1084. The Girl by the Vending Machine / 1085. The 2D Character Misaka Mikoto

Is that why you look so cheerful?

But never mind, Shirou has something else he wants to confirm.

"Senior, did you see that girl's face just now? The one with twin tails, wearing a short skirt, who challenged the dojo?"

"Oh right, if you put it that way, that fighting girl is quite similar to the female lead in your new work, isn't she? It's a youth sports series!"

"Really!" Shirou asked the man in shock. Although he had made this guess in his mind, he had never thought about it because it seemed so unlikely.

"Haha, just kidding, she just looks a bit like her. If I stared at her, I might get beaten up too," the fat uncle said with a laugh.

"What...?" Shirou sighed, feeling somewhat disappointed.

"Sorry, sorry." The chubby uncle smiled and clasped his hands together, a gesture often seen in animation, but it didn't look good at all when done by an older man.

"Speaking of which, senpai, you don't live around here, do you? Why are you here?" Shirou asked the man. Most light novel writers aren't exactly outdoor enthusiasts; they usually stay home for as long as they can.

"Actually, I came here to investigate. A lot of strange things have been happening here lately. Haven't you heard, Shirou-kun? That food street we went to last night, it seems like a super glutton has appeared these past few days, eating several restaurants out of business. I came here to confirm that." The chubby uncle said with a hearty laugh.

"Huh? What's going on?" The image of the blonde girl involuntarily flashed through Shirou's mind.

With the man's explanation, Shirou finally understood the reason for the matter.

It turns out that a mysterious diner has appeared at a nearby restaurant that hosts competitive eating contests. If someone can eat an enormous amount of food within a time limit, they can get it for free and also receive a prize.

The diner not only completed the competition, but also continued the challenge, eventually seemingly eating up all the restaurant's remaining ingredients.

One of the ramen shop owners was so exhausted from trying to satisfy that one customer that he developed cramps and had to close the shop for a break, sparking a heated discussion among ramen enthusiasts online.

The man was a member of the ramen lovers' group, so he found out what was happening there. One of the characteristics of a light novel writer is a strong sense of curiosity, which drove him to come to the scene to investigate.

Before coming here, he even called the ramen shop to inquire about the situation.

However, because the whole experience was so terrifying, the ramen shop owner developed a psychological block and is unwilling to recall what the customer looked like. Therefore, the person's true appearance is still unknown.

However, according to some netizens, the other party is a blonde, blue-eyed girl carrying a samurai sword, but no one knows whether the information is reliable.

"Haha, while girls who can eat a lot are indeed cute, eating like the way you've heard about is practically a natural disaster!" The chubby uncle waved his finger and laughed loudly.

"Senpai!" Shirou called out loudly upon hearing this.

"Hmm? What's wrong, Shirou-kun?" the man replied.

"I definitely need to go and check with that girl who challenged me before. We can talk about this another time," Shirou said to the man.

Upon hearing this, the chubby uncle's face turned serious. With his thick eyebrows and big eyes, apart from his face being several sizes bigger, he looked exactly like the tough guy characters that would appear in TV dramas and movies from twenty or thirty years ago.

"Go for it, Shirou-kun! Meeting a girl who resembles someone from your novel is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Don't waste it!" the chubby uncle said, giving a thumbs-up.

"Yes! Thank you, senior!"

Although their ideas differed to some extent, Shirou couldn't worry about that now and quickly chased after the twin-tailed girl in the direction she had left.

"Shirou-kun! Good luck!" The chubby uncle watched Shirou run off into the distance.

He's long past the age of being jealous of others; rather than causing trouble, he'd rather support other people's relationships.

After all, an ideal girl would definitely be friends with other good girls. If a pretty boy like Shirou were to become a girlfriend, he might even be able to introduce her to someone else.

If there were legal loli a baby face and a large penis, who looked no more than fourteen years old and was willing to accept slightly hentai-like play, that would be great.

"Let's check out the ramen shops first!" The chubby uncle chuckled as he walked toward the next ramen shop.

Chapter 1084 The Girl in Front of the Vending Machine

At this moment, Shirou was running quickly, and it was impossible for him to catch up with the girl by retracing his steps.

The girl was carrying the judo hall's sign, so she probably wouldn't be going to the subway station or taking the bus. Therefore, she must live not far from here.

'If we're going in that direction, it should be this way!'

Shirou turned and disappeared into a side alley.

If his guess was correct, going through here would shorten the journey by at least three minutes, and he might be able to run into the girl with twin tails.

Although Shirou was reluctant to believe it, all the signs forced him to make this guess.

In the mainstream of Japanese light novels, character design has gradually become the biggest selling point. Although all writers want to create moving stories, they often have to compromise with the market.

For light novels aimed at male readers, the presence of multiple cute girls is an essential prerequisite. Even if it's a pure romance, there will still be love triangles and emotional entanglements.

Although Shirou has written many epic stories, he is now trying to write some interesting original stories, and the heroines in these stories are based on the images of familiar young girls.

"Youth Sports Series" tells the story of a boy who trains in high jump and the various girls from different sports departments.

For example, the kendo girl with a gluttonous appetite, or the twin-tailed girl who goes around challenging other martial arts schools...

Although Shirou only glanced at him briefly, without seeing his face or making eye contact.

But if his guess is correct...

Shirou ran out of the alley. Beyond the alley was a park, and on the other side of the park was a residential area. Did the girl live here? And how did she even come into this world?

"Why?! It's swallowed money again! What's wrong with these machines?!"

Just then, a boyish young woman's voice came from inside the park.

Shirou looked toward the sound and saw that there was only one person in the park, standing in front of the vending machine.

"Tokiwa Dai Middle School's Secret Technique! Grandma-Style 45-Degree Angle Attack on Mechanical Repair! Hah--!"

With an exaggerated roar, the girl in the skirt delivered a high kick to the side of the vending machine.

After a loud thud, something clattered down from the vending machine, and then a can of juice appeared from the dispenser.

Shirou stood there awkwardly, accidentally making a sound as he stepped down, because he caught a glimpse of the girl's skirt as she delivered her high kick—but underneath were nothing but plain flats.

"Luckily! It's juice! Not some weird drink. Hmm..." The brown-haired girl turned her head at this moment and met Shirou's eyes as he walked out of the alley.

"Ah!" Shirou turned his head away. Even though they were plain flats without any dreams, it still wasn't good to see them.

"Did you see that?" the brown-haired girl asked, staring at Shirou.

"No!" Shirou waved his hands repeatedly.

"Hmph! Whatever, it's not a big deal anyway. Hey, tell me, where is this? It doesn't look like we're inside Academy City."

Shirou was surprised to hear the name. If he wasn't mistaken, it definitely referred to a term from a super popular light novel. Looking at the girl's attire, she wore a high-quality uniform, looked to be a middle school student, had short brown hair, a pretty face, and an overly lively temperament like a child, with a competitive spirit in her eyes.

"Academy City? Wait... you just mentioned Tokiwa Dai, right?"

"Yeah? What's wrong?" the brown-haired girl asked Shirou, hands on her hips.

Shirou covered his forehead and gasped, because he had been drinking with the original author the night before.

Shirou looked at the girl again and asked, "Cosplay? Chuunibyou?"

"Ha! Who are you calling a cosplayer! You chuunibyou!" The brown-haired girl raised an eyebrow irritably, and blue lightning crackled from her hand.

"The real deal... Bilibili?" Shirou looked at the brown-haired girl and asked again to confirm.

"Who are you calling Bilibili?! I have a name: Mikoto Misaka!" The brown-haired girl unleashed a bolt of lightning and charged towards Shirou.

Shirou instantly sensed the danger and leaped to the side, dodging the lightning. Even though the girl had shown mercy, if he had been hit, he would have been in pain for quite some time.

"Hmm? You're pretty good. Are you level 4? Well, this really is Academy City!" Mikoto Misaka's eyes lit up with interest. She stretched her arms and asked with a smile, looking like she was ready to get down to business.

"Wait, are you really Mikoto Misaka? The one from A Certain Scientific Railgun, the third one?" Shirou quickly called out to stop him.

"Yeah? What's going on? You were shocked like you'd seen someone who doesn't even exist!" Mikoto Misaka said impatiently.

"Do you notice anything unusual? Do you have any memories of what happened before you came here?" Shirou asked.

"Speaking of which, this place looks pretty strange. This is outside Academy City, right? It feels a bit backward, doesn't it? Wait! I was definitely with Kuroko before, and then..."

"No, this is no longer a problem outside Academy City." Shirou gave a wry smile.

"What exactly happened!?" Mikoto Misaka glared at Shirou and asked.

Unbeknownst to him, some unknown change seemed to be taking place in the world. Worse still, Shirou couldn't sense anything at all.

"You can check your phone and try contacting other people."

Mikoto Misaka glanced at her handheld computer; it was outside the circle.

"Haa! It's you again! Shokuhou!!! Come out here!" Mikoto Misaka looked at Shirou's face, which didn't seem to be lying. She then turned her head to look around and shouted loudly.

If it were that starry-eyed woman, she would definitely come out to laugh at her at this moment, but now Mikoto Misaka would rather be laughed at and hope that she would appear, but all around is silent...

"I'm sorry, I wasn't brainwashed or controlled," Shirou said, looking at the girl.

"Lend me your phone!" Mikoto Misaka said.

Shirou handed over the phone.

Mikoto Misaka, holding Shirou's phone, used her ability to quickly access the internet and search for the information she wanted.

A few minutes later, the girl lowered her hands, a look of disbelief on her face.

"How could this be? Is this a different world? This is even more absurd." Mikoto Misaka didn't want to believe it, but recalling her previous experiences and the information she had gathered, she had no choice but to believe it.

The girl was under too much pressure, and sparks flew from her body.

"Calm down!" Shirou tried to press down on the girl's shoulder.

"Don't touch me!" Mikoto Misaka unleashed a bolt of lightning from her back.

Shirou quickly let go of her hand and tried to persuade the girl:

"Calm down! Things aren't that bad yet. I came here specifically to find people with similar experiences to yours."

"Ugh..." Mikoto Misaka withdrew the electricity.

Chapter 1085 Paper Doll Mikoto Misaka

Shirou looked at the girl, patiently waiting for her to calm down. Just as he knew, although the girl was somewhat impulsive, she was essentially a kind child. She wouldn't take her anger out on others or cause damage to society because of what happened to her.

However, the information gathered online was so astonishing that the girl simply couldn't process it all at once.

Her name appears not only in Japan, but also in various countries. She received an elite education, is fluent in multiple languages, and reading is not a problem for True Magic.

However, no matter where the discussion about her takes place, it's not because she's the third superpowered individual. Instead, it's all about anime characters, discussing anime and manga featuring her as the protagonist.

There are even video websites abroad named after her nickname, and fan fiction written using her name, which is utter nonsense. Some of the content is even more appalling.

Mikoto Misaka initially blushed and wanted to go berserk, even resorting to electric shocks; then she felt a sense of dread, realizing that many people were spying on everything happening around her, which was truly terrifying; finally, she felt that everything was meaningless and became utterly despondent.

"Don't take the online comments too seriously," Shirou advised. As a white god who had transcended the concept of reason, he had become indifferent to such situations. But for a middle school girl, even if she was a super genius, it was still too painful.

"So you also believe that I don't actually exist, that I'm just a character in a light novel or manga, and that everything I've experienced is a story made up by others?" Mikoto Misaka said, her head bowed.

"No... at least I don't think so. You're standing right here, aren't you!" Shirou shook his head and said, "If that's the case, then I've probably become one of those 'written beings' you're talking about."

"Huh?" The girl looked up at the man. In his eyes, Mikoto Misaka saw no trace of lying, nor any prejudice or discrimination against her identity; there was a hint of gentleness and helplessness.

She doesn't dislike it.

'Isn't he also a native of this world?'

Shirou is merely a spiritual clone cast by the white god, a mere illusion. Therefore, Shirou won't think about things like marriage; he will quietly await the moment he disappears in this world.

Therefore, Shirou would never look down on Mikoto Misaka. Since the girl has appeared alive in front of him, she should be treated with the respect due to a human being, and not regarded as a two-dimensional character.

"So what do you mean?" Mikoto Misaka asked the man.

Shirou said with a light laugh.

"You could think of it this way: the 'gods' in this world saw your world in some form, and then presented what they saw in this world as stories."

"Gods? That doesn't seem very scientific," Mikoto Misaka said, frowning.

"Well, it might not be an individual, but rather a collective consciousness formed by the beliefs of a group. One person's belief may not change anything, but if it's the belief of hundreds of millions of people, then it's enough to trigger a miracle," Shirou said.

"So... you really believe I exist?" Mikoto Misaka asked Shirou again to confirm.

"Yes! Of course!" Shirou nodded.

Otherwise, could a novel written by one person truly create a world? That's nothing but arrogant delusion. Even Nobel laureate in literature wouldn't dare claim their novel is flawless, and their words can't bring the dead back to life or heal the wounded.

Once a work is published and released, it is no longer solely up to the author. Creation is often influenced by a variety of factors.

However, when a book or a movie is transmitted to the audience's mind through a media, it undergoes different changes. Sometimes it fails to reach the intended meaning, and sometimes it is over-interpreted.

Even with the same work, everyone's understanding will be different; the saying "three men can make a tiger" illustrates this point.

For example, when watching a movie, if you only watch it once, it's already quite an achievement if you can absorb 60% of the information the author is trying to convey.

This is why Director students consider frame-by-frame analysis of films an essential part of their studies. Only by doing so can they understand the Director's intentions as much as possible. Every shot may contain hidden meanings, a flash of inspiration from the Director, or even a form of criticism.