Chapter 240 - Waking from the Dream
"————————h… ………………"
Unlike my family home in the quiet countryside, my one-room apartment was always filled with the sounds of cars and the city, big and small.
Fortunately, I wasn't sensitive enough for it to be stressful, and I had no trouble sleeping at night when I was tucked into my futon—
But again, that only applied to sleeping at night.
"…Hh… ugh… guh………………"
With my eyelids feeling impossibly heavy, I let out a groan as a headache pounded in my skull, ringing in my ears. I fumbled around my pillow for a good ten seconds.
My fingers bumped against my phone. I grabbed it, blindly tapping the screen as I squinted one eye open to glance at the display—
"—Hoooooooooo………………………………"
Having reached a state of enlightenment, I gently closed my eyes once more.
—The day after the 'Four Pillar War', an event where I had experienced more than I could ever put into words.
Welcome, Monday.
The current time is 12:21 PM.
And I am a university student—with a schedule completely packed with lectures until the fourth period.
"—A-A-AWESOME, THIS IS SO BAD!"
Yeah, I knew it!
It's never this noisy in the morning, I knew it!
"Overslept…! Seri… what, twen… still got—?!"
Third period starts at 1 PM…! Third period starts at 1 PM…! If I run now, I can still make it—no, I can't, you idiot! Is there a train?! This is the city, there has to be one!
There… should be one!
"Douse myself with water, dry my hair, and get dressed in thirty seconds, I can do this!"
I kicked off the covers and sprang up, heading straight for the shower room.
Banking on my youth, I splashed cold water on myself to wake up, gave my hair a token shake with some shampoo, and bam, all done!
Barely bothering to rub my hair with a bath towel, I threw on some clothes, grabbed my bag, fashion glasses, and everything else—and I'm ready to go!
"Dammit, I have to make it…!"
Shoes on, door locked. I got ready at a speed that would rival the times I almost overslept for work and shot out of my room… leaving my smartphone behind on my disheveled bed.
In the now-empty room, the screen of the abandoned phone lit up with notifications of countless missed calls and messages, left sadly ignored.
◇◆◇◆◇
—………………Yeah.
I made the train, and at this rate, I'll barely make it to my afternoon lecture, but… was there really any need to go through all this trouble?
I'm not a working professional, just a student with a class. So—damn, my head is killing me… I should have just calmly taken the day off.
Then, I thought I should probably send an apology for my absence while on the way, but no matter how much I searched my bag or pockets, my phone was nowhere to be found. I had to buy a ticket with cash for the first time in a while. Am I an idiot?
After a few train transfers, I finally arrived at my last stop. I squeezed through the lunchtime crowd and got out of the ticket gate. I probably don't have to run to make it, but getting anxious over and over again sounds more tiring, so I started jogging towards the university.
—Ah, this feels weird.
Like reality isn't quite real, or like it's all blended together… I guess it's no surprise, considering I spent all of last night throwing myself into the heart of that unreal festival of fighting.
We were all told beforehand to 'disband immediately after the war ends, and if you get taken out, just log off and rest for the day,' so after I self-destructed in the fight with Iris, I pulled off an instant log-out into sleep-out combo.
Or rather, the feedback from my exhaustion was so intense that I just passed out as if I'd died… In any case, the debriefing and various 'after-parties' are for tonight.
—Right, so for now, I should just try not to think about anything.
What I did last night in that virtual world… Even I have a pretty clear understanding of it. I also have to face 'that notification' I saw right before logging out from the Ten Seats' Round Table where I respawned—
"………………"
Jogging through the city is pretty conspicuous, and I can feel a few glances directed my way, but I don't sense any particular interest.
Different clothes, different hair, different eyes. The little impression-manipulation tricks Nia recommended seem to be working, somehow.
…Well, the 'me' here and the 'me' there probably have completely different expressions, so our auras must be totally different any—oh?
Just as I finished the run without even breaking a sweat, thanks to the stamina I'd built up on the part-time job circuit, I spotted a group of familiar faces gathered in front of the gate.
It was the usual group of four. My new friends in the real world—
"Mornin—"
I was just within earshot and about to offer a self-deprecating, joking greeting… when it happened.
The four pairs of eyes that found me widened with various emotions—
""—We got him!""
"Whoa-oa-oa-oa-oah?!"
Suddenly, the duo of Toshiki and Shoko leaped at me.
Maybe because I was still dragging along the aftereffects of yesterday's endless string of battles, I reflexively tried to activate an evasion skill, but of course, my real-life self doesn't have such a feature. I froze up as they pinned both my arms—
"Mizuki, get the door!"
"Right, hurry."
Showing off their teamwork, Shoko and Mizuki shoved me into an unfamiliar car parked nearby. What are you doing?!
"—Hey, what the—?! A kidnapping?! Wait, calm down, we can talk this ou—"
"Just shut up and get in, you idiot! This is one hundred percent for your own good, now get in!"
"No, this is scary, scary, scary! Hey, sto—… Kae, Kaede—!"
I cried out for help to the friend standing behind them, the one I considered 'usually on my side'—only to be pushed from behind and Dive to Car Interior.
My resistance was futile. I was dragged into the car by Shoko and then sandwiched between her and Kaede, who got in after me, trapping me in an impenetrable prison where 'any touch is sexual harassment'.
And so, while I was left utterly confused, my eyes wide and mouth agape…
"Alright, go."
"Roger."
At Toshiki's command from the passenger seat, Mizuki, holding the steering wheel, started the car. I mean, I don't even know where to start pointing things out, but…
Alright, for starters—
"………………M-Mizuki-san, you have a license?"
"Got it at a driving camp before starting university."
—…Ah, yeah, I see….