This place should be the office of the Armed Detective Agency.
Although it had already been several years since she left the world of Bungou Stray Dogs, Natsumi Kyouno still remembered the general layout clearly.
However—she didn't remember this person ever appearing in the Armed Detective Agency's office!
Wasn't this person Bandage three?
Back when she was playing as Tokisaki Kurumi, didn't she send a clone to the Armed Detective Agency to complete a side mission?
There were so many parallel worlds in Bungou Stray Dogs. Could it be that she had traveled back into one of the parallel worlds related to herself?
Then what point in time was this?
Since Bandage three was now in the office of the Armed Detective Agency, did that mean she could still find another version of herself currently playing as Tokisaki Kurumi within the agency?
Natsumi Kyouno's thoughts were a mess.
She didn't know that Bandage three was the only clone preserved by the system. She thought she had returned to the time when nightmares were running rampant in Yokohama.
But it wasn't just Natsumi Kyouno who was confused.
Bandage three was also at a loss.
"Wha… th… you!"
As if she hadn't spoken properly in a long time, Bandage three stuttered as she tried to position herself, pointing at Natsumi Kyouno in disbelief. "You came back again?"
"Again? What do you mean by 'again'?" Natsumi Kyouno asked instinctively. "Isn't this still the time when I'm playing as Tokisaki Kurumi?"
"The hell it is!"
Hearing this, Bandage three immediately became furious. She rushed over, grabbed her collar, and shouted, "Three years! It's been three years since you finished playing Tokisaki Kurumi and left this world!"
"Three years…"
Natsumi Kyouno froze. At last, she began to vaguely understand what had happened.
Excluding the first character she played, Tokisaki Kurumi; the current one she was playing, Natsumi Kyouno; and the last remaining one she had yet to play, Mukuro Hoshimiya—she had played a total of nine Spirits.
The time she spent in each trial world varied, but most lasted between three to six months.
Adding them up roughly, that would be around three years?
"Don't tell me… unlike the other clones that disappeared after I left, you didn't vanish?" Natsumi Kyouno widened her eyes. "You've been here alone for three years?"
"Three years, three years… Do you even know what I've been through during these three years?" Bandage three asked through gritted teeth. "Even though the system didn't assign me any new acting tasks, I had to maintain character continuity and spent the past three years pretending to be a full-on chuuni under the noses of these detectives!"
Seriously… three whole years—anyone would have graduated from their chuuni phase by now!
Natsumi Kyouno really wanted to say that out loud.
But seeing Bandage three in this state, she felt that this woman might already be suffering from some kind of mentally instability. If she provoked her now, something terrible might happen. So, Natsumi Kyouno wisely stayed silent.
After a brief emotional outburst, Bandage three gradually calmed down.
Thinking it through, the one who forced her to roleplay a chuuni for three extra years was the damned system—not her original self. So she let go of Natsumi Kyouno's collar.
"How many more Spirits do you still need to play before you're finished? I've been waiting for you to finish so I can finally be released."
Bandage three sat back down, lifting her half-dead fish-like eyes. "If you keep going, I feel like I'm not even myself anymore… My sexual orientation might start to get messed up."
For her, the difficulty of acting during these three years wasn't nearly as intense as it had been when she first joined the Armed Detective Agency.
After all, she was now an official member of the agency, and Tokisaki Kurumi main body had disappeared. No one was casting any suspicious glances her way anymore.
As long as she kept playing her part well, nothing would go wrong.
If she had been under high-pressure surveillance the whole time, her metaphorical mask might've gotten stuck to her face by now.
"Right now, I'm playing Natsumi Kyouno. She's the second-to-last one. After that, there's only Mukuro Hoshimiya left before I've played all ten Spirits."
"Well, that's at least some good news."
Bandage three relaxed her expression a little, and her tone followed suit. She casually asked, "By the way, did the system assign you to play Natsumi Kyouno in the Bungou Stray Dogs world?"
"No, not at all. I'm playing Natsumi Kyouno in the world of Re:Creators."
Since this was another version of herself who clearly knew all her secrets and there were no other people around, Natsumi Kyouno saw no point in hiding and directly explained, "I returned to this world by unlocking the Master's power—I'm here to ask Dazai Osamu for help."
As she spoke, she gave Bandage three a full, detailed explanation of the entire sequence of events.
Once she understood why Natsumi Kyouno had returned to the Bungou Stray Dogs world, Bandage three slowly nodded.
"Then… how about you take me with you?"
Bandage three pointed at her own face and suggested, "If you're going to fight Altair, I could be useful."
"You?"
Natsumi Kyouno looked her up and down, puzzled. "Aren't you a clone? Did the system give you full access to Zafkiel's powers?"
"No, it didn't. But I do have the standard clone kit: Shadow Space and the Castle of Devouring Time." Bandage three thumped her chest. "If you're really going all in to defeat Altair, she's bound to feel threatened and might stop holding back. She could even start killing ordinary people."
Natsumi Kyouno fell silent for a moment, then nodded seriously.
She hadn't considered that possibility.
Neither had the other members of Meteora faction.
Because Altair had never harmed any ordinary person thus far, they subconsciously assumed she wouldn't.
But Altair wasn't that merciful.
Her goal was to destroy the entire world, which naturally included everyone living in it.
The only reason she hadn't committed any mass killings so far was simply because she didn't want to escalate things to the point where all of Japan—or even the whole world—would notice.
Her power came from "All Things in Creation," and the strength of that came from fan-created derivative works online. If the entire world grew terrified of her and began censoring her, she'd lose that power source.
But if she felt her life was in danger and sensed impending doom, would she still hold back?
Of course not.
"And with my Castle of Devouring Time, I can ensure that everyone around you falls asleep during the battle with Altair," Bandage three continued. "Not only that, I can also move the sleeping civilians into the infinite Shadow Space, so they won't be affected by the battle, and you all can fight freely."
"That's true."
Natsumi Kyouno nodded. Then, with a slightly strange look in her eyes, she stared at Bandage three. "Why do I feel like you're smarter than me?"
"Come on, we're literally the same person. It's just a matter of perspective—hard to see clearly when you're in the middle of things."
Bandage three chuckled smugly. "Besides, I didn't spend these years in the Armed Detective Agency for nothing. I've run into more than a few crazed ability users who tried to take everyone down with them."
"Alright then, come with me later."
Natsumi Kyouno thought about it and figured bringing Bandage three along really was a better option, so she agreed.
Then, glancing at the darkened sky outside, she couldn't help but ask, "By the way, what are you still doing in the office this late at night?"
"Writing reports."
At the mention of this, Bandage three's face twisted in pain.
Her reluctance to write reports wasn't an act. It was real.
"Having a performing arts school graduate write criminal investigation reports is completely unreasonable," Bandage three said, holding her head. "But if I don't finish them, I'll lose this month's bonus again."
"So you've already grown into a fine corporate slave, huh?"
Natsumi Kyouno gave her a complicated look, then summoned the Master's power.
"You helped me out, so let me return the favor."
Midnight, Armed Detective Agency Dormitory.
Having taken off his usual vest and overcoat, now only wearing a thin shirt, Dazai Osamu was lying on his bed, reading a palm-sized book in his hand.
Although the book itself looked a bit worn out—who knows how many times he had read it—for a good book, no matter how many times one reads it, it remains a good book.
"The path of suicide truly is vast and profound."
While reading the Complete Manual of Suicide, Dazai Osamu sighed in admiration.
However, just as he was enjoying this peaceful moment of reading at night, his brows suddenly furrowed sharply as if he sensed something.
He immediately turned his head to look beside the bed and saw a wriggling shadow that had somehow appeared there without him noticing.
"How many times do I have to tell you—come in through the front door!"
Dazai Osamu's face was covered in black lines [a manga/anime expression for annoyance or frustration], and he clenched his right fist and mercilessly hammered it down onto Bandage three's head that had just emerged.
"Gah—!"
But clearly, Bandage three had already anticipated being hit—her Astral Dress shield had been activated all along. Dazai Osamu instead let out a miserable cry as his punch struck the transparent barrier.
"Hahaha! Did you really think I would fall for the same move twice?"
Bandage three's figure slowly rose out from the shadow, a proud smile hanging on her lips.
"A mere mortal dares to strike the noble Queen of the Night twice on the head? Truly arrogant beyond belief."
"You have time to come and get revenge on me? Did you finish writing your report?" Dazai Osamu asked through gritted teeth, cradling his aching fist. "Your bonus is gone, and I won't lend you money next month!"
"Of course."
As if she had long expected him to ask this, Bandage three chuckled lightly and slapped the report in her hand onto his face.
Taking the report, Dazai Osamu glanced over it in disbelief. Then, the look in his eyes grew strange as he turned to look at her.
"Since when did your writing and grammar become so proper?" he asked suspiciously. "You didn't happen to use ChatGPT to help you write this, did you?"
"Of course not!" Bandage three replied without hesitation.
As if ChatGPT could be that smart?
It was written for her by the obituary!
"Hmph... It doesn't look like it was written by AI, but it definitely wasn't written by you either."
Dazai Osamu said with certainty.
But he had no intention of digging further into it—after all, he wasn't an old-fashioned stiff like Doppo Kunikida.
Besides, his own report wasn't written by him either.
"So, if you didn't come all this way just to make me write your report for you, what are you actually here for?" Dazai Osamu asked. "Let me say first—I'm very tired, I don't have time to play any of your role-playing games."
"How rude. Do you think the noble me would come to see you for just those two reasons?"
Bandage three snorted softly, then sank into the shadow.
A moment later, she appeared again in front of Dazai Osamu.
Only this time, by her side stood a girl Dazai Osamu had never seen before.
The girl looked to be only around eleven or twelve years old—perhaps even younger. She wore an outfit resembling that of a Western-style witch: her messy, fluffy green hair topped with a pointed witch's hat inlaid with several large pine-green gemstones, a short orange-red cloak that barely covered her body, and a pair of suspender-style puffed shorts. One long and one short sock in contrasting orange and black wrapped her calves, and on her feet were a pair of oddly whimsical little boots.
She looked like someone you might see during a Halloween parade—her outfit was even more flamboyant than Bandage three's.
But today wasn't Halloween, which made her appearance rather out of place.
"Who's this little one?" Dazai Osamu sat up on the bed. "Another chuunibyou friend of yours?"
"I don't know her," Bandage three shook her head. "She suddenly appeared while I was writing my report in the office, saying she had a request for Dazai Osamu of the Armed Detective Agency, so I brought her here."
"Suddenly appeared?"
"Yes, she emerged out of thin air through a kind of portal."
Hearing this, Dazai Osamu raised an eyebrow, his expression growing more serious.
In other words, this oddly dressed little girl in front of him was a genuine ability user.
A spatial-type ability user?
"A request, huh..."
Dazai Osamu pondered for a moment, then his face broke into the polite smile he wore when meeting clients.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Dazai Osamu. May I know your name?"
"Natsumi. Just call me Natsumi."
"Alright, Natsumi."
Dazai Osamu nodded and quickly searched his mind for any information about this name. But he came up empty.
Still, his expression didn't betray anything. He continued asking,
"So, Natsumi—what's this request you mentioned?"
"The situation is a bit complicated, so I'll keep it short," said Natsumi Kyouno. "I'm from another world. A very powerful enemy has appeared in that world, and we need your help."
"Hmm..."
Dazai Osamu slowly nodded, digesting her words.
A dozen seconds later, he turned to look at Bandage three.
"So, she really is your chuunibyou buddy, huh." Dazai rolled his eyes. "I told you, I don't have time to play role-playing games with you..."
However, he only got halfway through his sentence before forcefully swallowing the rest.
Because he saw the girl who called herself Natsumi Natsumi summon a key-shaped wand out of thin air.
With a casual twist at the top of the wand, as if turning a key to open a certain door, a deep, mysterious passage appeared before him.
"I wasn't lying."
Standing next to the dimensional tunnel, Natsumi Kyouno spoke calmly, "I really am not from this world. In another world, there are people who need your help."
Watching the scene before him unfold, Dazai gaze flickered.
With his insight, he could naturally tell this wasn't some kind of magic trick, but genuine supernatural power.
Not only the wand that appeared out of thin air, but the spatial gate before his eyes, clearly leading to somewhere unknown — all of it proved that this girl, who seemed just as delusional as Bandage three, indeed possessed some sort of ability.
But even if she had supernatural powers, that didn't mean what she said was entirely believable.
After all, another world? That sounded far too ridiculous.
Especially when she mentioned people in that other world needing his salvation — it sounded like a cheesy RPG or an overused trope in light novels.
If he'd encountered this girl alone, Dazai might have been half-convinced.
But since she was brought here by Bandage three, her credibility instantly dropped to rock bottom.
"I know that even now, you might still not trust me." Natsumi Kyouno spoke seriously. "But the moment you step into this spatial tunnel, you'll realize that everything I've said is real."
"No no no, there's no way I'm stepping into a pitch-black tunnel in the middle of the night." Dazai lips twitched. "I don't even know what's on the other side of that thing."
"It leads to another world!"
"But I don't believe you!"
And so, Dazai and Natsumi Kyouno stood there in a stalemate.
Natsumi ground her teeth in frustration, wanting to just throw the guy into the portal — but she couldn't.
Although both Dazai Osamu and Kamijou Touma had the physical strength of ordinary people, and she had no trouble kidnapping Kamijou, meaning she could also do the same to Dazai…
The problem was, they not only shared similar physical attributes, but also similar powers.
Imagine Breaker and No Longer Human were both passive abilities.
If Kamijou's right hand touched the dimensional portal, it would instantly vanish.
And for Dazai "No Longer Human," it wasn't just limited to his right hand — even a single strand of his hair could nullify the portal on contact.
However, according to the setting, Dazai had a unique skill:
Playing dead.
Perhaps due to years of attempting suicide, he had developed a talent — he learned to control the rhythm of his heartbeat and could forcibly stop his pulse for 0.5 seconds, entering a state of false death.
It was precisely because of this ability that, every time Yosano Akiko treated him, his power "Thou Shalt Not Die" could be successfully triggered.
In other words, if Dazai voluntarily entered a pseudo-death state, Natsumi Kyouno could seize that moment to push him through the dimensional portal.
But this required Dazai cooperation.
And right now, he clearly didn't trust her at all.
Though he often wore a carefree smile, deep down, Dazai wasn't someone who trusted others easily.
In that case, she would have to prove it through action.
"Come with me."
"No problem."
Natsumi grabbed Bandage three's hand and turned to walk into the portal together.
Bandage three didn't resist at all.
"Wait—"
Dazai eyes widened. He reached out, trying to grab Bandage three's shoulder and stop her.
But they were only a step away from the portal, and in the blink of an eye, both vanished from his sight.
"That idiot..."
Dazai held his forehead, a pained expression crossing his face.
She really just followed them because she was told to?
Wasn't she worried the other side could be full of danger?
Still, Dazai didn't act recklessly and calmly sat on the edge of his bed.
If Bandage three didn't return in three minutes, he'd consider waking up the rest of the Armed Detective Agency.
At the same time, in the world of Re: Creator , inside the hideout, the creators and their creations saw Natsumi Kyouno return.
Inevitably, they also saw the girl beside her.
"I thought you went to get Dazai Osamu?" asked Tachibana Company in surprise, staring at the girl who'd arrived. "Wait, isn't this an early version of Tokisaki Kurumi? Did you just visit the Date A Live world?"
"Mhm, though this is just a clone."
Natsumi nodded, and using Bandage three's earlier statements as support, she shared the backstory she had already prepared.
After her explanation, everyone quickly realized the problem and also affirmed that creating large-scale "Time-Eating Cities" and "Shadow Realms" could indeed prevent civilians from being affected by battle.
Moreover, Bandage three represented the early version of Tokisaki Kurumi — the one who stood for justice — meaning she would definitely help them defeat Altair.
"Um... do you know who Takamiya Mio is?" Tachibana Company asked nervously.
"Takamiya Mio? Who?" Bandage three looked confused.
"No one, no one at all."
Tachibana Company coughed a few times, quickly brushing it off.
It seemed this was a newly summoned clone who hadn't yet learned about future events.
That was good news.
Otherwise, she'd be in for a double beating today.
"Well then, I'm off to fetch Dazai Osamu."
Once everyone accepted Bandage three, Natsumi grabbed her again and stepped back into the portal.
At the same time, Dazai — looking increasingly serious — was no longer able to sit still.
Just as he was about to report to the other agency members, Natsumi Kyouno and Bandage three reappeared in his room through the portal.
"Are you... okay?"
Seeing the two return, Dazai asked, half wary and half concerned.
"Since I'm standing right here, of course I'm fine," Bandage three said confidently. "The other side of the portal is indeed safe, though whether it's truly another world... that I can't confirm yet."
"Hmph..."
Still full of doubts, Dazai remained skeptical. But as much as he questioned, he was also a man of action.
Since there was a request, and as a member of the Armed Detective Agency whose creed was helping others, he had to accept.
Besides, if another world really existed — wouldn't that be fascinating?
"If it's safe, then I suppose going with you isn't out of the question."
Leaving behind a note in the room, Dazai spoke in a relaxed tone, like a traveler ready to embark on a journey.
"So then, shall we go now?"