"...Excuse me, could you help us take a picture?"
At the restroom entrance.
The two blonde gyarus approached to hit on him again, their opening line exactly the same.
"Sorry, I'm waiting for someone."
Sora flatly refused.
One of the blonde gyarus refused to give up, smiling playfully:
"Waiting for someone doesn't stop you from helping take a picture."
Sora's expression remained calm as he looked behind the two gyarus:
"The people I'm waiting for are coming out. If they agree, I'll help take the picture."
"Eh?"
The two blonde gyarus turned around and saw four girls walking out of the restroom in single file.
The girls leading the way were twins. Their appearance, hair color, height, and clothing were all exactly the same; there wasn't a single difference to be found.
Moreover, they possessed a breathtaking beauty. Their straight flaxen hair was smooth and glossy, their snow-white skin looked as if it had been bathed in milk, and their small, exquisite faces seemed meticulously carved by God, flawless in every way.
Behind them was an equally cute blue-haired girl, her face full of curiosity as she wide-eyed looked left and right.
Finally, there was a girl with long, straight black hair in a hime cut, her arms crossed over her chest, exuding an aura that said "do not approach."
"Sora-kun."
The four girls walked towards Sora together.
The smiles on the blonde gyarus' faces instantly vanished, and they hurriedly excused themselves and slinked away.
As mortals, they completely lacked the courage to challenge angels.
"Sora, what exactly is going on?" Anna quickly stepped forward, her pretty face full of curiosity.
"Just after finishing in the restroom, I suddenly saw two Mahirus outside... Could they be Mahiru-chan's long-lost twin sister?"
"I'm sorry, I'm an only child, I don't have a long-lost twin sister." Angel-sama gently shook her head.
"We are actually the same person."
"Eh?"
Question marks popped up above Anna's head:
"The same person... what does that mean?"
"I know." Ruri crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes shining brightly, her chunibyo soul burning brightly.
"There are no two identical leaves in the world, even twins can't be exactly the same. So there is only one truth... One of the Mahirus is actually a traveler from a parallel universe, right?"
"It's not a parallel universe..." Sora shook his head again. "I'll go buy some drinks first. We'll sit down and I'll explain properly in a bit."
"..."
After buying the drinks.
Sora led the four girls to an empty bench. Squeezing together, they managed to fit. Then, Angel-sama began the explanation.
"Ehhhhh?"
"Time has become a Möbius strip?"
"Sora and Mahiru keep their memories through the loops, and you guys have already looped over ten times?!"
The ahoge on top of Anna's head trembled slightly, her pretty face full of disbelief:
"No wonder after waiting in line for half the day, and it was finally our turn to ride the roller coaster, you guys suddenly gave up..."
A thing like a time loop, if only spoken of, others definitely wouldn't believe it. But now, seeing the existence of two Mahirus with their own eyes, they had to believe it even if they didn't want to.
"Sora is so mean."
Anna quickly puffed out her cheeks, like a squirrel stuffing its mouth with chestnuts. She reached out her small hand, poked Sora's waist, and said resentfully:
"Why didn't you tell us the truth earlier?"
Sora's expression remained unchanged, feeling no guilt at all: "When Anna gave me the jelly beans, I did tell you the truth. It was you who completely refused to believe it, alright."
"Eh, I think you did say something like that?"
Anna slapped her forehead:
"I thought Sora was joking with me... If I hadn't seen two Mahirus with my own eyes, I still wouldn't have been able to believe it."
"I'm sorry for causing everyone trouble." The post-rewind Angel-sama apologized softly. "Because of me, everyone is trapped in a half-hour loop. I am incredibly sorry."
"There's no need to apologize. We don't have any memories of the time loop anyway." Ruri crossed her arms over her chest, tilting her head to look.
"I'm more curious about why you suddenly decided to tell Anna and me the secret of the loop?"
Sora replied:
"Because Mahiru and I have tried every method we could think of, and we still haven't been able to break the time loop. So we wanted to ask for Ruri and Anna's opinions. As the old saying goes, even a wise person can make a mistake after a thousand deliberations, and even a fool can have a good idea after a thousand deliberations."
"I see."
Ruri crossed her left arm over her chest and covered her cheek with her right hand:
"Lost mortals, let me guide your destiny... Idiot Sora, tell us what you've done during the time loops first."
"Okay..."
Sora nodded gently and explained all the various attempts they had made.
"Ehhhhh, Sora actually did so many things with Mahiru?"
Anna's eyes widened in shock, and she cast a resentful look at Angel-sama.
Thieving cat!
Every girl in this world except for the childhood friend is a thieving cat!
"It seems all the possibilities mentioned above have been ruled out..." Ruri maintained her chunibyo pose, thinking seriously.
"If I remember correctly, Mahiru's ability is only Time Stop. Why is she able to rewind time?"
"Because..." The post-rewind Angel-sama blushed, her gaze wandering, not daring to look at anyone. "Because I got stronger."
The pre-rewind Mahiru blinked her bright eyes, looking at 'herself' blushing, inexplicably feeling that something was very wrong, but she didn't say anything.
As the same person, the pre-rewind Mahiru knew very well that since she was unwilling to say it, something unspeakably embarrassing must have happened...
Ruri didn't care about all that and directly pressed for answers:
"And the reason for Mahiru getting stronger?"
"Umm..."
"Please explain in detail, this is very important." Ruri's expression was serious. "I am the Black Cat of the Dark Night, possessing experience traveling through endless worlds. My intuition tells me that the beginning is very likely the key to the end."
Sora looked at Mahiru and said softly:
"Do you want me to explain?"
"No need... I'll say it myself."
The post-rewind Angel-sama took a deep breath, endured her shame, and with a blushing pretty face, revealed the secret:
"In the restroom... Sora-kun and I..."
"W-What?!"
Anna's art style quietly turned grayscale, and she felt completely awful:
"Sora actually did that kind of thing with Mahiru..."
"So mean, so mean, so mean..."
"I haven't even kissed him yet!"
Anna felt like the sky was falling.
When they were soaking in the hot spring earlier, she had finally gathered her courage and quickly kissed Sora on the cheek, thinking she was definitely way ahead. Turns out she was already left a hundred thousand miles behind!
After learning the secret of the restroom, Ruri also fell silent. A dark mist seemed to appear in her eyes as she cast a resentful look at Sora:
"The time loop is clearly Mahiru's ability, yet Pervert Sora can keep his memories. This is very illogical. It might be a legendary BUG. Perhaps 'optimizing' him out will end the loop."
Sora looked over speechlessly:
"Please don't say such scary things."
"Hmph~" Ruri gave a light snort, unable to resist her sharp tongue. "You've already kissed anyway. Even if you're optimized out, Pervert Sora wouldn't have any regrets, right?"
I have super many regrets, I don't want to be innocently optimized out at all!
"Mahiru, was the time loop activated actively or triggered passively?"
Ruri turned her head, looking at Angel-sama beside her.
The post-rewind Mahiru's pretty face was flushed as she responded softly:
"It's an active ability..."
"I understand." Ruri pondered for a moment. Her eyes quickly lit up. She stood straight up, crossed her arms over her chest, and looked down at the group from a high vantage point.
"Hehehe~ Foolish mortals, the Akashic Records, which contain all answers and truths, have already told me the answer."
What Akashic Records, that's clearly just a notebook you just pulled out of your backpack!
Sora sat up straight and respectfully: "I implore Lord Kuroneko to point out the way."
"The time loop is just a cold, emotionless program. It won't care what Mahiru did, nor will it give Mahiru a special task. The reason the loop cannot be ended is because the program has a BUG." Kuroneko looked down from her high vantage point, her chunibyo attributes fully maxed out.
"As long as Mahiru re-enacts the scene at the critical time node and makes the choice to abandon the rewind, the loop can be ended."
Sora: "..."
Mahiru: "..."
A chunibyo girl's mind is broad. They had to admit, this was indeed a possibility they hadn't considered.
"Anna, what do you think?"
Sora turned his head, looking at his gluttonous childhood friend beside him.
"Huh?"
'Inmate Eight' tilted her pretty face up, her expression bewildered.
What do I think?
My head is entirely filled with images of you and the Angel sneaking around behind my back. I completely can't think right now, alright!
"..."
With a new direction, the next step was naturally to verify if Kuroneko's deduction was effective.
"There are still ten minutes or so." Sora checked the time on his phone and stood up. "Going to the convenience store now is just right."
Mahiru's pretty face flushed red, and she stood up shyly: "...Let's go."
A moment later.
The group arrived at the convenience store.
A new problem presented itself.
"To fulfill the condition to end the loop, the scene must be re-enacted..." Sora looked at the two Angel-samas beside him.
"Who is the correct choice?"
One was the pre-rewind Mahiru, and the other was the post-rewind Mahiru. Sora really wanted to say 'I'll take both,' but he would definitely get beaten up.
"Mmm, my eye is so uncomfortable..." Ruri raised her hand and pressed it against her right cheek, striking an embarrassing chunibyo pose.
"The Eyes of the Dark Night have seen the future. There is only one truth: the pre-rewind Mahiru is the true key."
What 'Eyes of the Dark Night', you're clearly just wearing color contacts! And what's the basis for your judgment!
Ruri's small face flushed slightly as she lowered her voice:
"It's a fifty-fifty chance. If it's not the pre-rewind Mahiru, we'll just switch people."
So you basically chose by flipping a coin!
"Actually, there's another possibility." Sora voiced his thoughts. "Perhaps either choice is correct. In previous loops, as long as I kept observing Mahiru, the other Mahiru didn't appear. Maybe the only existing Mahiru is the answer... We can only verify it slowly to find out."
"Eh, I'm doing the ritual?"
The pre-rewind Mahiru covered her skirt with her hands. Her voice was tense, and the flush on her face rapidly deepened.
For her, she had no corresponding loop memories in her head. Just thinking about the 'scene re-enactment' later made her heartbeat involuntarily accelerate wildly.
"I'm counting on you." The post-rewind Mahiru looked at herself. "Please end the loop as quickly as possible."
"I-I understand..."
The pre-rewind Mahiru took a deep breath, biting her pink lips as she agreed.
Sora glanced at his phone: "Two minutes left. The loop node is almost here... Shall we go to the restroom?"
"Okay."
The pre-rewind Mahiru, her pretty face flushed crimson, kept her small head down and followed behind Sora, shyly heading to the restroom.
"Sora..."
Anna reached out her right hand, her gaze exceptionally resentful.
Watching the boy she liked go to the restroom to kiss a thieving cat, yet being completely unable to stop it.
At this very moment.
Anna had only one thought in her mind:
"I'm sorry, I am an incompetent wife..."
Inside the stall.
"One minute left." Sora looked at Angel-sama in front of him and said softly, "Mahiru, shall we begin?"
"I-I don't know what to do..." Angel-sama's pretty face was flushed crimson, her voice trembling slightly. She could clearly hear her own rapid heartbeat.
"I leave everything in Sora-kun's hands."
"Leave it to me." Sora said gently, "Mahiru, close your eyes."
"Okay..."
"Tilt your head up a bit."
"I-Is this okay?"
"..."
Angel-sama obediently tilted her pretty face up. Her fair, jade-like neck and earlobes were already completely flushed, and even her hair seemed tinged with crimson.
"Mmm..."
Outside the restroom.
Feeling the scorching heat on her lips, the post-rewind Mahiru let out a soft hum, the temperature of her pretty face rapidly rising.
(Oh no, I forgot that our physical sensations are shared...)
(Sora-kun's lips are so hot, and his heartbeat is so fast...)
(H-He slipped it in...)
"Mahiru, are you okay?"
Ruri's worried voice rang in her ear:
"Why did your face suddenly turn so red? Do you have a fever?"
"I-I'm fine..."
Mahiru pressed her right hand against her chest, listening to her rapid heartbeat, and hurriedly looked down at her toes in shame.
An electric, trembling sensation swept through her entire body. Mahiru felt dizzy and weak; she had to lean against the wall to barely steady herself.
Although it was embarrassing to admit, the person she was kissing was Sora-kun. She couldn't hate it at all; she even wanted to proactively respond...
In a daze, the familiar cacophony swept over her once more.
Mahiru's eyelashes fluttered gently. She shyly opened her eyes and found she was back in the roller coaster queue again.
"I-It's over..."
Mahiru clutched her chest and quietly breathed a sigh of relief. The feeling of her soul trembling was truly too terrifying.
However, although time could rewind, memories could not be forgotten. The scorching heat from just now still seemed to linger on her lips...
"Mahiru, are you okay?" Anna's concerned voice sounded. "Why did your face suddenly get super red?"
Time had looped again. 'Inmate Eight' and Ruri had clearly respawned, forgetting everything.
"I-I'm fine..."
Mahiru stammered, hurriedly looking down at her toes guiltily.
Sora quietly walked up to Angel-sama's side and said in a low voice:
"One incorrect option eliminated, we need to continue verifying... Mahiru, don't leave my sight."
Half an hour later.
The two arrived in the convenience store restroom again.
"Mahiru... Shall I begin?"
Sora asked softly.
"Sora-kun..."
Angel-sama shyly tilted her pretty face up, her eyelashes fluttering as she closed her eyes. Following her body's instinct, she raised her arms and wrapped them around Sora's neck.
Time quietly slipped by.
Only when they couldn't breathe did the two finally separate.
"Hah... haah..."
The girl's shy and sweet breathing sounded rapidly.
The drained Angel-sama, her pretty face practically dripping blood, lay panting on Sora's chest. Her consciousness was blurry, dizzy, and she had no idea where she was.
Just then, Sora's voice, full of pleasant surprise, suddenly rang out:
"Mahiru, I have good news for you."
"Eh?"
Mahiru looked up blankly.
Sora held up his phone, his eyes bright:
"It's 6:05 PM now. The time loop... has ended!"
Successfully breaking the time loop proved that their hard work hadn't been in vain.
Only by activating the skill again at the exact point in time when the skill was initially activated, using 'off' to overwrite the 'on' skill check, could the loop be ended…
Note taken, note taken. If we ever fall into a time loop again, it won't be this exhausting.
"Eh?"
Hearing this, Mahiru widened her beautiful eyes and hurriedly looked at the phone. Seeing the time had finally passed 6:00 PM, she almost wept tears of joy.
After the pleasant surprise, the girl's sense of shame rapidly overflowed.
Mahiru hurriedly took a half-step back, tightly covering her chest with both hands. She shamefully looked down at her toes, completely not daring to meet Sora's eyes:
"S-Sora-kun, let's go out quickly..."
The kissing was to break the time loop. Now that the goal was achieved, the sense of shame she had been fighting to suppress could no longer be contained. Like an erupting volcano, it burst forth uncontrollably.
Sora was just about to speak when his phone suddenly vibrated. He took it out and saw a message from Anna:
"Sora, we're already at the convenience store. Where are you guys?"
"..."
He had forgotten that before the loop started, he had indeed sent a message to 'Inmate Eight', asking her and Ruri to come over.
Sora held the phone up to Angel-sama:
"Mahiru, what should we say later?"
"I-I'll handle it..."
Mahiru's pretty face was burning hot. With her small head lowered, her voice was full of shame:
"You can't tell Anna and Ruri today's secret..."
"..."
After washing up.
The two walked out of the restroom and successfully met Ruri and Anna waiting at the convenience store entrance.
"Sora, why didn't you even send a message? You just suddenly sneaked off."
Anna put her hands on her hips, her eyes suspicious.
"Sorry..."
Mahiru's pretty face was flushed. She stepped up to Anna, covered her mouth with her hand, and softly explained.
To dispel Anna's suspicions, she could only 'tell the truth'. Of course, the 'truth' referred to the underwear issue; the secret of the time loop was naturally concealed.
"Ehhhhh?"
Anna widened her eyes, covered her mouth, and replied in a low voice:
"Mahiru-chan should have just sent me a message. Since we had PE class today, I specifically brought a clean pair of panties for emergencies."
Mahiru: "..."
Anyway, the crisis had finally dissipated into thin air.
"It's getting dark soon." Sora spoke up.
"Let's call it a day and head back, okay?"
"No way." Anna hurriedly shook her head.
"Let's go ride the Ferris wheel. We have to at least ride the Ferris wheel before going back!"