Temperature Control

A fierce battle between super-powered individuals is taking place in the student dormitory. Now, let's connect with the frontline reporter, Natsume Enako. Director, are you connected?

"Hello, hello, hello, is this Natsume Enako?"

"No" just after saying one word, Natsume Enako from a certain school suddenly hung up on a strange harassing phone call.

"Natsume-san, thank you for the shaved ice. It tastes very good." Misaka held a large cup of shaved ice in her hand, while looking at Natsume, who had just answered the phone.

"Who was it?" Misaka's mood had almost calmed down from what had happened earlier, as she looked at Natsume and asked.

"No, it was a scam phone call. These calls are getting more and more outrageous. She even asked me if I was interested in buying a shop. How can I have that kind of money?" Natsume said angrily, her mouth pouting unconsciously.

With the scholarship she has now, this is not something she should consider at all.

But according to Misaka, saving for a few years should be enough with the scholarship. Otherwise, why not tell Misaka about the sales call? That would be great. There are so many scholarships for Level 5s. She's so envious!

"What the hell are you thinking about? Be honest." Misaka's angry voice rang in Natsume's ears.

Natsume snapped out of her thoughts and, in the blink of an eye, saw Shirai Kuroko hugging Senior Misaka's thigh tightly.

"It seems that I need to teach you a lesson, you perverted thief." Misaka seemed a little angry, the electric light in her hand flashing. The whole person seemed to be drowning in the current.

The dazzling electric light gathered between the fingers of Senior Misaka's hand and transformed into a thousand thunderbirds with hoarse voices.

"Sister, give Kuroko the whip of love, hit her! Kuroko can't wait, come on, don't pity me just because I'm a delicate flower… (Content not suitable for children, the following content is omitted for 100 words. Thank you.)" Shirai Kuroko didn't seem to have learned her lesson from earlier, but had become even worse.

What kind of lewd words are these?!

Natsume was a little stunned watching this scene, feeling her sanity rapidly declining. If she were Misaka, she would almost go berserk.

"Calm down first, let's talk business. Don't think you can be so reckless just because Natsume-san is speaking for you." A strong electric current burst from Misaka's body, and Shirai Kuroko fell to the ground with a scream, motionless, as if the whole person faded.

"Name?"

"Onee-sama's Kuroko."

"I asked your name!!" (A flash of lightning flashed around)

"Shirai... Kuroko..." Shirai Kuroko said weakly.

"..."

Looking back to not long ago, Natsume-san seemed to have been a little too bold. With her quasi-level 4 body, she intervened in the battle between Senior Misaka and Kuroko-san, two ability users, and suggested solving the problem through communication.

"Can I communicate with you?" Natsume-san froze Kuroko-san and the door together.

Then the first thing she did was confiscate the strawberry-patterned object from Kuroko's hand.

But what troubled Natsume-san even more was that Kuroko-san's personality was really hard to describe. She was such a serious person at ordinary times, but when she saw Misaka, she seemed to become a completely different person. (Although Natsume-san had watched the animation, seeing a living person in front of her gave her a different perspective.)

...

Shirai Kuroko, female, 13 years old, a first-year student at Tokiwadai Middle School, ability: level 4 space movement, discipline committee member of the 177th activity branch. Her hobbies are elder sister (crossed out) and writing letters of apology.

Writing an apology letter?

Because the scope of the discipline committee's management is limited to their own school, Shirai Kuroko often fights criminals outside of school, which is an unauthorized violation. As a result, she frequently has to write letters of apology. However, it's too outrageous to consider writing letters of apology as a hobby.

As for the first hobby, Natsume-san secretly glanced at Misaka, who looked unhappy, and just pretended not to hear it.

However, after hearing that Shirai Kuroko was a discipline committee member, Misaka's face visibly softened. Perhaps she thought that despite her eccentricities, Kuroko's character was still good.

Misaka seemed to think she couldn't hand Kuroko over to the third branch of the discipline committee at Tokiwadai. If that happened, Makigami and the others would probably be embarrassed.

"I have official authorization. I've obtained permission from the school teacher to move into dormitory 208," Shirai Kuroko finally remembered something and took out a Tokiwadai Middle School admission permit with the signatures of several teachers and the dormitory supervisor.

"It's true, Shirai-san is really impressive." Natsume also took a look at the permit and confirmed that it had the signature of the dormitory supervisor. As for the teachers, Natsume Enako didn't recognize them.

For Natsume, who knew the outcome in advance, this wasn't surprising.

It turned out that Senior Misaka had had a roommate before, but she had moved out due to graduation.

"You must be Natsume from the next class. You have a good relationship with Onee-sama," Shirai Kuroko said, standing up. After looking Natsume Enako up and down, she showed a frustrated expression on her face, as if her whole face had collapsed into a two-dimensional plane.

Shirai Kuroko calmed down and quickly remembered Natsume's identity. She was the short girl with a black bun and dark circles under her eyes that she had seen at the opening ceremony. It seemed her ability was some kind of temperature control.

Dark circles under the eyes?! How come she didn't know?

Being stared at by Kuroko-san the entire time, Natsume felt a sense of déjà vu, as if she had gotten the upper hand. She felt a little uncomfortable all over.

Natsume handed shaved ice to Kuroko-san, who had dull eyes, and then said, "Kuroko-san, I'll treat you to shaved ice. Actually, Misaka-senpai and I just met. To be precise, we've only known each other for a little over an hour."

As soon as the words fell, Shirai Kuroko stood up suddenly.

"Really, Onee-sama?" Shirai Kuroko's eyes shone, and the whole person suddenly became full of energy.

"You..., it's up to you." Misaka finally lost her temper, sat down on her bed, picked up a large portion of shaved ice, and started eating, looking a little depressed.

"Natsume-san, I misunderstood you. If you encounter any trouble in the future, feel free to come to Branch 177 for my help." Shirai Kuroko held a large portion of shaved ice, her face excited. She ate the shaved ice in big mouthfuls and said something about taking on too much responsibility.

"Really? Then you'd better solve your current troubles first. Who can tell me what's going on outside?"

Shirai-san's words of taking on too much responsibility were still lingering in her ears, but the sudden appearance of the intellectual female voice was like a magic sound, almost making Natsume's hair stand on end. The constant temperature layer lost its function again, and sweat kept flowing down her cheeks.

"Did you hear any sound?" Shirai Kuroko said with some doubts, turning around to see the murderous Dorm Supervisor. The whole person turned into a stone statue in an instant.

"Can anyone explain why the door of the dormitory was thrown into the corridor? What happened to the door of your dormitory?" The Dorm Supervisor raised her black-framed glasses slightly with one hand, revealing a top carnivore smile.

"Dorm Supervisor." Several girls showed extreme fear, especially Misaka, whose expression was more varied than that of Natsume and Shirai combined.

Yes, after all, she is a sophomore in junior high, with a whole year more experience than the two of them in understanding and becoming familiar with the Dorm Supervisor. As expected of Misaka , she didn't resist and made the most logical choice immediately.

"According to Article 9 of the dormitory regulations, the use of abilities is strictly prohibited in the dormitory. I'm sure you haven't forgotten that, Misaka." The Dorm Supervisor spoke slowly, her voice cold and intellectual.

"I used my ability just now for a reason. Look at this person—she's my new roommate, I can explain," Misaka said with a difficult smile on her face. She pulled Shirai in front of her, ignoring Kuroko's desperate look, and hesitantly explained what had just happened.

"Oh, so she thought it was a perverted thief and used her ability, demolishing the doors of four dormitories at once?" The Dorm Supervisor glanced at Misaka from the corner of her eye, and Misaka nodded reluctantly.

"The purpose of dormitory rules is not to allow people to find excuses to avoid punishment. Otherwise, there would be no need for the rules in the first place. Violators of the rules must be punished. Don't you agree, Misaka-san, Shirai-san, and Natsume-san, who pretended to faint in the back?" The Dorm Supervisor's expression turned beast-like as she looked at the trembling trio in front of her.

"Yes." With a hint of tears, Senior Misaka bit the bullet and agreed.

"The punishment for those who didn't hear will be doubled."

"Yes." Two neat answers rang out in the corridor at the same time.

Despite the twists and turns, Shirai Kuroko successfully moved into dormitory 208, but the punishment was decided. Although her scholarship wasn't deducted, she was assigned to clean the school playground and clear the weeds and garbage there.

Natsume-san's goal of becoming a big lady also suffered a huge setback in the first week of school. She had violated the dormitory rules without realizing it.

Natsume stood blankly in the scorching sun, seemingly lost in thought.

Misaka, on the side, seems to be in a bad mood, sitting on the grass with her head in her hands.

Even on a hot day, you can feel the coolness of autumn, especially the cold breeze created by Natsume-san's artificial low-temperature area, formed by the principle of thermal expansion and contraction, which makes it almost impossible for anyone to resist.

At this pleasant temperature, it's perfect for a nap.

But Shirai-san didn't show any signs of sleepiness at all. Instead, she diligently pulled weeds in the corner of the playground, working seriously and carefully, with many weeds piled up around her.

Sure enough, Shirai-san, once she enters her fanatic state, is different from the usual Shirai-san, Natsume thought to herself.