“How is she?” Ririna was waiting outside the inn for me to drop Carol off.

“She’s still asleep. You told me she needed rest, so I put her to bed for now.”

After we got back to town, the first thing on my mind was finding a place to lay down the unconscious Carol. I was still renting a room at the inn, so I took her there to let her rest. Ririna accompanied me to the inn, but Sarasa and Flanne went their own ways. Sarasa said she was home and napping the rest of the day. Flanne needed to unwind, so she went to the Gathering of Flowers. How unexpected… She said she was ready to help if something happened and that we knew where to look for her. Now that Carol is safe, everything should be fine, so I told them I would take it from there and thanked them for the help.

“It’s good to let her rest for a bit. She wasn’t in that bad of a shape when I treated her, so she might wake up soon. Getting lost in a normal place is already bad enough as is. I can’t even imagine how draining getting lost in the Forest of Illusions might be.”

“Do you get lost a lot? You’re talking as if you know what it’s like.” I wouldn’t be surprised if alchemists get lost often. It’s a bit inevitable when they’re exploring places for materials, right?

“No… Not recently, at least. I got seriously lost once when I was younger, and I learned my lesson. I had just started learning alchemy, and I thought I was ready to gather ingredients on my own, so I got carried away. Hahaha…” Ririna blushed for a second, but she was happy to tell me about her experiences as an alchemist. “In any case, I’m glad we managed to find your friend. You’re much less tense than before.”

“Am I?” Was I that visibly worried? That’s embarrassing. “Yeah… It’s good we managed to save her.”

“Iroha, you see… Can I ask you something? I- it’s important.” Huh? Ririna was being unusually bashful, which made my heart rate skyrocket. S- she has something important to tell me? What?

“Uhmm… S- s- sure… What is it?”

“Well… Do you remember our battle in the valley?” How could I forget? Was that her important question, though? Ririna’s face was slightly red, but she forced herself to sound energetic.

“Of course I do. It’s not exactly the type of thing someone can forget, you know?”

“R- right. Ahaha… What did you think of it?”

“What did I think of it? In what way?”

“I mean, I think we make a pretty good team. Not just back then, but in general… We work very well together. We’re a good match for each other, don’t you think?”

“Yeah…?” Ririna… What…?

“So… I have a… proposal for you.”

“…” What? Am I dreaming? Why is she blushing? Could it really be… “I… Uhmm… What’s your… proposal?”

“I want… You know, maybe we should go somewhere better first… Somewhere quieter…”

No… I’m not dreaming. This isn’t about her work or whatever! She’s gonna confess! She’s in love with me, isn’t she? Since when? The battle in the valley? That explains a lot… She’s been… really friendly and attentive lately. But… We’re both girls, so does she actually love me in that way? She’s been friendly from the beginning. That’s just how Ririna is, so this might not mean what I think it means. No no no no no! I’m not imagining things! This is different. The way she’s been blushing the whole time, coupled with how bashful she’s been, can only mean one thing! She’s going to confess! That’s why she wants to go somewhere quiet! This is it! Can’t say anything stupid now! “Uhmm… I’d love to go, but I can’t leave while Carol’s sick.”

“Oh! Right… You’re right… What was I thinking? Ahahaha… Maybe it’s not that important now that I’m thinking about it. Come see me when Carol gets better, and we’ll talk then. So yeah… Bye! I’ll see you later!”

…

NOOOoooOOOOooooOOO! Stupid! I’m so stupid! Why did I say that?! I’m so stupid! *Thud!* I stopped to slam my head against the wall on the way back to my room at the inn. “*Sigh…*” I got scared… I can’t believe it! I hesitated and ran away by using Carol as an excuse. I’m such a coward… Is this the end? Did I just ruin my chances with her? She still wanted to talk, so she might not have given up… It’s weird… She wasn’t even sad at the end. She looked more… relieved? Why? If she was going to confess, why would she feel relieved that she failed? Arrggh! I don’t get it! I don’t get any of this! Did I read it wrong? Why did I get scared? It just seemed so complicated for our relationship to ever work out. We’re from two different worlds, for fuck’s sake. How would it even work? Would I start living in this world permanently? Would Ririna come to my world? Would I have to go back and forth for her? It wasn’t ever gonna work, right? “*Sigh…*”

Maybe there’s hope. We’re good friends regardless, so I’m fine if that doesn’t change. Anyway, I wasn’t lying about being worried about Carol, so let’s check how she’s doing. Maybe she’s woken up already. I opened the door to the room and went inside, only to find a small figure sitting on top of the bed with her arms and legs crossed and a displeased expression on her face.

“You’re late!”

“Ca- Carol? Y- you’re awake?” Oh no… This is going to be rough… I wanted to carry her back before she got the chance to ask any questions, but now it’s too late…

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“Yes. Yes, I am. Is that a problem?” She was shorter than me and sitting down, so she had to look up at me, but her bossy attitude remained unfazed. Why did it have to be Carol? Why couldn’t it be someone easier to approach, like Katja or Narumi? Narumi’s a bit weird at times still, but it’d be better than Carol.

“No… I- I’m glad you’re awake. I was worried you might have been hurt, so it’s nice to see that you’re doing fine.”

“I’m doing fine? I just woke up with no idea where I am, in this shitty, archaic room. I thought I was sleeping in a pile of trash in someone’s attic.” The room isn’t even that bad… It’s lacking for people from our world, but it’s mostly clean, and the bed is soft. I have no idea why she’s complaining so much. “And as if that wasn’t bad enough, just what is going on outside?” Carol nodded to the window. “Where the hell are we? Is this some kind of cosplay convention? I’ve seen people with animal ears and tails, everyone’s dressed weird, and I’ve even seen an angel! What the hell is this? I was this close to going out there to check. You better be thankful I waited for you.” A cosplay convention? Why would she even think of that?

“Uhmm… Thanks? You know… maybe… this is all just a dream. You’re just dreaming.”

“Don’t—fuck with me.”

“Sorry…” I was hoping I could get away by saying that, but she shot me down with a glare, and I immediately folded… She… sends shivers down my spine… Reminds me of Hecate. Like mother, like daughter, except they’re not related, and they’d both kill me if I said that out loud.

“If you’re really sorry, then tell me what’s going on. Tell me everything you know.”

“That’s… I… don’t…”

“What? Are you gonna make more excuses? Don’t even try to say you don’t know anything. I know you’ve been hiding stuff from us from the very beginning, and now I’ve seen it with my own eyes. You can’t hide anything from me anymore. Where are we? What kind of powers were you using? Just who are you?” Carol stared me down, pressuring me for answers. I still didn’t want to spill everything, but… it might be too late now… She was barely conscious back then, but she saw me during that fight. I can’t lie to her anymore…

“Alright… I’ll tell you… To answer your first question… We’re in a different world right now.”

“I could tell that much. This is the world of monsters, right? I passed through the portal I ended up here, so I was expecting that much.”

“Good to know… How did you find the portal, by the way? Did you come here on purpose, or was it an accident?”

“Seriously? You haven’t figured it out yet? You really are clueless… I followed you, you idiot.”

“Huh? For real?” She followed me? When? How did that happen? Is that a joke? I had no idea.

“You’re so stupid… I saw you going into the forest one day and caught you entering the portal. Did no one tell you portals were dangerous? Why would you even get close to the portal? I was wo- dumbfounded when I saw you jump into it. Why would you even want to come here?” She was ‘wo-’? ‘Wo’ what? What does that mean?

“Well… I wanted to get better at fighting, so I came here to train.” Her reaction so far hasn’t been too poor… But she’s still intimidating.

“That doesn’t even make sense. You wanted to train, so you decided to jump into a meat grinder. You got lucky that portal didn’t kill you, but you had no way to know that.”

“Actually, that’s not true… I knew the portals were probably safe… I knew from the very beginning.”

“Are you serious? How would you even know that?”

“Before I joined, on the day Katja first found me, I… accidentally fell into a portal. That’s why I knew they were safe.”

“I can’t believe it. Are you saying Katja found you just as you returned to the real world. But that’s not possible… That portal was in a different place… You got lucky with non-lethal portals twice?”

“I think you’re misunderstanding something, Carol. It’s not that these two portals are safe—all the portals are safe. That thing about the portals being dangerous has to be a lie. What made you think you couldn’t get close to the portals in the first place?”

“That’s just common knowledge for us. Everyone tasked with fighting monsters knows not to get close to them. It was either Shinji or one of the other girls who taught me that.”

“Maybe they were keeping you in the dark?”

“Mphm. That’s impossible.” Carol scoffed confidently. “Neither Shinji nor one of the others would keep this from me. If they say the portals are dangerous, that means that’s what they believe too.”

“Who told them they were dangerous then? I mean… I’m pretty sure that whole thing is a lie. Probably to keep you from finding out about this world.”

“I have no clue. Shinji probably learned about it when he was working somewhere official… Which means that if this really is a lie, it comes from the top.” I see… Fighting the monster is a top-secret job, that much I was told. Whoever’s coordinating the whole thing must have created that lie to keep this world a secret. Who would it be? The ministry of other worldly affairs? Is that how those things work? “Ughh… This is all so stupid. It’s starting to make my head hurt. Anyway, this is another world, right? You’re sure?”

“I have no doubt. I recognized this world from the beginning.”

“You recognized it? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Uhmm… I know it might sound crazy, but this is the world from a game that I played.”

“Huh? A game?” Carol uncrossed her arms and stood up. “That’s ridiculous. Are you saying we’re inside of a game right now?”

“No no no… I don’t think so, at least… This is the same world as a game I played, but it’s not exactly the same. It’s more like a replica with some differences, and I don’t think we’re in a game right now. This world is as real as ours.”

“A- are you serious? You’re not just lying to me, are you?” Carol grabbed my shoulders aggressively, and I shook my head in a hurry. “Then, the monsters we’ve been fighting—the threat invading our world—we’ve been risking our lives to fight monsters from a game?”

“Y- yeah… that seems to be the case…” Carol let go and pulled back.

“It doesn’t look like you’re lying. Hmmm… What does this all mean, then? I knew the portals had to lead somewhere. I never expected it’d be a whole other world, and especially not one from a game. Why lie about the portals? Why aren’t we supposed to learn about this world? There’s gotta be more to it…” I’m surprised… She’s just as feisty as always, but she doesn’t seem that mad at me. She’s listening and paying attention to what I say… I’m confused… I thought she hated me… I was expecting her to be completely unreasonable. Somehow, that contrast is incredibly cute! I can’t help but think she’s a really nice girl now! “Don’t just stand there! Help figure this out! You gotta know something, Iroha. Tell me more about the game. What’s its name?”

“Ahh… You see… My memory of this game is not that great… It’s been a while… I don’t remember the name or a lot of the details.”

“And you didn’t even try to look it up? Even if you don’t remember the name, you could have just looked it up online or something. Did the thought never occur to you? Are you dumb?”

“I thought about that… but when I tried to look it up, I couldn’t find anything! It’s like every trace of the game’s existence has been wiped off the face of the earth!” I looked for an excuse in a hurry after feeling the sharp sting of her words. I mean, it wasn’t even an excuse, it was literally what I did.

“Ok, now I’m getting pissed. Are you serious? Was that also to cover things up? This is starting to get ridiculous…” Hmm… That would mean I’m not the only one who knows this world is from a game. Somehow, I don’t think the explanation is that simple. The way everything just vanished seems almost magical… “We need more info. For now, tell me what you know about this city, the forest, the monsters… Even if you don’t remember things perfectly, I might be able to piece something together.” Carol sat back down on the bed, crossing her arms and legs again. I pulled up a chair and told her what I knew.

I told her my story from the beginning, from the day I met Ririna. I explained to her what I knew about the lore of the game and how things had changed. Fast-travel, for example, is never mentioned in the game’s narrative, but here, everyone uses it, and it changes everything. This inn exists because it makes sense in the game, but since most people in this world now just fast-travel back and forth all the time, it’s virtually worthless and is rented almost for free. Carol listened to me the whole time without intervening much. Whew…

“Ughh… That’s all good to know, but it doesn’t help us figure out anything. I guess we’ll have to investigate in our world to find out what’s really going on.” That’s true… Even with all the time I’ve been spending in this world, I really haven’t learned much… “Here’s the deal, Iroha. We need to understand what those portals are, where they’re coming from, and why. Once we figure that out, we’ll… I don’t know… But at least we’ll know what’s going on.”

I can’t lie, I am curious about that. I haven’t given it much thought, since I had other priorities, but if I want to figure out anything, I’ll have to try a little harder to find more information. Maybe there’s someone in this world who knows what’s going on…

“That being said, we’re not gonna figure this out by just talking, so let’s drop it for now. I’ve got a more pressing question for you. I saw the way you were fighting and how fast you’ve been growing. It’s not normal. Who are you? I know you’re hiding some kind of secret, and I’m not gonna let you go until you spill everything!”