Greetings.
It has been quite a while, and of course, I have to apologize. I stated before that I wouldn't abandon the story, which was honestly my plan but, as is expected, life took a higher priority, and so I had to go on a hiatus. Again, I apologize.
Now, I'm finally back to writing and I honestly don't expect people to have stuck with the story for the years I have been away. It's understandable and expected.
Now that I'm back to writing, I want to clarify that my motivation lies in my personal commitment to these stories. Even if no one reads them moving forward, I'm determined to see these projects through to completion. These stories hold personal value for me, and I intend to finish them for my own sense of accomplishment.
All my stories are being revised, and with those revisions, changes are coming. For example, my story "A New Road of Misfortune" is undergoing a complete revamp to improve the quality.
As for Logic is My Sword, the story has undergone significant revisions, particularly in the early chapters. Certain elements about Hachiman have been adjusted to make him appear less edgy, addressing feedback from my co-author. This change has influenced various interactions in the story, as his confrontational tone has been toned down.
Some scenes have also been altered more significantly for similar reasons. Notably, the Deviluke's personal chapter has been extensively altered. The confrontation with the other Devilukeans attempting to take Lala back to her planet has been expanded, resulting in Hachiman gaining more favor in the eyes of everyone present, especially Lala.
It isn't the only big change, but it is one of the biggest.
Anyway, these changes have been in the making since last August in 2022, when NirvanFrk97 and I came in touch again after we both had our own busy last few years.
The recap will be released first, with the revamped chapters being rolled out in the subsequent days. This approach is to ensure that the recap receives proper attention and isn't overshadowed by other chapter notifications, as platforms like FF might send notifications for every updated chapter.
Other small changes: Only one skit will be included, specifically the character presentations, while other elements will be removed as they're unnecessary. Furthermore, review responses will also be removed, and only concise notes will be included to address relevant topics of the story. This revision will also apply to previous chapters, removing these elements for a more focused reading experience.
Pictures for each chapter will remain, found at my DevianArt: "MakerOfSouls".
Song recommendations will also remain for each chapter. These can be found in LiMS's fanfiction profile, which can be accessed via my profile(Itherael).
In case you're not interested in the recap, feel free to skip to the end notes for an update about the next chapter.
Logic is My Sword – Recap I
Wednesday - October 6th, 20XX (Prologue)
(After the events of: Second Season of the Oregairu Anime - Vol. 11 of the Light Novels)
- Hikigaya Hachiman woke up in a room that he didn't recognize completely. Vaguely similar, but with differences. His phone showed Yukinoshita Haruno as his background image. Additionally, there were a number of contacts he didn't recognize on his contact list.
- Hachiman assumed that his sudden situation was caused by a convoluted dream where his past wish of wanting a successful high school debut was fulfilled.
- Hachiman takes note of Komachi's different behavior. She was withdrawn if not outright intimidated by him.
- Prior to leaving, he came to learn from the news that the Railway System was run by the government, instead of being privatized. Hachiman notices as well the fact that it was October 6th of the previous year, this confirming to him this to be a dream.
- Hachiman meets his "new neighbor" Yuuki Rito (To Love Ru). Hachiman discovers changes within Chiba itself. There were additional buildings in the area, most notably the Restaurant Yukihira.
- Arriving at Sobu, there's another high school directly across his usual campus, Chiba Sainan Municipal High School, where Yuuki attends. A public school as opposed to Sobu, which was a private institution.
- Hachiman attempts to communicate with Yuigahama Yui at Sobu's main gate, but she only shows apprehension in response, looking afraid and claiming that she never spoke to him. Hayama Hayato prevents any further interaction, as if protecting her from future harm. They left together after Hachiman had no other option than to back off.
- A confused Hachiman bumps into Haruna Sairenji (To Love Ru), student of Sainan High and Yuuki's obvious crush.
- Inside the Sobu, Hachiman finds his locker crammed full of letters of hatred and threats. It was clear as water he was hated in the school grounds, reasons still unknown.
- At class, Hachiman interacts with Hiratsuka Shizuka, who doesn't seem at all different, although she is notably confused at his behavior. He then confronts another oddity: A flustered Miura Yumiko when he is speaking to her.
- After lunch, Hachiman comes to the realization that every single one of his past relationships had taken a 180. From Miura, to Isshiki Iroha, to Yukinoshita Yukino. Apparently, the current hate comes from his actions at the Cultural Festival, in direct parallel with what happened with Sagami Minami, although with a significant severity.
- Hachiman interacts with his "Reflection" in the school's bathroom. This "reflection" claims this to be a different world and not in the fleeting convoluted dream Hachiman thought it to be..
- Out of school, Hachiman is followed home by Yuuki, and they meet the bizarre Kazuma Asuka (Tekken) before later running into… a different Yukinoshita Haruno. She proved to be overwhelming in a way Hachiman never expected and promised to himself to never go to a secluded area with the woman ever again.
- Hachiman meets an unfamiliar woman that he apparently was supposed to know, although failed to recall her name, being Nibutani Shinka (Chu-2) even after being told. She had a tense confrontation with Haruno.
- Alone, Hachiman arrives at his residence to find his neighbor Yuuki accompanied by another one of his neighbors, Aikawa Ayumu (Kore Wa Zombie Desu Ka). During the interaction, Hachiman discovers that Aikawa was aware of his 'relationship' with Haruno, having stumbled across an apparent tryst between them in the past.
- Hachiman, still fed up with the day, sours the mood with his apparent neighbors, both leaving bothered by his attitude.
- Hachiman ponders about the day and gradually begins to believe that what he went through wasn't a dream, and if that were the case, then he may have lost everything he had, thus becoming a loner again.
- Hachiman eventually goes to his room.
Wednesday Evening - October 6th, 20XX (Chapter 01)
- Hachiman "wakes up" in an ethereal realm, a massive room with a large floating throne before him where a large creature was sat upon. Hachiman suspected this to be a dream given he wore the school uniform, which he took off before taking a rest.
- The large being claims this realm to be the Cathedral of Causality, affirming this wasn't a dream. It introduces itself as Deus Ex Machina (Mirai Nikki), the God of Space and Time.
- Deus Ex Machina conjures up a mirror that reflects the shadow version of Hachiman, the one he came across earlier. This leads Hachiman to believe this supernatural reflection to be connected to this being.
- Almost immediately after, a new face appears in this realm. He introduces himself as Ayanokouji Kiyotaka (Classroom of Elite), then reacts to the mirror in a similar fashion as Hachiman did. He suspected he had his own "shadow" because he didn't react to his words.
- Hachiman felt an odd familiarity in the way Kiyotaka carried himself, but sensed there was something off about him.
- Deus Ex machina explains the predicament that led both boys there, telling the story of a recreated timeline that was apparently modified using elements of other existing timelines. He also stated that a person who could somehow destroy gods was the only one who remained the same from the original timeline of this world. Then Deus Ex brought up how this relatively new reality was in danger from something that could compete with the Time God's power, which is where they came in.
Deus Ex wanted to find a successor between Kiyotaka and Hachiman, as they were hand selected as the only ones that could possibly inherit Deus Ex's role.
- The explanation is interrupted by an outraged old man. He is identified as John Bacchus (Mirai Nikki), mayor of Sakurami City, a location they didn't know existed. John was angered by Deus Ex Machina's decision to choose between the two boys as successors. He apparently had his own plans to choose the next God of Space and Time between thirteen other contestants, and scorned the two boys as unworthy. For this, Deus Ex Machina made the man disappear, and it was unclear if that meant his death or not.
- Deus Ex Machina disregards the interruption and reveals that whoever succeeds him will gain unlimited power but at the cost of their humanity and the memories of their previous life.
- The only two that could possibly become Deus Ex Machina's successor were against it and wanted to return to their lives.
- Deus Ex Machina refuses to accept their choice, and proposes a game. A game that will decide who is to stay and who is to become a new god. The one who wins can return to their world, and the one who loses becomes heir to Deus Ex's ethereal throne. He explains this game is the only way for either of them to return, no other solution exists.
- Deus Ex Machina explains it's a game of hide and seek, a race to find a being created by his power that resembles a human, and acts as one.
- When asked the hypothetical of the both of them refusing to participate, the god states that nothing would happen until the reality is destroyed by the eventual catastrophe, they perishing alongside it.
- Hachiman and Kiyotaka had no choice but to participate. Hachiman's reflection proclaims that he will help him win the game.
- Deus Ex Machina announces that the requirement to win is to destroy Deus Ex's creation by killing the human vessel. Although if the wrong target was chosen, they could potentially kill an innocent human.
- It is said by the god that they have been chosen because they came from prime realities which is specifically a requirement to inherit Deus Ex's position. And out of many potential candidates, Hachiman and Kiyotaka held the most potential to succeed.
- A new figure arrives who also questioned the god's choices. She was identified as Muru Muru (Mirai Nikki), someone that resembled a child, and she made no attempt to hide her derisive comments about the participants.
- The description of the game go as follows:
1. Two participants are to find Deus Ex Machina's creation.
2. The creation resembles a humanoid female, between the human ages of 11 and 17.
3. Only the participants, their reflections and the creation knows of Deus Ex Machina's existence.
4. The creation lives in Japan.
5. Every person they already know and will know has importance.
- They finally agree to the terms. Ayanokoji's determination seems stronger due to the fact that Hachiman's was desperate due to having no choice than to play the game.
- Prior to returning them back to the human world, Deus Ex Machina mentions granting them both a gift in order to boost their chances. It is not specified what the gift entails.
- After waking up, Hachiman receives a phone call from a contact labeled as "Ms. Annoying Bitch", which confirmed his suspicions about it belonging to Miura Yumiko. He decides to utilize whatever connection they shared to gather information in the changed Sobu.
-Hachiman receives some text messages: From Sakurai Tomoki, who talks raves about a fantastical experience with a chained, apparently winged female. From Takao, who is seeking attention. Haruno's message was sex-related. And lastly, Shidare Hotaru, announcing she will visit him tomorrow.
- Komachi suddenly warns him that someone was incessantly ringing the doorbell. Hachiman investigates, only for nobody to be outside the house.
- Hachiman later receives a frightening message as the doorbell rings again. From the balcony, he catches sight of an unknown figure. A new message from the same number that proves this person to be a dangerous stalker.
- The surprises don't stop there as an unidentified flying object crashes into his dormitory, which he later identifies as a small spaceship, a woman appearing from it.
- As protecting Komachi was his priority, Hachiman ignores the abnormal event, going to her room.
- Yet a new girl appears inside, who identifies herself as Belldandy (Ah! Megami-sama!), a goddess who arrived to grant Komachi a wish. The reason Komachi was granted the opportunity to make a wish was because she was currently facing unjust misfortune.
- Soon, the girl that came from space appears in the room, presenting herself as Lala Satalin Deviluke(To Love Ru) from planet Deviluke.
- Belldandy explains that a supercomputer called Yggdrasil that resided in Heaven is what found and chose Komachi as a candidate for a wish.
- Komachi seems too scared and shy to explain her personal problems to his brother. When she begins to open up, their chat is interrupted by the doorbell.
- Turns out, it was Hachiman's two neighbors, apparently concerned due to a tremor. Hachiman was glad they seemed to ignore what truly happened. After a short interaction, he apologizes for his behavior earlier, as he couldn't just afford to alienate people due to being forced to live a new life.
- Upon returning, Belldandy explains that Komachi was facing harassment in school because one of her friends liked Kawasaki Taichi, but thought that Komachi was in the way and acted on her jealousy. Komachi decides to make her wish to return things back to the way things were before. Hachiman explains that wish wouldn't work in the end, as the problem could happen again.
- Finally, Komachi doesn't remove her problem via the wish, but she does instead request for Belldandy to remain with her in order to assist her in solving her dilemma.
- Belldandy hurriedly contacts her higher up, the All Mighty (Ah! Megami-sama!), via phone to confirm the validity of Komachi's wish. After ending the call, the goddess confirms that the wish was granted, which meant that as long as Komachi needed to solve her problems, Belldandy would remain by her side.
- Deviluke leaves to repair the damages on Hachiman's room, Komachi in tow to expectate. As this happens, Hachiman confronts the goddess about the wish and then tries to dissuade her from going along with it, to no avail as she didn't seem to mind staying on earth.
- Hachiman refused to let her stay in the house, and so Belldandy warned him that obstacles against a wish would be removed by something called the Ultimate Force. It was soon proven that the Ultimate Force was an active entity that threatened to harm him, his disbelief gone. He soon realizes that his parents were about to be in danger as he knew they wouldn't approve of a stranger living with them.
- Reluctantly, Hachiman accepts the fact that for the safety of his family, the goddess had to remain in the house. The alien however, had to go.
- Deviluke manages to reverse the damage to his room using a ridiculously named item she invented.
- After Hachiman leads Deviluke out of the house, the alien girl tries to convince him to let her stay, but he has already made up his mind. However, Hachiman's "reflection" explains that Deviluke fit the criteria for Deus Ex's creation even though she was an alien. Hachiman had no other choice than to bring her back due to the game.
- Hachiman eventually finds himself in a reunion with his parents, Komachi and the newcomers. He had the task of convincing his parents to let two strangers live with them. Interruptions and misunderstandings deteriorate the situation. As it becomes clear that his parents are against the idea of them staying, Hachiman starts to see signs of the Ultimate Force acting around them.
- To Hachiman's surprise, Deviluke offers to help him using one of her inventions. Seeing no other way out, Hachiman agrees, and with a click, his parents are put under a trance that shuts them up, stopping the Ultimate Force momentarily. The alien girl then explains that her gadget can manipulate a person's mind, including their memories. Hachiman decides to use this to their advantage, and while Belldandy seems against it, they end up going with the plan, given there are no other options.
- Deviluke's item worked as Hachiman's parents now believed that the two girls came down to Earth in order to better understand human culture and that the Hikigaya household were willing hosts. Belldandy and Deviluke's true goals were kept a secret, and thus, his parents were quick to treat the newcomers as unofficial members of the family.
- After some analysis, Hachiman concludes that focusing on gathering information and being willing to resort to his old methods in order to play the game would be necessary.
Thursday - October 7th, 20XX (Chapter 02)
- Hachiman wakes up early in the morning to find a naked Deviluke sleeping in his bed. After some uncomfortable conversations he leaves the room, meeting Komachi in the corridor, who still acts shy towards him. Belldandy soon joins them, but Hachiman leaves to take a quick shower.
- In the bathroom, Hachiman notices the obvious changes in his own body. A thorough examination reveals that he now has well-built muscles, and for some unknown reasons, scars on some areas.
- The doppelganger reappears in my mirror, followed by Muru Muru. She reveals that the gift for me that Deus Ex spoke of yesterday was the improved body of the previous Hachiman he took the place of, and accelerated healing. No explanation was given about the scars.
- Hachiman concludes that his new body had preset skills that needed to be honed, though he was uncertain how to do so.
- The accelerated healing meant that wounds heal faster, giving a chance to preserve life from mortal wounds long enough to get better treatment. Lost limbs won't regenerate, and instant death wounds can't be healed. The healing effects are stronger while asleep (or unconscious).
- After the bath, and finally dressed, Hachiman finds his father downstairs. Hachimans learns that his parents had more free time in the evenings, thus had more presence at home, unlike in his own world.
- Hachiman soon joins his father, Belldandy and Komachi for breakfast. During the conversations, he learns of an "aunt" of his, Naomi Kimishima (Trauma Team), who lives in the United States and works in forensics. She apparently suffers from a terminal disease, contracted from an attack by bioterrorists. Belldandy knew about her, and almost gave away how Kimishima had rejected a wish from her folks.
- It seemed they also had a family friend named Yukihira Jouichirou (Shokugeki no Souma), whose son was apparently a childhood friend of Hachiman. It was mentioned that Hachiman and his father were skilled at cooking.
- Hachiman leaves the table to answer a call from Kasumigaoka Utaha. During this conversation, Hachiman discovers that this person was an author, who refers to him as "Ronriteki-kun" (Logical-kun). She wanted to meet at Saize to show him her newest book. She mentioned a guy named Aki asking her to join his team (To develop a game apparently). She had a condition, which was Hachiman joining alongside her. She ends the call, assuming they would meet, which isn't his intention.
- On his trek to school. Hachiman spots Kawasaki Saki talking with the girl he met yesterday, Nibutani Shinka. Suddenly, a redheaded boy by the name of Yukihira Souma (Shokugeki no Souma) interrupts his observation. Unlike many others, he proved to be surprisingly sharp, although all he thought about was cooking and whatnot.
- Yukihira tells Hachiman to pass by his restaurant later (that he's taking care of on his own).
- Near the school gate, Hachiman is intercepted by the girl that Yuuki likes, Sairenji Haruna. He notices how overly shy she is, and eventually, she reveals that she planned bumping into him yesterday in order to see if the rumors about him were true or not. Hachiman easily realizes that both Yuuki and Sairenji liked each other but were just too shy to even try to speak with one another.
- Miura Yumiko shows up mid conversation, and starts intimidating Sairenji for talking with him, forcing Hachiman to stop the blatant bullying. Once the younger girl leaves, Miura follows him into Sobu. She makes clear that she held no regard for people seeing them together.
- To Hachiman's surprise, Miura confesses her apparent feelings for him. He concludes that her confession isn't meant for him but the previous Hachiman that he replaced. As he tries to reject her based on this reason, she interrupts him, avoiding to hear his reply as she apparently suspects it was going to be a rejection.
- Hiratsuka Shizuka proves again that she's on decent terms with Hachiman despite the hate others spread.
- Hachiman runs into Zaimokuza Yoshiteru, not really different from the one he knew, just a bit more distant. He returns an eroge game he claimed Hachiman lent him.
- Hachiman and Miura head to a spot to eat lunch together and meet Shiromeguri Meguri mid-way. He learns that the girls are close friends. Shiromeguri seems surprised at the fact Hachiman talked to Miura and eventually Shiromeguri herself. The older girl joins them for lunch.
- As the rooftop is closed, Hachiman offers the tennis courts(his safe haven). There, Hachiman manages to see that Shiromeguri is actually trustworthy.
- Hachiman hears rumors about him, which involves him and Yukinoshita Haruno. He clears the rumors as misunderstandings.
- At the end of class, Miura invites Hachiman through texts to go to Restaurant Yukihira's with her and Shiromeguri, and they agree to meet up at the gate.
- Hahciman receives new texts from Aki Tomoya, mentioning wanting to meet up. Another one is a message from Takao, worried about him not answering her yesterday.
- Hachiman finds more letters in his locker with threats and insults. He then goes to retrieve his bike, only to find it missing and a mocking note left behind by the perpetrators. A student appears from behind one of the buildings, and Hachiman decides to follow him, suspecting this person to be connected to his missing bike.
- Upon reaching the back of the building, he discovers the wrecked carcass that was once his bicycle. Not soon after that, Hachiman is surrounded by students from some sports clubs. They had apparently taken offense about the rumors that involved Haruno, and that he's hanging out with Miura.
- Hachiman confronts them, and the situation quickly escalates to violence. He discovers that his new body holds capabilities to fight them off. Despite that he fares quite well facing four opponents, he's eventually overrun.
- Hachiman is forced to his knees and held by the arms, as the leader of the group proceeds to hit him several times. Hachiman is let go after the beating, as they thought the situation was over. A wave of anger suddenly curses through Hachiman, allowing him to make one last stand.
- The leader's nose is broken with one powerful punch Hachiman manages to deliver, before he falls unconscious to the sound of familiar shouts.
- Hachiman wakes up in the school's infirmary, noticing both Miura and Shiromeguri there with him. As Shiromeguri treats his facial injuries with ointment, she explains what happened after the fight. Apparently, they found him unconscious as his attackers panicked and fled, leaving behind one of their own on accident. Hiratsuka was taking care of the incident.
- Hachiman learns that since his first year, the previous Hachiman had been getting treated for any injuries by Shiromeguri. Despite that he never bothered speaking to her, let alone thanking her, Shiromeguri continued to help him.
- In the end, both girls started crying because they didn't want to see Hachiman get hurt, yet he tells them that he'll avoid fights if possible, but those situations weren't up to him.
- Hiratsuka arrives just in time to misunderstand and think Hachiman purposefully made the others cry. After denying it, he watches both Shiromeguri and Miura rashly try to explain things to the older woman. Hachiman sees that they seem trustworthy, yet he still wonders what would he do if one of them happened to be the creation.
Thursday Evening - October 7th, 20XX (Chapter 03)
- After Hachiman is checked by the school's nurse, he explains to Hiratsuka his side of the story. He's told by his teacher that the students that attacked will most likely face expulsion.
- Despite his sustained injuries, Hachiman still chooses to visit Yukihira's restaurant, much to Miura's and Shiromeguri's frustration. The girls get into an argument for his attention, which he has to mediate to prevent an unnecessary fight.
- As the trio leave school, they run into a familiar face, Yuuki, accompanied by two new individuals. The weeb-looking boy named Aki Tomoya (Saekano), and the delinquent-looking guy, named Harima Kenji (School Rumble). The following interactions confirm to Hachiman that they were close to his previous self.
- Hachiman recognizes the name Aki, mentioned by Kasumigaoka. Introductions are then made between the newcomers and the girls. The rumors about Hachiman's fight had somehow reached outside of school as they were aware of it.
- Harima and Aki decide to tag along with the group.
- Yukihira Souma receives all of them at his restaurant, surprised by the amount of people. Hachiman learns that everyone seems to know Yukihira, even Miura and Shiromeguri as they had visited this place before.
- After some moments, Yukihira starts acting in an odd manner, followed up by Aki and then Yuuki when they approach the counter inside the restaurant. Hachiman suspects there is something amiss.
- Finally, after Yukihira strongly advises him to approach the counter, using an excuse, Hachiman is surprised to find someone hiding in the lower part of the furniture. It was an unknown girl, who mentions a nickname he had only heard from someone so far, Kasumigaoka Utaha.
- Kasumigaoka is quick to reproach him the fact that Hachiman avoided her after she had told him by phone she wanted to meet him to give him a copy of her new upcoming book. A bold action of hers causes Hachiman to make noise, attracting the attention of everyone at the table.
- Miura seems pissed at the implications, and it doesn't take long for Hachiman to realize there was bad blood between her and Kasumigaoka. Hachiman stood there, frozen as the two girls argued, uncertain of what to do in such a predicament.
- Eventually insults come, until a point where Kasumigaoka reveals that Hachiman(his previous self) was misleading Miura, stating that he hated her. She also states that they used to talk behind Miura's back, making fun of her.
- Hachiman cuts her off, angry at all the implications.
- Miura seeks confirmation from Hachiman himself, but he's unable to respond, given that all of that may have been the truth as his past self probably hated her for reasons he had yet to uncover. Many things had indicated this as a possibility, so he couldn't deny it.
- His silence proved Kasumigaoka's declaration, and Miura was shaken to her core, crying at the betrayal. It is apparent that Kasumigaoka realized she did something horrible and tried to talk with Hachiman, only to be ignored. Yukihira, who seemed to be close to her, also asks her to leave the restaurant. Kasumigaoka drops the book she meant to give Hachiman to the ground and leaves, also feeling betrayed by his lack of response.
- Later, Hachiman and Yukihira talk about what happened in the kitchen. Hachiman learns that in fact, Kasumigaoka was a close friend of them both, also confirming that Kasumigaoka didn't lie. Hachiman then decides he has to fix this situation.
- After leaving Yukihira at the kitchen, he makes the other boys leave and asks Shiromeguri to let him talk with Miura, alone.
- After a careful reflection of today's events, and about his past self, Hachiman manages to convey his intentions to Miura and somewhat fixes the damage done by Kasumigaoka. In the process, he indirectly rejects Miura, but she seems set on still trying to go for him.
- Hachiman soon notices they were being watched, and calls them out. It was Shiromeguri and Yukihira. The others return, accompanied by Deviluke, much to Hachiman's surprise. Somehow, she manages to stay in character, not revealing her true nature to the others.
- Hachiman takes her out of the restaurant to question her on why she was there. She explains that his parents were worried since it was late. After she leaves in a tantrum, Hachiman deals with jealous Miura and the others asking about Deviluke.
- Yukihira gives everyone food before they leave, and asks Hachiman to also fix things with Kasumigaoka. Given she seemed important to his past self and didn't want to just disregard her for a bad moment, not to mention the game, Hachiman states he will do it when he can.
- Hachiman takes a short detour to a park to gather his thoughts, and by chance meets Suou Mikoto (School Rumble), a tomboy. After some interactions, Hachiman ends up offering the food that Yukihira gave him to her due to her obvious hunger, and so, she wants to return the favor. They exchange phone numbers and agree to meet so she can treat him to some food.
- Finally at home, Hachiman is startled to see how protective his mother is, which is a reaction to his family finding out about the incident at school. He can't help but find these differences so glaring in comparison to his parents in his own world, who were busy most of the time.
- Trying to have some time alone, Hachiman leaves the house, only to be interrupted by Aikawa Ayumu. Hachiman learns from him that there was a serial killer in Chiba, yet to be caught.
- Soon, Deviluke joins the duo, and Hachiman tries his best to convince his neighbor about the girl living at his house with the story they created to hide their true nature. It is then that men dressed in black appear in the street, and claim they have to take the princess back, thus Hachiman confirming Deviluke's nobility of wherever she came from.
- Hachiman tries to prevent them from getting to Deviluke, yet the alien men easily push him out of the way with unnatural strength. Belldandy appears, asking Hachiman to let her deal with the current situation.
- Belldandy fends them off, and eventually, with Hachiman's help, she manages to convince them to let Deviluke stay. However, this development is short lived as another alien man called Zastin (To Love Ru) appears before them from a large spaceship, someone with a higher authority.
- Zastin demands for Deviluke to return to their planet, so the alien swordsman and the goddess clash, quickly escalating the situation. Deviluke decides to leave with Zastin to prevent the others getting hurt, and while Hachiman tries to convince Zastin to let Deviluke do what she wanted, his speech seems to have made an impact on Deviluke.
- Deviluke states that she wants to marry Hachiman, yet Zastin is unwilling to accept a weak human as the future spouse of the princess. However, Zastin eventually realizes that Deviluke's true wishes were to, in fact, stay with him, thus recalling his true purpose as Deviluke's protector, finally accepting Hachiman's words.
- Zastin then claims that as the fiance of the princess, Hachiman will have to prove himself. Hachiman tries to clear the misunderstanding, to no avail. A compromise is made, which is that Hachiman had a year to prove himself worthy of the princess.
- After the alien men leave, Hachiman explains to Aikawa the current situation, also using the made up story they crafted for their parents, also asking him to keep this a secret.
- Suou Mikoto messages Hachiman about inviting him to her house for dinner to pay him back for the meal he gifted her.
- Later, Hachiman tells Deviluke about the rules and boundaries she should respect given she would live with him. The conversation ends up in a big misunderstanding as his mother enters the room, followed by the other residents, to find them in very suspicious circumstances. As his mother scolds him for indecent behavior at home, Hachiman wonders if Deux Ex Machina truly saw something special in him to be reason enough for him to be chosen for the game.
Friday - October 8th, 20XX (Chapter 04)
- Hachiman "wakes up" in the Cathedral of Causality once more, meeting Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. After a short interaction, Deus Ex Machina appears. The duo share some of their experiences before the god of time informs them that the end of the current reality has been delayed by their mere existence.
- Finally awake, back in his bedroom, Hachiman receives a call from a girl named Takao, who doesn't leave a favorable impression on him. After the call, Hachiman interacts with his "Reflection", who warns him of possible consequences to his actions in the future.
- After Belldandy tells Hachiman about breakfast, she asks him about his alignment, making Hachiman suspicious of her.
- While having breakfast with his family, Hachiman hears the news of a worldwide incident that occurred 2 years ago. Apparently it had to do with sea people that entered some sort of hibernation, which caused multiple lakes and areas of the sea around the world to freeze, and is something related to the Hikigaya family.
- Hachiman runs into Sairenji Haruna by the school gates, who asks him for his help to get Yuuki's attention. They are interrupted by the head of the disciplinary committee in Sainan High, Kotegawa Yui (To Love Ru). She threatens Hachiman with the excuse of him harassing girls, but he easily counters her arguments.
- During lunch break at school, Yuigahama Yui approaches Hachiman to explain that she witnessed the events of the bullies attacking Hachiman and that she believed his side, but she's countered by the fact that she only approached him because Hayama Hayato was absent from school today. And so, he cuts short the conversation after unknowingly showing vulnerability to her, hating the fact he did.
- Hachiman has a short interaction with Miura and Shiromeguri, the girls letting him know that they would go on a shopping spree after school, but only girls allowed.
- Hachiman meets Yuuki outside of school at the end of classes, so Hachiman asks about Sairenji. The conversation ends with Yuuki finding determination to speak to his crush.
- Harima arrives, talking about an event that he was going to in a maid cafe. Hachiman decides to join him, intrigued. On their way, the duo witness some sort of weeb gang stealing games from people in a gaming store.
- Harima decides to intervene when someone he addresses as Pretty Boy appears, wanting to join in the coming fight. They make a bet and easily take down the gang, which ends with Harima having to wear pink shorts for a day.
- After the fight, 'Pretty Boy' leaves, and the guy that was being robbed presents himself as Amano Keita (Gamers!), and thanks them for saving his games before leaving.
- Hachiman and Harima also meet Tendou Karen (Gamers!), a student that fled the scene after the incident, who happened to know the boy they just saved. Due to the conditions of the game, Hachiman is forced to interact with her, finding out that she was a friend of the crybaby Takao that he knew. She eventually gives him her number.
- Hachiman and Harima finally arrive at Maid Latte, noticing the crowd and that there was in fact a big event. They manage to get in since they run into Pretty Boy, who has reserved a table.
- The trio is received by several maid-idols, one of them being the increasingly popular Idol Maizono Sayaka (Danganronpa), and she leads them to their table. Aki suddenly joins them, and he explains this was his chance to scout the idol for Blessing Software, which was his Doujin Circle. He also reveals Pretty Boy's name, Usui Takumi (Kaichou wa Maid-sama!).
- After Harima and Aki leave to help in the kitchen, another maid soon comes by, which was the person Usui wanted to see, addressed as Misa-chan (Kaichou wa Maid-sama!). Their interactions quickly show there was something going on between them. After she leaves, Hachiman tries to learn about her, given she was also a suspect for the game. Usui is very vague about her, but ultimately shows he cares for her.
- Usui is served by Misa-chan, while Hachiman chooses a maid by the name of Mirakuru (Nagato Yuki-chan no Shoushitsu). Despite her nervousness, she ends up thanking him, which causes confusion for Hachiman. Usui then makes a comment that implies he had saved her from an accident some time ago.
- Later, Harima and Aki return to the table. Aki mentions his plans about the game he was making, deciding to change the date when he would release it: Next year summer Comiket. Usui was the model for the main character, while Harima helped with the drawings. Misa-chan's best friend was apparently the model for the main heroine.
- After Misa-chan takes Aki to meet Maizono, Yaku-chan, the maid Harima wanted to see to have her review his manga, approaches the trio at the table. Harima realizes that he needs to study for the coming exams, as well as trying to finish his manga before a deadline. He misunderstands Hachiman's sarcasm, thus making him accept that he would join Yaku-chan in helping to ink his work.
- When Hachiman is finally alone, Aki appears to present to him to Maizono Sayaka, who to their shock, turns out to be Kasumigaoka's close friend. They have an argument about the incident with Kasumigaoka and Miura.
- Outside of the cafe, Harima introduces Yaku-chan to Hachiman, who's real name is Tsukamoto Yakumo (School Rumble). She leaves accompanied by Harima.
- Hachiman slips during his conversation with Usui, creating suspicion about his real identity. It doesn't take long for Usui to unmask Hachiman, having studied him through the day, noticing every change between the past Hachiman and the current one. Usui forces the truth out of Hachiman by asking him questions that he didn't know the answers for.
- Hachiman decides to come clean about the game, and manages to persuade Usui to keep the secret, also managing to uncover events about Usui's past. Usui also offers to help in the game now that the maid he fancied was at risk since she was now involved in the game.
- Usui Takumi officially becomes Hachiman's first unexpected ally for the game.
- Back at home, Hachiman overhears Belldandy talking by phone, and he discovers that she has been monitoring his moves because he's some sort of anomaly, according to their heavenly system Yggdrasil.
- Hachiman confronts Belldandy about her real reason for being here, resolute to find the truth no matter what.
Friday Night and Saturday - October 8th & 9th, 20XX (Chapter 05)
- Hachiman pushes Belldandy to reveal what she was hiding from him, yet she still refuses to speak. He then uses the Ultimate Force, which is basically threatening his own safety to make her give up, which she does eventually.
- Belldandy reveals that Hachiman became a candidate for a wish, when before the heavenly system Yggdrasil determined he wasn't, which made him an anomaly. Until heaven discovers why this happened, Hachiman won't get a wish.
- Belldandy tells Hachiman what he felt about the whole situation, which she didn't agree with. She also speaks her true thoughts about him, which was something Hachiman didn't expect at all.
- Next day, Hachiman stumbles with a gadget of Deviluke, some sort of glasses that make him see some sort of vision, in which Ayanokouji Kiyotaka had become the master of the Synapse.
- Usui Takumi visits Hachiman to meet Deviluke and Belldandy. An argument starts when Deviluke confesses her love to Hachiman, but he attempts to explain that she was mistaking it for either infatuation or admiration. Both of them disagree with his logical point of view.
- Later, Hachiman and Usui run into Yuuki and Aikawa. They all decide to gather up after school at Yukihira's restaurant, as it was Yukihira's last day in Chiba.
- A short interaction happens at break with Miura and Shiromeguri, them wanting to spend more time with him. Hachiman's luck strikes as they become busy after school, given he had an outing to attend with Takao and Tendou Karen.
- Hachiman meets the gamer girls at the game store, and as expected, Takao annoys Hachiman just as much as she did when she called him. Usui calls him during the outing to give advice on how to deal with her.
- Takao and Tendou come to know about Souma's party at his restaurant, and while Hachiman at first refuses to let them come, an unexpected reaction from Takao makes him realize that there was something more than met the eye regarding her, and eventually complies to their request. The gamer duo would meet him after a bit at the place.
- Hachiman meets with the boys at the restaurant, finally meeting the perverted Sakurai Tomoki (Sora no Otoshimono). He reveals the existence of an "angel", and Ikaros (Sora no Otoshimono), who refers to herself as an angeloid, confirms his claim upon showing the boys that she could fly with her wings. The group decided to keep this a secret.
- Not only Takao and Tendou join the celebration, but Belldandy as well later on as she was tasked to bring a gift from Hachiman's parents for Yukihira. After that, Hachiman has a side talk with him, and the chef lets him overhear a phone talk with Kasumigaoka. Hachiman assures that he would fix things with her later on.
- Hachiman has a heart to heart with Belldandy after the party.
- At home, Hachiman learns of the existence of Academy City, a sovereign independent state within Japan. Mentioned by his father.
- After another conversation with Belldandy, Hachiman learns about the story of the Synapse and the angeloids, who were enemies of Heaven.
- Hachiman calls Sakurai Tomoki to keep tabs about Ikaros.
- The stalker from day one appears, and she mentions the bullies that attacked him at school, their punishment due to happen. She surprises Hachiman with a taser, paralyzing him before using some sort of chemical to take his consciousness away.
Late Saturday Night and Early Sunday Morning- October 9th & 10th, 20XX (Chapter 06)
- Hachiman wakes up inside some sort of abandoned room, noticing he's tied up to a chair. He manages to reign over the panic he felt, and realizes he wasn't alone. Three people from the group that ganged up on him at school were tied in chairs, positioned in front of him.
- The kidnapper appears, showing no remorse for having kidnapped Hachiman's attackers. One of them reveals her name as Gasai Yuno (Mirai Nikki).
- It doesn't take long for him to realize that she was completely deranged, showing two completely different personalities when talking to him, and when talking to his attackers. She is quick to reveal her plans, which was torturing them to make them repent.
- Hachiman eventually realizes that she had no intention of letting them live. Much to his horror, he witnesses the torture, Gasai using a knife, a crossbow and a hammer as tools.
- Hachiman becomes emotionally numb due to being exposed to the horrendous torture, which he later uses to his advantage to take control of the situation. He manipulates Gasai by using the affection she had for him, crafting a plan to prevent the death of the bleeding boys.
- The plan consisted on controlling Gasai emotionally, treating the wounds of the trio to stop the bleeding, bring Belldandy to heal them, and use Deviluke's memory device to delete their memories of that night.
- Hachiman successfully manages to exert dominance over her, convincing her to leave. After calling Belldandy and Deviluke to come to his location, the emotional numbness finally wears off completely, a wave of powerful emotions fiercely breaking his composure.
- A broken Hachiman receives Belldandy and Deviluke, deciding to not burden them with the truth of these events, thus he tells them a lie. He then asks them for help, and doesn't allow either of them to see the victims current state.
- Directing Belldandy after she promised to close her eyes, Hachiman takes her to the room and has her heal every wound of them successfully. Deviluke then uses the memory device to wipe their memories and replace them with a convincing story, leaving the trio inside the house from one of them, which by luck was empty.
- Hachiman's mental torment returns, so he asks Deviluke if her item could erase emotions, which she says it can do. Despite Belldandy's and Deviluke's uncertainty, Hachiman is desperate to find a way to get rid of his current trauma. And so, it is done.
- Hachiman regains his consciousness as he is back in his room. Belldandy and Deviluke are worried but he explains that his trauma is gone. He couldn't feel anything at all when reminiscing about the torture. He then thanks them for helping him, admitting that their care for him could be genuine.
- Gasai calls Hachiman, and he uses this opportunity to remind her that further violence against others won't be tolerated, also establishing that she would need to play by his rules in order to gain his trust.
- After the call, Deviluke comes to his room, and to his shock, she confesses to him in such a way that Hachiman has to accept that her feelings might be true, but just like with Miura, she doesn't let him answer for now.
- Hachiman has a short interaction with his "reflection". After it, he reads his text messages. After reading the text from Shiromeguri, he realizes that he couldn't feel anything at all.
Sunday - October 10th, 20XX (Chapter 07)
- Hachiman suspects his lack of emotion when reading Shiromeguri's message might be related to using Deviluke's gadget on him, so he decides to call Shiromeguri to confirm his unique circumstances. Just as when he reads the message, Hachiman is unable to feel any emotions at all, and only acts and thinks logically throughout the conversation.
- Finally out of that emotionless trance, Hachiman confirms his suspicion and decides to ask Deviluke about it as he fears the apparent repercussions getting worse.
- He has a private conversation with her outside the house, explaining the situation. Deviluke feels guilty but still states that she would look into these after effects. Hachiman also talks to Peke in case she knew anything else, and her take on the matter is that an outside force caused Deviluke's gadget to malfunction. Hachiman suspects that the Synapse may be at fault, though it is just a theory.
- Arriving to Suou's house, Hachiman runs into Kazama Asuka, who was a close friend of Suou Mikoto. Both of them are invited to have breakfast at Suou's home.
- After an awkward incident, Hachiman notices the close friendship between Suou and Kazama. It is later that he realizes everyone in Suou's family would be joining them for breakfast. Later, Suou offers to give him a tour of the Dojo, and he accepts.
- Hachiman meets Hanai Haruki (School Rumble) at the dojo, whose family own the dojo near Suou's house.
- Hachiman overhears Suou –by accident– talking on the phone. When she finally notices his presence, she assumes he did so on purpose. Hachiman is honest, yet she still tells him to leave her home.
- After Hachiman bids farewell to her family, Suou catches up to him when he's outside. They manage to patch things up, and their conversation ends up with them hanging out for a bit.
- After some shenanigans at the arcade –Hachiman and Suou competing in every game they played– The duo ran into Suou's school friends, Tsukamoto Tenma (School Rumble)and Sawachika Eri (School Rumble).
- After the presentations are made, Hachiman notices Harima coming their way, sporting pink shorts, which was the punishment for a bet he lost against Usui. As Hachiman knew Tsukamoto Tenma was Harima's crush, he surprises the group with a bold statement to gather their undivided attention, thus giving Harima a chance of escape without getting noticed.
- Hachiman and Suou spend some time in the batting cages. After that, Hachiman voices his intrigue about the way Suou acted, and why she bothered befriending him.
- They eat at Saizeriya after. During the meal, Suou's friends show up, and Hachiman easily realizes the tension from Suou's part, realizing something was going on behind the curtain.
- After they leave the restaurant in awkward silence, the duo eventually end in a familiar park. A very meaningful moment happens between the two before Hachiman takes her back home, where he finally bids her farewell.
- Back at home, Hachiman finds a gathering of people there, meeting Takanashi Touka (Chu-2), Shidare Hotaru (Dagashi Kashi), who was the dagashi maniac, and Yuuki Rito's younger sister, Yuuki Mikan (To Love Ru).
- Hachiman and Takanashi have an argument outside the house that eventually becomes a sort of physical confrontation. After the hostilities come to an end, she 'reminds' him of her offer, which was traveling to Italy with her.
- Later, Hachiman and Yuuki Rito deal with Shidare's Shenanigans until Hachiman receives a call from Suou, who to his surprise, asks him to become her confidant.
- After saying goodbye to all the visitors, Hachiman spends some time with Deviluke and Belldandy. They test the no emotion problem triggered by him thinking about Shiromeguri, with some bonding time after.
- After that, Hachiman goes to sleep, or tries to at least. The memory of a very embarrassing moment with Suou makes him decide to scream into his pillow for a bit.
Monday and Tuesday Afternoon - October 11th & 12th, 20XX (Chapter 08)
- Hachiman "wakes up" in the Cathedral of Causality, meeting a new goddess by the name of Aqua (KonoSuba!). She's quick to irritate Hachiman due to her overly conceited personality, not to mention making fun of his past and his one important goal.
- Eventually Aqua offers Hachiman relevant information after being ignored by him. Hachiman learns from her that Belldandy wasn't a goddess, as she belonged to a nordic mythological tribe of people.
- Their conversation is interrupted by Deus Ex Machina. The god of time states that Muru Muru and Aqua would merely be observers of the game and couldn't interfere in any way. It is also revealed that there was a bet between the two and it was Aqua who was apparently on his side.
- Back in his bedroom, Hachiman notices that his body requires less sleep due to his regeneration.
- Hachiman finds Yuuki Mikan down in the dining room, alongside Komachi and Belldandy. His brief interaction with Mikan makes him realize how close his previous self was to her, and also the fact that she was incredibly cunning.
- Their interaction is interrupted by a call from Gasai Yuno. He takes the call outside, and she slips the fact that she had followed him and Suou during their outing. Hachiman then is forced to ensure she doesn't do so again by manipulation.
- Aikawa Ayumu approaches him as the call ends, and asks to borrow the volumes of Metronome in Love, which was the story written by Kasumigaoka Utaha.
- Hachiman has another brief interaction with Mikan back at his house and the others, including a bold Deviluke. He leaves for school after that.
- Hachiman runs to Sairenji Haruna. After that, he notices a blonde man arriving on a motorcycle to Sobu.
- News about Hiratsuka Shizuka having experienced an accident reached him. While Hachiman attempts to find more about it, he realizes that would go against his past actions. However, at class he learns that she had a car accident, but will recover.
- While being subjected to Miura's cuteness, Hachiman's class is visited by a teacher unknown to him by the name of Fuyutsuki. Soon enough, the blonde man he saw earlier shows up, who meant to find the school's principal office.
- Hachiman offers to take the man to the office to prevent Miura from doing so. During the walk, Hachiman comes to see the man's pervertedness regarding female students. After they reach the office, he presents himself as Onizuka Eikichi (GTO).
- At lunch break, Hachiman and Miura decide to meet up at the tennis courts. However, Hachiman arrives there first, finding a depressed Onizuka. It wasn't hard to tell that Onizuka's interview to become a teacher at Sobu ended poorly.
- Onizuka drags Hachiman to the school's cafeteria. To Hachiman's surprise, he witnesses an unexpected side of Onizuka, however they are interrupted by the vice principal of Sobu, Yamada Hiroshi (GTO).
- The vice principal alienates and insults Hachiman, even blaming him for the students that were expelled due to the after school incident some days ago.
- Onizuka intervenes and to everyone's shock, he pulls up a German suplex on the vice principal, easily knocking him out, stating that teachers should never mistreat their students.
- By the school's restroom, Hachiman questions Onizuka's actions as they would inevitably harm his chances of becoming a teacher, but Onizuka seems to have dropped the towel, not wanting to address his current situation and just leaves.
- After school, Hachiman is called to the principal's office, where he officially meets Sakurai Ryoko (GTO), who also happened to be the clerk at the cafeteria.
- While Hachiman expected the worst, his expectations are subverted when Principal Sakurai offers him help in exchange for finding Onizuka Eikichi. She was resolute on wanting to hire him as she believed that he could fix Sobu's internal problems.
- Hachiman also learns of the fact that his previous self was academically gifted, which was something that principal Sakurai wanted to protect, and was the reason why he was still in Sobu.
- Hachiman accepts the offer. By the school gates, he meets with Miura, and just a bit later, he watches Isshiki Iroha and a student from another school together, his name Kanye Seiya.
- Hachiman calls Harima to get info on Onizuka's whereabouts, and also makes Usui take his place in helping Harima finish his manga.
- Hachiman and Miura arrive at Danma Ryuji's (GTO) mechanic shop, who happened to be Onizuka's friend. He contacts the blonde man by phone, yet the call suddenly ends without managing to tell Onizuka that he could be hired at Sobu.
- Danma takes Hachiman and Miura in his car to find Onizuka, finally locating him on a highway as he was leaving Chiba. After they tell him the news, an overly excited Onizuka 'borrows' his friend's car to go all the way back to Sobu. Only Hachiman joined him, which he soon regrets.
- After a chaotic and insane trip, even avoiding the police, the duo arrive at Sobu, leaving an almost broken vehicle in the street. While it seems they are late, the principal Sakurai shows up and greets them.
- At her office, she officially hires Onizuka and asks him for help, explaining the current problems plaguing the school. While Onizuka is first confused, he soon accepts fixing the school's problems as a challenge.
- Miura and Danma arrive at school, congratulating Onizuka. Strangely enough, Danma's car was nowhere to be seen. Hachiman takes Miura home in a cab.
- The next day, Onizuka arrives at Sobu on a truck. He would live in a room in the special building since he didn't have anywhere to stay. Onizuka drags Hachiman, who in turn drags Zaimokuza to help him carry his luggage to his room.
- Returning to class, Hachiman is surprised to see Miura interacting with Kawasaki Saki, who seems to be friends with them.
- Onizuka makes his 'odd' presentation to the class. To Hachiman's shock, somehow Onizuka manages to end it on a positive note by being honest and open about his past to the whole class.
- Miura and Hachiman find Onizuka at the tennis courts at lunch break, interrupting their alone time, which is something Hachiman was actually glad for.
- At the end of class, Hachiman is dragged by Onizuka to play games, thus he leaves the school lantern that he would have liked. Eventually he finds himself in the middle of a heavy rain, carrying a cat he found in the street.
- After finding a shelter, Hachiman eventually falls asleep as he waits for the rain to pass. He wakes up after some time to find the apparent owner of the cat in his vicinity with the cat in her grasp. The person leaves but Hachiman notices whoever that is left him a thermos and an umbrella.
- As Hachiman is finally going back home, he receives a call from Machida Sonoko (Saekano), who is Kasumigaoka's editor. She tells him that he needs to fix whatever he caused with Kasumigaoka, asking him to come to another city where she would have a room reserved for him.
- Hachiman is set on leaving it for another day, however, Machida manages to convince him that waiting any longer could be detrimental for their friendship and her career.
- At the end, Hachiman finally decides to go find her.
Tuesday Evening and Wednesday Morning - October 12th & 13th, 20XX (Chapter 09)
- Hachiman arrives to Sakura city by train, meeting Machida Sonoko in a cafe near the station. In a brief exchange, the woman offers him a part-time job as editor of Kasumi Utako(Kasumigaoka's pen name as writer).
- Kasumigaoka Utaha shows up, and voices her displeasure at this turn of events. Machida leaves to let them talk, but their conversation goes south quickly. Kasumigaoka leaves the cafe, and Hachiman is forced to give chase.
- Despite the heavy rain, Hachiman has no problem catching up to her, eventually managing to make her stop. He's successful in easing the tension and somewhat "fixing" their relationship. They go back, meeting with Machida, who takes them to the hotel they would be staying for the night.
- After taking a bath at the hotel, Hachiman decides to call Usui, needing advice about the current circumstances. Later, Kasumigaoka shows up at his room, revealing that Hachiman had no room for himself, which meant that he would have to sleep in the same room as her.
- As Kasumigaoka takes a bath, Hachiman calls home to tell that he wouldn't be coming home, and to his surprise, he talks with someone called Himeko, who was a friend of his and Harima apparently. After that, he checks his messages.
- One of the messages was from Belldandy. Apparently, she was tasked with doing a scout mission, possibly related to the angeloids.
- Hachiman and Kasumigaoka banter for a bit, but eventually, she mentions Miura and what occurred, discovering the truth behind her actions that day.
- Hachiman is resolute to undo the damage that his past self inflicted on people, and thus, he explains his intentions to Kasumigaoka. There is a back and forth between them but he succeeds in resolving their issue.
- After that, Hachiman helps Kasumigaoka with her story, the girl revealing that she had no confidence in her next work. After an embarrassing moment between them, they finally go to sleep. The next day, Hachiman wakes up in uncomfortable circumstances, and then leaves the hotel with her.
- Hachiman falls asleep on the train, waking up in the Cathedral of Causality. He runs into Aqua, and eventually with Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.
- After a brief interaction, Deux Ex Machina appears before them, revealing that the Dimensional Wanderer had entered the world, thus changing fate. This would bring certain changes in the game from now on.
- The updated rules of the game go as follows:
1. All the previous rules still remain.
2. The participants can now spot the suspects by seeing a mark over them.
3. The mark can only be seen within a 10 meter radius around the suspect.
4. The mark will only be visible for 42 seconds upon being seen for the first time.
5. The mark won't ever appear ever again once it fades.
6. If one of the participants spots a mark first, it will not reappear for the other.
7. If one of the participants spots a mark, it still can be seen by the other participant during its 42 seconds duration.
- Hachiman and Ayanokouji express their disagreement about the changes in the game, but to their surprise, Deus Ex Machina finally shows his true colors, emphasizing that their opinions hold no relevance.
- While Ayanokouji states that he would play the game, Hachiman becomes resolute and refuses to follow through with it. It is then that Ayanokouji warns him that he would win no matter the consequences, and in his way.
- Before they fade within Deux Ex Machina's power, Aqua approaches Hachiman, advising him to ask Belldandy about the Dimensional Wanderer.
- Hachiman jolts awake in the train that headed back to Chiba, a concerned Kasumigaoka at his side. It is then that he spots the first mark over her, signaling that she was a suspect. A strong headache occurred as he spotted it.
- After waving her concern off, they are interrupted by a new person, one that he apparently was supposed to know, and who also displayed a mark over her head. Her name was Sakurai Aoi (Rail Wars), an apparent member from the Public Security Force.
- Aoi and Kasumigaoka quickly start an argument as they seem to not only dislike each other, but also the fact that the two of them wanted to drag Hachiman to their shenanigans. A very awkward travel in the train ensues, much to Hachiman's dismay.
- They finally reach the Chiba station, and while Kasumigaoka answers a call, Hachiman has no choice but to interact with Aoi. He learns from her that he was part of an incident involving a bombing. Aoi also seemed adamant of him coming back to work at the PSF.
- Just before leaving, Aoi mentions an incident where the Euro Tunnel was bombed. Hachiman and Kasumigaoka visit a restaurant to have breakfast, a TV showing more news about the Euro Tunnel incident. Kasumigaoka investigates more about it on her phone, finding out that there seemed to be tension between France and England.
- Hachiman realizes that all these implications could actually lead to a war.
- Hachiman accompanies Kasumigaoka to her school, and as he is trekking towards Sobu, he spots a mark, forcing him to approach however it belonged to. It turns out that it belonged to Tendou Karen, the third official suspect in the game.
- After that, as Hachiman continues his trek, he decides to call home, Belldandy answering. He notices something odd about Belldandy during their conversation, but it's interrupted by an overly concerned Deviluke.
- At Sobu, he spots Miura at class, where he sees the mark over her. Deciding to leave the umbrella that was given to him at Onizuka's room, he heads to the special building, where he runs into both Yukinoshita Yukino and Yuigahama Yui, the latter showing a mark over her.
- After the very difficult situation, Hachiman leaves his umbrella at Onizuka's room, but his attention is drawn by sounds coming from a room nearby, where he meets an anxious girl that likes doing magic tricks, although failing miserably at them. The girl also shows a mark over her head.
- After an embarrassing moment, Hachiman manages to find an excuse to keep visiting her, although he forgets to get her name. He starts heading to class, when Yukihira Souma calls him, asking him to come to Tokyo for 3 days to help him for an exam in Totsuki Culinary Academy.
- Hachiman isn't interested in going to Tokyo, but after ending the call with Yukihira, Usui calls just after, revealing that Ayanokouji Kiyotaka would also be assisting to whatever event would be held at Totsuki Academy. Reflecting on the implications, Hachiman changes his mind and decides to assist alongside Usui to help Yukihira, and to prevent Ayanokouji from getting an advantage.
- To Hachiman's shock, his alter ego appears before him, not needing a mirror anymore. It is revealed that his doppelganger is able to read his mind, see his past memories, and mockingly, he almost destroys Hachiman's composure using his own words.
- More than ever, Hachiman's will perseveres, not allowing all these changes to get the better of him. He's now ready for the game, for better or worse.
- As of now, the current confirmed suspects are:
— Kasumigaoka Utaha, Sakurai Aoi, Tendou Karen, Miura Yumiko, Yuigahama Yui, ? (Magic Club girl)
LiMS Recap END
That concludes the recap. We intend to provide recaps at the conclusion of each arc to assist readers in navigating the story. We are aware that our chapters tend to be quite lengthy.
You can also find in my DevianArt account "MakerOfSouls" the picture that shows all the characters and their relationships with Hachiman up to chapter 09.
So, as a reminder and extension to what was mentioned in the beginning, LiMS will be getting a massive update. Since last August, when NirvanaFrk97 and I reconnected, we've been thoroughly reviewing the entire story and implementing changes, making various adjustments.
Initially, my co-author intended to optimize the narrative and remove any excessive elements to make it a more manageable read. However, he soon found himself cringing at certain aspects of his old work(his words), and felt a strong inclination to modify many portions of his writing.
This led us to revise a significant portion of the story beyond our initial plans, and in doing so, I believe the story has been greatly improved as a result.
However, before you click out of the story in disgust, thinking you're only getting a recap after all this time, there will be a new chapter to expect.
We had actually finished it before life's priorities took us away from writing. After thorough discussions, my co-author and I decided to split the planned content into two parts. The second half contained a significant amount of exposition that would have made the chapter overly long. NirvanaFrk97 pinpointed an ideal spot to split it, allowing us to bring the newest chapter that much sooner.
You can anticipate the official release of the new chapter in just a week from this update. We wanted to give you all ample time to revisit the story and also ensure that Chapter 10 meets our standards before it's published.
For those who might be interested, there's a adorable piece of art featuring Belldandy, Deviluke, and Hachiman that caught our attention a few months ago. You can find this artwork on Twitter(we're not calling it x) by searching for the user 'Llamar Tran', who apparently commissioned the art from the talented artist "sesield". In my DA profile "MakerOfSouls", I put a direct link to the picture as well.
To be honest, we're not sure if our story inspired it, but we do enjoy the artwork.
That's all for now. Whether you choose to continue following the story or not, I still appreciate your attention and support.
Until the next update.
- Itherael and NirvanaFrk97