One-way traffic

—They were all disappearing at lightning speed in an instant.

"How is this possible... Hey! Accelerator! Look!!"

An eerie feeling, along with the despair of Mitsuha's last existence fading away, instantly invaded Taki Tachibana's entire body.

He couldn't help but turn to the only person who had the power to change everything.

Accelerator walked over and, upon seeing this scene, snatched the phone before the text disappeared.

Almost at the very moment the first person placed their hand on the phone screen.

The text on the phone, which was disappearing rapidly and had only a few dozen words left, was forcibly stopped.

"I see."

However, Accelerator, who was holding the phone, did absolutely nothing.

However, he already knew the general outline of the matter.

“That girl is dead. It is precisely because of the fact that she is dead that you, who are three years in the future, should not know anything about this dead person.”

"...Then, does that mean I can do it?!"

"You will lose all memories of these things, and you will forget why you came here."

The sound of drumming.

A sound, as if a heartbeat had stopped, instantly came from Taki Tachibana's body.

His eyes trembled as he stared in disbelief at the slowly disappearing characters on his phone screen.

"But it doesn't matter, such low-level things can't affect me at all."

Even if you simply hold it in your hand, the content on it will not disappear at all.

"Let's go."

Accelerator handed the phone back to him and looked into the distance.

"Go to the location of the Divine Body; only by going there can everything be accomplished."

"Does 'completing everything' mean... you're going to save her?"

Taki asked the question tentatively.

"Me? You've got it all wrong, kid."

But that's all Accelerator said.

In a very simple and clear tone.

"It wasn't me who went to save that little girl."

"Shouldn't you be the one saving her?"

Chapter 720 The Reason for Existing in This World

I've made up my mind. No matter what, I'm going to save Mitsuha.

However...

Before saving Mitsuha, Taki Tachibana first has to face a problem that is... rather serious for him.

"Are you kidding me? You want me to drink this?!"

The location is in front of the altar of the divine body.

The person shouting and yelling at this moment is none other than Taki Tachibana, standing right in front of us.

He looked at Accelerator with an expression that could be described as utterly terrified.

To be precise, it was what he was holding in his hand.

flagon.

The small wine jug, made of special stone, naturally contains a rich and mellow wine.

just.

"This is sake made with Mitsuha's saliva, and you... you actually want me to drink it? Are you serious?!"

After arriving at the Divine Body, Accelerator told Tachibana Taki something very simple.

Tell him to open the jar and drink the liquid inside directly.

"Made with saliva...really...you want me to drink it?"

"Why are you spouting so much nonsense?"

Seeing Taki Tachibana's hesitant expression, Accelerator simply shoved the lid full of sake into his hand.

You know what "Musubi" is, right?

"Huh? Ah... I think I do remember hearing that before..."

"Based on the meaning of this word, this bottle of wine represents the half of that girl's body. Although this kind of thing has no scientific basis at all, it's all nonsense to me... but I still have to try it."

Moreover, Accelerator has already used the kuchikami sake liquid in front of him to establish a mental connection with Mitsuha Miyamizu from three years ago.

If Taki Tachibana, who once swapped bodies with Mitsuha, were to drink it directly...

maybe.

"After you drink this wine, you'll probably be able to switch bodies with that girl again."

"So, the specific time is..."

"I don't know about that, but it must have been when she was still alive. We can't let you drag around a dead body, can we?"

Although these words may sound uncomfortable, they are indeed a reasonable inference.

and.

For Taki Tachibana, this was something he had always planned to do.

Even if neither side can pass, it will still be done.

"I see."

The boy gripped the lid tightly in his hand.

He stared intently at the clear, transparent liquid, his expression extremely serious.

"I understand!"

Gudu…

Taki Tachibana tilted his head back and, without hesitation, swallowed the clear sake in one gulp.

The two stood still.

Then, they just stared at each other like that.

"...Let me ask a question first."

"what?"

"What the hell does that stuff taste like?"

"Uh, it sounds a bit strange to say, but surprisingly... it tastes pretty good?"

I can't imagine it.

After confirming these words, Accelerator didn't even spit them out; that stuff was made of human saliva mixed with rice...

"That's enough, you don't need to say any more of this stuff."

"Huh? But, but I've already drunk it, why is it still not—"

Why haven't they swapped bodies yet?

Just as those words were about to come out of Tachibana Taki's mouth.

His nervous movements caused him to unknowingly step directly onto the slippery moss.

"Whoaaaaaah—?!"

The boy immediately fell to the ground.

Although the support of the backpack prevents her head from hitting the ground in such a dangerous way, but...

Just as he fell to the ground...

In an instant, a fantastical scene, like a hallucination, flashed through Taki Tachibana's mind.

then.

The body of the number one student in Academy City also disappeared from the spot at the same time.

————————————————————————————

"Wow——!!"

He regained consciousness.

From Taki Tachibana's perspective, it's as if he's completely reviewing the life of Mitsuha Miyamizu.

After that feeling subsided, what reappeared before my eyes was... a wooden ceiling.

It felt strange, yet so familiar.

"Mitsuba..."

And, familiar bodily sensations.

The soul attached to the girl's body controlled the body, and slowly, the girl hugged herself with both hands.

It is alive.

Unlike the last memory she had just seen, she... was alive.

A warm body, a beating heart.

"Mitsuba...it's Mitsuba!"

The emotions that could no longer be suppressed finally erupted.

Taki Tachibana held Mitsuha tightly, large tears slowly falling from her eyes.

His hands grasped Mitsuha's body without hesitation, feeling it, even... kneading it.

"It's Mitsuha... she's still alive! She's really still alive...!!"

"..."

Then he completely failed to notice one thing.

Accelerator, who had already appeared at this point in time, was leaning against the window, looking at him with a twitching smile.

"Are you out of your mind, kid?"

"Eh?! No, no! I'm just a little excited..."

No sooner had he said that than a series of footsteps came from outside the door.

"Sister, breakfast is ready today..."

Miyamizu Yotsuba, Mitsuha's younger sister, opened the door and looked directly inside.

Then she saw this scene directly.

My older sister was sitting on the bed, rubbing her chest with both hands, while her face was covered in snot and tears.

“Four Leaves!!”

With that loud shout, Taki Tachibana suddenly ran towards Yotsuba's direction.

Naturally, startled, Yotsuba immediately closed the door and dashed downstairs like a wisp of smoke.

"Why are you so afraid of me...?"

"Tsk... Stop doing stupid, pointless things for me."

The first person curled his lip and pulled Tachibana Taki over, who was in pain from bumping his head against the door.

"Listen up, if you want to save this guy, you'd better stay here quietly."

"Eh?"