Chapter 53: Failed trial

"Well, it is worth the shot at the very least."

I would have to lie to tell that this idea didn't appear in my head beforehand. With how I was easily capable of moving the stuff between the worlds, it was only obvious that sooner or later, I would have to try moving some living people as well. Be it for the sake of comfortably amassing all the important people to me in one, secure place, or even if only for the sake of pragmatic approach, this step was something that was simply too obvious to not think about trying it beforehand.

But there was absolutely no way I would risk doing something like that with someone important to me as the very first test subject.

"I can feel that it's not all that you wanted to say. What bothers you?"

Still snuggled up to my chest, Ayda lifted herself up a bit to get a better look at my face. Given how this was the game that the two of us could play, I only smiled in response.

"And I can feel that no matter what I will tell right now, you won't take it seriously. So let me put it in those words. I don't have even the slightest idea of how I'm capable of moving between different… places."

Ayda already knew that by places I meant worlds, so just in case someone was eavesdropping on our conversation, I decided it was safer to just use fairly obvious code. It wouldn't make things hard for either of us to understand this way of communication, while it could potentially buy us some time in case of my worries being on the point.

"And what do you want to say with that?"

Giving up on the attempts at keeping her body up, Ayda once again rested her head on my chest. With her ear pressed to the skin right above her heart, she seemed as if she enjoyed the sound of its beating.

"I'm not going to let you be the first to try it. Not because I have someone more important to move to my… place or anything, but because…"

Before I could even finish my words, the girl on my chest moved one of her hands up, just to place her finger atop my lips.

"You fear what would happen if moving between the places would turn out to be dangerous. Am I right?"

Her tone changed from a calm and patient to joyful and happy as her sentence transformed as well.

"You are right on the point. I don't know if my mind would survive if anything were to happen to you. I… I fear that one day, I might lose you, just like I lost my family already."

Hearing my words, Ayda only smiled before finally moving up from the bed. Taking a quick stroll to the pile of clothes that was left on the ground, she picked up my very own jacket before throwing it on her otherwise naked body. Even though for me, it was only an additional piece of clothing that was supposed to prevent me from feeling cold, with Ayda's petite figure, it was as good as a cloak.

"Give me a few moments, I will be right back."

Not even giving me a moment to consider the situation, Ayda stormed out of the room. With how there was no point to just relax in the bed without her in it, I quickly followed the steps and dressed up in all of my remaining clothes before sitting on the edge of the bed in wait.

In the end, it didn't take her that long to return. Rather than that, I was quite surprised when barely a few minutes after she moved out, the doors opened once again, revealing the cute figure of the girl with an awful looking, small beast in her hand.

"You really can't be bothered with holding those disgusting things…"

Partially surprised but mostly in awe, I quickly realised what was the intention of Ayda's action. Standing up, I moved to her side before taking the wiggling piece of dirt from her hand.

"Okay, let's see if it works."

Seeing how Ayda only looked at me with expectation, I walked towards the doors while willing to return to earth. And just like that, as soon as I passed by the threshold, the simple wooden walls of the Inn's corridor were replaced with the familiar cracks on the concrete surface making up the walls of my basement.

"..."

Directing my eyes towards my hands, I already knew that it failed. Not because I saw it, but because as soon as I realised that I was already back on earth, I couldn't feel this repulsively hot texture of the rodent that Ayda passed to me back in her word.

"So it won't work, huh?"

Staring down at my empty hand, I only shook my head with resignation before once again willing to return to Ayda's worlds and moving through the doors of my basement.

"It didn't work, I know."

I didn't even need to say anything. The expression on Ayda's face was already enough to prove that she noticed the problem as well.

"But if you could tell, what happened to that… something?"

Given how rodent was just a name that I came up with for that living thing that she passed to me due to how familiar it looked to an earthy rat, using this made-up name in conversation would only bring more confusion to the situation.

"As soon as you passed through the door, you disappeared… But the Kashak remained in this place. Given how you weren't here for a moment to keep holding it in air, it simply dropped to the ground before escaping."

With her hand already submerged in the water contained within the nearby bail, Ayda explained with her back turned towards me. Even though she was hiding her face, I could easily tell from her aura just how disappointed she was.

But this kind of feeling didn't last long in her mind, quickly replaced with vitality and determination.

"But that means one thing. Since you can only return to the exact same place as you came from, we need to make sure to secure a safe place. Without that, it will be me constantly fearing for your life!"