"This guy... how is she here?!" Zipping Lin Luo aside, Mikoto gestured with her eyes toward Shokuhou Misaki a dozen meters away, demanding in a low voice.

Lin Luo blinked. "Uh... I don't know either. You know her?"

"You really don't know?!" Mikoto pressed, staring intensely into Lin Luo's eyes, as if trying to see right through him.

Lin Luo immediately forced a bitter smile, protesting his innocence. "Mikoto, believe me, I truly don't know her. I was just getting a drink here, turned around, and she materialized in front of me like a ghost. When I asked how she got here, she said she came with a friend. Since she's a Tokiwadai student, I figured that friend was either you or Mei-ling."

"She's no friend of mine!" Mikoto grumbled under her breath, then asked again, "Are you sure you aren't lying?"

"I swear!" Lin Luo immediately raised a hand, solemnly declaring, "If I've told a single lie, may I be struck by lightning!"

"Go tell that to a ghost! Lightning won't even kill you!"

Well, that was true. It seemed having great power was also a burden; even his usual curses were useless.

Lin Luo had to swear again. "Fine, let's try another one. If I know that blonde girl, may I be rendered without a little something, unable to be a real man, and never able to pick up girls for the rest of my life... How's that for a vicious oath?"

"Go die!" Mikoto's face flushed crimson, and she angrily kicked Lin Luo. However, she could tell Lin Luo wasn't lying, so after a few kicks, she stopped tormenting him.

"Right, who exactly is that girl? You seem quite wary of her," Lin Luo asked, nursing the burning pain in his leg.

"That one? She's a disgusting, vile, and treacherous woman..."

Biri-Biri, your level of verbal toxicity is already quite high; saying such things behind someone's back isn't exactly honorable, is it?

Midway through her complaint, Lin Luo couldn't help but internally scoff. Then he saw Mikoto tapping her forehead, as if recalling some unpleasant memory, her expression deeply conflicted. "That woman is a Mental Out user, an ability as versatile as a Swiss Army knife. She controls others and plays with minds. While it doesn't work on me, she's wickedly adept at manipulating others..."

A Mental Out user? Lin Luo froze. There must be many esper in Academy City with mental abilities, but one that Mikoto rated so highly, and one who was also from Tokiwadai... The Queen of Tokiwadai—the Level 5, Mental Out user!

"Ara ara, Misaka-san, what are you two whispering about? May I join the conversation?"

Suddenly, Shokuhou Misaki's voice drifted to their ears. She approached with a sweet, seemingly cordial smile, her Level D brooch swaying gently against her chest.

This is the Queen?

Lin Luo felt a flicker of doubt. A queen should possess an air of arrogance, of looking down on others as if they were insignificant ants, entirely beneath notice. Yet, Shokuhou Misaki exuded none of that aura. Although she unconsciously displayed the dignity of a noble young lady—which probably stemmed from her background—her overall impression was remarkably gentle.

As if sensing Lin Luo's thoughts, Mikoto whispered, "This demeanor is just an act. With her modification ability, she can easily alter her own personality."

She can do that? Does that mean she can have multiple personalities all by herself? Lin Luo gasped.

"Misaka-san, that's not quite right," Shokuhou Misaki said, a charming, alluring smile playing on her lips. "While my ability can change my personality, I generally don't. The personality you see now is the real me."

"Stop talking nonsense! Do you think I don't know you? I've seen your true colors ages ago! What game are you trying to pull now with this pretense? And why are you even in this place?!"

"Pretense... Misaka-san, your words are truly heartbreaking. We had such a wonderful relationship..." Shokuhou Misaki dabbed at her eye, looking on the verge of tears.

"Huh?" Mikoto looked utterly baffled. When did we ever have a wonderful relationship?

"Surely you haven't forgotten? That night in the room, how we cuddled for warmth, sharing our innermost thoughts... that moment was truly..."

Damn it! Lin Luo nearly sputtered out his drink. Before Shokuhou Misaki could finish, he saw goosebumps erupting across Mikoto's skin, her body trembling, tiny arcs of electricity sizzling around her bangs.

He finally understood: this Queen was purely here to provoke and disgust. While yuri relationships were wonderful, Mikoto wasn't a perverted yuri fanatic like Kuroko; she clearly couldn't stand such talk.

If some random guy said something similar to me... Ugh, disgusting. Better not make that comparison!

Lin Luo began to grasp the source of Mikoto's apprehension toward the Queen. Setting aside the physical disparity that likely caused Biri-Biri insecurity, someone who mastered psychology couldn't possibly be pure and good-natured. Given the Queen’s level of dark scheming, Mikoto's straightforward, single-track mind was likely no match for her.

However, when it came to deep manipulation, Rin and Mei-ling's levels of dark cunning could certainly rival the Queen's.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in—the Queen of Tokiwadai. What brings such an esteemed figure to a place like this?"

"Queen?"

Speak of the devil, Tōsaka Rin and Misaka Mei-ling had arrived nearby without them noticing. Faced with Rin's questioning look, Mei-ling chuckled, "Yes, this Shokuhou-san is the Queen of our Tokiwadai Middle School—a Level 5 esper with Mental Out. She specializes in mind control." Mei-ling deliberately emphasized the last phrase, and Tōsaka Rin seemed to grasp something immediately.

"Ara, that's just the kind students like you offering too much praise. Misaka-san saying that makes me terribly embarrassed," Shokuhou Misaki replied, smiling as if she hadn't caught the subtle sting in Mei-ling's words.

"I see. Indeed, you have the air of the Queen. Your skill at pretending to be innocent is truly high," Tōsaka Rin delivered a sharp, verbal blow.

Shokuhou Misaki's smile remained fixed, but she was grinding her teeth internally.

An enemy!

Without any need for verbal exchange, simply by sensing through her "Demon Horns," Tōsaka Rin immediately judged Shokuhou Misaki’s alignment with just one look. An openly hostile relationship... in every conceivable way! Yes, every way!

Shokuhou Misaki had gleaned a sliver of information about Lin Luo from the memories of the Extra Individual—it was simply the impression the Extra Individual held of Lin Luo; put plainly, it was just the notion that Lin Luo was immensely important in the Extra Individual’s mind. Beyond that, she possessed no data regarding Lin Luo’s origins or abilities.

But that didn't really matter to her.

To strike a blow against the Extra Individual and Mei-ling, she decided to steal Lin Luo away from them and make him her captive—in short, to poach him. Yes, even if this Queen couldn't beat them in a direct fight, she could certainly annoy them to death! As for what she’d do after acquiring him, she hadn't planned that far ahead; achieving the objective of crushing their spirits was the priority, everything else was secondary. But...

What is wrong with these people??

Although Shokuhou Misaki’s expression showed no distress, her inner world was churning like a tempest. Since her appearance, her psychic interference had never ceased; she had been attempting to influence the thoughts of everyone nearby, especially Lin Luo, for whom she had even deployed full-scale personality washing, intending to turn him into her devoted admirer. However... the moment her mental energy touched the boundary of their minds, it rebounded as if hitting solid iron. Was something protecting their cerebral domains from psychic corrosion?! It was utterly impossible to influence them!

And when she targeted Tōsaka Rin, she attempted mind control, but the result was even more outrageous: forget control, her mental influence couldn't even penetrate the boundary of the target's mind. This was... utterly illogical!

Who are these people?!

Shokuhou Misaki was filled with shock. Misaka Mikoto and Misaka Mei-ling were Level 5 Electromasters; it wasn't surprising they had an Electromagnetic Barrier to nullify her abilities. But why were these two, who showed no signs of possessing any AI allegiance, also immune to her influence??!!

The Queen suffered a major setback.

With her psychic powers rendered useless, facing the twin forces of Tōsaka Rin and Misaka Mei-ling’s superior dark scheming, she clearly couldn't hold her own anymore. The placid smile on her face was beginning to crack...

P: This chapter came a bit late. Well, harem battles are tricky to write. The next chapter will probably be out tonight. It’s time for the final battle to commence.