Truths Spoken in Dreams
"Ah, fuck, my head hurts like hell."
The pain was so intense it felt like my skull was splitting open. When I opened my eyes, my head was foggy again and the back of my neck throbbed. The problem was, I couldn't even remember how many times I'd felt this exact sensation. What day was it today, anyway? What kind of upright guy like me passes out multiple times in a single day?
"Did I regress again...? No, what was that at the end?"
I definitely remembered getting struck in the back of the head with something. Had I been kidnapped by an assassin? If I'd been captured and was about to face a full-course torture session, I should seriously consider suicide before that happened.
"Y-you're awake? Artin?"
What the—? A woman's voice came from within my arms, familiar yet unfamiliar at the same time. It sounded like something I'd heard somewhere before...
"Huh? Violet should be sleeping in the underground quarters, right?"
When I slowly lowered my head, a rather slender beauty was nestled in my arms, staring up at my face.
"...Uh, your name was definitely... Kar'en...?"
"Artin, you're so mean. Are you suddenly pretending not to know me as a joke?"
When I fumbled for her name, Kar'en puffed out her cheeks in indignation, as if asking what kind of prank this was.
"...What? Is this another dream? My head hurts, but..."
If this was a dream, it was far more realistic than the last one. There wasn't that hazy atmosphere from before... Maybe it was because I'd been knocked out and fallen asleep?
"...It must be a dream, right?"
But no matter how I thought about it, with this girl who resembled Kaien right in front of me, it had to be a dream. Unless Kaien had learned TS magic or something...?
"...No way."
I flinched and stared at Kar'en, but she only tilted her head in confusion at my gaze.
"What's wrong, Artin? Why do you look so surprised all of a sudden?"
"...No, is this really a dream? Are you really Kar'en?"
"...What kind of joke is that! It's not funny, Artin~ More importantly..."
When I started showing suspicion, Kar'en gave me a seductive smile and tried to wrap her arms around my shoulders.
"...Ah, Artin?"
"This is weird. My head hurts, but this doesn't feel like a dream..."
No, the more I thought about it, the stranger it seemed. Passing out frequently was one thing—Olga must have done something—but I'd entered the quarters just to sleep, only to get hit in the back of the head? And when I opened my eyes, Kar'en was here?
"It's like someone waiting in this quarters ambushed me... At this point, an assassin capable of subduing or assassinating Kaien shows up? That doesn't make sense."
I reached a rational conclusion. A more reasonable one than the idea that an assassin of such ridiculous skill had targeted me.
"Kaien, you're trying to seduce me with TS magic... Gack!?"
Looking down at Artin, who had once again been knocked unconscious by a blow to the back of the head, Kar'en let out a sigh. Why was he so oblivious to the things she wanted him to notice, yet so strangely perceptive about the oddest details? Was this also an effect of regression?
"The status window shows he hasn't figured it out yet, so it's fine. I can just start over. This time, I'll have to make the addiction much stronger..."
Kar'en glanced at the remaining dream incense, then brought it to Artin's nose and made him inhale it directly, a sly smile on her lips. She didn't know how he'd met them, but Artin had returned reeking of other bitches' scents, which was infuriating. Still, she could use that as justification. Cleansing Artin's tainted body with her own warmth—wasn't that what the relationship between the Hero and the Hero's Companion was all about? The word "companion" even carried a hint of "spouse."
"This isn't my personal greed, Artin. It's just... if I'm discovered to be Kaien, I won't be the Hero anymore, right? So..."
You and I will save the world together.
Kar'en muttered to herself as she laid Artin back down neatly on the bed, then crawled into his arms and nestled against him. She wondered what setting she should use when waking Artin this time, indulging in that happy dilemma.
"...Ugh, my head... feels dizzy..."
What was that? It felt like something had just happened... but I couldn't remember.
"Where... am I...?"
As I scanned my surroundings with blurry eyes, silky black hair swayed before me. This was... Olga?
"Oh my, you're already awake, Artin? You should sleep a bit more."
"You... are... Kar'en...?"
"Hehe, you must not be fully awake yet. Want to touch my chest?"
"What... Why are you... chest...?"
Something was off. Why did it feel like this kind of thing kept repeating several times a day? But when Kar'en spread her arms and showed off her ample breasts barely covered by silk underwear, those doubts seemed to fade along with the dizzying pain.
You can't resist breasts.
"Phew... Mmm."
"Kyaa! Artin, really... You can act spoiled since you're not going anywhere~"
I buried my face in Kar'en's cleavage to forget the intense headache. Yeah, Kar'en had definitely been a dream. So this must be a dream too. It was soft.
"Hehehe. Go ahead, act as spoiled as you want. Hehe..."
"...? Ah, got it..."
As I savored her chest, Kar'en started laughing in a slightly unsettling way, but Sion reacted the same whenever I did something lewd, so I figured it was just that. The soft, squishy texture, the faint floral scent emanating from her body, the large size that couldn't be held with one hand—what was the problem when I had the perfect breast pillow?
"Um... Artin?"
"Yeah? Why are you calling me...?"
While I was using Kar'en's chest as a pillow and starting to doze off again as the pain faded, she hesitantly spoke up.
"Artin... what do you think of me?"
As Kar'en had expected, when she offered her chest pillow to Artin, who had started doubting again, he abandoned his suspicions and began enjoying her breasts. Of course, the status window appeared with a warning, but no message telling him to stop. After all, if she didn't offer the chest pillow, Artin would doubt again, so even the status window had no choice.
'Artin acting spoiled... He looks like a baby...'
The sight of Artin nuzzling his face against her while nestled in her arms was a luxury she couldn't have imagined when she was Kaien. Without realizing it, a dark, damp aura began to emanate from Kar'en. If she were still Kaien, she would never have revealed this level of creepiness. This dampness she was expressing now that she'd returned to her true form as Kar'en was one of her real sides.
'...Does Artin like any woman? Looking at how he keeps increasing the number of women, maybe that's it.'
But at the same time, there was anxiety. To Artin, she was a woman he'd never met before—how could he know anything and still bury his face in her cleavage so happily?
'...Since his mind is foggy, maybe he'll answer honestly no matter what I ask?'
Seeing Artin looking like a baby, Kar'en began to feel a bit of courage. Even if he started doubting due to a sensitive question, in this state, a deep kiss would surely make him abandon his suspicions.
"Um, Artin?"
"Yeah? Why are you calling me...?"
When Artin looked up at her with pure eyes, Kar'en felt a small pang of guilt. Was it okay to do this to someone whose mind and body were weakened?
"...Artin... what do you think of me?"
But after twenty-one years, this was her chance, and Kar'en couldn't let it slip away. She carefully voiced the question, worried that he might notice the difference between Kar'en and Kaien and grow suspicious.
"...You're... creepy, yeah. Like a pervert. You always lick your lips when you look at me."
"...W-when did I?! I've never done that!"
The answer was true. Even when she was Kaien, Kar'en had imagined Artin as her romantic interest multiple times and given him that creepy gaze unique to long-unrequited love. But Kar'en herself had dismissed it as an affectionate, sincere look, hoping her true feelings would reach him.
"No, you did... You looked at me the same way that bastard Rigardo looks at Agnes."
However, Artin firmly shook his head and placed his hand on Kar'en's large breasts, kneading them as he began to confess his true feelings.
"You're stupid... and dumb... and frustrating... You never do what you're told... It's annoying... And whenever the mood is good, you can't read the room and come to interrupt..."
"...You can stop now, Artin. You don't have to say it so bluntly..."
Every time her own faults came out of Artin's mouth, Kar'en felt like her heart was being torn apart, tears welling up in her eyes. She'd thought that no matter how much she interfered, since he always called her his partner and smiled, he must have some goodwill toward her. But in Artin's heart, was Kaien nothing more than just the Hero?
"...Then why did you decide to become the Hero's proxy? Artin, are you only sticking around because I'm the Hero?"
With a surge of emotion, Kar'en glared at Artin and questioned him sharply. It hurt so much to think that Artin, who had approached her first when she was alone and called her his partner, had these thoughts.
"I couldn't just leave such an idiot alone because he reminded me of myself..."
"...What?"
But the words that came out of Artin's mouth were somewhat unexpected.
"He's always getting taken advantage of while helping others... but he still silently helps people. Even though there's no benefit to himself, I liked how he helps others."
"..."
"That's why... I wanted you to have a happy ending. Because you're a stupidly kind guy..."
By the time he said "stupidly kind," Artin's voice was completely drowsy with sleep. Or perhaps it was a side effect of being deeply intoxicated by the dream incense.
"Artin, so you really thought of me as your partner?"
"...But sometimes I really want to beat you until you're half-dead... *yawn*... Still, it's too hard to carry everything alone..."
Watching him yawn and blink sleepily, Kar'en felt her conscience—which was more sensitive than most people's—start to ache. Artin thought of her this way, yet she had struck the back of his head three times hard enough to knock him out. And that had been her way of venting anger over the scent of other bitches on his body.
"...Artin, you remembered our first promise? I was right to say it sincerely."
"Mmm..."
Kar'en closed Artin's half-shut eyes and gently patted his back so he could fall asleep in her arms. Hearing his soft breathing, she couldn't help but smile.
—"Kaien, let's defeat the Demon King together. You and I both have the right to be happy in this shitty world."—
Suddenly, Kaien recalled what Artin had said right after they first met. Because of the status window, she'd hidden her identity and lived as a man, unable to get close to anyone for fear someone would discover she was a woman, living a lonely life. Artin had suddenly intruded into that life and started following her around, calling her his partner without permission. At the time, she hadn't liked it at all.
'...No matter how much I tormented you or tried to distance myself, you always came to my side.'
When had it started? When had she truly come to see Artin as a friend? When had she truly come to like him? It might be too distant a memory now. But one thing was certain.
"In my happy ending, I want you to stay by my side, Artin..."
When the day came that she finished the Hero's duties, then she wanted to reveal her true self to him. What kind of expression would he make? He might get angry, or he might feel empty. But one thing was certain—he would never hate her.
'You call me stupid, but the one who's always more stupidly looking after others than I am... is you, isn't it?'
Maybe that's why you and I get along, Kar'en thought as she held Artin's hand tightly and closed her eyes. They hadn't done anything properly lewd, not even a kiss, but that didn't matter. For Kar'en, this time when she could hear Artin's sincere feelings had become the happiest and most precious moment in her twenty-one years.
"Good night, Artin. And... I love you."
Kar'en said this and slowly closed her eyes, hoping she would have happy dreams tonight.