Rikuo looked at Sakiko, Mutsumi, and Togawa Kiyotsugu, who were all eating normally.
'Am I biased? Oh, right! If I just think of spicy tofu pudding as Mapo Tofu, strawberry Mapo Tofu as fruit jelly, and dumplings as sweet rice balls, then there won't be any problem, right?'
Rikuo, with a determined resolve, launched an ultimate challenge against the dumplings.
As soon as he took a bite, he showed a relieved expression.
'What the heck is this?! Sure enough, it would be abnormal if I could accept it.'
"I'm full. I still have an Anomaly to deal with today, so I'll be leaving first. Sakiko, you don't need to come with me today. Because it's confirmed to be a superior Undead Card, it will create a different space. I'll just solve it and return directly using my Concealment transformation, then undo the transformation at the apartment."
After Rikuo finished speaking, he fled.
"Oh, by the way, Mutsumi, do you still want fried chicken?"
"I want some."
"Then I'll bring you some when I come back."
Before Rikuo left, he remembered that he had promised Mutsumi fried chicken, so he turned back and asked.
'Rikuo, is he even too busy to eat such a delicious dinner? Indeed, I need to help him sooner.'
Sakiko looked at Rikuo's hurried appearance.
'I need to find a direction for obtaining the Ace of Hearts quickly.'
Sakiko thought this, then looked at Togawa Kiyotsugu.
Togawa Kiyotsugu was eating Mapo Tofu when he saw Sakiko staring at him.
"What's wrong? Is something the matter?"
"Father, can I punch you?"
"?"
...
"What kind of dungeon is it this time?"
Rikuo was riding the Blue Spader on the highway to Osaka. At this point, he had transformed into Blade, and the Blue Spader was also using 9 of Spades. He was currently moving at a top speed of 340km/h.
"I've experienced two superior Undead Card battles so far (category 10 in this book is also superior because the abilities of each category 10 are very abnormal). Jack of Spades was the battle with the Corporate Slave Ghost, and 10 of Hearts was the Jumping Ghost. Both have unique mechanisms. As for the Jumping Ghost, there was no battle at all. Speaking of which, because there's only one chance to use it, I forgot about the 10 of Hearts, which is also a Heart category card."
Rikuo arrived at the lamppost mentioned in the news and looked around. Since it was already around 9 PM when he got there, there were no pedestrians.
"I feel it, the aura of a superior Undead Card. Well, let's just start."
Rikuo opened the Blay Rouzer card slot, put all the Undead Cards in just in case, and walked towards the lamppost.
The space was distorted, but he didn't feel any Anomaly aura. However, Rikuo saw the core of the space, a Queen of Spades rotating in the center.
Rikuo looked at the screen in front of him and found that he had already exited his Rider form.
"It seems there's no space for battle. I wonder if the Jumping Ghost incident counts as no battle, or maybe I just moved it?"
The ground of the space was made up of countless phone screens, displaying the social media updates from various periods of Rikuo's previous life.
A giant convenience store cash register hung in the sky, spitting out shopping receipts printed with fragments of memories.
Twelve life-sized mirrors were arranged like a clock, with data cables of different colors wrapped around the edges of each mirror.
A mechanical female voice came from all directions, "Starting personality mirror sampling."
Rikuo was suddenly pulled by an invisible force towards Mirror No. 1, his forehead hitting the cold mirror surface heavily. As blood flowed down the cracks, what appeared in the mirror was not his reflection, but his memories.
[A year and a half ago, in a convenience store warehouse.
Rikuo squatted between the shelves, his phone screen lit up with the page for "Tsukinomori Academy Cultural Festival." His father, with a hunched back, pushed the door open, his uniform stained with oil from a salmon rice ball.
'The Tsukinomori Cultural Festival, huh? Too bad outsiders can't enter the school without an invitation. I still can't see Sakiko-sensei.'
"Today... I'm getting off work early," his father coughed, handing him a small receipt, "Go get the oden from counter 3824..."]
Rikuo looked at the scene from when he first came to this world, probably realizing what the trial of this space was.
"A test of my conscience? Are you kidding me?"
The scene in the mirror continued.
[His father suddenly collapsed, the mirror shattered with a crash, and the scene switched to a hospital corridor. His dying father's fingers twitched, trying to write something, but only managed to draw half a bloodstain.]
The voice of Queen of Spades seeped out from the beeping of the electrocardiogram:
"You are angry about his death. He was acting the part of a 'dutiful father' until his death. A father for only half a year didn't give you any love! He even left his responsibilities to you."
Hearing the voice of Queen of Spades, Rikuo scoffed.
"Why should I be angry? My dad was indeed very dutiful. Whether it was in terms of being a Joker, or guiding my growth, or even towards this world, he could have a clear conscience. He also left me 2 of Hearts, and he never asked me to save this world; it was just something I wanted to do."
Queen of Spades paused after hearing Rikuo's words. After more than 10 seconds, Rikuo was pulled towards Mirror No. 2.
"Why aren't you talking? Don't you like to talk?"
Queen of Spades did not reply, but only began the second mirrored scene.
[The space reconstructed into a high school classroom.
When the teacher asked about dreams, Rikuo found his mouth automatically opening.
"I want to be a hero who can help everyone!"
The whole class erupted in wild laughter, as if Rikuo was alone in a lower world, being watched like an animal by everyone.
Memories of ridicule, memories of bullying, all came flooding back.
Countless pale arms suddenly stretched out from the desk drawer, holding his real search history from his previous life.
Togawa Sakiko's itinerary, how to naturally strike up a conversation with a band girl, the price of a Kamen Rider belt cosplay.]
Queen of Spades materialized in the likeness of Togawa Sakiko, aiming a barcode scanner at his temple.
"Admit it, you only helped Sakiko because..."
"Because she's a two-dimensional beautiful girl!"
Rikuo blurted out the answer and was stunned himself, and Queen of Spades was also stunned. The scene became extremely awkward for a moment.
"Why don't you just give up? I feel embarrassed just looking at you."
The classroom instantly burst into flames, which might have been the original mechanism of the dungeon, but Rikuo now only felt it was Queen of Spades's last stubbornness.
The third mirrored scene.
[A convenience store on a rainy night.
Sakiko, covered in blood, lay in the rain, heart patterns spreading from her neck to her left cheek. At her feet lay the scales of a snake-like Anomaly, and a distorted melody of "Ave Mujica" came from the cash register.
"Rikuo, why didn't you come to save me sooner..."
Sakiko's blood-stained hand passed through his chest and gradually dissipated.]
"The worldview is wrong here. There's no game sickness. People don't dissipate when they die."
Cognitive synchronization rate 200%! Warning! Mirror is about to shatter!
All the mirrors suddenly exploded, and Rikuo returned to the real world, holding the Queen of Spades. Rikuo let out a sigh of emotion.
"Sigh, why is Queen of Spades, as a superior Undead Card, so weak!"
The Queen of Spades in his hand trembled wildly for a moment, but Rikuo pressed it down firmly.
"Don't struggle. You asked the right person for a test of conscience."
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