As twilight faded into night, the city lights began to glow.
When the words on the page became too faint to read, Tokikono Konata closed her book and slowly tucked it back into her bag.
Standing up, she glanced around and, unsurprisingly, found no one nearby. Satisfied, she nodded.
"Of course. No matter how intense the training, balance is essential.
He should be heading home for dinner by now."
In this world, lacking strength was dangerous-a lesson she had learned firsthand after experiencing a villain attack. If the heroes hadn't arrived in time back then, who knows what R-18 horrors might have followed? In this world, there was no Quirk too bizarre to exist. The villain who had attacked the maid café that day had a tentacle-based Quirk... Yes, exactly what it sounded like.
Damn it, I'm not some magical girl-why the hell did tentacles have to target me?! Especially after hearing the villain proudly declare she was his sole target, she had felt utterly sickened.
Speaking of which... she probably owed Midoriya Izuku some thanks. Truly the protagonist of this world-even as a Quirkless individual, he had the courage to charge forward first. Though, she couldn't shake the feeling his desperate rush had been more about taking out the hostage (her) than saving her...
It just proved that, no matter the world, lolicon was an inescapable phenomenon.
After that incident, Tokikono Konata had become acutely aware of her lack of security. Add to that her mandatory side quest of enrolling in U.A. High's Hero Course, and activating her "golden finger" (cheat ability) before the entrance exam became crucial.
If she ignored the maliciously named Quirk for a moment, hers was a transformation-type ability. Subjectively, she felt it was similar to Tsuyu Asui's Frog Quirk from her class.
In class, she was probably one of the loneliest people around. It wasn't intentional-she just wasn't good at fitting in. When others tried talking to her, she never knew how to respond and would just mumble vague acknowledgments. Plus, to avoid being late for work and getting her pay docked, she was always the first to leave after school. Over time, rumors spread about her-that she was arrogant and unwilling to interact with classmates, or that she came from a wealthy family and looked down on everyone else...
When these rumors reached her ears, Konata could only sigh helplessly.
To get back on topic-though her ability allowed her to transform into characters like Shana, Railgun, or Miku, she hadn't actually tried it yet. And personally, Konata was a little skeptical about one thing: Did Hatsune Miku even have any combat ability...? Singing?
(Misaka Mikoto unlock condition: Kick vending machines 10,000 times. Current progress: 6,400/10,0001
(Shana unlock condition: Say "urusai" (shut up) in a disdainful tone 10,000 times. Current progress: 1,082/10,000]
[Hatsune Miku unlock condition: Release songs under Miku's name in this world and reach 1 million fans. Current progress:
232/1,000,000]
Railgun was the easiest to unlock, Shana's was the most embarrassing, and Miku might never be unlocked before she left this world-that was her assessment of the three transformations.
Once, in her desperation to unlock Railgun, she snuck out late at night bundled in a coat to abuse innocent vending machines. This led to urban legends spreading in her neighborhood about a deranged "vending machine killer." At the time, she was solely focused on unlocking Railgun as quickly as possible, so in less than a month, she successfully sent 30 vending machines to the repair shop-averaging one per day. The sheer scale of her vandalism eventually forced not only the police to investigate, but even heroes were dispatched to capture this brazen criminal. For her own safety, she had no choice but to abandon her crime spree.
Left with no other options, she turned her attention to this junkyard. The unlock condition didn't specify that the vending machines had to be functional-she could just as well kick the ones already broken beyond repair. Fortunately, in this dump, it was easy to find discarded vending machines classified as non-recyclable waste. By her estimate, at this rate, she could unlock Railgun in less than a month.
As for Shana... The persona she had built at the maid café had become something of a golden trademark. If nothing else, her sense of shame had been thoroughly tempered-people truly grow under pressure, and Konata fully agreed with that sentiment. Still, even so, unlocking Shana before the entrance exams was hopeless.
And as for Miku... That was a distant goal. Konata figured she should just focus on being realistic.
"Hmm... Found it-tonight's punching bag..."
Stopping before a vending machine half-buried in garbage and barely recognizable, Toki carefully placed her shopping bag on a clean elevated spot. After standing firmly before the machine and flexing her wrists, she took a deep breath-then delivered a powerful kick to the vending machine.
"HYAH!!!"
"...All Might?"
Watching the blue-haired girl below repeatedly kicking the vending machine, Midoriya Izuku turned in confusion toward the towering middle-aged man beside him. He couldn't understand why All Might had specifically brought him here tonight-according to their training schedule, this evening was supposed to be endurance and speed drills.
Ahem.
Clearing his throat awkwardly, All Might maintained a solemn expression.
"Young Midoriya, do you remember that girl down there?"
"Down there?"
Puzzled, Midoriya looked downward. After studying the figure for a long moment, he finally recognized her by the signature ahoge and hair color. His shoulders slumped as unpleasant memories surfaced.
"Yeah... she's the one who mocked me harshly that day. Why would she come here?"
"Young Midoriya, a true hero must look beyond surface appearances."
Handing his phone to Midoriya, All Might continued, "These are the records I've gathered about her. Compared to her circumstances, you've been incredibly fortunate."
"Abandoned by her family as a child... an orphan?"
Midoriya stared blankly at the information displayed on the screen.
"Young Midoriya, didn't she ask about your future school plans that day? And you mentioned applying to U.A. High's hero course, correct?"
Retrieving his phone, All Might locked eyes with Midoriya.
"Originally, she intended to enroll in a regular middle school. But afterward, she changed her goal-she wants to become a hero like you, someone capable of saving others in times of crisis."