This is not the date I wanted.

Just like the warmth she felt from the taiyaki and nori bento at that time, these were things that Junai had once taken for granted.

Human senses are incredible, Junai couldn't help but sigh. Just by touching, he came to a conclusion that was different from his perception.

Along the way, through constant feeling, Junai realized what he had done wrong.

This is not the real world, but a product constructed by humans based on their understanding of the world through analysis, understanding, and simulation.

When things are recorded as data by people, the original information of the things will be lost more or less. When it is passed to the hands of the data receiver, another layer of information is filtered out as impurities.

Even humans themselves are still in the stage of exploration, and thinking that they know everything is nothing but arrogance.

The knowledge that is guarded is based on human knowledge. Simply putting other people's knowledge into your bag and treating it as your own without any thought is not objective, and it is not even subjective knowledge.

Or Shouju Ya, he is already looking at the world with his own eyes, understanding the world with his own thoughts, extracting reasonable elements from countless results and constructing a self called "Ju Ya".

It's obviously just a knockoff imitating myself.

Junai couldn't help but clench his teeth in annoyance. This anger was not directed at Jun Ya, but simply because he felt ashamed for not noticing such a simple thing and was one step ahead of himself.

Walking past the Tiangong Station, Junai saw an old lady carrying a heavy baggage who seemed to be afraid to cross the road because of the traffic.

Junai looked around. Due to the location and timing, there were no traffic lights and few people were passing by on the sidewalk. This meant that the old lady had to cross the road by herself.

Junai couldn't help but frown. The situation in front of him had nothing to do with him. Even if the old lady was accidentally hit by a car while crossing the road, as long as he wanted, it would be a piece of cake to restore the data of an NPC.

But if there really is someone being hit and blood is flying all over him in front of him, he would definitely not feel good.

Go help——this voice kept ringing in Junai's mind, making her feel a little irritated.

Obviously, I would never have had such thoughts in the past.

"Oh - I can't stand it."

Scratching his head in a somewhat irritable manner, Junai lifted the recognition shield and quickly ran to the old lady. Without waiting for the old lady to say anything, he picked up the suitcase and carried it across the street.

"Yoshi - solved."

Junai nodded with satisfaction.

"No, no, no! You call this a solved problem. People who don't know would think you took the opportunity to rob the old man of his belongings."

Someone hit her head, and Junai turned around and saw a familiar person.

"Liang Yi Meng Yue!"

"Hey, hey! It's my fault." Looking at Junai who looked alert, Mengyue sighed helplessly, helped the old lady onto the sidewalk, and explained with a smile.

"Well, we just wanted to help you cross the street."

"Hey, I'm not going to help her."

"It's okay, I know. Thank you so much."

The old lady smiled friendlyly, thanked Mengyue and Junai, then took her luggage and left.

"Walk slowly~"

After waving goodbye to the old lady with a smile, Mengyue turned her head and a meaningful smile appeared on her face.

"Oh~ What a surprise. Our Maruna-chan is actually a kind girl who helps an old lady cross the street."

Pretending to look indifferent, Junai turned her head away.

"——Humph! Don't misunderstand me. I just felt that his death in front of me would affect my mood."

"Yeah~ There's no need to look unhappy when helping others. Isn't it better to be happy?"

"I just feel unhappy because I saw a face I don't want to see. Is that all I want to say? Goodbye!"

"Well, wait a moment."

"what's the matter?"

Mengyue blocked Junai's way. Just when Junai was wondering what Mengyue was up to, Mengyue suddenly put her hand on Junai's head and stroked it gently.

"W-What are you doing?!"

"Nothing, I just wanted to touch your head. Just think of it as a reward for doing a good deed."

"...I think you just want to touch it."

"Well~ (side eyes)"

Jun Nai wordlessly slapped Meng Yue's hand away, and Meng Yue immediately pretended to be about to cry. Although she knew that the other party was pretending, Jun Nai still sighed helplessly.

"……whatever."

"oh oh!"

As fast as changing her face, Meng Yue cheered and put her hand on Junai's head, stroking it as if she was comforting a kitten.

"..."

Although she didn't resist, Junai tilted her head in displeasure.

It's not because I feel uncomfortable, on the contrary, I feel unhappy because I feel that this is not a bad thing.

"Are you satisfied?"

"Yeah, very satisfying."

"I see..." After slapping Meng Yue's hand away again, Junai was silent for a moment, then said reluctantly, "Yesterday's bento... although it felt like I was forced to buy it, but... it was delicious."

"Well, just consider it as a thank you gift for calling Shidou over when I got drunk a few days ago. It would be great if you are satisfied."

Seeing Mengyue’s satisfied smile, Junai felt a complicated emotion in his heart.

Although she didn't want to admit it, it was as if Maria had changed because of Shidou. The existence of Ryogi Yumezuki also had a huge impact on Maria.

But what exactly had changed, Junai herself didn't know.

"I'm returning this lunch box to you. It's been cleaned."

As he spoke, Junai handed the cleaned lunch box to Mengyue.

"You don't have to give it back to me. It's already Junai's thing."

Meng Yue shook her head and said.

However, Junai forced the lunch box into Mengyue's hands.

“There’s no point in keeping things you don’t need.”

Junai knew very well the meaning of this lunch box with her name on it.

(I agree with you. If you want, this is where I can stay.)

Extending an olive branch to the enemy or something like that - what an idiot! Junai couldn't help but smile bitterly in her heart.

He is obviously the one who is most aware of the danger of his own existence, yet he also cares about his own existence the most.

"Meng Yue...I want to ask you a question."

Looking up at the sky, Junai's eyes were a little confused.

"what?"

"You once said that you wanted to get in touch with your distant parents and get their praise. This intention is not wrong."

"……Yes."

"If I were to hurt all your loved ones for this wish, would you say the same thing?"

Really...it has turned out to be like this.

Meng Yue smiled bitterly and sighed. After a moment's silence, she spoke in a decisive tone.

"…That's right. There's nothing wrong with wanting to be praised by your parents. But - I will never allow anyone to hurt my family!"

“Hahaha—you’re right. This is the Liang Yi Meng Yue I know, the hacker that everyone fears.”

Orumi Maruna smiled, and her smile was very happy, as if she had found a friend in the deserted wilderness.

"Thank you. Now I am not confused anymore."

As if the chains in his heart had been cut free, Junai looked directly into Mengyue's eyes with extremely penetrating pupils.

Meng Yue, as if she wanted to accept everything, stared at Junai without any avoidance.

Then, as if to negate everything that had accumulated, Junai spoke in an extremely cold tone.

"Liang Yi Meng Yue, I am your enemy."

PS: After finishing rewrite, I feel that my writing style has changed =. =

10 Intermission or Shou Maria's Decision

==============================

The moon rises and the sun sets, just like the laws of nature, night falls on Tiangong City as time passes.

A faint crescent moon hangs high in the sky, looming under the shade of the clouds. Countless stars are strolling in the vast night sky, depicting a dazzling starry sky.

"Today's stars...are also very beautiful."

On the outskirts of Tiangong City, on top of an inconspicuous hill, Ju Ya was admiring the starry sky alone.

Ju Ya doesn't stick to a fixed location. As long as she is in the mood, she will randomly choose a place to enjoy the night view.

However, the world recreated by Fraxinus was limited to this Tiangong City, and the stars and the moon were just a star map made up of data. Even if someone suddenly came up with the idea of ​​exploring the moon and boarding a rocket, they would be directly teleported back to the ground when they rose to about 3,000 meters.

But this did not affect Shoujuya's mood for watching the night sky.

"I had a great time today with everyone and on a date with Shidou."

No, that's not right. Maria has been feeling this way since she started dating Gokawa Shido.

It was only recently that she realized that this feeling was called happiness.

Perhaps this is just a matter of course for ordinary people, but Ju Ya was as excited as if he had found a treasure chest full of jewels.

And today's mood is a little special.

Previously, Maria's analysis has always focused on "the love between 'Shidao Gokawa' and other women", but neglected the question "Why can 'everyone' fall in love with Shidao Gokawa?"

Whether it is Tohka, Yoshino, Origami, Kurumi, Miku, Yakuya, Yui, Kotori, Yumezuki... everyone has their own unique charm. And it is these that can attract Gokawa Shido.

During the two days that Ju Ya traveled with everyone, Ju Ya gradually understood this.

"Everyone started calling me 'partner' and 'friend' without realizing it... I was recognized by everyone."

She placed her hands gently on her chest, feeling a warm current in her heart, and a smile appeared on Ju Ya's lips.

Today, Ju Ya can express the expression called joy very naturally.

The information explains this kind of feeling as friendship and family affection. Just like Mengyue said before, the so-called love is the deepening and sublimation of these feelings.

If you don’t even understand these basic emotions, how can you understand love?

Maria couldn't help but feel embarrassed for not even noticing this problem.

"Shidao and everyone value each other, cherish each other, and share joy, anger, sorrow and happiness together..."

Ju Ya could now vaguely feel the feeling that was difficult to express with thousands of words.

And... I also have my own place in that kind of emotion.

Thinking of this, Maria's cheeks turned red and she covered her face with her cold hands.

"This... like a flame... but very gentle feeling... is it love?"

Just one final push and Ju Ya will get the answer he wants.

If there is something I am still lacking, it is probably... the courage to look directly at and face this kind of feelings.

"Ah... I'm so shy..."

Ju Ya covered her red face and moaned softly.

You can't do this - Orozu Maria! In order to repay everyone who taught me all kinds of emotions, let everyone return to the real world safely. You must not shrink back for this reason!

After repeating this to herself over and over again, Ju Ya took a long, deep breath, and the blush on her face finally faded away.

--go back?

But...what will happen to me when everyone goes back?