Mash-up Anime World: Creating the SCP Foundation to Contain Anomalies

Having recovered his memories, Haruto had accomplished his objective. Now, the only matter left was returning to the boundary.

Haruto's neighborhood was still quite a distance from the portal in Chiba.

Moreover, the sky had already darkened, with the sun setting beyond the horizon.

After consulting daijin, he confirmed that they weren't in such a rush that they had to travel overnight.

So, for now, securing accommodations was the top priority.

Mitsuha was completely broke.

Suzume, while from a more well-off family, wasn't rich enough to spend money recklessly. And since she had run away in a hurry, she had already nearly exhausted her travel funds.

Unlike the western countries, Japan didn't have a highly developed mobile payment system.

Haruto looked at his apartment.

Three years ago, his past self… seemed to have been quite poor.

Aside from a small independent apartment, he didn't have much cash on hand. So, Haruto shifted his gaze toward the apartment next door.

If he remembered correctly, his neighbor was a little rich girl.

He pressed the doorbell.

Soon, a timid blonde loli cracked the door open. Seeing the visitor, she showed a puzzled expression.

Looking at the younger, still-innocent Eriri, Haruto smirked mischievously.

"Excuse me, who are you looking for?"

The young Eriri asked curiously.

"You're Eriri, right?"

Haruto crouched to her level, making eye contact as he smiled.

The young Eriri nodded, looking a little intrigued.

She didn't understand why this "big sister" seemed to know her name.

Haruto pointed to his own apartment next door.

"Eriri, do you know the boy who lives in that apartment?"

At the mention of Haruto, a sparkle appeared in Eriri's eyes as she nodded again.

"Yes! His name is Haruto, we're good friends."

Seeing her reaction, Haruto clicked his tongue.

So this fake childhood friend had already developed feelings for him even back then?

He recalled how, after transmigrating into this world, the first familiar person he encountered was Eriri. Since they were neighbors, on the second day after their first meeting, Haruto had visited her home.

With his eloquence and an unnatural level of maturity, he had quickly won over Mrs. Sawamura's favor.

This allowed him to grow closer to young Eriri over time.

But he hadn't expected that this timid girl, who had once been a little hesitant around him, would now talk about him with sparkling eyes, calling him a good friend.

With that thought, Haruto came up with a plan.

"Eriri, do you like that boy?"

Haruto's voice was as gentle as the devil tempting a child into sin.

At his words, young Eriri's face turned bright red.

"I… w-we're just good friends! L-like? What are you talking about!?"

Clearly, while young Eriri hadn't yet fully evolved into a full-fledged tsundere, the signs were already there.

And Haruto knew exactly how to suppress her tsundere tendencies.

"Oh? You don't like him? That's strange… He's quite popular with the girls in his class. In fact, just a few days after school started, he was already drowning in love letters, his desk could barely hold them all. I think he's already considering—"

Before he could finish, young Eriri suddenly panicked.

She was too young to question how this "big sister" knew about the boy's school life.

She just felt extremely anxious at the thought of something important being taken away from her.

"I don't want that to happen!"

The young Eriri spoke anxiously.

At this moment, Haruto patted her head, signaling her not to be too hasty.

"If you don't want him to be taken by someone else, then you have to strike first!"

Haruto's whisper was slowly influencing the young girl's heart.

"Eh!? Then what should I do?"

The young Eriri looked confused, appearing extremely cute.

"As a senior, I have plenty of experience in romance, so of course, I have a foolproof strategy."

Haruto revealed a cunning smile.

"But, I can't just give away this strategy for free. How about it? Want to buy a copy?"

The young Eriri, upon hearing this, ran back home without a second thought.

Not long after, she returned, holding a small piggy bank in her hands and handed it to Haruto.

"I want to buy it!"

Her gaze was filled with unwavering determination.

Suzume was completely dumbfounded at the sight.

What kind of situation was this?

Teaching another girl how to win over himself?

And even charging her a fee for the strategy!?

Suzume felt like the image of the dependable big brother in her heart was starting to crumble.

This was way too ridiculous!

Meanwhile, Haruto shamelessly accepted Eriri's piggy bank without the slightest guilt. Although the small piggy bank looked like a child's toy, Eriri was actually quite wealthy.

Her family was well-off, and her mother, Mrs. Sawamura, spoiled her.

Back in middle school, Eriri had bought an entire set of professional drawing equipment with just her allowance.

The cost of those supplies was quite high.

It was clear how wealthy this little rich girl was.

"Alright, young Eriri, come closer, and I'll teach you the ultimate strategy. Success is guaranteed."

Haruto beckoned her over.

Obediently, Eriri leaned in.

Haruto whispered a few words into her ear.

Mitsuha, who could perceive the body's senses, naturally heard everything Haruto said.

And the content...

Made Mitsuha blush furiously as she strongly condemned Haruto in her mind.

Eriri's face also turned bright red.

Fortunately, Haruto was using Mitsuha's body at the moment. Since they were both girls, it wasn't too awkward. Otherwise, Eriri would have already run away in embarrassment.

She covered her face and asked in disbelief,

"Re... really? Is this really the strategy? But what if Haruto ends up hating me instead?"

Haruto waved his hand dismissively.

"Absolutely not!"

Since the target of the strategy was himself, Haruto could guarantee its success.

At that time, Haruto was still young, and his ambitions for a harem had only just begun to sprout. As long as Eriri had the courage to go for it, she would definitely succeed.

Unfortunately...

While the strategy was real, Eriri would never be able to carry it out.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have become the infamous golden-haired loser heroine of the industry.

As young Eriri was still lost in her embarrassment and daze, Haruto took the piggy bank and made his escape.

Waving his hand, Haruto grabbed Suzume and ran off.

It took a while for Suzume to recover, and she looked at Haruto with a complicated expression.

"Big brother, this..."

Haruto waved his hand nonchalantly.

"She's my childhood friend. She's a good person, just a bit tsundere. Tricking her a little doesn't matter. Her family is super rich, and she's a little rich girl herself. Besides, I'll return the money to her later, so don't worry."

Even after this explanation, Suzume still felt numb.

It felt like stealing candy from a baby.

Mitsuha also scolded Haruto in her mind.

This guy was completely corrupting children!

However, when Haruto opened the piggy bank, both girls were utterly shocked. They had expected it to contain a pile of coins.

At most, there might be a few 100 or 500 yen bills.

But when they opened it, they saw a neat stack of cash inside.

The smallest denomination was 1,000 yen.

There were even several 10,000 yen bills.

At that moment, their sense of reality was shaken.

"T-This much money!?"

Suzume swallowed hard.

Haruto shrugged.

"I told you, Eriri is a little rich girl."

"Even so, isn't this way too much!? Won't we get arrested?" Mitsuha worried.

Haruto casually picked up the money and reassured them.

"By the way, you two were pretty eager to see the big city, right? Well, this is the perfect opportunity to experience it."

At this moment, Haruto's words sounded like the tempting whispers of a devil, luring them astray.

In the end, they couldn't resist the temptation.

It wasn't that they didn't try. It was just that Haruto's influence was too strong.

Haruto first took them to a dessert shop in Chiba.

It was the best shop he had found in his three years in Chiba.

The prices were reasonable.

Haruto didn't intentionally take them to splurge.

Even though they had enough money...

He didn't want to distort their values.

Three years later, he could bring them to his side.

But that was something for the future.

Suzume ordered a small cake and a coffee milk.

Mitsuha got a parfait.

She had always wanted to try one.

Now, even though Haruto was the one eating, she could still taste and feel it.

It was almost the same as eating it herself.

"This is so good!"

Suzume took a small bite of her cake and sighed in delight.

Mitsuha enjoyed her parfait while urging Haruto to eat faster.

After dessert, Haruto booked a hotel room.

He originally planned to book two.

But Suzume firmly refused, saying it would be a waste of money.

Haruto could tell that she was actually a little scared. After all, suddenly leaving home and coming to a completely unfamiliar place...

Of course, she would want someone familiar nearby.

So, Haruto didn't argue and agreed.

On the way, they stopped at a convenience store to buy two discounted bento meals and some soda.

At this hour, except for ramen shops, almost everything in Japan was closed.

Only 24-hour convenience stores had food available.

Suzume and Mitsuha had no complaints about the bento.

In fact, they were quite satisfied.

As night fell...

Inside the hotel room, Suzume curiously looked around.

Everything was so new to her.

Mitsuha was the same.

"What's this?"

Suzume asked curiously.

"A projector. It's similar to a TV, but it projects images onto a screen."

Haruto turned it on, and the screen slowly lowered.

"Wow!" 2x

Suzume and Mitsuha gasped in amazement.

"The bed is so soft! It's nothing like the tatami mats at home!"

Suzume jumped onto the bed, bounced up slightly, and laughed. But then she remembered there was a "boy" in the room...

And quickly sat up, looking a little embarrassed.

Haruto simply smiled and waved his hand.

"Honestly, when I first came to the big city, I was just like you. So I totally understand."

The moment these words were spoken, Suzume's eyes immediately widened.

Miyamizu also asked excitedly,

"Huh!? So Haruto wasn't always in a big city from the start?"

Haruto nodded.

Seeing Suzume's curious gaze and sensing Mitsuha's emotions, Haruto began recounting some trivial stories from his past life.

Of course, he left out the details about transmigrating.