Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? - Volume 20 - Chapter 2

Episode 2: Ruth and Sanae in Wonderland

One clear autumn afternoon, Ruth had finished shopping and returned to room 106 to find Koutarou lying sprawled out dead asleep in the middle of the apartment. Since it was Saturday, there was no school. Koutarou had instead gone off to his part-time job early this morning and only just recently returned. After refreshing himself with a quick shower, he’d camped out in the afternoon sun streaming in the window and ended up falling asleep.

“Heehee. Oh Master...”

Ruth set her shopping bag down in the kitchen, then pulled a blanket out from the wardrobe in the inner room and walked over to Koutarou. She looked down at him with calm, loving eyes.

“Achoo!”

As she gently lay the blanket over him, however, she accidentally tickled his nose and made him sneeze. It would take a lot more than that to wake Koutarou up, but the sudden movement caused the blanket to slip off of his chest.

“Goodness me, heehee...”

Ruth let out a giggle and sat down next to Koutarou to tuck him back in.

“Oh...”

As she was fiddling with the blanket, trying to put it back in place, Ruth’s hand brushed against Koutarou’s chest almost like she was about to lean in and kiss him. Realizing it, she froze in place and blushed.

Um, that... wasn’t on purpose...

She also began making excuses in her head. Even though what she’d done was unintentional, the virtuous Ruth still thought it was shameless. In her eyes, this was completely different from walking around arm-in-arm. But though it was embarrassing, she didn’t really want to stop. She wanted to stay like this forever. Or, if possible, get even closer. She would have loved to lean in just a little more so that their lips were almost touching. She couldn’t help thinking about it, and as she stared at his lips intently, the rest of her body moved all on its own. She was so spaced out, it was almost like she was dreaming. Indeed, the whole thing felt like a dream...

“Kyah! No, no, no! I can’t do something that bold! In his sleep, no less! I just can’t!”

Just before their lips touched—right before the decisive moment—Ruth snapped back to reality. Her serious, sensible side kicked in and pumped the brakes. And when she realized what she was about to do, she thought for a moment that she might actually die of embarrassment. She couldn’t believe that she, the earnest girl she and everyone else admired as fastidious, would fall so hard for a man that she would forget herself. She wanted to just flip up one of the tatami mats and hide under it in shame.

Still, I’m glad that I didn’t end up doing something meaningless...

On the other hand, Ruth was somewhat relieved. What she truly wanted was the feeling, not the act itself.

If we were lovers, it would be one thing... But even though it feels like we’re something closer than that, the first time being so one-sided would just be too cruel...

Forcing herself onto Koutarou in his sleep wouldn’t mean anything. If they were in a relationship, stealing a kiss would be fair game... but not like this. Ruth knew that she would regret such frivolousness later.

“Master...”

Instead, she began poking at Koutarou’s cheek. She felt Koutarou was somewhat to blame for the compromising situation. Certainly, there was no way he’d actually done anything in his sleep, but Ruth still thought she deserved a little revenge.

“Take that, and that... Heehee... Do you give up yet, Master?”

Since she asserted herself so little on a daily basis, she seemed to be having particular fun poking Koutarou. Knowing no one was watching, she felt a little bolder than usual.

“Hnnn... ngh...”

However, she suddenly pulled back when she saw Koutarou grimace.

“Oh no, I went too far... I’m sorry, Master.”

Realizing she’d lost sight of herself yet again, she decided she’d had enough of revenge.

“That’s right... If I do this, then...”

And in order to make up for going too far, Ruth decided she’d let Koutarou use her lap as a pillow. She felt making him more comfortable would be an appropriate apology for disturbing him in his sleep. She then slipped her legs under Koutarou’s head and looked down at his sleeping face.

This is the least I could do. He’ll be able to sleep better like this, after all...

Really, she could have simply gone and gotten a pillow out of the wardrobe. Ruth knew that, of course. But love blinded her in a way—she was happy to ignore it for the time being.

Sanae returned to room 106 about thirty minutes after Ruth. She ran straight to the apartment like a bullet to show off a new hoodie she’d gotten that had bunny ears on it.

“Koutarou, Koutarou! Look at this! Isn’t it cute?!”

“S-Sanae-sama?!”

Her sudden, dramatic entrance caught Ruth off guard. She’d spent almost the last half an hour with Koutarou’s head in her lap, lovingly stroking his cheek and fiddling with his hair. She was almost in a dreamlike trance, and certainly hadn’t expected someone to come bursting in on her. It was such a shock that she felt like her heart had leaped right out of her chest.

“Oh, he’s sleeping...”

“...”

“Hmm? What’s wrong, Ruth?”

Sanae, meanwhile, had no idea why Ruth looked so startled. When she was a ghost, Sanae was often close to Koutarou, clinging on to him one way or another. She couldn’t imagine that Ruth had anything to be embarrassed about—even with Koutarou’s head in her lap.

“N-No, it’s nothing...”

Ruth shook her head, blushing as brightly as a tomato.

“You see, Sanae-chan...”

It was there that Sanae-san stepped in to explain to Sanae-chan exactly what had Ruth acting so on edge. After getting used to Koutarou and the others as of late, Sanae-san was less nervous about making an appearance from time to time.

“Ah, so that’s what this is!”

When she saw the lightbulb come on over Sanae’s head, Ruth hurriedly looked away. When she did, Sanae could see that she was blushing right up to her ears.

“I don’t see what the big deal is about you being close with Koutarou. It’s cute. It’s like something out of an anime.”

While she now understood why Ruth was feeling bashful, she didn’t really think it was anything to be bashful about. She didn’t relate at all, eliciting a little bit of laughter.

“Augh, but even if you say that...”

Ruth was too embarrassed to even look up at Sanae right now. They had totally different takes on the situation. Yet even so, Ruth was rather lucky it had been Sanae of all people that walked in on her. If it had been Shizuka or Yurika, she would have gotten teased a whole lot more.

“It’s fine if you love him. There are certain feelings you have to get close to someone to convey, you know?”

“I admit this would be a whole lot easier if I could just think like you, Sanae-sama... but I’m afraid I was born this way...”

Ruth glanced up at Sanae. After confirming that she was gently smiling and letting out a sigh of relief, Ruth was finally able to look her friend in the eye again.

“You’re such an honest girl, Ruth. I just think you need to be a little more honest with yourself.”

“This is about as honest as I can get. I can’t sense Master’s heart like you, Sanae-sama. And I don’t want to go too far and end up making him hate me...”

“Koutarou could never hate you.”

“I can only hope not...”

Ruth lightly furrowed her brow and looked down at Koutarou’s sleeping face again. Despite all the commotion, he hadn’t so much as flinched. In fact, the bright expression on his face seemed to indicate he was having a pleasant dream.

“I can’t help but wonder what’s going through his mind...”

“Then why don’t we take a look?”

“Huh? Whatever do you mean?”

Ruth was puzzled by Sanae’s sudden proposal. She had no idea what she was talking about.

“You want to know what Koutarou is thinking and dreaming about, right?”

“Well, yes... But I’m afraid it’s not so easy. Not even the most advanced Forthorthian technology can peer into a person’s mind directly.”

“We don’t need anything fancy like that. It’ll be simple.”

Ruth didn’t think what Sanae was suggesting was really possible. If anyone might be clever or savvy enough to come up with such technology, it would be Clan. But it didn’t seem Sanae’s plan had anything to do with consulting her, or science at all for that matter.

“All we have to do is astral project into Koutarou’s dreams.”

“A-Astral project?!”

For the second time today, Sanae caught Ruth completely off guard. She announced her plan with her arms folded, nodding in confidence. And poor Ruth looked like she could hardly believe what she’d just heard.

Dreaming is just one form of mental activity. It’s a special stimulation of the subconscious, an inherently more spiritual part of the mind. That made it possible for souls to assimilate with dreams via astral projection, or so Sanae explained to Ruth with wild hand gestures and sound effects that made the whole thing a little hard to follow. Ruth, however, fortunately seemed to get the gist of it.

“So you’re saying you can astral project into Master’s mind?”

“Yeah. It won’t even be hard.”

“I don’t doubt that that’s within your power, Sanae-sama, but I don’t have any such abilities.”

“Don’t sweat it! Now let’s get a move on!”

“W-Wait―”

“Bam!”

“―a minute... What?”

Sanae was in such a hurry that she didn’t even wait for Ruth to agree before grabbing her soul and pulling it right out of her physical body. This way, Ruth would be able to astral project too.

“S-Sanae-sama! M-My body!”

“Calm down, Ruth. You’re astral projecting right now, so it’s not like you can take it with you.”

“B-B-But...”

Ruth had never astral projected before, and the all-new uncanny experience was hard to get her head around. But most alarming of all was seeing her own body slumped over right in front of her.

“Sanae-sama, am I dead...?”

“Of course not. Look. There’s the cord.”

Sanae pointed to her waist where, right out of the bunny tail on the back of her hoodie, there was a translucent rope that led from the ghostly Sanae to the one on the floor.

“This thing keeps you connected to your body.”

“Oh, I have one too!”

Ruth could feel something similar coming out of her back. It was quite literally her lifeline, connecting her body and soul. And as long as she had that, it would be easy to return to normal.

“Get it now?”

“Y-Yes, I think so...”

This was clearly how Sanae ordinarily separated from her own body, which was somewhat reassuring to Ruth. Slowly but surely, she was calming down.

“Then let’s get to it! Come on over here!”

“W-Wait a minute, Sanae-sama! What are we doing now?!”

“Hup!”

Alas, Ruth wouldn’t have the time to completely calm herself down before Sanae grabbed hold of her hand and leaped towards the sleeping Koutarou. But strangely enough, rather than landing on him, she landed in him. Her translucent body entered Koutarou’s feet-first, and she dragged Ruth right along with her.

“Kyaaaaah!”

All she could do was scream.

“You sure sound like you’re having fun, Ruth!”

“I’m not having fun at all! Kyaaaaaaaah!”

And so Ruth ended up following a magical white rabbit right into the dreamworld of Koutarou’s mind.

The inside of Koutarou’s mind was a very bright place. There was nothing there, but it was warm and comfortable like bathing in the autumn sun.

“Where are we...? And why are our bodies back to normal...?”

Ruth looked around in confusion. She didn’t know where they were or why her body suddenly appeared to be solid again. It was strange, considering they’d literally just jumped into Koutarou.

“We’ve entered Koutarou’s dreams now, so we look like we do in his dreams. See? You’re wearing a different outfit now.”

“Now that you mention it, you’re right. These are my workout clothes.”

Seeing Ruth so uneasy, Sanae thoughtfully explained what was going on. According to her, the two girls were now inside of Koutarou’s dreams. They looked as he saw them, which meant they appeared to be completely corporeal even though this was a dream world. They were also wearing something appropriate for the dream, which just so happened to be athletic wear.

“Does this mean Master is having a dream about exercising?”

“Seems like it. Based on these outfits, I’d guess it’s that.”

Sanae had a hunch of what Koutarou was dreaming about. This wasn’t her first time entering his mind, and she’d seen him dream about similar things plenty of times before.

“What do you mean by ‘that’?”

“Well, it’ll be faster to show you than tell you. Let’s go!”

Sanae then grabbed Ruth’s hand and began walking at a leisurely pace.

“O-Okay.”

Ruth, on the other hand, was still baffled by this bizarre situation. She walked with timid steps, looking around anxiously as they went. But despite her confusion, she no longer felt like she was in any danger. It was warm, bright, and comfortable. No one would hurt them here. It was safe. And all of that helped put Ruth at ease. Once she began to calm down, it slowly set in on her that she and Sanae were inside Koutarou’s mind right now.

If we’re really in Master’s mind, I’ll gladly accept whatever lies ahead...

And upon realizing that, all of her fears vanished. The unease she’d been feeling was replaced with wonder. Though she was somewhere strange and unfamiliar, she was happy to be here.

“Oh, you’re amazing, Ruth!”

That was when Sanae, who had run up ahead, turned back to her with a smile.

“Pardon?”

“This is your first time here, but you can already come this far.”

“What do you mean?”

Ruth didn’t understand what Sanae meant and looked around in puzzlement. Their surroundings were slowly changing, and Ruth could now start to make something out in the bright white light. To her, it was all amazing. She wasn’t sure why Sanae had said she was. And seeing this confusion, Sanae began explaining in a confident and proud voice.

“Well, you get that we’re inside Koutarou’s dream, right?”

“Right.”

“So when we want to go somewhere, it’s the desire to go that’s important—not the walking. Koutarou senses our desire and moves us where we want to go.”

“I see... So both parties have to respond to each other’s desires.”

Walking didn’t explicitly accomplish anything in a vast, infinite dream world. The only way to get anywhere was if the dreamer and invader were connected in some way.

“So congratulations.”

“But whatever for, Sanae-sama?”

“Like I said, we’re inside Koutarou’s mind. And he thinks it’s okay for you to wander around here. What do you think that means?”

“Ah...”

That was it—the answer Ruth had wanted to know. And hearing it, her eyes shot wide open.

“Koutarou isn’t angry even though you’re walking around his mind without permission. Instead, he’s welcoming it. That’s how much he loves you, so congratulations.”

Dreams took place in a deep, guarded part of the mind. Having them invaded could be a painful, traumatic experience. But if the dreamer wanted to see the invader in their dreams, they would be able to enter with the power to move around freely. In other words...

“Master is treasuring me...”

“That’s right. Koutarou loves you. And since he accepts you here, in the deepest part of his soul, getting a little close with him in person should be nothing.”

Not even Sanae had been able to move around freely in Koutarou’s dreams at first. In the very beginning, the wall around his heart had prevented her from even entering. But the more and more time they spent together when they were awake, the more and more freedom she gained while he was asleep. Now, she was able to go virtually anywhere she wanted. And it was because of that change that she had no trouble acting without reserve in front of Koutarou. She already knew that he utterly and completely accepted her the way she was.

“But... if I suddenly started acting like you, Sanae-sama, don’t you think it would surprise Master?”

“Yeah, probably. So you’ll have to start slow. The foundation’s what’s really important, after all.”

“Heehee, then I’ll do just that.”

As the two girls walked along together smiling at each other, they arrived at their destination much quicker than Sanae had expected. She suspected Koutarou was probably especially welcoming of them right now because they were getting along so well.

The area they’d reached appeared to be a riverbed dotted with several playing fields. There was one for baseball, soccer, tennis, volleyball, and more. People filled each field, with multiple games taking place at the same time. It was as bright and warm here as it had been in the white light, making it the perfect weather for an afternoon of sports.

“I think I understand the meaning of the setting and this outfit now.”

“This is Koutarou’s dream after all.”

“Indeed.”

Ruth could see Koutarou himself out on the baseball field, having a game with a group of his friends.

“Looky, looky! Everyone else is here too.”

“You’re right. I see Her Highness and the others... And there’s Mackenzie-sama and a few other boys from school...”

It seemed they had two full teams playing baseball. Koutarou and the nine invaders had split evenly between the two teams, and the extra spots were filled by Elfaria, Kenji, a few of their other classmates, the cosclub, the drama club, and even some people from the neighborhood association. Everyone else who couldn’t fit on the teams was seated around on benches and bleachers, cheering for the players. It was a lively gathering to say the least.

“It looks like everyone Master cares for is here...”

“Check it out. There’s even more than one of some people.”

“Is that Kiriha-sama when she was younger?”

“Yeah, every memorable person from Koutarou’s life is gathered here.”

Everyone present was somebody that had made a difference in Koutarou’s life at some point or another. They came from different places and times, with the living and the dead all gathered together. It was a dream world, after all. Logic didn’t necessarily apply. The baseball field was like a living collage of Koutarou’s entire life.

“But... I can’t say I’m happy about being on Mackenzie-sama’s team.”

Ruth realized what this all meant, and it was a wonderful thing, but one of the finer details irked her. She wanted to be on the same team as Koutarou.

“It happens. Even with Koutarou, there’s only ten of us. Besides, the teams are different every time. Today you just so happen to be playing against each other.”

“Y-You don’t say...”

“Actually, there’s one thing that never changes.”

Sanae flashed a bittersweet smile at Ruth and lowered her voice. It seemed there was something about the “never changes” part that saddened her.

“What is it?”

“Glasses-kun is always on the team opposite Koutarou. I think it’s because he trusts him more than anyone else.”

“Mackenzie-sama is...”

There was no question that the invaders were the most important women in Koutarou’s life right now. But when it came down to sheer trust, Kenji was still Koutarou’s number one. It made perfect sense, of course. Kenji had been the first person to reach out a hand to the suffering Koutarou—he was the first to ever try and save him. Because of that, Koutarou trusted Kenji more than he even trusted himself. They were thick as thieves, which was why Kenji was always appointed as the team leader on the opposite side. Koutarou was willing to entrust the people he loved most to his best friend.

“That makes Glasses-kun our real rival. We need Koutarou to think more of us than him someday.”

“You’re right. Let’s work towards that.”

In order for the girls to truly save Koutarou, they would have to do more for him than Kenji had. It was only once that happened that they’d know for sure they occupied the most special place in Koutarou’s heart. And since that was something the girls all wanted, that would be their goal in the future.

Meanwhile, the game was going back and forth. The individual plays all reflected the players’ characters. Yurika struck out, Shizuka knocked the ball out of the park, Theia managed to snag two bases with her speedy sprinting, and Kiriha threw all kinds of clever pitches. Sanae and Ruth took a seat and enjoyed watching them all play.

“Looks like Theia is up to bat again.”

“The batting order is all wrong, but I guess it’s just a dream. Heehee...”

Theia stepped up to the plate, holding the bat so confidently that she looked larger than life despite her small frame. The pitcher, Kenji, threw a tight, sharp ball. Being a skilled player, he dexterously aimed right for a tricky-to-hit spot. But Theia saw right through it and made a bold swing.

“Run, Your Highness!”

The satisfying, unmistakable sound of bat meeting ball instinctively made Ruth stand up and cheer. Indeed, Koutarou’s dream Ruth behaved almost exactly like the real thing. But the same went for everyone else—the rest of the crowd began cheering too as the ball sailed over second base and rolled split between right and center field.

“That’s amazing, Your Highness! Nice batting!”

With a swing like that, Theia made it all the way to third. She then turned and waved to the cheering Ruths—it seemed there being two of them didn’t bother her at all. Seeing the next batter step up to the plate, however, Sanae turned to her excited companion.

“Well, Ruth, I guess it’s about time to go.”

“But the game isn’t over yet...”

“Heh, well, that’s because it never ends.”

“Does that mean this is the dream Master always wants to have?”

“Something like that.”

Koutarou’s wish was clear. He wanted this ordinary happiness to last forever. That’s what the neverending baseball game represented. The only thing that would bring an end to it was Koutarou waking up, but it would start right back up again the following night.

“But first, why don’t we go see Koutarou?”

“What? Master’s the one batting right now...”

Koutarou was up after Theia, but he was currently arguing with Kenji about something. She couldn’t quite hear what, but it was clear this kind of banter was typical for them.

“Come on!”

“What...? But Sanae-sama, Master is over there...”

“Just come on already.”

Sanae tugged on the confused Ruth’s arm and approached the riverside. There was a concrete embankment meant to ward off flooding, but there was a nice, sprawling lawn just before it that ran the length of the river.

“Heya, Koutarou!”

“Ah, you’re back here again, Sanae.”

Koutarou was there, lying in the grass and sunbathing as he watched the game. Sanae knew that this was the real Koutarou, or rather, the center of his mind.

“I brought Ruth with me today, too!”

“H-Hello, Master.”

Ruth stepped out from behind Sanae and greeted Koutarou. He returned the gesture with a smile.

“Welcome, Ruth-san.”

“Hey, no fair! That’s not how you greeted me!”

“It’s not like it’s your first time here, you know?”

“But you forget all about this whenever you wake up.”

“But I remember right now, so it’s fine.”

“Then you should welcome me nicely every time!”

“Welcome, my beloved Lady Sanae.”

“Much better.”

Koutarou welcomed the two girls. They were both extraordinarily special to him, so he didn’t at all mind them stopping by for a visit in his dreams. And once Sanae was pleased, Koutarou turned back to Ruth.

“So what brings you along today, Ruth-san?”

Koutarou was happy to have her around, but he still didn’t know what the occasion was. The playful Sanae was here almost daily to goof around, but he couldn’t imagine that the reserved Ruth would invade someone’s dreams without a special reason.

“Th-That’s... well...”

Ruth blushed and looked down. She couldn’t bring herself to tell him that she was really here to see if she could get him to dote on her a little more. Sensing Ruth’s dilemma, Sanae decided to give her a helping hand.

“It’s because of girl stuff! Boys don’t get to know!”

“Even though we are in my dream?”

“Girl stuff trumps everything else!”

“You forcibly pulled her in, didn’t you?”

“Eeheehee...”

“Jeez, you’re always like this...”

“Ruth was worried about something, so I thought this would be the best way to make her feel better.”

“...Then I guess it’s fine.”

“Duh!”

Koutarou was against Sanae’s selfishness, but it seemed she’d actually dragged Ruth along as an act of kindness, so he let it slide. Besides, fussing at her when the weather was this nice just didn’t feel right. This was supposed to be the perfect calm, casual, relaxed weekend.

Ruth had a cheerful look on her face as she watched the back-and-forth between Koutarou and Sanae, but a certain doubt began sprouting in her heart. When their conversation reached a lull, she took the opportunity to speak up about it.

“Master, may I ask you something?” she asked shyly.

“I don’t mind.”

Koutarou couldn’t think of a single question he wouldn’t answer coming from Ruth, so he gave her free reign to ask anything she’d like.

“Why are you watching the match from over here?”

Koutarou was observing his own dream from a third party perspective. If this was his ideal version of happiness, then he should be out there on the field playing. Yet for some reason, a different version of himself was out there having all the fun while he just sat here watching. Ruth couldn’t help but wonder why.

“I know this is a dream. There are still a ton of problems to be solved in real life, so I can’t really cut but so loose.”

“You can’t even forget about all that in your sleep? You’re so awkward...”

As it turned out, Koutarou had taken a step back from everything because he knew he was dreaming. He felt like he couldn’t just let go of everything and get lost in the fun, which both Ruth and Sanae thought was unfortunate. Koutarou should be able to do whatever he wanted to in his dreams. However, his next words made Ruth realize he wasn’t standing back because he was awkward. No, it didn’t have anything to do with him.

“It all involves you guys. I couldn’t forget about it that easily.”

“Master...”

He was doing this because he was fixated on the girls. He treasured them so much while he was awake that he couldn’t even bring himself to abandon them in his dreams. And when Ruth realized that, her chest tightened and tears formed in her eyes.

“How loving of you, Koutarou!”

“That’s not what we’re talking about. Don’t make fun of me.”

“I’m not making fun of you; I meant it. That was very loving.”

“Yeah, I guess...”

It wasn’t a personal, romantic love, but something much bigger. Koutarou was watching over the girls from here because of his desire to protect them.

“Anyways, I’ll get my chance to play when everything’s all said, done, and taken care of... probably.”

“You mean you’ll finally play with us over there?”

Ruth wiped away her dripping tears as she smiled at Koutarou. She couldn’t help imagining how wonderful things would be when everyone’s problems had been resolved and Koutarou could dream freely.

“No... I’ll play in real life. The best dreams are the ones that come true, right?”

However, Koutarou’s ambitions for the future far exceeded Ruth’s hopes. He probably had no idea what he was saying meant to her, but it was akin to a declaration of love. It no longer mattered if it was romantic or not.

“M-Master...”

Ruth felt her heart skip a beat as powerful emotions welled up within her. Her mind stalled and spun in circles, making it hard to even form a cohesive sentence. All she knew right now was that she’d made the right choice when she decided to spend the rest of her life by Koutarou’s side.

“R-Ruth-san?!”

And so, despite her best attempts to hold it in, Ruth began weeping.

After meeting up with Koutarou, the three of them spent some time chatting. He was somewhat more honest here in his dream, so the two girls were able to ask about things they ordinarily couldn’t. It was fun and interesting, so despite the fact that she’d been crying just a little while ago, Ruth was already perfectly back to normal.

“...Master really loves Her Highness then.”

“He loves me too. And you, Ruth.”

“Of course I do.”

“Isn’t that great, Ruth?”

“Indeed it is.”

But despite being in a dream, Ruth began worrying about how much time had passed. It was now almost evening in the dream world, surely meaning it was time for them to go back to the real world.

“Unfortunately, I think it’s time for us to leave, Master.”

Ruth was reluctant to go and found it hard to say goodbye. Even though they would see each other again as soon as they woke up, it was still hard to fight those feelings.

“Whaaat? Can’t we stay a little longer?”

Sanae, however, wasn’t willing to go at all. She hadn’t had enough of playing with Koutarou, and rolled around in the grass and kicked her feet in protest.

“I have to prepare dinner. Besides, I have to wake up Master too.”

“Wow, it’s already dinnertime?”

However, Sanae’s temper tantrum was cut short as soon as Ruth mentioned food. She immediately bounded to her feed with an eager look on her face.

“It is. And you can always play more when we wake up, Sanae-sama.”

“Sounds good to me. All right, let’s hurry up so we can wake up Koutarou and play more!”

In a complete one-eighty, Sanae was now ready and raring to go. It was fun here in Koutarou’s dream world, but with only three of them, they were lacking their usual group dynamic. As far as Sanae was concerned, returning home would be even more fun.

“Do what you want, but let me sleep a little longer.”

Still lying in the grass, Koutarou looked up at Sanae and Ruth. Since this was his dream, he didn’t need to go with them. Or rather, it was impossible for him to.

“A little longer? Like five minutes?”

“A little more.”

“Ten minutes, then.”

“Deal.”

“Then it’s settled, Koutarou. I will allow you to doze off for just a little longer.”

“Thank you very much, Lady Sanae.”

“Very good.”

“Heehee... Then this is goodbye for now, Master.”

Ruth giggled a little at Koutarou and Sanae’s continued back-and-forth, and bid Koutarou farewell when she got a chance. Realistically speaking, however, they’d all see each other again in just a few minutes, so it wasn’t a particularly somber goodbye.

“Yeah, see you later.”

“I’m waking you up in ten minutes, okay?”

“I know, I know.”

Koutarou, still lying down, waved to the two girls and turned his attention back to the baseball game. Knowing they’d see each other again soon enough, he didn’t think twice about seeing them off. Sanae knew that, but was still unhappy about him treating the whole affair so casually.

“I swear... What a baseball dweeb.”

“Heehee, don’t say that.”

Entering someone else’s dream without the slightest bit of resistance was actually an incredible feat. Yet the two girls who’d accomplished it seemed to think it was perfectly ordinary.

Leaving a dream was the same as entering one, and Sanae and Ruth’s surroundings changed in response to their desire to return home. The riverbed and baseball field moved away from them far faster than they were actually walking.

“I think this will always feel strange, no matter how many times I experience it...”

“It’s not as strange as your mystery warp.”

“I suppose that’s fair.”

As the two girls dreamily walked along, the scenery grew brighter and brighter until everything was pure white. This was the brink between dreams and reality—their exit to the real world.

“Oh?”

However, Ruth stopped just shy of actually leaving. She’d spotted something that caught her eye.

“What is it?”

“Sanae-sama, what is that?”

Ruth pointed to a black mass in the distance. It was far away enough that it was hard to get a grasp of its size, but it was striking. Once she’d noticed it, it was hard to ignore.

“Oh, that’s the part of Koutarou that gets sad or lonely. We’re inside his head, after all, so there are even things like that here.”

Just like the riverbed from before, the black mass was another facet of Koutarou’s mind. However, the negative emotions symbolized by that black color had the opposite nature of the riverbed.

“But Koutarou is keeping that away from us, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then I think it’s best not to touch on it.”

The black mass was in the opposite direction of the exit. It was also difficult to see because of the bright white light surrounding them. It would have been easy to miss altogether; Ruth had only spotted it by coincidence. Koutarou was trying to be considerate by keeping it away from them so that they wouldn’t accidentally run into it.

“Sanae-sama, have you ever gone over there?”

“At first, I walked around this place without knowing any better.”

Sanae now knew Koutarou’s dream world inside and out, but she’d been utterly clueless at first. She’d accidentally stumbled into the darker parts of his mind before, and that’s what the black mass in the distance was a part of.

“Is that how you know what it is?”

“Yeah, but I turned back before I reached it. The darkness pushes you back with a lot of force. I felt like I was going to be crushed, so I ran away.”

There, Sanae led Ruth away from the exit and towards the black mass. As they got closer, it became clear that it wasn’t a solid mass. It was a shifting, hazy orb like a planet shrouded in the black mist of night. The two girls stood in front of it, dwarfed by its size. It was easily big enough to encompass the entire riverbed from earlier. They stared at it for some time, but Ruth eventually turned to Sanae and took her hand.

“Sanae-sama, why don’t you try challenging it one more time with me?”

Ruth was suggesting that they try and enter the black haze together. Sanae was surprised by the sudden proposal and reflexively questioned her in disbelief.

“What?! That’s insane!”

Sanae was against the idea. She’d felt badly the first time she’d trespassed in the darker parts of Koutarou’s mind, and moreover, she was worried it was dangerous there.

“I know, but... thinking about Master and our future with him, I believe this is something we’ll inevitably have to face.”

“That might be true, but...”

Ruth knew what she’d suggested was risky, but this wasn’t something they could walk away from forever. Sanae knew that just as well as Ruth did, but having felt the dangers of the black mist firsthand, she couldn’t help hesitating. However, Ruth had an ace up her sleeve. There was another reason she thought they should proceed.

“Besides... I’m sure this is what Master wants.”

“How can you tell?”

“Because it was easy for us to come here in the first place.”

“I see. If he really didn’t want to, we wouldn’t be able to get close to it... Which has to mean Koutarou wants us to do something about it.”

“I think so.”

If Koutarou had truly wanted to keep his darkness away from the girls, he never would’ve let them get near it. The world of Koutarou’s mind was under his complete control, so its position wasn’t a coincidence. It was distant, but just barely in sight. And the girls were allowed to approach if they so desired. It was like a subtle invitation—a reflection of his true desires.

“We’ll do our best, Master, so please accept us...”

“You’re completely useless without us... Jeez.”

Ruth and Sanae held hands and stepped into the black mist. The darkness of Koutarou’s mind was deep. Only Maki, who held a similar darkness within her, had ever seen this far inside him—and that had only been with the help of Signaltin. Really, this was the first time that someone had made it here on their own strength alone.

“Urgh, th-this is...”

“Keep it together, Ruth!”

With each step they took forward, the black mist got thicker. As it seemed to close in around them, the girls were assaulted by two forces. The first was a pressure trying to crush them, and the second a repulsion trying to push them away. That was the manifestation of Koutarou’s mind, kicking and screaming to get them to stop and turn back.

“B-But... I think it might be weaker than before...”

“Master is t-trying his hardest too...”

“Y-Yeah...”

Sanae and Ruth held hands as they pushed forward through the black mist, the darkness of Koutarou’s mind. The pressure and repulsion were strong, but because they were together, they were able to endure both. The simply kept moving ahead, supporting one another along the way.

“M-Master, everything’s... going to be okay...”

“You’re not alone anymore... You have us... to rely on now...”

Just like they’d been able to see the riverbed in the distance before they reached it, they were now catching glimpses of the greatest tragedy of Koutarou’s life—the accident where his mother had sacrificed herself to save him. It was because of that accident that his relationship with his father soured and their family collapsed. It was something he never wanted to think about again, so thoughts of it were suppressed. The memories only appeared in flashes and random order like someone was flipping through a deck of shuffled cards. But what the girls could see was more than enough to convey the sorrow of the tragedy, and that spurred them forward still. Even though it was painful, they were determined to get to the heart of it all... all for the boy they loved.

“R-Ruth... There’s someone over there...!”

“Is it... a child?”

Thanks to Sanae and Ruth’s earnest struggle—and probably Koutarou’s as well—the girls eventually reached the center of the black haze. There they found a lone boy, who was splattered with blood and clinging to a half-knit sweater.

“Koutarou!”

“Master!”

That young boy—the incarnation of all of Koutarou’s sorrow—was the center of the black mist. He was who the girls needed to save, and so they endured the pressure and repulsion in order to reach out to him.

“J-Just a little more! We can do it!”

“We made it― Kyaaah!”

But alas, just as their hands were about to reach the boy, the girls let their guard down for a moment... and that was all it took. As soon as their guard caved, the pressure finally stopped them in their tracks and the repulsion blew them backward.

“Kyaaaaah!”

“We are almost there!”

In the end, there was nothing they could do as they were hurled out of the black mist. The boy at the center of it all only watched them go in silence.

Koutarou awoke to the waning light of the setting sun on his face. Its warm glow was streaming in the window, dying the entire apartment a brilliant red. However, that wasn’t what had woken him up.

“You again...”

Sanae was collapsed on his chest. That made it just difficult enough to breathe that it had roused him from his slumber.

“What’s so fun about sleeping on me like this all the time?”

Koutarou was just a normal human boy, so it wasn’t like he could recall his dream with any extraordinary clarity. He had a vague feeling it had something to do with Sanae, but even then he never imagined that she’d actually entered his dreams. He had no idea what she was smiling about as she slept.

“Jeez, I wonder what she’s dreaming of...”

Sanae, on the other hand, possessed incredible spiritual power and could recall dreams like any other memories. She’d never seen a reason to tell Koutarou that, however, so he remained blissfully unaware. She thought explaining would just be a pain, but more importantly, she felt she implicitly had permission to be doing what she was doing. If Koutarou really didn’t want her to, she never would’ve been able to enter in the first place.

“Huh? Ruth-san?”

As he was wondering what to do with Sanae, Koutarou glanced up and was surprised to see Ruth’s face so close to his. She was leaning forward, but her eyes were closed. She appeared to be sleeping just as peacefully as Sanae, but this position... Realizing that he could feel something soft underneath his head, he put two and two together.

“I see... She let me borrow her lap to rest.”

Indeed, it seemed Ruth had tried to make Koutarou comfortable, then gotten comfortable herself and dozed off in the warm afternoon sunlight too. Sanae must have shown up afterward and invited herself to take a catnap right along with them. Otherwise, it probably would have been impossible for Ruth to get his head in her lap. Koutarou was sure that must have been what happened.

“Wait, what is...”

Realizing just how close the two girls were to him, Koutarou was suddenly overcome with a strange sensation. An impulse that steadily grew stronger.

Why do I want to give Sanae and Ruth-san a hug?

He wanted to embrace them as strongly as he could, but that wasn’t the kind of urge he could just give in to. He didn’t want to wake them, and more importantly, he didn’t want to behave inappropriately. But above all else, he was unsure why he felt this way in the first place. He would feel weird doing something like that without understanding the reason, so he held back and turned the matter over in his head. Yet try as he might, he couldn’t figure it out even after the girls woke up.

After waking up, the first thing Sanae did was show off her new hoodie to Koutarou. That was the whole reason she’d come running over to room 106 to begin with; she’d just gotten distracted by naptime in the process.

“Well, what do you think?! Isn’t it totally cute, Koutarou?!”

“Yes, it’s very cute.”

“What do you think is cute about it?”

“The bunny ears and tail.”

“Oh, come on! Make it sound good!”

“Your ears and tail are stunning, my lady.”

“Much better! Much, much better!”

Satisfied with getting the praise she wanted from Koutarou, Sanae crawled over to the tea table. And with Sanae finally off his chest, Koutarou was free at last and let out an extended yawn. Seeing him do so, Ruth leaned over to whisper to Sanae...

“It doesn’t look like Master remembers anything.”

“Yeah, it’s always like that. That’s why I make the distinction between here and there.”

“I see...”

Ruth let out a rueful sigh, and Sanae looked at her curiously.

“What’s wrong?”

“In the end, we couldn’t do anything...”

Ruth regretted not being able to do anything for the young Koutarou that sat at the center of the black mist—an amalgamation of all his negative emotions. She and Sanae should have been able to accept those negative feelings and pulled him out of the haze, but they were torn away from him at the last second and tossed back into reality. Protected by Sanae’s powers, Ruth retained her memories of everything that happened, which now instilled a powerful sense of regret in her.

“We were almost there, too...”

“Yeah, but that’s not the kind of thing we can fix in a day.”

“You’re right, Sanae-sama... We’ll have to be patient.”

Sanae felt the same regret Ruth did, but it wasn’t all bad news. There was no doubt they’d gotten closer to their goal than ever before. And knowing that, they felt a sense of hope.

“What are you two talking about?”

That was when Koutarou carefreely moved over to the tea table and joined in on the conversation. He had no idea they were really talking about him.

“It’s girl stuff. Right, Ruth?”

“Yes. It’s a secret.”

“Yeah, yeah... I know the drill,” Koutarou chuckled, picking up the remote on the table and turning on the TV.

“The news? Blech! Put on some anime instead.”

“At least let me watch the start. I’m the head of this household after all.”

“So what does that make me? Your dependent?”

“Yeah.”

Koutarou nodded right away. Sanae had been something like his sister, or perhaps even something closer, for a long time now. But upon hearing their little exchange, Ruth flashed a mischievous smile.

“Then what am I, Master?”

“Don’t you have your own household, Ruth-san?”

In Ruth’s case, she received a considerable salary and even held property of her own back in Forthorthe. There was no way, as the daughter of a distinguished family of knights, she could be Koutarou’s dependent. A small, six-tatami apartment was far too small for a lady of Pardomshiha.

“This is a matter of principle.”

“...Then you’re my dependent too.”

“Thank you very much, Master.”

Satisfied with Koutarou’s embarrassed admission, Ruth happily turned towards the TV. The clock in the top right corner of the screen told her it was now past 5PM, meaning it was about time to start dinner.

“Well then, Master, Sanae-sama... I shall go prepare dinner.”

“Hey, wait a minute, Ruth-san.”

Koutarou grabbed hold of her hand as she was about to head for the kitchen.

“Y-Yes?”

This sudden turn of events set her heart racing as the warmth of his hand sunk into hers.

“As thanks for being my pillow earlier, I’ll go make some tea. You can fix dinner after that.”

“If it’s tea, then I can―”

“It’s fine. Let me do it for you for once.”

Koutarou smiled at the puzzled Ruth and flipped channels to some anime before getting up from his seat and heading into the kitchen. As soon as he walked out of the room, Sanae and Ruth turned to look at each other.

“It looks like we were able to do something after all...”

“Yeah, it sure does.”

Both girls giggled happily. They were pleased they’d been able to help the boy they loved, even if it was only a little.

“Hey, Sanae, Ruth-san! What kind of snacks do you guys want with your tea?”

“I want the monaka from the other day.”

“There’s also the yōkan I bought today.”

“Oh, yeah! That too!”

“All right.”

However, they were quickly distracted by snacks and put the day’s dreamy events out of their minds. They knew all too well that’s what Koutarou would want.