Episode 204: The Naïve Duo of Dreams
Last night, I thought she was a cool older sister, but when morning came, this is what happened.
“Uu~! Yume-chan…!”
“It’s because–you’ve got the wrong person! I’m Miyme!”
“Your last name?”
“Kuronashi”
“Yume-chaaaaan!”
“Please back off!”
Miyme, with her superhuman physical abilities, forcibly removed Lady Nei.
But in the next instant, as if the scene had switched, she was clinging to Miyme.
This is the result-extracting ability…
“So, I see. If I mess with the ears and extract the results, it means that suddenly, right there, Solciera will collapse into a heap, correct?”
You have an absolutely unwanted ability.
“What the heck is going on?!”
“Uuuhh, I feel dizzy~!”
Lady Nei was completely drunk.
Moreover, she was drunk in an annoying way.
…But perhaps the sight of Solciera casually dealing with such a drunken Nei at a drinking party could be quite picturesque.
“Solciera Anthology for Adults!? So, something like that exists too…”
“Then it wouldn’t be strange to have a Lolita Anthology!”
“Indeed.”
Indeed, no it isn’t.
“This is troubling. The drunkenness can’t be burned away… Hikari, what should we do?”
“Hmm, let’s just hand her over to Chroma’s discipline committee for now?”
Suddenly calm, Hikari said this while unfolding her wings of light.
She then grabbed Lady Nei and restrained her mid-air.
“Huh? Why am I floating…!? Could it be, gravity has disappeared?”
“Hikari, even though she’s troublesome, she’s still a teacher here, so please be gentle.”
“Is it alright for a teacher to drink in the morning and bother students from other schools?”
“Well, um… No, it’s not okay.”
Too much truth.
Because of her innocence, her straightforward words left me unable to do anything but mumble and look away.
That person is actually strong and reliable, probably.
“Uu, thank you, Hikari!”
“Nope! We help each other out when we’re in trouble!”
Hikari skillfully moved part of her light wings to give a thumbs up.
She’s really talented.
“What should we do… Should we contact President Dia of the Student Council? But it’s not really appropriate to call her for something like this…”
Mizuki Senpai said this while looking troubled at Lady Nei.
Lady Nei was deftly drinking alcohol inside Hikari’s light wings.
“To celebrate our reunion, let’s drink some more~!”
As everyone said “Uwaah…” upon seeing Lady Nei’s red face, a voice was heard from behind.
“A, there you are!”
Simultaneously, a red dragon landed before us.
Riding on its back was an utterly ordinary female student.
“Hey everyone! Sorry about my master.”
“A, Ryuko! Good morning!”
“Yeah, good morning Hikari. Now, let me take that thing above from you right away.”
Taking Lady Nei from Hikari, Ryuko placed her on Baltius with practiced ease.
Then, Baltius transformed into a dragon adorned with jewels.
“The worst sleeping comfort ever!”
“Just be thankful that I’m helping you sober up. …I’m really sorry. This person tends to spout delusions based on past traumas when drunk.”
“Is, is that so?”
What should I say to that?
It’s incredibly awkward.
“Didn’t you cling to someone again?”
“A, that’d be me!”
Miyme raised her hand.
Then, Ryuko took out some soup from an extended area and handed it over.
“This is sort of an apology…”
“Aah, it’s fine, don’t worry about it!”
“No, no, please accept it.”
Saying this, Ryuko pressed the soup into her hands with a smile.
Hey, isn’t that leftover stock?
“I mean, I always tell her not to involve unrelated people…”
“There is… a connection.”
“Eh, really?”
Miyme made a slightly troubled gesture.
Then, as if an idea struck her, she looked up.
“I, I have one request—”
■
Nei regained her senses about thirty minutes later.
Nei groaned atop the Baltius which was based on an ancient legend to sober up drinkers.
However, by the time she sat up, her complexion had significantly improved.
“—Ah, I… Ouch, ugh… drank too much again…”
While muttering this and sitting up, Nei noticed a figure sitting on Baltius.
At the sight of that profile, time seemed to stop within Nei.
“You are…?”
“My name is Miyu Mizuno. I am Yume’s… younger sister.”
Miyme said this with a smile.
The words conveyed with a reassuring smile made Nei widen her eyes in surprise.
And she sighed once.
“…Sorry for causing you trouble. Even when drunk, I don’t lose my memory.”
“No, it’s fine. It made me happy to meet someone who knew Yume.”
In front of Miyme, Kei and others were chatting on a bench.
Seeing them holding snacks bought from a stall, Nei understood.
They must have given her time to talk with Miyme.
(I made her go through so much trouble. How embarrassing, I’m already an adult.)
All she could do was force a wry smile.
Apparently, she was still carrying the baggage of that time.
After reaffirming this, Nei unconsciously reached for her alcohol.
But remembering the girl beside her, she stopped her hand.
“…I won’t see Yume-chan again, will I?”
Perhaps she didn’t hear “died” because she wanted to hold onto a sliver of hope.
While looking down, Nei asked this.
To which Miyme quietly replied, “Yes.”
“Is that so… Right. Do you know about me?”
Miyme shook her head.
Upon hearing those words, Nei carefully drew in a breath.
It was a kind of ritual she did when stepping onto a stage.
“Then, I’ll tell you! Though, I can’t say it with full confidence.”
Nei laughed bitterly.
“Ten years ago, a dungeon appeared on the mainland. The team sent there was from the school that had won the War Festival Championship. That is, our academy which was considered the strongest at the time. The board was clearly panicking. Since there were issues with the system for gathering dungeons, it was all the more urgent.”
Listening silently to the facts coming from Nei, Miyme nodded.
“At that time, we were undefeated. The Sacred Grounds couldn’t be used on the mainland, but we still managed to win. We only won. We killed the Dungeon Lord. But one of them was already poisoned beyond saving. That was Yume-chan.”
As if confessing sins, Nei continued to string words together.
It was as if she had desired to speak to someone, as if she had known this moment would come, and Nei kept talking.
“She believed in us until the end. …If only I had defeated the Dungeon Lord sooner, the future might have changed. If I had forced the issue and brought her back to the Academy City, she might have been saved… But, that didn’t happen.”
Clutching her trembling hands into fists, Nei said this as if spitting it out.
“I was being a hero complex idiot. I thought I could solve everything. …Sorry, I couldn’t save your sister.”
Nei concluded her story with these words.
A monologue of guilt.
Even if perceived as self-centered, Miyme listened quietly and then smiled.
“I think Yume was able to hold onto hope because you were there. Until her last moments, she was dreaming. I believe that was a good thing.”
Hearing this response, the deceased Yume’s figure overlapped with Miyme’s.
If she had lived longer, she would surely have become this exact appearance.
Even considering that she was her sister, their resemblance was striking. Unconsciously, Nei found herself tightly embracing Miyme.
“I’m so sorry I couldn’t save her…!”
Miyme couldn’t respond to those words.
Having once been branded as Yume’s failure, all she could do was quietly accept Nei.
Instead of saying something, Miyme gently stroked Nei’s head.
It was a mere ten-second embrace.
But it was indeed a moment when something within them both changed.
“Sorry, maybe the hangover still lingers. As a teacher, it’s embarrassing.”
Saying this, Nei’s face had changed from earlier; it now bore the expression of a teacher.
“I understand very well that Teacher Nei is captivated by the late Kuroishi Yume. Wow, Ryuuko was right; you’re quite naïve.”
“Nnh, that guy said such a thing…!”
Nei looked at Ryuuko.
The person in question was eating an overly large crepe with Hikari, seemingly unaware of the situation here.
“Haha, but it’s good. I’m also one of the people captivated by Kuroishi Yume, albeit in a different form. …And I will likely carry this burden forever.”
Upon hearing Miyme’s words, Nei looked at her face once more.
Her bright face seemed strangely lonely.
Her hollow and empty smile gave Nei the impression that it might drift away at any moment.
Still, the reason Miyme could keep smiling was probably because there was something or someone anchoring her.
“It must be painful alone. This problem isn’t something you can casually talk about with anyone. So, I’m glad I met you.”
And she must also become one of those “someone”.
Nei intuitively felt this as an adult and as someone else captivated by the same girl.
“Would it be alright to call it friendship between a student and a teacher?”
This was one of the few acts of penance she could do now.
“I want to be friends with you.”
Thus, without hesitation, Nei nodded and took her hand.
“Yeah. Nice to meet you, Miyme.”
“Yes. Nice to meet you too!”
Both laughed.
It was unclear where the genuine smiles ended and where the forced ones began.
It doesn’t matter right now.
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ni hyōi tensei shita ore wa TS o akiramenai, かませ役
