One-way traffic

"After all, it was on that kind of battlefield."

As she spoke, Murasame Reine's hands began to move.

That means turning on all the machines in front of you.

"If I were to face an opponent of the level of an elf, I would absolutely not be able to do it with my current level. If I fail, I will die, so I must increase my survival rate as much as possible."

This is really interesting. Accelerator's anticipation gradually grew.

Is it possible to train a high school student who can barely run a few steps into someone strong enough to fight against those spirits on the battlefield in such a short time?

What kind of special training is needed to achieve this?

Is it to give him the same means as those ASTs who use display devices? Or will other means be used?

In any case, if an organization called Ratatoskr values ​​Itsuka Shido so much, it must mean that there is something about this seemingly unremarkable, ordinary high school student that is worth their attention.

Just like the spiky-haired youth he faced back then.

"Come on, little Shi."

With an extremely serious expression, Murasame Reine spoke to Itsuka Shido.

"Let's get ready to begin the special training."

Itsuka Shido swallowed hard, and then—

A series of images instantly appeared on the computer screen.

That was a scene that Accelerator could never have imagined.

This is special training.

This is the ruthless and cruel trial prepared for those who can survive in blood and war.

"——MyLittle Shidou!!"

Countless pictures of beautiful girls popped up on the computer screen, accompanied by a cute title sound, and came into his view.

"……what?"

"Then let's begin. We'll continue the trials today."

"...Although I've done this kind of thing many times before, using it as a trial is still too much..."

"If you want to train yourself to fight against Pokémon in a short time, you must pass the first stage of our special training. This is the most basic of the basics."

Shido Itsuka and Reine Murasame were already sitting in front of their computers, continuing their so-called special training.

—In other words, this is a visual novel that looks like it's designed for otaku.

then.

Once Accelerator finally realized this, what he did was quite simple.

Without hesitation, he opened the door and walked straight out.

"...Your special training is utter bullshit."

Bang.

The sound of the door being slammed made Itsuka Shido wonder.

"Um... what's wrong with him...?"

"Hmm... I should be able to guess something."

Murasame Reine blinked and said calmly.

"It's probably because the special training was too cold-blooded and cruel, which scared him."

Chapter 346 Girl in the Rain

The location is at an extremely high altitude above the clouds.

It was around six o'clock when the sun had already set, and the last rays of dusk had completely transformed into the darkness of the night sky.

Looking directly down from here, the neon-lit cityscape below is fully visible.

Compared to the environment above, the dazzling lights and bustling nightlife below seem rather lackluster.

"That's basically all we know about AST and DEM."

Kotori Itsuka takes the lollipop, called the Jewel, out of her mouth.

The staff behind them were busy working overtime, and the holographic image displayed in front of them showed information related to the content they had just discussed.

All about AST and DEM.

"Those guys used a manifestation device called CR-UNIT to fight the spirits, trying to kill them, while your goal is the exact opposite, right?"

“That’s right, that’s why we’ve made Shido the core of the plan.”

Accelerator and Hatsune Miku stood in front of Kotori Itsuka, listening to her continue telling her story.

"But there are still some things I don't understand."

"Oh? Any other questions?"

"It's about that kid."

Accelerator immediately stepped into its own problems.

"No matter how you look at it, that guy looks like an ordinary high school student. If he were to go to the battlefield based solely on his appearance, he probably wouldn't even leave behind a corpse. You can't just find a pretty face who can't do anything to do things, can you?"

"Yes, you're absolutely right. That's exactly why we chose Shido as the core of our plan."

Kotori Itsuka drew a circle in the air with the lollipop in her hand, and then put it back into her mouth.

"There is a special power hidden within Shido that even he himself is unaware of."

"Special power refers to...?"

"It's more accurate to call it a kind of ability rather than power. That ability is the ultimate weapon when used to deal with elves."

Kotori Itsuka blurted out the answer to the question.

"Sealing the spirit's spiritual power."

"By kissing, Shido can seal the spirit's power into his own body. The spirit that is kissed will lose most of its controllable power and will even become like an ordinary person."

"Is that why we're sending that boy on a date with the elf?"

Hatsune Miku listened with great interest, but Accelerator clicked his tongue in boredom.

"That's quite a twisted sense of humor."

"Don't say that. For us Ratatoskr, Shido is a rare talent."

Kotori Itsuka's face was filled with a peaceful smile.

"We, the Ratatoskr, advocate resolving conflicts with the Spirits through peaceful means, and Shido's abilities perfectly align with our beliefs, making him a perfect fit as the ultimate means of dealing with the Spirits."

"Ultimately, how did you figure out whether that power actually exists?"

This time, it was Accelerator's turn to be puzzled.

“Since you chose to include him at the core of the plan, it proves that this ability is definitely not illusory. But judging from that guy’s reaction, he seems to rarely even have contact with women. It’s impossible for someone like him to react normally after kissing someone, let alone sealing his power within his body, right?”

"...Actually, there are other reasons for this."

"Ha, what kind of explanation is that?"

"Well... how should I put it..."

However, Accelerator began to discover something.

As she spoke of this, a fleeting, unnatural blush crossed Kotori Itsuka's face.

Noticing this, he suddenly guessed at a certain possibility.

"You...you don't mean to say...?"

"...Your mind works really fast."

The two looked at each other, and they both understood each other perfectly.

Immediately.

Accelerator's face immediately showed an expression of disbelief.

"Hey, hey, so what exactly is this all about? Are your identities legitimate? What are you up to?!"

"Stop nagging! You don't need to worry about this. I... I have my own ideas!"

"Huh? Huh...?"

Hatsune Miku, standing to the side, looked completely bewildered.

However, they had no intention of explaining to her, and the conversation ended with a blushing Kotori Itsuka and a strange-looking Accelerator.

"Ahem... Anyway! Let's talk about the more important topics first."

"...It feels like I've missed something more important."

"There's nothing to worry about! Let's move on to the next topic!"

Kotori Itsuka waved and shouted, and the information on the screen changed instantly.

The image of AST and others has changed to that of another girl.

A girl with heterochromatic eyes dressed in red and black gothic clothing.

"It's that girl...!"

Hatsune Miku reacted the moment she saw it.

"So, you guys actually fought this Nightmare back then, didn't you?"

"You guys know about this guy's situation too?"

No... I don't know.

It wasn't Kotori Itsuka who answered Accelerator.

Murasame Reine, who had suddenly appeared nearby, walked in with some documents in her hand.

"Although we have records of Nightmare's appearance and other information about the present world, we have absolutely no information about her personal identity, human name, or abilities."

"Abilities... Come to think of it, she seemed to have displayed some kind of unique ability to create clones back then?"

“If that were all, we wouldn’t be paying so much attention to her.”

Kotori Itsuka's expression clearly changed after the topic of Kurumi Tokisaki was brought up.

It became more serious.

"Nightmare was once known to have caused the deaths of nearly 10,000 people."

"Varied…?"

"...Slaughtering ten thousand people?"

The two reacted differently.

Hatsune Miku was immediately startled, while Accelerator frowned thoughtfully.

Perhaps it was because of the number of 10,000 deaths that he was reminded of some of his own past sins.

"This is arguably the first time the Nightmare has appeared in Tengu City."

"You mean, they're coming for us...?"

"It's unclear, and we don't know what Nightmare's goal is."

However, in any case, Kurumi Tokisaki did state at the time that her goal was Hatsune Miku.

"Although you had basically killed her completely at the time... I'm still worried. Who knows, she might come back again in the future."

"If that guy is still alive, you're not planning to let Itsuka Shido take over that woman too, are you?"

Accelerator's words caused Kotori Itsuka to fall into deep thought as well.

"If I could, I'd like that, but... is there really a way to win over that Nightmare and then kiss her?"

Even Kotori Itsuka herself had doubts about this.

After realizing this, Accelerator also considered other things.