Ren Isana looked rather speechlessly at Hisako, who was slumped on the floor with a terrified expression. "I'm not a ghost. Don't make such a fuss in the future. You'll be seeing a lot more things like ghosts and whatnot later on. Also, your panties are showing~!"
*A flash of pure white. Thanks for the treat.* Ren watched Hisako with amusement. Prompted by his words, Hisako finally snapped back to reality and scrambled to her feet, her face burning red.
"Mr. Isana, why are you here?!" She knew of Ren, as Erina had already shared her experiences from the other world with her. *Could the young lady's scream just now have had something to do with him?*
Ren shrugged. "I'm here to take your young lady away. Natsuki-chan mentioned that she wanted to learn magic and stuff, so she asked me to show her the ropes."
Understanding dawned on Hisako. "I'll go pack the young lady's things right away! Please wait a moment!!"
With that, she dashed out to start packing Erina's luggage. After all, there was no telling how long this trip would last.
Seeing her about to leave, Ren quickly added, "Pack your own things while you're at it. And why don't you call Erina's cousin, too? You girls can all come with me."
Ren had thought about it briefly and decided to bring a few more people along. Taking one was the same as taking two, so he might as well bring a group. They could cook for Asuna and the others!
Hisako froze for a second at the sudden invitation before being overcome with pleasant surprise. "Understood! I'll go find Miss Iris right away, please wait!"
She hurried out of the room. This was an unexpected delight! She had assumed only the young lady would be going, but to think Ren was bringing her along too—and Iris as well!
Hisako rushed off to report the news to Senzaemon Nakiri, while Ren waited outside. It wasn't long before Erina emerged.
Having changed into a fresh set of clothes, Erina's small face was flushed pink. She glared at Ren with deep dissatisfaction; his sudden appearance earlier had genuinely terrified her.
*You can't just bully people like that! Popping up in someone else's room out of nowhere... that's just despicable!* Still, she knew why Ren was here, and beneath her annoyance, she was actually quite excited.
"Could you please not just randomly appear in people's rooms next time? You're going to scare someone to death!!" Erina couldn't help but complain.
She hadn't spent much time with Ren, but she had a decent grasp of his personality. He was only slightly older than her, so there wasn't much of a sense of distance between them.
"Next time, for sure. Get ready, I'll be taking you to learn magic in a bit!" Ren nodded, giving a perfunctory response before waving her off to finish her preparations.
Hearing this, Erina felt incredibly stifled. *What does he mean, 'next time, for sure'? Is he serious?* She didn't even know where to begin roasting him.
Taking a deep breath to stop herself from arguing with the guy, she huffed and stormed downstairs to get her things in order.
Ren waited quietly. Before long, Hisako returned, accompanied by a girl with short white hair. This was Iris Nakiri, Erina's cousin.
Erina glanced at Iris but didn't say anything. Even if they were going to bicker, this wasn't the place for it—not with Ren standing right there. She still cared about keeping up appearances.
The fact that Ren was willing to bring Iris along was actually good news for their side. The world was undergoing massive changes, and the sooner they could master supernatural powers, the better off they would be.
"Since everyone's here, let's head out!" Meeting Iris's curious gaze, Ren smiled and immediately vanished from the spot, taking the girls with him.
This time, there wasn't even a `[Magic Circle]`. Before the three of them could react, it felt as though someone had smacked them over the head, leaving their brains buzzing!
Erina, having experienced this before, fared a bit better and was merely caught off guard. After all, the last time Ren teleported her, there had at least been a `[Magic Circle]`. But now? There was no `[Magic Circle]` in sight!
"Ugh!" x2. The moment they arrived at their destination, Iris and Hisako immediately doubled over and started dry-heaving. Erina's complexion wasn't looking too great either. She still wasn't used to this; the experience was simply awful.
"Why was it so sudden?!" Erina asked, her face pale. *Where's the `[Magic Circle]`? What happened to that giant `[Magic Circle]`? Why wasn't it there this time? Is this even normal?*
"Because I've gotten stronger. I don't need that kind of thing anymore!" Ren stated matter-of-factly. He then reached out with his senses to locate Asuna and see where her group was.
Hearing Ren's explanation, Erina felt completely exasperated. *Is getting stronger really that simple? Does that even make sense?* Speechless, she hurriedly adjusted her breathing to settle her stomach.
Asuna and the others were no longer in this starting city. They had already headed to the frontlines to fight the Demon King's army? The group was currently over a hundred kilometers away.
Realizing this, Ren immediately said, "Let's go, follow me. I'll take you to get a local specialty of this world first, let you learn a few skills, and then we're heading straight to the frontlines."
After confirming the location, Ren addressed the girls and strode toward the inner city. Hearing his words, the three of them were completely dumbfounded.
*What did he mean, 'straight to the frontlines'? Good grief, is he planning to use us as cannon fodder?* They were completely defenseless civilians who couldn't even wring a chicken's neck, and now he wanted to drag them to the frontlines?
But seeing Ren already walking away, they couldn't exactly stand there asking questions. They hurriedly got up and followed him. Catching up to Ren, Erina anxiously asked, "Are you serious about us going straight to the frontlines?"
She looked at him in sheer disbelief. *Is this right? Are you sure you aren't just sending us to our deaths?*
"Of course I'm serious. Have you ever played an MMO? What you need to do next is acquire this world's power system, then start raising your strength and learning skills!" Ren nodded with absolute certainty.
He wasn't joking around. He wasn't the type to make jokes about this kind of thing. If he said they were going to the frontlines, they were going to the frontlines. Only through battle could they grow stronger; without fighting, there was no progress.
"But we shouldn't be jumping straight to the frontlines right off the bat, right? Good grief... excuse me, is there a resurrection fountain here? If there is, please hook me up with one!!" Iris was completely numb. This was definitely not good news.
"Relax, it'll be fine. There will be people looking after you when the time comes. Oh, right... I almost forgot. You guys don't have a Falna yet. I'll get that sorted out for you after we pick up your things." As he spoke, Ren suddenly remembered their current status.
None of the three had received a Falna yet. It wasn't a big deal, though; they could just get their class changes first. With that thought in mind, Ren led the three bewildered girls to the Guild. Still in a daze, they were guided by Ren to receive their adventurer cards and complete their class changes.
Erina was suited to be a Mage, Hisako was suited to be a Knight, and as for Iris, she was suited to be a Warrior. Upon receiving their small cards, the three of them finally understood what these things were for.
These cards were essentially game status panels that allowed them to learn magic. They all stared at the small cards in their hands with a hint of confusion, but what happened next left them even more dumbfounded.
Ren led them straight into an inn. After booking a room, he turned to the three of them and said bluntly, "Take off your clothes. Bare your backs. I'm going to engrave a Falna onto you. This will be the foundation that allows you to grow stronger through combat!"
At those words, the three pure maidens instantly flushed beet red. None of them moved; instead, they stammered, completely at a loss for what to do. After all, undressing in front of a strange man...
"What are you getting so shy for? It's not like I'm asking you to strip completely naked. Good grief, you don't have this big of a reaction when you wear those backless dresses to evening banquets, do you?" Ren rolled his eyes in exasperation, completely unable to comprehend the minds of girls.
He then turned around and walked out of the room. The three girls were left stunned. Exchanging glances, they had no choice but to obediently comply. Once they were ready, Erina called out to the hallway, "We're done... you can come in!"
Hearing her voice, Ren walked right back in. The three of them had already bared their smooth, pristine backs to him. Sensing his entry, Erina hurriedly blurted out, "No peeking!!"
Ren rolled his eyes again and retorted in annoyance, "Be reasonable. If I actually wanted to look, none of you would have any secrets from me anyway. I'd know exactly how many moles you have on your bodies and whether or not you're 'mythical beasts' down there. Isn't that right, Erina?!"
Without bothering to waste any more breath on them, Ren directly engraved the leveling Falna onto their backs and left the room. However, his parting words left Erina and Iris completely dumbfounded.
*Good grief... so they really didn't have any secrets in Ren's eyes?* The realization made the two of them squirm uncomfortably. That 'mythical beast' comment he just made was definitely directed at them, wasn't it?
"Hurry up, we're heading out! Don't dawdle!" Ren shouted from outside, urging them to come out quickly.
Hearing his urging, the three girls looked at each other in dismay before hastily fixing their clothes and stepping out of the room.
Erina had something she wanted to say, but she didn't know how to voice it. The whole situation was just too embarrassing. *Did Ren really see? Did he really?*
But before she could speak, Ren took action. Grabbing the three of them—and completely abandoning his room deposit—he directly teleported them to Asuna's location.
Meanwhile, several hundred kilometers away, Asuna and the others were setting up camp with a group of underclassmen. Suddenly, the `[Warning Magic]` set up by Iroha Sakayori reacted. Everyone immediately grabbed their weapons and turned toward the source of the alarm!
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