The conversation between Eriri and Kurokawa left Rory visibly stunned.
"Wait, Eriri, didn't you say before that you weren't from the world on the other side of the 'gate'?"
"That's right. I'm not from the world across the gate."
Eriri answered casually, which only deepened Rory's confusion.
"Then why did you just tell them you only arrived in this world today? Were you just messing with them?!"
"No, no, I wasn't making anything up. I really did just arrive in this world today. And when did I ever say I was from this world?"
Eriri smiled sweetly at the now-dazed Rory.
Across from them, Kurokawa and Kuribayashi looked completely baffled. One moment, they were trying to determine when Eriri had come to this world, and the next, she was saying she wasn't even from their world to begin with.
Were they just having two completely different conversations the whole time?
"Um... Miss Eriri, are you really not from the same world as us?" Kurokawa asked, still trying to process the revelation.
"Of course not. Did I ever say I was?"
Kurokawa quickly reviewed everything that had just happened and realized Eriri was right. From the start, Eriri had only said a few things—none of which actually revealed where she was from.
Everything else had just been their own assumptions.
With a sigh, Kurokawa nodded. "You're right. You didn't."
"See?" Eriri said, still smiling at their bewildered expressions.
Kurokawa and Kuribayashi could only stew in their frustration. It was obvious now that Eriri had been deliberately misleading them.
But what could they do? Confront her? As if.
No one in their right mind would pick a fight with someone capable of erasing a Flame Dragon in a single move.
Rory, too, chose not to press the matter further. After all, it was her own fault for not asking clearly.
Even if Eriri's smug grin made her want to grit her teeth.
"So... since you're not from the world across the gate, where did you come from? Is there another 'gate' we don't know about?" Rory asked, curious.
Her question immediately piqued the interest of Kurokawa, Kuribayashi, and even Itami Youji, who was still eavesdropping via radio.
Of course, Eriri knew they were listening in. But she didn't care. Nothing they were saying was particularly secret.
"Bingo. There is another gate in this world, and it's far more powerful than the one you know."
"There really is?!" Rory looked shocked, but her tone quickly turned skeptical. "Then why hasn't anyone discovered it? And why are you the only outsider who's come through it?"
"Because seeing the entrance to this other gate in this world requires extremely strong spatial abilities. And right now, no such being exists in this world."
After a brief pause, Eriri continued, "As for why only I could come through? That's because I'm strong enough."
"Ah..."
Looking at the confident smile on Eriri's face, Rory found herself momentarily speechless.
She didn't know the full extent of Eriri's power, but from her words alone, it was clear even this world's main deity wouldn't stand a chance against her.
Rory didn't doubt Eriri's claim—there was no reason to lie.
"Alright, no need to overthink it," Eriri added casually. "That 'gate' isn't supposed to open under normal circumstances, so you can just pretend it doesn't exist. Besides, I plan to remove it soon anyway."
Before Rory could respond, Kuribayashi exclaimed in shock, "Remove the gate? That's even possible?!"
"Of course. With enough power, anything is possible. Like this..."
Eriri raised her hand and waved it through the air. In an instant, the Flame Dragon she had incinerated earlier reappeared in the sky, once again brimming with life and energy.
The resurrected dragon didn't seem to realize it had already died once, and continued flying forward as if nothing had happened.
But Eriri had no intention of letting it fly off. She lifted her right index finger and made a gentle beckoning gesture.
Immediately, the dragon was teleported right in front of them, now hovering just a few meters away.
Its sudden reappearance startled everyone except Eriri and Rory. Kuribayashi, Kurokawa, and the rest of Itami's squad instinctively raised their rifles and aimed at the dragon, fingers ready on the triggers.
Even the nearby villagers dropped what they were doing and fled in panic.
Thankfully, the soldiers quickly realized this was Eriri's doing, and breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
What followed, though, was a deep sense of awe.
The ability to resurrect something—especially something as powerful as a Flame Dragon—was beyond comprehension. In a world without magic, it would be considered pure fantasy.
Kuribayashi and her team came from such a world.
So seeing this brought them tremendous shock.
This wasn't something a human could do. If Eriri had claimed to be a goddess from another world, none of them would have doubted her.
Even Rory was shaken. The power to control life and death was beyond even the main deities she knew.
Her estimation of Eriri's strength climbed yet again.
"This is incredible... To think something like this is even possible," Kurokawa murmured in awe. "May I ask, Miss Eriri... can you also bring humans back to life?"
Eriri's power was so far beyond belief that Kurokawa instinctively switched to a respectful tone.
Realizing that her question might sound like a request, she quickly added, "Ah, please don't misunderstand! I wasn't asking you to do it—I'm just curious, that's all."
"Don't worry about it," Eriri said bluntly. "Even if you wanted me to resurrect someone related to you, I wouldn't help."
Her words left Kurokawa and the others stunned.
Though Kurokawa hadn't truly intended to ask for such a favor, Eriri's flat rejection still left her feeling a bit uncomfortable.
"Why? Is resurrecting a human difficult? Or are there negative consequences?"
"Nope. It's actually really easy," Eriri said without hesitation. "Reviving a single person, or even a group, is no trouble at all."
"Then why—" Kurokawa started to ask but stopped mid-sentence.
Eriri understood her intent and cut in, "No particular reason. I just don't want to. That's all."
She smiled calmly as she spoke. Though it looked friendly, the atmosphere she exuded felt distant and unapproachable.
It was then that Kurokawa and Kuribayashi truly realized the reality of their situation. Despite how warmly Eriri had spoken with them earlier, to her, they were nothing more than strangers she had just met.
The truth was simple: Eriri wasn't interested in them.
Had she been, her attitude would have been entirely different.
In short, Eriri was a textbook example of a double standard.
As for Rory, she wasn't too bothered. After all, Eriri hadn't directed those words at her.
Maybe Eriri felt the same about her as she did about the others, but since she hadn't said it out loud, Rory wasn't going to assume anything.
So she didn't ask.
"Eriri, I'm really starting to wonder just how powerful you are," Rory said with a sigh of admiration.
Then her tone shifted. "But... after you take away that invisible 'gate' of yours, will you still be able to return to this world?"
This was the question weighing on Rory's mind. Though she hadn't known Eriri for long, she already considered her a rare and cherished friend.
She didn't want that bond to end so abruptly.
Ironically, she hadn't realized that someone capable of taking the gate away would almost certainly have the means to cross between worlds.
If nothing else, she could just use the very gate she took to travel.
"You don't have to worry about that. Crossing between worlds is easy for me."
As she spoke, Eriri snapped her fingers again. A glowing portal over two meters tall appeared between them and the two soldiers.
She didn't hide the other side of the portal, so everyone could clearly see through it.
"See that? Just step through, and you'll arrive in my world. That right there is my living room," Eriri said, pointing into the portal with a smile.
Rory stared at the unfamiliar scene with wonder, curiosity bubbling within her. She even felt the urge to step through and explore the world beyond.
"So? Looks pretty simple, right?"
"It does," Rory nodded.
She paused for a few seconds, seeming to make up her mind.
"Eriri, if I said I wanted to go to your world and take a look... would you let me?"
Though she had just promised herself not to ask Eriri any questions that might risk their budding friendship, Rory's curiosity about Eriri's world was simply too strong.
Well, if Eriri ended up saying no, she could always pretend the question never happened—just mentally delete that part of the memory.
In short: if she didn't acknowledge it, it didn't exist.
But clearly, she had underestimated Eriri's interest in her. In fact, Eriri had opened the world portal and shown the other side specifically to pique Rory's curiosity.
Bringing Rory home would be much easier that way.
Eriri smiled brightly and said, "Of course you can. You're always welcome to come visit! But just so you know, the portal can only be opened by me, and you'll need my help to safely cross through it. So, it's best if you come with me when I leave this world."
Rory beamed with joy. The thing she had feared most didn't happen at all.
Without hesitation, she nodded eagerly. "No problem. I can go with you anytime!"
Because the portal was between them, and because the view beyond it was so captivating, Kuribayashi and Kurokawa didn't notice the warm exchange between Eriri and Rory.
If they had, they probably would've felt quite envious. Eriri clearly treated Rory much better than she treated them.
"Miss Eriri, your world looks a lot like ours," Kurokawa said, her eyes never once leaving the view inside the portal.
Though it was only about two meters wide, the portal displayed a broad swath of Eriri's living room.
They could see a sofa, a television playing some unfamiliar anime, and several wireless game controllers scattered across a coffee table.
Other parts of the room were also lavishly decorated. From what they could tell, this house was no ordinary residence—it was the kind of luxury home that only the rich could afford.
Though many items were unfamiliar, most of what they saw closely resembled things from their own world—in fact, they were nearly identical.
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