I woke up to someone’s voice calling for me.

“Hey, you, wake up. Can you hear me? Wake up.” The girl’s voice was surprisingly calm for someone who was trying to wake up someone else.

I opened my eyes, and panic immediately settled in. I didn’t recognize the bed or the room I was in. It didn’t take long for me to calm down as I remembered what had happened and how I had gotten here, but I still felt very uncomfortable about my situation.

Katja saw me moving and entered my cell after unlocking it. “Are you awake now? How are you feeling?”

“Eh? Well… I- I don’t know…” Not great. how do you expect me to feel after being forced to spend a night in a cell? I couldn’t exactly tell her that, but what kind of question is that?

“I see, alright, I’m gonna need you to come with me. Follow me.” Katja left the cell and waited for me near the door. She seemed completely unbothered by what was happening. Very professional of her.

I was worried, but at least it seems like I’ll get to leave this cell. I just hope she’s not taking me somewhere even worse.

I got out of bed and put on my shoes. It felt super weird waking up with a uniform on, and it felt even weirder to wake up wearing the same clothes I wore yesterday. What a mess! My uniform is all wrinkly now, and it probably smells too.

I followed Katja through a couple corridors, and we went up some stairs. She didn’t say anything, but I was feeling very uneasy.

“W- where are you taking me?” The question escaped my lips.

“I’m bringing you to the kitchen. Since you slept for such a long time, you’re probably hungry. We have some leftovers from lunch for you.”

“From lunch?” It’s already past lunchtime? How long did I sleep for? This place has a kitchen…? Where even am I?

I moved my head around to take in my surroundings. Looks like this is some kind of dorm… At least it reminds me of a dorm I’ve seen in a game. Though the cell in the basement makes me second-guess myself…

At the end of the corridor was a bigger area with an open kitchen and a living space with some couches and a big television. It wasn’t messy at all, but the furniture was filled to the brim with all sorts of random things.

“What are you doing, Narumi? You’re gonna get fat.” Katja addressed the girl laying down on the couch while messing with her phone.

“Ahahahahaha! There’s no way. You’re kidding, right?” The girl I recognized from yesterday sat up straight in a hurry. Her voice sounded carefree, but Katja’s words must have hit home for her. “I didn’t know you were back, how long had you been there?”

“I only just arrived. Why do you ask? Where are the other two?”

“Hecate said she needed to go shopping and dragged Carol along with her.” The entire time she spoke, the girl didn’t look away from her phone for more than a few seconds.

“Hmm, I see.” Katja paused for a moment and turned towards me. “Take a seat, I’ll warm something up for you.”

I nodded and sat down on the table closest to the kitchen area. Narumi was so distracted with her phone that only now did she notice me.

“Woah! Who’s that?” Apparently, the surprise was so big that it made her stand up.

“She’s the girl we found yesterday, remember? You were literally there.” Katja replied while she turned on the gas.

“Oh yeah! I think I remember… What’s she doing here?”

This is so awkward… They’re talking about me, but I can’t join their conversation.

“She spent the night in our custody. Shinji told me to bring her to him.”

“Okay okay, I get it now.” Having a guest seemed to interest her, and Narumi approached the table curiously. She sat down in front of me before speaking. “My name’s Narumi Kado. What’s your name?”

“Iroha… Iroha Shinohara. Uhmm… What are you gonna do to me?”

“Huh? We’re not gonna do anything!” Narumi was at a loss for how to answer.

Katja returned to the table with a plate of curry. Classic dish. “We’re just gonna ask you a couple questions after you’re done eating. Then you’ll be able to go home. We’re not gonna do anything, so don’t worry.”

“Really?” These news made me a little more optimistic, and I started eating with a small smile.

“Sorry, but you should focus on eating for now. Shinji is waiting for us.” Katja sat down on a nearby empty seat.

I have no clue who Shinji is but I don’t care. I just wanna go home.

“Did he tell you to hurry? I didn’t know he was capable of being in a rush.” Narumi laughed while looking at Katja next to her.

“He told us to take our time. I’m not gonna allow him to use us as an excuse to laze around.” Katja pulled out her sword, and I noticed it was more advanced than I thought. The curved blade suddenly extended, and the guard popped out to form the shape of a cross. She moved the blade around and stared closely at the tip.

“So you’re the one who wants to rush things… Poor Shinji.” Narumi laughed without a care in the world.

“You’re coming too, so don’t you think about going anywhere.”

“Ehhhh?! Nobody told me anything about that!” Narumi was upset that her workload had just been increased. “I wanted to laze around too.”

“You should try training a little more instead of spending so much time on your phone.”

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I finished eating while half-heartedly listening to their conversation.

“You’re done? How are you feeling? Are you ready to go?” Katja put away her things and got up.

“I’m a little better.” I don’t know whether it was the food or their conversation, but I’m feeling more relaxed now than before.

“Let’s get going then.” Katja grabbed my plate and placed it into the sink.

“T- thank you… y- you’re a nice person.”

“Don’t thank me. Hecate’s the one who remembered you’d probably be hungry. She’s the one who told me to take care of you.”

“Hecate?” I think I heard the name earlier, but I have no clue who that is.

“She’s one of our friends… Well, don’t worry about it. It doesn’t matter to you.” Katja led the way, and the three of us left the dorm.

We entered a nearby building and headed straight into the second floor towards an office room.

“Narumi, what are you thinking?” Katja asked as she saw Narumi run ahead of us.

“We’re here!” Narumi slammed the office door open as she shouted that.

“Woah! Don’t scare me like that!” Inside was a man who had sent some papers flying due to Narumi’s surprise attack. “Look at what you’ve made me do, Narumi. Please be more careful next time.”

“Ahahahaha! Roger that! I promise I’ll do better next time!” Narumi’s attitude showed little remorse over her actions. “I had no idea you were working.”

“You don’t have to worry about that. I highly doubt there was any work actually getting done here.” Katja enters the room, and her eyebrows burrow slightly.

“Katja, don’t say things like that in front of our guest.” The man tried to whisper, but it was still loud enough that it was audible to me. “You’re gonna give her a bad impression.”

In response, Katja crossed her arms and turned her head to the side. The man finished picking up the papers and recomposed himself before looking at me.

It was hard to tell whether his eyes were open just from seeing his face. He was wearing a normal suit and looked like he was in his late thirties. His face looked gentle, but frankly, it was hard for me to care about his appearance. I noticed he was wearing glasses, his hair was a little long for a man, and he had a light stubble. That’s all I need to know to identify him.

“Welcome, Iroha. I’ve been waiting for you. Come in, please take a seat.” The man pointed towards a chair in front of him.

I entered the room and sat down in front of him. Narumi pulled up a chair next to a wall and sat down to my left, while Katja was standing to my right.

“Let me start by introducing myself. My name is Shinji Shimada. I’m the manager of our little organization. It’s nice to meet you.” Shinji smiled gently at me.

“I’m Iroha Shinohara… though I think you already knew that.”

“Yes, we did. We took the initiative to confirm your identity after bringing you here. I hope you don’t mind.”

I shook my head in response.

“I’m happy that’s the case. Tell me, Iroha, how are you feeling after what happened yesterday?”

“I think I’m fine. I don’t feel like there’s anything wrong with me.”

“That’s good to hear. I presume you haven’t recalled anything about yesterday’s events that’s different from what you’ve already told us.” What a strange question. I haven’t said anything about the other world. Has he figured I’m hiding something?

“No, I haven’t remembered anything.” I was surprised by how calm I was.

“I see… Usually, we’d ask you to retell the whole story, but I understand that can be a pain in the ass, so let’s just move on.” Shinji let out a small laugh, which Katja stopped with a single glare. “Frankly, there’s not much left for me to ask you. We’ve already confirmed your identity, and we’ve confirmed the fact that you’re human.”

It’s like I thought… they know about the other world somehow. I think they were worried that I was someone from the other side. That was why they put me in jail.

“What kind of question is that? Isn’t it obvious that I’m human?” I wanted to know more about the other world, so I decided to ask a question myself.

“Hey, Shinji! Can I go back? If you’re not gonna ask anything else, then you don’t need me around anymore.” Narumi interrupted my question.

“That’s not true, Narumi. Can you answer Iroha’s question? Tell her about our organization so she can understand our concerns.” Shinji’s voice contained some panic, but he was actually just glad to delegate one of his duties to someone else.

“I can do that. Which part should I tell her?” Narumi spoke with a sudden burst of energy.

“Both, tell her everything in order.”

“Alright!” Narumi stood up straight. “Listen up, Iroha. We help people!” Narumi stopped and brought her hand up to her chin, like she was in deep thought. “No, that’s not a good way to put it. Let me start from the beginning.”

“We’re the House of Imaginary Boundaries. Our mission is to take care of kids with unique circumstances. Kinda like an orphanage. We’re not a state organization, but we work closely with the government.” Narumi puffed up her chest while explaining.

“H- huhh…” Alright… Okay… I don’t give a shit, though. How is that supposed to answer my question?

“Or at least that’s what it seems like on the surface.” Shinji interrupted with a mysterious voice.

“On the surface?” I couldn’t help but ask about the meaning of that.

“Yeah, that’s right, that’s-“

“Not fair, Shinji! I was explaining things to her! Why did you have to steal the cool line!?” Shinji jumped in surprise, scared by Narumi’s anger.

“Right, I asked you to explain, didn’t I? Sorry, Narumi, go on, you’re doing great.” Shinji slumped over.

Narumi coughed before speaking again. “Or at least that’s what it seems like on the surface.” Narumi whispered in an attempt to mimic Shinji’s voice from earlier.

You can’t do that, Narumi. You can’t just say the same thing again and act like you’re making a shocking revelation. Does she get it?

“The orphanage stuff is just a cover. Our real activity is actually taking care of threats from another world!” Narumi spoke with confidence and pride.

I knew it’d be something like this.

“W- what do you mean by that? Threats from another world?” How much do they actually know? What was that other world? Why was it the world from a game?

“Uhmmm… monsters! What was it again?” Narumi seemed at a loss as to how to continue her explanation.

“You see, Iroha, we have no idea why, but some years ago, these weird portals started appearing all over the world. From there, strange creatures started coming into our world. We don’t know what they are, but we know they’re from another world.” Katja stepped up and continued Narumi’s explanation.

“Like Narumi said, these are fantastical creatures. They’re similar to the monsters that often pop up in works of fiction. I’d venture to guess you’re more familiar with them than I am. Whatever image you have for a monster is probably not too far off.” Shinji completed Katja’s information.

He’s not wrong. The demons and other creatures I saw there matched the game’s style, but they’re still generic enough that most people would recognize what they are. Since things like that don’t exist in our world, the only explanation is that the portals connect to another world.

“So yeah, it’s our job to find those monsters and defeat them before they cause any harm.” Narumi’s energy levels had diminished from what they were earlier.

“Did you think I was a monster?” I looked at Shinji while asking my question.

“There are quite a large number of monsters that resemble humans in many ways. We went to the location where we found you to investigate a potential portal, only to find you there instead. It didn’t make sense to us, so we had to be wary of you.” I could tell he felt bad from the look on his face.

“Alright. I think I understand.” I felt relieved. Seems like they’re not wary of me anymore. This is strange. It doesn’t seem like they know the other world is the world of a game, even if they do somewhat recognize the beings from the other side. Maybe they’ve never actually gone into the other world.

“Listen, Iroha. I have one piece of bad news for you. As you might imagine, this information is highly confidential. Even if you promise not to tell anyone, we still have to put you under surveillance.”

“What?” They want to put me under surveillance? “Why did you have to tell me all of this, then?”

“Even if we kept you in the dark, just being found near the location of a potential portal is grounds for you to be placed under surveillance. That’s how confidential this is.”

Dammit, why is this happening to me? I just wanted to go home. I guess it’s not the end of the world to be placed under surveillance. I spend most of my time at home, so even if someone’s watching me, it won’t make that much of a difference.

“But I’ve got a proposal for you. Having to keep you under surveillance 24/7 is a big pain in the ass, and personally, I don’t want anything to do with it.” Shinji’s gestures became more agitated. “If you’re fine with it, I’d like you to join us. You wouldn’t have to be surveilled, as it would be technically your job to know about the other world.”

What? Join them? What?

“Are you serious?” Katja and Narumi were both surprised by Shinji’s proposition, but Katja was the first one to speak up.

“There’s no way! I can’t fight!” I just barely escaped with my life. I don’t want to put myself in danger again.

“Sorry, but I don’t think you can handle it either. Shinji, what are you thinking?” Katja sided with me on this one.

“Wait, wait, you don’t have to worry about fighting. I’m not gonna send you into battle without proper training. You don’t even have to fight if you don’t want to. There are other ways you could help that don’t involve fighting. Katja, if we have more people supporting us, you girls will be able to focus on your job better, and you won’t be in as much danger.”

Katja seemed pleased with Shinji’s explanation and calmed down.

“How about it, Iroha? It’s not a bad deal, is it? We’re not exactly going to make you do a lot of work, and if it really doesn’t work out, you can remain a member in name only and go on with your life normally. Though, I would like it if you were a little more active than that. We’ll also pay you. If that changes anything.”

I don’t think money’s gonna change my decision… Although I wouldn’t mind having a little more spending cash… But it’s too dangerous. Me fighting monsters from that game? There’s just no way! Maybe if the VISS Driver worked… With a couple more skills and some training, maybe I could actually fight. I dunno if I could handle their training, though. But then I’d get to spend some time with Katja and Narumi, I wouldn’t mind that.

“Uhmm… Can I get some time to think about it?” I can’t make a decision right now. I want to go home and relax for a while. I hung my head to cover my face with my hair.

“Well, this is not an easy decision to make in the spur of the moment. Go home and think about it for a while, Iroha. We’ll contact you at a later date.” Shinji smiled gently while he spoke. “Regardless of whatever choice you end up making, please remember that what we’ve talked about here is highly confidential. Make sure you don’t share it with anyone.”

Shinji told Katja to accompany me home, but I refused. I left the House of Imaginary Boundaries and stepped out onto the street.

I looked up the map on my phone and started heading home. I wasn’t too far away from my apartment, and they must’ve learned that when they looked into who I was, that’s gotta be why they were fine with me going home on my own.

They really asked me to join them… Are they crazy? For what? Just so I’m not placed under surveillance? Is that worth it for me? I’ll still be able to live my life normally. I’d have to give up on the VISS Driver but that’s better than being in danger. It was fun running around with Agility Burst but it’s too dangerous.

I said so many stupid things too. Even if I did join them, I’m sure all the girls would look at me like I’m a weirdo… What’s the point, then? I already have enough problems on my plate.

“Hm?” As I made my way home, I spotted someone I had business with. It’s her! The source of all my problems.

“Miyuki…”