"Yes. Will you come back?" After a while, Fitoria asked again.
"I'm not sure. Perhaps." Hearing Fitoria's words, Takeru hesitated, then spoke directly.
"If you ever return to this world, you must come find Fitoria, okay? If the world is safe by then, Fitoria wants to leave with you." Hearing this, Fitoria spoke expectantly.
"Is that so? I understand. If I come to this world, I will definitely come find you." Hearing her say this, Takeru spoke seriously.
"It's a promise."
"Yes, it's a promise."
Watching Takeru say goodbye to Fitoria, Raphtalia and Rifana beside them were stunned.
They sensed something was off. However, they didn't rush to ask. They stood where they were, waiting for the right moment.
...
After saying goodbye, Takeru led Ram, Rem, and the others away from the Filolial sanctuary.
Before leaving, Takeru left behind quite a few things, besides the house he had built, also a Recycling Slime.
Also, White Apple trees, Cotton Candy trees, Ground Berries, and Banana Cucumbers, these plant-based delicacies.
Consuming them slowly, they could last for a long time. And because they were plants, even after being eaten, they would regrow after a while.
Moreover, these plants had been modified by Takeru, their yields already significantly increased compared to before.
Most importantly, their growth didn't require too harsh an environment. Fitoria would just need to collect the fertilizer produced by the Recycling Slime and sprinkle a little each year.
Leaving the sanctuary, Takeru and the others set off to level up. However, there were basically no monsters besides Filolials near the sanctuary. So, Takeru and the others had to travel far before finding new hunting areas.
At night, during their rest, Raphtalia and Rifana, looking preoccupied, found Takeru.
"Raphtalia, Rifana, what's wrong? Do you have any questions?" Looking at the two, Takeru asked with confusion.
"Yes. Takeru-sama, are you... are you leaving this world?" Raphtalia hesitated, then asked directly.
"Yes. You know, this isn't my world. On the other side, my family is also waiting for me." Hearing her words, Takeru nodded directly.
"Then, Takeru-sama, when will you leave? From your conversation with Fitoria, it seems you don't plan to wait until the waves end, but will leave soon, right?" Then, Rifana asked further.
"Yes. Since you both have guessed, I won't hide it from you. In less than twenty days, I will leave." Looking at the two, Takeru spoke softly.
"How can that be? Takeru-sama, aren't you going to take us with you?" Then, Raphtalia and Rifana became agitated, came to Takeru's side, and looked at him pitifully.
"Of course I'll bring you two with me. If I weren't going to take you, why would I train you so hard?" Hearing their words, Takeru chuckled and stroked their heads to soothe them.
"Really?" Hearing this, the two showed delighted expressions.
"Yes. Although it's still a bit early, I still need to ask you. Are you willing to leave with me, to go to my world, a completely unfamiliar world for you, where it might even be difficult to return to this world in the future?" Looking at the two, Takeru spoke directly.
"I want to go. My life was saved by Takeru-sama. It has long belonged to you. So, if you leave, Takeru-sama, no matter where it is, I want to go with you." Hearing Takeru's question, Rifana didn't hesitate for a moment.
"I want to go too. The time I've spent with Takeru-sama has been the happiest of my life. So, I don't want to leave you." Soon, Raphtalia also firmly expressed her desire to follow Takeru.
"Is that so? I see. In that case, I won't abandon you either. I look forward to working with you in the future." Hearing the two's determined words, Takeru showed a pleased smile.
"Yes." Hearing Takeru say this, the two finally showed happy smiles and hugged Takeru tightly.
"Eh, so sneaky! Raphtalia-nee and Rifana-nee, you're secretly being affectionate with Master here!" At this moment, Filo, sensing something was wrong, brought Koyuki over. Seeing this, Filo said with a puffed-out cheek.
"No, we... we just had something to discuss with Takeru-sama." Hearing Filo's words, Raphtalia said embarrassedly.
"You clearly are. You're still enjoying Master's touch right now." Hearing Raphtalia's words, Filo wasn't fooled.
"Alright, Filo, Raphtalia and Rifana came to discuss something with me. Don't overthink it. It's getting late. Get some rest." Seeing Filo's little jealousy flare up, Takeru said helplessly.
"Oh, then Filo wants to sleep with Master tonight." Hearing Takeru's words, Filo continued.
"Wait, Filo, aren't you being too clever? You're being too clingy!" Hearing Filo's words, Raphtalia couldn't help but say.
"I'm not as clingy as you!" Hearing Raphtalia's words, Filo directly retorted.
"What? When have I ever been clingy?"
"Hmph, I don't care!"
"Filo, really, stop it!" Watching Filo tugging on Takeru's arm, Raphtalia grabbed Takeru's other arm.
"Alright, stop arguing." Watching the bickering two, Takeru felt somewhat helpless.
Finally, with Filo's cajoling and under Raphtalia's indignant gaze, Filo took Koyuki and ran back to the room with Takeru.
Ram and Rem watched this scene calmly and also walked towards Takeru's room.
Soon, a new day arrived. Having let go of their worries, Raphtalia and Rifana trained with great enthusiasm, making Filo and Koyuki very curious.
However, they didn't think too much about it. They quickly got to hunting.
Today, they needed to hunt monsters under the numerous restrictions imposed by Takeru.
Because their strength had long surpassed ordinary monsters, hunting without any restrictions held no training value. As for whether they would get injured, that didn't matter.
If injured, whether it was Takeru's healing magic, Healing Slimes, or recovery potions, they could all easily cure them. At worst, they would suffer some physical pain and learn some lessons.
As for situations beyond their capability, Takeru would handle them.
Under high-intensity training and leveling, everyone's strength improved again in two days.
Especially Koyuki, whose level had reached 40. She would need to class-up to improve further.
Takeru and the others had been away for a while, so at dawn, Takeru quickly packed up and teleported everyone back to the palace.
Seeing Takeru suddenly return, everyone was somewhat surprised but very happy.
"Welcome back." Looking at Takeru and the others, Emilia said with a smile.
"Master, who is this child?" The group also noticed Koyuki, whom they had never seen before.
After all, Takeru had left with only six people and returned with one more.
"This is Koyuki. You could say she's Filo's little sister." Seeing everyone so curious, Takeru spoke directly.
"Filo's little sister?" Hearing Takeru say this, everyone understood and knew that Koyuki was also a Filolial.
Knowing her identity, no one would reject her. After all, aside from the people from the Akame ga Kill! World, Takeru's side was hardly purely human.
"Filo, take Koyuki to class up first, then show her around the royal capital, okay?" Then, Takeru turned to Filo.
"Okay!" Hearing Takeru say this, Filo nodded excitedly.
"Takeru-sama, how about I accompany them?" At this moment, Melty said expectantly.
"Hee hee, Melty-chan, you want to come too? Okay, okay!" Hearing Melty's words, before Takeru could speak, Filo nodded excitedly.
"Alright, then go together." Looking at their expectant eyes, Takeru didn't stop them and nodded directly.