Hello everyone, Irana here!! Yesterday was my first time taking on esper related tasks—well, under my father's supervision, of course. But this wasn't just any ordinary task. No simple errand, no easy chore.
This task was critical. A failure could mean disaster, possibly even the end of the world.
And what was my task?
To protect Onii… Onee-chan.
I know, I've already said this before, but I feel like it needs to be repeated. Honestly, looking back, I realize that this task might be way harder than I thought.
Now, let's talk about someone—Minami Kotori.
From what I know, Kotori is an Esper like us, but her power is a complete mystery. She's from the Minami family, which, yeah, her name kind of gives that away. However, other than that, I don't know much about her.
But today, I learned something new.
The Royal Guard.
I've never heard of this before, not even once. I knew Kotori was the Minami family's only princess, but this was the first time I heard about her having some elite personal guard.
And apparently… Kotori didn't seem too thrilled about them.
And just now, she came to us—well, more like begged us—to let her join me, Onii… nee-chan and Viola for lunch at the cafeteria. From the way she was acting, it was pretty obvious she was avoiding the Royal Guard.
Onee-chan seemed to know something about them. Maybe it had something to do with those boys who loyally followed her?
So, what happens next?
Long story short, the four of us went to the cafeteria like usual. We got our food, found an empty table, and started eating. It seemed like a normal day. Nothing strange, nothing dramatic.
At first.
But then… Kotori suddenly lowered her head onto the table and started apologizing loudly.
Like, full-on bowing and shouting.
I had no idea if she did it on purpose or if she was just awkward and unaware of how much attention she was drawing to herself, but either way, she instantly became the centre of attention. The whole cafeteria fell silent, and everyone turned to stare at us.
And then—chaos erupted.
One of the Royal Guards suddenly attacked Oni—ahem, Onee-chan.
Onee-chan easily countered the attack and knocked the guy down without breaking a sweat. But that one hit was like knocking over the first domino in a chain.
One by one, the Royal Guards started charging at Onee-chan.
But guess what?
Onee-chan wasn't alone.
Her so-called followers—or, as she calls them, the brats—jumped into the fight. And just like that, the cafeteria turned into a full-scale war zone.
Onee-chan fought alongside them, dodging punches, kicking people away, and throwing anyone dumb enough to get close. Meanwhile, Viola and I?
We just kept eating.
Why?
Because we both knew that as long as Onee-chan was here, there was nothing to worry about.
For as long as I've known her, Onee-chan's physical strength has been like that of a monster.
I don't know if it's because of some Esper ability or just pure training, but I'm pretty sure that if Onee-chan seriously punched a wall, she'd put a hole straight through it.
I once asked her how she got so strong. I thought maybe she was aware of her Esper power from the beginning, but she just laughed and said:
"Oh, I trained in all kinds of martial arts and combined them."
…Huh?
That was a weird answer because our parents never put Onee-chan in any martial arts school.
When I asked her about it, she said she learned everything from the internet.
…Yeah. That was obviously a lie.
I didn't press further, but if I had to guess, maybe her ability was some kind of physical enhancement.
Honestly, though, that would be way too lame for a power that's supposedly strong enough to destroy the world.
Oh, right—Kotori?
She had been hiding under the table the entire time, hugging her head.
By the time Viola and I finished eating, Onee-chan finally turned back to us—then started rapidly shovelling food into her mouth.
Once she finished, she casually picked up Kotori and carried her like a princess.
…Ugh.
I was a little jealous.
If I had known that was an option, I totally would have pretended to be scared too.
As we moved farther away from the cafeteria, my smartwatch suddenly vibrated, emitting a soft chime. A new mission alert from the Esper Association.
"Urgent: Intruder detected on school grounds. Target unknown. Possible threat to Miyazaki Aria."
My breath caught in my throat. Someone had infiltrated the school? And their target might be Onee-chan?
There was no time to hesitate.
"I have to go," I thought. I can't let anything happen to her.
Keeping my voice steady, I turned to Onii—nee-chan.
"Viola and I need to use the restroom," I said casually.
She didn't say anything and simply nodded. The moment we were out of her sight, Viola placed a hand on my shoulder—her teleportation ability activated instantly, and the world blurred around us.
When we arrived at the scene, we weren't alone.
Standing before us was Elizabeth-sensei—an Esper and my superior in the Esper Association. Her power allowed her to manipulate plants, making them grow and attack with terrifying speed.
But she wasn't just standing there.
She was already engaged in battle.
Her opponents? Two intruders—a blonde man wearing a strange cloak and a blonde woman with pointed ears. An elf in modern era?
Without a second thought, I unleashed an ice attack. My cryokinesis sent sharp shards of frost spiraling toward the man, but—
An arrow cut through the air, intercepting my attack.
"Tch." I narrowed my eyes, looking for the source.
The blonde woman let out a sigh, clearly unimpressed.
"You're truly pathetic. If I weren't here, you'd be dead by now," she muttered to the man.
"Oh yeah, Miss Know-it-all? We shouldn't even be here in the first place!" the man shot back.
"Shut up and free yourself."
"Okay!..."
Suddenly, flames erupted, consuming the vines that had been restraining the man.
That was my chance.
I had already sprinkled a thin layer of ice onto his body. It wasn't much, but it was enough.
"Freeze!"
"Damn it—her power is cryokinesis!" the man shouted in realization.
Ice spread from his legs upward, trapping him in place.
I locked eyes with Viola—she understood my signal instantly. In the blink of an eye, we teleported right next to him.
I reached out, grabbing his neck.
And in an instant—he was frozen solid.
Meanwhile, Elly-sensei launched razor-sharp wooden stakes toward the blonde woman.
But before they could hit, the woman summoned a wind barrier, redirecting the stakes back toward Elly-sensei.
She couldn't dodge in time.
But then—something invisible blocked the attack.
Viola's eyes widened.
"Who did that?..." she asked.
I scanned the area.
But there was no one there.
Weird… there's should be other reinforcement besides me and Viola.
"So, you've finally realized, little girl," the blonde woman said, her voice tinged with amusement.
"Normally, no one can break through my barrier to enter this area—not even with teleportation. That's why your sudden appearance here is strange. You two shouldn't have been able to get in. So I concluded…"
Her gaze locked onto me.
"One of you must be the vessel."
"Vessel?..." Vessel for what?
"Yes, that must be it. That would explain the psychokinesis earlier. Ordinary Espers in this world can't control two abilities at once."
What… is she talking about?
A storm started swirling around her.
I had a bad feeling.
I clenched my fists, drawing in moisture from the air. A freezing aura surrounded me as I prepared to counter her attack.
Elly-sensei, too, wasn't standing still. She summoned massive trees, their branches twisting and coiling toward the enemy.
Viola teleported next to Elly-sensei, knowing full well that I was preparing something big.
But just as I was about to strike—
A black-haired man appeared out of nowhere.
Before I could react—
A powerful kick slammed into my stomach.
Pain shot through me as I was sent flying.
Who—?!
I barely had time to process what happened before I saw the pointed-ear woman also get kicked away.
She looked even worse than I did.
The black-haired man then casually walked over to the frozen blonde man and shattered the ice with a single punch.
Then, without hesitation, he grabbed both the blonde man and the blonde woman by their necks, glanced at us, and—
He bowed slightly.
"Sorry for all this."
Then—he vanished.
The barrier collapsed.
Within seconds, reinforcements from outside flooded in. But it was too late.
The enemies were already gone.
We didn't know their true objective, but we had uncovered one important fact: Someone had infiltrated the school disguised as a student.
Elly-sensei confirmed it.
Our enemies had loose lips.
There is one person who immediately became my prime suspect.
Minami Kotori.