The Legend of Level 0 in Academy City

"What's wrong, Touma!" Inoue Hideka asked疑惑地, "Are you afraid I won't make it in time and you're too scared to eat?"

“No, it’s because…” Kamijou Touma looked at Inoue Hideka, who was standing at the corner of the stairs, with a conflicted expression, then turned his head, sweating profusely, to look at the place Index was pointing to.

That was the dining table directly opposite the stairwell. No one was eating there, but a girl dressed as a shrine maiden was sleeping on it.

Inoue Hideka climbed the stairs and saw the same shrine maiden lying there—no, she should be called a girl who claimed to be a magician, but shamelessly changed her title to an Eastern astrologer because of Index's words.

Himegami Akisa.

Judging from her attire, location, and entrance, she should definitely be Himegami Akisa.

Kamijou Touma realized what was happening and stepped forward tentatively, asking, "What's wrong with you?"

The girl lying on the table didn't seem to be asleep. Although she didn't raise her head, she made a sound, "Eat..."

"Eat? Did you get an upset stomach?" Touma Kamijou continued to ask.

I'm so full!

Upon hearing this, Kamijou Touma, the blue-haired man with earrings, and Tsuchimikado Motoharu, who were standing by the table, were all sweating profusely.

Of course, Index, who also heard this, had no reaction, because she had no idea what "overeating" meant, or what "overeating" was.

For Index, who was never full, that phrase was simply not in her vocabulary.

Standing to the side, Inoue Eika confirmed that the girl was indeed Himegami Akisa, and stepped forward to say to Kamijou Touma:

"Touma, go and find out what happened, see if this girl needs help."

"Huh? Why me?"

Kamijou Touma said in surprise.

"Huh? Do you expect me, the buyer, to ask? Or are you planning to pay for it yourself?" Inoue Hideka said matter-of-factly.

Tsuchimikado Motoharu, sitting at the table, glanced at Inoue Hidekazu, who was talking to Kamijou Touma, and a glint of light flashed in his eyes.

Based on his intuition as a double agent, this seemingly ordinary boy was not as simple as he appeared.

Kamijou Touma walked up to the girl slumped over the table, clearly unwilling to give up, and asked, "Excuse me, what did you eat that made you so full?"

"A 100-dollar hamburger... because I had a lot of discount coupons... so I ordered 30 in total."

For some reason, the girl still didn't raise her head, but her voice could be clearly heard by everyone.

Hearing the girl's words, Touma Kamijou couldn't help but blurt out his sharp tongue again, "That's too much, isn't it? Idiot!"

The girl was speechless, and her already lifeless appearance suddenly exuded an even more desolate aura.

Touma Kamijou quickly apologized: "No, that's not what I meant, that..."

"I'm giving up on myself."

The girl began to mutter in her sleep again.

"The tram ticket back costs 600 yuan, and I only have 500 yuan on me."

"Mapping means..."

"Excessive spending and lack of self-control led to self-destructive eating habits."

When Inoue Hideka heard these bizarre lines, he didn't feel anything in his previous life, but now that he was in the situation, he felt that this girl was really cute!

"Couldn't I just ask someone to lend me money for a ride?" Touma Kamijou asked, speechless.

Hearing Touma Kamijou's words, the girl finally perked up, lifted her head from the table, and sat up straight.

"Oh! That's a great idea!"

Looking at the girl's delicate face, her waist-length black hair, and her very distinctive red and white shrine maiden outfit.

Even Inoue Hideka, who had seen countless anime and beautiful women in her past life, couldn't help but be amazed by her.

She really is a stunning beauty!

Tsuchimikado Motoharu exclaimed in surprise, "She's a stunning beauty!"

The blue-haired man with the earrings had already taken out his phone and started taking pictures. "I want to take a picture!"

The girl stared directly at Touma Kamijou, her meaning clear—she wanted Touma Kamijou to lend her money.

"Why...why are you looking at me like that? Don't look at me with those expectant eyes!"

Touma Kamijou really doesn't have any money. He probably suffered some unfortunate event recently and lost all his money.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have asked Inoue Hideka for help!

Inoue Hideka couldn't stand it anymore. Wasn't Kamijou Touma ashamed to be stared at so expectantly by such a beautiful girl without responding?

Inoue Hideka pulled out a wad of cash from her pocket, didn't even count it, and stuffed it directly into Kamijou Touma's hand: "Touma, I'm leaving now. This money should be enough for you to pay for your meal and then lend this girl 100 yen, so don't embarrass yourself too much!"

After Inoue Eika finished speaking, he said goodbye to Index and left. In reality, he didn't know Tsuchimikado Motoharu and the blue-haired earring, so he had no reason to say goodbye to them.

Regarding the alchemist incident, Inoue Hideka felt he didn't have the ability to survive with such bizarre powers, and since Kamijou Touma could handle it safely anyway, he decided not to risk his life.

Otherwise, who knows if anyone will even collect his body when the time comes.

After leaving the XX Burger shop, Inoue Hideka found a nearby ice cream shop, went in, ordered a coffee, and began to strengthen her body while waiting for time to pass.

About an hour later, Inoue Hideka felt as if an explosion was coming from the sky. He opened his eyes and saw a helicopter falling from the sky through the window.

After confirming that the hospital incident had ended, Inoue Hideka waited another half hour before taking out her phone to call Saten Ruiko and ask where they were.

Inoue Hideka would avoid anything that was troublesome and unnecessary to get involved in, which is why she hid in the ice cream shop for an hour and a half.

"Hey, Yinghua! We just left the hospital. Have you eaten?"

"not yet."

"Let's meet at our usual restaurant, we're on our way there."

Chapter Seventy-Two: The Latest Urban Legend

At Joseph's restaurant, Inoue Hideka arrived first.

It was almost 2 p.m., and there weren't many people in the restaurant, so the window seat where they usually sat was empty.

Inoue Eika sat there familiarly, waiting for the waiter to come over. She first ordered a drink for each of the girls according to their habits, and then sat there quietly, casually looking around the restaurant.

The eyes, which were gleaming everywhere, suddenly narrowed as they spotted several familiar figures.

At this moment, four girls were sitting at the table next to Inoue Eika's.

Calling her a young girl wouldn't be appropriate.

It should be said that there were two girls, two lolis.

The most eye-catching one was the exceptionally ladylike girl with brown hair, wearing a purple dress. She had a tall and slender figure that was noticeable even when she was sitting, and her chest was also very impressive. In front of her was a salmon bowl.

There was also a seemingly insignificant girl with short, shoulder-length black hair whose posture was quite eye-catching, because she was sleeping on the table.

The girl was wearing a pink tracksuit. Although she was lying on the table, her exceptionally large breasts could be seen from the side.

Next to the brown-haired girl sat a blonde loli wearing a beret. She was slender and petite, dressed in a white miniskirt, with her thin legs encased in stockings. At that moment, she was blinking her big blue eyes and talking incessantly to the brown-haired girl beside her.

Across from the blonde girl sat a girl who was also wearing a hood in the restaurant. Inoue Eika recognized this girl; she was Kinuhata Saiai, whom he had seen kissing Saten Ruiko at the movie theater.

Inoue Hideka only glanced at it before quickly looking away, afraid that the others, especially the girl who called him a pervert, would see it.

After sitting there bored for about 5 minutes, I saw Saten Ruiko and the others push the door open and come in.

As usual, Inoue Hideka and Saten Ruiko sat on one side, while Shirai Kuroko, Uiharu Kazari, and Misaka Mikoto sat opposite them.

Seeing the drinks on the table that suited their tastes, the four girls were somewhat touched. Although Inoue Eika was usually quite eccentric, as a friend, she was truly exceptional.

Especially for a male friend, this thoughtfulness alone earns him a lot of points.

None of them usually talked about what flavors they liked, but Inoue Hideka noticed and very accurately ordered their favorite drinks based on their tastes.

It is often said that details determine success or failure. It seems that there are many things that details can determine, such as love and friendship.

After the waiter came over and the five of them ordered their food, Saten Ruiko started on her favorite topic.

"Hey, hey. Have you heard? The latest urban legend!"

"Saten, those things have no scientific basis. I advise you not to believe them!" Shirai Kuroko said helplessly. "Speaking of which, Inoue-kun, we still have some unresolved issues, right?"

Inoue Hideka broke out in a cold sweat upon hearing this, knowing full well that Shirai Kuroko was referring to the motorcycle.

“Um…” Inoue Hideka anxiously racked her brains, trying to think of a way to get through this.

"I don't think all urban legends are completely unbelievable!"

Helpless, Inoue Hideka could only make up excuses, "Think about it, don't the strippers in urban legends really exist?"

The others nodded in agreement upon hearing this.

They had not only met strippers, but had even fought alongside them.

Seeing that Shirai Kuroko's attention had been diverted, Inoue Hideka continued, "So, Ruiko, tell me what kind of urban legend it is."

"Okay, sure!" Saten Ruiko was delighted to see that her boyfriend agreed with her, so she took out her phone and started scrolling through it, reading the contents aloud.

"It is said that this has only started in the last two weeks. Many people with special abilities will escape from their dormitories in the middle of the night and not return home. When they wake up the next day, they find themselves lying on the street. When passersby ask them what happened, they say they don't know anything about it."

Saten Ruiko took a sip of her drink and then said:

"This is an urban legend known as 'ghost possession.' Most of the students who act strangely wake up without understanding what happened, and they are mostly ability users who live off-campus. Just think about it, wouldn't it be easy for ghosts to get into a dormitory without a dormitory supervisor?"

After saying that, Saten Ruiko looked at Uiharu Kazari with fear, "Uiharu, you'd better be careful. We all live off-campus, but Eika and I are powerless, so they won't bother us!"

From the moment Saten Ruiko began speaking, Shiori was already trembling. Hearing Saten Ruiko's last words, she was struck dumb, and her body trembled even more violently.

"S-Saten-kun, can I go with you tonight to squeeze in? It's so scary!"

This must be the scariest of all the urban legends that Saten Ruiko has told, right?

"Tch! Ghosts and all that, Saten, this is Academy City!" Misaka Mikoto said dismissively to Saten Ruiko. "This is the heart of science! Even if there were ghosts here, they definitely wouldn't dare come to Academy City!"

"Exactly! Chuchun, don't act so timid. It's embarrassing for a disciplinary committee member!"

Only Shirai Kuroko, who takes pride in being a member of the Disciplinary Committee, would say such a thing. At this moment, she looked at Uiharu Kazari with a look of disdain.

Inoue Hideka, however, had a thoughtful expression. Although he had never heard of such an urban legend in the original work, he believed that urban legends were basically based on real events.

Perhaps it wasn't mentioned in the original work, or perhaps it was due to his butterfly effect, but in any case, it's worth Inoue Hidekazu's attention.

"Hmm... I can't help but want to pamper you a little when you're like this in early spring!" Saten Ruiko teased Hina Haru Kazari.