Kamijou Touya and Shiina were walking on the streets.
It was now 1 PM. According to the schedule in the thick tour guidebook, it should be lunchtime. But right now, there seemed to be matches going on at other places. Discrepancies in the schedule were rather common for sporting events like Daihaseisai.
If it was an international event like the Olympics or the World Cup, the schedule would be much tighter.
Touya rolled up his sleeves, smoothed his wrinkled shirt, and said,
"Alright, okaa-san. Though it's late now, let's find a place to eat."
"Ara ara, you're right."
Shiina readjusted her lady's hat.
"…Why do I feel that I didn't see Touma just now? Was he really in that match?"
"There are so many people competing in the same event, so sometimes it's hard to look for him. We'll hear about Touma's heroics when we meet him later. Right now, the most important thing is to get our seats."
Touya frantically looked around for a place to eat lunch, not because he was hungry.
One thing that Daihaseisai had in comparison to other sporting events was the need to 'book seats.'
Compared to ordinary events, in Daihaseisai, the arenas had to change according to the type of competition. It was not that getting one's seats once was enough, as parents would have to switch places according to where their children were having their events. Of course, eating lunch was the same. Once the event was over, the contestants and the spectators would be chased out of the arena, so they had to 'ensure that they got a place to get their lunch.'
There were 2.3 million residents in Academy City, and there were many more spectators. With so many people looking for a place to eat at the same time…it was not hard to imagine the school cafeterias being crammed with people.
Touya looked around, his hair combed to the back.
"It's supposed to be lunch at twelve. We arrived late because of the matches getting delayed. To be honest, it's hard to find a place now."
"Ara ara, I've prepared bentos, so you don't have to find such a good place."
Shiina happily said as she looked at the rattan basket hanging on her arm. Seeing this, Touya frowned, and said,
"Okaa-san, that won't do. These are the bentos that you put so much effort into preparing. Let's find the best place to eat our meal. Touma and I would be happy if we do so. It'll be fine if okaa-san feels happy as well."
"Ara ara, Touya, really."
Shiina smiled as she placed a hand on her face. Touya, who was releasing his tie with one hand, and looking around for a place, didn't notice her smile and gaze.
"…Hm, the seats at this shop are occupied. Of course, there are other ways to look for empty seats, or should we contact Touma and ask him for his suggestion—eh?"
Touya, who was considering this, saw a familiar face coming over from his opposite side.
It was the female university student he met at the opening ceremony.
Right now, there was a middle-school aged girl walking beside her. The girl was wearing a jogging shirt and shorts that contestants wear. Shoulder-length tea-colored hair, he remembered the name of that girl seemed to be 'Mikoto.'
The two seemed to be sisters who were extremely close to one another, as they were conversing loudly.
"Oh my, Mikoto. Don't tell me you're angry that dad hasn't turned up? I also begged for the university to give me an entire week off, so please spare me."
"…I'm not. Isn't dad working in London? It'll be even more troublesome if he forces himself to come over with a pale face."
"Un. If dad were to hear your angry tone, he'll be delighted. But to you, it's better for dad not to come, huh?"
"??? Why?"
"Because doesn't Mikoto like some other guy? If dad heard this, his reaction would be rather interesting!"
"Peh!?"
The middle-school girl suddenly did a spit-take. Mikoto's face flushed red, and she stared at the female university student who was taller than her by a head.
"WH…WHWHWHWHWHWHWHHYYYYYYYYY ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT THIS ALL OF A SUDDEN!!"
"Eh? Isn't it supposed to be like this? You can't resist hugging the pillow when you're in bed, being unable to sleep as you're thinking about that guy whose black hair shoots up to the sky?"
"No…nonono way! On what basis are you saying that! Also, how did you know about that idiot!?"
"I'm concerned about this, to think that you're calling that guy 'that idiot' with such an affectionate tone. Mikoto, what do you hope to gain through the penalty game? Am I right? Isn't it good that dad isn't here? So what's the result of the bet, Mikoto?"
"The penalty game…where did you hear about it? OI! STOP WRIGGLING AROUND, HURRY UP AND ANSWER!!"
Seeing the middle-school girl emitting blue and white sparks from her shoulders and cropped bangs, Touya got a renewed feeling that this was Academy City. Because his son was an esper at Level 0, so he really hadn't noticed it, but this was truly an esper city where those superpowers in movies and manga did appear.
"Isn't there a night walk tonight after the competitive events? So what do you intend to do, Mikoto? Or are you going to use that electricity to create neon lights just for the two of you?"
"Eh? Your tastes are really bad…eveeveveven if there's a night walk, that has not…nothing to do with me…"
To them, as they had 'superpowers,' they were not surprised by these sorts of things. Touya thought, it was probably be an atmosphere that only Academy City had.
The female university student and middle-school student seemed to have noticed Touya, who was staring blankly at them. The female university student's face glowed,
"Ah! Thanks for just now. Thanks to you, I met up with Mikoto at last."
The middle-school girl frowned at the female university student.
"…Wait a sec, who's this group of people? Are they people you acquainted with while working?"
"Nope, these are the parents of that boy that you're so mindful of. Come on, Mikoto, present yourself properly."
"YOU'RE TOO NOISY! KEEP QUIET! I SAID THAT IT ISN'T LIKE THAT!!"
The middle-school girl looked like she was going to bite on the other person and not let go as she shouted. The university student however didn't seem to notice it,
"Oh yeah, may I inquire, have you eaten your lunch yet? If you don't mind, do you want to have lunch with us? We've booked a small restaurant, so bringing in bentos should be alright. Right Mikoto?"
Touya considered what the female university student proposed.
They could bring bentos into a restaurant…so it seemed like they wouldn't be blamed for this if they did this during Daihaseisai, where the space was really limited. It'd be better if they ate Shiina's bentos with others than eating at a quiet place. And to the extremely petite Shiina, it was probably better for her not to walk on the asphalt under the hot sun.
Thus, Touya said,
"Alright then. Mind if we add another person later?"
"Fine by me. Sorry, Mikoto."
Facing the smiling university student, the middle-school student turned around, as she speechlessly emitted blue and white sparks.
This girl really has character, Touya thought as he shook his head, and turned towards Shiina.
"Okaa-san, this should be alright—why are you revealing such a terrifying expression?"
Seeing Shiina reveal this lost expression from the bottom of her heart, the shadow of her face being able to be on a 1000-yen note or a 5000-yen note, Touya inadvertently backed off. Shiina's lips weren't moving at all, but one could hear a clear voice,
"Really, Touya, you're always like this. What do you want me to do? Do you want me to throw the entire basket of bentos at you? Ara ara ara ara ara ara ara ara, this is too bad, the completely innocent Touma will have to remain hungry now?"
Why must she be angry!? Touya backed away. Shiina was not joking. She was the type of lady where during a quarrel between husband and wife, whether it was a plate or a DVD player, she would throw anything that she could get her hands on.
Thus, Touya quickly backed off, keeping a safe distance.
Unexpectedly, he knocked into another person behind.
"Wa!!I…I'm sorry!!"
Kamijou Touya turned around, quickly lowered his head, and apologized, but instead, he was staring at her huge breasts. As they were too close to each other, he intended to bend down and apologize, but it ended up looking like he was peeking at her.
The woman's breasts were just 4mm away from the tip of his nose.
Touya quickly looked up at twice the speed.
"I…I'm sorry, I'm really sorry! WAAHHH…okaa-san's glare from behind is really piercing me…!!"
The situation had gotten out of hand, but Touya didn't have the courage to look back and confirm Shiina's expression. Touya looked at the woman in front of him.
"It's alright, are you hurt? Sorry, I'm not used to having so many people around."
The woman in front had blond hair that was curled in a complicated way.
White skin and blue pupils, a Westerner with such stunning looks.
Her homogeneous body gave off a seductive atmosphere.
A metal sound could be heard.
On her long index finger, there was a metal ring that was about 2cm in diameter. Wrapped by the ring were rectangular pieces of paper that were as big as a chewing gum wrapper. They seemed to be flashcards that were used to memorize individual words.
She played around with this stack of flashcards like a key-chain.
"This nee-chan doesn't mind at all — I really want to say this, but I'm really younger than you, so I can't really call myself 'nee-chan.' Bye bye."
After saying this, she turned her back on Touya, and walked away.
She then naturally mixed into the crowd, and soon, she was gone. She had such an outstanding appearance, and she did give off a rather seductive atmosphere, but it seemed that nobody noticed her.
Touya stared at the blond lady through the corner of his eyes.
"Ara ara, ara ara ara. Touya? You're rather awake now, huh? Would breaking your joints be letting you off too lightly? Ara ara, how irritating, what should I do? Should I just let you be one of the stars in the night sky?"
"Eh…it's not that, okaa-san, you're mistaken. I didn't stare at that woman's attractive face and breasts and waists and legs, so that's…this is all my fault!!"
Seeing Touya turn his excuse into an apology, Mikoto softly said,
"…Like father, like son."
They didn't realize.
The things that were happening inside Academy City.
The boy that was close to them was running around, trying to stop this.
Also,
The danger, that was within 4mm from Touya's nose.
There were no onlookers that were safe. In this street that was full of dangerous people, Daihaseisai was proceeding on, and heating up.
Whether it was in the scientific sense, or the magical sense.