Emily's Morning

A group of little lolis—Reina, Illya, Myu, and Enju Aihara—dressed in various styles of princess dresses, bounced around the banquet hall, their faces full of joy.

Of course, there were also a few who weren't great at socializing and quietly focused on the food, such as Sagiri Izumi, dressed in an adorable evening gown.

But she wasn't alone. Now her close friend, Emily, was sitting beside her.

While the two of them tackled the table full of delicacies, they also whispered to each other.

"Thinking back on everything that happened today, it really feels kind of like a dream," Emily said with a face full of wonder.

Hearing that, Sagiri paused her eating, looked up at Emily, and then revealed an expression of admiration and affection.

"Mmhm, of course! That's my Eriri-nee for you. She's not only beautiful but also plays the piano so wonderfully. Wahoo!"

"What you said is true, but that's not the point! It's power! The key is power!" Emily exclaimed, clenching her soft little fist in excitement.

"I never thought that I, Elf Yamada, would one day wield apocalyptic power! With this power, I shall become the savior of the world! Kukukuku~"

As she spoke, Emily covered her right eye with her hand, laughing with full chuuni energy.

However, before her performance could last more than a few seconds, Sagiri cut her off.

"Alright, enough with the chuuni act. By the way, isn't this the first time you've learned Eriri-nee's real identity? Thinking back to your face this morning when you stepped through the World Gate… that was hilarious, haha!"

Seeing Sagiri laughing heartily, Emily puffed out her cheeks and huffed, "Ugh, seriously! Not only Eriri-nee, but even you kept it from me. That's just too mean."

"Eh? But you never asked me about Eriri-nee before, so I thought she had already told you."

"..."

Faced with Sagiri's words, Emily had no rebuttal—after all, everything she said was true.

Before arriving in the Saekano world, Emily knew nothing about Eriri's true nature. Since she had never asked, Sagiri never brought it up.

Most of her Line chats with Eriri had just been about random, casual topics.

Although she had asked Eriri several times recently if she could visit her home, Eriri had either been at Arifureta's sister's wedding in the Arifureta world or busy in the To LOVE-Ru world.

So she hadn't invited Emily over.

It wasn't until today that Emily finally came to the Saekano world for the first time.

Thinking about what happened this morning, Emily couldn't help but sigh.

Just after waking up, she sent Eriri her usual good morning message on Line. Not long after, she received a reply: an invitation to a gathering.

When she saw the message, she was so happy she leapt right out of bed.

After replying with an enthusiastic yes, she rolled around on her bed with her phone, so giddy that she forgot to ask for the address.

Just as she came back to her senses and was about to ask, she suddenly got a message from Sagiri, telling her to come with her and her mom to Eriri's house.

So Emily didn't follow up with Eriri about the address.

Brimming with excitement, she followed Sagiri and Mrs. Izumi to Ruri Gokou's house.

Originally, Emily thought that was the destination, but to her surprise, they had only gathered there to meet up with another group—it wasn't the venue.

This was actually her first time meeting Ruri, so it was also her first visit to her home.

After introductions from Mrs. Izumi and Sagiri, and learning that she was connected to Eriri, Ruri warmly welcomed Emily.

Soon after, the six of them headed to the neighboring apartment building Eriri had purchased.

Emily thought this would finally be their destination—but reality gave her a metaphorical slap to her soft little cheeks.

When Ruri opened the apartment door, the sight that greeted Emily completely overturned her understanding of reality.

Inside, she saw rows of doors standing upright on the floor. Even more fantastical was that each door had floating pink text above it.

She also saw several beautiful girls casually walking out of some of the doors.

Only then did Emily realize she had stepped into something far beyond ordinary.

She remained in a dazed state for quite some time. It wasn't until she finally saw Eriri that she snapped out of it.

From the delighted smile on Eriri's face as she pinched Emily's cheek, Emily also realized why she hadn't learned any of this until now.

...

Similar conversations to the one between Emily and Sagiri occurred in other corners of the banquet hall.

Although Emily was the only one who didn't know Eriri's true identity, many were visiting the Saekano world for the first time.

For example, Rizu Ogata, Hisa Takei, and others had been to the Martial Arts Tournament world but never to the Saekano world.

Not to mention, the World Gate to the BokuBen world had only been established yesterday.

Aside from worlds Eriri had already visited, the remaining worlds that hadn't yet received World Gates were still temporarily disconnected.

But there weren't many such worlds—only seven in total:

Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina (Elaina's world)

BokuBen (Fumino Furuhashi's world)

Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear (Yuna's world)

Didn't I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?! (Adele's world)

Food Wars! (Erina and Alice's world)

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime (Milim's world)

BOFURI: I Don't Want to Get Hurt, so I'll Max Out My Defense (Kaede Honjou and Risa Shiramine's world)

Originally, Eriri had planned to establish World Gates to these seven worlds when she visited them for leisure in the future.

But for the sake of this gathering, she made a special effort to link all seven to the Saekano world in advance.

In truth, only Fumino, Yuna, and Adele actually brought others along. Elaina and the rest came alone.

Still, Eriri didn't want to show favoritism, so she went ahead and connected all the worlds. It didn't take much effort anyway.

That said, she didn't stay in those worlds for long while building the gates, so she still planned to visit them properly in the future.

...

In a quiet corner of the banquet hall, Adele sat with her new friends—Crimson Reina (Noukin), Mavis von Austien, and Pauline.

Each of the four held a small cake in their hands, quietly savoring it with their heads down.

Though most of the day had passed, Crimson Reina and the others still seemed a bit nervous around the other guests in the hall.

Even Adele, who was quite familiar with the group members, stayed quiet to keep them company.

After all, she was the one who brought them here, and she felt responsible for looking after them.

Before arriving in the Saekano world, Crimson Reina and the others were already aware of Eriri and the chat group.

Adele often talked about Eriri and the group, dropping their names into conversation. As her dormmates, Crimson Reina and the others had no choice but to learn about them.

Several months ago, just like in the original story, Adele had joined the Hunter School under the name "Mile," and that's where she met Crimson Reina, Mavis, and Pauline.

Thanks to her memories of the source material, she quickly became good friends with the trio.

However, Adele's behavior in front of them differed greatly from what was shown in the original.

Ever since joining the Multiverse Same-Sex ♀ Friendship Group, she had abandoned her pursuit of a "normal life" under the persuasion of Eriri and the other members.

After all, the main reason she sought normalcy was because she'd been too exceptional in her previous life, which left her friendless.

Her true desire wasn't for a mundane life, but for friends who would stay by her side.

In the group, those fears didn't exist. No one would leave her just because she shone too brightly.

Because of that, Adele completely gave up on her quest for normalcy.

When she met Crimson Reina and the others, although she didn't flaunt her strength, she also didn't go out of her way to hide it like she had in the original story.

If they rejected her because of her strength, she would've been disappointed—but not regretful. After all, she now had a whole family who accepted her.

Thankfully, Crimson Reina, Mavis, and Pauline didn't disappoint her. When Adele accidentally showed her true power, they didn't pull away—instead, they welcomed her even more warmly.

Months of bonding brought them closer together, and it was precisely because Adele now saw them as close friends that she often talked about Eriri and the group in front of them.

"Adele, why are you all sitting over here? Not joining the fun with the others?"

A cheerful voice reached the girls' ears, instantly recognizable.

Seeing Eriri standing elegantly in front of them, Adele's adorable little face lit up with joy.

Although she had wished for "average" abilities when she reincarnated, that wish only applied to her strength—granting her half the power of the world's strongest elder dragon.

Her looks, however, weren't affected by the average clause. Even after reincarnation, she remained as cute as ever, totally on par with her past life.

Her figure, on the other hand, was far less developed—practically from a different universe.

"Eriri! What brings you here? Isn't Yue-chan with you?"

Standing up, Adele carefully set her half-eaten cake on her chair, then rushed to Eriri's side and wrapped her arms around hers with childlike affection.

Even before World Gates existed, Adele often visited the Saekano world to see Eriri, which was why their bond ran so deep. They weren't just chat buddies—they knew each other offline as well.

And as for why twelve-year-old Adele didn't call Eriri "big sister" like the other little girls? That was because of her past life—she saw Eriri more as a peer.

Eriri pinched Adele's soft cheek and grinned. "Yue-chan's off playing with Chika and the others. Want to join them?"

"Hmm…"

Adele didn't answer right away. She turned to glance at Crimson Reina, Mavis, and Pauline, who had clearly tensed up upon seeing Eriri.

Understanding the situation, Eriri patted Adele on the head and stepped over to the trio.

"Crimson Reina, Mavis, Pauline, right? Having fun at the gathering today?"

Hearing her voice, the girls instantly stiffened. In a reflexive tone, they replied, "Y-Yes! We're having a wonderful time!"

Their speech came out awkward and tense, a mix of nerves and excitement.

This was only their second direct interaction with Eriri—after that quick introduction earlier in the day when they'd just arrived with Adele.

Their initial impression had been of someone unbelievably beautiful, kind, and fabulously rich, with tons of friends.

But after witnessing the concert, they now viewed Eriri as a literal goddess.

Not even the deities from their own world could compare—in their hearts, those gods weren't even qualified to shine her shoes.

Before, they didn't understand what it meant to reach Level 7. But after Adele explained it to them with dramatic flair, they finally grasped the magnitude of what Eriri had gifted them.

"Glad to hear it," Eriri said with a gentle smile. "And no need to be so nervous. Relax a little—I'm not going to bite."

She then gently pulled Adele forward, wrapping her arms around the girl's back and playfully squeezing her cheeks.

"Look at Adele—she's completely at ease. You should take a page from her book, alright?"

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