One-way traffic

Roswaal was the noble count responsible for guarding this border.

The area is sparsely populated, with almost no man-made buildings visible except for the Roswaal Mansion. However, if you walk a few more kilometers forward, you will reach the area where they are now.

The village is the main area where Roswaal's mansion receives various supplies.

The village's name seems to be something like Alam Village, or something like that.

One side didn't want to investigate this matter further, because he had absolutely no interest in the village.

He came simply to find the next clue for the mission.

"So, why did I, the great one, get caught up in this farce?"

Accelerator is the number one Level 5 esper in Academy City and the strongest monster in history.

However, even monsters, in a sense, have their own natural enemies.

This is the situation he is facing now.

"Ah ha ha!"

"Natsuki Subaru-nii, you're running too slowly!"

"Why don't you older sisters and brothers over there come and play with everyone?"

Let's all have fun together!

A bunch of brats.

A group of kids who looked to be no more than twelve years old had all gathered around.

They are the children of this village, kind-hearted, active, and enthusiastic.

However, this is by no means a good thing for Accelerator.

"Big brother! Let's play together!"

"Don't bother me, you brat. I didn't come here to do this kind of boring thing."

"Don't say that! Everyone really wants to play with the big brother!"

About five or six children surrounded Accelerator.

As mentioned before, Reflection won't work on people without malicious intent. However, Accelerator can modify the whitelist of Reflection to include even well-intentioned people. In that case, everyone on Earth would be crippled the moment they encounter Accelerator.

He simply couldn't use that kind of power to deal with these little kids.

Therefore, Accelerator turned off reflections without hesitation.

This led to a group of children surrounding him.

"Hey! Don't grab me randomly!"

"Wow! Big brother, your clothes look so magical!"

"Where can I buy such unique clothes...?"

"Speaking of which, the older brother's hands look so delicate... Is he really the older brother?"

"Big brother...or big sister? But the voice sounds so rough...I guess it's a boy...?"

A group of kids surrounded him and started discussing it.

Accelerator's forehead was already contorted to the extreme.

"That's enough, you brats!"

"Waaaaah! Big brother's angry!"

"Haha, run! How about we play tag?"

"Okay! Then, big brother, you can be the ghost!"

"Our job is to hide, and if the big brother catches us, we lose!"

"Okay! Let's play tag!!"

The children laughed happily as they ran off on the spot.

Only Accelerator, looking completely bewildered, was left alone here.

"...What stupid things have I been doing?"

That's incredibly stupid.

If those bastards in the secret service found out that a villain like himself had been made to look so foolish by children, they would all laugh themselves to death.

The more Accelerator thought about it, the more annoyed he became.

"As expected, the worst thing for someone like me is taking care of those damn brats."

"Isn't this great?"

A refreshing voice came from the side.

Hatsune Miku is dressed in a rather simple and elegant outfit, looking like a girl next door, full of energy.

She had been having a great time playing with the children.

"It's a rare treat to visit this village, and these children all like you so much. Isn't that wonderful? Don't you agree, Yifang?"

"Don't impose your ideas on me."

Accelerator clicked his tongue in displeasure.

Hatsune Miku tilted her head and smiled gently. She knew very well that although Accelerator said that, he had allowed the children to interact with him just now, no matter what.

What a wonderful sight!

"Looking at it this way, the two of us are just like tourists on a trip to the countryside!"

Following the system's instructions, they arrived at the village with Rem.

Looking ahead, you can see the blue-haired girl and Natsuki Subaru in a tuxedo, interacting with a group of children.

"I understand, little girl. Is this enough food for you?"

"Yes, here are the gold coins you need to pay. Please take them."

Rem stood in front of a wooden house that resembled a shop, buying various ingredients needed for the house.

Followed by.

"Pfft! I really, really lost to you guys..."

"Haha! Subaru-nii is so clumsy, he fell down after only two steps!"

"Stop rambling! I exercise every day! Look, my hands have a grip strength of at least 70 kilograms!"

"I don't understand anything, but all I know is that Natsuki Subaru was mercilessly teased by us!"

"Oh, that's how it is! Subaru-nii is so silly!"

"Hahaha~!"

The innocent laughter and sounds of children playing kept coming, which made Subaru Natsuki, who was lying on the ground, sigh helplessly.

"These little guys are really full of energy every day."

Subaru and Rem came to the village to purchase goods from the Roswaal estate, while Accelerator and Hatsune Miku followed them in order to catch the system's prompts.

However, so far, nothing noteworthy has happened.

This is quite a troublesome matter for Accelerator.

"Really."

He had absolutely no desire to associate with those annoying brats.

The first person nonchalantly walked to a secluded spot on the lawn and sat down.

This is something only an idiot would do... When will it ever end?

"As expected, the worst people for me are those damn brats."

Even the strongest esper in Academy City has powerful beings capable of instantly killing him.

Without a doubt, these children have become even stronger than Accelerator at this moment.

Even the number one monster couldn't handle these things.

——————————————————————————————————————

At 10:10 a.m., in Alam Village.

The group originally wanted to return to their home as soon as possible, but the villagers were very hospitable and prepared all sorts of dishes to welcome them.

Despite their unanimous deliberation, they couldn't resist the villagers' warm hospitality and ended up having lunch there.

However, there will always be a few people who don't fit in.

The sunlight shone directly down from the sky.

The white-haired, red-eyed figure lay on the lawn with his hands behind his head and one leg crossed over the other, just lying there casually.

He doesn't need to worry about ultraviolet radiation excessively affecting his skin, because there is almost nothing in this world that can harm his body.

Lunch is over.

Accelerator ate something casually by himself, then opened a can of coffee and found a secluded spot to rest.

He was practically dragged along by Hatsune Miku to play with those kids for a while.

Of course, he must have found this very troublesome.

"Even fighting a million enemies would be more comfortable than doing something so foolish."

The first one sighed deeply.

He is thinking.

What was the strongest esper in Academy City like back then?

No one is allowed to challenge me, and no one can touch me.

Even well-intentioned people would be so frightened by him that they would be speechless, and even a random thug would end up in the hospital for years because of him.

Most importantly, he once slaughtered nearly 10,000 lives.

He is an absolute bastard, a devil.

…but.

Has anything changed now?

Accelerator was unaware.

He couldn't reach any more profound conclusions.

Gazing at the sky, he saw white clouds drifting slowly across the azure expanse, eventually reaching him under the sunlight.

However, it will ruthlessly reflect all the ultraviolet rays from the sun.

It's like rejecting the light.

When exactly did this change occur?

Was it when he encountered that brat? Or was it when he joined the Anbu?

Or.

At that moment, another figure appeared in Accelerator's mind.

Not long ago, she was happily playing with me and those kids, always with a healing smile on her face—the world-class princess.

"...How boring."

He closed his eyes in annoyance.

I am a member of an evil party.

There's no need to think about anything bright. This gentle, kind, and beautiful world is completely incompatible with a bastard like me who wouldn't be satisfied even if I died a million times.

He has no right to live in a world full of light; he is an absolute, cold-blooded, ruthless killer.

Accelerator has always believed this.

He didn't know how much time had passed, but he didn't feel any wind around him. The gentle sunlight and the breeze made it quite comfortable.