"I—"
TIS had just opened his mouth, ready to reply with some classic low-tier goon nonsense...
Then he saw it.
A section of the sky — just above the guild — glitched.
The blue warped. Clouds looped in place like a broken GIF. The sun flickered like an old lightbulb. A strange rectangular patch — like flickering black-and-white bars — pulsed at the edge of reality.
Camera's voice hit instantly.
'WHAT??? OH no... did we—'
TIS didn't answer immediately.
His eyes stayed locked on the glitch, scanning it like a surgeon spotting internal bleeding.
Then, calmly, he muttered,
"We got too involved with the Route… very well."
His tone shifted in an instant.
TIS threw his hand up and pointed dramatically at the sky.
"What's that?!" he shouted, loud enough to cut through the crowd noise.
Every head turned.
Even Ryndall.
Even the healer girl peeked up, confused.
That was his cue.
Without hesitation, TIS dashed into the smoke and rubble, vanishing between crumbling columns and scattered stone.
As soon as he was gone, the glitch in the sky blinked out.
The clouds resumed their gentle drift.
The world… forgot.
Camera zipped after him, its voice bordering on panic.
'DANG! That is what happens if you meddle with the Route... but this was just a normal event — even an insignificant one! WHY IS IT CONSIDERED DANGEROUS??'
TIS ran across the rooftops effortlessly —
No sweat.
No fatigue.
Just smooth momentum.
He pulled out his water bottle mid-run and twisted the cap open like he'd done this a thousand times before.
He took a long, relaxed drink, then finally replied:
"The Route is very sensitive, Camera."
And sipped again.
Camera zipped closely behind him, its lens shaking slightly from the speed — or maybe from sheer disbelief.
'What? You're drinking mid-run?! Aren't your—HOW THE HECK IS YOUR SYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM STILL INACTIVATED?!'
TIS didn't break stride.
He casually tilted his water bottle back, took another sip, and swallowed with a refreshed sigh.
"Good thing no one can hear you unless you want them to..." he muttered without looking back.
"We'd be dead if you did."
Camera buzzed in flustered silence.
'This violates everything I know about exertion-based autonomic response...'
TIS grinned.
"That's because I'm not based."
He spun off the last rooftop, landed in a crouch on a shaded alleyway far from the guild, and finally capped the bottle.
The city was calm here. The glitch was long gone.
But something about the air still felt... watched.
TIS and Camera hid between the dark alley, near the outskirts of the town.
The shadows covered most of their forms. Behind them, the bustling noise of the city grew distant — muffled by brick, smoke, and a whole lot of suppressed narrative tension.
TIS leaned against a wall, arms crossed, staring up at the slowly-darkening sky.
"But... still," he muttered.
"To think that just doing that already triggered the world destruction protocol..."
Camera hovered beside him, twitching slightly.
'Totally weird, honestly... AND THE HIDDEN ROUTE OR THE ANOMALY IS STILL NOT FOUND.'
TIS glanced sideways, raising an eyebrow.
"Hah… you seem panicked. You okay?"
Camera turned sharply to him, voice rising.
'TIS, THE ENTIRE WORLD WAS ABOUT TO BE DESTROYED.
OF COURSE I WOULD BE PANICKED!'
TIS held his stare for a second… then shrugged.
"But you know that the Cameramen always survive, right?"
'YES—BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN I LIKE IT!'
TIS smiled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.
"...Right."
The silence hung between them like smoke — not heavy, but still lingering.
TIS leaned against the wall, half-emptied water bottle in one hand.
"Anyhow… the HR is still unknown, right?"
He glanced sideways.
"But there are new things I do found that could be the HR. That is."
Camera rotated mid-air slightly, lens whirring.
'Lance and the grandmother?'
"Uh-huh."
'Already checked when you saved Lance. That is Lance's only and remaining family… nothing special.
Lance always angry at her though. Typical.'
TIS looked down, tapping his fingers lightly against the bottle.
"Has he… at least one time hit her though?"
There was a pause.
Camera's lens dimmed slightly.
'Surprisingly not… but not really weird things.'
TIS hummed, low and thoughtful — the kind of hum people make when something almost makes sense.
Almost.
Camera floated upward slightly, checking the sky's position — this world's sun now just dipping behind the rooftops.
'Anyhow,' it said, voice a bit more grounded,
'the origin world where our inn is in… it's already nighttime. We should go back.'
TIS uncapped his bottle one more time, downed the last sip, and gave a small nod.
"Yup. Let's go."
He stretched his back, cracked his neck once to the left, once to the right — then drew a small circular motion in the air with two fingers.
A ripple in space opened with a soft hum, revealing a dark-blue shimmering portal — like moonlight on rippling water.
Without a word, TIS stepped through.
Camera followed quietly, the portal sealing behind them like a curtain being pulled shut.
And the city — unaware of the visitors who had just rewritten its edges — returned to its story.
Sea Breeze Inn – Midnight.
The old ceiling fan creaked slowly overhead, and the soft whisper of the sea drifted in through the half-open window.
Moonlight spilled across the wooden floorboards in pale, broken patterns.
Camera hovered in standby mode near the corner of the room — dim, quiet, almost asleep.
Then—
A faint buzz.
A ping.
An emptiness where a signal should be.
Camera's lens blinked on.
It hovered upward slowly, then turned toward the couch.
'TIS…? TIS?' it called out softly.
No response.
Camera floated forward. The blanket on the sofa was bunched up — still warm — but empty.
It zipped toward the hallway, scanning.
Living area: empty.
Kitchen corner: cold.
Bathroom: dark.
Window: closed.
Nothing.
A second passed.
Then the panic kicked in.
Camera shot upward, spinning once in a fast, silent 360 as it activated a full-verse wide scan.
The room pulsed once in blue light—then again—then again.
No trace.
'Dang… I forgot he can't be scanned…!' Camera muttered, voice tightening.
It hovered in place, processing.
'What the… where could he…?'
A pause.
Then, realization.
'Wait… don't tell me he went back to the isekai world—?!'
The forest was silent. No wind. No crickets. Just the stillness that came when something important was about to happen.
Camera zipped between the trees at high speed, scanning left and right with increasing urgency.
Then—
a break in the woods.
An empty field bathed in pale moonlight.
Camera slowed down, hovering quietly above the clearing.
There—
Standing in the middle of the field—
Lance.
'What the… LANCE???' Camera gasped.
It floated down, hiding in the treetops, lens focusing sharply.
Lance stood alone in the grass, holding a sword — shakily, but deliberately — pointed forward.
And opposite him... was TIS.
Calm. Still. Watching.
Behind Lance, just a few feet away, knelt his grandmother — her head bowed, shoulders shaking.
She was crying.
The moonlight caught the tears on her cheeks, but no one moved to comfort her.
TIS noticed the faint hum of Camera approaching.
He turned his head slowly.
And gave Camera a look of disgust.
Not anger.
Not fear.
Just… disappointment.
Camera froze mid-air.
Then slowly lifted its mechanical arms — forming a silent, exaggerated gesture:
"How can you blame me?"
TIS said nothing.
But he turned back toward Lance, who gritted his teeth and took another shaky step forward, blade trembling in his hands.
[You fools ARE ALWAYS LIKE THAT… THINKING YOU ARE ABOVE EVERYONE ELSE!]
Lance's voice cracked, the rage choking him as much as the pain.
[And… and… EVEN JUST ONCE… NEVER HAVE YOU FOOLS EVEN CARED FOR WEAKLINGS LIKE US!!!]
He stood trembling, the blade in his hand shaking violently.
Sweat dripped from his brow, mixing with dirt and shame and memories far older than this day.
Camera, still hovering at the edge of the clearing, zoomed in slightly.
Its lens focused on Lance's body… and noticed small bruises along his side.
Not deep.
Not near any vitals.
Not fatal.
But definitely made to hurt.