Chapter 174: The Street-Corner Illustrator
Staring at the dark-haired girl who looked about her age, Eriri couldn't quite process what was happening. Words like "Reincarnator," "mission," "new member" — she understood each one individually, but together they meant absolutely nothing to her.
There was a man pointing a gun at her! A man with an actual gun, right there!
Was this girl not afraid? Did she think it was fake?
This was bad, this was so bad — if she ended up dragging some innocent bystander into this mess, and that person got hurt because of it, Eriri would never forgive herself. Not for the rest of her life.
Not that Eriri had much certainty she'd have a rest of her life at this point.
She still had no idea who the guy with the gun even was. Her best guess was something to do with her father — he was an ambassador, so maybe some extremist group had decided to go after his daughter?
She wasn't sure. Her thoughts were in complete disarray.
The fact that she was managing to speak in complete sentences was already impressive.
Not stuttering meant her nerves were holding together by sheer willpower.
Her only viable option right now was to gamble that the gun was fake, grab the dark-haired girl, and run. If it was fake, they'd make it. She'd bolt straight for the most crowded street she could find.
But if it was real — if he saw her bolt and panicked — would he just shoot?
At this point, it was gamble or nothing. Gambling at least gave her a chance.
Stay calm.
Stay calm.
Don't panic.
Don't be afraid.
Right as Eriri was forcibly willing her mind into something resembling composure, Kaguya's clear voice reached her again: "You look like a student — are you a Japanese high schooler? First year? Second? Third?"
Almost on reflex, Eriri answered, "Se— second year."
Kaguya looked surprised. "Oh? Then we're basically the same age. I'm in second year too, though I've only been back at school for a little while."
Eriri: "…It's been almost three and a half months since school started, actually."
"…"
Watching the dark-haired girl approach, the Reincarnator with the jagged scar across his neck couldn't help swallowing hard. His alertness spiked to its absolute limit — his heart was practically in his throat.
Because he had just heard the word "Reincarnator" come out of this girl's mouth.
He would stake anything on the fact that he hadn't told a single soul about his identity.
He'd only muttered to himself in that hidden corner earlier.
There was no way anyone could have heard him from there.
So how did this stranger know what he was?
Wait — in the Saekano world, wasn't there a female lead with black hair and red eyes? And the girl standing in front of him had exactly that — black hair, red eyes — could this be Kasumigaoka Utaha?!
But… Kasumigaoka Utaha was a novelist.
So why would she know what a Reincarnator was?
Was there something going on beneath the surface? Some angle he was missing?
The gun barrel drifted toward Kaguya almost on its own. The Reincarnator's expression still held traces of shock, though he was quickly covering them over. His hand found the grip of the weapon and the familiar weight of it settled his nerves.
Sure, he was a rookie. No extraordinary abilities to speak of.
His only skill was marksmanship — and even that he'd purchased from the Sacred Ground system.
But it was enough.
According to everything he'd been briefed on, Saekano had no supernatural powers of any kind. It was a perfectly ordinary romance series — reportedly one with a rather unsatisfying ending, at that.
An everyday world. In an everyday world, a gun meant he was already beyond the reach of almost anyone.
Even if this black-haired girl was unusual in some way, the most she'd know was some amateur martial arts.
Karate, maybe.
Or aikido.
With a gun in hand, he had nothing to fear. And if this girl really was Kasumigaoka Utaha in disguise, today would be two birds with one stone.
He didn't shoot immediately. He narrowed his eyes at Kaguya and demanded: "Hey. Yeah, you — the black-haired one. How do you know those three words? Who told you?"
Kaguya, mid-conversation with Eriri, glanced briefly at the Reincarnator.
Then looked back at Eriri and ignored him entirely.
She smiled. "Would you be interested in joining somewhere rather extraordinary? I'll be honest with you — I came here specifically because of you, Sawamura Spencer Eriri."
Eriri blinked, thrown. "You… you know who I am too?"
Had today started wrong somehow?
First she'd run into what looked like an armed criminal.
Then this strange girl had appeared out of nowhere.
Who, incidentally, looked a lot like Kasumigaoka Utaha.
And somehow, both of these people she'd never met in her life apparently knew exactly who she was.
What on earth was happening?
Before Eriri could even voice the question, Kaguya continued: "Let me deal with this guy first, and then I'll explain everything. It's worth 100 Points after all — plus the Reincarnation Watch on top, which makes 600. That's thirty Arena revivals right there."
The moment those words finished leaving Kaguya's lips, Eriri watched the strange dark-haired girl slowly raise one pale, slender hand.
She extended it into a snapping position.
Which was, frankly, baffling.
"Watch carefully. This is what our power looks like — and power like this can be yours too, one day. Once you're strong enough, you won't need to be afraid of a cheap piece of hardware like that." She paused. "This technique is called… Finger Pistol."
Bang!!
The moment Kaguya snapped her finger, the air detonated.
A transparent spiral of compressed force shot forward.
It moved no slower than an actual bullet.
The corkscrew of air tore through the space in front of it, and in the span of a single heartbeat it broke the skin of the Reincarnator's forehead — and then tore through everything beneath.
His skull began to crack. The force bored a clean hole straight through the bone.
It drove into the soft tissue of his brain.
And punched out through the back of his head in a spray of red.
The impact continued into the asphalt below.
A hole appeared in the road.
The opening was smooth — almost polished-looking, as though something had been carefully filed down — and as deep as the length of a middle finger.
The Reincarnator never registered what happened. His mind simply went white.
Like thought itself had been switched off.
Every ounce of strength left his body in an instant.
He crumpled — softly, boneless — onto the road baking in the summer heat.
Blood welled from the hole in his forehead.
And spread across the ground.
Recovering Reincarnation Watch…
[Invitation Quest: "Sawamura Spencer Eriri" of the Saekano world is under attack from a Reincarnator! Eliminate the Reincarnator to complete this Quest.
Recover the Reincarnator's Reincarnation Watch for an additional 500 Points.
Quest Complete! Click the link on the right → [LINK] to claim your reward!]
Claim…
100 Points + 500 Points landed in her balance. Kaguya looked at her total — 1,600 — and let out a quiet breath.
600 Points wasn't much, but it was something.
Combined with the 1,000 she'd been holding onto, she was at a comfortable 1,600.
Just like the Admin said — this Reincarnator really was pathetically weak. Speaking of which, what even is a Reincarnator? I forgot to ask… probably the same category as transmigrators and reincarnators, just a different flavour?
And only one? I thought there'd be more.
Kaguya looked at the body not far away.
Her expression hadn't changed.
Even though, technically, this was the first time she'd killed someone.
Perhaps it was simply that her mentality had shifted along with her strength. That was the only explanation that made sense.
She turned back to Eriri. The blue eyes looking back at her were wide with shock, edged with something close to fear. Kaguya offered a gentle smile. "The problem's been handled, Eriri."
The words seemed to snap Eriri out of it. She looked at Kaguya. Then at the body.
Then — very clearly — at the spreading pool of blood on the ground.
A gust of wind rolled through the alley.
Carrying the thick, iron smell of it.
Eriri's composure finally gave out. She grabbed the wall and began to dry-heave.
That was a living person. Who just died. Right in front of me.
Anyone would be wrecked by this.
Kaguya watched without surprise. She could read Eriri well enough already — this new member was a girl who'd lived a sheltered life. Not just killing; Eriri had probably never even watched a chicken being slaughtered.
After half a minute of dry-heaving, Eriri straightened up, face pale.
She barely managed to keep the panic and fear from swallowing her whole.
When she spoke, her voice had a faint tremor. "You… you just killed someone. Even if he was probably a bad person — he was a living, breathing person, and you just — and all you did was snap your finger—"
Kaguya shook her head. "You'll understand soon enough."
Soon? What does that mean?
At that exact moment, a line of text appeared in Eriri's mind.
[Would you like to join the Dimensional Chat Group? Yes / No]
"What—?!"
Before Eriri could process it for more than a second, Kaguya's voice came again, warm and faintly amused: "You can see the message now, right? You can pick Yes, or you can pick No. Though I did come quite a long way — you wouldn't want to let that go to waste, would you, Eriri?"
Eriri: "…Did you make this thing appear?"
Kaguya shook her head. "No. I wish I were that impressive."
Eriri hesitated for a moment. She pressed her lips together — still slightly drained of colour.
Then, with some lingering uncertainty, she selected Yes.
"And the username?"
"Anything's fine."
"…Oh."
[Ding! "Street-Corner Illustrator" has joined the Dimensional Chat Group!]
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