One-way traffic

Therefore, the first thing to do is to find out what's unusual about this world.

Only by personally getting involved in all of this can one truly find the clues provided by the system.

"If you think so hard right after arriving in this new world, you'll age very quickly."

When I came to my senses, a delicious aroma wafted from the table in front of me, making my nose tingle.

Before anyone knew it, Hatsune Miku had changed into an apron and had already placed several tempting dishes on the table in front of her.

Moreover, they are mostly meat dishes that locals usually eat.

"Take good care of your health too. It's already this late. Let's eat first, then we can think about other things."

The girl took off her apron and sat down opposite him with a gentle expression.

A playful and cute smile immediately appeared on her face.

"Today I made your favorite spicy fried chicken, so you'd be missing out if you didn't eat it while it's hot!"

Accelerator blinked in surprise.

However, he soon couldn't help but sigh.

"...Idiot."

"Hey—?! Why are you suddenly saying that to me?!"

"You were just attacked out of nowhere, and you're still so calm about it. That's just how you are."

"Of course... No matter what, we have to make the most of what's to come, so of course we have to start with a delicious dinner."

Hatsune Miku shook her head vigorously, as if trying to shake off all the unpleasantness from before, and immediately picked up a piece of fried chicken with her chopsticks.

"Come on, it's been so long it's almost cold, eat it while it's hot!"

"...I'm telling you, I'm not a brat, why do I need you to feed me—"

"Alright~!"

"Ugh—you, you bastard…!!"

"It's okay, it's delicious, so there's no need to say anything fussy."

Seeing the smiling girl in front of him suddenly stuffing fried chicken into his mouth with chopsticks, Accelerator wanted to fly into a rage on the spot, but he couldn't get angry at all in this situation.

'What on earth is that stupid woman thinking... Oh well.'

He resignedly ate the food that pleased his taste buds, and could only click his tongue in displeasure.

Seeing this, Hatsune Miku laughed like a little devil who had succeeded in her scheme.

"I'm back, brother~!!"

"Kotori, but today... aren't you coming back a little too late?"

"Huh? Really? Ah... it really is, it's already past eight o'clock!"

"It's dangerous for a girl to be alone, so what did you do today?"

"Kotori went to play with her friends! Didn't Kotori call her brother earlier? Honestly, my brother's memory is so bad!"

"That's true, but it's still a bit late... Anyway, let's be more careful."

"School starts tomorrow, brother, you should be careful too!"

"Pfft—!! Don't suddenly say such creepy things!"

What's going on...?

Hearing the series of sounds coming from the house next door, Accelerator, who was chewing on fried chicken, immediately curled his lip.

They must be a brother and sister who live nearby, but these guys are really loud; they can make so much noise even through a house.

"Be a little more careful."

After saying that, Accelerator stopped paying attention to those trivial matters.

————————————————————————————————————

It was already 10 p.m.

Although Hatsune Miku usually goes to bed even later, today, because of what happened with Tokisaki Kurumi, she still felt a little unwell.

Fortunately, Accelerator managed to manipulate the direction of time and adjust his body; otherwise, he doesn't know what he would have become.

"Ugh... Let's leave it at that for today..."

Accelerator is probably still in the next room thinking about what happened today.

The thought of their current lifestyle made Hatsune Miku think of the relationships between characters in romance novels and TV dramas.

They acted just like a married couple.

"Ugh—!! What kind of stupid things am I thinking?!"

Lying alone on the bed, the girl couldn't help but grab a pillow and roll around in her sleep whenever she thought about such things.

However, the light from the electric light was rather dazzling.

If you're going to sleep, it's probably better to turn off the lights.

"…Huh?"

Then she thought of something.

She should have turned off the lights after entering the room.

Even with curtains in place, the moonlight wouldn't be that bright.

Hatsune Miku quickly put down the body pillow and slowly turned her head.

—A beam of light and shadow stood in his room.

A figure, whose exact form was indistinct and resembled a blurry mosaic, stood there.

“I’m telling you.”

Even their voices don't reveal their actual gender.

It was barely recognizable as a living being, and it stood there, looking at Hatsune Miku, and said...

"Do you want to gain the power to change the status quo?"

Chapter 332 The Revelation Under the Shadows

Let’s make an analogy.

Just like listening to a bad radio, the things in front of you become completely indistinguishable under that kind of sound.

It's like completely garbled data.

However, it was quite obvious that a human figure appeared in a mosaic form right in front of us.

“…Huh?”

Hatsune Miku could not suppress her astonishment.

As she got out of bed, she discovered that her room had undergone a significant change.

The ceiling and floor turned pure white; no, even the view outside the window changed, and everything in the world turned into pure white.

Only he himself, and the blurry figure in front of him, were beings of other colors.

"Did you...do you make this...?"

Coming to her senses, she quickly looked at the figure in front of her.

Although the current situation shocked the girl immensely, she was more focused on what exactly was in front of her.

Is it human?

Or is it some kind of completely different existence?

Who I am doesn't matter.

"Varied--?"

“That’s right, you don’t need to think about those irrelevant thoughts. My identity, my existence, these are all things that don’t matter to you.”

My thoughts were read? No… Could it be some kind of psychological observation ability?

All of this immediately made Hatsune Miku even more nervous.

However, the blurry figure didn't care about any of this.

It moved slowly toward the girl, as if walking.

Should we rebel against this situation?

"I have no hostility towards you."

As before.

The blurry figure once again answered Hatsune Miku's question, and at the same time, it seemed to slightly raise one arm.

It was barely possible to make out the shape of an arm, and then—above that was...

A pure white, bright ball of light that makes one feel as if it were taken out of a fairy tale book.

No.

It was a pure white crystal.

"My purpose in coming here is very simple."

"It's not for anyone's life, nor is it to hurt you."

"I just want to know the answer to this question."

It continues to say all of this exactly as it was.

"—Do you want to gain the power to change the current situation?"

Change...the current situation?

“I saw it all, everything that happened during the day.”

"you…"

"It must have been tough, fighting against an opponent like that, an enemy capable of manipulating time, but such beings are not unique in this world."

Like the serpent in the Garden of Eden that tempted humanity's ancestors to eat the forbidden fruit, the phantom-like being spoke softly.

Its sound is incredibly alluring.

"That's right. Although you and that person defeated each other after that, the situation was still very difficult when you were alone, wasn't it? Are you sure you're okay?"

"You'll always need help from others. Even if you have power, it's not truly overwhelming. If you want to survive in this world, you'll inevitably have to fight similar or even stronger enemies in the future. Are you really prepared for that?"

The girl fell silent.

Although I have acquired all sorts of powerful abilities, can they really be considered incomparably powerful?

What happened today is an example.

Kurumi Tokisaki possesses unpredictable and bizarre abilities, and he is far too indecisive. If it were a contest of strength, he would even possess a powerful ability that rivals the second-ranked person in Academy City. Even so, he was still dragged into a desperate situation by Kurumi Tokisaki.

In the end, all they could do was rely on Accelerator's help to escape.

She will always just be a pretty face.

"Changing all this is actually very simple; all you need is absolute power."

"That's right...no mistake. As long as you have absolute power, as long as you have the power to be stronger than anyone else, enough to overwhelm everything in the world, you will never hold the person next to you back again, right?"

In a daze, I could almost see the girl nodding listlessly.

"Absolute... power... can I... really do it...?"

Then, the phantom laughed.

"Good boy."

"Then let's touch this gem."

"Once you come into contact with it, you will gain ultimate strength that surpasses anyone else's and that you will never hold anyone back."

That's it.