Sure, everything’s been moving too fast all of a sudden, huh? Woosh
Well, I mean, it’s okay if it goes fast. It’s better to move along a bit quicker than to just drag it out forever. Tick-tock
The problem is when the story doesn’t unfold the way I think it should. Duh!
Thinking about it, it makes sense. Claire used that device when she came over from there. I didn’t expect it could summon someone from that side, but it could happen. Zap!
Anyway, it’s a device that was made to steal the goddess’s power, right? It actually succeeded to some extent. Ta-da!
“So, we’re….”
Charlotte said, slowly circling the room and examining everything. Swoosh
“You mean this is where you lived before coming to Azernar? For sure, I can see that the things here look like they belong to a different world. I’ve never seen items like these where I lived.” Wow!
Charlotte’s gaze landed for a moment on Claire’s smartphone. Blink!
By the way, we just set down the bags we were carrying on our backs. I’ve gotten used to changing clothes in front of Claire and Alice, but I’ve never done that in front of Charlotte or Mia. Peep!
But looking closely, it feels like it should be Charlotte and Mia who need to change clothes. Hmmm…
Neither of them had visible major injuries, but their outfits looked like rags, almost the same as when we crossed over. Wowza!
“… So, there’s one thing I’d like to ask.”
I spoke to Charlotte. Ding!
“How much time has passed over there since we disappeared?”
“Well…”
Charlotte squinted her eyes at us. Stare!
We were naturally wearing new clothes. After all, I didn’t want to wear clothes with holes in them. Although I might have forgotten about the clothes, looking at their condition, I honestly didn’t feel like wearing them any longer. Eh?
“Maybe five minutes? It’s been a short while since we realized you guys had disappeared and started searching.”
At Charlotte’s words, Alice, Claire, and I exchanged glances. Glimpse!
“I’d like to know the same thing. How long has it been since we came over?”
“… It’s been just a little over a month.”
“… What.”
Upon hearing my words, Charlotte closed her eyes and took a big breath. Inhale!
Then she opened her eyes and looked at Mia. Blink!
For reference, not just Charlotte but also me, Claire, and Alice felt the same way. Sigh!
“I-I don’t know! We were just investigating the remaining ruins!”
Under the gaze directed at her, Mia exclaimed, startled like a little animal caught off guard. Meow!
“Indeed, Mia and I were nearby.”
Charlotte said, seemingly recalling. Hmmm…
“We were investigating the device made to steal the goddess’s power when this incident happened.”
“… What the heck.”
“So…”
Charlotte said, pressing her eyelids down with her fingers. Press!
“That means you have been here for the past few weeks.”
“… .”
“And if things go wrong, we might have to spend even more time here.”
Uhh…
That’s, well, yeah. Sigh!
As we struggled to respond, Charlotte exhaled deeply. Whew!
*
Still, don’t you think we should at least sleep?
It was lucky that we hadn’t unfolded our blankets yet in our rush to leave. Otherwise, we’d have to prepare everything all over again for ourselves. Phew!
Of course, on top of that, I’d need to unpack the mess I had and change into something better for sleeping. Swoosh!
Charlotte and Mia were able to change only because we gave them our clothes. Pop!
Charlotte’s clothes fit somewhat like Alice’s… Mia at least wore clothes that matched Claire’s, but they hung loose like clothes a parent would buy for a kid about to start school, thinking they’d grow into them. Whomp!
I figured we would need to go shopping for clothes again soon. Ding!
Anyways, in this awkward atmosphere, the five of us sat facing each other. Sitting!
Fortunately, the size of the house was precariously okay. Honestly, it felt too cramped for five people, but at least we could manage to sleep. Zzz…
Anyone rolling over in their sleep might wake everyone up at once. Bump!
In fact, there was hardly even enough bedding.
Charlotte and Mia, of course, hadn’t prepared to sleep when they came over, and the three of us were also wide awake, so we decided to have a short chat first. Chat-cha-cha!
“You said magic isn’t used here?”
Thinking Mia, who has a talent for magic, would be disheartened by this, but instead, her eyes sparkled with interest. Glitter!
“But the lights here still shine, right?”
True. Hmm!
“We’re also not entirely sure about that, but at least this world hasn’t developed based on magic.”
“Oh…”
“Let’s take it step by step starting tomorrow.”
“You mean it’s not a monarchy?”
“Exactly.”
In response to Charlotte’s words, Alice chimed in. Ding!
“There are worlds without monarchies, and this country isn’t a monarchy either but a completely republic… I’ll tell you more about it tomorrow.”
Even though she learned about this later on herself, it seemed explaining it now made her head spin. Womp womp!
“…”
And again, there was an awkward silence. Awkward!
Um, how to put this…
I thought we’d be ecstatic to see each other again. Yay!
No, I mean, it was strange to say that. I was indeed happy, like really happy! Joy!
But you know, it’s like when a friend you haven’t talked to in ages suddenly pops up at your place and then says, “I’ll stay for a bit,” you’d feel a bit thrown off. Whoops!
When I was younger, like in college or my teenage years, I’d think that would be super fun, but unfortunately, even in this body, my soul still recognizes itself as thirty-something. Oof!
Yeah, right. Of course, they didn’t come here because they wanted to. Eh?
…
They didn’t want to come here. Right? Nod!
“No need to think too deeply about it.”
The one who broke the silence first was me. Dum dum!
“From what I gather, even if we spend some time here, I don’t think so much time will pass there that we won’t solve everything we need to over there.”
“That’s true.”
Charlotte said with a complicated expression, but I interrupted her with a raised hand. Chirp!
“Since you’re here, let’s make the best of it until you decide to leave. We can’t turn it back now, and judging by the situation, there doesn’t seem to be a way for you to go back for a while.”
“Sorry, sis…”
“It’s okay. It’s not Claire’s fault.”
To be precise, it’s the goddess’s fault. Ugh!
We’re not even sure if it was truly Claire’s fault that Zibo brought Charlotte and Mia here. The goddess could have been messing with us and ended up sending these two instead. Whoosh!
Without a way to communicate with the goddess, we couldn’t know her real intentions. Hmmm…
“And while the house is a bit cramped, I doubt it’ll be too bad living here.”
“… It does seem that way.”
Charlotte, suppressing a sigh, glanced at Alice. Look!
In reality, Alice appeared to have brightened up since coming here. It wasn’t just her mood but also her skin and hair—those parts that were already good before became even better. Shiny!
The skincare products or shampoos here are probably more advanced than anything in Azernar, but seeing Alice’s condition change so distinctly compared to Claire’s subtle change, it probably had a lot to do with ‘stress.’ Huh?
Especially from Charlotte’s perspective, the difference in Alice’s state from just five minutes ago felt very stark. Wowza!
Noticing Charlotte’s gaze, Alice seemed aware of this fact and looked away. Glance!
“Yeah, right! There are plenty of fun things to do here!”
“No, this isn’t exactly the time to be enjoying—”
Charlotte interrupted Claire, but suddenly… Growl!
“… .”
Not someone else, but a growl came from someone’s stomach, cutting her off mid-sentence. Rumble!
“… Ugh.”
As everyone’s gaze turned to Mia upon hearing that sound, her face slowly turned red. Blush!
Hmm.
After a final boss battle, it makes sense she might be hungry.
Mia usually eats a lot given her size, after all. Yum!
I slowly got up from my seat. Stand up!
There should still be something to eat in the kitchen cabinets. If we exclude my frequently eaten spicy instant food… there should have been a cream pasta meal kit. Yum yum!
“I’ll go grab something to eat.”
“Ah, no…!”
“Alright, I’ll help!”
“Sis, can I help?”
Nah, it’s just tearing open a meal kit and making it, so what could you possibly do? Huh?
… They definitely know it’s awkward being here with those two. Wink!
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