41: Setting Shift

Surprised by the unexpected turn, Dan frowned.
He averted his gaze from the Second Mirror he had created and glanced up at the sky.

Dark clouds—unnaturally formed—had gathered above him, transforming the landscape into something far beyond his intention.

“Very well. It’s analysis time.”

Dan’s eyes grew even sharper.

“Hmph… So my ‘preset character’ just happened to fish up the Golden Axe?
A little too convenient, don’t you think?
And now this weather shift?
You… no, you two are becoming quite the show.”

Keeping one eye on the grotesque presence lurking within the mirrored image of Tom, Dan briefly glanced over at Rena.
A sinister signal surged into her mind, contorting her face in pain.

“Tell me, girl.
That clumsy, poorly rendered object by your side when you collapsed…
A true eyesore—but perhaps artistic in its own way.
It’s some kind of communication device, isn’t it?
There’s no way someone who just arrived in this world could’ve created that.”

Tears welled up in her eyes as Rena clutched her head,
recalling the smartphone she had generated—along with the conversation she’d had with Mr. Fishing Rod.

“A fateful encounter with that fishing character…
He told you about AI, and you believed you could return to the ‘real world’ using it.
And judging by that child’s appearance floating in the pond, combined with yours…
It seems you used that device to summon your younger self from a parallel world.
But the question is… why?”

As the interrogation dragged on, Rena fought back.
She sent a burning image into Dan’s mind—an act of sheer hostility.
It manifested as a force that yanked his expensive tie sharply upward.

“Impressive, girl…
To think someone could actually pull off such a feat in this world.
My shoes, removed by force?
Unthinkable under any normal ‘AI settings.’
And yet you and that boy… even the mirror itself responds to you both.”

Dan’s gaze turned razor-sharp, and Rena suddenly found herself choking.
By the time she realized it, the same elegant tie that had been wrapped around Dan’s neck just moments ago was now coiled mercilessly around her own throat—tightened by his very own hand.

“You two…
Are you residents of the Mirror World, just like me?”

As if resonating with his words, rain began to pour down in torrents.
Each drop struck the mirror from the side with unnatural precision,
until the entire frame was knocked over with a crash.

Tom, still in his suit, was finally released from the mirror’s grip.

“Ugh… I have to… protect Rena…!!”

Stumbling, he rushed toward her, instinctively grabbing the old axe that lay in his path.
But Dan’s explosive stride closed the distance in an instant.
He snatched the axe from behind Tom.

“You knew about this axe—the one I had hidden beneath the pond.
Its existence, and its secret.
Things not even that fishing character could have known.
You said the axe has ‘seen history’… as if you had seen it yourself.”

Tom, undeterred by the pressure, turned boldly to face him and declared—

“There was no ‘fishing character’ to begin with.
I’ve been waiting here with this rod… for this exact moment!”

“What!?”

In the brief moment of Dan’s startled blink, Tom recited with unwavering resolve:

—Bookmark.

“What!? You little…!”

The air around Dan grew heavy and tense, and the entire space dimmed.

As the tension around her throat suddenly released,
Rena gasped for air, regaining her breath.
Her eyes locked onto the suited Tom.
In his left hand… was a thick book, opened wide like a picture book.