"And less 'poor' people means... More money for the rich" you spat with a disgusted expression.

The girls agreed with you and they made some more comments on the matter, but you weren't listening anymore. It was like the world had stopped for a few seconds as you began to feel dizzy.

This was too much for you.

Your legs felt heavier than usual and it was at that moment that you began to notice how tired you were.

You hadn't eaten in a while and too many things had happened: first, you found out that you were stuck in a completely different world, then, a group of girls come to you, offering help. They showed you around Vexlord, went with you to the library, you spent hours reading through books that were written in a strange and incomprehensible language. Afterwards, you decided to take a peaceful walk around the village, but then you found a boy crying and when you tried to help him he transformed into a big dragon monster and attacked you. He would have killed you if it hadn't been for a wolf, who later on turned out to be Maya in her wolf form. Not only her, all the girls told you that they weren't humans at all. And last but not least, there was the theory of the rulers trying to kill off half of their citizens just to get financial benefits.

It was just too much.

You were quite impressed by yourself and how you had managed to get through this whole situation up until now.

Konoha placed her hands on your shoulders and then she started to slightly shake your body.

"(Y...-(Y/N)--... /N) ar... y... --kay?" Said a voice that seemed very distant.

You blinked a few times, trying to snap out of whatever was making you feel all dizzy, but it was pointless. You felt like you couldn't handle the situation anymore, and because of that, your body had started to give up too.

And with that, you stopped struggling, the last thing you saw before fainting being the girls' concerned expressions.

•••

An enormous monster with three lion heads and the body of a dragon stood before you. Your body remained frozen, and then an evil laugh resonated through the place. Slowly turning around, you caught a glimpse of a figure with blue eyes that disappeared in black smoke as soon as you set your eyes on it.

"When the time comes, which side will you choose, human girl?" Said a female voice. "Heheh~ I'm looking forward to meeting you in person. But just so you know, I'm not very patient, so you better hurry up, or else... Something very bad will happen~" she said with a cheerful voice, as though she was enjoying the situation.

"What are you talking about? Who the hell are you?" You asked to that mysterious female voice, but she never gave you a response. Before you could say anything else, the three-headed creature roared, immediately getting your attention. You turned around to face it, ready to fight back even if it cost you your life, knowing you had no alternative.

But you saw something unexpected that made you reconsider your plan.

The beast was now tied by spiked ropes that were piercing through its hard skin, and the animal kept on roaring in pain. The attackers were none other than humans, who had dangerous weapons. A man who was wielding a greatsword approached the injured creature, he raised his weapon and was about to cut one of its heads off, until you reacted and ran towards their direction.

"No! Stop!" The humans stared at you in disbelief.

"What are you doing, girl? We humans must get rid of this creature, or else it will kill us" another man shouted at you.

"But..." You had no idea why you were standing up for the creature, but something told you humans weren't entirely right. Taking a glance at the animal, you noticed that it had its eyes closed, patiently waiting for its death.

You realised something. A creature that big could easily break those ropes and escape, yet it stayed there, waiting for its own decapitation. Moreover, it hadn't attacked you before, despite the fact that you were standing in front of it.

"That's right... This is not the right way" you said.

"What are you talking about? Are you insane? Oh... That's it, you're with them, right? You traitor, you deserve to die with this monster!" One of them said, and the others followed their leader.

A man ran towards your direction, and before you could even realise what was going on, you closed your eyes, waiting for the attack. As it never came, you opened your eyes, only to notice that the man in front of you was dead. Bleeding due to a sword that was stuck in his chest. A sword that you were currently holding.

"W-What..." You immediately dropped the weapon.

"She's definitely a monster... Kill the killer!"

"No, wait! I--"

Again, that annoying female voice. "Heh~ What an interesting mortal"

And then everything turned black.

•••

Your eyes shot open, and you found yourself staring at the ceiling. Your head hurt a bit as you were still in a bit of a daze, after waking up so suddenly. Slowly, you remembered that you were in Sasha's house.

'I must have passed out then...'

'And about that dream... Should I..? No, I don't want to worry them. It was probably just a bad dream'

You sighed, feeling slightly embarrassed after realising you had fainted in front of everyone.

The door suddenly opened, revealing a certain dark-haired girl carrying a tray full of delicious (F/Food). She was wearing a gray apron and you thought that it looked good on her.

Upon seeing you were already awake, she almost dropped the food, causing you to gasp. You sighed in relief when the food —and Maya— were intact.

"I-I didn't expect you to be awake yet" she blushed a lot, probably due to being caught in a good act. That behaviour was so like her.

"Uhh... I'll just leave this here" She quickly placed the tray on a small drawer near the bed. "And don't get the wrong idea! I didn't cook this for you because I wanted to... I just don't want you to die of starvation, okay?" And with that, she left, leaving you confused, but also feeling grateful.

You were so hungry that you didn't bother arguing with her.

You stared at the tray, trying your best not to drool at the sight of one of your favourite foods and drinks.

After a few minutes, you had finished eating, the door opened again, but this time it was Konoha and Hannah.

They walked to you and sat down on the side of the bed, giving you warm smiles. "Are you feeling better?" Konoha asked you.

"Yeah, sorry for making you worry" you said.

"Why are even you apologising? We should've realised that humans have a lower stamina and they need to eat and rest more frequently" the pinkette said as she gave you a sad look.

"I'm sorry..." Konoha suddenly hugged you, bringing your face against her chest area. "From now on, I'll take better care of you, I promise" she smiled, not letting go of you and hugging you even more tightly.

You tried to speak but your words were muffled.

'Help!'

"Hey, stop hugging her like that..." Hannah finally stepped in, and you felt relief, since she was going to help you.

"No need to get jealous, Han~ You can also hug her" Konoha offered the blonde girl, who looked thoughtful for a few seconds. Then, Hannah shrugged and put her arms around your waist, hugging you from behind.

'Whaat seriously? Not like I dislike being hugged but... Uh, I need oxygen!'

The door opened again.

"(Y/N), did you finish your food--" she paused for a brief moment, analysing the situation carefully before... "What the heck are you doing!!" She exploded.

Konoha gave her an honest and cheerful smile. "May, want to join us too?"

"Yeah! Join us" Hannah said with a smile.

"As if!" She blurted out.

"Aw... But I'm sure you also want to hug our dear human friend" she stuck her tongue out, winking playfully and innocently at the werewolf. Maya's cheeks turned red and she shook her head violently. "D-Don't be ridiculous...! You idiots..."

The half wolf girl walked to you and grabbed Konoha by the collar, pulling her away from you. "Mou~ You're no fun" she pouted. 

Fortunately, you were able to breath again.

"Shut up angel. And you, fox girl..." She also grabbed Hannah's arm and without saying a word, she dragged both girls out of the room.

You couldn't help but laugh at the situation. Konoha and Hannah seemed like the affectionate type, unlike Maya, who, in your opinion, usually had a rough time trying to express her true feelings.

After eating and having some visits, you felt a lot better, so you got out of the bed. Once you were outside, you noticed that the bedroom you were in was upstairs. You headed downstairs where the girls were.

"I am glad to see you have recovered already" Sasha commented as she was the first one to notice me when I came in.

"Thanks for taking care of me" you told them with a little smile. Then, you glanced at Maya, who was sitting on a chair. "And thanks for the food, it was delicious"

Maya looked away with a light blush. "N-No need to thank me. I did what had to be done, that's all"

"What a humble girl" Sasha remarked with a half smirk. "Anyways" she wasted no time as she quickly went back to business. "Now that we are all here, we should probably discuss what valuable information we have gathered from the library so far"

"Oh, that's right!"

'With everything that has happened, I completely forgot about that!'

"I'm afraid I wasn't of much help... I don't understand ancient languages" you confessed somewhat sheepishly.

"Don't worry, that was pretty obvious" Maya said with a slightly mocking expression.

You frowned at her words, but didn't talk back this time since she was right.

Sasha let out a soft sigh. "Let's just focus on the task at hand"

"Okay. I read a book about teleportation, but... Long story short, it's impossible to teleport into another dimension" Konoha informed.

"That leaves us with one option. Create a portal. That would be a lot easier if we knew more about how you got here in the first place..." Sasha said.

"The portal where you came from was floating above the sky, that's all I can remember" Maya added. "If only one us was an expert mage..."

"It is decided then" Sasha stated, as serious as ever. Everyone looked at her with curious expressions. "We will head to the Capital Breagan"

"But-- That's extremely dangerous, that's where most fights between Mythest and Antropo take place. It's a suicide mission..." Maya retorted.

Sasha knitted her brows. "I already know that, but there is no other way. All powerful mages live there, and they are probably the only ones who can help us"

"I don't want anything bad happening to (Y/N). She is a human, Mythest will definitely target her, and Antropo will see her as a traitor if they find her hanging around with us" Konoha argued back.

Hannah lowered her gaze. "This... This is up to (Y/N)" she spoke in a low voice, but high enough to be heard by the other girls, who immediately shut up. They looked at you with concerned expressions, waiting for your reply.

There were still lots of questions that remained unanswered, but you supposed they would have to wait... First, you had to get into action.

As much as it scared you, a part of you knew that you had to head to the Capital, even if that meant you would eventually face humans and supernatural creatures willing to kill you at any moment. Only by doing that, will you be able to succeed in going back to your world.

"We'll go to the Capital" you said in a determined tone.

Konoha and Maya didn't like your answer, but they didn't protest either, as they respected your decision.

"We will set off in a few days, but first, we need to get ready" Sasha gave you a proud half smile as she seemed to be satisfied by your answer. "This will be a long journey"

Maya looked at you. "(Y/N), if you are still tired, you should probably spend this days resting" she offered you, but you politely declined her offer.

"I appreciate your concern, but no. I will help you with the preparations" you told her.

"Okay, I understand" Maya then looked at the other girls. "Tomorrow, we will get ready. I say we should split up in groups and each one will buy different things. That way, we can get things done quickly" the blue-eyed girl suggested.

"Good idea. So we'll need to get some emergency food supplies and drinks, healings potions, weapons, new clothes..." Konoha began counting the things you would all need for the journey.

Sasha headed to a drawer and took out a piece of paper, then, she started to write something down. "I am going to send a letter to Akane. She will probably like to join us" the vampire said. When she finished writing, she put the paper in an envelope and she summoned a bat, out of nowhere.

The little animal picked up the letter with its mouth. "Give this letter to Akane Diavel. She is in our mansion, near the forest" she whispered to the bat, who got outside through an opened window, and quickly started flying towards the destination.

"Wow" you uttered. 'So vampires can also do that? There are so many things I still don't know about these girls'

Hannah interrupted your thoughts with the following question.

"If you want to help us prepare things, then what would you like to do tomorrow?"

•••
••
•

A) Go to the forest and look for medical supplies.

B) Go to the merchant district and buy some food and clothes.

C) Go to the special blacksmith and buy weapons and potions.

•••

IMPORTANT:

I was thinking about changing the cover of this book, what do you think?

Buuut, I'm not very good at creating covers so, if someone is willing to do one that'd be great. If not, it's okay, I'll keep the current one until I decide whether to change it or not.

•~•~•

Another chapter? Wow, this must be a special occasion!

Okay, so last time I said I'd make a shorter chapter, welp guess what... 2500 words again! *Sigh* I suck at keeping my word.

Anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter, and don't forget to choose an option!

>>SupremeTaeko