Isekai Mahou wa Okureteru! (LN) - Volume 2 - Chapter SS4

Reiji’s Dream 

“Reiji-kun… Reiji-kun…” 

A familiar voice gently brushed against his earlobe. 

“Come on, Reiji-kun…” 

“Hmm…?” 

“Reiji-kun, how long do you plan on sleeping? School’s over, so let’s go home already.” 

“Huh… Oh, Mizuki?” 

“That’s right. What’s up, Reiji-kun? Are you still half asleep?” 

“No…” 

As she peered at him with a concerned face, Reiji shook his head. It seemed that, at some point without him realizing it, he’d fallen asleep. To jog his memory a little, he took a look at his surroundings. And what he saw was… 

“Wait, huh…?” 

A blackboard and lines of orderly arranged desks and chairs. A bulletin board displaying school events. Classmates scattered about here and there, all illuminated by the setting sun streaming in the window. He knew all these things. Yes, in fact, Reiji was quite familiar with this place—his school classroom. 

“What…?” 

Unintentionally, he let out a surprised gasp. Why was he here? If he wasn’t mistaken, he was… No, he and Mizuki were supposed to be in another world defeating the Demon Lord. 

“Ah, so you’re finally awake, sleeping prince.” 

Reiji shifted his attention to the teasing voice coming from the other side of him. Standing there was his good friend who’d also been summoned together with him and Mizuki to another world, Yakagi Suimei. 

“Hmm? Hey, Reiji-kuuun, can you hear meeeee?” 

Suimei had been his best friend the past six years, ever since they met in middle school. 

“Huh… So he can’t hear us? You thickheaded, good-looking bastard! Dumbass, dumbass, dumbaaaass!” 

“Come on, Suimei-kun, you’re not a grade schooler…” 

“I can hear you, Suimei.” 

“That so, dumbass? Oof…! A punch to the gut… is a low blow… Shana Reiji…” 

“A low blow? Says the guy who was just chanting that I was a dumbass.” 

As his good friend pretended to grip his stomach and slumped to the floor, Reiji rolled his eyes. Eventually, Suimei finished his playful groaning and got back up. 

“So, what is up? You still look kinda dazed there.” 

“Yeah, I just had a strange dream is all.” 

“A strange dream?” 

“Yeah.” 

“What? A wet dream?” 

“Not that. The three of us were summoned to another world and asked to defeat the Demon Lord, that kind of dream.” 

“That sounds an awful lot like that novel Mizuki just made me read.” 

“Ultra Hero Summoning Wars, right?” Mizuki piped up. 

“Yeah, that one. That one with the surprisingly expected name,” agreed Suimei. 

“So, so? Reiji-kun, what happened in your dream?” Mizuki asked excitedly. 

“W-Well, we were summoned to another world, but it seemed like there was only supposed to be one hero, so you and Suimei were basically summoned by accident.” 

“…Somehow, despite being a dream, that’s an awfully detailed setting, you know. Could it be that you respecced as Mizuki in the middle of your dream? What do you think, Mizuki?” 

“Lalalalala! I can’t hear you! I can’t hear youuu!” 

Suimei turned an impish smile on Mizuki, who was trying to drown him out. He bored of it quickly, however, shrugged his shoulders, and turned back to Reiji. 

“So, that was it, right? You were the hero?” 

“Yeah. I’m surprised you could tell.” 

“Well, it was your dream, after all. It wouldn’t be interesting if you weren’t the hero yourself.” 

“Heh, yeah, I guess you’re right.” 

Suimei’s exasperated sarcasm was the same as ever. Finding it strangely comforting, Reiji let out a stifled laugh, at which Suimei raised an eyebrow and made a strange face. Ignoring them both, Mizuki once more urged Reiji to continue. 

“So, which was it? Were you asked by a king or a princess?” 

“Both. Plus a court mage. And I accepted.” 

“You would, huh? You would definitely do that, wouldn’t you?” 

Mizuki looked completely delighted, as if she herself had been involved. She simply loved these kinds of stories. She looked on the verge of bursting into laughter, but somehow held it back. Paying her little mind, Suimei turned to Reiji again. 

“Whaaat? Why didn’t you refuse?” 

“Heh…” 

“What’s up?” 

“Nothing, really. It’s just that you said the same thing in my dream.” 

Suimei flashed a triumphant smile and thrust out his chest proudly. 

“Of course I did. Even in your dreams, I have common sense.” 

“Really? That’s not the first thing I would have chosen to describe you…” 

“Mizuki-san, do pipe down over there.” 

“Hmph! It’s payback, so there! Pfbbbt!” 

Mizuki took a jab at Suimei by suggesting there were aspects of his personality quite divorced from common sense. Suimei gave a purposely stiff reply, and she blew a raspberry at him. From there, Reiji continued. 

“…So, after that, I learned magic from the people of the other world, and that’s where the dream ended.” 

“MAGIC?!” 

Mizuki’s interest piqued dramatically at the mention of that special word. 

“Cool, so you mean we interrupted you just when you got to the good part.” 

“Yeah, I guess so.” 

It went without saying that the true charm of fantasy worlds was the element of magic. And since Reiji had never had a dream like this before, he was a little sorry he didn’t get to explore it further. 

“Hey, if you could use magic, what kind of magic would you want to use, Mizuki?” 

“For me, it would be ice magic, I think. It’s pretty and cool, and seems kinda like it’d be the best.” 

“That’s very Mizuki-like of you, isn’t it? How about you, Suimei?” 

“Huh? Me?” 

As Reiji nodded in reply, Suimei turned away bashfully. 

“I’m not telling.” 

“Whaaat? Come on. I wanna know.” 

Mizuki leaned over as she prodded him for an answer. Suimei was a good friend who was always cynical, but also always stuck his hands into all sorts of things. Reiji was awfully curious just what kind of magic he would desire. Reiji continued to look at him expectantly, and Suimei eventually let out a resigned sigh and began speaking in an embarrassed tone. 

“Let’s see… For me, it’d be magic that could make people happy, I think.” 

“Magic that could make people happy?” 

“Yeah, that’s right. I’m… you know… that, right?” 

“Ah…” 

Reiji and Mizuki looked at each other and both seemed to come to an understanding at the same time. Suimei didn’t have a single living relative. His mother died right after he was born; he never even knew her face. Reiji had been acquainted with Suimei’s father, but he’d tragically died in a traffic accident right before Suimei’s eyes two years ago. That left Suimei an orphan. So if he desired magic like that, it wasn’t hard to understand why. 

“Yeah, so… that’s it. If I were able to use magic, I would want to use it to make someone happy. Since my mom and dad are no longer around, I can’t do much for myself. But with that power, I’d want to help other unfortunate people. What? Does that not sound like me?” 

“No… That’s not it, teehee.” 

“Man, this is fucking embarrassing. I shouldn’t have said a damn thing… Seriously.” 

“But it’s kind of a strange feeling. Suimei, in my dream, you said my mission was absolutely impossible. That we had no obligation to save the people of that world. And that you personally refused to come along.” 

“Whatever. That was just your dream, right? Don’t just lump me and your dream version of me together.” 

“You’re right… Heh, yeah, you’re right. Even if it’s coming from you, it’s not all that strange, huh?” 

Indeed, Suimei’s wish was earnest. And if he truly wished for it, it was something that Reiji would never laugh at. And then, as if refreshing his determination, Suimei clenched his fist tightly. 

“Yeah, that’s right. I’ll definitely find it. A future with salvation. For the sake of proving definitively that there’s no one in the world who cannot obtain happiness, I will find the—” 

Just what did Suimei say at the end? For some reason, Reiji just couldn’t make it out. 

“Suimei? What did you just…?” 

And just as he tried asking again, the brilliance of the setting sun engulfed everything in sight.