The Legend of Level 0 in Academy City

Upon seeing the white shirt on Misaka Mikoto, Inoue Eika turned to look at Shirai Kuroko beside her with some confusion.

The white shirt that Shirai Kuroko was wearing was gone, leaving only a standard Tokiwadai school uniform jacket—a sleeveless, thin summer sweater.

A gentle breeze blew by, and from the side, Inoue Hideka could still see the barely perceptible, subtle curves inside.

bass!

A sudden sound came from the side.

Out of the corner of his eye, Inoue Hideka caught a glimpse of a trembling steel needle that suddenly appeared less than 10cm from his head.

He immediately turned his head away, breaking out in a cold sweat, no longer daring to look around carelessly.

"Hey! Did you see that?"

"You saw that, didn't you?"

Two different voices came from different directions. Judging from the tone, the first sentence was spoken by Misaka Mikoto, and the second sentence was spoken by Shirai Kuroko.

"No, no, no! I swear, I didn't see anything! Really!"

"Humph!"

in unison.

"Thanks a lot this time, you rascal!"

Misaka Mikoto ignored Inoue Hideka, clutching the hem of her shirt, glanced at Kamijou Touma's newly grown, intact right arm, and surprisingly, earnestly thanked him.

Inoue Hideka got up from the ground and noticed that her hand was still bleeding and revealing white bone. She quietly put her hand behind her back.

I wonder if Mikoto will transfer her feelings for me to Touma because Touma saved her this time?

Inoue Hideka silently thought as she watched Kamijou Touma and Misaka Mikoto interacting amicably over there.

"Haha~~ It's nothing! Actually, I still don't understand what's going on. Yinghua asked me to come. If you want to thank someone, thank Yinghua."

Kamijou Touma scratched the back of his head with his right hand, laughing heartily.

"Hmph! That idiot! Who's going to thank him!"

Despite her sharp words, Misaka Mikoto secretly glanced at the wound on Inoue Eika's shoulder, who was standing to the side, with a worried expression.

"Uh..." Inoue Hideka was embarrassed.

Hey! What's with this differential treatment?

"Well, now that my sister has recovered, I'll take her back to her dorm to change her clothes first, and then I'll track down those criminals who did evil."

Shirai Kuroko withdrew her probing gaze from Touma Kamijou and spoke to Misaka Mikoto.

"Ah, oh! Okay!"

Misaka Mikoto blushed and glanced at the two men present, Touma Kamijou and Eika Inoue, before nodding in agreement.

"Misaka-senpai has recovered! That's wonderful!"

Saten Ruiko's voice suddenly rang out behind her, startling Inoue Hideka.

He felt awkward, unsure whether to take his hands out from behind his back or not.

"Yes, I'm sorry to have worried everyone! Anyway, I'll find a chance to thank you all properly in a while! Well then, Saten, Kuroko and I will head back now."

"kindness!"

Inoue Hideka stood awkwardly in place, wondering if Saten Ruiko had seen her hands.

Judging from her unreadable expression as she spoke to Mikoto, she probably didn't notice.

Inoue Hideka thought to herself, and just then she breathed a sigh of relief.

“Yinghua…”

When Misaka Mikoto and Shirai Kuroko were there, Saten Ruiko, who was smiling, suddenly looked at Inoue Hideka with tears in her eyes, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't.

Chapter 133 A True Man Should Shed Blood

“That… Ruiko…”

Inoue Eika stood awkwardly in place, trying her best to hide her hands behind her back so that Saten Ruiko wouldn't see them.

"Yinghua, now that things are resolved, I need to head back immediately. Index is probably going crazy right now..."

Kamijou Touma wore a bitter expression; he could already imagine the miserable state he would be in when he returned home and was subjected to a beating by the starving nun.

"Yes! Touma, thank you so much, I'm really grateful to you this time!"

Inoue Hideka really wanted to pat Kamijou Touma on the shoulder to encourage him.

However, my hands are clearly not suitable for such intimate actions right now.

"Yinghua, what are you saying! Aren't we best friends? Well, I'll be going now, goodbye!"

After saying that as if it were the most natural thing in the world, Touma Kamijou headed straight for the station.

Inoue Hideka was left standing there awkwardly, while Saten Ruiko had tears in her eyes.

"Stop hiding it. Does Yinghua still need to conceal things from me?"

Saten Ruiko took two steps forward, grabbed Inoue Eika's arm, and forcibly exposed Inoue Eika's hands in front of her.

Seeing Inoue Hideka's once fair hands now revealing terrifyingly white bones, Saten Ruiko tenderly stroked them with her fingers.

"Tear~~"

The pain, which was bearable before, became excruciating when touched by Saten Ruiko's fingers, a foreign object, causing Inoue Hideka to gasp in pain.

"Sorry……"

Saten Ruiko realized she had hurt Inoue Hidekazu. Her fingers trembled slightly as she pulled away from Inoue Hidekazu's hand, and tears welled up in her eyes.

"It's alright, don't worry about it. A real man should shed blood, it's better than shedding tears of regret afterward. I think Leizi can understand me, right?"

“I don’t mean to blame Yinghua. On the contrary, if I were in her shoes, I would have made the same choice. It’s just… seeing Yinghua like this, I feel… so heartbroken… so unwilling… why can’t I help Yinghua…”

Saten Ruiko looked up at Inoue Hideka's face with teary eyes, her gaze filled with heartache and resentment.

“Silly girl! You probably don’t know how much you’ve helped me… Whether it was persuading Dolly before, or bringing Accelerator and Touma here in time, plus the meticulous care you’ve always taken for me, if it weren’t for Ruiko, I might already be dead and my body would be cold.”

"Besides, Ruiko has spoiled me rotten. Now I can't live without you for a second! For me, a life without Ruiko is worse than death!"

"Really?" Saten Ruiko looked at Inoue Hideka hopefully.

"Yes! Really!"

When Inoue Hideka saw Saten Ruiko staring at him with her big, watery eyes full of hope, he really wanted to pat her head with his hand.

But thinking about the condition of my hands, I could only manage a helpless, bitter smile.

"Ah! Yinghua's hand needs to be treated at the hospital. It's all my fault! I'm sorry, Yinghua, I'll take you to the hospital right now."

As she spoke, Saten Ruiko grabbed Inoue Hideka's wrist and headed towards the hospital.

"Tears, don't blame yourself. Actually, it's my fault as a boyfriend for being irresponsible and always making his girlfriend worry. I should be the one apologizing!"

Inoue Hideka stopped and comforted Saten Ruiko.

"Ah~~ Let's not talk about that now, let's go to the hospital for treatment first!"

Saten Ruiko anxiously tugged at Inoue Hideka, filled with regret. She feared that if she delayed treatment, Inoue Hideka's hands might be rendered useless...

The thought of this is terrifying!

"No, Ruiko, I can go to the hospital myself. Shokuhou-senpai is still sitting by that building over there. She's not feeling well right now. Could you help me take her to the hospital?"

"Huh? This..."

Saten Ruiko hesitated; she really wanted to accompany her boyfriend to the hospital herself.

However, after learning about the girl's experience, Saten Ruiko felt a great deal of pity for her and couldn't just leave her alone.

"Okay! I'll go now, Yinghua, hurry to the hospital!"

Following the direction pointed out by Inoue Hideka, Saten Ruiko ran quickly towards the direction of the talent workshop.

----------

When Inoue Hideka returned home after getting her bandaged at the hospital, it was already around 3 p.m.

Incidentally, he was actually criticized by the seemingly serious Dr. Guatai.

"Young man, given how many times you've been to the hospital in the past two weeks, I suggest you get a long-term ward. That would offer many discounts."

This is what Mingtu Zhuihun said. Although it's understandable that he was trying to plan the most reasonable solution for the patient from the patient's perspective, Inoue Hideka always felt like he was being criticized.

Having not yet had lunch and with Saten Ruiko still not back, the starving Inoue Eika had no choice but to open the refrigerator.

My arms and hands were wrapped in bandages, which was very uncomfortable, and my knuckles hurt a lot when I tried to pick things up.

Fortunately, the ointment contained a large amount of anesthetic, so I could still move around with difficulty.

There were some leftovers in the refrigerator, so Inoue Hideka heated them up in the microwave and then took them to the living room to eat.

Accelerator and Last Order were sitting on the sofa in the living room, watching TV with boredom.

"Hey, Inoue, are those things wrapped around your arms the latest fashion trend?" Misaka asked Inoue-san curiously, pondering whether she should follow the trend.

Last Order curiously approached Inoue Hidekazu, patted him on the shoulder, and asked eagerly.

Accelerator also noticed the bandages on Inoue Hideka's hand, but he only glanced at them and didn't ask any further questions.

Getting this arrogant guy to show concern must be even more difficult than getting him to smile, right?

"..."

Upon hearing this, Inoue Hideka broke out in a cold sweat. What kind of fashionable outfit is this?!

Raising his arm to touch the ahoge (antenna-like hair) on Last Order's head, Inoue Hideka patiently explained:

"This is not fashion, don't try to copy this style!"

"Oh!"

Upon hearing that it wasn't fashionable, the final piece immediately lost interest, turned away in boredom, and went back to watching TV.

After eating a quick bite, Inoue Hideka returned to her room.

Suddenly having free time, I didn't know what to do.