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It was the day we had chosen for our attempt to go back home, and we stood in front of the device which looked like Lord Jizou. I wasn’t sure whether everyone’s expressions were full of anticipation or anxiety.

“Woof~… woof~…”

Rir was hugging Shuu.

“Hey, I told you I’ll be back in a flash. There ain’t no need for embracin’ me like that.”
“Awoo~~! But what if something goes wrong…?”

We could trust in the contraption. Although we came to that conclusion, no one had tried World Transfer so far, so some anxiety still remained. Well, that couldn’t be changed.

“Rir, I understand that you’re worried. For that reason, the first to try it… should be me,” Kanata declared. “I have the least people who are connected to me in this world.”
“H-Hey. Are you sure?” Shuu asked him.
“Kanata…” Sakura grabbed Kanata’s hand with a look of concern, likely harboring some worries, too.
“Sakura, I’m planning to use that “Time Stop” function Big B-… Sis added yesterday. By using that, the time I spend on the other side will be just an instant here. I am convinced that it will work out, I really am, but if I haven’t opened my eyes again within five minutes, please don’t use the transfer.”
“Ka-… Kanata…”

While calming down Sakura, Kanata stretched out his hand towards the statue.
…I stopped it.

“(Let me go first, after all. You’re my younger brother, so you shouldn’t be the one to try something that might be dangerous…)”
“(…No, we can’t have you being separated from Mika again, Big Bro¹. Besides, you’re the one with Item Master, so if something goes wrong, I’m sure you’ll figure something out. Please leave this to me.)”

He shook my hand off and closed his eyes. Two minutes later, he opened them again.

“Did… did it work? A-Are you alright, Kanata?” Sakura asked in a tone of worry.

Kanata moved his head and looked at her.

“I managed to go back home…! I read the explanation first, so that’s why it took me a bit longer to open my eyes again, but… it really works! It was incredible,” he explained, full of excitement. “When I opened my eyes, I was in my room! This is truly amazing!”

In other words… it was a success?

“You guys should try it, too…!”
“Awright, then I-I’ll also go check it out. Rir, could you let go of me for a moment? I’ll be back in a jiffy.”

After disentangling himself from Rir’s embrace, Shuu placed his hand on the statue. He then closed his eyes and opened them again a moment later.

“Holy…! I really went back home…!”

Oh~…

It looked like Kanata had also been sent over due to how the “Time Stop” function worked, and his eyes snapped open.

Great, the next in line should be me.

“T-Then, I’ll try it now…!”
“Right! Check it out!” Shuu encouraged me.

I placed my hand on the statue. The familiar menu appeared. I mentally chose “Use World Transfer”.

A message floated in my mind.

For now, I replied in the affirmative². However, the explanation I then received was mostly the same I got when I looked at the information about World Transfer Privilege³.

There’s only Earth? Or is it because I’ve only visited Earth and Anazumu so far?

For the time being, I set Time Stop to “off” as an experiment and selected Earth from the menu.

XXXX is the year Mika and I were born. So… I guess I’m back?

I opened my eyes.

“Ha… ha-ha!”

I was in my room. The color of the curtains, my wooden study desk, the color and pattern of the rug on the floor, the futon draped over my bed.

I looked inside my closet. The pretty clothes Mika had given me for the purpose of cross-dressing were there just as I left them.

I caught sight of one of my handheld game consoles. When I took out the cartridge, “Start Quest 2” was written on it.

I checked the calendar. It was the very day I had died…!

I looked out of the window at the neighboring house. From here, it was possible to cross the gap to come and go between Mika’s and my rooms, and Kanata’s and Sakura’s rooms.

Everything was as it should be. I had returned… to the world I came from.

T-Then, let’s see if I can go back to the other world.

I closed my eyes and selected the “Return to Anazumu” option that had appeared unnoticed on my status screen.

I opened my eyes. I was in Mika’s and my shared room. Not a single thing was different from what I had seen before going to Earth.

TL notes:
This marks the end of volume 14. For the 34 chapters it had, it didn’t feel like much happened, though almost half of it centered on everyone’s feelings in the aftermath of the fight against Surtr.

1. Wouldn’t that fate-defying thread undo it, should anything happen? Although Kanata probably doesn’t know about that.
2. The original says he replied with いいえ (“no”), but then talks about the explanation he got, so this might be an error.
3. The original says, “when I bought World Transfer”. Seeing that option was there from the start, I assume he means when he looked at (not bought) the privilege and soul separation.

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