kscans

Chapter 278 - The Inverted Shadow in the Mirror

"Where is this?"

"Ah, this is the event's merchandise corner. Uhm, they sell souvenirs here."

Leaving the exhibition hall, we found ourselves in a brightly lit room, a complete change from before. Various goods were lined up on clean shelves. I was impressed by the precision of the craftsmanship and the sheer variety of items.

However, for me, still full from the overwhelming impact of what I had just seen, it felt a little lacking.

Projecting that beauty onto a flat surface as it was would reduce its charm by more than half. That was my thought as I looked at the flattened pictures of the patterns that had moved me so deeply just moments ago.

Of course, as a merchant, I understood its purpose. In the back of the room, a man and woman who appeared to be a couple, dressed in elegant clothes, were choosing souvenirs. A memento of the day, a way to give form to a memory.

...I was starting to get a little interested. Senpai's choices today, perhaps because this is my dream, have been truly ideal. If that is the case, then senpai might... for me...

"Now then, is there anything interesting... Oh, they're doing a 3D printer demonstration over there."

Senpai pointed to the center of the room. There was a transparent, circular case with a black frame. Inside, a tool shaped like a funnel was suspended from above. As the tool moved, a complex shape was created in its wake. What it was doing resembled alchemy, but from what I could see, the principle seemed to be different.

Or rather, the calculations that would make this level of control possible...

"So they can make the designs from the exhibit earlier. It's only plastic though. A little cheap, maybe."

Senpai said that, but I was captivated by the three-dimensional objects lined up next to the device. They didn't move, so they were incomplete, but they were close enough to the images from before.

"..."

"Uhm, you want one of these?"

"...Yes."

Telling myself it was just a dream, I decided to indulge. I had already chosen the shape I wanted. That circular one, from the last exhibition room.

"From exhibit number thirty-four..."

Senpai was speaking with the female clerk. Apparently she was the one who operated this device. However, the woman shook her head. Senpai looked at me with a troubled expression.

"Well, uhm. It seems that shape is mechanically difficult. If you chose a different one..."

Apparently it was too complex and the shape would break partway through. I couldn't help but puff out my cheeks. If I couldn't have that shape, then any of the small trinkets lined up around it would be the same. Just as I thought that, I remembered the conversation I had with senpai earlier.

"Could you translate for me for a moment?"

I explained the formula conversion. The clerk had been listening to us with a tilted head, but when senpai showed her the formula, she reluctantly operated the device.

The device moved smoothly. At the shape it produced, the woman's face filled with surprise. It seemed she could operate it, but she wasn't very familiar with arithmetics.

"...Now for the size, what should we do..."

It seemed the last one was a prototype. I glanced over at the couple from before. They looked so happy together. There was a ring on the woman's finger.

"In that case, please make it to fit this finger."

I pointed to the ring finger of my left hand with my right. Senpai grew flustered. But the woman just smiled warmly and took my order.

"Hehe, hehehehe."

A small glimmer now resided on my finger. It was a dull light, its refractive index lower than even glass, let alone a gemstone, but its harmonious form was truly beautiful. It was like wearing a mathematical formula on my finger.

And what's more, it was a present from senpai. A feeling akin to superiority over Maytyl awakened deep in my chest. My situation was the opposite of hers, but I think being on the receiving end is better.

"I'm fine with you being so happy over a cheap piece of plastic. But the ring finger of your left hand is a bad idea."

"Why is that?"

It seemed it really did have a deep meaning. Seeing senpai so troubled was amusing, so I decided to leave things as they were. It was all just a dream anyway. With that thought, I stroked my finger.

...But is this really a dream?

The smooth sensation on my finger revived the question.

There are too many things I don't know in this world. It would be more natural to think of it as senpai's dream. If so, that would make me a character in his dream, but...

No, I am me. Just a moment ago, I explained something to senpai that he did not know. But the same could be said for him. In that case... what if we are both real...

No, but this is a dream. Even if there was a phenomenon that allowed travel between worlds, there are too many contradictions. These clothes, and these shoes. How did I change into them?

But wait, if the explanation about the holograms from before was true...

As numbers spun round and round in my head, I approached the exit of the souvenir corner.

My geometric sense told me this exit was on the opposite side of the reception desk from the entrance we first used. In that case, the same sight as before should be outside... but I couldn't see it.

I stopped in my tracks. I tugged on the sleeve of senpai, who was looking at me with a quizzical expression. I had a premonition that this dreamlike experience would end the moment I stepped out of this space.

"What's wrong, Mia? Are you tired from all the excitement?"

"...What if I said I didn't want to leave? What would you do? If I said that I wanted to stay in this dream forever."

The words had tumbled out of my mouth before I knew it.

"That would be a problem. We wouldn't be able to go back, you know."

Senpai looked troubled. Just as I wondered who he was thinking of, my mouth spoke the rest on its own.

"What if I said I didn't want to go back. What if I said I alone would remain in this world... what would you do?"

I remembered what Ricardo had said when I was abducted by Maytyl, that he couldn't let me go to the Empire all by myself.

"We have a lot of things we left behind back there, don't we? We have our work. And you too, Mia..."

Senpai trailed off and shook his head. Then, he looked straight at me.

"I can't just leave you behind, Mia. So I can only ask. Please, come with me."

Ricardo reached his hand out to me as he spoke. This was a memory from even longer ago than that time. Back when I was all alone in the village barn, hauling hay, withdrawn into my own mind. The time he led a lonely orphan like me out into the world...

"You just want to go back to Alfina and Alex, don't you?"

Feeling a little cunning, I took senpai's hand. It was true, this world was fascinating, and there were so many things I wanted to know. But back in the other world, there were things I had built together with senpai, together with everyone.

"I'm joking. I have things back there too, you know. Rilka and the others are there, after all."

"I'm glad to hear that."

Walking beside a visibly relieved senpai, I took a step towards the exit.

I knew this experience was coming to an end. I instinctively clenched the fingers of my left hand into a tight fist.

"Um, excuse me. The professor would very much like to speak with you..."

I thought I heard the clerk's voice from behind me. And in the next moment...

It felt like missing a step in a dream. My mind was thrown into the void.

Just like when I came here, my consciousness wavered, its outline blurring away.

I pushed up a thick cloth with my head. I rubbed my dazzling eyes. It seems I had fallen asleep. I wonder if Alfina had put the blanket on me.

Right, what was I doing? I think I was with senpai......... As I shook my head, I remembered the dream I had just been having.

I looked at my clenched left hand. One by one, I unfurled my stiff fingers...

"I knew it."

Of course, there was nothing there. I wistfully rubbed the ring finger of my left hand. Not even an imprint remained.

Even now that I was awake, I remembered the contents of the dream clearly. Just as I was about to recall the dreamlike memory in my mind,

"Ricardo. What is the meaning of this, summoning me here only for you to be sleeping."

I heard Noel's voice from the next room. I could hear senpai making troubled excuses.

"...it. What little was left... is almost... gone."

"Well, you can say that, but. To me..."

Maytyl, who must have returned at some point, was also there, complaining to senpai about that crystal shard. It seemed she had remembered leaving the shard with the residual purple magic near Alfina and had rushed back.

I could also hear Alfina's voice, calming the two of them down.

It looked like I had to get back to work. I stroked my left finger one last time, then folded the blanket and stood up.