To return to the past, Kurumi's power was needed.
Although there was a Kurumi at home, her use of her own power was not yet mature. If using this ability led to strong side effects, that would not be good.
So, what needed to be done now was to find Main Body Kurumi and ask her to help her return to the past. This was the safest method.
It's just… how to find Kurumi? Ever since Clone Kurumi became an independent entity, she had not been seen appearing, as if she had left Amamiya City.
Inaba Tsukiyo didn't think Kurumi would leave Amamiya City so easily. As long as she wanted to achieve her goal, she would approach Shiori or herself.
Even if the Original Body hid, her clones would still be collecting information for her elsewhere. As long as she searched in Amamiya City, she should be able to find Kurumi's clone.
With this thought, Inaba Tsukiyo bid farewell to her Kurumi and walked alone on the street.
Suddenly, her phone vibrated. It was a text message from an agent claiming to be Yosuga Miku's, seemingly about wanting to buy the copyright to Inaba Tsukiyo's songs, and also wanting to meet Inaba Tsukiyo to discuss the songs.
Ever since she released her first song on niconico, this person had been harassing her like this. Even if she blocked the other party's number, she would use other numbers to send her the same messages.
Inaba Tsukiyo just 'hehe'-ed. Yosuga Miku's agent? I'm also the Prime Minister of this country, why not just say she is Yosuga Miku herself? That might even be more convincing.
The songs she released were indeed unique to this world, but to meet her, intentionally claiming to be Yosuga Miku's agent was a bit too much.
Did she really think she was so poor that she could only make a living by selling songs? She was underestimated. She wasn't a child who could be easily deceived.
With this thought, ignoring the text message from this person, Inaba Tsukiyo decided to visit the pet store in the shopping district, hoping to find traces of Kurumi there.
Just as Inaba Tsukiyo turned a corner, she saw someone walking towards her. The other person's body noticeably stiffened the moment she saw Inaba Tsukiyo.
Undoubtedly, this person was Kurumi or a clone of Kurumi, but she was different from Main Body Kurumi.
She wasn't wearing the black and red Gothic Lolita-style Spirit dress. She was wearing a black Gothic Lolita-style outfit, but she didn't use pigtails to cover her left eye's clock eye; instead, she used an eye patch to cover that eye.
This should be Kurumi from a certain period in the past, but for some reason, the moment she saw this Kurumi, Inaba Tsukiyo recalled Shiori's dark history diary she had found earlier.
Just like seeing the chuunibyou Shiori, was this Kurumi also from her chuunibyou phase?
After Kurumi regained her senses, a black hole appeared beside her. Kurumi anxiously jumped into the black hole, wanting to escape from there.
But Inaba Tsukiyo had finally found a way to locate Main Body Kurumi, so how could she let Kurumi leave so easily?
Just as the black hole was about to close, a surge of azure energy prevented its closure. Inaba Tsukiyo jumped into the black hole and found the Kurumi who wanted to escape.
Seeing that Inaba Tsukiyo had actually followed her here, Kurumi turned to flee, but countless Imaginary Space arms blocked her path, leaving her nowhere to go.
'I'm doomed.'
This was Kurumi's thought upon seeing these Imaginary Space arms. Although she also had a move that could summon arms, the levels of the two were different.
The Imaginary Space arms grabbed Kurumi's limbs, firmly fixing her in the air, watching Inaba Tsukiyo approach.
Inaba Tsukiyo carefully observed this special Kurumi. She hadn't expected even someone like Kurumi to have gone through a chuunibyou phase. Thinking about it, it was quite cute.
"So… can you tell me the Original Body's location?"
"Dream on! Anyway, I'm just a clone of the Original Body! Even if you kill me, the Original Body can create more clones! Your words have no effect on me!"
Kurumi struggled, trying to escape from the Imaginary Space arms, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't break free from the arms' restraint. She could only utter powerless threats to make herself look less pathetic.
Inaba Tsukiyo didn't get angry. She simply took out a camera from the Imaginary Space, activated the photo function, and aimed the lens at Kurumi.
"It's late… Did something happen? Or did she run off somewhere to play?"
In a rental house in Amamiya City, Kurumi, who was resting, looked at the clock with some surprise. According to her rules, the clone should have returned by now.
Although the clones were willing to die for her, the Original Body, they also had independent wills. When she wasn't paying attention, these clones would cause a lot of big news.
It wasn't that she didn't allow Clone Kurumi to go out and play; it was just that she had a very bad premonition. She felt as if something terrifying was approaching.
What kind of terrifying thing could make her feel this way? It was too strange. Could it be that her location had been discovered?
Just as this thought crossed her mind, Kurumi saw a large shadow appear in the room, and Clone Kurumi emerged from within it.
Just as she was about to ask Clone Kurumi why she was so late, Kurumi noticed Inaba Tsukiyo following behind Clone Kurumi.
The moment she saw Inaba Tsukiyo, Kurumi's fur bristled. Like an Animal seeing its natural predator, Kurumi immediately turned to leave, not wanting to provoke this formidable person.
"Do you really not want to see me, Kurumi? Do you not even have time to meet and chat with me?"
Inaba Tsukiyo sat naturally on the sofa, speaking the moment Kurumi stepped into the black hole.
Kurumi's steps halted. She gave Inaba Tsukiyo, who was sitting on the sofa, a complicated look, then glared fiercely at the feigning Clone Kurumi, and reluctantly sat on the sofa opposite Inaba Tsukiyo.
"It's just that I wasn't ready to meet Tsukiyo-chan yet. Besides, Tsukiyo-chan, didn't you abduct my Clone Kurumi? If that's the case, what more do you want from me?"
Thinking about Clone Kurumi, Kurumi felt very angry, not at Inaba Tsukiyo, but at Clone Kurumi.
Their wish hadn't been realized yet, but this fellow had betrayed her, betrayed the other Clone Kurumis, and found her own happiness. It was truly despicable.
"Is that what you think, Kurumi? Is there no difference between you and Clone Kurumi?"
Yes, there was no difference between Kurumi and Clone Kurumi. Clone Kurumi was a Clone Kurumi of Kurumi from a certain point in the past. Strictly speaking, Clone Kurumi was also Kurumi.
Kurumi pursed her lips. She didn't want to dwell too much on the issue of Clone Kurumi. She just wanted to know Inaba Tsukiyo's purpose for coming here.
She was a little afraid, afraid that her resolve would gradually waver, and her wish would not be realized.
Inaba Tsukiyo didn't know what Kurumi was thinking. After a period of silence, Inaba Tsukiyo spoke.
"I want you to help me. Use your power to send me back to Amamiya City five years ago to do something."
"Go back to Amamiya City five years ago? What do you want to do, Tsukiyo-chan?"
Kurumi tilted her head in confusion. She only remembered that the biggest event in Amamiya City five years ago was that great fire.
What did Inaba Tsukiyo want to do by going back to that time? Did she want to change something?
"I just want to see if my idea can be realized. To realize this idea, I must use your power, so I came to you."
Under Kurumi's watchful gaze, Inaba Tsukiyo came and sat beside Kurumi, taking her hand and injecting her magic into Kurumi's body.
Almost half of the magic was injected into Kurumi's body. Kurumi could feel her strength constantly replenishing, and in a very large amount.
"I will provide the time needed for this move. All you need to do is send me back five years ago. Can you... help me with this, Kurumi?"
"...It's just a transaction, Tsukiyo-chan. The amount you've given is sufficient. There's even some left over."
This much time was enough for her to send Inaba Tsukiyo back to Amamiya City five years ago.
Thinking that Inaba Tsukiyo's purpose for coming here was to return to the past, Kurumi felt relieved yet also a little disappointed.
Seemingly noticing Kurumi's disappointment, Inaba Tsukiyo tightened her grip on Kurumi's wrist.
"If... if you feel tired, you can come to me. When Clone Kurumi came to my house before, you should have been able to sense her location, right? If you need time, you can come to me for replenishment. If you're tired, you can come to my house. I still have other empty rooms for you to stay in. If you've thought it through, Clone Kurumi would also be happy to return. Although I made her an independent entity, she can still merge with you."
"...Oh my, are you trying to 'conquer' me like Shiori, Tsukiyo-chan? If it's Tsukiyo-chan, it's not impossible, you know. After all, Shiori is a girl, and Tsukiyo-chan is also a cute girl."
"Don't think such strange things. My purpose in having you come to my house isn't for that kind of thing. Don't have those strange ideas."
"Oh? Is that so? I thought Tsukiyo-chan liked me very much. I didn't expect Tsukiyo-chan to actually dislike humans. That's truly heartbreaking."
Saying this, Kurumi covered her face and let out a series of sobs, but everyone knew that she didn't have a single tear and was just putting on an act.
But... liking someone, how could she do such a thing? She couldn't betray Victorica, but she had been pushed down by Yae Sakura in the small forest before.
What should I do? What should I do?
Inaba Tsukiyo, unable to figure it out, became a little angry. This fellow just wanted to embarrass her! In that case, she shouldn't be blamed.
She took out the camera she had earlier and showed Kurumi what was inside: photos of the chuunibyou Clone Kurumi striking various poses that looked cool but were extremely embarrassing.
Using the power of the Herrscher of Corrosion, she briefly controlled Clone Kurumi, making her perform these chuunibyou actions. This way, she found a handle on Kurumi, which she could then use to threaten Kurumi when needed.
"You!!! I didn't expect you to be like this, Tsukiyo-chan!!"
When Inaba Tsukiyo returned home in the evening, she found Nia engrossed in rushing her manga.
Even though she knew the manga deadline was in a few days, this fellow was still reading manga and playing games, which resulted in this issue's manga not being finished by the end of the month.
"Ahhh!!! How dare these guys rush the future great manga artist Honjou Souji! Isn't that too much! Don't they know that it's common for famous manga artists to delay an issue! Why are they so strict with me! I have a temper too! Believe it or not, I'll just end the next issue abruptly! Or kill off a certain female protagonist!"
Just as they entered, Kurumi and Inaba Tsukiyo heard Nia's dissatisfied voice. It seemed the publishing house was also eagerly urging Nia to submit her manuscript quickly.
"If you really do that, you'll definitely get razor blades sent by your fans, or get into trouble with your editor, Nia. I didn't expect you to actually procrastinate on your manuscript."
Because Nia had been confined for four years, she wanted to enjoy her new life, her work, and her daily routine.
However, too many things had happened recently, and many of them were very interesting, causing her to be lazy for a while.
By the time she came to her senses, she realized it was almost the end of the month. If she continued to slack off, that devil editor would come looking for trouble.
Nia turned to greet Inaba Tsukiyo's return, only to find a Kurumi following behind Inaba Tsukiyo.
But the Kurumi at home had already returned. What was going on with this Kurumi? And she was glaring at Inaba Tsukiyo with a look of dissatisfaction. Had something happened that she didn't know about?
Or... double the pleasure?
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