Tokyo Psychic

Page 324

Akira Kurusu paused for a moment, then fell into deep thought amidst her shock.

There was a long silence between them before Lai Xixiao tentatively asked her, "Are you also a demigod of the Sea of ​​Hearts?"

"I'm not."

Homura Akemi said, "You should trust demons more than 'gods'."

“Strictly speaking, my power is indeed related to the concept of ‘demon’.” Akira Kurusu looked at her. “Are you trying to say that you are a demon who crawled out of hell and are preparing to sign a soul-binding contract with me, exchanging a quarter of your soul for the power to correct everything each time?”

"The devil is right, the contract is right, but I don't want your soul."

"Has Hell started doing charity?"

“There is no hell in this world,” Homura Akemi led Akatsuki through the deserted streets, her voice as elegant and gentle as a violin. “And I do have the power to lend you.”

"What power?"

“The power to record reincarnation,” Homura Akemi said, “This world is caught in an endless cycle, and no one knows when it will restart. It’s like a game of Go where everyone has their own turn to make all the plans for the future in their own turn… And what I’m going to lend you is the privilege of being able to record all of this indefinitely.”

"Why don't you just give me the ability to 'rewind time'?"

Homura Akemi's eyes suddenly became meaningful, "This is the only one that won't do..."

She said, "The one who initiates the cycle of reincarnation is the very cycle of beginnings and endings; such a person cannot escape the cycle of reincarnation."

"So, I really did 'time travel'?"

“Yes.” Homura Akemi nodded. “You are a ‘variable’ outside the world. Only you can end this endless cycle of despair.”

"Did you send me here?"

"No."

Akira Kurusu looked confused. He didn't ask Homura Akemi if she could go back, clearly because she needed something from him and couldn't answer that question.

The atmosphere instantly fell silent.

But Homura Akemi seemed to enjoy the silence.

After walking for about half an hour, the two finally arrived at a high-end-looking apartment.

The sign "Fujiki-ju" hangs by the door.

Homura Akemi took out the key, inserted it into the lock, and turned it. Soon the door opened, and after passing through the empty living room that had no trace of life, she led Akira Kurusu to the master bedroom.

“You’ll be sleeping in this room tonight,” she said, pointing to the large bed, which was filled with several plush toys and could easily fit four people, and then to the laptop opposite the bed. “Please feel free to use the electronic devices here as well.”

"Did you used to sleep here?" Akira asked Homura Akemi beside her, looking at the pink, blue, yellow, and red girl dolls on the bedside table.

Homura Akemi bluntly retorted, "If you want me to sleep with you tonight, I don't mind continuing to sleep here."

She said, almost as if she were promoting herself, "I should feel more comfortable hugging than those plush toys."

How old are you this year?

“I turned 14 a few months ago, and according to the law, I meet the ‘age of sexual consent’.”

"I'll go to jail." Akira Kurusu was quite frightened by Homura Akemi's series of moves, because Akira Kurusu realized that every word she said was sincere, and carried a very calm sense of entitlement.

It was as if they had slept in the same bed countless times.

Seeing his struggling expression, Homura Akemi smiled faintly, then turned and left the room. "I'll sleep on my side tonight and won't bother you again."

"Can I come to your room to ask you if I have any questions?"

"No, I want to sleep."

"Even demons need to sleep?"

“Strictly speaking, I am not a ‘demon’ right now, just as you are not a ‘phantom thief’ right now.”

......

After Homura Akemi left, Akira Kurusu turned on the computer, which had no password.

Everything on the laptop was excessively simple, just like the entire apartment, which was so blank it seemed as if it had never been used.

Lai Xixiao kept typing on the keyboard, searching online for various hot news, history, politics... comparing them with her own past and this seemingly true but actually false world.

After confirming all the necessary information, Akira Kurusu released his hands from the keyboard, and countless feelings of exhaustion overwhelmed him, drowning out his consciousness.

Whether it's malnutrition or something more unusual, my body in this world is frighteningly weak.

As Lai Xixiao thought about this with such heartache, the mental exhaustion from the shock to his worldview, along with the physical fatigue, overwhelmed him and knocked him unconscious in front of his computer desk.

And in the instant he lost consciousness.

In the next bedroom, Homura Akemi, who was lying flat on the bed with her hands clasped over her lower abdomen like a doll, opened her eyes.

She muttered to herself, "One hour, twelve minutes, and fifteen seconds—nothing has changed at all..."

Then she got out of bed, pushed open the door, and walked to Lai Xixiao's side as usual, helping him to the big bed with some difficulty.

After doing all this, Homura Akemi did not leave, but sat on the edge of the bed, gazing at his tired sleeping face.

......

【XNUM X Year X NUM X Month X NUM X Day】

[6:21 AM]

Taito Ward, Tokyo.

The thin mist along the Sumida River had not yet dissipated, and the asphalt road surface gleamed with a cold, bluish-gray light.

The bronze bell of the five-story pagoda of Senso-ji Temple trembled gently in the morning breeze, its echoes scattering among the Yoshino flowers blooming sporadically on the branches of Sumida Park. The pale red buds swayed among the steel jungle, like washi paper lanterns floating in a concrete canyon.

After spending the entire night in front of the computer, Lai Qixiao stepped out of "Fujikiju" and stretched her stiff shoulders and neck under the thin sunlight, feeling a strange soreness.

What a bizarre dream I had.

A pristine goddess, a jet-black demon, and bizarre creatures twisted like rabbits or cats desperately flee in a distorted space; an upside-down city, a shattered sky, and tangled chains dance wildly across the entire world...

The fragments in his dream were all magnificent, apocalyptic scenes, making him feel intensely unreal.

Even though he inexplicably ended up in bed, he didn't sleep soundly. His long dream ended with a bullet piercing his heart.

The only thing that could be called "beautiful" was probably the moment before he died, when the goddess held him tightly and gave him a holy and flawless kiss.

313. Side Story ③-2: A Date with Homura Akemi (7-in-1)

Also known as: "The Cycle with Homura Akemi - Chapter 3", "A Story That Happened in an Unknown Number of Cycles"

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The mannequins in the clothing store window are dressed in new season gowns, but their necks are adorned with snowflake patterns from last winter.

The noren curtain in the old bookstore is covered with dust from the Showa era. A girl with long black hair, delicate and beautiful like a porcelain doll, looks up between the yellowed pages of "Tokyo New Prosperity Record". Sunlight drips from the eaves onto the nose of Totoro on the poster of Hayao Miyazaki's animation.

"Are you awake?" the girl asked in a cool voice, starting the conversation.

As Akira Kurusu looked at the mysterious middle school student behind the desk who called herself "Akatsumi Homura," a jolt of electricity seemed to run through her mind.

Many memories that had been blurred for unknown reasons began to resurface.

The phantom thief only realized this very slowly... "Homura Akemi" must be a character from the manga series "Puella Magi Madoka Magica," which is labeled as a "healing" manga.

At that moment, Akira Kurusu felt a chill run down his spine.

Fictional characters have become reality.

His first reaction wasn't that he had transmigrated, but rather that he had been dragged into a mental palace. The enemy's ability was unclear, but it seemed to be "illusion materialization"...

Homura Akemi looked at him with a slightly helpless expression, then sighed. "Mr. Phantom Thief, manga characters can't come to life in reality. You should be very knowledgeable about this kind of cognitive science."

“Oh, I almost forgot you know about the Space of Impressions.” Akira Kurusu reached out and closed the book in Homura Akemi’s hand. “It seems this isn’t our first meeting.”

"The exact same conversation has happened 117 times."

Based on her intuition, Akira Kurusu could tell that Homura Akemi was not lying.

Now that she has remembered Homura Akemi's true identity and accepted the reality that the manga character she knew has become a living person... Akira Kurusu felt her worldview was shattered, but she still managed to accept this unexpected turn of events.

Since I've already transmigrated, it's not a big deal if someone suddenly tells me that I need to play the role of an enemy BOSS in various magical worlds, right?

Could it be that I actually traveled into "Puella Magi Madoka Magica"?

So Akira pulled out a chair next to the desk, sat up straight, and said, "Tell me, do you want me to take out Witch Night or Kyubey?"

Although she already knew that this guy knew everything about witches through "comics," Homura Akemi still couldn't help but clench her fists. However, she quickly loosened her fists, and her eyes showed even more helplessness. "Those things are too far away."

Then, Homura Akemi mimicked Akatsuki Kurusu's tone, "Shall we first figure out how to take down 'Aldabait'?"

Akira Kurusu paused for a moment, then a very dangerous smile appeared on her face. "It seems we've been fighting side by side for quite some time now..."

Homura Akemi nodded, then reopened the book in her hand. "You don't have to make those faces on purpose. I know everything you're about to say."

"You're actually bored?"

"Ah."

"Flame, can I kiss you?" Akira Kurusu bluntly asked a question that was tantamount to sexual harassment; it was a very bold probe. He had figured it out: the girl in front of him was practically reaching the skyrocketing level of affection for him.

Last night he asked Homura Akemi, "What is our relationship?" Homura Akemi's answer was "Lavenda".

The meaning wasn't that she knew everything about herself, but rather, "I like you no less than I like Ravenda."

As expected, Homura Akemi nodded slowly after a brief hesitation.

Then she held the open book upright on the table, burying her small face in the pages like she was secretly chatting with the classmate next to her in class, facing Akira Kurusu, and then closed her eyes, waiting for him to come closer.

At such close range, Akira Kurusu finally had the chance to see that Homura Akemi was holding the book upside down...

Rather, it's more accurate to say that she was holding the book upside down from the start.

Homura Akemi had already experienced what she had just said. She had deliberately said "I'm bored, I want a change" because she had guessed that she would make that probing remark... and then it would be a natural and expected kiss.

"How many times has this happened now?"

Faced with Akira Kurusu's question, Homura Akemi remained silent this time, her eyes still closed, her thin, cherry-colored lips slightly parted, silently expressing her answer—

You suggested kissing me, and I accepted. If you don't kiss me, then don't even think about getting a single piece of information out of me.

Akira Kurusu had no choice but to slowly move a chair closer to Homura Akemi. Faced with the 14-year-old junior high school student's face, which was full of childishness and naivety but already showed exquisite beauty, even the Phantom Thief of Mind had to hesitate briefly due to guilt.

In the end, he had no choice but to lie down and lean closer, symbolically touching Homura Akemi's lips.

A very faint blush rose on Homura Akemi's cool face.

Then she opened her eyes and gazed at the boy in front of her with her dark purple pupils. The icy despair and numbness in her eyes melted a little, and a small happiness and longing flowed out.

Despite Homura Akemi's careful attempts to conceal her almost imperceptible emotional changes, Akira Kurusu still managed to catch them.

Homura Akemi straightened up and, before Akira Kurusu could speak, raised her small hand to cover his mouth. "Next, we should try other options."

Since Homura Akemi said so, it means that the recurring cycle is about to undergo a new change.

"Did the visual novel end at the wrong ending?"

"Yes."

"The ability to save and load is truly enviable... Since Akemi keeps trying, it means there's always a possibility of a happy ending, right?"

"Hmm." Homura Akemi's reply was still brief, but a hint of displeasure flashed in her eyes. She grasped Akira Kurusu's hand. "From now on, you can only call me by my name."

After she finished speaking, she immediately shook her head and muttered to herself as if no one else was around, "This isn't right... I promised to make as many exchanges with him as possible."

Then Homura Akemi earnestly apologized to Akira Kurusu, "I shouldn't have ordered you around."

Akira Kurusu was surprised by Homura Akemi's sudden change, but before he could say anything, Homura Akemi spoke first, "Let's make a deal first, um... our first deal."

"A devil's deal? Does it mean I have to sell my soul?" Akira Kurusu used a joking remark to mask her wariness.

Homura Akemi said expressionlessly, "You can take it that way if you want."

"Then I'll be all ears." Akira Kurusu didn't agree to Homura Akemi's request, but instead asked her to explain the details of the deal.

Homura Akemi's gaze fell on the customers who entered the store a little further away. "From now on, you cannot use honorifics with me in any situation. You must call me by my name, or use a term of endearment like 'darling' or something as mushy as possible."

Akira Kurusu's initial impression of Homura Akemi as a "bewitching demon" crumbled immediately. "Is this what it means to sell one's soul?"

Homura Akemi nodded, "Take it one step at a time."

"Okay, since it's a transaction... what's my reward?"

You can treat me like a girlfriend you're deeply in love with.