Epilogue: Many Steps Taken

A rogue draft from a passing van whipped Tsumine's hair wildly around her, only settling back over shoulders once it'd passed. Her eyes carefully opened from a squint, although they'd probably been shielded from any debris by the glasses that framed her face anyway.

It was a cheerful Monday morning in Nagashiro, just a few weeks into the summer. And while it wasn't particularly hot due to its proximity to the mountains and a few drifting clouds, she was sweating nervously beneath her branded armor of Fiery Emblem: a light jacket embroidered with Lady Rinkah—her muse, and some baggy cargo pants that hid her pasty legs from the world.

She was also holding her phone in front of her face, the screen displaying a picture of a small, dinky building: the electronics' store her grandfather had been constantly yapping about for the past year.

Why, one might ask?

Well, aside from being eccentrically annoying, it'd apparently been where he'd gone to get all of her Fiery Emblem related gifts: from phone case, to battery pack, to even that stupidly hard to get special edition of FE: Engagement he'd given her last autumn. And she, being the dutiful granddaughter that she was, decided that after a year of watching him fawn over it and urging her to leave her sanctuary, she'd give in and go check the place out, especially since there was also supposed to be a fabled woman of beauty there that was wise in the way of her favorite game series.

At least that was the plan. In reality, she'd only gotten as far as standing opposite of it on the street, gazing at a picture of the building on her phone as she compared it to reality, not quite able to work up the courage to enter.

A few passerbys gave her weird looks, and she frowned in annoyance. If any of those normies had a problem with her, they could go eat glass—not that she'd actually say it, she was way too nervous for that. Instead, she just glared right back at them, daring them to say anything.

Thankfully, they did not, leaving her to her own devices.

"…" Tsumine turned her gaze back at the building, then to the crosswalk, then back to the building.

She could just go home. Grandfather had already been satisfied when she told him she'd go, so there wasn't much point to it. Plus, she was getting hungry, and the convenience store was just a few minutes away, offering her an out—

"Excuse me, miss?" A voice rang behind her.

Tsumine's head spun around on instinct, only to meet a tall, well-built man with a suave voice. He was likely around her age, just out of university, wearing a simple shirt and jeans with a fashionable jacket and a pair of stylish sunglasses.

She glared at him, obviously irritated at the disturbance, but she forced herself to be polite as she responded. "Y-yes?"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." He cleared his throat and smiled. "I just noticed that you've been standing there for a while. Were you planning on going there? Nozari Electronic Repairs?"

Tsumine's brow twitched at the question. "O-of course I am. What does it look like?"

"No offense, miss, but…" He pointed to her phone, the image of the repair shop still visible. "You've been standing here staring at it. I just wanted to make sure you were doing alright. It's a busy street, after all."

She flushed, both from embarrassment at her mistake and from his kindness. But she shook it off quickly, remembering that she was a hardcore gamer, not some damsel.

At that moment, the crossing signal went off, and not wanting to prove him right, she bravely took a step forward to cross.

*scuffle-scuffle*

*scuffle*

*scuffle-scuffle*

The young woman braved the asphalt channel, finally reaching the other side. The man followed not far behind her before waving as he parted in a different direction. He'd probably been on his way to work or something like all the other normies around her. She didn't care anyway, all that mattered was that she was here and ready to complete her hardest mission since the karaoke date she'd been forced on last year: enter a building that wasn't a convenience store or home, all by herself.

She looked at the old sign on the glass security door, its white color faded by the sun. The interior of the store was obscured by a dark tint and a drawn curtain. Her hands gripped the handle, slowly pulling it down and tugging open the entrance—

*ka-chuck*

"…" Tsumine stared blankly at the unmoving door.

"…" She tugged at the handle again. Still nothing.

"…" She tried pulling again. Nothing happened.

"…!!!" She pulled with all the might her neet arms could muster. The door remained unyielding.

"AAAGH!"

Legs scuffled away on the sidewalk, retreating to the window. "Freaking stupid door! Why won't it open—"

"…" Her eyes caught on the operating hours. It was still 7:50 am. And the store didn't open until 8.

*fwump*

Tsumine fell to her knees, defeated by the cruel whims of fate.

Curse the world and its normie time-keeping ways.

***

Twenty minutes of waiting later, a grumpy Tsumine was now sitting in front of the door, fuming. She'd been forced to go to the nearby konbini to kill some time after being silently judged by a passerby—she knew that type of look when she saw it. However, despite it now being 8:10 am, the door still refused to budge.

She was about to give up and leave, deciding that this was enough to satiate her grandfather's request. Unfortunately, her ears perked up as she heard the sound of the door opening from behind her.

"…" Inwardly.

*scramble*

*fwump*

She fell on her side as she tried to get up, attempting to ignore the revelation that it'd been a push door this entire time.

"Hey, uh, lady? Are you okay?" The voice was female and sounded like it was trying to suppress a laugh. "You need any help?"

"No. I'm fine." Tsumine replied, dusting herself off and glancing upward to obtain any key info of the person. She was a bit taller than her, had long brown streaked hair in a ponytail, and was wearing the type of clothes that a normie would probably wear to the gym. She might've been a customer or employee—not that it mattered—and she had a smartphone in hand.

"Uh huh, sure. Well, we're open now, so if you're done with your exercise, feel free to come on in."

"…!"

Tsumine's cheeks flared hotter at the jab. This damn girl had some nerve, and she was definitely not the esteemed 'Fiery Emblem lady' her grandfather had spoken of. No, she was more likely a rude normie that had never played a single game before.

Her hand reached up, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose and giving her best, most dignified look before marching in—

Oh, wait, was that a limited edition Christmas FE: Idols charm hanging from her phone? She swore she saw it when that girl had walked away—

*thunk*

Time became syrup. Slow, viscous, clinging to the air itself. Weightlessness abruptly engulfed her, and she used her honed senses to analyze the situation.

Her formulated conclusion?

"…"

She'd tripped like a dumbass.

"KYYAAAAAA!!!"

The gamer shrieked as she flew towards the floor. She tried to recover, but it was too late, and the linoleum rose to greet her with a harsh, unflinching kiss to the face.

*SMACK*

"Owww…" Tsumine groaned, clutching her nose and rolling to the side, eyes watering in pain.

Damn it, she never should've come here. The lady had definitely seen that and was probably judging her, mentally laughing at the stupid, clumsy gamer girl who couldn't even walk. She'd probably call her friends and family and gossip about her, and—

"Hey, are you okay?!" The lady's voice sounded genuinely concerned. "Damn, didn't think I'd meet anyone as clumsy as Miyami."

Tsumine didn't respond, still nursing her throbbing nose. Thankfully, it wasn't bleeding, and her glasses were fine, but that didn't make things hurt any less—

Wait a sec. She wasn't being made fun of?

A phone ringing suddenly sounded from inside the building before Tsumine could process the situation more.

"Crap. Penguin! You mind helping her out?! I have to take that!" The woman shouted toward the counter, not sparing a glance back at her. There was the distant thud of footsteps upstairs before silence filled the room once more.

"…"

Now that the maybe-not normie was gone, she did feel another set of eyes on her. Footsteps shuffled across the tile, stopping just a few inches away from where she lay sprawled.

"Are you hurt?" A timid sounding but firm voice asked from above. It was very feminine, and the tone seemed almost familiar, like a voice actress from a game she couldn't quite pinpoint now.

Tsumine wanted to respond, but memories flashed in her head. The last time she'd been in this position, some jerkwad had taken a photo and posted it online. So, she did her best to muster a glare at the woman, hoping it would ward off any potential wrongdoing she was thinking of inflicting on her—

"…" A pair of brown eyes met hers, framed by long black hair. They were filled with an anxiety that was all too familiar, yet there was depth to them. Tsumine couldn't explain why, but looking at her just felt comfortable, as if she was gazing upon a woman that'd conquered the world.

"F-Fiery Emblem lady?"

She didn't know for certain, but this woman was almost the exact image Tsumine had imagined: a mature beauty with a calm demeanor that was wise in navigating both the physical and virtual worlds.

The woman blinked, her face twisting in surprise at the question.

"W-wha?"

A moment of awkwardness passed between them, her mouth opening and closing without a sound. Eventually though, her features softened.

"Ah, you must be the granddaughter I've heard so much about. Yamanaka, right?"

Tsumine's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly scrambled to a sitting position, ignoring her throbbing nose and head. Her hands quickly grabbed at her shirt, trying to flatten the creases and make herself look presentable to the legendary figure in front of her.

"Y-you can call me Tsumine. I-it's an honor to meet you ma'am!"

"…" The woman's brow raised in amusement. "You're a very formal one, aren't you?" She extended her hand, offering to help her up.

Tsumine hesitated, wondering if she was even worthy of touching her. Eventually though, she accepted the assistance, and the woman lifted her to her feet. She was surprisingly strong, and Tsumine's cheeks grew warm at the thought of the two of them touching.

"I apologize on behalf of my girlfriend. Store calls are usually the big ones, so it's important to respond quickly."

Tsumine's mind was stuck on that one word, replaying over and over in her mind like a broken record.

Girlfriend?

NOOO!!!!

Her mouth gaped open in shock, and she stared at the woman in front of her in utter disbelief, unable to form the words to express her dismay. The woman, on the other hand, seemed to have read her mind—no doubt with her endless wisdom, as she was already laughing softly, shaking her head.

"Either way, welcome to the shop." Gentle hands steadied her, and the world lit up at the woman's smile.

"It's nice to meet you. My name's Miyami Nozari."