Different Worlds, the Same Shirou / The Story of the Real and Fake Shirou ...

"Did you do that in your dream?" the other girls asked Shirou, looking at him suspiciously.

"Hmm... hmm." Shirou nodded, then quickly shook his head as if remembering something, emphasizing, "It was in a dream! It was in a dream! Because in that situation,"

"Wait a minute, Ayase- chan, whose child is that?" Kirino asked her friend with concern, posing the most crucial question.

"It belongs to Shirou -san," Ayase replied shyly in a low voice.

"Hmm..." The girls all showed expressions of understanding, then cast disdainful glances at Shirou.

"In a dream! In a dream!" Shirou exclaimed.

'I already said it was a dream, stop looking at me like I'm scum!'

"Everyone, don't blame Shirou. At least Shirou promised to take responsibility, and I believe he's sincere," Ayase said, trying to appease Shirou.

Shirou nodded in agreement, then paused, stunned.

'Hmm? Something feels off.'

Chapter 773 Different Worlds, Same Shirou

"Brother Shirou, and then we met again in the real world. I'm sorry I forgot such an important thing before! But it's okay, a little mistake can't stop true love."

When Ayase got emotional, she stepped forward and took Shirou's hands in hers.

"Um... Ayase- san?" Shirou's neck stiffened; he couldn't hear what the child was saying at all.

In the dream world, she faced a situation more awkward than other girls. As a middle school student, she fantasized about meeting a suitable partner, getting married, having children, and giving birth to adorable little babies. The boy would be as handsome as his father, and his father would raise him to be a strong and upright man. The girl would be as beautiful as her, and she would teach the child to be a lovely and well-mannered little lady.

But Ayase never imagined that such a thing would actually happen ahead of time in an incredibly realistic dream. And it was with a brother in name only.

Ayase, all alone and helpless, didn't know what to do. At that moment, Shirou appeared before her. As the only normal person in this strange world, he helped her, protected her, and told her not to worry, that he would definitely find a way to rescue everyone.

From that moment on, Ayase felt that nothing else mattered. If it was this person, she was willing to suffer and stay with him.

Shirou's method of establishing a relationship with the girl aligned with Roswaal's interests, thus preventing further tragedies such as people going berserk or being killed. Taking advantage of the castle owner's relaxed vigilance, Shirou led the girl out of the castle and hid.

He stayed with the girl until the world collapsed.

At that moment, Ayase, recalling the emotional moment, gripped Shirou's hand tightly, preventing him from pulling away.

Utaha Kasumigaoka, standing to the side, couldn't stand it anymore! She was clearly the proper girlfriend! What was wrong with this woman?! Get your filthy hands off her! She's not someone you should be touching!

Just as the Asura Field was about to erupt, the Kuro Neko stepped forward, raised its hand, and said:

"Ahem, let's put that topic aside for now. Now let me tell you about what happened to me."

"Hmm... let's do it that way." Shirou agreed with a dry laugh.

"Since you say that Shirou- nii..." Ayase looked at Shirou with a resentful expression, but didn't say anything more.

"Ahem..." The Kuro Neko coughed and began to tell the story that had happened around him.

She entered the story's world, but she was a shut-in. It was like the currently popular isekai reincarnation trope—for example, being hit by a truck, or thinking she was hit by a truck, and then entering another world. It's a well-known and basic formula.

When she first entered, it seemed that only she, as the protagonist, retained her memories. People like Kirino were just extras, so they became higher-level NPCs. But these were minor matters, and she didn't think much of it, leaving these familiar strangers behind.

She discovered that she had entered a magical world, and that she possessed the potential to become Magecraft. Her room was filled with various books on witchcraft, as well as teaching materials on curses and all sorts of amazing Magecraft materials.

The Kuro Neko was completely immersed in this wonderful experience, and she forgot all about what had happened in the story. She stayed in her room alone, studying Magecraft.

Until the crisis occurred! Because she didn't go out to interact with the protagonist, she didn't serve the purpose of matchmaking and was simply wasting food, so the demon maid simply eliminated her.

The demon maid, armed with a weapon, smashed open the door that the Kuro Neko had locked, intending to cut off her head. Having only learned a rudimentary form of Magecraft, which proved utterly useless, the Kuro Neko closed her eyes in despair.

At that moment, Shirou appeared! He had been lying in wait, but he finally intervened! He prevented the tragedy from happening, saved the Kuro Neko's life, and escaped with the Kuro Neko.

It was only then that the Kuro Neko realized that there was another person who, like her, possessed memories and explained the various problems of this world to her.

However, this world was clearly not suitable for lifting the curse. Shirou and the Kuro Neko made various attempts, but in the end, they had to give up.

The two, who depended on each other for survival, settled down in an apartment. Shirou and Kuro Neko agreed that since there was no way to break the curse, they would study the magic Kuro Neko together, hoping to make some new discoveries about the curse Magecraft inside.

So the Kuro Neko and Shirou spent several days together in the room, researching all sorts of dark True Magic, until the world collapsed.

"That's my situation." After saying that, the Kuro Neko glanced at Shirou, her eyes seeming to hold some deeper meaning.

"Hmm?" But Shirou didn't seem to notice.

Kirino, however, noticed the oversight and asked, "Wait? Why are you all sharing a room at the inn?"

"Can you stop worrying about such trivial matters? Anyone who cares about details is an idiot! Next!" the Kuro Neko said coldly.

Next up was Saori, the young lady. Now, having changed back into her usual young lady attire, and without the concealing glasses, two blushes appeared on her face. She was shy and speechless, appearing both charming and beautiful.

"I... I was also in danger, but in the end, my brother dragged me away with him," Saori said shyly, lowering her head.

Despite this, the girl maintains her "non-stay-at-home" persona. As a wealthy young lady in reality, she actually longs for Romeo and Juliet -like romance.

In the doujinshi world of "what if," the protagonist renounces his dukedom and elopes with a young lady who has also renounced her viscountdom. They flee to the countryside and live happily ever after.

"Wait! What's going on? Shirou- nii, you're appearing way too often!" The girls all looked at Shirou with puzzled expressions.

"No, no, I should be an NPC with no memories on your side, right?" Shirou argued.

"So you admit you said those things to us?" Eriri asked.

"That's because I thought we were all in the same story, and you were just being controlled. Of course I had to protect you, and I would definitely make a promise to rescue you!" Shirou explained.

"But...brother, you clearly told me that you have memories of being outside, otherwise I wouldn't have run away with you. I remember that very clearly," the Kuro Neko said.

"Yes! Although I didn't leave the city, I was hiding in the same room as you, Shirou. How could I not tell if you were real or not!" Eriri pointed out the key point.

"Huh? How could this be!?" Shirou was dumbfounded. He didn't have these memories. No, he did say it, but it was to the NPC girls, telling them to wait for him inside the castle.

"No! In my memory, Shirou, you talked about things in the real world, and you even swore you would protect me and take me out! Are you going to renege on your promise?" Kirino glared at Shirou, seriously doubting whether she had trusted the wrong man.

"Ah! He told me that too! He told me to believe him and all that." The Kuro Neko cast a disdainful glance at her. Was all that talk about seeking the true meaning of the demonic path (chuunibyou) with him just a lie? If he dared to toy with her feelings, he wouldn't let it go so easily!

"Brother Shirou..." Ayase looked at Shirou with a resentful expression, as if black energy was slowly emanating from her body. Although she looked pitiful, the concentration of black energy on her body was not much different from when she was biting a strand of hair and holding a wood-chopping knife.

Shirou's survival instincts, honed within the story's world, suddenly felt an unprecedented sense of crisis. In that instant, his potential was activated once more. It was a harsh environment where, without activating his host club mode, his feminine physique, and his boy-next-door charm, he might inexplicably die; it felt as if the entire world harbored malice towards him.

It's a suffocating pressure, like being crushed by a boulder heavier than a person, with every muscle aching and bones feeling like they're about to break. It's like falling into a pool of Black Mud.

It is said that humanity must rise from adversity and setbacks, but in reality, how many people in the world can actually climb out of truly desperate situations and then rise to prominence?

The Goujian Sword of the King of Yue hardship and humiliation, and Han Xin crawling between someone's legs, can serve as warnings or encouragement, but they are not role models or cases to be imitated. This is because these comebacks have prerequisites: first, you must be either King or a military genius who appears only once in a millennium; ordinary people cannot do it.

If you truly possess that kind of talent and ambition, what direct connection does it have with whether or not you lick gallbladders or crawl between someone's legs, or spend less money and take fewer detours? If you don't, then licking them is pointless.

If someone wants to improve, they should indeed step out of their comfort zone, but that should be within their capabilities, learning step by step. They shouldn't force themselves into a panic zone where they are clearly incapable. Under pressure, people are more likely to make mistakes. When emotions are unstable, they cannot learn effectively.

In a state of extreme panic, when someone is so scared they're about to wet themselves, you can't expect them to do anything.

However, the story that Shirou and the girls are involved in is very unfriendly, and they are in a state of extreme panic.

In fact, it's even more terrifying than going to war, because it's like a hysterical horror movie. It's not a zombie movie, and there's a Daoist priest like Lam Ching-ying upholding justice. It's like Final Destination, where the enemy is unknown, a mysterious force beyond comprehension, and everything is unsolvable.

Chapter 774 The Truth About the Real Shirou

"Alright, alright, if you keep pressuring Shirou like this, he won't be able to remember things that didn't happen, right? After all, it was just something that happened in a dream!"

At that moment, Utaha Kasumigaoka walked up to Shirou, blocking the girls' resentful gazes, and looked directly at them, saying...

"Huh?! What do you mean?" Kirino glared at Utaha Kasumigaoka.

"Are you trying to say that everything we experienced was fake?!" Ayase glared at the woman, her gaze gradually turning cold as she spoke.

"That doesn't make sense; everyone's memories don't lie!" the Kuro Neko said.

Utaha Kasumigaoka met that gaze calmly, showing no intention of backing down, and said:

"But that's a similar place, isn't it? Even if you get injured in there, your bodies will be completely intact, without any changes, right? Shirou's personality is indeed very gentle, but don't take his forbearance as a reason for you to question him at will. To rescue everyone, Shirou has been busy and suffered a lot!"

"I know that without you saying it! Utaha Kasumigaoka!!!" Eriri said unhappily.

"Of course I know Shirou- nii has had a tough time! We've lived together," Saori said.

"Since you know that, then stop treating Shirou like that. He doesn't owe you anything. Shirou has already said he has no memory, right? If he intended to deceive you, he wouldn't have come here in the first place!" Utaha Kasumigaoka said decisively.

"That's true, but..." Although the girls understood this and knew that Shirou meant them well, they were still very resentful. They were unwilling to admit that the memories that had occurred in their minds, the experiences that had moved them and stirred their hearts, were just a dream.

"Well, I'm not saying that everything you encountered was fake. After all, it's a world similar to a dream. Even if all sorts of strange things happen, nothing is impossible!" Utaha Kasumigaoka, seeing that things were going well, began to comfort the girls.

"What do you mean?" the Kuro Neko asked, looking at the woman who seemed to dislike him.

"Since such strange worlds exist, and each world has high-level NPCs who look like you, then it's not impossible to create clones with the exact same personality and thoughts as Shirou, and with the same memories, in multiple parallel worlds."

Even Shirou, who was created, probably doesn't know his true identity, which is why he tells you about things in the outside world.

"It's just a shame that the Shirou here isn't the Shirou you met," Utaha Kasumigaoka said with a deep sigh, expressing her sympathy for the girls.

"How could this be..." The girls were reluctant to believe it, but Shirou genuinely didn't remember what had happened between them, and it didn't seem like he was lying to them.

"But I think if Shirou were to go to your world, he would definitely do everything in his power to save you," Utaha Kasumigaoka comforted them.

With reasoned arguments and a calm demeanor, Utaha Kasumigaoka firmly grasped the reins of the conversation. She subtly and overtly told the girls that she was Shirou's rightful girlfriend, and that they were all dreaming! Dreaming! Utaha Kasumigaoka clung tightly to this point, determined to make the other girls understand their true identity.

"I'm sorry, Shirou -san..." Ayase and Saori were the first to speak to Shirou, and the other girls also gave him apologetic looks, but everyone seemed a little downcast.

Shirou, seeing this, felt a pang of guilt, as if he had wronged the girls and hurt them. He quickly said, "Don't be like that! You don't need to apologize! It's just that this matter is very complicated, which is why we need to gather information together and investigate the truth. As long as we can all understand each other, that's fine."

"Hmm... well, let's just say that's how it is then! Blame this wretched story world!" Kirino said angrily.

"Yes, I never want to experience that kind of world again in my life," Eriri chimed in.

The girls still disagreed with Utaha Kasumigaoka's explanation, but directed their anger towards that unreasonable world.

Shirou and the girls were clearly unaware that it was precisely because of this perilous world that the bond between the girls and Shirou, the only normal person, was able to grow so rapidly.

When men and women develop feelings for each other, the environment and atmosphere are very important. This is similar to the suspension bridge effect, which refers to the experimental theory that dangerous or stimulating situations can promote feelings between people.

To put it simply, it's like two people standing on opposite sides of a rickety, dangerous bridge, walking towards each other. The dangerous bridge causes various physiological and psychological reactions, such as a racing heart and the release of various hormones. As they gradually get closer to each other and see each other's faces, they might think they've found true love.

If the other person is a complete stranger you've just met, you might find them more attractive than usual. If you met them on flat ground, you might just think they're an ordinary person, but on a suspension bridge, you'd think they're incredibly handsome.

The girls met Shirou in this extreme environment. The tension when facing the corrupted monsters, the anxious heartbeat when being chased, all of these became the nourishment that catalyzed their feelings.

Contrary to common sense, researchers believe that an individual's emotional experience is not spontaneously formed due to their own encounters, but rather is a two-stage process of self-perception. In this process, people first experience their own physiological sensations, and then they search for a suitable explanation for their physiological arousal in the surrounding environment.

For example, according to this theory, during the emotional experience, people first notice that their physiological responses are different from usual, such as feeling hot, having a rapid heartbeat, and experiencing slight hand tremors. Next, they will unconsciously look for clues in their environment to explain these physiological responses.

In other words, emotional experience depends more on the interpretation of one's own physiological arousal than on the actual experience itself. However, this raises a problem: in real life, there may be different, but all reasonable, explanations for the same physiological manifestation, and sometimes it is difficult for people to determine which factor caused their physiological manifestation. Because it is difficult to accurately point out the true cause of their physiological manifestation, people will have incorrect perceptions of their emotions. In psychology, the process of people making incorrect inferences about their feelings is called misattribution of arousal.

Chapter 775 Eriri Will Never Give Up

'I... I absolutely refuse to admit it!'

'How could I possibly admit it!'

The blonde girl with twin ponytails clenched her fists tightly; she would never admit Utaha Kasumigaoka's feelings, no matter what.

There are many kinds of opportunities for falling in love. Sometimes they are glamorous, sometimes they are beautiful, and sometimes they can be sordid or even disgusting. It's just that at that moment, something touches the depths of your heart, and you can disregard everything else and love wholeheartedly.

Sometimes, love stems from liking someone and wanting to experience special things together. Other times, love comes from sharing experiences with someone, and that's how you fall in love with them.

The girls' relationship with Shirou could be either the former or the latter.

Sometimes, two people who like each other, clearly like each other, drag things out, or unexpected events happen frequently. Even if they muster up the courage to confess, they will be interrupted by something or someone that suddenly appears, and their relationship can never be settled.

But after certain events occurred, the two of them suddenly seemed to have been struck by Cupid's arrow. Even though they were clearly enemies who couldn't stand each other before, everything naturally fell into place, and from then on, their passion ignited and became unstoppable.

Similar examples include:

For example, if two people get lost in the wilderness and one sprains their ankle, the other will carry them. Or if a man and woman are trapped in a sports equipment warehouse and can't get out, their feelings for each other will quickly intensify. For example, if a couple rides a roller coaster together, they will feel that they have grown closer to each other.

For Eriri, none of that matters. She just happens to live very close to Shirou, and she just happens to have met Shirou when they were children. As playmates and childhood friends, their relationship has never been broken, so they have stayed together ever since.

Then one day, she suddenly realized that she liked Shirou.

Yes, she fell in love with Shirou much earlier than everyone else here!

Eriri, who was also familiar with the culture of reincarnation in another world within the story's world, quickly calmed down. While searching for a way to break the spell, she teased the noble young Shirou. Because it was a dream, she was more uninhibited than usual.

Shirou, on the other hand, was quiet and reserved, letting her take advantage of him without getting angry.

At first, Eriri had a lot of fun, feeling smug as if she had suddenly become the main character. However, she didn't expect the hellish mode to come, and to be honest, being used to a life of luxury, she really couldn't handle it.

The high-ranking NPCs around me, though disguised as familiar faces, operate on a completely different logic. When it comes to inheritance, titles, and other such matters, each of them is like a powder keg ready to explode at any moment.

It's just one person, what's there to fight over? Is being a noble really that great? She saw that although her father, as Britain diplomat, always maintained a gentlemanly demeanor, his work was very demanding. His status meant he had to serve the Britain royal family. Every word and action had to be carefully considered, otherwise he might bring shame to the country. A single mistake could cost him his place in the social circle.

To be honest, Eriri didn't like this burden at all; it was just that her background forced her to accept it. She had absolutely no interest in being Earl or anything like that.

Not to mention, within the world of the story, Eriri initially tried to mediate the relationship between the heirs, hoping to find a way to leave this world. However, she soon discovered her own weakness; apart from her beloved drawing, she was utterly useless, a mere facade of strength masking inner weakness.

Eriri never imagined that the cute girls who were sitting together drinking tea would suddenly turn on her like that. One by one, they drew their swords, their faces contorted with rage, and they all became hysterical madwomen! They were far more terrifying than those tattooed, tanned, delinquent girls on TV who hung out with gangsters.