The Dream's Aftermath
Psyche let out a long sigh of relief. It was finally over. In real time, it had taken no more than half a day, but to her, who had to observe the dreams of dozens of students one by one, it felt as though several months had passed. Dream time was already erratic, and she had been forced to concentrate whenever she needed to end a nightmare prematurely, which only made it worse.
The students who had undergone the procedure were all moved to the infirmary to rest. Professor Emilio, whose skills as a healer were among the best in the empire regardless of his personality, was attending to them, so there shouldn't be any major issues. Most of them would likely wake up within a day or two, though individual differences would apply.
Cleanup and other tasks were for the other staff to handle. All that remained for her was preparing for the next class… but before that, she had a visitor.
"You look exhausted. Should I come back another time?"
"No, it's fine. Did you have something to say?"
"I wanted to check the results of this class in advance. Depending on the outcome, our future policies may change."
At Neville Brix's words, Psyche answered calmly.
"A total of twenty. They all succeeded in awakening. The conversion rates are seventeen at ten percent, two at thirty percent, and one at fifty percent."
"The results are better than expected. I'm honestly surprised."
If it had been a certain cheeky blond merchant, he would have retorted with something like, "You don't look or sound surprised at all." But Psyche wasn't particularly sociable enough to point out such trivial matters.
"With results like this, wouldn't it be acceptable to increase the number of students receiving the procedure?"
"……The finance department would have a heart attack, wouldn't they?"
Because Black Light was heavily influenced by an individual's mental state, there was little correlation between physical prowess and awakening rate. Self-confidence and conviction helped to some degree, but that wasn't the reason they had selected only the elite based on strength. The materials required for Black Light awakening were so expensive and rare that even the academy, which received an abnormally generous budget relative to its size, could barely afford them.
"That's because we originally considered a twenty percent success rate a success. But now we've achieved forty percent—twice the expected rate. It's an investment worth attempting."
Well, who could say? Without a certain someone's "interference," the results probably wouldn't have differed much from the original projections. The students wouldn't remember their dreams. Aside from a few special cases, that was for the best, given that most of the dreams had been nightmares. They might retain a vague impression, but nothing more.
In other words, aside from Chrome himself, only Psyche truly understood what Chrome had done. Explaining the high success rate in detail would require explaining Chrome's actions as well. Would it be all right to explain the situation to the efficiency-obsessed professor in front of her? And if she did, what would become of Chrome Midas?
Psyche fell into brief contemplation, but the image of him gently patting the frightened children surfaced in her mind, and she let out a sigh.
"To be honest, I wouldn't recommend it. This outcome relied heavily on luck, so I have no confidence we could achieve similar results again."
"Hmm. If the person in charge says that much, forcing the issue would be foolish. Understood."
From the perspective of an imperial subject, Psyche's actions might be considered a form of betrayal, but she didn't particularly care. Unlike others, she had no strong sense of belonging to the empire. She was here because of a promise with the emperor—now called the late emperor. At the very least, this wasn't a violation of that promise. So it should be fine. Probably.
"Chrome, you bastard! What? My swordsmanship is trash? Fine, taste that trash swordsmanship yourself!"
"Was it fun running your mouth where I couldn't see you? Time to pay the price!"
"Kill him! String him up!"
"Everyone, calm down! Save me! Violence solves nothing, and revenge is just emptiness! I did it all for you! Probably!"
—None of that happened. It was a relief that he couldn't use the additional provocations—or rather, excuses—he had prepared after careful consideration.
The students who woke up in the infirmary felt as though they had dreamed, but couldn't recall the contents. Many didn't even remember when they had fallen asleep.
"What did you do?"
"What?"
"Anything."
"No idea."
Even Ligret, with her absurdly sharp intuition, reacted this way, so the chances of his perfect crime being discovered approached zero—
"Brother, Brother."
"What is it?"
"I think I prefer indoor baths over outdoor ones."
"……"
"Just saying."
……It wouldn't be discovered, right?
Psyche had probably had something to say as well, but strangely, there had been no comment from her. The possibility that she was overlooking it out of consideration for him was out of the question. This damn world that never let him get away with anything without consequences wouldn't suddenly work in his favor just because he thought "mission accomplished."
She was probably consulting with the higher-ups. He had prepared countermeasures regardless of how they responded. On top of that, the students' reactions were less than ideal.
"What? Failure? How can that be when I don't remember anything!"
"I demand a retry! I can't accept this!"
The majority who had failed to awaken naturally expressed their dissatisfaction. Chrome had seen the entire process of who succeeded and who failed, but from their perspective, they had simply taken some medicine, slept once, and woken up to be told they had failed. It would be strange if they accepted it easily.
However, the complaints didn't last long before dying down. That was because the condition of those who had been judged "successful" was far from normal.
"Even if it's an awakening or whatever, what exactly changed?"
"I don't really know either. No, if anything, my body feels a bit sluggish……"
"Part of my mana is stuck like a rock and won't move!"
"Is this even working properly?!"
Those who felt no effect at all were the fortunate ones. Most students complained of poor condition or that they seemed to have gotten weaker.
"Please calm down. This is normal."
Psyche's response to these students was simple. Her composed attitude, as if there were no problems at all, helped the students settle their anger and confusion and listen to her words.
"As I explained at the beginning, Black Light has a different nature from ordinary mana. It cannot be used for anything other than its intended purpose. Rather, to be precise, using it for anything else would be meaningless. The way to use Black Light is—"
The explanation that followed could be summarized as:
—Black Light itself is both an ability and the dedicated fuel required to use that ability.
—However, most students here have less than ten percent of their total mana converted to Black Light, making it unsuitable for use like demons. The fuel would run out too quickly.
—Therefore, instead of using Black Light alone, add a portion of it when using other mana. It may feel unfamiliar now, but you will adapt soon.
—Mana mixed with Black Light operates according to different laws than the original rules.
Huh. That felt somewhat different from what the developers had said in his previous life. One student raised a hand and asked a question.
"Professor, when we add Black Light like that, what exactly changes? The part about 'different laws' is a bit hard to understand."
Psyche stared quietly at the questioning student for a moment before speaking.
"What moved according to common sense becomes uncommon sense."
"So, what does that mean……"
"It means that things like fighting spirit or willpower actually apply in reality. This is something you won't understand without experiencing it firsthand, so just accept it."
What could they do if she said they wouldn't understand without trying it? The student closed his mouth with an awkward expression, and Psyche continued as if to reassure him.
"I know the explanation is insufficient. However, since we're trying to theoretically interpret and reproduce abilities that are as natural as breathing to demons, I hope you understand that some trial and error will be necessary."
"Then, Professor, what happens to the students who failed to awaken?"
"Once more materials are gathered, those who wish will be given another chance. Until then, they will attend classes the same as the students who succeeded."
"What will the class content be?"
"You will sleep."
"…Excuse me?"
The student wore a bewildered expression. It was understandable—being told out of the blue to sleep during class was enough to make anyone doubt their ears. But having experienced some of her abilities during the previous awakening process, Chrome could roughly guess what would happen next.
"This class was not prepared solely for the awakening of Black Light. That part is merely 'it would be nice if it happens.'"
The main point is this, Psyche continued.
"You must improve your skills in advance to prepare for battles against demons. However, as ordinary mana users, it is impossible for us to let you experience fighting demons. Human techniques, whether good or bad, are systematized, so reproducing their bizarre abilities is impossible. Therefore—close your eyes and sleep."
Before the students realized it, a swarm of black butterflies was fluttering around them.
"There is a risk of physical weakening, so occasional training in other areas is necessary, but fundamentally, all you do in this class is sleep. That is all. You may rest assured. —This time, you will not forget the dream."
Hmm… I should buy into that.