"Don't poke my Fierce Man with your poison needles!"
As for Kikakujō Mary...
"Ahhh! My conditioner! And my tea set!"
"Do I really have to leave all of these behind?!"
She fretted over her suitcase, which was so overstuffed that the zipper would no longer close. She had clawed her golden curls into a bird's nest.
"You do."
Sasamori Aya gave her a cold glance.
"Throw away everything except weapons and necessities."
"We're going to fight, not on a picnic."
"But..."
Kikakujō Mary still wanted to argue.
Just then...
An invisible pressure suddenly descended.
The noisy square fell silent in an instant.
Everyone instinctively raised their heads and looked toward the school building.
Haimo appeared on the steps.
He swept his gaze over the crowd.
"Is everyone ready?"
"R-ready!"
Onigawara Rin was the first to stand at attention and answer loudly.
The others nodded as well.
Even Kikakujō Mary, who was still agonizing over her luggage, gritted her teeth and kicked the suitcase aside, taking only the thick dictionary into her arms.
"Then let's go."
Haimo wasted no more words.
He raised his hand and lightly tapped the empty air before him.
Vmmm-
An azure gate of light appeared out of nowhere. Its swirling ripples resembled a deep vortex, radiating an aura that made their hearts pound.
"Step through this gate."
"Orario lies on the other side."
"And so does the beginning of your new lives."
With that, Haimo stepped through first.
Sasamori Aya followed close behind without the slightest hesitation, a frenzied smile curling her lips.
Tsukuyo Inaba, Onigawara Rin, Nemumeno Satori...
One figure after another vanished into the gate of light.
Finally...
Hanabishi Warabi took a deep breath and tightened her grip on the chain.
"Let's go, Fierce Man!"
"Awooo..."
The black bear let out a mournful howl and followed, clutching its cub as though it had nothing left to live for.
One girl and two bears charged into the gate of light.
Once the gate had swallowed them all...
In the next instant...
The wind stopped, and the clouds dispersed.
Only a few windblown leaves and the suitcase abandoned beside the path remained.
At the window of the headmistress's office...
Yoshino Fujibayashi gazed out at the deserted square.
Ubarazaki Sōchōka sneaked into the square and dragged Kikakujō Mary's luggage back to the girls' dormitory.
Chapter 15: Hestia: Waaah!!! We Were Supposed to Eat and Laze Around Together!
And so...
In Orario, at the secluded end of an alley in the Seventh District's old quarter off West Street...
Inside Haimo's temple...
The deathly still space suddenly rippled violently.
Then...
Light flashed.
A crowd appeared out of thin air, instantly filling the already cramped second-floor hall.
"Ow!"
"Don't push! Don't push! My dictionary!"
"Awooo-"
"Who stepped on Fierce Man's foot?!"
After a flurry of chaos...
The girls finally managed to find their footing and began looking around.
"This..."
"Is this a temple?"
"I know we were supposed to work hard and endure hardships..."
"But isn't this a little too much hardship?!"
Kikakujō Mary's eyes widened as she stared at the peeling walls, the chandelier hanging precariously overhead, and a pile of clutter in the corner that had been there for who knew how long.
"Shut up."
Sasamori Aya snapped coldly.
She paid no attention to the shabby surroundings.
Instead, she immediately walked to the window and peered outside through its dust-covered glass.
"Creeeak-"
As the window opened...
Outside...
The enormous Tower of Babel pierced the clouds, while people bustled along the thriving streets.
There were all sorts of strange-looking races.
-Beastfolk, dwarves, elves...
Even a fleeting glance was enough.
They could see demi-humans with animal ears carrying enormous battle-axes, long-bearded dwarves with sacks of ore on their backs chatting loudly, and graceful elves weaving through the crowds.
An exotic, vibrant atmosphere swept in on the breeze.
"So this is... another world."
Sasamori Aya's fingers gently stroked the window frame, the light in her eyes burning ever brighter.
"It really..."
"It really is different."
Onigawara Rin came over too, watching a group of armored adventurers pass below, the reek of blood clinging to them.
The school's contrived rules were gone.
Everything here laid the beauty of strength bare.
Tsukuyo Inaba stood in the middle of the hall with her eyes closed, listening intently as well.
"The sound of the wind... the tremors of the earth..."
"And..."
"Something tiny, hidden in the air yet seemingly everywhere, flowing around us."
Tsukuyo Inaba reached out as though trying to catch something invisible in the air.
"Is this the world our god spoke of?"
Tsukuyo Inaba tightened her grip on her sword, her body tensing slightly.
Although the place sounded rather run-down...
She could sense that even a random passerby outside the window gave off an aura that could not be underestimated.
This place...
Really was a world of the strong!
While the girls were still marveling at this new world...
Bang, bang, bang!
Someone suddenly pounded hard on the temple's slightly warped wooden door.
The unexpected noise instantly put everyone on alert.
Sasamori Aya immediately readied a knife-hand stance, Onigawara Rin put her hand on her sword hilt, and even the large black bear rose warily, letting out a low growl.
"Haimo!"
"Are you in there?"
"Open up!"
An energetic girl's voice came from outside, loud and boisterous.
"Hephaestus just gave me a few Fried Potato Balls and sent me all the way over here to invite you to eat with the Hephaestus Familia!"
"We'll be late if we don't get going!"
Hearing that voice...
Haimo put a hand to his forehead helplessly.
-Hestia.
Or rather, Orario's famous "Blue Ribbon," "Poor Goddess," and "Loli Goddess."
As a goddess who was also scraping by miserably in Orario, she was one of the few kindred souls he had in this world.
They often huddled together for comfort.
However...
Before Haimo could tell everyone to relax...
"Creeeak-"
Hestia pushed the already flimsy door open from outside.
"Honestly, what are you dawdling f..."
Before her eyes...