This is my second walk through Three Records in two days. Yesterday, we were looking for a monster that turned out to be a cat. Today, I’m here with Ririna! No specific goal in mind, merely out for a walk.

  I thought I should do something for her, to cheer her up and help her with her alchemy. No idea what just yet… But hopefully spending some time together inspires her.

  That was my idea, but for some reason… “Ririna? Is everything okay?”

  She was lagging behind. Her posture was stiff and her steps awkward. What’s wrong? She was wearing the clothes I got her the other day… Did they shrink?

  “It’s… uhh… Sorry…” I looked over my shoulder, and she averted her gaze.

  “What? What are you apologizing for? I don’t get it.”

  “Didn’t you bring me here because I broke our promise? I’m sure you did. You’re mad, aren’t you? I’m sorry…”

  This was getting too confusing, and I had to stop and turn. She was hanging her head and wouldn’t look me in the eye. “I’m not mad. What did you do that would make me mad? I still don’t get it.”

  “Aren’t you mad I saw the internet? Sarasa told you I was with her, didn’t she? It was framed as an invitation to hang out, but even I can read between the lines. You brought me to your world to punish me… Punish me how people are usually punished in your world…”

  “Ririna…” Sigh… I can’t… “You’re so wrong… So wrong that I didn’t know it was possible to be that wrong. How did you reach that conclusion? How?”

  “Well… It was Sarasa… She came to me crying, told me all about the terrible things you did to teach her a lesson. If I could be allowed to negotiate my sentence, I’d be fine with the touchier ones, but please spare me the painful punishments.”

  “…” Th- that bitch!! “That was all a lie, Ririna! Don’t fall for her crap! I didn’t do anything! You should know better than just to take her at face value! Come on…”

  “Yo- you didn’t do anything?” Light slowly returned to her eyes. “Now that you mention it… It did sound kinda fake…”

  “It’s obviously a lie! You know me, Ririna. I would never do something like that to someone I love… Some kissing and cuddling to get back at one of you, sure… But I would never hurt anyone.”

  Her face suddenly turned into a tomato. “You mean you actually did the naughty punishments!? That was way too far even for you! Did you really?”

  “Nothing that would warrant that reaction…” Just what ideas did Sarasa put into her head? “All I did was yell at her while shaking her shoulders. I don’t know what you’ve heard, but everything else is a lie.”

  “Huh… Okay… That sounds a lot more realistic… When you messaged me all of a sudden, I was sure it was because I was next.”

  “No… In hindsight, maybe it wasn’t that big of a deal… Besides, I bet it wasn’t even your fault you ended up going on the internet.” Looks like I hit the nail on the head, as she vigorously nodded while walking next to me. “I wanted to see you because Sarasa told me you were having problems with the alchemists’ guild. Are you okay?”

  Her smile grew a bit awkward and she looked away again. “Ahahahaha… Everything is fine… She ended up telling you that, huh? I didn’t want to bother you.”

  “It’s not a bother… You’re my girlfriend, remember? You can always speak to me.”

  Ririna nodded with a smile. “Long story short, the guild claimed I was dead which revoked my apprenticeship. I’ve returned to the guild but the new administration says they can do anything because the headquarters at Azcester refuse to respond.”

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  “Azcester… The former head of the guild escaped there… Is that his doing?” We had no way of knowing, and anything I said amounted to nothing but speculation. “Maybe Bea was right, and it would have been better to save you in another way. Sorry…”

  Ririna took a few steps forward and stopped in front of me. “Are you kidding? If you had taken any longer, I would have died.” She quietly stared at me for a second. “You were right to act when you did. You didn’t do anything wrong. Don’t even question yourself!”

  “Right…” She gave me some space to breath. I almost forgot how things played out back then. “I ended up cutting it close back then, didn’t I?”

  “You did, but you don’t need to blame yourself for anything. I was very happy that you came to save me.” She returned to my side with a light step, and we continued our walk. “Sure, I’m having some problems now, but those will be solved one day if we keep trying. I’m sure we’ll come up with something. Especially now that I’ve ended up telling you about it.” A relieved sigh escaped her lips.

  “You know what, I think you’re totally right! I talked to Bea yesterday, and she gave you permission to browse the castle’s library for alchemy books.”

  “What? Really?! You’ve done that for me?”

  “Did I say too much? Flanne was willing to help after she heard what happened.” Provided it results in more free time for her.

  “Wow… I guess there’s no point in refusing now. Still… Me going to the castle? I’m a little nervous now.” She grabbed the collar of her large shirt to fan herself. “I’ll have to thank everyone properly.”

  “They’re all nice girls. I’m sure they’re happy to help… Speaking of which, maybe there’s one more way I can help. What if you used the internet to help you with your alchemy research?”

  “Would that work? Are you sure, though? Weren’t you worried about me using the internet?”

  “Not really… It was more about me not wanting to dump too much on you right off the bat. If I teach you how to use it properly, it should be fine.” There was a bench nearby that we could use while I explained. “Come.”

  After sitting down, Ririna pulled out her phone and placed it between us.

  “Wait. I know I just suggested it, but I’m not sure it will be helpful.”

  “Just tell me what you had in mind, and I’ll tell you if it’s helpful or not.” Ririna leaned over, slowly getting more and more curious. “Don’t hold back now.”

  “Alchemy requires magic, right?” She nodded. “And as you know, there’s no magic in our world… If you were to search for alchemy, all you’d find would be fictional stories and myths.”

  “I see… Those can be useful. Just because the people of your world can’t put the knowledge into practice, doesn’t mean I can’t. Fiction is more unreliable, but I might still be able to learn. What else?!”

  “Well… The main thing I was thinking could be helpful is our science. There are a lot of things in our world that don’t exist in yours. You can learn as much as you want about them on the internet.” Would that help…? I didn’t even need to ask…

  “The phone has information about all that?! How do I do that? Tell me! Iroha, tell me! I’ll do anything!” She was practically slobbering.

  “Ahahahaha… I will. Don’t worry. Just don’t go too overboard.”

  I taught her what I knew and what I didn’t know. Truth be told, the information she wants is not the kind of thing I’ve ever searched for before. I had to first search how to search for those, which was a bit awkward with her watching, but it got the job done.

  We spent around an hour at that bench on a street near the dorm, and she said she learned more than she had in years.

  Unfortunately, she was missing something to take notes in, so she rushed back to jot down everything before she forgot. I told her to use her phone to take notes, but apparently learning that would have made her forget other stuff. How analog of her.

  Well, baby steps and all that.

  …

  And all of a sudden, I found myself with some unexpected free time. It’s been a long time since that happened. I returned to my place, pressed a few buttons and turned on my gaming devices.

  How nostalgic… What should I play today? My backlog has gotten pretty big, hasn’t it? The curtains were adjusted to let some light into the room. I like having a bit of natural light, but I don’t need the full force of the summer sun turning my room into a furnace.

  “This is the life… Ahhh…” I closed my eyes and stretched. It felt nice, but spending my free time leaning back on my chair would be a waste. “Let’s see… This one should be good.”

  I booted up a new game and in around ten minutes, I went through the tutorial and initial cutscenes. There’s nothing like sinking your teeth into a new game. The first few hours where you learn about a brand-new world and game elements are the best! Just goes to show how much of a child I still am given how excited I get over getting new toys. Sigh… How embarrassing!

  Unfortunately, I don’t make it far past the tutorial before I’m interrupted…

  *Bzzzzt…*

  “A call?” Again? “Who is it this time… Narumi, huh?” I dragged my finger across the screen. “Hello?”

  “Iroha? Hi! It’s me, Narumi!” A cheerful voice greeted me through the speakers.

  “That’s what I would expect from the number that called me, but thanks for clarifying. I can scratch ‘call for a ransom’ from the possibilities list now. What’s up?”

  She laughed at that, then answered. “So… Uhmm… Can you come pick me up?”

  Huh? “What am I? Your mom?”

  “Well…” I heard the kind of deep breath that preceded a winding explanation. “I’ve been looking into maps of Three Records to try to find patterns in false sightings of monsters, but I didn’t find anything. The only thing is that, when looking into the past few years, there have been more cases recently, even before Ayumu’s monsters entered into the data.”

  “Did someone ask you to do that? Good job, I guess…” More monster sightings recently are probably related to the boundary between the worlds getting weaker. Not sure I needed more confirmation, but here it is. “How does that relate to me picking you up? What does that mean?”

  “Oh… Right… It’s just that thinking about previous cases got me thinking about the fish civilization we met at the harbor, and now I’m worried. What if the loss in manpower we caused leads to their downfall…? Can I come over to sleep with you?”

  “You want me to bring you to my place?”

  “Yeah!”

  “No way…” I said on instinct, still stunned. There’s no way! No no no no no… It’s just not happening! I can’t!

  “Ehhh? Why not? I wanna see where you live. Why? You promised I could sleep with you.” Not sure that was the promise, but whatever. I need a good excuse.

  “It’s just… Boring… There’s nothing to see. I don’t wanna bother you by coming all the way here. If you wanna sleep together, I’ll go to the dorm. You can’t complain about that.”

  “I guess… But now I wanna see your room. *sigh…*”

  She conceded. I win. “That’s too bad. I’m heading there right away, so don’t move!”

  “Fine… See you soon.”

  And like that, I ran out of my apartment. Feels like I’m getting dragged all over the place recently.