Joseph's Café.
"Where's Kazari?" Selene asked curiously when she saw that Saten Ruiko had come alone.
Saten Ruiko pointed at the packet of medicine in her hand and said, "She has a summer cold and took the day off. I'm planning to deliver some medicine to her."
"Uiharu is sick again? Honestly, it seems we need to train her well," Shirai Kuroko said with a helpless shake of her head.
"Is it serious?" Misaka Mikoto asked with concern.
"It's not too bad, nothing major," Saten Ruiko replied.
Hearing that Kazari only had a minor cold, Selene breathed a sigh of relief. She had thought it might be a lingering effect of the recent explosion. She then leaned back against the sofa, with her hands behind her head, and said lazily, "In that case, take me to Kazari's place. I can heal her; it's quicker than taking medicine."
"Oh, I forgot that Selene-senpai has healing abilities," Saten Ruiko said, her voice trailing off. For some reason, she felt an uncontrollable longing. "If only I could..."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go heal Kazari, Selene," Misaka Mikoto, full of enthusiasm, immediately decided on the day's itinerary to visit Kazari's home.
"Why rush? Aren't you planning to bring some gifts when visiting someone's house? Are you going empty-handed?"
"Oh."
...
"Excuse us." ×4
"I'm sorry to trouble you all to come!"
"Look, Kazari, Selene-senpai specially bought your favorite [Pasticceria Manicagni] cake for you," Saten Ruiko announced as soon as she entered, directing the other three Tokiwadai students to put things down, as if she were in her own home.
"You even brought things over? Really, it's a bother for you all. Sorry, I can't get up to greet you," Uiharu Kazari said, feeling both weak and happy to see Selene and the others bringing bags of stuff to visit her.
"That might not be certain, Kazari, you better treat us well," Selene teased.
"Huh?" Kazari said, her mind unable to keep up with Selene's words.
Then, Selene placed her hand on Uiharu Kazari's forehead, and with a gentle white glow, Kazari felt as if she were floating. The weakness in her body gradually faded, and the dizziness in her head disappeared completely.
"Alright, Kazari is fine now."
"Oh wow," Kazari said, now feeling refreshed and surprised as she sat up, looking at Selene in wonder. "Wow, I didn't expect Selene-senpai could cure a cold like this. I always thought senpai could only heal physical injuries."
"No problem. You caught a cold simply because of your weak resistance. I temporarily boosted your immune system exponentially, so naturally, you recovered quickly."
"Wow, so does this mean my immunity will always be strong? Is that... oof! Saten, what are you doing...?"
Seeing Kazari immediately cling to Selene as soon as she recovered, forgetting about other guests needing her hospitality, Saten Ruiko, who had been taking care of things while Kazari was sick, tapped Kazari on the head.
"Seriously, didn't you hear what senpai said? Temporarily, temporarily. Besides, you caught a cold because you keep blowing air conditioning and sleeping with your belly exposed! Also, aren't you going to help?"
"Okay, okay." Recognizing Saten's intimidating demeanor and knowing she was in the wrong, Kazari had to back down and help with the cooking, though she couldn't help but keep glancing at Selene.
"This is only temporary," Selene said with a helpless shake of her head. "The human body is like a precision machine; you can't just force a single system to change."
With a soft laugh, Selene continued, "Temporarily boosting your immune system is only short-term, and maintaining it long-term would damage your body."
"Alright then." Hearing this, Kazari's excitement faded, and she was about to start cooking when she remembered something. She quickly looked at Shirai Kuroko, who was sipping tea, and asked worriedly, "By the way, Kuroko, is there any new progress on the [Empty Space Bombings] incident?"
"There is and there isn't," Kuroko sighed, holding her teacup. "We've identified the perpetrator as a Level 2 ability user, but judging by the destructive power, it seems to reach Level 4. And..."
As Kuroko spoke, her tone grew serious. "Incidents where the actual level doesn't match what's recorded in the database have happened more than once."
"Could it be a recent enhancement that hasn't been recorded yet?" Misaka Mikoto asked, taking a sip of tea.
"Even if it was a recent enhancement, there are too many cases. One or two would be understandable," Kuroko said helplessly, glancing at her dear sister, "And jumping from Level 2 to Level 4 is not something that happens in a short time."
"So there are more mysteries to solve? Sigh, does this mean I have to go back to work as soon as I recover?" Kazari, still lamenting the workload of Judgment lately, suddenly realized that she was now healed, which meant...
"Of course, you think you can slack off?! Get back here and help!" After admonishing Kazari, who was eager to be lazy, Kuroko turned to Misaka Mikoto, asking seriously, "Onee-sama, how long did it take you to level up to Level 5?"
"About six years, I guess. Normally, crossing levels isn't possible. For me, each level took about a year," Misaka Mikoto mused before turning to Selene, "How about you?"
"For me? I was Level 5 right from the first test," Selene replied with a bit of confusion.
Before Selene could finish, Kuroko "facepalmed" the table with a thud, then looked at her sister, sighing deeply.
"Onee-sama, if you paid any attention to Academy City's website, you'd know this. Selene-senpai's experience isn't a reference; she's a Gemstone and was Level 5 from the start."
"Uh... this..." Compared to Selene, Mikoto suddenly felt her experiences were a bit lacking.
"So using Misaka Mikoto as an example, imagine," Selene began, "you undergo a physical examination every six months, and the database updates more frequently than this. Do you think it's possible for many people to rapidly increase their abilities significantly in a short time?"
"No," the four of them replied in unison.
"But if that's the case, how did they achieve this?" Kuroko frowned. "Or do they have a way to rapidly and significantly improve abilities?"
"[Level Upper]," Selene stated directly.
Hearing this, Mikoto turned to ask Saten Ruiko, who was busy in the kitchen, "That's right! Saten, didn't you mention something about [Level Upper] before?"
"Ah... what?" Startled by Mikoto's inquiry, and noticing everyone's eyes on her, Saten Ruiko gave an awkward smile, "Level Upper?"
"It's the urban legend we discussed, a tool that supposedly can easily increase ability levels."
"Increase ability levels easily?" Kuroko questioned the credibility, looking at Saten Ruiko skeptically.
"Ah... it's just an urban legend, really, and its true form is unknown," Saten Ruiko explained. "And the rumors are all different."
"Though hard to believe, this does give me a clue. We've encountered three cases where the actual ability level didn't match the records: the eyebrow girl attacking Tokiwadai, the fire ability user robbing the bank, and the [Empty Space Bombings] incident." Recalling these three cases, Kuroko was starting to believe in the existence of [Level Upper].
"Urban legends may have some truth," Misaka Mikoto reflected, changing her perspective after her experience with Harumi Kiyama. "Since the Strip Lady exists, maybe Level Upper does too. Anyway, without other leads, we should use it as a breakthrough."
"Huh? So it's real?" Saten Ruiko was a bit excited but also skeptical, "But we don't even know what it looks like. How can we find it? You didn't believe it before..."
"We have no other leads, do we?"
"Selene, any other clues?" Mikoto asked, showing her interest in the matter.
"Well, once confirmed, we just need to find those who have used [Level Upper]. I believe Saten Ruiko is an expert in this."
Mikoto agreed with Selene's statement. "Saten, do you know anything else?"
"Uh... while I'm not sure if it's true, there are rumors on message boards from people who've used Level Upper."
"Message boards?" Kuroko, who was beginning to form a plan, thought of a friend skilled with computers, "Kazari, can you..."
Before she finished speaking, Kazari had already found the target website. "Is this it?"
"Huh? So fast!?"
"Oh, that's it!"
With expert Saten Ruiko's confirmation, Kuroko exclaimed excitedly, "Kazari, you've done great! Now we just need to find out who these people are and where they gather..."
"Although I don't know their identities, their gathering place has been found. Look." Kazari pointed at a spot on the computer screen, "They seem to meet at this restaurant often!"
Once they received the solid lead, Kuroko quickly entered her Judgment mode, standing up decisively, and Misaka Mikoto and Selene exchanged glances before rising too.
"Onee-sama, that's my job. Why are you... and Selene-senpai, why are you coming along too?"
"I want to see this for myself..."
Hearing Selene's voice fade away, Kazari blinked, looking unusually cute, "Uh... is this okay?"
"There shouldn't be any worries about them," Saten Ruiko said, watching the three leave, her eyes dimming slightly. "After all, they are Academy City's proud Level 5s and Level 4s. But even if we go... we can't..." Gradually, Saten Ruiko's mood sank.
"Saten..." Kazari looked at her friend, momentarily unsure of what to say.