She'd only done that out of habit—back in the zombie-infested world, she did it every day.
"…"
A moment of speechless silence.
Yukino paused for a second, then continued massaging his shoulders. She figured that since she'd started, she might as well keep going.
Tatsuki didn't speak either, lest he break her mood. He shut his eyes, savoring the pleasant massage.
…
Within the chat group, a sudden plea drew his attention.
Little Fox Spirit: "…Can someone please help us?"
Ainz: "Hmm? Looks like our new member's in a bad spot."
Saeko Busujima: "Could you tell us what's happening?"
Tatsuki: "Please give us a brief introduction of yourself and the situation you're facing."
Tushan Honghong: "I'm Tushan Honghong, a fox spirit from Tushan. My younger sister, Rongrong, and I were captured by two Taoist priests… They plan on selling us…"
Nami: "So, like slave trafficking?"
Exusiai: "Tushan Honghong's predicament sounds pretty dire."
March 7th: "How can we help her, though?"
March 7th: "Wait, I could send weapons via the red envelope function!"
Tatsuki: "That's worth a try."
Just then, a new system prompt popped up:
[Ding! The chat group now has 10 members. The Apocalypse World Travel Path is unlocked!]
[All members can pay 1,000 Points to request permission from another member, then travel to their world for up to 24 hours. Additional time requires extra Points!]
Tatsuki: "…Looks like we won't need just red envelopes after all."
March 7th: "Wow! We can freely cross worlds now? This chat group is really something."
Shinobu Kocho: "Though 1,000 Points is quite expensive…"
Shinobu Kocho: "I've tested demon-slaying. One ordinary demon gives me 10 Points, so I'd have to kill 100 demons just to cross worlds once."
Saeko Busujima: "That's already more than I get from killing zombies."
Tatsuki: "First, let's focus on Tushan Honghong's situation. I guess I'm the only one with enough Points right now, so I'll go."
He clicked into the World Travel feature, located Tushan Honghong, and sent a request to enter her world.
Tatsuki: "@Tushan Honghong, please accept my request."
Tushan Honghong: "I-I got it."
Tushan Honghong: "Accepted!"
He spent 1,000 Points. Immediately upon confirming, a wormhole appeared in front of him.
"?"
Yukino's eyes went wide at the rotating vortex of energy, and her hands halted their massage.
"What… is that?"
"Huh?"
Tatsuki was taken aback—the world's time hadn't frozen! It seemed the time-stop mechanic only applied to Apocalypse Journeys. Since Yukino had already seen it, there was no point hiding it. He placed his hand over hers and stood up.
"This is a portal to another world."
"Another… world?"
Yukino forced herself to remain calm, her mind racing to process the situation. Simply put, Tatsuki was about to travel through that gateway into another dimension! A surge of worry welled up, and concern clouded her features as she unconsciously grabbed his arm.
"Is it dangerous?"
Noting her unease, Tatsuki smiled gently, habitually giving her delicate hand a small squeeze.
"I'll be fine—nothing serious. I'll be back soon. If anyone asks, just make up some excuse for me."
With that, he released Yukino's hand and stepped into the wormhole, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
Eyes full of reluctance, Yukino slowly clenched her fists. She realized Tatsuki was under more pressure than she'd imagined, even compelled to rush off to unknown worlds to help. And she… couldn't do anything but pray sincerely that he'd come back safe.
…
Deep in a Forest.
On a narrow dirt path, a horse-drawn cart rattled along at high speed. At the back of the cart were two wooden cages, each holding a small fox spirit girl—one with orange-gold hair, the other green. Both wore yellow paper talismans on their bodies, sealing away their powers.
Their captors, an old Taoist priest riding up front and a younger disciple driving, were apparently taking the pair of fox spirits to be sold. The old priest was berating the younger one for his poor driving skills:
"You worthless disciple! Can't you drive a simple cart?!"
The young Taoist rolled his eyes, muttering back under his breath, "Weren't you the one who told me to do it this way?"
"Oh, you dare talk back now?!"
He lifted his hand to strike, when—
"Whoa!"
Spooked by something, the horse neighed, rearing up and skidding to a sudden stop. The old priest, along with the cages, were flung forward.
"Ah!"
The old man landed flat on his back, limbs flailing in pain.
"You useless beast! Are you looking for trouble too?!"
Lifting his gaze, he saw that the young Taoist disciple and the two cages holding fox spirits were floating in midair—gently, as if borne by invisible hands, before settling softly on the ground.
"Huh? What's going on?"
The young Taoist, whose scarred face twitched in confusion, patted himself in surprise. He hadn't been hurt at all.
"Big Sister!" Tushan Rongrong cried out worriedly.
"I'm fine, Rongrong."
Tushan Honghong had no idea what was happening either.