Haruto slightly furrowed his brows.
If that was the case, then he must have been affected by some kind of anomaly. An anomaly possessing both consciousness-related and time-related properties.
Moreover, it was likely at least at the level of Fragmented Divinity.
The Divine Fragment of Insight he possessed was specialized in cognitive immunity, but it also provided strong protection for his soul and consciousness.
To completely transfer his consciousness like this would require an anomaly with at least specialized Fragmented Divinity.
How could he break free from this anomalous influence?
Haruto tried to analyze the situation.
Currently, he still retained the abilities of "World" and "Kaleidoscope."
The Blacklight Virus wasn't bound to consciousness, so naturally, he couldn't carry it over.
Aside from that, his system was functioning normally.
If that was the case...
Haruto's gaze shifted to the Divine Fragment of Enlightenment displayed on the system interface.
Should he use the Divine Fragment of Enlightenment to elevate the power of "World" and attempt to gain Time Divinity?
If he possessed Time Divinity, he might be able to find a way to resolve this situation.
At that moment, Haruto suddenly stopped.
He recalled something even more important.
Since this was the world from three years ago—
Then, did his past self exist here?
And if his past self did exist—
Did the "Haruto" from three years ago still retain his pre-corruption memories?
Before being transported, his memories hadn't yet been shattered by the Supreme Divinity.
Could he retrieve the lost memories that had been destroyed by the Supreme Divinity from his past self?
Haruto saw a possibility.
If so, then this unexpected anomaly might actually be a blessing in disguise.
Haruto decided not to use the Divine Fragment of Enlightenment for now. First, go to Chiba and see if he can find his past self from three years ago.
Lost in thought, Haruto was pulled back to reality by Mitsuha's voice.
"We're really going to be late! If we're late, the homeroom teacher will kill us!"
Haruto chuckled at her words.
Of course, a youthful girl should be worried about everyday things like this.
"Hey, Mitsuha, do you want to go on a spontaneous trip?"
Haruto asked.
Mitsuha was stunned for a moment, then her interest was piqued.
"Really? I'd love to go on a trip! I want to experience a big city! Chiba, Tokyo, or somewhere like that!"
Since birth, she had lived in the small town of Itomori. She had always longed for the bustling world outside. Sometimes, Miyamizu Mitsuha would think, In my next life, I'd love to be reincarnated as a handsome guy from Tokyo.
If she could travel, of course, she'd want to.
But—
"But I don't have any money."
Mitsuha said bitterly.
She had no source of income.
In this small mountain town of Itomori, it was difficult to even find a part-time job.
Her family wasn't well-off either, so there was no way she'd have enough money to travel.
Haruto waved his finger.
"Money is just a trivial thing. Since you want to travel, there's no need to worry about the rest. Let's go!"
After making such a bold declaration...
Haruto obediently stood outside the classroom.
Mitsuha's homeroom teacher really did look fierce and terrifying.
Unfortunately—
Money was something that held no value to Haruto. He could gamble away billions in the blink of an eye without feeling a ripple of emotion.
But right now, he wasn't Haruto. He was Miyamizu Mitsuha.
In this body, he had no Blacklight Virus, no SCP Foundation Director status, and no unlimited wealth at his disposal.
He had his divine might space but it was completely empty, probably because of the timeline shift, meaning everything inside had returned to where it was three years ago.
His combat strength was still formidable.
But he couldn't exactly activate Susanoo to head to Chiba, could he?
That would probably require a worldwide memory wipe.
So, for now, Haruto attended class.
"So, Mitsuha, what's your excuse this time?"
The middle-aged female teacher stared at Haruto with sharp eyes, pressing him for a reason for his tardiness.
"I lost track of time while studying last night and got so absorbed that I had trouble waking up this morning."
Haruto said calmly.
At the same time, a red glow flickered in his eyes.
"I see. Studying is good, but you must also take care of your health. Go inside."
The middle-aged teacher's gaze turned vacant as she stepped aside.
"Whoa! You didn't even get scolded! You're amazing! I'm going to use this excuse next time!"
Mitsuha cheered.
Haruto didn't respond.
Just now, he had used a genjutsu to fool the teacher.
If Mitsuha copied him, she would definitely get scolded.
After sitting down, the surrounding classmates looked at him in admiration. Clearly, this strict teacher had left quite the impression on them.
As he took his seat, the girl in front of him turned around and said,
"Wow, Mitsuha, you actually avoided getting scolded by that old witch? That's amazing."
She was obviously someone Mitsuha knew well.
Unfortunately, Haruto didn't recognize her.
He smiled and waited for Mitsuha to introduce her.
"She's Iwato Suzume, my best friend. You… don't do anything weird to her in my body!"
Halfway through her sentence, Mitsuha suddenly remembered that Haruto was a guy. In her mind, boys her age were all filled with perverted thoughts.
"Mitsuha seems… strangely gentle today? Is it just my imagination?"
Turning back around, Suzume murmured to herself in confusion. During class, Haruto suddenly thought of an important issue.
Mitsuha, don't you have a phone?
Haruto wrote in his notebook.
"Uh… A phone is kind of a luxury item…"
Mitsuha's tone was hesitant, revealing her insecurity about her family's financial situation.
I'll get you one later.
"Huh!? Really?"
Mitsuha saw the words in the notebook and asked in excitement.
However, Haruto didn't respond. Instead, he reached out and poked Suzume's back.
"What's up?"
During class, Suzume leaned back against her chair and whispered.
"Suzume, let me borrow your phone."
Haruto said directly.
Suzume was momentarily stunned.
Her best friend was acting way too strange today. Normally, even if she handed her phone over, Mitsuha would refuse.
Still, Suzume didn't ask further and quietly passed her phone under the desk.
"Don't let the old witch catch you, or we're dead!"
Suzume warned.
Haruto took the phone and immediately cast a genjutsu on the teacher.
Now, from the teacher's perspective, 'Miyamizu Mitsuha' would appear to be paying full attention to the lesson.
Even if Haruto jumped out the window right now, she wouldn't notice!
Thus, Haruto openly placed the phone on his desk and started looking up travel routes from Itomori to Chiba.
First, he'd need to take a bus, then transfer to the Shinkansen. After arriving in Chiba, he'd have to switch metro lines twice—otherwise, he'd have to take a taxi.
Taxis in Japan were ridiculously expensive. (True!)
The problem was…
Mitsuha didn't even have enough money for the Shinkansen ticket.
Using genjutsu to get past that…
Wait, how could using genjutsu be called cheating?
Haruto silently kept that plan as a backup.
But his first option…
"Suzume, lend me 3,000 yen."
Haruto poked Suzume and said.
Suzume: !?
"Hey! Don't just randomly borrow money from people!"
Mitsuha was furious.
Using her body to casually borrow money from her best friend, what was he thinking?!
"Uh… Mitsuha, are you in some kind of trouble?"
Suzume asked hesitantly.
Her best friend was acting way too strange today!
Borrowing money was something Mitsuha would only do as a last resort, according to Suzume's understanding.
"Yeah, I ran into a little issue. I'll pay you back later."
Haruto said.
Hearing this, Suzume hesitated but still discreetly handed over 3,000 yen.
She wasn't worried about not getting her money back. She was more concerned about what kind of trouble Mitsuha was in.
Soon, the bell rang for the end of class.
The teacher, her eyes still vacant, left the room.
Suzume eagerly turned around to ask what was going on.
But the moment she did, she was stunned.
Her best friend had placed her phone openly on the desk.
While operating the phone to check maps and transportation routes, Mitsuha was also quickly jotting down notes in a notebook.
Suzume looked closely and realized that the notes formed a full travel itinerary.
"Huh?"
"Mitsuha, are you… leaving Itomori?"
Suzume asked in disbelief.
Without looking up, Haruto responded:
"Yeah, I'm heading out… let's call it a trip."
Hearing this, Suzume completely froze.
"You're actually going on a trip? You know 3,000 yen is basically nothing in the big city, right? And what about lodging? What about school? And what about your grandmother? She definitely wouldn't agree!"
Mitsuha had always talked about wanting to travel with excitement-
But now that she was actually going, all the realistic worries were surfacing.
"Leave it to me."
Haruto directly wrote this response in the notebook.
Saying so didn't really hold much persuasive power.
But given the current circumstances, Haruto had to make an exception.