The daily lives of young ladies were always so monotonous, every action meticulously scheduled. One could never expect those rigid, old-fashioned school board members to become any more reasonable.
Only when something unexpected occurred would a few ripples disturb the placid surface of school life.
Textbooks filled with dense printed text lay open on the desk. Natsume-san gazed out the window at the bustling, lively scene outside, a look of curiosity naturally appearing on her face.
"They're members of Shokuhou-senpai's clique."
"The last time they caused this much commotion was just yesterday. Everyone really is so full of energy."
Lately, the school seemed to have become much livelier, offering this esper-loving esper girl some oddly novel experiences.
Turning her head to scan the now-empty classroom, there was only one perfectly seated girl with a round, bun-like hairstyle, her face still flushed.
However, just watching her occasionally rub her knees and massage her shoulders made it clear she was suffering from severe lactic acid buildup—a temporary condition likely caused by acute muscle strain in her legs.
Because the previous period had been physical education, Natsume-san had completely wiped out during the long-distance run and other activities, she still hadn't recovered. All she could do was stay perfectly in her seat and rest properly.
When it came down to it, the situation Natsume-san had feared most had happened. The sunscreen she'd applied just in case had actually proven useful. 'Murphy's Law is the worst,' she thought.
Although she could easily deflect sunlight to protect her skin, the bun-headed girl had a mental hang-up about using her abilities freely at school.
This was probably due to the subtle influence of a certain dorm supervisor, an influence that extended to the School Garden and the school itself.
Unless she could guarantee she wouldn't be caught, Natsume-san was quite restrained in this regard.
Of course, the case of that bold golden-haired girl who openly clicked her remote around school was another story entirely. Espers as honest as Natsume-san were a rare breed indeed.
October was approaching, which meant the city-wide physical examination in Academy City would be starting soon.
Some overly responsible P.E. teacher, citing concerns for student development and nurturing future growth, had subjected the greenhouse-raised young ladies to a new round of surprise mock drills and intensive training.
Faced with this sudden, dreadful news, the obedient young lady Natsume couldn't even voice an objection.
She could only mumble incoherently as she was swept along, running lap after lap around the track.
The authority an esper ought to command seemed completely absent in Natsume-san's case.
So, to protect students like Natsume-san—the honest ones who still liked to voice opinions—and ensure their thoughts could be heard by the adults, a strong student council organization was absolutely necessary.
This was also why a certain someone was so keen on the upcoming student council elections.
Even though these were preliminary drills for the physical exam, the degree of allowable ability interference was restricted.
According to the teacher, this was to improve the students' fine control and precision. In the end, most drills turned into straightforward physical training, with only a handful of students able to use their abilities at such a level to reduce their own exertion.
Natsume-san was naturally included among these students. However, her own physical fitness wasn't up to par, so she maintained her usual, rather embarrassing results.
It was a shame they couldn't just eliminate opponents like during the Daihasei Festival. If they could, Natsume-san might have been able to place in the top few.
Come to think of it, Natsume-san lowered her sore, tingling arm and opened her school's forum for a bit. She quickly gleaned what was happening around the school.
It seemed the students of Shokuhou's clique were chasing a monkey that had stolen Shokuhou-senpai's expensive bag. With a group of espers closing in from all sides, the countdown to Mr. Monkey's capture had begun.
The monkey currently being pursued by the young ladies appeared to be someone's pet monkey. 'Truth is stranger than fiction,' she mused.
"Do monkeys like shiny things too? I suppose that would make sense."
Biting her lip, Natsume-san tried to mentally piece together the event, thinking of that golden-haired girl who seemed to glitter from head to toe.
However, Natsume-san's knowledge of small animals wasn't deep. Only a few espers in the school who could communicate with animals focused on learning that kind of thing.
As for strange animals occasionally finding their way into the strictly access-controlled School Garden, Natsume-san was already used to it.
Besides the lab animals purchased by the various laboratories within the School Garden, who knew how many pets the students were secretly keeping in their dorms?
The little Ekaterina kept in Kongou-senpai's dorm room was a large snake quite a bit longer than Natsume-san was tall, clearly one of the dangerous animals controlled by the Anti-Skill teachers.
Pets weren't allowed in the dorms in the first place. Thinking this, Natsume-san couldn't help but sigh.
She thought of her own overly strict dorm supervisor. Perhaps she should have chosen to live in the School Garden's student dorms from the start.
But if she had actually moved into the School Garden back then, she probably wouldn't have gotten a single room. The internal dormitories within the School Garden were noticeably more popular than the external ones.
Although, since two Level 5s had moved into the external dormitories, that popularity seemed to be reversing.
Furthermore, because three Level 5s had appeared consecutively within two years, private Tokiwadai Middle School's reputation completely overshadowed all other middle schools in Academy City, subsequently raising the School Garden's prestige.
Consequently, the previous years' enrollment numbers for Tokiwadai Middle School could no longer serve as a reference.
The school board would inevitably give serious thought to expanding enrollment, selectively admitting more students to secure more social funding.
Even with the third-year senpais graduating and leaving next year, Natsume Sonoko would very likely face the situation of sharing a dorm room, especially since her room already had two beds.
If that happened, the burdened Natsume-san wouldn't just lose the ability to comfortably and unceremoniously sprawl on the sofa; she'd also have to take turns using the bathroom, just like in Misaka-senpai's dorm, and constantly consider another person's feelings.
For Natsume-san, who had always lived alone—ever since elementary school—this was a very difficult prospect to accept.
"I refuse to accept that kind of future."
Ignoring the existence of a certain vicious esper who wanted to monopolize the dorm forever, the lively commotion outside finally began to die down.
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T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL