Time to Despair...

"So why did you come to the hospital?" Paqi asked Luo Yifang bluntly, unable to understand what he was trying to do.

Luo Yifang stopped outside a hospital room. "To prove something."

Pushing open the door, he saw a black-haired girl sitting up against her pillow on the bed, absentmindedly gazing at the blue sky beyond the window. She did not notice Luo Yifang's arrival.

Luo Yifang walked over and asked with a smile, "Saten-san, you're awake?"

"Huh? Senior?" Hearing someone call her name, Ruizi hurriedly turned around.

Ruizi was somewhat surprised by Luo Yifang's appearance. She had not expected him to be the first one to come. "Senior... how did you know I was hospitalized?"

"Hatsuharu and the others told me," Luo Yifang answered. That was true. He had just asked Hatsuharu for Ruizi's hospital address and room number before rushing over.

"I see... then they must have told you too..." Ruizi lowered her head. After all, for a first-year middle school girl, using what was practically a cheating method and ending up unconscious because of it was an utterly shameful thing.

Ruizi had already prepared herself for Luo Yifang to scold or lecture her. In her mind, as an esper, Senior Yifang would surely despise what she had done.

Yet Luo Yifang merely shook his head and smiled. "The AIM Diffusion Virus wasn't your responsibility. You don't need to worry about something like that."

"But, Senior..." Ruizi raised her head, her eyes lacking their usual light. "I really did use a cheating method like that to improve my esper abilities..."

Seeing how dejected she was, Luo Yifang knew the damage the AIM Diffusion Virus had caused her would not be easily erased. He casually picked up an apple from the fruit basket beside him and began peeling it with a fruit knife.

"Here, have some fruit." He handed a slice of apple to Ruizi, then cut off another piece and put it in his own mouth.

Ruizi took the apple without moving.

Staring at the slice in her hand, she suddenly asked Luo Yifang, "Senior... what do you think abilities are?"

Luo Yifang froze. He had never really thought about that before. After considering it for a while, he answered, "Well, probably a convenient kind of power? Like not needing air conditioning or a water heater, that sort of thing."

"I see... so they really are powerful... Huh?" Ruizi looked at Luo Yifang in surprise, bewilderment appearing in her eyes.

Taking a bite of the apple, Luo Yifang spoke with puffed cheeks. "My ability is kind of... uh, how do I put it? It's pretty versatile, so I can cool things down, block light, heat things up—in short, it's quite handy. But it has some really bad points too. My hair turned white because of my ability. After all, I don't need pigment anymore."

Luo Yifang smiled and added, "Whether an ability is strong only proves how good you are at fighting. Even if you become the strongest in Academy City, you still have to eat and drink every day and live like an ordinary person. Aren't you going to eat that apple? It won't be fresh if you leave it too long!"

"Senior?" Ruizi seemed to understand something from Luo Yifang's words. She ate the apple slice in one bite, and the liveliness that had been missing gradually returned to her.

"Alright, I didn't come here today to feed you some inspirational nonsense. Leave that to Biri-Biri Misaka." Seeing Ruizi recover a little, Luo Yifang continued.

"Biri-Biri... Senior Misaka?" Ruizi mulled it over, then burst out laughing. "That comparison really is pretty fitting!"

Luo Yifang shrugged. It seemed winning over girls did not require head pats or anything like that. Now came the final step—

Whip out his big baby!

After rummaging around for a while, Luo Yifang pulled a small notebook from his pocket, placed it on the cabinet beside her, and pushed it toward Ruizi. "Here, want to take a look?"

"What is this?" Ruizi picked up the notebook and turned it over twice.

Luo Yifang looked around to make sure no one was nearby, then leaned closer and said, "Ahem, this is a secret manual."

"A secret manual?" Ruizi hugged the plain, battered notebook, completely baffled.

Luo Yifang gave an eerie smile. "A secret manual for getting stronger..."

Perhaps she was particularly sensitive to the words "getting stronger," or perhaps Luo Yifang's laugh was simply too creepy, but Ruizi looked at him warily. "Senior... you didn't bring this here to, um, trick me, did you?"

"Come on, how could that be?" Luo Yifang waved his hand, indicating that he would never do something like fooling people. How could he possibly lie to someone? Never in this lifetime.

Seeing that the girl still did not believe him—so much so that she seemed tempted to throw the notebook out the window and press the call button by her bed—Luo Yifang quickly turned serious. "No more messing around. Let me explain simply. This really isn't some secret manual for esper abilities. Something like that doesn't exist at all."

That only made this notebook even more suspicious! Ruizi was starting to wonder whether the Luo Yifang before her was an impostor.

Then Luo Yifang dropped a bombshell on her. "But a power called magic is different."

"M-M-M-M-Magic?!" Ruizi cried out. "Senior, you're joking, right?!"

"Esper abilities aren't scientific to begin with, so what's so strange about magic showing up too?" Luo Yifang said as if it were only natural.

That made so much sense... Ruizi was completely dumbfounded. She had thought Senior Yifang had come to comfort her, but he had actually come to sell her on magic?! An esper giving a normal person a magic manual?

Hey, hey, this was the set of A Certain Scientific Railgun. A Certain Magical Index was next door!

Just as Luo Yifang was about to say something else, a jumble of hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the door. He knew it was time to slip away. Going by the time, Railgun and the others should be arriving soon. If he did not leave now...

Just think about what happened to people who recommended inappropriate books to your friends!

"If you really want to learn, read the book first, then come find me..." Luo Yifang left behind a note and vanished from the room.

Half-believing and half-doubting, Ruizi opened the notebook. When she saw the first sentence written inside, she was taken aback.

At that moment, the room door was pushed open. Hatsuharu ran into the ward, and upon seeing Ruizi sitting on the bed, she immediately threw herself onto her. "Ruizi! Thank goodness!"

Ruizi's nose stung. When she saw Mikoto and Kuroko standing by the door, she finally could not hold it in any longer and burst into tears.

At that moment, the wind by the window flipped open the notebook, revealing a single sentence—

"Instead of spending time despairing, go eat something delicious and get a good night's sleep!"

If you think this book is good, remember to add it to your bookshelf so you can find it next time!