"Then, should we head over right now?"
Hearing Yuki's conclusion, Akane Nishino didn't question it at all. Instead, she was already eager to go, hoping to trigger a mission.
"Of course! That's exactly why I'm here."
Yuki smiled slightly, not refusing Akane.
"But before that, I need to freeze the flow of time in your original world."
"That way, you won't have to worry about time passing differently between the two worlds and returning to find years have gone by here."
Yuki took a calm sip of his black tea as he explained.
"Mhm! Please, I'll leave it to you, Yuki-kun!"
Hearing Yuki think ahead so thoughtfully, Akane nodded firmly, her heart filled with strong gratitude.
"Won't you say goodbye to your family?"
Yuki slowly placed his teacup back on the table, then stood up and posed another question to Akane.
"No need!"
Mentioning family didn't stir much emotion in Akane. She refused very calmly.
Akane came from a wealthy family, the daughter of a financial conglomerate. But because of that, her emotional connection with her family was also rather distant.
Family members spent little time together at home, so she wasn't the type who was very dependent on them.
This showed that this beautiful girl, despite having shadows from her past, was also quite strong.
Yuki didn't waste any more words. He simply snapped his fingers lightly.
Click—!
With a crisp sound, a gentle melody filled the living room.
Everything in the entire surrounding world fell into utter silence.
The wind outside gradually died down, the white clouds in the sky stood still, and the birds on the tree branches seemed frozen in a painting, completely motionless.
In the garden, the maids watering the flowers were frozen in place, the water from the hoses suspended in mid-air like crystal sculptures.
Akane's eyes were full of wonder as she took in this scene; everything seemed so novel.
"This is the first time I've ever seen time stop!"
"It's really fascinating."
Akane looked at the clock on the wall, its hands no longer moving, then opened the living room door to observe the maids who had been busy working in the hallway.
Seeing them completely still, a faint smile appeared on her face.
"Alright, it's time for us to go."
Yuki reminded Akane, who was still curious about the scene before her.
Akane snapped out of it and quickly hurried over to Yuki's side.
"Mhm, mhm, mhm!"
The girl nodded gently with a smile.
But then she remembered something and said softly:
"Ah! I almost forgot, I need to go live for everyone to see!"
Remembering the group members' reminder to start a livestream, Akane quickly operated the chat group interface.
After a simple setup, Akane soon activated the chat group's livestream function.
The moment Akane started the stream, the members of the chat group flooded in the very next second.
Clearly, everyone had been waiting impatiently.
[Seitenshi]: Oh, is this Akane-chan next to Yuki? Quite pretty!
[Galacta]: Mhm! She was a child star, so of course she wouldn't be bad-looking!
[Saeko Busujima]: Akane-chan is very cute. I'm rooting for you~~~
[Artemis]: Not bad! Just a little less pretty than me.
[Dongfang Huaizhu]: Artemis, you're way too confident!
[Akane Nishino]: Hehe, thank you for the compliments, everyone.
[Marika]: Are you guys about to head to that other world now?
[Akane Nishino]: Mhm, mhm! Yuki-kun is going to take me over to see if we can trigger a mission.
[Athena]: Go to another world to trigger a mission?! That is indeed a wise choice, considering your original world is a very ordinary one.
Hearing Akane's explanation, everyone could more or less understand the reasoning.
"Let's go."
Seeing the livestream was already running, Yuki casually waved a hand, and a familiar Stargate appeared before them.
Seeing this portal again, Akane felt a mix of anticipation and a touch of fear towards this unknown phenomenon.
The girl glanced at Yuki beside her and, as if mustering courage all at once, she reached out and linked her arm with his, replying in a tone feigning composure.
"Alright, let's go!"
Yuki couldn't help but look down a few more times at Akane clinging to his arm. He noticed she didn't dare look at him, instead staring straight ahead as if perfectly calm.
But upon closer inspection, the slight redness at the tips of her ears betrayed the shyness she was feeling inside.
A faint smile touched Yuki's lips. He didn't shake her off, allowing Akane to hold onto him as they slowly stepped into the Stargate.
The viewers in the livestream couldn't help but tease them.
[Galacta]: Wow! Looks like Akane-chan has picked up a few tricks!
[Saeko Busujima]: Indeed. Bold and decisive. Being able to do that shows great progress.
[Seitenshi]: Come on, guys, stop teasing Akane-chan! Her face is about to turn completely red!
[Artemis]: I'm eating lemons here!
[Raiden Ei]: Eating lemons? Aren't you a goddess? Do you eat lemons when you're sad?
[Dongfang Huaizhu]: Ei-sis, maybe Artemis-sis saying she's 'eating lemons' is just an expression of a certain emotion. It means she's jealous.
Akane, watching the chat content, absolutely did not dare to say anything in the group.
She pretended not to see it, shifting her gaze to the Stargate.
As the distance between her and the portal gradually closed, an inevitable thread of nervousness welled up in her heart. Subconsciously, she tightened her grip on Yuki's arm a little more.
The moment she made full contact with the starry portal, she felt a sensation akin to passing through a thin layer of gauze.
It was like walking through an ordinary gauze curtain; there was no discomfort at all.
In the blink of an eye, the scene before her changed from the interior of the house to a wilderness setting.
Akane was stunned for a second before slowly looking down.
Feeling the soft, loose texture of the dirt beneath her feet was proof enough of its reality.
Not to mention the rustling sounds from the branches and grass stirred by the wind all around.
"We... we really made it to another world?!"
The girl voiced her doubt.
For someone experiencing interdimensional travel for the first time, such a question was perfectly normal.
Because everything she saw at the moment was no different from before.
The sky was still that blue sky, the flowers, grass, and trees were still those same flowers, grass, and trees.
All of this seemed no different from the modern world Akane had just left.
"Of course. If you feel it doesn't seem like it, then you'll soon see the differences."
Yuki smiled slightly, then shifted his gaze to a certain direction within the forest. From the shadows beneath the tall trees, a pair of crimson eyes suddenly gleamed.
"What do you mean?"
Akane, who hadn't noticed the anomaly yet, looked up at Yuki in confusion.
Then, noticing the direction of Yuki's gaze, she followed it.
When she met those blood-red, crimson eyes, she couldn't help but startle, her heartbeat rapidly accelerating.
"Wha... what is that?! Who's there?!"
The girl immediately moved closer to Yuki, pressing tightly against him to feel any sense of security.
"A m... monster?!"
Akane whispered her question to Yuki.
However, these words seemed to anger the thing in the shadows.
There was a rustling sound followed by an angry, youthful female voice:
"You're the monster!"