Chapter 54: Queen’s Conference

And so, the day of the conference arrived.

With Yumetsuki-san, Rinka-san, and the rest of our faction in tow, we made our way to the café terrace designated by the other side.

The terrace, overlooking a luxurious Western-style rose garden, was now occupied only by the members of Reicia-chan’s faction and those of Shokuhou-san’s, giving it the atmosphere of a complete private booking.

However, the mood in the air was far too heavy to be called the pleasant chat between two refined young ladies.

“Thank you ever so much for inviting us today.”

I said that with a polite smile, but the mood didn’t change in the slightest.
If anything, it felt… like two rival organizations had just come face to face, the kind of tense atmosphere you’d see in such a meeting.

I mean, I know Shokuhou-san is a good person, and I trust that a good person like her wouldn’t do anything unreasonable or unpleasant without cause…

…But still, it’s only natural for others to be wary.

After all, when it comes to Shokuhou Misaki, she’s Academy City’s strongest mental esper. Facing someone like that directly, even the most clueless person couldn’t help but suspect the possibility of brainwashing.

And since Shokuhou-san never shows her weaknesses, there’s a lot about her abilities that she keeps hidden. For example, the fact that she needs a remote to control her power, or that the underlying principle involves manipulating fluids—these aren’t common knowledge.

I know all that, so I can take it easy, but for the others here, it’s perfectly reasonable to be on edge.

That’s why I’d told everyone beforehand, “Don’t worry, I’ll keep up a defense with the Transparent Fracture.”

And as for the other side—

“Welcome, I’ve been waiting for you. Please, have a seat.”

In the center of the café terrace, at the table with the best view of the garden, sat a girl in perfect poise.

Long honey-colored hair, eyes sparkling like starlight—a queen.

With a bottomless smile, she beckoned—not to me, but to Reicia-chan.

“Come now, let’s talk. About… what lies ahead.”

Chapter 1: No Winds for the Cooper’s Shop
Episode 45: Queen’s Conference or The Queen’s Meeting

──Despite that opening, the conversation proceeded smoothly.

It began with her asking after my health, since I had been hospitalized, then moved to discussing my achievements and research results at the Academic Conference.

Apparently, Shokuhou-san had also helped in quelling the chaos at the conference, so we were able to share some fond memories from that time.
However—somewhere around then, the air around her shifted.

“I hear you’ve been devoting quite a lot of effort to your ability development lately, Blackguard-san.”

Shokuhou-san tilted her teacup as she said that.

Of course, my focus on ability development isn’t just a recent thing. I’ve been at it since I first enrolled. If anything, now that I’m a Level 5 esper, I’ve been holding back more than I used to.

For her to bring it up here means she must have something to say about my powers.

《This woman…》

《Reicia-chan, let me handle this part.》

When dealing with someone like her, Reicia-chan tends to get confrontational pretty fast… so for now, I’ll take point.

“Yes. I might pale in comparison to the Fifth-ranked Shokuhou-san, though.”

《Shiren… even as modesty, that’s a bit much.》

《It’s called projecting confidence, Reicia-chan…》

I was smiling, keeping my composure perfectly intact, so probably the only one taking my words at face value was Reicia-chan herself.

From the other side, it likely came across as: “My ability’s impressive enough to rival even the Fifth-ranked.” Probably.

“…I see.”

Shokuhou-san seemed somewhat convinced by my demeanor.

“That composure of yours—could it be thanks to your friendship with Misaka-san?”

Ah… I see. The picture’s starting to come together.

《Shiren? You’ve figured something out?》

《Reicia-chan, you really don’t mesh well with people like this…》

Whether it’s Stiyl or Shokuhou-san, when she’s dealing with someone prickly, Reicia-chan tends to get drawn in—loses her cool, in other words.

If the other party were just acting out of greed or self-interest, she could probably respond with cold precision without batting an eye. But this? She doesn’t seem to be able to switch modes for cases like this.

I get the feeling that, from here on, I should be the one doing most of the talking.

“Shokuhou-san’s reason for suddenly wanting to talk to us—that’s it.”

From the start, something had felt off.

Why did she go out of her way to request a meeting?

Why was it proposed on such short notice?

Most likely, it was because there was something she needed to confirm with us as soon as possible.

And once I showed a little composure, the first thing out of her mouth was: “Is that composure because you’ve grown closer to Misaka Mikoto?”

That was the clincher. Whatever Shokuhou-san meant by “the future” in this conversation, Misaka-san should have had nothing to do with it. This meeting was supposed to be about her faction and ours.

Yet Shokuhou-san had brought Misaka-san into the discussion.

I doubt she meant to hint at anything intentionally. It felt more like a trace of inner anxiety had slipped out of her mouth.

Which only showed just how strongly she was conscious of the fact that “behind Reicia = Blackguard stands Misaka Mikoto.”

To top it off, there’s the undeniable fact that it was Shokuhou Misaki who handled the aftermath of the Kakumei Mimei incident.

If she dealt with the aftermath, then naturally she would know the full details. She would know that I’d destroyed a large machine using the Fracture, and that I’d worked together with Misaka-san afterward, strengthening our ties.

From there, it’s just a matter of putting myself in her shoes.

The leader of a rival faction, whose powers are rapidly growing, has gained the backing of a Level 5 esper on par with herself, and is increasing their faction’s cohesion.

From the outside, that series of developments would look unsettling. It would seem as though some kind of scheme were in motion. Even Yumetsuki-san, Rinka-san, and the rest of my own people had felt the same way at first.

“Please, don’t worry.”

That was why I could smile gently.

In front of a girl being driven by anxiety, my job wasn’t to meet her severity with severity, nor to push back against a perceived threat—it was to ease that anxiety.

“What matters most to me right now is the growth of GMDW as a whole, myself included. I’m simply doing what I can to achieve that. Just like you, Shokuhou-san.”

“….”

I don’t think Shokuhou-san’s anxiety is about her position being threatened.

If I were to use my connection with Misaka-san and my own increased strength to push my faction forward, it would inevitably put me in direct conflict with hers. And that conflict would be the first thing to hurt her own members.

That’s why I believe she’s putting herself on the front line here—to protect them.

The girl I saw in the “true history” was the kind of person who would do exactly that.

“I won’t ask you to trust me—because I haven’t yet done enough to earn that.”

With that, I deliberately dispelled only the Fracture I had deployed around myself.

《Shiren… you’re doing that again… Well, fine.》

I had no intention of letting her peek into my memories—there are things there that would be very bad for her to see.

But the fact that I’d “opened the window” would still be clear. That instead of keeping the distance imposed by the Fracture, I’d removed the barrier and faced her directly.

Judging by the way several members of her faction widened their eyes, they’d noticed it too. The Fracture may be transparent, but it also blocks sound, so anyone familiar with how the acoustics change would understand exactly what I’d done.

“That’s all. As two factions representing Tokiwadai, I think it would be nice if we could spur each other on, and keep growing together. I’d like to build that kind of ‘future’—wouldn’t you agree?”

If you wanted to call it abnormal, then yes—it was abnormal.

The whole thing began with the Kakumei Mimei Silent Party.

When I was asked by the Third to clean up after that incident—the one where a bunch of twisted honor students had tried to stage a terrorist attack—our plan at the time was to erase the memories of everyone involved, except for Misaka Mikoto and those close to her.

After all, the information about Febri connected directly to the Sisters. That was not something outsiders should be allowed to know.

Naturally, that meant the memories of Reicia = Blackguard were also slated for deletion.

However—

Mental Out simply didn’t work on Reicia Blackguard.

Mental Out was powerful, but by no means omnipotent.

Some ability types—particularly Electromasters and those with similar powers—had a degree of resistance to it. Of course, Shokuhou was skilled enough to overcome those resistances, but for exceptionally powerful espers like Misaka Mikoto, it was a different story.

Though she’d never tested it, she suspected Mental Out probably wouldn’t work on Level 5 espers ranked Fourth or higher, either.

But in Reicia Blackguard’s case, it wasn’t a simple matter of strength.

The information itself was… broken.

Like a corrupted file that only produced garbled text when opened, she could peer inside but could not actually read anything.

It made even Shokuhou doubt her own senses. No human could possibly remain sane with such utterly shattered mental data. It would make more sense to say that the current Reicia = Blackguard was nothing more than a raving zombie mimicking human behavior.

So Shokuhou decided to leave both Reicia and those around her untouched.

The possible consequences were unknown, as was how Reicia herself might react.

At the same time, it made her wary of the girl.

She had an associate—someone connected to that other experiment—investigate, while she kept close watch on Reicia’s movements within the school. Even so, she had no intention of contacting her just yet.

She was unsettling, yes, but for the moment she seemed focused solely on developing her own faction’s abilities, with no attempt to extend influence beyond it.

What changed was one particular report.

“...What was that?”

“As I said—the Remnant from that case. It seems Reicia = Blackguard participated in suppressing it. Rumor has it she even deployed those ‘Fracture Wings’ of hers.”

“...Was anyone else there?”

“Hmm? From what I’ve heard, the First Ranked esper, and one Level 0 boy. Apparently, Reicia = Blackguard was with that Level 0 from the very start of the operation.”

“...Heh. Of course. If it’s him, he’d seize the chance to play the good guy.”

When she heard that in some run-down burger joint, Shokuhou made a small gesture, as though grasping something invisible that wasn’t hanging around the neck of the person she controlled, and smiled.

“Faction consolidation. Contact with highly classified cases involving the Sisters. A friendly relationship with the Third. And on top of that…”

“Increased ability power—and its concealment. That doesn’t quite match the psychological profile we’ve built for Reicia = Blackguard.”

That was it.

The girl had shown remarkable obsession with ability development—and yet, despite clearly growing stronger, she was hiding it.

It was as if she didn’t want to attract attention.

Add to that her association with Kamijou Touma… Shokuhou couldn’t guess exactly what the woman was thinking, but…

Shokuhou Misaki was not the kind of person to sit back and let an uncontrollable irregular grow stronger right under her nose while she continued with her plans.

“I understand. I’ll meet her directly—and judge for myself. Otherwise, I won’t be able to make the right call. What happens from here on… I’ll decide after that.”

Shokuhou Misaki had things she wanted to protect.

And she would move for the sake of protecting them.