At the high rise-mansion Haruyuki, Takumu and Chiyuri stayed in at Koenji North, there was a large shopping mall from basement one to the third level.
It was just an ordinary night, families and couples embracing each other could be seen on the central passage of the first floor. Haruyuki could not help but feel a sense of deja vu as he trotted his way past the happy smiling faces.
Right—it was that day in April this year. It was the day when the burst linker who suddenly appeared from Umesato, the <<predator>> Dusk Taker, robbed the only ability Silver Crow had, <<Flight Ability>>.Every day, Haruyuki was ordered to give his burst link points, and he ran through the customers in tears.
At that time, he was saved by Ash Roller, who was involved in a <<duel>> on Kannana. Haruyuki met his parent Sky Raker, and gave himself the 2 powers, the “Incarnate System” and “Gale Thrusters”. After an intense battle, he finally managed to beat Dusk Taker.
However, he could not rely on anyone this time. If he met anyone in the Accel World, Haruyuki would not be able to ensure that he would not attack anyone randomnly.
He thought about it, and realized that the act of diving into the Unlimited Natural Field itself carried a certain amount of risk. Inside it, he might end up facing an opponent he did not want to fight out of coincidence. In that case, it might be a better decision for me to pull off the Neuro-linker from my neck, snap it and throw it into the fountain. Maybe destroying the BB program that was installed is the only way to bury the “Disaster Armor”…
At this moment,
There was a neat set of shoes that entered Haruyuki’s eyes as he lowered his head and ran to the entrance.
The black polished loafers were not new, but they were a nice pair. There were also white socks, slender calves and a checkered pleated skirt fluttering slightly on her.
Someone—most likely a girl, got in Haruyuki’s way, and was standing in the central passage of the shopping mall. Perhaps she was operating a virtual desktop, and she did not have manners in this sense. Even so, Haruyuki did not have the courage to go through her as he pretended not to look at this person, turned left and changed his course.
But for some reason, the black loafers moved to his left as well and continued to block his path.
Haruyuki started to feel somewhat annoyed as he turned right, but the owner of the shoes turned in the same direction. Once both of them were 1 meter away from each other, Haruyuki could only stop reluctantly.
He continued to lower his head and whispered,
“…Sorry, please let me through.”
Ah, sorry!
Of course, he hoped for a response similar to that—however, after a short moment of silence, an unexpected reply came with a very weak voice.
“…I won’t let you…through.”
……Huh!?
As things developed to this extent, even Haruyuki had to straighten his arched body.
He looked up and saw the face of the mysterious girl blocking his wave. Above the checkered skirt was an ivory colored school cardigan. There was a ribbon near the shirt if the same color as the skirt, and it was a rather fashionable design for a school uniform. She could be seen carrying a small shoulder pouch as well.
She was most probably a middle schooler, and her body shape was rather petite. However, her slender shoulders were spread out 30 degrees, and she really wanted to block Haruyuki who was much bigger than her.
Speechless, Haruyuki finally looked at the face of this other party.
He had no impression on both the voice and the uniform. The appearance gave the neat impression of a boy, and the hair was short cut. Haruyuki was bad at remembering people’s faces, but he was almost certain that this was the first time they met. The reason why he did not dare to conclude was because he instinctively looked away the moment he saw the face.
The reason was because the almond-like eyes of the mysterious girl were flowing with tears.
He had no idea why, in the middle of a shopping mall full of customers, he had to be blocked by a female middle schooler who was about to cry. Thus, Haruyuki switched off his panic switch and spoke again.
“Well…I, I think you’re mistaken. Sorry, I’m in a rush…”
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And then, he changed directions for the third time as he wanted to cut through by the left—but Haruyuki’s right hand.
Was grabbed by the teary looking girl with unexpected strength. At the same time, there was a voice that was softer than before.
“I’m definitely not…mistaken here. I won’t let you walk away.”
“Huh…!? Wh-why…I, I didn’t do anything…”
Haruyuki noticed the stares around him as he quickly responded.
In contrast, the girl’s answer was that of a firm denial.
“No…you did. You, saved, me.”
The girl stuttered, had tears swelling in her eyes, and continued,
“I’m…Ash Roller.”