Stepping into the black wall, they found nothing but darkness. Having been told in advance that they would have to walk further into it, the pair suppressed their fears and kept going forward. With hands grasping onto one another's, conforming one another's presence with their footsteps and breathing, the pair eventually made their way past the dark veil.

The moment they emerged, Auguste and Henrietta were struck with a blinding light. As their eyes got used to the brightness, they started to become conscious of the gentle breeze caressing their skin and the tender warmth seeping into their being. Lifting their heads, they saw a blue sky. Not the illusion of a sky formed by luminescent plants on a cavern ceiling, but an open, blue sky with clouds floating about and the sunlight shining brightly down on them.

"Are... Are we outside!?" Henrietta exclaimed.

"It's probably not. Probably," Auguste replied, working his brain to get a grasp of the situation.

"It's the 'strange space' I was talking about," said the Administrator, having following them through the black wall."

Of course, Auguste couldn't understand what was said and Henrietta only had a partial understanding.

Looking around, Auguste noted that they seemed to be standing atop of hill overlooking what appeared to be a grassy field right next to what appeared to be a ranch. In the distance, there looked to be a village or a town. Nearby, there was nothing similar to an entrance or a pathway back to the dark veil to be found. However, taking a step back into the direction that they came from, Auguste found himself back in the darkness once more. Looks like this is the exit.

"Say, where are you?" Auguste asked, having found no signs of the Administrator despite being able to hear their voice. Henrietta carried on the message.

"I do not have a form here. This place does not accept my existence," the Administrator replied, roughly translated by Henrietta.

"But we have a form? Does it mean we belong?"

"I've seen you two, or rather, figures similar to you two here before. You both seemed to have a role in this place."

"A role?"

"There you are! I've been looking for you two all morning."

Hearing a familiar voice calling out to them, Auguste and Henrietta turned right around. There, they found a redheaded girl with a pair of braided pigtails, waving at them as she approached.

"E- Elaine!?"

"Hm? What's wrong Auguste? You look like you saw a ghost," said the one who appeared to be Elaine, eyes wide in confusion. Though, said confusion was soon replaced by a mischievous smirk. "Oh? Don't tell me you two were doing something in secret? Did I come at a bad time?"

There was something strange about this Elaine. She had a much more cheerful, carefree demeanor. The oddity made Auguste stand on guard, wondering if the Elaine before him was the one he knew.

"Auguste? Is there something wrong? You're acting kind of strange? Usually, you would have had a come back by now."

"That's, um..." Auguste wasn't sure how he should interact with her. Something was off, that's what his guts were telling him. "You're Elaine, right?"

That was all he could come up with. So what if she's not Elaine? What chances were there that she would answer honestly?

"Of course I'm me. Why are you asking something so strange?"

There was what appeared to be genuine confusion on Elaine's face. Looking over Auguste, she spotted Henrietta wearing the same confused expression, albeit, for a completely different reason.

"Did you have a bad dream? From our dungeoneering days maybe?"

"Bad dream? Dungeoneering days?"

It was as if she was talking about some distant past. Weren't they Dungeoneers even now? Looking into the distance, the ranch came into view once more. Auguste then began to remember. He had this talk with Elaine before, hadn't they? It was about her owning a ranch or something along the lines. Is this the future? A dream of the future? Was Elaine the one dreaming?

"So that's why I hadn't seen you all morning. You two snuck off and took a nap, didn't you? Henrietta I'm not surprised, but you too, Auguste?"

"Oi!" Henrietta took offense to that.

"Well, it does sound like something you'd do." Auguste decided to take a shot at her as well.

"Whose side are yer on!? Also, she thinks yer slacking too, so yer don't get to take the shot!"

Henrietta got so mad she started stomping on the ground. It was soft, and Henrietta's foot managed to make a dent in it, as if they were actually standing atop of a pile of soil. Is this truly a dream? It was as the Administrator had said; this was indeed a strange space. If only they could talk in more detail about this place.

"Alright, that's enough for now. It's almost time for lunch. Usually, slackers don't get to eat in this household, but if you give me a hand, I might just leave you a share," Elaine said in a half jesting tone. That being said, Auguste and Henrietta could feel in their bones that if they just shrugged her off, they won't be getting off with just a laugh or two.

"It's best to do as she says for now," the Administrator chimed in. "I... she... this place..."

Suddenly, the Administrator's voice became unclear with noises filling the gap between her words, making it hard to make out what she was saying.

"... I'm... kicked...... doesn't want me here..."

"Hey! Administrator! What's going on!?"

But there were no more responses. The presence of the Administrator seemed to have vanished.

"W-what now?" Henrietta began panicking. "Do we head back for now?"

"Hey, what are you two waiting for?" Elaine called out to them from the foot of the hill. "I said give me a hand!"

Looking towards Elaine and then turning to the way back, Auguste was quick to make his choice.

"Let's do as the Administrator said for now. Let's play along and see what happens."

"O-okay?" Henrietta tilted her head to the side. The Administrator had disappeared before she could translate their words. So how did Auguste know what they said?

"Come on, let's go. She's going to get mad if we keep her waiting."

With the urging from Auguste, the question was swiftly tucked into the back of her mind. She'll have to think about it later... Or not. More than likely, she'll forget about it soon enough

On the ranch, there was a two-storied house spacious enough to fit about four to five people. That being said, the only ones there seemed to be just Elaine, making the place feel rather empty.

"Auguste, can you take care of the vegetables? Just cut them into chunks and careful not to make them too small. Oh, and Henrietta, you go get some water from the well and boil it. I'll go get the meat Gladiolus left us when he came through here the other day."

Appeared that Gladiolus was there as well, albeit, he was only passing by, like the waifish elf he was. But was it truly Gladiolus? There was no way to know without seeing him in person.

Having been told to play along, Auguste and Henrietta went to work without raising much of a fuss. The smell of the fresh vegetables, the heat of the boiling water, these all felt too real. If they pinched their own cheeks, surely it would hurt.

"Henri, come here for a bit."

"Okay, sure... Hiiiiii!!! What was that for!?"

"I guess this isn't a dream."

"Pinch yer own damn cheeks next time!"

Having helped with the meal, the two were given a share as promised. After they had their fill, however, they were called once more.

"Since you two look like you've got nothing to do, how about you deliver these for me."

Presented before them were two packages. Auguste had watched Elaine wrapped the meal they've just made and enjoyed in them.

"The smaller one here is for Morganna of course, and this bigger one is for Finn. Don't mix them up."

"Okay. So where do we deliver them to?"

At Auguste's question, Elaine's eyes opened wide in confusion.

"Like I said, to Morganna and Finn."

"And where are they?"

"Auguste... Are you really alright? How did you forget where your friends live?"

"Where they live? Finn doesn't live here with you?"

"Oh no, he got his own place a little while back, remember? You remember, right?"

"I really don't. And why did he get his own place? There's plenty of space here, isn't there?"

"You really don't remember? He... Finn got married a little while back and moved to a new place with his wife."

"Just because he got married doesn't mean he's got to move out, right? And since it's only a 'little while back' he can't have *that* many children to warrant getting a new place now does it?"

"You... have a point. Why did he move out again?" Elaine's knees suddenly felt weak and her head started to hurt. With one hand, she stabilized herself on the kitchen counter whilst with the other, she held her heavy head. "I'm sorry, but I don't feel so good. I think I should rest a little. Can you go deliver the meals for me?"

Without waiting for a response, Elaine headed to her room, presumably to lie down.

"Well, that was weird," Henrietta commented.

"This whole place is weird, in case you haven't noticed."

"So what now, do we do the deliveries?"

"I guess we should."

"Even if we don't know where the other two lives?"

"Well, how far could they have moved? Let's check the town first; I'm sure if we ask around we'll find them. I want to see what the town is like too."

Auguste wanted to see how far this strange space stretches. He wanted to see what the townspeople were like. He wanted to see how Finn and Morganna were doing. He wasn't sure what he'd find, but he had a feeling that the situation would be clearer once he had met them in person. It's like a Dungeon. Even with all the information available, you never really know what you're dealing with until you see it in person.

***

End of Chapter 78