Two weeks after Rio departed from the spirit folk village...

Left behind in the Strahl region, Miharu and the others lived a completely peaceful life, leisurely waiting for Rio’s return. Presently, they were in the middle of a break from their language studies. Aishia and Masato were both taking a nap, while Miharu and Aki sat on the living room sofa sipping tea.

“I wonder if Haruto will be back soon...?” Miharu mumbled to herself. While her words were formed as a question, she was more or less speaking to herself.

Nonetheless, her mumbling still clearly reached Aki’s ears.

“Miharu, you’ve been saying the same thing for a few days now,” she said with a strained laugh.

For some reason, Miharu flinched. “Eh...? R-Really?” she asked in a high-pitched voice, inclining her head.

Miharu wasn’t quite sure why she flinched, but now that Aki had mentioned it, she had been finding herself thinking about Haruto out of the blue these days.

“...What’s wrong, Miharu?” Aki picked up on the delicate change in Miharu and watched her doubtfully.

“Nothing at all. Why?” Miharu put on a calm air and met Aki’s gaze. Aki didn’t seem entirely convinced, but changed the subject anyway. “It’s nothing... But I do wonder how long we’re going to live like this, yeah?”

“Umm, what do you mean by ‘like this’?” Miharu asked.

“We should have been middle school and high school students, you know? Masato only just reached the sixth grade, and our new school lives were meant to start... But now Takahisa and Satsuki are both gone, and we may never meet Mom and the others ever again. I don’t really know, but the longer this life continues, the more I feel like we won’t be able to go back anymore.” Aki’s expression fell helplessly.

“So you’re worried...” Miharu slowly stood up and moved next to Aki, stroking her back. Aki leaned into her to be doted upon.

“...Aren’t you worried, Miharu?” she asked nervously.

“I am... a little uneasy, but probably not as much as you.” Miharu shook her head with a faint smile.

Aki looked up at Miharu’s face curiously. “Why?”

“I have you and Masato with me, as well as Ai-chan and Haruto. I feel safe. That’s why I’m wondering if there’s anything I could do in return, because I feel sorry that you’re worried,” Miharu answered. Her smile was bittersweet this time.

“...You’re strong, Miharu.”
“I’m weak. If I didn’t have you and the others, I wouldn’t be alive right now.”

“I don’t believe that... If anything, I should be saying that. I don’t know where I’d be right now if I didn’t have you with me.”

“Hehe, thank you.”

“Yeah...” Aki said shyly, still seeming to be a little unsure.

“Aki. Thanks to Haruto, we’ve been able to live so peacefully. I think that’s an amazing blessing, don’t you? So... how about you try to think a little more positively?” Miharu asked gently, trying to persuade Aki.

“That’s... Yeah. I think so too, but...”

“I guess you still want to return to Earth, right?”

“Yeah... Don’t you want to go back, Miharu?”

“If I said I didn’t want to go home... that would probably be a lie, but I don’t think there’s any need to hurry. Haruto’s willing to help us out, after all.”

“Haruto...” Aki murmured Haruto’s name, her expression turning gloomy. She was much better about it now, but she still couldn’t help but think of someone in the back of her mind whenever she heard the name. In particular, when it was coming from Miharu’s mouth, it sometimes left her feeling quite conflicted.

“What do you think of Haruto?” Aki suddenly asked Miharu. She had noticed that Miharu’s mind had been on Haruto lately, so she was curious.

“Hm? Umm... What do you mean by that?” Miharu asked in return, watching Aki’s expression with uncertainty.
“Nothing, really... It’s just — even though you’re normally bad around boys, you seem to act really natural when you’re around Haruto... Being totally in sync when you’re cooking together and laughing with each other. That’s why I was just wondering... So, how do you feel about him?” Aki explained her question hesitantly, but directly, so that Miharu couldn’t avoid answering her.

“H-How, I wonder? He’s reliable, and a really nice person, I think. And...” Miharu replied timidly, searching within herself with a contemplative expression.

“...And?” Aki pressed.

“I don’t know if it’s because his name is the same, but he kind of reminds me of Haru-kun... I guess? Maybe?”

“W-What are you saying?! Miharu!” Aki’s expression changed with a gasp, her tone of voice immediately turning rougher.

“...Huh? Ah! S-Sorry! That wasn’t my intention!” Miharu belatedly processed what she had said out loud and shook her head in a fluster. While she had always made sure not to mention Haruto in front of Aki, thinking about the Haruto in this world made his name unintentionally slip out of her mouth.

“Hey, Miharu... Do you really still remember him? Even though you might never see him again? He probably doesn’t remember you anymore, either, so don’t confuse him with this Haruto. That would be rude,” Aki snapped. She was filled with regret as soon as she finished speaking, because she had been the one overlapping this Haruto and Amakawa Haruto in her thoughts.

“...I’m sorry — I got too heated up about it. I’m going to go clear my head.”
Aki stood up and went out the front door for some fresh air, her words filled with guilt.
◇◇◇
I’m such a fool...

As soon as Aki stepped through the door, she immediately crouched down outside the house in shame. She didn’t want to be inside; despite being told not to leave the house for any reason, she wanted some fresh air.

I don’t have any right to blame Miharu... Aki regretted bitterly, heaving a deep sigh. Even Miharu, who was typically of a warm disposition, might have become angry with her this time around.

Maybe Miharu still likes him after all? Then... should I apologize for saying such terrible things? But... A complicated emotion filled Aki — she wanted to apologize to Miharu and go back to the way things were, but whenever Amakawa Haruto’s name came up, she couldn’t help but recall everything about him.

“Argh, enough!” Aki yelled loudly after some time had passed, her head filled with too many thoughts to process.

“Uurgh...” A small groan sounded from a short distance away, but it was too soft to reach Aki’s ears. The front door of the house opened and Miharu’s hesitant figure appeared.

“U-Umm, you know, Aki. ...Huh? Kya!” She tried to shyly call out to Aki, but spotted two gray creatures instead. They were shaped like humans but clearly not human, and they sauntered about the forest roughly 20 meters away from the house. Miharu couldn’t hold back her scream.

“W-What’s wrong, Miharu? Eek! W-What is that?!” Aki had flinched in surprise at Miharu’s scream, then followed her gaze; she recoiled in horror at the sight of the monstrous creatures.

Miharu snapped out of her fear with a gasp. “A-Aki, hurry inside the house! Now!” she called out in a fluster.
“B-But it’s weird... Shouldn’t there be a barrier keeping them out?” Aki observed the movements of the creatures carefully — it didn’t seem like they had noticed her.

“No! Hurry and get Ai-chan, quickly,” Miharu said fretfully, when Aishia materialized right beside her.

“It’s okay... I’m already here.” She had a somewhat sleepy expression and seemed to have just woken up.

Miharu let out a sigh of relief. “Ah, Ai-chan...”

“Aishia... W-What is that?” Aki asked her timidly.

“Monsters, probably. They can’t enter the barrier, but they may be drawn to the essence of the barrier itself. I’ll take care of this quickly — you two get inside,” Aishia instructed Miharu and Aki as she vigilantly stared at the strange creatures.

Understanding they would be nothing but a hindrance, Miharu quickly ran over to Aki.

“O-Okay. Let’s go, Aki.”

She pulled her by the hand toward the house. Once Aishia confirmed that they had left, she slowly started to walk forward.

“They’re person-shaped, but don’t seem to be human...?” Seeing the strange monsters gave her an eerie feeling, making her incline her head.

Their eyes were filled with madness, but other than their skin tones, they looked just like humans. That much was clear now that Aishia was closer to them... Though once she readjusted her thinking, the truth was that none of that mattered.

I’ll find out if I defeat them... I must protect the others in this house. That was the role Haruto had given her.
With that in mind, Aishia held her right hand out toward the monsters. The faint light indicative of spirit arts started to flow from her hand as a sign of her refined ode manipulation.

Aishia fired a shock wave bullet at the monster — the invisible attack made direct contact, and a sound reminiscent of the impact of a hammer echoed as the monster’s body was sent flying through the air. Boom!

The force was enough to turn a human’s bones to dust.

Aishia adjusted her sights onto the remaining monster mercilessly.

“Uuuuuargh!”

Just then, another one leaped out of the forest. It was similar to the other two in terms of its humanoid shape, but its skin was darker. For some reason, the darker monster was able to easily slip through the barrier and rush straight for Miharu and Aki, who had retreated to the front door. It moved fairly quickly.

“Aki, get down!”

Miharu saw the black monster closing in on them and, as a last minute resort, used her own body as a shield to cover Aki, hugging her close.

“Eh?!” Aki was thrown off balance at the sudden movement, unsure of what was happening, though she could immediately tell that Miharu was covering her by holding herself close. Once she noticed the black monster approaching them, she understood why Miharu had done such a thing.

“M-Miharu?!” Aki couldn’t help but yell. Miharu was in danger — it was evident there was nothing they could do, but Aki struggled and squirmed anyway.

Meanwhile, Aishia had reacted by aiming her right hand at the black monster, but she soon lowered it. The monster’s death was certain, even without her lifting a hand.

There were several meters left until the black monster would reach Miharu and Aki, when a black shadow descended from the skies gracefully. Held in Miharu’s embrace, Aki was able to see the figure from behind.

She immediately knew who it was.

Reflected in her eyes and dressed in the armor of the Black Wyvern was Rio’s familiar figure.

“Aaugh?!” The black monster seemed to be taken aback at how Rio suddenly appeared before its eyes. Its speed fell for a moment, freezing on the spot — which proved to be a fatal mistake.

Rio immediately aimed for the opening the monster had created. He sprung forward with all his might and thrust the hilt of his sword with pinpoint accuracy into the solar plexus of the monster, blowing it back ten meters. A real human would have been wracked with unbearable pain and struggled for breath. If anything, the purely physical damage of the attack would have left them with ruptured organs.



However, the dark monster held a hand against its abdomen as it staggered back to its feet. It didn’t seem able to comprehend what had happened.

“Guuargh, aurgh?” it groaned curiously.

What was that texture just now? That monster was rock-hard. It seemed to have received some damage, but it still stood up after taking the hit... Even though I attacked it with the intention of incapacitating it... Rio observed the dark creature with wide eyes.

Meanwhile, Aishia approached and apologized with a regretful expression. “...Haruto, I’m sorry. Everyone was in danger.”

“No, I’m sure you would have made it on time, Aishia. I may have stuck my neck in where it wasn’t needed, but I’m glad it seems like I got back at just the right time. Sorry, you two. I came back late...” Rio shook his head with a strained smile, then looked at Miharu and Aki behind him.
“Ah, H-Haruto... Miharu, Haruto’s here.” Aki sighed in relief. Miharu timidly opened her eyes, having squeezed them shut, and turned around. “Haruto...” she called in a daze.

She looked up at his face with befuddled eyes; it was Rio’s first time seeing her with such an expression.

“Everything’s all right now,” Rio said gently, pulling Miharu by the hand to help her stand up.

“...T-Thank you very much. Ah, s-sorry.” Miharu accepted Rio’s hand and stood up, but her knees still seemed to be weak. She staggered forward and leaned into him. He supported her in his arms, blushing with embarrassment. In the meantime, Aki stood up by herself.

“Aki, can I leave Miharu to you? The battle isn’t over yet, so you two go inside the house. It’ll be over quickly,” Rio said with a wry smile.

“O-Okay.” Aki nodded hesitantly before approaching Rio and supporting Miharu in Rio’s place.

Within a few seconds, Miharu and Aki had stepped inside the house, the door slamming shut behind them.

“Aishia, do you know what they are?” he asked Aishia, observing the three strangely shaped creatures once he had confirmed that Miharu and Aki had gone inside.

“I don’t know, but... it feels like they’re of a monster class. Also, the black one is probably strong,” Aishia explained broadly.

“I see. But they’re wounded already... though they still seem quite energetic.”

As Rio and Aishia quickly exchanged information, the black monster had already regained most of its vitality. It stood on two legs as it glared at them aggressively.
“The gray one I attacked seems to have recovered, too,” Aishia said, looking at the gray monster she had sent flying earlier.

“It doesn’t matter if they’re just naturally strong or have some kind of abnormal ability to recover; what we have to do doesn’t change. I’ll clean up the rest of them, so you stand back, Aishia.”

“Haruto, you don’t have to worry about me. It doesn’t matter if the opponents are human shaped or real humans, I won’t show any mercy to someone who stands in your way.” Aishia shook her head resolutely.

Rio hesitated for several moments. “...I see. Let’s split up and deal with them, then. I’ll take the black one... Can I leave the gray ones to you, Aishia?” he asked Aishia with a sigh.

“Of course,” Aishia nodded quietly.

“Guaargh!” The black monster seemed to have resolved to flee instead; it let out a loud roar to signal its retreat. In response, the gray ones groaned and turned on their heels to run away, too.

Do they have the intelligence to know to run away from opponents they can’t win against? With widened eyes, Rio watched their retreating forms.

Rio and Aishia’s forms disappeared from where they had stood, as they instantly closed in on the black and gray creatures respectively, moving in to attack.

“Gargh?!” When Rio appeared before the black monster, he twisted the enemy’s body and slammed it against the ground. It didn’t seem to have much effect, as the black monster got back up using its incredible reflexes, immediately moving to counterattack.

It’s fast, but... Its movements are linear and its attacks are wide open.

Rio easily dodged the attack and drove his knee into the solar plexus he had wounded earlier.

“Gruh?” The black monster’s body lifted up into the air. Rio grabbed his opponent’s feet and swung it around, dislocating its joints as he smashed it into the ground. The black monster let out a pained groan.

“You sure are tough. Can you understand what I’m saying?” Rio asked, stepping on the abdomen of the black creature. Despite its different skin color, its shape was still human-like, so he wondered if it was possible to communicate with it.

“Gruuuugh.” The monster could only give a low groan.

...No good, huh? What is this guy, anyway? Well, if it’s a monster, it’d leave an enchanted gem, I guess.

With a sigh, Rio drew the blade at his waist. He had never seen nor heard of a monster like this before; in order to check whether it actually was a monster or not, Rio thrust his sword through the black creature’s heart.

“Gragh!” The black creature yelled louder than ever as it struggled wildly. Even with a sword through its heart, it was still moving around. It had quite the stamina.

Somewhat shocked, Rio looked down at the black monster writhing in pain. Eventually, the black creature’s struggling slowed down. “Please kill me,” it seemed to mouth slowly.

With widened eyes, Rio took in the movements of its mouth, then ended the black monster’s life. With a clean snapping noise, its body started to break down into dust, leaving behind a huge heart-shaped blue gem.

So, it was a monster. But the way its mouth moved at the end... Rio picked up the enchanted gem left behind by the strange monster with a conflicted expression.
“Haruto, I’m done here, too.” Aishia walked over with two enchanted gems in her hands. Her expression was so pure, it was as though her brutal mindset from earlier had been washed away entirely.

“...Thank you, Aishia. Shall we go inside? There’s something I need to tell you.” With a small smile, Rio led Aishia back inside the house.
◇◇◇
“I-I’m so sorry!”

Once Rio and Aishia stepped inside, Aki bowed her head, her face completely pale.

“Umm, why are you apologizing?” Rio asked, taken aback.

“Umm... Even though you said not to leave the house without a good reason, I went outside and caused Miharu to put herself in danger...”

“No, no... What happened just now was a pretty irregular event. But, well... Why did you go outside?” Rio asked with a troubled look.

Miharu defended Aki in a hurry. “U-Umm, it was my fault! I was being inconsiderate of Aki’s feelings and made her angry...”

“That’s not true! I... I... I’m sorry! I’m so sorry, Miharu. I’m sorry...” Tears started to stream down Aki’s face as she spoke, clinging to Miharu, who gently patted Aki on the back with a distraught expression.

“It doesn’t seem like I need to say anything more,” Rio said with a smile.

“Mm... Oh? Haruto’s back. Huh, are you crying, Aki?” A sleepy Masato appeared in the living room with a big yawn.
“I-I’m not! You carefree dummy!” Aki separated from Miharu in a fluster, turning away with a huff.

Masato tilted his head and peered at Aki’s face. “Hmm?”

“...That aside, it’s been decided that we’re moving,” Rio said, changing the subject rather forcefully out of consideration for Aki.

“Ooh, really?!” Masato asked, his attention diverted away from Aki to Rio.

“Yes. I’m sure it’s been stressful for you, being unable to go outside freely... and it must have been boring, but you’ll be able to live your lives comfortably in another location instead.”

“It’s true that all the studying has left my body all stiff... Wait, when are we moving?”

“I’m thinking tomorrow, maybe. But there are a few rules that have to be cleared up before we move. Let’s go over the details while we eat some snacks, shall we?” Rio said, then walked into the kitchen.
◇◇◇
The next morning, the five set out for the spirit folk village.

“We’ll move to our new location, now. The scenery before you will change in an instant, just like when you came to this world. It isn’t dangerous, though, so just relax,” Rio said to a rather nervous group after putting the stone house away into the Time-Space Cache.

“No... Actually, it’s more like we’re nervous wondering what the other people are like,” Masato said in an unusually flustered manner for him.

The other party they were about to meet were something else, after all. Everyone had received a clear explanation about the spirit folk and their village yesterday; elves, dwarves, and werebeasts — they were all beings that the fantasy-loving Masato was very familiar with, and something he admired greatly. There was no way he wouldn’t be nervous.

“They’re all amazingly nice people, so you’ll make friends in no time. Now, let’s go. Are we all ready?” Rio said with a smile, looking over at everyone.

“Yes, please,” Miharu replied in a somewhat stiff voice, followed by Aki and Masato nodding in response.

“I’m ready anytime,” Aishia agreed with her usual completely relaxed tone.

“Then, here we go. Transilio!” With a smile, Rio activated the teleportation crystal in his hand.

The air began to twist and bend intensely, enveloping the group. In the very next moment, they had disappeared from their original location and teleported to a place near the spirit folk village.

“O-Ooh... Yeah, this was it! This was the feeling I had when my vision suddenly warped back then...” Masato said, glancing around at his surroundings. Miharu and Aki’s eyes were wandering about, too.

“There are many strange presences... they’re similar to mine,” Aishia inclined her head and murmured.

“That’s probably the spirits of the village — it seems like spirits can sense each other’s presence. The shyer spirits are good at suppressing their aura, but there are many spirits in the village,” Rio said, taking a guess at the origin of what Aishia was feeling.

“There’s a spirit with a really big aura.”

“That’s probably Dryas. A humanoid spirit like you, Aishia.”

“There’s another one... not Dryas, but another pretty big spirit is approaching this way,” Aishia said, then looked up at the sky. At the end of her line of sight was Orphia’s contract spirit, Ariel, closing in at a fairly rapid speed.

Aki’s gaze fixed on Ariel’s approach. “...A bird?”

“Isn’t it pretty big? There are people riding on it...” Masato said with a dazed expression. While they were staring, Ariel’s figure grew larger and larger, before inally arriving in the air above Rio’s group. Ariel circled in the air as she began to lower her flight speed.

“There are... girls riding on it,” Miharu murmured.

“They’re all my very close friends, and —” Rio began to explain to Miharu, when one girl jumped off of Ariel first.

It was Latifa. She glanced at the faces of the newcomers, and her expression faltered for a moment. “...Welcome back, Onii-chan!”

She quickly took a breath to ready herself and ran at Rio, crashing into him with a hug.

◇◇◇
One afternoon, a bit before the sun set, somewhere in Strahl...

Reiss stood in the shadows of the forest that extended through the western outskirts of Amande. Surrounding him were several hideous monsters and men, who appeared to be adventurers, lying unconscious.

“...One squad didn’t return. Don’t tell me they were defeated... Defeating a squad of Revenants, especially with an enhanced body in the mix, is no simple feat,” Reiss muttered dubiously.
My actions were a little flashy this time... the investigation squad from the city should be formed soon. Reiss tapped a hand against his mouth in thought, before letting out an annoyed sigh.

“Good grief. I guess I should lie low and keep an eye on things for a while... I’ve also been invited to Charles Arbor’s wedding ceremony in two month’s time. His bride is Celia Claire, if I recall... How a dimwit like that snagged such a catch is beyond me,” he spat bitterly, before turning his gaze to the unconscious adventurers.

“...While the plan will have to be delayed for a while, the numbers have fallen. I guess I shall have to change the materials I have right here and now... How many will remain this time, I wonder?” Reiss grinned like a demon as he slowly walked toward the unconscious adventurers.