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“Ah… Father.”

‘It’d be so nice if she called me Royal Father.’

But since he knew it wasn’t the time and place to joke around, he patted her on the head instead.

“Can you tell me what’s going on?”

"Will… Will you believe me?” she stammered, not knowing how to react.

“What kind of parent wouldn’t trust their own children?”

Although Davey wasn’t their biological parent, it didn’t change the fact that the three—Super Ribbon, Blue Ribbon, and Red Ribbon—were all ultimately children born under his care.

However, her appearance was definitely a bit different from when he had manifested her as a sword.

The shade of her hair color was different and she had darker, different colored pupils for each eye. However, the important connection between him and Super Ribbon remained.

"Father!!"

As Davey patted her on the back, she sobbed and hugged him. He could feel her trembling slowly subside.

"So? What happened?”

At his question, she nervously fiddled with her hands.

"It… It all started about a month ago… Since then, every day, once it reaches nighttime…”

The swords of Red Ribbon and Blue Ribbon remained with Davey, while only Super Ribbon’s ego had escaped. However, the fact that the ego now had its own body came as an unexpected surprise.

“Do you have any idea why this happened?”

"Uh… My mana suddenly started overflowing.”

“Mana?”

"Yes."

Her explanation was simple.

Super Ribbon was a composite personality created by the fusion of Red Ribbon and Blue Ribbon. In other words, Super Ribbon was Red Ribbon and Blue Ribbon, and vice versa. And while Blue Ribbon and Red Ribbon dreamed, the things they found interesting merged, awakening Super Ribbon.

“Something doesn’t add up,” Davey said.

“What doesn’t add up?” Archbishop Alice asked.

“Red Ribbon and Blue Ribbon usually need a lot of mana to become Super Ribbon,” he answered calmly.

“Hm? Now that you say something, I’m sure it can’t be a small amount.”

“It doesn’t make sense for this to happen simply because of mana amplification.”

"I… I’m sorry, father.”

“No, what do you have to be sorry about? So? What brings you to the academy?”

"I… I wanted to read a book. I wanted to try music, and I also wanted to do the thing called research that you do.”

The whole ghost commotion turned out to be very simple and pointless.

“You should’ve told me.”

“I was afraid that you’d become worried because of me…”

Super Ribbon had a passive personality, but her actions were surprisingly proactive. It was a combination of Red Ribbon’s proactiveness and Blue Ribbon’s passiveness.

"Hm… Then how about we do them together?”

"Yeah? Ah… Yes!”

As Davey smiled, Super Ribbon nodded and made the happiest face in the world.

“Phew… Then if you need anything, let me know. I’m on duty at the academy tonight.”

“I’m sorry that you have to do all this extra work because of me.”

“Oh, it’s no problem. I make good money, and this job fits me better than I’d expected. If I were to step down from my position as Archbishop of the Holy Empire, I’d be unemployed with nothing to do anyway. This works out for me,” Archbishop Alice said while giggling.

With that, the two parted ways with her. Davey held Super Ribbon\'s hand as they began walking around the different rooms.

“What do you want to try first?”

“I think instruments are really fun!”

Super Ribbon smiled brightly as she took out a string instrument from seemingly nowhere, much to Davey’s confusion.

"Is that so? Well, I can’t be the only one listening to this good stuff.”

A midnight concert ended up being held.

Perserque, who was hugging Darian, and Illyna, who was helping manage the territory, had come to join the festivities. Even Aeria and Rinne, exhausted and fast asleep, had joined as well. Although everyone was surprised to hear about Super Ribbon, no one made a big deal about it.

Rather, they were excited to hear what song Super Ribbon would play.

"I… I’m a bit nervous…”

"You’ll be great. You’ve been practicing for this.”

“That’s right…”

Super Ribbon blushed with embarrassment, yet there was a spark of excitement in her eyes as she took her stance, gripping the string instrument.

‘Her playing position looks good…’

Screech!!

“Aaaahhh!!!”

“Gaaa!”

It only took a couple of seconds for a serenade from hell to fill the room.

* * *

Of course, Super Ribbon’s unintended getaway wasn’t a problem that could be resolved in a short period of time.

Every night when Blue Ribbon and Red Ribbon fell asleep, Super Ribbon had woken up. For more than a month, she had been coming to the academy alone every night, pretending to research reagents, reading books, and playing musical instruments.

"The rumors about the music being horrendous… It makes sense now…”

Illyna muttered bitterly, clutching her nauseous head.

“S-Sorry!”

"Not at all! No one’s good from the start. You’ll be fine after you learn.”

Illyna panicked and quickly comforted her after Super Ribbon apologized. However, she seemed very sad about the fact that she had no talent for playing instruments.

“Davey, what do you think?” Perserque asked after pondering.

In response, he looked at Super Ribbon with a serious expression. She didn’t seem to have any problems, superficially speaking. Rather, she seemed to have a very neat posture. However, the results were shocking.

He could tell that teaching her would be even more challenging than teaching a sloppy one or a blank slate.

"Hm… It might take a while.”

He knew she could be taught, but it seemed it would be difficult to improve her hellish harmony in a short period of time.

“I knew it—I’m going to quit playing. Father, please play for me instead!”

Super Ribbon put down the string instrument in her hand.

She ripped the faces of drums when she played them, made screeching sounds on string instruments, and couldn’t hit a single note properly on wind instruments—her off-key pitches dominated every tune. Listening to her play felt like some vicious animal ripping off his eardrums.

Once Super Ribbon said she would give up, Davey briefly thought about leaving her to Mute, his teacher who was called the embodiment of music. Instead, he nodded and accepted the instrument she handed him.

“Alright. No problem.”

He fixed his posture and plucked the strings.

Swish…

As the clear sound resonated inside the room, her eyes sparkled. And, soon enough, beautiful music that made the air ring and resonate began to flow from his hands.

‘Alright… Which song… Let’s go with Canon in D.’

When the gentle music started, Illyna widened her eyes as she recognized the song.

“Ah, I’ve heard this on Earth.”

“Pachelbel’s different Canons…”

“You know this song, Perserque?”

“Yes, because I have most of Davey’s memories.”

Illyna giggled at her words.

“I really like this song.”

As the gentle music continued, Super Ribbon closed her eyes and nodded, soaking in the music. When the tiny desk concert came to an end, her expression was much more relaxed than before. At the same time, her body blurred for a moment and then returned to normal.

“Is there still something else you want to accomplish?”

“Hmm?”

“Daddy thinks the reason Super Ribbon came out like this is because Super Ribbon is dwelling on something.”

Davey believed this situation happened because Super Ribbon had a lingering desire to accomplish something, and with the immense vitality spread across the continent, the circumstances allowed her to manifest.

And so, he knew he simply had to resolve her lingering feelings.

“Actually, there are some places I really wanted to go.”

“Where do you want to go?”

"It’s called the Fairy Paradise! It’s a place I’ve been wanting to go, even if I can only visit it in my dreams!”

Super Ribbon, now separated from Davey, pulled out a magazine she’d somehow managed to grab without anyone noticing.

"Hey! That’s mine!" Illyna widened her eyes, drawing everyone’s attention.

"I wondered where my missing issue went," she muttered.

“Hehehe.”

“Phew…”

Illyna, unable to get angry at Super Ribbon, just let out a sigh.

"Father, is it true that a place like this actually exists?" Super Ribbon asked eagerly, holding up a picture from the magazine. It showed an amusement park lit up with fireworks in the night sky.

Such a place didn’t exist in Tionis, only on Earth, where the environment and history allowed for safer development of technology.

"You want to go?"

"Yes!"

"Hmm…"

Illyna chimed in. "Honestly, I’ve wanted to visit too."

"I’d like to see it myself as well," added Perserque.

It seemed like the three of them had already united over the idea after flipping through the pages. Since only Davey could open and close dimensional gates, they’d been waiting for him to be less busy with the matters of Heins Territory, giving them the chance to finally ask him.

"Then let’s go."

"During one of the busiest times for the territory?" Illyna asked, looking at him like he’d lost his mind.

"Don’t worry. There’s plenty of people who can do all the work instead.”

He only heard later that someone back at the territory had felt a sudden, inexplicable chill once he spoke those words.

* * *

Earth. Busan, South Korea.

They arrived at the entrance of an airport. Although they hadn’t arrived by plane, Davey found it to be a convenient hub to travel through.

Super Ribbon’s dream destination turned out to be a newly-built amusement park in Korea. Apparently, a wealthy entrepreneur from the Middle East had poured a huge investment into building it. Rich people’s motives remained a mystery to Davey.

If it could be considered luck, then they were indeed lucky—the park had remained intact, as the southern part of the city had fortunately been spared from monster attacks.

"Wow… There are carriages running without any horses! Are they powered by mana?"

"I think they don’t run on magic, instead using some energy called thermal power."

"Thermal power?"

"It’s power generated by burning a fuel called gasoline."

"I see…"

Normally, Davey would’ve simplified things by saying they worked without mana, but Aeonitia was a talented alchemist, so he knew she’d follow his explanation.

"It does seem feasible… I’ll have to try it when we return to Tionis…"

"No."

"Huh? Why not?"

"Just no."

At his firm refusal, Aeonitia O’Rowane, who was like a younger sister to him, pouted. While her curiosity wasn’t misplaced, combustion engines and gasoline-powered vehicles could disrupt the level of civilization on Tionis if suddenly introduced.

In other words, there was a reason for dimensional walls, which was why Davey had told everyone who crossed it to avoid remembering or studying too much about Earth’s technology.

Dressed in a simple white dress, Aeonitia glanced around nervously, unaccustomed to both the outfit itself and the attention she was receiving in the crowded place. It wasn’t surprising, since even during Queen Lynesse’s rule, she preferred reading in silence over standing out or triumphing over others.

"Ahem. Earth is truly a fascinating place, Princess."

"And why do you look so proud?"

"Since I’ve been here before, remember?"

Davey let out a sigh as Tiara, one of the continent’s six beauties and tech advisor Edison’s granddaughter, as well as the captain of the airship Asgard, looked way too confident.

Aeonitia and Tiara hadn’t initially been part of the trip, but when Aeonitia shyly asked to come along—he had no idea where she heard about the trip from—he couldn’t say no. Figuring he may as well let them have fun, he had brought them along to let them enjoy a little break.

- So this is Earth.

Super Ribbon couldn’t fully take on her physical form during the day, so for now, he had combined Red Ribbon and Blue Ribbon so that she could hover in her spirit form beside him.

"So, what do you think?"

- The air’s a little stale… but it’s amazing.

Her eyes sparkled, and she signaled to go where she wanted.

- Father! Let’s get going! I want to see it right now!

Though she was currently in spirit form, he planned to grant her a physical form by imbuing a good amount of mana when they arrived at the amusement park. This would be one of his tricks using the Starbreaker title, something that ordinary mages couldn’t even think about pulling off.

Davey set off, laughing as he watched her hop about in excitement. She took in the views carefully, determined not to forget a single detail of the scenery on this trip.

She was dressed in her usual white dress. Of course, since no one else could see her in this form, it didn’t really matter what she wore. The others, however, were a different story.

“What’s the matter?”

Perserque asked while removing her sunglasses after glancing around with curiosity. She wore fitted jeans, a beige short-sleeved shirt, and a white cap. She looked stylish enough to be mistaken as a celebrity dressed up for the reporters at an airport. Of course, the horns that poked out from her cap and her long, flowing silver hair gave her an extra air of uniqueness.

"Seems you were secretly looking forward to this, weren’t you?" Davey asked.

"Even I don’t mind a little fun," she replied, tilting her sunglasses down to reveal her playful gaze. "Though, you look like you’re ready for Hawaii."

Davey rubbed his chin in contemplation, dressed in old shorts, a Hawaiian shirt, and sunglasses. "Nothing better for a day out, right?"

"Well, I can’t blame you for dressing up like this since the only culture you’ve absorbed was through a screen…”

"Hey, what’s wrong with my outfit?"

"No, no, you look good,” she teased him as she walked forward.

He followed her lead. Though each of them had their own motives, they all had the same destination in mind: the amusement park.

"Okay, so how are we getting there? I thought we came like this since we were trying to avoid attention. But none of us know the way."

"Guess we’ll just have to call for directions."

Davey casually pulled out a smartphone.

"Where did you even get that?" she asked, bewildered.

"I got it last time we were on Earth."

He pressed the call button.

- Hello?

"It’s me. Where are you?"

- I’m at the office, in the middle of a meeting…

"I’m summoning you," he said, channeling his mana. There was a scream on the other end.

Poof!!

Hyun-Ah appeared before him, landing with a startled yelp and dirtying her business suit.

"Aaah! Ow…"

"Thanks for coming. You’re our guide."

You… You crazy…” she stared at him in disbelief. “How’d you even do that?”

“What do you mean? I summoned you.”

“I was in the middle of a meeting…”

“Don’t worry. I’ll send you back once you’re done guiding us around.”

"Do you think being at work is all fun and games just like goofing around at a playground?" she snapped. Davey then put a straw hat he’d bought as a souvenir on her head, a rather mismatching accessory considering her business attire.

"Come on, give us a hand."

She sighed in exasperation. "Fine… Where are we headed?"

"Alfland. It shouldn’t be far from here, right?"

Her eyes widened. "Wait—you all came here just to go to Alfland?"

"We’re here to enjoy a little vacation."

The exasperation on her face deepened as she glanced over at him. "Uh, yeah, about that… They don’t allow people in right now.”

"What?”

Super Ribbon\'s spirit wavered, her excitement fading.

ChubbyCheeks & FriedNook\'s Thoughts

Editorb’s Thought

Hearing that they literally crossed dimensions just to be told “lolno”