After we had finally shared our true feelings, Alice and I spent some time chatting while I held her in my lap.
I wrapped one arm around her waist and laced my fingers with hers. As our idle conversation drifted on, she eventually fell asleep, her breathing growing soft and rhythmic against me.
The tension she had been carrying for so long must have finally snapped, allowing exhaustion to wash over her all at once. Her sleeping face no longer looked pained or tearful as it had just a short while ago; now, she seemed completely at ease, with what looked like the faint ghost of a smile playing on her lips.
She leaned against me, seeking comfort. Despite all the provocative things she had said in the past, she had never let herself act with this kind of girlish innocence before.
I realized then that no matter how bright and cheery she acted on the surface, Alice’s heart had likely been stretched so thin that she had no emotional room left for anyone else. That was probably why, even when she sought out the company of others, there was no space in the depths of her soul for them to actually enter—creating a massive wall that stood between her and the rest of the world.
I suspected my timing had been a major factor. Eden’s appearance had acted as a catalyst, forcing a crack in that rigid wall and allowing me to finally reach the core of her heart. Now that she had shared everything with me and become my lover, she was finally able to make peace with her past. That closure had finally given her heart the room it needed to breathe.
That was why she was now entrusting her entire weight to me in such total security. The thought made me incredibly happy, and I found her more precious than words could describe. As I watched her sleep, I vowed once again that I would never let her shed such painful tears ever again.
She truly did look peaceful... I hoped she was having a wonderful dream.
Alice found herself inside a wooden building that she hadn't seen in ages. Looking around at the familiar sights that now lingered only in the dusty corners of her memory, she realized she was dreaming.
"...This brings back memories."
This was a place of precious significance to her—the Adventurer Guild they had frequented back when she worked as a duo with her best friend. The building, which looked like a combination of a tavern and a reception hall, filled Alice’s heart with a sense of calm and an indescribable nostalgia.
Even though it was a dream, her consciousness felt strangely clear. The fact that she could look back on these old sights with such fondness was surely because Kaito had accepted her heart.
As Alice surveyed the room with those thoughts in mind, her gaze caught on a certain table, and her breath hitched.
"...Eh?"
She had thought the large hall was empty. However, at the table furthest in the back, a single figure sat with their back turned to her.
The person had two-tone, semi-short hair of gray and black and appeared to be about the same height as Alice. Leaning against the table next to them was a massive jet-black staff that stood more than twice the height of its owner.
She couldn't see the figure's face, but there was no way Alice could mistake them. That back belonged to the person who had been by her side longer than anyone else in the world she originally came from.
"...It has been a long time, 'Alicia'... or do you go by Alice now?"
"...Iri... s?"
At the sound of that familiar voice, the girl turned around and offered a faint smile. Her beautiful, light-green eyes held a familiar spark—a mixture of sharpness and kindness—as she gazed quietly at Alice.
"...Iris... Iris!!"
"...Hmph."
Alice knew this was a dream. It couldn't be anything else. But it didn't matter. This was a reunion with the best friend who was supposed to be dead. Driven by pure joy, Alice broke into a run toward her. Seeing this, Iris stood up with her smile intact... and then swung her jet-black staff back with a wide arc.
"You total... fool!!"
"Fugyah!?"
Iris slammed the staff directly into Alice’s face, catching her with a perfect counter-blow. Alice was sent tumbling backward, knocking over a nearby table as she hit the floor. She pushed herself up, clutching her stinging face.
Iris marched toward her with a brisk, heavy stride.
"I-Iris? What was that for!?"
"I expected you to take your time, but... you took far too long! You absolute idiot!!"
"Gueh!? Wait, Iris!?"
"Moping and brooding for tens of thousands of years! You kept your heart so tightly guarded that there wasn't a single opening! It’s your fault I haven't been able to manifest until now, isn't it!?"
"Eh? Wait, what do you mean? Isn't this just a dream...?"
As Iris grabbed her by the collar and shook her violently—scolding her just like she had in the old days—Alice felt a strange weight behind the words and asked for an explanation. Iris let out a long sigh, released Alice, and sat down on a nearby chair she had just righted.
"Yes, this is undoubtedly a dream... though, for the record, the 'me' talking to you right now is the real deal."
"...What? No way..."
"I'm not lying. Didn't I tell you I couldn't leave a big idiot like you all alone? Well, it turns out it took an eternity before I could actually talk to you like this."
"...But why? How...?"
Stunned by the claim, Alice asked for the truth. Iris was dead; Alice had been there for her final moments. She knew it better than anyone.
Iris merely gave a fearless smile.
"Hmph. Your actions were always easy to predict. I spent years on research, but I never did find a way to become ageless like you."
"I know. That's why you..."
"However, during that process, I formulated a hypothesis. I wondered if it might be possible to house one's soul inside a Heart Tool."
"!!?"
"I predicted that you would absorb my Heart Tool into Hecatoncheir along with my remains, so I performed the ritual on my deathbed."
"...W-W-Why... why didn't you tell me!?"
"Why didn't I tell you? Simple. I suspected it was possible, but I had no proof. I was moving my very soul; if I failed, I would have just stayed dead. There is no cruelty worse than giving someone false hope."
"..."
"It was a gamble for me, too. I only had one shot, and the only Heart Tool I knew of that could absorb another's was your Hecatoncheir. It was purely theoretical. But as you can see, I made it work."
"...Then, then... it's really you? The real Iris?"
The reality finally set in. This wasn't just a memory or a projection; it was the soul of her best friend. Alice’s voice trembled as she asked for confirmation.
"...Yeah. It's been... a long time, hasn't it?"
"Iris!!"
"Nuoh!? Hey, don't just tackle me!?"
"Iris! It's really you... U-Waaaaah! I wanted to see you! I wanted to see you so much!!"
"...Good grief. You're still a hopeless girl, aren't you?"
Alice lunged at Iris, weeping hysterically. Iris grumbled with feigned exasperation, but her eyes were incredibly tender.
After Alice had spent a long time crying into her friend's shoulder, she eventually looked up and asked, "Why... why didn't you talk to me until now? I was so alone..."
"Why? Because your heart was so crowded with grief and guilt that there was no room for me to emerge! If you had just made your peace with my death sooner, I could have talked to you ages ago. But no, you just kept brooding and brooding..."
"Ah... uuh..."
As a soul residing within a Heart Tool, Iris could speak directly to Alice’s heart, but little else. However, Alice had spent millennia building a wall that refused to let anything in, inadvertently locking Iris out as well.
It was only now, thanks to Kaito, that Alice had finally processed her grief. That newfound emotional space had finally allowed Iris to manifest within her dreams.
"You should be grateful to that man. Thanks to him, as long as your conscious mind is at rest like this, we can talk."
"...Uuuh... Kaito-san..."
"Make sure you thank him yourself. Now, look... dreams are fleeting things. It’s almost time for you to wake up."
"Eh? Oh!?"
As Iris spoke, Alice noticed her hands were beginning to turn transparent. A dream doesn't last for the entire duration of sleep; their window of conversation was closing. However, this wasn't the end. Seeing the look of anxiety on Alice’s face, Iris offered a gentle smile.
"Don't look like that. We can talk as much as you like from now on. For as long as you're alive, anyway."
"Ah... Yeah!"
"I'll be here in your dreams to keep you company. But if you start worrying about stupid things again, I'm going to scold you, so be ready."
"...Yeah... I will."
We can meet again. That hope filled Alice with a warmth she hadn't felt in ages. She nodded repeatedly, tears still streaming down her face.
As she watched Alice begin to fade from the dream world, Iris spoke one last time in a voice full of love.
"...Congratulations, Alice. Please, be happy. That is my new wish for you, now that we've finally found each other again."
Chapter 300 Celebration
Serious-senpai: "What is the meaning of this!? Wasn't the promise that the Interludes were supposed to be serious!?"
There was no such promise.
Serious-senpai: "...I hate it here..."