The Legend of Level 0 in Academy City

Upon hearing this, Haru Shiori trembled even more violently. Although she was afraid of ghosts, she was equally afraid of Saten Ruiko's frivolous behavior.

"Tears, you'd better not scare Chuchun. This urban legend is very strange. It would be safer for Chuchun to go to your place."

"Hmph! Yinghua, do you mean I should shift my bullying to you?"

"No! Please spare me!" Inoue Eika couldn't help but beg for mercy when she saw Saten Ruiko's arrogant demeanor.

Why does it feel like Ruiko is about to awaken some strange attribute?

The food they ordered was finally ready.

Inoue Hideka and Saten Ruiko ordered curry rice, Uiharu Kazari ordered a dessert, and Shirai Kuroko, following Misaka Mikoto's example, ordered a vegetable set meal.

"Speaking of which, I'd like to take a piano lesson with you tomorrow, is that alright?" Misaka Mikoto said to Inoue Eika, who was sitting across from her, while eating.

Normally, Misaka Mikoto is still not used to calling Inoue Eika by her name. Unless necessary, she will speak directly to Inoue Eika. When she is angry, she will call him "that idiot" or something like that.

Inoue Hideka felt she was being treated like Kamijou Touma, even though Mikoto Mimoto also addressed Kamijou Touma that way, which seemed to be her way of showing that she wasn't being a stranger, but it still made Inoue Hideka unhappy.

"Do as you please, as long as you don't bother me," Inoue Eika said lazily.

"Ah! How can Onee-sama be alone with this pervert? I want to go too!" Shirai Kuroko said, brandishing her cutlery.

"Ugh... won't it be too noisy with so many people?" Inoue Hideka was a little unhappy. He was about to undergo intensive training, and if he heard Shirai Kuroko's unique voice, he didn't know if he could continue training.

"Let's go together then. It's been a long time since we had hot pot together. How about we go to Yinghua's house for hot pot tomorrow?"

"I don't have any objections, anyway, it's pretty boring."

After Misaka Mikoto expressed her opinion, Shirai Kuroko added, "Well, it seems like there's no work tomorrow."

“I have no objection either.” — Chu Chun Shiri, Part 1.

Seeing that the others all agreed, Inoue Hideka reluctantly gave up the idea of ​​resisting.

Come to think of it, how did things come to this?

What happened in Chapter Seventy-Three?

The next day, early in the morning.

After Inoue Eika finished her long-distance run and took a shower, Misaka Mikoto walked in through the door carrying a box and a bag.

At this moment, Inoue Hideka had just finished dressing and, looking at Misaka Mikoto standing in the doorway, couldn't help but remark:

"Isn't this a bit too casual? Is this your home?"

Misaka Mikoto never seemed to treat Inoue Eika as a stranger, nor did she feel there was anything wrong with simply opening the door and coming in, since she had a key anyway.

When she first heard Inoue Hideka say that, she suddenly realized that she seemed to be acting too naturally!

It felt like I was in my own home!

When did it become like this?

Misaka Mikoto couldn't understand when she had become so natural in front of Inoue Eika.

Was it from the moment I heard "Railgun"? Or from when I came to piano practice and accidentally saw this guy's body? Or was it from the moment we argued and then met again, only to be able to continue arguing as if nothing had happened?

Misaka Mikoto really doesn't understand. Although they've known each other for half a year, they've only been in close contact for about a month. Why does it feel so natural, like they've known each other for a long time?

Thinking about all this, Mikoto Mimoto couldn't help but ask herself, what would happen if Inoue Eika didn't exist in her life?

A strange sense of unease...

Shaking your head to banish those thoughts must be so boring, right?

It's pretty boring, isn't it?

There shouldn't be anything else besides that, right?

Misaka Mikoto thought to herself with a self-deprecating smile.

"Hey, what have you been thinking about all this time, all by yourself with that furrowed brow?"

Inoue Hideka said to Misaka Mikoto, speechless, "By the way, you'd better knock before you come in next time. I'm not an exhibitionist, and you're not my girlfriend. I'm not responsible if you see my body again!"

"You bastard! Who wants to see your body?! Who wants you to take responsibility?!" Upon hearing this, Misaka Mikoto, clearly remembering that embarrassing morning, shouted loudly with a flushed face.

"Whatever," Inoue Hideka waved her hand dismissively. "You should have brought me breakfast, right?"

"What's with this casual attitude of yours! And besides, I, I would never take the initiative to bring breakfast for someone like you!"

Despite saying that, Misaka Mikoto awkwardly hid her left hand, which was holding the bag, behind her back.

Still such a frank personality!

Ignoring Misaka Mikoto's tsundere state, Inoue Eika walked straight to the door, took the bag from Misaka Mikoto's hand very naturally, and then went to the dining table to open it. Sure enough, it was the Tokiwadai Nutritional Set Meal.

Misaka Mikoto blushed as soon as Inoue Eika took the bag. She stood awkwardly in place, unsure whether to go in or leave.

Seeing Inoue Hideka open the breakfast she brought and start eating, her face was already steaming.

She was very unwilling to be exposed to her face. When will she be able to change her dishonest personality?

"Aren't you coming in?" Inoue Eika asked casually, looking at Misaka Mikoto, who was standing there blushing.

"Hmph! That, that wasn't, that wasn't your breakfast, it was, that was for myself!"

Misaka Mikoto denied it as she walked toward the piano.

Honestly, he made people look so bad, and this guy can still talk to them so naturally!

"Hmm... Do you still want to eat? Here you go!" Inoue Hideka stopped eating and gestured for Misaka Mikoto to take the breakfast over.

"You've already eaten it, how dare you give it back to me! Do you think I'd still eat it?!"

Misaka Mikoto casually placed the box she was holding on the table, she was about to go crazy, what was wrong with this person!

Don't they have any common sense at all?

Inoue Eika didn't reply and continued eating, but in her heart she was cursing Misaka Mikoto. "Who told you to be so cute when you're being tsundere? I just can't help it!"

After dinner, Inoue Hideka sat on the bed and began intensive training, while Misaka Mikoto also began to practice the piano attentively. She believed that after practicing one or two more times, she would be able to play the piece perfectly.

Then we'll be able to enjoy the wonderful scene of Misaka Mikoto singing her character song!

Inoue Hideka sat on the bed, trying to stabilize the current while listening to a soothing melody and thinking to herself.

Around noon, Saten Ruiko and the other two arrived one after another.

Inoue Hideka and Misaka Mikoto each stopped what they were doing and joined the three of them in their work.

Of course, Inoue Hideka was just standing by and watching. Asking him, a guy who was useless at housework and cooking, to help would only make things worse.

Saten Ruiko bought some seafood, Uiharu Kazari bought a lot of vegetables, and Shirai Kuroko strangely bought snake meat!

Looking at the snake meat chopped into pieces, Saten Ruiko and the other two felt a chill run down their spines!

Inoue Hideka said with great interest, "It is said that snake meat is delicious, and the whole snake is a treasure. Snake skin, snake gall, and so on all have high nutritional value!"

"I'd rather not have all that nutrition!" Misaka Mikoto, Saten Ruiko, and Uiharu Kazari said in unison.

“Uh…” This time, Inoue Hideka and Shirai Kuroko made the same reaction.

In the end, the two couldn't persuade Misaka Mikoto and the other two to give in, so they put the snake meat aside, planning to take it out and throw it away when they left.

Inoue Eika was afraid of Saten Ruiko, while Shirai Kuroko dared not defy Misaka Mikoto.

After washing the ingredients, the first ones to be cooked were the lamb and beef rolls that Misaka Mikoto had brought and placed in a box.

Five people sat around a low table, each holding a small bowl, with beef and mutton that had just been put into the pot and were now cooked.

"Why didn't Shirai come with Misaka-senpai today?" Inoue Eika had been spending more time with Shirai Kuroko lately, and after they became more familiar, she no longer used honorifics.

"I suddenly received a notice this morning that I was being called to the branch for an investigation," Shirai Kuroko said unhappily. "I wanted to come with Onee-sama too, but you, you pervert, got to be alone with her! You didn't do anything strange to Onee-sama, did you?"

"Kuroko, what are you saying?!" Misaka Mikoto blurted out before she could even swallow what was in her mouth.

Inoue Hideka looked at Misaka Mikoto speechlessly. "Why are you so eager to argue? It's as if I really did something strange."

"Has something happened again?" To avoid things taking a strange turn, Inoue Hideka wisely changed the subject.

"Hmm, I don't know who's so bored, but lately a lot of envelopes with cash cards have been scattered in the corners of Academy City, forcing Haru and me to investigate this matter early this morning. It's really annoying!"

"Cash card?" Inoue Hideka asked, somewhat bewildered.

Has it finally arrived?

I took out my phone and looked at it. It showed today's date: August 9th.

Has it come to this point already?

The event that Inoue Hideka least wanted to face.

That's something he absolutely doesn't want to get involved in, has no capital to do so, and might even die if he does—

The Absolute Ability Evolution Project!

Chapter Seventy-Four: State of Mind

"Cash cards?" Saten Ruiko asked, puzzled. "Is it that rumor about 'finding cash cards in envelopes scattered by unknown people while walking in alleys'? I saw it on the website today too."

Saten Ruiko suddenly became excited as she said this, "Hey, shall we look for it together after we finish eating?"

"No, Saten-san, even if you find them, these things still need to be handed over to the Disciplinary Committee!" Shirai Kuroko reminded her from the side.

"Hey Kuroko, aren't you being way too rigid? All you do is talk about disciplinary committee members all the time!" Misaka Mikoto said, displeased.

Inoue Hideka was no longer paying attention to what the others were saying; only one thing was on his mind...

The sisters are being experimented on; the sisters are dying!

In some unknown corner of Academy City, Accelerator is brutally murdering someone!

Because he simply didn't have the resources to participate in or change the situation, he had been deliberately ignoring it, trying not to think about it, and suppressing any thoughts that might change their fate.

Now that the trigger for the incident is clearly right in front of Inoue Hidekazu, he can no longer control his emotions.

But what if you can't control yourself? Will being unable to control yourself change anything? Or are you just going to throw your life away?

Why is it so weak?

Why did they send me to Academy City?

Isn't the goal to save the younger sisters? That's something every Misaka Mikoto fan should do!

Why can't I do it?