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

Could it be that at this hour, he's still exercising with Boqi-chan? They've been exercising since last night, for a whole day and night without stopping?

Growing increasingly annoyed, Kita decided to make the call again.

Still no answer.

"call……"

A deep breath masked the girl's displeasure.

"What's going on?!"

The attempt to conceal the fire failed, and Kita's skin remained warm and red.

Interlude 4-47: Awkward People and the Last Day's Date

Gao Hai looked somewhat embarrassed.

Under Kita Ikuyo's gaze, Takami felt a rare sense of embarrassment, to the point that he was somewhat afraid to meet her eyes.

The streets were bustling with traffic and people were making a lot of noise.

Bathed in the bright sunlight after the clouds dispersed, two people on one side of the street had different expressions.

Kita's gaze was like that of a judge in a courtroom, while Takami was the criminal sitting in the dock, waiting for the trial to begin.

However, there was nothing he could do about it. After all, he had stood Kita up, making her wait for several hours before finally showing up for their date, which was undeniably his fault, and there was no way to argue against it. As for forgetting his promise to Nijika, and Alice impersonating him to call Nijika and lead Ryo and Nijika to Kita's place, that was indeed unexpected for Takami, but he didn't think there was anything wrong with it. After all, the band's problems did need to be resolved, and even if Alice hadn't acted on her own, Takami estimated he would have done the same thing.

But, as expected, it still felt really awkward.

He actually forgot about Kita because he spent so much time with Ichiri. Is it because his relationship with Kita isn't close enough that he subconsciously ignores her when it comes to dates? That's really unbecoming of him.

"I'm very sorry, but whatever you want to do today, I'll be there for you."

So Gao Hai made a promise with an extremely serious expression, and Kita sighed helplessly when he saw his reaction, but his gaze on him remained sharp.

"I'm not too angry about what happened yesterday, but if possible, I hope Mr. Gao can still try to restrain Alice."

Kita's very first words were a lie.

In fact, Kita was extremely angry that Takami stood her up last night and didn't answer her calls, so when Takami called to apologize, the girl's attitude wasn't very good. However, she had to admit that she was grateful to Alice for bringing Nijika and Ryo to the scene, because she knew very well that even if she knew she could regain her memories, given her current timid and insecure personality, she probably wouldn't be able to take the initiative to find them.

It was because of this conflicted feeling that Kita, after refusing to meet and date Takami that night, agreed to Takami's request to meet the next day.

Ah, of course, it wasn't because she was afraid of being taken advantage of by Takami on their date that night; Kita wasn't afraid of that possibility at all. She knew that her relationship with Takami wasn't very close yet, since they hadn't gone through the usual courtship procedures. She believed that Takami still had the basic gentlemanly manners to not actually lay a hand on her... right?

Okay, Kita admits she's still a little scared. After witnessing firsthand Takami's incredible feat of single-handedly taking down five players and still being full of energy, she'd categorized him as the kind of tireless, terrifying beast that usually only exists in doujinshi. Just thinking about being alone with such a beast at night fills Kita with overwhelming dread. So, for her own safety, she thinks it's better to meet Takami during the day. After all, even a beast shouldn't transform in the sun; she believes Takami generally only transforms into a werewolf at night.

But then again, wouldn't it have been better to just refuse the date from the start? After all, this guy is already entangled with several girls; I really don't need to get involved...

A sense of unease lingered in the girl's heart. There were some things that Kita herself hadn't truly thought through, and hadn't been able to find the answers to. It was just that the option of giving up the date had indeed been subconsciously ruled out by Kita from the very beginning, so much so that it wasn't until she actually met Takami this morning that she began to somewhat realize the change in her emotions.

"I will try my best to keep Alice in check, but I don't think this incident is entirely a bad thing. I heard from Ichiri that the band is going to be rebuilt after it ended, which is indeed a good thing. However, we still need to be careful in the near future, since we never know when the enemy might attack."

While he was thinking, Takami, unaware of Kita's brainstorming, calmly spoke up about the player reorganization situation in the Tokyo area over the past few days.

Following the attack two days ago, players from Europe and America underwent rigorous vetting, including internal self-censorship. Meanwhile, players already in the Tokyo area are quickly establishing basic safe zones across the city. It's safe to say that, barring unforeseen circumstances, even if a major catastrophe were to occur affecting all of Tokyo, the players are confident they can protect the city's millions of inhabitants.

Of course, unexpected events are inevitable, and Gao Hai is quite experienced in this area. He can only hope that the situation can be controlled through a rollback, at least preventing too many deaths. Gao Hai has a premonition about this; since this city has become a key point, a large-scale casualty incident could make the situation extremely dire. For this reason, today's date with Kita can be considered Gao Hai's last day off. After today, he must participate in the players' actions no matter what.

Even though he himself knew nothing about organization and management, and couldn't help with anything from mobilizing resources to arranging routes, Gao Hai still had to visit each shelter and use his mental power to conduct a comprehensive reconnaissance to ensure there were no loopholes. This was the greatest value Gao Hai could offer in the early preparation phase of this operation, even though doing so couldn't guarantee 100% success.

"An attack..."

Kita did not make any comments.

She was only thinking about Nijika and Ryo's situation. The girl hesitated about whether to send them out of Tokyo, but the thought that enemies might be watching from all sides could make them more vulnerable to attack if they really left the Tokyo area. Besides, both Nijika and Ryo had their own families and friends, and there were downsides to letting them abandon everything and run away. This left Kita somewhat conflicted, and she didn't know what to say.

"Let's not think about these problems for now."

Then, as if he had guessed what she was thinking, Gao Hai reached out and patted the girl on the shoulder, speaking to her earnestly.

"Do you know what I'm thinking? Are you reading my mind?"

Hearing this, Kita paused for a moment, and looked at Takami with a scrutinizing gaze.

"There's absolutely no need for all that trouble. Don't forget we've been in the same body for a month. I could have predicted what you were thinking long ago. Hmph, actually, Miss Kita, your emotions are quite easy to read. You don't need to use any supernatural powers at all."

Gao Hai revealed a confident smile, held up a finger to the girl and gently shook it a few times, unsurprisingly causing Kita's brows to furrow immediately.

"You pervert, you actually used that month to analyze me? I should have been more careful with you."

Some of the girls, gritting their teeth, lightly slapped Gao Hai's chest, but their impolite words, coupled with their cute voices, only served to make them look adorable to Gao Hai.

"Anyway, let's go now. We have a lot of things to do, so let's enjoy today."

Gao Hai, with a smile still on his face, calmly extended his hand to the girl in invitation.

"...You should know that I'm not in the mood for dating at all right now."

Kita, somewhat awkwardly, reached out and took Takami's hand, her movements slightly stiff as she followed him. The two walked together down the street. Although she was physically cooperating with Takami, she kept changing the subject.

“I know. I’ve also asked Yili about Qingshan’s situation. Since there’s no information obscuring her in the real world, I tend to think she might be sealed or suppressed by supernatural forces. It would be very difficult to find her under these circumstances, but she won’t die easily and should be safe for a long time. So you don’t need to worry too much. I will help you find her.”

Takami, who didn't forget about the missing person because of his dates with the girls, and who had no intention of playing the riddle game with Kita, directly told him what he knew.

"Is that really the case? What if I'm wrong? What if something really happens..."

Kita's expression darkened slightly. Although the band's reunion was exciting news, the senior who had led her forward and saved her life many times was still missing. The girl simply couldn't convince herself to relax.

{If that happens, I will commit suicide.}

So Gao Hai gave his answer again, and this time he didn't say it directly, but conveyed it to Kita's mind through his mental power.

"what?"

Kita was taken aback when he heard this.

{You know I have the ability to rewind, don't you? This ability can also be used in the real world. If something really happens to Miss Aoyama, I can use my ability to rewind and go back to before the problem occurred. So don't worry, everything will be alright. With me here, nothing will ever happen.}

Gao Hai made a very serious guarantee.

Upon hearing this, Kita was momentarily at a loss for words.

This man is really... well, should I say he's too strange or too perverted? Oh well, I won't think about those messy things today. Since I've decided to go on a date with him, I might as well have a good date.

"Where to go next?"

As the girl spoke, she looked at the two hands clasped together.

"I'll leave this to Ms. Kita. Let me see how a popular person dates."

Without a second thought, Gao Hai immediately pushed the question back.

"What do you mean by 'socially successful dating'? That kind of thing has nothing to do with me now."

Kita sighed. Takami's words about "real life" reminded her of the past, of the carefree days when she was young.

The cheerful and lively life of a social butterfly is completely different from the life I have now, a player living a precarious existence, and someone who has even died once. They are two completely different worlds.

However, if that's the case, perhaps it's not so bad to reminisce a little.

"Then Mr. Gao, you'll have to listen to me today."

Then Kita raised his head, looked at Takami with a serious expression, and said...

"That's right, today I'm Kita-san's number one contestant."

Gao Hai's tone was equally serious, although the content of his answer didn't seem serious at all.

It was a rather inexplicable answer in every sense, but it's not unusual for this guy, since he's usually like that.

After a month of living together, Takami can now easily guess Kita's thoughts. Similarly, Kita is very comfortable with Takami's words and actions, and doesn't find anything wrong with him even if he says strange things; in fact, he thinks that's how Takami should behave.

Anyway, this is how this pervert is supposed to be. No, I should say that he's already in a state of self-sealing, and it's far from the time when he'll truly show his fangs.

Hmph, that kind of thing doesn't matter now. Since we're going to treat today as the last day of our vacation, let's just make the most of this time.

"Let's go, time to set off!"

The voice of Takami that came out of Kita's mouth instantly regained its former vitality, which was completely different from the girl's voice that was always full of frustration.

At this moment, she tightened her grip on Gao Hai's hand slightly.

The two of them started running down the street, and led by Kita, who seemed to have been injected with adrenaline, they headed towards their goals one by one.

They started by enjoying various pastries together at a dessert shop and taking photos together. Then, Kita took them on a high-speed mountain climb in the suburbs, followed by a group photo at the summit. Afterward, they took photos at several renovated parks nearby, snapping different pictures at various spots that Kita herself enthusiastically selected, either group photos or individual videos. The girl then added various captions to the edges of the photos, giving Takami a strange sense of déjà vu, reminding him of the travelers he had seen in his past life who went everywhere to take photos.

This stemmed from the dating method of the last of the seven girls with whom Takahashi became acquainted, which made Takahashi unconsciously sigh.

Of course, he could tell that although Kita herself was mostly imitating her carefree state from the past, her mood was indeed gradually becoming more relaxed during this somewhat casual date.

Interlude 4-48: The Girl's Doubts and the Unresolved Knot in Her Heart

On the evening of the twelfth day after returning to the real world from the "Infant Crying Village," Takami, who had been on a date with Kita Ikuyo all day, stopped and looked at the red-haired girl next to him who was leisurely taking a selfie.

All day long, Takami was basically dragged around by Kita, doing a lot of things that only a typical Japanese high school student would do. Of course, neither Takami nor Kita are like ordinary high school students in terms of mindset. Takami could tell that Kita was just reminiscing about his student days in this way, so he deliberately went along with it.

To be honest, although the two of them were practically inseparable for the past month, Kita, who always complained about her outrageous behavior, seemed quite lively. However, now that they've separated, Kita's mental state has clearly deteriorated. She only recovered somewhat after reuniting with Nijika and Ryo last night, which is why she had the energy to play role-playing games today, but even so, she hasn't fully recovered.

The energetic and lively girl who used to shout "Kita~" in the original manga seems to have lost all her innocence and charm after becoming a Red Moon-level player. No, it's more accurate to say that becoming a player made it impossible for her to retain her original self. Even a withdrawn girl like Ichiri, after becoming a player, could kill enemies without hesitation and face all kinds of bloody and brutal scenes without emotion.

Ultimately, it's perfectly normal for players to be distorted by the dark and cruel dungeons and become different from what they used to be.

Even someone as mentally resilient as Gao Hai, whose personality wouldn't be distorted no matter how much hardship he endured, has developed a personality that differs somewhat from his past self. This is inevitable; after all, aren't lives shaped by memories?

The truth is always simple and easy to understand.

But Gao Hai didn't want to admit this truth. Although he knew about this unpleasant situation, he simply refused to acknowledge it. In his view, admitting it was tantamount to admitting defeat, to choosing to submit to the existence of the [Sacrifice Game].

So, since today's date has gone relatively smoothly so far, let's get straight to the point. Of course, Gao Hai doesn't mean the dating process should be completed in one go. After confirming Kita's psychological issues, his goal is to resolve the girl's problems immediately.

"Where should we go next?"

While he was thinking, Takami, without changing his expression, had already asked Kita a question.

"Well, since we just had dinner, how about we go for a walk along the river? Just consider it a stroll."

Kita, seemingly somewhat immersed in reminiscing about the past, paused briefly to think after hearing Takami's words before giving this rather casual reply.