One-way traffic

She suddenly remembered this.

Just now, when the Hakurei Shrine Maiden left the room, I stood there for about a minute and a half.

It was only for such a short period of time—

"You... you've already finished reading the whole book in such a short time?"

"I can at least be certain that the content of your book is a direct continuation of the previous text, and judging from the extent of the records in your book, that so-called previous text... must be at least four books."

At this point, Hieda Akyuu was at a loss for words.

Without realizing it, my jaw started to sag a little.

She was very clear about one thing.

Although she was born as a mortal human being, she possessed a special ability that others did not have.

The ability to completely memorize what one sees and hears.

Using this ability, Hieda Akyuu could easily record what the people he interviewed said and include it in his books.

Even with such abilities, she absolutely could not accomplish what the other party was talking about.

In just over a minute, he managed to read such a large amount of information from a book, memorize and understand all of its contents, and even calculate how many different kinds there were.

This is no longer a realm that a human being like her can reach.

At this moment, having been seen through, he had no way to hide it anymore.

"...Truly worthy of being the most bizarre and unpredictable being ever crossed over, Mr. Accelerator is quite formidable."

"Enough with the polite words, just tell me what happened."

Accelerator's overly aggressive and direct approach forced Hieda Akyuu to sigh.

She then took something down from the bookshelf next to her.

Those are books.

The number of books is more than several, and...

Each volume should be at least as thick as the one in front of you.

Accelerator watched calmly as she placed book after book on the table, without any surprise, as if he had expected this to happen.

"My name is Hieda Akyuu, and I am the recorder of history, responsible for recording the history of Gensokyo in 'Gensokyo Origins'."

It's about time for a showdown.

The girl took off her glasses, and at that moment, an expression she had never shown before appeared on her face.

Unlike his previous expression, his face now wore an extremely mysterious and eerie calm.

This is not the demeanor of a teenage girl at all.

"There have been nine generations of Hieda so far."

She stared at the table, but then her mood began to darken.

There was a vague sense that Accelerator seemed to realize something.

"Based on what is written above, the history of the Hieda family is probably over a thousand years old."

He spoke first and revealed the truth of the matter.

"From the first generation of Hieda to you now, aren't you all actually the same person?"

Soul reincarnation.

To this day, the head of the Hieda family, from the first generation to the ninth, has always been the same person.

"...Truly worthy of being called Mr. Accelerator."

"There's no need to hide this kind of thing. You know very well what kind of place this is, Gensokyo. No one will reject someone with unusual abilities, not even humans."

It is precisely because he possesses ultimate power far exceeding the scope of humanity that Accelerator can easily say all this.

But the girl in front of him shook her head.

"At the same time as I was reincarnated, I also inherited the ability of photographic memory that the first Hieda possessed."

"I don't know if it's the result of this ability or the cause of reincarnation, but with each generation, my body... becomes weaker and weaker."

In fact, Accelerator had already noticed it when he came in.

Although the girl's physical attributes are no different from those of an ordinary person, one must observe her mental state.

The vector belonging to the realm of a young girl's spirit appears exceptionally weak.

It was like a crystal-clear, colorful crystal that could shatter at any moment.

"I have no memories of my previous life, so I don't know what my physical condition was like in my previous life. But... what I can confirm is that my lifespan is getting shorter and shorter."

The girl has written countless things to date.

All of that content was used to record the history of this Gensokyo.

just.

In retrospect, the work of recording history has instead caused great oppression and harm to young girls.

Knowing full well that reincarnation and recording these things will have an increasingly significant impact on my body.

Even so, the girl continued to do it.

From Accelerator's perspective, it was almost as if he was forcing himself to do these things.

"...Why not consider stopping this? Nobody's forcing you to do it."

"That is certainly possible, and no one is forcing me to complete all of this, so it's perfectly fine for me to stop this kind of work if I want to."

The girl said this.

"...But if that were the case, the meaning of my life would probably disappear completely."

Does this guy... see recording history as the sole purpose of his life?

If she abandons the task of recording history, then she may have no reason to live at all.

"Besides, what meaning would it have for me if I were to give it up?"

She stood up and walked step by step toward the door.

But she did not open the door.

"My health is getting weaker and weaker. To date, there is no record of anyone living past thirty years old in any history."

"Even if I give up something like this, what then? In the end, I won't even be able to be a normal human being."

The light streaming in from the window shone on the girl's face, making her expression appear exceptionally solemn.

However, they were clearly discussing matters concerning their own fate.

Hieda Akyuu, this girl, was discussing things with a playful expression.

"This is enough. If things can continue like this, it's better for me than anything else."

Regardless of whether it was the girl's true feeling or not, the statement was still shrouded in a heavy tone.

That was the girl's own decision.

Accelerator looked at the girl and ultimately said nothing more.

"That's it."

just.

"Someone who, no matter what, won't live past thirty...?"

He murmured it to himself and memorized it deeply.

It must be firmly etched in one's memory.

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

After that, Reimu Hakurei also returned.

The two left Hieda Akyuu's house together and then embarked on the road leading away from the human village.

"As it turned out, Ms. Hieda didn't seem to be very happy when she left."

"probably."

"What do you mean, 'probably'... I'm telling you, did you take advantage of her while I wasn't around?"

"I don't look like the kind of guy who would do that kind of thing... But you, you've been wandering around the courtyard by yourself for so long, what have you been up to?"

"I already said I just needed to get some fresh air!"

Along the way, it seemed that he had started arguing with the priestess again.

This shrine maiden has very few worshippers, and her words rarely evoke any association with shrine maidens.

Even within the entire Gensokyo region, it would be considered somewhat of an anomaly.

"Let's part ways here. There's no need to continue working together."

"That's pretty straightforward... Doesn't she want to be with me at all?"

"But you, is it really interesting to say such misleading things?"

"...No one would associate that with such a strange thing."

Reimu looked at him unhappily, just as she was about to start arguing further.

The two of them suddenly stopped what they were doing.

“…Huh?”

The girl raised her head and looked up at the sky.

No.

To be precise, it should be looking in a certain direction in the distance.

They were currently on a path near the entrance area of ​​the Human Village.

Looking from this direction, it's crystal clear.

On that hillside.

Something enormous is at work.

The enormous branches, which look like tentacles, are completely bent in the middle, and their movement pattern is enough to make one imagine a certain iconic creature in nature.

"spider?"

Reimu spoke without thinking.

From that very moment on...

One of the creature's branches crashed directly into the ground beneath it.

The waves exploded.

Even in the distant human village, the enormous ripples were felt directly at that moment.

Boom——! ! !

The astonishing power distorted and shook the entire village.

“Wow—?!”

"What's going on...?"

"Was it an earthquake?!"

People nearby gasped in alarm, but the anomaly had already spread to a wider area.

Such a massive shock could even cause houses to collapse in one go.

But just before that level of catastrophe spread.

Thud! The first-ranked Level 5 superpowered user plunged his arm directly into the ground.

As if stirring with his five fingers, the depths of the earth twisted, and the power that should have expanded to the entire village was instantly suppressed.

Even so, the surrounding houses and ground were still affected by the enormous force.