Dragged to Another World… and I Took the Goddess with me!

The collapsed tent fabric lay on top of all four of them, surprisingly heavy. It felt less like a blanket and more like being smothered to death.

What started as a bit of rustling quickly escalated into chaos—panicked screams, frantic movements, and limbs flailing everywhere.

Majestria, who had been strangling Finn moments before, now panicked the most. Her hands were still clamped around his throat, but instead of letting go, she just thrashed wildly, clawing at the fabric while accidentally tightening her grip.

Chestelle, of course, was still sound asleep. The one who had caused the collapse was now lying there peacefully, snoring through the chaos. Meanwhile, Lickthorn was giggling and wiggling happily, as if she were enjoying some kind of carnival ride.

Finn, trapped under it all, tried to calm the situation. "O-okay—everyone just stay—"

His words cut off into a muffled scream as Majestria's foot pressed hard onto his face.

"MMMMHHH!" Finn kicked and flailed. The vibrations of his muffled cries traveled through her foot, which only made her panic even more.

"Don't breathe on my foot!" Majestria shrieked, stomping down on his face.

"Stop—!"

Stomp!

"Stepping—!"

Stomp!

"On me—!"

Stomp!

Finn's muffled screams rose to full-on bloody murder, the kind of scream that could've been mistaken for someone's mom yelling at their dad while the kids hid in their room, too scared to intervene.

Finally—shhhk!

The sharp sound of tearing fabric cut through the chaos. A clean line split the tent wall, letting foggy sunlight pour in. The sheet collapsed and slid away, revealing Majestria still grinding her foot into Finn's cheek like she was putting out a campfire.

Both of them turned their heads.

Standing outside the shredded tent was Silvara, calmly sliding her knife back into its sheath. Her expression, as always, never changed.

Finn almost sobbed in relief—until she opened her mouth.

"You four are even more disturbing while you sleep," she said coldly. "All I heard was whimpering, sighing, yawning… followed by giggling."

Finn's heart stopped. Oh no. She heard all of it.

He tried to stay calm—except he immediately looked away, sweating bullets. Which, of course, only made him look ten times more suspicious.

"You seem to know something about it," Silvara said, narrowing her eyes at him.

Majestria also turned toward Finn, her expression shifting into deadly seriousness. "Yes… what did you do last night, Wiggles? And what were those sounds?"

Finn flailed his hands nervously. "N-no, it's not what it sounds like! Hey, wait, don't look at me like that—STOP!"

And before he could escape, Majestria's wrath was upon him once again.

***

After Majestria finally finished punishing him, she cooled off—though Finn was starting to feel less like an adventurer and more like the battered husband in a very toxic marriage.

The world outside the wrecked tent was drowned in fog. A heavy, suffocating blanket of mist swallowed everything around them. Visibility was so bad you could barely see a few steps ahead. Honestly, Finn thought, if this world had cars, there'd be fifty-car pileups every morning. Still, that would've been pretty cool. And he still didn't understand why there was so much fog.

Despite the haze, the place was unsettlingly calm. A few birds flitted through the mist, their cries echoing strangely. Somewhere in the white void, armored footsteps clanked—the sound of knights wandering about. But otherwise, the silence pressed in, thick and unnatural.

Finn squinted into the fog before glancing at Silvara. "Uh… where is everyone?"

"They set off into the cavern," Silvara replied flatly. "To deal with the creatures and put a stop to whatever is causing the slimeholes."

"How do you even—"

She cut him off without hesitation. "Seraphina explained everything last night. From there, a decision was made."

Finn frowned. "Yeah, but… you guys can't really go in there."

Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Why not?"

"Because when Seraphina and I were down there, the whole place was collapsing!" Finn threw his hands up. "Like, literally flooding. The cavern's a death trap—there's no way to get through it."

That made Silvara pause. Her eyes widened, just barely, at the revelation.

Finn pressed further. "What, she didn't mention that when you all talked to her?"

"She was reluctant to speak too much on it," Silvara admitted calmly. "We decided not to push her. She was exhausted."

Finn's jaw dropped. 'Exhausted?! You grilled me all night long and didn't let me rest, but when she's tired, everyone backs off?!' His brain practically screamed.

He muttered bitterly under his breath, "Yeah, great system… perfect interrogation policy."

Then louder, he snapped, "Well, aren't you going to stop them? That's just throwing away soldiers, supplies—resources! You can't just—"

"Yes," Silvara said evenly. "It seems so. I will go and inform them. You four remain here until I return."

She turned to leave, dress melting into the fog—until Finn suddenly shouted, "Wait!"

Silvara froze mid-step, glancing back at him, her expression as unreadable as ever.

She clearly wondered what ridiculous thing Finn was about to say next.

"Instead of me just standing here doing absolutely nothing, can't you at least let me go run my errands?" Finn pleaded, throwing his arms out dramatically. "I could knock out all my stuff in one go. Win-win!"

Silvara regarded him with her usual unblinking stare. She let the silence hang for a moment, as if weighing his words—before shutting him down. "No. You will need to speak with Headmaster Theron if you want that decided. And he is… occupied with more pressing matters."

Finn groaned. "Of course he is…"

But Silvara wasn't finished. Her voice dropped slightly, carrying a weight behind it. "There is also a man we have been investigating. He has reportedly been entering the cavern. Frequently. For months. Every night."

Her words made Finn's stomach knot. Immediately, Lysithea's warning came back to him—the man who had been feeding the cocoon slime. Could it really be the same person?

"Do you know anything about this?" she asked, studying his face.

Finn frantically shook his head. "No… not at all!"

She stared.

Silvara's tone sharpened. "In the meantime, you will stay here. Do not try anything until I return."

As if to punctuate her warning, a bird suddenly shot out of the fog, wings cutting through the silence before vanishing again. Silvara followed it with her eyes, her expression tightening for just a second, as though even she found the sudden flocking of birds… strange.

But she said nothing more. With one last lingering look, she turned and melted into the mist, leaving Finn and the others alone by the collapsed tent.

'I am so not staying here for the meantime!' He shouted internally.