Carpe Diem's office, early morning. At the training facility, Chohong wiped sweat off her brow with a towel and then said, "Sure. Go ahead."

I blinked. "Are you sure you don't mind?"

Chohong waved her hand and said, "It was either you or Ian... and to be honest, I'd rather kill myself than listen to that tit-loving perverted old man."

"But-"

"No buts, Oppa. Or do I have to call you Da-"

"I got it, I got it!" I quickly cut her off before any other weird titles could be added to my aliases.

"Good." Chohong smiled and then turned back around to walk over to her next workout.

"Still..." I said. "This was your team, right? Aren't you upset with someone else stepping in and taking over?"

Chohong sighed. "Geez, Oppa. What do you think we are?"

"Huh?"

Chohong crossed her arms and said, "After all that you've done for m- for us, do you really think we treat you as an outsider? Or... was that all you thought of us?"

"No! Not at all! I just didn't want to step on any toes. And... also because I couldn't save Dylan."

Chohong sighed. "Look, Oppa- No. Jihu." She looked at me and said, "There's no point blaming yourself for something you couldn't have changed. And even if you are... then do something about it. Since you couldn't save Dylan, then take responsibility for that."

I blinked and said, "That makes it sound like I should take responsibility for you..."

Chohong coughed, flushing a bit and then said, "A-Anyway, I already talked it over with Hugo too. Don't think about it too much."

"..."

Chohong laughed. "Don't worry. You know by now right? That guy's not one to think too much about these things... and if he did have complaints, he would have voiced them long ago."

"...Alright." I nodded and said, "I'll trust you."

Chohong flushed again and then shoved me towards the door. "Go talk with the old man already! And stop bothering me! I need to finish training!"

I smiled and then left the training facility.

xxx

"Morning Jihu." A delicate female voice drifted towards me as I walked over to Maldong's room.

Flone blearily rubbed her eyes, hugging a thick book to her chest.

I blinked and said, "You're reading?"

"Rude!" Flone huffed and said, "I'm not some airhead, you know! I'll have you know that I graduated at the top Imperial Academy when I was alive... Er, when I was alive before!"

Really now...?

Flone narrowed her eyes, perhaps picking up my doubt.

I ignored that and glanced at the book title. "The Empire and its founding families?"

Flone nodded. "Mister Ian lent it to me." She frowned, brushing her hand over her silver necklace. "There's something I wanted to confirm."

"Anything I can help with?"

Flone shook her head and then paused, frowning. "Maybe? I don't know... I want to do a bit more research first."

"Alright."

"Are you going to talk to Grandpa Maldong?"

"That's right."

"He's waiting for you upstairs." Flone turned her attention back to her book and then went quiet.

"Waiting for me, huh?" I glanced at Flone another time and then walked upstairs to the office.

When I arrived, Jang Maldong was sitting on the office sofa. Like Flone said, he seemed to be waiting for me. The moment I walked in, he glanced over and said, "So you want to be the team leader, huh?"

I walked over and sat down across from him. "That's right."

Maldong stared at me, quiet for a few moments. "Do you understand the severity of that position?"

"Not entirely. But at the same time, I realized something back at the Banquet."

If I charged by myself, people would fall behind. I needed a team to work with me. Friends. Comrades. Only then would I be able to protect those that I wanted to protect.

"...I can't keep at this by myself, no matter how good I am. If I do, then the only thing left in the end will be me."

I knew my faults well, along with my strengths. And if I continued going forward by myself, there would soon come a time where I was there by myself. So, to ensure that didn't happen...

"Mm..." Maldong was quiet and then he nodded. "Not the best reason for being a leader, but a valid one. At the least you didn't say anything foolish like wanting the role because you're the most qualified."

I nodded.

Maldong thought about it a bit more and then said, "Fine."

I blinked. "Fine? Just like that?"

Maldong nodded. "You have the capabilities. The only thing lacking in being a leader from you would be the fact that you're uncompromising and inexperienced... but both can be remedied with time. At the least, you're better than Chohong and Hugo... And don't get me started about Ian and Miss Flone."

I nodded.

Maldong sighed. "Now if only you were a High Ranker... then my worries would be completely-"

"I am."

Maldong blinked. "Pardon?"

"I'm a High Ranker. I went to the temple last night and Gula leveled me up. Right now, I'm a level five Karmic Blade."

"Karmic Blade...? That's not a standard class, so another named one? Does Gula plan for you to become her Executor...?" He mumbled to himself and then shook his head. He looked back at me and said, "You know, you have an uncanny ability to draw the perfect solutions to every predicament that pops up."

I shrugged. "It's the result of ample preparation. In any case, how's the search for an Archer going? I don't remember if I mentioned it or not, but I asked Kazuki and he declined, so I was wondering if you had any better luck."

"Hah. He would. That man owes you a debt but he still has ambitions of his own. Maybe later when we grow some more, but now he still isn't interested in giving up the leader role just yet."

"That's what he said to me."

Maldong nodded. "I did receive a lot of offers. Quite a few that passed the basic qualifications as well. But..." He frowned. "There's one in particular that caught my eye. Have you heard of the Yi siblings?"

I blinked. "Yi Seol-Ah? And Yi Sungjin?"

Maldong nodded. "The one and the same. I dropped by the White Rose Guild on the way to meet someone in Scheherazade and they asked if we'd like to recruit the Yi siblings. Not as a lease, but a full transfer."

I frowned. "That's strange..."

"Hm? What is?" Maldong noticed my change in expression and said, "Is there something wrong with the two?"

I shook my head. "If anything, it's the opposite. The two have the potential to be High Rankers. I confirmed it with Claire- Ah, Miss Agnes, and also used most of my points back in the Neutral Zone to help them train alongside Yun Seora." I placed a hand on my chin and said, "So it's odd. The two are the type to flourish wherever they go, so even if it's to a team with someone as famous as you, their previous team still wouldn't drop them."

Jang Maldong narrowed his eyes. "You said that Miss Agnes confirmed their potential? And that you helped them with your survival points?"

I nodded. "Not only that, but Claire trained them personally. And rigorously as well. I think it'd be about... Maybe 3/4 of what you suggest?"

Maldong fell silent, tapping on his cane. "In that case, this is indeed odd... The pair reached level three in three months. Yet they are being expelled... Hm. Truly strange."

"Is it possible to recruit them?"

"It is. And if your words are true, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Hm." Maldong tapped on his cane a bit more and then said, "I'll arrange a meeting for you."

"Should we prepare anything?"

"...No." Maldong shook his head. "Let's listen to what they have to say first. Nothing's confirmed yet anyway, so there's no need to be hasty and lay out our cards early. After all, there would be no need for negotiation if others heard of your ability to so readily resolve our money problems now, would there?"

I rubbed the back of my neck and said, "Ian told you about that, huh?"

"Amidst his cursing about how you make transmutation appear so easy, yes." Maldong tapped his cane and said, "In any case... there's time." He looked at me and said, "Now that you've become a High Ranker, there isn't much more I can teach you. However, it isn't the end."

"I know." I stood up and rolled my shoulder. "I've been itching to test things out myself after the Banquet."

"Good." Maldong nodded and said, "It will be a while before anything is set in stone, so take the time while you can to train. There won't be much in the future."

"Alright." I glanced at my sword and said, "In that case... I'm going to head off on a trip for a few days. If there's anything that comes up, call me on the communication crystal, alright?"

"A few days? And if the meeting is scheduled for tomorrow?"

"I should be able to teleport back. And I also wanted to check something back on Earth. It's just a hypothesis now, but... well, it won't take me long in the worst case."

"Mm... Then be careful. Don't take yourself as invincible. Even brighter stars than yourself have fallen in the past."

"Got it, Coach."

xxx

"Hm?" Flone looked up as I passed her again while heading out. "Where are you going, Jihu?"

"On a training trip."

"Training trip?"

I adjusted the sword at my left side and nodded. "I was planning to take a trip back through the Forest of Denial. I know we already cleared the valuables out, but I wanted to take another look at the remnant energies there before trying something."

Flone shut her book and instantly stood up. "I'm coming with you!"

"Hm?" I frowned and said, "Weren't you studying?"

Flone shook her head and walked over to me, holding her book. "Who cares? I can do that at any time! But I can only spend time with you at rare times like this!" Saying that, she immediately took my arm, as if afraid I would leave her behind.

I laughed and patted her head. "Alright. It's been a while since we had a trip and spent time together anyway."

"Great! Then let's go!" She pulled my arm and started walking.

I shook my head and walked out.

xxx

The southernmost region. Instead of taking a carriage, I walked out on foot, with Flone beside me. Since this was training, we traveled light, just my mana sword along with a basic black tunic and pants for me. As for Flone, she brought along her sword and shield and was wearing a similar tunic and pants, albeit light gray compared to my black..

"Hm, hm, hm~!" The silver-haired Saintess hummed to herself, walking beside me.

I glanced at her and said, "You seem pretty happy."

"Of course! I get to finally spend time with my favorite person!"

"What, has it not been fun hanging out with Ian and Master?"

Flone's clear blue eyes widened and she shook her head. "No, no! They've been great! It's like having a pair of new grandpas! But... Well, they aren't you." She mumbled and then looked at me in the corner of her eyes.

As she said that, the crimson threads around her pulsed, revealing her emotions.

Seeing that, I could only let out a strained smile.

"Well," Flone said. "I guess it wasn't too bad. Resa's been fun to hang out with."

"...You haven't been bothering her, have you?"

"Of course not! I only go visit her in the evenings." She paused and said, "Though I talk with her more than that since she keeps visiting in the mornings."

"...Seems like someone has too much time on her hands."

Flone laughed. "It's just because she likes you, Jihu."

"...Anyway." I looked around and said, "We're just in for some light training. I want to test out my new skill a bit to make sure it's combat ready."

Flone frowned and said, "You dodged that topic too easily, Jihu..."

I glanced at her and said, "Keep a look out, will you? It shouldn't be a problem, but I'll be focusing on my ability, so I might miss things."

"Fine, fine." Flone looked like she still wanted to bug me, but she dropped the topic and said, "I'll keep us safe, Jihu."

"I appreciate you."

"And I love you!"

"...Let's get going."

xxx

The southernmost region renowned for being unsafe. That was my destination. Or rather, the mountain area connected to the Forest of Denial that Flone and I escaped from with those angels from the Federation.

Unlike the last time I was here, there weren't any colors around.

"Hm." Flone frowned and said, "Weird. That thing's not here this time either."

"This time?" I glanced at Flone and frowned. "You mean the monster we ran across?"

"Yeah." Flone swept her eyes around the surroundings and said, "I was worried it would show up again when I came to visit with Ian, but it wasn't anywhere nearby."

My frown deepened.

That wasn't good.

The thing we fought last time was basically that early 2010 creepypasta monster. A conceptual monster that wasn't really 'alive' to begin with.

Since I got my new ability, I was planning to take care of it, but since it was gone... Was it gone?

I frowned and then focused, using Nine Eyes... Or rather, my new Karmic Eyes of Destiny to observe the surroundings.

...Nothing.

"It really is gone...?"

"Well." Flone shrugged and said, "That's better for us, isn't it, Jihu?"

"...I guess. But where did something like that go?"

I had a vague sense of foreboding. That it was something that was going to come back to bite me.

But I couldn't do anything about it right now anyway.

I sighed and then looked around. "Well, if that thing's not here- Oh."

A pack of monsters emerged from the distance. Slobbering beasts that looked like giant wolves... if said wolves had been twisted all over with a distortion brush in Photoshop.

Flone drew her sword and raised her shield.

I waved her down.

"Jihu?"

"Let me handle this. We're here for me to train, remember?"

Flone looked hesitant, but then nodded. "Be careful."

"Heh. If I get hurt by something like this, I might as well give up being a fighter. But let's see..."

I held up my blade.

Since the point was to figure out my new abilities, I didn't use any mana or sword ki.

Was it because of that?

The monsters howled and charged at me without hesitation.

As the first arrived, I swung my sword, recalling the sensation I had last time.

A faint ripple. No, that was my imagination.

For a brief moment, I saw everything unravel. The world distorting like it was nothing but a hologram.

No, like I was looking at it projected on a monitor.

A simulation.

And in that simulation, I had absolute control.

So.

I envisioned it. A line drawn across the monster's torso, erasing it.

With that, my vision snapped back to normal. At the same time, the monster collapsed in midair, splitting apart like something had gouged through its body. Dead.

A sudden silence. The monsters attacking me suddenly froze.

...Huh. So monsters could feel terror too.

I found that vaguely interesting, but didn't have the time to dwell on it.

A massive headache erupted in my mind and my eyes felt like they were about to burst.

"Jihu!"

Flone called out and quickly moved to my side.

"Tch." I clutched my head and glared at the monsters. "Seems like that's too much."

I went about it wrong. Putting that much effort was overkill to handle something like this.

At seeing me clutch my head, the monsters regained their courage. They let out a howl and then rushed towards me... No, they rushed towards Flone, perhaps seeing her as the weaker of the two.

...No. Not just because of that.

I could see something else in their eyes. These monsters weren't mindless beasts. And that expression, that desire...

I growled and swung my left hand. At the same time, I imagined it. Grabbing the retinas, tearing them out for *daring* to look at Flone in that way...

Gore flew through the air and pained howls echoed.

"E-Eh!?" Flone flinched back in surprise.

But I wasn't done yet. I narrowed my eyes and then clenched, envisioning the monsters in the palm of my hands.

When I did, they vanished, replaced with a puddle of red on the ground.

And my headache intensified. "Fuck."

Silver appeared in my vision and then Flone's beautiful face. She stared at me with worried eyes and placed her hand against my forehead. "Are you alright, Jihu? You're burning up."

"I'm fine." I forced a smile and said, "Just got a bit upset there."

Flone looked confused, but then she blushed and hugged me. "Aw... Thanks, Jihu."

I coughed and then gently pushed her away. "Enough of that." I stepped back and then frowned. "It looks like I still need to experiment a bit more to sort this out."

So far, it seemed like I just had an advanced telekinesis power with how I used it. One that gave me a massive headache when I tried to actively use it.

But that couldn't be it. If it was, then it wouldn't be 'immeasurable.' So...

I glanced back in the direction the monsters came from and then started walking. "Let's go, Flone."

"Ah!" She jogged after me and said, "Wait for me, Jihu!"

xxx

"Interesting..." I muttered to myself as I shook off the minor headache from my latest experiment.

All as One. An ability and unique realm that relied on my Transcendent Insight and Energy Domination to unify everything... Probably. That was my guess as to how it worked, anyway.

As to how I could use it...

A monster lunged at me, jagged maw snapping towards my neck.

I simply walked forward, causing the monster to phase through me.

It twisted around in confusion.

And then I phased back into reality and kept walking.

A sudden explosion of gore. My reemergence caused a rapid displacement, ripping the monster apart.

Of course, I made sure to keep the gore off of me. Bloodstains were annoying after all.

"Gross." Flone grimaced off to the side and said, "Did you really have to do that, Jihu?"

I nodded. "Better figure out what happens now with a monster than with people later."

After saying that, I took a look around.

It was a village. It used to be for people, but man-eating monsters had taken over. And from the 'feeding grounds' and the 'breeding pens' I saw, there wasn't any need for remorse against those monsters.

So, perfect guinea pigs for my new powers.

Flone's grimace deepened and then she said, "Wait, people?"

"Mm. I've got a feeling that I'll be fighting them more often than monsters in the future."

Hopefully not. But with the way things seemed to be going, and since I ran into Yun Seohui in Scheherazade... Yeah, better to be sure.

Flone sighed. "Well, if you say so... Ah! I went around and unlocked all the cages!"

I smiled. "Good job, Flone. Though... Were you okay?"

It was a bit horrific. And not in the scary way, but more the mentally scarring way from what I saw.

"...It's fine." Flone nodded. "I'm not a weak woman, you know?"

I laughed and then walked over, patting her head. "Of course not. My dear Flonnie is a powerful Saintess."

"H-Hmph." Flone huffed, but she smiled as I patted her.

The monsters had been keeping people prisoners for both food and 'breeding.'

I did my best to heal the mental and physical scarring for the ones in the 'breeding' pens, but the ones captured for food I didn't do much with.

Most of them were Earthlings, so it was better to not get too involved with them.

As to said monsters...

I glanced at the viscera and gore scattered all over the place and frowned. "Looks like that's enough experimenting with combat for now."

Flone rolled her eyes and said, "What? Are you not satisfied with wiping out a monster colony, Jihu?"

I rubbed the back of my neck and let out a wry smile. "Maybe?"

She shook her head. After that, she crossed her arms and took a look around. "So what now, Jihu? Are we just going to head back? Or..." She glanced over the mountain range towards the Parasite territory. "Are we going further?"

I followed her gaze.

It was colorless. As far as I could tell, I wouldn't be in any danger if I went over there.

But something else said that it was a bad idea. My intuition warning me that it would set off something I wasn't prepared for. Something I couldn't 'see' with my 'eyes', but something that was real and dangerous even to me.

And it wasn't the Parasite Queen.

"...No. I've got something else in mind."

"Oh?" Flone looked at me. "What's that?"

"Well..." I stared at her and smiled. "Here. Take my hand."

Flone blinked, tilting her head. "...Okay?" She was confused, but she grabbed my hand. And the moment she did...

"Let's go check in on my family for a bit."

"E-Eh? Wait, Ji-!"

Before she could say anything else, I focused.

The sensation of traveling between worlds. The synchronization between the flow of time. The mechanism used to traverse granted by the gods.

Before, I didn't dare risk it. But now, with my new ability...

"-hu!" Flone screamed, staring at me with wide eyes. And then that turned to confusion as she looked around. "Huh?"

I didn't blame her.

In an instant, we'd gone from the ruined village to my studio apartment.

"Hm." I glanced out the window and then frowned. "Looks like it's night time here..."

The cityscape was dark, illuminated only by the lights from the business buildings.

"Hopefully they aren't too mad at me..." I walked over to my desk and picked up my phone.

Hannah and Seora had set up the system so I could pop back in to handle family calls, but participating in the Banquet threw a wrench in that plan.

"Already July, huh?"

I sweated as I saw a few more messages from Jinhee on my phone. Thankfully, they weren't too frantic and were just like letters, telling me what was going on.

"Jihu..." Flone spun around slowly, taking everything in. "Where are we?"

"Hm?" I glanced at her and said, "Earth."

"Earth?" She shook her head and said, "I've never heard of that city."

"Makes sense, considering this is an entirely different world."

"...Eh? EH?!"

I laughed and then slipped my phone in my pocket. Afterwards, I hummed and stared at Flone. "Hm... We should probably get you some different clothes while we're here. Ah, come to think of it..."

I remembered a shimmering white dress pattern we saw back in Scheherazade and then recreated it. "Here. I'm going to get changed in the bedroom, but you can change in my bathroom over there. I'm going to make a call and then we'll head out for the night, okay? Ah, and feel free to take a shower to freshen up. Right nozzle is cold, left is hot."

Flone blinked and clutched her head. "W-Wait a minute, Jihu! T-This is all too much...!"

"Be right back."

"Jihu!"

Flone called out, but I ignored her and walked to my bedroom.

Shutting the door behind me, I pulled out my phone and used it as a mirror. "Hm..."

There wasn't much change since the last time I was on Earth. At least, not much physical change. But since I was here through my own power, I had more 'presence' than usual, if that made sense? A certain aura that couldn't really be concealed.

"...It should be fine."

There wasn't anyone on Earth that could harm me other than that Martial God guy and his wives. And... Well, if they wanted to start stuff, I was fairly confident I wouldn't lose out now.

After all, here I had no limits to my Transcendent Insight.

"...But enough of that." I took off my clothes, chucking them into my closet, and replaced them with a tailored suit.

As I did that, I heard the shower start, along with Flone's startled voice.

"...Should I-?"

"Oh my word! This is amazing!"

"...Nah. It's fine."

It seemed like Flone was figuring things out well enough.

In the meanwhile, I had some phone calls to make.

First off...

"It's 9 PM, so it's a bit late... Hopefully Jinhee doesn't mind?" I scrolled through my contacts and called her.

Or I intended to. But before I could, I got an incoming call.

"...Eh?" I picked up and said, "Hannah?"

"You player. Bringing home a woman already right after becoming a big shot? What, am I not enough for you now, Partner?" Hannah's teasing voice echoed from my phone.

I laughed and then sat down. "Careful there, Hannah. If you keep talking to me like that, I might have to put a ring on you to keep you from running away."

"And you should be careful, Partner Jihu. I might just take you up on that offer if you keep sweet talking me."

"Heh. So what's new? Did you just call to check in?"

"I got an alert about someone walking around in your apartment, and then I saw you and a beautiful foreign woman talking together. Why wouldn't I call?"

"Ooh, jealous?"

"Ha, ha. Seriously though, who is she?"

I blinked. "...You met her last time, didn't you? It's Flone."

"...Flone?" She blinked. "...As in the ghost girl?"

"...You've been talking to Ian, haven't you?"

"A bit. Enough to know more details about the shenanigans you've been up to recently. But she's from that place, right? Did you get a big reward to trade for a wish or something?"

"Nah. I just leveled up and did a spacetime jump back to Earth."

"..." A deep sigh echoed from the other line. "...I swear. Your wife is going to need to have a bottle of aspirin on hand with her all the time."

"Hey, it can't be helped that I'm that awesome."

"Pft. Yeah, keep thinking that, Dork."

I laughed. "Anyway... Have things been going well here?"

"Yeah. Your sister's called a few times, but it looks like she's accepted your new job. It probably helps that she's been hanging out with Miss Seora."

I blinked. "She has?"

"Mmhm. Seems like the two are getting along pretty well."

...That was odd, considering the history we had with Sinyoung... but I guess it was fine.

"That's good." I sighed and said, "No problems then?"

"Not anything big. There've been a few review bombs on some of your apps, but it's just the usual jealous competitors."

"Who you're going to absolutely crush in your free time for fun, aren't you?"

Hannah laughed. "You know me too well, Partner."

"Yeah, yeah. Thanks for checking in by the way."

It was unexpected, but I couldn't help but feel a bit touched at Hannah's call.

"You must be pretty busy, but to drop everything and call me..."

"Well isn't that obvious? You're my Partner. I'm not about to ignore you."

I couldn't see her, but I could hear her smiling.

"Thanks again, Hannah. Love you."

"O-Oi! You bastard! What the fu-"

I ended the call and then let out a light chuckle. Staring at her contact info, I smiled and said, "You're too fun to tease, Hannah."

I got up to leave, but then realized that the shower was still running.

"Mm... I should probably let Flone relax a bit more."

It wasn't everyday that you got to enjoy relaxing nice bath with warm water in Paradise. And from what I knew about girls, they definitely enjoyed their relaxation time.

Since that was the case, I took the time to call Jinhee.

A few phone rings, and then a tired voice echoed. "Hello?"

"Sorry, Jinhee. Were you sleeping?"

Silence, and then the sound of blankets being thrown across the room echoed from the other side of the phone. "Oppa?!"

I chuckled and said, "Why do you always seem surprised that it's me, Jinhee?"

"Because you're always out of contact!" She huffed and said, "I know that you've been busy with work since I've been chatting with Miss Seora, but you could at least call every weekend."

I sighed. "Sorry. I got wrapped up in crunch mode these past two weeks."

"Hmph. Well... As long as you're okay. You're okay, right, Oppa? ...They're not overworking you or exploiting you or anything?"

"I'm fine, Jinhee. Your Oppa isn't going to vanish anytime soon. I still have to walk you down the aisle at your wedding, you know?"

"Pft. What, you going to fight Dad for that?"

"Of course. If anyone's going to hand off my sister, it's me."

Jinhee laughed and said, "Dad's going to have some words to say with you about that."

"Meh, it's fine. So how have you been? School going fine?"

"...It's already over, Oppa. Did you forget?"

I blinked and then said, "Oh right. It's July already..."

Jinhee sighed. "You're really working too hard. You know it's fine to take a break every now and then, right?"

"I know. That's why I'm back here actually. It's only for a day, but I'm planning to go-"

"Jihu?"

I froze.

"...Oppa?" Jinhee's voice trailed off and then she said, "Is that a woman's voice I hear?"

Before I could answer her, Flone opened the door to my room, tugging on the back of her dress. "Could you help me put this on? It's a bit tight."

"OPPA?!"

I coughed and said, "Talk to you later, Sis. Nice to catch up. Call soon."

"H-Hey! Don't you DARE-!"

I ended the call and then let out a long sigh. Glancing at Flone, I shook my head and said, "Could you at least knock next time?"

"Oh. I'm sorry." She glanced at my phone and said, "Did I interrupt something?"

"...It's fine. I've got a feeling that things will get troublesome later though..."

This was DEFINITELY going to cause a misunderstanding with Jinhee.

I sighed and then stood up. "Anyway... The dress is too tight for you?" I frowned and stared at Flone.

She nodded and then tugged at her chest. "It's a little tight around my chest."

"Hm..." I stared at her chest.

Like she said, the dress was clinging a bit too tight there. And while it was padded a bit so as to not show anything too sensitive, the valley was definitely too squished.

"Weird. It's the same measurements as last time... Did you grow a bit?"

Flone blushed and then covered her chest. "T-That's rude! Don't you know not to stare at a maiden's chest?!"

I rolled my eyes. "A bit too late to act coy with me, Flone. But here." I walked over and then reached out to her dress.

Flone turned a deep red and averted her gaze. "T-That's..."

"Done."

Flone blinked and then turned to look at me.

"What?"

Flone sighed. "...Maybe I should be more like Resa..."

"Huh?"

"Nothing, Jihu! Now... Let's go!" She grabbed my arm and grinned, leaning her head against me.

"Fine, fine. Let's go. I'm pretty hungry, so how about we head to a restaurant?"

"Sure!"