"Eh, Sora-kun met another me outside the restroom?"
Inside the restroom.
Looking at the message that popped up on her phone, the Post-Reversal Mahiru widened her beautiful eyes in shock.
Since she hadn't ridden the roller coaster this time, there was no need to go to the convenience store for emergency gear. Thus, the Post-Reversal Mahiru had not been in a hurry to leave, instead staying in the restroom intending to come out with Anna and Ruri.
"Sora-kun would not make such a joke, so... there really is another me outside?"
At that thought, the Post-Reversal Mahiru could no longer sit still and hurried out of the restroom.
The moment she stepped out, she widened her beautiful eyes, shocked to see another version of herself talking to Izumi Sora.
The other party seemed to sense something and turned around quickly.
Their eyes met.
Time seemed to quietly stand still at this moment.
"Eh?" The Pre-Reversal Mahiru widened her bright eyes and nervously grabbed Sora's right hand.
"Sora-kun... why is another me coming out of the restroom?!"
The Post-Reversal Mahiru looked down, her gaze falling on the hands of Sora and her other self joined together. She bit her lower lip.
Even though she knew the other party was "herself," she still cared a bit...
Not only that.
Mahiru silently raised her right hand, discovering another shocking fact.
Her hand was clearly empty, but a warm sensation of being held appeared out of thin air. The familiar sense of security was exactly the same as when she held hands with Sora... what was happening?
"Sora-kun, what on earth happened?" The Pre-Reversal Mahiru's voice was tense as she gripped Sora's right hand tightly.
"That version of me... what is going on?"
"It is a long story..."
Sora looked around and soon saw a bench for resting nearby:
"The restroom exit is too crowded for talking. Shall we go sit over there and talk?"
"Okay..."
The two Angel-samas looked at each other and both nodded in agreement.
"I'll use the restroom first."
Before leaving, Sora went into the restroom again. He confirmed it was empty and that another version of himself hadn't appeared. Feeling relieved, he led the two Angel-samas to the bench. On the way, he passed a vending machine and bought three bottles of drinks.
"We can talk now." Sora handed the drinks to the two girls. "Should I step aside?"
"Do not go, Sora-kun." The Pre-Reversal Mahiru looked up nervously. She could only feel at ease by Sora's side.
"Phew..."
The Post-Reversal Angel-sama let out a soft sigh and raised a hand to tuck the hair by her ear. Her voice was gentle:
"Sora-kun, you sit in the middle... once we explain everything, we need to discuss the current situation."
"Then I will sit in the middle."
Sora nodded and agreed.
Once he was seated, the Pre-Reversal Mahiru quickly sat to his right, while the Post-Reversal Mahiru sat to his left.
Two cute Angel-samas, identical in appearance and attire, flanked Sora. The magical trio quickly drew the gazes of passing tourists.
"Are they twins?"
"And they are both super cute beautiful girls!"
"Damn it, why does that guy get to sit in the middle?"
"Double the happiness..."
"..."
Scenting the same sweet fragrance from both sides, Sora's mood was quite subtle.
Two Angel-samas appearing at once. Though they weren't twins, the happiness was doubled... no, it was a "super double."
"Sora-kun, and... other me." The Pre-Reversal Mahiru had calmed down. It must be said that Angel-sama's mental fortitude was quite strong. She wasn't afraid or panicked, instead quickly accepting the reality.
"Please tell me what exactly happened."
Sora turned to the Post-Reversal Mahiru: "Should I tell her?"
"I should say it myself..."
The Post-Reversal Angel-sama bit her lower lip, her face slightly flushed as she softly recounted the cause and effect.
"...That is the situation. This is the time after the reversal."
"I see." The Pre-Reversal Mahiru listened carefully, clutching her skirt as she furrowed her brows in thought.
"No wonder I see another me... but what did you do to trigger the time reversal?"
Angel-sama had been vague about the trigger for Time Reversal, but being the same person, the Pre-Reversal Mahiru naturally did not forget to ask for details.
"Umm..."
The Post-Reversal Angel-sama's face turned red as she looked at Sora:
"Sora-kun, you stand up and go to the side."
Izumi Sora: "..."
We already kissed. Forcing me to cover my ears now is purely self-deception!
"Hurry." Post-Reversal Mahiru glared at him with her bright eyes.
"Yes, yes."
Sora stood up helplessly and walked a distance away.
Post-Reversal Mahiru walked over to her pre-reversal self, held a hand up to her mouth, and whispered in her ear.
"Ehhhhh... a kiss?"
"But we are not even dating yet..."
"Isn't that too rushed?"
"Mmm, I see, it was just an accident..."
"..."
After learning the truth, the Pre-Reversal Mahiru's face turned crimson, and she silently kept some distance from Sora.
"The events have been explained. Now we can discuss the current situation..." The Post-Reversal Angel-sama let out a soft sigh, biting her lower lip.
"This should be the side effect of Time Reversal, right?"
"Highly likely." Sora nodded in agreement.
He had been concerned before; such an exaggerated ability like Time Reversal could not be without side effects. He hadn't expected it to be meeting one's pre-reversal self.
The Pre-Reversal Mahiru furrowed her delicate brows and said in a small voice:
"But if the two of us meet, won't it trigger a temporal paradox?"
"You can stop time, Elf can turn invisible. Physics ceased to exist long ago, so paradoxes aren't important." Sora commented from the side.
"If you really want to explain it, we can use quantum mechanics."
"Eh?"
Both Mahirus tilted their heads in confusion and looked over. Being the same person, the movement and angle of their head tilts were identical.
Faced with a double Angel critical hit, Sora's heart rate spiked.
He couldn't take it.
Double Angel-samas; the cuteness was super doubled.
"There is a saying on the internet: when in doubt, use quantum mechanics. Let's not discuss paradoxes we can't explain." Sora tried hard to look away.
"We won't talk about science right now; we will only talk about reality."
The Post-Reversal Mahiru pursed her pink lips. She hesitated for two seconds and then spoke of the sensory sharing from earlier. It was the discussion phase, so she couldn't hide anything:
"When the Pre-Reversal me and Sora-kun held hands just now, I felt it too..."
"Hmm?" Sora raised an eyebrow.
"Since you are the same person, is there some magical connection? Like those twins who have telepathy?"
The Post-Reversal Mahiru nodded slightly: "It should be something like that."
"What happens next? Will we both exist forever, or will one of us disappear?"
The Pre-Reversal Mahiru's tone was worried.
"I don't know." Sora was also encountering this for the first time and was indeed confused.
"We can only wait and see for now... but it likely isn't over yet."
Buzz, buzz.
As they spoke, his phone vibrated gently. Sora took it out and saw it was, as expected, a message from Anna.
"Anna messaged... what do we say now?"
"Keep it a secret for now."
Both Mahirus spoke in unison.
With Anna's curious personality, she would definitely dig for the truth, and they absolutely did not want her to know the secret of the kiss.
"Then we keep it a secret..." Sora nodded slightly.
"I have an inexplicable premonition that when we reach the actual point in time of the reversal, something unexpected might happen."
A moment later.
The Time Reversal quietly reached its limit.
Sora only felt his consciousness grow dizzy. In the next instant, his entire being was back in the line for the roller coaster...