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Earth-Land
When Kazuma returned to this world with Lisanna, walking along the street, he was still trying to figure out how to explain the fact that he'd vanished for over a year.
But before he could come up with anything, he ran straight into Mystogan. And before Kazuma could even open his mouth, Mystogan spoke first.
"Guild Master, what the hell happened in Edolas? Why can't I go back anymore?! And you—what exactly did you do over there for a whole month?!"
Mystogan fired off his questions in a rush.
"Nothing's wrong over there," Kazuma replied. "As for why you can't go back… it's probably because I broke the Anima Magic that connected you to Edolas. So yeah, you're stuck here."
"Hold on—what do you mean 'a month'?" Kazuma froze. "Only a month has passed here?"
He knew that time could flow differently between worlds, but Edolas and this world were supposed to be synchronized.
"Yeah," Mystogan said, puzzled by the question. "It's only been a month."
"Is it because I used the Celestial Spirit World's passage to get there?" Kazuma muttered. "Or did something unexpected happen halfway through…?"
He fell silent, thinking it through. In the end, drawing on his extensive experience hopping between worlds, he came to a conclusion.
The worlds were drifting apart.
The closer two worlds were, the smaller the difference in their time flow. Back when Edolas and this world were closely connected, time passed almost the same in both.
But after Kazuma went in and completely overhauled Edolas—
Their connection weakened. The distance between the worlds increased. And naturally, their time flows diverged.
So while only a month had passed here, a full year had already gone by in Edolas.
"Guild Master? Guild Master…?! How is Edolas doing now?!"
Mystogan's voice was tight with anxiety. He called out several times, but Kazuma didn't respond. Seeing Kazuma deep in thought only made Mystogan more nervous.
"Oh—right," Kazuma said, snapping back. "Edolas is fine. More than fine, actually. Under my rule, it's already achieved a pretty great society."
"The magic power crisis is solved too. We've even developed new magitech. Here—take this. Play around with it."
He casually tossed Mystogan a magitech phone he'd brought back from Edolas.
In this world, it had no signal or network. At best, it could take pictures and tell the time.
"Lisanna was also rescued," Kazuma added, glancing at the setting sun. "Hmm... At this hour, Mira should still be busy at the guild."
Lisanna was visibly tense. It had been far too long since she'd been back. Fear crept into her heart without her even realizing it.
That nervousness people feel when they're finally close to home again.
Kazuma led Lisanna away, leaving Mystogan standing there alone, completely overwhelmed, staring at the magitech phone in his hand.
"Wait—what is this thing? How do you even use it?!"
"And I still want to go back to Edolas! How am I supposed to get back now?!"
He hurried after them, still deeply worried about Edolas. But after a couple of steps, something suddenly hit him.
"Wait a second! Did the Guild Master just say Edolas is under his rule…?! No—what the hell happened over there?!"
Now even more panicked, Mystogan rushed after them, desperate for answers. But by then, Kazuma and Lisanna had already reached the guild entrance.
Most of the guild members were either out on jobs or had gone home. Only Mirajane was left, handling the final cleanup.
"Mira, I'm back," Kazuma said with a smile.
"Well, if it isn't our esteemed Guild Master," Mirajane replied without turning around, her tone teasing. "Disappears for a whole month and just strolls back in like nothing happened."
"You have no idea how many times Grandpa Makarov complained about you to me. I thought my ears were going to grow calluses."
She turned around mid-sentence—and froze.
"Li… Lisanna?!"
Mirajane stared at the girl standing behind Kazuma, stiff and uneasy. The rag slipped from her hand and fell to the floor.
"M-Mira… I'm back."
Lisanna's eyes reddened. She tried so hard to hold it in, to keep the tears from falling.
But she couldn't.
Sadness and joy surged up all at once, and in the blink of an eye, tears flooded her eyes.
"According to our old agreement," Kazuma said lightly, pulling Lisanna forward and seating her at the bar, "I brought her back to you. Though honestly, you probably don't even remember making that promise."
Before Mirajane could respond, Kazuma leaned over the counter and pulled out a bottle of red wine from the cabinet below—one of Cana's prized bottles she'd been saving for herself.
"An agreement…?" Mirajane murmured. "You don't mean the thing I blurted out when I was drunk, do you?!"
She frowned, then remembered. Back then, she'd lost control of her emotions while drunk, and in her grief, she'd made that desperate request.
She'd never truly believed Kazuma could do it. After all, the dead didn't come back to life.
And yet… now she wasn't so sure.
"Lisanna… is it really you?" Mirajane asked softly.
"It's really me, Mira. You can touch me—this isn't a transformation. I really came back!"
"And if you still don't believe me, I can tell you about when we were kids… things only we'd know…"
Lisanna grabbed Mira's hand and pressed it to her own cheek, crying as she spoke, recounting memories known only to the two sisters.
Little by little, Mira believed.
She pulled Lisanna into a tight embrace, sobbing openly. Her little sister, dead for so many years, was back.
Their family was whole again.
And this time—
They would never be separated again.
.
.
.