"...Eh?"
When Shirai Kuroko looked up, she finally saw the tall girl standing before her—and froze in surprise.
"H-Habsburg-senpai?"
At that moment, the rush of excitement faded, and Misaka Mikoto suddenly realized the embarrassing position she'd just been in. Her face turned bright red. "Th-that... uh—what do you mean, 'indecent posture'? Kuroko, forget what you just saw!"
Click!
"Hm?"
The sound of a camera shutter made both of them freeze. Slowly, they turned their heads to find Selene shaking her phone with a mischievous grin.
"How could I possibly keep such a funny scene to myself? I'm sure Shokuhou would be very interested in this."
"AAAAHHHHH!!! DELETE IT!!!" Misaka screamed in horror, her eyes locked on Selene's phone with murderous intent—as if she might pulverize it into dust with sheer willpower.
"No can do, this—" Selene started to tease, but a sweet, childish voice interrupted from the side.
"Um... aren't you the senpai who saved us at the post office that day?"
...
"Here, these are the crepes I bought for everyone. Come on now, don't be mad. I already gave you yours, didn't I?" Selene said as she handed out the crepes, trying to appease Misaka Mikoto like she would a sulking child after teasing her too much.
To explain—after returning to Academy City following Christmas, Selene and Misaka had gotten to know each other.
During last year's end-of-term testing, Selene had demonstrated her lightning-based offensive capability. Naturally, the battle-loving Misaka had grown curious and—recklessly—challenged her to a fight.
The result was obvious. Selene had gladly accepted such a "rare opportunity" and granted Misaka's wish... by beating her soundly.
Since then, the two had gradually become more familiar with each other. While they weren't exactly best friends, their relationship was far closer than Misaka's with Shokuhou Misaki—at least, from Misaka's perspective.
"Hmph! Fine, I'll forgive you... for Gekota's sake," Misaka huffed.
Under the shade of a tree, Uiharu Kazari paused mid-bite of her crepe, her eyes lighting up with surprise as she turned to Selene. "So Senpai already knew Saten? Oh, right! I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Uiharu Kazari. Thank you so much for saving me back then."
"No need for thanks, really. It was nothing, Uiharu," Selene said with a smile. Then, glancing at Misaka, she added, "Allow me to introduce myself as well. I'm Selene—Misaka's classmate."
"Selene? That sounds familiar." The youthful Uiharu tilted her head, then suddenly pulled out her phone and checked the Academy City official database. "Lv5... ah! I remember now—Selene-senpai, you're the first-ranked Level 5!"
Once she confirmed Selene's identity, Uiharu's eyes sparkled with admiration. As she took in Selene's overall appearance, her gaze grew even more amazed—part surprise, part awe, and part indescribable wonder. Then, turning to Misaka, she asked in disbelief:
"You two are really the same age?!"
"...Wha—what kind of look is that supposed to be?!" Misaka snapped, flustered and indignant. Being scrutinized like that—especially when the comparison was so obvious—made her want to cry. Why are both Selene and that other one so well-developed while I'm... like this?!
The feeling of inferiority hit hard.
"Ahaha... well," Saten Ruiko quickly interjected, sensing the tension, "are Level 5s really that common now? Just like that, we've met two of them in one day..."
Hearing that, Selene chuckled softly. "Hmm... in fact, the chance of encountering a Level 5 in District 7 is surprisingly high. There are only eight Level 5s in Academy City, and three of them belong to Tokiwadai. But even so, the only one you're likely to run into is Misaka."
She added with a teasing smile, "Because, let's face it—she's the only one with enough free time. Running into me was just coincidence."
"What do you mean I'm the only one with free time? You're out here wandering around too!" Misaka shot back.
"It's called work-life balance. Ever heard of it?"
"Tch."
"Anyway, it's pretty lucky we got to meet like this," Uiharu Kazari said quickly, trying to defuse the growing argument between Misaka and Selene. She shot Saten a meaningful glance to help shift the topic.
"...Oh, according to urban legends, Selene-senpai supposedly comes from a really wealthy family, right?" Saten Ruiko immediately caught on.
"Huh? Could you tell us more, Senpai?" The moment the subject came up, Uiharu perked up completely, her curiosity sparkling as she leaned forward expectantly.
"It's nothing special, really. The family's long since declined." Selene waved her hand with a relaxed smile. "My full name is Selene von Habsburg."
Uiharu froze for a second—then her body trembled slightly as a look of wonder and disbelief filled her eyes. It was as if she were surrounded by starlight. "That's amazing! You're literally a noble lady! Actual royalty, even!" she said, her voice full of awe.
"Uh..." Apparently, Uiharu had transferred the noble-girl admiration she'd lost with Misaka straight onto Selene.
"Uiharu, seriously—you just admire rich people, don't you?" Saten said dryly, her expression filled with helplessness.
"No, that's not true! And it has nothing to do with the fact that I was born in Nishi-Kasai!" Uiharu blurted out defensively.
Selene blinked. Ah, so she just exposed herself...
The group exchanged glances—and then burst out laughing.
"So, Senpai, you and Uiharu... knew each other from before?" Saten asked curiously.
"Yeah, we met during that post office robbery incident. That day, I also got to see a... very different side of Shirai," Selene said with a teasing smile, turning toward Kuroko. "It was quite the memorable sight."
"E-Enough, Selene-senpai! Please don't bring that up!" Kuroko interrupted righteously, her cheeks flushing bright red.
"All right, all right," Selene said, chuckling as she dropped the subject and focused on her crepe instead.
The crepe's flavor wasn't bad—within her acceptable range—and Selene ate contentedly.
Beside her, Misaka Mikoto and Shirai Kuroko were back to their usual antics, while Uiharu and Saten began chatting about the differences between the two Level 5s.
Suddenly, Uiharu noticed something odd. Across the street, a nearby bank had its metal shutters completely lowered. "Doesn't that look strange to you? Why would a bank have its shutters down in the middle of the day?"
At that exact moment, a deafening explosion ripped through the air. The bank's metal shutter was blown outward, thick smoke billowing from within as debris scattered across the street.