One-way traffic

"Is that all? I thought you were going to keep them in line for at least a while longer."

"Don't talk nonsense... making false accusations against others will get you a thousand needles to swallow."

"Whatever you say."

Accelerator turned his head and looked directly at the blonde girl in front of him.

"Well, that should make things clear by now."

"Oh? Is there something you need to clarify?"

"What exactly did you bring me to this crowded place for? Don't tell me it's just to have me confirm information with that teacher-like guy. Although that would certainly be helpful to me, your purpose is definitely not just that, is it?"

Although Accelerator can use his armed forces to directly read other people's thoughts and minds, he doesn't do so most of the time.

Nevertheless, he still managed to detect the tremor in Alice's heart.

She must be hiding some of her thoughts.

There's nothing there.

The girl, a puppeteer, let the night wind blow through her fine golden hair.

Her expression remained perfectly calm, just as before.

It's impossible to read her thoughts at this moment.

"Compared to these, I think the Bai Ze we encountered earlier is actually in some kind of predicament."

Accelerator followed Alice's gaze and saw the situation she was describing.

It seems another group of people has gathered.

They didn't gather together to chat; they just wanted to have a drinking contest.

And among those people, it wasn't just a large group of middle-aged men.

"Um, I'm sorry... I really can't drink in this kind of situation."

"It's just one cup! Teacher Bai Ze, there's no need to be so rigid."

“You always sit there alone at banquets, neither drinking nor eating meat. It’s really lonely to see you like that.”

"That's how it is! At least one cup should be fine, right?"

Kamishirasawa Keine, the white-haired woman who had just helped Accelerator answer questions about Gensokyo, was now in this awkward situation.

As a demon, it was naturally not difficult for her to drink alcohol, and she would never get drunk after just one drink.

However, Kamishirasawa Keine's identity is that of a teacher at a terakoya (temple school).

In a place where children are everywhere, and most of them are even her own students, Kamishirasawa Keine absolutely cannot allow herself to drink alcohol indiscriminately.

As teachers, we should set an example, let alone teachers like her.

What if my drinking sparks the curiosity of those children, leading them to try it too?

"That Bai Ze monster, having to face such considerations as a teacher, must be really tough."

"That's enough! They're actually taking this so seriously in this godforsaken place. I'm speechless."

A few minutes later, no one knew how Kamishirasawa Keine had handled it, but she eventually walked over with a distressed expression.

"Ah...it's you two! Did you have fun at the banquet?"

"Putting our situation aside, you don't look too good right now."

"That's true... Although we've managed to persuade those people to leave, whether we can avoid the next banquet remains to be seen..."

Kamishirasawa Keine sighed as if complaining, and finally had no choice but to pick up the juice drink next to her and drink it.

If we follow this line of thinking, then she probably maintains the image of a perfect teacher in her daily life.

That's a really tough life.

"However, the main reason is that this year's banquet has some unique features, which is why there are so many children here."

"Ah, that's true, after all, the theme of the banquet was only decided not long ago."

"That's right."

The two girls' conversation made Accelerator, who was standing nearby, vaguely sense that something was amiss.

"Oh dear...? Mr. Accelerator, the way you look... you don't mean you have absolutely no idea why?"

"It would be absurd if someone like me knew."

"Well, there's really nothing strange about it. After all, he doesn't even know what Gensokyo is like."

Compared to Kamishirasawa Keine, Alice seemed completely unsurprised by the situation.

"It's just that the situation has changed due to some influences outside the village."

"No matter how you simplify it, if you don't explain the cause, process, and result, it's no different from not explaining anything at all."

"...Okay, I see. You really have a serious tendency to pry into things."

Alice, with a helpless expression, had no choice but to explain it to him in detail.

"Hmm... so when should I begin explaining?"

"It must have been at least several weeks ago."

Where Alice could not quite recall, Kamishirasawa Keine provided supplementary information.

"One day a few weeks ago, traces of a crash were suddenly discovered outside the village of humans."

"Fall? You don't mean one of those meteorites that fell from the sky, do you?"

"According to what people outside the village say in modern times, this is indeed the case, and the people from Renjian Village have indeed gone out to investigate this situation."

Her words then took a turn for the worse.

"However, no object was found there, and people who went outside could only find traces of something hitting the ground, but could not find the actual object that fell."

"What's even more amazing is that right after this incident, the development of rice and other agricultural products in the vicinity of Human Village seemed to suddenly improve."

"We don't know the specifics of the situation, so for the people here, it's like a 'divine blessing'."

This is to be expected.

For villages that are still stuck in the old days, a sudden meteorite event might not be noticed by them. In addition, the sudden and dramatic increase in crop yields would probably be attributed to them as some kind of divine blessing.

According to the two of them, how come no debris was found at the site where the meteorite fell?

"Well, anyway, these things are just the origin of the festival, not many people would care, right?"

If it's considered a punishment from the gods, they'll probably still hold a festival-like event.

"boring."

Accelerator's opinion on this is just that.

"What kind of bullshit reason is that? It's absolutely true that the times here are completely out of sync with the outside world."

"...In our opinion, you should be the one who is most out of touch with this place."

"It may sound rude, but I actually share the same thoughts as Miss Alice..."

The two girls described themselves in the same way.

The first person pursed his lips, ignoring what the two people were saying, and simply stood there indifferently.

But I couldn't think of anything to do.

There was no such thing as canned coffee in this era; all he could see around him were drinks like alcohol and juice, which held no appeal for him whatsoever.

Even Alice and Kawashima Keine, who were standing next to her, found their favorite drinks.

It seems that this kind of place is really terrible for someone like me who grew up in the scientific world.

"Whatever, it doesn't matter anymore."

The first person, feeling dejected, shook his head and decided to just eat some meat anyway.

He raised his head.

Not far away, a figure dressed in a long red robe slowly walked up to the stands.

"What is that...?"

"I don't know, they're probably someone who'll be performing at the festival later."

"But his outfit looks really strange... and the way he walks is weird too."

Regardless, the figure in the red robe did indeed walk onto the stage.

"Oh dear? I don't remember there being a performance like that later on."

"Perhaps it was an impromptu performance?"

Alice and Kamishirasawa Keine both shared this view.

People gradually gathered below the stage.

After confirming that a large number of people had gathered, the figure seemed to take something out of his pocket.

A bronze wine cup.

"Oh! I get it, does this mean he wants to toast everyone?"

"In that case, why not just say what you want to say and then celebrate loudly with everyone?"

People assume they already know the situation.

They raised their glasses, wanting to drink with the figure on the stage.

And so it goes, facing all sorts of people's behaviors.

The shadow poured the liquid from the glass downwards.

Clear liquid dripped onto the heads of many people.

They maintained their smiling demeanor, little by little.

— It dissolves into a purplish-black slime on the ground.

“…Huh?”

The atmosphere, which had been lively, suddenly turned icy cold.

"Wh-what...?"

"That person!"

Kamishirasawa Keine and Alice both looked over with disbelief and utter astonishment.

People stared in astonishment at the figure in the long robe.

It quietly unveiled its deep red robe.

What was revealed to everyone was a face.

A face that was twisted like a lump of flesh, with only a mouth and no eyes or nose.

"Strange, a monster..."

One sentence directly triggered the deepest fear in everyone's hearts.

"Monster! Aaaaaaahh ...

As this mournful cry rang out, countless drops of liquid scattered outwards.

The inhuman monster remained in a position of spitting out liquid from its mouth, causing countless people to be directly stained by the rapidly falling liquid.

Their fate was the same as those of the others before them.

They didn't even have the right to scream; they were instantly reduced to a pool of purplish-red liquid.

The screams of agony replaced the earlier cheers and jubilation of the banquet.

An anomaly has replaced everything here.

Chapter 409 The One Who Ends the Mutation

The sounds that should have been heard here were people celebrating.

But at this moment, the preconditions for that outcome have been changed.