Not a detective

Page 135

Asakawa Riku was unwilling to admit it, but did he also secretly yearn for such crazy actions, longing to accompany Chizuko through the festival in her moment of despair?

But no matter what, the last reincarnation, though seemingly a death sentence, was by no means without any gains.

At least, from their "conversation," he gleaned the true meaning of the village and the "stellar belief," as well as the principles behind the power behind it.

This may be the key to breaking the deadlock, and it is the most important key he has obtained so far.

...So, the one I imagined the time before last was "Hoshino", and the one I imagined the time before that was "Chizuko".

What about this time?

Asakawa Riku turned around and saw another familiar figure in the jungle.

"Am I...me?"

The white-haired girl dressed as a shrine maiden pointed nervously at herself, her expression filled with fear.

This time, the object of my fantasy is—

Snow painting.

　This statement may sound strange, but Asakawa Riku can clearly sense that the other party is a fictional entity, and that it might disappear if he closes his eyes.

His "meditation" ability hadn't actually lost its function; his previous moments of being deceived were probably because his heart was also yearning for companionship and companionship.

Therefore, it is self-deception.

But this time, Asakawa Riku is able to face all of this with unwavering resolve.

"Yuki-e," he said with a smile, "It's been a long time."

It hasn't actually been that long, but for him, these past few days have felt like an eternity.

The hair in front of me wasn't ordinary black hair, but white hair that appeared when she activated her ability. White hair really suited her; it didn't make her look too old. Instead, it spread out like crystal across her back, making her fair skin look even more radiant. Her delicate face, pretty eyes, and eyelashes were in no way inferior to her older sister's, and she looked much younger than a middle school student.

She shyly clasped her hands together, wearing the shrine maiden outfit she wore when she first met her. Recently, she seemed to be going through puberty, as her height was gradually increasing and the bulge in her top was becoming more and more obvious.

Her red skirt and white socks and cloth shoes made her look more like a traditional Japanese beauty than Chizuko, except that her face was still a bit too youthful.

Asakawa Riku teased, "You always ask me to take you on adventures, and now this is your chance, but you're still not satisfied."

Yukie pouted: "Brother is so cunning... He knows perfectly well that this won't hurt or be dangerous, so how can it be considered an adventure?"

She hesitated for a moment, then said with concern:

"Am I really helpful? Why did you choose me, brother?"

Her concerns were not unfounded. Even in Asakawa Riku's memory, Yukie was not as clever as Chizuko and Shinonome Suetsuki; she was just an ordinary little girl.

Her superpowers couldn't be used here, since they were just figments of her imagination. Otherwise, he really wanted to transform into a snowman and freeze all the villagers into ice blocks so he could transport them back.

However, Asakawa Riku said sincerely, "Of course you can help... and it should be the most important help."

"Eh?"

He took the bewildered Yukie's hand and led her towards the village.

Last time, Riku Asakawa and Chizuko went straight to the village chief, Mio Kato, which triggered the main storyline of them becoming temporary residents of the village.

But this time he didn't do that. Instead, he bypassed the villagers who were staring at him in astonishment and found someone else first.

"Yo, Haoji."

He greeted us as usual.

Clearly, Hirata Kokichi didn't recognize him and looked at this overly friendly stranger with a confused and frightened expression:

"...Who...who are you! When did you come to the village!"

"It's me, have you forgotten? Your best friend, Asakawa Riku."

Asakawa Riku smiled and took his hand.

Of course, they used subtle force to prevent him from breaking free.

"Don't touch me...! Ahhhhh! Help! Who is this person?!"

Haoji was on the verge of collapse. He realized that no matter how hard he tried, pulling, or even prying with his other hand, he couldn't escape.

He called out to the surrounding villagers, but intimidated by Asakawa Riku's imposing presence, no one dared to approach rashly, and they looked at each other in bewilderment...

Hirata Hirokichi is an ordinary villager in the village. He is accompanied by Osaki Ryohei and Yasukawa Mine, as well as many other classmates. They are all ordinary villagers and have been implanted with memories of "making a living by fishing". Therefore, if it is around noon, you can meet the three of them on their way back from the sea (by the way, do they really know how to fish?).

These people are gathered together to prepare for the evening's stingray festival, but as long as the ritual hasn't started, they are still ordinary villagers and won't become crazy or aggressive.

"Who are you?! Let him go...!"

"Outsider... if you cause trouble here, you'll be cursed by Lord Akira!"

"Quickly, go and call the village chief...! Call someone here!"

They were just shouting, but no one moved, which shows that the underlying mindset was still that of the students...

That's exactly what Asakawa Riku was planning to say to these people:

"Haoji, classmates, although I don't know how much you remember, please listen to me patiently. You are not native to this island. Think carefully about your memories and you'll know. Do you have any memories of being born here? Do you have any memories of growing up here? Where are your parents? Who taught you your language? Do you remember the name of our school? We are students who went to Hawaii on a cruise ship. Come on, think carefully, you should be able to remember."

This is the last chance.

Yes, the current starting point of the cycle is already [before the ceremony begins], with less than an hour allotted for the event, which is already very tight.

If he fails again, the starting point will move forward once more, and Asakawa Riku will be trapped in a dead end where the "ritual" is the starting point. If the village chief has already started singing the ballad and the villagers have already turned into monsters, he will be unable to escape and will repeatedly be surrounded and killed, which is what is commonly known in the game as a "dead save file".

So this time, he must complete the game perfectly.

His eyes were filled with a burning determination.

Summer of the Crimson Ray: Chapter Forty Kindness and Reason

"that's all……?"

Yukie looked worried and puzzled; she didn't know why her older brother would choose this method.

Didn't we try it the first time, directly telling the villagers the truth...? Back then, Haoji completely denied it and couldn't remember anything at all, right?

What's the point of telling these things to brainwashed students?

"What are you talking about, you outsider!"

"This is the devil's temptation... Don't listen!"

Despite the doubts and insults from the villagers, Asakawa Riku persisted in speaking out:

"Haoji, the first time we met, you were the one who greeted me first..."

"When you were debating whether or not to join the baseball club, you also discussed it with me..."

"Recently, you mistakenly thought I had broken up with my boyfriend, and you came here specifically to comfort me..."

He calmly listed them one by one, recounting all the memories he shared with his friend.

A great deal of information about the school and the outside world is inadvertently revealed in it.

"……What!"

Yukie's eyes widened in surprise. She noticed that as Hirata Hirokichi continued his narration, a look of confusion suddenly appeared on his face.

Haoji, dressed like an ordinary villager, covered his head with his other hand:

"What's going on... what you're saying..."

Asakawa Riku smiled.

Sure enough, judging from the previous cycles, this "brainwashing" was not perfect. These villagers often exhibited behaviors and expressions consistent with their previous identities.

For example, that "elder" who used to be a history teacher would use profound words that a villager from a primitive tribe shouldn't use.

After his previous "reflection," Asakawa Riku finally understood that so-called gods and ghosts are all created based on human thinking. Even the most devout faith and brainwashing can be destroyed by a single ant hole if doubt arises even briefly. Brainwashing is not omnipotent; everything is based on a "human-centered" perspective. As long as they recall their past memories...

Asakawa Riku released his hand, while Haoji covered his head, agonizing over the situation.

It seemed as if two worlds were fighting in his mind, but everything around him was a village, and he found it hard to believe what this outsider was saying.

But then I thought, why did those memories appear in my mind? Was it really the devil's seduction?

"I...I don't understand...I don't know..."

Haoji was panting heavily, his forehead covered in sweat. Asakawa Riku was unsure what would happen, so he didn't dare to push him too hard.

But just as he decided to change his target and find the next classmate to persuade, an unexpected incident occurred.

"I believe you!"

A man stepped forward and said firmly.

It was a girl... No, for a moment Asakawa Riku thought he was seeing things, but unlike the female villagers, her chest wasn't wrapped in strips of cloth; it was flat and bare.

You can tell from his Adam's apple that although he looks rather delicate and his voice is soft as if it hasn't changed, he's a boy.

"Although I'm not sure if those memories are real... my heart tells me that Mr. Asakawa in front of me is a very important benefactor to me! He helped me!"

That was Kasahara Shizue.

Asakawa Riku was surprised for a moment; to be honest, even he almost didn't remember.

A year ago, Kasahara Shizue was bullied by a group of delinquents at school, who forced this skinny boy to "challenge" the then-famous Asakawa Riku. Instead of simply dealing with the delinquents, Asakawa Riku ignited Kasahara Shizue's fighting spirit, showing him that those thugs were nothing to be afraid of. So Kasahara Shizue really launched a counterattack.

In the end, Kasahara Shizue recovered from her injuries at the hospital and returned to school, while all the delinquent students were expelled, a happy ending for everyone.

The two had no further contact after that, but unexpectedly...

"Therefore, I believe Mr. Asakawa! He wouldn't lie to me; what he said must be true!"

Kasahara Shizue stood firmly by Asakawa Riku's side.

It turns out he had always been grateful.

As if infected by his reaction, Hirata Kokichi finally stopped agonizing and came to his senses. He rubbed his buzz cut in frustration and said in a self-deprecating tone:

"...Ah, never mind! I'm just an idiot anyway, so be it! I believe you...I don't know what 'friend' means, but it sounds nice!"

So he stood up too.

Two more people suddenly appeared beside Asakawa Riku.

"What...! What are you doing?!"

Why should you believe that outsider?

"...What about the faith in Lord Akira!"

The crowd grew larger and larger, but most of them were still criticizing and arguing. However, Kasahara and Hirokichi, who were standing beside him, both had firm expressions and no longer hesitated.

Asakawa Riku noticed that some of the villagers, who had still listened to him, wore expressions of confusion and unease...

The louder they shouted, the more it proved their fear; they were afraid that what Asakawa Riku said might be true...

This is enough.

"let's go."

Without further ado, Asakawa Riku turned and disappeared into the crowd at an incredible speed.

"Hey...aren't we going to continue? My brother is amazing, he actually convinced them...I feel like he'll remember everything in a while..."

Yukie quickly caught up, after all, she was a figment of imagination, appearing whenever she opened her eyes, so she could definitely keep up with Asakawa Riku's speed.

Asakawa Riku explained, "There's no time for that. It's already late, and the ceremony will start in a little while, by which time it will be too late. Besides, I'm not that familiar with most of the students, and we don't have any shared experiences, so I might not be able to completely convince them like those two. Just planting the seed of doubt is enough."

Next... all we need to do is let it ferment slowly, and wait for the right moment to trigger a chain reaction of explosions.

"Eh----"

Yukie, however, drew out the syllables, her tone unusually sour: "You seem quite close to them, holding hands and talking about your past experiences together..."

"You get jealous of men too?" Asakawa Riku couldn't help but laugh. He stopped and said seriously, "Yuki, I'm serious, this is all the help you can give me."

"……Eh?"

She tilted her head, clearly puzzled.

Asakawa Riku took her hand and said, "In the previous cycles, I always felt like I was fighting alone. Even when I craved help, I could only imagine you, whom I knew. But I never expected that my companions would be here. I shouldn't see these brainwashed villagers as enemies, but as partners I can unite with..."

"Yuki, your appearance has reawakened my kindness and reason."