One-way traffic

"How boring. Don't you still have your job as a security guard? Go do it. I'll handle these guys' affairs myself."

"Yes, that's true."

Without saying anything more, Huang Quanchuan started walking back the way he came.

But along the way, there was a slight pause.

"Oh right! If that's the case, you'll have to choose between Hatsune Miku and Alice, kid!!"

"What kind of bastard joke are you making! You're yelling way too loudly!"

Because of Huang Quanchuan's shout, the people behind him could all hear it clearly.

Accelerator's face contorted with rage.

When he turned around, the four people behind him were all looking at him with different expressions.

"Um..."

Takibayashi was about to say something, but Accelerator glared at him, and he didn't dare to say anything.

"let's go."

"Where do you plan to go next?"

"The journey may change, and we'll need to bring along the necessary personnel."

As he spoke, Accelerator headed towards a location that was not quite in the same direction as before.

"We need to bring that guy along first."

Chapter 679 An even more delightful scene

Alice stayed close to the person who had profoundly influenced her.

That being said, because I've been racking my brains over all of this, suddenly encountering something like this is really... a bit too much for me to accept.

I never expected this day to come so soon.

Accelerator has been gone for at least a few months since he left Gensokyo.

For Alice, a magician who is no longer human, a few months is like a few days for humans—nothing at all.

So far, people who have lived even longer than that have survived, so there's no need to worry too much.

That's clearly the case.

…That's how it should have been.

It's been so long, so very long, far too long.

A few months was simply unbearable. Let alone a few months, even just a few weeks passed, and Alice felt almost unable to think about anything.

Her heart and mind were almost entirely filled with that person's image.

If you can't forget it immediately, then not only will you be unable to create dolls, but your normal daily routine will also be disrupted.

…How annoying.

They barged into my life without permission, changed everything about me without my consent, and left such a huge... impact...

Alice has been waiting, waiting for the day when Accelerator returns to Gensokyo.

One month, three months, six months... almost a year.

Will you really come back?

What kind of place did he go to? What kind of people were there? What did he experience? What is he doing now?

Alice, as usual, sat in her room, absentmindedly making dolls while thinking about such things.

— at that time.

In the blink of an eye, they arrived at another place.

They arrived in another world.

'It's not a dream...it absolutely, absolutely cannot be a dream...!'

The girl stayed close to Accelerator, her heart still filled with an overwhelming sense of shock.

He turned his head slightly, and Marisa behind him noticed his movement, so she quickly made a gesture to cheer him on.

Although Reimu was somewhat reluctant, she still made the same gesture.

I can't just let myself sink into despair like this.

The task I need to accomplish is right in front of me, and if I miss it... I can't even think about when we'll meet again.

Alice knew she had to seize these opportunities.

"that…"

The girl followed closely behind, and Takibayashi, seemingly aware of the situation, stepped back.

The two walked side by side.

"Do you... still remember the doll I gave you back then?"

Alice murmured to Accelerator in a barely audible voice.

Accelerator was also reminded of his memories by this sentence.

He reached out and, through the system's inventory, retrieved the item he had kept for a long time—a doll that looked remarkably like him.

It's more like a doll than a human doll.

With its black and white outfit, white hair, and red eyes, it doesn't look particularly scary like a typical doll; instead, it appears quite cute.

The doll itself is very clean and tidy, and there are no signs of any problems caused by being left unattended for a long time.

"So clean..."

When Alice saw its condition, her eyes lit up as she looked over.

Do you take care of it every day?

"Uh…"

Accelerator's eyes met Alice's.

The girl's expression at that moment was as if she was very happy about something; her eyes seemed to be sparkling with stars, and her tone revealed anticipation and joy.

If I say no, I'll definitely make her cry again.

"It's nothing, I just glanced at it a few more times."

"I see..."

Although she didn't receive a particularly satisfactory answer, Alice was still very happy.

For someone like Accelerator, the fact that he can take the time to look at such a small doll from time to time proves that it has great significance to him.

However, in reality, this is still a well-intentioned lie by Accelerator.

He barely touched the doll; it had basically just been sitting in his inventory.

He simply doesn't have time to look at it on weekdays. He's either fighting with someone, on his way to fight someone, or already finished fighting someone. How could he possibly have the chance to look at something like this for little girls?

Just that one sentence made Alice so happy that she squinted her eyes.

"It's okay, as long as you can still remember that it exists."

Accelerator did not respond much to this.

The two continued walking forward, and Alice noticed that the topic of conversation... seemed to have disappeared again.

No...no! We can't let the conversation end like this!

"So... um, has your life here always been like this?"

"You've always lived here, and you'll always live like this. What kind of talk is that?"

"I have this feeling that the city here is so advanced, just like the Moon Capital..."

"There are still differences, but there are more strange things here than there."

"Hmm...so you must have a lot of people you're close to here, right...?"

Why are you suddenly asking this?

"Oh no, I... I'm just a little..."

The longer Alice continued talking, the more she felt she couldn't even speak the most basic words properly.

What is all this nonsense...? The more I listen, the more ridiculous it seems.

Why am I suddenly so at a loss when I can usually speak normally?

Completely incomprehensible…

Although Alice is a magician who is very different from ordinary humans, she is still just a girl at heart.

Having never encountered these emotional issues before, she always chose to keep her heart cold and isolated.

This resulted in her having no idea what her current situation was.

The Seven-Colored Puppet Master, who is usually aloof and has a very clear thought process, has completely fallen for her here.

"I said, what was the situation like when you came here?"

"Eh?"

While Alice was still at a loss, Accelerator suddenly changed the subject.

Alice also did her best to recover.

"Ah... do you mean the situation when I came into this world?"

"That's how it happened. How did you get here? What were the circumstances at the time?"

"Well, I'm not entirely sure myself, but it feels like..."

The girl tried her best to recall how she felt at that time.

"...It's like leaping into a completely different place in one breath, that kind of feeling."

"..."

But her answer at this moment was met with a series of silences from Accelerator.

the reason is simple.

After listening to Alice's description, Accelerator felt that the situation was very familiar, and after thinking for a moment, he came to the answer.

The feeling Alice and her friends experienced as they traveled through different worlds.

—It's the same feeling he had when he and Hatsune Miku jumped between different worlds through the system.

That alone was enough for him to remember it all.

However, these things were not very important to Alice.

What she cared about were actually the stranger viewpoints.

'Ah, did he... find what I just said helpful? He definitely did find my words useful, right? I guess that's... the case!'

…It has completely fallen.

Even Marisa, who was walking at a distance, could clearly see that Alice now... although she was still a proud Seven-Colored Puppet Master, she showed absolutely no trace of arrogance.

All the expressions a young girl should have when she's in love are written on her cute face.

"Ah, I feel like Alice is more like a real person now."

"That guy isn't human at all, is he? Even if he isn't human, his personality should be quite normal."

"But, at least she was once a magician who transformed from a human, right? Compared to the gloomy and cold Alice from before, I actually prefer the Alice we know now."

"So... what exactly are you planning to do now?"

"It's a secret! Anyway, it's nothing you need to know!"

Marisa did her best not to reveal her and Alice's plans to Reimu.

Of course, even without saying anything, Takibayashi, who was standing to the side, had already figured it all out.

"No, no, I think...it's quite difficult, Miss Alice."