The shopping center across from the windowless building in the 7th school district.

Inside a room on the 12th floor.

Inoue stared at the 'tweezers' that Tsuchimikado was wearing on his hand.

The tweezers have a small screen on the palm side that displays a key word—dragon.

After a long silence, Inoue Hideka carefully chose his words and said:

"Before discussing 'Dragon,' I'd like to ask a question... You three should be aware that what you're doing might involve Academy City's secrets. In other words, continuing the investigation could potentially touch upon the core of Academy City, or even lead to your being silenced by the higher-ups. Even so, do you three still intend to continue?"

"Enough with the nonsense! If these so-called secrets could cost this brat his life, I'll smash the heads of whoever possesses them!"

One of the drivers, impatient, was the first to express his opinion.

“Even so, I can make one thing clear: Aleister is not included in the upper echelons you mentioned, Inoue. The hovering loop is everywhere, which means that Aleister knows what we are doing, but he has not stopped us.”

After a moment's thought, Tsuchimikado offered his own perspective.

"Even so, it's impossible for him to tell us directly. That guy is very tight-lipped. Even though we've talked many times, I've never gotten anything useful out of him."

"Perhaps we could ask one of the board members?"

Inoue tentatively directed his criticism towards the General Council.

If they can make contact with the council members in advance, Chao'an will launch its plan to eliminate the 'group' ahead of schedule.

This might allow them to guide the ships to the center of the formation in advance and help their side eliminate Chao'an.

“No, if Tsuchimikado is right, I’m afraid the board members won’t give in easily. They might even be secretly speculating about Aleister’s intentions and taking action against us. So, I think it’s best not to let the board members know that we are investigating the ‘Dragon’ unless absolutely necessary.”

At this moment, Aizali interjected.

“That’s right, I also think that we shouldn’t let the board members know what we’re doing for the time being.”

Tsuchimikado agreed with Aizari's words.

"So... what exactly is a 'dragon'?!"

Accelerator did not object to Izali's words, but instead impatiently steered the conversation back to its original direction.

Upon hearing this, Aizali glanced at Tsuchimikado, and seeing that Tsuchimikado, also a mage, had no intention of speaking, she slowly said:

“...Unlike you scientists, if you were to ask someone like me on the magical side, the word ‘dragon’ easily evokes religious connotations. Like… ‘angel’ or something.”

Inoue Hideka listened quietly, and seeing that none of the three had any intention of advancing into the General Council, he had no choice but to temporarily abandon the method of dealing with Chao'an from this perspective.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that Accelerator's eyes darkened after hearing Izali's words.

Perhaps it's because they thought of the 'angel' that appeared yesterday?

Based on this, we can further infer that the plan of the higher-ups, or Aleister, was not to use the Absolute Power Evolution Plan to make him Level 6 from the beginning, but to use Last Order to achieve other goals.

However, Accelerator remained silent, staring at Izali in deep thought.

Perhaps he was pondering what Izali meant by 'magic'?

Accelerator hasn't been exposed to magic yet, nor has he fought alongside Tsuchimikado and Ezarri, so he probably doesn't know they are magicians.

Thinking this through, Inoue Hideka said meaningfully:

"Could it be related to that girl named Fengzhan Binghua? That is, the 'Imaginary Number Zone - Five Elements Mechanism'... If we analyze what happened yesterday, what can you think of?"

When the 'Imaginary Number Zone - Five Elements Mechanism' was activated, Inoue Eika was not in Academy City. Therefore, even if he knew the relationship, he could only guide others to say it, but could not say it himself.

"Yesterday... wait! That guy's plan..."

Tsuchimikado seemed to have thought of something and turned to look at Aizali in surprise.

"A magician!"

Aizali met Tsuchimikado's gaze, clearly recalling her physical condition when the 'angel' appeared yesterday. A look of horror crossed her face as she guessed:

"Could it be that Aleister's goal is to deal with mages?"

"There should be some connection, but it's impossible to determine whether this is his ultimate goal or just one part of his plan."

Tsuchimikado had long suspected what Aleister was planning, but he had never been able to get to the bottom of it.

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

Accelerator, who couldn't understand what Tsuchimikado and Izali were saying at all, frowned and interrupted their discussion with a long face.

Tsuchimikado and Izare didn't answer Accelerator's question, but instead looked at Inoue Hidekazu, a member of the science side who had firsthand experience with the problem.

From a scientific perspective, it would be most appropriate for Inoue Hidekazu to explain this to Accelerator.

"Hmm... then I'll explain."

Seeing this, Inoue Hideaki took over the conversation, thought for a moment, and said to Accelerator:

"Besides superpowers, there is also magic in this world. I don't know where their magic comes from, but magic is more diverse than superpowers. There is fire control, water control, and healing... In fact, I personally think it's hard to say whether your ability will have any effect on this kind of energy. If you encounter such an enemy, it's better to be careful."

Based on his observations, Inoue Hidekazu gave a few examples, and incidentally gave Accelerator a heads-up.

"cut!"

Accelerator scoffed dismissively, but whether he took Inoue Hidekazu's words to heart is unknown.

"Oh, I have class this afternoon, so I won't participate in the rest of the investigation. Just let me know if you find anything."

Since the others didn't intend to deal with Chao'an, Inoue Eika felt there was nothing more for her to do by staying any longer, so she stood up and said goodbye to them.

------

When I got back to school, the first class of the afternoon hadn't even ended yet.

Taking advantage of this break, Inoue Hideka went to the principal's office and declined the reward the principal had previously mentioned for active participation during the Daihasei Festival.

Inoue Eika is wealthy. While he wouldn't call himself a tycoon, he's certainly not worried about food or drink. Although he lost his car, he still owns a house, and he no longer has much desire for money.

It should be said that he is the kind of person who is easily satisfied.

What I longed for most in my past life was nothing more than the world of anime and manga.

More precisely, the person he dreamed of seeing was Misaka Mikoto.

I want to talk to her, I want to see her smile, I want to see her be cool, I want to be with her.

Other aspects are not so important.

It's not that I don't care.

However, compared to her obsession with seeing Misaka Mikoto, other aspects were far less important, so much so that they could almost be ignored.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have lost his composure and cried out when he first met Misaka Mikoto.

Now, Inoue Hideka has not only won the heart of the lively and cheerful Saten Ruiko, but also the heart of Misaka Mikoto, whom she had once longed for.

There's nothing to be dissatisfied with in this kind of life.

Now, he has only one goal—to survive!

Survive amidst the many upheavals that lie ahead!

The first hurdle to overcome is the threat from Chao'an.

Inoue Hideka needed an opportunity, a legitimate opportunity to kill Chao'an.

It won't be long.

According to the plot, on October 17th, Chao'an will take action to eliminate Accelerator and others who want to know information about 'Dragon'. At the same time, he will also kidnap Chikafune Mochino's daughter, Chikafune Sugan, to blackmail Chikafune Mochino.

But Inoue Hideka believes that it won't come to that.

Based on the progress of Accelerator and his group, they won't have to wait until then before Chao'an issues the order to eliminate them.

At that time, Inoue Hideka could then legitimately rise up in rebellion and kill Chao'an.

Chapter 400 You two should get married soon!

Ring~ Ring ring~~

After the bell rang, Inoue Hideka waited outside the door for a while before entering the classroom after the teacher came out.

"Hey! Inoue! You've taken another day off?"

As soon as we entered, Fujiwara Masagosuke, who was sitting in the front row, familiarly put his arm around Inoue Hideka's shoulder and led him to the back of the classroom.

"Hey Fujiwara, are you even capable? It's been so long, when are you going to finally win over the girl who's been trying to seduce my girlfriend?"

Inoue Hideka knew perfectly well what Fujiwara Masaga was trying to do: use the opportunity of talking to him to get Shigeho Shigefuku to talk to.

Is it really necessary to do it so secretly?

Thinking this, Inoue Hideka decided to tease Fujiwara Shoga, and said to him with a wicked smile:

"If you can't do it, I'll do it myself!"

"What are you saying! You can't mess with your friend's wife! And you actually said it out loud! I'm sure I can get her, believe me!"

As Fujiwara Masato said this, he used his free hand to give Inoue Hideka a sharp rap on the head.

"Oh~~ Do you know that this phrase, when spoken in a certain language, sounds the same as 'Don't be polite to your friend's wife'? Fujiwara, are you telling me not to be polite?"

As they talked, the two walked to the vicinity of Inoue Hideka's seat.

The others didn't react much to these words, but Saten Ruiko, who was closer, frowned immediately upon hearing Inoue Eika's words.

"Yinghua! What are you saying, you bastard? You're not going to be polite to your friend's wife!"

Inoue Hideka was so busy teasing Fujiwara Shoga that he didn't realize he had already walked to the back. Seeing Saten Ruiko's outburst, he instantly lost the momentum he had when he was teasing Fujiwara Shoga.

He scurried over to behind Saten Ruiko's seat, rubbing her shoulders to comfort her:

"No, I was just kidding! With a girl as wonderful as Ruiko, how could I possibly go and bother with someone else!"

"Hmph! Still denying it!"

Saten Ruiko snorted coldly, letting Inoue Eika massage her shoulders. She crossed her arms, turned away with a stern face, and stopped talking.

"Is there?"

"Whether you are aware of it or not?"