The moment I turned around I saw Totshigui Sorah in the flesh. The man I’d promised to bring his family here yet bore no progress, and traveled half the world in four months separated from him. During our journey Ruri and I had our arguments and steadied our resolve in that time. But right now, I felt as if he returned from the dead. Here in this convenience store.

Before I could even reach out my hand Ruri dashed ahead. Her long hair flew past me as she tackled Sorah in her embrace. Sorah caught her just in time and stomached the blow. 

“Ruri… why… I don’t know what to say here.” his face remained composed albeit shocked while his eyes widened. “Look how soaked you are. How have you been—”

“I…” Ruri interrupted him and dug her face into his chest. “We’re sorry… for suddenly disappearing. For leaving you behind without saying anything. For abandoning you… I’m so sorry…”

Sorah remained silent. Ruri began to cry in his arms while he bent down and accepted her embrace. He was the Sorah we knew, calm and understanding. I couldn’t keep the feeling bottled in my throat that I so desperately wanted to release. And to my surprise I witnessed a solemn emotion.

Not even a few seconds later tears dripped down Sorah’s face. Even through his composed state the floodgates opened within him as he rested on Ruri’s shoulder with a silent sob. “I’m glad you’re safe, you two. After never seeing anyone I’ve known… I’m so glad you’ve returned.”

I just stood there clenching my fists. My chest tensed up and I could say nothing. I wanted to cry like they did. They had a genuine bond. Like brother and sister they reminded me of a time that never happened. I wondered whether my own brother and I would have the same reünion. 

Yuanyuan and Tursun stood behind me and watched. 

Sorah’s shift ended, and we went with him back to my father’s house. No one said a word while walking the dark streets leading up to it. The moon and stars dominated the sky, and the lampposts down low. Small bugs jumped across the sidewalk once in a while to make Yuanyuan flinch. If anything, this felt exactly like the first time we visited Hakone. 

“I’m home,” I said for the second time and entered the foyer. My father was in the kitchen downing beer. His beard appeared more rugged and his eyes bearing dark spots. Makoto dropped his happoshu can at the sight of all of us entering the house at one time. 

“Kawari… You’re here?” He ran his side into the corner of the kitchen table, before making his way towards us. My father neared me and sank his hand onto my shoulder. “You’re real!?...”

Makoto stumbled back. I wiped the sweat and mud from my face with a troubled smile. “Yes, I’m real. It’s been around four months…” 

“I can’t believe it… First you all take a bath one by one, ladies first! No mud will be tolerated in this house! Sorah and Kawari, you two go last.”

“Yes, sir.” Sorah walked past me and bowed. “I will prepare the towels as well.” 

Ruri and Yuanyuan went to the bathroom together to bathe while the rest of us men waited in the main room with our shirts off. I hung our sodden clothes in the veranda out back, after everyone had washed their feet. As the breeze dried my grubby hair I heard the sliding glass door open and close. Sorah matched my shoulder and stared out into the backyard. 

I faced him again and scratched the back of my head. “Well, there’s a lot of explaining I have to do…”

He nodded silently. I didn’t even know where to start. I tried to imagine what he felt when Ruri and I disappeared to who knew where, only to come back later with an even bigger party. 

“Ruri and I were transported… Through this sliding door.” I turned around and showed him the exact one. “We ended up not far from Han’ei, and couldn’t return for a while. If you don’t believe me, then you can get mad—”

“I believe you.” Sorah affirmed again, placing a hand on my shoulder. “On that night, I couldn’t sleep, most still adjusting to your world’s concept of ‘jetlag’. I saw you two in the back conversing, and wanted to join you two. But when I approached the hallway, I heard Ruri scream—I rushed to the sliding door to find not a trace.”

My mouth opened at the revelation. “I see…”

“You’re amazing, Kawari. I don’t think I ever got to address that. You must’ve been chosen for the connection between your world and ours.” He chuckled and sat down, listening to the sounds of the mountains. “How did you manage to return?”

I ignored his compliment and seated myself on the veranda floor also. “I received a special skill that allowed me to set a door as an ‘Interdimensional Gate’. Tahblo.” 

[System Warning]

Cannot use chart in this environment.

“‘Interdimensional Gate’, huh… So you got around to leveling up then?” 

“...Not quite. I unlocked it soon after facing an Officer of Brevity.”

“Hold on, an Officer—”

My father pulled open the sliding door. “Oi, Sorah, Kawari! Take a bath! Then sleep, and we’ll all catch up in the morning.” 

The door slammed shut behind us. Soon Sorah and I looked at each other, sighed, and laughed. “I’ll tell you everything tomorrow, Sorah. When everyone’s ready.”

 

“In Hakone this weekend, a sudden wildfire broke out on Mount Sengen last night, burning seven hectares of forest,” the local radio broadcasted the next day, while scratching my back  in a white shirt, “While the cause is not known, the fire had been put out by unpredicted rain weather conditions which have continued today.” 

A light drizzle outside gave the house the smell of dew. Sunlight heated the tatami floors and warmed my skin. I walked into the kitchen area where my father began preparing breakfast and decided to help him out. Soaking the kombu, dicing tofu, dissolving miso paste, and a couple other things to speed up the process. Sorah walked out from the hallway with a yawn. 

My hand set down the knife on the cutting board. “Good morning. How’s Ruri?” 

“Ah, she’s come down with a cold, likely from being in the rain last night. No motivation to get up, and her forehead’s heating up,” he responded as he checked the freshly washed clothes drying on the veranda, “Your father is cooking up a storm for the amount of people in this house.” 

I transferred the diced tofu into six small bowls. “That… My bad. By the way, there’s been something I’ve wanted to ask. How did you manage to get hired at the local konbini down the street?” 

“Well…” Sorah rubbed the back of his neck. “I didn’t want to be a burden for your father, so he apparently knew the owner of the convenience store, and with the referral from a female employee…”

Now I understood. My father hooked him up with his friend, along with the girl who Sorah unknowingly courted when buying that map way back when. Normally they would require verification of visa and whatnot… I wondered what happened in the process. 

“Sorah just kept on insisting, and I just gave in and went all out,” Makoto said his first words since last night, “He’s been worrying too much. About you guys being gone, and his family. But so far, everything’s turning out okay.” 

After a few minutes Yuanyuan and Tursun walked into the main room. The food had been finished by then as we sat around the low-lying table. Tursun hesitated a bit before digging in like a dog, while Yuanyuan helped herself to every dish. Reminded me of our first time with Ruri and Sorah. 

“Now that I’m sober…” My father sipped some water before setting it down, “Kawari, explain yourself. Who are these two people, the dog boy and the girl? This is way different from the first time you visited.”

He referenced Tursun and Yuanyuan, who couldn’t understand his question. I put down my chopsticks and remembered the explanation I drafted. “They’re from Sorah and Ruri’s world. It’s a long story, but they’re here because we were escaping.”

I pointed to them and told them to say their names. Tursun stood up and gave a salute. “Tursun Éoga, sir!” 

She went soon after. “I’m Kang Yuanyuan, nice to meet you～”

“Tursun, Kang…” My father scratched his chin and squinted. He didn’t understand the language they spoke in. “Gah, I’m so lost I’ve given up understanding. You’re becoming more of an enigma than your older brother.”

I raised my hands. “Let’s not talk about him…”

“First you bring Sorah and that girl from another world… and then disappear for months to come back with more people from the same world. While I try to understand what’s going on, I can’t feed five people for a long time like Ayumi and I did… years ago.”

The drizzle from the sky ended, and we finished breakfast just as fast. My father had been tolerant from the start. I realized that while I could summon the gate back to my own world, I had no means to transport ourselves back. Last time the voice of the Pacification did it to Ruri and I, but there was no guarantee whether I would hear it again. 

I finished washing the dishes when I saw Tursun and Yuanyuan staring out the sliding glass door. They just had a culture shock at the convenience store, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they felt a little overwhelmed. I didn’t know how to process this turn of events myself. 

I walked up to them. “How are you two holding up? And sorry for uh, bringing you here.”

Yuanyuan whirled around first and clasped her hands. “Are you kidding me? I want to explore this place! This world might have better medicinal advancement than ours!” 

“I doubt it’s any better… but we can’t go out in broad daylight. You stick out like a sore thumb with your hair color. Wait, maybe if you say you dyed it…”

“See? Give me a day and I’ll explore this town, the world! Then I’ll tell Doctor Yang about it.”

“When we reach Regione Straniera you can tell him.” I nodded to her while she stood proud. Then I faced the other person in question. “And you?”

“Kawari, was it?” Tursun rubbed the back of his dog ears. His eyes gazed at the ground. “Like her, this is all new to me. I thought something like this was a ruse, only to see a market of light, roads of molten stone and guards with steel wagons.”

I scratched my head. “I hope this doesn’t encourage you to turn us in to the Royal Marshal…”

“Oh, I wouldn’t.” He shook his head, and gave a smile. “Everyone hates the Royal Marshal in some shape or form. Wherever there is a Guild, they are there. Quest rewards are taxed by the Aquitani government. Aquitaine dominates global trade while Great Zhou outpowers her in manufacturing. She puts diplomatic pressure on other nations and their policing force can just bully around. If Aquitaine gets their hands on another world… then it would spell disaster for everyone.” 

“I… I see.”

Aquitaine extended its power through the standard Adventurers’ Guild, monopolized it through quests and taverns, thus allowing the Royal Marshal to weave its way in. I never understood how they attributed ‘Loi the Transience’ to their duty and capturing me. 

“Kawari, could you come here for a sec?” Sorah popped his head out from the hallway. Tursun and I turned around. I bade Tursun my thanks and walked on over to Sorah. 

We headed over to the guestroom where Ruri lay sick in a futon. Her face was beet-red, squinting with her eyes closed. Sorah shut the door. 

“Let’s continue our talk from last night,” he said and looked me in the eye. “You mentioned the Officers of Brevity. I want to know about what you experienced, among other things.”