6
Chapter 6
Meoooow—
Meaaaow—
This morning, I'm being woken up by an organic alarm instead of an inorganic one.
"Alright, alright. I'm sorry. How many times are you going to wake me up?"
Meow—
In truth, this wasn't the first or second time I'd been woken up today.
"Besides, you've been eating so well that you even ripped open the food bag."
Meow—
As if Luna understood me, she pretended to be oblivious and stealthily moved away.
"Now that I think about it, that's actually quite cheeky."
So, I flipped Luna over and blew a raspberry on her belly.
Meooooow...
Look at this Luna, defeated by a single belly raspberry. Such a mediocre cat.
"See? This is why you shouldn't keep waking me up."
Myaa...
I looked around my room.
It definitely was boring because there was absolutely nothing in here.
Should I buy a cat tower or something?
But would it be right to buy a cat tower when I don't even have my own furniture?
"Humans come before cats."
I should buy some furniture for myself first.
"I'll buy you some toys, so be satisfied with that."
Hiss—
Now she's lunging at me again.
So I gave her another belly raspberry.
Leaving Luna sprawled out after the attack, I got down to work.
"Right, this is a place where a human lives. I need some furniture. There's nothing here but a fridge, a stove, and a washing machine."
My home was far too desolate.
It felt as if someone could just move in the moment I disappeared.
"Now then, what should I buy first~?"
While I sat in the corner and searched on my phone, Luna approached and climbed onto my lap.
"Do you want to see too?"
I scooped Luna up with my free arm.
"First, a desk, a wardrobe, and a computer. What else do I need?"
Meow—
"Yeah, I'll buy you toys too. As for clothes... I guess I don't need any."
According to the original story, the Academy school uniforms were made by the Alchemist and included great effects like stain resistance, self-repair, shock absorption, and size adjustment, so there was no reason to get other clothes.
"Then I'll cancel the wardrobe too."
Meow—
"What was that, Luna?"
Meow—
"Since I canceled the wardrobe, you want a cat tower instead?"
Meow meow—
"No way~"
It's best to save as much money as possible.
After all, I don't have that much.
Hiss—
Luna showed her fighting spirit, launching "paw punches" to seize the cat tower, but since I'd already clipped her claws—her only weapon—she stood no chance of winning.
So, I gave her another belly raspberry.
Meow...
As she gazed at me so pitifully, I felt my heart softening. Maybe I did it too much.
"Luna..."
Meow...
"Do you really want a cat tower?"
Miaow...
"Daddy will buy you one when he makes more money. Now let's get some sleep; I tried to go to bed at ten, but you kept me up until three in the morning."
And so, using Luna's meows as a lullaby, I lay back down and drifted into the world of dreams, exhausted.
***
No.
I didn't actually mean that I wanted to go to the world of dreams.
"Dammit. Is this that event prize or whatever?"
Event my ass. Why the hell am I here?
A Neutral Constellation.
The One Who Sleeps and Dreams Forever.
The Top Student of the Magic Department and a Constellation for one of the original story's main characters.
I knew I'd end up here eventually, but I never dreamed it would be right now.
This is where you end up if The One Who Sleeps and Dreams Forever takes an interest in you.
The purpose is simply observation.
Just observing the target's dreams.
The only difference from a normal dream is that these are far more vivid and precise.
While a typical dream is made of a few memories and mostly emotion and imagination, this place is mostly memory with a dash of emotion and imagination.
The one chosen by The One Who Sleeps and Dreams Forever might be able to pull these dreams into reality, but for most, it's just a more vivid dream than usual. Nothing more, nothing less.
But standing out already is not what I want.
It's too early.
For now, I must hold my breath and stay hidden.
If I start dreaming about things related to that novel here, it will create far too many variables.
I desperately tried to think of other things to distort this space as it began to take shape.
'My parents divorced when I was young...'
Ah.
A phrase from something I heard this morning flashed through my mind.
A reality I had lived forgetting for a long time, only to be reminded of it by someone.
Since it was a deeply unpleasant memory, I wanted to think of something else, but my mind instead recalled it in even greater detail.
The surrounding area shifted, and the place forming was not my current room, but the shape of my old childhood home.
Soon, an adult appeared before me.
"Seo-ha, you understand, right? Today we're going to see your father. You have to be on your best behavior, okay?"
This was a memory from when I was about elementary school age.
I had buried it so deeply that the face of the woman who was my mother remained blurry, even in my memory.
"Yes!"
My younger self answered brightly, as if there were something wonderful about it.
Then, my body began to move without my consent, like a puppet on a string.
"Right, we'll be there soon. Just do exactly as I told you."
It was such an old memory.
After some time, we reached the destination and my mother met my father. They seemed to be talking, but since nothing remained in my memory, only voiceless shouts passed between them.
Maybe I was just too young to understand.
The One Who Sleeps and Dreams Forever began to intervene, seemingly dissatisfied.
Forgotten things didn't return to my mind, but the screams were no longer meaningless; emotions bled in.
Anger, hatred, greed.
All sorts of disgusting, slimy emotions flowed from their mouths.
"Look at this paternity test. This child is yours and mine, so I deserve proper compensation."
The mother, who had a kind expression just moments ago, looked at the man with eyes shimmering with greed.
"Disgusting."
Seeing this, the man wore an expression of pure contempt, as if genuinely repulsed.
"I haven't spread it yet. I'm more capable than you think. Now, think about it. A chairman who's kind and benevolent in front of the parent company's CEO, but a lecher who does drugs with prostitutes behind closed doors. Wouldn't that make for a great news story for a few days?"
She continued, sounding utterly delighted.
"Interesting. You certainly hid it well. Even I hadn't heard that. So, let's skip the pointless preamble and tell me what you want."
She replied that she didn't know why he was asking something so obvious.
Saying this, she curled her fingers into a circle.
"Money, of course."
"How much."
"500 million."
The exchange was brief, but the conversation flowed more smoothly than before.
"I'll give you 800 million."
"Oh, darling, the more the merrier."
"And this is a warning. If you ever try to blackmail me again, I suggest you leave the consequences to your imagination."
"My, how scary. I have no idea what you're talking about. Nice to meet you for the first time, Chairman?"
As she spoke, her eyes glittered with ecstasy.
Soon, she approached me.
"Seo-ha, you're going to live with your daddy now."
"What? What about you, Mommy?"
"Mommy has to do this to be happy. You're a good boy, Seo-ha, so you can make a little sacrifice for Mommy, right?"
The ecstatic expression from a moment ago was gone, replaced by a look of reluctant parting that was utterly repulsive.
'No. Please don't abandon me.'
'I'll be even better. Please stay with me.'
A torrent of emotion surged, bringing back the feelings I held back then.
But the words my younger self was destined to say were already set.
'Yes, of course. I'm a good boy, so it's okay.'
The child opened his mouth to speak.
His voice trembled slightly, as if the words he couldn't say were leaking out.
Honestly, I felt like absolute shit. Even though the answer I wanted to give was affirmative, the suppressed emotions behind those words shouldn't be like that.
As if understanding my feelings, the snake on the back of my hand moved.
And my body, which had been moving like a puppet in this pathetic play, suddenly moved as if it had found freedom.
[Don't listen to a word. I'm here. You don't need to be a pawn in this farce.]
When something spoke to me,
my mouth found its freedom and spoke the words I wanted.
My answer remained affirmative, but my heart was no longer bound by lingering attachment, regret, or sadness.
"Yeah, right. I wouldn't follow you even if you begged, you bitch."
Both my hands were already proudly flashing the middle finger.
"Get out of my life."
The space shattered and vanished, and in that gap, I saw two figures.
Before I could even wonder who they were.
"S-someone just suddenly fell here."
"Eve, get behind me for now."
"O-okay!"
Two girls with deep blue hair appeared before my eyes.
"Well, look at that, they came as a set."
I've run into them as a package deal with the Constellation.
"State your identity!"
The girl with the bob cut, Nive, was the first to speak to me.
Her forceful words seemed to carry actual power; numerous spells were already locked onto me.
"I surrender."
Too lazy to even deal with them, I simply raised my hands and flopped onto my back.
I hadn't slept well, had just relived some trash memories, and was far too exhausted to explain myself.
"Wha... what?"
Nive reacted, seemingly baffled by my sudden action.
"Maybe... he's not actually dangerous?"
Eve was looking at me as if she were seeing something pitiful.
"He does look like he's struggling."
"I feel like I'm gonna die."
"Wha-what are you talking about?!"
Nive spoke in confusion. I scanned the surroundings just in case, but fortunately, the spells had already vanished.
"This is the first time... another person has appeared in our dreams..."
"I guess it's just because our imaginations created him."
The conversation was just rolling along on its own.
"Excuse me~ I am not some imaginary being."
"That thing is talking."
"Calling a person 'that thing'? Would you like it if I called you 'that thing'~?"
"Would I?"
"I... I'm sorryyy..."
After hearing me, Eve, who had been silent, replied on the verge of tears.
"No, there's no need to cry. Since it's been decided that I'm not a threat, may I get up now?"
"Yes..! I'm sorry. I'll help you up."
"Oh, thank you."
Eve came over and tried to pull me up, but it wasn't particularly helpful.
She's really frail.
"This is strange... I don't remember ever seeing someone like this."
"I'm telling you, I'm not a creation of your imaginations."
"Hmm, think carefully. Maybe you've seen him somewhere before?"
"Nive, nothing comes to mind. Maybe you're the one who's seen him?"
"Maybe? Hold on, let me try imagining this guy twerking."
Do you really want to see that?
"Ugh, it's not working. I guess you actually exist."
I have no intention of listening to these two.
"Ah, once I wake up, I should take Luna for a walk."
I didn't know.
"Come on, imagine it! Imagine him doing something weird!"
"No matter how much you say that..."
That I'd be meeting these two in my dreams at least once a week from now on.