Episode 194

“Enough, enough! It’s the same, it’s the same. Seeing you fight like that, you are definitely the same person. You’re Rurin, and the other one is definitely Rurin too!”

Unable to watch anymore, El shouted, and both Rurins simultaneously raised their hands in protest.

“Why am I doing this…”
“Why am I doing this…!”

They performed the exact same actions with no deviation. Anyone could tell they were the same person. Their expressions were identical.

El from this world felt like crying. He thought a logical approach was necessary and grabbed both Rurins’ wrists as he spoke.

“Wait, both of you come here. We’re not going to fight, we need to talk…”

But he couldn’t finish his sentence. Real Rurin shook off his hand.

“Don’t touch me! You are El, but not my El. This fake’s El! It was El who allowed me to touch, but only my El!”

“Well, that’s true.”

Whether it’s this El or that El, they’re both El. El apologized and pulled his arm away.

“Y-Yeah. But you…you’re El too, so I think I’m sorry for hitting you.”

And since she had just pushed El away, she hesitated a little and took a few steps back.

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Yeah. This is mine! Don’t hit him!”

El saw Fake Rurin trying to lash out, so he skillfully stopped her with his arm under her armpit and smiled.

“My Rurin is sitting here, and you too…”

Then, El sat Fake Rurin down in a chair and approached Real Rurin.

“But can you tell the difference between your El and mine?”

With a strange smile, El grabbed Real Rurin’s cheek. They were so close that their lips almost touched.

“Uh, uhhhh?”

Real Rurin’s eyes were spinning. This wasn’t her El, but still, El is El. Her mind was telling her to pull away, but her body wasn’t listening.

“Y-you…”
“You…”

It was Real Rurin who stuttered.

The one who called him “You” was, of course, Fake Rurin. Real Rurin was referring to this El as “you” now.

Thud!

Fake Rurin, who had been forcibly seated, couldn’t hold back anymore and performed a belly-to-belly bump on El.

“Even if it’s me, that’s not okay!”

This time, Fake Rurin let out a strong burst of jealousy and huffed.

“That’s true. Now, let’s stop the games here.”

El gently patted Fake Rurin’s head. Real Rurin touched her own head with her hands, a look of envy crossing her face as she bit her lip.

“Anyway, just looking at this reaction, you are Rurin. No matter how you look at it, you’re Rurin.”

When El reached this conclusion, Fake Rurin, hanging onto his arm, looked at Real Rurin with a serious expression and asked.

“Are you me?”

“I am Rurin.”

“So you’re not me!”

“Is that so?”

“Yes!”

“Then where did my El go? Why is only your El here? I hate being alone…”

“I understand that. How did that happen? Fool.”

“Ughhhh.”

El gestured again toward the two Rurins, signaling for them to sit in the chair.

“So both of you sit down here. Rurin, you come first.”

When El first glanced at Fake Rurin, Fake Rurin obediently walked over and sat in the chair.

Then El looked at Real Rurin. However, Real Rurin took a step back, puffing her cheeks as if questioning the previous behavior.

“You, you don’t listen. Don’t act like El!”

“I am El.”

“Ughhhh. Well, that’s true, but…”

“Let’s figure out how to go back, so stop making a scene and sit down.”

Rurin silently looked at El, then glanced at Fake Rurin. Fake Rurin responded with a ‘What are you doing?’ kind of look.

“I understand we need to go back. But you! Don’t come close like earlier. I’ll get embarrassed!”

Real Rurin waved her hand to signal to move away, then quickly sat in the chair on the other side.

She has no El.

Real Rurin wanted to go back. So for now, she complied with what was said, sending an unexplainable trust that this El would show her the way.

As for El, he had no intention of making this Rurin unhappy. The basic plan was to help her go back. No matter what parallel world it was, as long as this being was Rurin, she should be happy.

“Let’s start by talking about dimensions.”

As El spoke, both Rurins began to focus. Real Rurin’s gaze was more desperate and intense compared to Fake Rurin’s.

“Other dimensions definitely exist. You know I came from a different world, right?”

“Yes. It was a strange world.”

Fake Rurin nodded, and Real Rurin looked back and forth between El and Fake Rurin before asking.

“Did you two also go there? The place where strange monsters were rolling around?”

“Cars aren’t monsters, you know.”

El pointed that out, but Real Rurin and Fake Rurin looked at each other curiously, then began talking amongst themselves.

“What? You went there too?”

Fake Rurin replied to Real Rurin’s words. Real Rurin nodded.

“Th-there, El kissed me on the forehead… H-how can I forget? Are you stupid?!”

Real Rurin recalled that memory, her ears turning slightly red. She had won a stuffed toy from the claw machine and spent the whole day holding it, in exchange for El kissing her on the forehead, a memory that vividly resurfaced in her mind.

But Fake Rurin seemed shocked by Real Rurin’s words, her eyes widening as she asked again.

“What? What are you talking about? I never did that! H-he didn’t really do that, did he? What…what was it like?”

Then Real Rurin whispered in Fake Rurin’s ear, looking as if she had won something.

“R-really? Well, I got something even better! Have you ever tried it?”

Fake Rurin whispered to Real Rurin about something else that had happened in Korea.

Real Rurin glared at El with a face that said, ‘What is that?!’ Then, she muttered, looking at Fake Rurin with envy.

“What, what’s that?! You…so quickly, kiss…ughhh.”

Real Rurin trembled, her face looking as if she had lost. It was like a dog with its tail between its legs after losing a fight.

“Can we stop now, dragons?”

If he left them alone, there’d be a mess, so El had to press on both Rurins’ temples alternately.

Aaaah-!

Aaaah-!

Screams rang out simultaneously. El’s reprimanding continued.

“I’m trying to talk about how to get back, and you’re talking about all this nonsense?”

“This is important too!”
“That’s what this one said!”

Both Rurins nodded at the same time.

“And this hurts! Also, you! This can only be done by my El! If anyone else touches me, it’s instant death! No matter if you’re El… No, since you’re El, I’ll let it slide just this once…”

“I get it, so both of you be quiet and let’s get back to the point. If you want to go back, please focus. Got it?”

“Understood. Then…”

Real Rurin said that and shut her mouth tight. Then, Fake Rurin stuck her tongue out, but when she caught El’s stern gaze, she quickly closed her mouth, mirroring Real Rurin’s pose.

But for a moment, Real Rurin whispered to Fake Rurin.

“…Seems like this El nags a lot too.”

“Does your El do that too?”

“Hmm, yes. It would be nice if he toned it down a bit…”

“Ughhh!”

Real Rurin screamed in shock, and Fake Rurin was just as surprised.

El made a hand gesture to her temples again. The two Rurins wore different clothes and accessories, so they could be told apart. But if they kept talking at the same time, it felt like Rurin was multiplying, which was overwhelming. El sighed and began speaking with a troubled expression.

“Anyway, the fact that other dimensions exist is true, so I think this Rurin came from another dimension, not just any other dimension, but a parallel world similar to this one.”

“Dimensions, huh? Is that so? Then, with that summoning magic from before, could I go back to my world?”

Rurin made a ‘Eureka!’ face, shooting out sparkling rays. For a moment, El was speechless because of the gleaming eyes, but he quickly dismissed Rurin’s claim. Whether it sparkled or exploded, the facts needed to be addressed.

“That’s probably difficult. Summoning magic is only connected to this world and Earth, which is a different dimension…you can’t go back with that. The place you came from is a completely different parallel world.”

“Why is it so hard? But I have to go! You’re not my El, so I need to go where my El is…”

Real Rurin shouted with a worried face. This El was still El. If even he said there was no way, it would indeed be a big problem.

“It’s okay. There must be a way.”

Fortunately, El spoke with hope. This reassured Real Rurin, and she asked again with a slightly calmer expression.

“Is that really true?”

“Of course.”

“Yes, I’ll send you back. I’m not the kind to just slump my shoulders! If you were me, you’d better pull yourself together!”

Perhaps it was irritating to see, but even Fake Rurin comforted Real Rurin. However, Real Rurin didn’t respond to that and instead looked back at El.

She gave El a look that said, ‘Hurry up and tell me the method’.

“If I just have a clue, I can figure out the method quickly. So, can you tell me the full story of how you ended up here?”

“Hmm, that’s easy.”

Real Rurin nodded. She closed her eyes for a moment, thought for a while, and then began to speak.

“Hmm, so El sent me on an errand. I had to do it. But walking back was annoying, so I decided to use teleportation.”

“Teleport? Didn’t your El tell you not to use teleportation in the city?”

When El asked with a frown, Fake Rurin scratched her cheek awkwardly and stared off into the distance. Real Rurin also hesitated for a moment but boldly shouted.

“Y-yes, that’s right! My El doesn’t say that! D-don’t interfere, you…you…”

“Oh? That couldn’t be true, right?”

“Anyway, that’s not important!”

Feeling guilty, Real Rurin hastily changed the subject. Her instincts didn’t like being scolded, especially by someone who wasn’t her El.

“Anyway, the teleportation is the problem. I used teleportation and ended up here!”

“Aha! So that’s how it happened?”

El stroked his chin. It was a habit he had when he was thinking. Rurin liked the way El looked when he did that.

It was one of the expressions of El that Rurin liked, as it looked so thoughtful.

“Y-yes, that’s it…”

Without realizing it, Rurin secretly stared at El. Fake Rurin, on the other hand, was openly looking at El. It seemed they shared the same preference, as they were the same person, after all.

“So the cause is definitely the teleportation. But why did it go into another dimension while using teleportation…?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never had this happen before.”

“Hmm, was there something different when you teleported? Maybe you acted differently than usual. There must have been something off compared to your usual teleportation. You need to think about that, Rurin.”