kscans

Chapter 275 - Awakening

A gray wall stood before me. I reached out and grasped the top of it. I pulled out a bundle of paper and spread it on the desk. Then, I scanned the rows of numbers laid out there.

A portion of the vast array of numbers glowed red, issuing a warning. It felt as if a triangle had been wedged into a wall of square bricks. The equations in my head creaked and groaned under the strain.

The person who taught me this was not an abnormality but a kind of talent called it synesthesia. Apparently, I wasn't seeing numbers, but numerary arts. And he was the one who drew me out of the shell I had retreated into inside my own head.

I have never for a moment forgotten my gratitude for that. I haven't, but...

I stacked the documents I had processed in an instant and moved them to the side of the desk. Then, I pulled a new bundle from the wall in front of me. Over the now shorter wall, I could see black hair and the crown of a head.

"Why did you let it get this bad, Senpai."

I directed my protest at Ricardo’s head as he stared intently at a single sheet of paper.

"W, well, you know, I didn’t want to rely on you too much, Mia, since you’re busy with the company. Besides, Alfina is…"

"I know about that situation, so it’s fine. Actually, Alfina was the one who told me about this disaster."

I cut Ricardo off. He was already busy with just the futures exchange, yet as soon as he returned from the Empire, he started planning a new business venture. On top of that, his work as the Lord of Calamity had increased because of the eastern records discovered at the foot of the dragon mountain.

It was at that exact time that Alfina, his assistant, could no longer push herself so hard. His work was bound to collapse. He should have realized that taking on anything new was impossible. But once you saw the aquarium in person and understood its significance, you couldn't just stop.

More than anything...

"Speaking of which, you seem to have gotten quite friendly with Maytyl during this business trip."

I looked at a small crystal placed on the desk. It emitted a faint purple light, a fragment of the prophetic crystal that had shattered at the end of the battle with the Magic Insects. It was one of the few pieces that seemed to retain some of its original properties.

It radiated a magic so strong that even I, with almost no aptitude, could feel it.

Maytyl had brought it. She had said it was incredibly precious, yet she left it behind.

That's because although she started off talking about magic and whatnot, she soon switched to bragging about her "trip to the Empire" with Ricardo. That’s right, Maytyl is ridiculously enthusiastic about this aquarium. In fact, I heard about the aquarium’s purpose from her.

I have quite a few things to say about that "I’m the only one who understands Ricardo" attitude of hers.

"I wonder what on earth happened during that month or more in the Empire."

"…"

Incidentally, while we were talking, Alfina, who wasn't in perfect health, brought us tea, but she showed little interest in Maytyl’s attitude. That confidence of hers was a little irritating too.

"This isn't going to be worth my while unless I get a special reward."

"R, right, just name it."

"I can substitute anything for the variable? Are you sure?"

"…I’d like to add the condition ‘within reason’."

"I'll think about it."

Honestly, there was no "thing" I wanted. No, I could get my hands on most things if I wanted them. The heiress to the Vinder Company has that much power.

What was wrong with Ricardo’s nerves, casually handing over a company that possessed, or rather, continued to generate such immense wealth to a mere servant?

An orphan from a poor village should by all rights have been worked to the bone and discarded. Thanks to him, I can’t say many of the things I want to.

For example, that he might be dumping all the troublesome work on me while he's still enjoying his newlywed phase. Or that he’s casting me aside, his servant of so many years, for Maytyl…

"Anyway, let's get this finished quickly. We don't have much time before our appointment with Noel. We were talking about the fish tank models, right? The Vinder Company will be selling those, too."

"R, right."

That was enough sarcasm for now. The dark circles under my senpai’s eyes were deep as he looked at me. I probably looked much the same. I had been busy these past few days preparing for the shareholders' meeting.

Those children from Leylia have started becoming useful, so I can delegate some work to them. Come to think of it, Collet and Leon too… If even Maytyl gets the jump on me…

…

Huh? The numbers I recalculated look faintly red. Wait, which parts did I just connect…

"Are you alright?"

"You’re one to talk, Senpai. Look, this number here is wrong."

I rubbed my eyes, then pointed out Ricardo’s mistake.

"Huh? Oh, you're right. My brain isn't working either."

Ricardo also shook his head. Across the mountain of documents, two heads swayed. At this rate, we wouldn't finish by noon.

"Um, that part is…"

I tried to visualize the calculation in my mind. The formula wavered in my foggy head.

I looked up to see my senpai, who should have been waiting for my answer, with the crown of his head turned toward me. The angle of my own head began to droop…

As I sensed a faint purple light in the corner of my eye, my consciousness sank into a dark pit.

…

…

My consciousness ascended toward a dim light. The first thing I felt was a soft weight covering me. And a strange resilience supporting my body.

A warm, smooth cloth enveloped me. I lifted it with a slow movement. And then… I turned pale in the light streaming from the window. The sun’s angle was clearly past noon.

"Senpai, why didn’t you wake…"

I froze mid-sentence at the sight of the black hair right in front of my eyes. Somehow, I was in the same bed as Ricardo. In a narrow, single bed, pressed right up against each other…

"…What’s wrong, Alfina…"

At the sound of my voice, Ricardo sluggishly sat up. He rubbed his eyes and stared at me with a vacant look. He blinked.

"Wait… Mia!?"

He clutched his head. "I’m sorry, Alfina, I finally…" he muttered. Shouldn't he be concerned about me first?

Well, I did confirm that my clothes were not in disarray. But that was part of the problem. The cloth covering my body so securely was made of a material I had never felt before.

I own some respectable clothes for visiting the royal palace and such. But the dress I was wearing now was nothing like that. It was a sleeveless, spring-green one-piece. It was unbelievably thin, yet so smooth. I had never even seen fabric with such a sheen. I wonder what Vinaldira would say if she saw it.

Was I changed while I was sleeping? It’s strange that I wouldn't have noticed, no matter how tired I was. Who carried me here in the first place?

And they put both of us in the same bed. Could this have been Alfina’s doing… no, that's impossible.

But I'd never seen a room like this at the futures exchange or the Lord of Calamity's residence. My eyes were still blurry, and I couldn't get a good sense of my surroundings.

"Anyway. We have to get back to work. Noel could be here any minute."

Confused, I tried to return to reality, which was work.

"Y, yeah, you're right. Um, what time is it…"

Ricardo shook his head and reached for a wooden shelf next to the bed. On it was a small, thin sheet of glass. He picked up the object, whose purpose I couldn’t fathom, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. He stared at the symbol-like pattern displayed on its surface, ‘15:12’, and…

"Why is there a digital alarm clock here?"

He flopped face-down on the bed as if to smash it.

"…It seems we’re dreaming."

"That’s the most plausible conclusion, isn’t it."

We got out of bed and now sat facing each other at a small table. I copied Ricardo, but I was hesitant to sit directly on the floor with my bare feet. The floor was clean, though.

This is a dream. There are a lot of strange things, but that explanation makes the most sense.

I hadn't noticed until now, but this room itself is strange. Or rather, it feels like I had only perceived the bed and the light from the window until just a moment ago.

Then, as if they appeared out of nowhere, the floor and table came into my awareness. They looked to have an incredibly sophisticated design, unlike anything I had ever seen. For example, this table’s top is a single sheet of glass.

"This is from when you were ‘over here’, Senpai."

"Yeah. My apartment from graduate school. I want to say it's been years, but in this world's time, it's right at the edge of my memory."

Senpai spoke as he looked at the clock, or whatever it was, that he had just knocked over on the bed.

If this is a dream, then naturally, it's my dream. That means the person in front of me is the Senpai inside my dream. Is this scene also something my mind imagined based on what Senpai told me about his world?

For instance, the white box in the corner of the room is apparently that "winter box". I didn't even notice until Ricardo pointed it out.

Well, I do have some thoughts about my own mental state for having a dream like this. Like my rivalry with Maytyl, for example…

"We need to wake up soon. We have work to do."

"Yeah, Noel will chew us out."

We both tried to wake up, though since this is my dream, it's pointless unless I wake up myself.

…

"It’s not working."

"Yeah, not a single sign of it."

Just as we exchanged troubled looks, our stomachs growled in unison.

To think you can get hungry even in a dream. I guess that means my sleeping body is hungry. I remembered that I hadn't eaten breakfast because I'd been summoned so early.

"It's strange to say this in a dream, but shall we eat something first and then think?"

"I agree. Let’s see…"

Considering the content of this dream and my empty stomach, I have no choice but to blame my senpai. And so, I decided to make an unreasonable request of the senpai in my dream.

"Well then, since we have the chance, I’d like to have a meal from your original world, Senpai."