Natsumi asked, “Since you took a shower with her, can you explain Imya’s unusually deep voice and-”

Imya interrupted, “I was born male, but currently identify as female. I’m genderfluid.”

“Oh. Okay.”

Natsumi got the portal device out of her pocket. She leaped through the portal. Jeff waved at her. “Welcome back. I think so. You left, right?”

Natsumi smiled. “Yes, I did.” She headed towards the cave she went to earlier. She continued down the path she lit with torches. She tried to jump across a ledge and fell into a small pool of lava.

Natsumi was incinerated.

When she respawned, Jeff sighed, “You get used to it.”

“What do you mean?”

“To get into hardmode, you have to summon the Wall of Flesh. To do that, you need to obtain a guide voodoo doll from the Underworld and cast it into a pool of lava in the underworld.”

“Wait, so I have to murder you?”

“Yes.”

“Excellent!”

“That is harsh.”

“Sorry,” Natsumi laughed nervously. She headed back towards the cave. “How do I navigate around the many lava pools around the lower cavern layer anyway?”

“Be careful and don’t be stupid.”

“Gee, thanks.” She disappeared into the cave.

Meanwhile, at Site 19, Itsuki nervously paced around her containment chamber. Serafina sighed, “Are you going to hide your feelings from Imya forever? You’re both immortal, so you got to confess eventually. She’ll find out eventually, no matter what.”

“I-I guess you’re right…” Itsuki sat down on her bed. “B-But what if she’s just pretending to like me?”

“She’s not. I’m sure of it.” Serafina smiled. “You two will make an adorable couple if, no, when you confess your feelings.”

“R-Really?”

“Yes. With that said,” Serafina grinned and continued, “What will you name the baby?”

“I-I… What?”

“Have you met Imya? She doesn’t care about sexual health. She’s inevitably going to get you pregnant.”

Itsuki blushed. “If dad finds out, he’ll kill me.” She tightly hugged one of her pillows. “I think we’ll do Anastasia for a girl and Yuri for a boy.”

“Isn’t Yuri a girl name?”

“It’s technically gender-neutral, now that I think about it. It’s a Japanese female name and a Russian male name.”

“You’re right.” Serafina hugged Itsuki. “I’m thinking of chocolate mint for the wedding cake.”

Itsuki buried her face in the pillow she was hugging. “That sounds amazing.”

“And, if dad ever accepts Imya, he can make your wedding dress, since he’s a fashion designer.”

“Yeah, I guess he can since he’s made breathtaking wedding dresses before.” She glanced up. “We’re going to need him to make it because I don’t think any dress stores have wedding dresses in my size.”

“Good point.”

Serafina’s phone suddenly started to ring. She picked up instantly. “Hello?”

Imya’s voice said, “I finally found your number! There was an awkward moment when I was looking for your number and called a suicide hotline by mistake. They asked very personal questions involving self-harm, then when I told them that I self-harm, they asked more personal questions and I hung up. May I talk to Itsuki?”

“Sure.” Serafina handed the phone to Itsuki. “It’s Imya. She wants to talk to you.”

Itsuki took the phone. “H-Hello, Imya…”

“Hey there, ‘Strawberry Shortcake.’”

“W-What?”

“That’s my new pet name for you.”

Itsuki blushed. “I-It is?”

“Yeah, we both know that you’ll never be tall.”

“You should see my demon form. My current one is only partially my demon form.”

“How do you turn into your demon form anyway?”

“I can only turn into my demon form when I’m enraged.” She paused. “Calling me cute makes me mad, but that’s not enough to turn me into a demon.”

“What does turn you into your demon form?”

“I’ve only turned into my demon form once in my life. It was when my best friend killed herself and everyone at school said that she did it for attention. That’s when I was taken into containment.”

“I’m sorry for your loss…”

“It’s all right. So… Do you have any weaknesses?”

“If I’m stabbed in the heart with titanium, I will die immediately. I have this sort of allergy to titanium. When it touches my heart or lungs, I die immediately, well, except for the plot-convenient five seconds to say my last words, and when it touches anywhere else I-” Imya sneezed. “I sneeze uncontrollably.”

Itsuki smiled. “You sneeze cute.” She hesitated. “I never thought I would say that to someone like you.”

“Yeah, I always expected I would have a super explosive ‘dad sneeze’ or something like that.”

Itsuki laughed, “Me, too.”

“You have a cute laugh.”

Itsuki blushed. “I-I do?”

“Yeah…”

Itsuki buried her face in a pillow. “Why do I feel this way? What is so alluring about her? I never found Russian accents hot until… Until I met her…”

“You there, Itsuki?”

“Y-Yeah, I am.”

“Heh, you’re adorable.”