The Road to the Otherworld

"So, Lyuka, where do you have in mind for returning to our original world?"

"Yes, the Path of Radiance in the outer rim. It's a dangerous road where monsters roam, so Masters of C-Class or below are forbidden from entering.

"But it's a singularity where otherworld Garumon are confirmed to appear once every few years with quite high frequency, so there are even Masters who visit despite the danger.

"If a Gate to the otherworld is easier to connect there, then opening a Gate in that spot might just open a road to another world. That's what I'm thinking."

I chewed on Lyuka's information.

"Um… first off, otherworld Garumon appearing once every few years counts as high frequency?"

"Yes… it's thought that worldwide, ten to twenty people transfer in per year.

"There are 100 million Garumon in the world, with a million new Garumon born each year. Only ten to twenty of those are transferees, so it remains an exceedingly rare phenomenon.

"For it to be observed in the same place once every few years, it's not too much to call it a singularity.

"Almost nowhere else sees repeat appearances."

"I see…"

The grassland near Amen, where we'd transferred in, apparently wasn't a singularity in particular.

And there was one more concern.

"We've been fighting monsters where C-Class can fight too, but if it's B-Class only, that means it gets really tough, right?"

"That's right. The general weak enemies aren't much to speak of, but the appearance rate of strong enemies is high, which makes it a danger zone."

… So there was a risk of being wiped out.

"… If we get killed, we revive at the church, that kind of thing isn't going to happen, is it?"

"It is not. You die."

Yeah, figures…

"When things get truly dangerous, we'll buy time at the cost of our lives. Naoto-san, please abandon us and think about surviving on your own."

"That's a no-go. I'll be the one buying time, so the rest of you run."

Bishi!

Lyuka stretched out a hand and flicked my forehead. It was rare for the analytical Lyuka to throw in a physical retort like that.

"… Do you think we'd have any attachment to a world without Naoto-san in it?"

"… Naoto-san, do you intend to make me taste the grief of losing the one I love a second time?"

… Heavy. Leone's retort was heavy.

"Nya! That's not how it is, nya! I'll never put Goshujin-sama in danger again, nya!"

"Yes, with me here, putting Naoto in danger… will absolutely never happen!"

Adelia and Kanan chimed in, lightening the mood.

"… Yeah, I trust everyone. Let's go carefully."

And so first, Lyuka's Gate transferred us to the boundary fortress on the outer rim.

There, an enormous wall stretched on and on like the Great Wall of China, and atop the fortress were Garumon of a C-Class knight order, keeping watch over the outside.

It seemed they were on watch to keep monsters from entering human territory.

By the way, Colette was holding down the fort, but Patty came along.

"NPCs normally can't enter monster territory, you know."

"In the case of journalists, if you applyyy, you can enter monster territory. I'll temporarily guest-join Naoto-san's party for a whileee."

So there was a "Guest" notation in the race field.

What an easy-to-understand physical attacker. But her element was Spirit. That was a rare one.

"Spirit-element is the kind that's strong against physical and weak against magic, right?

"… Eh, Spirit? With such a fleshy, plump-plump body, Spirit!? Isn't that weird?"

I'd ended up surprised at the wrong thing.

"That's just how elements are. If you have spiritual power, you're Spirit-element. The body doesn't really matter."

So that was how it worked… Well, Kanan wasn't a wind-like person either.

"… W-well, it's a rare element. I'm looking forward to it.

"It's all right to level Patty up, isn't it?"

"Of courseee. I'd be glad if Patty could get strong tooo!"

All right, I'd field her as much as possible.

We headed into the boundary fortress.

The Garumon at the gate stopped us, but when she operated her system…

"…! This is a B-Class Master. Beyond this is the outer-rim region where monsters roam, but you intend to head outside?" she asked.

The fact that the system could instantly verify identity, sparing us even the need for self-introductions, was convenient. In ways like this, it was more advanced than early-21st-century Japan.

"Yeah. I'm thinking of going to the Path of Radiance."

"Understood. Please be careful… Open the gate!"

Thanks to the B-Class rank, we got through to the outside without any trouble.

"There's no Gate set up on the Path of Radiance, so it's about a day's road, but we'll need to traverse it on foot.

"We may be attacked by monsters along the way, so let's proceed with caution."

And as we advanced…

"Buruburu… Gishaa!"

A monster…! A creature best described as a macho boar with arms growing out of it, this strange aberration suddenly burst out of cover at us.

It was different from an orc; seemed to be a monster original to this world, but design-wise, it was rather lacking in originality.

It stood a little over a meter tall. Considerably bigger than an Earth pig or boar. With those hairy, sturdy arms growing from both shoulders, it gave off quite an eerie pressure.

The system displayed Gurubon LV30 1.

"Who came up with this name?"

"Some are registered in the system from the start. When it shows ???, that means it's nameless, and the discoverer is allowed to give it whatever they wish.

"This naming sense seems like Mailas-shi.

"He's a famous old adventurer who discovered many monsters, and he's given lots of them four-character names ending in 'n', like '-don' or '-rin'."

"Heh…"

I wondered what I'd name it. I might give it a no-flair name like Arm-Boar. If so, Gurubon was probably better.

When I long-pressed Gurubon's name, more detailed info came up too.

If we were going to walk through monster territory, it might be worth reading some kind of anti-monster strategy guide.

While I was musing carefree thoughts, I tapped firmly to start the battle.

No reinforcements appeared on the enemy side; it was 1-on-3.

"Maika, Lyuka, Kanan."

I'd thought it might be Patty's debut, but for the first match, naturally, I went with familiar members.

"Leave it to me, Naoto-kun!"

She wasn't new to monster battles, so there were no nerves or agitation.

"Going in."

Lyuka stepped forward.

"…"

Kanan's mood was a little low. Come to think of it, she hadn't opened her mouth since we got here…

Well, no matter.

"Kanan, Bind Whip!"

"Yeah… haa!"

Shuba! When the opponent was a single one, there was a possibility of stunning it endlessly and not letting it take a single step.

Gugyaaaa!

Gurubon's four short legs and two arms locked up, its motion halted.

Good, this was our chance.

"Maika, Wild Sword Dance! Lyuka, Light Burst!"

Wild Sword Dance was a new technique for Maika. A powerful version of Sword Dance.

Sharan…

Producing four blades, Maika began to dance. Then, in one go, she sliced four times in a row!

It dealt fierce damage, and her attack power went up even further. Even more than Accel Mirage, it was the kind of skill that made you want to say if she just kept using this it'd be fine.

"Light Burst!"

This was as usual. But the effect was pretty large.

"Not 4x like Dark, but Light is 2x super-effective… Demon-element, maybe."

That was my prediction.

"Many monsters are Demon-element. My Light, Leone-san's Thunder, Patty-san's Spirit, and though we don't have any, Holy-element are effective."

Hmm, then fielding Patty was definitely a yes.

Well, in one turn we'd shaved off 90% of its HP. The rest would be easy.

"Okay, member change. Haru, Setsuna, Patty."

A casual member change. And then…

"Setsuna, Bloody Masquerade!"

Patty came out, but she did nothing as we won.

Pirorin pirorin… Even so, her level shot up at once. The lazy game-mechanic feel here apparently existed in this world too.

"Income's bigger than the previous forest, after all. This time it was just one, so we overpowered it, but if we face multiple opponents, it won't go this easy.

"… Let's stay sharp and keep going."

And we pressed on.

The battles themselves I'll skip over. Nothing particularly dangerous. What was worth mentioning was Patty's first showing.

"Haaaaa! Spirit Strike!"

Dogooooo! Pulling a metal club out of midair, Patty sent the enemy monster flying with all her might.

Maybe thanks to her Attack UP, her destructive power belied her low level.

"All right, good, Patty. Well done."

Good girl, good girl, I murmured while patting her head, thinking about how to deploy her.

The slow-but-massive-single-hit type.

… It was a bit rude to say, but this kind of type was extremely easy to fight against when it came at you as an enemy.

After all, Kanan's Wind Shield could block it endlessly.

"… There it is. If she could learn a piercing attack, Patty would shine even more."

"Piercing, hm…"

Then it'd get past even Kanan's defense and turn troublesome in one swoop.

"Since you're carrying that metal club, picture charging up your strength and using the spikes to smash through the opponent's shield."

"Mumumu… I'll do my beest!"

… And on the very next level-up after she said that,

She learned that, which made me laugh a bit.

I mean, if it could be learned this easily, everyone would be passing piercing around like candy!

A genius, after all.

Well, since one charge turn, a preparatory motion, was needed, it wasn't overly powerful, sure…

I patted the head of Patty, who was sparkling her eyes at me, praise me, praise me.

"Ahaha… good girl, good girl."

After steadily winning around six battles, eventually…

"Whoa…"

We arrived at the Path of Radiance. So… beautiful.

A rainbow-colored aurora danced softly in the heavens. It would surely look better at night, but for it to look like this even in daytime was incredible.

It was a truly fantastical, beautiful sight.

"… Indeed, in a place like this, it does feel like a Gate to another world could open."

"… I'll start right away. Please wait a moment. Naoto-san, Kanan-san, Maika-san, Setsuna-san, Haru-san.

"… Please sit in a pentagon and wait. If monsters come I'll abort immediately, so the rest of you, don't neglect surrounding vigilance."

And then Lyuka began chanting.

Normally it was just one word, Gate, but she seemed to be sinking into a deeper state of concentration than usual.

"… My original world…"

Could we really return…

"… Hey, do you really mean to go back to the original world?"

The one who said that was… Kanan.

"… Kanan, you don't want to go back?"

I asked her in turn.

"T-that's not…"

Kanan reflexively started to answer, but trailed off, mumbling.

"B-but… first, I want to hear your opinion. You're our Goshujin-sama, even if only in name…"

Maika, Setsuna, and Haru watched us in silence.

… I opened my mouth.

"… For me, this world is a wonderful world. It's very comfortable and full of possibility.

"Being with everyone is happiness, and a lot of fun.

"Adelia, Leone, Lyuka, Yuria, Patty.

"… Everyone I met in this world, if I hadn't come here, I never would've met in the first place.

"I'm truly happy to have met them. I love you all.

"Kanan, Maika, Setsuna, Haru… with you all, whom I'd already met in the original world, my relationships with you changed by coming to this world.

"… In a wonderful direction.

"With Haru, we were just friends. With Setsuna, we were brother and sister, so there's no way we could've crossed that line.

"With Maika, I was just gazing from afar and admiring her.

"And… Kanan… well, that goes without saying.

"The relationships I have with all of you now, for me, are exactly the kind I once dreamed of, no, beyond dreams, truly wonderful relationships.

"That's all thanks to coming to this world.

"And in the original world, I had no outstanding ability or feature, but in this world, with all of you, I keep getting to shine.

"B-Class. A noble. With a cute secretary like Colette, and adults all bowing politely to me with formal speech…

"It's unbelievable, isn't it."

As the leader of this group, I figured it was a bit much to put myself down too hard, so the rest I just kept in my head, but…

My parents were brilliant researchers, yet I was born with below-average intelligence.

Because of that, my parents didn't expect much from me, and I myself didn't expect anything from my future either.

The future, well, it'd just be a deadbeat life. That's all I'd thought.

In this recession, even the hope of being an ordinary salaryman might not come true. That was the kind of me I'd been…

Good dynamic vision. Good reflexes, rhythm sense, spatial awareness. Snap judgment. I did have these strengths.

So in games I could rack up surprisingly high scores, and I loved games.

So shouldn't I have been suited to sports? You'd think, but my motor coordination was fatally bad.

What about sports manager? Probably, I think I could've performed there. No, by now I'm convinced. I had the talent for being a manager.

But on Earth, what a manager needed above all was charisma.

There was no way the elite sports types who'd lived and breathed baseball or soccer would listen to a gloomy loser like me.

I had no talent for getting people to listen.

All those talents shone in this world. All my flaws were covered up.

Right down to being able to crisply raise my ring finger, I felt like every part of my talent was being put to use.

For me, this world was truly a paradise.

"Then there's no need to think about returning to the original world, is there!"

I cut Kanan's words off.

"No matter how wonderful a world it is for me, whether it's wonderful for all of you isn't clear."

"That's not true!"

"I…!"

Everyone tried at once to deny my words, and I held up a hand to stop them.

"In this world, all of you are Garumon… treated as slaves. Is anyone okay with that fact alone?"

When I said that, everyone looked around at each other and couldn't raise a hand.

Maybe they were just reading the room.

"Garumon are warped, transformed to obey their Master. Can any of you deny that?"

… This time, no one tried to raise a hand.

"By coming to this world, everyone's heart has changed.

"So… even if you say you love me, I don't know if it's truly real.

"… That's why I think we should return to the original world…"

… Yeah, this was the reason.

Everyone… no, let me say it clearly. It was about Kanan. She, of all people, was the one I thought should return to the original world.

Setsuna was my sister, but really she'd had feelings for me as a man.

Haru was my best friend, but really he'd loved me as a man.

Maika, too, had inwardly held affection for me.

The three of them, their affection for me hadn't changed. They could be trusted.

… But Kanan had hated me the whole time, hadn't she.

No matter how much she said she loved me… well, she hadn't actually said it.

Even if she did take that kind of attitude, if it was because she'd become a Garumon and her heart was changed, could anyone deny that?

"… So that's what you were thinking."

Kanan said that quietly.

"… So you're saying go back to the original world…?"

Her voice was trembling.

"If we really can come and go, I think you need to return to the original world once and reexamine yourself."

… Faced with her trembling voice, I wavered a little.

"Of course, we don't even know yet whether Lyuka's Gate will succeed…"

At that moment, Lyuka opened her mouth.

"No, it will succeed. Just once.

"A second time, I don't know. Whether this timing will come again… but right now…

"We can do it! … Astral Gate!"

Dokaaan!

The instant Lyuka chanted the spell, thunder roared. And then…

"Ahh…!"

Above Lyuka's head, a massive Gate had appeared.

When we usually transferred, peaceful countryside townscapes spread out. But now…

Aah, a massive cluster of skyscrapers! There was no mistaking it; it connected to a Japanese cityscape, Shinjuku or some other big city.

"… Aah… Japan…! It's Japan…!"

Fura…

I started walking toward that Gate, when…

"No!"

Gyuu…

… Kanan threw her arms around me, stopping me in my tracks.

"… Kanan?"

"Don't go."

Kanan clung tightly to me, pleading.

"… Why? If we just go like this, we can go home, you know?"

I had no intention of forcefully shaking off her arms and going. More than that, I was curious why Kanan was saying this.

"I don't want to go back."

"… Kanan…"

"Naoto, you said our feeling that we're happy in this world might be because we became Garumon and our hearts were warped… right?"

"… Yeah."

"But it's the same in the original world.

"… Father was forcing me to act as a ruler.

"Even before Eclair proposed the slave-battle game, by putting many slaves under me, he was forcing me to become a true ruler…

"The real me probably didn't want to do anything like that.

"Father's a fool too. Ordering someone to become the kind of person who orders others to obey.

"The fact that he had to order it meant I wasn't a ruler by birth.

"But I adapted to that environment.

"When Father ordered it that way, when I was given a slave-cum-supervisor like Kensei, when I couldn't disobey…

"There was nothing left but to enjoy it at least a little!

"People can find enjoyment in any environment, you know.

"That's how I gradually warped, finding pleasure in subjugating slaves and being violent.

"Even while feeling something was wrong, I pretended not to look. I pretended not to notice…"

"…"

I silently listened to Kanan's confession.

"The reason I treated you badly was probably… because you're the one who's truly fit to make others follow.

"What I, at that time, wanted and craved, you'd been born with.

"So I tried to demean you, even a little. That was it.

"Haru too… Haru saw clearly which one of us he should truly serve.

"That part of him I didn't like, so I treated Haru harshly too.

"Back then I was bound up tight, with nothing of my real self left anywhere…"

"… Kanan…"

"… Honestly, I don't know if the me right now is my real self.

"Maybe it isn't. Maybe it's just the result of being warped.

"But you know… there's one thing that's truly, absolutely different from the original world.

"… This world… is fun!"

Kanan lifted her face.

"Adelia is cute, we get along, and we can let our guards down with each other from the heart. She's my best friend!

"Of course, Maika, Lyuka, Leone, Setsuna, Haru, and Yuria too…

"Truly beloved comrades I can let my guard down with from the heart.

"Patty and Colette too, I'm sure I'll grow close with them from now on.

"And above all, Naoto, who envelops everything about us…

"Garumon Battles are fun too. Losing is frustrating, but winning is happiness from the heart!

"All of us working hard, Naoto rising up the ranks, it's joyous, and I'm proud…!

"It's interesting, it's so fun I can't stand it! Aah, this is what people call happiness! I finally understood after coming to this world!"

"… Kanan."

"… So please. If you… l-love me… even a little… let me stay in this world forever.

"Let me stay as Kanan Kazami, slave of you… of Naoto Akai-sama. Please…!"

Gyuu…

Kanan hugged me tight.

"… Kanan. I… hated you in the original world."

"… Yes, same here. I hate the me of the original world too."

"… But now…"

Come to think of it, I'd never really told Kanan straight out, clearly…

"I love you… I love you so much, Kanan."

"… Aah…"

Kanan… broke into a smile of pure happiness.

"… Yes, I love who I am now too!

"As Naoto's slave, with my beloved comrades all together, working hard for Naoto, I love this self of mine…!"

And then she said it, mischievously.

I kissed Kanan.

Chu, chu, rero, chu, chu…

Fierce kisses, mouths pecking at each other. Tongues twining together, ardently…

Aah… how good it felt.

The grudges and anger I'd long held against the old Kanan, hung up in my heart, finally vanished completely, washed clean.

Here was my beloved, dear… cute… my slave, Kanan.

"Kanan…!"

I held Kanan tight and devoured her lips to my heart's content.

… When I came to my senses, the Gate Lyuka had opened was already gone.

Even when she opened a Gate again afterward, it no longer connected to the original world.

"… Sorry, Lyuka. After you went to the trouble of opening a Gate to the original world, we wasted it."

"No. I achieved my objective sufficiently.

"I made many discoveries.

"Otherworld transfer and Gates use similar technology, and if the timing aligns just right, it's possible to reach the otherworld using a Gate.

"This is a wonderful discovery.

"Whether we actually go or not isn't the essential point.

"If anything… I'm overjoyed from the bottom of my heart that Naoto-san chose to remain in this world."

Lyuka smiled innocently as she said it.

"Setsuna, Haru, Maika… was it really okay for you all not to return to the original world?"

I called out to the remaining three from Japan.

"For me… it's just like I said before. Originally, I wanted to go to a world where I could marry Onii-chan, brother and sister. Couldn't ask for better.

"It's the same for you, Onii-chan, isn't it?"

Setsuna gave a sweet little smile.

"S-Setsuna…"

Which meant Setsuna… wished to be united with me in this world. Going all the way with Setsuna…

"… Heh."

Setsuna smiled. Through our brother-sister telepathy, my thoughts seemed to have come across.

"I have absolutely no intention of going back.

"I mean, I got such a wonderful body, the best…"

She touched her own body proudly.

Indeed… beautiful. Splendid large breasts. How alluring she was.

"But in the original world, I don't think I'd be properly accepted with this wonderful body.

"I know I'd be looked at as something strange… I think there'd be a lot of people like Nezu-kun who'd say it's gross…"

"… That guy was just twisted…"

"Ahaha, but, Naoto-kun, I don't care how anyone but you sees me. Naoto-kun called me cute, called me lovely, said those things to me…

"I'm happy… In the original world, since we're both guys, marriage would be hard too…

"But in this world, I can even become Naoto-kun's bride… aah, like a dream…"

Haru murmured dreamily.

"I'm the same as Haru-san. To be united with Onii-chan, I really am happy I could come to this world."

The two held hands and gave bright smiles.

"Setsuna, Haru…!"

I pulled the two of them into a tight hug.

"What about you, Maika?"

Maika was looking down, lost in thought. She was… different from those two.

Even if she had feelings for me, she could be united with me normally in the original world.

"You see. Honestly, I had a little attachment to the original world.

"If we were in the original world… someday I'd properly confess to Naoto-kun, become a regular boyfriend and girlfriend…

"I'd thought maybe such a future was waiting for me too."

"… Maika…"

I see… certainly, that wish wouldn't come true unless we returned to the original world… it wasn't possible in this world.

In this world, only Master and slave relationships existed. Lover-to-lover wasn't a relationship that existed here.

"But… you know.

"That world's regular boyfriend-girlfriend. Naoto-kun loving only me, just one person, alone…

"When I really, really tried to imagine that?

"It's not that I wouldn't be happy. But more than that, I'd be lonely.

"I love Kanan, Adelia, Lyuka, Leone, Setsuna-chan, Haru-kun, and Yuria too… I love everyone.

"Only me being loved while everyone else isn't…

"That's absolutely a no!

"Naoto-kun, you said I was kind to everyone. That's exactly right. I'm a people-pleaser.

"When everyone connected to me ends up happy, that makes me happiest.

"I want Kanan to be happy too. For that, Naoto-kun hugging Kanan and kissing her is best.

"I want Adelia to be happy. Naoto-kun grooming Adelia is best.

"I want Lyuka to be happy. Getting to talk a lot with Naoto-kun is best…

"For all of us together to serve Naoto-kun… that's happiness.

"Me happy, Naoto-kun happy, Kanan and everyone happy… no other world is this wonderful.

"… But in the original world, I'm sure they wouldn't understand.

"Monogamy as a given. The man's cheating, poor girl's being cheated on. They'd surely talk like that.

"I don't want to go back to a world like that. I can be happier in this world than in the original."

Maika smiled as she said that.

"… This world isn't all fun. There's harshness too. Lose a Garumon Battle, and no matter how much you love each other, you'll be taken away.

"You might die fighting monsters."

"That's the same in the original world, isn't it? There are accidents and disasters, kidnappings and crimes.

"But in this world, no matter what happens, you can break out of it with your own power, so it's much better, isn't it?"

Setsuna cut me down quickly. Aah, she had a point. I'd been refuted easily.

"… You're right. A world with bad public order but the life-guarantee of HP, versus a world with good public order but no guarantee at all. Which is harder to die in might be hard to call."

"Plus, as long as your willpower holds up, you're effectively immortal, right? As if I'd ever let you get bored of me."

Kanan… said that.

… Aah, yeah… that's enough. I'd go with my heart…

"… All of us, in this world, from now on… let's live together forever."

"Yes!" Kanan…

"Yeah!" Setsuna…

"Yes!" Haru…

"Wonderful!" Maika.

Everyone agreed to my words with full smiles. We… had decided.

We wouldn't return to the original world. We'd live in this world.

"… With this, we've grasped the trigger for otherworld transfer.

"We can now advance the research.

"If the research is safely completed, we may be able to come and go freely between the two worlds."

But that was what Lyuka said. Though if that happened, you'd be left wondering what this decision had been for.

"But… even so, the university city, was it? We could bring the smart people from there, bring back their technology, and use it to make this world even better."

I'd already decided this world was my final home.

"But the issue is the other transferees from Reido Academy.

"It's not certain that all of them are happy. There must be people who want to return to the original world.

"For their sake too, Lyuka, please continue your research."

"Understood. For that, I have one request."

"Hm? If it's Lyuka's request, I'll listen to anything."

"Please don't say anything. It makes me want to make a lewd request."

"… Sorry."

"My request is to continue observation in this place for about three days.

"The energy needed to connect Astral Gate to another world is predicted to fluctuate periodically to some extent.

"The reason I could connect Astral Gate this time is that I happened to come at a timing when that energy had risen sufficiently.

"That energy was dispersed by the impact of opening Astral Gate, but if I continuously monitor how this energy accumulates for about three days, from that accumulation pattern I should be able to derive the cycle until the next buildup. Whether it's two years or three…

"In other words, I think I can figure out when next to come.

"… Of course, that doesn't guarantee we'll be able to return at that time, but…

"However, if research progresses this way, while we won't be able to come and go freely, by aligning timing and connecting Gates, periodic come-and-go should be quickly achievable… though that's a very generous estimate."

That was Lyuka's proposal.

"Three days… that should be fine, shouldn't it?"

I committed easily. If it'd make Lyuka happy I'd do anything for her. Of course, it had the benefit of advancing Lyuka's research too.

"… Just so you know, camping out in monster territory is pretty rough.

"The monsters attack relentlessly. Couldn't you set up a Gate and come intermittently?"

"I want continuous data. With intermittent data the variations in between aren't visible, and prediction accuracy can't be relied on."

"Well, we're nine now. About to be ten, and food resupply we can handle by splitting into two groups using the Gate.

"… I think it's fine. Of course, if Naoto wants to, I'm not going to oppose."

Yuria agreed with that.

"… Hm? Just now, about to be ten, what was that about?"

Counting Patty made nine. Other than that… was Colette being called too? But NPCs other than journalists weren't supposed to be able to enter monster territory…

"Eh, ah… you'll know soon enough.

"… Can't even Leone and Adelia find her, I wonder?"

Yuria didn't answer me, just said something like that.

"The two of them have sharp senses, and their sense of smell is also far above ours. I think they'll find her."

Lyuka answered.

… Now that they mentioned it, Leone and Adelia weren't here.

"… Huh, where did they go?"

"Hee-hee, I had them go look for someone."

Yuria answered while dodging the subject. Probably on purpose.

"… For what?"

"Heh-heh-heh. We came here for Lyuka's otherworld research, but normally, you know what Masters who come to this Path of Radiance are looking for, right?"

"… Ah, the singularity where otherworld Garumon transfer in frequently…"

"Naoto-san. The reason I succeeded in activating Astral Gate is because the timing aligned.

"The timing when energy had sufficiently accumulated and a Gate from another world was opening at this place, and the timing of my using Astral Gate.

"In other words…"

"… You mean an otherworld Garumon appeared right near here?"

Lyuka nodded with satisfaction.

"Foundddd, nya～"

At that moment, Adelia's voice rang out clearly.

Adelia…

"… Oh… an angel…"

She came carrying a beautiful girl who looked just like one.

The otherworld… had it connected to the heavenly realm? That was what I ended up thinking.