Chapter 200 - A Mirror Reflected in a Mirror (2)

2

I went around the frontier village, entering the residents’ dreams.

And I beat up every dream demon that appeared in them.

[Purchasing ‘Appear in a Dream’.]

[100 Race Points will be consumed!]

[You currently have 6012 Race Points.]

Sure enough, by the tenth person, word of me had spread among the dream demons. In the tenth dream, an incubus wearing the director’s face screamed the moment it saw me.

“Eek! You crazy thug!”

“So word has finally gotten around.”

I smiled contentedly. It felt rewarding. I had used [Appear in a Dream] a whopping ten times, so of course it had to produce results.

I absolutely wasn’t taking out the stress Uburka had caused me on these guys.

“Wh-why are you interfering with our prey, of all things?”

“Because you happened to catch my eye. Consider yourself unlucky. But why are you wearing my director’s face?”

“I heard you beat us a little less if we use this person’s face...”

“Damn. You’re clever little bastards.”

I gave the dream demon a moderate thrashing.

“Aaaargh! You’re still hitting me!”

“Did they say I’d hit you a little less, or that I wouldn’t hit you at all? Child of the continent across the sea, if you don’t want another beating, spread my words far and wide among your people. Today, a Hobgoblin will fall asleep in this village square. Bring as many of your kind as possible into his dream.”

“Why...?”

“I am the guardian of the Earth Spiritfolk. The Mountain Snailfolk and fairy race are under their command. That makes me the guardian deity of no fewer than three races. You’re trying to plunge our children into eternal sleep. How could I stand by and watch?”

“A deity...?”

The incubus glanced me up and down, its eyes full of suspicion. When I grinned broadly and showed it my fist, the dream demon quickly averted its gaze.

“A-all right. I’ll pass your words on to my people.”

That night, we carried out the operation as planned.

Uburka would fall asleep, and the Black Dragon leader and I would enter his dream. We would persuade the dream demons who entered it as well. In other words, Uburka’s mental world would become our conference room.

“It has been a long time since I last slept, since becoming a constellation.”

Despite saying that, Uburka fell asleep surprisingly quickly.

The village was still and quiet. Built by people who had crossed the vast ocean dreaming of a new world, this seaside village now lay silent, truly captive to dreams. Waves rolled along the shore, and the village’s cicadas cried in rhythm with their swells.

“Shall we head in too, Senior?”

“Death King.”

The Black Dragon leader called my name. Her voice slipped into the midst of the waves’ black echoes and the cicadas’ white cries.

“Yes?”

“If you’re trying to set me up with your child, give up.”

I was a little taken aback.

“Uh, you... noticed?”

“How many proposals do you think I’ve received in my life? Few people are as well versed in romance as I am. Though I never imagined the day would come when a constellation or a goblin took an interest in me.”

“Ugh. I’m sorry. I thought keeping it a secret wouldn’t be polite, but babbling on about it felt awkward too...”

“I have no intention of dating anyone.”

The Black Dragon leader smoothed the hair at the side of her head. A breeze flowed off the summer-night sea.

“Love is willingly allowing one person to be your weakness. I don’t want to become weak.”

“Doesn’t loving each other make you a little stronger?”

“Yes, I suppose it does. But are you confident you could live a life without the Duchess of Ivansia?”

“...”

“You’re healthy. But there is something precarious about you. If the Duchess of Ivansia died, you would crumble. If the Paladin died, or if I died, the structure that is you would wear away. Even if Viper or the Inquisitor died, it would happen.”

The Black Dragon leader traced a finger through the air. Had she bought an item from the Civilization Shop?

“I simply can’t stake my life on a tightrope act like that.”

She looked at me.

“I want to be able to bear my life alone. I only want to carry things in my pockets that I can discard when I need to. ... Though even telling someone this is embarrassing.”

“Not at all, Senior. Thank you for telling me.”

“Then please tell your child to weather the trials of first love.”

My poor son. Rejected before you could even confess.

I looked down pityingly at Uburka, asleep in the square.

“That’s enough serious talk. Shall we go in and save the children?”

“Yes.”

[Purchasing ‘Appear in a Dream’.]

[100 Race Points will be consumed!]

[You currently have 5912 Race Points.]

The two of us entered Uburka’s dream.

3

When I opened my eyes, a dense jungle stretched before me.

“Hmm.”

The smell of damp earth hit me. The same smell that sometimes rose when I walked outside on a rainy night. There were no asphalt roads or dazzling signs here, but trees as tall as buildings surrounded us.

“Welcome, Father. And Father’s friend.”

Uburka was sitting on a large rock.

“Where are we?”

“A place where I trained some two hundred years ago. Many powerful monsters live here, and I owe them a debt. It is known as a place so dangerous that one should not even approach it, but the harsher the training, the sweeter the results.”

Uburka launched into a string of boasts. He didn’t forget to subtly show off his pectoral muscles, either.

Well, those muscles were broad enough to put the Pacific Ocean to shame, but...

“Your son has such a wonderful attitude, Death King.”

The Black Dragon leader merely gave him a warm, motherly smile.

“He feels just like a little brother.”

“Ugor. A little brother...?”

Uburka tilted his head, then looked to me for a reaction.

‘Father, she means I feel like family, so surely this is a good thing? There is so much potential.’

No. You’ve just been rejected as clearly as anyone could possibly reject you...

Please notice that she didn’t simply say [sibling], but specifically [little brother]. The reason she keeps praising me in front of you is also to signal that you should give up. Kid, how are you going to survive the harsh world of romance when you’re this clueless?

GRRR...

A beast’s growl came from the forest.

The three of us immediately stopped chatting and turned our heads.

“...”

GRRR...

There weren’t just one or two beasts.

In the shadowy darkness of the jungle, hundreds of pairs of eyes gleamed blue, like wildflowers blooming beneath the trees. One beast resembled a stag, with antlers larger than its own body on its head. Another opened a snake’s jaws and hissed.

“You weren’t kidding about all the monsters...”

“They are probably all creatures I defeated in the past.”

The beasts surrounded us. For a while, they prowled about, trying to intimidate us. Ragged breathing. Savage footfalls. As hundreds of beasts exhaled at once, the jungle air stirred with heat.

“You’re dream demons, aren’t you?”

But Uburka and the Black Dragon leader had long since lost whatever part of their brains felt fear. She treated the monsters as though they were neighborhood puppies.

“We are responsible for the races on the continent across the sea. We’ve come to protest your unilateral invasion. Frankly, I’d like to ask whether you’re in your right minds.”

“...”

“Countless children are suffering dehydration and malnutrition because you’ve devoured their dreams. Every moment counts for their lives. Many children have already died, and more will follow. Call your leader. I need to hear right now what possessed you to do this.”

The monsters turned to look at one another. Had they realized that trying to intimidate us with their numbers was pointless?

“We heard you were guardian deities... Indeed, seeing you retain your sense of self even in our world, you are no ordinary beings.”

An antlered stag emerged from among the beasts. As it took a step forward, shadows embroidered by the jungle leaves fell across its lustrous back like fish scales.

I parted my lips.

“Are you the king of the dream demons?”

“A foolish question. We have no such thing as a king.”

The stag’s eyes peered into my face.

“If you have no king, in what capacity have you stepped forward?”

“Do not judge us by your notions of common sense. You believe you are speaking with me now, but you are not. We merely possess your dreams and speak according to your memories.”

The Black Dragon leader frowned.

“What do you mean?”

“We have no form. No appearance. Necessarily, there are no individuals either. We cannot use words you do not know, nor can we imitate people you do not know.”

I recalled the ten dream demons I had beaten up so far.

“Their reactions were awfully vivid for that. They sounded pretty flippant, too.”

“All the members of our race you met reflected your mental images. If our speech is flippant, it is only because yours is. If they dislike being beaten, it is because you dislike being beaten. Stranger, we are merely mirrors.”

“... You’re saying all of that was an imitation of me?”

“Indeed.”

I was shocked.

“Impossible! There’s no way I’m that flippant! I’m a hunter renowned for my dignified charm!”

“...”

“...”

“What? Why are you both staring at me?”

“It’s nothing, Death King.”

“I have raised no objections, Father.”

“See! My colleague and my son both agree with me!”

The antlered stag opened its mouth as though amused.

“We have no interest whatsoever in your reputation, stranger. Only one thing interests us: the nearly limitless dreams of your races.”

“What do you mean, you’re interested in our dreams?”

“Your dreams are exceptionally delicious.”

SQUELCH.

The stag crushed a jungle centipede beneath its forehoof.

“Throughout the years, all we ate were the dreams of animals. It felt like spooning down pale, watery gruel. By comparison, how varied the dreams of your races are!”

The antlered stag flicked its long tongue.

“Before meeting you, we were truly primitive. Feeble intelligence, paltry memories... We did not even know there was another reality outside our own, nor did we properly understand that we were a race living as parasites in dreams. Thanks to consuming your dreams, we developed rapidly.”

I understood what the dream demon was saying.

“Then shouldn’t you be grateful to our children? They didn’t intend to, but they helped you become smarter.”

“We are already repaying them amply. Have we not given each of you the happiest possible dream?”

“What good are happy dreams? At this rate, they’re all going to die.”

“Happy dreams and a wretched reality. It seems you prioritize the latter.”

The antlered stag sneered. The laughter produced by a beast’s vocal cords and tongue sounded strange.

“But those of your races whom we have met so far think differently. Why not wish them happiness, stranger?”

“That sounds nice enough. But ultimately, all I hear is that you want to gorge yourselves on delicious food.”

“It is remarkable that you remain sane in our world, but you are still beings of the outside world. It is impossible for you to inflict meaningful harm on us. Stopping us is even more impossible.”

True to its stag form, the antlered monster held its neck stiff and proud.

“Do not worry. We have no intention of driving your races to extinction. After we cross the sea, we will restrain our dream-eating enough to allow you to continue your lineages. Still, the dreams you harbor are so enticing that we may overindulge a little.”

All right. I understood perfectly.

“In short, you can’t possibly lose, so you’ll do whatever the hell you want. Is that it?”

“That is one aspect of the interpretation.”

People only become humble before someone capable of landing a blow on them. Apparently, that rule of the world was no different for dream demons living in dreams.

“Glad you’re so easy to understand.”

“You speak as though you could attack us.”

“That’s right.”

I opened the Civilization Shop.

“I don’t know how impressive this dream world where you all gather is...”

I bought an item.

[Purchasing ‘Person Possession’.]

[2000 Race Points will be consumed!]

[You currently have 3912 Race Points.]

“But despite appearances, I’ve visited all sorts of worlds, children.”

I was looking forward to finding out what it felt like to become a dream demon.

With a gentle smile, I murmured toward the antlered stag.

“Use item, Person Possession.”

At that moment, an infinite world of dreams unfolded before my eyes.