I Am Honkai

"…Huh?"

Shirai Kuroko accidentally looked up and saw the tall girl in front of her, and she was astonished.

"Ha...Habsburg-senpai?"

It was only then that Misaka Mikoto, having calmed down from her excitement, realized her embarrassing behavior just now. Her face turned crimson, "This…that…ah! What an indecent pose, Kuroko, forget it right now!"

Click!

"Hm?"

The sound of a camera shutter made both girls freeze and mechanically turn their heads, only to find Selene shaking her phone with a mischievous smile on her face.

"How can I enjoy such an interesting scene alone? I'm sure Shokuhou would be very interested in this..."

"Ahhhhh!!! Delete it now!" Misaka Mikoto shouted in horror, her eyes fixed on Selene's phone with a look that clearly said she wanted to crush it into dust.

"No way, this is…" Selene refused outright, but just as she was about to continue teasing, a sweet, childish voice came from the side:

"Excuse me... are you the senpai who saved us at the post office that day?"

...

"Here, these are the crepes I bought for you... okay, okay, don't be mad, I've already given it to you." After dividing the crepes among them, Selene had to coax Misaka Mikoto as if she were a child, due to her teasing earlier.

To make a long story short, Selene had interacted with Misaka Mikoto since returning to Academy City after Christmas.

During the year-end test, Selene demonstrated her electrical attack. Naturally, the slightly "battle-hungry" Misaka Mikoto stubbornly challenged Selene to a fight.

The result was unsurprising; Selene would not miss such an opportunity, so she reluctantly accepted Misaka Mikoto's request and gave her a good beating.

This back-and-forth gradually brought them closer together. Though not close friends, their relationship was certainly better than Misaka Mikoto's with Shokuhou Misaki. (In Misaka Mikoto's eyes)

"Hmph! I'll forgive you for Gekota's sake."

Under the shade, Uiharu Kazari paused from biting into her crepe, looking at Selene with delight as she inquired, "So Senpai knows Saten, huh? Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Uiharu Kazari. Thank you so much for saving us last time, Senpai."

"No need to thank me, it was just a small gesture, Uiharu." Selene replied with a smile, casting a glance at Misaka Mikoto. "Then I'll introduce myself, I'm Selene, a classmate of hers."

"Selene? That name sounds familiar." The young Uiharu Kazari stared blankly at Selene, suddenly remembering something, and quickly checked her phone for confirmation, "Lv5... Ah! I remember, Selene-senpai is ranked first!"

After confirming Selene's identity, Uiharu Kazari looked at her with starry eyes.

After carefully examining Selene's overall appearance, Uiharu Kazari's eyes revealed a four-part surprise, four-part admiration, and two parts of an indescribable "legendary" pie chart look. She turned to Misaka Mikoto and asked in amazement.

"Are you really the same age?!"

"…W-what's with that look!" Hearing such a comment about her physique and being scrutinized by Uiharu, Misaka Mikoto felt a bit sad. Among the Lv5s her age, both Selene and that other person had great figures, except for herself.

She felt inferior...

"Ahaha... well..." Feeling the awkward atmosphere, Saten Ruiko quickly changed the subject, "...Are Lv5s so common now? To run into two like this..."

Hearing this, Selene shook her head with a smile.

"Mm... actually, the probability of encountering an Lv5 in the 7th district is quite high, as Academy City has only eight Lv5s, and Tokiwadai accounts for three. But even if you run into one, it'll likely be Misaka."

At this point, Selene couldn't help but laugh, "Because the only one truly free is probably Misaka, running into me was just an accident."

"What do you mean I'm the only one with free time, aren't you also wandering around?" Misaka Mikoto couldn't help but retort.

"This is called balancing work and rest, don't you know."

"Tch."

"Anyway, it's still lucky to meet you." Seeing the two about to start again, Uiharu Kazari quickly intervened, giving Saten a glance.

"...Oh, there's an urban legend that Selene-senpai has a particularly good family background?" Saten Ruiko caught on immediately.

"Hmm? Can you tell us about it, Senpai?" Hearing this, Uiharu Kazari's spirit was revived, her face full of curiosity as she looked at Selene.

"It's nothing, really. It has long declined." Selene waved her hand with a casual smile, "I'm Selene, Selene von Habsburg."

Uiharu Kazari was initially stunned, then shivered slightly, slowly showing a hint of disbelief and joy, as if stars filled her eyes, she looked at Selene with admiration, "Isn't that amazing? A noble lady! Isn't this a noble lady? A former royal!"

"Uh..." It seemed Uiharu had transferred her dreams of being a noble lady from Misaka Mikoto to Selene.

"Uiharu, aren't you just admiring rich people?" Saten Ruiko looked at Uiharu Kazari and was speechless.

"No, it's not like that! And it has nothing to do with me being born in Nishikasai (meaning a remote area)!" Uiharu Kazari quickly retorted.

This was practically a "self-exposure."

At this, everyone exchanged glances and couldn't help but laugh.

"So, did you know Uiharu before, Senpai?" Saten Ruiko asked curiously.

"Yes, we met during a post office robbery. I saw a different side of Shirai Kuroko that time." Selene said, glancing at Shirai Kuroko. "It was quite a memorable scene."

"Uh, Selene-senpai, no need to mention that!" Shirai Kuroko firmly stopped Selene from continuing.

"Alright, I'll drop it." Seeing this, Selene didn't continue the topic and focused on her food.

The crepe was pretty good, within her acceptable range, so Selene was satisfied.

Next to her, Misaka Mikoto and Shirai Kuroko started playing around again. Uiharu Kazari and Saten Ruiko discussed the differences between the two Lv5s.

Suddenly, Uiharu Kazari noticed a bank across the street lowering its metal shutters, giving her a sense of deja vu. "Doesn't it seem strange? Why are they lowering the shutters in broad daylight?"

At that moment, the bank's metal shutters exploded, thick smoke billowing out, and the street was strewn with debris.