Konrad was the exact opposite of ready.
But after they had left the orphanage, Lily became a ginger whirlwind.
"Where did I put my magic stones?" She rummaged through her room, tail swishing.
No. Gabrielle's suite. Their shared space.
Both the most orderly and chaotic place he had seen, the contradiction was breaking his mind.
"Take your guitar, too," she chirped without looking up. "But in case you won't have the time to rock out, you know, these could recharge you in a pinch. Ah, here they are."
She threw him a tiny pouch but kept eyeing it like she wanted to swallow it whole.
"A mix of low and high-grade stuff," she said, almost drooling. "Chew 'em only when you're out."
Yeah, he still remembered the irritating sound when she was crunching them.
Back when she defeated those Griphlets. Oh, and the story of that shaman who exploded from overcharging his essence with these stones, too.
Konrad poured them into his palm, measuring the gems with suspicion.
"Won't they break all my teeth?" he asked, turning one around.
They must have been worth a lot on Earth. They were actual gemstones, after all.
Especially if he found a sorcerer in desperate need of mana—
"Nah, you'll be fine," Lily said, slamming his back. And with enough force to throw the stones all over the place. "If you wait a bit, these will melt in your mouth. But I like 'em crunchy."
He remembered the dragonheart ruby as he scrambled to pick up what he dropped.
That thing fused into his body from a simple touch, too.
And now that he thought about it—
It's been a few months now, but it sure felt like centuries.
Back then, he had almost no mana, but now?
He could duel Demon Lords or stop entire armies, alone.
Okay, some help was always welcome.
But even if he still felt like a beginner, Konrad was no longer a simple apprentice. He was a prodigy. A duke. And who would have thought he'd become a rockstar, too?!
No, scratch that.
He was about to visit Earth for the second time.
And he wasn't ready for it whatsoever.
"Why d'you want me to take your brother anyway?" Konrad asked, hunting for the gemstones on the carpet. Then, remembering Lily's aversion to the word. "I mean, uh, Welf, he's—"
"He's going to die otherwise," she stated, both the tone and the mood changing immediately.
His hands froze above a stone.
"What?!" He was looking for the usual signs of her joking, but she seemed serious. "H-how—"
"Future sight, remember?" Lily tapped her temple. "I hadn't seen many hints these days, but when you mentioned going to Earth, it kinda happened."
"What'd you see?" Konrad demanded, magic stones forgotten.
"What indeed?" the girl pondered, picking up a gem to throw it in her mouth. "Things were messy, but an invasion of some sort? Here. From another world. We won, but—at a cost."
He would have called her out for the crunching, if not for the revelation.
"Welf?"
It was hard to imagine anything could happen to that towering redhead.
"Him, Eyna, and much of Kasserlane turning undead by our favorite necromancer. I mean, she didn't turn against us. I guess. Must have been a defensive measure, but—"
"W-wait, Eyna, too?!"
That was a punch in the gut.
And she'd only recommend taking Welf, not her?
"Pfft, of course. Because I'm mad at you," Lily answered before he could ask. "And, you said it yourself. Halaima can't run without her. She should incentivise you to hurry back instead."
"You're cruel," Konrad groaned, but she was right. "When will all that happen?"
She shrugged.
"Dunno. Everyone looked the same age. It was snowing. So this winter? The next one? Can't tell."
"It's already snowing," Konrad groaned, slumping to the ground. "And what am I supposed to do with Welf in a warzone? You think he'd be safer there? He doesn't even speak the language."
The little ginger scoffed.
"Sweetheart, you're going to Ukraine. You don't speak it, either."
Fair enough. English or Japanese, he could manage. But—
"I could pretend to be a journalist," he said, brain kicking into gear. "I'm sure at least some people there would understand me. But if I have to take him along—"
"You'll translate for him, too," Lily waved him off.
Why was she so hellbent on having him babysit that guy?
In a modern warzone? She made no sense.
"No," Konrad put his heels down, straightening his back. "If what you say is true, I'd have to hurry. I won't have time to play translator while everyone else is in danger here."
He wasn't even sure where that sudden determination came from, but Lily smirked.
"That's my Konny boy," she said, ruffling his hair. "So, I can transport you there and back—"
"Wait," he scowled. She gave in way too fast. "Did you trick me into wanting to go alone?!"
"Oh? I guess, a tiny little push, sweetie," Lily grinned. "I couldn't have gone into details in that crowd because I didn't want to cause chaos. But I can't have you hesitating, either."
Damn that woman. He had to check if the ceiling hadn't cracked under that lie.
But yeah, it worked.
He still wasn't ready, but he was already roaring to go.
"Okay, listen. Telepathy will only work if you focus very hard and if there's no interference—"
"From Earth to Kasserlane?" Konrad furrowed his brows. "Sounds like a stretch."
Lily reached into his pocket, flipping a coin she stole between her fingers.
Adamantite. How long has it been sitting there?
"I'll take this to the higher planes as a relay and keep a channel open," she said. "It'll work."
He still wasn't convinced, but if she said so.
"Now, once you're ready, I'll transport you to their capital. Outside the airport, so you won't appear in places you shouldn't be. And then—ugh, the return trip will be a pain in the ass."
At times like this, he wished he could read her mind, too.
"Well, like, I can't evacuate you on a moment's notice," Lily explained. "Especially if something's already going on here. I'd have to switch bodies, go to the higher planes, summon you there—"
"Wait. Hold on. I definitely can't teleport myself out," Konrad stated, finally confident for once.
"Why not? Ya have Meow Midori's method. It's a good chunk of mana for you, but in a pinch—"
"For the record, even when you—well, Kaede—and he helped, we were way off the mark."
Not to mention, the spell took ages to cast.
It wasn't something he could do in an emergency, if at all.
His doubts crept back in.
"Listen, I don't like this, either."
Her hazel eyes bore deep into his.
"I'd keep you close to baby you all day and make you forget all about that angel's doll if I could. But some things can't wait—and we're already at the finish line."
She sounded serious.
Yet Konrad couldn't help but think, what'd come after crossing that line.
Lily's face softened before stretching into a wide grin.
"Pervert. You'll have to wait and see," she teased. "So hurry up and get ready. You have to find that guy first, and do it fast—or who knows if I can contain myself long enough?"