"…Why is she here?"
Both Akira and Erika spoke at the same time.
Not just Erika, even Akira looked genuinely confused by this sudden development.
He muttered,
"…She just grabbed my hand. That's enough to get dragged along?"
Erika frowned.
"Why is Selena unusually silent? Did she do this?"
"Why are you two just talking among yourselves? Explain to me first."
Nakiri Erina snapped.
"Who are you people, where is this, what is that bird, did you use magic, what the hell is happening?!"
Akira sighed.
"To be honest, I'm not entirely sure either. Hey, sister, what's happening?"
A voice echoed in their minds.
"—Alright. Let's clarify something first."
A small pause.
"This is not my fault."
Erina froze.
"…Who said that?"
She looked around sharply.
"…Why did I hear that inside my head?!"
Akira replied casually,
"Don't worry, that's just my sister. She's speaking to us telepathically."
Erina blinked.
"…What?"
Selena's voice continued,
"Nice to meet you. I'm Selena."
Erika cut in immediately,
"Don't worry about greetings. Explain why she's here."
Selena answered,
"It's because of her Ring of Resonance."
Erika frowned slightly.
"…Ring of Resonance?"
She looked at the ring on Erina's finger.
Erina followed her gaze and looked down at it.
Then she remembered how it had started glowing earlier.
"…What exactly is this ring?"
Akira looked at his own ring.
"Yeah, mine glowed too."
Selena explained,
"When she grabbed your hand, both rings resonated. Combined with the transfer timing, she got pulled along."
Erika nodded slowly.
"…That does sound like an accident."
Akira didn't believe in accidents, especially when it involved his sister.
But he couldn't prove anything.
So he went along with it.
He turned to Erina.
"See? That's what happened. It was an accident."
Erina narrowed her eyes.
"…That explains one thing."
She stepped forward.
"Now explain everything else. First, who are you people?"
Akira exhaled.
"…It's a long story."
Then he glanced at the fallen Flyer Duck.
"…So let's sit down and talk while this cooks."
Erina blinked.
"You're going to cook that?"
Akira nodded.
"Yeah. I heard it's delicious. It won't take long."
Then he added,
"Besides, I'm hungry."
He raised his hand.
A magic circle unfolded beneath it.
Dry branches spilled out and gathered together.
Snap.
Flames surged upward, forming a large campfire, big enough to roast the Flyer Duck.
Under Erina's shocked gaze, Akira raised his hand again.
Four wooden benches formed around the fire.
"You two sit," Akira said. "I'll handle this."
Erika sat down without hesitation.
Erina hesitated—
Then slowly sat on the seat beside her.
Akira used water and wind magic to clean the bird thoroughly, then placed it over the fire.
A moment later—
He sat down beside Erika.
"…Alright."
He glanced at both of them.
"Let's talk."
The fire crackled softly as Akira and Selena gave a brief explanation, with Erika occasionally correcting their… questionable wording.
The Flyer Duck roasted over the flames as they talked.
A few minutes passed.
Erina sat silently.
Processing.
"…So let me get this straight."
She looked at Akira.
"You're a mage."
Then she pointed at Erika.
"…And she's a vampire."
"Dhampir," Akira corrected automatically.
Erina ignored him.
"And both of you are… Star Chasers."
She exhaled.
"You travel between different worlds… doing missions."
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"And right now, you dragged me into one of them because of this ring?"
"Ring of Resonance," Akira corrected.
Erina ignored him again.
"And the reason we are engaged is because of some family alliance and that absurd contract… and you have to help me with my God Tongue… and I have to become one of your fiancées."
Akira nodded.
"Yep."
Then Erina's gaze shifted.
To Erika.
To the way Akira was sitting right next to her.
Close.
Too close.
"…And not only do you have multiple unknown fiancées… You also have a girlfriend."
Akira nodded.
"Exactly."
He leaned closer to Erika, like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Erina's eye twitched.
Even Erika looked a little flustered.
Akira had been a bit too clingy recently.
She didn't mind it—
Actually, she did enjoy it—
But doing it in public, especially in front of his fiancée, was a bit…
Erika wasn't as thick-skinned as Akira.
But she also didn't want to push him away.
So she let it be.
But Erina snapped first.
"How can you be this shameless in public?!"
Akira frowned.
"What's wrong with being close to my girlfriend?"
Erina pointed at herself.
"I'm your fiancée!"
Akira shrugged.
"So?"
Then he gestured toward Erika.
"I have multiple fiancées… but I only have one girlfriend."
Silence.
Both Erika and Erina stared at him.
What kind of logic was that?
Selena's voice cut in.
"Brother… I understand what you're trying to say, but… fiancées are generally considered a higher status than girlfriends."
She sighed.
"…Never thought I'd say that one day."
Akira frowned.
"…Who cares about that?"
Selena replied instantly,
"Everyone, brother. Everyone."
Akira paused.
He looked at Erika.
Then at Erina.
Both of them had the same expression—
As if they agreed with Selena.
Akira nodded slowly.
"…I see."
He straightened.
"…Fine. If it matters that much."
He turned to Erika.
Placed his hands on her shoulders.
Looked straight into her eyes.
"Then marry me."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Even the fire seemed quieter.
Erina's brain stopped working.
"…Wha—…what?!"
Erika froze.
Completely.
It took a moment for her brain to reboot.
Then—
"…WHAT ARE YOU SAYING…? This isn't something to joke about!"
Akira didn't hesitate.
"I'm not joking. I'm serious. Let's get married. If you become my wife, that's higher than a fiancée, right?"
Erika's thoughts derailed.
Shock.
Embarrassment.
Confusion.
And something else she refused to process right now.
"…You idiot—"
She grabbed his cheeks.
Hard.
"STOP TALKING."
Akira struggled,
"I ammm noottt jokinnggg—"
"SHUT UP."
She pinched harder.
"Don't say things like that so casually!"
Akira insisted,
"I ammm seeeriiioouuusss—"
Erika let go—
For exactly half a second.
Then locked her arm around his neck, pulling him into a chokehold.
"I SAID STOP TALKING."
Akira tried,
"But—"
She tightened her hold.
"Not another word."
Watching this unfold, Nakiri Erina finally snapped.
"STOP FLIRTING, I'M RIGHT HERE!"
Erika froze for a split second.
"…We are not flirting."
Selena's voice echoed,
"…You kind of are."
Erika snapped back,
"SHUT UP."
But she also realized… it probably did look like that.
So she released him—
And immediately pointed toward the fire.
"Go, cook. Don't speak. Don't think. Just go cook the chicken."
Akira walked away, grumbling.
"…I'm still not joking. And also, it's not a chicken."
Erika looked at the grumpy Akira, who had gone off to cook, and sighed.
"…Why is he always like this…"
Then she looked at Nakiri Erina, who was watching with a complicated expression.
"I'm sorry about that. He's an idiot."
Akira immediately replied,
"I am not. I am actually a genius."
Erika snapped,
"Shut up and go back to cooking."
Akira immediately went silent and continued cooking.
Erina nodded slightly.
"…Yeah, I can see that."
But she still looked a bit downcast.
Seeing her like that, Erika thought for a moment, then said,
"Don't worry. We'll definitely get you back home safely."
Erina looked at her with a grateful expression.
"…Thank you."
This had been the most chaotic day of her life.
She had suddenly learned she had a fiancé.
Then learned she wasn't his only fiancée.
Then got dragged into another world.
Got attacked by a flying chicken-duck.
And found out her fiancé was a mage and his girlfriend was a vampire.
Which meant…
All those horror movie creatures are real.
After going through all that—
It felt like she had finally met someone normal.
But then she remembered—
Erika was a vampire.
She sighed.
"…So vampires are real?"
Erika nodded.
"Well… yes."
Erina hesitated.
"What else is real?"
Erika thought for a moment.
"If I had to say… almost everything from myths is real."
Erina blinked.
"…So God is real too?"
Erika nodded.
"Yeah. All of them. And if you're asking about the one from the Bible… he's real too."
Erina let out a long sigh.
This was too much.
Akira, meanwhile, almost said "God is dead,"—
But Erika had already told him to shut up and cook.
And it probably wasn't something to say to a normal girl.
So he chose to remain silent.
Besides—
Cooking the Flyer Duck was more important.
He raised his hand and activated his spell.
"Aerial Pyre Oven."
The magic circle activated.
A giant, glowing chamber of flames and gusts formed—perfectly roasting the colossal Flyer Duck.
This was a magic Akira had created back when he hunted a wyvern and didn't know how to cook it without any utensils.
So this was what he came up with.
Wind magic circulated the heat evenly, basting the meat in its own juices while crisping the skin to perfection.
Akira only seasoned it with salt, pepper, and paprika.
He didn't want to use anything fancy, mostly because he didn't know what it would taste like.
So simple was best.
Soon—
A delicious aroma spread toward the girls.
Even the downcast Erina looked surprised.
"…I didn't expect this to smell this good."
Erika smiled.
"Well, he did say this world is full of delicious food. And Akira is a great cook."
Erina muttered,
"…He's not that great."
But she didn't look away.
A few moments later—
The flames died down.
The Flyer Duck landed on a plate.
Perfectly roasted.
Golden skin.
Juices still dripping.
Akira presented it.
"I present to you… Roasted Flyer Duck."
Both Erika and Erina looked at it.
It looked like a roast chicken—
But several times bigger.
And perfectly cooked.
Erina frowned slightly.
"…How are we going to eat this?"
Akira waved it off.
"Don't worry."
He took out his high-frequency knife—the one he usually used for cutting large ingredients—and sliced through it effortlessly.
He handed smaller portions to Erika and Erina—
And kept a larger one for himself.
Then he sat down next to Erika.
Like always.
"Come on. Let's eat."
He took a bite.
Juices burst into his mouth instantly.
"Oh… this is good. It tastes like duck, but the marbling is like wagyu beef. This is basically A5 wagyu duck."
Erika followed and took a bite.
"…This is good. Extremely good. It's sweet like pork and feels like chicken… this is so good."
Erina stared at them.
That didn't make sense. How does one ingredient taste like that many things?
But still slowly—
She lifted her piece.
"…There's no way something like this exists…"
She took a bite.
Silence.
Erina froze.
Her eyes widened slightly.
Then—
Nothing.
No words.
No reaction.
Just stillness.
Akira frowned.
"…Hey."
Erika tilted her head.
"…Erina?"
No response.
For a brief moment—
Nothing happened.
Then—
BOOM.
All their clothes were blown away.