Nightmare (3)
Nightmare (3)
Dojin, who had come outside, acted as if everything was truly new to him, marveling at whatever he saw and enjoying whatever he did.
If you consider that this world was made from Dojin's memories, and taking into account that the age difference between dream-world Dojin and real-world Dojin wasn't that great...
Raize could easily tell just how many long years he must have been abused like that.
"......Fun?"
"Yeah! Super fun!"
Watching Dojin ride the kiddie car in the arcade, shaking his body back and forth with a deulkeong deulkeong, Raize couldn't help but smile warmly.
This was the dream world, and once he woke up, Dojin wouldn't even remember any of this.
But it felt like consoling the abused Dojin from long ago, and that made her happy. And above all, wasn't she the only one who knew about this past of his?
Among all the women gunning for Dojin, this was a huge advantage.
'A secret shared only between me and Dojin....'
Thinking that, she looked at Dojin. He had been shaking excitedly but suddenly paused, his face turning anxious.
"......Hey."
"What? Wanna do something else?"
"Is it okay for me to be playing like this?"
The unique anxiety of a child—Dojin suddenly started feeling uneasy. Raize had shown a few mage-like displays, but her outward appearance was that of a kid no different from him, wasn't it?
Outward appearances had a huge influence. Right now, Dojin saw himself as having committed a grave sin by sneaking out of solitary confinement with another kid.
And if the owner of the dream thought that way, the dream would shift accordingly.
"Found you."
At the familiar voice, Dojin's body stiffened up. Raize turned her head to look behind her. The Attendant who had treated Dojin's wounds at the dojo was standing there.
As if she couldn't even imagine wearing anything else, her outfit was the exact same maid uniform from the dojo.
"Young master. The master is looking for you."
"......I'm not going."
"He'll get angry, though."
Dojin flinched at those words. Raize pondered whether she should step in and take her down. From Dojin's reaction, it didn't seem like he saw rejecting her as impossible...
But there was no need to bet everything on such an ambiguous possibility. Raize looked at Dojin.
"Dojin, let's run away."
"......No way. She's an adult."
"You can't run from adults?"
"Sis, are you dumb? Of course not."
"......I see."
Barely holding back a curse, Raize looked at the Attendant. She couldn't tell much since she was clothed, but she didn't look that strong.
In that case, maybe they could win? She decided to go for it.
"Then what about fighting and winning?"
"...Huh?"
"Could you win against that woman in a fight?"
At those words, Dojin started scanning the Attendant up and down. His eyes darted quickly, and in an instant, having gauged her strength, he nodded.
"Probably possible, but..."
"Possible, but?"
"You're not supposed to hit people."
"......Why?"
"'Cause the police come and take you away."
As if asking why she was questioning something so obvious, Dojin shot Raize a side-eye. Holding back her anger once more, Raize summoned a Wooden Sword with magic.
It was the exact same weight and size as the Live Blade Dojin had been holding earlier. It wouldn't cut, but it was plenty lethal as a weapon.
And then she started guiding his thinking.
"Dojin, did your father ever get taken by the police?"
"......No?"
"Why?"
"'Cause Dad didn't do anything wrong...?"
"You said hitting people gets you taken by the police. I saw him hitting you full force earlier—does that mean you're not human?"
"......That was training."
"So if it's training, it's okay to hit people?"
"Uh, uhh... That is, um..."
Right now, two sets of memories were clashing in Dojin's mind. The body and memories of a ten-year-old kid that had become such a Trauma it even appeared in his dreams.
And the memories of a twenty-year-old young man who had somewhat escaped his father's Trauma, equipped with various experiences and common sense.
According to the latter, no matter how you sliced it, beating someone like that in training was illegal. Straight-up abuse that would land you in prison with no excuses.
But reality wasn't like that. So what the hell was it? Did that mean Dojin wasn't human or something?
Seeing Dojin conflicted, Raize decided to give him a push on the back.
"If it's training, you get forgiven to some extent for hitting, right?"
"Uh, yeah. Probably..."
"Then just treat it like training with her."
"......Training?"
"Adult vs. kid, with this handicap, she can't complain even if you use a weapon."
Sure enough, Dojin bought into Raize's words easily. Resolved, he gripped the sword and stared at the Attendant. The moment he took hold of it, his eyes changed.
There wasn't a shred of emotion as he regarded his opponent. Like a single blade, he focused solely on cutting her down sharply.
The Attendant, seeing the suddenly appeared Wooden Sword, looked flustered but still faced Dojin.
"Y-Young master? That's..."
"Hup!"
No need for talk. Dojin's body instantly read the Attendant's fluster as the juiciest opening. He stepped forward and charged.
With the height difference, targeting the head seemed tough. But humans had plenty of vital spots even without the head.
Taat! Tak, peok!
He struck the side of her knee to force her down, then flowed upward like water, thrusting the sword at her solar plexus, Adam's apple, and philtrum.
In a flash, the sword struck three human vital spots. The Attendant fainted on the spot. She served Dojin's father, but she was just a regular person who had never learned martial arts.
"......Did it."
Dojin felt a dazed thrill seeing his usual practice Sword Technique actually work in real life. It was his first time hitting a real person, yet it felt strangely familiar.
While Dojin stood frozen, Raize quickly grabbed him and got out of there. Before the dream world's inhabitants could grasp what he'd done and take action.
"......Here."
"80,000 won per night."
Dojin found a nearby motel room. Despite the rundown facilities and ridiculously high price, he paid without hesitation.
It wasn't his money anyway. Entering the room, thankfully, it was less shabby than the lobby.
"Where's this?"
"A motel...... You don't know?"
"......No, I do."
Raize realized Dojin's memories were gradually merging. If dream Dojin and real Dojin combined, he wouldn't be able to find memories unconsciously hidden away.
She had to figure it out first. Raize lay down next to Dojin on the bed and whispered to him.
"What're you gonna do now?"
"Hmm...... Dunno... Won't I get in trouble if I go home?"
"Then going back's out."
"But... I have to go back. Mom's coming soon."
"Yeah?"
Mom this, mom that since earlier. Real-world Dojin wasn't this much of a mama's boy. Just how much did he love her?
Raize started getting curious about what Dojin's mom looked like. If she lingered in his unconscious this much, she was probably close to his ideal type.
"Dojin."
"Yeah...?"
"What's precious to you?"
"Precious stuff?"
Dojin fell into thought at those words. Naturally, his mom was top of the list. But that was too obvious—Raize wouldn't have asked that.
After agonizing, Dojin recalled a few items. A stone he'd picked up as a kid, a bracelet from his mom, a necklace gift, stuff like that.
Surprisingly, those might hold memories embedded in them. Hearing that, Raize asked where he kept them.
"......Why do you wanna know?"
"'Cause they're precious. Won't your dad just toss 'em?"
"T-That could happen...... Oh no, can't let that. I really treasure those..."
"Just tell me where. I'll get 'em for you."
"......For real?"
Dojin shot up, clinging to Raize. She nodded, saying not to worry. After a moment's hesitation, figuring it was better than his dad smashing them, Dojin told her the spot.
"Pull out the very bottom drawer of the desk in my room completely... There's an empty space behind it. I hid 'em there."
"Got it. I'll be right back. Wait here."
For this kid to hide his treasures in a spot like that—how little personal space did he even have?
Thinking that, Raize left the motel and headed to Dojin's dojo. Not knowing which was his room, she flew around searching everywhere.
And by chance, she found Dojin's father's room. He was sitting cross-legged in the center, deep in meditation. A sword lay ready by his side to be drawn at any moment.
Raize thought he was pathetic. His own kid was getting tormented and even ran away, and here he was meditating? She didn't know the reality, but wasn't this how Dojin imagined him?
'Tch.'
Take this, she thought, throwing a punch.
And at that exact moment, seureung- the sword was drawn.
Ssaeeak!
"Eek!?"
"Hmm—?"
He opened his eyes, looked around, then dismissed it as his imagination and sank back into meditation. Raize checked if her arm was sliced off, calming her pounding heart.
'No way, what... Why did the memory recognize me? Is this guy really Dojin's dad?'
So Dojin saw his father as such an amazing swordsman he could even detect ghosts or something.
At this point, she was starting to doubt Dojin's memories. What kind of person was he really? Of course, even a glimpse of how he treated Dojin confirmed he wasn't human.
"Ah, this must be it......"
Finally finding Dojin's room, Raize pulled out the bottom desk drawer completely as he'd described, then dug out the junk hidden behind it.
Sure enough, among them was a mysterious, glowing white orb. No such material existed in reality—this was Dojin's Memory.
'If I just get out now......'
Having found the Memory, Raize prepared to return to reality but hesitated. If she left with it like this, it was goodbye forever to dream-world Dojin.
Sure, she could enter his dreams again later, but humans weren't creatures who dreamed the same thing every time, right?
No. If they parted now, the odds of meeting again were slim. And above all, she still hadn't confirmed Dojin's ideal type.
'......Just drop this off and go.'
She'd found the Memory anyway. From now on, it was just for enjoying Dojin's civilization. Making that excuse, Raize flew back to the motel where Dojin was.