"I see, no wonder I hadn't heard of you before, Senpai."
Although Eriri had emphasized that Kei should call her "Eriri-nee," Kei Shirogane still found the term a little hard to say.
For the time being, the shopping group expanded by two more members.
With Chika Fujiwara already keeping the mood lively, the addition of Moeha Fujiwara only made the atmosphere even more energetic.
All six members of Eriri's group were rare beauties, with Eriri being the standout.
As a result, the group walking down the bustling shopping street looked like a striking parade of charm, drawing the attention of countless passersby.
Since it was Kei Shirogane's first time meeting Eriri, Kaguya Shinomiya, and Ai Hayasaka, she initially felt a little reserved around them.
However, that only lasted for a short while. As time went on and with the friendly efforts of the others, Kei gradually opened up, joining in their conversations more freely.
Eventually, thanks to Eriri's gentle persistence, she also began calling her "Eriri-nee," just like Moeha, which greatly pleased Eriri.
...
Wandering around shopping areas all day wasn't exactly easy—not because of fatigue, but because it could get boring after a while.
By the time they had finished visiting all the stores they were interested in, it was just past 2 p.m., and no one really felt like continuing.
It was then that Chika suddenly suggested, "Since it's still early, how about we go to karaoke?"
For Japanese high school girls, going to karaoke was the second most common activity after shopping.
Some were such avid fans that they went nearly every day of the week. They'd go sing with friends when happy, or sing alone when feeling down.
"I'm fine with that," Eriri said casually with a nod. Then, with some interest, she added, "Now that you mention it, I haven't heard any of you sing before. This will be fun."
Both Moeha Fujiwara and Kei Shirogane also agreed without hesitation.
Kaguya Shinomiya, however, asked curiously, "Karaoke? What kind of place is that?"
Before joining the chat group, Kaguya had led a very restricted life. Not only had she rarely gone out with friends—she could count her solo outings on one hand.
On top of that, she wasn't very tech-savvy, so she had no idea what karaoke was.
After taking over the Shinomiya family, she had more freedom, but she had only gone out casually with Chika a few times—and never to a karaoke place.
Unlike Kaguya, Ai Hayasaka was very familiar with these things. To gather intel and maintain her gyaru persona, she had often joined classmates at karaoke.
So she explained, "Kaguya-sama, karaoke is a place where people go to sing. It's a very popular entertainment activity."
Upon hearing that, Kaguya immediately became interested.
"I see. In that case, let's hurry to this karaoke place."
Urged on by Kaguya's enthusiasm, the group soon arrived at a fairly large karaoke establishment.
Rather than book the largest room, they chose a medium-sized one instead, since a slightly cozier space made for a better atmosphere.
After reserving it for two hours, the group entered the room under the stunned gaze of the receptionist.
The medium-sized room wasn't very large, but it was more than enough to accommodate six people.
Inside the room, there was a large sofa and a table for placing snacks and drinks.
Mounted on the wall opposite the sofa was a giant screen for displaying video and lyrics. There were several meters of space between the screen and the table—plenty of room for singing and dancing when the mood struck.
Next to the screen was a touchpad, about the size of a computer monitor, used for selecting songs. Of course, you could also use a remote control to choose music.
Since it was Kaguya Shinomiya's first time inside a karaoke room, she was curious about everything and kept asking Ai Hayasaka question after question.
Chika Fujiwara and Moeha, both seasoned karaoke-goers, rushed to pick a few of their favorite songs right after they entered the room. Under their urging, Eriri and Kei Shirogane each selected a song as well.
Although none of the songs matched those from Eriri's original world, it wasn't difficult for her to instantly learn this world's entire music catalog.
Of course, knowing the song was one thing—how well she could sing it was another matter entirely.
Before long, the first song started.
"Yay~!"
Chika grabbed a mic and stood in the open space between the screen and the table, striking a comically exaggerated pose.
With cheerful music playing in the background, her bright, clear voice filled the room through the microphone.
Her singing matched the upbeat tempo of the background music perfectly—joyful, energetic, and very much in line with her personality.
And there was no denying it—Chika sang beautifully, on par with professional singers.
Given her talent and background in music, it was hardly surprising she could perform so well.
As Chika sang and shifted her poses with the rhythm, Moeha and Kei cheered and hyped her up, bringing the room's energy to a new high.
Over the next while, everyone took turns singing a few songs. At one point, Chika even pulled Eriri into a duet.
As the Shinomiya heiress, Kaguya had received training in classical music—mainly piano. Back when she was still the cold and distant version of herself, singing for fun had been out of the question.
But after gaining control of the family, her personality softened, and she slowly began exploring new interests like singing.
So while she wasn't bad at it, she still had a ways to go compared to Eriri or Chika.
Still, as long as someone wasn't tone-deaf and had a pleasant voice, their singing would never sound awful.
Two hours passed quickly, and before long it was already past 4 PM.
Everyone exited the karaoke place looking thoroughly satisfied.
The shopping and singing hadn't exhausted Eriri and the others at all, but Kei was beginning to feel a bit tired.
She was amazed by how energetic Eriri and the rest were—even now, they looked like they hadn't used up any energy at all. Kei couldn't help but wonder if her own stamina was just too weak.
But she didn't dwell on it too long. Instead, she turned to the others and said, "Eriri-nee, everyone, it's getting late. I'm going to head home now."
"Okay, Kei, take care. Message me if anything comes up—we'll hang out again soon." Eriri waved her phone with a smile.
During their time at karaoke, Kei had shared her contact info with Eriri, and the two had added each other on LINE.
"Bye-bye, Kei! I won't walk you out, but be careful on the way home," Moeha said with a cheerful grin.
"It's not even dark yet. How could there be danger?" Kei rolled her eyes at Moeha, then waved at the group. "I'm heading off now. Bye!"
With that, she turned and walked toward the station.
After Kei left, Chika and Moeha didn't leave right away.
They knew Eriri was about to connect this world to the Saekano world, and they wanted to witness the legendary inter-world gate with their own eyes.
...
About ten minutes later, a long luxury car carrying Eriri and the others pulled up in front of a lavish detached villa.
Surrounded by a tall steel fence, the villa's small yard was neatly maintained with manicured lawns and well-trimmed trees.
Just from its exterior, it was clear that this property was worth a fortune. This was the villa Kaguya had mentioned earlier that morning, which she planned to gift to Eriri.
It was located only a few hundred meters from the Shinomiya residence.
After getting out of the car, the group opened the iron gate and entered the villa grounds.
Following a brief tour of the interior, Kaguya looked to Eriri with a hopeful expression. "Onee-sama, what do you think of this villa? If it's not to your liking, we can check out another one."
"It's perfect. It's more than enough for a world-crossing gate. Honestly, even a regular apartment would've sufficed."
"Really? I'm glad you like it."
Kaguya let out a sigh of relief. As for Eriri's comment about a regular apartment being sufficient—she conveniently ignored it.
In her mind, a simple apartment could never match Eriri's status. If she could, she'd give Eriri the best residence in the world.
Now that they had a place, it was time to set up the permanent world gate.
In front of everyone, Eriri began drawing upon the invisible rules of space, gradually shaping them into the form of a "gate."
Having constructed over twenty of these already, she was now highly proficient.
In less than five minutes, the shimmering form of a gate had materialized before them.
Without hesitation, she fused the gate with the villa's main door.
And with that, the permanent world-crossing gate was born.
Seeing her stop, Chika quickly asked, "Eriri, is it done?"
Kaguya, Hayasaka, and Moeha also looked on with anticipation.
Instead of answering, Eriri simply smiled and pulled open the newly formed world gate.
"So this leads to another world? It feels even more incredible than the regular portals!" Moeha exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with excitement at the unfamiliar view beyond the door.
Eriri smiled casually. Since this gate was permanent, it naturally had some differences compared to temporary portals.
She gave Moeha a playful pat on the head, then turned to the others. "Alright, let's go take a look."
Eriri stepped through the gate first, and the rest followed without hesitation.
The moment they crossed the threshold, they arrived in the Saekano world.
"Wow, there are so many gates here! Does each one lead to a different world?" Moeha shouted in amazement.
Her gaze was fixed on the rows of unique doors behind them, her eyes brimming with curiosity.
Kaguya and the others also took in the scene. Although they had heard about the gates in the chat group, seeing them in person left them awestruck.
"That's right. If you want to visit those worlds in the future, you can have Chika take you," Eriri said.
She had granted every chat group member the authority to open all the world gates. As for those connected to the members, they were only given access to the gate linking their own world to the Saekano world.
After all, most of them didn't possess strong enough abilities to explore other high-powered worlds safely. They'd need to be accompanied by a group member to ensure their safety.
It was already past 4 p.m., and most of the others—like Arifureta—had already returned home from school, though many were now occupied with their own tasks.
Some were writing, others studying, and a few were deeply immersed in games. Arifureta, however, had been waiting for Eriri's return.
So when Eriri and the others appeared in the Saekano world, Arifureta quickly made her way over from the villa.
"Welcome back, Eriri," she said warmly, naturally taking Eriri's hand before turning to the others with a bright smile. "It's been a while, everyone."
"It has! Good to see you again, Yue-chan!" Chika rushed over with excitement.
The other three followed with cheerful greetings of their own.
"Alright, let's not stand around outside. Let's head back to the villa," Eriri said, motioning for everyone to follow. "And since you're all here, how about staying for dinner tonight before heading back?"
"Yay!"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
40 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon:
Patreon.com/DaoOfHeaven