Putting down the black coffee she had just brewed in her hand, Flanda, who was enjoying a rare quiet time in branch 177, used the inertia of her body to push the computer chair and looked from the cubicle to the girl with glasses who was getting dressed at the door of the office.
The summer vacation is coming to an end. Are there any newcomers who have free time to train during this period?
"Well...because the other party is still a primary school student, even if she has passed the training of the "Discipline Committee", the headquarters still wants her to be an intern in various branches to accumulate experience. After she enters school next year, she should officially transfer to us.
It’s a branch.”
I see, that means we should first take the preliminary member to get familiar with the working environment.
After understanding the whole story and having roughly guessed the identity of the newcomer, Flanda said "Oh" and nodded.
"Originally, there was no need to be so anxious. Thanks to that Bimei guy's blessing, the 'attendance rate' of our branch is completely insufficient."
After drinking all the Musashino milk on the table, Gufamiwei tightened the drink box in his hand with a smile on his face.
She has said this several times to her roommate who has turned into a 'ghost member', but it still has no effect at all.
"..."
All right.
With a wry smile to show her understanding, Flanda spread her hands helplessly and shook her head. She had no choice about the 'intimate elder sister' who pursued youth.
It can't be said that it was because she was so capable that others had nothing to do and finally chose to 'fall'.
But having said that, she seems to have officially started work on the first day she came here, and she really hasn’t experienced any newbie guidance...
"Then I'll leave first. I'll leave it to you here. If you need to go out, remember to connect the office's communication line to your mobile phone."
Not forgetting to give some instructions, the reliable senior girl turned the door handle and was about to leave, but suddenly she stopped as if she remembered something.
"...By the way, one thing was mentioned during the meeting yesterday. You should also pay attention to your safety."
"...?"
Gufameiwei raised his glasses with a serious expression, turned around and warned with some worry.
"Recent reports submitted by branches near us pointed out that several mental ability users of different levels seemed to have been attacked by those guys."
When talking about 'those guys', Gu Fameiwei's expression was very complicated.
There is nostalgia, regret, and anger.
Then, she announced a term that was familiar to Flanders.
——"Armed group of incompetent persons (skillout)".
This is the collective name for the armed groups of incompetent people in "Academy City", and there is not only one.
The members are basically all incompetent people who skip school and travel at night. They usually like to vent their dissatisfaction with the city with a group of people attacking lower-level superpowers.
It's just that after Frenda heard about it, her thoughts were more in-depth.
After all, in the 'impression', most of these organizations on the surface are just chess pieces that are manipulated by the experimenters in ignorance and can be discarded at will.
And what she was thinking at the moment was indeed correct.
As for when we really touched the edge of this incident related to people with mental abilities, it was on the afternoon of the fourth day after learning the news.
"... If you are so connected to the bad guys, how about you join them? Maybe you can really become the big brother and open up new routes."
Hearing that a certain spiky-headed man was attacked by a gangster and admitted to the hospital, Flanda, who should pay a visit whether as a member of the disciplinary committee or an acquaintance, came to the medical institution of the "Seventh School District".
Because she had been preparing the summary report of the four-month training period these two days, she wore a set of ordinary dark blue casual clothes when she was not on duty.
"Hey! Are you still considered a disciplinary committee member like this? I'm lucky that I was kind enough to call you to remind you!"
Facing someone's sarcasm, Kamijou Touma, who had bandages on his head and waist, raised his hands to express his dissatisfaction, but as a result, a wound somewhere was affected and his expression was distorted.
"...Okay, okay, I'm very grateful for your notice, but I also want to ask, where did you get my phone number?"
Sighing and thanking the young man for his kindness, Flanda found a stool and sat down, asking questions that had nothing to do with business.
She remembered that although the two had crossed paths several times, they were not close enough to exchange phone numbers.
"Hiss...ah? Have you forgotten that last time, didn't I use your mobile phone to call Mianyi?"
Covering his head, Kamijou answered briefly.
So that’s it, it was a record from that time.
She thought... well, forget it, just don't mention it.
After clearing up her doubts, the foreign girl who came to visit the patient looked around the ward, but did not see the other client.
"Where are the honey ants? Have they gone back yet?"
This person was said to be the target of the attack, and the spiky-headed boy was just 'blocking the gun' for her.
The cause was just as Gufa Meiwei feared, attacks on people with mental abilities did indeed occur in this area.
"Well, she didn't seem to have slept much since last night, so I persuaded her to go back to rest after I woke up."
He scratched his face in embarrassment. This was probably the first time Kamijou was hospitalized and was cared for by a girl.
But this guy saved people twice in a month, so it's not surprising.
"That's it..."
Feeling that the small talk was over, it was time to get to the point, Flanda smiled with interest.
"Since you don't seem to have a big problem, let's talk about it."
When I left the hospital, it was probably around five o'clock in the afternoon.
It would be very troublesome to go back at night. You know everything you want to know, Frenda has no interest in spending the night with this hedgehog.
However, this 'reminder' was somewhat beyond her expectation, and she got a lot of important information.
The reason why Kamijou thought of calling her to inform her was because he learned from the confrontation with the 'bad' that the attack on Level's honey ants Aiyu was just the beginning, and their target was an esper with a higher level.
As for Frenda, she happens to be a Level 4 psychic ability user.
Let's not talk about whether there are only seven Level 5s to worry about. Although Level 4 is a lot, it is definitely not too many.
If it were limited to one category, it would be even rarer.
And two other points worth noting are that the opponent used ‘abilities’ during the battle and also carried ‘equipment’ specifically for those with mental abilities.
This raises the question of whether these people are part of a "group of armed incompetent persons".
(…)
(Red cycling outerwear...?)
By 'coincidence' she walked to a deserted alley, and looking at the people surrounding her behind her, Flanda suddenly realized.