---

I had a dream.

Was it because I was back at “home” after so long? It was a dream of a time in my very early childhood, now almost forgotten, when I was with my family.

As always, my father was handling the territory’s affairs with a stern face alongside the vassals, while my sister and I giggled and played in the flower bed, watching the ants crawl. Our mother, a bit farther away, looked at us with a beautiful smile and waved her hand when we turned to look.

But because it was so vivid, because it was such a happy scene, I was able to realize that all of this was just a dream.

“What’s wrong?”

Amidst it all, my sister, who had been playing in the dirt with me, stopped and asked with a puzzled expression. I couldn’t bring myself to say that all of this was a dream.

“No, it’s nothing.”

Shaking my head, I thankfully responded with a bright smile, saying it was nothing at all, causing my sister to tilt her head for a moment before returning to her play in the dirt.

Thinking that the landscape would vanish once I woke up, I felt a pang of regret. Even knowing that I shouldn’t get caught up in a dream that couldn’t be returned to or fulfilled, I found myself longing for it even more.

However, dreams are never eternal. Especially when one realizes they are dreaming, it becomes easy to wake up from it. My hazy consciousness began to return, and I could feel that my awakening was imminent.

Stern father, gentle mother, innocent sister.

Therefore, instead of feeling disappointed, I wanted to hold onto this happy memory, keeping it in my mind. So as not to forget it again.

Yet, as I closed my eyes to engrave their faces in my memory, the garden where we played in the dirt vanished, and only a pure white empty space welcomed me.

And in front of me was my sister’s figure.

Perhaps because I only remembered her from childhood, the sister in front of me didn’t look much different from the woman I had become. But even as a being in a dream, I instinctively knew she was my sister.

“My little one, you’ve grown up.”

“Sister….”

My sister placed one hand on my head and slowly began to stroke my hair. Despite being in a dream, her touch felt incredibly warm and soft.

“You’re still the same crybaby.”

When I lifted my hand to touch my eyes, I could indeed feel that they were wet, just as my sister had said. It seemed I had unconsciously shed tears hearing her voice after such a long time.

“It’s been a while; are you just going to keep crying?”

At her words, I rubbed my eyes with my sleeve. But no matter how much I wiped, the tears continued to flow.

“Well, you’re still the same little crybaby. What are you going to do now that you’re all grown up?”

“…You were a bigger crybaby than I was, you know?”

I replied with a pout instead of drying my tears.

That wasn’t what I meant to say…. There were so many things I wanted to tell her when I met her again… Perhaps it was just because it had been a while since I saw her, or maybe because it was a dream, but I was acting like a child.

“It’s okay. I already know everything you want to say, Zeno.”

But my sister comforted me with a face that truly seemed to understand everything.

“No matter what anyone says, you are my proud little brother. Don’t forget that I always cheer for you, and keep believing in yourself as you move forward.”

“Yeah….”

I responded with a bright smile, as if to reassure her, without even wiping away the tears that flowed. Even in a dream, I wanted to comfort her.

And just like that, my sister returned my smile with a bright one of her own.

“Well then, I’ll be going. I won’t say not to cry, but don’t cry everywhere.”

I felt that I was slowly waking from the dream. As I carved my sister’s voice, which tickled my ears, into my memory, I opened my eyes.

“Ugh….”

Rustle.

Even with my still hazy mind, I could tell that I had woken from the dream. There was a bit of regret that I couldn’t feel my sister’s warmth a bit longer, but more than that, I was happy to have seen her face and heard her voice after such a long time.

As I opened my eyes while still lying down, it was still quite dark, as if it would be a while before the sun rose. However, the dream had been so vivid that the drowsiness evaporated. It seemed a bit difficult to fall back asleep in this state.

Maybe if I took a midnight stroll, it might help settle me down. With that thought, I braced myself on the floor with my hand to rise from my place.

“Hm….”

But just as I was preparing to stand up, I heard another voice quietly slip out from underneath my hand. Along with it, a soft, squishy feeling filled my palm. It was a different softness than the fluffy bedding.

Curious about what was going on, I propped myself up and turned to look down at where my hand was resting, and I saw a familiar figure.

“Whoa!”

Then I finally realized my situation. I had shared a bed with my friends and had fallen asleep all snuggled up together.

No matter how big the bed was, having nine people sleeping in it was cramped, forcing us to press against each other.

Thus, the problem was that the spot I had been leaning on was not the bed, but Selian’s chest.

Moreover, judging by my complete lack of movement after waking up, it seemed I had been resting my hand on Selian’s chest the whole time I was asleep.

On top of that, my other hand had somehow ended up resting on Lindy’s thigh from the other side. How much desire had I been overwhelmed by to have done something so shameful while sleeping…?

Quickly, I lifted my hand off Selian’s chest and Lindy’s thigh. Then, carefully glancing around to see if Selian and the others had woken up, I felt endless relief.

Fortunately, there was only the sound of quiet breathing, and no signs of anyone waking up.

Of course, even if Selian or Lindy had awakened, there was no reason for them to complain to me.

It was just something that had happened while sleeping; to them, it wouldn’t be a big deal between girls. Though, Lindy might react a bit differently.

But even though I hadn’t meant to do it and had been asleep, I couldn’t simply brush it off as a misunderstanding, now that I was a man.

Since everyone was still asleep, I couldn’t bring myself to say it out loud, so I quietly whispered apologies in my mind, taking care to ensure I didn’t make another mistake as I rose from the bed.

However, when I placed my hand on the bed again, this time, I felt something damp.

Looking down at where my hand was resting, I noticed a damp patch on the blanket that was darker than the others.

Suddenly realizing why the blanket was wet, it occurred to me that I must have cried in my sleep, just as I had in my dream. Perhaps, like when my sister teased me for being a crybaby in the dream, I had shed quite a few tears.

I was deeply grateful that my friends hadn’t woken up. I certainly wouldn’t want to show them such a sight of myself.

What I worried about was whether this wet spot would dry by morning. But it was still several hours until sunrise, so I figured it would be okay. There was no secret way to clean it up.

I rose cautiously, making sure not to step on any of my friends as I slipped out of bed. Thanks to the well-oiled hinges, I didn’t need to worry about the creaking sound waking anyone up.

Speaking of which, was it rare to be awake at this time? When I thought back to my Academy days, it was the same, but ever since I started hanging out with my friends, I hadn’t woken up in the middle of the night at all.

Of course, ever since the Academy’s attack incident, there had been times when I woke up in a fright when I sensed enemy presence, so my senses couldn’t have dulled. It was just that I trusted my friends immensely now. This strong bond of friendship and trust would make us even stronger together.

With such thoughts in mind, I stepped outside. As the cold air filled my lungs, it inadvertently chased away the drowsiness — though that was not bad at all. Walking through the garden under the brightly lit moon felt different from during the day.

It may have been a garden I had already grown tired of during childhood, but the midnight garden felt very unfamiliar. That made sense; I had always been asleep at this hour in my childhood, so I had never had the chance to venture out into the garden so late.

Suddenly, I stopped walking. Right at the very spot where I had played with my sister in the dirt in my dream. For a moment, I thought I saw my sister’s figure again, but when I closed and opened my eyes, it vanished quickly.

Rather than feeling regretful, I crouched down and began to touch the dirt, as I did in my dream. It seemed that even at this age, the ants had all gone to bed, or perhaps there were no anthills around here, as unlike in my dream, I couldn’t see any ants. Goodness, playing in the dirt at this age.

Not long after, I stood up with a refreshed expression. The sadness was still there, but I no longer felt tortured by it. My sister had said that she was always watching over and cheering for me.

So I just needed to move forward. Trusting my sister who supported me and my friends who stood by me.

“Um… Elysia? Did anything strange happen last night?”

“Huh? Was there something?”

At Selian’s question when I woke up in the morning, I felt a surge of panic internally but managed to answer nonchalantly on the outside.

Fortunately, it seems that a poker face is basic for an assassin, as Selian didn’t seem to realize that I had touched her chest while half-asleep.

Phew… I’m glad I’m not caught.