This is not the date I wanted.

Standing up slowly, Westcott looked around, with a rare hint of nostalgia in his eyes.

“…How many years have passed?”

If I count the time, it has been almost forty or fifty years since my hometown was destroyed.

At first, they were penniless and could only live in an orphanage under an assumed name. But soon, a couple took a liking to the handsome and intelligent Ike and adopted him as their son.

After hiding his true nature for several years, the old couple who adopted Ike died in an accident. Having inherited a large amount of assets, Ike finally had the opportunity to show his talents. He gathered Elliot and others together to create DEM and study magic and mysterious methods.

Theosophy, occultism, alchemy, and the Kabbalah system. They package magic as a pseudo-thing development company called "technology" while writing "magic" that can change the world.

Finally, they developed the elf spell and summoned the original elf that caused the Eurasian spacequake.

And this happened thirty years ago.

Alan might have believed Westcott's words to create a world that only belonged to magicians, but Elliot and Karen had obviously seen through his true nature and betrayed him to set up their own business.

Of course, this is not a bad thing in a sense. It is precisely because of their opposition that Westcott has been able to have fun killing time in the past thirty years.

"I'm really looking forward to it."

Westcott couldn't help but raise the corner of his mouth.

He had been waiting, ready to witness the coming of hell once again.

————————————————I came to the boundary of the skyship——————————

Soon, Shidao arrived at Fraxinus's aerial ship.

He has a lot to do now, such as fighting against DEM, fulfilling his promise to confess what he had hidden, etc. But before he goes, he has to find someone first.

Walking forward with steady steps, after passing through a long corridor, Shidou found the person he was looking for.

She was an adult woman with gray hair, her long hair was neatly tied behind her head, with heavy bags under her eyes, and the stuffed bear doll that she always carried with her and had been mended many times.

This is the analyst of this airship - Murasame Reion, and also the origin spirit they have been looking for - Takamiya Mio.

"Hmm? You're here... Really."

After noticing Shidou's presence, Reine spoke slowly.

The sleepy tone was the same as always, but after experiencing that dream, Shidou felt completely different.

Thinking about it carefully, since they met, Lingyin has never called herself "Shidao" once, but has always called herself "Shin".

Not only that, the dark circles under her eyes from not sleeping for 30 years, and the stuffed doll that always hangs on her chest. These traits that seem to be shaping her personality all speak of the sadness in Lingyin's heart.

Even after thirty years, her love for Somiya Shinji has not faded in the slightest.

"...Yes, I am here."

However, now is not the time to indulge in sadness. Shidou took a deep breath and looked into Reine's eyes.

"Ms. Lingyin."

"Ok?"

"Can you go on a date with me tomorrow?"

Mio past——End.

postscript

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

Shidou: Itsuka Shidou!

Mengyue: Liangyi Mengyue! Best Match! Are you ready?

Shidou: Yes! Change——Pah, Mengyue. Stop making fun of me and start the show according to the script, okay?

Meng Yue: Hey~ It's more fun to improvise. Aren't you quite excited, Shidao? What was the next line after you shouted "transform" just now?

Shidao; the long river of yin and yang that divides the universe——ahem! Nothing. Anyway, welcome to "A Letter from Fraxinus——EX!!".

Mengyue: To be honest, I didn’t expect this copycat show to go to the third episode. I thought it had been cancelled long ago.

Shidao: You, you think too much, Mengyue. The postscripts of the previous volumes were not invited to appear because the author had a lot of things to convey to the readers personally.

Mengyue: Isn’t it because that guy has run out of inspiration and his talents are limited?

Shidao: ... Mengyue, sometimes turning a blind eye is also a kind of gentleness. Didn't you see that the author is about to cry in the background?

Meng Yue: Ha~ There's really nothing I can do. Then let's move on to the next step.

Shidou: Okay, let's look at the first keyword first.

——————————It’s great that Shidou is back——————————

Meng Yue: Oh~ Not bad, Shidao, to be loved by readers. Applause~

Shidou: Eh? Um--Thank you very much. Although I don't understand what's going on at all...

Meng Yue: Haha, after all, even if you were mentioned in the previous letters, most of them would be like "Burn Shidao!", "Heaven will tolerate that Shidao won't be burned", etc. The sourness and murderous intent were almost overflowing from between the lines.

Shidou: Yes. Hehe——As expected, my growth as a protagonist has been recognized by the readers, right?

Meng Yue: Ah, that's not the case. Shidao, forget about Momoko.

Shidou: ...

Mengyue: Back to the topic, it seems that before this volume of "Mio past", the author once wrote an original special volume with the theme of "the world after Shidou's death". I heard that it made many readers cry, so when everyone returned to the main story, they felt very relieved to see that you were alive.

Shidou: I see. But even if someone says "you've died before", it's hard for me to feel it's real. And in the special episode, it's basically you, Mengyue, who's active, and there's no role for me.

Meng Yue: Well... Even if you say so, I didn't inherit the memory of that world line. But I should be very different from me now. After all, it is a line where everyone has turned around and the world is about to be destroyed. I should have a certain degree of awareness.

Shidou: That's really despairing. If possible, I really don't want this to happen.

Meng Yue: However, the plot of this volume also happened after the influence of the special volume, so we can't just deny it. Well, to sum it up in one sentence, it should be -

Shidao: It should be?

Mengyue: I won’t cry until I see the coffin.

Shidou: How do you want me to complain, Mengyue! ?

Mengyue: Then, the next keyword.

————————————Long Xiong: “Come, call me daddy.”————————————

Shidou:……………………

Meng Yue: What's wrong, Shidao? He looks like he's constipated after eating sour plums.

Shidou: Um... how should I put it? I've lived in the Gokawa family for so many years, and there's nothing wrong with calling my adoptive father dad, but when I see this keyword, I always feel like I'm being played for a fool.

Meng Yue: That’s right, after all, this volume has revealed your life story. A friend of the same age thirty years ago has become your adoptive father thirty years later. This development is indeed a bit weird.

Shidou: Well... I am very grateful to him for taking me in for so many years, but how should I put it... I feel like I've been taken advantage of.

Meng Yue: Well, modern people seem to like to gain a sense of superiority by having others call them "Dad". This can be regarded as a distorted thought in modern society. I don't quite understand it though.

Shidou: So it doesn't matter if Mengyue calls someone else "Dad"?

Mengyue: Well...if it's just a little quarrel between family members without any malice, I don't mind.

Shidou: Then can you try to call me?

Mengyue: Dad?

Shidou:…………One more time.

Mengyue:——Dad.

Shidao: Hey, what's the matter, my dear daughter——It hurts, it hurts! Mengyue, don't make me look so ugly!

Meng Yue: Humans are indeed like this. If you give them a little color, they will want to open a dyeing factory.

Shidou: Well... in exchange, Mengyue, you can also try calling me son.

Mengyue: ………son.

Shidou: What's the matter, mom?

—Snap! —Snap! —Snap! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!!

Meng Yue: Phew~ This is also for the effect of the show. I think Shidao, you have already made up your mind before saying this, right?

Shidou: Yes... Then... the next keyword.

——————————————Fancy introduction to the stalk——————————————————

Mengyue: What is this keyword, dongdong?

Shidao: Um... it seems that because of the previous editor's changes to the chapter layout, and the author's previous operation, when readers finish reading the latest update, they will definitely turn to a blank chapter called "Broken Chapter", and every time there will be readers complaining at the end, it seems to have become a tradition of this book.

Dream Moon: In our absence, strange traditions have grown.

Shidou: Then it seemed that more and more people were complaining, and some people started to use all kinds of weird poses to incorporate the gags.

Meng Yue: Throat? What are those?

Shidao: Let me see... "Don't stop. As long as you don't stop, the chapter will continue to extend, and what is waiting for us in front must be Mengyue Swimming!"

Mengyue: Should I sing "Flower of Hope~" at this moment?

Shidou: And... "Celebrate, the one standing before you is the king who connects the past and the future, the emperor who has gathered all the tricks in one body, the emperor who is the most ridiculous and the most ridiculous, his name is - Broken Trace Chapter!"

Mengyue: There are quite a lot of fans of our book.

Shidou: In addition to these, there are also "Prisoner Imprisonment Version", "Hosting and Welcoming Version", "Brave Man Fighting the Devil King Version", "Path to Truth Version", "Heroic Ode Version", "Petite Thief Stealing Version", etc.

Mengyue: As expected, all the readers in the comment section are great writers. The reason is probably because they are too full.

Shidou: By the way, the two at the beginning seem to be made up by the author himself.

Mengyue: ...Well, this is probably what they call a crooked upper beam will lead to crooked lower beams.

—————————————————About the Magic Reform————————————————

Shidao: The following keywords do not come from readers' letters, but the author wants to explain some of his thoughts when writing to readers through this program.

Meng Yue: Well, our author has been letting himself go on the path of magical changes since the middle of the story, and he hasn't been complained about the plot collapse at this point, which is considered a medical miracle.

Shidao: Well... author, don't worry about it. Anyway, the biggest change in this volume should be the creation of my starting point - the character of Takamiya Shinshi.

Mengyue: In fact, the original work’s Shinji Takamiya did not have such subtle and complex changes in his mentality.

Shidao: After all, in the original work of this book, "Date A Live", the descriptions of Takamiya Shinji were broken into pieces by the author Tachibana Company and inserted as fragments between the main stories.

Meng Yue: According to the author of this book, the character of "Takamiya Shinshi"... is too thin. It's hard to say whether he is good or bad. I can only say that I can understand why Mio likes him.

Shidao: Maybe it's because Shinshi in the story is basically described from the perspective of Takamiya Mio. After all, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. In Mio's opinion, as long as Shinshi is gentle, kind, brave, and doesn't treat her differently, he is worthy of love.

Meng Yue: Well, if there is no DEM as an enemy, these qualities are indeed enough. After all, sometimes you don’t need too many reasons to like someone.

Shidou: But since there is an enemy element, I still hope that Shinshi can be portrayed with characteristics different from Shidou... I can understand the author's idea.

Mengyue: According to common sense, as a high school student, Shinshi should have all kinds of thoughts about living in an unknown disaster called "spacequake" and picking up a girl with special abilities.

Shidou: Indeed... After all, light novels of this type are very popular in Japan.

Meng Yue: So, the original work is from Mio's perspective, and this book shows Shinshi's inner changes from his perspective. And after all, this story is ultimately tragic, so in the end he becomes a boy who wants to protect everything, but because he is unable to hurt others, he is unwilling to die.

Shidou: And then, Shinshi... his feelings and experiences became the starting point for shaping me - Gokawa Shidou. I think this is a good idea.

Mengyue: Well, after all, considering the complexity of your relationship with Shinshi, the author seems to have deliberately portrayed Shinshi as having some flaws when describing him. Otherwise, if he were too perfect, it would not be a tragedy, and the necessity of you, Shidou, as the protagonist would also be questioned.

Shidao: That's not true. Shinshi is very capable and I admire him very much.

Mengyue: Is this considered bragging...Okay, then the next keyword.

————————————Jump to the next page————————————

Mengyue: Well, strictly speaking, this should be called "changing rolls" rather than skipping rolls.

Shidao: I think readers who have read the original novel should know that this book directly skips two key plots of the original novel.

Meng Yue: The volumes are "Kyouzo Ragnarok" and "Mio GameOver", right? The former is about RS Company's fight against DEM, while the latter is about Mio intervening and destroying all the elves of DEM and RS Company.

Shidou: How should I put it... It sounds even more excessive than the special volume written by the author.

Meng Yue: As a final battle, except for some details and some settings, it is actually quite good. The reversal in the later stage is also quite interesting.

Shidou: And...the special volume written by the author and the main volume Mio Past are, in a sense, replacements for these two volumes.