Just like that, it was quickly noon.
As the sound of the front door opening rang out, Eriri, Eu, and Naegleria stepped inside one after another.
None of them were carrying anything in their hands—Naegleria's luggage had all been stored inside Eriri's storage system.
"Kyoko, Haruka, we're back~"
Upon stepping into the entryway, Eriri didn't forget to call out lightly toward the living room.
Even before entering the house, she had already sensed Kyoko's presence, so she knew Kyoko had finished moving in.
Eu also softly followed Eriri's lead with a gentle, "I'm home!"
This long-missed feeling made her feel quite good, and an involuntary smile crept onto her face.
This scene happened to fall into the eyes of Naegleria, who stood beside her. It made Naegleria feel deeply gratified.
She then curiously looked around the interior of the house, clearly very intrigued by her future residence.
Meanwhile, Haruka, who had been lying on the sofa watching TV with great interest, immediately jumped up the moment she heard Eriri's voice.
She quickly abandoned the TV and dashed toward the entryway.
Before Eriri and the others had even changed into their indoor shoes, Haruka's figure had already appeared.
Meow meow meow (Master, you're back!)
With cheerful meowing, Haruka spread her soft pink paws and leapt toward Eriri.
Seeing the little white cat pounce at her, Eriri immediately paused her movement to change shoes and opened her arms without hesitation to catch Haruka in a warm embrace.
Looking down at Haruka, who kept meowing nonstop in her arms, Eriri smiled and reached out a finger to tease her chin.
"It hasn't even been that long, and you're already becoming such a spoiled little thing~"
Faced with Eriri's teasing, Haruka narrowed her eyes in contentment.
Naegleria, who had finished changing into her indoor shoes, showed a curious expression when she saw Haruka and quickly moved to Eriri's side.
"Eriri, is this your pet cat? She's so cute~"
As she spoke, she reached out her right hand, wanting to mimic Eriri by tickling Haruka's chin.
Upon hearing Naegleria's voice, Haruka instinctively opened her eyes and looked toward the source of the sound. The next second, she saw a soft white hand reaching for her face.
At that, the ever-alert Haruka immediately buried her head into Eriri's chest, dodging the approaching hand and exposing only her back.
"Ara ara, looks like this little kitty is quite shy~" Naegleria said with a playful smile, clearly not upset by Haruka's evasive move.
Since she couldn't reach the chin, she simply placed her hand on Haruka's back and began gently stroking it.
Hearing Naegleria's words, Haruka immediately lifted her head from Eriri's arms and looked at the unfamiliar person their master had brought home. Then came a string of cute meows from her mouth:
Meow meow meow (I'm not shy at all!)
As the strongest being of the Underworld, Naegleria could naturally understand Haruka's meows without any trouble. She realized right away that Haruka wasn't an ordinary cat.
However, this didn't surprise her. After all, it wasn't anything unusual for her.
"If you're not shy, then... do you dislike me? Oh no~ how heartbreaking~" Naegleria dramatically covered her cheeks with both hands, feigning a sorrowful expression.
But Haruka wasn't fooled by her act. She turned her head away arrogantly, refusing to even look at her.
At that moment, Eriri suddenly laughed and said to Naegleria:
"Alright now, Nini, Haruka is very clever, you know. That little trick of yours won't work on her."
"Ara ara, what a shame~"
Hearing Eriri's words, Naegleria immediately dropped her hands from her cheeks and once again revealed her radiant, smiling face.
"So this little one's name is 'Haruka,' huh? What a lovely name~" Naegleria said cheerfully to Haruka.
She then quickly pointed to herself and continued, "Right, I'm Nini. I'll be living here from now on. I hope we can get along well~"
Naegleria's arrival added a touch of liveliness to the previously quiet new home, and Kyoko warmly welcomed her presence.
Having seen the memory playback, Kyoko was not unfamiliar with Naegleria and was aware of her true identity.
But she didn't mind at all.
After all, that was just an issue left over from the last century—not to mention, due to her strained relationship with Velier, she wouldn't be surprised if someone was sent to retrieve her.
Besides, having someone to keep her company was far better than living alone, even if she did plan to visit the Saekano world frequently.
So, she had no reason not to welcome Naegleria.
Just like with Eu, Naegleria held no prejudice against Kyoko for being a Magical Garment Girl—especially since she had already become friends with her former rival, who was once the strongest Magical Garment Girl.
After settling Naegleria in, Eriri didn't linger in this world any longer. After lunch with everyone, she returned with Eu and Haruka to the Saekano world.
Not long after Eriri left, Naegleria, having returned to her room, pulled out her phone from her pocket and skillfully dialed a number.
"Hello, Chris, want to grab a drink tonight?"
"Something really interesting happened today. Want to hear about it?"
"Then it's settled—see you at the usual spot around seven~"
Hanging up, Naegleria showed a smile of anticipation. She was really looking forward to seeing the expression on that friend-and-rival girl's face when she learned of Eriri and the other universes.
Meanwhile, elsewhere on a street in the city, a tall, stylishly dressed girl with refined features stood solemnly on the sidewalk.
Passersby instinctively turned their eyes toward her, but the girl paid them no attention.
"I must find Lady Hellscythe as soon as possible. The village's problem needs to be resolved immediately."
The girl silently resolved, and her beautiful green eyes seemed to flash red for a moment.
Having gathered intel from her people, she picked a direction and briskly headed off.
"Eriri, is this the world you live in?"
After exiting the World Gate, Eu looked around with curious eyes, also sensing the condition of this world.
She could feel the magic in the air, which wasn't much different from the world she came from.
Originally, she thought any world that could produce someone like Eriri must be extraordinary.
But she didn't know—it wasn't the world that made Eriri. It was Eriri who made the world.
If not for Eriri, this world wouldn't have magic at all—not even comparable to the world of "Is This a Zombie?"
"That's right. This is our home now. Starting today, you'll be living here," Eriri said with a light smile as she held Haruka.
Then she extended her right hand, pointing toward the rows of surrounding doors, and continued speaking to Eu:
"See those doors? Each one leads to a different universe. From now on, if you ever want to visit another world, you can go through these World Gates at any time."
"Mm!" Eu nodded lightly, her gaze fixed firmly on the doors.
She had already noticed those strange doors. Even without Eriri's explanation, she could roughly guess their function.
After all, the door behind her looked exactly the same as these—only the text hovering above each was different.
"Alright, let's think about that later. For now, let me introduce you to your new family. Like I told you before, they're all wonderful people. I'm sure you'll like them."
Eriri's words quickly shifted Eu's attention away from the World Gates.
Before coming here, she had already heard some things about these new family members from Eriri, so she had long been looking forward to meeting them.
With eager anticipation, she nodded and said, "Mm, I'm looking forward to meeting them."
Then, Eriri led Eu past the World Gate area and through an open-air corridor into the villa.
By the time Eriri returned, many people had already noticed.
So when she entered the villa's main hall, quite a few people were already waiting inside.
At the forefront were Arifureta, who greeted them with a smile, and Shea, who curiously stared at Eu.
"Eriri, welcome back!"
The moment she saw Eriri, Arifureta rushed over and gave her a big hug, momentarily sandwiching Haruka, who looked confused between them.
Feeling the soft object pressed against her chest, Arifureta quickly let go of Eriri and looked down into her arms.
"Ah, this must be Haruka. Just as cute as in the photos—so pinchable~"
With that, Arifureta swiftly snatched the still-dazed Haruka from Eriri's arms and, with a mischievous smile, began running her soft hands all over Haruka's little body.
Though Eriri had gone to another world, she and Arifureta kept in touch almost daily.
So Arifureta already knew what had happened over the past few days in the "Is This a Zombie?" world and had also learned about Haruka's personality.
For example, how Haruka didn't like anyone except Eriri touching her belly. So Arifureta was clearly teasing her on purpose to see how she'd react.
And sure enough, Arifureta's actions had a perfect effect—Haruka completely froze.
Meow meow meow? (What are you doing?) came a dazed meow from Haruka's tiny mouth.
"Isn't it obvious? I'm petting a cat~" Arifureta answered matter-of-factly, not pausing her motions.
Hearing that, Haruka snapped out of her daze and began struggling in Arifureta's arms.
Meow meow meow! (Nooo, only Master is allowed to touch me like this!!!)
But Arifureta had no intention of letting go. She held Haruka firmly in her embrace.
Seeing she couldn't escape, Haruka eventually gave up, going limp like a salted fish that had lost its dreams, letting Arifureta cuddle her while letting out a weak meow:
Meow meow meow (Sorry, Master, Haruka is now a useless cat...)
Hearing Haruka's little murmur, Eriri, who had been watching Arifureta's antics with a smile, reached out and gently stroked Haruka.
She also comforted her gently: "That's not true at all. Our little Haruka is the best~"
Hearing Eriri's words, Haruka instantly lifted her little head.
Meow meow meow (Really?)
"Of course it's true~"
Meow! (Yay!)
And just like that, Haruka perked up again. But she no longer resisted Arifureta's affection—in fact, she started to find the touches kind of pleasant...
While Eriri and Arifureta were teasing Haruka, the others in the living room had also gathered around, having seen everything just now.
Smiles of amusement were clearly visible on all their faces.
Luckily, Yukino wasn't home at the moment. Otherwise, as a seasoned cat-lover, she might have pounced on Haruka the moment she laid eyes on her.
Of course, Eu wasn't neglected in the slightest.
Kanae Kocho and Lala, who knew a bit about Eu, had already come over to chat with her. Others who didn't know her well still gave her a warm welcome.
After that, Eriri formally introduced Eu to everyone.
Arifureta and the others' enthusiastic reception warmed Eu's heart immensely.
Time passed quickly, and it had already been a week since Eriri returned from the world of "Is This a Zombie?" December had also reached its end.
Not long ago, Shouko and the others had transferred schools and were now also on vacation.
Though time had been synchronized between the two worlds thanks to the chat group, their months weren't aligned. So to Shouko and Yuzuru, it felt like they had just started summer break a couple of weeks ago—and now they were already starting winter break.
As for Yoshino Himekawa, she had been on a leave of absence for quite a while. And just days after returning to school, she was already back on break again.
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