"Certainly the gold me wasn't lying. And she wasn't impersonating me either. Her aura is identical to mine. Unless you are on the level of a God, it's impossible to copy the aura. Even twins don't have identical auras."

"Then… what exactly is this place?"

"I have a theory. If what she said is true and this town believes I am the Maou, then this town is… a parallel world were I never was betrayed and became Maou after defeating the hero."

"Un… unbelievable."

"Like I said, it's just a theory. I must ask the other me if she has any knowledge about the dimensional monsters. And many other questions. Anyway, we can't leave this town because of the sandstorm. The students also have to stop their march during it, so we're not out of the race. Girls… explore the town, but don't let your guard down. Everyone here could be an enemy."

------

"Dimensional monsters? No. This is the first time I hear about this."

As I thought, she isn't aware of the dimensionals. I think we chatted for a full 30 minutes. It was just as I suspected. She says that even now, Byron, Volmund and Liliana are her most trusted companions. I felt sick just listening to that. Which means my theory was right. We somehow slipped in another world. 

"I'm also sorry to hear that you had a harsher life than me. But I'm glad you found some faithful companions again."

"Spare me the sympathy."

"Hmm… then how about this. Since you aren't the Maou, that means you probably don't know some of the spells and techniques that are taught at that stage. Would you like me to teach you?"

"Getting stronger is never bad. And the path I walk requires lots of strength if I am to protect what's important to me. Very well. I'll learn whatever you teach me. But that doesn't mean I trust you."

"I would expect no less. Very well. Let's go in a more open space."

------

"Yeah. Just like that. Focus your breathing and feel the energy flowing through you."

"I got it."

"You're me after all."

One hour later I accumulated a large amount of information from golden me. Mastering them will take more time, but as long as I get the basics down, I can practice later. Eventually, Zeta came and interrupted us. 

"You two… you've been practicing for quite some time. My lady, won't you take a break?"

"What?" (x2)

Both of us responded at the same time.

"Ah, no. Actually I was speaking with lady Yurishia…"

"Which one of us?" (x2)

"This… this is extremely confusing. I was referring to our Yurishia. The one with golden armor."

"No need. I'm getting along quite well with myself. I feel like we are the same person, but at the same time we're nothing alike. Whatever experiences you had, they must have left a painful scar on your heart. Our personalities are polar opposites."

That's because… I can't let my guard down for even a second. Not even now. I let my girls explore, but it seems they are having too much fun. I told them to stay vigilant. Ever since Azamar tried to kidnap Nelia, I placed invisible runes on all my girls so I can always track their location. And now when I focused… they were all relaxing. It's as if they like it here. 

No… it's more precise that they believe that it would be a nice dream to stay in such a perfect world. But that's the issue. It's a dream. This place is not real. Sorry girls, but it's time for a wake-up call.

Similar to how the slavery collar delivered electric shocks to the wearer, since my girls are connected to my will, I also sent a slight jolt to all of them. Small screams could be heard. 

"Eh? What's that? Trouble?"

"Don't worry, gold me. It's just my slaves. Ignore it."

Don't get swayed by this place. Didn't I tell you girls to stay sharp? Always be vigilant as if your life depended on it. This might be an illusion. We have our own world. Don't wish for anything else.

Sorry! (x5)

A telepathic message was shared between us. Good. I will admit… being treated with respect does sound good… but I won't stop half way. I am going to kill those bastards no matter what. That won't change regardless of the scenario.

"Anyway, the sand storm will end soon. Let's keep practicing while we can. I'll leave this place the moment I can."

"Okay. Then next up how about…"

But gold Yurishia didn't finish her sentence. A man in a robe came running.

"Your Highness! Emergency. The town is being attacked!"

"What!?"(x2)

"They are creatures I haven't seen before. Muddy skin and twisted bodies."

"Dimensional monsters! Come on, other me. We need to gather my girls and observe the situation. Have everyone stay inside. They are extremely dangerous."

"You heard her! Pass the word out. Follow me. I'll take you to the observation tower. The sand storm is almost over so it will be usable!"

One predicament after another just came. Did our two words collide? If this world doesn't have dimensionals, what are they doing here now? How did they get here? Did they use the storm as a cover? I don't like this at all. Everything is developing too fast. My mind can't comprehend all the events. It's too good damn quick. For now I can only follow the gold Yurishia and see what we're dealing with.

If our two are going to indeed merge, that can signal a cataclysmic event. But for now it's hard to process all this so it's better to see things with my own eyes from the observation tower. Why can't I get a decent break around here?