---
They had breakfast.
Mikan packed her things and prepared to return home.
"Mikan, are we heading back now?" Lala asked.
Mikan nodded. In truth, she really wanted to keep playing, but she'd already been away for a day. It wouldn't be appropriate not to return. Besides, she hadn't told her family anything before leaving, and if she didn't go back and they found out, it would definitely cause a scene.
"My family would get worried," Mikan said.
"Really?" Lala nodded in understanding.
Kaito smiled and said, "Don't worry. You can come visit again once you're back."
"Yeah! Let's hang out again next time, Mikan!" Lala added with a cheerful grin.
Mikan nodded. If she had the chance to return, she definitely wouldn't say no.
"Come on, let's send Mikan back," Kaito said with a smile.
"Thank you," Mikan said politely.
"You're welcome." Kaito shook his head, smiling.
Then, the door to the other world opened, revealing Mikan's room. The pink room looked adorably cozy, and Mikan stepped in immediately. Lala glanced at Kaito and said,
"Kaito, let's take a look around."
"Sure." Kaito nodded and followed her.
Since there was nothing urgent to do, they decided to check things out.
Yuuki Rito still hadn't returned. She had only left a message asking about Mikan, and although Mikan had replied, she didn't give many details—just that she was home and everything was fine. Kaito and Lala didn't interfere with the siblings' conversation.
"Lala, make a stock trading bot and earn some money here. That way, we can build a base later," Kaito suggested.
Lala smiled and nodded. "Okay!"
While Mikan talked to her family to assure them she was safe, Lala had already gathered materials and was building a stock trading robot. Once Mikan finished her call, Lala's machine was ready.
"What's this?" Mikan asked curiously as she walked over.
"It's what we use in the office," Kaito replied with a grin.
"Ah," Mikan responded, realizing it was something for making money.
She was genuinely happy to hear that—after all, Kaito had mentioned earlier that once they made some money, they'd buy a house and build a base here. That meant Kaito and the others would visit this world often, and their connection wouldn't be broken. Of course, that was a good thing.
"Do you need my help?" Mikan asked, curious.
"Just place it in your room and don't move it," Kaito said with a smile.
Mikan nodded. "Okay."
"Do you have any money we can use?" Kaito suddenly asked.
After all, opening a brokerage account requires some capital, and neither he nor Lala had any money in this world. They could only rely on Mikan for the startup funds.
Mikan had no choice but to invest her own money to get things going. Finally, the machine was running—and from now on, she could just leave it alone.
She placed the bot in her room and, when she came back down, offered to take Kaito and Lala on a walk. They didn't refuse and followed her. They spent quite a while exploring the area. It was Kaito and Lala's first time in Japan, and everything felt new and exciting to them.
All in all, they had a great time sightseeing and playing around all day.
That evening, Kaito and Lala returned to the magicless Earth. Kaito had gathered plenty of magical power by now, so opening the door twice was no problem at all.
---
The next day.
Kaito planned to open the door to a fourth world.
The first was his original world. The second was the two-dimensional world where Lala was. The third was the Marvel world. And now, he intended to step into the fourth—a completely different world. He didn't know what to expect on the other side, so he felt both nervous and excited.
The pointer on the dial stopped at an unknown location. Kaito slowly turned the doorknob, and the door creaked open.
Splash~
The sound of waves striking the shore could be heard, and the scent of salt filled the air—it was the unmistakable smell of sea breeze. Kaito and Lala were briefly stunned.
They looked through the door and saw an endless ocean stretching out before them, with a deck directly in front.
The world beyond the door was a ship sailing on the sea.
To their surprise, the door had opened directly onto a ship. Kaito blinked in disbelief.
"Is this... a ship?" Lala asked curiously.
Kaito nodded. "Seems like it."
"Let's take a look!" Lala said, excited.
Kaito hesitated for a moment. It was the vast, open sea—and he didn't know who was onboard. Walking in uninvited could be dangerous.
But then again, Lala was powerful, and Kaito could open the mirror dimension if needed. Ordinary threats couldn't hurt them.
Finally, Kaito nodded. "Alright, let's check it out—but be careful. Don't do anything rash."
"Got it!" Lala smiled brightly.
"And... the tail."
Lala quickly hid her tail.
The two of them stepped onto the deck through the door, and Lala shut it behind them.
"...Really?" Kaito looked at her.
"Don't close the door. If anything goes wrong, it'll be hard to get back," he said, slightly exasperated.
Lala blinked, then chuckled. "Oops, sorry."
Kaito shook his head helplessly. The door was already closed—nothing to be done about it now—so he didn't argue further.
They stood on the ship's deck, feeling the strong sea breeze blowing against their faces. The view stretched endlessly—no land in sight. Looking up, they saw a few fluffy clouds slowly drifting in the sky, but no sign of seagulls or other birds. That alone confirmed it—this was the deep sea. Only in deep ocean areas would seabirds vanish from view.
Then Kaito turned around and examined the ship itself.
It was a three-masted sailing ship, towering several stories high and over a hundred meters long. No doubt, it was a large vessel—but made entirely of wood. On its sail was a distinct skull-and-crossbones design, with two large swords crossed behind the skull. The skull's pupils were blood-red, as if they were about to drip with fresh blood.
Only pirates would paint something like that on their sails.
"A pirate ship?" Kaito murmured in surprise.
Suddenly, they heard footsteps—creaking against the wooden planks—and three men appeared from behind the deck.
They wore ragged clothing, carried massive swords, and had firearms strapped to their waists—the kind of weapons pirates from the old days used. Their outfits looked exactly like something out of Pirates of the Caribbean.
"It is a pirate ship!"
---