Not a detective

Page 129

Why didn't he wake up on the cruise ship? He remembered that after the time travel, it should have been the time when "he went for a walk on the deck with Xingyu at night".

应该回到【2025年6月13日·周五· 19：25】才对。

Does this mean the trigger failed?

Asakawa Riku recalled his last memory: walking into the sea and being completely submerged until he couldn't hold his breath and suffocated.

Could it be that in his near-death coma, his survival instinct took over his body, causing him to burst out of the water and save himself?

This isn't impossible... it could explain why he was still at the beach, unconscious until the next day when he finally woke up.

So... it's June 15th now?

Asakawa Riku felt no relief at surviving the ordeal; instead, he frowned. He had deliberately sought death in order to trigger the opportunity to reverse time.

He needed to hurry and create a timeline for the perfect ending. Living another day was just another wasted day.

If he couldn't drown himself, he had many other efficient ways to commit suicide. Just as he was thinking about which method would be the most convenient, he suddenly froze—

its not right.

What I'm holding in my hand...

Asakawa Riku saw what he was holding.

It was a wet piece of paper, clutched tightly in his hand, crumpled and the writing on it almost illegible:

The events that occurred on that island remain unforgettable to this day, especially that night (which is now unrecognizable). Every time I think of it, it becomes unrecognizable.

... abbreviated.

[Unidentifiable].

It's still those same few lines of text, still that last page.

"How can it be……!"

A wavering appeared in Asakawa Riku's eyes. He couldn't believe what he was seeing, so he rubbed his eyes.

But that's right, this is a fragment of the book "Summer of the Red Stingray," most of which were lost in the explosion and shipwreck, leaving only this one page.

He remembers clearly that, out of anger, he crumpled this page into a ball and threw it into the sea.

But now, it's back in his hands.

Could it be that, while submerged in the sea, it unconsciously grabbed onto this tattered page again...? Impossible, that's nonsense.

So only one answer remained.

"I did trigger time travel, but I didn't go back to June 13th; I went back to June 14th."

Riku Asakawa murmured.

This time, instead of throwing away the pages, he stuffed them into his pocket, sat on the beach, and used his hand as a pen to draw a straight line on them.

If this is a timeline, then from left to right it represents the sequence of events. The starting point is the afternoon of June 13th, when they left school, went to the port, took a boat, and set sail.

Up to this point there were no problems; the disagreements started from here:

1.6. On the evening of June 13, Asakawa Riku was called to the deck by Hoshino. The two took a walk and then went back to their respective places (first cycle).

2.6. On the evening of June 13, Asakawa Riku and Hoshino went to the restaurant together and told him about the time reversal. Hoshino became his partner and helped him disarm the bomb. Unfortunately, Asakawa Riku was unable to stop the brainwashed crew from manually detonating the bomb. The fact that the cruise ship sank and the shipwreck occurred was still restored (the second time loop).

From here, Asakawa Riku divides the lines into two segments.

1. In the first reincarnation world, at noon on June 14, he woke up on the beach, came into contact with the villagers of Red Stingray Village, and learned about the village's situation. On the afternoon of June 14, he conducted a search of the entire island to see if there were any other people or buildings hiding on the island. On the evening of June 14, he participated in the village's Red Stingray Festival as usual, but was besieged by the fanatical villagers and was eventually killed by exhaustion.

2. In the second loop world, at noon on June 14, he woke up on the beach as usual and interacted with the villagers of Akashiya Village as normal. On the afternoon of June 14, he suddenly attacked and forcibly controlled all the villagers, tying them up and gathering them in the village for surveillance. On the night of June 14, in a fit of anger, he accidentally killed Miyazaki Tatsuno. After feeling remorse, he decided to commit suicide.

The problem lies in the "time".

Riku Asakawa finally understood the true rules of time reversal.

Summer of the Crimson Ray: Chapter Twenty-Eight - The True Rules of Time Reversal

The real rule for time travel is:

The point of reversal is not a fixed point in time, but rather a continuous forward progression!

For example, during his first time-traveling experience, he returned to the evening of June 13th, when Xingyu called him to the deck and the two of them took a walk.

But this time, the starting point was moved forward, to noon on June 14th, when he woke up on the beach.

Perhaps the next time he regresses, his starting point will be even later, such as in the afternoon, at dusk, or even at night...

"This means that... [Time Reversal] is not invincible, there are no unlimited opportunities, and each time a time reversal occurs, it only makes time more urgent."

Asakawa Riku sensed something was wrong.

After these two retrospective analyses, he also summarized the general rules.

Time travel can change the past, as long as you take different actions than before. However, things before the "starting point" will be identified as "fixed events".

For example, no matter what he does, he can't change the past experience of "meeting at school and taking a bus", because that was before the starting point.

Just like the past of "June 13th".

This past has been fixed as "Asakawa Riku and Hoshino went to the restaurant together and told him about the time reversal. Hoshino became his partner and helped defuse the bomb. Unfortunately, Asakawa Riku was unable to stop the brainwashed crew from manually detonating the bomb, and the story returned to the fact that the cruise ship sank and a maritime disaster occurred." This branch can no longer be modified.

The tattered pages of the book in his hand are the best proof.

"It's impossible to go back to that time and create a perfect ending."

Asakawa Riku shook his head in frustration... June 13th was already a fait accompli, and his starting point had been pushed forward to June 14th.

The moment he was on the ship was the best opportunity to save everything, but unfortunately, he squandered it.

What's even more unsettling is that with each rewind, his free time will only decrease. Once the starting point changes to the night of the Red Ray Festival, it will be a true dead end. He must resolve the issue before then, but he's unsure how many more rewinds will occur—once, or twice?

In short, we can no longer use it casually. The thought of committing suicide because of imperfection will only hasten a bad ending.

...

After summarizing the rules he had learned so far, Asakawa Riku stood up; he needed to hurry.

Sure enough, in the jungle, Hirata Hirokichi and his two companions appeared at their usual spot right on time, just like NPCs that spawn regularly.

However, this time, Asakawa Riku did not approach them to initiate a dialogue, but instead went around them and headed directly into the village.

He concealed himself, making no contact with any villagers and keeping his tracks hidden from everyone, maintaining a secret observation.

Sure enough... he also saw Miyazaki Tatsuno among the villagers, that delinquent with spiky hair.

His spiky hair was still intact and he was full of energy. Confirming this confirmed that Asakawa Riku's guess was correct.

He did indeed experience time reversal, but only the starting point was advanced; this is already a new cycle.

After confirming the details, Asakawa Riku immediately left the village.

The reason he was being so cautious was not without reason; it was because he had calmly thought things through and realized that something was amiss with his situation in the last reincarnation.

He has always been a man of principle, especially when it comes to using force; he would not kill someone by mistake on a whim.

Even though he sometimes felt angry, a qualified martial artist is one who can control his emotions. Asakawa Riku firmly believed in this, and he would never kill his classmate.

This means that... on that night, some force influenced him, making him exceptionally irritable and easily angered.

Have I been brainwashed too?

Asakawa Riku couldn't be sure; he had been in a meditative state, so it probably hadn't reached the point of complete brainwashing, but it was possible that his emotions had been amplified.

Last time, he felt frustrated and irritable because of his repeated failures. It was probably this emotion that was exploited, and he took advantage of the situation to make his move.

Just as Chizuko-senpai said, "Motivation is like a passing demon," as if possessed by a monster, instantly eroding humanity.

Therefore, having learned from the previous lesson, Asakawa Riku warned himself that he must remain calm this time and not be swayed by others.

Riku Asakawa realized that the Red Stingray Festival might be more dangerous than he had imagined, and that hearing the villagers' songs at night could be the trigger.

He even believes that the so-called "frenzy state" may be a form of meme contamination, and that as long as one is aware of its existence, there is a risk of infection.

Spending too much time with the villagers might make you irritable, or even turn you into a devout follower of Lord Red Ray.

— It's like the "Hinamizawa Syndrome".

That's why he stayed away from the village this time, avoiding contact with the villagers to prevent any accidents from happening.

In his first reincarnation, he chose the "peaceful" path, cooperating with the villagers' act all the way, until he was finally surrounded and killed. In his second reincarnation, he chose the "violent" path, forcibly controlling the villagers from the beginning, but he himself was affected by the ritual and turned into a violent demon. If he hadn't been able to control himself at that time, he might have even slaughtered the entire island.

Neither peace nor violence will work, and Asakawa Riku doesn't know what to do in this cycle...

He only knew that he needed to stay away from the village to avoid being affected, but wandering aimlessly in the jungle was not a solution. Time would be wasted without him realizing it, and it would be late when night fell.

What should we do?

Asakawa Riku was in a complete mess. He had never felt that he needed to use his brain as much as he had in the past two days, but he couldn't just rush through this incident.

As usual, he had Chizuko and Shinonome Suetsuki by his side to seek their advice, but now he was all alone on this deserted island.

"If only a miracle could happen..."

In the end, I couldn't help but laugh at my own wishful thinking.

But in that instant, his smile froze.

It seemed that God had finally been moved by his suffering and sent down a miracle—

It really happened.

Right before his eyes, Asakawa Riku stared blankly at the person who had emerged from the jungle, a girl with beautiful blonde hair not far in front of him.

Her wig had fallen off, revealing her original hair color, as had her pupils, which were a crystal-clear azure.

How could this be... How could she be here? If she is here, why wasn't she discovered before?

The two stood a few meters apart, staring blankly at each other.

Until, Hoshimi Kou couldn't help but shout:

"Asakawa-kun... is that you?"

Summer of the Crimson Ray: Chapter Twenty-Nine - Miracle

"Wait a minute." Asakawa Riku was clearly taken aback by the way the other person addressed him: "...What did you just call me?"

"Asakawa-kun, is it not allowed?"

Xingyu smiled: "Should we use a more intimate term?...Lu, how about this?"

Asakawa Riku didn't know why this guy could be so relaxed and at ease.

He stepped forward and hugged her tightly.

The girl struggled for a moment in his arms, flustered: "Ah, there's no need to be so intimate. Look, you're wearing what I'm wearing... it's too close!"

She was right. At this moment, Hoshimi Koyu had taken off her white dress, leaving only her dark blue school swimsuit, which she was already wearing underneath.

Asakawa Riku was also shirtless, his muscles bare, and when the two were pressed tightly together, they could almost feel each other's skin and temperature.

This made Xingyu blush instantly, and she didn't know what to do.

"That's great...you haven't lost your memory..."

But after hearing Asakawa Riku's relieved voice, she calmed down and stopped being so stiff. Instead, she reached out and gently patted his back.

"It's alright, I'm here now."

"..."

Asakawa Riku remained silent, embracing him tightly for a while before letting go. His face truly showed an expression of relief, as if a heavy burden had been lifted.

In the third cycle, he finally saw Hoshimi Koyu. He originally thought she had been killed, but he didn't expect to see her again. Moreover, she hadn't been brainwashed like the other classmates.

This is simply a miracle.

"Where have you been?"

He couldn't help but ask.

Upon hearing this, Xingyu looked completely innocent: "I've been on the island the whole time... because you said those brainwashed classmates were dangerous, so I had to hide."

By the way, in this timeline, she had heard me tell the story of Red Stingray Island, so she naturally knew about the danger of the fanatical villagers.

But Asakawa Riku was still puzzled: "You're on the island, but why can't I find you?"