Even in My Sleep, I Only Think of My Students (No Fabrication)
The night of carnal indulgence passed, and a dim predawn arrived. A full day had gone by—the proof that my house arrest was finally over.
"Sssuuu…."
I slept in a daze, two females tucked firmly under each arm. A lot had happened the day before, but wrapped in soft, sweet female bodies, all the worries weighing on my lower half melted away and my head went completely blank. I could only feel grateful to the Bellamore sisters for trying so hard to comfort me.
The "unknown enemy" targeting our class.
The "flames of revenge" sweeping across the continent.
The "big picture" that Principal Sekhmet was painting through me.
…….
…….
…Yeah. Who gives a shit about any of that?
There’s only so much a mere teacher like me can do. And what I have to do today is already decided. Once I wake up, I’ll take the kids around the club building and work hard as their instructor. That’s it. That’s everything.
Then, out of nowhere, someone else’s dream flickered into my mind.
The owner of that perspective was Miyazaki Hazuki of the Iron Fan. Maybe because she was currently weaponized and resting right beside my pillow, her nightmare came to me with vivid clarity, as if we were sharing the same dream.
'Hey, please just let me sleep. Or at least pay me overtime. It’s too much to make me lose sleep right after I spent all night swinging my hips for my students.'
Even I had to admit it was a perfectly reasonable request, but Hazuki’s story rushed in one-sidedly anyway.
『Lady Hazuki. Your honored mother, Lady Miyazaki Honoka, has passed away.』
『This is undoubtedly the work of an organization hostile to either the Agape Church or our own clan.』
『As the next clan head, you must sharpen the blade of vengeance.』
"Mother… is dead?"
"What the hell are you saying? She was perfectly fine just yesterday! How can you say she’s dead?!"
『It did not happen suddenly. In truth, four days have already passed since the incident.』
"What?"
"W-what are you talking about?!"
The owner of this dream was Hazuki, locked away in a prison cell. I didn’t know the exact details, but it was clear this moment was right after she had been possessed by an evil spirit and just before she was thrown into the academy.
"Nonsense! That envoy was someone Lilith sent for my sake!"
"I invited them so we could join hands and deal with the youma that have been steadily expanding their influence lately!"
"If this works out, we would have clasped hands and helped the people of the world deal with spirits more proactively!"
The imprisoned Hazuki shouted desperately. But the old men in front of her only clicked their tongues.
『Wasn’t your goal to let people hunt evil spirits of their own will, just as mercenaries hunt monsters?』
『It is indeed a grand cause, yet it seems they never had any intention of cooperating.』
『We know you are close with Lady Lilith, but please, Lady Hazuki, maintain your dignity.』
『All you need to do now is mourn the late Lady Honoka and seek revenge against them.』
"Revenge? That word again?!"
"While I, her own daughter, was in the main house and got possessed by an evil spirit! While my mother—who supported me from behind the scenes—was suddenly poisoned to death!"
"In a situation like this, you hid Mother’s death from me and now expect me to believe the very people who opposed this plan the most?!"
『There you go again.』
『It is most inconvenient that you constantly oppose the Elder Council.』
『With Lady Honoka now gone, are you truly taking the side of the most likely culprits?』
"And if I am, what are you going to do about it?!"
『To think someone once so wise would fall so far.』
『It fills me with rage to think this too is the Church’s brainwashing.』
『If we report this conversation to the Miyazaki clan head, he will surely realize that Lady Hazuki has lost her mind.』
"You’re going to use Mother’s death to incite Father?!"
With his wife already dead, there was no way her husband—my father—could be in his right mind. No matter how rational a person was, they would obviously be furious if their daughter sided with the suspected assassins. And since he had already thrown his own daughter in prison, it was clear even to a third party like me that the clan head was nothing more than a puppet for these old men.
"You bunch of decrepit, unkillable youkai…!"
"Just imagine Father going on a rampage while I’m gone! The religious factions will clash and blood will flow again!"
"I will never forgive that! How dare you try to shatter the peace protected by countless spirits for nothing but personal grudges!!"
The way the old men all flinched at once was almost horrifying. It was as if evil spirits were writhing in the shadows, yet they looked deeply offended at being told their grudge was merely personal.
They began to beg and plead with the imprisoned Hazuki.
『Do you even know in what state the spirits Lady Hazuki speaks of died?』
『How can you, the one called the reincarnation of the Great Shrine Maiden, not understand their resentment!?』
"You dare ask me that?!"
"Even the Great Shrine Maiden who died so tragically would be displeased with what you bastards are doing right now!!"
『──Insolent!』
THUD!
Someone kicked the prison door in rage, but Hazuki didn’t even blink as she glared at them. The old men feared her; some trembled so violently in anger that their necks and legs shook.
『No matter how much we revere you as her reincarnation, you are still an outsider! What could you possibly know about the Great Shrine Maiden to speak so carelessly!』
『She was just like you, Lady Hazuki! She was murdered by the betrayal of the Saint she trusted as a friend—the one she promised to end the war with together!』
『And it wasn’t a clean death! She was violated by nameless thugs, lost her chastity, and was publicly humiliated by the entire world!』
『You foolish little girl! Do you even understand how the Great Shrine Maiden’s honor was dragged through the mud and how we were treated?!』
They were furious.
『Those Nasriya bastards! Even now it makes my blood boil!』
『The moment we lost our central pillar, those bat-like vermin immediately clung to the Agape Church!』
『Thanks to the Nasriya family’s capital, the Agape Church firmly planted itself as the leading religion on the continent and tried to push our clan beyond its borders!』
『If Principal Sekhmet had not intervened, Kagurayama would not even exist here today!』
'They’re just rambling….'
The old men all raised their voices at once, causing the conversation to scatter in every direction. Still, there was plenty I could understand from what I heard.
During the Great War, the Saint and the Great Shrine Maiden had maintained a close friendship even while their factions were enemies.
Both women’s goal had been to end the Great War, just like Principal Sekhmet.
Their relationship had been similar to the current one between Lilith and Hazuki, but one side’s unilateral betrayal led to the Great Shrine Maiden’s death.
From that point on, all the exorcist families affiliated with Kagurayama fell into ruin, while the Agape Church rose to become the continent’s foremost religion.
The old men clearly harbored deep resentment toward the Nasriya family, who had unilaterally supported the Agape Church at the time.
'So that’s why they attacked Aisha….'
I caught a glimpse of how their grudge had formed and where the cycle of hatred was headed. The Hazuki inside the dream seemed to realize it too, because she raised her voice again.
"I’m sick of hearing that story over and over!"
『Then why are you taking their side?!』
『You are a shrine maiden of Kagurayama, a daughter of the Miyazaki family!』
『You were born with a karmic debt that demands revenge—why do you deny it?!』
"It’s the opposite. It’s precisely because I am a daughter of the Miyazaki family that I refuse to follow your words!"
"The times have already changed! The gentle ripples of peace now cover the world!"
"Even if you dig up corpses and pollute clean water with their ashes, those ripples will eventually circle back and tarnish our family’s name—that’s why!"
"Stop treating me like the Great Shrine Maiden and resenting my friend Lilith as if she were your mortal enemy. It’s completely meaningless—realize that already!"
『You dare call us corpse-eating insects?!』
『The Elder Council that has supported this family from the shadows our entire lives is nothing but filth that dirties the world?』
"If you already know, then stop asking!"
"My throat hurts!"
THUD!
Someone kicked the cell again. But it only hurt the old man’s leg; it had no effect on Hazuki whatsoever.
『Nonsense. If we are filthy, then they are just as filthy—how can you not understand something so basic?!』
『It is impossible that we alone carry resentment in this world!』
"To think the very specters who should have died long ago have taken root inside an exorcist family… what a farce!"
"I still respect my father, but I cannot hide my disgust at the fact that he trusts and follows monsters like you!"
『Hah, now you insult even the clan head?』
『Goodness. If Lady Hazuki’s karma runs this deep, what are we to do?!』
『There is no choice. We must spend the time to break that pride of hers!』
『No matter how noble you are, there is no guarantee the world will remember you in the end!』
『Stay behind in the academy and grow old and lonely!!』
When the conversation reached a complete deadlock, the group of old men turned their backs. After all, Hazuki could not leave her cell. Once she was sent to the academy, everything would be over. While she was gone, they would seize real power over the family, and it was obvious she would never be allowed to return to the main house again.
『We shall take our leave now.』
『There is not much time left, so we hope you will change your mind.』
"Don’t make me laugh. You think I’ll let you do whatever you want any longer?!"
"Release me from here right now!"
"And bring back my father—and my dead mother!!"
『The dead do not return.』
『And the dead do not speak.』
"Aaaaaaaaagh!!!"
The sinister old men laughed uproariously. The memory slowly drew to a close as they left her behind in the dark room. Every time one of them left, a torch went out one by one. As their backs grew distant, the darkness thickened.
Finally, when only one lone torch remained and was about to go out—
"Mother…."
"Give Mother back…."
"Why did you kill her… of all people…."
"The kind person who sympathized with my opinions…."
"Why…."
The strong front she had shown in front of the old men collapsed like a lie. The daughter who was both a shrine maiden and tender-hearted mourned her mother who had been poisoned to death. With that heavy resonance as the final note, my consciousness rose back up from the black swamp.
'So that was your situation….'
It was a short, fragmented dream. Thanks to it, I now knew who had assassinated Hazuki’s mother and how she had ended up at the academy. At the same time, I truly felt what Vice Principal Fea had said—there was a massive evil lurking beneath the academy.
'Not exactly the kind of dream you want to have while sleeping….'
My consciousness was hazy and my eyelids were heavy. I couldn’t tell if I was still asleep or half-awake, but I slipped my hand under the pillow.
"—Hik!"
It might have been my imagination, but I thought I heard the Iron Fan let out a young, startled cry. Still, I didn’t pay it any mind in my drowsy state. Following pure instinct, I mumbled vaguely.
"Just like I drove out the evil god inside your body… there must be a way to save your family too… Let’s find a way together, Teacher and student…."
It was still embarrassing to call myself a teacher. Even so, now that I had this title, I had no intention of acting carelessly. I wished I could have said something more comforting, but with a tongue heavy from sleep, this was the best I could do.
I finished my brief nonsense and sank back into the dream world once more.