Cooking Showdown (10)

“Uhhhhh?”

Real Rurin paused for a moment, lost in thought.

“If it’s something else… Ah!”

Then, with a face that showed something had just occurred to her, she jumped up from the chair and narrowed her eyes as she spoke.

“As soon as I used teleportation, I realized I had left my shopping basket behind! I came to run an errand, and since I couldn’t go empty-handed, the thought that there would be no reward suddenly crossed my mind. I started thinking about canceling the teleport, and that’s when my mana got tangled, and I was suddenly sucked into a white light.”

“That’s clearly the cause! How come you’re only remembering such an important detail now?”

“Ah, so that’s it. Hehe, well, I figured it out, didn’t I? So, can I go back now?”

“It seems possible. Normally, it’s impossible to cancel a teleport once it’s already been used, but since your mana usage increased with the Dragon Orb, it probably overloaded. Teleportation involves moving through space, but you’re essentially riding through a black hole in spacetime. Inside, your mana overcharged and created a rift, a crack that shouldn’t have been there, and that’s what sucked you in. So, the best solution seems to be to teleport again under the same conditions and find that rift to return. Once a rift opens, it won’t close that quickly. Theoretically, it could stay open for a day or two? But you’ll need to find the rift in the same environment, since the flow of spacetime black holes differs from place to place. Anyway, teleportation is a 10th-class mental magic, and who uses such advanced magic and then starts daydreaming?”

“Th-there’s the basket!”

It’s obvious that you need to concentrate when teleporting. There’s nothing more to say about that, but she stopped speaking after that.

“Anyway, time is important. Tomorrow, at the same time and the same place, teleport again and find the rift to return. It’s already dark, so it’s better to try again tomorrow. So, for tonight, you should sleep here.”

“Ughhh… I understand.”

Real Rurin had nothing more to say. She was just grateful that the way back had been found.

Meanwhile, Fake Rurin was grinning with a guilty expression on her face.

Rurin washed up. It was the same Rurin, but there was no El here to dry her hair. There was only another El.

“That El belongs to another version of me, so it’s not allowed.”

Real Rurin muttered to herself as she dried her hair. It was hard to dry it by herself because it was so long.

The more she did it, the more frustrated she became.

She returned to the bedroom in that state. However, this was not her own bedroom.

Even if it was the bedroom of her parallel world self.

Should she sleep with the Luruns?

But instead, she decided to sleep in the Dragon’s main room. As she was thinking this, she heard something in the bedroom where Fake Rurin was on top of El, doing something.

“H-hey, there!”

“Is it good?”

“Yeah, that’s the spot.”

The voices of El and Fake Rurin were heard. There were even faint sounds that resembled El’s moans.

It was a tone of voice she had never heard from her El.

“Wh-what is going on?”

Surprised, Real Rurin’s curiosity exploded as she cautiously approached the bed.

“Does it feel good?”

“Feels great. Have you gotten better at massaging?”

“Hehe, I’m now the king of massages.”

Fake Rurin was massaging El’s back and shoulders, her movements very skilled.

She had never done such things. Watching El enjoy it, Fake Rurin suddenly seemed impressive.

If it was like that, she wouldn’t feel embarrassed, and the thought of hearing El make those sounds of pleasure suddenly overwhelmed her. She felt an indescribable emotion and immediately walked out.

Rurin completely left the restaurant and sat down on the hill, looking down at the dark city.

There was no one beside her. The presence here was someone else. Suddenly, she felt like crying.

Lonely.

Lonely.

Lonely.

Eventually, tears welled up in Real Rurin’s eyes. Her eyes started to glisten.

Rurin didn’t wipe away the tears. She was so lonely that she didn’t even want to wipe them away. She wanted to see her El, the one who would embrace her, not the one standing there.

She thought this loneliness was natural.

Since when had she become unable to do anything alone?

“My El. Where are you…?”

The more she thought about it, the more depressed she became. She pouted her lips and hugged her knees tighter, curling herself into a ball.

Even though she hadn’t seen her El for just one day, there was another El in front of her, and that El had another version of her. It felt like being even more alone.

Sigh.

The wind blew, but it was the wind from another world, and she didn’t like that either. She wondered how long she had been feeling so down.

“What are you doing here? If you wash up and then go out in the cold, you’ll catch a cold.”

“My El?”

“Yeah?”

She was startled by the voice but soon realized it was El from this world and quickly turned her head.

El looked down at Rurin and smiled slightly before sitting down next to her.

“Wh-what’s going on? You—no, you’re not my El… Well, you are you, but still!”

“What are you talking about? Ugh, anyway, why are you crying? You can go back tomorrow. Stop crying, go inside, and get some rest. Want a beer?”

“No, I don’t want beer! I’m not in the mood for it without you!”

“Hearing that from you feels strange. You look exactly like my Rurin, with the same face and voice…”

“But I’m different. I’m my own person.”

“Well, that may be true.”

“Then give me back my El. Not you…”

“When you go back tomorrow, you’ll have your own me.”

El shrugged. Then, Rurin asked as she looked for the other Rurin.

“What’s the other Rurin doing? Why did you come out alone?”

“She fell asleep.”

“Really?”

Thinking it was fast, Real Rurin lowered her head again and curled up.

El pointed to Rurin’s finger and asked, as there was something he had been curious about.

“By the way, that ring… Did I give that to you from the other world?”

“Yes! You gave it to me, not you, but the other one!”

Rurin gently held the hand with the pink diamond ring that glowed even in the darkness, nodding.

“I have a favor. Please don’t brag about it. I haven’t given it to the Rurin here yet. I plan to, but I’m waiting for the right moment.”

“Really? Pfft, poor me! I haven’t received the token of love!”

“Hmm, I don’t think you know that a ring is a symbol of love. Did you know that?”

“Hehe. I’m different! I figured out that a ring represents love. So I asked for it, and El magically gave it to me. Pretty, right?”

“Y-yeah. It’s pretty.”

“You still haven’t given it to me. You’re bad! No, don’t look at me like that! I keep calling you El, and everything’s the same, so I keep losing my mind!”

Rurin puffed her cheeks and raised her hand.

El nodded, thinking that she was indeed Rurin.

“Well, if you keep acting so cute, I’ll start feeling weird, so just stay still.”

“Ha, ha, don’t laugh! You’re not my El, so you can’t!”

Real Rurin was startled, and for some reason, her face turned red as she quickly backed away.

“And you’re a bad El. You didn’t give me the ring. My El wouldn’t do that.”

“No, I’ll give it to you soon.”

“Hmph? I don’t know. You haven’t given it to me yet, so you’re bad. If you want to be good, give it to me quickly. I don’t want to be pitied.”

“Well, keep it a secret… I’ll give it to you soon.”

“How about that? Hehe.”

Rurin grinned triumphantly as she looked at El.

She felt a little better, as if the feeling of digging into the ground had lessened.

“Well, then go to sleep. You should sleep soon, or you won’t return to where you belong.”

“Understood.”

Feeling a little better, Real Rurin got up from the grass. El patted her shoulder and smiled.

“Don’t worry. Even if you fail, I’ll make sure you get back somehow. Even if you’re from another world, you’re still Rurin, so I won’t make you unhappy.”

“Ughhh…”

Real Rurin’s ears turned bright red at his words. It felt like her head would explode from hearing such heart-pounding words from the El she adored, who was exactly like the one she loved.

If it had been anyone else, she might have killed them or sent them away, but for some reason, she didn’t feel like doing that. So, Real Rurin just started running.

“I…I don’t know. You…you’re still El, so you’re cool. So don’t say things like that!”

She shouted to herself.

“So, you teleported here from the restaurant?”

Nodding.

Real Rurin nodded in front of Elena’s clinic. In this world, it seemed like El and Elena weren’t close, but that wasn’t important to Rurin at all.

In her original world, she hadn’t been particularly moved by Elena either.

“I realized I had forgotten the basket while teleporting behind, and I got confused. When I opened my eyes, I wasn’t in front of the restaurant, but right here. So, I went back into the clinic, teleported again, and ended up in the restaurant where you and you were.”

Real Rurin answered, pointing at El from the other world and Rurin from the other world.

“I see. Then, let’s proceed in the same environment. Like I said yesterday, your mana overloaded and created a rift. If you see it, immediately channel your mana toward it. Your body will be drawn in that direction. A rift has the property of trying to repair itself, so if you get closer, it will pull you in. The theory of the summoning magic I use is similar, so it should be possible.”

“I understand. Then, I’ll go back as soon as possible. I want to go back quickly.”

“Okay. Go well, and take care of the El from your world.”

As El said his farewell, Fake Rurin, who was next to him, also shouted.

“Right. I don’t know if your El is cool, but hurry up and go. If it weren’t for him, I would have already died without even a day without him!”

“That’s true. By the way, come here.”

Real Rurin, who had been about to teleport, grabbed Fake Rurin’s wrist with a confused expression.

Fake Rurin tilted her head and answered.

“What’s wrong? Is it me?”

She didn’t allow anyone else but El to touch her, but she allowed herself to be an exception. In that state, Real Rurin began whispering something.

“Ask for the ring.”

“What? A ring? I’ve gotten plenty. You’re only wearing that ring, but I have necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and…”

“Ugh, that’s not it! It’s completely different!”

Real Rurin explained the meaning of the ring as if frustrated.

Fake Rurin’s cheeks puffed up more.

“Wh-what?! Is that what it is? Ughhh.”

“Hehe, yes.”

“Then…no kiss until you give it to me!”

“Go yell at El! Huh? Wait, kiss? You…you’re the one who initiates the kiss?”

“That’s right?”

“Aren’t you embarrassed?! K-kisses are something you wait for until they’re given! That’s the best way!”

“I’ve done it before, but now it’s different. I may not know about other things, but I’ll initiate the kiss. Of course, I won’t do it at any time. I wouldn’t do it if El doesn’t like it! It’s embarrassing, though.”

“Is that so? Is there a time when it’s okay? You’re not embarrassed then?”

Real Rurin asked again, looking very curious.

Then, Fake Rurin gave a strange smile and whispered a few things in Real Rurin’s ear.

Soon, Real Rurin nodded vigorously. Her ears were already slightly red.