Chapter 78: Data Load

I was dreaming.

It was a dream of a man sprinting through a labyrinth, a gun gripped in each hand.

A barrier shimmered behind him, shielding a crowd of people. He stood alone against the encroaching tide of monsters. He cycled through the magic stored within his weapons, cutting down dozens of beasts by himself. He shoved magic stones into his guns mid-fight to replenish his reserves; he ignored his own safety, staking his life on the line just to protect someone.

It was a scene I shouldn't have known... and yet, for some reason, it felt achingly nostalgic.

Even as I experienced the despair and the raw pain of that moment, I could do nothing. I was a mere observer, forced to watch as the man was slowly torn apart.

"Ngh—[Tonnerre Infernix]!"

He unleashed a bolt of ultimate lightning and flame at a massive wyvern. He was already running on empty, but he had no other choice if he wanted to kill the thing. After delivering that final blow, he holstered his guns and picked up a discarded weapon from the ground.

The monsters were endless. He could only push himself further into the abyss to protect those behind him. Pushed past his absolute limit, he—

"Hehe. Good morning, Reima."

I woke up to find Lycoris clinging to me.

Feeling her cold body temperature against mine, it took several seconds for my brain to process the situation. Another few seconds passed as the shock of her presence completely wiped away the lingering remnants of the dream, leaving me dazed.

"...Morning?" I managed.

"Yep, morning. It's a beautiful day," she replied.

I followed her gaze out the window. The sky was a perfect, cloudless blue. Under any other circumstances, I would have rolled out of bed and treated myself to a long stretch. But I had questions.

"Uh, why are you here?"

"A checkup to stabilize your magic. Merli gave me permission to come out."

"I see... but why you specifically?"

Lycoris had eyes that could perceive magic flow, but we had other Summoned Beasts better suited for healing. Besides, thanks to the recovery magic from Saaya—formerly Kushinada-san—my physical wounds were mostly gone. There was no real reason for everyone to be fussing over me like this.

"Because I won at rock-paper-scissors," she said.

"You decided this with rock-paper-scissors...?"

"It was the only fair way. Even if everyone else tried to cheat."

I can definitely see that happening. "I'm surprised you won, then."

"I've got good luck. My intuition is perfect."

It was impressive, honestly, but I was too embarrassed to stay in bed with her. I had her get up so we could talk like normal people.

"Oh, a message from Merli," Lycoris added. "She said you aren't allowed to use any powerful magic for a while."

"Got it. Makes sense."

"It does. It was obvious this would happen the moment you summoned Baha-nee in your current state."

I knew that much myself. My Magic Circuit was currently in a state no different from a total overheat. If I tried to use a high-load spell now, there was no telling what kind of permanent damage I’d do to my body. I’d have to play it safe until Merli gave me the green light.

"Anyway, Reima... you were moaning in your sleep. Are you okay?"

"Oh, right. I think I had a weird dream, but I've already forgotten it. I'm fine."

"Really? You looked like you were in a lot of pain."

"Was it that bad? Well, if I can't remember it, it couldn't have been that important."

"If you say so..."

She gave me a skeptical, half-lidded look. She clearly didn't buy it. I hated making her worry; I wanted to say something to reassure her, but my brain was too fried to come up with anything clever on the fly.

"I know! Reima, let's go back to sleep. I'll hold you."

"Yeah, request denied."

"Why? I'm sure some skin-to-skin contact will help you sleep better."

"No... everyone's gathering today. We don't have time. Besides..."

"Besides?"

The lingering sensation of her hug and her faint scent made my face heat up. Expecting a normal high school boy to go through that twice was just cruel.

"It's nothing. Anyway, if you're done, I'm sending you back. Anything else?"

"Not really... Hetareima."

"Stop using that insulting nickname."

With that final exchange, I sent her back to the Soul World and started getting ready to head out. But just before I stepped out the door, a wave of anxiety hit me. I still couldn't remember a single detail of that dream, but for some reason, the sense of uneess refused to go away.

[Afterword]

It’s been a while, I’m Kido Airaku.

I updated Act 3, Episode 1 on January 1st, but updates fully resume starting today. For now, I’m aiming to update every day for about the next thirty days, so please stick with me.