Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, the present day arrived.
On the surface of The Great Tomb of Nazarick, Momonga and Herohero were waiting.
An old friend?
Who could it possibly be?
Only a few short minutes had passed since they received Naohara's message, yet to the two of them, it felt like an entire century.
During that agonizing wait, Momonga had tried sending Naohara messages and even calling him through video.
However, every attempt went unanswered.
Every message had been read, but none received a reply.
Left with no other choice, Momonga could only head to the surface with Herohero. As they waited, he began speculating about who it might be.
If Naohara called this person an old friend, then it had to be someone Momonga knew.
Following that line of thought, could it be a Player in circumstances similar to Samirth's?
But Momonga dismissed the idea almost as soon as it occurred to him.
After all, Naohara hadn't sent the message only to him. He had sent the same message to Herohero as well.
That meant the "old friend" Naohara was talking about had to be someone they both knew.
With a little thought, the pool of possible candidates narrowed considerably.
The person had to be someone familiar to Momonga while also having a connection to Herohero.
There were probably only a handful of people who fit both conditions. Their former Guildmates, the comrades who had once fought alongside them.
At that moment, Momonga's emotions were rising and falling like a roller coaster.
Part of him wondered whether the person really was who he suspected.
Another part of him was afraid that he was only getting his hopes up for nothing.
After all, they had long since understood the truth behind their transmigration.
Logically speaking, there shouldn't have been any other companions who had crossed over to the New World with them.
But... what if?
What if one of their Guildmates had happened to log in at the exact moment the game servers shut down?
And what if that person had also happened to obtain a new World-Class Item?
The odds were almost nonexistent, but who could say with absolute certainty that it was impossible?
Still, the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.
So although Momonga couldn't completely suppress that faint spark of expectation deep inside him, he didn't dare jump to conclusions. Even so, he couldn't stop himself from imagining the possibilities.
Compared with Momonga, who was caught between hope and uncertainty, Herohero appeared much calmer.
He remained silent, quietly considering how the situation might develop from here.
Like Momonga, he had quickly thought of the slim possibility that this "old friend" might be one of their former Guildmates.
However, unlike Momonga, who was full of anticipation, Herohero felt little attachment toward those old companions.
If anything, there was even a faint sense of aversion and rejection in his heart.
In Herohero's view, Momonga's tendency to place too much importance on personal bonds was both one of his strengths and one of his weaknesses.
"Momonga, who do you think this old friend might be?"
Herohero asked casually, as though the question had simply occurred to him.
Momonga came back to his senses and thought for a moment before answering.
"Hmm... Ulbert is one possibility. There's also Blue Planet, Peroroncino, and Bukubukuchagama."
"Of course, Touch Me is pretty likely too."
"But if it's Tabula Smaragdina, then I'm going to have a serious headache!"
As he spoke, images of those companions and their respective personalities flashed through Momonga's mind.
When he mentioned Tabula Smaragdina, however, a guilty unease immediately crept into his heart.
After all, Tabula Smaragdina was a notorious perfectionist. When it came to his own creations, his dedication bordered on obsessive nitpicking.
Momonga could easily imagine what would happen if Tabula Smaragdina discovered that the work he had poured so much effort into had been altered beyond recognition without his permission...
Momonga instinctively began to tremble.
A terrifying scene had already formed in his mind.
Tabula Smaragdina, consumed by rage, came lunging at him with magical circles swirling around him, roaring furiously as he chased Momonga down.
He'd get killed, wouldn't he?!
He'd definitely get killed, wouldn't he?!
The more Momonga thought about it, the guiltier he felt.
Even though he now possessed power comparable to a World Boss, there was something rather amusing about the fact that, in his imagination, he naturally pictured himself simply standing there and taking the beating.
"Don't worry. Even if Tabula Smaragdina really finds out, he probably won't mind. He might even be happy about it."
"After all, a pure Succubus fits his usual love of cute contrasts pretty well, doesn't it?"
"Mm. And if things really do take a turn for the worst, I'll step in and stop Tabula Smaragdina for you."
[I'll make sure he understands his proper place and attitude.]
Herohero did not say the last sentence aloud. He merely repeated it silently in his heart.
The three of them were enough for Nazarick now.
Momonga couldn't be relied upon in this regard, and Herohero had no idea what Naohara was thinking either.
But if things really reached that point...
Then he would personally sit down with those former companions and have a proper heart-to-heart with them.
"That would be perfect!"
Hearing Herohero's assurance, Momonga finally felt the tension in his heart ease a little.
He began calculating things in his head.
If it really was Tabula Smaragdina, then Herohero could have a heart-to-heart with him, Naohara could put in a few good words from the side, and Momonga himself could sincerely apologize afterward.
With all that, no matter how angry Tabula Smaragdina was, he should still forgive him, right?
And so, harboring completely different thoughts and intentions, Momonga and Herohero continued waiting.
Five minutes passed.
Not far away, a pitch-black Gate resembling a bottomless black hole quietly opened.
Almost at the same instant, Momonga and Herohero stopped speaking.
Both turned toward the black vortex that had suddenly appeared.
For a moment, the entire area fell silent, with only the soft rustling of the breeze brushing through the grass.
Then came the crisp sound of footsteps from within the Gate.
Three indistinct figures gradually came into view, walking out together.
With the differences in their builds, the three of them walking side by side looked almost like a family of three.
A young father, Naohara.
A young mother, Akemi.
And their adorable daughter, Keno.
At least, that was probably what a passerby would have thought.
Naohara emerged between the two women, each of them holding one of his arms.
The moment Momonga saw Akemi, intense emotion surged through his eyes.
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