Mika’s question hung in the air between them, and Astrid’s face immediately contorted into an awkward expression—the kind that suggested she was about to admit to something embarrassing.

"Honestly?" She began, her voice tinged with sheepishness. "I’d love to say that it was my brilliant investigation skills that sniffed out this problem. That I used my expertise, my training, my years of experience to piece together this mystery."

She scratched the back of her head, her tails drooping with visible discomfort.

"But the truth is...it’s nothing like that at all. No real skill went into this. It was all just a coincidence."

Mika raised an eyebrow, genuinely surprised.

"A coincidence?"

Astrid opened her mouth to elaborate, but before she could utter another word, a parade of waiters descended upon their table.

They came in a steady stream, each carrying plates piled high with food—so much food that it looked less like a meal and more like an elaborate buffet designed to feed an entire army.

Mika stared in astonishment as dish after dish was placed before them.

The table groaned under the weight of it all, and the culinary spread was so extensive that it covered every inch of available surface. What made him truly pause, however, was the selection itself.

Every single dish was his favorite.

"Th-This is..." He began, his voice trailing off in disbelief.

Charlotte’s cheerful voice cut through his confusion.

"I ordered it for you, Mika!" She grabbed onto his hand, her eyes sparkling with pride. "I knew you’d be hungry—you always have such a big appetite."

"So I ordered in advance so everything would be ready the moment you arrived."

She gestured grandly at the spread.

"I also made sure to get all your favorite dishes—the ones you love the most! I even gave the chef a bunch of additional requests for items that weren’t even on the menu in the first place."

Mika’s expression softened, and he reached out to pat her head affectionately.

"Thank you, Charlotte. Honestly, I was starving. I didn’t even eat breakfast this morning, so this is a godsend."

Without hesitation, he grabbed a fork and spoon and dove into the feast with enthusiasm.

Charlotte practically glowed with happiness at his praise, her eyes half-closing like a contented cat.

She shot her two sisters a supremely smug look—the kind that clearly said. "See? I’m the favorite."

Astrid rolled her eyes so hard it was a miracle they stayed in their sockets.

Anya, by contrast, maintained her usual composed smile, though there was a hint of amusement dancing behind her eyes.

Mika, already stuffing a mouthful of noodles into his face, gestured with his fork toward Astrid.

"Go on." He said, his words slightly muffled by the food. "Tell me about this so-called coincidence."

Astrid cleared her throat, straightening in her seat.

"Right. Well, the truth is, the Bureau of Interdimensional Investigation received a call a few weeks ago."

Astrid belonged to the Bureau of Interdimensional Investigation, the organization responsible for overseeing trade, immigration, and travel between the two realms.

Any cases involving illegal border crossings, unauthorized portal construction, smuggling, or other interdimensional crimes fell under its jurisdiction.

Due to her high-ranking position within the Bureau, Astrid wielded considerable authority and influence, making her one of the most powerful figures involved in regulating relations between the two worlds.

Mika nodded, continuing to eat as she spoke.

"Apparently." Astrid continued. "A couple was hiking in some distant mountains. While they were doing so, the wife accidentally slipped and fell down into what seemed like a tunnel system."

"She was panicking, obviously, but then she saw something strange—a small rift right there in the cave she was in."

Mika’s eyes narrowed slightly, but he kept eating.

"It was tiny." Astrid said, holding her fingers close together to demonstrate. "Barely big enough to be considered a rift at all. But still, a rift nonetheless."

"They immediately called the public services nearby, and soon not only were they rescued, but investigators were sent to check out the scene."

"And what they saw shocked them!"

She shook her head, a look of surprise crossing her face as if she were reliving the moment before she went on to say,

"The tests they did on the rift were completely abnormal. The machines they were using weren’t working at all—the readings were all over the place, like nothing they’d ever seen before."

"So they had to bring in the big shots from the capital."

She continued, while marveling at how fast Mika was stuffing himself.

"And even they couldn’t figure it out. The rift operated on principles they’d never encountered before, using rules that seemed to defy everything they knew about dimensional physics."

Mika swallowed his food, his brow furrowed.

"That’s unusual."

"Unusual doesn’t even begin to cover it." Astrid replied. "They realized this could be something potentially dangerous, so they escalated—called in a top expert who specialized in rifts and dimensional anomalies."

"He came to the site, ran his tests, and..."

She made a dramatic gesture.

"He fainted on the spot. Out of sheer shock!"

Mika nearly choked on a meatball. "He fainted?"

Astrid nodded solemnly.

"Apparently, he was testing the energy levels inside the realm—measuring the mana capacity and overall power output."

"And the moment he realized it was an absolutely overwhelming level, comparable to our own realm, he understood what he was looking at..."

Her voice dropped to a whisper.

"He was staring at a super collider realm. And the shock was too much for him."

She rubbed her head, as if remembering the headache the whole ordeal had caused.

"After that, an entire team was sent from the capital—specialists in this sort of thing. They confirmed it truly was a Super Collider world, based on all the tests they ran. And luckily, the rift was in a frozen state—nothing could go inside and nothing could come out."

"That was a big relief."

Her expression grew more troubled.

"But that also meant that maybe someone else had already gone through it before it froze. Which made everyone tense up, obviously."

"The case was then handed over to me."

She continued with a hint of pride of her capability to be trusted with such a case before frowning as she said,

"But unfortunately, no matter what investigation we did, we couldn’t figure out much about the super collider world on the other side."

"Normally, you’d be able to find out the environment, the inhabitants, what sort of civilization exists there."

"But this super collider world...nothing worked out"

She shook her head in frustration.

"The sensors and probes we sent through seemed to operate under a completely new set of rules—things we’ve never encountered before. Even now, research is ongoing, and while it fascinates many of the researchers, it also terrifies them with how potentially dangerous it could be."

She turned to gauge Mika’s reaction and he was feeling shocked or not—

And found herself staring at a scene that made her jaw drop.

Charlotte had positioned herself right next to Mika, a piece of meat held delicately between her chopsticks.

"Mika, open wide~ Ahhhh~" She cooed, her voice dripping with saccharine sweetness.

And Mika, was obediently opening his mouth and accepting the food like a trained pet.

Anya, not to be outdone, was also joining in the fun, holding up a sausage with a mischievous giggle.

"Normally you’re the one giving me a big, fat piece of meat." She purred, her voice dripping with innuendo. "But now I’m doing the same to you."

Mika rolled his eyes but nonetheless took a bite of the sausage, chewing with exaggerated effort.

Astrid stared at the scene, utterly baffled.

"Are you...are you even listening to me?"

Mika waved his fork dismissively.

"Go on, Astrid. Don’t mind me. I’m listening."

Astrid’s eye twitched. She was pouring her heart out, revealing world-shattering secrets, and they were treating it like a casual dinner party!

But she took a deep breath and pressed on.

"Anyway." She said, her voice slightly strained. "Because of how complicated the entire portal was, there were no clues regarding its origin or nature."

"I was thinking about what to do—reporting it to my mother and all that. But then..."

A look of inspiration crossed her face.

"Another coincidence came. This time, we got a call from the local police department. Apparently, in some place outside the city, there was a robbery case in a apartment complex."

"The officers who went to investigate knocked on the door of all the residents and found three strange individuals who definitely looked human, but their mannerisms and the way they spoke were slightly off."

She leaned forward, her voice dropping conspiratorially.

"There was also something strange about them, which made the officers want to investigate further."

"But when they tried to do so, the suspects actually tried to run away almost as if they knew they were guilty of something."

"Luckily..." She looked relieved. "By another coincidence, a group of blessed individuals were in the area, and they managed to apprehend them."

Her voice grew more animated.

"When the police searched the house, they found the walls covered in advanced technological devices, blueprints, schematics—all kinds of research materials."

"It looked like they’d been building something."

She slid a tablet across the table toward Mika.

"Here. Take a look."

Mika accepted the tablet, wiping his hands on a napkin before scrolling through the images.

The technology depicted was indeed advanced—far beyond what one would expect from ordinary citizens.

But even more surprising was the sense of familiarity he felt.

Something about these designs tickled the back of his mind, though he couldn’t quite place why.

"These three men didn’t have any proper identification." Astrid continued. "Everything about them screamed illegal immigrants from another realm. So naturally, the case was brought to my department."

She paused, a knowing glint in her eye.

"Through some investigation, we found camera records that showed their first appearance—right near the mountain where the rift was first spotted. Put two and two together, and it was obvious: these were the people who came out of that rift."

She paused, her expression growing even more awkward.

"And then...another coincidence took place."