"Sister Nozomi! Do you know? A really big thing happened yesterday when you weren't here. It turns out that the previous Dr. Kiyama was the mastermind behind the 'AIM Stalker' incident, and after the investigation was clear yesterday, she had a duel with Senior Misaka." Early in the morning, Saten Ruiko rushed to Yoshino's house. Seeing Toujou Nozomi sitting in the living room, she couldn't help but start telling her about yesterday's events.
"Eh~ No wonder I felt the lightning attribute was abnormally active yesterday, and there were frequent explosions." She and Suzuya Yuriko went to the Saintess Cult yesterday to handle some matters. "So what about the intermittent tremors afterward? Did many buildings in District 7 collapse because Misaka Mikoto didn't duel Kiyama Harumi? If so, Mikoto would owe Academy City a lot of money."
Toujou Nozomi knew that Espers (Level 5) in Academy City would have a very high reward system, and Misaka Mikoto was not the type of girl who liked to spend money, so she must have a lot of savings. But it would be a bit difficult for her to pay for several collapsed buildings.
"Hmm~ Senior Misaka didn't destroy any buildings. It was just that Dr. Kiyama blew up the bridge using the principle of the previous void explosion. Senior Misaka doesn't need to compensate for it." For Misaka Mikoto to pay, she remembered that several times District 7 had power outages due to Misaka Mikoto's random discharges. If she had to compensate for that… it would probably be a considerable sum.
"Hmm? Yoshino has been drawing here since just now. What is she drawing?" Normally, Yoshino would always be hugging Toujou Nozomi, but today she let her sit on the sofa while she drew. Something felt a bit off.
"I don't know. Since morning, Yoshino has been drawing here after making breakfast. It seems something happened at home last night when Yuriko and I were out." Toujou Nozomi narrowed her eyes. When she returned last night, Yoshino's room was as usual. But Shiina's doll, which was always with Yoshino, was placed next to the pillow, and this was the biggest problem.
Someone definitely visited Yoshino's room, and it must have been a girl. Because the air in the room, besides Yoshino's familiar scent, also had another fragrance. Based on Toujou Nozomi's years of experience, it was a girl's body scent.
But when she put Shiina back in Yoshino's hand, it said nothing, only shaking its head at Toujou Nozomi, making Toujou Nozomi suspect there was definitely 'a story' behind it. But no matter how she asked, it wouldn't say, acting as if it was enjoying a good show.
But Toujou Nozomi always felt that she was very familiar with the scent in the room, as if she had smelled it somewhere before. It seemed to be from everyone in Muse, but now, besides herself, no one else could come to this world. Toujou Nozomi didn't realize that she had unknowingly eliminated the correct answer.
"Hmm? Who are these people? Ah! There's Sister Nozomi and Yoshino. Everyone inside is a beautiful girl." Each had their own unique characteristics, and one orange-haired, very lively girl was hugging Yoshino from behind. Besides Toujou Nozomi and Yoshino, she didn't recognize anyone else.
"These are people Yoshino met in the previous world. They are Yoshino's most important companions. They formed an academy idol group called 'Muse,' and they are the future goddess idol group." She introduced each person inside to the interested Saten Ruiko. Although Muse was just a debut idol group now, Yoshino knew that Muse was an organization known as a cult.
"Eh~ So all these people have made a contract with Yoshino, does that mean they are all seniors?" Not only were they in a higher grade than her, but they also signed a contract with Yoshino before her. But the name is 'Muse'~ I remember it's like the goddesses of art in Greek mythology, right?
There are nine goddesses corresponding to nine people, but what is Yoshino's role here? A mascot?
"Hehehe, I feel like Ruiko, you're a bit like Rin, both such lively girls. You act like a tomboy, but in terms of femininity, you definitely won't lose to anyone." It's just that Rin still has childhood psychological trauma, so now, besides her school uniform, she won't actively wear skirts.
"Haha~ Saying that really makes me a bit shy, femininity and all…" Shyly scratching her head, Saten Ruiko felt very embarrassed by Toujou Nozomi's evaluation. "Then Yoshino, do you have any songs by these seniors? The songs of idols that Yoshino calls a goddess group must be very good."
"Hee hee hee~ I have the song that made me fall in love with Muse. This song made me a fan of Muse." She took out her phone, which contained the nine-member version of "Start Dash." In her previous life, countless otaku fell into their charm because of this song, becoming cult followers.
"Hmm? Then let me experience the charm that made Yoshino so engrossed." Taking the headphones Yoshino handed over, Saten Ruiko said that her phone had all sorts of songs. She had very high standards for song quality, so she would give it a good evaluation.
Yoshino found it amusing to see Saten Ruiko looking like she wanted to find fault. Could a small Ruiko like her find problems with Muse's songs? She knew that in her previous life, she was initially very dismissive of those people's evaluations, but after listening to this song, it was on repeat for the next few days, never tiring of it.
"Sister Nozomi, what state do you think Ruiko will be in after listening to this song?" Looking at Saten Ruiko, whose body was constantly swaying with the music from the headphones, Yoshino came to Toujou Nozomi's side and asked curiously.
"I wouldn't know. After all, everyone's preferences are different. I think 'Start Dash' is a great song, but that doesn't mean Ruiko will like it."
"Hehehe~ This isn't the Sister Nozomi I know. Trust me, Ruiko won't be able to escape the charm of this song." Just like herself, completely immersed. Looking at Saten Ruiko with shining eyes, Yoshino knew that she had successfully joined the cult.
"Sister Nozomi, this is your Muse's song, right? It's amazing, no wonder Yoshino fell in love with you all so quickly. After listening to it once, I can't help but want to keep listening." Her previous favorite music was simply noise compared to this song.
Watching Saten Ruiko pulling Toujou Nozomi, Yoshino secretly went to the table where she had been drawing, quietly pulled out the drawing that was underneath, and returned to her room. This drawing was done before Toujou Nozomi came out. It depicted Yoshino and Minami Kotori kissing. She couldn't help but draw it just now.
"It would be bad if Sister Nozomi saw it. Hehehe~" Like a child who had stolen something to eat, Yoshino showed a cute smile. Shiina looked at Yoshino like this and felt pity for Toujou Nozomi for the first time. Unknowingly, Yoshino was snatched away by her good friend.
'I hope nothing bad happens. Anyway, they are both such good friends, and Yoshino won't be monopolized by one person. Now let's see how important Minami Kotori can be in Yoshino's heart.'
"Hehehe~ I won't let you get so far ahead next time, Nozomi."
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