My forehead grows warm.
Someone's feelings, prayers, and wishes reach me, spreading through my heart.
Thank you.
Uyuni Salt Flats... I'd once gone there with someone dear to me, a long time ago.
That was a memory I had.
"It's like a dream, isn't it?"
Someone had said that to me with a smile that was almost tearful. Like a dream... yeah, it really is like one.
"...Ah."
Something clicked into place.
And then, I experienced my second awakening.
"I see."
I figured out what the inside of my heart actually was.
A dream.
It was probably the same kind of dream as the knife goddess's mysterious space.
The Awakening Water lets you awaken within a dream.
And if this was my dream, then I should be able to do it.
Just like I'd changed the scenery from that forest to the Uyuni Salt Flats.
Anything I could think of, I could make happen.
He held his sword out to the side and charged straight at me.
The moment he closed to striking distance, he swung that triangular blade in every direction at an unbelievable speed.
If it were me from just a moment ago, I'd have been sliced to ribbons.
But I dodged every single strike.
I carefully tracked the deceleration, slipped through the perfect angles and gaps, and came away unscathed.
No matter how fast the strikes, as long as there's a swinging motion, they can be dodged.
That said, this evasion pushed my body far beyond its limits.
Because I could dodge, I could counterattack.
I opened a wound on his flank.
But it was shallow. He manifested countless diamond-shaped [Banish] blades.
[Phantasmagoria], huh? But it's useless.
He unleashed them. My figure vanished in an instant.
When I appeared before him, he used [
Arm
of the
Cosmos
].
Quite the counter. But my right arm
cloaked itself in
the cosmos.
This was the first time I'd used it in this form.
The Cosmic Arms collide.
I spring back as if deflected, then charge forward.
What I can manage now—
a crude imitation. A pseudo-blow born of admiration.
I dash past him, raise my knife, and bring it down.
He readies his triangular sword in a defensive stance.
Normally, the sheer weight alone would block it perfectly.
But this guy can't block it.
"One Cut to Sever Demons—!"
It cleaves the triangular sword in two,
and strikes him as well—finally dealing a serious wound.
He stands rooted to the spot.
He still looks like he has composure to spare.
Will the next one finish him?
"If you're still game, the next one's my trump card."
There is nothing I cannot do right now.
So even something like this—
He begins to crumble.
Oh. Is that it? Did I beat him?
"……I'm counting on you."
"Wha..."
I felt like someone said something to me.
He vanishes. What even was that, in the end?
I'm the only one left.
Endless blue sky stretching above and below, clouds drifting in every direction.
Somewhere far off, I can hear the sound of waves. Is the sea beyond that?
The sea, huh. I haven't been to the sea in this world yet. We're inland, so it's really far away.
Someday I'd like to go.
[Lev-Move: Enables up to 3 consecutive executions of actions physically possible with your current body, with zero recoil. Cooldown: 6 minutes.]
I close my eyes.
When I open them, it's morning.
Sunlight is streaming through the window, and I can hear birds chirping.
The rain has stopped.
I'm lying in bed.
I happen to glance over and see the witch curled up beside the bed, fast asleep.
"Witch... hm?"
Something's off about my body... I pull back the covers and freeze.
I'm naked. Wait, what, hold on — looking closer, the witch is naked too!?
There's a sheet draped over us, but she's completely bare, this witch!
"Clothes — where are our clothes?!"
Down. In front of the fireplace! I hurried to get up from the bed, and the door opened.
Huh, who is it?
"Good morning, Master."
"M-Mineha...?"
Wh-why is she here?
Um, this isn't my room. An unfamiliar private chamber. It's the witch's atelier.
"Yes. I am your Mineha. Good morning."
"G-Good morning..."
"Breakfast is ready, so once you've changed, please come downstairs."
"Th-that's very kind of you."
"I'll be taking these with me."
Mineha picked up the witch.
"O-okay."
"Then I'll take my leave."
She gave a small bow. The door clicked shut and she carried the witch away.
"......Wait, changed?!"
Once I've changed — meaning, there were clothes to change into.
"......"
Neatly folded clothes were placed on the chair.
This meticulousness could only be one person. It had to be Mineha.
I got out of bed and picked up the change of clothes, then noticed.
"These are brand new…"
The underwear was stiff with starch — completely different from what I'd had.
After getting changed, I left the room and headed down the stairs.
A savory smell drifted through the air.
"Gooood morning, Wof!"
"You're up."
Chaibe and Shiro were sitting at a round, pure-white table.
The table was Shiro's. All sorts of food was laid out on it.
"Over here, over here — sit, sit!"
Chaibe pulled out a chair. I obediently sat down.
"Good morning."
On the table: a white bowl filled with thick, amber-colored soup.
White and black bread-beans. A large, deep dish heaped with bean and meat stew.
Plus a spinach, mushroom, and bacon quiche. And lemonade.
Shiro spoke.
"You must have been tired yesterday. Eat."
"Y-yes. Thanks for the meal."
First, I scooped up the thick, amber-colored soup with a spoon and took a sip.
Oh — this was onion soup. Seasoned with salt and pepper. Delicious.
I bit into a bread-bean, washed it down with lemonade, and ladled the bean-and-meat stew onto my plate.
"So — did you get it? Your trump card?"
"Yes, I secured it properly... H-how did you know about that?"
"Well, y'know — I heard about it."
"Shiro and the others. They'd already been talking with the witch and Narcissus beforehand."
"Narcissus?"
What on earth was going on? I tilted my head and ate a mouthful of the bean-and-meat stew.
Pretty sure this dish had some name like "canule" or "camaro" or something.
Plenty of beans and big chunks of meat — it was the kind of meal that warmed you up from the inside.
The sausage was especially tasty. Tomato paste, maybe?
"Yesterday, Narcissus just suddenly showed up at our place and — y'know — started saying stuff like 'you need to cooperate because we want Wof to win' out of nowhere."
"Back then, I was convinced it was some kind of trap."
Munieka set a small pie wrapper on the table.
"But Narcissus was the real deal, huh."
"Man, Wof's got zero backbone — that's what I was thinking."
Chaive shot me a sharp glare.
Wh-what did I do?
"So the witch carried out the plan she'd been cooking up for a while. The fact that it was also the witch's turn for the side-sleeping duty played into it, too."
"So that was the second awakening water... right?"
"Yeah, that's right."
"But something unexpected happened."
"Unexpected?"
"The master and the witch didn't come back."
"Taking shelter from the rain— sure, yesterday was pretty rough."
"Taking shelter from the rain is a fact, though."
I split open the bread-bean wrap with a spoon. Inside was white sauce.
"I understand that, of course. Both of them were naked, and there were clothes and underwear laid out in front of the fireplace, so I could piece it together."
"Um, how did you figure out this place?"
If it had been a spur-of-the-moment decision, finding them shouldn't have been easy.
Munieka refilled my empty cup with lemonade as she answered.
"I already knew about this atelier. I checked the witch's house, the master's house, and then this atelier, in that order."
"O-oh, I see..."
"The witch doesn't like hotels or inns, either, which helped."
"Is that so?"
"Wof. Honestly, there's plenty I want to say, but it looks like you accomplished your goal, so I'll let this one slide."
Shiro gave me a magnanimous look with a perfectly composed face.
"Ah— thank you."
"Now then, once breakfast is over, let's check the Relic the master obtained."
"Oh, nice!"
"Does that mean a mock battle?"
"Yes. There's still time before the meeting."
"Come to think of it, today's exhibition match is a fairial showdown, right?"
"A mother-daughter showdown."
That's right.
Today, a match between Mineha and her mother, Ruriha, was being held.
After breakfast.
The mock battle was held on the atelier's rooftop, which was just the right size.
The floor still being wet was a little concerning.
My opponent was Munieka.
She told me to use it without holding back, so I activated Levmove.
"Whoa, seriously...?"
"Unbelievable."
After activating it, I had Munieka pinned down.
I grabbed her arm, wrestled her to the ground, and pressed a knife to her neck.
I had her completely subdued.
"That was a thorough and flawless victory, Master."
"...Thank you."
I bowed at Munieka's praise, which somehow sounded delighted.
For the first time, I had managed to get the better of Munieka.
Now I was ready to fight.