Part 70: Okabe Rintarou receives a dire warning

"Has the heat finally gotten to you, Okarin? Akiba is the electric town. If you made a moe shop, then the maniacs would start a rebellion."

The conversation doesn't connect. This feel... this feeling...!

I'm frustrated. The past changed. I notice from the corner of my brain, but I still can't help but ask.

"Mandarake?"

"None."

"Akibaoo?!"

"That's normal."

"I mean Akibaookoku, where they sell doujinshi!"

"The hell's that?"

"They sell doujinshi at Akibaoo?"

"No way. That's impossible by any means."

"Gamers?! Ramutara?!"



"MelonBooks?! Asobit City?!"

They give back confused looks.

So basically... I take a deep gulp. I finally understand. It's too unreal, but I understand.

"This town's chaos... is dissipating..."

Only the otaku pandering shops, selling anime and eroge, have completely disappeared from Akiba Town...



MayQueen+Nyan². The maid cafe where Mayuri and Faris work, and Daru and I frequent.

But upon arriving in front of that store, I can do nothing but stand stock still and surrender to the finishing blow.



It's lost. Not just the moe shops, but even the maid cafe disappeared. Not just MayQueen, but the other multitudes of maid cafes and cosplay service stores have probably disappeared, too.

"Mayuri. You work at MayQueen, don't you?"

"MayQueen? What's that? The potato?"

"MayQueen+Nyan²!"

I try asking Daru too, but no reaction.

"Mayushii's part time job is at Lemoine, you know?"

"Lemoine? Is that a maid cafe?"

"No. A normal coffee shop."

"...Is there even a single maid cafe in Akiba?"

"None. The people who come to Akiba are prejudiced against that sort of moe business. Nobody would go."



The Butterfly Effect that Kurisu talked about. Faris said she had participated in Akiba's city development conferences ever since she was little, and that, adopting her opinion, they increased the moe shops. By sending a D-mail to 2000, directly or indirectly negating that, the world line was reconstructed to one with an Akiba without those stores. I guess that's it.

To think that a single mail could rewrite ten years of a town's history. Is it okay to repaint the town's appearance to our convenience - no, to Faris's convenience? I almost felt guilty about it, but since I'm the only one who remembers the original Akiba, nobody can blame me. I can't do anything about the changes after all.

But still, just what did Faris send...?



What I learned as a result is that, although its chaos factor has decreased, all in all, Akiba is still Akiba.

Electronics shops exist just like before. Or rather, they multiplied. You can still hear the shops' loud theme songs and echoing barkers all the way from the sidewalk. A little uninteresting, but peaceful - electronics otaku, PC maniacs, and even cheerful foreigners walk the streets. Maids handing out fliers on the streets, and young female customers - so-called fujoshi - disappeared, but the essence of an otaku town is unchanged. That's a little bit of a relief.

By the way, about how Faris and I met despite MayQueen's nonexistence. Mayuri told me last night: Mayuri and I accompanied Daru as he went to a small RaiNet AB tournament at a toy store in Ikebukuro, but he retired because of a stomach ache. Flustered, Mayuri and I ended up enlisting on the spur of the moment. Our opponent was Faris.

Obviously, Mayuri and I suffered overwhelming defeat as a newcomer pair, but apparently, Faris gave us kind, careful and thorough advice on how to play. That was the beginning of Mayuri and Faris's beautiful friendship.

The past was changed on a large scale on that part, but it's admirable that our current relationships remained the same in the end. Or maybe Lady Luck really exists.











A prank mail? Spam? Why red jelly? Being watched? Me?

I'm momentarily confused. Unintentionally, I look at my surroundings. Goosebumps raise instinctively. I feel something disquieting.



If that's true, then... this is... a threat mail...?!

My heartbeat skyrockets.
Not good. Not good. Not good.
What do I do?
Consult someone?
Whom? They'd get involved too.
It's a prank.
Don't take it seriously.
What if it is serious?
Will black suits really come for me?
Erase.
They'll erase me. Erase us.
Call the police?
No, pointless. Not enough evidence.
What do I do?
What should I do?
What should I...



Every pedestrian looks like an enemy. I run away from the crowd.



For now, I’ll think of that mail as a prank and drive it to the corner of my mind.

Gathered in the lab this early in the morning - well, actually it's already noon - are three high school girls. Lab Mem Numbers 002, 004, and 006. Mayuri, Kurisu, and Rukako. I greet them, trying not to stiffen my expression.

"It's Sunday on Obon holiday. You've sure got some free time, eh, Lab Mem Girls."





"Okarin, good morning♪"

I smile and wave back at the two high school girls for my morning greeting. In a sense, this is a happy scene.

By the way, one of these girls is, to be accurate, a high school boy who looks like a girl. Also, that happy scene was ruined by a certain assistant who just gave me an uninterested look before going back to reading.

"What are you doing?"



When I take a peek, it looks like a cosplay photo album.

"You know, yesterday I said I was going to Nakano to buy doujinshi, right? And when I was there, I found a doujin photoalbum of a super cute cosplayer! So I bought it on impulse♪ Look, Ruka. This is a costume of Sedona from Blood Tune. Isn't it well made? Isn't it super cute?"

"Wahh, it is."

I see. And so she's showing it to Rukako to reeducate him. Rukako was so against it, but Mayuri's pretty praiseworthy. He looks so interested in the photoalbum that maybe he's interested in cosplay itself. Maybe his issue is simply being too shy to be in front of people.

"Hey, hey, Cris, take a look, too. It's impressive!"

"It's okay, I guess."

Looks like Kurisu's the only one not participating in the doujin photoalbum appreciation party. She just gives a cold 'hmph'.

She's reading a difficult western book. Dammit, pretending to be intelligent? You don't talk that way when Mayuri gives you a suggestion. Or so I thought, but Mayuri doesn't seem to mind, so I don't butt in.

"Wah, the next pages are the swimsuits! Amazing! So much skin, huh. She's got great style, like a gravure idol."

"How admirable..."

"Admirable? The swimsuits?"

"I... don't have that great a style..."



Hey, hey, Mayuri... what the hell are you saying? It's like you're referring to Daru with that remark.

"You know, flat chests are justice. So even if you don't have breasts, you should still be confident.

"Kkmmkhmmkhmm!"

Kurisu starts magnificently choking on her coffee. I know that feel. I almost did a spittake with my Dr Pepper. Furthermore, Mayuri has no persuasive power at all, with her super bust unsuitable for her height.



"Hey, hey, Okarin, Cris, whaddya think? An all lab mem beach trip!"

"Eh...? All lab mems...?"

"I'm not going. I've gotta go back to America soon. I haven't even packed, so I don't have that much time."

"Well, since you're casually reading in the lab, you seem to have plenty of time to me."

Kurisu snaps her book shut and glares at me for my sarcasm.

"Fine, then I'll be plunt. Why the hell would I go swimming with two pervert scoundrels?"
"If it's just the girl members, I'd happily join♪"

"Hmph, so you're being honest now, Cristina. 'I don't want to show the boys my birthmarked butt, so I don't want them to come!'"

"I don't have a birthmark!"

"Anyway, if you're limiting it to just the girl members, then doesn't that rule out Rukako?"

"What the hell do you mean by that?"

"Didn't we expressly tell you before? That Rukako is a bonafide man!"

My declaration of the truth...