Emiya noticed the attention right away.
People were staring. Some were even starting to move closer.
Of course, they weren't interested in him.
They were looking at Erina Nakiri.
"This place isn't suitable for talking anymore," Emiya said. "Let's change locations."
Hisako Arato nodded and looked to her young lady.
Erina Nakiri stood up abruptly. "Follow me."
She turned and left the restaurant.
Emiya and Hisako followed. The three of them passed through several corridors, took an elevator, and eventually arrived at a luxurious suite inside Totsuki Resort.
The room was clearly expensive. A walk-in closet, living room, refrigerator, kitchen, bathroom-everything was there.
"This your room?" Emiya glanced around, then walked over and dropped onto the sofa, stretching comfortably.
Erina didn't answer. She folded her arms and looked straight at him.
"Were you joking just now?"
"Do I look like someone who jokes about things like that?"
Emiya lifted his hand slightly.
The refrigerator door opened by itself.
Erina and Hisako froze as a bottle of Coke floated out and landed neatly in Emiya's hand.
He twisted the cap and took a few casual sips.
Neither of them could see the psychic hand.
All they saw was a floating bottle.
For a moment, the room went silent.
Hisako suddenly stepped in front of Erina, her legs shaking. "L-Lady Erina..."
Erina's face went pale. "A... a ghost!"
"Relax," Emiya said. "Not a ghost. Psychic power."
He took another sip.
"You've heard of superpowers, right?"
"I-Is it really psychic power?" Erina asked, forcing herself to stay calm.
"It is."
Hisako stared, eyes wide.
So superpowers really existed.
Erina swallowed. "Then... what you said earlier was true?"
"Why would I lie about something this easy to verify?"
Erina fell silent. Hisako didn't know what to say either.
"If you still don't believe me," Emiya continued, "I can take you to another world and show you."
Erina hesitated.
She had read plenty of manga. She had her fantasies.
But that was different from reality.
Going to another world with a man she had just met felt like a terrible idea. If things went wrong, she might come back with a whole soccer team's worth of children.
She was confident in her looks. Her background too.
Which was exactly why she refused.
"Forget it," she said. "We're not that familiar. I don't want to trouble you."
Emiya nodded. "That's reasonable."
Erina crossed her arms, tsundere pride intact. "Exactly."
Emiya smiled faintly.
"Then I'll prove it with facts. Let's go."
He snapped his fingers.
Psychic hands wrapped around Erina and Hisako and pulled them in.
The world vanished.
The next instant, the three of them stood inside a narrow bathroom.
Emiya covered both girls' mouths with psychic force before they could scream.
"Calm down," he said quietly. "You're in another world now. Follow me. Don't run. I'll introduce you to the owner of this room."
He opened the door and walked out.
Erina and Hisako exchanged uneasy looks.
They knew they couldn't resist.
Carefully, they followed.
Outside, Emiya scanned the house with his power. Natsume Takashi's foster parents were watching TV downstairs. Natsume himself was reading in his room.
Emiya led them upstairs and opened the door.
"Hey, Natsume. I'm here."
Natsume looked tired. "You again?"
Then he noticed the two girls.
"...Who are they?"
"Chefs from another world," Emiya said. "Come in."
He gestured.
Erina and Hisako stepped inside reluctantly.
"They don't look very willing," Natsume said.
"I used a bit of force," Emiya admitted, releasing the psychic hold.
Erina backed away slightly, watching him, then turned to Natsume.
"What do you want from us?"
Natsume smiled wryly. He could tell he had already been labeled a criminal.
"I just wanted to prove I wasn't lying," Emiya said calmly. "Natsume, you have your phone?"
Natsume nodded and handed it over.
Emiya floated it toward Erina.
"Check it. There's no Totsuki Academy. No Nakiri family."
Erina stared, then took the phone and started searching.
Natsume hesitated. "So... traveling between worlds is real?"
"It is."
Emiya smiled. "I haven't introduced myself properly. I'm Emiya. A superpower user. A beginner world traveler."
He continued, "This is Erina Nakiri. And Hisako Arato, her secretary. They're from the world of Food Wars!"
"The world of Food Wars!?" Natsume blinked. "Worlds have names?"
"More or less."
"What kind of world is that?"
"A place where cooking is absurdly advanced," Emiya said. "The food gives people euphoria. Like a drug."
"That's ridiculous," Natsume said, face flushing. "That can't exist."
"That just means you don't know enough."
Emiya shrugged. "I've seen worlds where food literally glows."
"That's impossible!"
"You live with yokai," Emiya said flatly, "and glowing food is where you draw the line?"
Natsume fell silent.
Emiya turned.
Erina was staring at the phone, murmuring.
"There's nothing... really nothing..."
"Do you believe me now?" Emiya asked.
She looked up slowly. "So... you were telling the truth."
In her world, Totsuki Academy and the Nakiri family were household names.
Here, they didn't exist.
Neither did the WGO.
No three-star ratings. No annual guidebook. No executives ranked from third-class to special-class.
Nothing.
It was undeniable.
Emiya hadn't lied.
Which only made it harder to accept.
He took the phone back and returned it to Natsume.
"Well then," he said, "let's introduce ourselves properly."
Erina straightened. "Erina Nakiri. First-year at Totsuki Academy."
"Hisako Arato," Hisako said. "Lady Erina's secretary."
"I'm Takashi Natsume," he replied.
"I'm Emiya," he said. "You already knew that."
His gaze shifted.
A cat lay on the floor, silent the entire time.
"Mr. Madara," Emiya said, "aren't you going to introduce yourself?"
Erina froze.
Hisako frowned. "Mr. Emiya... it's just a cat."
The cat suddenly leapt into Natsume's arms.
"Hoh? You know me too?" it said. "Interesting."
It straightened proudly.
"Listen well, little girls. I am the great yokai-Madara!"
Both girls went deathly pale.