Episode 3: About to Die from Stress
On the surface, it was small talk, but internally, Kazuma continuously sent Momoko thoughts that were less sophisticated and more lewd. While guiding her around the academy, Momoko, despite suffering mental damage from Kazuma’s sexually harassing thoughts, desperately carried out her mission.
“K-Kazuma… Why are you with Shinonome-san!”
Seeing the two return to the classroom, Kosuke shouted this as the first thing he said.
Kazuma, with a triumphant smile at Kosuke, explained why he was with Momoko.
“Heh heh. Well, Shinonome-san just transferred, so I was showing her around.”
“S-So envious! Why do you always get such cushy roles!”
“Must be my usual good deeds~”
“That’s a lie!!!”
Kosuke shouted with enough volume to startle the other students in the classroom.
Kazuma, feeling sorry for Kosuke, gently patted his shoulder as if to console him.
“Well, cheer up. I’ll set it up so you can hang out with Shinonome-san.”
“For real?”
“It’s not a lie.”
“Ooh~! My bosom buddy~!”
Momoko pressed her temples at the farce unfolding before her eyes.
“(These two are almost completely speaking their true feelings!? That Ibuki Kosuke over there has a slight tone of jealousy mixed in, but… Still, it mostly matches their true feelings. Is this normal for high school boys? If so, this is an incredibly tough environment for me…)”
Her Mind Reading Gift could be turned on and off, but since Kazuma, her surveillance target, was present, she basically kept it on. She could, in theory, focus on specific targets, so it wasn’t a huge problem, but she didn’t know if she could endure Kazuma’s lewd thoughts endlessly streaming in.
On top of that, if she used it on the surveillance target’s friends, the lewd thoughts would only accelerate, making Momoko worry that she might collapse from overwork in the near future.
“That’s all for today’s homeroom. Don’t go causing trouble for others with rule violations on your first day~”
Saying that, Tanaka left the classroom. With homeroom over, Kazuma and the others gathered their bags and discussed what to do next.
“Wanna go hang out somewhere?”
“Well, it’s been a while, so why not?”
“Sounds good! How about karaoke?”
“I’m good with anything, as long as we’re hanging out.”
Taichi agreed with Akatsuki’s suggestion.
Kosuke also suggested karaoke, and Kazuma, though showing a positive attitude, said something that sounded a bit like he was making a fuss.
Momoko, watching them from the side, read the four boys’ thoughts. For the most part, their spoken words matched their thoughts, and she found nothing particularly suspicious. Among them, only Kazuma, as usual, was having lewd thoughts. Specifically, he was thinking about wanting to go home and “generate his own power.”
“(I feel like a chimpanzee would be better company…)”
Just then, Kazuma, who rather than noticing Momoko’s gaze, already knew he was being watched, spoke to her.
“Shinonome-san. You’ve been looking over here for a while, what’s up?”
Momoko, who hadn’t expected to be spoken to, showed a slightly flustered expression.
“Ah, no, it’s just that I just transferred and don’t have any friends, so I was thinking how nice it must be…”
“((Whew~! She’s flustered, she’s flustered~!))”
Kazuma, seeing through her lie, looked thoroughly amused.
The other three, besides Kazuma, heard Momoko’s story and genuinely pitied her, wanting to help her somehow. However, since she was a girl, they looked apologetic, feeling like there was nothing they, a group of only boys, could do.
“(I want to help her, but inviting her to a group of only guys is a bit much…)”
“(Transferring at this time of year, making friends must be tough. I want to help, but I don’t want her to think I have ulterior motives…)”
“(Maybe I should introduce her to some female friends? But that might be meddling…)”
“(Boobs!!! Uwoooooooh!!! Dick!)”
“(Is one of them really a high school student? Takeshita Akatsuki, Fudo Taichi, and Ibuki Kosuke are all being considerate towards me, a transfer student, and yet…)”
Momoko, feeling like she was about to faint just from listening to Kazuma’s thoughts, pressed the inner corners of her eyes. Momoko seriously thought that if the law allowed it, she would smack down the pervert in front of her right this instant.
“Then, Shinonome-san, wanna hang out with us too? If you’re worried about it being all guys, I can call some girls too?”
As if interrupting her thoughts, Kazuma invited her to hang out.
Momoko was surprised by the sudden invitation, but she declined as politely as possible.
“Thank you for the invitation. But I’m sorry. I have to unpack my luggage today, so I’ll be leaving first. Please invite me again sometime.”
“I see. Understood. Well then, see ya~”
“Yes. Well then, everyone, goodbye.”
Momoko gave a slight bow and said her farewells, then left the classroom.
Immediately after she left the classroom, the three boys surrounded Kazuma.
“Hey, what was that just now! Why are you so friendly with her!”
“Kazuma, you’re amazing! Normally, you wouldn’t be able to invite her like that.”
“Man~, Kazuma, you’re a big shot in a way, aren’t you?”
Kosuke shouted with an expression of disbelief, Akatsuki praised the insensitive Kazuma, and Taichi, pushing up his glasses, made a sarcastic remark.
“Hahaha. Well, it doesn’t really matter, let’s go hang out.”
“Doesn’t really matter…”
Akatsuki sighed in exasperation at the nonchalant Kazuma and patted his shoulder.
“Well, I guess that’s just like Kazuma.”
“More importantly, let’s hurry up and go hang out. I practiced fighting games during summer break, so I won’t lose this time!”
“Haha! In that case, today it’s the arcade and karaoke!”
And so, the four of them went to hang out at Grand One, a place they frequented.
◇◇◇◇
Shinonome Momoko was an intelligence agent (spy) sent by the National Defense Force to monitor Satsuki Kazuma. Her Gift was Mind Reading. She could read the minds of individuals she designated as targets. Of course, multiple people were also possible.
Recruited by the National Defense Force for this ability, she was currently disguised as a student and had infiltrated the academy.
“Haaah…”
“What’s wrong? Sighing like that?”
“I want to quit this mission.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Right now, Momoko was in a soundproofed room with two other people who, like her, had infiltrated to monitor Kazuma: Aiba Manami and Onoda Masafumi.
“Exactly what I said… This mission is much harder than I expected…”
“Hard? It’s just monitoring a student, isn’t it? It doesn’t seem that tough.”
“That’s because you don’t know. The stupid thoughts of high school boys.”
“…Don’t tell me Satsuki Kazuma is having some really terrible delusions?”
“Something like that. Or rather, it’s lewd jokes twenty-four seven! What is wrong with him! I tried reading the minds of other students too, but not a single one was as bad as him. Sure, I learned back in my school days that high school boys are like that, but… he’s on a whole other level beyond imagination.”
Of course, Momoko had also attended an Esper Academy. Back then, she had often felt unpleasant reading the minds of her male classmates, but Kazuma thought about lewd things to an abnormal extent.
Unlike her school days, this was a mission, so Momoko couldn’t shut it out, and her stress was building up.
“Hmm. I’d like to help, but this is outside our specialty…”
“Yeah, that’s right. Our objective is surveillance.”
Aiba Manami and Onoda Masafumi’s mission was the same as Momoko’s, but as they were in the position of teachers, they didn’t have much contact with Kazuma.
Manami’s Gift was Marking. Not the kind dogs do to mark territory, but simply one for grasping the target’s movements. Therefore, as long as Kazuma didn’t leave the range of her ability, she could pinpoint his location.
And Masafumi’s Gift was Capture. In the event that Kazuma’s connection to the Crimson Knight was discovered, he was to be immediately captured to prevent escape. However, if Kazuma himself turned out to be the Crimson Knight, they were instructed to do nothing.
Most importantly, as he had already engaged in actions that could be seen as hostile, Kazuma didn’t possess very amicable feelings.
“I’m going home to write my report now, but… it’s almost entirely lewd jokes, you know?”
“My condolences.”
“W-Well, if it comes down to it, we’ll help you out.”
“How exactly are you going to help…?”
Momoko’s figure, muttering dejectedly, looked considerably worn out even to the other two. Momoko, who would turn twenty this year, sighed, wondering if she could manage this mission going forward.