A Midsummer Night's Dream
Regalia looked up at the sky. The warm sunlight pouring down. The refreshing breeze blowing gently. The scent of party food drifting on the wind. And her mother’s voice, heavy with worry.
Everything felt so vividly alive that it was impossible to believe it was merely a dream.
“Ria?”
“……Mother.”
“R-Ria? What’s wrong all of a sudden?”
Her mother asked again, sounding startled. At those words, Regalia fell momentarily silent as she tried to recall what she had called her parents at this age.
It felt terribly embarrassing to say now, yet at the same time it was a dearly missed word she had always longed to speak again.
“M-Mama……”
“That’s it~. Our little Ria. Did something happen?”
“Mmm……”
Her mother scooped her up into her arms without hesitation. She should have been too heavy for such an easy lift now that she was ten years old, but since this was a dream, the detail was conveniently ignored.
Nestled in her mother’s embrace, Regalia closed her eyes and breathed in the soft warmth and familiar scent she had not experienced in so very long. She felt that if she let her guard down even for an instant, the tears would come flooding out.
As she desperately fought them back, a large, rough hand gently stroked her head.
“Ria. Is something the matter?”
“……Papa.”
“Yes, yes. It’s Papa. Come here?”
The moment she met her father, the dam finally burst. As Regalia began sobbing uncontrollably, her mother rushed over and immediately began scolding the man who had made their daughter cry.
“Darling! How could you make her cry like that!”
“Ah, no. I didn’t do anything……”
“Honestly! Ria? Don’t cry, sweetheart. You mustn’t cry today of all days. Today is the day you are supposed to be the happiest child in the entire world……”
Even as her mother comforted her, Regalia continued to sob. Yes. Today was her birthday—the one day she was meant to be the happiest of all.
Her mother’s words had come true. After this day, Regalia had never once felt happiness again. No amount of effort could turn the anniversary of her parents’ deaths into a joyful occasion.
Yet right now, for the first time in a long while, Regalia was truly feeling that emotion called happiness.
What on earth is this place?
Regalia, who had been brought inside the mansion to calm her crying, looked around and noticed several odd details.
First, this world was not a simple dream.
She had not cried on her fifth birthday. Therefore, she had no memory of entering the mansion that day. Nevertheless, this dream had guided both her and her mother inside with perfect clarity.
“……Mama.”
“Hmm? Ria? Have you stopped crying now?”
“I want to read that book.”
“Suddenly? There are guests waiting outside……”
“I want to read it right now.”
Though clearly troubled by her daughter’s sudden whim, her mother could not refuse a request from the star of the day. She carefully took a book from the shelf and handed it over.
Regalia immediately scanned its contents. As expected, it was a book she had never seen once in her entire life—something she would never have encountered even by accident.
This confirms it. This is no dream.
If it were a mere dream, it would have been constructed from memories inside Regalia’s own head. The people here would have acted exactly as she remembered them, and she would simply have enjoyed a fleeting, sweet illusion.
But the truth was different. Here stood a book she did not remember, and people moved in ways she had never witnessed.
In other words, this was not a simple dream—it was a kind of virtual reality that perfectly recreated her fifth birthday party from five years ago.
Just what did that scientist create……?
Regalia let out a small laugh, never having expected such a birthday gift. She left the mansion together with her mother.
The mansion’s garden was filled with countless guests waiting for her, along with the heroes guarding them, private mercenaries, police special forces, and special agents.
It was almost shocking to think that someone had broken through all this security to kill her parents.
“Ria! Are you feeling better now?”
“……Yes, Papa. I’m fine now.”
“Hmm? Good. Then shall we begin the birthday party?”
The birthday party that had been delayed by her crying finally began. The emcee opened the festivities, and the famous singers and musicians she still remembered began to perform.
Beautiful melodies filled the venue as people of all kinds approached Regalia with gifts.
“—Miss Regalia? Happy birthday.”
“This is……”
“Yes. It is a collaborative creation between the heroes and our company’s technology—”
“A self-moving robot.”
“Oh, you recognized it at a glance. As expected of the young lady.”
She received a robot filled with cherished memories.
“R-Regalia! Happy birthday!”
“Mmm…… It’s been a while.”
“W-Wait—you remember me?”
“Of course I remember you.”
“Y-Yes!”
She met the heir of another company who had once had a crush on her.
“We sincerely congratulate your daughter on her birthday, Mr. President, Madam.”
“Goodness, even the mayor himself came.”
“What are you saying? I had to make time to attend no matter what.”
Even the mayor of E City had shown up. It truly felt like the birthday party of a mega-corporation’s heir—one that ruled over an entire city.
Amid the crowd overflowing with leisure and joy, Regalia alone could not relax. She was the only one who remembered exactly how this party would end.
“—Now then. Since the gift presentations are finished, let us slowly bring the—”
The moment the emcee spoke, light exploded in the sky. Heroes, mercenaries, and agents rushed forward and unleashed their powers, but they could neither block nor evade it.
“Ria! Protect Ria—!”
Before her parents could even finish shouting, Vira and the other guards who had rushed over positioned themselves in front of her and activated their abilities.
A barrier capable of stopping hundreds of tons of aerial bombs head-on unfolded. It was an absolute, undefeated defense that had never once been breached.
Yet it was not enough. The sudden burst of heat hammered relentlessly against the barrier. Vira’s arm and leg began to collapse from the overload.
“Khhk—! Young Lady!”
“—It’s all right, Vira.”
“Y-Young Lady!?”
Stepping past the collapsing Vira, Regalia glared at whoever stood beyond the barrier. As expected, the interior of the newly risen sun was impossible to see with human eyes.
But it did not matter. Regalia walked straight into the light so intense it threatened to burn her optic nerves. Soon her own body began to melt just like her parents’—but she would not die.
Again.
The scientist had said this world was a dream. It did not feel that way at all…… but if it was a dream, she should be able to control it to some extent. Regalia firmly believed this, and belief became power.
One more time.
—Time rewound.
“Ria?”
“……Yes, Mama.”
Regalia, who had come to her senses in the middle of the birthday party, opened her eyes with sharp focus. She roughly remembered the timing of the attacker’s appearance.
Then it was time to identify his true identity.
After all, today was her birthday—and the star of the birthday party possessed absolute authority in that moment. She held the power to command even the S-rank heroes and top-tier mercenaries who had come to guard the guests with a single gesture.
I will repeat this as many times as it takes.
That was probably why the scientist had shown her this dream.
Every time the sun rose, time rewound. Regalia repeated the dream again and again. After repeating it so many times she lost count, she finally succeeded in seeing the assailant’s face.
“—You really are terrifyingly strong, aren’t you?”
“……”
An transcendent being who single-handedly slaughtered more than a dozen S-rank heroes and dozens of equally powerful individuals in the middle of a heavily guarded party.
Through the overwhelming advantage of repeating the incident countless times, Regalia had succeeded in defeating that transcendent.
Of course, if one considered the S-rank heroes and agents who had died in the process, it could hardly be called a victory…….
Since this is a dream, it doesn’t matter.
With that thought, Regalia looked down at the man kneeling before her. The pure white mask covering his head was incredibly irritating.
She was terribly curious what face lay beneath it.
So she decided to look. At the true face of the man who had left behind no trace whatsoever and was known only as Mister Clear.
“Hmm…… how ordinary.”
“……To think I’d be taken down by a brat like this.”
Mister Clear spoke. Regalia burst into laughter. She laughed freely, without restraint.
It was an utterly plain face that would be difficult to remember, but that was fine. She intended to carve it into every single one of her brain cells.
“—Defeated by me? Nonsense. Only from this moment onward shall you be defeated by me.”
“What are you……”
“We shall meet again in reality.”
The very next instant, the world began to slowly crumble. In the space left with only pure white cracks, Regalia felt a sensation as if she were gently floating upward.
Am I waking up……?
Part of her wanted to remain in this world longer—but she could not stay trapped in a dream forever. She was the owner of Evils Enterprise and the monarch who led countless subordinates.
A dream must remain a dream.
Even as she reminded herself of this, Regalia quietly glanced down at her feet.
I love you, Regalia.
Please be happy.
“……!!”
In that instant, Regalia heard voices calling her name and looked around. Naturally, there was no sign of anyone nearby.
Had it been an auditory hallucination? Instinctively, she knew the voices she had just heard were not hallucinations.
There was no way a voice fabricated by her brain could carry such desperate emotion. Those voices had surely been the final gift left behind by souls burning away.
“……I love you too. Mama, Papa.”
In a dream that had felt far too real, Regalia finally released the knot that had been lodged in her heart and slowly opened her eyes. The sound of someone knocking on the door reached her from outside.
—Young Lady? I’m coming in.
“……Enter.”
The maid in charge of cleaning the room stepped inside, drew back the curtains, and opened the windows wide. Morning sunlight and the chirping of birds filled the room as the maid asked carefully.
“Did you sleep well last night?”
It was a habitual greeting from the maid, but Regalia gave a gentle smile. Had last night been comfortable?
“—Ah, more than any other day.”
It had been an incredibly happy day. An emotion she had not felt in nearly five years.