In Academy City, the Paradise Project begins.

Page 97

Misaki Shokuhou finally came to her senses, her voice rising several octaves, filled with disbelief, shame, and anger. She wiped her face, but the chocolate sauce only spread further, making her look even more comical.

"You...you rude scoundrel!!"

Shokuhou decided to use her ability to teach her a lesson, such as making her write tally marks all over her thighs with an oil-based pen, then take a selfie with a peace sign and circulate it online. Such punishment would be quite good!

The Queen's majesty is not to be challenged; she wants to show these people who the future leading lady is!

"No, it wasn't me! It was Ruiko!"

Frenda pointed in horror at Saten Ruiko, who was retracting her throwing stance with a wicked grin.

"She hit me!"

She didn't want to be targeted by the legendary mind control; those who manipulate people's hearts are, in some ways, even more terrifying than Mugino!

And judging from her eyes, she was serious! Frenda didn't want to become a cream puff!

"It was Saten's attack that caused the accident just now."

Ruiko grinned and raised her hands: "Oh dear, sorry, sorry, Shokuhou-kun! I was just trying to play a joke on Frenda, but who knew she was so fragile, she couldn't even hold a chocolate bar properly!"

She apologized insincerely, glancing at Mikoto with a smug look that seemed to say, "Look, I've stood up for you again."

Mikoto looked at Shokuhou's disheveled appearance with chocolate all over her face. Although she tried her best to hold back, the corners of her mouth still twitched uncontrollably as she tried to suppress her laughter, her shoulders shaking.

She really wanted to say something sarcastic, but remembering that Higashino seemed to dislike them arguing, she held back.

Kuroko, however, didn't have so many concerns. She pointed at Shokuhou and laughed without any attempt to hide it: "Hahahaha! Shokuhou-kun! Your blonde hair is covered in chocolate, it looks like it's turned black! That's really... pfft... so embarrassing!"

"you…!"

Shokuhou trembled with rage, a shadow falling over her delicate features. She had never suffered such humiliation before, especially not in front of Higashino!

She really wanted to use her ability to deal with them without restraint, but she knew that Higashino would definitely not allow it, so she had to put that thought aside and wait for another opportunity to get revenge.

"Hmph, since it's so lively, how about something more interesting?"

Mugino Shizuri stopped laughing, a warlike glint appearing in her eyes. She glanced at Mikoto, Ruiko, Kuroko, and Hatsuharu, finally settling on the disheveled Shokuhou.

"You guys all seem to have a lot of energy. How about a water polo fight? The loser has to accept the winner's punishment!"

She emphasized the word "punishment" and looked at Mikoto and Shokuhou with a provocative gaze.

Before coming here, she never expected that the small Higashino family would gather four Level 5s, occupying half of Academy City's top combat power.

This completely ignited her competitive spirit; she was interested in both Misaka Mikoto, who was ranked higher than her, and Shokuhou Misaki, who was ranked lower.

However, today's occasion is not suitable for a real fight using abilities, so defeating them through a game is not a bad idea.

"Water balloon fight?"

Mikoto's competitive spirit was instantly ignited, and she stood up straight to meet Mugino's gaze.

"That suits me perfectly! Bring it on! I have Ruiko, Uiharu, Kuroko, Index..."

Her gaze swept over Mikoto's face, which was covered in chocolate. She hesitated for a moment, but then, thinking of how "intimate" Mikoto and Higashino had been at the kitchen door earlier, and considering her relationship with Higashino, Mikoto gritted her teeth.

"And there's Misaki! We'll form a group of six!"

As for Misaka 9999 and Last Order, they were not even on her radar. Both of them needed to be adjusted to better health, and it was not appropriate for them to participate in the competition.

Misaki was frantically wiping the dirt off her face with a tissue when she heard Mikoto's words. She paused for a moment, then seemed to understand something, and her starry eyes flashed.

Although she was in a sorry state, this was indeed a good opportunity to fight back, and... she glanced at Higashino, who had just come out of the kitchen.

She tossed away the tissue, her chin held high with confidence despite the lingering marks on her face: "Hmph, although teaming up with Misaka isn't exactly pleasant, I reluctantly agreed in order to punish some arrogant fools."

"Hey! Wait! I haven't agreed yet!" Index protested, clutching her swimming ring.

She wants to eat chocolate bars, but how can she manage to have a swimming ring for a competition?

"Ok, deal!"

Mikoto and Misaki rarely reached an agreement and spoke in unison.

"Ha! Interesting!"

Mugino Shizuri grinned, his fighting spirit blazing.

"Frenda! Takitsubo! Kinuhata! Kihara! And that one over there in the black swimsuit, is she called Himegami? There are six of us here!"

After being called out, Takitsubo Riko raised her head from the water, her face showing a hint of fatigue. She had just gone through an exhausting battle and didn't really want to continue. However, seeing Higashino's interested look, she nodded helplessly.

Kinuhata Saiai nodded nonchalantly: "Super~ easy, watch me easily defeat them!"

Kihara Tsurugi crossed her arms and snorted coldly, "Hmph, boring, but since there's a punishment... I'll play along to the end."

She was also looking forward to punishing Higashino's girlfriends, and had already figured out how to punish them severely and make them lose face.

Himegami Akisa simply nodded quietly, as if she had just been assigned a task. In any case, she was just a casual observer and didn't care which side she was on.

Frenda jumped up excitedly: "Oh my god! Water balloon fight! Punishment! Mugino! We'll make them pay! Especially that princess and queen of Tokiwadai! I'm going to spank them hard!"

This is the only chance for Lady Frenda to defeat two superpowered individuals. She can take a picture of herself punishing them and brag about it for the rest of her life.

"Higashino!"

Mugino and Mikoto both looked at Higashino Yu, who was standing by the pool, watching the chaos with great interest.

"You be the referee!"

Higashino smiled knowingly and nodded. "Okay."

He felt that although Mikoto and the others had two Level 5s, they were more likely to lose. After all, even if Mugino and the others didn't use their abilities, their physical strength as ANBU members would definitely be stronger than theirs.

Furthermore, Shokuhou's stamina is quite short-lived, so she will definitely not be of much use later on. Index is just there to make up the numbers; with her swim ring, she is merely a high-class spectator, watching the battle from a special spot.

However, he was quite interested in the matter of punishing the beautiful girl.

"The rules are simple: each team guards one side of the pool and can only use these water balloons to attack the opponent's upper body. Hitting the torso scores one point, hitting the head deducts one point. Superpowers are prohibited; it's purely a contest of strength and skill. The first team to reach ten points, or the team with the highest score after ten minutes, wins. The entire losing team must unconditionally accept one punishment demanded by the winning team."

He meant truly unconditional execution when he said "unconditional." The ripples of perception have turned punishment into an absolute perception—the kind of perception where no matter how you punish someone, even if they have to do a striptease in public, no one will object; everyone will think it's the right thing to do.

The girls had no idea that the sixth brother had secretly used his powers; they were only thinking about how to punish him severely later.

But even if they knew, they probably wouldn't care, since they wouldn't come up with any punishments that are too shameful, right?

"no problem!"

Mikoto's team was full of fighting spirit. She had long been annoyed by Mugino Shizuri's arrogant attitude. She was determined to give her a good slap in the face.

"Hmph, wait and see what punishment awaits you, third one!"

The Mugino team was in high spirits.

Shokuhou smoothed her sideburns, a hint of barely perceptible worry in her voice: "Seriously, while the punishment sounds interesting, Higashino-kun, as the referee, please be fair. After all..."

She pointed meaningfully to herself and Index.

“Our team has a ‘disadvantaged’ group in terms of physical strength and people who might not be of much use.”

Takitsubo Riko also coughed lightly at the right time, and sank a little underwater, only revealing her shoulders and head, looking like she was "so weak".

Her physical strength was indeed lacking; she usually looked sickly, and the "battle" with Higashino had taken a toll on her. If Higashino hadn't strengthened her at that time, she wouldn't have been able to last an hour.

Although Higashino helped her recover her strength after she came out, it wasn't enough to just restore her strength.

Looking at the two clearly divided camps and the audience that was already walking towards him, Higashino smiled with satisfaction. The air was filled with the girls' competitive hormones and the fighting spirit that was about to ignite.

Winning or losing doesn't matter to him; watching the girls get hit by water balloons and gasp for breath is already a perfect treat.

Mingya floated silently to his side, a glass of chilled juice appearing in her hand, and carefully placed the straw to his lips.

Higashino took a natural sip, the cool, sweet liquid sliding down his throat, his gaze sweeping over the twelve swimsuit-clad beauties poised to swim in the pool.

"Alright, the match—ready to begin!"

Higashino Yu's voice signaled the official start of this pool battle.

Chapter 126 Water Balloon, Girl, and Paradise

At both ends of the pool, Misaka Mikoto, Saten Ruiko, Shirai Kuroko, Uiharu Kazari, Shokuhou Misaki, Index, Mugino Shizuri, Frenda Seville, Takitsubo Riko, Kinuhata Saiai, Kihara Awaki, and Himegami Akisa stood ready.

However, both Himegami and Index were slacking off in their respective corners, intending to quietly slip through the battle.

Water splashes and fighting spirit soars. A water balloon battle, a silent yet fierce contest concerning the "right to punish," is about to unfold on this azure water.

The sole referee, Higashino Yu, leisurely prepared to enjoy the "beautiful scene" he had personally orchestrated, with Miya serving him.

Meanwhile, Misaka 9999, Last Order, and Toshinobu Fubuki sat not far away, acting as cheerleaders.

With Higashino's shout of "Start!", the pool battle officially began.

"Kuroko! Left side! Ruiko! Cover me!"

Mikoto reacted the fastest, diving into the water and grabbing two water balloons, which she threw towards Mugino Shizuri! The water balloons flew through the air at great speed.

"Understood, my dear sister!"

Kuroko flashed by, nimbly dodging the water ball that Frenda was throwing at him, and at the same time grabbed the "ammunition" floating beside him and began to counterattack.

"Early spring! Here we go!"

With a shout, Ruiko tossed several water balloons to the somewhat clumsy Hatsuharu Kazari, while she herself swiftly darted to the flank like a fish, preparing for a sneak attack.

"Tsk, a mere trick!"

Mugino Shizuri easily dodged Mikoto's "Double Star Alignment" by sidestepping, and then countered with an even faster and more powerful backhand, sending a water ball straight at Mikoto's face!

"Frenda! Suppress that Railgun! Kinuhata! Go and entangle the twin tails!"

"Roger that! Mugino!"

Frenda yelled and grabbed a ball in each hand, launching a barrage of attacks at Mikoto. Though her aim was mediocre, her frequency was extremely high, splashing water everywhere, attempting to disrupt Mikoto's vision and movements.

"So troublesome..."

Kinuhata loves to complain, but her body moves with extraordinary agility as she approaches Kuroko. Even without her special abilities, her sense of balance and close-quarters combat skills in the water far surpass those of ordinary people.

After retreating to a safe area near the edge of his own pool, Takitsubo looked tired and moved slowly, only occasionally tossing a ball towards areas with many people, as if he were just paddling.

Watching the intense battle, she muttered to herself, "I'm so sleepy, I really want to find a place to sleep..."

Compared to others, she felt weak all over and just wanted to crawl into bed and get a good night's sleep.

Misaki Shokuhou cleverly chose the edge of the deep end, leaning against the pool wall, watching the battle with elegance, holding a water balloon in her hand but showing no intention of throwing it.

She surveyed the entire arena with a smile on her lips: "Oh dear, what a barbaric sport... But the rules only prohibit 'using abilities,' not 'using intelligence,' you know."

With weak physical strength and athletic ability, she would only be cannon fodder if she rushed into the main battlefield. Therefore, she left the main battlefield as soon as the battle started and quietly observed the situation from the corner, looking for the best time to "assist".

"Bang!" "Smack!" "Ouch!"

The sounds of water balloons bursting, splashing water, and the girls' screams and shouts rose and fell.

Be careful in early spring!

Seeing that Haruhi had been hit in the chest by Frenda's water balloon, and that her pink swimsuit was askew, Ruiko quickly swam over to cover for her.

"Woo..."

Her cheeks were slightly flushed in early spring—her position was so eye-catching that even the referee on the side couldn't take his eyes off her.

In her quest for victory, she mustered the courage to retrieve the ball and launch a counterattack.

"Electrifying girl! Take this!"

Frenda shouted arrogantly and threw another ball at Mikoto, but Mikoto dodged it to the side, and the water ball splashed onto Kuroko's face as she tried to get closer.

"Franda!"

Hei Zi wiped his face and glared at Frenda.

"Haha, well, you're just unlucky! Sorry!"

Frenda laughed insincerely.

Seeing Kuroko distracted, Kinuhata quickly swarmed in. When not using her powers, Kuroko's skills and strength were inferior to Kinuhata's. Kinuhata used a close-range grab to lock Kuroko's arm, easily pushing her into the water, and casually gave her a light tap on the head.

"Woo-coo-coo..."

Hei Zi choked on water and looked utterly disheveled.

"Let go of Hei Zi!"