"How do you do that?"
"You just hold it. What's so confusing about this, McQueen?"
"I forget what kind of man you are. Even when you are down, you are still my trainer after all."
McQueen wondered if any of her peers ever saw their trainer holding a tube of antimatter like it were a common thermos. A super-advanced material that humanity only managed to create after years of scientific knowledge is being carried in a small thermos-like tube.
"Before we turn on the computer, all of you need to pack your stuff. I don't want any of you to throw a tantrum because you forget something."
"Hey!! Why are you looking at me?!?!"
"Can we bring stuff from this world, trainer?"
"...I'll carry them."
The young man was doubtful about answering McQueen's question. He knew how they came here. They came to this world because of an item from this world. Wouldn't carrying stuff from here to the other world basically complete the loop?
That's what the young man's mind is telling him, but his inner voice stops him from making the logical decision. He is originally from this world, after all. He can be homesick once in a while, so having a ticket home is quite alluring for him.
"...I'm going to desensitize it first once we get back."
"Okay~~ I'm going to bring all the umamusumes stuff!!!"
"You're going to download them?"
"Nope! I bought them with Prez earlier!!"
"Rudolf, you're spoiling her too much."
"She would throw a tantrum if I didn't, dear."
"That's because you have spoiled her before and never stood your ground. Sigh… If she becomes a whiny adult, I'm blaming it on you."
"I know…"
"If you can carry all of it in one backpack, I'll let you carry it."
"YAY!!!!"
"What about you, McQueen?"
"I don't exactly have… anything I want to bring back. I'm just going to bring myself then."
"Then how about you, Rudolf?"
"I'm the same with McQueen. I don't have anything to carry back home. I'll just help Teio with her stuff."
"Then how about you, Miss Mirai?"
"Eh? Me?"
"Yeah… Didn't you say that you originally traveled through time to reach our era? Won't our destination be the same as your original one?"
"Ah!! You're right…"
Mirai questioned her own answer. Her hero had just given her a golden ticket to witness the era she had only dreamed of. Why didn't it cheer her up? She should be running around the house screaming at the top of her lungs. She should be feeling the most amount of joy she has ever had and will ever have in her entire life.
So why am I not?
"But you can decide that on your own."
"Ah…"
"What are you talking about, Trainer? Of course, Miss Mirai will go with us."
He is even more amazing than the book. To notice my doubt and act upon it with zero hesitation, there's a reason as to why his name is put on the same pedestal as humanity's greatest legends.
Mirai closed her eyes and looked around her. The walls that she worked so hard to put around herself, the food she stored to keep herself alive, the book she bought to educate herself, and the devices she used to entertain herself.
When she first came here, it was all about survival to keep herself alive and safe. But that survival mode has somehow changed into living mode. She doesn't know when the switch happened, but she started living instead of just surviving. This becomes clearer once she starts getting people whom she could call her friends. She can't deny it any longer.
Mirai Tsuiho is now a citizen of this world's 21st century.
"Thank you for your invitation, Mister Igo Heita."
Mirai bowed deeply to the young man. An action that the young man had expected, while surprising to the umamusumes.
"But I must refuse such an amazing invitation from you. I truly apologize with everything I have in me."
"EH?!?"
"I expected such… I have made an optional way to charge the battery for your computer. All you need is to plug it into a socket, and it'll recharge. It will be a hella lot slower compared to using a small nuclear power plant, but it surely will get there."
"Once again, I thank you for your consideration."
"How do you know she will refuse your invitation, dear?"
"Look around you, Rudolf. Miss Mirai has become a citizen of this world. This house is full of stuff that someone from this world would have. Whether she knows it or not, she has accepted this world as her home."
"I see…"
The difference in our observation is far too wide. Will I be that observant when I reach his age? Will I suddenly be able to notice all the small details after I turn 20?
"Go pack your stuff, Teio!! I will leave you here if you don't finish in thirty minutes!!"
"AH!! YOU'RE SO MEAN!!!"
XxX-XxX
"To think that you will gather all of these in such a short amount of time… My time and date settings are correct, no?"
"They are, Compy. Mister Igo Heita is just that good!!"
"As expected. And Miss Mirai, are you not going to join them?"
"No… I'm going to stay here. That's okay with you, right, Compy?"
"I'm only an electrical device, Miss Mirai. Your wish is my command. If you wish to stay, then I, too, will stay."
"Thank you, Compy."
"As for the rest of you, I shall open the portal to your world. I could only open it for a minute, so please prepare everything now before I open the portal."
"We already did so. Please open the portal now."
"Understood, please stand back as I prepare everything."
While the computer was preparing the portal by spraying a certain area of the air with all of the devices connected to it, the umamusumes said their goodbye to their host.
"Miss Mirai, there's no word in the lexicon that I can express how grateful I am for your help. I wish there was something I could give to you as a way to repay one percent of the debt I owe you."
"No! No! NO! Helping you is an absolute privilege for me, Miss McQueen!!!"
"If it weren't for your help, we might not make it in this world, Miss Mirai. I will make sure you go down as a part of our history too."
"AH! AH!! AH!!! That's too much!! Even for someone like me, that is too much, Miss Rudolf!! Please don't!!!"
"Miss Mirai, here!! It's the receipt I got from buying a hachimi!! It's the only thing I can give to you for helping us!!"
"Ah!! Thank you, Miss Teio!! It reminds me of how much hachimi has spread throughout the solar system in my days."
*VVVVRRRRRROOOOOOOMMMMM—BBBZZZZZZZTTTTT*
"The portal is ready. Please enter at haste."
"AH!! Okay! I'm going first!!"
"Teio!! Be careful!! Don't run!!!"
"Goodbye, Miss Mirai. Thank you for everything."
The umamusumes waste no time running straight into the glowing blue portal. The young man stayed behind for a few moments, wondering how he could repay his debt to the now-citizen of this world. In the end, the young man couldn't find anything, but…
"Miss Mirai, thank you for everything. Take care of yourself."
"Ah… Yes. Thank you for everything, Mister Igo Heita."
With those parting words, the young man jumped into the portal following the umamusumes. Mirai Tsuiho could only look at the portal as it grew dimmer and dimmer. She had steel herself into not walking through the portal, so why was she looking at it so longingly? Did she miss her actual world, or did she miss the people that had just jumped through?
I don't want an answer to that…
"The chance is still there, Miss Mirai."
"Close it now, Compy."
"...As you wish, Miss Mirai."