I, Kurumi Tokisaki, Am a Wanderer

"3… 2… 1…"

As Uiharu Kazari softly counted down, a gentle drizzle began to fall from the sky.

"As expected… this city's weather forecasts are always so accurate," Saten Ruiko said, gazing up at the overcast sky in admiration.

"Rather than forecasting, it's more like calculating and decoding the future to make determinations," Uiharu replied while tapping away at her miniature computer.

"For a computational system of this scale, it's just a trivial task for the parallel processing computer onboard Vega I—[Tree Diagram]."

"Uh… there you go again, Uiharu, spouting stuff no one can understand," Saten sighed as she bent over to accept a beautifully plated cake from the server.

"I wish I had a computer like that…"

Uiharu looked at her friend, confused, as Saten leaned further under the table. "Ruiko?"

And then…

A sudden chill ran up her legs.

"Eek! Nyaaa!!!"

The adorable cry of a startled girl echoed across the open-air café.

"Today's panties have such a cute striped pattern," Saten commented with a mischievous smile. "I knew something felt off earlier—it turns out I forgot our daily tradition!"

"What are you doing, Saten-san?!" Uiharu squawked, flailing her arms in embarrassment as she stared at her grinning friend.

"Aww, you're so distant, Uiharu. Lifting skirts is a sign of closeness, you know," Saten teased, her tone playful.

"Well then, let's deepen our bond with one more lift!"

···

After a prolonged effort to placate the flustered Uiharu, Saten propped her face up with her hand and asked casually,

"By the way… that hacker's challenging you, right? Are you sure it's okay for you to not go back to the office for this?"

As a skilled hacker herself, Uiharu Kazari worked with Judgment at Branch Office 177 in the Seventh District.

Her responsibilities primarily included communications and intelligence management.

And then… a snap.

A mental string inside Uiharu's mind broke.

Looking at her friend's easily readable expression, Saten Ruiko whispered cautiously, "Uiharu… don't tell me you…"

"I… I forgot."

Meanwhile, a boy at the open-air café had officially launched his challenge against Academy City's legendary "Gatekeeper."

He had prepared meticulously, equipped with a custom hacker battle system and even a secret trump card.

Breaking through the outer firewall of Judgment's workspace seemed easier than expected. It was as if no one was online. Confidently, he deployed the "bomb" he had prepared into Judgment's system.

"So this is the so-called 'Gatekeeper'? Isn't she all talk and no substance?"

He leaned back in his chair, glancing at the two girls at another table, who appeared to be chatting about computer networks while fiddling with a handheld device.

"Girls will be girls. What good is a toy like that?" he muttered, stretching lazily. "Are they watching my performance?"

"Well then, watch closely."

With a smirk, he typed his final command and pressed Enter.

—Game Start—

···

In her dorm room at Tokiwadai Middle School, Kurumi hugged one of her clones as she observed the challenge unfold.

This time's challenger was a clever one. He had planted a "game seed" in Judgment's system, inviting the spectators following the showdown to participate in the game.

Essentially, he was leveraging the attention of every single observer to collectively launch an assault against the legendary "Gatekeeper."

"A game, huh?" Kurumi tilted her head, her smile curving upward bit by bit.

"Of all things to play, you chose a game? And with me?" she chuckled darkly, her devilish grin widening.

Kurumi extended her left hand, her tone playful and teasing.

"Uiharu-chan~~~ Let's play together."

···

"Uiharu, are you sure it's okay?" Saten Ruiko leaned against the table, watching her friend with mild concern. "Do you want me to borrow a laptop for you or something?"

She pointed over her shoulder. "That guy over there has a pretty good-looking computer."

"N-no need," Uiharu mumbled through a mouthful of cake, her cheeks puffed up like a cute little hamster as she rejected the offer.

She swallowed her cake with some effort before muttering, "He's not exactly a skilled opponent, just someone with a bit of creativity."

Uiharu Kazari's fingers moved at lightning speed, flying across the keys of her handheld computer so fast they almost seemed to leave afterimages.

"With just this, I can intercept him easily."

Using nothing more than a standard handheld device equipped with basic communication functions, Uiharu managed to engage in battle with the challenger's custom hacking system and defeated him with ease.

"Next up… is pinpointing his location."

In an instant, Academy City's map unfolded on her screen.

Uiharu pulled out her phone, holding it between her shoulder and cheek as she both spoke and worked on locking the target's position.

"Yes… Yomikawa-senpai. Someone has illegally infiltrated the Judgment system. Requesting Anti-Skill deployment."

"The target's coordinates are in the Seventh District… near Josan University… Wait, WHAT?!"

Her sudden shout rang out.

At the same time, the boy sitting at a nearby table, who had been frowning and tapping furiously at his laptop, also let out a startled cry.

On both their screens—one on Uiharu's handheld device and the other on the boy's laptop—the streams of data, the numerical labyrinth of the hacking game, suddenly twisted together, morphing into the playful caricature of a black-haired girl sticking out her tongue.

"Nya Nya Nya~~~ Come play with me! (LOL)"

"Kurumi-senpai?!" Uiharu exclaimed.

Although the playful image was quite different from the refined impression she had of her elegant upperclassman, Uiharu could clearly recognize that beautiful face.

"Why is Kurumi-senpai involved in something like this?"

Smack.

In her dorm at Tokiwadai, Kurumi brought her fist down on the head of the grinning clone sticking out its tongue at the screen in her lap.

"Good grief… you've really embarrassed me," Kurumi said with an amused resignation.

"Mmm-mmm! I didn't do anything!" the lazy clone pouted, rubbing its head. "How was I supposed to know? I just thought it'd be fun!"

"Oh, still making excuses, are you?" Kurumi's smile turned unsettlingly sweet as she grabbed the clone's soft cheeks and stretched them mercilessly.

"Go back and reflect on your actions. Don't worry~~ I'll make sure you have a very pleasant time repenting," Kurumi said with a disturbingly gentle tone.

The black-red shadows beneath Kurumi's feet expanded outward, and from within the shadowy domain, numerous ghostly arms reached out, wrapping tightly around the lazy clone.

"Wait, wait! Let me finish this round! Let me finish the game first!" the struggling clone cried out, desperately reaching for the controller.

But it was futile. The clone was dragged back into the shadows, its protests fading into silence.

···

It took Uiharu Kazari less than three minutes to successfully lock onto the challenger's location.

Though, the result was a little… surprising.

As Saten Ruiko stared in confusion, the flashing lights of a blue Anti-Skill patrol car approached swiftly.

"I'm Yomikawa Aiho from Anti-Skill, Seventh District's Active Unit 73," the woman in a green tracksuit layered with an Anti-Skill vest introduced herself as she grabbed the collar of the fleeing boy's shirt.

"Kozan Kihan, right? You're in violation of the Unlawful Manipulation of Electronic Data Act. You are under arrest. Any objections?"

"You'll be facing up to twenty years of imprisonment or a fine of up to fifty million yen," Yomikawa added casually, suppressing a yawn.

"Really… if you don't have the skills for this, don't even try. What a waste of time."

"I was hoping to catch up with Komoe-chan, too," she muttered, calling for the Anti-Skill officers behind her to take Kozan Kihan into custody.

Finally, Yomikawa turned to Uiharu, who was standing nearby, fastening the green Judgment armband onto her sleeve.

"Thank you for your hard work."

"It… it's nothing," Uiharu Kazari replied shyly, glancing at Yomikawa Aiho.

As the boy in handcuffs was escorted past the two of them, he couldn't help but stare at the petite girl with a childlike figure standing nearby—and at the handheld device that had just been sitting there on the table.

Seriously… seriously…

I was defeated by her using something like that?!

Kozan Kihan's mouth tasted bitter as he came to a realization.

The young girl before him, who looked so childish with that oversized flower decoration on her head—who seemed no different from a walking vase—was, in fact, the legendary Gatekeeper from the urban legends of Academy City.

It was utterly demoralizing.

—

After dragging her mischievous lazy clone into the shadow realm and stringing her up for punishment, Kurumi quickly lost interest in staying in her dorm to play games.

Snap.

With the sound of a finger snap, black and red shadows swirled around Kurumi's delicate figure, transforming into an intricate and elegant black Gothic gown.

That was the beauty of her Astral Dress—practical and elegant.

After tidying up her room a little, Kurumi opened the wooden door of her dormitory.

Outside, the sunlight was perfect. After the brief drizzle earlier, the air was especially fresh.

Kurumi had been idling for nearly a week, constantly waiting for Nunotaba Shinobu to return so she could deal with the matter of the Misaka Sisters. But who knew when her roommate would finally show up?

She couldn't wait any longer. The deadline for her agreement with Accelerator was fast approaching.

Since Nunotaba Shinobu wasn't an option, it was time to trouble the "Little Accelerator" directly.

And while she was at it~~~ she figured she might as well confirm the answer to one of the city's greatest mysteries:

Was the white-haired demon of urban legend male? Female? Or perhaps… just an "Accelerator"?

Sunlight streamed through the windows at the end of the hallway, warmly illuminating Kurumi as she walked. The sight of the flawless young lady drew the gazes of the other girls passing by.

Tugging her bonnet into place, Kurumi thought of the falling cherry blossoms adorning it, which reminded her of a soft-spoken, timid girl she once knew.

That girl, always so closed off, was the one person who could find her true self the fastest.

During her journeys across worlds, Kurumi had occasionally looked back at how that little girl was doing from afar. By all accounts, her life seemed to be going well enough.

With a subtle tilt of her hat to shield her gaze, Kurumi, poised and composed, stepped out of the dormitory. Then, with a sudden start, she took a step backward and returned inside.

The scene before her was just too strange.

The space in front of her was empty—completely devoid of anything. Yet a floating green name hovered in the air:

—"Rikuto Mika."

Kurumi inspected the area carefully, her gaze running up and down, but apart from the name, there was nothing. Even with her ability to perceive time, she couldn't detect anything out of the ordinary.

Then, as if startled by Kurumi's gaze, the air in front of her rippled like water. A shy girl materialized, appearing as if she had always been standing there.

And in that moment, Kurumi realized that in her memory, the girl had always been there—she had simply been subconsciously ignored.

"Senpai… you just now noticed me?" the girl asked bashfully, her face flushing as her heart raced like a startled deer. She fidgeted nervously as she spoke.

"Ah… yes," Kurumi replied with a calm smile.

Although she had indeed overlooked the girl, outright admitting it might come across as a bit too harsh.

But… what was with this girl's expression?

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