The real world.
Inside the empty Tenshukaku, Ei put down the novel.
Only two chapters of "The Domineering Electro Archon Falls for Me!" had been released so far.
The author seemed to have a real gift for cliffhangers. The entire story came to an abrupt halt after Ailin disappeared, leaving readers desperate for more.
Ei set the novel on the table and fell silent.
Most people read this novel simply for fun, but a select few knew that its contents were far from ordinary.
Her name, [Ei], for instance, as well as terms like [Erosion] and [Plane of Euthymia] that appeared in the book.
These were not things ordinary people could know.
Only a handful of people who knew her inside and out could know such things. People like... Yae Miko.
While reading the book, she had wondered whether Yae Miko had written it.
But she quickly dismissed that idea.
Yae Miko knew what she could say and what she could not.
She would never casually use secrets of this magnitude as material for teasing and fictional antics.
More importantly, even if Yae Miko really wanted to write it, her personality meant she would certainly make it more playful, filling every line with a fox's teasing wit and cunning.
Yet this book's narrative style was mature and steady, and its protagonist, Ailin, was equally memorable.
It did not fit Yae Miko's style at all.
But besides Yae Miko, who else could know her secrets and troubles? Who else cared about her so deeply that affection for her shone through every line?
"Who is it? Just who could it be?"
A trace of bewilderment appeared in Ei's eyes. She did not know who could know her secrets, nor who else could care about her so much.
Long ago, Ei had been