One-way traffic

When they found him, he was already severely injured, but even under those circumstances, he was able to ignore the effects of the monster spores in the forest and even unleash superhuman strength.

Alice still remembers what happened that day.

The enormous, sky-reaching wings that were revealed behind the other party.

He possessed such immense power that even a mage like himself felt threatened by him.

Who is he?

"So that's how it is. I arrived here severely injured?"

"This is what happened before we arrived at my manor... Then, just as I was about to have the dolls treat your wounds, I discovered that neither needles nor anything else could get close to you."

After Accelerator completely collapsed, Alice, noticing his severe injuries, finally decided to take him back to her mansion for treatment.

But while they were treating his wounds, something incredibly strange happened.

That is, the knives held by the puppets could not penetrate his body at all.

To be precise, the blades and needles are deflected the moment before they pierce the skin, as if some invisible shield protects the body from all sides.

“I thought you would die from blood loss. Surprisingly, even if I left it alone, your wounds stopped bleeding on their own. It’s hard to believe, but I still tied the wounds with ribbons to prevent them from bleeding again.”

Although the other person looked very surprised when they spoke, her tone remained unchanged.

"So... having gone this far, you must have some right to know the cause, right, Mr. White-Eyed?"

"I've already said thank you, haven't I? And what's with that form of address? It's just too inappropriate."

"Oh dear? Shouldn't we say it like that? Then... how about we change it to 'Miss'?"

"...You really want me to do it, don't you?"

Accelerator quickly dismissed the idea of ​​rushing up and beating the other party up, and could only sigh.

"It's nothing serious, just a little fight with one guy over here."

"Was that a monster? A vampire? A kappa? Could it be that I went to a rare place and encountered those troublesome demons...?"

"Give up. You could rack your brains and still not figure out who that guy is, so I'm too lazy to explain."

The first person waved his hand, then looked at the other person.

"I'm more curious about what someone like you is planning to do in this forest?"

"As you can see, it's about this level of thing."

As soon as she finished speaking, Alice raised her hands.

The puppets that had been prepared all along placed various props in her hands, and Alice grabbed them and skillfully began to perform various actions.

The part of the doll's torso, whose face had just been adjusted, was thus created.

"In this forest, this is probably the only thing I need to do."

"Puppeteer? After all, didn't you say you were a magician before?"

"There's no treaty that says the two can't be together, is there?"

Alice continued speaking in a calm tone.

"Furthermore, the means of manipulating puppets are part of magic, and similarly, I'm not just a puppet manipulator."

"That's really remarkable. This is what it means to be more capable than others."

An eerie and unpredictable atmosphere gradually spread between the two.

The conversation between the two sides was less of a dialogue and more of a sarcastic exchange.

But for people with their personality, this kind of conversation is already considered to be at the level of a 'warm greeting'.

"By the way... how long have I actually been in this place?"

"What? I think I mentioned that in my previous post, didn't I?"

"what?"

Accelerator was slightly surprised, seemingly not expecting the other party to answer like that.

But he did recall the previously mentioned content, relying on his memory.

He appeared to have slept for about a whole day in the other person's mansion.

In other words, it was this girl who was both a magician and a puppeteer who took care of him throughout this period?

Accelerator couldn't help but show a slightly surprised expression.

"I just want to get rid of all this trouble for you and get you out of here as soon as possible. I hope you don't misunderstand."

"I've already expressed my gratitude before, so don't expect me to repeat it again."

After clicking his tongue several times, the first person stood up from his seat again.

During this time, a wave of pain returned from my right arm.

'...I really need to be more careful.'

Frowning, Accelerator propped himself up with the silver cane placed next to the chair and tried to adjust his center of gravity to a single point.

"Huh…?"

"You wouldn't be surprised by something this trivial, would you?"

"That cane, was it really just for supporting the body...?"

Alice blinked for real this time, seemingly surprised that Accelerator would actually use a cane to support his body.

However, she would probably be even more shocked if she knew that the first person in the past had actually fallen to the point where he could not live a normal life without crutches.

"It's enough to be used as a weapon, but it's not as powerful as when I use it myself. It's completely useless."

"That's certainly true."

Recalling that terrifying scene again, Alice couldn't help but feel a slight pang of emotion.

His appearance and personality seem quite strange, and even his gender is hard to discern... though his voice is quite masculine.

Thinking about it, I've probably rarely seen a man in Gensokyo, right? I never expected to see such a peculiar person here.

That's absolutely bizarre.

After regaining his senses, Accelerator stood up using his cane.

"I have no intention of continuing to bother you here."

"Actually, that's fine too. If you just want to stay overnight, I'd be happy to let you, especially since your injuries don't seem to have fully healed."

"I know my own situation better than anyone else, you don't need to worry about me."

After glancing back briefly at the other person, Accelerator decided to officially leave.

In any case, this isn't exactly the world the system officially took him to.

Although there were no mission-related factors, he still needed to find a way to leave this place as soon as possible.

Moreover, in a certain sense.

Although the other person has a similar personality to me, upon careful consideration, it is indeed better to keep her away from people like me.

The first one in white walked out of the room without looking back.

The first thing to consider is intelligence gathering.

Although I can fly at speeds exceeding the speed of sound, I would still prefer to act as safely as possible for the time being.

then.

I had just stepped out of the room when I heard a commotion coming from a distant area.

"That's a village celebration."

After standing still, Alice's voice came from beside me once again.

The blonde doll maker girl then left her mansion.

"Renjianzhi Village is a village that is relatively close to my residence, and they are holding a grand celebration there today."

"Does that mean I can gather enough intelligence about this place by going to them?"

I don't think so.

Although Accelerator had a rather optimistic idea, Alice directly interrupted his train of thought.

"The villagers of the Human Village basically never go out to very far places. The farthest they go is the Hakurei Shrine in the distant area. Apart from that, they don't really have a very long range of activities."

"Tsk, so this is what makes primitive society so troublesome, you bastard."

From this perspective, we need to find another way to investigate this place called Gensokyo.

At that very moment, Accelerator couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement once again.

"I will also be making an appearance at today's celebration."

"…so?"

"Although it's just a piece of advice, I think if you really intend to find out some information, it would be better to attend that celebration."

Alice turned her head and looked at her with a somewhat enigmatic gaze.

“There is a high probability that one person will also participate in the ceremony. That person is the current shrine maiden of Hakurei Shrine. If it is her, you should be able to get some relevant information by asking her.”

"And that priestess happens to be someone I knew in the past, well, let's just call her a friend."

"So, you're planning to help me?"

Probably so.

The moment the thought crossed Alice's mind, she subconsciously dismissed it.

"I simply mentioned that I was going to the village to attend the memorial service. Rather than helping you, it was more about making my performance more popular."

She said these words calmly and walked straight ahead.

They gave neither side any chance to respond.

"...What kind of personality does this guy have? It's awful."

It's really baffling.

Come to think of it, all the women I've met so far seem to be such inexplicable types, right?

Accelerator pursed his lips, unsure of what to say, but as Alice said, having a source of information was always better than having none.

It would be best to go and see for yourself.

He looked up at the village on the other side, where lights were gradually coming on in the distance.

A memorial service...

"Let's treat it as a rare vacation."

Unpleasant words followed.

The first one in white, supported by a cane, slowly followed behind the puppeteer girl.

In the stillness of the night.

The peaceful village known as the "Village of Humanity" will welcome two unique guests today.

Chapter 405 Entering the Human Realm

The world as the sun sets has gradually transformed into an environment illuminated by moonlight.

In modern timekeeping terms, the shortest time now is 6:57 PM... which is just past dusk.

I could hear the peaceful sounds coming from inside the village in the distance.

On this path, which is closer to the village area, a sense of tranquility and peace that is hard for most people to experience arrives with the coming of night.

"6:57, ah... it's already 6:58."

"Are we still living in the era of using those old-fashioned clocks?"

"What do you mean by old-fashioned... Even in the eyes of a kappa who has mastered a few new technologies, this is considered quite avant-garde. You're the one who's gone off track."

Alice retorted in a somewhat displeased tone, holding what she considered to be a very avant-garde and cutting-edge fashion item.

A pocket watch strung together with a gold chain.