If there was one thing Daiki Yamato was grateful for, as the morning sun shone down on the table he and Cap had occupied, it was that this world had coffee. Even better, it was good coffee.

    “So, I take it you heard them last night,” Cap said, looking bleary-eyed as well.

    Daiki nodded and took another sip.

    “They were very...” Cap started.

    “Definitely very...” Daiki added.

    “Certainly happy to see each other.”

    “Very happy to see each other.”

    “And they had quite...”

    “Remarkable stamina,” Daiki said.

    Cap nodded. “Very remarkable.” He sipped his coffee. “If we stay here another night, perhaps we should ask to have our rooms moved.”

    “What are you two talking about?” Aquila asked, stepping down the stairs and looking quite refreshed. Kasumi, also looking refreshed followed close behind.

    “Nothing,” Cap replied. “We saved you a couple of seats. They’re about to serve breakfast. I’m told it’s going to be a sort of scrambled eggs.”

    “Good,” Aquila said, sitting down and shrugging off her coat so that it draped over the back of the chair. “I’m starving.” Kasumi sat beside her.

    “Have you met the owners yet?” Cap asked. “Duncan and Alara – they’re quite charming. Former adventurers. Alara says that they’re trying for children right now.”

    “Kasumi was telling me about them last night,” Aquila said. “Is that coffee?”

    Daiki nodded.

    “I’ll definitely want some of that,” Aquila said. “No matter how hard we tried, we never managed to figure out how to make a good cup of coffee back home.”

    “You were the only one who wanted to drink it,” Kasumi said. “I only ever drank tea.”

    “So, are we leaving today?” Cap asked.

    “As much as I’d like to stay and enjoy this place, we should,” Aquila replied. “That said, we should definitely stay a few days on our way back once Daiki is home. And, I have some new information. Not sure we should talk where we can be overheard, though.”

    Alara came through the door, carrying four plates of scrambled eggs balanced on a tray. Daiki nodded in appreciation as she placed a plate in front of her. The others did the same.

    “As I said, we should be careful,” Aquila said, taking a bite out of the eggs.

    “If you’re trying to hide that you’re from another world, you can stop,” Alara said. “We know.”

    Daiki almost choked on his coffee. The others stared at her.

    “He’s the only one of you who is dressed like he could be from this world,” Alara said, pointing at Daiki. “The rest of you aren’t even trying to blend in. That’s fine – you’re all pleasant and courteous guests, so we don’t care.”

    Aquila shrugged and shoveled some egg into her mouth. “Okay then, they know. It’s all true – other worlds, powers of a god. These eggs are delicious. Can we get the recipe when we leave?”

    Alara blinked. “Sorry, did she just say ‘powers of a–’”

    “Don’t worry about it,” Cap said.

    “And coffee,” Aquila added. “I’d like some coffee. Kasumi drinks tea, though.”

    “I’ll bring some,” Alara said, a confused look in her eyes. She shook her head and made her way into the back.

    “I got caught in my own information stream,” Aquila said, swallowing. “Some of it I’m...probably not going to be ready to talk about for a while. But, the important thing is that while I was in there, I saw the multiverse.

    “It was...almost indescribable. Entire galaxies of worlds attached to their hub world, intermingling with each other. Just trying to process it is – I really don’t know how to describe it to you. Let’s just say that I did get a sense of just how far off course Daiki could have been sent. And based on that, and how far we’ve travelled, I think we’re close. Very close.” She looked Daiki in the eye. “In fact, I think our next stop is probably your world.”

    Daiki closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He had to force himself not to cry. “You mean this journey is almost over?”

    Aquila nodded and smiled. “Next stop, Athena. Probably. It could be the one after that, but I don’t think it will be.”

    Daiki felt Cap’s hand on his shoulder. “We’re almost there,” Cap said.

    Alara returned with coffee for Aquila and tea for Kasumi. Aquila thanked her, then watched her head into the back.

    “I don’t know what to...thank you, all of you,” Daiki said.

    “Don’t thank us just yet,” Aquila said. “We’re not done until we actually arrive and you’re reunited with Athena.” She turned to Kasumi. “This coffee is really good. We should ask for the recipe.”

    “I keep telling you, we need to grow our own coffee beans,” Kasumi said.

    Aquila shook her head. “That takes too long.” She turned back to Daiki and Cap. “Anyway, I’m thinking that perhaps instead of our usual ‘arrive in a new world and poke it with a stick’, we should actually try doing some planning this time. You’ve already told us your story Daiki, but now we need some proper details. What will we be walking into?”

    Daiki swallowed his food. “Athena and I live in this little village called Galen’s Glen about a day away from the capital. It’s a quiet place, rolling hills, lots of farmland. We’ve got a nice plot of land of our own, a couple of acres. Just the two of us in the house. We chose it because we were close enough to the capital for them to reach us in time when the Devil King’s forces are moving, but far enough away that none of the other heroes or their parties would try to visit on their way somewhere else.”

    “You mentioned the Devil King’s forces,” Cap said. “What has the war looked like so far? Are we talking small unit actions, sieges, battles between armies, occupations?”

    “We’ve mainly been in small unit actions,” Daiki replied. “One of the neighbouring kingdoms has been the main battlefield, but we don’t go there. Once Etrania – our kingdom – summoned the Three Legendary Heroes, they broke off diplomatic relations and closed their borders.”

    “That seems a bit odd,” Cap said. “Wouldn’t they want you fighting with their forces on the front lines?”

    “I think they wanted to summon us for themselves. As far as I can tell, they either wanted us under their control or not there at all.”

    “That’s stupid,” Aquila stated, finishing her eggs.

    Daiki nodded. “I’ve thought that a lot since I was summoned there. The royal family of Etrania isn’t much better. They’re more interested in the prestige of the kingdom than actually defeating the Devil King.”

    “What about these other heroes,” Aquila said. “Are we likely to encounter them?”

    Daiki shook his head. “I hope not. We put a lot of time and effort into keeping away from those idiots.”

    “That bad?” Cap asked.

    “Neither of them take anything seriously. The Legendary Hero of the Axe, Denki, thinks he’s in an anime. About the only things he cares about is cool poses and building a harem. Every time we’ve been in a battle together, he’s made a pass at Athena. I’ve lost track of the number of times I had to stop her from killing him.”

    Aquila smiled. “I like her already.”

    “The Legendary Hero of the Crossbow, Daisuke, thinks he’s in a video game. And, I think he’s trying to hog all of the XP. He keeps trying to steal kills, and that just means that he and his party gets in the way a lot. If Athena and I ever have to choose who to fight beside, we go with Denki – he’s a jerk, but he’s less likely to nearly get us killed. Most of the time, though, we fight on our own.”

    Aquila nodded. “I can see why you don’t like them. Now, what about this Devil King of yours?”

    “He’s a mystery,” Daiki said. “I don’t know who he is or why he appeared – he just appeared in the East a few months before we were summoned and started conquering territory. Mostly we’ve encountered spies and scouting parties, and the occasional larger company. They’ve gone after infrastructure, key targets, and us, the Legendary Heroes. If all of us were ever in one place outside of the capital for any length of time, I imagine he’d try to take us all out. Our weapons are some of the few things that can kill him, and he apparently knows that.”

    “All seems a bit contrived,” Aquila muttered.

    “My creator did not leave a very good impression on me,” Daiki said quietly, checking to ensure that nobody was within earshot. “She was drawing the story out so that she could get an anime series. I actually have a signed contract from her that she would just finish my story after I went home. Of course, then she died, so...”

    “Not the best god of creation, then,” Aquila stated.

    Daiki shook his head. “Atria Silversword had a better one. What my creator did tell me, though, was that the Devil King has the power of scrying, which means that he can see everything his enemies are planning. So, as soon as we arrive in my world, we have to assume that he will know who you all are and overhear any plans we make against him.”

    “That’s assuming we do make plans against him,” Kasumi said. Aquila stared at her. “It’s Daiki’s story, not ours. As you once said, we don’t have the right to interfere.”

    Aquila opened her mouth to protest when Cap said, “We can discuss that once we get there. Let’s see what the situation is on the ground before we make any decisions.”

    Kasumi glared at him and then stared down at the table. “Okay.”

    “Are you going to tell Athena the truth?” Aquila asked. “About all of this, I mean?”

    Daiki nodded. “She deserves to know. And, she’d never forgive me if didn’t.”

    “What about the others? The other Legendary Heroes, I mean?”

    “The others can go rot,” Daiki said. “They backed Saline when she framed me for theft, chased Athena and I halfway across the country, and never even had the decency to apologize after my name was cleared. They get nothing.”

    Aquila leaned across the table towards Daiki. “Most important question of all,” she said. “Does your world have coffee?”

    Daiki shook his head. “Just tea.”

    Aquila nodded. “Kasumi, draw me a thermos. A big one. I’m hitting the kitchen before we leave.”

Daiki stood on the hill and took a deep breath, looking at his comrades. If Aquila was right, this would be the last portal.

    “You could have at least carried it yourself,” Kasumi said to Aquila. “Particularly after you made us wait for the kitchen to fill up a four litre thermos.”

    Aquila shrugged. “Cap’s strong, he doesn’t mind. Besides, it’s enough coffee for all of us.”

    “I drink tea,” Kasumi pointed out.

    “And there will be enough coffee for you if you change your mind.”

    “You ready?” Cap asked him.

    Daiki nodded.

    “We’re all with you,” Cap said. “Whatever is waiting there for you.”

    “That’s right,” Aquila said. “We’ve come this far, we’re here to the end.” Beside her, Kasumi nodded.

    Daiki swung his sword and opened the portal. Cap, Aquila, and Kasumi stepped through. Daiki followed.

    It was all he could do not to fall to his knees and start crying tears of joy. The rolling hills, the village centre in the distance, the smell of the air – he was back. He closed his eyes and gave a silent prayer of thanks to whatever gods might be listening.

    “At a guess, this is it,” Cap said. “We made it?”

    Daiki nodded.

    “Wonderful,” Cap said. “Just one question, though. Are there always this many people standing around in front of your house?”

NEXT: “Return”