On a bustling street blanketed in pure white snow, where hundreds of people were lively and enjoying life,
At an alchemy shop where smoke continuously rose from the chimney 24/7, a girl dressed in an intellectual yet adorable manner stepped out of the door.
She wore a white shirt tucked inside a light brown fur coat that reached her waist. She also wore brown khaki pants matching the coat, along with striking gold chain accessories attached to her buttons and pockets.
Around her neck was a uniquely designed silver necklace shaped like a crescent moon, standing out like the moon in the night sky.
Holding a bread-colored paper bag filled with alchemical components and accessories, she confidently walked through the crowd and headed toward a rather old wooden boarding house at the corner.
She entered the largest room without knocking, as confidently as if it were her own home.
"Hello?"
The girl named Emma closed the door and looked at the room, which was indescribably messy.
Pizza boxes were scattered everywhere, clothes lay all over the place, and trash was thrown about carelessly.
Emma narrowed her eyes, observing the room that looked as if it had just gone through a fierce battle, or perhaps a party?
"It hasn't been that long, has it? Just throw my brother's stuff over there."
A black-haired young man with red highlights, wearing a white shirt and black shorts, scratched his head while eating a piece of black bread.
"…"
Emma was momentarily speechless, whether because of the good looks of the 1.8-meter-tall young man in front of her or because of the mess in the room.
"What happened here? Good lord, I was only out for five hours to buy supplies. Couldn't you two wreck the house and then at least put it back together properly??"
She grumbled while picking up a stray pastry box. A glimmer flashed in her eyes.
"There's no cake left for you. The one I'm eating is the last."
Lunas extinguished all her hopes of having something sweet to relieve stress. She sighed and tossed the bag toward him. He caught it with one hand without dropping a single item.
"Where's Ron? That pile of stuff was what he made me go buy."
Emma took a lollipop from the cabinet and put it in her mouth, glancing briefly at the clock before fiddling with the virtual interface on her bracelet.
"I don't know. That adolescent delusion case kept rambling about buying a bunch of stuff and sweets, saying it would save the world. He also kept rambling about developing multiple personalities or something."
…
"Attack, attack! We're about to win!"
"Watch the map for me! There—dead again!"
I kept pinging the map to send combat alerts during the match, but it seemed my teammates weren't very intelligent.
I looked at the deaf and blind fool who kept wandering alone only to die pointlessly in the game with mocking and contemptuous eyes.
"Why do I smell some dog acting arrogant and barking nonsense?"
Phelion, who had the physique of a fourteen-year-old boy with jet-black hair, looking like a teenager straight out of some random shounen manga, bared his fangs at me.
It looked quite frightening, especially since he carried giant blood in his veins and could snap my neck whenever he wanted.
But so what?
"If you play stupidly, you have to accept that you're stupid. Don't argue."
I insulted him arrogantly, making his face flush red as his eyes darted around.
(You have lost)
The match ended along with the sound.
I let out a groan, regretting an hour spent gaming only to receive a bitter defeat because of an idiot.
"It's fine. There's still a chance. Just one more match."
I looked at the losing streak on the screen, then angrily stood up, grabbed a bottle of beer, and chugged it down in one go. At least it felt better than looking at that fool's face.
"Don't call people stupid, bastard." Phelion glared at me.
"I called you an idiot."
I tossed the beer bottle aside and ignored him, walking toward the opposite room and knocking on the door.
The place we were staying in looked like a Renaissance-style boarding room, but it was actually integrated with many items from the previous world, such as a mini fridge, an oven, and so on.
This was a device from One Line. It could create a space fully controlled by its owner and could also connect to other rooms from anywhere in the world.
Knock knock knock.
I knocked three times, calling out to the sleepy person inside. Even after ten days in the room, she still showed no intention of coming out.
"Good morning, princess. Your breakfast is here."
I slightly opened the door and pushed a plate of pastries inside. It looked quite different, since I had personally modified the cheap pastry bought from the store.
"You haven't gone outside for days. Why not come out with me for a bit?"
"…"
Two golden glowing eyes glared at me from within the darkness, like a lion about to pounce on its prey.
I broke into a cold sweat, forcing out a strained smile.
"Ah, um… would you like to go out? Take a little walk. There's a very beautiful beach nearby."
Bang!