Chapter 30: Delusion
Chapter 30: Delusion
The attention drawn by the disturbance in the library soon faded.
Lee Ha-rin hastily straightened her clothes and, using the library's internal phone borrowed from a librarian, contacted an instructor.
At a military academy, a contract between a Constellation and an Incarnation was practically a tradition, so the whole matter was resolved with a single phone call.
The health instructor had been present, and the librarian and students had all witnessed the contract's aftermath.
In less than thirty minutes, Lee Ha-rin had moved out of her dormitory room and into a private one.
"Moving from a standard four-person military dorm to a private room is to facilitate communication between the Incarnation and the Constellation,"
the instructor explained to Lee Ha-rin.
Thankfully, even after blowing one hundred thousand points, about three thousand remained.
Things I'd once had to save a thousand points a month for three months to buy were now purchased with spare change.
If I bought her Sweet Lucid Dream with this, I really wouldn't be able to purchase anything for half a year.
But I also had no desire to play a mind-reading quiz show through these limited chat messages. And lucid dreaming was practically a mandatory item.
I had no intention of making dozens or hundreds of Incarnations anyway.
If I recklessly expanded the number of people I became physically intimate with, it would become unmanageable.
I wasn't so divorced from reality that I'd dream of a harem composed of hundreds of women.
'Just handling this one seems like it'll be a handful...'
Lee Ha-rin was lying on the bed.
Not because she was using lucid dreaming, but because she'd fainted from sheer joy at receiving an Authority on the very first day of her contract.
I flinched and zoomed the screen in as far as it would go, but the steady rise and fall of her chest suggested it wasn't a heart attack.
Was she building up a tolerance the second time around?
'Fuck, is my second Incarnation going to drop dead of a heart attack in a lucid dream at this rate?'
The base point gain per Incarnation was 1,000pt.
If we had sex, achieved a spiritual communion, and I did my job as a Dream Demon, it was 5,000pt.
A fivefold difference in base points left no reason to leave things be.
What other reason could there be for choosing women, and beautiful ones at that?
Though by this world's standards, the beauties and handsome types were the tall, muscular, and sturdy beast-men and beast-women.
Lee Ha-rin, who had some muscle but was on the petite side, was, strictly speaking, not a beauty by that metric.
She was one to me, though.
...Still, maybe I could put up with it because she was pretty.
Lee Ha-rin's usual demeanor was that of a quiet, bookish girl.
She was short for a woman, and didn't have bulging muscles.
Courteous and kind to everyone, but a ruthless bookworm when it came to her studies.
Because of that image, she had no one she was particularly close to, but also no enemies.
She was the smart kid who'd help you out if you didn't know something.
A person who maintained a moderately friendly relationship with everyone.
So how shocked must everyone have been when that quiet girl caused a commotion, shoving an instructor aside while foaming at the mouth?
The fainting spell must not have been too severe, as Lee Ha-rin opened her eyes after about twenty minutes.
She shot upright in bed and looked around frantically.
She seemed uneasy, so I sent a message to soothe her.
[The Constellation, Lethargic Nightmare, asks if you are certain you are feeling well.]
"Ah, ahh... my Constellation. I'm fine! Completely sturdy!"
Only after checking the message did Lee Ha-rin relax, slumping back against the bed as if leaning on it.
Her trembling hands, resting against the mattress, perfectly betrayed her psychological state.
It'd be best to let her rest a bit, then have her lucid dream tonight, right?
"Um, what should I do?"
[The Constellation, Lethargic Nightmare, tells you to rest well and become accustomed to lucid dreaming.]
Upon hearing that, Lee Ha-rin simply lay back down on the bed.
Night was far off, the sun hadn't even set, but there wasn't a trace of hesitation.
She'd sleep 24 hours a day if I just told her to.
[Would you like to intervene in the lucid dream of Incarnation Lee Ha-rin?]
[Yes / No]
Stepping into an unsteady lucid dream for the first time in a while, after only ever entering Han Ye-ji's familiar one, made me realize something anew.
That when a person panics, their body locks up and their mind goes blank.
"This is such bull..."
And your mouth moves on its own before you've even grasped the situation.
That might not apply to a seasoned soldier who's rolled through the hell of war, but it was true for an ordinary guy like me.
If the ceiling suddenly collapsed, or a creature lunged out from a side alley, or defective machinery went bang! and exploded, roasting your comrade—
when a shocking event like that happened, your body didn't react; it just froze in surprise.
Like those stupid characters in dramas who go "uh, uhh" at an oncoming truck and get hit.
That was me right now.
'...How the hell am I supposed to handle this?'
Just as Han Ye-ji's first lucid dream had been a chaotic mess, Lee Ha-rin's lucid dream was a chaotic jumble.
A colossal room where newspaper clippings, videos, and news reports were all mixed up.
Naturally, every single piece of information chronicled the exploits of Constellations or Incarnations.
Breaking news reports about holding off monster attacks on the front lines and even pushing the front forward,
promotional videos about defending a city from a surprise Gate attack,
articles about a giant beast being subdued and transported to the rear—the heroic deeds of various Incarnations.
And even compiled data on Constellations whose information was public.
On the largest screen, the image of a powerful Incarnation wreathed in flames and flying through the air was displayed.
to my eyes, something else was far more striking.
'Should I go inside there right now?'
Lee Ha-rin, prostrating herself flat on the floor and bowing to the Incarnation in the video.
Seeing her forehead pressed to the ground with a reverence that bordered on obsequiousness made my breath catch in my throat.
Because this was Lee Ha-rin's subconscious desire.
Han Ye-ji's first lucid dream had been a humble wish: coming home after school to find someone there to greet her.
A dream born from a desire to lean on someone after growing up as the eldest sister without parents.
But Lee Ha-rin was bowing to videos of Incarnations even in her unconscious mind.
Without lifting her head, without the slightest movement, as if she felt profoundly unworthy.
Even knowing it was a lucid dream, I couldn't even begin to fathom what kind of desire this was.
Now, accustomed to handling dreams, I was capable of intervening in Lee Ha-rin's lucid dream.
Unlike how I'd waited for Han Ye-ji to gain control of her own.
But what exactly was I supposed to intervene in here?
When she was prostrating herself before a video of an Incarnation's exploits, I had absolutely no idea what to meddle with or touch.
※
In the end, I spent the time in Lee Ha-rin's dream without making any other interventions, simply reading through the Incarnation data she had collected.
The scene was so far beyond my imagination that I couldn't risk interfering rashly.
Still, she'd probably get used to lucid dreaming after a few days.
Was I wrong to make that simple assumption?
After several attempts—starting with two on the first day—I found the sight of Lee Ha-rin constantly bowing her head to the floor strange, so I attempted an intervention inside the room.
"My Constellation, you've finally come. Was I too inept?"
Only then did she look at my feet and lift her head from the floor to ask me a question—a sight that made my head spin.
This bizarre room wasn't the result of her inability to control her lucid dream.
It was just that Lee Ha-rin's mindscape... was a little like that of a stalker or a sasaeng fan.
She had been perfectly controlling her lucid dream from day one, waiting for me.
"You weren't inept. This is your dream. Move as you please."
Having no idea what to do in this situation, I just sat down on something that looked like a study chair and picked up a random document.
Fitting for Lee Ha-rin, who worshipped Constellations rather than merely respecting them, the papers were packed with information on Constellations, like a setting otaku's collection.
From flashy names like Racing Flame or The Final Flower of Humanity to Constellations that reeked of villainy, like Vicious Cycle of Vengeance or The Malicious Breath of a Child.
She'd memorized them like study material, with meticulous notes on detailed Authorities and trivial anecdotes, so I just started reading through the documents.
While I waited for Lee Ha-rin to move freely.
"As, as I please..."
It was a slightly strange direction, but since she'd properly handled lucid dreaming from day one, wouldn't she quickly pick up on manipulating the dream according to her desires?
But perhaps misunderstanding my meaning, her face turned bright red, and she crept a little closer—
"...What are you doing?"
"Was I too impertinent?"
Then she bowed her head and prostrated herself before me again.
'Was that a dogeza?'
Unlike her initial posture of cowering flat on the floor, her hips were raised and her forehead was planted on the ground.
I told her to do what she wanted, and she performed an act of penance before me.
"...Don't mind me. Just do whatever you wish, freely."
Impertinent? What was she talking about?
Feeling like proper communication was impossible no matter what I said, I half gave up and told her to just do anything.
What kind of conversation could I have with someone who apologizes just for making eye contact?
When I told her to do as she wished, her face lit up.
Yes, something other than a dogeza or penance... She'd finally met the Constellation she so longed for; surely there was something she'd wanted to do.
My physical body was a handsome one, modeled on memories of Han Ye-ji and Academy cadets, so she could touch it.
Or, out of curiosity, she could ask me, her Constellation, any number of things.
"Anything, anything at all... hehe."
But contrary to my expectations, smiling vacantly, she bowed her head again.
Then, wriggling her hips, she crawled forward and... kissed the top of my foot.
'...Yeah, I'm losing my mind.'
The moment her lips touched the top of my foot, the world shattered into pieces.
Just like when Han Ye-ji felt her first orgasm. Though back then, I'd at least teased with my fingers a little.
Lee Ha-rin woke from the dream from the sheer excess of mental pleasure caused by merely kissing the top of my foot.
She wouldn't die of a heart attack if we had sex in an erotic dream, would she?