An Unexpected Reunion

"So this is what it feels like to have power? I feel like I could punch a cow to death right now!" Sagiri exclaimed, pumping her little fists with excitement as she looked at Eriri.

It had only been about three or four minutes since Eriri had planted the energy seed in Sagiri's body.

In that short time, the energy had already enhanced Sagiri's physical capabilities beyond that of an average adult. Of course, she was still far from reaching Level 2.

As for punching a cow to death—yeah, that was pure exaggeration on Sagiri's part.

"You've still got a long way to go. You haven't officially stepped into the realm of superpowers yet," Eriri said, patting her on the head. "Remember what I said—keep training. The harder you work, the faster you'll get stronger."

"Got it!" Sagiri responded with a bright, cheerful nod.

After ruffling Sagiri's hair again, Eriri picked up her phone and resumed reading the manuscript Emily had sent over.

Determined to reach the world of superpowered beings as soon as possible, Sagiri started jogging enthusiastically around the living room.

Not long after, Mrs. Izumi returned to the living room from her bath and was immediately surprised by what she saw.

Normally, Sagiri preferred sitting to standing and lying down to sitting. Seeing her voluntarily exercising was quite the shock.

Then again, as her mother, Mrs. Izumi wasn't exactly the most active person either.

Curious, she stopped Sagiri and asked what had happened.

After hearing her daughter's explanation, Mrs. Izumi crawled to the edge of the sofa and looked up at Eriri with puppy-dog eyes.

A few minutes later, the living room joggers increased from one to two.

Despite the added footsteps and occasional chatter, Eriri was completely unbothered. She sat on the sofa and quietly finished reading volume one of The Dark Fairy of Explosive Flames.

The novel was a classic isekai harem adventure. And truth be told, reading it all in one sitting had been pretty enjoyable—at least for Eriri.

It wasn't that Emily's writing was particularly refined. Compared to someone like Utaha Kasumigaoka, Emily was in an entirely different league—several leagues lower, in fact.

But she had an excellent grasp of what harem novel readers wanted. She knew just how to structure her story to hit all the right notes.

So even though the writing was mediocre, as a commercial light novel, it was a success. No wonder it ranked #1 on the ORICON charts in the original timeline.

After finishing the manuscript, Eriri closed the file and returned to her LINE conversation with Emily.

From the chat history, she could tell just how anxious Emily was for feedback. Over the past hour, she'd been messaging Eriri every few minutes, asking for her thoughts.

The latest message had arrived just five minutes ago.

[Emily: Eri Kashiwagi-sensei, have you finished reading volume one yet?! What do you think? Satisfied? Isn't it amazing?!]

[Eriri: Hm... Just finished it. As for how I feel about the novel... let's see...]

In a nearby Western-style house, Emily lay on her bed in her pajamas. When she saw Eriri's vague response, her heart tightened.

Something about the wording felt ominous.

But she quickly shook it off. She had confidence in her debut work—lots of it.

[Emily: So? So? Isn't it super good?!]

[Eriri: Not bad. It passes.]

[Emily: Yay!]

[Emily: Happy.jpg]

[Emily: So, does that mean you'll illustrate my novel?!]

[Eriri: I could… but are you ditching your current illustrator?]

[Eriri: Curious.jpg]

[Emily: It's fine! Elmi will understand!]

Reading Emily's message, Eriri couldn't help but smirk with amusement. She wondered if Elmi would cry when she found out.

Not that it was her problem.

She had already made her decision.

[Eriri: Well, since you've put it that way, how can I say no? I'll illustrate it for you.]

[Eriri: And from now on, just call me Eriri-nee.]

[Emily: Okay!!]

Eriri's confirmation sent Emily into a frenzy of excitement. The messages she sent afterward were filled with uncontainable joy.

...

By the time Eriri returned to the Saekano world, it was already the next day.

She had stayed the night at the Izumi house, sleeping in the same bed as Sagiri.

Though they had only slept and nothing more, Sagiri had been so excited that she couldn't fall asleep until nearly 2 a.m.

Thanks to their evening jog around the living room, both Sagiri and Mrs. Izumi experienced noticeable improvements in physical fitness. If classified by power levels, they would be around Level 1, Stage 5.

It wasn't a huge leap, but considering the light nature of their workout, it was a reasonable pace.

Before leaving the Oreimo world, Eriri registered the location of her house there and gave both Sagiri and Mrs. Izumi access to the interworld gate connecting to the Saekano world.

She didn't stop by the Gokou household to say goodbye to Ruri and her sisters. After all, they spoke daily in the chat group, and the sisters could come visit any time.

However, when Eriri returned to the living room of her mansion, she was greeted by an unexpected presence.

"Eriri-chan, you're back!"

A surprised yet cheerful voice rang out behind her, accompanied by hurried footsteps.

Before she could even turn around to check, she found herself wrapped in a very soft embrace. Her head was nestled snugly between two pillowy masses.

That familiar softness and the voice left no doubt in her mind.

"Oh? Isn't this Shizuka? Long time no see. Did you come with Saeko and the others?" Eriri looked up at the woman leaning over her—Shizuka Marikawa.

"It's been a while!" Shizuka replied, beaming even brighter. "When Saeko-chan and Alice-chan came back yesterday, I asked them to bring me along."

Previously, when Eriri had visited the Highschool of the Dead world to establish a world gate, both Saeko Busujima and Alice had accompanied her.

However, since that world was still in a post-apocalyptic mess, Eriri hadn't wanted to stay. She set up a gate in a decently luxurious villa and returned to the Saekano world.

Saeko and Alice had remained behind for a bit.

That world was still their birthplace, and while they wouldn't be living there permanently anymore, returning occasionally wasn't a bad idea.

During their visit, Saeko had even reunited with her father.

Back when she had left that world, Saeko hadn't said goodbye to her father. But now that she could visit any time, of course she'd want to reconnect with her only family member.

Afterward, she and Alice sought out Shizuka Marikawa and Saya Takagi, the friends they'd once survived alongside. They had just returned to the Saekano world yesterday afternoon.

Previously, when Eriri invited her to leave the Highschool of the Dead world, Shizuka had declined, worried about the safety of her friend, Nami Kaori.

But now that the zombie threat had been eradicated, and with Nami busy every day working on rebuilding the city as part of the prefectural police force, Shizuka often thought about Eriri's invitation.

So when she heard from Saeko and Alice that they could take people to Eriri's world, she didn't hesitate.

"I see. Then take your time and enjoy yourself here," Eriri said with a smile.

Originally, she had planned to visit the Highschool of the Dead world after it was fully rebuilt, to reconnect with Shizuka and the others.

But since Shizuka had come to her instead, she certainly wasn't going to complain. In fact, she was quite fond of Shizuka.

A ditzy, naturally cute blonde bombshell? What's not to like?

"I was just about to go shopping with Saeko-chan," Shizuka said brightly. "Eriri-chan, want to come with us?"

She looked down at Eriri with hopeful eyes.

After a few seconds of thought, Eriri nodded.

"Sure. I don't have anything planned, and I don't feel like going to school today anyway."

She paused for a moment, then added, "Oh right, let's invite Esdeath and Loli too. Especially Esdeath—training and fighting are fine and all, but she should relax and have some fun once in a while."

"Got it! I'll go call Saeko-chan, Loli-chan, and Esdeath-chan!"

Shizuka's face lit up, and after giving Eriri one last squeeze, she headed out of the living room.

Even though she had only arrived yesterday afternoon, she'd already met nearly everyone in the mansion—except for a few who rarely left their rooms.

She naturally knew who Eriri meant by Esdeath and Loli.

Since it wasn't the weekend, girls like Ailetya were at school, and others were off exploring different worlds through the portals. Not many people were left in the mansion.

Once Shizuka left, Eriri was the only one in the living room, making it unusually quiet.

But that silence didn't last long. The rapid clicking of footsteps echoed through the halls.

Aoi Kujo, dressed in her usual maid outfit, quickly entered the room. She had sensed Eriri's presence and rushed over.

"Welcome home, milady. Shall I prepare breakfast for you?" Aoi asked respectfully, her expression calm.

But her eyes gave her away—they shimmered with warmth and deep affection for Eriri.

"No need. I already ate over there," Eriri replied cheerfully. "Aoi-nee, I'm heading out shopping later with Shizuka and the others. Could you prep the car?"

"As you wish," Aoi replied with a nod before turning to leave.

The room fell quiet once again.

Eriri released her awareness to scan the mansion.

She spotted Shizuka just exiting Loli's room, as well as Saeko and Loli preparing to head out. Judging by their pace, they'd need a few more minutes to get ready.

So Eriri sat down on the sofa and opened the chat group.

Perhaps because it was still early, the group chat was unusually quiet. The most recent message had been sent around 4 a.m. that day.

[Eriri (Level 8, Stage 9): Sisters, are you all awake yet?]

[Chika Fujiwara (Level 7, Stage 1): Of course we are! We're already in class!]

[Miko Yotsuya (Level 4, Stage 9): I'm in class too.]

[Azusa (Level 5, Stage 7): I just woke up here. Oh right, Eriri, Laika's older sister Leila's wedding is coming up soon. Want to come visit us then?]

[Eriri (Level 8, Stage 9): No problem, just ping me in the group when the time comes. It'll be a good chance to set up a World Gate there.]

[Azusa (Level 5, Stage 7): You could come earlier to set it up, you know.]

[Eriri (Level 8, Stage 9): That won't do. I need that ceremony feel! I can't just set up a gate without having some fun while I'm there. So let's wait for the actual wedding day.]

[Azusa (Level 5, Stage 7): Okay, fair enough.]

...

With the brief chat concluded, Eriri leaned back on the sofa and smiled.

A wedding in another world, a shopping trip with friends, and a new illustration gig lined up—it seemed like another busy, but enjoyable, day was about to begin.

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