Chapter 575 – The Bureau is an Elephant (5) Fin
—
– Han Kain
I walked along the path engulfed in gray mist.
The Kingdom of Dreams is a tool that allows passage between the dreams and subconscious of my comrades.
Ahri silently guided me into “Ahri’s Dream.”
Is there something she wants to say?
Why do we have to talk in Ahri’s dream and not mine?
…
Having crossed the boundary, I arrived in Ahri’s dream.
The scenery resembled a bustling café, but a few oddities caught my eye.
In one corner was a photo booth, like a makeshift instant photo studio.
A huge frame was hanging on the wall, covered by a black cloth, rendering the picture inside invisible.
Did Ahri prepare this in advance?
“Kain~! I missed you!”
Eek!
What’s this? You’re not Kim Ahri!
Isn’t that Miro with black hair dye?
The moment I heard Ahri emit a ‘cute voice’ I had never heard before, my breath stopped.
She was practically glued to me, arms crossed over mine!
– Thump!
That soft touch made my mind stall for half a moment!
What? What? What? What? What?
Could it be that the unparalleled charm of “Mister Popular” Han Kain has finally crumbled the mystery that is Ahri?!
“What are you thinking about right now?”
“…”
“Love? Marriage? Could it be… even beyond that?”
Don’t underestimate me. I haven’t let my imagination stretch that far yet.
“Pfft! Silly? Are you still surprised? This isn’t the first time for you!”
When I heard Ahri casually say it was not the first time, my chilly heart thawed.
But this situation was indeed the first of its kind between us.
Therefore, Ahri must be lying.
Could it be that someone, or an unknown power, is watching over her?
Thus, I shouldn’t take what Ahri says at face value from here on out.
…
Unbeknownst to me, I felt a tinge of disappointment.
“Dreams are quite frustrating. Even if you experience something magical, once you wake up, you forget it all. If you want to remember, you must concentrate with all your might.”
Interpretation.
Listen intently to what’s about to be said.
“…”
“…”
I anticipated something profound, yet a whole minute passed in silence.
— Tick!
The sound of fingers tapping on the table.
“Oh, we’ve been too quiet, haven’t we?”
“… Yeah. Maybe since we haven’t met in a while?”
Silence…
Ahri, you’ve been promoted.
“Our coffee’s here. I’ll go get it.”
“Uh, um.”
Soon, Ahri returned with a refreshing iced Americano.
“This one’s yours.”
“Ah, thanks.”
— Tick!
Again, she lightly tapped the table.
Is that some kind of signal?
Does tapping the table indicate important words to follow?
“I wanted to bring them all, but carrying multiple cups was heavy. You can bring the others’ coffee.”
“… Got it.”
Interpretation.
Ahri is too burdened to convey information to everyone directly.
She’ll only tell me, and I should pass it along to the others.
“How have you been lately?”
“… I’ve been working. The place I mentioned before.”
“Be careful. I’ve heard bad news floating around.”
That’s about my faith collection at Sunrise.
Is that a warning that I can’t evade the Bureau’s eyes forever?
I asked with Jinchul’s help once, but the crisis could arise again.
I need to swiftly complete the “automatic faith barn” and step back.
“Ah, did you meet that girlfriend I mentioned before?”
The topic of conversation suddenly shifted.
Speaking of which, girlfriend…
Let’s just roll with it.
“I haven’t met her yet. I’m just… not ready yet…”
“You silly? Kayoung must be frustrated too!”
“…”
When did I ever mention Kayoung to her?
“You? Have you ever dated?”
“Dating? I’ve done it a lot~!”
At once, it sounded like a lie.
“…”
“…”
“Um, to be honest, it’s almost none. It was probably an issue with my looks.”
“Looks?”
“Well, I was always pretending to look young, so I went to school often, you know. Think about it; they’re all kids.”
“Compared to you, I guess.”
“’Agent Kim Ahri’ speaks freely! Is it fine to say this much, or should I be careful with the ‘Silent Ones’ info?”
I should understand the boundaries with Ahri, so let me poke a little.
“Besides your student disguise, have you ever dated as an agent?”
“Not really. By the way, agents rarely date.”
“Why? You’re all close over time, so—”
“Exactly. You see too much of each other, and the illusion dies. Plus, dealing with situations after breaking up is tough.”
“You still have to face them after breaking up? Sounds a bit like workplace romance.”
“It’s workplace romance without an exit. Relationships need an illusion to work. If it lasts too long, it becomes a hassle.”
It seems this topic is genuine, not merely for information.
She didn’t even tap the table—
— Thud!
“I found out something strange while digging through your dream.”
“…”
When exactly did you dig?
Did she even do it secretly without me knowing?
Well, I have delved into Miro’s dreams before—
“About Kayoung, your previous girlfriend, oh, or was she a potential ex since you never actually dated?”
“I broke up with her.”
“Really? There was something odd about it.”
“What was odd?”
“Your memories of Kain seem… off?”
“Off?”
“Like they were somewhere made up?”
“I’m not quite sure what you mean.”
“People’s memories are hard to trust. Perhaps the fresh memories you hold are a mix of forgetting and distortion.”
Ahri, is this an important topic we’re discussing?
You started it tapping the table.
“Think carefully about the past. You might recall something surprising.”
“…”
What could that mean?
“Finished your drink?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“We have something we absolutely need to do.”
As the mug emptied, Ahri guided me to a corner of the coffee shop.
“Kain, do you know what this is?”
“Isn’t it a sticker photo booth?”
“I wanted to try one of these! Let’s take a picture!”
Once more, her soft arm wrapped around mine, and I felt a delightful touch.
— Click!
With a loud noise, a little photo of us popped out, accompanied by a ringing sound.
— Thud!
A signal to focus.
Ahri soon scribbled the following on the photo.
「Ahri ♥ Cain」
“How about that? Cute, right?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
My English name is Han Gain, not Han Cain.
Did Ahri mix that up?
“By the way, how’s your little brother doing?”
“… He’s well.”
My brother is actually a younger sister, and both my colleagues and Ahri know this well.
Neither Cain nor brother were mistakes.
“…”
Could this have triggered thoughts about the biblical tale of Cain and Abel?
Next, Ahri began strolling around the café with me.
“Walking with you reminds me of old times.”
“Old times?”
“Memories from the hotel.”
“What parts?”
“Um, Room 206?”
Room 206, where the Demon King resurrects in a hundred days.
“That was a terrifying room to think back on! Wasn’t that Demon King the strongest of all the prisoners?”
“Hmm, it’s tough to gauge at our level. Looking from a rabbit’s eye, a wolf and a tiger appear quite similar.”
“The methods used by the Rationalists to seal the Demon King were horrendous too, right?”
From Room 206, there were three main methods the Rationalists sealed the Demon King:
The spiritual mass of humanity created by building a city on top of the Demon King’s fragment.
The power to suppress the supernatural emitted through human sacrifices by resilient rationality.
Time manipulation by the Time Sovereign.
— Thud!
That’s the signal that something important is on the horizon.
“Isn’t it scary to imagine? If the Demon King were alive now—”
At that moment.
— Thunder!
Thunder erupted from outside the café.
What’s going on? I glanced at Ahri, whose complexion had drained completely pale in an instant.
“… ”
This isn’t something Ahri had orchestrated.
Soon, she bit her lip and continued to speak with determination.
“If the Demon King were real, it would be truly terrifying.”
“… I guess.”
Interpretation.
An entity opposing the Demon King exists in reality.
Many other prisoners are in different rooms, but why mention the ‘Demon King’?
Is it because the sealing method is similar to Room 206?
“Maybe the Demon King’s identity is something you know better than I do. You’ve actually seen him.”
I know the Demon King more than Ahri does.
I’ve seen him in person.
Flipping that, Ahri has never laid eyes on it?
— Snap!
Ahri’s lips split, and her wrist bore a deep bruise.
It felt like a warning from someone saying, “Don’t cross that line.”
“…”
She continues with a smile, as if nothing happened.
“Kain, you like movies and novels, right?”
“Sure, I really like them.”
“Me too. After leaving the deep-sea hotel, I watched loads.”
“Sounds fun.”
“Among them, I particularly enjoyed time-loop dramas and endless recurrence stories.”
“…”
“Contrasting them with my experiences, it was hilariously entertaining.”
“Really?”
“But do you know this?”
“What?”
“Many time-recurrence stories bear logical inconsistencies? I only learned this recently.”
“… I don’t quite get it.”
“For example, comparing it to a typical Japanese isekai story. If the protagonist fell into a fantasy world, what issues do you think would arise?”
“Uh… I’m not so familiar with that genre.”
“Usually, the language should differ. Even on Earth, languages vary widely, so it’s unlikely they’d be using Japanese in another world.”
“You’re right.”
“However, there’s rarely a protagonist struggling to grasp the language. For various reasons, the language of that world often magically becomes Japanese. Why do you think that happens?”
It’s quite obvious.
Scenes where someone spends 2-3 years just learning a language would be boring, so the author skips it.
Readers might guess, but no one wants to watch a protagonist studying for three years.
“It’s a convenient device, right? Considering the hotel also unified the language.”
“Exactly. It’s a convenient plot device. And similar devices are present in recurring stories too.”
— Thunder!
Again, thunder crashed.
“If actual regression happened in reality, what might occur?”
“…”
“This isn’t just something that might happen; it should happen, but it gets glossed over—oh….”
At this point, Ahri’s attire had become stained with blood.
She seemed to struggle against the pain and started panting heavily.
“…”
In a setting where regression or looping isn’t fictional, such events should frequently occur.
Yet, most stories don’t depict such realities.
I vaguely understood but couldn’t pinpoint it.
Asking for further detail seems excessive.
“L… Last. Let’s head in there…”
Since Ahri looked like she could collapse at any moment, I quickly moved to support her by her side.
The place we arrived at was in front of the massive frame I had seen when we first arrived.
The black cloth still covered it.
“… Remove it.”
The moment I reached to grab the cloth.
— Thunder! Boom!
“… ”
A chilling sensation spread, and I halted.
If it’s a frame, there must be a picture or painting inside.
Would Ahri still be okay after I look at it?
“Remove it.”
“… ”
Noticing I subconsciously turned my head to look at Ahri, I saw unwavering resolve in her gaze.
To hesitate any longer would be rude.
— Flutter!
A mystical – yet incomprehensible picture.
It was background reminiscent of a Greek or Roman temple.
In the center picture, a ship sails against the sun.
The reflection of the temple’s floor and the water in the frame was unnaturally clear, like a mirror.
The moment I perceived all this,
— Thunder!
A gargantuan thunder sound echoed, shaking the entire space!
“Ugh!”
The overwhelming destructive force collapsed the café in seconds, and an incomprehensible eye appeared in the sky.
That eye!
Isn’t it the entity I encountered long ago when I first acquired the Kingdom of Dreams?
“Oh no!”
It bleeds from its eyes.
The ferocious chains invading from the ‘outside’ coil around it!
Could it be that this eye has offered substantial defense against the outside invasion?
Perhaps thinking along similar lines, Ahri flashed a faint smile.
“Thank you! Considering how many lines we’ve crossed, I thought we wouldn’t hold out… but it seems it was thanks to you.”
The bleeding eye gazes at me.
There were no words or phrases, yet instinctively I understood the message the ‘Kingdom of Dreams’ wished to transmit to me.
“Get out of this woman’s dream.”
“Return to your own dream. It is safe there.”
— Thunder!
The girl who had leaned on me lightly shoved me aside.
“Ugh!”
“Kain, do as instructed. Return to your dream.”
“With you, I want to—”
“You know it’s not possible.”
My breath hitched.
“… Ahri.”
“You’ll be fine. Probably, you will be fine.”
“What if it’s not? If you’ve crossed too many lines—”
Ahri’s lips turned upward in a curve.
“If that’s the case, Kain.”
A tender touch flicked my forehead.
“We’ll meet in the next world!”
— Thunder!
That was my last memory.
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