Chapter 252

“Why on earth did my pillow come along too?”

Aram looked dubiously at the pillow clutched in her arms. It felt pleasantly soft, so she decided to carry it around for now. Her offensive and defensive abilities did not require her hands.

'Having my hands full should be fine.'

Above all, if her opponent was on the level of an evil god, not being able to use her hands was a trivial handicap.

'But... this is a little different from what I expected.'

Her wish had been to let her family escape the Amusement Park of Dreams—a request directly opposed to the dungeon's reason for existing. Aram had considered several possible outcomes.

First, it would show her a dream fulfilling that wish. Second, the dungeon master would grow angry and attack. Third, nothing would happen, and she would simply sleep. She had considered exceptions, too, but those three had seemed the most likely.

'But this is an amusement park, isn't it?'

A lavishly decorated amusement park. She had never been to one, but similar places existed on Earth. There were few rides she could go on in her child's body, which could not grow, but she had been curious about them.

“Hmm...”

As she shuffled about, she realized she was barefoot.

“Oh, shoes... I should have worn them to bed.”

She seemed to have arrived exactly as she had been while sleeping. She had anticipated that and worn comfortable clothes, but forgotten her shoes. She must not have been thinking straight after arguing with the bishop. Her spirits sank a little.

'No. I'm the saintess of the Moon Cult. I can't stand here moping...!'

Hugging her pillow tight, Aram looked around.

'I've never actually visited an amusement park, so I can't tell how different this one is from those on Earth. Teacher was absolutely right. Studying nothing but theory inside the Moon Cult wasn't going to make me wiser. I can't even come up with a decent idea at a time like this...'

As she walked a little farther, she sensed someone nearby.

'... Wait. Someone?'

She could sense a human presence?

'Is a monster mimicking a human? Or did someone else end up in this strange amusement park instead of the dream they wished for, like me? I should investigate. Should I conceal myself?'

She enveloped herself in divine power, hiding both her presence and her appearance. Then she lifted her feet slightly off the ground so she would leave no footprints. Floating cautiously along like a ghost, Aram soon saw something.

“Oh my.”

“!”

“There you are, dear guest.”

It was a woman with jet-black hair and eyes. The grown woman, dressed in a neat suit, was looking straight at Aram. She bowed politely in greeting.

“A pleasure to meet you. I am Cecil the Crow.”

“... You can see me?”

“We have excellent eyesight.”

“Eyesight...”

Yet Aram could sense no particularly unusual energy from her.

'... She said she was a crow. Is that a separate race? I've seen Hunters with animal traits on Earth a few times. Or is she a crow that turned into a human? What is she?'

She had heard that other dimensions had races called beastfolk. Was this woman one of them?

“...”

She sensed no hostility or deception. If even that was a deception, there was nothing Aram could do about it. The woman had called her a guest, so playing along would be a sound decision.

She dropped her concealment and formally introduced herself.

“My name is Aram. Could you tell me where I am?”

“Of course. That is why I have been assigned to you. Please allow me to accompany you.”

“Aren't you going to guide me somewhere?”

“This is the Amusement Park of Dreams, where you may enjoy and admire anything you desire. I am merely an attendant here to help ensure you encounter no difficulties.”

“Then... to start with, could you answer my earlier question and tell me where this is?”

The woman was more courteous than she had expected. Perhaps this dungeon called for knowledge and wisdom rather than blindly picking a fight. She was inside the belly of a mystery. Following the rules laid down by the dungeon master would, at the very least, keep her from losing out.

Cecil the Crow readily answered.

“As I said, this is the Amusement Park of Dreams. Here you may enjoy things you have only dreamed of, or desired so much that they sometimes appear in your dreams.”

“Am I a special case? I was invited into a dream the same way as everyone else, but I ended up in this amusement park instead of experiencing the wish I wrote down.”

“You could be called a special case, but you need not worry about any possible side effects. You were simply transported to the place you wished for.”

“I wished to be here?”

“Our Amusement Park of Dreams always reflects our guests' desires. You were invited here because what you wanted was reality, not a dream. We cannot force a dream upon someone who rejects dreams.”

“...”

If that was true, writing down the kind of dream one wanted could not be the central factor here.

'So writing down a wish for a dream and placing it under a pillow wasn't actually essential. Perhaps it merely served as a spark, helping the dreamer give more concrete shape to their desires? What matters most is the sleeping person's innermost desire...'

In that case, she had to assume the Amusement Park of Dreams could discern even a human's inner self.

'I heard a similar report from another brother in discipleship. If she's willing to say this much, his findings must have been correct. But not a single one of all those brothers reported this amusement park... which must mean their desires lay in dreams, not reality.'

No, wait.

“... Then am I in reality right now?”

“Yes. You are in reality.”

“Th-then you mean my body was transported here from Earth?”

“Precisely.”

No wonder she had arrived exactly as she had been while sleeping!

“M-my parents will worry. If I suddenly disappear...!”

“But in reality, there can only be one of you.”

The crow who had introduced herself as an attendant answered kindly.

“Outside of dreams, no one can leave their own body and see the world from another perspective. Once born, most must spend their entire lives trapped in that one body, looking out at the world. If they are life-forms from Earth like yourself, that is.”

Her words seemed to look down on the physical body.

“... Some things are all the more precious because we have only one body.”

“You are correct. That is why you were transported here.”

“But didn't you say this was the Amusement Park of Dreams? You said I could do everything I'd ever dreamed of, so wouldn't it be difficult to call this reality either?”

“It is true that reality on Earth differs from reality in other dimensions. Here you can have a taste of your wishes. That is the reason dreams exist.”

“Dreams...”

Did not exist so one could enjoy fragments of one's wishes.

“...”

But one could wish for that.

'... She's not wrong.'

It was merely a little different from how Aram herself thought. She acknowledged that. Being perpetually on edge simply because this was a dungeon would only make things harder. She had to stay composed and judge rationally.

“Then have other people visited this place too?”

“Yes. In particular, people who call themselves Association employees visit quite frequently.”

“Oh, people from the Association?”

“Hunters who identify themselves as members of Justitia also visit from time to time. Not as often as the Association employees, but they could be called regular customers.”

“Wh-what do they do here before leaving?”

“Unfortunately, they tend to wake before they can even see the entire park.”

“Why? Shouldn't a dream be unable to wake its dreamer?”

“But those who cannot dream cannot have dreams.”

The crow smiled softly.

“Those people have no dreams, so naturally, they cannot stay here long.”

“... What about me? Could you check?”

“You can stay here far longer than you wish.”

“How can I wake up?”

“Once you have dreamed all your dreams, you should be able to awaken.”

“... No, wait. If you're saying that now...”

As Aram noticed something was wrong and grew flustered, the crow tilted her head.

“Most guests who come here to the Amusement Park of Dreams are assured a short stay. That is only natural, since they fell asleep seeking reality rather than dreams in the first place. Yet for some reason, you have a great many dreams.”

“Th-that's impossible. It's a contradiction...”

“Indeed, it is a contradiction. Yet you have made it a reality. However, one cannot awaken until one has exhausted all one's dreams. Even I cannot help you exhaust yours in a short time.”

“Why do you only bring up dreams when it suits you?!”

Perhaps it was because reality and dreams were tangled together, but the whole arrangement was absurd.

“Send me home! This is kidnapping!”

“I do not have the authority.”

“Then who does?!”

“Only you and...”

The crow paused, her eyes curving into a lovely smile.

“The master of this amusement park.”

“Th-the master?”

“Yes. We have a master who cares for us.”

“Is the master in this dimension right now? In this dungeon?”

“Our master is always watching over us. I am in no position to presume to arrange a meeting, but why not try actively exhausting your dreams to catch our master's eye?”

“Would doing that... really make your master notice me?”

“Of course. Our master loves dreamers.”

“What peculiar tastes...”

She could not quite bring herself to curse.

'I don't know how much longer I'll be stuck here. Stirring up resentment will only hurt me.'

Patience would bring wisdom.

“Whew...”

“Would you like somewhere to rest?”

“... Does the amusement park have somewhere like that?”

“You may enjoy anything you desire.”

“No. I want to see this place as it is.”

Her dreams must not belong in a place like this.

“My dreams lie in reality, not in some abstract dimension like this. I will only begin exhausting my dreams once I've finished investigating everything about this dungeon. Even then, it will be a means of escape, never an end in itself. Please remember that.”

“Of course, dear guest.”

The crow smiled softly again.

“We sincerely wish for our guests' happiness.”

“...”

Aram hesitated before asking,

“... Um, by the way. If there are any other Koreans visiting the park, could you arrange for me to meet them? Back on Earth, my family must be terribly worried about my sudden disappearance... I'd like to at least send them word.”

“I will make the arrangements so you experience no inconvenience.”

“Yes, thank you...”

And so Aram, who had been a model student her entire life, became a teenage runaway.

* * *

The problem was that the people of the Moon Cult did not see it that way.

“Bishop, the saintess is nowhere to be seen within the order.”

“... I see.”

“Please give us your orders.”

“Search for her. But you will not find her.”

“May we ask why you say that?”

“It seems the evil god of dreams has taken a fancy to the saintess.”

The bishop spoke in her usual calm voice, her expression unchanged.

“I will request help from the Association, Justitia, and Collector.”

She opened the doors of the Moon Cult that she herself had locked shut.

There was no knowing whether this would be a path to learning or a path to ruin.

(To be continued in the next chapter)