"..."
Cassian was seriously considering what to do. For starters, it seemed that returning to his world was inevitable.
Although he left without specifying what it was to fail and what it was to pass the test of this place, As far as he understood, whether he failed or made it to the end, he would still be sent back, and he would have to find his own way somehow afterwards.
If he wanted to go to another world, that's what he had to do...
For now, Ria's is the best candidate, hmm, but what's important now is what will happen here.
If everything Plouthys had said was true, the place they were in functioned as an open beta with no real consequences, where there were only benefits.
In addition, during Plouthys' explanation, Cassian had paid some attention to Valeriane, Ellys, and the people around them.
Some seemed to know things about prophecies and gods, and nodded as if what the screen was saying made sense or aligned with what they already knew.
Okay, I get it. if everything he said is true, the important thing here is to make a profit....hmmm, yes, I don't seem to have any other option anyway., Whatever happens, I will deal with it when the time comes.
For starters, it wasn't like he had the option to leave, so whether he believed it or not, he had already decided that he had to face it, see where it all led, and get as much out of it as possible.
Then I'll go back and give it to Nora so she can do well on her own... and then I'll find a way to go to Ria's world... or other worlds. Or to Varnorr, since I guess that counts as one too.
Cassian mapped out his plan and a clear objective. It seemed reasonable when he thought about it. In his head, he now understood, that the reason he couldn't be completely happy, even though he had fulfilled his dream, was because it wasn't yet the right time or situation.
Instinctively, perhaps his strange body knew that the conditions weren't ideal... to really get started.
He also rationalized that it was one thing to leave Nora in a normal world, where there wasn't much to worry about — but it was another thing entirely to do so in a situation that, if handled poorly, could lead to the destruction of his world.
Honestly, he couldn't be at peace in another world with his harem, knowing that his friend could be in grave danger.
That's why he thought he should get rid of that discomfort first.
Yes, that was definitely why he couldn't be happy. The situation was not right. Well, once he did that, he could start in earnest. For now, he would just focus on making a profit and nothing else.
Although a second opinion wouldn't hurt.
Although he had already consolidated what he had to do, it was all based on Plouthys' words being true, so he made sure of that first.
"Do you all believe what he said is true?"
The question was directed at Ellys, Valeriane, and the mermaid standing nearby, who also seemed pensive. Cassian's question seemed to bring them back to their senses, and Valeriane was the first to respond.
"Hmm... actually, in my world, or rather in our realm our god is Zeus, and he and the others, over time, in prophecies and such, said many things similar to Plouthys .... there was someone who received a revelation from the goddess Athena, where she showed the image of the fruits, and in fact they were very similar to what was shown."
"Huh!? Zeus? Olympus!? Ria — are your gods the Olympians!?"
"Do you know them? And yes you do, that's what they're called. Are they present in your world?"
"No, they're more like fiction. In my world there are no gods, at least not as present as you describe, that's why I don't know much about the situation. but I'm surprised that name came up. is it the god of lightning, by any chance?"
"Eh... actually, yes. Uhm, maybe your world and ours were connected or related in some way at some point. How interesting."
"Ours... ours are the Nirevalis..."
As Veleriane and Caasian suddenly spoke, Ellys interjected, mentioning her gods.
"Oh!"
"Do you know them too, Ca-Cassy?"
"No, they don't ring a bell at all. I just thought the name was curious."
"/_ \, I see..."
"So, Ria... do you have Poseidon and Hades too?"
"Huh!? Why would I? No, rather, Sir Cassian, that's blasphemy. And very disrespectful."
"Huh? Why? What did I say? They're brothers, aren't they? With Demeter, Hestia, and Hera, in your world too, right?"
Cassian was really intrigued by mythological things, which were also used in a lot of the things he read and played.
Interestingly, until now, much of his fictional knowledge had aligned with some things, so he found Valeriane's reaction curious.
"It seems your world is wrong, Sir Cassian. In fact, the three major goddesses are, but Hades is from the demonic world, a god."
"And Poseidon?"
"He is one of our most important gods. Hey, I know the gods are an important topic, but he said the test was going to start shortly, didn't he? Or has it already started?"
Suddenly, the mermaid joined the conversation. Cassian was certainly thinking that, after all, the gods were a coincidence... or rather, not entirely, considering that the names were the same.
There was something strange about all this, but he was not one to meddle in divine matters, with his information obtained mostly from fictional elements.
Besides, the mermaid had a point. They had strayed a bit, but he had confirmed that what the Plouthys said was reasonable — and therefore, so was the objective he had set for himself.
"You, why are you still here?"
"Hey, what's wrong with that? Didn't we come to an agreement? Besides, I'm more familiar with someone from the four worlds. Those three over there don't seem to be... look at their weird clothes. I'd rather be with you guys. Although he also has weird clothes, he makes up for it by being handsome."
"Huh!? Who's handsome?"
When Cassian saw that the mermaid said that and pointed in his direction, he turned to look behind him to see who she was referring to, but there was nothing but a wall with some glowing crystals and moss.
"Hee~, besides that, funny, your name was Cassian, right? I'm Naelune."
"Huh!? Was that me?"
Cassian was really surprised that she called him handsome. In his life, that word had no connection to him. Even Nora, who acted the way she did, had never called him handsome.
It's one thing that she didn't run away, since she looks like Nora, but handsome? Is she okay?
Now he was really wondering if this mermaid named Naelune had some kind of problem... somehow.
Oh!! Maybe it's because of the difference between race...
Cassian suddenly thought of that. It seemed reasonable, considering they were separated by dimensions, and standards of beauty might not be the same.
Being handsome to the other person was important for forming a harem, so now he would consider Naelune's world positively when all this was over.
"Since you don't seem to mind that I'm a mermaid, why don't we team up and face this together? I'm good at water spells, control type and some attack type, and I have a charm Skill that can confuse and even control the opponent."
"Hmm..."
Suddenly, he received a proposal. In fact, it seemed reasonable to form teams, considering that they didn't know what was coming.
Actually, thanks to Plouthys' intervention, Cassian had calmed down. He realized that earlier he had only been a bit surprised and on edge because of the sudden way she approached him, considering it was their first meeting, not to mention her resemblance to Nora.
But unlike her, Naelune seemed like a curiously reasonable perso, so he didn't outright reject her.
Her proposal had pros and cons, such as being close to someone who seemed to want to touch him from head to toe.
But if she was like Nora in terms of her taste for muscles and licking him, he thought he knew how to deal with her.
"Well, I think it's okay to form a team—"
"Wait!"
"Oh, what's the matter, Little angel? Why are you meddling in our affairs?"
"Ca-Ca-sssy..this"
"Lys, I told you that if it was hard for you to call me that, you didn't have to. Why don't you try something like 'Cass' or 'Ian'? I think there was a time when someone called me that... Who was it? Well, never mind. Why don't you try one of those?"
"Yes... I'll try, hmm, Cass..."
"Good, see how much easier that is? By the way, what did you mean earlier?"
"Ah... don't go with her, she could be dangerous and she—"
"Wait a minute, Lys. I think I understand the problem here a little, but from what I've heard, she hasn't done anything wrong, and it's very wrong to be prejudiced just because of her species or how she looks."
Being judged by your appearance. Having experienced that so much, Cassian knew how bad it could be.
Although now it was more like being judged by her race, Cassian didn't like prejudice in general. It wasn't that what Ellys said was unreasonable, but he preferred to make his own judgment about who she was.
So far, he didn't have any bad perceptions of Naelune.
He didn't feel like she was someone he had to be careful of... beyond, of course, not letting her get too close, since there was a chance she might lick him.
But other than that, he didn't see any problem.
"I'm sorry ╯︿╰"
"Oh, I'm really starting to like you more and more. Um, can I call you 'Cassy' too? No! That sounds too common. Let's be original... um... I know! 'Cazzy'."
Hmm, isn't that the same? Hmm, there's almost no difference. It's more like saying it with an accent, hmmm... well, whatever.
Even the way she spoke was a little similar. Cassian thought that when he returned to his world, he would tell Nora that he had found her alternate flat-chested mermaid version.
And the fact that she resembled Nora in personality made him more comfortable talking to her, and it certainly wouldn't hurt to team up.
If she was a control mage type, he was a melee warrior. So they were a good match.
"Oh! All right, Lune, it's a pleasure to work with you."
"Close, but I like to be called Luna. And it's a pleasure too, Cazzy. By the way, now that we're partners, can I touch you a little?"
"No! By the way, Ria, Lys... what about you guys?"