Chapter 787: The Girl, Aili
Saten Ruiko, her fighting spirit ignited, showed off her skills in the kitchen. Plus, since Frenda was paying today, an exceptionally abundant amount of ingredients had been prepared, so much so that they couldn't even fit in the refrigerator.
To avoid waste, Saten Ruiko had no choice but to try her best to use up all these fresh ingredients.
Inevitably, more and more dishes were prepared, and the cuisine became increasingly complex.
As a result, the originally scheduled lunch was delayed until almost three in the afternoon—a lavish feast that almost couldn't fit on the entire dining table.
However, because the food bought at the supermarket was very plentiful, including not only ingredients for cooking but also many snacks and desserts, the two girls didn't have to go hungry.
Taking off her apron, Saten Ruiko checked the time and simply decided to change this severely delayed lunch directly into an early dinner—just enough time to enjoy it slowly, then head straight to the Fireworks Display.
As for getting hungry again at night… there was a market at the Fireworks Display, so there would be no shortage of food.
Frenda had no objection to this; for her, the most important thing right now was the table full of mackerel dishes, and as for everything else, she simply tossed it aside.
"Oh, right," Saten Ruiko said, "I made a bit too much food today, so I've already called Haruue and Shirai to come over. Frenda, you…"
"Mm, it's fine, I don't mind." Frenda waved her hand indifferently, "As long as it's not Misaka Mikoto coming over."
"Eh? Is that so…" Saten Ruiko couldn't help but smile wryly.
Fortunately, because she considered that Misaka Mikoto was likely with Senior Nameless, Saten Ruiko hadn't invited her from the start.
"Let me be clear," Frenda quickly explained, "I actually don't dislike Misaka Mikoto. It's just that Mugino…"
The blonde girl shrugged: "You understand, Ruiko?"
"This… that's how it is." Saten Ruiko gave a dry laugh.
It wasn't that she couldn't understand; after all, Atomic Destroyer Mugino Shizuri did seem very strict and fierce.
…
At the same time, Aili dragged her weary body back to the apartment building she rented.
More than four hours had passed since she left the convenience store.
Compared to when she was at the convenience store, the girl's uniform seemed to be stained with more dirt and grime, and her light flaxen hair was mixed with dead leaves and grass roots. It was no longer just a matter of "falling"; it was more like she had been rolling in the grass.
In fact, that was pretty much true—on her way home, Aili went to the grass by the river to look for her phone.
Because of some "pranks," her phone had been thrown into that area.
And because that area was "their" activity range, Aili could only look for an opportunity to search when "they" weren't around.
As a result, the phone was indeed found.
"Ah… it's like this again…" Looking at the phone in her hand, broken into two pieces with a shattered screen, Aili murmured to herself.
Fortunately, the SIM card was still there, but this time the SIM card was also cut in half, completely damaged—"they" seemed to be "improving."
"Which day is it for discarding electrical equipment?" Aili mumbled to herself, as she put these remnants into a convenience bag.
Squeezed in with today's food.
A sandwich, a carton of milk—after being exposed to the hot summer afternoon air with her for several hours, surely it hadn't gone bad, had it?
Aili was a little worried, regretting that she hadn't eaten this hard-won food sooner.
She had no money to buy new food.
Earlier at the convenience store, Aili had actually lied—her wallet wasn't lost, but the money inside had all been replaced with waste paper…
"My phone is broken too, so I can't use my electronic account. What should I do next?" Aili climbed the stairs, one step at a time.
Aili lived on the top floor of this apartment building; she was the only resident on the entire floor, and thus there was no elevator access.
"Aili, you're back!" A middle-aged woman happened to be coming down from above.
The two met face to face on the stairs.
"Manager!" Aili quickly bowed in greeting.
"What's going on," the manager frowned tightly, openly covering her nose and mouth and stepping back, "You're all dirty again?"
"Sorry…"
"As a girl, I hope you understand shame better!" the manager scolded.
"Sorry…"
"That group of your 'friends' came again today," the manager's tone grew even harsher, "How many times have I told you not to associate with those delinquents!"
"No, those aren't friends…"
But the manager wasn't willing to listen to her explanation, rudely pushing past Aili, causing the girl to stumble and almost fall.
Aili remained silent until the manager's footsteps completely disappeared, then she turned around and began climbing the stairs again.
Her steps became even heavier.
While the manager's attitude was indeed very poor, it wasn't entirely incomprehensible.
Upon reaching the floor where only she lived, a pungent smell of paint assailed her.
Paint of various colors was almost splattered all over the corridor, and the walls and apartment door were covered in graffiti, full of vulgar and obscene drawings and words.
As for the apartment Aili lived in, it was even worse. The door and surrounding walls were covered with glaring words like "ugly," "die," and "slut."
The main reason why she was the only one living on the entire floor was the scene before her eyes.
"No wonder there was no one by the river just now…" Aili murmured to herself.
It seemed her deliberate act of avoidance had angered "them," so they came looking for her at home, right?
It was only natural that Aili's address was exposed, after all… some of "them" were her classmates and "friends" at school.
"It seems I'll have to move again…"
When she reached the door, she found that the key wouldn't go in. Upon closer inspection, it turned out that glue had been poured into the keyhole.
Finally, the girl could no longer hold it in, and she squatted down by the door, hugging her knees, and began to sob softly.
After crying for a while, Aili felt thirsty and hungry. She didn't care about the surrounding paint and sat on the floor leaning against the wall—anyway, she was already dirty.
She took out her warm food from the convenience bag and ate it in small bites.
After finishing her only meal for the day, the girl cried for a while longer, then unknowingly fell asleep…
Bang! Bang! Bang…
The sound of fireworks exploding woke the sleeping girl.
Aili groggily opened her eyes, just in time to see a brilliant firework blooming in the distant sky.
"Fireworks Display… oh, right, it's by the river tonight." Aili belatedly remembered.
"Let's go watch the fireworks." Aili got up and started walking downstairs.
"It wouldn't be bad to watch the fireworks before I die…"
