Don't use Type-Moon references in Oregairu!

"As expected, there was a reason why Hakuhime appeared."

Dragon fanatics, be normal! .jpg

177. You audacious Fujimaru, I can tell you're a time traveler at a glance.

The appearance of Hakuhime was rather abrupt, especially in Fujimaru Ritsuka's eyes. They should have been facing a large, composite monster. The hazy phantom seen through the Eye of Karma looked like the [dragon] from Tokyo Ghoul next door, or perhaps a giant serpent composed of human figures, similar to those depicted by Junji Ito.

But due to Rohan's interference on the shore, he met Hakuhime.

"So, is this your intention in introducing me to Luna?"

“That’s not all.” Rohan Kishibe laughed happily, his charm radiating from the petals fluttering in the sea of ​​flowers. “To be precise, it’s just the beginning.”

"Luna's meeting with you in the dream only made her memories easier to recall. As for anything else, I can't say." Rohan Kishibe is performing as usual today.

"...Did you see my fist, which is as big as a clay pot, huh?"

Fujimaru Ritsuka glared at Rohan Kishibe with ill intent, veins bulging on her forehead: "Do you know that? Those empty words that just go around in circles and are essentially meaningless can easily get you tied up and roasted! You wouldn't dare do that without millions of die-hard fans!"

"But I have one. I'm a seasoned cartoonist. Even if I kill off the main character I draw, my wife can still forgive me if she brings another man and our son to sweep his grave."

"You should just stop writing and open a hot spring resort, or you could become a mobile game copywriter."

"What are you talking about..." Rohan Kishibe watched him walk over with his sleeves rolled up, and quickly made a stop gesture. "To be honest, it's not that I want to be a riddle teller... but, how should I put it, I also have a lot of things to guess."

"Tell me about it!" Fujimaru Ritsuka patted Kishibe Rokuba's shoulder forcefully, like a close buddy—unless his hand hurt Kishibe Rokuba.

"It's probably... the little thing about you seeing Hakuhime before you transmigrated, right?" Rohan Kishibe looked up at the sky, looking nervous.

"What is this... Huh? Ah? Wait a minute?" Fujimaru Ritsuka had just breathed a sigh of relief when she suddenly turned around and stared intently at Kishibe Rohan.

“No… Brother, everyone has similar guesses.” Rohan Kishibe simply pulled Fujimaru Ritsuka to sit on the grass, and the two of them sat down on the ground.

"You said you look exactly like the real Chaldea's Fujimaru Ritsuka, and that you remember things that are impossible to know in this world, and that you seem to be quite familiar with all the Awakened. Plus, the way those who came in their original forms treated you, anyone could guess that."

(...I thought the truth about my time travel had been revealed. But, was it really not?)

Fujimaru Ritsuka stroked her chin and said calmly, "So you guessed it."

I can only say that it was fortunate that my body in the dream didn't have a heartbeat, otherwise my voice would have been as loud as banging a drum.

No, I saw it.

"Hey you... do you feel happy keeping things to yourself all the time?" Fujimaru Ritsuka started searching for the location of Kishibe Rohan's skull.

"No way, you can't see the secret even if you lift up your head, you can only see a blank white expanse."

"I feel like your brain is black; what kind of nonsense are you thinking about all day long?"

"In short, similar to the last time I put you into someone's dream, I can't tell you directly when, where, or what you saw. And you can try to find out from Hakuhime." Kishibe Rohan looked timid.

Fujimaru, it's not that I don't want to help you, it's just that if I speak out, I'll get noticed, and I might die before you, and I might even implicate you.

Fujimaru Ritsuka was exhausted. She waved her hand, looking utterly hopeless: "So all you wanted to do was drag me in here to talk riddles? Or I could recommend a game to you, where there are plenty of ways to spout nonsense."

After saying that, all he wanted was to wake up quickly and check whether the magicians had violated any experimental ethics.

"No! I've given you so many hints. I was the one who did what happened to Hakuhime, you got involved with Hakuhime when you transmigrated, and there's the amnesia... and the most important thing is yet to come." Kishibe Rohan pulled Fujimaru Ritsuka back, stopping his urge to wake up. "Hurry up and do the Spirit Origin experiment, don't be afraid to be bold. It will definitely help!"

"No... you're only seeing the present, not the future, so where do you get the confidence to say such things?" Fujimaru Ritsuka glanced at him sideways. "What if something goes wrong and we can't handle it?"

"I'll handle it!"

“You said it yourself.” Fujimaru Ritsuka perked up, finally seizing the opportunity to get a cheap laborer for free. “Quickly, come and take charge of Chaldea.”

"Ah... I don't think that's necessary. Sister Lisa Lisa, and who else, the King of Knights..." Rohan Kishibe showed an awkward but polite expression.

The thought of the two women he dared not offend in Chaldea gathering together sent chills down his spine.

Ahead... is hell!

"Oh, then I can't rest easy. Even if you're secretly spying on me all day long, what will happen if something happens and you're not there? Besides, you can just pack up and leave, as if you never agreed to it."

"How could I, Kishibe Rohan, be such an untrustworthy person?!" Kishibe Rohan roared in anger.

"But Merlin is... You become like those you associate with. I can't believe that someone who has experienced Merlin's happy life of slacking off would be able to resist slacking off."

"Is that what you call slacking off? Merlin is following the prophecy, providing Chaldea with electricity and resources every day!"

“But I’ll still let them touch me if I can… Anyway, if you don’t come, I won’t dare let them do it freely.” Fujimaru Ritsuka made the final decision. “Let’s be frank, if they come, let them do their best; if they don’t come, then it’s up to them.”

"Living nearby is fine... There are no houses around the mansion, but I'll find a way to have one built quickly. My only requirement is that you don't reveal my presence."

Fujimaru Ritsuka estimated for a moment and felt that this was Kishibe Rohan's last line, so she readily concluded: "Whenever you move in, we'll let go of all pretenses."

"Alright..." Rohan Kishibe finally agreed to the half of the indenture.

But then again, something feels off. Wasn't I supposed to be a sage providing guidance to the hero? How did I end up doing it myself? Do I feel like I've been tricked by the half-dream demon's jumping thoughts? Or is it just my imagination...?

Fujimaru Ritsuka sensed that the person in front of her seemed to be regaining normal rational thinking, and she secretly thought something was wrong.

He tricked Rohan from the shore over here, all for the sake of the bigger picture. How could he let my big red cleaver not work overtime?

Think quickly, Fujimaru Ritsuka, you must be able to come up with something to distract Kishibe-sensei.

Have it.

"Ahem, speaking of which, the reason I stopped Lisa and Beki Deishuu from continuing their experiments was entirely because the blood left behind by Shirahime has the ability to influence the mind and will of others. However, I feel that as a half-dream demon, you might have some way to deal with this kind of mental thing?"

"Uh? Ah, indeed, I feel like there might be a way. Although it's that [(vague) red], the quantity is small, so it should be enough to deal with it."

"Then, could you step in and help?" Although it was just a distraction, Fujimaru Ritsuka genuinely wanted Kishibe Rohan to lend a hand. Who knows, maybe it could have some amazing effect?

"Don't even think about me going straight to Ms. Lisa Lisa! Manga artists never work overtime!" Rohan Kishibe said seriously. "You know I still have a weekly serialization in JOmp. If it weren't for the fact that I have so much more time to come up with the plot in this dream world, and I can immediately simulate the storyboard and draft the content, I would have been exhausted long ago."

Oh ho, I remember in the original work, the priest activated Heaven's Speed-Up, and all the manga artists in the world couldn't submit their manuscripts except you, who was able to keep up with the serialization. Even if you're from another world, since your hand speed was captured in Araki-sensei's manga, it means you're a tentacle monster too. Perhaps you're so engrossed in collecting materials that you've completely neglected your manga drawing time.

Rohan Kishibe noticed the incredibly ambiguous look in Ritsuka Fujimaru's eyes and naturally understood that he had seen through his situation, but he still tried his best to protect his spare time: "At most! I'll find a way to naturally pass on the solution to Sister Lisa Lisa."

"Hmm? How do we pass it over?" Fujimaru Ritsuka became interested.

"Hmph, you've probably heard of it. Mendeleev, the creator of the periodic table, once saw an ouroboros in a dream, and naturally deciphered the structure of the benzene ring. I can do that too!" Rohan Kishibe said confidently.

Fujimaru Ritsuka gave him a thumbs up: "Then you should think carefully about how to do it naturally. Otherwise, if Ms. Lisa Lisa finds out, who knows what kind of trouble it will cause."

"Don't worry, who do you think I am? We cartoonists have plenty of ways to express meaning subtly."

"That's good. Go find someone to fix the house right away. By the way, can I see Luna now?" Fujimaru Ritsuka pressed her advantage.

"Right now, it's not really an option. I suggest you try again later, and I'll contact you then. But remember to use that pillow, otherwise without mistletoe, it will be difficult to get you there with enough strength."

Fujimaru Ritsuka paused, a strange expression flashing across his face as if he had thought of something, which Kishibe Rohan didn't notice, before waving goodbye: "Then I'll go back first."

Then, Fujimaru Ritsuka leaned back, and the strong urge to wake up made him open his eyes in reality.

As he pondered Rohan's last words, he narrowed his eyes.

"Not now" implies that Luna is actually in a weak position, which was suspected long ago, but is now confirmed.

Mistletoe and power suggest that the place in Shirahime is not so simple.

Is it sunk deep within the sea of ​​consciousness, making it difficult to reach? Or is that place different from ordinary dreams?

The former seems to imply that Hakuhime, Luna, and the real world have weak connections, or that they may be asleep, sealed, or have not yet manifested.

The latter implies that the place has a certain degree of realism, and may even be close to the Demon Cave.

The second conjecture made Fujimaru Ritsuka's eyelids twitch. If such a huge dream world really had a physical form, it would probably be about the same size as the Spirit Tomb Albion.

As for the time travel incident, he had given up trying to recall it.

Some of the things that Senji Muramasa and Edmond Dantès said and did in the past now seem to have some flaws in retrospect.

I always feel that the world is so chaotic now, and I have to take responsibility for it.

But thinking too much is useless. Although he doesn't have clairvoyance and isn't as shameless as those Grand Caster candidates, he has a feeling that these things will be revealed in the near future.

"I hope the blame isn't too great, and it can't be something like, 'Even if I'm 99% wrong, don't you guys have 1% to blame?' That would be too embarrassing. I'd faint."

He muttered something to himself, then got up and contacted the two magicians inside.

"What's wrong, boss? What new elementary school rules do you have to tell us now?" Lisa was getting annoyed because her train of thought was not progressing.

Women, well, they have those few days every month. Even a woman who is over a hundred years old will have this habit due to inertia.

Fujimaru Ritsuka remained unfazed by her elders' sarcastic remarks and said amiably, "Well... I've thought it through. You can consider getting involved; there are no taboos."

The two magicians initially smiled with delight, but their expressions immediately soured: "If you had told us this beforehand, we probably would have done it immediately. But we've been studying it for a while now and we've found that your idea is correct. That power that manifests as a scarlet mist and causes people to lose control of their thoughts and minds does exist, and it's very stubborn."

"You're hesitant to conduct the experiment? You should try the control group first, and do it on a small scale. The first-stage goal is still what I said: find a way to control the uncontrollable effects."

"alright."

Bang! The laboratory door was immediately slammed shut. Fujimaru Ritsuka touched the tip of her nose, feeling the wind blowing from less than 10 centimeters away, and couldn't help but sigh at the world's volatile nature.

Wouldn't it be better to have more patience?

Fujimaru Ritsuka left the laboratory dejectedly and wandered around the mansion with her hands behind her back.

Ah, having stolen half a day of leisure, I still need to find some fun first.

Or, how about we go and beat up those henchmen from the guards inside the mansion?

Having thought of it, Fujimaru Ritsuka decisively headed towards the training ground.

But before he even went inside, he knew it was hopeless this time.

The atmosphere inside was already bustling with activity.

There were also shouts and curses from time to time:

"Didn't you eat? You're so weak! You think you can fight monsters?"

"Keep it up! Your combination attacks are still so bad! If you can't hit them, you'll have to keep training until you do!"

The scorching flow of magic and the clanging, mournful sound of steel—it must be Her Majesty Artoria.

Sasagawa Yagokoro and his men, you've worked hard! Sweat more in peacetime, bleed less in wartime. Keep up the good work!

Fujimaru Ritsuka turned and left.

Are you kidding me? If Artoria catches me, I'll be the one helping her digest her food.

slip away.