Chapter 73

The deputy director is still not awake.

The words of the branch manager were enough to raise suspicions.

With this much time passed, he should have woken up, barring any unusual circumstances.

Even someone like the deputy director, for whom fatigue is a daily routine, would eventually wake up because of back pain or hunger after sleeping for 12 hours.

“Have you tried waking him?”

“…That’s why I’m asking you. Was there anything strange when you were dealing with that outsider?”

This was not something that could be overlooked.

#

As soon as I arrived, I headed straight to the deputy director’s office in the Knights’ headquarters to check on his condition.

The one who opened the door from inside was the knight commander.

“Commander.”

As I stood at attention and saluted, she tilted her head and said.

“Why are you acting that way towards me?”

There was a bit of casualness when she was with the cook, but…

I wouldn’t have treated her that way if I had known she was the knight commander.

Seeing her say that, I wondered if she still didn’t fully recognize that she was the knight commander.

If she forgets like that when she turns around, what can you do?

But that’s not what’s important right now.

When I asked for permission to enter due to an urgent matter, the knight commander subtly stepped aside so I could quickly approach the deputy director.

I brought my fingers close to his nose.

I was worried he might be dead, but at least he was breathing.

“Deputy director, it’s time for work.”

Though it might have been impolite, I thought it was an unavoidable situation, so I gently shook the deputy director’s shoulder to wake him.

As expected from the branch manager’s words, there were no signs of the deputy director waking up.

Ah, what should I do?

I had no clue what to do, and my head started to throb.

“Commander, how many people have come and gone here?”

“Um.”

The commander seemed to think for a moment before nodding and replying.

“Two people were here together.”

…Could she be talking about Alpha and Beta?

They probably checked on the deputy director since they appeared to be his direct subordinates.

If that’s the case, then it hasn’t been revealed to the entire Knights yet, which is a relief.

If news spread that the deputy director was unable to wake up due to the outsider, it would cause chaos throughout Rondan.

In that case, I couldn’t afford to waste any time.

“Commander, I will take a sleeping pill with me.”

“Um? I understand.”

I filed the report for reasons of formality, but what mattered was that I did it.

Carrying a sleeping pill, I quickly entered the Knights’ resting area, swallowed the medication, and fell asleep again.

#

A darkened consciousness.

Originally, it was a phenomenon called ‘dream,’ flowing like a state of unconsciousness.

However, I managed to move my body as I wished and became aware of my arms and legs.

There was only one reason for this.

“What? You came right away?”

Nutricha.

The outsider who manages dreams was intervening.

When Nutricha saw me, she smiled and approached me, but I wasn’t exactly in a cheerful mood.

So when she came closer, I immediately grabbed her shoulder.

“Uh, huh? Why are you suddenly acting like this?”

“The deputy director still hasn’t woken up.”

I didn’t know why her face suddenly turned red, but my sudden declaration made Nutricha’s expression quickly turn serious.

“What did you say?”

“I thought it might be the effect of the sleeping pill, but no matter how much I shook him, he hasn’t shown any signs of waking.”

As if to signify that this was not a trivial matter, Nutricha sighed and rubbed her forehead.

“That makes sense; I noticed one of the minds still hasn’t disappeared. I thought it would disappear on its own, so I left it alone.”

“…Could it be that my interference with his dream caused a problem?”

There was a dream of someone who was blocking the path leading to the unconscious.

I couldn’t just pass by when I saw someone struggling, so I intervened, but touching someone else’s unconsciousness isn’t a very good deed.

There could definitely be problems arising from that.

However, Nutricha shook her head at my words.

“No, that’s not it. The owner of the dream you interfered with has already woken up.”

“Oh, really?”

Learning that I hadn’t done something pointless relieved the guilt I was feeling.

So then, what could the actual cause be?

“The human unconscious is not always the same, so there’s always the risk of problems arising.”

Nutricha naturally tossed out a topic for explanation.

“There’s a strong current of water hitting a rock. That part that’s constantly being hit may not break the rock right away. However, if that continues endlessly, eventually the whole rock would be eroded away.”

*Thud.*

Nutricha stomped her foot and made a loud sound, reminiscent of rock falling to the ground.

It secretly startled me.

“…It would break?”

“Yes, it would snap in two and crumble. It’s the same with the unconscious. Just because someone can endure it for the time being doesn’t mean it won’t shatter eventually. Apparently, that’s happened now.”

“So what do I need to do?”

Alright, I understood that for some reason the deputy director’s mind had collapsed, causing him to fall into a deep sleep.

Then, what’s the solution?

That’s why Nutricha was explaining this in detail, right?

Nutricha’s expression became serious.

“There’s only one method. It’s similar to what you did yesterday. You have to enter that person’s dream directly.”

“…You mean I need to mess with that person’s unconsciousness myself?”

“Exactly. You understood correctly.”

Touching someone else’s unconsciousness.

There was once a saying.

When dealing with a patient suffering from depression, one should just listen to what they have to say and allow them to make their own judgments without giving any commands.

Doing otherwise can negatively affect the other person.

In that case, isn’t the deputy director’s condition worse than that?

A mental wound to the extent that it could collapse the unconsciousness.

Could I, carelessly entering the deputy director’s dream, even do that?

Wouldn’t my interference just cause more problems?

“You’re thinking something foolish right now, aren’t you?”

Did my gloomy thoughts show on my face?

Nutricha smirked lightly and said to me.

“…A foolish thought, you say?”

“I can guess you’re thinking something like ‘What right do I have to touch his unconsciousness…’. Am I wrong?”

“…You’re right about that.”

Nutricha let out a deep sigh.

“Hey, you just woke up a little while ago to help him, and now you’re hesitating after eating something made with flesh of your same kind?”

“…That’s true.”

“Isn’t it a bit silly to hesitate after putting that kind of strain on your body? What you’re doing now is like cooking a meal and sitting down at the table only to suddenly say, ‘Ah, now I don’t feel like eating.’ It’s no different.”

…I’ve felt this for a while, but Nutricha is really good at coming up with fitting analogies that make you immediately visualize the situation.

Plus, she said it with a whimsical expression, making me feel a bit cheerful.

Maybe because of that.

I felt those worried thoughts receding, even if just a little.

“…You’re right. Thank you, Nutricha.”

“If you’re grateful, think about what we should do for fun next time. That’s much better than just saying thanks.”

“Haha, right. I’ll come up with some awesome fun activity.”

“Great, I’m looking forward to it.”

Seeing Nutricha flash a bright smile while giving a thumbs-up made me smile back.

Nutricha took my hand.

And for some reason, we moved toward a larger black sphere than before.

“Here it is. If you go inside, you can enter that person’s mind. What you call a ‘dream.'”

Nutricha said that and turned her head to me.

“Are you ready?”

“…Yeah, I’m ready.”

With the knight commander currently incapacitated, the future of the Rondan Knights relied solely on the deputy director.

This moment, with the central figure having collapsed, could be seen as a state of emergency for Rondan.

I had to bring him back to his original state.

That’s why I came this far.

“Alright, then let’s go in.”

Nutricha threw herself into the black sphere first, and trusting the force pulling me with our connected hands, I followed her into the black sphere.

#

The moment we entered the black sphere, a powerful wind covered us.

No, more precisely, that was the setting of the dream.

The sky seemed like it had a hole in it, with snow falling almost like a deluge, making it hard to see in front of us.

“This place….”

Somewhere familiar.

Yes.

This is the mountain where you would encounter the Giant of the Snow Mountain before reaching it from afar.

Snow Mountain.

“Commander, it’s too dangerous!”

And then I heard a voice filled with urgency.

Having confirmed all these things, I understood the nature of the dream the deputy director was experiencing.

The disaster of the Snow Mountain expedition.

The deputy director was trapped, unable to escape from the dream of that time.

---

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