At noon, the sunlight had reached the level of being blinding.
Not just because it was midsummer—the hottest season when the sun blazed with unmatched intensity.
But also because this place was a semi-manmade city, built on reclaimed land, with most of its surface constructed from resin and other materials. Because of that, the temperature here in summer became even more unbearable.
This place was the most mysterious location in the entire world.
A city said to possess science and technology nearly twenty years more advanced than the outside world. A city where esper abilities—things that usually only appeared in novels and fantasies—actually existed.
With an area about one-third the size of the entire Tokyo Metropolis and a population nearing 2.3 million, more than 80% of its residents were students.
The city contained dozens of universities and hundreds of elementary, middle, and high schools. That's why it was also known as Academy City.
Every street in Academy City radiated waves of unbearable heat.
The sweltering, oppressive temperature turned this supposedly relaxing summer vacation into a ghost season—hardly anyone was willing to walk the streets in that kind of heat.
After all, sweating buckets outdoors was far less appealing than chilling in a dorm room under the air conditioner.
Yet, even in such weather…
Everyone still dressed for relief—short skirts, shorts, T-shirts, sandals.
But one man on the street clearly didn't belong.
He wore a completely ordinary, budget gray casual suit. His deep brown, short, slightly curly hair looked like it hadn't seen a salon in weeks. About 178 cm tall, he walked slowly beneath the blazing sun.
"So damn hot. It's making me irritable."
The boy's face was defined, with slightly sharp features—normal, by all accounts.
Even though his outfit clashed with the season, his complaints were exactly the same as everyone else's.
"Whatever. Nothing going on anyway, might as well rest in the park."
Glancing at a nearby signpost, he followed the direction. Amidst a jungle of modern concrete and steel skyscrapers, a patch of lush greenery appeared in his view.
Actually, that was normal for Academy City.
Despite being hyper-modernized, this place wasn't devoid of greenery.
In fact, you could say it was quite the opposite.
Parks like this were scattered all over the city—after all, green spaces still mattered.
Otherwise, Academy City's heat would be even more hellish than it already was.
Colorful flowers. Dense trees. A stone-paved path meandering through the foliage.
Walking down the path, one could see a clear, blue lake, its surface shimmering with ripples. A few boats rocked gently on the water, each seemingly occupied by a pair of people.
Even the lakeside view was picturesque.
A red rubber jogging track encircled the lake, with benches placed every fifty or sixty meters.
But today—probably due to the heat—this park, usually packed with couples, was practically deserted.
"Well, guess this works out too."
"In this kind of weather, seeing couples stuck together like glue just makes it even more annoying."
Choosing a bench near the path, the boy sat down casually. He raised his hand to block the sunlight trickling through the gaps in the leaves overhead.
"Seriously… Academy City's weather is machine-controlled. Would it kill them to schedule some rain?"
A soft breeze rustled the leaves above, creating a gentle, whispering sound.
Compared to the suffocating heat of the streets, this shaded park was almost refreshingly cool.
Still, the boy couldn't stop grumbling.
Not that he was wrong.
In this city of advanced science and technology, even the weather could be controlled by machines.
Rain, snow, clouds, wind—it was all programmable.
Even down to how many minutes and seconds it would rain, and precisely when it would stop—flawlessly calculated.
"Hm?"
…
"It's so hot. So hot it's unbearable."
Even though the evening was approaching, the heat of summer remained completely undiminished.
A girl stood in place, looking a bit lost.
Or rather, it would be more accurate to say she looked like someone who had lost her purpose.
She looked about thirteen or fourteen years old—small in stature.
But her face? Exquisitely beautiful.
Even in a world where everyone was ridiculously good-looking, she was in a league of her own.
Her features looked like they'd been sculpted by hand—like a doll crafted by an artist. Waist-length, honey-colored hair. Eyes sparkling like stars.
Her chest was flat, her height barely 150 cm. But her outfit? A white spiderweb-patterned lace set—gloves and stockings—paired with Tokiwadai Middle School's summer uniform.
Yes.
She was one of only seven Level 5 espers in this city of 2.3 million.
The 5th-ranked Level 5 esper, Mind Control—Misaki Shokuhō!
But right now, she looked nothing like the voluptuous bombshell who'd made even Misaka Mikoto seethe with envy in the anime.
In fact, Misaki looked so flat right now that it was impossible to have any hope for her "development."
She strolled aimlessly down the street.
Step by step, she moved toward more deserted areas. Quieter places. Far from the crowd.
She left the bustling school zone behind.
She left the asphalt and concrete districts behind.
Unconsciously, she wandered into a shadowed forest and its twisted paths.
She didn't want to meet anyone. Didn't want anyone to disturb her.
Right now, she just wanted to rest in peace. To fully relax herself.
It was a feeling that had surfaced long ago.
Something she'd anticipated before she even started her plan.
This thing—important to her. Deeply meaningful.
The goal she had sworn to pursue. The thing she had been fighting for all this time.
She had achieved it, just a few days ago.
So now what?
...
Humans are like that.
When you finally complete something you've struggled toward for so long, there's always a brief period of emptiness that follows.
That was the state Misaki Shokuhō was in right now.
The sun had long since set, and the pale moon now hung high in the night sky.
"The dorm curfew's passed. The dorm supervisor must be seriously pissed right now."
Misaki muttered like she was talking to herself.
But her face showed no hint of the concern her words implied.
Instead, she was completely laid-back. A total 180 from her usual graceful, high-class demeanor.
Still wearing her Tokiwadai first-year summer uniform, she lay sprawled out across the rubber track.
And since there was no one around…
She didn't care that her long, pale legs—wrapped in those seductive spiderweb lace stockings—were splayed out in an open "X." Her short uniform skirt had flipped upward slightly, revealing a glimpse of something mysterious.
"Well, whatever. At least I feel comfortable now."
Misaki mentally disconnected, half-closing her starry eyes.
She reached into her crossbody designer bag and pulled out a TV remote. Like a cowboy in a western, she spun it once in her hand and pointed the tip directly at her temple.
"So should I go ahead and do it?"
It was a sudden thought. A random impulse.
She had already taken over the Artificial Workshop. It was now her private force—backed by Yakumi Hisako's support.
Sure, it wasn't absolute security.
But she had risen—from a bottom-tier pawn to something more.
"So tired… I don't want to think anymore."
Memories...
Regrets...
Responsibilities...
Pressure...
Relationships, schemes, manipulation...
She was one of only seven Level 5 espers in Academy City.
And the only one among them with a purely psychic-based ability.
Her research value was higher than most of the other Level 5s.
She had the power to rewrite the human mind.
To change a person's very will.
If a power like hers fell into the hands of some scheming bastard, the whole world would be in danger.
Naturally, the adults had tried to use her for their research, their interests.
From the moment she entered Academy City—this giant lab in disguise—she never truly had freedom again.
Living in labs. Letting researchers cut open her skull. Enduring all kinds of experiments until they finally developed the "Exterior."
And once it was perfected, they planned to kill her outright.
After all, who in their right mind would let a Level 5 psychic esper live freely?
Especially since those researchers had done all sorts of sick things to her.
But what they didn't expect—
Even though they kept using drugs to suppress her ability growth, she still reached the calculation level of a true esper.
The devices on their heads that supposedly blocked her powers? Useless.
She controlled them. Killed the researchers who murdered Dolly.
But now that it's all over?
All that's left is endless exhaustion.
Maybe it sounds stupid to most people.
A Level 5 who can control minds… feeling tired?
Shouldn't that be impossible?
But—this was her truth.
So what if she's an esper?