Academy's Dormitory

The School Garden is a gated area composed of five girls' schools, including Tokiwadai and related facilities.

Tokiwadai is located within the "School Garden" developed in conjunction with four other elite girls' schools. The entire "School Garden" is over fifteen times the size of a regular school.

Even so, anyone who enters the School Garden will surely be surprised to find that it doesn't feel as spacious as expected. In addition to numerous experimental facilities needed for special courses, there are also a large number of manufacturing and sales facilities crammed inside.

This is because all superpower development equipment is produced and manufactured here, without outsourcing to external merchants, to avoid leakage of confidential technology.

All the facilities are uniformly designed in a Western style, and the whole area looks like a small town close to the Mediterranean. In this "School Garden," even the road signs and traffic lights have different designs than those outside.

The entire "School Garden" feels like a small country, even though this "country" is entirely populated by girls.

...

Tap! Tap! Tap!

At this moment, after finishing her day of classes, Tokiwadai's Kongou Mitsuko was walking alone down a deserted path. At this time, the shops around had closed, and the surrounding buildings were deserted, filling the area with silence.

Kongou Mitsuko held a black handbag in front of her with both hands, walking slowly with her head slightly bowed.

Her posture was very elegant, making people exclaim: As expected of a young lady nurtured by Tokiwadai.

"Is someone there?"

Kongou Mitsuko seemed to notice something, suddenly turning around, but on the deserted path, there was still no one except for herself. However, she knew there was someone; although the sound behind her was very faint, in such a quiet environment, it was still very noticeable.

And that kind of watchful gaze—she was sure she hadn't mistaken it. But there was no one in sight.

She took out a folding fan and held it in front of her. Even with a bit of unease, Kongou Mitsuko remained alert, assuming a defensive stance.

"Who is it?"

"Don't you know I am Tokiwadai Middle School's Kongou Mitsuko?"

Still unable to see the enemy, Kongou Mitsuko began to retreat cautiously, her folding fan already covering her face, her expression extremely solemn.

Suddenly, as she retreated, Kongou Mitsuko seemed to bump into something, staggering back.

With the sound of electricity crackling.

"Ah." Kongou Mitsuko could only let out a weak moan before she collapsed to the ground.

Immediately afterward, a figure with buns and side bangs appeared, pulling out an ink pen as they approached the unconscious Kongou Mitsuko.

...

"I'm so looking forward to it! The School Garden."

On the bus heading to School Garden, as they got closer to their destination, Uiharu Kazari seemed very excited.

But thinking of the events of that day, Uiharu Kazari felt a bit melancholy, "But wouldn't it be a bit disloyal for us to just leave that day... Hmm? Saten-san, what are you looking at?"

"Ah, it's nothing. I was just thinking about what School Garden would be like. But as far as I know, it's just a town with girls' schools gathered together."

"It's not just any schools gathered together! That's a place where many prestigious schools come together! Tokiwadai Middle School is naturally well-known, and the others are also famous schools for young ladies!" As if a switch had been flipped, Uiharu Kazari became incredibly enthusiastic!

"Today, thanks to Selene-senpai's invitation, we can enter; otherwise, people like us would never set foot there in a lifetime!"

"So self-deprecating~. It's just a visit." Saten Ruiko had no way to deal with Uiharu Kazari's fervent admiration for young ladies. "I say, Uiharu, you..."

"Huh? What's this...?" Just as Saten Ruiko was about to continue teasing her friend, Uiharu Kazari's attention shifted to Saten Ruiko's handbag.

In the blink of an eye, she pulled out a notebook filled with notes about School Garden from Saten Ruiko's handbag.

The first thing she noticed was an introduction to a cake shop.

"So, Saten-san, you've already looked up today's destinations. You're so dishonest..."

Amused by Uiharu Kazari's teasing tone, Saten Ruiko blushed slightly and retorted, "That's the [Pasticceria Manicagni] pastry shop."

Just as Uiharu Kazari would become fervent when talking about young ladies, Saten Ruiko seemed to have flipped a switch when talking about trendy items, becoming enthusiastic. It could only be said that the two were indeed good friends.

"They use carefully selected materials and authentic Italian recipes to bake cheesecakes that are genuine works of art, indistinguishable from those in Italy! It even says here that I've wanted to try it for a long time! But this shop only has an outlet in School Garden in Japan!"

Uiharu Kazari was stunned by the torrent of answers, looking at Saten Ruiko, who seemed like she didn't want to admit it but was clearly honest. She couldn't help but joke, "Saten-san, you really like to follow trends, don't you?"

At this time, the bus announcement broke the tension: "School Garden stop, has arrived."

After getting off the bus, the two stopped at the bus station, "Wow, the bus arrived earlier than expected."

It was still raining at this moment, but neither of them had an umbrella. But there was no need for one.

"It's okay, 3, 2, 1." As Uiharu Kazari counted down, the rain stopped. In Academy City, this was not unusual.

"Wow, the weather forecast in this city is still so accurate."

It wasn't just that the weather forecast was accurate. For Academy City, which had supercomputers, it was quite simple. Uiharu Kazari explained, "Instead of calling it a forecast, it's more like predicting and determining future conditions through future calculations."

"I think it wouldn't hurt to have the occasional error."

"More importantly, let's go quickly, so we don't keep Selene-senpai waiting."

Once inside School Garden, the number of patrol robots visibly increased.

At the entrance, there were more than ten security robots on alert. Indeed, prestigious schools have a level of security that far surpasses theirs.

After passing through security at the entrance of School Garden, Uiharu Kazari and Saten Ruiko felt like they had entered a foreign country. Unlike the outside, the buildings inside School Garden leaned towards Western-style architecture.

"Huh? Why aren't there any security robots in School Garden?" Though there were many security robots patrolling outside, none could be seen inside, which puzzled Saten Ruiko.

"Hehe, you don't know? School Garden is full of girls' schools, so how could they let security robots in? Most of the operators and monitors of those security robots are men." Evidently, Uiharu Kazari knew quite a bit about School Garden's situation.

"Oh."

On their way to Tokiwadai Middle School, the two walked while admiring the new European-style buildings, chatting. Yet, Uiharu Kazari couldn't shake a feeling of unease, "I don't know... I feel like we're being watched."

"Huh? Oh, that's normal. School Garden is a closed campus; looking like us, we clearly are students from the outside. During non-open seasons, outside students are rarely seen."

As they glanced up at the clock, they realized they were late. While preparing to run, they didn't notice the puddle on the brick-paved road from the recent rain.

"Ah!" Just as she turned around, Saten Ruiko stepped into a puddle, lost her balance, and fell to the ground.

Splashing water everywhere, Uiharu Kazari turned back at the sound and saw Saten Ruiko soaked.

"Saten-san, you're so careless."

"Ah, what bad luck! Uiharu..."

Meanwhile, Misaka Mikoto and Shirai Kuroko stood waiting at the gate of Tokiwadai.

"They're so slow." Misaka Mikoto was puzzled by the two being late, "Are we really meeting here?" She wondered if they had misunderstood the meeting point.

"Yes." Shirai Kuroko was also confused; the meeting point was not wrong. "They said they wanted to see our school, and Selene-senpai gave them the invitation, so I arranged to meet at the gate. Honestly, they made Onee-sama wait."

Hearing about Selene made Misaka Mikoto a bit upset, "Honestly, she invited them, yet we're picking them up, and now she's late... Can't she use her ability to pick them up?"

"Uh, maybe Selene-senpai is arranging today's activities..." Shirai Kuroko dared not engage in Misaka Mikoto's grumbling topic, knowing Selene was quite black-bellied with a taste for pranks.

At that moment, Misaka Mikoto noticed something across the road, "Ah, they're here. Uh... what happened to you?"

Misaka Mikoto was slightly surprised to see Saten Ruiko soaked, as if she had come through the rain. Uiharu Kazari looked embarrassed, "N-no big deal."

"Just slipped on a puddle..."

With Selene yet to arrive, they couldn't let Saten Ruiko catch a cold. They had to take her to shower first; fortunately, there were public bathing facilities in Tokiwadai Middle School.