"Maxwell. Um, Odysseus—? MAX!"

The voice sounds familiar but its tone gets urgent faster than I can pry my eyes open.

Shit, if I fell asleep reading, the Harlot will kill me.

I'm about to jump and run home when I notice Aratsuki, looking rather annoyed.

"Are you awake now?" She is in full tsundere mode, scrunching her eyebrows, inches from mine.

The place still looks the same but bigger than the Grande Library. And the medieval vibes are new.

Where is Danielle? Am I dreaming still? Or is this that Dive thing again?

The smell of books put me at ease, and I see no battles raging around.

Seeing so many open flames in a library is scary though.

I look around, but Aratsuki sighs, pinching my face hard, and sending a painful jolt through me.

"Ow, what was that for?" I yell, slapping her hand away and rubbing my cheeks.

"Finally. Are you always this slow to wake up?" She asks, her arms crossing in front of her chest, and I hear her toes drum an anxious rhythm.

"Um, sorry, my daydreams tend to be less urgent." My face throbs, but I can't get mad at my Best Girl.

I thought I'd never see her again outside of the manga.

Hold on. Are we outside?

"Hey. Can I have your attention, please?"

She shifts on her chair, and her gray eyes bore deep into mine.

"You can have anything, Princess." From scanning the surroundings this place looks like a setting from the new episode of the manga.

"I'm serious here, we're screwed." She leans in closer, her stare intense.

"I only tell you this because it's our second Dive together. But we need to get out of here somehow."

"What?" I only got here. I mean, she's right, the orphanage has a strict curfew.

She shakes her head as if contemplating what to say.

"Okay, um. Listen. I'm not who you think I am. I already escaped once, but Greed brought me back somehow."

"Greed? You were already back with me before we met her." And that sexy demoness with her crimson skin and round ass killed her rival. "And who are you?"

"Huh? What do you mean?" She glances up, lost in thoughts.

"You said you're not who I thought you were. So who are you then?"

"Ah, I'm Ara—, I mean Ariana. That shop where we met is an old family business, but she stole it from me, and locked me up in this place." She fidgets, a clear sign that it's a lie.

"The Grande Library? You mean you're Ariana Gra—."

"Tailor. Ariana Tailor. Family business doesn't mean it has to wear our family's name."

She cuts me off, and if I hadn't run into Danielle moments ago, I would almost believe it.

"Okay, Ms. Tailor. Here's the issue with your claim."

Standing up, I walk around her, counting the points on my fingers.

"First, we're in a manga I bought there minutes ago."

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"Second, I'm a big fan of it, and you, miss, were the main character from the beginning."

There was a third point too, but looking at her pleading eyes, I can't continue.

"Hey, we met outside, remember? I don't know when because time is different here, but you must know I'm real." She tries to appeal, and I sure wish she was real, but no.

"That 'old family business' opened a month ago, and the owner's daughter is my classmate."

The face she makes feels so satisfying to me.

"Oh, her name is Grande too, like the Library."

"And here I thought you came to save me." She shakes her head.

Save her from what? Books?

Her copper-blonde hair is in slight disarray, her twin buns coming undone.

Her uniform is dirty like she had a rough day.

"Okay, you got me there. I am the Princess Knight Aratsuki from the manga with the same title. But I don't want to be here anymore, and I already broke free once. I need your help to escape."

"This dream is as weird as the one I had with you earlier."

It's hard to respond, my heart reacts to her pleas, but my brain knows it's not real, which makes it even stranger.

"Dream? Hold on. This is your second Dive, and you still think it's a dream?"

She looks surprised, even dropping the damsel-in-distress pleading look.

"That explains it."

"Explains what? What Dive are you talking about?"

"This. You dove into the latest issue of my manga. And before that, you somehow crossed the previous chapter with the Iliad. I only saw that happen once." She stands up too, pacing.

"I um, don't know what's going on anymore."

"Okay. How do I explain this?" She ponders, then raises her finger. "First of all, don't die. If you do, it's over. You won't wake up from a strange dream, you'll no longer exist. Second, um—"

"Hold on, but let's say it's real. I'm in your manga and it's not a dream but magic. Why would you want to escape your story, when you're Aratsuki, the hero everybody loves?"

"And you think that's fun?" She raises her eyebrow, leaning against the table. "What if I don't want to be a hero? You say you read my story. So it's either fighting for my life or bathing."

"Huh? What do you mean?" I ask confused but memories flash by from the anime. Yeah. She only had two gears, battle or fan service. Well, it's one reason I love the show so much.

"I found out about your world by accident. It had no monsters, no deadly spells. I could stand behind a counter in a store, and not worry about when I'll die."

"I spent a few hours there, and it was the best day of my life. And I thought that would be my life, but then I found myself in the Iliad with you, and then back in the manga."

"But you never disappeared from the manga like that horse," I note, trying hard to suspend my disbelief. She sighs, then takes a deep breath before the long explanation.