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After Misaka Mikoto arrived at Kamijou Touma's residence, her eyes widened with surprise.
This guy… is living under the same roof as such a cute girl?
"I haven't even provoked you this time."
Kamijou Touma backed up slightly, nervously eyeing the sparks of electricity now crackling faintly around Misaka Mikoto's forehead.
"I'm just extremely irritated that I would lose to this kind of beast."
Misaka Mikoto scanned him up and down with a sharp, dangerous glint in her eyes, like she was evaluating the most effective place to start discharging voltage.
"Alright, enough." Shen He stepped in at just the right time. "Kamijou Touma is just a hopeless old man. Isn't it perfectly natural for him to take in homeless cute girls? Otherwise, I wouldn't have thought of coming to him for help first."
"H-Huh—? The way you said that feels really wrong somehow." Kamijou raised his hand instinctively, frowning. "Index clearly passed out at the door, and then she just started freeloading meals and claimed my bed. Why does it sound like I brought home some drunk girl from the street?!"
"…You say that, but…"
There was a faint murmur from Index.
Then she suddenly leaped up and bit Kamijou Touma on the head, the two of them instantly bickering and wrestling like a couple who had done this countless times before.
"Tch." Shen He clicked his tongue in slight disdain.
As expected from the notorious Kamijou Touma—school city's undisputed pick-up artist.
But… Shen He glanced at his own crew—Jeanne d'Arc, both Ryougi Shiki twins, Violet, Qi Mu Nanxiong. Not bad.
Wait. Focus.
"Now's not the time for sparring."
Shen He reached over and calmly pulled Index off Touma's head. "Things are getting complicated. We need to gather all potential leaders of Academy City who can stand at the forefront of their factions. For now, let's just assume you're on our side. That said—there's still the matter of Shokuhou Misaki. I'll leave that to you."
Shen He already had a strategic framework forming in his head. It wasn't like he had many choices left.
With the sheer power Misaka Mikoto Alter displayed—going straight for a confrontation wasn't wise. Even if they secured victory, they'd be vulnerable to counterattacks from rival camps. And truthfully, Shen He didn't believe Misaka Alter was the final boss.
Right now, the only option was to keep increasing their own power base. No downside there.
"Why leave her to me?" Kamijou Touma looked confused. "Isn't she the Level 5 who went to the same school as Bilibili? Shouldn't she be closer to Misaka?"
"That's right." Misaka Mikoto nodded, biting her lip. "If I begged her in a low voice, she'd probably agree just to laugh at me. She's always wanted to see me humiliated. But stuff like pride doesn't matter anymore."
"…The reason's simple," Shen He said softly, eyes calm. "Kamijou Touma… she likes you."
"—!"
Everyone in the room turned their eyes toward him, even Kamijou Touma himself, visibly stunned.
"The Queen Bee Shokuhou Misaki… likes Kamijou Touma? That walking jinx?"
Misaka Mikoto shook her head, utterly in disbelief. Then she noticed Kamijou had gone silent.
Because… deep inside, Kamijou wasn't sure. He had lost all memories prior to the night he rescued Index. His past—vanished.
"It was back in junior high," Shen He added, "when Kamijou first experienced memory loss."
Shen He didn't emphasize the words "first time," but Kamijou's eyes widened slightly.
Wait. I've lost my memory… twice?
Seriously?! How unlucky can one guy be?
"I won't go into the full details." Shen He glanced at the time. "But Kamijou Touma's mind is close to a 'memory lockout state.' He forgets Shokuhou Misaki every time. Prays, resets—over and over. We don't have much time in this world. That's why you're the only one who can convince her. If she joins us, our chances of victory skyrocket."
The power of mental domination was a terrifying force. It had the potential to sway battles—entire campaigns—if used wisely.
Even though Qi Mu Nanxiong possessed a vast array of powers, he couldn't directly rewrite hearts and memories like Shokuhou Misaki could.
"Understood. I'll handle it."
Kamijou Touma gave Shen He a quiet, grateful look.
Thank you for not revealing my second memory loss. He'd kept that part buried, not wanting to make Index sadder than she already was.
"Since Kamijou Touma has decided to take this on, we will assist him as well." The rarely-spoken Godslayer Houri finally said, "We still owe him a favor. It is an honor to fight beside Lord Saint."
"Thank you." Jeanne d'Arc nodded politely at Shen He.
"Alright then, let's discuss our next phase." Shen He turned his gaze toward the far sidewalk. "Our first target must be Last Order—Misaka Misaka."
He'd already explained to the group who Last Order was, and her connection to Accelerator. Everyone could already grasp her strategic value.
"Last Order is the central controller for all the Sisters. She was created to be able to receive a specific electromagnetic signal that overrides the Misaka Network. In short, she can act as an external brake on all the Sisters' actions." Shen He clenched his fist. "If we secure her, we can at least keep the Sisters from being dragged into the war."
When he said this, both Misaka Mikoto and Accelerator's expressions subtly shifted.
Several Misaka clone production lines had already been reactivated. If nothing changed, new units would keep entering the battlefield.
This was exactly what Misaka Mikoto wanted to avoid—and for Accelerator, saving Last Order was all that mattered.
"Step one: we locate Last Order." Shen He's tone shifted into command mode, and the group instinctively paid closer attention. "We'll need to create a diversion to distract Misaka Mikoto Alter. But… I've heard she's made alliances with magician groups. We'll need to account for that. Intelligence is critical—not just her camp, but what's left of Academy City, the magicians, and the national forces."
"—Defending is far harder than attacking. We can't afford tunnel vision."
Right after Shen He said that, a silver treasure chest appeared—triggered by the updated decision logic of the system.
For the first time in a while, Shen He felt completely motivated. Sure, having overwhelming power to brute-force everything would be easier.
But this? This was the kind of challenge that got the blood pumping.
It looked like… five major moves would be necessary on Day One alone.
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