A blue-haired, busty, and beautiful downer girl.
The girl in front of me, whose name I think is— Yumesai Mei. “Yumesai… You’re safe, huh?”
“Every day’s voting, you know no one’s died.”
The voting ends when a majority is reached.
With forty classmates, a majority is twenty-one votes, so it’s obvious no one has died.
That’s true, but being alive and being safe are slightly different. Look at her clothes.
Her uniform is a bit dirty and frayed, but it’s been washed, so it’s not as bad as Roa’s was when she was found.
Instead, it’s wrinkled, which is probably from wringing out the water or ironing it.
Her complexion isn’t bad, but she’s just naturally skinny.
Even if she was always that way, it’s hard to tell if she’s eating properly now. “What are you staring at?” “Ah, sorry.”
“You don’t have to apologize… Just tell me about Shouko.”
She’s pretty cold, but that’s probably how girls who aren’t friends act.
So far, the women I’ve encountered were just kind. I glance outside the wall for a moment.
From the outside, I couldn’t see the dream world.
But from the inside, I can see everything outside.
I see Mikron repeatedly banging his head against the wall in a panic, Shion with tear-filled eyes, and Roa with a pale face.
I can also hear their voices and it seems they’re quite worried.
“Sure, I can talk, but first I want to let the others outside know I’m okay.”
”…Understood. I don’t want to make my classmates cry either.”
With permission granted, I try sticking my face outside the barrier.
From the inside, it feels like there’s a thin membrane covering it.
It’s like when only part of your body is in the bath. “Relax, I’m fine.”
“Kyaa! S, Sohaku-kun!?”
“G, Master, are you really all right? Y, Your head’s the only thing I can see.”
「Oh, is that how it looks? Yeah, that’s right. I’m fine, I’m all here. I’ll just go talk to the Dream World for a bit.」 「Eh!? Sōsuke-kun!?」 She returned to the barrier.
「…Why aren’t you running away?」 「Do you want me to?」 「That’s not an answer.」 She glared at me.
I could use Shion’s help to spot the lie, but I couldn’t ask her to.
「You brought me here because I looked like a leader, right? And the topic is about Shōko. So, you’re not an enemy, you’re just worried about your friend. There’s no reason to run.」
If she thought there was a chance of us being enemies, she would have brought a girl instead of a boy.
She didn’t because she wanted to talk to me, the one who seemed to have the authority.
「…Alright. So where’s Shōko?」
「She’s with us right now.」
「What about the dragon outside? No monsters have appeared yet, right?」
「Didn’t you hear about Shōko’s ability in the first dream?」
「Huh? …Oh, so that’s why the dragon has fur? You can summon it because it’s fluffy? …That’s like her.」 She smiled for a moment.
「Can I ask you something this time?」 「Sure. That’s fair.」
「Your ability is to create barriers, right?」 「That’s right.」
He doesn’t seem surprised by what I know.
He probably already anticipated the patterns I remember and the ones taught by Shokishi.
「If my memory serves, this barrier can block insects, beasts, and people. And considering that I can enter it, it can also let others in under certain conditions.」 「…And?」 「I want to make a deal.」 「…Go on.」
「I want you to surround our base with your barrier.」 「What’s in it for me?」
「Don’t you remember anything about my ability?」
「…I didn’t even hear about it before I mentioned it to Shokishi.」
「Ah, I see. Well, let me explain. My ability is related to making things. If I have the materials, I can skip the process and get the finished product.」 「Huh? Isn’t that too convenient?」
Fortunately, the people I met on the island immediately understood the usefulness of this ability, so things are moving quickly.
「I suppose your barrier ability is pretty impressive too…」
「Wait, so you can do what? Make clothes from fibers and houses from wood?」 「That’s right, that’s the idea.」
「…If you chose your ability with that in mind, you’re pretty amazing.」
Her gaze was still stern, but her words were spoken with admiration.
“Thank you. So, I’ll try to provide you with whatever you want from the dream world, in exchange for you protecting our base.”
”…What exactly will you give us?”
“Well, if you don’t have a base, I’ll build you a house. Then there’s furniture, clothes, towels, soap, and since you’re out there, Shion, I think you can cook too.”
The dream world froze at my words.
But it only lasted for a few seconds, and then they snapped back to reality.
”…For some reason, it looks like Hōjin is wearing a maid uniform. Is that also your doing?”
“That’s right. Just to be clear, I didn’t make her wear it.” ”…There are two conditions.”
“Tell me them.” “The first is that you bring the summoned beings with you. I’m sorry, but I can’t believe everything immediately. Not about your abilities, but about you.”
“That’s understandable.” “Actually, I’d be troubled if you trusted me completely all of a sudden.”
I’ve known Senyū since we were kids, and I’ve been friends with Shokusha. Shion trusts me because of her abilities, and Shinpō had a positive experience with me before the transfer.
Roah is friendly to us because of the favor we did for her when she was down on her luck. Trust is something that’s built.
She wants to talk to the Familiars she has already built a relationship with instead.
Through them, she probably wants to see if she can trust me.
“Another thing is—give me the reward in installments.” “Huh? Is that okay?”
“Actually, you’re the one who’s okay with it? If I give you everything at once, you won’t have a reason to keep the barrier up at your base, right?”
That’s a valid point.
She’s suggesting that I should give her the reward in small increments so that she has a reason to not betray me.
She acts aloof, but she’s actually a kind person.
“I’m not really worried about that.” “Why not?”
“If you betrayed us and our base got attacked by monsters, my summoned girl might get hurt.”
”…I might not care about that.”
“If you’re worried about your summoned girl, why did you bring me inside the barrier? You took a risk when you didn’t have to, and there was a chance I could have attacked you.”
”…Forget it, I get it.” She looked away from me.
She looked regretful, but her cheeks were slightly red.
“Anyway, I’ll come by again this afternoon. Oh, do you have any food?”
“Huh? …I eat mushrooms and fruit and stuff.”
I would have to reveal the ‘Inventory’… but if she was a friend of the Summoner, it was okay.
I placed on the tray, ‘a thermos of warm soup’, ‘seedless bread’, ‘meat dish’, ‘boiled eggs’, ‘salt’, ‘several fruits’, and other things that could be eaten quickly and handed it over.
“Here, if you want to eat it.”
“Huh? Kino, how did you just…”
“It’s an application of my ability. I can store and retrieve things I make.”
I wanted to make the deal with the Dream World work out, so I also showed off the usefulness of my side… That was my intention. “It’s too convenient.” “There’s no poison in it.”
“I’m not worried about that. If you want my ability, killing me wouldn’t make sense.” “Of course.”
”…Bring the Summoner to the same place again. If you’re too far apart, you might not be able to hear each other.” “Understood.” “—Kino”
Just as I was about to leave the barrier, the Dream World called out to me.
Looking back, she had a complex expression and hesitated, but still managed to say this.
“Thanks for this. I’ll pay you back.”
“Then consider the deal positively.” “That’s up to Shako.” “Haha. See you later this afternoon.” “Got it.” I stepped out of the barrier. “Kousuke-kun!” “Mmmph…!?”
In an instant, Shion threw herself at my chest. I was surprised by the impact and her touch.
“You didn’t give me enough explanation! I was so worried about you!”
I couldn’t say anything in response to her tearful voice. “Sorry…” I patted her back.
”…I’m glad you’re safe, but I wish you’d consulted me better.”
“Yeah, you’re right. I’ll do that next time. The Dream Realm seems to want to meet Shako.”
“That’s right. Yeah, it’s nice to be able to meet close friends again.”
”…I also have friends I’m worried about.”
Shion and Roa nodded in agreement. “Let’s go back for now.”
If we got the best result, we might be better prepared than ever.
Besides, Miko would be happy to know that her friends are safe.
I stroked Mikuron, who was clinging to me, and then climbed onto her back.
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