One-way traffic

The girl asked him that question directly.

"Waaaaah? Can I really see Renren? Big brother? Big brother over there!"

So, it wasn't until the other person called him repeatedly that Accelerator finally realized something.

"That's amazing! Someone actually looked right into Renren's eyes, that's wonderful!"

That was something that caused him great distress, almost like a nightmare.

"In that case, Lianlian won't have to play on the ground all by herself anymore, right?"

Although he had already had many experiences with it, it was something he absolutely did not want to encounter again.

"Again..."

In a tone that suggested he was on the verge of collapse.

The first person twitched the corner of their mouth and couldn't help but whisper.

"Why is it always this brat again?"

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

There's no going back now that things have come to this.

"Big brother, big brother, why don't you say anything?"

"Big brother, does Lianlian's hair look good?"

"Hehe~! Big brother is finally going to talk to Lianlian... Ah! Don't ignore Lianlian!"

That's just how strange things are.

Accelerator is now completely under the watchful eye of this strange-looking girl.

She would follow me wherever I went, even if I had been walking for ten minutes.

Although he could fly away at supersonic speed in one breath, he couldn't figure out what to do if this brat had the same personality as Flandre, whom he had encountered in the basement of the Scarlet Devil Mansion.

If things really develop that way, it will only become more complicated.

“…I said.”

He stopped and stared at the other person with wide eyes.

"Don't you have anything else to do?"

"Ugh, what a cold tone!"

Even if he tried to act cute, it wouldn't work, Accelerator thought to himself, he wasn't buying it at all.

He stared at the petite girl in front of him, who was trying so hard to attract his attention, and finally could only click his tongue in displeasure.

"Okay... tell me, what's going on with you?"

"Ah...! Big brother! You're finally willing to chat with Lianlian?"

"Tell me right now, or I'm leaving."

"No way! It's so hard for Lianlian to find someone like you who can see her directly and even talk to her. Don't be so heartless!"

The petite girl in front of him jogged forward a few steps.

She put her hands behind her back and smiled happily at Accelerator.

"I'm Koishin! Koishin Komeiji, and my older sister is Satoru Komeiji. We all live in the Earth Spirit Palace. Oh, and there's also Sora and Rin, they're Koishin's best friends too~"

"Even if you told me, there's no way I could possibly know about those guys."

It seems that in the end... I'm still stuck with this damn brat.

What a nuisance! Why do I always get entangled with these brats? They're such bastards.

Accelerator felt increasingly depressed the more he thought about it, so he simply gave up trying.

"So, what's wrong with you? Why can't others see you?"

"That's because Lianlian is usually in a state of unconsciousness where no one pays attention to her."

"What is that thing? But then again, you really are a monster, aren't you?"

Since she possesses this special ability, it proves that the girl in front of me is definitely not human.

"Yes, Renren is a youkai, a youkai of the same race as her sister."

The girl, who called herself Komeiji Koi, smiled warmly like that.

"We are all youkai named 'Awakening,' and we all possess the same abilities."

"That is, being able to observe the other person's mind through your third eye, and thus read their feelings and thoughts."

Komeiji Love.

This is the first meeting between a youkai of the "Awakening" race and the strongest monster who reigns supreme in Academy City.

Chapter 467 The "Awakening" Within Closed Off

A yokai that can read other people's feelings and thoughts, right?

That's what they say, but Accelerator didn't feel like his emotions or thoughts had been read.

There was no reaction from the reflexes, and the mental realm showed no disturbance whatsoever.

The other party never used any ability against me from the beginning.

"You claim to have the power to read other people's emotions and thoughts, but I haven't felt anything at all."

"Oh dear? Lianlian already said that, because Lianlian is currently in a completely unconscious state."

"...Then what is it?"

To make it easier for Accelerator to understand, Komeiji pointed directly to the eye-like thing wrapped around her body.

"This is an eye."

"As for Lianlian, she has always had the ability to read other people's minds directly with this eye, and even read their emotions."

Mind-reading ability... is it a similar ability to that fifth guy?

However, the fifth-ranked Level 5 esper in Academy City possesses an ability that is not purely mind reading, but a more advanced form of psychological control. Although the principle behind it is completely unrelated to mental power, in terms of the effect of the ability alone, it is probably a step above the level of the monster girl in front of him.

"But now, Lianlian can't do it anymore."

The girl, who was saying this, poked the eye that had never been opened before.

"No one likes the ability to read minds. Regardless of what Renren thinks, reading other people's feelings and thoughts without permission will ultimately make you disliked."

Therefore, the girl tightly closed her third eye, which possessed the ability to read minds.

"If you close your eyes, you won't be able to read anyone's thoughts anymore, right? That way, Renren will be different from her older sister. Renren won't use this ability to hurt other people's hearts anymore, and she won't be hated by anyone anymore."

If closing your eyes could stop the ability to read minds, then you certainly wouldn't be disliked by anyone.

"Isn't that great? Kokoro is different from her older sister. Her older sister still chose the ability of 'Awakening' even now, while Kokoro didn't. So Kokoro won't be blamed by anyone for that, right?"

That's certainly true.

However, the girl did not understand what it meant to close her third eye, the eye that symbolized her own soul.

"Does closing your eyes completely change your appearance?"

If Accelerator didn't have his own ability to help him discover Komeiji, he probably wouldn't have discovered Komeiji's existence until he left the lawn.

It turned out to be the case.

Even if she didn't say it, he already had a pretty good idea of ​​what would happen to the girl.

"By sealing off your own power and closing off your own heart, you can avoid affecting others' hearts, and also prevent anyone from affecting your own heart."

"Is that what you mean, kid?"

It is probably because she has locked away her inner thoughts and abilities that the girl has become undetectable to others.

Because of her, she has completely entered a state of unconsciousness.

This was something Accelerator said before Komeiji could say it.

The girl in front of him was surprised by this sudden situation.

Her delicate face was immediately filled with an expression of not having recovered yet, as if the other person had said everything she was about to say.

"It's nothing, there's no need to look so puzzled."

Accelerator exhaled through his nose and said naturally.

"It's just because I've done similar things to you in the past that I was able to guess."

Accelerator once sealed his mind completely because his power was too great.

Uncontrollable forces can harm those around us; excessive enthusiasm, even if well-intentioned, can drag those around us into misfortune with a mere wave of the hand.

To avoid such an outcome, he chose to close himself off emotionally at that time.

Become someone colder than ice, unresponsive to any external emotions, and unaffected by any external emotions.

That way, we can avoid hurting anyone.

—Isn't this idea that Accelerator had back then exactly the same as the idea that this girl in front of him had?

Of course, Komeiji was completely unaware of all this.

She was merely surprised that this human she had just met had so easily guessed her plans.

At the same time, she also felt extremely curious.

"So, big brother, what are you now...?"

"It doesn't matter what happens to me, right?"

Faced with the girl's question, Accelerator did not choose to give a direct answer.

He was simply saying things that were still somewhat difficult for the girl to understand.

Even if I explained my current situation, would your situation change?

"Eh…?"

"Forget it, you're just like those guys anyway, right? Even if you've actually lived for hundreds or thousands of years, no matter how you look at it, your thoughts and appearance are still those of a kid... That's all I can say."

So he shared his perspective as an outsider.

Faced with a girl who had chosen the same path he had taken, thus sealing off her own heart, he could only utter one sentence.

The first one spoke calmly, his eyes still bloodshot.

"No matter what, your life belongs to you."

"The choice to make is not mine, but yours. This is your own life, isn't it?"

"So, what choice should I ultimately make? That kind of thing has absolutely nothing to do with me, and I don't need to discuss it at all, right?"

"How you choose to proceed from here on out is up to you."

He had no connection with this monster girl, so he couldn't help her make any further choices.

The help Accelerator can offer ends here, even though they are both of the same kind with the same past.

How will this young girl decide her own life from now on?

Those were all her own choices.

The number one in Academy City, such a person is nothing more than a passerby.

'...What stupid things have I been saying?'

Judging from the girl's expression, she probably didn't understand what Accelerator was saying at all.

If it were my past self, I definitely wouldn't have said these things.

So many things have changed. Although he has had countless reflections on this, Accelerator still feels that he has really changed a lot.

However, this isn't so bad.

At least for him, that's all in the past.

"Finally...finally found it...!"

However, before this idyllic atmosphere could end, a discordant sound suddenly came from behind.