Why is my journey to the world of anime a strange tale of rules?

This is really difficult, but oh well, we still have a long time to get to know each other. Hopefully, she can gradually change her prejudice against me. Also, I forgot which anime character I read this about, but it seems like dislike and affection can be reversed. It might actually make a lot of sense.

With that thought in mind, Takami stopped bothering Kita and continued walking down the street.

Kita Ikuyo covered her ears for a while before secretly turning around to look at Takami. Only after confirming that he didn't intend to continue talking did she breathe a sigh of relief.

The days ahead seem like they're going to be tough.

Kita felt like he was about to burst into tears.

Although it would be inappropriate to say such things aloud, since the other person was, after all, her savior, Kita found Takami to be the type she could not accept at all. She really wanted to escape from him, but she just couldn't.

At least he can't touch me. I'm purely a spiritual being right now; I don't have a real body at all. That's right, he can't touch me, so it's not a big problem. Although I might be forced to see some really disturbing things, at least I'm safe. Hmm... I'm safe... I'm safe, safe, safe, safe...

The girl attempted self-hypnosis.

She didn't notice that the surrounding streets were gradually becoming familiar.

Takami has already reached the neighborhood around the Livehouse "Hoshi" that was frequented by the band formed by the four girls, Goto Ichiri, Kita Ikuyo, Ichichi Nikka, and Yamada Ryo, in the original "Lonely Rock" manga.

There is only one reason why he came to this place.

"Mr. Hai, I'm here."

With a timid voice, Goto Ichiri, dressed in that old-fashioned tracksuit, cautiously stepped forward.

Even though she had spent a long time with Takami, Ichiri's personality hadn't changed. But the fact that she could greet Takami in a normal tone, and that she was the one who greeted him first, was enough to show the girl's change and how close she was to Takami.

"Yes, I'm here, Ichiri, and I've brought your good friend Kita with me."

Gao Hai looked at the girl who had previously joined her on the journey to reverse time and couldn't help but smile, greeting her as she did so.

Kita Ikuyo's expression had changed.

Earlier that morning, she hadn't actually discerned the specifics of the situation between the two, because Kogawa was present, and there were quite a few outsiders around. At that time, Takami was undergoing a mental examination, so she was some distance away from Goto Ichiri. Under those circumstances, Ichiri naturally didn't dare to show anything, so she just stood timidly to the side, and nothing seemed amiss.

But now that the two of them are together again, the atmosphere is completely different.

For Kita, who knew Ichiri well, it was almost immediately clear that Goto Ichiri was actually very relaxed in front of Takami. And Ichiri herself would never show such a relaxed state in front of someone she wasn't particularly close to.

has a problem!

There's something fishy about these two!

Could it be that this predator has already made Pochi its prey? No, no, no, given this atmosphere, could it be that he's already completely taken advantage of her?! Good heavens, with Pochi's innocent personality, what tricks did this beast use to win her over? He's clearly dated more than one girl already, what kind of scumbag is this guy? Could he really be—

Kita's opinion of Takami began to decline even further.

Gao Hai, who did not sense anything unusual, simply said to Ichiri in a very natural manner, "Thank you for your hard work before," and then reached out and stroked the girl's head.

Touch touch~ Touch touch~

"Hehehe, I'm not that great. I just did what I could do. Hehehe, hehehehehe."

Unable to resist praise, Ichiri quickly revealed a cute, innocent smile and completely let Takahae pat her head without resisting.

Upon witnessing this scene, Kita's eyes widened even more.

The man treated Pochi-chan with such skill, and Pochi-chan let him pat her head like a docile pet. Has he completely taken Pochi-chan under his control?

Did Sister Qingshan not do anything? She came in the morning too, does that mean she acquiesced, or is she actually being controlled by him?

If things have come to this point, who can escape his clutches?

Even though I don't have a body yet and don't need to worry about being touched by him, can I really stay unscathed from such a terrifying guy?

So terrifying.

Such despairing horror!

At this moment, in Kita Ikuyo's eyes, Takami's figure was so terrifying that it surpassed the number of a billion murderers; it was truly terrifying!

Interlude 3-49: Pochi-chan and Kita's reunion, and things forgotten and not forgotten.

Coffee shop, private room on the second floor.

In a café on the second floor not far from [Starry Night], Gao Hai drew back the curtains, glanced at the entrance of the concert hall in the distance, and then turned his gaze back inside to Goto Ichiri, who was sitting opposite him with a very tense expression.

It's clear that Ichiri is very excited at this moment, but also a little scared and worried.

Although Ichiri already knew that Kita Ikuyo had regained consciousness, he had never communicated with her before, so he was still a little unsure about her current condition.

However, since Mr. Hai said that Kita is alright, then Kita must be alright.

After successfully reversing time with Takami, Goto Ichiri, having grown accustomed to Takami's presence and finding her social anxiety lessened in his presence, also developed a slight sense of admiration for the man. After all, it was Takami who spearheaded this operation, and Ichiri truly didn't know what praise could adequately describe Takami's miraculous feat.

This is why Ichiri has a very strong sense of trust in Takami. Since he has already given such a confident guarantee about Kita Ikuyo's recovery, then this matter must be settled. So all I need to do is think about what I should say when I reunite with Kita.

"Well, that should be about right. Kita and I are now in a state of parallel spiritual connection. So, if you use a mental object that allows for spiritual communication, you should be able to have a direct conversation with her."

Through the coveted items generously donated by the fanatics, Takami temporarily linked his spiritual power with that of Goto Ichiri, allowing Ichiri to sense Kita's presence.

Although Kita Ikuyo now harbors a deep prejudice against Takami, she still sincerely thanked him for his earnest help in establishing a communication channel between her and Ichiri. She then focused her attention on Ichiri's spiritual energy.

I can feel that Pochi's mental strength has increased.

It seems she has grown a lot since I disappeared, instead of standing still. That's great.

Before they even started talking, Kita could sense the changes in Ichiri through Ichiri's spiritual power.

{Um, Kita-kun?}

Goto Ichiri spoke cautiously through the mental link.

{Yes, it's me, Pochi-chan. Um, sorry, I ran away again.}

Kita Ikuyo responded immediately and subconsciously glanced at Takami. Because of her previous negative impression, she was a little worried that Takami might be eavesdropping on her conversation with Ichiri.

But Gao Hai had already closed his eyes, completely shutting down his thoughts, and entered a state of sleep through sheer willpower.

real or fake?

Kita was taken aback by the other party's behavior and checked Takahashi's mental state again, only to find that he had indeed fallen asleep.

Was it because he knew that his presence would disturb their conversation, or did he simply not care what they wanted to discuss? This man seemed rather impulsive, like when he did that embarrassing thing in front of me not long ago… But, he's a gamer, so it's normal for him to be a bit of an oddball, right?

Kita Ikuyo slightly lessened her negative impression of Takami. She was still very clear that Takami was her savior and had been helping her all along, never having done anything to harm her. If it weren't for the fact that Takami had been performing 18+ acts for her during their several interactions, Kita's impression of him should actually have been quite good.

In short, at least for now, the girl is still reflecting on herself and trying to find suitable reasons for Gao Hai, Chika, and Maki's actions to adjust her mindset and not immediately think of Gao Hai and some girl whenever she sees him.

{Kita-kun, um, how are you doing? You haven't lost your memory or suffered any personality damage, have you?}

Ichiri had no idea how many thoughts Kita had been thinking in that short time, but continued to ask with great concern.

{In that respect, I don't think so. But if I really did lose my memories, I wouldn't know what memories I'd lost. As for personality damage, if that happened, I'd probably completely lose the ability to communicate normally, and I wouldn't be able to chat with Pochi-chan here anymore.}

Kita was somewhat amused and exasperated that Ichiri would ask such a question right off the bat, but at the same time, he felt a sense of familiarity. After all, this was the state that the familiar Ichiri Goto should be in.

It seems that although he has become stronger, his personality has basically not changed; he is still the same as before.

Oops, sorry, I asked the wrong question.

{Ah, don't worry about such a small thing. To be honest, after I was possessed, I was like a sleepwalker and had no idea what I was doing. But Pochi-chan, what happened to you after that? You actually managed to assemble a player team to crack the Red Moon-level dungeon; it feels like a myth!}

{Well, well, it's mainly because Mr. Hai was there. Without Mr. Hai, we definitely wouldn't have been able to succeed.}

{Mr. Hai? Uh, are you referring to Mr. Gao Hai? Why has it become such a strange title like Mr. Hai...}

{Hey, is that strange? It really is strange, isn't it?!}

{Oh no, no, no, it's not strange at all, don't worry about it, let's not talk about this anymore.}

Overall, the communication process went smoothly.

After all, Ichiri and Kita have been good friends for a long time. Even though they haven't seen each other for several months, they can quickly get back to their old ways after a few words.

However, after learning about the disbandment of the band, Kita remained silent for a long time and ultimately did not say anything such as "find a way to restore Nijika and Ryo's memories, and then form a band with them again to return to their previous lives."

I've already died once, so who can say for sure if I'll die a second time?

Rather than knowing that one day you might disappoint your friends again and face the situation of memory loss once more, it's better not to give them any hope in the first place.

On this point, both Ichiri and Kita share the same idea now.

{Quite a few things have happened... Well, at least I'm still alive, that's a good thing, isn't it?}

In the end, even Kita, who had always been very optimistic and cheerful, could only offer these words of encouragement.

After they finished chatting, Takami woke up after being nudged by Goto Ichiri.

Kita Ikuyo thanked Takami again, and Goto Ichiri even tried to kneel down in a deep bow. Takami could only respond to Kita while stopping Goto Ichiri, and then slowly left the cafe.

"So, in the end, you're not planning to go back?"

Gao Hai pointed to the entrance of [Starry Sky] not far away, where there was no one at the moment.

"Well, this kind of daily life is still a bit of a luxury for me now."

Goto Ichiri shook her head gently. This time, she spoke without hesitation, though her tone carried a hint of melancholy.

"...Okay, so, shall we go check out that town next?"

After a brief silence, Gao Hai decided not to comment on that for the time being, and instead brought up another matter.

"Ah."

The pink-haired girl nodded gently, and the two quickly left the area, heading towards the outskirts of the city.

After spending a little time, Gao Hai and Yi Li arrived at a small town that looked very old, as if they had returned to the 1970s or 1980s.

This place is located in a remote area, like a forgotten world. However, in fact, just a few months ago, this place did not exist at all. It was Gao Hai who, with the power of the obsessive objects and the memories of the various obsessive objects he liberated, managed to create such a place. This operation, which is no different from a miracle, was achieved through the unreasonable manipulation of time, space, memory, and information by the strange objects, giving those innocent people who died back then a chance to start over.

Unlike those who were swallowed up by the dungeon's arrival in reality, these people died before the [Sacrifice Game] appeared. Therefore, after Gao Hai moved them from their original timeline to the present, he had no power to pull them back into the ghost story dungeon, and they could truly live ordinary lives.

Gao Hai and Yi Li looked around the town again and again, and even came to the vicinity of the orphanage, where they happened to see little Alice fighting with Chiyo for snacks.

At the time, Gao Hai just watched the two children arguing from a distance without going up to say anything, and quickly turned around and left.

The people living here, under Gao Hai's manipulation, have forgotten the pain they once suffered, only vaguely feeling that they have escaped from some nightmare.

As their lives continue, those painful memories will inevitably fade more and more. Until one day, no one remembers those things anymore, and at that time, it will all truly be over.

However, many students still remember one particular teacher. Although they can't recall the teacher's name, they remember that the teacher was very kind to them, always trying to teach and guide them, and attempting to protect them.

The children will remember that person's existence vividly, and will tell the hazy story to their children's children. Perhaps as time goes by, the story will eventually become blurred, but Gao Hai believes that there will always be someone who remembers that teacher's existence and will never forget him.