One-way traffic

It was already late at night and everyone was asleep.

The occasional chirping of nightingales coming from outside the window indicated the time of day.

Even without relying on animal sounds, the ticking of the old-fashioned clock inside the house already indicated that it was past midnight.

At 1:15 a.m., from the outside, this was probably the only area in the entire forest that was receiving sunlight.

There are very few residents in the Magic Forest. Including Alice, the total number of mages is probably no more than ten. If you were to observe the houses in the vicinity directly from the outside, you would probably only see a chilling scene.

In the midst of a completely dark forest, the sudden appearance of a mansion, the only source of light, combined with the occasional animal calls from the surroundings and the extreme darkness, creates an eerie atmosphere that almost instantly overwhelms the senses.

Although the sounds of distant villages could not be heard, at this hour, the villagers of the Human Village must have already stopped their feast.

From Accelerator's perspective, given what has already happened, there's a high probability that the business will not continue.

anyway.

"...What time is it now?"

It's not that I'm wondering about today's time.

What puzzled him was what month it was.

It's not because of the need to consider the climate when preparing clothes. Ultimately, the first thing is that it has a reflective nature and is not affected by the surrounding seasons.

Afterwards, Accelerator briefly turned off the reflection to check the weather conditions outside the house and in the surrounding area.

The answer was that it felt like the cold of deep winter in December.

However, the final answer surprised him.

"It's May."

"ah…?"

“I know you’re surprised by the current situation, but you’re not the only one who’s surprised.”

Alice responded with the same helpless tone.

Everyone in Gensokyo seemed to have noticed the current situation.

It was May, but it was surrounded by the cold of December.

Humans and youkai alike, almost everyone in Gensokyo noticed that this whole thing was extremely illogical.

"This situation has been going on since the end of winter... and it's still the same now."

"So, the environment of this godforsaken place has never changed?"

It's just too bizarre.

Although there's no need to consider meteorological issues in this fantasy world, judging from Alice's words, the four seasons in this Gensokyo should be the same as the four seasons he's familiar with.

Then what we are seeing is definitely not a normal phenomenon.

Something else must have happened behind the scenes.

But now is not the time to worry about such trivial matters.

"I need to think this over carefully... It's such a hassle to figure out how to properly deal with that red and white-clad shrine maiden. I still have to think about such petty things."

"You really have a lot to worry about."

The blonde girl sitting not far away responded to him directly.

Alice Margot Lloyd.

Wearing large glasses, the doll-like girl sat at a table not far away, her hands constantly busy with something that Accelerator couldn't quite understand.

Although the specific details are unclear, it is at least possible to tell that she is stitching together the body of a doll.

Or rather, this is actually one of the main steps in making a doll.

"Oh? Are you curious about how the dolls are made?"

"Do you think I would have such trivial thoughts?"

Accelerator got up from the sofa and walked over to Alice's side.

The first one began to mutter in a bored tone.

"Let's make this clear beforehand: I don't care whether I sleep or not, but are you sure you don't need to rest?"

"How dare a mere human say such things? You should know that the person in front of you is a respectable mage. It's just a so-called all-nighter. Do you think it could pose any threat to my body and mind? That's no funny joke."

"What a smooth talker."

Even though it was already so late, neither of the two people staying in the mansion wanted to go to sleep.

This is not an act of spite or anything like that.

It was simply because neither of them had any intention of going to sleep that night.

After a few minutes, Alice finally finished her work.

"Okay... if we add a few more materials here, there won't be any problems."

"...This is the doll you painstakingly made? It feels far too cheap."

"It's not finished yet, it's only the second stage."

Taking a slight breath, Alice immediately took off her glasses.

The diligent puppeteer, working late into the night, reached for the table, picked up the now-cold tea, and took a small sip.

"However, this is truly an unexpected turn of events."

Turning to look at Accelerator, Alice couldn't help but show an expression of interest.

"Most of the other humans who stay overnight here are afraid of my research and creation of dolls. Even fairies and monsters are in a similar situation. Very few people dare to stay here, let alone observe the creation of dolls up close like this."

"Really? I don't understand what's so scary about this kind of thing."

"...You really are an anomaly, even among humans."

So many people have been horrified by Alice's late-night research on the dolls, yet Accelerator remains completely unmoved.

The work on the doll has progressed to this stage.

However, Alice did not continue with the matter at hand.

"Aren't you planning to continue?"

"Ugh... honestly, I don't know what to say to you."

Under Accelerator's gaze, Alice instead showed a somewhat troubled expression.

This scene surprised him somewhat.

"So, you are indeed a human who came to Gensokyo from the outside world, right?"

"So what? What's the point of asking that stupid question that's already been confirmed?"

"In that case, um...aren't there any special things on your side of the world that we don't have?"

ah…?

What the hell is this guy trying to say?

However, he soon understood Alice's thoughts.

The other person is probably curious about so-called modern technology.

"That is indeed quite a big difference."

"Yes, it really is! But just how big is the difference...?"

"For example, like this."

Click. First of all, the thing he took out of his pocket made the doll-wielding girl's eyes widen in surprise.

The flip phone in his pocket, the military pistol he'd never used again, and the high-tech gun called Silver Wing, all carried in his arms.

Even the usually aloof girls showed expressions of utter astonishment at this moment.

"I think I've seen these things a little bit around with the kappa and the others..."

"Huh? In that case, your technology level shouldn't be bad either. How did human society fall to such a state?"

"That's why I said that humans in Gensokyo and humans in the outside world are completely different concepts. Don't try to apply them to each other too much."

Even so, it's still incomprehensible why the kappa, a type of monster, can use and even develop technologies that humans don't.

Before he could say anything more, the girl in front of him had already taken the things he had taken out.

There's no need to worry about accidental discharge with a pistol. Both the Silver Wing and the military pistol have the safety mechanism engaged, so no matter how many times you pull the trigger, not a single bullet will be fired.

As for the other stuff...

"…What's this?"

"It's nothing, just a cell phone for remote communication. Besides, there's no satellite signal here, so you can't really make calls or anything like that..."

Accelerator initially thought Alice was asking this question because she was inquiring about the main purpose of flip phones.

But after looking directly at it, he realized he had guessed wrong.

The girl not only successfully unlocked his phone, but also opened his photo album.

The interior view was then revealed.

She also saw the photos of the two figures, one tall and one short, that she had taken with him back then.

"Is that you in the photo?"

"It's obvious, isn't it?"

"And who are these two girls standing next to you...?"

"Two guys who are indispensable to me, nothing to worry about... Also, don't open other people's things without permission, and don't look at the contents of photos without permission."

Accelerator snatched the phone from Alice's hand and immediately glared at the girl in front of him.

"So what exactly are you planning to do? Just to get this boring information from the outside world out of me?"

"After all, the chances of seeing these things in Gensokyo are extremely rare."

Even when Alice was being glared at with those fierce eyes, she was not frightened at all.

Her expression remained as calm as ever.

No.

It might even be happier than usual.

"Aside from the hands of those tengu, this is the first time I've seen so many things from the outside world in Gensokyo."

Accelerator, who had intended to say something, abandoned that idea after hearing these words.

"...Whatever you like."

Putting his phone and pistol away again, the first person turned around and sat down on the sofa next to him.

"Speaking of which, does this place have anything called coffee?"

"Of course we have coffee. You can find it in the pantry next to the kitchen. However, I don't have a professional coffee grinder here. The dolls usually do it for me."

"It doesn't matter, as long as we have it."

Alice turned her head slightly and noticed that Accelerator had indeed left the room.

then.

She then quietly took something out from under the table.

An unfinished doll.

However, the doll's hair and other parts already have molds, so at least we can confirm what its hair color is.

It has pure white hair.

Clutching the unfinished doll in front of her, Alice's gaze gradually became thoughtful.

For the first time, long-term residents arrived at his mansion.

Moreover, the other party did not show excessive fear or rejection towards him like other humans do.

Although she didn't know how long he would stay here, Alice was also unsure of how she would feel during their time together.