Kiyama Harumi

"Hmm... so there aren't any more landmark-like buildings?" A somewhat familiar voice rang out, drawing Misaka Mikoto's attention.

Looking toward the source of the voice, she saw a spiky-haired boy asking something of a mature woman.

"A landmark, huh~? You mean something like a sidewalk right in front of you." The mature woman replied in a languid voice.

"A sidewalk doesn't really count as a landmark." The spiky-haired boy scratched the back of his head with a troubled expression. He seemed quite distressed by the situation—after all, he still had the important mission of buying discounted eggs.

"Do you need help?" Faced with this situation, Uiharu Kazari, as a member of Judgment, resolutely stepped forward to help.

"Ah, that'd be a huge help! Then I'll leave it to you, Miss Judgment." Kamijo Toma let out a sigh of relief. After briefly explaining the situation to everyone, he took off first, sprinting toward the supermarket.

Misaka Mikoto stared silently at Kamijo Toma's departing back for a long while. Then, suddenly, a light bulb seemed to go off over her head.

"Ah! So it was that guy."

"What!? You know that anthropoid ape, Onee-sama!?" Shirai Kuroko pulled out a handkerchief from somewhere, stuffed it into her mouth, and bit down on it as she looked at Misaka Mikoto with teary eyes.

Misaka Mikoto grew incredibly awkward and hurriedly refuted her.

"No, it's not like that. He tried to help me before, though he didn't really manage to help with anything. I guess he's just a well-meaning fool."

"Phew~ That's good. Otherwise, on top of that bastard old man, Kuroko's rivals in love would be too... mmmph..."

Shirai Kuroko sighed in relief and was still speaking with lingering fear when Misaka Mikoto, her pretty face flushed red, covered her mouth.

"Kuroko! Don't just say things like that!?"

"Ahaha~" Watching the two make fools of themselves again, Saten Ruiko smiled helplessly.

"So, were there any landmark buildings near where you parked?" Uiharu Kazari asked first. The other three froze at once, and the same thoughts arose in their minds.

Airhead? She's an airhead! She's definitely an airhead.

"Hmm~ There was a sidewalk in front of where I parked." The mature woman gave an eerily familiar answer.

"Uh!?" Seemingly realizing that she had just heard a very similar answer not long ago, Uiharu Kazari silently looked back at the three girls. What she saw was the trio holding their hands over their mouths, faces red as they tried not to laugh. Her own pretty face immediately turned scarlet with embarrassment.

"Don't laugh, Saten!"

"Huh? Why am I the only one!?" Unconvinced, Saten Ruiko began playfully squabbling with her. Puffing out her cheeks in dissatisfaction, she grabbed the hem of Uiharu Kazari's skirt and made as if to lift it, leaving Uiharu both flustered and embarrassed.

"Ah!?" Rod happened to pass by from the side of the road while eating candied hawthorn. Uiharu Kazari spotted him first and hurriedly shoved Saten Ruiko away, clutching her skirt. A faint blush still lingered on her little face as she nodded to Rod in greeting.

"Hello, Mr. Rod."

"Mister, you really are free, aren't you?" Misaka Mikoto crossed her arms and remarked. Every time she saw Rod, he always seemed to be leisurely wandering around the streets.

"Ohohoho~, I presume Mr. Rod has no job, then? If you don't mind, a company under my family's name could hire you." Shirai Kuroko put on a grand air, and even readers behind the screen could tell exactly what she was plotting.

Yet Rod did not argue after hearing this. He did not even glance at Shirai Kuroko. Instead, he looked behind the group and let out a soft whistle.

For some reason, everyone heard a hint of frivolity in that whistle. They first exchanged puzzled looks, then all turned around together—only to be stunned by what they saw. At some point, the mature woman had taken off her white shirt and draped it over her arm, exposing her brown underwear in broad daylight!

"It's so hot~" the mature woman muttered softly, raising an arm to wipe sweat from her forehead. Her calm demeanor left the four girls staring in dumbfounded shock.

"Th-the Stripper Woman!?" As though she had remembered something, Saten Ruiko's eyes lit up and she cried out.

That shout drew everyone's attention. Noticing this, Misaka Mikoto hurriedly yelled.

"Formation B!"

The other three girls immediately understood and formed an encirclement with her, tightly surrounding the mature woman so that passersby could not see through them to peek inside.

"Judgment is on duty! All unrelated persons, leave immediately!" Shirai Kuroko shouted, causing the passersby to disperse one after another. Only Rod remained where he was, putting the last candied hawthorn into his mouth.

"Mister, turn around right now!" Seeing Rod still staring intently, Misaka Mikoto puffed out her cheeks and glared at him in displeasure.

"Yes, yes, yes~" Rod casually waved a hand and turned around.

"Quick! Put it back on!" Uiharu Kazari urged anxiously. Just from her tone, one could imagine how embarrassed the girl was.

"Huh? But with a body as flat as mine, nobody should react to it, right?" The mature woman answered without a care.

"People have all kinds of bizarre fetishes!? Anyway, put your clothes back on first!?" Shirai Kuroko roared.

"So the urban legend really was true!?" Saten Ruiko's delighted voice was mixed in among the commotion.

"That's what you're focused on!?" Misaka Mikoto retorted speechlessly.

In the end, after the four girls worked together, they finally managed to put the mature woman's shirt back on her.

At a stone table by the roadside, the mature woman propped up her chin and asked in a serious, earnest manner.

"So why are swimsuits allowed, but underwear isn't?"

"Yeah, why?" Afraid things were not complicated enough, Saten Ruiko excitedly added fuel to the fire.

"Saten! You idiot!?" Uiharu Kazari grabbed Saten Ruiko, who was sticking out her tongue and acting cute, and pulled her back.

"In any case, if this lady remains stubborn, I will arrest you for disturbing public order!?" Shirai Kuroko fixed the mature woman with an unfriendly glare.

"Yes, I understand." The mature woman stopped arguing and nodded.

After a brief round of introductions, they learned that the mature woman known as the Stripper Woman was named Kiyama Harumi. She was actually a brain physiology expert and a researcher specializing in AIM Diffusion Field studies.