The sun has begun to set by the time I arrive back in Lastation. The trip gave me plenty of time to calm down, that's for sure.

A quick glance at my watch reports that I've still got a bit of time to grab clothing before I need to meet up with the girls.

Heh. I never thought I'd ever say those words. Almost makes it seem wrong.

Still, I did promise to meet up in an hour, and since I don't have a phone, I need to kill an hour anyway - and I don't have any other plans.

I really should grab a phone at some point. That'd prevent disasters like being accidentally left on Leanbox from happening to me.

I mean, I don't think that'll happen, but always prepare for the worst.

I'm sure there's a phone shop somewhere around here too, so might as well check the prices while shopping, right?

Taking a quick detour to turn in my quests, and cashing in my rewards, I've got a cool five thousand credits. So… a clothing budget of a thousand? That should be enough to get the necessities.

And maybe a few -

Scratch that.

Maybe a lot of sweaters before we head up to Lowee.

Okay. Budget of one point five thousand then.

Now, just to find someone to direct me to the shops...

Ouch. Note to self, IF is way richer than she seems to be. Either that, or the phone plans in Lastation are completely insane.

I'm outside a shop that loudly proclaims "Lastation Wireless" on the sign above, with the everpresent neon signs that often plague such places in plain display.

Just like home.

The display cell phone plan is eighteen hundred thousand credits per year. That's a goddamn terrifying amount of money!

Oh.

Never mind, that's the one with one hundred twenty eight gigs of data per month. My bad. Of course the display model is the expensive, high-end one. Unlimited talking… texting… No extra roaming charges… Okay, yeah, that makes a bit more sense.

Okay, let's see. What exactly do I need? There's no way I'll be able to keep it in my head.

Grabbing a loose scrap paper from a nearby bin, and a pen that I'm pretty sure I stole from the Planeptune Basilicom by accident, I begin scribbling out my thoughts.

Okay, so what exactly do I need. I need talking, maybe texting, and I am really frugal with my data, so I'd probably be able to make do with only a gig of data per month at most.

I go through like… what, an hour tops per day, on average? It's not like I've got anyone I actually want to talk to in this dimension. So hours can be frugal.

Texting? I think it'd save me in the long run to have it, but I honestly think I could pay per use, and be mostly fine. I paid, what... three cents per text? Back when I had my old, super-shitty plan back home.

I'm definitely going to need roaming coverage… what with the fact that we're headed up to Lowee within the next week, so…

I look up, and notice the clock on the wall. Crap.

I don't have enough time to plan this all out right now. A few fellow customers are also giving me a strange look. I don't blame them - usually people do this kind of planning at home. Too bad I don't have a home here.

I should probably go grab my clothes before I run out of time. Don't want to keep them waiting.

Last thing I want is to be left here by accident.

Okay… First of all, I'm so glad they finally have decent-looking clothing here. A two nice sets of monochrome slacks, a few blank tee shirts, some pajama pants, a big pack of warm socks that go up to the ankle, and four thick cotton sweaters. More than enough to help me survive up at Lowee. Back home, I usually made do in the winter with only a single sweater and my jacket, so I should be fine. At least, I hope. Worst case scenario, I'll pick up a ski mask and a pair of winter gloves up there.

All in all, I'm still within my budget - I've only used a thousand and a bit, rather than the whole one point five that I set aside.

Do I keep going? Nah. I can just set aside the rest for later use. Can never hurt to have emergency money.

Taking a breath, I look down at my wrist, only to have my pulse immediately spike violently.

My watch says we meet up in only ten minutes! Going to have to shove this stuff into my inventory, and then run all the way there.

"You look like you had fun." states the brunette, as I rush into the cafe, huffing and puffing. There's a wave of acknowledgement from the other girls. I'm five minutes late.

"Yeah. Thanks for waiting for me, everyone. I was just grabbing some new clothes, along with a bunch of sweaters." I answer, sitting down to catch my breath. "Four of them seemed like enough."

"Sweaters?" asks Nepgear. "What do you need sweaters for?"

Oh right, they decide where to go after they get the Mascot.

"You folks are planning to petition for assistance from the other Mascots, right? It only makes sense we're eventually going to head up to Lowee at some point then." I reason, hoping no one pries any deeper. "Now, I'm not sure about your opinions, but in mine, Lowee is cold."

Nepgear slowly nods back. "We should pick up some winter clothes while we're here too, then. From what…" The purple-haired girl gulps. "From… what Neptune told me from her visits up to Lowee, it's definitely really cold."

Compa moves to support her friend. "So, now that Derek is here, are we going to go see Kei? It's getting pretty late..."

I blink back at the group. "You're kidding me. You didn't go see the Oracle yet?"

IF smiles at me. It is a malicious smile. "Wouldn't make sense having to tell you the whole story, am I right? Plus, if we need to suffer through meeting with the Oracle again, you're suffering alongside us."

Seems she's still a little bit mad at Kei. Still, I play along. "Gasp! You have discovered my hidden conspiracy! My whole plan, my whole beautiful clothes-shopping plan… In tatters!" I cry dramatically. I practically splay myself backwards as I collapse into my chair.

I think I hold the pose for six seconds, before the sound of Compa clearing her throat knocks me back to the present, and I regain my posture.

"Seriously though, thanks for waiting. It really does mean a lot." I answer, trying to regain my composure. "Too bad it's really late… We'll need to meet up with Kei tomorrow, I guess."

IF shrugs. "Too bad." She still doesn't look too upset about that.

"We still haven't eaten yet though…~" chirps in RED. "It's too late to cook anything, so we should probably eat out today…~"

"You guys up for Chinese?" I suggest, mentally going over my list of food places. "There's a place nearby that's supposed to be pretty good."

What research I did on it earlier says it's reasonably cheap for its quality, has good, fast service, and is hovering rather comfortably in the four stars review range on Bark!. All in all, it seems like a nice place to go.

"Yes!~" Gee, RED likes Chinese food. Who would've guessed?

"Uh… Chinese food?" asks Nepgear. "I mean, Compa's definitely cooked stuff she's said was based on Chinese food, but I've never actually gone to a Chinese restaurant..."

Both RED and I stare blankly back at the Candidate. Just how sheltered is this girl?

"You're joking." We both state at the same time. Then we turn to one another.

"We'll try to stay away from the weird stuff, at least this time, right?" I prod the short redhead. Looks like chicken feet and the like aren't on the menu, at least not this time.

"Fiiine… Just so that we don't scare my CPU Wifey.~" groans RED. "Those are the best stuff, though!~"

"Weird stuff...?" asks Nepgear, head cocked to the side, "What do you mean, weird stuff?"

"You'll understand when you see it." I answer quickly, as I get up. "Come on, the place closes at nine, so we should head over there while we can."

"Mmm." murmurs Nepgear, as she digs into another packet of sticky rice. "This is really, really good!"

RED glances up from her plate of fried noodles just long enough to smile at the Candidate. "I knew you'd like it!~"

I, on the other hand, am eating another bowl of my hands-down favorite, fresh fish congee. Mmm. Just enough salt in this one, so I don't even need to add any soy sauce. This stuff's the best, especially during the cold months.

The bowl's in the center of the table for everyone to share: This place is one of the good places, where they give you a bowl that's way too big for a single person to eat. Still, I definitely have eaten at least four bowls of the stuff already.

IF, having noted that we were eating an unbalanced meal, opted for a vegetable and wild mushroom platter.

Around us, there's a bustling of servers carrying trays of food to the many tables around us. As far as anyone can tell, we're just a random group of friends, eating out at a restaurant. Nepgear of course didn't know what to order, so between my suggestion of congee and sticky rice, IF's veggies, and RED's mandate of noodles, (and she even remembered to order rice noodles!) we've got plenty of food to go around.

We're already on our second pot of tea, the congee's half gone, and we're all having a great time.

"So you've seriously never had real Chinese food in Planeptune, before?" I ask, just to get a conversation going.

"Yeah." answers the Candidate, as she fills her own bowl with congee. "Sis never really behaved well enough for us to go out to restaurants, plus Compa always cooks for us at home."

She's really enjoying this, then: she didn't even stop, despite what she said.

"Well, I'm glad you're enjoying it." I smile. It… it feels like home. I fill my plate with mushrooms and spinach, along with a serving of noodles.

We continue eating for several moments, with conversation giving way to the occasional murmur of pleasure, and the clink of spoons on bowls.

Nepgear pauses, spoon halfway to her mouth, before looking up at us, confused. "So uhh… This might be a bit of a weird question… but it's really bugging me, all of a sudden."

"Yeah?"

"Where… exactly is China, anyway?"

That definitely throws me for a loop.

"Uhhh…" I stutter, nearly choking on a piece of spinach in the process. Seriously, how do I even respond to that?

"Oh!~ That's easy!~" chimes in RED. "China is in Asia!~"

"And… where's Asia?" continues Nepgear, still utterly bewildered.

RED blinks once, before glancing towards me, a look of absolute bewilderment plastered across her face.

I shrug back at the redhead. But seriously, if China doesn't exist here… then…

"Hey RED, Canto or Mandarin?" I prod.

"That's easy!~ Mandarin!~" she answers, without even a moment's hesitation. "Nǐ huì shuō zhōngwén ma?"

I shake my head at the girl. "Sorry. I don't actually know the language."

The others are of course giving us a weird look.

Okay, so the language exists too… but not the place?

"Umm… Derek? Is something the matter?" asks Compa. Her plate is mostly vegetables.

Right. Compa and IF are still eating, and the food is getting cold.

"Let's… let's just say that it's a culture, and it… uhh... exists." I submit. I'm not going to be able to go any further into detail. "It… Umm…"

"The food is good, though.~"

Thanks RED.

There's shrugs all around as we move to finish our meal.

Seriously, worlds within worlds are weird.

"Ahh… that hit the spot." I state, as I lean back against a building. It's eight thirty, and we should be finding a place to sleep. I've got a warm belly, and am already having issues keeping my eyes open.

It took a small while, but we eventually finished our meal, paid the restaurant (split five ways, it was only six hundred credits apiece), and made our way to the door. Nepgear of course managed to sneak a peek at a platter of chicken feet and jellyfish on the way out, which served their purpose at utterly confusing the girl, until we (and by we, I mean me) explained to her that yeah, there is some weird Chinese food out there.

Luckily, there were no more fourth-wall-shattering conversations to go around, so we managed to make it through with a minimal amount of confusion.

"Yeah, that was yummy. I'll need to learn some recipes for cooking that sort of stuff." speaks up Compa. "It's late: we should get headed towards the hotel."

Hotel?

"Wait, what hotel?" I ask. "Did you girls reserve something while I was gone?"

"Oh! Well, Neptune and the other CPUs made a pact a few years back." begins IF. "Basically, anyone with a CPU or Candidate Aegis, and everyone with them, can check into the embassy, and get a night's rest for free."

What.

"You're joking." I deadpan, looking back at them. Seriously, I know they don't need to pay to stay the night, but this is absurd.

"I've heard rumors about that!~" chirps RED, starry-eyed. "The places are supposed to be really nice, too!"

I can't stop myself from facepalming. Damn, that was easy.

"Okay, so… the embassy should be over this way…" chimes Nepgear, as she leads us forward.

The streets at night are quiet and empty. Save for the occasional lamp post, the city of Black Regality is somber, with the dark tones that make up the color scheme seemingly dancing in the darkness. I can hear the footsteps of other travellers, either busy with their own tasks, or searching for a place to rest the night.

Luckily, we apparently don't need to do that. Because CPUs, apparently.

Nepgear leads us in front of a government building, but it looks like a ritzy hotel. Like, a four-star hotel looking place. The sort of place someone like me would only go to, if I were on holiday and I also had a few thousand extra dollars to burn.

Seriously, this isn't fair.

I can't remove the pout from my face, even as we step inside the building. Inside, the building is much more humble. There's a few guards standing in front of an internal door, a woman sitting behind a desk, acting as a receptionist, and a tasteful decorative fountain in the center of the room.

"Hello, welcome to the Lastation Embassy." states the receptionist, looking up at up at us. "What brings you here this fine evening?"

Nepgear clears her throat, before removing a badge-like thing from her pocket. A Candidate Aegis, I think?

"I'm Nepgear, the CPU Candidate of Planeptune." she begins. "Can we please stay the night?"

The woman removes a scanner from behind the counter, and points it towards the badge. There's an affirmative chime, before the woman nods at us. "Welcome. How many beds will you need?"

"Five." answers Nepgear.

In a blink, we're escorted by the guards to a series of rooms, each about one and a half times the size of the one I had used in the basilicom. A quick glance inside reveals six beds to a room, arranged in an efficient two-per wall system. The center of the room is dominated by a rather fluffy-looking rug.

Of course, that's not what I'm interested in. "Dibs on the first shower." I state, already in motion. Chivalry is for those who aren't about to pass out, cleanliness be damned.

"Aww! No fair!" whines Nepgear. "I'm going second, then."

There's some more talking by the other girls, but I'm already in the bathroom by the time they can react.

Finally, I step into my temporary room. I'm wearing my new shirt and pajama pants, and can barely keep my eyes open as I make my way to an unoccupied bed. Compa is in the shower, RED is reading yuri in the corner, and Nepgear is already asleep.

Oh, and the Candidate snores. Not loudly, but she definitely snores.

I've already run my clothes through a washing machine (RED of course had to walk in on me garbed in all purple, and comment about how 'silly' I looked), and the resulting clean garbs are back in storage in my inventory. Sure, it took an extra hour, but I'm finally comfortable.

I place my jacket on a coat rack beside my bed, and carefully check my gloves and watch, to make sure they're still in my pocket. Sure, I don't expect anyone to have taken either of them, but I need to make sure. I won't be able to sleep with any uncertainty. They're my life line, after all.

There's a tap of footsteps behind me, causing me to turn around.

IF is behind me. She's wearing pajamas as well, although the cartoonish star pattern dancing across her nightshirt is definitely not something I'd expect to find on the usually-serious agent.

"So… What happened at the resort?" she asks, taking a seat on the bed nearest to me.

I shake my head slowly as I pair my shoes below my coat, and sit down upon my bed, fluffing my pillow as I do so.

"It's not my place to say." I answer, unable to stop myself from sighing. It's not my place to tell of another's insecurities.

"Is everything all right?"

"It's better than it could have been." is all I say. I move to my chosen bed, and slip my legs under the covers. "I did what I could, and I hope that was enough."

I can only hope that what little I did helped. Suffering like that, alone… I wouldn't wish that upon anyone.

Perhaps she'll be in a better mood when we meet her next.

There's silence from both of us. I don't open my eyes, even as I hear the agent leave my bedside.

"Good night, Derek."

"Thank you, IF. And good night."