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The Four Eastern Stars Want to be Left Alone

In the serene ambiance of the café, filled with jazz music at a subdued volume, the table was a delightful mess. Black coffee, a fruit parfait topped with extra whipped cream, flower tea, omelet rice, and spaghetti aglio e olio.

“Hmm, the lingering fragrance after the acidity… It’s wonderful.”

Selyse savored her coffee with eyes closed. In the other world, coffee tended to be on the lighter side, closer to American coffee. Now, having discovered the variety in beans and the depth of flavor, she always opted for coffee when entering a café. Dressed in a blouse and skinny jeans, she seemed like a fashion model, if one could overlook the furrow on her forehead.

Sophie indulged solely on sweet treats. Her favorite, in particular, were parfaits that offered various delights like being cold, having a different texture, and incorporating a mix of fruits. This parfait was her second one, and when she was in a good mood, she had up to four.

How doesn’t she gain weight? Serika wondered. Her conclusion was that Sophie must be channeling everything into her ample bust. On a side note, even in Japan, Sophie wore her nun’s habit.

Why doesn’t Ponsonia have flower tea? Serika contemplated while sipping her drink. In the other world, there were various types of tea, but no flower tea. Perhaps it was because there were hardly any flowers for sale and were considered luxury items.

Serika was clothed in a dress from her home, and with autumn deepening, she wore a cardigan on top.

“Munch, munch, munch, munch.”

Sara was digging into her omelet rice and spaghetti aglio e olio. She also consumed a lot, rivaling Sophie, but her interest leaned more toward meals than sweets. She seemed particularly fond of garlicky dishes, but she also liked omelet rice for its aesthetically pleasing appearance.

She ate a lot, but she also moved a lot, burning calories steadily. She disliked waiting for the elevator, opting to sprint up the stairs like the wind. Even during strolls, she would dart around all over the place.

Sara donned a long T-shirt and shorts, a choice for easy movement. She generally prioritized comfort, and at one point, she spent her time in a full tracksuit, declaring, “Tracksuits are the best!”

Suddenly, electronic sounds chimed.

Serika glanced at the other customers, who quickly hid their smartphones. She sighed. This was a common occurrence. Whenever they ventured outside, they were photographed and recorded on smartphones. Everyone did the exact same thing—concealing their smartphones and secretly sharing what they took on social media or with friends, complete with the caption, “Found the people from another world!”

Leaving the café, they headed to today’s destination. After a while, several men and women in suits also exited the same café, special police dispatched by the Japanese government to guard the guests from another world. Positioned at a distance, they kept a watchful eye on them.

Though they tried to remain inconspicuous at each location the girls visited, Selyse and Sara effortlessly spotted them. According to them, “they were hardly hiding themselves.”

“Wow, it’s amazing!” Sophie exclaimed with joy.

Today’s destination was a historic temple. Its unusual massive wooden construction and the novel idol worship of the statue of Buddha drew Sophie’s intense gaze. There wasn’t any aversion to other religions, and she was genuinely impressed by a structure built several centuries ago that still stood to this day.

“Next is the aquarium! Let’s go to the aquarium!” Sara suggested as they left the temple.

“You’ve been to the aquarium three times already!”

“I never get tired of seeing it. Especially octopuses and jellyfish. They’re so strange.”

Suddenly, a shrill and grating sound rang high, followed by a loud crash and screams. A car had run up the curb and crashed into the sidewalk.

“An accident! Someone is trapped!”

Serika noticed a man’s arm extending from under the bumper of the car.

“Serika, can you use magic to get the man out from under the car? Sophie, use your healing magic,” Selyse instructed.

“I’ll give it a try!”

“Understood. I don’t have a lot of mana, but I’ll do my best.”

The door on the driver’s side opened, and a young man rolled out.

“A-Ah!”

The man hastened away, stumbling.

“Sara.”

“Uh, do I have to catch him?”

“If you would. Serika and Sophie are busy.”

“No choice, then.”

Sara bent down and bolted at an incredible speed.

---

“That was rough!”

They returned to the apartment late at night, freed from the commotion.

Serika’s earth magic, which she could only use to a limited extent on Earth, created a gap by causing the ground to collapse, then Selyse and the people nearby rescued the man pinned underneath.

Although the man had lost a considerable amount of blood and fell unconscious, he managed to survive thanks to healing magic. Once he was placed in the ambulance, police cars arrived.

Sara, having caught the fleeing driver, returned, and all members of the Four Eastern Stars were taken for questioning at the police station. If only that was all; their actions were recorded on the smartphones of onlookers and, unbeknownst to them, featured on the early evening news. By the time the questioning concluded and they left the police station, they found themselves surrounded by the media.

Special police then appeared from out of nowhere—though one might wonder where they were all this time—and with their guidance, they traversed backstreets, changed taxis, and finally made it home.

“Look at the TV! Sophie is on screen!”

The actions of the Four Eastern Stars were covered even on the nighttime news. The video quality was awful, but it was evident that Sophie had healed the injured with clearly supernatural power.

The newscaster was saying things like “a miraculous power” or “a being sent by God,” but of course, Sara and the others couldn’t understand Japanese. Nevertheless, they were aware that this footage was being seen by many people.

“If I had more mana, I could have done more,” Sophie said, blushing.

“Whoa, look at this!” Serika exclaimed. “There’s a video uploaded on a site! It’s got a million views?! I’m not letting them get money for this!” She pointed at the screen. “I will have it deleted!”

“This world never bores me,” Selyse said as she stood up. “By the way, I’m going to the convenience store. Is there anything you need?”

“I want sweets!” Sophie said.

“Soft drinks!” Sara added. “We’re already out.”

“All right, then. Serika, are you good?”

Serika accompanied Selyse to the entrance, then handed her a plastic umbrella. “It might rain, so take this!”

Selyse went outside alone. A bright moon hung in the cloudless night sky.

“Serika is surprisingly sharp.”

She took the elevator down and stepped outside the apartment. It was a quiet night, with no passersby in sight. She came to a dim street in the residential area.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Selyse.”

A woman in a suit emerged from the darkness. She had black hair and eyes, but her facial features were somewhat different from the Japanese, and the language she spoke did not sound like Japanese either.

Smiling with her arms wide open, the foreign agent said, “I witnessed your wonderful efforts today. You possess incredible power. My country’s top brass have their eyes on you. How about coming to my country?”

“…”

“Oh, I had the special police go somewhere far away. Japanese counterintelligence is quite incompetent. A little bit of fake information was enough to mislead them.”

“…”

“By the way, there’s no need to confirm your intentions. We’ve already decided that you will come to our country and cooperate in the study of this mysterious power.”

The agent pulled out a gun hanging from her waist and pointed it at Selyse.

Selyse exhaled. She didn’t understand what the agent just said, but she could guess.

“People like you are everywhere, huh?”

“…Pardon?”

“We had spies from another country try to recruit us in the Kingdom of Ponsonia. They were just like you. Unquestionably convinced of their superiority, they showed no courtesy towards us.”

Selyse’s figure blurred, and in an instant, she was right next to the agent.

A shot was fired, the flash briefly illuminating the dark street. But that was all. The gun recoiled, flying backward.

The agent pulled out a small knife hidden in her pocket, but it too was flicked away, catching the light from a streetlamp before vanishing into the darkness.

“Wh-What…?”

Holding her trembling right hand, the agent stared with wide eyes.

“You thought I would be easy to deal with because I can’t use magic, didn’t you?” Selyse twirled a plastic umbrella.

Even an agent with rigorous combat training couldn’t predict the movement of the plastic umbrella. With flawless precision, Selyse had struck the gun barrel and delivered a blow to the side of the knife.

“I’ll give you credit for coming alone. However…”

There was a crack—the umbrella’s tip shattering the agent’s shoulder. She crumpled silently. A communication device slipped from her hand.

“It’s about time you learned some manners, or at least put in the effort to study the language.”

Selyse pointed the tip of the plastic umbrella at the agent’s nose. It was no ordinary umbrella; it was a formidable weapon.

“I know you’re there.”

Selyse called behind her, and several SP personnel appeared. The agent’s eyes grew wide. Their fake intel should have sent them somewhere else.

“The Japanese SP is pretty cunning. They pretend to fall for your tactic, let me repel the attack, and then proceed to arrest you. This is actually the third time today I’ve been ambushed.”

Leaving the arrest of the agent to the SP, Selyse twirled the plastic umbrella and walked away. When she reached the main street, pedestrians who noticed she was holding an umbrella looked up at the clear night sky with confusion.

Japan is fascinating and peaceful, but there’s also plenty of trouble, Selyse thought while entering the convenience store, brightly lit even in the middle of the night.