One-way traffic

The flames of karma are burning.

The shadow engulfed in flames is a silver-red supercar traveling directly on the lunar surface.

The golden lightning around them couldn't penetrate the car's defenses at all, and even the karmic fire attached to its surface couldn't be extinguished. The people inside the car hadn't suffered the slightest damage from the very beginning.

"I was startled; I thought I was about to be killed..."

Alice said, her breath coming in gasps.

Just as she came to her senses, the car was enveloped in countless golden lightning bolts, and then an unimaginable impact struck mercilessly.

But this car itself is not an ordinary supercar.

The moment it was attacked, Nathos's internal defense system was activated.

A protective shield made of karmic fire instantly formed around the vehicle body, and even the lightning could not penetrate more than half a centimeter.

Over time, the lightning seemed to think they had been wiped out, and thus dissipated on the surface of the moon.

Only then did Accelerator drive the car back outside the smoke and dust.

"What just happened? Was someone else attacking us?"

"Probably someone who's scouting from the shadows."

Accelerator didn't look at the radar, so nothing would be displayed there.

However, he already knew that there were definitely more than just the two of them on the moon.

"Thinking about it, it makes sense. If it's a civilized city that has existed on the moon for so many years without being discovered by humans, why would it casually expose itself to the lunar surface?"

The City of the Moon definitely exists. Just now, those who attacked them were probably the residents of the City of the Moon.

Since it is an ancient civilization that has existed for thousands of years, the Moon Capital must have a way to hide itself.

Even if no trace of civilization is found on the surface of the moon, given the recent attack, Accelerator can definitively confirm that the Moon People must exist on this moon.

Alice understood this very well.

"So what we need to do most right now is to find the Lunar Capital?"

"That's true, but it's not showing up on the radar at all, is it?"

Nathos has scanned the entire moon, including its internal core.

However, there are no signs of life on the moon, either inside or outside.

"No, don't you find it strange at all?"

Although she didn't understand what terms like "radar scan" meant, Alice clearly still considered other things.

She gently touched her chin with her hand.

"...If they hid themselves to avoid being discovered by people on Earth, could it be that they never existed on the surface of the moon in the first place?"

"…What?"

Her words also made Accelerator realize certain possibilities.

He then began to think about it further.

"You mean, like in your Gensokyo...?"

What if what separates the Lunar Capital from the lunar surface is not simply a physical phenomenon?

With that in mind, Accelerator placed his hand directly on the necklace around his neck.

The deep black, flowing light transformed into six spike-like generators, hovering above the back seat inside the car.

He closed his eyes and stopped using his five senses to perceive things.

His thoughts wandered in the intertwined world of time and space in an instant.

“…Found it.”

creak.

As he uttered those words, a new string of data was loaded onto the display screen next to the dashboard inside the car.

A series of coordinates and data were then imported into it.

And those coordinates cannot be found in any area on the surface of the moon.

“I’ve figured it all out. These moon people have completely isolated their territory from this plane, like wolves in sheep’s clothing, making people think that this is the whole moon… and then they use this to ensure their safety from being discovered.”

But whatever the situation may be, it's all meaningless now.

Accelerator has obtained the correct coordinates of the Lunar Capital by relying on the power of spacetime, so there is no need for him to continue spinning in circles.

He loaded this data into Nathos's interior and also connected it with the power of the spacetime generator.

In this way, the vehicle also has the ability to briefly jump through space.

"Hold on tight, this time it's for real."

"Huh? Again, again—whoaah!!"

Before Alice could react, another wave of force shook the entire car.

In that instant, the car named Nathos vanished into the lunar space.

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

then.

When Accelerator opened his eyes.

What unfolded before our eyes was a scene unlike any we had ever seen before.

"…here it is?"

He raised his head and began to look around.

The air is even cleaner than the air on the ground.

Looking up, the starry sky blended with the black universe, and the sun in the distance was particularly dazzling, but it did not affect the scenery of the night at all, probably due to some kind of unique space technology.

Then, since this is the moon, you definitely won't be able to see the moon when you look up.

But when Accelerator turned his attention to his surroundings, he was surprised again.

So far, Accelerator has seen cities with an otherworldly style, a near-future-style academy city, and even a Gensokyo with a strong ancient atmosphere.

But he had never seen a city style like the one before him.

A massive technology building, and a traditional-style old house.

These two completely different styles of housing construction are completely prevalent in this city.

Looking around, the general situation is that a modern high-tech building is right next to an ancient Chinese-style pavilion building. It is a complete crossover of modern and ancient styles, so whether it is a high-tech style or an ancient style, Accelerator can no longer say.

Regardless of which one it was, he confirmed one thing.

"So, this is the Moon Capital, right?"

The Moon City is an ancient city located on the moon, with a history even longer than that of civilizations on Earth.

Once he arrived, he realized that, apart from the architectural style, the atmosphere here seemed not much different from that of a typical city.

The road has paved streets, pedestrian streets, traffic lights, and all kinds of shops. Although you can see some moon rabbits with rabbit ears on the bustling streets, most of the people are still humans.

Their clothing styles also differ; some are modern, while others are ancient.

Even the air seems to be much better than the air in a typical city.

As he saw it.

All the residents of this city lived in harmony, without the slightest sign of riots.

"here…"

A familiar voice came from beside me.

Alice stood beside him, looking around with a somewhat surprised expression.

"This is where the Moon People live. It feels so noisy..."

This is a fairly normal reaction.

She had no experience with a technologically advanced society, so she wasn't quite sure what the situation was like.

But all of this was no problem for Accelerator.

just.

I just don't know why.

'Something still feels off, doesn't it?'

"So, what are we going to do next?"

Alice tugged at Accelerator's clothes.

Now that they've arrived in the Lunar Capital, that's for sure... What should they do next?

"Should we attack the people here and return the spoils of Gensokyo that were invaded?"

"What idiotic things are you saying?"

Accelerator ruthlessly thwarted Alice's idea.

However, even so... he himself was not quite sure what he was going to do.

"We came to the moon to demand an explanation from the moon people, so why did we invade Gensokyo? But now it seems..."

"These guys seem completely unaware..."

They were the ones who invaded Gensokyo, yet these Moon People seemed completely oblivious to it.

It's also possible that the higher-ups in Lunar Capital are keeping all of this a secret?

But in any case, Accelerator will not pass the buck to these innocent civilians.

The two exchanged a glance and decided to hold off on their decision for now.

Let's at least see what the city looks like this month.

"Ah! You two, would you like to try one of our local specialties?"

They had only walked a short distance past an intersection when they were stopped by people on the side of the street.

It was a young girl, dressed in what appeared to be a traditional Chinese kimono, but the cart she was pushing was a highly technological product.

It looks like they're selling all sorts of snacks.

"Here, if you sign up for a relationship authorization now, you can also enjoy a couple-only parfait!"

"Couple?"

Alice seemed somewhat bewildered by this.

Accelerator pursed his lips and, before getting into unnecessary trouble, casually ordered a few snacks.

'No, wait… this is the moon. Currency on Earth couldn't possibly be accepted here, could it?'

Moreover, that's the currency of Academy City.

In a world that isn't even on the same planet, a universal currency system is simply impossible, let alone on the moon.

But to his surprise—

"Okay, here's the total for you. Here's your takoyaki and fried chicken. Please take them!"

The girl in front of him was completely unaware of the unusual nature of the currency in Accelerator's hand.

She calmly accepted the money and handed him the snacks.

What's happening here?

Is the currency universal? Why doesn't this guy sense anything unusual at all?

"...What is this, French snails?"

"Who would sell French food at a roadside stall? I've never seen takoyaki before?"

"I don't understand what you're talking about... Do you mean takoyaki, like grilling octopus over a fire?"

Alice, holding the takoyaki, tilted her head in surprise.