Chapter 977 - Dream and Reality
"—Haru-kun?"
"Ngh, huh?"
A voice called out, and I woke up.
It was a familiar, incredibly gentle voice. A soft tone without a single sharp edge, it felt as though it tickled my ears, a sensation that was both physically and emotionally delightful.
So, I reflexively tried to bolt upright… and failed.
My action stopped at just snapping my eyelids open. Looking up, I saw.
"Fufu… Good morning."
Up, down, left, right, three hundred and sixty degrees. No matter when, no matter from what angle I looked, she was always the same—my exceedingly lovely, pure, and beautiful gray-haired master, smiling down at me.
"…………Good, morn…ing… master… ?"
—What is this?
—Something's wrong.
I feel like I'm awake, but not really. My consciousness seems clear, but my mind just won't work… It's like I'm not me.
Like I'm watching my own body and mind move on their own from within myself.
"………………"
"Hk…………"
Her slender fingertips brushed through my bangs, caressing my forehead. That ticklish sensation washed over me again, and as I squirmed, the back of my head sank into a soft feeling, and I instantly froze.
"…………………………………………………………"
"I'm sorry," and "excuse me," refused to leave my lips.
"…Fufu… Don't be so nervous."
I wonder what kind of face I was making. My master peered down at me, her amused smile light and airy—
"…………It makes even me… flustered, you know?"
In a way that wasn't like her… —I couldn't say exactly how, but something was definitely different.
In a way that was unlike her, a crimson blush colored her white cheeks.
The next moment.
"Ngh, huh?"
Before my eyes. I batted away a flashing "blade" with the back of my hand, letting out another stupid sound.
The place—I don't know where. The time—I don't know when. The situation—a complete mystery. And my opponent—
"Tch… As I thought, not yet—!"
It was the form of my true junior number one, and my de facto senior, self-proclaimed junior number two.
Wielding his translucent blue twin blades, a pioneering masterpiece of artificial art crafted by my exclusive magic artisan, in which I also had some input, was Kanata.
"…………—Hah. Come on, bring it on!"
"Yes!"
Again, on its own.
My mouth offered a light taunt, and in response, he gave me a puppy-like smile and kicked off the ground with force.
And again, the next moment.
"—You know, senpai."
"Ngh, huh…"
A voice echoed from above my head, and I let out my third stupid sound.
I was on a sofa somewhere I didn't recognize. Sunk deep into the backrest, I looked up… I still couldn't see him, but I could tell from the weight—not heavy, but not light—what was happening.
"You're always, always in such a rush for something, I don't know what, but…"
My great senior. My self-proclaimed junior number one, the boy dressed all in black, was resting his arm and chin on top of my head, letting out a textbook "good grief" sigh.
"Shouldn't you take a better look at yourself?"
"………………I've been trying my best lately."
Strangely, the 'me' that I was observing was calm. Taking this chain of inexplicable situations as a matter of course, I returned a wry smile to my junior's sermon-like words.
"I'm trying my best, so…"
"So?"
"The me who gets results in everything I do, just as much as I try."
"No, come on, not everything—"
In a flash, the weight on my head vanished, and standing before me was,
Someone.
"Well, it'll be fine."
"It'll work out somehow."
"I'll make it work out."
Someone I knew so well, yet knew less than anyone,
Me.
""…—We have no choice but to move forward now. You big idiot."
We exchanged a smile that was like a punch, full of exasperation.
◇◆◇◆◇
"—Haru."
"Ngh, huh."
And then, a voice called out, and I woke up.
My eyes snapped open to a ceiling that was beyond familiar. This was my room, filled with my own presence, which had faded over the past six months but had not disappeared entirely.
Lying down, looking up, I shifted my gaze to,
"…Good morning?"
Up, down, left, right, three hundred and sixty degrees. No matter when, no matter from what angle I looked, she was always the same—the terrifyingly beautiful, pure white princess, expressionless…
No.
She wore a gentle smile that only I could discern, and she was looking only at me, and no other 'me'.
"………………Crap, sorry, what time is it… Did I oversleep…?"
"It's fine. It's only been about twenty minutes."
The 'dream' I had just been having was hazy and melted away instantly.
But the memory of it was clear. I had stepped into my nostalgic room at my family home, been lulled by an infinite wave of security or something, and unconsciously flopped onto the bed. I'd closed my eyes, intending to just rest a bit from the journey—and well, game over.
I passed out, and now here I am.
And,
"Good morning."
"Yeah, hey, morning…"
Ashe had come to wake me up. I was the one who told them to feel free to come find me, so her coming into my room wasn't 'uninvited.'
To this excessively luxurious alarm clock, I returned a verbal greeting and a mental thanks.
Now then.
"Fwaah… —How is everyone else doing?"
She came to wake me… or rather, to call me. Which means something is either already happening or is about to happen. That's an eighty percent probability.
The remaining twenty percent is the possibility that Ashe simply came to bother me. But,
"The other two are on the first floor. Interacting with your parents."
"Already?"
When someone else is in the same house, you can sort of feel their presence. Even if you can't directly hear voices or sounds, you can sense the liveliness downstairs through the floor.
So, half of me knew that was probably the case.
The other half, while not entirely surprised, thought they were being pretty aggressive.
"………………"
Ashe watched me as I smiled vaguely, my sleepy voice still lingering.
"…You're calm."
"Hmm?"
Watching, observing, the princess from another country tilted her head. In my room, in my family home, where she looked so utterly out of place… —she commented on my utterly out-of-place demeanor.
"You were so nervous when you invited us."
"Ah, yeah. Well, that's…"
I'm aware of it. It's a simple matter.
"Because I know it'll work out, that I'll make it work out."
"…………"
"Haha…"
My words were still vague. Still half-asleep, I smiled as if giving a lazy reply.
"…Haru."
"What is it?"
"It's troubling when you show me such a cute, defenseless face right after waking up."
"Troubling how?"
"…………Do you want me to say it?"
"…Absolutely not. Please don't."
Ashe's eyes narrowed, her blank expression clearly cracking, and she poked my cheek reproachfully.
Everything has a meaning, but there's zero need to decipher it.