"Is this really possible?" Ligotta repeated herself in disbelief. The daunting task of sending Zhang Fan back to his own world had been her primary concern, but now, seemingly resolved so easily, it left her feeling almost helpless.
"Of course, it's possible. However, I have a favor to ask of you, Ligotta," Zhang Fan said with a smile.
"Please, feel free to command me, Hero. I will accomplish it with utmost dedication and precision!" Ligotta assured, confidently thumping her chest.
"That's great to hear. Before arriving here, I hadn't the chance to inform my comrades about my situation. They must be terribly worried by now. If the magical array connecting Flonyard and my world still exists, I need your help to prepare a device that can amplify the Flonyard wave frequency. Hopefully, it might enable me to contact my friends," explained Zhang Fan, taking out his mobile phone.
"No problem at all, leave it to me," replied Ligotta, her curiosity piqued by the unfamiliar device. Holo, on the other hand, observed the phone with great interest, having never seen such a thing before.
"Is this a magical device for remote communication?" Holo inquired, looking up at Zhang Fan.
"Sort of. It's a mobile phone, created using technological means, different from the communication methods that use the power of Flonyard," Zhang Fan explained with a shrug.
"Technology? How intriguing," Holo mused, coming from a world akin to Earth's medieval period where the Church held sway and villagers worked the lands.
In no time, Ligotta prepared the device Zhang Fan had requested. With the device activated, his phone's signal strength astonishingly went from none to full, incredibly bridging the gap between two worlds.
"Zhang Fan, where have you been? We've been so worried!" As soon as Zhang Fan called Shiro, her anxious voice came through the receiver, along with the sounds of Aria and the others in the background.
"It's Zhang Fan, where is he?"
"Master, please come back soon!"
"Shut up, Aria, let me ask him!"
"Everyone, calm down. I'm fine, but I can't return just yet. I have a mission to complete alone. Once I'm done, I'll let you know immediately. And my phone won't have a signal unless I contact you first," Zhang Fan sighed, explaining his situation.
"I was hoping to spend a wonderful summer with Zhang Fan," Shiro's voice sounded disappointed. A flurry of voices once again filled the other end of the call.
After much effort, Zhang Fan managed to speak with each girl, even chatting briefly with Jeanne and Watson. Hanging up, he let out a weary sigh.
"Truly a lecherous hero, having contact with so many girls," Holo remarked admiringly, having overheard the conversation.
"It's a misunderstanding. They're all my comrades in arms, nothing to do with romance," Zhang Fan clarified earnestly. He genuinely cared for them, more like sisters, and wasn't ready to let them go, despite not elevating these feelings to romantic love.
"Really?" Holo looked skeptical, knowing all too well that male-female friendships are rarely as pure as claimed.
"Of course," Zhang Fan insisted, his ambitious dreams of a crystal palace well-hidden from Holo.
"Hmph, men are all the same," Holo snorted, seemingly seeing through his facade.
"Hero, could I borrow your phone for a bit? I just want to disassemble it to see how it works. I'll put it back together, I swear," Ligotta suddenly asked, her enthusiasm evident in the twitching of her foxy tail.
"Are you sure you can reassemble it?" Zhang Fan hesitated, knowing the complexity of such a device might be beyond her experience.
"Absolutely, I swear!" Ligotta saluted, confident in her abilities.
"Alright then," Zhang Fan reluctantly handed over his phone, keeping the SIM card, grateful for his spare phone at home.
"Thank you so much, Hero. You really are a good person," Ligotta thanked him profusely, leaving Zhang Fan with the bittersweet feeling of receiving a compliment from a young genius.