One-way traffic

…His body underwent a teleportation-like phenomenon once again.

In one breath, he returned to Itomori Town, three years ago.

Chapter 716 The Thousand-Year Story of Itomori Town

"…ah."

When I opened my eyes, all I saw was a wooden ceiling.

It's completely different from the situation at home...

Eh.

and many more…

Why does this place look so familiar...?

"How long are you planning to lie here, kid?"

"Whoa—?!"

The sound from beside him startled Taki Tachibana, who screamed in surprise. He had no idea that someone would be in his bedroom—

No, wait a minute!

what happened?

My own voice...it's so shrill!

"Eh... Eh?!"

She looked at her own body, and at the same time at the structure of the room around her.

This isn't my own bedroom.

Rather, I had seen it once before, probably... in a dream.

She still remembers.

"Am I having this dream again?!"

"It's about time you woke up, kid."

Snapped--!

The window was slammed shut, the loud noise startling Taki Tachibana, who had been transferred into Miyamizu Mitsuha's body.

Accelerator.

The man dressed in black and white stood right in front of him.

"You should realize by now that this is not some bullshit dream at all."

No… I’m dreaming.

Taki Tachibana suddenly remembered something.

He ran quickly to the table and flipped through one of the notebooks.

"Ah...this,this really is—!"

At different times.

Mitsuha Miyamizu, who had taken over Tachibana Taki's body, was also rapidly checking the contents of her phone under Accelerator's watchful gaze.

The content on his phone completely jolted him awake.

"This, this couldn't be..."

"That's right! Me and that guy—!"

The two are in completely different timelines.

They said it in unison.

"We really did swap bodies!!"

--------------------------

then.

In the days to come, no… weeks, or even a month.

Accelerator witnessed all of this firsthand.

"Taki...you should at least be mindful of how guys look at you! Don't always use my body to do so many weird things, and! Touching my chest in the morning is absolutely forbidden!"

"You better remember this! You almost completely ruined my life here. Everyone, whether it's my friends or my job, is looking at me so strangely!"

"You actually know that?! I got the same treatment as you at school... Seriously! You guys should at least be more mindful of how girls are perceived!!"

"It's the same for you!! Since you have a male body, you should pay attention to your male image and do less of those overly girly things. My friends almost thought I was gay!"

"That man—!!"

"That woman—!!"

The exchanges occur approximately two to three times a week for unknown reasons.

From the beginning until now, no matter how much he investigates, Accelerator still hasn't been able to figure out the actual relationship between the two.

just.

Once the body swap occurs, Accelerator will randomly appear between the two swapped bodies. No... it's also possible that a situation completely defies time, directly teleporting across time and space.

The only one who can travel between different times and spaces with both body and soul is Accelerator.

"...I've really had enough."

It is October 2nd, and I am currently in Tokyo.

That is, at Taki Tachibana's house.

Since he's in Tokyo, it can only mean…

"I'm so sorry..."

Sitting on the bed is Taki Tachibana, or more accurately, Mitsuha Miyamizu, who has taken over Taki Tachibana's body.

She was saying this to the first person in a very apologetic tone.

"Because of various things happening on our side, you've caused us a lot of trouble this past month... I'm so sorry! Um—"

"It's nothing, no matter how much I apologize, it won't make a difference."

Accelerator didn't pay attention to many of the details she mentioned.

He casually waved his hand and picked up a can of coffee he had taken from the refrigerator. This was something he had casually stored at Tachibana Taki's house, and of course, he also had some stored at Miyamizu Mitsuha's house.

Incidentally, he hadn't eaten much for about two weeks.

Even if he doesn't eat properly, it won't have any effect on his current condition... This can basically be confirmed.

I guess I'm completely dead now.

He couldn't help but think that way.

"Accelerator... sir?"

"nothing."

Seemingly noticing her own situation, Tachibana Taki couldn't help but cast a questioning glance at herself.

But the first person simply dismissed the necessity of responding.

"There's nothing to worry about."

"but…"

Sitting on the bed in a girlish posture, Taki Tachibana looked quite troubled.

"If this continues, it will have a significant impact on me and Taki-kun, as well as on you... right?"

"So, you have a way to solve all of this?"

"Uh...no, no..."

"That's it."

Since there is no way to solve these problems, it is pointless to worry about them.

Accelerator clicked his tongue in displeasure.

He had investigated the comet and the matter of "Musubi" to the point of near exhaustion.

However, that's where the strange thing is.

Although we can learn from the Miyamizu Shrine that the so-called knot actually refers to the intersection and overlap between things, which is cut off from time to time, but will be restored to its original meaning, there is nothing else to it.

There is absolutely no record of why the Miyamizu Shrine worships this pure concept rather than a so-called deity.

Neither Miyamizu Ichiyo nor anyone else at the Miyamizu Shrine knew anything about these things.

About two hundred years ago, there was a man named Yamazaki Mayugoro whose residence was so badly damaged that the bathroom caught fire one night.

It was because of this fire that the fire grew larger and larger, eventually engulfing the entire shrine.

Even all the ancient books that recorded information about Itomori Town were burned.

This is precisely why searching for relevant information has become a daunting task.

but.

Although no relevant information has been found so far, the entire process is being driven by intuition rather than anything else.

This was true when I was in Tokyo, and it was also true when I was in Itomori.

Although progress is very slow, everything does seem to be making some progress.

At least, that's the prevailing understanding.

The day when we get close to the comet is fast approaching.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but turn his gaze to Taki Tachibana beside him.

He seemed to be able to see through the male body and clearly see the soul hidden within it, belonging to the girl herself.

The time is fast approaching when the comet will crash and destroy everything in Itomori Town.

Should we just tell the other person everything right here?

If that were to happen, Mitsuha Miyamizu would undoubtedly learn that she had died three years later.

What will be the outcome for her then?

There's a 90% chance they'd go crazy on the spot.

Therefore, fully aware of this possibility, Accelerator did not intend to tell her the whole truth just like that.

"What's wrong... Is there something on my face?"

Taki Tachibana blinked, looking at Accelerator with a puzzled expression, but the other man completely ignored him.

"By the time you get back there, it will probably be time for the memorial service in Itomori Town."

"Eh...yes, that's definitely true..."

Accelerator's words only made Taki Tachibana more confused.

"Is something about to happen?"

"No, nothing special."

Accelerator said casually without turning his head.

"Just live your normal life, there's nothing to make a fuss about."

"…is that so?"

Although... I have a vague feeling that Accelerator is hiding something from me.

But Taki Tachibana had no idea what it was all about.

but.

"I'm really grateful for Accelerator's company during this time."

I briefly reminisce about the time I've experienced so far.