The further north on the western continent of Balterra one went, the more demihumans one would find. Unlike the humans who were originally from Azcester, demihumans already had countries and cities built by the time humans arrived in the continent.

  With the demon threat to the far south, the biggest settlements were in the north, creating a huge buffer zone that the humans would later occupy. Azcester gained access to the resources of the continent, and the animal folk became better protected than before, with new countries like Ebrilyon serving as a bulwark against any invasions.

  This was forever ago, from what the lore in the game says, even further ago than the war with the Endless Silver a thousand years ago. No demon force has ever been able to make any significant gains into human territory, as they would have to fight Ebrilyon after crossing the Endless Silver, and that would be a monumental task.

  Because of that, the countries to the north have enjoyed centuries of coprosperity. The demihuman nations were diplomatically integrated into Azcester’s sphere of influence, and that alliance controlled what is called human territory.

  And it was in one of those peaceful countries that we had arrived.

  The sun was going down off in the distance when we landed on the outskirts of a decently sized farming town. Houses made from stone bricks framed with wood, huddled together and gave off a very rustic vibe.

  Our journey to the Pillar of Void would only get more dangerous the longer we had to travel through the Forest of Illusion. We had no choice but to enter the forest further north, and the self-proclaimed wise sorceress Abby suggested we come to this town.

  She was an adventurer before becoming Galene’s companion and knew her fair share of useful places to stop at between the major cities.

  “What a long trip…” Our gryphons landed next to each other on a grassy field, and we hopped off.

  “How was this journey ever supposed to take a mere two days?” Hecate was riding with me and patted her dress as soon as she got on the floor. “My butt is also crying out in pain… Never imagined riding an animal like a princess would have such a shameful drawback.”

  A sigh escaped her lips. “I don’t think the position has anything to do with it. If it makes you feel any better, my butt’s also killing me.”

  “Why are you two talking about butts already?” The gryphon that landed to our right was Carol’s. “How do you have the energy to flirt after all that? I don’t understand.”

  Overhearing the conversation, Ririna actually defended us. “They weren’t flirting… Just complaining about the seats. Speaking of which, I’m not doing great either…” Ririna patted her skirt.

  Naturally, the next one to speak up had to be Sarasa. “I got an idea… Give us some massages, Iroha! Some butt massages!”

  “Got it! Right away!”

  “Not!” Carol smacked the back of my head. “Can’t you be serious for a second? And why were you doing the ‘pulling back sleeves’ motion? Your dress doesn’t even have sleeves!”

  “Mhm~” This is great… How nice it is to mess around like this. “You don’t have energy for flirting but have energy for witty comebacks. That’s my Carol…”

  “Stop it!” This time she swung with a huge toy hammer. Bigger than her. “I’m not doing this for your amusement!”

  *Bonk!*

  I covered my head and heard the sound of the hammer hitting me, but I didn’t feel anything. “Huh?” What happened? Can I take a peek?

  “It was an illusion. I can make them, remember? Now act like a normal person, or I’ll have to smack you for real.” The hammer disappeared, and she rested her hands on her hips.

  Claims she’s not doing it for my amusement, but uses her magic just for that? Hehehe… How cute…

  “Bringing it back to your first question, Hecate, we would have gotten here way earlier if not for Galene stopping us so many times!” Sarasa was particularly annoyed since we had been through this before.

  “I still can’t believe it…” Carol sighed. “How does someone stumble into so many people in trouble? It’s unbelievable. What’s wrong with her?”

  “Well…” I whispered. “I told you this world used to be a game. She’s technically the protagonist, so there are lots of side quests for her to find. She just happens to be the type of player that gets distracted with every single side quest. Unfortunately for us.”

  “But it was fortunate, no? I for one enjoyed those breaks. Imagine how much worse of a condition our butts would be in if we hadn’t stopped once during the whole flight.”

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  But that wasn’t all, as Ririna added to what Hecate was saying. “Not to mention that the gryphons would run out of time and get tired. Then we’d have to wait for whistles to recharge. Would have taken the same time.”

  “I see… Guess you’re right…”

  We got caught up in conversation for so long that the others came over to see what was going on. “What are you talking about? If you’re slacking off, don’t leave me out. This is the type of conversation I love the most!” The enthusiasm betrayed her desire to slack off.

  “We were just reminiscing about the trip. Lots of crazy people with even crazier problems out there, huh?”

  “Really?” Abby’s voice casted suspicion. “You’re not just saying that, but in actuality you were badmouthing someone, right?” D- did she overhear us?

  “Nyahahahaha! Why would we? It was a strategy meeting. Very important meeting about elite adventurer intel!”

  “Elite adventurer…” Sarasa knew how to handle her, and Abby was immediately starstruck. “I- if that’s the case, alright… No problem…” Would she tell me about it too? Is that too much for me right now? She squirmed, struggling with those thoughts.

  “What’s the problem with that one again?” Carol whispered in my ear.

  “You know how some people go crazy for celebrities? She’s kinda like that for Sarasa. Sarasa is a well-known adventurer. Abby’s big into fame and building up a reputation, so I think she admires her somehow.”

  “Is Sarasa well-known or notorious? I can’t imagine she’d be known for a good reason.”

  “I think Abby said some people call her ‘Feather Touch Sarasa’ because of her agility or something.”

  “Pfft! Really?” By this point, Sarasa noticed our conversation. “Thanks, Iroha. That’s going to come in handy.”

  “No, it’s not!” Sarasa interrupted. “Don’t you dare call me that, you glorified court jester!”

  “Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?” They started raising their voices, and now everyone was paying attention.

  “You’re out here doing illusions for laughs. Who does that if not a court jester?”

  Things were escalating, and I put myself between the two of them.

  “Ha… ha… ha… You’re asking for it, Feather Touch Sarasa… I’ll show you…”

  “Come on now… Let’s not fight amongst ourselves.” Who better to stop a fight than a hero of justice? “We have to save our energy for the Forest of Illusion. I get that you’re tired from the flight, but let’s all get along, okay?”

  Both glared at Galene for a moment. They were tired of her shit, that’s what they were. The common enemy brought them together, but for the others, Galene came off as a charismatic mediator. How nice for her…

  “Let’s all find an inn to check in before it’s too late.”

  …

  We went into town, and it didn’t take long before the suspicious glances turned into a welcoming crowd. Mostly because Abby bragged about Galene to the first person we talked to.

  The town, while big, was nowhere near the size of Ebrilyon or even Rocky Ridges. It didn’t have walls, and its only inn didn’t have a lot of rooms. Four rooms for the eight of us. The only thing left was to discuss how they’d be distributed.

  “Two people per room, right?” In the middle of the corridor, Galene dangled one of the keys while waiting for confirmation. “I guess Abby and I will stay together.”

  “Yeah… Sounds good.” No one opposed them, and they went into their room for now.

  “Can I have a key too? I’d love to take a nap before dinner.” Next in line was Flanne. “It’s not every day I’m allowed to nap as I please.”

  “Sure. Here you go.” I offered her a key.

  “Thanks. Who am I going to be sharing a room with?”

  A good question. No one knew exactly what to say. Ririna and Sarasa would probably like to stay together. Carol staying with Hecate feels natural too. Following that logic… “I guess it would be me.”

  “Absolutely not.” There were objections this time. Carol immediately grabbed my wrist. The others were all behind Carol, seemingly agreeing with her.

  “Ehh?” Why? Do they have something else in mind? Flanne stared too.

  “We’ll tell you later, so go and take a nap for now.”

  “I see… You need time to discuss things. No problem. Feel free to knock whenever you decide.” Flanne walked away.

  “…” After she was gone, I turned to Carol. “What’s the problem? You stay with Hecate, and Ririna and Sarasa stay together. It makes sense, right?”

  “You wish… We let you stay in the same room as her, and we’ll wake up next morning with you telling us you got a new lover. It’s not gonna be that easy.”

  “I wasn’t thinking that at all, and it was never going to happen. Flanne’s pretty, but we don’t have anything going on between us. She would have no reason to accept a confession from me.”

  “Or so you think. You can never truly know what goes on in someone else’s heart, can you? I think Carol has the right idea by not even giving you the chance to be alone.”

  Very convincing coming from the girl whose biggest reason to love me is the color of my hair. Flanne could turn out like that too.

  “And you’re forgetting something else too.” Carol crossed her arms. The next words were forced out. “Since this is a good opportunity, I don’t want you sleeping with anyone other than me…”

  “Ohh…” That’s true… Nothing beats rolling around in bed with my lovely girlfriends…

  “Hey, pause right there. Why do you get to sleep with her? I also wanna sleep with Iroha!”

  “Me too.”

  “Me three!”

  Ririna, Hecate, and Sarasa. One after the other. “Seriously? What now? I can’t pick just one of you…”

  “Nyahahaha… We wouldn’t be in this predicament if you could.” One of the keys spun around in Sarasa’s finger. When did she take that? “But don’t worry! I took a peek inside. And you can fit 3 people in a room if you push the beds together.”

  “That doesn’t solve the problem… I’d still have to leave two of you out, and…” They were all eager to be the ones picked. I can’t do that to them… “I don’t think any of you are volunteering to stay in the other room…”

  “I’m staying with you, and that’s final!” Carol was not backing down.

  “Could we move the beds from the other room and connect the four beds?” Hecate looked for an answer, but Sarasa shot her down.

  “I don’t think so. Dragging around the beds would make a ruckus.”

  “If that’s the case, I may have a solution…” Ririna fished through her pockets and fished out an egg. “Tada~! A furniture egg! An alchemist tool used to move heavy furniture around easily. Tap an object with the egg, and it will miniaturize into the egg. Tap again on the destination to pop the furniture out!”

  “Oh… What a resourceful girl you are… You always have something for every situation, don’t you?” Hecate put into words what we were all thinking. How does she always have stuff like that? And why does it seem like it happens more when it’s to further our antics?

  “Well, let’s get to work then.” Sarasa snatched the egg from Ririna’s fingers. “How does this work? Smack it against the bed?”

  “No! Tap it! As much force as you’d use to crack an egg. It’s shaped like an egg for some reason.”

  …

  Work was done. There was still some time before dinner, so we took the time to laze around. We lay down on the improvised harem-sized bed to heal our weary butts. A great moment of relaxation until…

  *Knock knock*

  Who’s gonna answer it? To my left and my right were girls with lazy and indulgent smiles. They have no intention of getting up, do they? Guess I have no choice…

  “Galene? What’s up?”

  “Hi, we just wanted to tell you how… Wait, did you move the beds from the other room? Why are all five of you in there?”

  Crap… I was so spaced out that I forgot to hide it. “Nyahaha! There’s nothing weird about it. We thought we’d discuss our strategy today, and it just happened. Think of it as a command center.” Sarasa jumped in for the save, blocking the view from the outside.

  “A command center… That’s so cool…” Abby muttered to herself before looking up at Galene. She’s so short I didn’t see her. “We should do that too!”

  Galene patted Abby’s head through her hat. “I don’t think a party of eight needs two command centers…” That’s her takeaway?

  “Either way, don’t mind us. What were you going to say?”

  “Well… Abby and I are going out tonight. Apparently, there’s a festival going on in this town, and we’ve been invited as guests of honor. The locals swung by earlier and really insisted on our participation, saying it was fate we arrived at their humble town today.”

  “Hmph! It’s only natural for them to show respect to the Hero! It’s a burden for us, but sometimes we have to make some sacrifices for the sake of people, right?” Abby pretended to be annoyed, but she must be excited to be the center of attention.

  “More or less…” If it’d make her happy, Galene nodded along. “Since we’re going, we were thinking we could all go together. We can get something to eat there and spend some time together. What do you say?”

  Sounds fun… “We’re in!”