One-way traffic

After hearing Accelerator's words, Taki Tachibana's surprise intensified.

"What do you mean by 'stay here obediently'...?"

"It's very simple. From now until the body swap expires, as long as your soul remains here, I can also remain here."

That is to say.

"When the comet falls, I will be able to stop it just as successfully."

"How...how do we stop it? Do we need to evacuate the crowd? Or do we need to evacuate everyone?"

"Taki Tachibana called out anxiously."

"That's a huge problem! And even if we successfully return to this timeline, we'll still have to figure out how to convince everyone that a comet is about to fall from the sky, and then get them to take emergency evacuation..."

"Heh...why make it so complicated?"

Alas?!

Taki Tachibana, who was initially quite excited, immediately fell silent after hearing Accelerator's somewhat frightening laughter.

"There is absolutely no need to evacuate anyone, nor is it necessary to do so many useless and troublesome things."

He just smiled.

He said it with a very simple and confident smile.

"It's just a mere comet falling; I'll just watch how I send it crashing back."

...Huh?

For a moment, Taki Tachibana seemed to freeze completely.

What does "fight back" mean?

——————————————————————————————

Regardless of what Accelerator says, Taki Tachibana ultimately does things his own way.

He understood that no matter what happened next, the fact that the comet would fall would not change.

and so…

Everyone must be successfully evacuated!

"It's already...this time!"

After negotiating and even arranging plans with Mitsuha Miyamizu's two friends in this small town, it was already almost afternoon.

No.

It was already close to dusk.

In the distance, a faint glow can be seen in outer space. Is it simply sunlight? Or is a comet approaching Earth and bright enough to be clearly seen even under these conditions?

Anxiety and various senses of crisis continued to rise in Tachibana Taki's heart.

but…

"Hey Mitsuha! It's almost dark!"

"What...what's our battle plan?!"

The imperial envoy, and Zao Yexiang.

Mitsuha's two friends rushed over. It was almost night, and they naturally had to carry out their plans.

but.

"The people haven't been evacuated yet!"

"Didn't you talk to your father? How did it go? Did you succeed in the negotiation?"

The imperial envoy's words left Tachibana Taki speechless.

How could it possibly succeed... That stubborn old man simply wouldn't listen to a word I said!

What should I do?

Where on earth did Accelerator go? I haven't seen him since this morning, and now... the comet is coming soon!

Although he told me he would handle the comet matter, how exactly should he handle it?!

Even a superhuman like Accelerator couldn't possibly blow up such a huge comet with his bare hands!

"there…"

However, what happened next caused some changes in Tachibana Taki.

He vaguely realized something.

If I am currently in this body, then my original body is still with the Divine Body.

Mitsuha's soul must be there too.

"The Divine Body... I need to go to the Divine Body!"

"what?"

"Imperial envoy, excuse me! May I borrow your bicycle?"

"Hey—wait a minute! Where are you going?!"

His friends couldn't understand Taki's behavior at all and looked at him in panic.

But he had already sped off towards the mountain.

As the bicycle sped along, Taki Tachibana felt a surge of excitement welling up inside her.

It felt like it was bursting out of my chest, a mixture of stinging pain and tension.

Similarly, it was also excitement.

What exactly am I expecting?

"Mitsuba..."

As he raced towards the mountaintop, Taki Tachibana shouted to himself.

"You're right there, aren't you?!"

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

Accelerator was standing near the Divine Body.

He glanced indifferently at the scene inside the body of the god, which looked the same as it had been three years ago. The wine pot was still there, and not a single drop of liquid had been reduced.

…Um?

As he was looking at it, something seemed to change on the ground in front of him.

"This is…"

The wine jug landed directly on the ground, and a hiking backpack appeared nearby.

That's Taki Tachibana's backpack.

But that thing is from three years in the future, so it's impossible for it to appear in this timeline from three years ago.

"No, could it be... a distortion of spacetime?"

In the surrounding environment, a similar situation did indeed seem to be felt.

The vectors of time and space are inherently intertwined and unstable. If they are greatly distorted, it would not be surprising if they crossed dimensions and time and space, causing things that should not exist to happen.

If so.

"Those two guys, could it be...?"

Having thought this through, Accelerator stepped directly out of the Divine Body.

He crossed the river and the lawn, and then came up into the air, looking into the distance.

then.

This scene unfolded right before our eyes.

The sky gradually darkened, yet still retained a hint of twilight.

This period of time, where darkness and light intertwine, is known as the time of twilight.

Beings like demons and monsters tend to appear most frequently during such times.

and so.

It's like being able to see each other's souls.

That's not surprising at all.

"...Taki?"

The sound reached its destination.

A girl standing in front of Tachibana Taki, standing in front of the real Tachibana Taki...

She stood there, stunned, and tears streamed down her face.

"Three leaves."

The boy held her hand tightly.

Feeling the weight of all that I have worked so far, feeling the weight of all that I have experienced so far.

After more than a month of body swapping, learning about the other person's fate, and all the efforts to change that fate.

That suppressed emotion.

From Taki Tachibana's mouth, it transformed into tender words.

"I've come to see you, Mitsuha."

"It must have been tough... You're really in such a faraway place."

Tears fell.

Mitsuha hugged him tightly, and Taki Tachibana also pulled Mitsuha into his arms.

The two remained silent for a long time, simply standing there in that position.

That's it.

"…I see."

Upon witnessing this scene, Accelerator finally understood something.

That's why he couldn't find a reason for his existence in this world.

Whether it's a comet or something else.

None of this should be related to him. Even in the current situation, the real protagonists should be Tachibana Taki and Miyamizu Mitsuha.

There is no scene featuring a superpowered individual named Accelerator.

In this world, he was a completely unwanted outcast.

and so.

"I finally understand what kind of thing an outcast like me should be doing."

…That's right.

Up until now, Accelerator's thoughts have only been for himself and the people around him.

His efforts in this world are all solely for the purpose of returning to his original world as soon as possible, to protect Hatsune Miku and Last Order.

All of this was for his own sake.

however.

—When he actually took action for the two boys and girls in front of him who were essentially unrelated to him, everything changed.

the first time.

It's not just about acting for your own sake, but about... changing other people's tragedies and helping them achieve a happy and fulfilling life.

This is his true reason for existing in this world.

Having witnessed all of this firsthand, Accelerator was absolutely certain of this.