After a smooth, unhindered drive, the pink Rolls-Royce carrying Eriri finally arrived at Tokyo International Airport.
The car entered the airport without any obstacles and stopped right next to the plane's landing point.
The time was now a little past 10:40 a.m., with less than twenty minutes remaining before the flight's scheduled arrival.
At that moment, the plane carrying Ilina had already entered the airport's airspace and was preparing to land.
Eriri and Aoi Kujou stayed inside the car, patiently waiting.
Before long, the plane landed smoothly on the runway after a brief taxiing. The car Eriri rode in was parked just a dozen meters away from the first-class cabin door.
When the cabin door opened, a tall blonde beauty in a dress stepped out first. Beside her was a petite blonde loli in a cute outfit.
They were Ilina and Princess Lilian of England, who had come along with her to visit Eriri.
The moment she stepped out, Lilian—never having been to Japan before—looked around curiously like an excited child. Soon, she spotted the pink Rolls-Royce parked near the cabin door.
As Eriri's little fangirl, Lilian naturally followed everything about her. Of course, she knew about the custom-made Rolls-Royce designed exclusively for Eriri.
Her delicate little face instantly lit up with excitement. She tugged on Ilina's arm and pointed eagerly toward the pink car.
"Ilina-nee, that car looks like it belongs to Eriri-nee, doesn't it?"
Ilina also noticed the pink Rolls-Royce. It was far too conspicuous to miss, parked so close to the cabin door. As Eriri's close cousin, she instantly recognized the car.
"Yes, that's definitely Eriri's car. Let's hurry over—we shouldn't keep her waiting."
Ilina nodded, then held Lilian's hand and walked down the airstairs.
At the same time, Eriri and Aoi Kujou stepped out of the car.
Eriri smiled warmly as Ilina and Lilian jogged toward her, while Aoi quietly stood by her side.
"Eriri-nee!"
The dozen meters were covered in a flash. With a cry full of excitement, Lilian dashed straight into Eriri's arms.
"Eriri-nee, we finally meet again! I missed you so much!"
Lilian lifted her head from Eriri's embrace, her little face flushed red with excitement and joy.
"To think our little Princess Lilian also came along~"
Eriri chuckled, placing her hand on Lilian's smooth, tender cheek and giving it a gentle squeeze.
At those words, Lilian immediately pouted, feigning a pitiful look.
"What, Eriri-nee doesn't welcome me?"
"Of course I do. I couldn't be happier that you came to visit~"
Smiling, Eriri moved her hand from Lilian's cheek to her head, gently stroking her soft hair.
"Hehe, I knew you'd say that."
Feeling the warmth of her touch, Lilian's face lit up with a goofy, blissful smile.
"Eriri, how long have you been here?"
By then, Ilina had walked up as well, her face also glowing with excitement. If not for Lilian occupying Eriri's arms, she might have embraced Eriri herself.
"Only a little while. Ilina-nee, you look gorgeous today."
Eriri looked her up and down with a satisfied expression.
Her flawless face was completely free of makeup, and the sleeveless summer dress perfectly highlighted her graceful figure. Her skin bore none of the rough pores typical of Anglo-Saxons—on the contrary, it was delicate and smooth.
Before Ilina could respond, Eriri continued with a grin:
"No way, it's been so long—we have to hug at least once!"
After saying that, Eriri released Lilian and took two steps forward, wrapping her arms tightly around Ilina, burying her face in her cousin's soft, full chest.
Ilina's smile grew even brighter at Eriri's initiative. She quickly hugged Eriri back, holding her like the most precious treasure.
"Hehe, thank you for the compliment."
Once the hug ended, Ilina turned her gaze toward Aoi Kujou.
"You must be Sister Aoi, right? I'm Ilina, pleased to meet you."
Ilina pinched the sides of her dress and performed a perfect noble curtsy toward Aoi.
Though Aoi was dressed in a maid outfit, Ilina didn't treat her as a servant at all, but as an elder of equal standing.
Of course, she had already heard about Aoi from Eriri and understood her role clearly.
"Hello, Lady Cousin. It's an honor to meet you."
Aoi gave Ilina a slight bow, her lips curving into a faint smile that she quickly restrained.
Eriri and the others didn't linger long on the tarmac. After a few simple exchanges, they returned to the car, and Aoi drove them away from the airport.
Back when Eriri left England before the new year, she had given both Ilina and Lilian a Storage Ring.
As such, all their luggage was stored inside, and there had been no need for checked baggage.
Instead of heading straight to the villa after leaving the airport, Eriri first brought them to meet Miss Sayuri and Mr. William.
After all, Ilina was their niece. It would have been rude not to let her visit them first.
Fortunately, William had already known Ilina would be arriving around noon, so he had deliberately stayed home instead of going to the consulate. Miss Sayuri also remained at home instead of going to the Sawamura Group, both waiting eagerly for their niece.
The family shared lunch together. By the time Eriri and the others returned to the villa district in the Rolls-Royce, it was already past 2 p.m.
...
"So this is where you live? It's so beautiful—and so cool and refreshing, too."
As the pink Rolls-Royce drove slowly down the petal-covered road, Ilina leaned against the car window, marveling at the rows of blooming cherry blossom trees swaying in the cool breeze.
On the other side, Lilian pressed against her own window, using her phone to record the scenery. She intended to upload the video to her YouTube channel and share it with her millions of fans.
"If you like it, you can stay here for as long as you want. I'll even prepare a special room for you. You can come and live here anytime~"
Eriri smiled as she spoke, sitting across from Ilina.
The custom pink Rolls-Royce was a stretched model, with four rear seats. Eriri and Ilina sat opposite each other, while Lilian sat alone on one side.
After finishing a short recording, Lilian immediately climbed onto Eriri's lap at her words.
"Eriri-nee, I want a room too. Can I have one?"
Her sapphire-blue eyes sparkled with anticipation as she looked up at Eriri.
"Of course. I'll arrange your room right next to Ilina-nee's."
"Yay! Thank you, Eriri-nee! You're the best~"
...
A short while later, the car passed through the cherry blossom road and arrived at the villa's front courtyard.
Arifureta, who had already received word from Eriri, was waiting there.
Since many of the residents had gone off to visit other worlds, only those who preferred staying at home or had personal matters remained in the villa.
Because of this, Eriri hadn't told the others about Ilina and Lilian's arrival yet, planning to introduce them to everyone properly at dinner.
When she saw Eriri step out of the car with Ilina and Lilian, Arifureta immediately came forward to greet them.
"Eriri, welcome back."
Arifureta greeted her naturally with a hug, showing no hesitation despite the presence of strangers. Eriri didn't hold back either, planting a light kiss on the corner of Arifureta's lips as usual.
"I'm back~"
The sight immediately made Ilina and Lilian, who were watching from the side, blush scarlet. Though they already knew from conversations with Eriri that she and Arifureta were lovers, seeing it firsthand still stirred complicated feelings.
Ilina, especially, couldn't help but feel a bit jealous. Lilian, however, didn't dwell too deeply—at only thirteen, her thoughts leaned more toward curiosity about this new world. Still, a fleeting fantasy crossed her mind: what if she were the one being kissed by Eriri?
After greeting Eriri, Arifureta turned to Ilina and Lilian, already well aware of their identities thanks to Eriri's explanation.
"You must be Cousin Ilina and Princess Lilian. I'm Arifureta—welcome to our home!"
Her warm smile eased Ilina's slight sulkiness.
"Nice to meet you, Miss Arifureta. I'm Ilina—it's a pleasure."
Just as she had done with Aoi, Ilina gave Arifureta a dignified noble curtsy.
"Come on, Cousin Ilina, just call me Aichan. We're all family—no need to be so formal."
Arifureta's cheerful tone left Ilina feeling a little awkward, but she nodded in agreement nonetheless.
Meanwhile, Lilian returned from her daydream and also performed a perfect noble curtsy.
"Hello, Sister Arifureta. I'm Lilian."
Both Ilina and Lilian had been raised with proper aristocratic etiquette, and thus always greeted others with refined gestures. Unlike Eriri and the rest, who were content with casual nods or waves.
After her formal greeting, Lilian reverted to her curious, childlike nature and asked bluntly:
"Sister Arifureta, are you really in a relationship with Eriri-nee?"
"That's right. Your Eriri-nee and I are indeed lovers~" Arifureta answered with a gentle smile.
Hearing her confirmation, Lilian's face lit up with admiration.
"That's so wonderful…"
...
Time quickly slipped into the evening. By a little past 6 p.m., nearly four hours had passed since Ilina and Lilian's arrival at the villa.
During that time, Eriri and Arifureta had first shown them the rooms prepared for them, then taken them on a tour of the villa district.
Until then, they had only traveled the main road to the front courtyard and had no idea how vast the entire district was. After more than an hour of wandering, they finally understood its scale.
Though it lacked dense forests, the villa grounds were no smaller than the Spencer family estate. Yet in luxury, it far surpassed it. Even Buckingham Palace couldn't compare to this villa's grandeur.
Beyond the opulence, the scenery was breathtaking. The cherry blossom grove they had driven through earlier had already left them awestruck, but elsewhere they saw sprawling fields of flowers, including many species that only bloomed in different seasons—all somehow blooming together here.
And when they reached the World Gate Plaza, where dozens of mysterious gates stood, even the lively Lilian was struck speechless with awe.
Especially after learning that each gate led to a different world, the two could only stand in stunned silence.
Ilina had already known since last year about the existence of the multiverse and the chat group, but Eriri had never told her about the World Gates. She had thought travel between worlds was only possible through the chat group or by Eriri forcibly opening a passage.
She never imagined it could be this simple—that one only had to step through a door.
—
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