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"I'll have to go back soon," Fubuki said matter-of-factly. Dressed in her deep-green formal gown, she looked less like a survivor and more like a vacationer. "The Blizzard Group can't function without me. Without my hand on things, they scatter like headless flies."
She sighed softly, then her eyes lit up as she turned to Rosen and the others.
"By the way… how about joining my Blizzard Group? Not as subordinates, necessarily—just allies. What do you say?"
"Eh? I don't mind, but I still have school," Gabriel frowned, conflicted. "If Heaven realizes I've been skipping out, I'm doomed."
"It's just in name only. You won't actually have to do anything."
"…Oh. Well, in that case, sure." Gabriel nodded.
"I don't care either way. Go ahead and add me," Frieren said quietly. To her, Fubuki was already a friend. If joining meant supporting that friend without obligations, she had no reason to refuse.
"I'll agree too," Saeko added with a calm nod.
Finally, Fubuki turned her hopeful gaze toward Rosen.
He chuckled. "If I say no now, I'll just ruin the mood, won't I? Alright, I'll join—but don't expect me to have much time."
"That's fine," Fubuki replied smoothly. She only wanted the names.
After all, despite her A-rank strength, she still clung to her place as top of the B-ranks. She had formed the Blizzard Group, recruited every B-ranker she could, all for one reason: to surpass her sister, Tatsumaki.
The day her sister dismissed her carefully built organization as nothing more than child's play, Fubuki swore she would make it the greatest in the world.
Just wait, sister. One day, I'll surpass you.
Fubuki steeled herself.
…
"I might need to stay here for a while before heading back."
Just as Fubuki was about to leave, Rosen finally spoke up.
"Still got problems to solve? Do you need our help?"Gabriel asked kindly.
"Not really. I just want to gather a few supplies from this world."
Rosen had already thought through what he needed before crossing over.
It was like playing an open-world game—you see something useful, you toss it in your pack.
"If there's anything you want, now's the time to grab it. Most of the people in this world won't be using it anymore anyway."
"Oh, right! I almost forgot about that!"Gabriel smacked her forehead in sudden realization.
This wasn't some game. They had really traveled into another world. And on top of that, it was a post-apocalyptic one. If she didn't bring back some "local specialties," she'd be kicking herself forever.
Gabriel instantly knew what she wanted.A game console.
And not just that—discs, cartridges, anything and everything game-related. She was taking it all.
"What about you, Frieren? Anything you want?" Gabriel turned to ask.
"Me? If there were spellbooks here, I'd take them, but I doubt this world has anything like that."Frieren shook her head gently.
But then, something caught her eye. She pointed at the helicopter and vehicles parked on the cruise ship's deck.
"Eh? Miss Frieren, you… want those?" Gabriel looked baffled.
Would a medieval elf really care about modern machines?
"If we could take them, wouldn't they make travel so much easier? No more walking everywhere. They'd keep out the rain, and on long trips, we wouldn't have to sleep outdoors."
"Well, technically we could take them, but… can you even drive?"
"No. But learning shouldn't be too hard for me." Frieren said it with quiet confidence.
"So I guess I'll just stay here for ten years or so."
"…Huh?"
"Kidding."
…
A few days later—
Gabriel, after completely raiding the world's biggest game store and downloading a mountain of titles onto her computer, left with a ridiculously satisfied grin.
Frieren, meanwhile, was practicing driving under Yuriko Takagi's supervision.
As for Rosen, he went on a little spree of his own—cleaning out the underground vaults of several of the world's largest banks. He stripped them of their gold. He didn't bother counting, but the haul had to be in the thousands of tons.
Sure, the world's total reserves were much more than that, but honestly? Beyond a certain point, extra gold didn't matter.
He still had one last thing to deal with.
—Late at night.
As Rosen was going through candidates for possible retainers, he heard soft, unsteady footsteps outside his door.
Click.
The door opened. A slender figure stepped inside, carrying the faint fragrance of soap and bath foam.
"..."
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