One-way traffic

Even though this was incredibly boring for him, the system's prompts were always on Itsuka Shido, and he had no choice but to follow that and continue forward.

Accelerator simply turned around.

"I think I've already given you enough face."

"You two have helped us so much so far, we are truly grateful... If you need to collect or investigate any other intelligence in the future, we will be happy to assist you."

"We'll talk about it when the time comes if there really is one."

We probably won't see that elf appear anytime soon.

Accelerator thought so for the time being, and after he left, Hatsune Miku and Itsuka Shido followed him out.

The three of them returned to the ground together, and it was now around noon, almost afternoon.

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

The sky outside was still filled with raindrops.

Even after a whole morning, it was still raining outside, and judging from the intensity and size of the clouds, it wouldn't stop anytime soon.

Ordinary citizens might blame this on inaccurate weather forecasts.

But Accelerator and the others knew very well what the specific reason for all of this was.

"It's so cold..."

Walking down the street, Itsuka Shido couldn't help but hug himself.

Although this doesn't really do anything, it's still much better than just being in contact with the cold air.

Moreover, the reason he felt cold was not just due to these external factors.

"Um, Tohka..."

Holding his umbrella, he called out to the figure ahead for what seemed like the umpteenth time.

The girl, wearing the uniform of Lai Chan High School and with long, straight black hair, ignored him.

No.

It should be said that she subconsciously wanted to pay attention to it, but after thinking about it for a moment, she then showed an unhappy expression.

"Humph!"

After making a clearly unpleasant sound, Yatogami Tohka left with a sullen expression.

Her actions had been going on for nearly ten minutes.

"She's still angry after all..."

Itsuka Shido, who had sighed for what seemed like the umpteenth time, was unable to do anything else.

Even if he wanted to coax Tohka Yatogami, she wouldn't give him that chance at all.

It's simply the ultimate, most invincible disaster in history.

"It's really raining heavily, and it doesn't seem like it'll stop anytime soon."

"Even the raindrops have a tangible energy fluctuation. Tsk, it really was that brat's doing, wasn't it?"

"That child actually has a very gentle personality. Hmm... if you meet her again next time, you should treat her to a nice hot meal!"

"You've thought of that quite thoroughly. You've already decided to categorize her as having a docile personality so quickly?"

"Isn't it obvious at a glance?"

Such repeated conversations could be heard from ahead.

Itsuka Shido endured the pain with great difficulty, twisting his hand holding the umbrella tightly, and even the expression on his face began to distort.

All of this could only be maintained for a mere second.

"Enough already!! How long are you two going to keep showing off like this?!"

Itsuka Shido looked ahead, staring at the two people with a frantic gaze.

Both he and Tohka Yatogami were holding umbrellas.

However, Accelerator and Hatsune Miku are not the same.

At this moment, the two were holding each other's hands; in fact, Hatsune Miku was holding Accelerator's left arm, which was tucked into his coat pocket.

Already in a very low mood, Itsuka Shido felt like his lungs were about to explode from the further provocation from these two ungrateful individuals.

What's even more infuriating is this.

"Why don't you get wet in the rain even though you didn't bring umbrellas?!"

Despite not having umbrellas, the two people didn't end up getting completely soaked in the heavy rain.

Seemingly realizing that not continuing to answer would only cause trouble, Accelerator had no choice but to respond without turning his head.

"My ability allows me to manipulate all energy directions, so deflecting all the raindrops shouldn't be difficult, right?"

"Then what's with holding hands together?!"

"The ability requires contact to activate, but even if it were, it wouldn't have anything to do with you, would it?"

Damn it... Itsuka Shido gritted his teeth fiercely.

The other party's actions were clearly something that should have made people so sour, but at this moment they were putting on a righteous and awe-inspiring act, as if they knew nothing!

What Itsuka Shido might not know is that Accelerator actually thinks the same way.

If Hatsune Miku gets wet in the rain, she will probably catch a cold, which would be even more troublesome. So, she has no choice but to hold onto her own arm to reflect the rain around her and avoid getting sick.

That was the only thought in his mind, and there really wasn't anything else.

So in a sense, Itsuka Shido really misunderstood him. Besides, thinking about the strongest person in Academy City with the sour smell of romance is a joke in itself.

But Hatsune Miku is not like that.

The girl, who was tightly gripping Accelerator's arm, had an adorable expression on her face that could be described as extremely happy.

"Hehehe~!"

"This, this guy...!"

Although he was furious, there was nothing he could do about it; these two guys were likely monsters who could destroy the entire city with a wave of their hand.

Upon realizing this, Itsuka Shido couldn't help but shrug his shoulders and could only dejectedly chase after them.

Regardless, let's figure out a way to win Tohka back first!

"Keep trying, get Tohka-chan back as soon as possible!"

"While I appreciate your support, it's really best if you don't talk about things like this right now!!"

Watching Itsuka Shido leave, Hatsune Miku couldn't help but show a mischievous expression.

Accelerator simply clicked his tongue with a casual expression.

"What's wrong?"

"Those guys are just playing tricks for little brats."

"Isn't this great? Although the two of them had some minor disagreements, it's clear from Tohka's behavior that she still cares about Shido-kun. They'll make up no matter what!"

"Is that so... Let them do what they want."

However, while Yatogami Tohka was emotionally unstable, Accelerator also noticed that the spiritual energy fluctuations around her had become much stronger.

If he hadn't secretly used his abilities to suppress that spiritual energy fluctuation, it probably would still have caused some minor trouble.

"So, what are your plans for the next step?"

"What else can we do? Until the elf arrives, we can only remain in standby mode."

"That's not what you meant, is it?"

Accelerator sensed that the girl seemed to be leaning her entire body against his arm.

A strange, tactile sensation was transmitted to me.

"On a rainy day, when it's just the two of us alone... don't you think we should do something?"

A seductive tone.

The girl smiled gently beside him, and the atmosphere gradually blended with the surrounding rain scene.

Accelerator also fully grasped this point.

"I understand..."

"Oh, well, so today... um... today, does that mean...?"

"On rainy days, I guess I'll still have to do this kind of thing."

Click.

Accelerator pulled the tab on the can and took a big gulp of the bitter liquid.

…what?

Hatsune Miku stood there, stunned.

The two of them had just come out of a nearby convenience store.

"What, what are you doing...?"

"Rainy days can make people feel sleepy, and in this case, a cup of coffee is the best way to stay awake."

"Is this what you were trying to say? Haha, I didn't expect you to be so knowledgeable."

"..."

Big, that's about it...

Hatsune Miku smiled awkwardly, but inwardly sighed with utter helplessness.

But it was at this very moment.

Accelerator, who had just taken a sip of coffee, immediately fixed his gaze on what was ahead.

Hatsune Miku was puzzled again.

"What's wrong... Ah!"

She only noticed this after looking in the direction he was looking.

A figure darted into the nearby streets and alleys.

It was a petite figure dressed in green that they recognized.

"One side, that is—!"

"Ah... I definitely feel a connection with it."

You can tell just by feeling it.

The familiar energy direction flowing through the shadow that had just passed by.

"I didn't expect the target to disappear so quickly, and then reappear just as quickly..."

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

Yoshino couldn't resist hiding in a nearby alleyway.

After seeing a familiar figure, she began to hesitate about whether to leave.

what to do…?

What would happen if we met those two people directly?

Will she accept herself? Or will she, like those who attacked her before, show resistance to herself?

The girl named Yoshino pondered this difficult decision.

then.

When she turned around and looked outside again, she found nothing there.

"Why...why...? It should be here..."

"They're looking for us."

"—?!"