One-way traffic

And then, at that very moment.

The crisp sound caused the glass on one side to shatter instantly.

Bang.

That was the sound of gunfire.

As the sound rang out, Hatsune Miku saw a black gun barrel pointed directly at Budweiser's back, the muzzle flash foreshadowing Budweiser's impending doom.

The girl couldn't help but widen her eyes.

However, some people had already taken action before that.

Bang-!

Accelerator raised one hand and placed it behind Buddy.

The pistol's ammunition deflected off the target and shot out in the original direction.

"Guh-wooaaaah!!"

"What the hell are you up to, you brat?"

The ammunition was deflected at the last second.

As Accelerator waved his hand, a gust of wind swept through the air, and the gunman fell to the ground.

The entire sequence of actions took no more than five seconds.

All of this has been witnessed by the people on the street.

"A gun...it's a gun?"

"That person fired a shot?!"

"Are they terrorists? No, no—!!"

"Run away!!"

The stunned tourists were instantly thrown into a chaotic scene of fleeing.

No one dared to care about such a situation. No one knew when the next shooting would start. Even though the black man with the gun had been shot down by Accelerator, people still scattered instantly.

Budwei blinked indifferently, as if she wasn't the one who was supposed to be shot at all.

"One side!"

"I understand, this fool has walked right into a trap."

pat.

The first one ruthlessly stomped his foot on the black man's chest.

Despite his frail body, he pressed the man down as if he weighed a ton. The black man's expression was ferocious, and he couldn't help but glare at Accelerator.

wrong.

Is this man actually crying?

"Give up. Even if we investigate this guy thoroughly, we won't get any good results."

The speaker was Budwei.

She pulled something out of her arms; it seemed to be a card.

A card showing a man hanging upside down from a tree branch.

"This is…?"

"The Hanged Man, a card that matches Crowley himself... When used, it can have an effect similar to a bulletproof vest, and it's also a good way to protect yourself in Tarot."

Budweiser took out the card and immediately explained it to Hatsune Miku, who was looking puzzled.

That's why she didn't care about the shooting that had just happened.

Even without one of them intervening, the black man's gunshot wouldn't have harmed her in the slightest; the Major Arcana card, The Hanged Man, would have completely blocked the gun's attack.

But that's not what Accelerator cares about.

"What did you mean when you said this guy is useless and there's no point in investigating him?"

"It means exactly what it says. He's not someone who's been manipulated by a magician."

Previously, Accelerator learned from Cinderella's mind that there was a magician on the island who could manipulate ordinary people.

If this black man had come to attack them, he must have been one of the magician's men, yet Budwei was saying this now.

All of this left Hatsune Miku somewhat bewildered.

"So... you mean he was originally one of that mage's subordinates?"

"That's not what I meant."

Conversely, Accelerator squinted his eyes.

He walked right off the black man.

"This guy is neither one of the Gremlin, nor a puppet of that bastard magician."

"The reason he attacked us is probably... due to some factors beyond his control."

That's why the Black man was crying.

Yes, this is something that both Accelerator, who is mingling in the darkness, and Buddy, who has seen a lot, could guess to some extent.

"I say you."

Budwei walked up to the man and looked at him calmly.

"Your family members were taken hostage by that magician to blackmail you, weren't they?"

"——!!!"

In just a split second, the Black man’s hand flew toward the handgun on the floor.

Before that, Accelerator stomped down hard with his right foot.

"Guwaa ...

"I advise you to stop. Whether you attack us directly or try to ambush us, everyone here is not as simple as you think. You should have heard what I just said, right?"

Both Accelerator and Badway are powerful figures in the fields of science and magic who possess supernatural abilities.

Even Hatsune Miku, standing on the other side, possesses the same level of strength.

A small pistol is simply not enough to deal with a monster of this level.

"...Then tell me, what should I do?"

spoke.

It wasn't spoken in Japanese, but purely in English.

"Then tell me what I should do?! My daughter... she's been taken hostage by those guys, and she's been turned into a speechless, lifeless puppet!"

“If I don’t do it, my daughter will die… I don’t care whether I live or die, but how can I watch my child die like this, without knowing why? Can you imagine your own daughter holding a gun in front of you, pulling the trigger on her own head?!”

"I have to do this. I don't care if I live or die, or what the consequences are. As a parent, I absolutely cannot let my child die like that, without knowing why!!"

The Black man's roar, emanating from the depths of his heart, seemed to truly resonate with the people before him.

It has nothing to do with one's own stance or the law.

For parents, their children are more important than anything else.

however.

"So, you chose this hopeless method to solve it?"

Accelerator spoke to the man in English.

"Stop talking nonsense! You're such a stupid bastard, you're even dumber than a bald monk."

"Varied…?"

"There are many paths a person can choose, but you chose the most foolish one. Humph, don't give me that nonsense about the hearts of parents everywhere. Since you really are a parent, you should figure out what kind of bullshit you're doing right now."

Bang! !

No mercy at all.

The first person kicked the black man directly in the face, knocking him unconscious.

Standing to the side, Budwei couldn't help but blow a breath.

"I thought you would just knock me out without saying a word, but you actually said a few words instead?"

"Stop with the unnecessary gossip."

Accelerator had no interest in figuring out why the black men had attacked them.

For him, no matter what the enemy's reasons were, he would show no mercy the moment they attacked those around him.

and so.

"Since we can't get any useful information out of this guy, let's just leave."

"Where are you going?"

"Of course, it's the place behind the scenes that's manipulating that bastard."

"So you're already planning to take action...?"

"of course."

Click.

Accelerator, without turning his head, stomped on the man's pistol that had fallen to the ground, saying this.

"These bastards who recklessly exploit people's hearts should be dealt with as soon as possible."

As Bud watched his retreating figure, she couldn't help but gently touch her lips with her hand.

"He really is a contradictory person."

"Um…?"

"What? Didn't you notice?"

Budwei said this softly to Hatsune Miku beside him.

"Although that guy verbally denigrated the man's reasons as worthless, he actually wanted to get rid of the magician who was using that man as soon as possible."

"He may be harsher than anyone else with his words, but in reality, he wants to stop all of this as soon as possible."

That's true.

Looking back, hasn't everything been like this until now?

He had met countless people who clearly had no connection with Accelerator whatsoever. He had said that he was only responsible for protecting those around him, and that he didn't need to care about those who were unrelated to him.

Despite having already said those words, the strongest player in the top rank still chose to make a move.

"...That's right."

Hatsune Miku couldn't help but chuckle as they both looked at each other's backs.

"He really is the most dishonest of them all."

--------------------------------

"hehe."

Smiling was a girl with short blonde hair.

She wore a green top and a matching green skirt, and her short, golden hair was styled with a green headband.

She looks only fifteen years old.

even so.

"Okay, kids."

She gently took a few steps back.

Standing in front of the girl were about a dozen children.

There were both boys and girls, and they were mostly around ten years old.