*Whistle!*

  “Hop on Hecate and hold on. You really don’t want to fall once we take flight…”

  On the grassy plains just outside the wall of Rocky Ridges, a translucent blue gryphon stood tall as two girls climbed onto its back.

  She held my extended hand from the ground, but she was having a hard time visualizing how this would work. “Hmm… I don’t think I can do this in this dress… Do I have to change? I really don’t like going out without a proper dress.”

  “No no no… Don’t change… It’d ruin your gimmick.” And character gimmicks are the most important thing! Jokes aside, I didn’t expect this to be this much of a problem. “Can you pull up your skirt?”

  “Like a harlot?!” She reacted like it was the most insulting thing she had ever heard. “Please, Iroha… Don’t suggest something like that… I’d rather be seen naked.”

  Now I’m the one offended. “Let me repeat what you said. Don’t suggest something like that! That’s for my eyes only!”

  “Oh…” Her hand playfully covered her mouth and giggled. “Of course. My mistake. What if I were to sit sideways? Would that work? Like how a princess would.”

  “Normally, I’d tell you not to since you would fall for sure, but since we’re riding together, I’ll hold you.”

  “Like a knight escorting the princess… How fitting.” Hecate finally climbed up and sat in front of me. “Hold me properly, Iroha… My knight…”

  I slid an arm around her waist and embraced her tightly. Flying in these things is awfully dangerous, and the last thing I want is for something bad to happen to my precious Hecate… “How’s this? Ready for takeoff?”

  “Are you two done flirting yet?” That lashing voice came from yet another girl. A smaller girl, standing next to the gryphon with her arms crossed. “Why is it that you can never do anything without flirting to no end first? Is it a disease? Are you gonna die if you do literally anything without a good dose of flirting first?!”

  “Carol…” I forgot she was here too for a second… She doesn’t need to ruin our fun. “Not like you complain when it’s between the two of us.”

  I felt like being a bit mean today.

  “What?! It’s totally different when it’s us! You don’t do it with me as much! And if you did, I would call you out! I’d smack you if you held me like that!” She pointed at Hecate’s waist while making excuses.

  “Would you…?” Drawing out the last word, Hecate grinned. “Why don’t we put that theory to the test? There’s still room for one more, so why don’t you join us, Carol? Let’s see how you react if you were actually close to us…”

  It’s at times like these that I’m reminded that Hecate’s a clever thing… She’s just like me, as in, she also likes multiple girls. This is a clever two-for-one suggestion where we both get to enjoy more Carol and everyone grows closer…

  We’d be above the gryphon’s weight limit, but let’s ignore that for now.

  “Die! Shut up and die!” Her face became bright red, and she ran off while screaming obscenities. “I hope you fall midflight and die!”

  “Sorry, Carol! Wait for us near the fast-travel station, okay?” I shouted at her back, and I’m not sure she heard me. Rocky Ridges gate is up ahead. She knows where she’s going.

  “Did we go too far, Hecate?”

  “It’s fine. Just give her a nice hug when we meet up.” I- is it that simple?

  …

  To the skies!

  It was finally time to clean up some loose ends. Expanding Hecate’s fast-travel network, updating Ririna and Sarasa on what happened, and gifting a special thing to a certain someone…

  We told Katja and Narumi about this world in our conversation yesterday, but we ended up not telling them that we had been coming to this world. Katja was a bit overwhelmed, and it just seemed like too much to dump on her all at once.

  Hecate’s flight was as chaotic as it was with the others, but she was particularly chaotic after we landed.

  “Wait, Iroha. Give me a moment. My hair… my dress… it’s all disheveled now! I can let anyone see me like this!”

  We were once again standing around on grassy fields next to the walls of a city, but this time, we were in Ebrilyon and not Rocky Ridges. Though, the terrain wasn’t as flat, and there were plenty of hills behind us.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  “Ah! Your hair’s disheveled too!” Hecate rushed to grab my shoulders. “We can’t have that. We can have your precious hair looking like that. Let me take care of it for you~”

  She carried a brush with her and got to work. I couldn’t see her while she was behind me, but I could feel that she had the biggest grin on her face.

  “For me or for yourself? You know, maybe Carol was right… Maybe we do flirt too much.” Though I made no effort to stop her.

  “Nonsense! I could give her the benefit of the doubt before, but maintaining your hair is of the utmost importance!”

  “Ahahaha… Katja would probably take a rare jab at you if she heard that… ‘Where’s your sense of duty?’ or something like that.”

  She put her brush away when she was satisfied. Patted her dress thoroughly. And did a little twirl to show off. We then went into the city. Right by the fast-travel station, there she was…

  “Carol! I missed you so much!”

  “Wha?!” She was immediately flustered, but a smile formed on her face. “What are you…?! Let go of me!”

  Maybe Hecate was right… She was back to normal… I let her go like she wanted, but she was not the only one there…

  “Sarasa, I missed you so much!”

  “Wait! That wasn’t me telling you to go hug her, you idiot!”

  “Ririna, I missed you so much!”

  “The person you do it to is not the problem! Stop clinging to people!”

  “*Sigh…* What a fussy girlfriend you’ve turned out to be…” She clenched her fist like she wanted to punch me. I took a step back, hiding behind the other two. “S- so…? How are you two doing?”

  “We’re losing…” Sarasa said with a worried voice. “You are way more energetic than us! Quick, Ririna! Do something funny! Drink that potion that turns people into sheep!”

  Ririna (Sheep ver.)TM, finally! Just what the people have been asking for!

  “That doesn’t exist!”

  And the crowd wept…

  “That’s okay… We’re still losing, but at least the snappy reply puts us back in the game.”

  “Great… Now I don’t know who’s worse… The flirty half or the stupid half? Can we just get to the point?”

  “Okay okay… Here we are, Hecate. Welcome to Ebrilyon.” Clapping here was funny, and we non-grumpy girls did. “How are you liking it so far?”

  “It’s certainly more impressive than the other town… Taller, sharper buildings. Cleaner too. When I imagine fantasy medieval cities, I imagine something like this.”

  “Nyahahaha! You like it? If you even want a tour, you just need to ask!” Sarasa selflessly stepped forward, offering her help. How nice of her… “I might need something in return though… Anything from your world will do, okay? The stranger, the better.” Of course…

  Our next destination was that one park with the beautiful garden. The one with the statue that seems framed by plants and flowers from every angle. It was a good opportunity to show Hecate around, for free, and there were seats for us to talk. The side paths were quiet, and it had become a bit of a hangout spot for us lately.

  “Now this is a good place to take some pictures…” Hecate stopped in front of some flowers and posed. Cute, elegant, and a bit chilling. An imposing beauty in a goth-loli dress in a mysterious garden. “What do you think? It fits me, doesn’t it?”

  “Ohhh… It does…! You really wanna take some photos? I’ll do it!”

  Hecate giggled. “Go ahead. We can show them to Katja later.”

  “That doesn’t sound like it’d end well…”

  “And it will be your job to explain.” Carol rested her arm on my shoulder and grinned. “We’re counting on you. You’ll find a way.”

  “Is this payback?” I looked at Carol and put the phone away. “We’ll leave the photos for another day, okay…? The memory is good enough for now.” Hecate replied with a smile and a nod.

  The path we were on led to a dead end where we could talk without interruptions. It was a small octagonal plaza surrounded by flowery bushes. We settled on the benches in three of the four cardinal directions.

  Carol and I on one side. Sarasa and Ririna on the other. And Hecate had the last bench all to herself.

  “So yeah… The situation with the monsters created from objects is more or less dealt with. We found who the culprit was, but we failed to capture her…” I got Sarasa and Ririna up to speed.

  “No way… It’s done?” Ririna asked with a panicked voice. “And after I went through the trouble of making this to help…” Ririna held out a talisman of sorts in her hand.

  “You wanted to help, didn’t you? Sorry… Things aren’t exactly done as long as she’s out in the wild, but we already figured out who it is…” That’s the reason she took the keychain. To make something to help us find the one responsible for the monsters. “By the way… what does that do?”

  “It’s a device meant to help locate monsters similar to the one created from the keychain. If a monster like it is nearby, it will start shaking to warn the user.”

  “Hmm…” I looked at the talisman… “Wait, isn’t that still helpful? Ayumu can make portals, and she’s probably going to return at some point… She’s probably going to lay low, but if her monsters start roaming around, we’ll have something to warn us.”

  “That’s a good point…” Carol agreed. “Just because she escaped, it doesn’t mean it’s the last we’ll see of her…”

  Much to the contrary, if her last words are to be believed.

  “Well… You can take it then…” Ririna handed me the talisman. “It’s not like it does anything else.”

  “Thanks.” I smiled, and she smiled back. “That’s what happened on our side, but what about yours? Did you talk to Galene, Sarasa…?” I was nervous just asking.

  “I tried… I even had a sob story about you in my head, but she didn’t come to Ebrilyon…”

  “Whew… Now I’m really glad that you didn’t.”

  She wasn’t offended and giggled instead. She was messing with me, huh? “Still, I gathered something important. The princess wasn’t lying about helping you make up with her. She asked Galene to come to Ebrilyon, and people are saying she’s going to make a return. You’ll probably get a chance to talk to her.”

  “Bea did all that… Should I actually talk to her, though? I don’t understand why she was so mad last time… The wolves we spared the undead ones were completely different… Why would she blame me for what happened?”

  “That’s why you should talk to her. She’s clearly in the wrong, and she has probably realized it now that she has cleared her head.” Sarasa eased my worries. “If you’re unsure, why not ask the princess what she thinks?”

  Talk to Bea… “That’s a good idea… I’ll try that. Thanks for the help. I actually got a gift for you to thank you for everything…” I pulled out the gift from my pocket and extended my hand.

  “What’s that black slab…?” She gasped. “Wait… Is that the phone?! Can I have it? Really?”

  “Sure! I got it for you after all.” I switched benches and squeezed next to Sarasa. “I’ll give you a rundown of how it works, but the most important thing is that you don’t use the internet.”

  “Mhh?” Her head tilted to the side. “What’s that? Why not?”

  “Don’t ask questions, don’t talk about it. It’s dangerous for you, so don’t go on it, okay?” I was worried about her seeing the ridiculous shit online, but in her case, there’s a more pressing concern. “Also, don’t even think about selling it! Absolutely don’t, or I’ll make sure you regret it!”

  “He- hey…” She turned away, to Ririna next to her, squeamish. “Didn’t that sound kinda kinky?”

  “Stop messing around and promise me you won’t sell it!”

  “Not even if I’m about to starve?” She looked back at me with puppy eyes. You’re a cat, goddammit!

  “If you were starving, you’d be better off calling me to come give you some food… Though, I guess if you really can’t reach me, you can… I’d rather you sell it than die.”

  “Thanks! You’re the best! But are you sure I can’t sell it? Think about it. I think I could get a fortune for this… Couldn’t you get another one if I gave you the money?”

  “No! Your money is worthless in our world! I bought that with the money I saved from risking my life fighting monsters… Don’t turn it into paperweight coins…”

  Even if she got me gold or gems, it’d be impossible to sell due to their dubious origins, so no thanks.

  “Alright, alright…” Sarasa finally gave up. “I’ll save it only for when I’m starving. Thanks…” She showed me a genuine smile. “Now, how does it work? Tell me!”

  “First you have to turn it on… See this button right here…”

  It took a while, but I eventually got through to her. I explained only the things she should be using and eventually created a group chat with her and Sarasa.

  The loose ends were tied, but now I worried about what would come next.

  Are we going to keep aiming for the demon territory? The force bringing our worlds together is there, and if we don’t stop it, our worlds will merge, resulting in a big catastrophe…

  Then there’s the separator… We know very little about them, but apparently there’s someone trying to do the opposite… Pushing the two worlds as far apart as possible. Do they know about the chaos that merging both worlds would cause? Are they on our side? No… Separating the worlds too much would return their world to fiction, essentially erasing it… I could never call that an ally.

  And with Ayumu on the loose, how can we do anything without constantly worrying when she’ll attack again? She wasn’t done with me… She said it herself…

  This is too much for a single head to figure out… I need to talk to someone… Someone who understands and can fill in the gaps for me… So the next morning…

  “Endell… Can we talk?”