When Kurokawa Akane opened her eyes again, she found herself on a metal space station located in the vast, boundless universe. Naturally, she was deeply shocked.
Especially when she looked through the towering floor-to-ceiling windows and clearly saw the blazing star outside, the magnificent sight left her utterly awestruck.
Of course, what shocked Kurokawa Akane the most was Duanmu Huai's appearance—but she had already heard about that from Freyja and Norn, so she had been mentally prepared and was not too surprised.
Because time flowed at different speeds in the two worlds, Duanmu Huai had spent more than a decade in that world, but in reality, only about a month had passed since he opened his eyes and returned.
As for Duanmu Huai bringing back another girl, everyone had expressed... well, they were used to it.
Or rather, why had he brought back only one this time? Was he slipping?
Under Duanmu Huai's introduction, Kurokawa Akane also met the other members of the Inquisition. She had to admit that, in her eyes, these people all had quite distinctive personalities.
First were Ann and Gureiya. Kurokawa Akane had to admit that she was somewhat surprised when she saw them. She had already heard Duanmu Huai introduce them as princesses. Yet after meeting them in person, neither of them gave her the impression of the nobility and arrogance associated with royalty—or rather, Freyja and Norn were princesses as well, and their royal bearing was even more obvious than Ann's and Gureiya's.
Ann in particular reminded Kurokawa Akane somewhat of Washimi Yuyuki, the lively and cheerful friend she had met through her show. She was more like the class clown one might find in a school classroom than some lofty Princess.
Then there was Mary... The instant Kurokawa Akane saw Mary's gold-and-blue heterochromic