"It's only been a week—no need to be that excited," Eriri said with a smile as she gently squished Euryale's smooth cheeks.
"Hey, I once heard on TV that 'one day apart feels like three autumns'! You've been gone for eight days—that's like years! How could I not be excited?" Euryale replied, grinning as she nestled in Eriri's embrace.
"You're exaggerating."
While Eriri and Euryale were playing around, Medusa and Stheno happily came over to greet Eriri, as well as Ophis and Scarlet.
They were already used to Euryale's clingy behavior by now.
News of Eriri's return quickly spread throughout the villa, and everyone who was home came out to see her.
Of course, "everyone" was only a few people, since it wasn't the weekend. Most of the household was at school, and even Irisviel had taken Artoria and the little ones out shopping.
For the time being, Eriri stayed in the living room watching TV with the Gorgon sisters.
Naturally, as she watched, she also kept an eye on the chat group.
At the moment, everyone in the group was chatting enthusiastically about Azusa and her family.
[Chika Fujiwara (Level 7, Stage 1): Azusa, do you think Laika and the others might hit LV.2 today? Curious.jpg]
[Arifureta (Level 7, Stage 2 / Group Leader): I doubt it'll happen that fast. Doesn't it require a lot of merit? They just became adventurers yesterday—it's not easy to earn enough for a level-up in one day.]
[Kaguya Shinomiya (Level 7, Stage 1): That's true. If it were Azusa, sure, but for Laika and her group, it'd be a bit of a stretch.]
[Azusa (Level 5, Stage 9): They're still quite far off. I went into the dungeon with them, but I only stepped in when necessary to protect them. I didn't help otherwise.]
It had been a week since Azusa and her family had begun their inter-world family vacation. Their first destination was the Saekano world.
After several days of fun, they had just moved on yesterday to their second world: DanMachi.
Upon passing through the World Gate into the DanMachi world, the first person they met was Hestia.
Since she no longer had to worry about day-to-day survival, Hestia spent most of her time at home reading and no longer sold fried potato balls on the street.
The moment she saw Azusa and the others, she figured out pretty quickly how they had arrived—they'd appeared right inside her home, not come in through the door.
She quickly and warmly welcomed them, and upon learning their purpose for coming, offered to have them join her familia.
Azusa and her group didn't refuse. After all, they were just here for fun, and becoming adventurers sounded like a good experience.
Before arriving, Azusa had already explained the basics of this world to Laika and the others, so Hestia was spared from giving them the usual introduction.
Eriri knew all of this, of course. It wasn't like she only checked the chat group once in a while.
Unless something unusual was happening, she checked in every day to chat and catch up.
Even if she wasn't actively messaging, she would still interact with the group bot—she'd never ignore the adorable AI residing in her mind.
[Eriri (Level 8, Stage 9): Yue-chan, I'm back~]
[Arifureta (Level 7, Stage 2 / Group Leader): Really? Then let's go home now! Happy.jpg]
[Lala (Level 7, Stage 2): Agreed~]
[Shinobu Kocho (Level 7, Stage 1): Welcome back, Eriri-chan.]
[Eriri (Level 8, Stage 9): No need to rush. It's almost the end of school anyway. Let's just wait and come back normally.]
[Shinobu Kocho (Level 7, Stage 1): Mm~ I really want to see you sooner, but if you say so, I'll hold back.]
[Arifureta (Level 7, Stage 2 / Group Leader): Alrighty then. Pity.jpg]
[Jibril (Level 7, Stage 1): Master is back? Then I'm coming back too.]
[Eriri (Level 8, Stage 9): Little Jibril, you're not planning to stay longer with the Flugel?]
[Jibril (Level 7, Stage 1): Of course not. It's so boring over there. Being by Master's side is way more comfortable~]
[Eriri (Level 8, Stage 9): Well, the World Gate is sitting on top of Avant Heim, so you can come back whenever you want.]
[Eriri (Level 8, Stage 9): By the way, Azusa, how far have you all gotten in the dungeon?]
[Azusa (Level 5, Stage 9): We're on the 14th floor already. Laika and the others aren't super strong, but handling the early floors is easy for them.]
[Eriri (Level 8, Stage 9): I bet Hestia's been pretty happy these past few days.]
[Riveria (Level 5, Stage 6): No kidding. Today Hestia wouldn't stop showing off in front of Loki. They're like a pair of children. Exasperated.jpg]
[Eriri (Level 8, Stage 9): Haha, sounds just like her.]
[Ais (Level 7, Stage 1): …]
[Miko Yotsuya (Level 5, Stage 6): Miss Riveria, didn't you all go to the dungeon today?]
[Riveria (Level 5, Stage 6): Nope, we took a day off. We've stockpiled a bunch of magic stones for points. Miko, want to come try being an adventurer with us? The Loki Familia would love to have you.]
[Ais (Level 7, Stage 1): Mm, you're welcome!]
[Miko Yotsuya (Level 5, Stage 6): Um… maybe not. I still have school.]
[Riveria (Level 5, Stage 6): What a shame. We could've had a great addition to our ranks.]
[Miko Yotsuya (Level 5, Stage 6): Sorry…]
[Riveria (Level 5, Stage 6): Don't worry, I was only joking.]
[Eriri (Level 8, Stage 9): Riveria, don't tease my sweet Miko-chan~]
[Miko Yotsuya (Level 5, Stage 6): Embarrassed.jpg]
...
While watching TV, Eriri casually chatted in the group.
Before long, it was already after 3 PM.
Arifureta and the others, having finished school, returned to the villa immediately using their flight abilities, instead of the usual chauffeured car.
In this world, superpowers were increasingly common, so even though other students saw them vanish from the schoolyard, no one thought it was especially strange—just a bit surprising.
"Eriri, welcome back!"
Just like Eurielle, Arifureta threw herself into Eriri's arms with a bright, joyful smile.
But her next move was far bolder than Eurielle's.
No sooner had she embraced Eriri than she tilted her head up and planted a soft, moist kiss on Eriri's lips—without the slightest concern for the many eager eyes watching nearby.
Seeing this, Eurielle couldn't help but feel envious. She adored Eriri deeply, but their relationship had never gone that far.
Mostly, it was because she never had the courage to make the final move.
This also made her silently cheer herself on internally, determined to bring her relationship with Eriri to the next level in a short time.
The intimate contact between Eriri and Arifureta didn't last long. After just a dozen seconds, they separated.
"Arifureta-nee is so sneaky. No fair! Eriri-nee , I want a kiss too!"
After the two separated, Illya immediately rushed over, tugged on Eriri's arm, and began to shake it lightly.
"Alright, alright, Illya-chan really loves to be spoiled, huh."
Looking at the adorable Illya, Eriri lovingly rubbed her head, then bent down and gave her a kiss on the forehead.
Although it wasn't a kiss on the lips, which left Illya a little disappointed, she was still very happy.
After Illya, under the lead of Reina, a group of lolis also clamored for kisses.
Naturally, Eriri wouldn't play favorites. She seriously gave each of them a kiss on the forehead without any hint of perfunctoriness.
Watching the radiant Eriri surrounded by everyone, Kanae Kocho smiled and said, "Ah, Eriri-chan really is popular."
"Hmph~ As if that isn't obvious!"
Eriri shot Kanae a coquettish glance, then walked over to her, reached out with her right hand, and gently stroked her cheek.
"Kanae, do you want my kiss too?"
Hearing Eriri's words and feeling her touch, Kanae's face instantly turned red.
Long ago, she and Eriri had already confirmed their relationship. Intimacy with Eriri was nothing new, so she didn't have the slightest intention to refuse. But just as she was about to respond, Eriri kissed her first.
After that, Akino, Yukino, Lala, Momo, and other beautiful girls who had confirmed their relationship with Eriri also received the same treatment.
Although Utaha Kasumigaoka still felt a bit jealous about this, she had no way to stop it—after all, even she was a latecomer.
So she could only choose to accept it.
Just as Eriri finished her cuddly moments with the others and was preparing to let everyone disperse, Jibril's eager voice suddenly rang out.
"Master, Master, me too, me too!"
Jibril looked at Eriri with burning eyes, a lovestruck smile on her face, and a heart visibly appearing in each of her pupils.
"Oi oi oi, Jib, no hearts in your eyes, okay? And don't make that over-the-top expression."
Eriri reached out both hands and pinched Jibril's cheeks as she came close.
Since this was loli-form Jibril, even showing such a lovestruck expression only made her look adorable rather than creepy.
After squishing her cheeks for a bit, Eriri kissed Jibril on the forehead just like with Illya and the others.
But clearly Jibril was a bit unsatisfied. Even after being kissed, she clung to Eriri's leg persistently.
"Master, Master, I want a kiss on the lips too!"
"Alright, alright, that's enough for today. We'll talk about the rest later."
Eriri chuckled and patted Jibril's head, not agreeing to her request.
After all, with so many eager eyes watching, if she agreed to kiss Jibril on the lips, then the other little girls who only got forehead kisses would likely demand the same.
That would be a never-ending cycle.
"Okay then."
Hearing Eriri's reply, Jibril had no choice but to give up.
By the time it was after four in the afternoon, Irisviel and the others who had gone out shopping finally returned home.
However, the large-scale cuddling incident from earlier didn't happen again.
...
"Eriri, let's go to Planet Deviluke together, and then explore Earth over there!"
Three days after returning to the Saekano world, Lala suddenly made the suggestion excitedly while Eriri was having breakfast.
Hearing Lala's words, Momo and Nana, who were also eating, stopped their actions and looked toward Eriri.
"Sure, let's go after breakfast," Eriri nodded casually.
She had already promised Lala to accompany their trio back home at some point. Besides, there were people on that side Eriri wanted to see.
So naturally, she completely agreed to the proposal.
The reason she hadn't created a World Gate to the To Love-Ru world before was because she had planned to do so on the day they went there.
"Yay~!"
Lala raised her hand in excitement and then resumed eating her breakfast happily.
This time, aside from the three Deviluke sisters, Eriri didn't plan to bring anyone else. After all, once the World Gate was established, everyone could visit To Love-Ru world at any time—there was no need to rush.
So after finishing breakfast, Eriri waved her hand, and a mysterious world portal appeared before them.
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