On an archipelago in the center of Lake Mobius,
In a luxurious suite, the strange purple light of a teleportation lantern flashed, and three people returned to the human world.
While Bisky and Shizuku adjusted to the dim morning light, Germain began addressing important matters.
First, he noted his new "traits".
"Positive trait: Warrior of Light"
"Negative trait: Fear of light"
Seeing these traits, Germain was stunned. The contradictory abilities seemed absurd upon confirmation. "Warrior of Light" boosted his power in ample light, but "fear of light" weakened him under the same conditions.
Realizing he effectively had no advantage, Germain decided he needed to find a specialist to remove his negative trait as soon as possible.
The lantern's cooldown had doubled to two hours, ticking away slowly. Germain wasn't surprised.
Bisky and Shizuku stood up, reorienting themselves in the room and reflecting on their journey with surprise.
"It's just past four in the morning..." Bisky, now accustomed to the light, glanced at the clock before stepping onto the balcony to observe the city outside. "The city at this hour..."
Returning inside, she noticed Germain meticulously checking for traps, all of which remained undisturbed, indicating no intrusions.
"You're very cautious," remarked Bisky, watching him inspect and stand back up.
Germain shrugged. "Better safe than sorry."
Shizuku suddenly yawned, catching the attention of Germain and Bisky.
Confused, Shizuku asked, "What's wrong? Aren't you tired after over three hours of travel? I'm quite sleepy."
Germain suggested, "Let's pause for now. We can discuss everything this afternoon. Let's all return to our rooms, freshen up, take a nap, and rest well."
"Sounds good," agreed Bisky. "Let's split up. After resting, I'll summon 'Magical Beautician Miss Cookie' at full strength."
The three silently went to their respective rooms, unconcerned about the journey's events and what lay ahead.
Ten hours later...
Germain was awakened by a knock on the door. Opening his eyes, he heard Bisky's voice. The lingering effects of "paranoia" had completely faded. If possible, he really wanted to sleep a few more hours.
"Get up, Germain. You've slept for over nine hours. Had enough? I've ordered lunch; it's here. Get up and eat something."
Germain didn't respond, so she continued knocking. Reluctantly, Germain agreed, got up, brushed his teeth, and washed his face.
When he reached the dining table outside, a dazzling array of delicious food awaited him, whetting his appetite. Bisky and Shizuku were already seated, waving to him.
"I asked our friend who treated our injuries earlier to leave. I paid her for her help," Bisky said, pointing to her phone, indicating she had just been in contact.
"I wanted to introduce you to her, but she's too shy and socially anxious. I couldn't persuade her to stay," she added with a sigh.
Germain sat down, and the others began cutting into their steaks with knives and forks.
"Care for a drink?" Bisky opened a bottle of wine. Seeing both Germain and Shizuku shake their heads, she poured herself a glass with a hint of disappointment. "Then I'll have it myself."
As they finally ate their delayed lunch, Germain took out his phone and texted Abengane.
"Abengane, I need an exorcism. Are you available?"
Abengane replied promptly.
"Mr. Germain, I'm not avoiding you intentionally, but I need time to recover. Please come back in a month for the 'exorcism', or find someone else."
Understanding, Germain replied with a simple "OK".
Bisky sat beside him, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye before suddenly asking:
"We used to text; why not start a group chat now?"
"A group chat?" Germain looked at Bisky.
"Isn't texting enough?" Shizuku also looked at Bisky.
Bisky sighed, feeling a bit helpless. "Sometimes I forget I'm over 50 years old and you... you young folks need to keep up with the times!"
She's very touchy about age, yet she's also quite hypocritical. She can talk about it openly, but others can't.
It's a bit strange that this world has social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, INS, LINE, and so on.
Not only that, "Dragon Ball" by Akira Toriyama is a huge hit here, and many people know about the "Kamehameha" technique. For instance, "The Cleaning Team" is a popular special effects drama.
Because of this, Bisky thought these two were even more stubborn than herself, never having used a chat group. But considering their backgrounds, she felt reassured and began to explain.
"Do you want us to communicate through LINE from now on?" Germain asked after hearing this.
He wasn't unfamiliar with chat groups, having used similar platforms in his original world. He just wanted to confirm.
"No, not really," Bisky replied, shaking her head. "Although there's no strict rule, professional hunters generally avoid using these popular social platforms to protect their privacy."
"However, we do have a dedicated chat group for hunters, which is more confidential than LINE and text messages."
"A chat group just for hunters?" Germain pointed at Shizuku, who was munching on a vegetable salad. "Shizuku isn't a hunter; can she join this group?"
Adjusting her glasses, Shizuku responded, "I could get a hunter license. Seems like Germain managed it quite easily."
"Don't make it sound like hunter licenses are sold on street corners," Bisky sighed, rubbing her forehead. "But with Shizuku's abilities, it wouldn't be difficult..."
"The next hunter exam isn't until next year, though. But that's not the point. She doesn't need to be a hunter to join the group, as long as the group's founder is a hunter."
"Oh, that works," Shizuku nodded.
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