As much as I’d just rather go home, heading to town isn’t a bad second option. The walk there wasn’t so bad, she really wasn’t kidding when she said it was down the road. I couldn’t see it when we were at her place, since it’s kind of in the middle of a forest. However, there’s a pretty decent path that brought us there in short order.

Taking the first step into the town, it certainly looked like a small village. The type that I’d expect from a fantasy world that had yet to gain technology. Also, despite the small size, it was very lively. People walking about, running errands, grabbing a bite to eat, there were even children running about and playing without a care in the world.

Another important aspect that stood out to me was definitely the occasional non-human that walked past us. A scaly lizard, a short bear, and even the somewhat cliché orc, I had to pinch myself to make sure this wasn’t some crazy dream.

“Are there other races?” I couldn’t resist asking her. This was had to be part of her plan of getting me to stay. After all, most people would get curious over these things. But you know what they say about curiosity killing the cat, and I’m no cat.

“Of course there are.” She replied to me. “I won’t get into all of them, but a couple that would probably surprise you would be the eagle harpies and frogs.” Well, she wasn’t wrong there, I definitely wouldn’t have expected those to be humanoid races.

Wait… What would give her the idea that I would be shocked about those specifically? Surely if I’m not from this world, everything would come as a shock. I must be overthinking it… Yeah that’s it. She summoned me here, so maybe she’s aware of different worlds beyond just the two known to me. In fact, she probably got an idea of what we have in our own fantasy worlds from researching or something.

“Interesting.” I simply replied to her with only some level of interest. I’m going to avoid being too into these things. All of this is just her plan to get me to stay. “So, did you have anywhere in mind?”

“I do.” She glowed up when I asked that, as she pulled me towards a building. It was a restaurant, which showed me that she wanted to show off some cuisine. As much as I didn’t want to give into the temptation, I couldn’t deny that it sounded like a good idea. Hopefully not so good that I want to stay, just enough to satisfy my stomach.

We entered, where on the inside it’s even more lively than outside. There are plenty of people chatting among themselves, minding their own business. I got a few strange looks at me, but it didn’t seem to be about what I was wearing. It looks like this outfit she got me fits in pretty well. But if that’s the case, then they’re probably looking at me because of the company I have. More accurately, that I’m the new company of this girl who saved the world.

She sat down first, then I went to sit across the table from her. Apparently that wasn’t good enough for her, as she got up and sat next to me. As awkward as that looked, I’m not going to complain out loud.

“You should try this.” She was already taking command over what I should eat, despite her not knowing anything about me. It wasn’t even something that she wanted to eat since she got something else anyway.

“Fine.” Of course, I don’t really understand what’s on this menu, so I took her advice anyway. We ordered, and the server left us to ourselves. That’s when she started asking all the questions, even though I’m the one that’s new around here.

“So, how old are you?” She asked me, which I found a bit rude since I’m sure she won’t tell me her age.

“20.” Something about me telling her my age got her to really smile. I hope it’s not because she’s into the specific age of 20… Well, I guess there are worse ages to be into. “And you?”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea to tell you.” That’s not a surprise as I roll my eyes. It doesn’t really matter, but for fun I could try guessing her age.

On one hand, she looks rather young. I almost hate to think it, but her body is closer to a barely teen girl. One that is much younger than me, and would earn some dirty looks back home with what I’m doing with her.

On the other hand, she acts more mature than her age would suggest, at least so far. I am in a fantasy world, meaning the so-called 1000 year loli isn’t out of the question. Then again, she looks human, and I’d expect that the rules of being a human in this world are the same as on earth. Maybe she’s just the same age as me, which would explain the reaction when I gave out my age.

Now I’m really hoping she didn’t just summon me to please her in any sexual manner. Honestly, how selfish can someone be?

Our food finally arrived, and I gotta say… It wasn’t half-bad. A part of me could see why she chose that as what I should eat. Of course, if she wants me to stay, I doubt that giving me bad food would work towards that endeavor.

Other than that, eating is surprisingly uneventful. There were a few more questions she asked me, but none that seemed out of the ordinary to me. Though, as much as I’d love to sit and chat, going home is my end goal here. No matter how much she begs, I’m not going to relent to her.

“Was it good?” She asked me once we finished our food.

“It was okay.” The truth being that it was the best food I had in a while. Again, I’m trying to convince her I want to go back. “Now can you…” I stopped, realizing that maybe I shouldn’t say that around here. Even if she was able to bring me here, there’s no telling what the general populace feels about summoning. “Can we go back to your place?” I whispered, which honestly sounded worse depending on who was listening.

Our short little excursion was okay for the most part. If I did want to stay here, I’d definitely want to explore more of this world I’ve been brought to. However, I really shouldn’t delay getting back, or else I’m never leaving this place.

“You really don’t want to stay?” That was her reaction when I told her that I wasn’t budging. Saffron hung her head down in sorrow, a far cry to her joyous expression just from eating with me.

“Look, as cool as some of the things around here are. I really don’t belong here.” I told her. Plus, if I’m not needed, then I doubt that it was a good idea to being me here anyway. “So go ahead and do whatever you need to do.” I’m not really certain as to how this whole summoning process works. Judging from her trying to keep me here, I assume that it is possible to return me to earth. This spell would suck if it only worked one-way.

“Okay, I will.” She said, sniffling her nose a little. I almost wanted to feel bad for her, but she brought this on herself. “But, can you wait until-”

“No!” I’m getting really irritated here. “No more trying to keep me here, I want to go home!” That was probably louder than I intended. For a moment, I thought she was about to cry, but Saffron stayed strong.

“It’s not that.” She couldn’t even look at me anymore. “The spell... It takes a lot of energy.” She explained to me that she needed to rest before trying it again. While it was possible to make an attempt now, it would also bring risk of her messing up. Since turning to goopy slime isn’t high on my list of things I want to do, I’ll spend the night here.

With that agreed on, she took me to the room I was to be sleeping in. I’d already seen it when she was giving the house tour, but it still amazed me the second time around. It was decorated so well, everything within stood out with high levels of craftsmanship. The bed, walls, even the windows had the detail of a skilled eye on them.

“Well, good night.” I said to her. This was going to be close to the last time we’d see each other. In response, she wrapped her arms around me in a hug.

“G-good… Night.” She said to me, and didn’t release her grip on me for an uncomfortable amount of time.

“Okay, okay. I got it.” I had to push her off of me. Once I was free from her, she just looked at me for a little bit. Again, it was kind of uncomfortable, but this time she was the one to end this interaction.

That being that she turned around quickly and ran from me.