"Eh? Kamishiro..."

"You..."

Two cold gazes landed squarely on my face, and I knew immediately that there was no escaping this. But before what I feared most could happen...

"Wait, are they... Ram-chan and Gwen-chan?!" Miyabi gasped, eyes going wide.

Eri followed suit, scanning the two with a curious, sweeping gaze before nodding along. "Huh? Oh, it’s true! They look so alike! But this..."

"Right, Kamishiro. Aren’t they..."

Seeing the two gear up to interrogate me, I quickly raised a hand.

"Stop. I’ll explain later, but first... can you help them pick out regular clothes? Women’s clothes." I said, somewhat awkwardly.

Miyabi and Eri glanced at me, then at the two androids, before nodding with visible reluctance.

"Alright, but don’t you dare run away!"

"I’m looking forward to your explanation~!"

Just like that, I somehow sidestepped the worst case scenario. However, one thing I could no longer avoid came face-to-face with me the moment they walked off.

’They saw Ram and Gwen. I can’t muddle my way out of this... I need to tell them the truth...’

This wasn’t really a part of my plan, and Kay did mention something about the Butterfly Effect. Whatever comes after I tell them is what worries me... 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

It took three full hours before the four girls returned, each carrying an impressive haul of bags on both arms. Ten sets each, at minimum, from the looks of it.

Even Miyabi—who wore a slightly apologetic expression—and Eri, who had the brazen smile of someone with zero remorse, came back loaded down. Did they pick out clothes for themselves while they were at it...?

Huh? What? A fashion show?

Well, I’d been too deep in my own thoughts to even watch over them properly.

Anyway, Eri presented me with a receipt of considerable length. Upon confirming it, I found that the two of them had, naturally, added their own expenses under my name without so much as asking.

Well, they did help out somewhat, and there’s also the two million I just pocketed plus the stream earnings we’ve yet to claim and divide, so... I supposed it was fine.

"So, explain?" Miyabi asked, cutting straight to it.

I glanced around and quickly noticed the number of people stealing looks at our group. Understandable, really—four eye-catching beautiful girls together in one spot tends to draw attention without even trying. But like this, talking was out of the question.

"Not here. Does anyone know a private place that’s spacious enough? Like a dojo or something?"

"Ah, then how about my place?" Eri raised her hand without hesitation. "You treated us to clothes today, so inviting you back to mine for snacks wouldn’t be so bad, right?"

"Huh...? But a dojo—"

"We have an underground training space. Should be wide enough for a baseball match, so no worries~!"

"..."

Eri... Just who is she, really?

Either way, with her offer on the table, we didn’t waste any more time.

We walked out, caught a cab, and headed straight for Eri’s place.

Along the way I chatted with the two girls casually, asking about why they’d been together in the first place.

Apparently they’d originally planned to have lunch with Kiki as well, but since Kiki wasn’t responding to any of their calls—almost certainly fast asleep somewhere—they ended up going with just the two of them.

Upon arrival, however, both Miyabi and I ended up completely floored.

I’d imagined something like a large villa or a rich person’s private summer home, but...

"What? Eri, your house is an entire skyscraper?!"

Miyabi gasped, genuinely unable to process what she was looking at.

And rightly so. What stood before us wasn’t anything resembling a normal residential building—it was closer to a business hotel. A full skyscraper, probably fifty floors at least, stretching something like a hundred and fifty meters into the sky.

The entrance alone had black-clothed guards standing at attention with the kind of posture that said they weren’t there for decoration.

If someone told me this was the headquarters of some major syndicate or a corporation, I would’ve believed them on the spot.

"Don’t stand on ceremony, come in! It’s been a while since I invited friends over!"

Eri called out, already heading through the doors with the energy of someone very pleased with herself.

Stepping inside, I noticed that the interior design was considerably more different from a hotel lobby than I’d expected. Warmer, somehow. More lived-in than the imposing exterior would suggest.

"Father and Mother?"

"Both out, Young Lady. They should return next week."

"I see, too bad.... Then have the third underground training area prepared. We’ll be using it after a short break."

Watching Eri interact with the men in black like it was the most natural thing in the world, I couldn’t help but feel a quiet, creeping awe settle over me.

So she’s a genuine ojousama, huh...

Well, given her mannerisms and the way she carried herself, I’d had a feeling from the start that her background wasn’t exactly simple. Still.

"Sorry about that," Eri turned back toward us, the rest of the group still lingering near the entrance.

The bags we’d been carrying had already been whisked away by the men in black, leaving us standing there with nothing to do and nowhere obvious to be.

"Let’s head to my room for now and have a short chat. Kamishiro here still has some explaining to do, after all~!"

"It’s bothersome to explain things more than once, so the confession happens only in the underground training area." I appealed quickly. "Though a short rest wouldn’t hurt. I skipped both breakfast and lunch, so..."

My stomach was, in fact, quietly making its displeasure known at this very moment.

If I hadn’t crossed paths with those two, I probably would’ve eaten somewhere after Ram and Gwen finished shopping. But now it was practically dusk. Well past lunchtime by any reasonable measure.

"Oh, you should’ve said so sooner!" Eri gasped, covering her lips with both hands.

Then she clapped twice in quick succession—a sharp, deliberate sound that sent an immediate echo of footsteps across marble ricocheting through the hall.

"Yes, Young Lady Eri!"

A moment later, a small crowd materialized—black-clothed men, butlers, maids, and various other staff, all bowing their heads in perfect unison.

"We’re heading to the dining room. Have food prepared." She said it the tone most people would use to comment on the weather.

Without a word of protest, everyone dispersed to carry out the order. Only after the last of them had gone did Eri turn back to me with a bright smile.

"Then follow me. Food first!"

What greeted us at the dining floor—which occupied the entire 30th floor, I should mention—was a fully laid-out buffet. Not just enough for our group of three (as Ram and Gwen apparently doesn’t eat), but the kind of spread that could’ve comfortably fed hundreds without breaking a sweat.

Was this overdoing it?

I genuinely couldn’t follow the logic of how wealthy people thought.

---

"Woah... What a wonderful training space..."

After the meal, and a short round of tea to let everything settle, we finally made our way down to the third underground floor. And it wasn’t simply a large empty room, either—the place was fully equipped.

A gigantic hall roughly the size of two baseball fields placed side by side.

The walls were painted a clean, stark white, lit from every angle by lights embedded along the ceiling and walls alike—so thoroughly bright that finding a shadowy corner to hide in would’ve been a genuine challenge.

Scattered throughout were exercise machines, various pieces of equipment whose purposes I couldn’t even begin to guess, and a dozen other installations I had no intention of touching.

"But this should be wide enough for what I need."

"Great!" Eri nodded at my murmur, satisfied. "Then you can explain to us now, right? How those two—supposedly androids from inside the game—ended up here in the real world?"

So it had finally come to this.

I’d delayed as long as reasonably possible, and there was no road left to kick the can down. So I didn’t bother trying.

"Actually, Heaven’s Path is bleeding into reality." I said. "Because of that, Ram and Gwen—both my androids—were physically sent here to Earth after I acquired them in-game."

"...Huh?"

As expected, both Miyabi and Eri stared at me like I’d just started speaking in a language they didn’t recognize.

Still, I’d already made up my mind to tell them the truth... up to a point, anyway. The part about being someone from the future could wait. It was still far too early for that particular reveal.

"I’m not lying. Once your stats reach 100 points, you’ll feel it yourselves—your body starts to change. Mine already has. My STR and AGI are both sitting at 100, so my strength and speed are no longer within a normal human’s range."

"W-Wait..." Miyabi cut in, brow furrowed. "This... Kamishiro, you’re serious, aren’t you?"

She was trying to process it, I could tell—but not quite there yet. Which was fair enough. Without personally feeling the effects, hearing it laid out plainly probably sounded like someone had gotten into the fiction section of a bookstore and taken it too literally.

Which meant words alone weren’t going to cut it.

I needed to show them "proof."

And for that, a wide, private space had been exactly what was required.

"Then watch closely."

I said, turning so my back was facing them.

I took a slow breath, centered my focus, and closed my hand around the small dagger tucked beneath my belt. Then I stepped forward—and the distance simply collapsed. The scenery rushed past in a single, soundless flash.

Behind me, a pale blue crescent moon hung in the air for a moment before fading—a signature they both should’ve recognized on sight.

"T-This...!" Miyabi’s breath caught. "Moon Waltz!"

I nodded.

"Yes. Now—do you believe me?"