The student group was all here

"Let me tell you, I've gained so many followers from livestreaming lately! Everyone here really loves my songs!"

Aemeath excitedly shared what she had accomplished over the past week and more with Xiao Ling, like a child eagerly showing off an achievement to a parent.

Her eyes were a little red, like a little rabbit's, but she had a wide smile on her face and looked quite happy.

"Chisa and the others have settled in here really well with my help too. The process might not have been so great... but it turned out well!"

"Of course they have! Our Wooly is a big star everyone at Star Torch Academy loves. Becoming a huge internet celebrity in this world is a piece of cake, isn't it?" Xiao Ling affectionately pinched Aemeath's dewy cheek.

Only heaven knew how much heartache and guilt Xiao Ling had felt when he saw Aemeath.

He had been emo for half a month over Aemeath's sacrifice while playing through the Wuthering Waves story, so when he saw her again in the real world and saw the tears in her eyes as she looked at him, he truly wanted to slap himself twice and curse himself for being such a bastard.

He should have thought of it earlier. Since Dania could accidentally come here, the others would surely come here too. Yet he had still clung to wishful thinking, right up until he ran into Chisa at the department store and learned everything from her.

I'm such an idiot. I made Aemeath face everything alone again.

How could a beautiful girl, alone and far from home in a foreign place, stripped of all her former glory, fit into this world and even build a temporary haven for her companions?

He truly felt that Aemeath should have cursed him out. It didn't matter how harshly; that would have made him feel a little better.

But she hadn't.

She had simply buried her little pink head in the crook of his neck and sobbed softly. Maybe it was because Dania was there, or maybe it was because she didn't want to disturb the neighbors. She didn't want to affect them.

(*Xiao Ling, you bastard, I Aminos! I'm gonna *****)

Back in the present, Aemeath told Xiao Ling how their other three companions had been doing while munching on one of the large steamed buns he and Dania had brought, which had gone a little cold.

Dania tactfully left them to their conversation and aimlessly scrolled through her phone beside them. Its pale blue glow lit up her delicate face, and it was impossible to tell what she was thinking.

"When I met Lynae, she'd just been caught speeding by a police officer directing traffic on the roadside. I didn't expect this world to have people like Mr. SIGMA too." Aemeath shared some amusing stories about the others. "She was standing there getting a lecture from the officer, with a crowd gathered around her. She looked so embarrassed."

"So how did you resolve it in the end?"

"I acted cute and got away with it~ I'd helped the officers catch several thieves before, so they all knew me to some extent. That gave me a chance to talk them around," Aemeath said proudly, as if to say, Praise me, praise me!

"Have you been happy here?" Xiao Ling smiled and rubbed her head.

"Even when I was living alone before, everyone in the alley was really nice to me, but of course I still felt a little lonely. Now that Chisa and the others live with me, I'm really happy." Aemeath smiled, her eyes curving into crescents.

"But, you know, without you here, it always feels like something's missing."

"Then didn't you ever think of coming to find me yourself? You should know I wouldn't have turned you away," Xiao Ling asked, pretending to be stern.

"It's not that I didn't think about it. I just didn't think it would be right," Aemeath explained. "I let you go back then because I didn't want to cause trouble for you, the great hero of Solaris. This world is peaceful, but we're all really pretty. An ordinary person like you who can't even truss up a chicken would definitely be in big trouble with so many beautiful girls all to yourself."

Aemeath had always been considerate, looking out for him both in the game and in reality.

That explained why the other three hadn't come looking for him on their own either. It seemed Aemeath was behind it.

"But now it looks like I might have worried for nothing?" Aemeath looked with smiling eyes at Dania, who was quietly scrolling through her phone beside them.

"You know I don't do things I'm not confident about." Xiao Ling gave his nose a playful flick.

"Haven't you done enough things you weren't confident about?" Aemeath glanced sideways at Xiao Ling and teased him.

Xiao Ling was momentarily at a loss for words. She wasn't wrong about that.

"The one with you is Dania, right?" Aemeath turned the conversation to Dania, who had been quietly scrolling through her phone. "After the final battle with Aleph-1, I heard about it from that shrine maiden. She was being controlled by the president of the Fractsidus and made to resonate with Them, causing you a lot of trouble."

"Then she suddenly left without saying goodbye. I thought I wouldn't get another chance to see her. Sigrika was really upset for quite a while."

"It wasn't exactly leaving without saying goodbye..." Dania said. Her long cherry-pink hair covered her eyes, hiding her expression. "I sent her everything I wanted to say in scheduled emails."

Xiao Ling sighed softly and rubbed her head with his somewhat rough hand as though petting a cat.

"No matter what joys and sorrows, reunions and partings happened in that world, they were only that world's story. At least now, we can start a new chapter."

"Yeah! You're right." Aemeath wholeheartedly agreed with Xiao Ling's words of chicken soup for the soul. "So, Dania, remember to comfort Xixi properly when you see her later. Her grades dropped quite a bit after you left. Principal Lothara even gave her counseling herself."

"...Mm." Dania nodded, her fingertip resting on her phone screen, as if lost in thought.

Half an hour later.

"Thanks for the trouble, Lynae. You went out of your way to pick me up and bring me home even though it wasn't on your route," Sigrika said, a little embarrassed.

She had spent too long in the zoo's bird section, and by the time she came to her senses, she had missed the last ride back to the apartment.

"We're classmates, so you don't have to be so polite." Lynae winked. "Little Ai said there's a surprise waiting for us. I wonder what it is?"

Chisa smiled silently beside them, shopping bags in hand. Of course she knew exactly what surprise was waiting for them.

"Knock, knock, knock." Three brisk knocks rang out rhythmically.

With a click, the apartment door opened. When Sigrika, standing at the entrance, saw who was behind it, her eyes widened.

"Xixi," Dania said, unusually awkward, but still wearing the gentle smile Sigrika knew so well. "Welcome home."

"Ya... Yaya..."

Tears fell faster than the bag in her hand as Sigrika embraced her best friend like the wind, the falling droplets sparkling in the warm yellow light.

"I thought I'd never see you again, waaah-!"

Unlike Aemeath, Sigrika was someone who wore her emotions on her face. Even if she wanted to hide them, she couldn't.

And this long-awaited, heartwarming reunion also heralded the triumphant return of Star Torch Academy's student group in this world.