Riding the space elevator would let you leave Earth's surface directly, then enjoy a close-up view of all sorts of marvels out in space.
Natsume-san was really looking forward to that feeling. Even an ace pilot like her sometimes dreamed of becoming an astronaut.
Of course, if anything went wrong out in the void, even Natsume-san would be done for.
Even if she anchored the air around her to keep from suffocating, the lack of atmosphere in space meant gravity just became the centripetal force keeping her in orbit around Earth.
So Natsume-san would end up floating in outer space, just like any other piece of cosmic junk you might find.
She wouldn't die immediately, though. She could probably hold out until Academy City launched a rescue shuttle.
All sorts of thoughts ran through her mind, and Natsume-san couldn't help but hesitate a little.
"That probably won't happen. There'll be thousands of people on this elevator tomorrow, after all," Natsume Sonoko muttered under her breath, her voice growing softer as she spoke.
Her ticket number was somewhere past five thousand, and the crowd attending tomorrow's opening ceremony would definitely exceed that number.
But if an incident did happen inside Academy City, the number of people affected could be enormous.
"They wouldn't have rigged that thing with a huge amount of explosives too, would they?"
From her current position, she could still see the massive elevator standing straight and tall.
Natsume-san's thoughts began to wander, connecting dots with what they'd just encountered at the shopping mall, letting her imagination run wild.
"That seems rather unlikely. Academy City has been conducting comprehensive inspections all these days, working alongside the security teams from Orbit Portal Company."
"No one can bring explosive materials anywhere close," Uiharu said, a handheld computer already in her grasp—no one had even noticed her pull it out—as various documents about the space elevator flashed across its screen.
"You know, that reminds me of an urban legend I heard," Saten-san said, tapping a finger against her chin.
"Look, doesn't this space elevator seem a lot like the legendary Tower of Babel? Just like in the myth, once that tower was completed, something terrible was supposed to happen. Maybe this is Academy City's crisis of destruction."
Saten-san's sources of information were always vast and varied, and she spoke with a certain gravity.
Natsume Sonoko, however, just blinked in confusion, clearly unfamiliar with the tale.
Even though Natsume Sonoko and Saten-san browsed the same websites, the gap in the information they each possessed seemed massive.
"The Tower of Babel?" Misaka-senpai nodded, as if she'd heard a similar myth.
The Tower of Babel was built by ancient humanity united, a tower meant to reach the heavens, but it was never completed.
Natsume-san, meanwhile, jolted slightly, as if she'd thought of something.
Her train of thought was always leaping tracks, and often it helped her uncover crucial clues.
'Maybe this space elevator is connected to magic.'
Her mind was a bit of a mess, but she felt she'd grasped onto something.
Thanks to her frequent run-ins with a certain dumpling-headed girl and magic, she was considering possibilities the others hadn't.
A flame magician and three magical girls had attacked Meigo-senpai.
The shopping mall bombing and those weird, melted dolls. Orbit Portal Company specifically sending a protection team. Meigo-senpai, the opening ceremony's guest performer, who'd lost all her memories from three years ago.
And that gothic lolita company president who claimed to know her, who mentioned a replacement for Natsume-san that was nearly complete.
Even though Natsume-san didn't see what needed replacing, the replacement itself was likely this space elevator.
These events didn't seem strongly connected at first glance, but combined with the urban legend Saten-san just mentioned, it was different.
Just like in the myth, some people were trying to obstruct the completion of the space elevator, or the magic related to it, and Meigo-senpai was the key.
Maybe Meigo-senpai was part of the magic itself, similar to that glasses-wearing brat. Natsume-san had some experience in this area.
'As expected of Saten-san.'
Natsume-san stared blankly at Saten-san for a moment.
Within her own jumbled soul memories, this ordinary girl from Sakugawa Middle School seemed to have titles like 'Script Reader'.
Script Reader. No matter how you thought about it, that was one hell of a skill.
Natsume-san had also tried to read the script via her soul memories, but she clearly hadn't found the correct key to unlock that wealth.
A moment later, Natsume-san decided to voice her suspicions, but then she hesitated again.
This time, she had her own reasoning. Even if that Shirai-san character tried to mess with her, it'd be fine.
But magic? Probably nobody would believe that.
'Magic. I've added magic.'
She wanted to explain it that way, but she changed her approach slightly.
"About those weirdos we ran into yesterday, the one spouting flames… What does Misaka-senpai think about them?" Natsume-san paused for effect before speaking. The others turned their attention to her.
"I've been trying to think of him as an esper, but to my knowledge, the strongest pyrokinesis user in Academy City should be you, Natsume-san."
"My guess is those attackers came from outside Academy City," Misaka-senpai said with some certainty.
His flame temperature was incredibly high, and he could summon a fire giant. That was very different from an esper.
Misaka-senpai couldn't say for sure that only Academy City could develop these special abilities born from fantasy.
"These outsiders coming to Academy City… I think it might be related to the Tower of Babel Saten-san mentioned."
"And the reason they attacked Meigo-senpai was to stop the space elevator's official operation. Not because she's a guest performer for the opening ceremony, but for some other, unknown reason." Natsume-san explained, a look of profound wisdom on her face.
When Meigo-senpai was attacked yesterday, she had only just received the performance invitation from Orbit Portal Company
She didn't know how close this was to the truth, but it was what Natsume-san had settled on.
Maybe everyone else was still on the first floor, while Natsume-san had already raced straight to the third.
"So you're saying, Natsume, that once the space elevator officially opens, something bad will happen, just like in the myth, so those people want to stop it?"
Misaka-senpai said, sounding rather surprised, clearly finding the speculation far-fetched.
"But why target Meigo-senpai specifically?" Uiharu-san asked at that point.
"Perhaps because Meigo-senpai is special."
Natsume-san unconsciously furrowed her brow, propping her chin in her hand, mimicking a certain glasses-wearing elementary school detective she knew.
The sound of car horns filled the air as the group of girls came to a stop at a street corner.
Natsume-san rarely played the role of the insightful problem-solver; this time, she was performing well above her usual level.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.