Chapter 48: Nightmare
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 48: Nightmare
The little girl lunged forward, wrapping her arms around Johanna in a sudden hug.
Johanna, holding a skewer in one hand, used the other to gently stroke the child’s hair.
"Long time no see, Clown Mister!"
The child beamed at me, clearly enjoying the head pat.
"I’m still a 'Mister' to you?!"
I slumped my shoulders, playing the part of the dejected performer. Thud.
"Hehe."
The child giggled innocently at my reaction. I couldn't help but wonder if she was calling me "Mister" on purpose just to see me act out.
"Fufu, I wonder if you'll still call me 'Mister' after seeing this?"
I stood up straight and snapped my fingers with a flourish. I wove an illusion specifically for her.
"Whoa!"
The cobblestones beneath our feet instantly dissolved into a lush, emerald meadow. Butterflies of every imaginable color fluttered through the air around us. My proficiency with illusions had grown significantly since I’d entered the Academy.
"Clown Mister, you're amazing!" the child cheered, spreading her arms wide.
"And you still call me Mis—"
I cut myself off. My eyes had drifted to the child's arm.
"...What's wrong?"
When I fell silent and simply stared, the child flinched. It was understandable; being stared at wordlessly by someone in this mask could be unnerving.
"There's a wound on your arm. When did you get hurt?"
The question came out with a sharp, serious edge before I could stop it. There was a deep gash on her arm. Judging by the state of it, the wound was fresh.
"Huh? Oh, this? I just fell while I was playing earlier," the child said dismissively, glancing down at the injury.
I didn't like that. Not one bit.
"Please, wait a moment."
I reached into my Pocket Dimension and pulled out a medicinal salve. If it were up to me, I would have used a potion, but the only ones I had on hand were black potions.
"A scratch like this doesn't really need medicine. If I just leave it alone—"
"Stay still."
I cut off her attempt to refuse.
"Urgh..."
The child let out a small wince as the medicine touched the raw skin.
"Endure it, even if it stings. It hurts now, but this will make sure it doesn't leave a scar."
I quickly checked the rest of her body for more injuries. Fortunately, I didn't see any.
"Make sure you apply this to the wound once a day."
I pressed the entire jar of medicine into the child's small hand.
"B-but..."
She tried to decline the gift.
"I have plenty of these. Don't be polite—just take it."
I pulled out dozens of identical medicine jars to show her. In truth, they were all fakes created with illusions. Unaware of the trick, the child finally accepted the jar in silence.
".............."
"..............."
Both Johanna and the child fell quiet.
Sigh. Was I being too serious?
The atmosphere had turned heavy in an instant. Just as I was worrying about how to lighten the mood, the child spoke up, her eyes fixed on the skewer in Johanna's hand.
"Unnie, you're eating those skewers again today."
Again today? Does that mean Johanna usually eats these?
".......Huh?"
Johanna avoided my gaze the moment the child spoke.
Wait. Was the reason she’d been staring at the skewer shop earlier not because she wanted to try them, but because she was worried she couldn't eat them while I was around?
"Senior, didn't you tell me earlier that we shouldn't eat while on patrol?"
"..............."
"Don't tell me you've been sneaking snacks this whole time?"
Johanna's face flushed a faint pink with embarrassment. Without a word, she turned and began to walk away.
"Where are you going? Senior!"
"I have to finish the patrol."
Her pace was noticeably faster than it had been moments ago.
"Senior, wait for me!"
I patted the head of the child who had broken the tension and ran after Johanna.
As we continued our rounds, the child walked alongside us. Since we were maintaining a walking pace, she had no trouble keeping up. Fortunately, the patrol was uneventful. The only incident was a report of some adventurers brawling in a shop, but they stopped the moment they saw our Academy uniforms.
Most Academy students were nobles, and adventurers knew better than to cause trouble with the aristocracy.
Based on the game's original plot, nothing significant was supposed to happen for at least another month.
"Clown Mister, will you come back tomorrow?"
When it was finally time to part ways, the child looked up at me with lingering sadness in her eyes.
".....Well."
I couldn't bring myself to give her a hollow promise. I had seen too many people at the orphanage promise to return and never show their faces again. I knew exactly how a child felt in that moment.
"We'll come back tomorrow."
As I hesitated, Johanna spoke up for me.
"Okay!"
The child gave us a bright, radiant smile and skipped away.
"Senior, are we actually allowed to come out for patrol tomorrow too?" I asked as we walked back toward the Academy. Even if she was the Disciplinary Committee President, could she really just decide that on a whim?
"The other committee members told us to keep doing the patrols together during the experience period."
"Who did?"
"The Disciplinary Committee members."
There's no way they said that.
I knew how much the committee members adored Johanna. There was no way they would willingly give up the chance to patrol with her. I puzzled over it until we reached the Academy gates, but I couldn't find a logical reason.
* * *
After classes ended and I returned to the dormitory, I habitually reached for my communication device to call Yerika.
"Ah..."
I remembered then that I couldn't talk to her today. Or perhaps, I had been intentionally trying not to think about it until now.
What should I do?
In the end, I spent the night organizing my Pocket Dimension until the early hours of the morning.
"Sigh...."
As time passed, my sighs grew heavier. It was already time for bed. Even as I lay down, the restlessness didn't stop. Could I even sleep without the medicine or Yerika’s voice?
Rustle.
I tossed and turned for an eternity before finally drifting off.
* * *
I bolted upright in bed.
"Haah.... Haah...."
Breathing raggedly, I checked the clock.
Ten minutes.
Only ten minutes had passed since I fell asleep. The sheets were already drenched in sweat.
Thud, thud.
I stumbled to the bathroom to splash cold water on my face.
"Haah...."
No matter how much I scrubbed, I couldn't clear my head. The dream—no, the nightmare—kept flashing back with terrifying clarity.
A freezing back alley. Children who had lost their warmth. Hot blood spreading across the pavement. Everything was too vivid.
The ten minutes I slept was all I would get for the night.
* * *
"Are you okay?" Johanna asked suddenly as we walked our patrol route.
"Pardon? What do you mean?"
"You look very tired."
At her words, I instinctively touched my face. Fortunately, the mask was still firmly in place.
"I'm wearing a mask, Senior. How can you tell?"
"I don't know. I just have a feeling."
"Your intuition must be off today. I'm perfectly fine! Now, shall we hurry? The little lady is waiting."
But even after the appointed time, the child didn't show up at our meeting spot.
Normally, I would have assumed she just overslept, but perhaps because of the nightmare, a cold sense of dread began to crawl up my spine.
"Senior, do you happen to know where that child lives?"
Johanna shook her head. Of course she wouldn't.
"Senior, wait here a moment. I'm going to look for her."
"I'll go with you. It'll be faster."
With Johanna’s help, we found the house quickly. People were much more willing to talk when the Disciplinary Committee President asked the questions.
The child's home was on the far outskirts of the capital. The building was a dilapidated wreck, caked in filth and clearly neglected for a long time. I recalled what a man had told us just moments ago—that the child's mother had been seen buying expensive liquor and meat last night.
Looking at this hovel, it was obvious they were in no position to afford such luxuries.
Don't tell me.
My body trembled as the worst-case scenarios flooded my mind.
"Senior, wait."
I grabbed Johanna’s arm as she reached for the door. I spoke bluntly, the "Clown" persona slipping. The wound on the child's arm and her unusually sharp wit kept flashing through my mind.
"I'll go in first."
I shrouded myself in an illusion.
"That appearance...?" Johanna looked startled.
My form was now an exact replica of the little girl. In her shape, I reached out and pushed the door.
Creeeeak.
The rickety door groaned open easily.
The interior was a disaster. Trash was strewn across the floor, and the walls were thick with mold. It was hard to believe a human being lived here, let alone a child.
A woman sat in the center of the room, looking at me with hazy, drunken eyes. She was draped in fine clothes and jewelry that looked grotesque against the squalor of the house.
The woman's gaze landed on me.
As she saw me in the form of the child, the drunken fog in her eyes vanished, replaced by pure, unadulterated rage. It was not the look of a mother.
"Why are you here?! I told you not to run away! I told you to stay with those people! My life is already a mess because of you, so why can't you just do what you're told?!!!"
I remained silent, my eyes falling on a medicine jar lying on the floor.
It was the one I had given the child.
I picked it up. It was open, and more than half the contents were gone. For the child to have used that much, she would have had to apply it every day for a month. But the scent of the medicine I had gifted her didn't come from a wound—it wafted from the woman standing before me. She had used the child's medicine for herself.
"Why aren't you saying anything! Are you looking down on me too?!"
The woman lunged forward and grabbed my shoulder. As her hand touched me, the illusion shattered, and I returned to my original form.
"Huh?" The woman gasped, recoiling in shock. "Who... who are you?"
Rage boiled over, hot and suffocating. I swung my fist with everything I had at the subhuman piece of shit standing in front of me.
BAM!
"Haah....."
I breathed heavily, my knuckles throbbing. The final images of the nightmare flashed through my mind.
'Oppa, please... just kill us...'