[Eriri (Level 8, Stage 9): No need to rush. Once I figure out the structure of the 'Gate,' I'll come over to your side. At that time, I'll also connect the two worlds.]
[Kaguya Shinomiya (Level 7, Stage 1): Alright, we'll be waiting for you.]
[Chika Fujiwara (Level 7, Stage 1): Hurry up.]
After making arrangements with Kaguya Shinomiya and Chika Fujiwara, Eriri began to study the 'Gate.'
Although the 'Gate' was an embodiment of spatial rules, it wasn't too difficult for Eriri to figure out.
As she gradually approached the threshold of Level 9, Eriri's understanding of various rules had reached a very high level, and spatial rules were among those she was more familiar with.
...
The next day, after breakfast, Utaha Kasumigaoka, Yuzuru Hanyu, and Megumi Kato, who came along as a companion, planned to head to the Oreimo world first.
As for Arifureta and others who were curious and wanted to play in the Oreimo world, they were in no hurry to go.
When the three opened a door located somewhere in the villa, they saw an unfamiliar courtyard and a residential street outside the yard.
They immediately knew that the other side of the door was the Oreimo world, so they stepped through without hesitation.
"So this is Ruri's world. As Eriri said, it really is winter." Feeling the cold wind constantly brushing past her, Megumi Kato couldn't help but murmur softly.
"Hehe, good thing we wore winter clothes, or else we might have been mistaken for weirdos." The petite Yuzuru Hanyu said cheerfully with a grin.
At the time, she wore a brown hat with a pompom on each side hanging down in front, looking very cute.
Although the months in the two worlds were different, the time was synchronized, so it was only a little past 8 a.m. in the Oreimo world.
Having arrived in the Oreimo world, of course they had to greet the acquaintances here.
Utaha Kasumigaoka smiled and said to the other two, "Alright, let's go meet Ruri and the others first. It's been nearly half a year since we last saw them."
Thanks to Eriri, the members of the chat group were quite familiar with Utaha Kasumigaoka and the others, who weren't part of the group.
The last time Utaha and her friends met the group members was during the martial arts tournament.
Thinking back on it now, they felt a bit nostalgic.
Yuzuru Hanyu quickly nodded and said, "Mhm, I remember Eriri said Ruri's house is right next door to ours. Not sure if it's the right or left."
"Just check the house number outside," Utaha Kasumigaoka said casually. "Besides, I can already sense Ruri, Hinata, and Tamaki's presence. They're over there."
As she spoke, Utaha Kasumigaoka turned her gaze to the left.
"In that case, let's head over now. Maybe Ruri already knows we're here."
Hearing Yuzuru Hanyu's words, Utaha Kasumigaoka and Megumi Kato didn't hesitate and followed her to the house on the left.
...
Ding dong! Ding dong! Ding dong!
As the urgent sound of the doorbell rang out, the three Gokou sisters, who were having breakfast at home, along with their parents, all turned their attention toward the front door.
"Who could be visiting us so early?" a woman who looked very much like Ruri asked curiously.
This beautiful woman, who looked slightly older than Ruri, was none other than her mother, Rui Gokou.
"I think I know who's here," Ruri said with a smile, sensing the familiar auras of three people outside the door.
"Oh my, looks like Ruri's friends are here," Rui Gokou said, smiling knowingly as she saw the smile on her eldest daughter's face. "Then go open the door quickly, don't keep your friends waiting."
Ruri nodded and quickly left the dining room.
Within seconds, she reached the entrance and, without hesitation, opened the front door.
Seeing Ruri in front of them, Yuzuru Hanyu waved and greeted her with a smile.
"Yaho~ Ruri-chan, we're here to hang out~"
"Long time no see, Ruri," said Utaha Kasumigaoka and Megumi Kato with cheerful smiles.
"Long time no see. I didn't expect you three to be the first ones to come here," Ruri replied with a smile, then stepped aside. "Don't just stand outside, come on in."
"Sorry for the intrusion."
Led by Ruri, the three of them entered the living room, where Rui Gokou and the others had come out from the dining room to greet the guests.
When Hinata and Tamaki saw who had arrived, their faces lit up with delight.
They quickly ran over and called out in unison, "Utaha-nee, Megumi-nee, Yuzuru-nee!"
Utaha Kasumigaoka and the others responded with warm smiles and greeted Hinata and Tamaki in return.
Then, when they noticed Rui Gokou and another person with long black hair and delicate features behind Hinata and Tamaki, the three visitors were visibly surprised.
However, Yuzuru Hanyu's surprise differed slightly from that of Utaha and Megumi.
As a transmigrator, Yuzuru Hanyu had naturally watched Oreimo and was aware of Ruri's family structure.
So she immediately guessed that Rui Gokou, who resembled Ruri, was their mother. But as for the person next to her, she couldn't quite figure it out.
Meanwhile, Utaha Kasumigaoka and Megumi Kato had simply assumed the two were Ruri's older sisters, since both Rui and the person beside her looked like they were only in their twenties—exceptionally young.
The idea that a family could have five sisters was already quite surprising to them.
However, the self-introduction that followed left all three girls utterly shocked.
The elegant person with the long black hair smiled gently and casually said, "Hello, my name is Shizuka Gokou. I'm Ruri's father."
"Huh???" The three girls were stunned.
This stunning beauty, whose appearance even surpassed Rui Gokou's, turned out to be Ruri's father—something they found hard to believe.
Seeing their reactions, Shizuka Gokou gave a helpless smile, while Ruri and her sisters looked like they had expected this.
Meanwhile, Rui Gokou couldn't help but stifle a laugh behind her hand.
But she didn't laugh for long before stepping forward to smooth things over for her husband.
"Hello, you must be the ones from Eriri's side. We're glad you came to visit our world. I'm Ruri's mother, Rui Gokou. It's nice to meet you."
Hearing Rui's words, Yuzuru Hanyu snapped out of her shock and awkwardly said, "Ah, hello Uncle, Auntie. I'm Yuzuru Hanyu, a friend of Ruri."
Utaha Kasumigaoka and Megumi Kato also quickly followed up, greeting the Gokou couple right after Yuzuru.
"I've heard Hinata and the others mention you before. You're all really as beautiful as they said," Rui Gokou said in awe as she looked over Utaha Kasumigaoka and the others. Then her tone shifted, "By the way, we were just having breakfast. Would you like me to prepare something for you too?"
"No need to trouble yourself, Auntie. We already had breakfast before coming," Utaha Kasumigaoka said with a smile and shook her head.
"Alright then. Just make yourselves at home. Don't be shy—treat this place like your own."
"Mhm, Uncle, Auntie, and Ruri-chan, Hinata-chan, Tamaki-chan—you all go ahead and finish breakfast. No need to mind us. We're just about to head to Tokyo for a bit," Yuzuru Hanyu said casually.
Hearing this, Ruri immediately asked, "Do you want me to go with you?"
"No need. Aichan and the others might come over to hang out later."
Yuzuru's words instantly caught Hinata and Tamaki's attention: "Yuzuru-nee, will Rena and Sakura be coming too?"
"They will. Just stay here and wait for them to come play with you."
"Okay!"
...
Utaha Kasumigaoka and the others didn't stay long at the Gokou residence—after all, they had only planned to stop by and say hello.
So after bidding farewell to Ruri and the others, they hailed a taxi and headed to Tokyo.
Before they came to the Oreimo world, Eriri had given them a local bank card, which contained over 100 million yen—more than enough to spend freely in this world.
The money on the card and the funds used to buy property had all been exchanged through precious metals by Eriri. She hadn't withdrawn them from any bank without permission or used supernatural means to create them.
When it came to matters like these, Eriri preferred to follow the rules.
Since Eriri had already linked everyone's phones and LINE accounts to this world's network in advance, they didn't need to buy new phones just to contact people here.
This saved them the hassle of needing separate phones for every world they visited.
By the time the three of them arrived in Tokyo, it was already 9:30 AM.
Through their online research, they had already identified the publishers in this world, and their target was Dengeki Bunko, KADOKAWA.
It was a suggestion from Yuzuru Hanyu, since in her memory, that publisher had the highest appearance rate in the original story.
The Dengeki Bunko building was located near Iidabashi in Tokyo. With over ten floors, it stood tall among the buildings in the area.
Three days had passed since New Year's, and the editorial department at Dengeki Bunko had resumed normal operations.
After Utaha Kasumigaoka explained their purpose, the receptionist made a call to inform the editorial department.
As one of the largest publishing labels in Japan, Dengeki Bunko received no shortage of manuscript submissions. Every year, new authors came here hoping to make their debut.
Especially at the start of a new year, aspiring writers eager to make a name for themselves would rush in to prove their talent.
So even though it was still early, the building was far from quiet.
Following the receptionist's instructions, the three of them took the elevator to the meeting rooms on the 14th floor.
In the middle of the floor was a front desk for visitor registration. To the right were several small meeting rooms separated by partitions.
Each room wasn't very large, furnished with a square table and three seats on either side.
To the left of the entrance was a bookshelf covering half the wall, lined with bestselling light novels from the publishing label.
When Utaha Kasumigaoka and the others entered the meeting room, a short-haired woman in business attire was already waiting inside.
She looked to be around twenty-five years old, with short brown hair that gave her a neat and professional appearance.
As soon as she saw the three of them, a look of surprise flashed across her face—clearly stunned by their exquisite beauty.
She quickly collected herself and walked over with a smile.
"Hello, I'm Ayame Kagurazaka, an editor from Dengeki Bunko."
"Nice to meet you, Miss Kagurazaka. I'm Utaha Kasumigaoka," Utaha said as she lightly shook the hand offered to her.
Her face remained expressionless, exuding a cool and aloof demeanor.
At least, that was the first impression Ayame Kagurazaka got from her.
After greeting Utaha, Ayame turned her gaze to the petite Yuzuru Hanyu.
She quickly noticed that Yuzuru was looking at her with a peculiar gaze and a somewhat meaningful smile, which gave Ayame the odd feeling that this little girl had seen right through her.
Before she could say anything, Yuzuru had already extended her hand and playfully said, "Hi there, I'm Yuzuru Hanyu~"
In contrast to Utaha's cold demeanor, Yuzuru was lively and cheerful, which eased Ayame's initial nervousness.
She smiled and shook hands with Yuzuru.
As for Megumi Kato, she remained calm and composed. Since she was just accompanying them, she didn't engage in much conversation with Ayame—she simply stated her name and said nothing more.
Still, she did exchange a simple handshake with Ayame.
"This isn't the best place to talk. Let's move over to one of the booths," Ayame Kagurazaka said with a smile.
She then turned and led them to one of the meeting rooms in the center on the right-hand side.
The meeting space was only a few meters from the main entrance, so within seconds, Utaha Kasumigaoka and the others were seated inside with the elegant editor.
...
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