novelraw Chapter 222 – Out in the Open
Chapter 222 – Out in the Open
First time stepping into a portal…
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“Wow… It really didn’t kill us…” Katja gasped. “I can’t believe there really is stuff on this side. Is this where you’ve been training this whole time?”
“Ahahahaha! Amazing!” Narumi said.
Experiencing the most dangerous flight on a weird spectral gryphon.
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“Haaa… Haaa… Haaa… Who thought flying on those things was safe?! I thought we were done for!”
“Ahahahahaha! Amazing!”
Seeing Ebrilyon for the first time.
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“I- it’s like we traveled back in time, but… There are also non-humans in the city? Am I dreaming? You’d tell me if this wasn’t real, right?” Katja asked her guides, Carol and Hecate, a bit worried.
“Ahahahaha! Amazing!”
Got them to where they needed to go, now time to open the way back.
Trying the fast-travel system. One round back and forth.
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“Was that teleportation? Why does such a primitive-looking world have something like that? Magic? Yeah… I should have known… I’ve seen everything now…”
“Ahahahaha! Amazing!”
“What are you? An NPC!? How many times are you going to repeat the exact same thing?! Did you break, Narumi?!” Too many new experiences in a row. Katja and was overwhelmed and snapped back.
“Hmm?” Narumi tilted her head.
“*Sigh…* Never mind…” Katja turned to the other two. “Are we done now? Any other common-sense-shattering items on the itinerary today?”
“Not really.” Carol said. “All that’s left is meeting Iroha’s girlfriends that are from this world. They’re waiting for us at a park nearby. Let’s go.” Carol led the way.
“Now, whether multiple girlfriends give you whiplash or not is up to you. Depends on what is normal for you romantically.” Hecate teased Katja, glancing back over her shoulder.
“Uhhh… I never really thought about romance until Iroha said all that… I don’t have a sense of what’s normal, so I’ll be fine.”
“And no resistance to it either. You turned into a maiden head over heels from the most basic stuff. It was hilarious.” Carol said.
“N- no, I didn’t!” Katja’s cheek turned red. “A- and it wasn’t basic… I may not know anything about love, but I think she really understood me for a second. It was very heartfelt. That’s how love is supposed to be, right?”
For her who lived for her duty, Iroha’s acceptance meant a lot. She gave her life to fighting monsters and protecting people as a way to atone for her sins. She was a tool. Her own priorities and feelings didn’t matter. It was all she had since it was impossible for anyone to accept her with all her sin.
But maybe it doesn’t have to be that way… She couldn’t know just yet, but maybe she could be a tool for someone special. Someone who would support her regardless of what she was forced to carry. Maybe she could prioritize her friends for once without feeling guilty. But she still had a long way to go…
“See? You’re doing it again.” Carol scowled. “What’s with that dreaming look on your face?”
“Guhh!” They caught her.
“Hecate…” Carol whispered. “What do we do? At this rate, Iroha’s gonna get another one after we rescue her! I’m pretty sure she wasn’t even thinking when she said all that! Not that she ever thinks anything through…”
“It’s frustrating… I know. I can’t believe she did it so easily. I’m so jealous!”
“Je- jealous?” Carol recoiled. Now Hecate was acting weird too… She was surrounded by idiots… “Ahem… Whatever. We’re here.”
The girls passed by a few rows of bushes and flowers and entered the park with the big statue in the middle. Off to the side, sitting on a bench, were Ririna and Sarasa, waving at them.
“Wait a second… I recognize you…” Katja said as the group walked over to them. “You are…”
“You’re the girls we went to the beach with! You’re Iroha’s friends!” Narumi finished the thought with a gasp.
“Ririna, right? You seemed like a nice girl… Were you a native of this world the whole time?” Katja slowly approached.
“Sarasa! I thought I’d never see you again! Yaay!” Narumi went over for a high-five, which Sarasa immediately returned.
“Nyahahaha! We were told to keep our identities a secret back then. Sorry about that.” Sarasa hid her cat ears the last time they met. Now they completely captured Katja and Narumi’s attention. “Hey! No touching without permission.” She swatted Narumi’s hand.
“We didn’t mean anything bad by it.” Ririna said. “We don’t know much about your world, and your situation seemed complicated, so we just did what Iroha said.”
“It’s fine… I understand.” Katja returned the smile. “If Iroha brought you two to the beach with us, does that mean you were already dating back then?”
“Yep!” Sarasa nodded. “Going to the beach was one of my first dates with her, actually. And speaking of which, if you two are here now, does that mean you’re new girlfriends!?” Sarasa leaned back in shock. Ririna joined her.
“Ehhh? Really?! Two more?!”
“No… Not really…” Narumi said.
“Not yet.”
Not yet? What did Katja just say? Carol picked up on it. Why was she talking like it was already a done deal?
“Really?” The tension completely left Sarasa. “Then why did she tell you now? And where is Iroha anyway?”
“Yeah… That’s complicated…” Carol said.
“A lot of stuff happened in our world… The reason we’re here is to discuss it with you. I think.” Katja turned to Hecate and Carol. They’re the ones who brought them there.
“It’s a lot to take in. Let’s go for a walk, and we’ll fill you in.” At Hecate’s suggestion, the group disappeared into a narrow path between the flowers and bushes and away from any onlookers.
They had plenty of time and explained everything from the beginning. The nature of the House of Imaginary Boundaries, the PSF and their aims, and how Iroha ultimately got taken into custody.
“I- isn’t that kidnapping? That’s just like what happened to me. We have to save her!” Ririna said.
The intensity of these girls was impressive. Katja wasn’t sure what to expect, but they really cared for Iroha…
“That PSF you were talking about, is it kinda like an army?” Sarasa asked.
“That’s right.” Carol nodded, arms crossed, as they stood around in a circle surrounded by nature. “And they’re the ones we’ll probably have to fight if we want to save Iroha. That’s why we need your help. We can’t win on our own. And even if you two joined, I still don’t think we’d win in a direct confrontation. We want you to help us come up with a plan.”
“Nyahahaha! You came to the right girls! We’ll help, of course. Let’s see… Well… if you’re up against a big organization, then the best idea would be to talk to someone from one. I think we know someone who could help.”
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“A- a castle?! What are we doing at a castle?” Katja looked up at the impressive fortress.
“Cause this is where Iroha’s newest girlfriend is! She’ll come up with something good, I swear!” Sarasa said.
“Ughh… They actually went ahead with that?” Carol rolled her eyes.
“Hmm? She didn’t tell you?” Ririna asked.
“No… I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt and say she just didn’t have time.”
“So Iroha actually has a lot of girlfriends, huh? I could never have imagined that…” Narumi nervously asked. She then pointed to the girl she spotted by the castle’s entrance. A red-haired girl wearing a chest plate. “Oh… Is that her?”
“Hmm? What about me?”
“It’s nothing, Flanne.” Carol said. “She was just wondering if you were one of Iroha’s girlfriends. But you’re… not? You’re not, right? There’s nothing between you and Iroha? There shouldn’t be… Can’t believe I have to suspect everyone now…”
Carol’s suspicion put her under some very scrutinizing looks. “Wh- what? Ahahahaha… You don’t have to look at me like that. We’re not… dating… We’re just friends.”
“Hah?! Just friends?” Carol called her bluff. “Very suspicious…”
“I’m being serious! We’re just friends! Please believe me!” Flanne said.
Arguing in front of the gate was too embarrassing. They were there to see Bea, so Flanne quickly took them inside. The quicker she dumped them on the princess, the better for her.
“Princess?” With a few knocks on her office’s door, Flanne called out. “Iroha’s group is here to see you.”
Flanne gently opened the door for them. A blonde girl wearing a green dress leapt forward with her arms stretched.
“Iroha! I missed you so much!”
Katja instantly bent her legs like she was being attacked, and… Glomp?
“Huh?” “Eh?”
…
“Who are you?”
“Who are you?”
Katja and Bea stared at each other. Something gave them the feeling there had been some misunderstanding… “Fl- Flanne… Who is… What’s going on?” Bea face turned red.
“That’s what you get for shameless behavior. Now you’ve embarrassed yourself. You reap what you sow.”
“Ahem… It seems I got the wrong person… Forgive me for that…” Bea straightened her dress and tried to pretend like nothing happened. “Are you more of Iroha’s friends? It’s nice to meet you.”
“Wow! Are you a real princess?! Amazing!” Narumi said.
“Hm?” The orange-haired girl didn’t recognize her? They must be from Iroha’s world then, Bea deduced. And if she trusts them enough to bring them to this side, that means… “Oh… Are you also dating her? I didn’t think she had so many girlfriends… I hope we can get along!”
“They’re not!” Carol said. “I know it’s easy to assume, but don’t just give her a pass to make anyone her girlfriend! I haven’t accepted you as one of us yet, for example. Iroha will have to try a little harder to convince me first.”
“Try to convince…” What a good strategy… “Pretending to be against Iroha getting new girlfriends to push selfish requests on her… Thank you so much for the advice, senpai!”
“Stooop!” Carol cringed. “I don’t wanna be called that in the context of a harem! I don’t want this harem to be a thing in the first place!”
“Sometimes fate is truly inescapable…” Hecate encouragingly patted her shoulder.
“Shut up. You’re part of the problem.” *Smack!*
With the initial introductions out of the way, the conversation quickly shifted to Iroha. Or better yet, to the fact that she wasn’t there. Bea finally got Iroha to accept her feelings, and now she couldn’t see her? Tragic!
But that was the reason the whole entourage was there? They told her the story of what happened to Iroha and asked her for her advice.
“That sounds really complicated…” The couches in the office weren’t enough for so many people, but they squeezed in there regardless. Bea touched her chin while thinking of how she could help. “Iroha told me before that the military in your world is even stronger than ours, so there’s no way you could face them head on. Even if you were all as strong as her… I don’t fully understand how your world and its organizations work to give you proper advice, but if I had to say something, I’d say that you need to find an ally on the inside as soon as possible.”
“What does that mean?” Katja asked.
“The thing about big organizations is that they usually build defenses that make them impervious to attacks from the outside. Any direct opposition is easily crushed. When faced with something like that, the only way to take them down is to attack them from within. You need to find yourselves a spy or a traitor who’s willing to work with you. Someone who’s able to provide you with the information you need to formulate a plan and give you an avenue to attack.”
“That makes a lot of sense, but…” Carol couldn’t help but hang her head. “It’s a lot easier said than done…”
Barely any of them had any connections inside the PSF, and Katja, the only one who could have, is also one of their biggest targets.
“Sorry… That’s the only advice I can give you without knowing the details.” Bea said. “But if they’re holding Iroha against her will, I’ll do whatever I can to help. Don’t hesitate to bring me anything you can find if you need more advice! I may not be able to do much in your world, but you may make use of my head.”
“Thanks… We’ll be counting on you.” Hecate smiled. Bea had a good character. She cared for her people and seemed loyal enough. Would that be enough for her to trust her? Maybe… But it was her character and not the blonde hair that made Hecate trust her. Hecate convinced herself of that. Like, her hair wasn’t even as pretty as Iroha’s, so why would it sway her? And thinking about Iroha’s hair was now making her want to touch it… She’s going to get withdrawal symptoms if they don’t rescue her soon.
“*Sigh…* But it is bad timing for Iroha to get captured now… I had something for her.”
“What was it?” Carol asked.
“Information. I reached out to Galene and she’s coming here later today with her friend and the mysterious helper from the other day. Now it’s all going to waste.”
Carol and Hecate didn’t know what Iroha wanted from them. But they weren’t completely clueless. A little interrogation is nothing. They both leaned forward and smacked the table between them. “It’s okay! We’ll relay the message!”