A white rectangular screen of light hung silently in the air. Any normal person seeing this would surely be terrified.
But the four gathered here were obviously far from ordinary.
"All done~!"
Vya pointed at the portal before her, declaring with great satisfaction.
Looks like she'd learned to use magic too. She really was so clever!
Patting herself on the back, hehe~
Elysia gently pinched Vya's cheek. "Our Vya is amazing, isn't she♪~"
"Now then, follow Elysia's lead and let's go explore a new world!"
Elysia smiled, taking Vya's hand and stepping through without a moment's hesitation.
Mobius said nothing, slowly following behind.
Huh?
Seriously, how are you all so calm about this?
Einstein wasn't the type to shy away from adventure either. Since they'd all gone in, what did she have to fear?
Mentally noting the current time, Einstein stepped through…
As for whether there was anything dangerous on the other side…
They'd cross that bridge when they came to it.
The moment she passed through the light screen, a strange sense of weightlessness washed over her.
Pink particles of light drifted like snowflakes all around, while countless fragmentary images whizzed past—silhouettes of cities, unfamiliar faces, fleeting glimpses of battlefields.
…
When Einstein opened her eyes again, her retinas barely adjusted to the light before a double-decker tour bus came barreling straight toward her.
Her heart leaped into her throat.
She tried to dodge, but it was already too late.
Then, the entire bus passed right through her body…
Einstein stood frozen.
What had she just seen?
…For a split second, she'd even made out the mechanical structure of the undercarriage and the outline of the fuel tank.
Perhaps due to her height, she hadn't seen the passengers inside.
She patted her chest, her heart still racing as she adjusted her glasses.
Then she suddenly realized something was off.
She looked at her own hands, left and right, finally detecting a faint, illusory quality to them.
Had she… died?
"Einstein, don't just stand there! Come on over~"
A familiar voice reached her ears. It was Elysia.
She turned to see Elysia, holding Vya's hand, waving at her. Mobius stood nearby, a playful smile curling her lips.
"This is…"
Einstein quickly walked over to the trio.
…
Mobius glanced around. They were now standing on a bustling commercial street.
Cars came and went, utterly oblivious to the four "transparent" figures.
"So after passing through that door, we arrived in this city…"
Mobius continued, her tone analytical.
"And we've taken on a form similar to projections. Matter from different dimensions can't interact, which is why we can pass through objects and remain undetectable."
"So, have we truly arrived in a so-called 'other world'?"
Einstein gazed at the distant sea. It seemed this was a coastal city.
"No, perhaps it's a parallel world~ This is still Earth, you know♪~"
Elysia chimed in suddenly.
Einstein was puzzled. "How do you know that?"
Elysia pointed at a giant advertisement screen on the outer wall of a mall not far away.
"Hehe~ Isn't that Eden? As expected of my dear Eden, famous even in other worlds~"
Her exceptional eyesight and superb recognition skills served her well. There, on the distant screen, was a beautiful woman with wine-red hair—undoubtedly Eden…
Elysia laughed happily, her grin unstoppable. So this world had an Eden. Did that mean there was another 'her' too?
She was burning with curiosity~
Einstein: "Uh…"
Well, that was one useful discovery, at least clarifying the probable situation.
Elysia suddenly leaned in, asking mysteriously, "Hey, Mobius, do you think the 'me' and 'you' in this world would be good friends too?"
"I hope I never run into you."
Mobius replied flatly.
"Ah, Mobius, how could you say that?"
Elysia immediately pouted.
"Stop. Let's first see how this world differs from ours."
Mobius raised a hand to cut her off. She already knew what Elysia was about to say next, and she didn't want to hear it. Even if it was completely unexpected, she still didn't want to hear it.
Elysia, having been forcibly silenced, was clearly even more displeased.
"Vya, let's go. We'll ignore Sister Mobius for now~"
"Ah, okay, Sis!"
Watching the two pretend to run off, Mobius's mouth twitched involuntarily…
…
Mobius and the other woman wordlessly followed the departing figures of Elysia and Vya.
Along the way, they noticed this world's technological level seemed slightly lower than their original one…
Seeing the world from this perspective was rather novel, admittedly.
…
"Sis, why are you staring at those two big sisters over there?"
Vya didn't quite understand.
"Because they're pretty, of course♪~"
Elysia answered frankly, her eyes still following the two figures. Looking closely, they were indeed rare beauties.
One was a black-haired girl with dark eyes who seemed a bit spacey, the other a girl with short ash-blonde hair…
They were hurrying toward a small square in the distance, though it was unclear what for.
"I see…"
Vya nodded. The black-haired sister's aura was white.
The ash-blonde sister's was more of a rose color…
"What a shame. It'd be so nice if we could be friends with them~"
Elysia said with genuine regret.
But she perked up instantly.
"Hey! How about we go check out the beach? We might run into even more pretty girls there~"
"Okay!"
Vya usually agreed unconditionally with Elysia's suggestions.
Only Mobius and Einstein, trailing behind…
Had dark lines on their faces…
However, during this time, Mobius took the opportunity to give Einstein a rough overview about Vya.
"Capable of using a Herrscher's power? Is such an existence even reasonable?"
Einstein felt it wasn't normal.
Mobius chuckled lightly. "But she exists, doesn't she? You've seen it with your own eyes."
Einstein fell silent for a moment before replying, "Point taken."
If something already exists, why question why it exists?
Watching Einstein's reaction, Mobius was pleased. As expected of a fellow researcher.
Her ability to accept the unusual was naturally exceptional.
The group followed Elysia to the beach.
Little did they know, this trip would lead them to a "familiar face."
Elysia's eyes widened as she pointed to a spot on the sand. "Look, isn't that…?"
Following her finger, they saw a completely unexpected figure…
Well, perhaps not completely unexpected, given they'd sort of met not long ago.
…
2 Chapters Per Day. For more chapters/fics, goto ErbiumTL on Patreon.