Miyuki and I are a thing now, huh? Still can’t believe it… She needs some time before we start dating for real, but after those kisses… Who can say?

  A few days have passed and things went back to normal. I’ve been going to school like normal and treating Miyuki as a friend like I did before. I don’t like keeping this a secret from the others, but since we’re not gonna be doing anything behind their backs, it shouldn’t be that bad.

  What I have been doing behind the others’ backs is texting Ririna. A lot! She’s gotten the hang of it, and it’s really nice getting to talk to her whenever I want. It’s really nice, but… It’s not enough!

  “Carol, I’m going to the other world today.” I was hanging out alone with her in the dorm’s main hall after coming back from school. I didn’t need to tell her, but… knowing her… she’s probably gonna want to come along…

  “Is that so? I’m going with you.” Yep, of course she is. It’s better to just tell her than get into trouble ter.

  Things with Carol have been particurly nice tely. My disappearance with Miyuki the other day didn’t sour that. After Ririna returned to her world, I invited Carol to my room in the dorm to give her the nine kisses she won. Ever since then, I’ve been even super attached to her… She’s so soft and huggable… How am I supposed not to get hooked?!

  But whatever. My feelings for the others haven’t changed. No matter how much Carol tries to seduce me, I still love Hecate, Ririna, and Miyuki! I see Hecate and Miyuki basically every single day, but Ririna, not so much. That’s why I have to go there today!

  I probably couldn’t handle long-distance retionships, huh?

  “Let’s go together then.” I smiled at Carol. “If you’re ready, I want to leave right away.”

  “Leave?” Hecate elegantly walked in from the hallway. She saw us sitting on the couch and leaned on it. “Are you perhaps talking about going beyond the edges of our realm?”

  “Hecate… That’s some ridiculous timing…” Carol looked at her sideways.

  “Yep! Wanna come with us?” Carol may not want interruptions, but I’m the opposite. I love all my girls so… “The more, the merrier!”

  “I could certainly accompany you. I haven’t been there since our first visit, so there’s still plenty for me to see.”

  “Ah, wait… That might not work… I told Ririna I’d meet her in Ebrilyon.”

  “Ebrilyon…? What’s that? What’s the problem?”

  “It’s another city… We have to use fast travel to get there, but you can only fast travel if you’ve been to a pce before. It wouldn’t be possible for you…” I looked away from her and shook my head. This is pretty inconvenient… Just because Hecate wasn’t with us back then, now it’s much harder for her to accompany us.

  “Took us a few days to get there by carriage… That’s too bad for you.” Carol leaned back on the couch. She’s gd to have less competition.

  “That’s when you two were gone for a while, wasn’t it? It wasn’t that long ago. It’s a shame I was too te to have joined you.” Hecate shrugged, understanding that some things are just out of her control.

  “Maybe we could take a van to the other world… Maybe not… The portal’s not that big.” I wanted to come up with some type of solution, but it would take time regardless.

  “Please, Iroha… Just imagining getting that through a portal is giving me a headache. Wouldn’t a bike be enough?”

  “A bike would work for Hecate, but what about when there’s more of us?”

  “Huh?” Carol immediately sat up straight. “What do you mean by ‘more’? You pnning on ying your hands on someone else? Care to expin?”

  “Hah hah hah!” Hecate cut in with an exaggerated, sophisticated ugh. “A dy shouldn’t make a fuss that easily, Carol. Either way, you don’t need to worry about me. I still have my duties to do, so I couldn’t be away for too long. If you eventually find a solution, I’ll be gd to accompany you.” Hecate walked away from the couch, then stopped. We were supposed to leave, so Carol and I stood up. “Will you be back for dinner?”

  “Maybe? We’re not pnning on staying the night there.” We stopped near the door. Carol nodded, agreeing with what I said.

  “Very well. I’ll be waiting for your return then.” Hecate smiled.

  …

  A stalwart statue surrounded by flowers and beautiful trees. Perfectly framed by nature from every angle. This garden was one of Ebrilyon’s ndmarks and was occasionally used as a meeting point for people from different pces.

  Ririna sat on a bench nearby, casually enjoying the breeze and the view. Standing close to her was a bck-haired girl with cat ears. She had gaudy, golden accessories and gestured energetically while they talked.

  “Oh, no! Your precious Ririna is already cheating on you!” Carol said ironically. “You should break up with her right away. Don’t be scared. I got your back.” She tapped my back.

  “Shut up… I’m not breaking up with her. That’s Sarasa. She’s a friend of ours. Ririna isn’t doing anything wrong.” Right…?

  I shook my head and hurried my pace. “Ririna, Sarasa, hi there! It’s been a while.” They looked my way and saw me wave before I joined them.

  “Hmm… No clinging today… Interesting…” Carol… She followed a little behind me. Her hands were behind her back, and she looked away nonchantly.

  “Iroha, Carol! It’s nice to see you!” Ririna remained seated but looked at me with a genuine smile. Looks like she’s holding back with Sarasa around too. It’s a shame I can’t go for a hug, but it’d be too embarrassing in front of her.

  “Hi hi!” Sarasa wildly waved her hands. “Long time no see, Iroha! I’m gd you’re still kicking!” She then leaned with one hand on her hip and the other on her chin, looking at Carol. “And you’re the Carol I’ve heard so much about… Hmm…”

  “Hmph!” She crossed her arms and raised her chin, acting like a big shot. “That’s me, Carol Angelis. Who are you supposed to be?”

  But just as Carol finished saying, Sarasa disappeared. She wasn’t the least bit intimidated by Carol’s attitude. She crouched behind her and poked her belly from the side. “Really? You don’t seem that strong to me…”

  “!!?!?” Carol’s face rapidly turned red. “Die!” She unsheathed her sword and swung at Sarasa, holding nothing back.

  “Oup…” We heard the sound of her nding as she crouched behind Carol’s other side, poking her again. “Did you really take down a demon base on your own? Really?”

  “You’re dead meat!” Carol swung her sword again and burst into a dash, chasing down Sarasa. “I’m gonna rip those stupid ears off!”

  Sarasa ran my away, and started running around me to escape Carol. “Nyahahahah! How scary… I better not get caught!”

  “What’s wrong? Don’t you wanna see how strong I am? Stop hopping, around and you’ll see. Who do you think you’re messing with?”

  Their back and forth went on for a while, and with Sarasa’s agility, there was no way Carol was catching her. Even for me, it wasn’t exactly easy, unless… Agility Burst. I rapidly reached forward and grabbed the colr of Sarasa’s orange top.

  “That’s enough… Sarasa, stop being rude, and Carol, calm down.” I stretched my other arm to stop Carol.

  “Nice, Iroha!” Ririna cheered. “But hand her to Carol. Sarasa loves nothing more than pushing people’s buttons, so it’s good for her to get a beating every once in a while!” She nodded with a smile. Has my Ririna always been that cruel?

  “Geh?!” I was lifting Sarasa by the colr, and she wobbled slightly back and forth. “You’re betraying me? Your bestie? Whatever happened to you?!” Like a curled-up kitten, she looked at me next, acting cutesy. “You’ll protect me, right, Iroha? You wouldn’t hand me over to that monster, will you?” Maybe Ririna has a point…

  “*Sigh…*” I hear Carol behind me put her sword away. “What an idiot. Not even worth my time…” She took a few steps back and looked at the dangling girl with disgust.

  “Well… Looks like you’re safe for today.” I put Sarasa down and let go of her. “But you better apologize to Carol.”

  “Roger that!” She did an exaggerated salute and then bowed briefly to Carol. “I sincerely regret my actions. Won’t happen again. Just needed to test Ririna’s new friend. Sorry!” Hard to tell if she meant it or not with that smile on her face. Carol scoffed at her. Seems like she’s not interested in doing anything to her anymore, so we’ll leave it at that.

  “Where were you, Sarasa? We could have used your help a while ago.” I asked.

  “Me? I had to take care of some stuff back at home. Don’t worry about it.” She tapped my shoulder before continuing. “But I heard you got up to some interesting stuff while I was away. How many demons did you get? I didn’t know you were strong enough for that.”

  “I got all of them, I think. I wasn’t really counting, so I couldn’t tell you.”

  “That’s the spirit! You even got the right attitude down, acting like it was no big deal. You should really become an adventurer for real. You’ll get famous in no time!”

  “I don’t think so. That doesn’t really matter to me.” At best, the adventurers’ guild grants money and fame. I’m just here for girls, so I really don’t care.

  “That’s not possible… Everyone wants to be famous, right?” She pulled back with a quizzical look. “Why did you go through all that for then?”

  “You know the demons were trying to harm Ririna, right? I don’t need a reason if it’s to help a friend.”

  “You went that far just to help a friend… Hmmm… You sure…? Maybe there’s something else you’re not telling me…” Sarasa looked at me with a grin on her face. That smile… What’s that supposed to mean?

  “No… There’s nothing else…”

  “Really really?” Sarasa didn’t give up and inched even closer.

  “I- if someone I care about is in trouble, I’ll do whatever I can to help. There doesn’t need to be anything else going on. If someone’s important to me, I want them to be happy. Isn’t that normal?”

  “I see… You’ve got a good heart then. I’ve got nothing else to say then.” Sarasa nodded her head, then looked at both Carol and Ririna. “Hey, why are you two blushing?” Damn, they’re giving it away.

  Sarasa shrugged her shoulders and turned to me again. “Anyway, I’m really lucky I met someone like you. I really respect that you think like that. You see, I’ve been looking for someone who is strong but also trustworthy. It also helps if they’re someone who knows how to have fun. You fit the bill perfectly!”

  “I- is that so…? Somehow, you’re worrying me.” She seems way too enthusiastic… Just what is she thinking?

  “Nyahahahahahahaha! There’s no need for that! You don’t have anything to worry about. I just want to ask you for a little favor…”

  Bam100