I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

After all, the end of the world is just her idea, and it's still quite different from the truth.

For them, the world will enter a new cycle in two days, and everything will start anew from seven days ago, until the two find a way to leave.

But for the native inhabitants of this world, everything will continue as usual. The sun will rise as usual three days later. Even if they keep repeating what they have experienced in the past seven days, they will not notice anything strange, nor will they feel panic or despair.

The world they see is ultimately different. Walking down the street, there's always a feeling of being out of place with the surroundings.

Kasumigaoka Utaha was even more delicate and fragile than he had imagined, but he tried his best to ignore this feeling during their casual conversation, stubbornly not showing any unusual reaction...

Perhaps that's why she forced herself to come out?

Fear of being alone, fear of being different, and even more fear of getting lost—that's why we need someone to accompany us.

"Let's go, to the next place."

After leaving the restaurant, she stretched, feeling full and satisfied. Her shoulder was less than a hand's width away from his.

Where do you want to go?

Tenkuji asked, their steps parallel, tacitly matching the same pace, as they slowly moved forward.

As if she had considered this beforehand, Kasumigaoka Utaha answered without much thought: "Let's go to the bookstore downstairs."

So the two took the elevator downstairs. The basement floor was an entire art and culture space, with shelves full of books, as well as music, film, cultural and creative products, etc. It was a popular spot for artsy young people to visit, whether it was a weekday or a holiday.

Stepping out of the elevator and onto the clean, gleaming marble tile floor, there's an immediate sense of calm as the air instantly quiets down.

The scent of books mingled with the cool air from the air conditioner, filling every corner. Pedestrians unconsciously lowered their voices when they talked. Looking around, an endless ocean of knowledge appeared in the shape of books, quietly waiting for others to explore.

I didn't particularly want to read any particular book; simply wandering among the sea of ​​books and encountering stories that caught my eye was the greatest pleasure of coming to the bookstore.

Both of them are avid readers, and they understood each other's thoughts the moment their eyes met.

"Split up?"

Tenkuji Yu suggested. He knew that most of the time before returning home in the evening would be wasted here.

Kasumigaoka Utaha, however, had a different opinion.

"After you've chosen your books, find a place to sit. Since we're all going to read our own books anyway, there's no need to separate, right?"

That statement could also be reversed, but Tenkuji Yu wasn't so oblivious to her feelings and nodded in agreement.

After they parted ways, it took him half an hour to find the book he wanted to read—a book about memory, explaining how to recall forgotten things through physical methods or hypnosis.

I'm not sure if this memory of system modification will be useful, but reading more books is always a good thing. As long as you don't blindly believe everything you read, drawing on a wide range of sources will make it easier to get closer to the truth.

Bookstores are not libraries, so they naturally don't provide tables and chairs for readers to comfortably browse their products for free, but they're not so stingy as to leave no space for people to rest and read.

Tenkuji Yu grabbed a bench and put his bag down next to it to make room for Kasumigaoka Utaha—just like going to a bookstore to read books, reserving a seat is certainly not a nice thing to do, but it's a common sight that no one would say anything to criticize him.

Normal as it may be, he'll buy any book he sees here, and if he leaves his bag there and no one comes for half an hour, he'll give up. He just has a flexible moral bottom line no matter where he goes.

Fortunately, it was only a dozen minutes before Kasumigaoka Utaha, carrying two novels, found him and walked over with a slightly incredulous and conflicted expression.

"I never expected to find Volumes 4 and 5 of 'Love Metronome' here... I've only written up to Volume 3 myself, could it be that I wrote it in another world?"

"That's probably it."

Yuu Tenkuji pressed the pages of the book, looked up and answered her: "Logically speaking, the timeline shouldn't change that much. To openly place a novel that will only appear in the future on the bookshelf without causing a commotion, the only people who can do that are either Itoko or you, the one who said you wanted to disappear completely."

“Itoko shouldn’t do something like this unless someone asked her to.” Kasumigaoka Utaha frowned slightly. “Is that another version of me? How many times is she going to come back to life? What’s the point of spoiling the ending for me in advance?”

"If you're worried, just don't look." Yuu Tenkuji turned his head away uninterestedly, his gaze sweeping over the method of awakening deep memories through hypnosis, while saying, "If she wants to give us any important information, she can just leave it on the note in Asuna Yuuki's hand. There's really no need to go through the trouble of telling you through the novel, that would be too inefficient... I guess she's just giving you a little perk so you won't get writer's block in the future."

Sitting down next to him, her skirt tucked under, Kasumigaoka Utaha said irritably, "How is this a benefit for the author? Since she's me, she should know that I don't like 'plots I didn't write' appearing in my novels. I would even make major changes to make it different from this guy's, which is even less efficient."

"Either he's provoking you, or he's deliberately doing this for some purpose." After giving her two guesses, Yu's expression gradually became serious. She decided to focus on the book in her hands for the time being. "Think about it carefully yourself. Tell me what you find out. Don't rush into action."

"Okay~"

With a perfunctory, drawn-out tone, Kasumigaoka Utaha also turned her gaze back to the familiar yet unfamiliar novel cover. Her expression slowly turned serious, and she subconsciously took a deep breath, letting her lungs feel suffocated.

She didn't know the significance of this book's existence, nor did she know what place "Love Metronome," which ended in five volumes, held in the heart of her other self in another world, which was why she had gone to such lengths to tamper with it.

The plot, development, and character changes that follow are unknown, just like Kasumigaoka Utaha's life afterward, which neither belongs to her nor is it the trajectory she is about to write—that's right, it's just a 'fan fiction'.

—Does that person have something they want to tell themselves through this fan fiction?

Her trembling fingers gradually regained their balance, her eyes sharp and clear. Kasumigaoka Utaha made up her mind and turned to the first page.

Then, they became hopelessly addicted to it.

……

About two hours later.

Tenkuji Yu had already changed several books related to memory. Because he had reduced his presence, even though he flipped through the books extremely quickly, he didn't disturb the quiet atmosphere filled with the fragrance of books. He just moved around like a ghost, picking up a bunch of books and placing them beside him, flipping through them one page every few seconds.

Even so, thanks to his perfect learning ability, he has still mastered the basics of induced memory and various hypnosis methods. Now all that's left is to put them into practice.

Whether it will work or not, we'll have to try it ourselves to find out—if it fails, we can simply follow the rules and do as instructed by the 'Voice of Heaven'.

Having confirmed that there was no more knowledge in the last book that could help him, Tenkuji slowly exhaled, slammed the book shut, and turned to look at the black-haired beauty who hadn't left her seat for the past two hours.

"It's so slow..."

Whether she deliberately slowed down or not, her reading speed was actually quite slow; it took her two hours to read a novel of over 100,000 words.

I've only just picked up the fifth and final volume, so I guess it'll take another two hours to finish it.

Although she wouldn't get home too late, it still meant that Yuu Tenkuji would have to find a few more books to pass the time.

"There's no need to look at the memories anymore... Let's find some interesting books to read slowly."

For example, becoming infatuated with my books or something.

Mikazuchika Utaha was completely immersed in the world of the book, scanning every word and sentence on the pages with an incredibly focused intensity, probably with no time to pay attention to herself.

Yuu Tenkuji quietly left his spot and went to browse through a small, deserted bookshelf nearby, hoping to make some unexpected new discoveries.

Chapter 140 And so, [Kasumigaoka Utaha] grasped his hand.

Since the other Kasumigaoka Utaha left her a surprise, could she also have one?

Tenkuji Yu was somewhat hopeful, but after searching around for a while, she couldn't find any books that caught her attention.

Helpless, he could only pick out a few novels he hadn't read before—unlike Kasumigaoka Utaha, he had spent a year in the trial space, making him a person from the future in this world, and the plot had already been spoiled.

Although the development of each worldline will not be exactly the same, he has no interest in investigating the subtle differences.

Back in his seat, Kasumigaoka Utaha was still engrossed in the novel, so he didn't disturb her and simply opened the book to read it slowly.

Learning and reading are different; one is serious business, and the other is relaxation. There's no need to strain your brain like you did just now.

I watched it like that for an hour.

Suddenly, a warm weight landed on his shoulder. He turned his head and saw Kasumigaoka Utaha, who was holding a book, leaning her head towards him, her eyes red and teary, as if she might cry at any moment.

"Is it really necessary?" Yuu Tenkuji couldn't help but ask.

You cry while reading your own book, how moving must it be?

"If you don't understand, don't talk. Just let me lean on you."

With a hoarse, low voice, Kasumigaoka Utaha slowly turned the page, as if she had once again detached herself from the real world. Her mind was captivated by the familiar yet unfamiliar characters in the book. The development of the story was like wave after wave, constantly impacting her psychological defenses, leaving only a last bit of proud stubbornness that had not been washed away.

Because it was written by "herself", the reader most easily moved is herself.

She understands the emotional entanglements between the male lead, female lead, and supporting female character better than anyone else. She knows their personalities and pasts, and she knows how much struggle and torment they go through in love triangles, love quadrangles, or even multiple love triangles, and how intense and overwhelming their emotions are when they finally get the answers.

But Kasumigaoka Utaha never imagined that "she" could write their story so brilliantly, so movingly, so full of twists and turns...

It seems like it happened before, both real and beyond reality.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a masterpiece; it's the most exciting and perfect romance novel she's ever read.

—She absolutely could not write a novel of this caliber now.

There is a clear difference in both writing style and concept. The whole story is like a complete sublimation, with calm yet passionate wording that is enough to capture the soul of most readers in the world.

Is this Kasumi Utako's future? Is this Kasumi Utako's final form?

"Is she trying to tell me that I can also write stories of this caliber?"

Her gaze drifted across the words, the world within the book playing vividly in her mind like a movie, yet a lingering sense of confusion remained in Kasumigaoka Utaha's heart.

It shouldn't be that simple, if it were me...

Suddenly, she noticed.

Starting from the fourth volume, the protagonist's mindset changes. Having lost something important, he decides to protect everything around him and never give up on anyone again.

This put the female lead in a dilemma, because the second female lead also liked him, and her advances were much more intense than hers. Even though their feelings for each other were not comparable, if things continued like this, given the male lead's personality of not wanting anyone to get hurt, it was very likely that the second female lead would successfully steal his thunder, and he would end up with a green hat on his head before he had even officially become the one in the male lead's heart.

So she decided to make a change, no longer timid or strong-willed, and used all her skills to make the male lead devoted to her alone.

Unfortunately, just when she thought she was only one step away from securing victory, the second female lead used the excuse of studying to lure the male lead away, and then used the excuse that she only had less than two months to live to successfully confess her feelings to him.

The fourth volume ends with the female protagonist confronting the second female lead aggressively after learning about the incident. Just before the two are about to fight, a cancer diagnosis notice falls out of her bag, proving that her claim of not having much time left is true.

In the opening of Volume 5, the female protagonist gives up on the male protagonist and lets him date her best friend, who is also the second female lead. She hopes that her best friend can spend the last two months in a happy life without regrets, but she is also tormented by jealousy and loneliness, becoming twisted and painful.

Little did they know, this was all part of a script orchestrated by the second female lead. Due to chemotherapy, she lost all her hair, and took the opportunity to break up with the male lead. Before the breakup, she told him to think things through, explaining that a world where everyone is happy doesn't exist, and that he must find the person he "absolutely cannot let get hurt," only then would his tenderness have meaning.

Inspired, the male protagonist turned back to the female protagonist to express his feelings, but was harshly rejected by her with the promise of "staying with her until the very end." Just as he was wandering aimlessly in the street, a car drove onto the sidewalk, perfectly capturing the mood.

Before being hit, the female lead, who had realized what she should really be doing and had come out to find the male lead, rushed over and pulled him away. The two, who had only suffered minor injuries, fell to the side of the road, anxiously caring for each other's well-being. In that instant, their hearts were connected, and they understood how important they were to each other.

The male protagonist doesn't want to hurt the people he cares about, but he knows that learning to make choices is also a form of gentleness.

The female protagonist is unwilling to give up on the important person in her life. She knows that her happiness is the most important thing. She wants to actively fight for him and also face up to her critically ill friend's feelings, and compete with her for the man fairly and squarely.

On the way to the hospital, the two agreed that they would be a couple in normal times, but would switch back to being friends when they were with the second female lead, until the moment came when they could decide everything.

The three returned to the peaceful and warm time they spent together in the past. The second female lead seemed to know nothing, and even though she had lost all her hair and was getting weaker and weaker, she still smiled and spent time with them.

In the end, the second female lead couldn't fight off the illness and left them in less than two months.

At the funeral, the second female lead's mother handed them her diary, which was filled with her feelings during her hospitalization and the choices she made to bring the male and female leads together.

Throughout her suffering, two beams of light sustained her soul, allowing her to smile as she journeyed to another world, until the very end.

Tucked inside the diary was a letter, and the sincere and tender last words made both the male and female protagonists burst into tears, but their smiles, like the smiley face she drew on the letter, were extremely unsightly.

There were a few sentences in the letter that left a deep impression on Kasumigaoka Utaha, whose vision was already blurred—