"This is… the Between Worlds."
Meiko and I, who had been sent to the Between Worlds by the power of Reimei-sama, were absolutely amazed at the space that spread out in front of us.
There was a world that looked like soap bubbles floating here and there, just as Reimei-sama had explained to me.
Moreover, the worlds were very small, about the size of the palm of my hand.
Besides the bubble-like world floating in the air, there was nothing but pitch-black space.
Although I feel like I am standing here, I am not even sure if the ground exists in this black space.
"Is this bubble really a world? How could it be smaller than us?"
"It's not like we're getting bigger…?"
I couldn't understand why the size was so strange, but suddenly I felt a strange sensation of power in my body.
"W-what is this? This power is…"
"Did you feel it too, Master?"
"Does that mean that you felt it as well, Meiko?"
Meiko nodded in response to my question, but she also looked a bit puzzled.
Then Kuro spoke.
"I was surprised by the suddenness of it, but it was as if a new power had risen from within you."
"In other words, you don't mean the power that came from outside, but the power that was originally within us?"
"That's what I'm saying. According to the explanation of the master of the underworld, this space is a place where people with a large existence drift around, isn't it? Could it be that the dimension of their existence… is so great that they have a power that can be called "the power of existence"? It's as if it appeared in their bodies when they came to this dimension, isn't it? [T/n: Dang, a new power?]
"The Power of Existence…"
I don't know how much of Kuro's explanation is true, but for now, let's assume that this "Power of Existence" is a power that suddenly appeared in my body.
It's a power that I didn't notice when I lived in the world, or rather, I didn't need to be aware of it, but now that I'm here in this Between Worlds, I definitely need to be aware of it.
"Ma-Master! Look at that thing!"
While I was still thinking about it, Meiko suddenly raised her voice.
I looked in the direction she indicated, and to my surprise, there was a strange creature floating there that looked like a sea anemone.
"W-what is that? That thing…"
I let out an involuntary gasp and activated my Identification skill.
Then──.
Drifter
Level:──
Magic Power: ──
Attack: ──
Defense: ──
Agility: ──
Intelligence: ──
Luck: ──
Nothing was displayed on the screen except its name.
While I was surprised, the drifter noticed us.
"Kishaaaaaaaaa!"
It then let out a deafening scream, moved its anemone-like tentacles like wings, and flew towards us, accelerating at once!
"I won't let you!"
Immediately, Meiko stood between me and the drifter and raised her right hand.
At that moment, a surge of spiritual power came out of Meiko's right arm.
"Spirit Ball!"
"Kishaaaaa!"
The drifter who was directly attacked by Meiko was pierced in the torso.
However, no blood or other bodily fluids flowed out from the hole.
It was just a hollow.
We were surprised to see such a drifter's body, but it seemed that Meiko's attack had worked, and the drifter disappeared as if dissolving into the space between worlds.
"D-did we defeat it…?"
"I don't know…"
Even though I had activated my Presence Detection skill and other skills, I had no way of confirming whether or not the drifter had been defeated, partly because I had not been able to detect the drifter's presence before.
But still…
"So Meiko can fight with sorcery, too?"
Since she said that she would follow me, I knew that Meiko had the means to fight as well.
Besides, the most important part was that Reimei-sama didn't stop Meiko from following me.
"Yes, that's right. Before Master accepted my spiritual power, I couldn't even control it, but now I can control it delicately. …However, the only sorcery I can use is the sorcery that Master has taught me."
"Does this mean that the more sorcery I learn, the stronger Meiko will become?"
"Yes!"
By taking over Meiko's spiritual power, I had truly become one with her, but I had no idea that we were also connected in terms of sorcery.
As we talked about it, I looked around again.
"Well… I suddenly found myself in a battle, but there's an attacker here somewhere…"
I couldn't think of any way to find the masked man here, except for the countless bubble-shaped worlds floating by, otherwise nothing but pitch-black space.
"I don't know how big this world is, but they might attack our world before we find them…"
That was the moment I thought that.
Suddenly, a surge of spiritual power overflowed out from my heart, and it began to glow purple.
"Eh?"
"A-are you all right, Master?"
"Y-yeah. I'm fine, but…"
As I was suddenly confused, a ray of light appeared, pointing in a certain direction.
"This is…"
At the same time, I realized that it was a reaction of the other 'me' that resided within me.
"Could it be that… the other me is telling me where those mysterious men are?"
Whatever it is, we have no other clue now.
"Let's just follow the light for now."
"Yes!"
As we moved forward, the drifters suddenly appeared.
"What? Where did they come from?"
Without any warning, they suddenly appeared and extended their tentacles toward our startled eyes.
"Kishaaaaa!"
"Haaah!"
I immediately pulled out my Omni-Sword and slashed the tentacles away.
Unlike dealing with demons, you don't need to use any special magic or spiritual power to do damage.
But…
"Shaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
One of the drifters let out a particularly powerful roar.
The next moment, a huge number of drifters suddenly appeared as if surrounding us!
"Wha!?"
"I won't let you! Spirit Ball!"
In response, Meiko also created countless clumps of spiritual power and shot them at the approaching drifters.
Although she was able to defeat the drifters with each strike, their sheer numbers made it difficult to deal with them all.
Like Meiko, I activated my Spirit Ball and just kept hitting the ones that came near me.
However, these drifters seemed to have no concept of comradery. They just came at us in a straight line, sometimes crushing their friends and swarming around us.
The sheer force of their numbers pushed us farther and farther away.
We haven't even reached the attackers yet…
This is no time to save our strength──.
I was about to activate not only my spiritual and mystical powers but also my Creation of the Holy and the Evil──and at that moment.
"Meow!"
Suddenly, a white shadow passed between us and the drifters.
The drifters swarming around us were instantly wiped out.
"Huh?"
"W-what in the world…?"
We were stunned by the sudden situation.
In the midst of all this, the white shadow continued to move briskly, slicing through the bodies of the drifters one by one, obliterating them.
As I could do nothing but watch the bizarre scene, all the drifters who had rushed to the scene disappeared.
And then…
"Meow."
"C-cat?"
In front of us, a white cat the size of Night was sitting in an Egyptian pose, staring at us.
The cat's eyes were shining black, and its body hairs were emitting sparkling light, giving the impression of stars.
I was startled by the unexpected presence but soon came to my senses.
"Well, uh… Are you the one who rescued us?"
"Meow."
The white cat stood up and slid her body close to my feet.
It looked as if it wanted to be spoiled by me.
I guess this white cat had defeated those drifters.
Then, this time, it turned to me and showed me its belly.
At that moment──.
'You have successfully tamed [Dimension Cat].'
"Huh?"
"Meow?"
Surprisingly, a message appeared saying that I had successfully tamed this white cat.
I don't know anything about this white cat, and I don't know why this cat helped me.
But it seemed that I had indeed tamed this white cat.
"U-um, Master. That cat over there is…"
"It looks like she saved us. And it looks like she was just tamed by me…"
"Tamed?"
"It means that we are a family now, like Night and the others."
"Eehh? I-it's so sudden…"
As Meiko said, it really is sudden.
Well, to put it another way, Akatsuki's time was also pretty sudden, and Ouma-san was tamed just because he ate my curry…
I look at the white cat… the Dimension Cat, with that in mind.
When I looked at the cat, the white cat showed her belly and tilted her head. C-cute.
I crouched down and called out to her, feeling at ease with her relaxed appearance, which was hard to believe that she was the one who had been involved in the massacre.
"Hey, you. It looks like you're one of us now."
"Meow."
The white cat nodded, not seeming to mind.
Then she stood up again and looked right at me.
For some reason, there was such a strong emotion in her eyes… as if she was looking at someone she had thought about for a long time.
I don't know why this white cat is showing so much affection towards me.
But this is how she became one of us.
I stroked the white cat gently and held her in my arms.
The cat did not seem to put up any particular resistance but settled quietly in my arms and purred.
As I watched the cat, I gave her the words that came to mind.
"Your name is… Stella."
Seeing her shining like a star, I gave her that name.
Hearing my words, Stella, the white cat… meowed somewhat happily.
At the same time, I also activated the Identification skill on Stella, but I couldn't find anything except her species name, Dimension Cat.
"Well… we added a friend named Stella to our unexpected attack… and now we're going to defeat a certain enemy. Can you help us?"
"Meow!"
Stella nodded happily at my question, jumped down from my arms, and began to take the lead, following the light that was still radiating from my heart.
"Stella-sama is… apparently a creature that lives in this Between Worlds…?"
"Yes. I thought it was a space inhabited by all those drifters, but I wonder if it's not so surprising."
Well, that attacker was also humanoid, and there may be a variety of beings if you look for them.
As we continued in this manner, Stella suddenly stopped.
"Fushaaaah!"
"Stella?"
And then, as she emitted a fierce and threatening voice──.
"──I didn't expect you to attack us instead."
Out of nowhere, the masked man who had killed the other 'me' appeared.
＊＊＊
Around the time Yuuya went to the Between Worlds.
At Ousei Academy, Kaori was working for the student council for the next event and so on.
Since it was a holiday, there was no need to go to school if there were no club activities, but Kaori liked the work of the student council, so she did not find it hard to work like this on holidays.
So Kaori looked through some papers, took a break, and stared at the window of the student council room.
The look in her eyes seemed to be troubled by something.
"School idol, is it…?"
Actually, Kaori was worried about something related to the school idol project that Kitaraku had started since the open campus.
"Is Yuuya-san really going to start as a school idol too…?"
It was the male school idol plan that Kitaraku had told her the last time.
Originally, Kaori could not hide her surprise because she thought that the plan was only for female school idols.
On top of that, seeing Lexia and the others practicing for the open campus stage and Yuuya supporting them, Kaori felt a slight sense of impatience.
"If I can move more freely… I, too, can be taken care of by Yuuya-san as a school idol…"
Kaori blushed and shook her head when she said that.
"N-no, that's not what I'm trying to do!"
Kaori said without thinking, even though she had no one to make an excuse to.
"…But that doesn't change the fact that I'm envious…"
At first, she was content to just support Yuuya, who was entrusted with the school idol project.
However, when she saw Lexia and the others getting closer and closer to Yuuya, her impatience began to grow.
If she was athletic enough, Kaori wanted to join the school idol program and get to know Yuuya better.
"I can't help but think about it. I am me, more with Yuuya-san──"
"──Houjou-kun!"
"Eh?"
Then the door to the student council room suddenly opened, and Kitaraku appeared.
Kaori's eyes widened as she did not expect Kitaraku to come to the student council office to work on his day off.
"P-President? Why are you here?"
"Well, I know that you've been busy lately, moving a lot of plans around. So I thought I'd do something I could help with on my days off. Besides, I'm not the kind of person who stays at home and does nothing!"
"I see."
Considering Kitaraku's personality, Kaori agreed that it was only natural.
But there was another reason why he visited the student council office.
"Oops, I actually came to ask about you."
"Huh?"
When Kitaraku said that, a puzzled look appeared on his face, which was unusual for him.
"There's someone calling for you at the school gate right now."
"C-calling for me?"
"Yes. If possible, you should hurry to the school gate."
"I-I understand."
Seeing a somewhat nervous appearance that she could not imagine from the usual Kitaraku, Kaori tilted her head and headed for the school gate.
Then she saw a number of luxurious-looking black cars parked there.
"W-what in the world is this…?"
"──Kaori!"
While she was stunned, not knowing what was happening, a young man appeared from one of the luxury cars.
"Y-you're…"
Kaori's eyes widened at the sight of the young man, and at the same time, she was confused.
First of all, the young man and Kaori had met once in the past, but they were not close friends at all.
And most importantly… the young man was not the kind of person who could just show up at a place like this.
Despite Kaori's confusion, the young man comes over and kneels down.
"Wha!?"
He then took Kaori's hand and declared with dignity.
"Kaori! Will you──marry me!"
──While Yuuya was away, many things started to happen around Kaori.