"So, you're here to kill me?"
Nunotaba Shinobu stared at Arata with her lifeless, dead fish eyes.
She clenched her hands slightly, then slowly relaxed them. She had many contingency methods to escape ordinary threats, but those were meant for dealing with regular criminals. Facing a Level 5 esper, someone even the Board of Directors treated cautiously, she had no real options.
The fact that he knew she was a researcher for the Level 6 Shift Project and even knew her address meant he was deeply familiar with the project and its personnel list.
"Do you think there is any reason for you people who trampled morality for the sake of research to continue living?" Arata said lightly, amusement flickering in his eyes.
Nunotaba Shinobu sighed softly. "Although I do not agree with the researchers who justify everything by saying scientific progress requires sacrifice, I cannot deny that the world itself is ugly. Perhaps those Misaka Sisters are more human than we are."
She said this partly to navigate the situation, and partly to let the Level 5 standing before her understand that she was not the same as the others.
Even if that realization had been forced upon her by what the higher ups considered laboratory specimens.
"So you are begging for your life," Arata said, stroking his chin as he looked at her with faint amusement.
When faced with overwhelming power, strategy becomes meaningless. When confronted with death, the instinct to survive magnifies endlessly.
"Yes. And I believe that someone willing to risk opposing Academy City itself to protect Misaka Mikoto would not casually kill a researcher who poses no threat," Nunotaba Shinobu replied, her dead fish eyes fixed on him.
If an ordinary person were stared at like that for too long, they would probably feel a chill crawl up their spine.
"Heh. What a dull conversation. If I truly intended to kill you, I would not waste this much time talking," Arata said with a faint smile. He patted the sofa beside him. "Sit. Let us talk properly."
He had only wanted to frighten her at first. She was indeed different from the other researchers. She still had a conscience. Asking him to kill a young researcher like her would not sit well with him unless he had truly lost his sense of restraint. At most, he would intimidate her.
"Phew." Nunotaba Shinobu let out a breath she did not realize she had been holding. If he had truly intended to eliminate her, he would not have engaged in conversation.
From what she knew, among the seven original Level 5s, only Misaka Mikoto had a relatively normal personality. The others were all abnormal in one way or another.
She wondered what kind of personality the Eighth possessed. If he resembled Sogiita Gunha, the hot blooded and overly straightforward seventh ranked Level 5, then perhaps he was not too dangerous.
Based on available data, this Eighth seemed comparatively stable.
She walked over and sat beside Arata.
"So, what does the Eighth want with a low profile researcher like me?" she asked calmly.
Arata glanced at Nunotaba Shinobu. Aside from her modest chest, her proportions were excellent.
"About the Misaka Sisters."
Nunotaba Shinobu did not hesitate. "If you are asking me to help you remove them from the research facility, I cannot do that."
"It is not beyond your ability. I need you to help me construct an emotional system for the Misaka Sisters," Arata said with a small smile.
"An emotional system?" she repeated in surprise. Her expression quickly turned serious. If it involved research, she could contribute.
After a moment of thought, she said, "I have studied neural cognition and emotional mapping, but with current Academy City technology, constructing a complete emotional framework for them would be extremely difficult."
"I am not asking a single researcher to create emotions from nothing. I want you to collect and analyze human emotional data, then implement that data into their brains," Arata said, tapping his temple lightly.
Nunotaba Shinobu fell silent, her dead fish eyes flickering slightly.
"I do not believe pre written data can generate genuine emotions. At most, it would simulate emotional responses. In the end, it would only be programmed behavior."
"They will express emotions through those models. And I believe that expression will eventually become real," Arata replied confidently.
She studied him carefully, trying to understand the source of his certainty.
"If that is your request, I can do it. But gathering comprehensive emotional data will require time."
Arata nodded.
"So, uninvited Eighth Level 5, when do you intend to leave my room?" she asked calmly. Her eyes briefly shifted toward the underwear he had thrown onto her bed.
"You are already trying to drive out your guest? That is not very hospitable," Arata replied with a shrug.
"I have never met a guest who threatened the host upon arrival." At this point, Nunotaba Shinobu no longer appeared afraid.
His background file indicated that before being revealed as a Level 5, he had been an ordinary high school student with no criminal record. Perhaps he simply lacked the disposition to kill casually.
If this were Academy City's underground operatives, they would not hesitate even if they eliminated the wrong target.
"Hm. I have changed my mind," Arata said suddenly, standing up and looking at her with a half smile.
Nunotaba Shinobu was still a high school student, yet already a capable researcher with remarkable talent. Allowing her to remain trapped in the research institute would be a waste.
Academy City was filled with countless organizations and underground groups.
Kakine Teitoku controlled the underground group SCHOOL. Mugino Shizuri led ITEM. Even other Level 5s had their own affiliated groups. There were also independent Level 5 armed teams operating in the shadows.
Why should he not establish something of his own?
He did not want a Dark Side organization built on bloodshed. He wanted a small collective of talented individuals. Researchers. Doctors. Espers.
"A group?" Nunotaba Shinobu's expression shifted slightly, tension returning to her posture. "What kind of group? An underground organization?"
"No. A group that gathers talented individuals from various fields," Arata replied.
"Purpose?"
"To make certain matters more convenient for me. And to make my life easier," Arata said calmly, a faint smile lingering on his face.
"So... an exchange club." Nunotaba Shinobu responded dryly. "May I refuse?"
"Can you?" Arata asked with the same gentle smile.
"..."
At that moment, Nunotaba Shinobu felt as if she had just stepped onto a pirate ship that had already set sail.
...
Read advance 60 chapters on p@treon
[email protected]/guilt_free_daoist
Join disc0rd link in synopsis.
GIVE ME YOU POWER STONES.