One-way traffic

Instead, standing beside her was Murasame Reine, who had just put on her glasses.

"According to intelligence, Hermit did not take any extreme measures after each appearance. He did not attack, resist, or even defend himself. He simply evaded the enemy's pursuit."

"No matter how much damage AST inflicts on her, she will only choose to run away."

"So that's why they're called Hermits? It seems that even though they're elves, they're quite gentle."

Only Accelerator could say these things so casually.

Hatsune Miku and Itsuka Shido both wore expressions of utter disbelief.

"If that's the case, then there was no need for the child to be attacked at all...?"

"Oh? What do you mean?"

"Because! She didn't do anything! She didn't hurt anyone or do anything else, and even the spacequake was only on such a tiny scale..."

"So you think that AST will let her live just like that?"

Hatsune Miku's words got stuck in her throat.

Faced with her like this, Kotori Itsuka simply responded with a light laugh.

"That's impossible, Hatsune Miku."

"AST's mission is to kill the elves, and they will not stop until the elves are no longer moving and no longer have any life."

"Whether the other party is a girl or a child, an elf is an elf, and it has nothing to do with appearance or species."

"All they care about is the sense of mission to completely eliminate any threat to humanity, nothing more."

This is AST.

An organization that fights to protect people's safety, showing no mercy to any enemy spirit, regardless of its appearance.

In that case, those innocent citizens were indeed protected.

but.

What should be done about that petite girl?

"Don't they...don't they know how to show mercy? She's just a little girl...!!"

"Foolish brother, you're so naive... Listen to me, if this continues, AST will definitely escalate their actions. They will never let that elf go."

How could such a thing happen?

She was just a little girl who didn't want to do anything and had no intention of destroying this world.

Why would I be treated like this?

"Miss Kotori."

then.

The girl took a deep breath and looked at the other person with a determined gaze.

"Afterwards, please send me to the battlefield over there as well."

"Huh…?"

"I have to stop them, I absolutely have to stop them! I can't just stand by and watch a child like this get bullied like that... I will never sit idly by!"

Suddenly it dawned on him that the girl in front of him was definitely not someone to be trifled with.

Recalling the intense battle between Hatsune Miku and the Nightmare she had seen in the video that day, Kotori Itsuka was deeply moved.

"That's possible, but Miss Hatsune, could you also do some preparatory work for Shido, attracting those AST members to other places, or better yet, trapping them?"

"I will do it, so please make sure the child is safe no matter what!"

The two of them thus definitively confirmed what they needed to do.

Accelerator, standing to the side, remained silent.

——————————————————————————————————————————

A moment later, Hatsune Miku left Fraxinus, and Itsuka Shido went to the preparation room.

There are basically no more important people left in the command center.

No.

Accelerator and Kotori Itsuka are also not here.

"...So, what do you want to do with me?"

This is a place that's like a private room.

The soundproofing is excellent; if you talk or discuss something here, people outside will absolutely not be able to hear you.

Kotori Itsuka looked at Accelerator in front of her with a strange expression.

The white figure standing in front of him had suddenly summoned him here after Hatsune Miku left.

This incredibly bizarre scene immediately gave the girl a similarly strange thought.

"You wouldn't be planning to do something to a weak and helpless girl like me, would you...?"

The other party did not respond at all.

Accelerator leaned back against the white wall with a clean, decisive motion, wrapping his arms around it.

"You should already know about the damage to DEM's first office building, right?"

"...Could it be that you did it?"

Although she had some idea that the situation was related to Accelerator, Kotori Itsuka was still somewhat surprised when she actually heard it.

"This is certainly interesting. So... what does this have to do with you calling me here—"

"I spent the whole morning sifting through the data of those bastards at DEM, and I finally found some interesting information."

As he spoke, he took his phone out of his pocket.

Then, he slowly began to read it aloud.

"—Is it possible that elves are actually transformed from pure humans?"

Just one sentence.

With just this one sentence, Kotori Itsuka's face was completely stunned.

Accelerator, however, had anticipated this.

"So it really has a lot to do with you."

Chapter 365 Memories Sealed Away Five Years Ago

Elves are actually beings that were transformed from humans.

If AST were to hear of this statement, they would surely respond with ridicule.

The spirits that pose a threat to this world could not possibly have been transformed from humans, and it's a pipe dream to expect them to accept this idea.

But in reality, it doesn't seem to be that simple.

At the very least, the content of this document comes from DEM's internal data archive, which alone is enough to demonstrate the authenticity of this information.

However, the word "possibility" was only mentioned at the end of the document.

This means that even DEM, a company that has actually conducted experiments on the bodies of spirits, still cannot accurately determine the true answer to this question.

but.

Just as she uttered these words, a tremendous change appeared on Kotori Itsuka's face.

There must be something in there that only she knows.

"If it were you, I think you would know at least some of the details."

"How...how could that be! I know absolutely nothing about this—"

"Just like what you hinted at to me that day, I guess your true identity is actually that of an elf, right?"

The other party's words at that moment completely negated my rebuttal.

Accelerator couldn't help but curl his lip.

"There's no need to hide this from me. Do you think I'd be so bored as to spend my time analyzing other people's backgrounds?"

"The reason I asked you this is simply to confirm whether the conjectures recorded by DEM are correct."

After hearing Accelerator's words, Kotori Itsuka's expression finally relaxed slightly.

Then she began to think about the answer to the question as much as possible.

"...How could I possibly be an elf in real life?"

Sitting on a chair to the side, she couldn't help but recall that past memory.

"However, that was just my original identity. Now, I am indeed a genuine elf."

But Kotori Itsuka shook her head again.

"That was five years ago, but... I don't even know exactly what happened back then."

"Not quite sure...?"

"It's as if I've lost my memory. I have absolutely no recollection of the details of what happened on that day five years ago."

"The only thing I remember is the endless fire that erupted that day, a fire powerful enough to engulf the entire street..."

Looking at Kotori Itsuka, her eyes didn't seem to be lying at all. Could it be that she really had completely lost the memory of a specific day five years ago?

No.

Things can't possibly be that coincidental.

"...We have to give it a try, at least."

"Try—give it a try? What, what are you saying?"

A bad feeling crept into her heart.

Suddenly, Kotori Itsuka's gaze towards Accelerator became somewhat panicked, and she couldn't help but take a step back.

"Could it be that they're planning to dissect me right here and then conduct an intensive analysis of my brain in an attempt to read my memories?!"

"...Who would use such an old-fashioned and despicable method to do this?"

Accelerator went straight to Kotori Itsuka.

Faced with the girl's extremely wary expression, he simply placed his arm on her head.

For an instant.

A scene that even he himself found somewhat strange suddenly appeared before his eyes.

By manipulating the bioelectricity of the human brain, it is possible to directly reverse the flow into the brain and perform subtle operations such as memory modification and retrieval.

However, the area in Kotori Itsuka's brain that controls memory is quite strange.

The overall structure is not significantly different from that of a normal human body.

Only one area is different.

There, when bioelectric currents are used to conduct investigations, the results are simply blank.

It is impossible to have a separate area in the human brain that is completely untouched by any memories, within the region that governs memory.

There must be some other reason at play.

"Hey! How long are you going to keep touching me like that?!"

Already somewhat disgruntled, Kotori Itsuka quickly knocked his arm away.

Accelerator's expression as he looked at her also changed.

"I said."

"What...? Is there anything else?"

"If I could see the memories you couldn't know five years ago right now, would you agree to me directly interfering in your mental realm?"

Knowing memories from five years ago...?

Kotori Itsuka's eyes widened in astonishment.