69. Trace of Dream: In This World With You

Editing/Standardisation: Medicine Melancholy
Original Translation: Medicine Melancholy

Iris

An arrow darted across the battlefield with tremendous force.

“That’s the last one…!”

Clutching at the handrails, I gazed as the last of the enemy “horned caster” type was shot and blown away by Weiss-san’s arrow.

Hayato-kun’s shadow flashed by, as if waiting for this moment, and the monster sank into a pool of blood.

“I’m giving the signal now! Flash Spark!”

In place of a signal flare, I fired a spark of light overhead. I’d already told everyone to turn their back to me when I was about to do that, so there’s no worry of harming their eyes.

“Alright, get ready to fire another wave of spells in thirty seconds!”

At Nii-sama’s instruction, the knights who had been waiting on the wall began chanting at once.

All of our magic circles were about to disappear, and this was probably the last high-powered magic attack we could muster… and the other side’s boss, the troll clad in crystals, was starting to make his move.

The reason we’d been doing relatively so far was because the enemies lacked the ability to form coherent strategy.

From this point on, we would be fighting the enemy leader, whose abilities we didn’t know, directly.

The real battle starts now.

“Milly-san, could you use Lightning Detonator?!”

“I’m running low on magic power, but sure thing, nya!”

“…Please do!”

Milly-san then cheerfully started chanting.

Before long, six jade-colored and one amethyst-colored magic circles formed on the walls.

This is our last chance to deal a serious blow to that troll before he completely gets up!

The next moment, multiple tornadoes stacking on top of each other engulfed the surrounding area, before joining up with a massive bolt of purple lightning, creating a violent thunderstorm with the troll at its center.

Amidst the vivid chaotic dance of wind and lightning, I could see with my enhanced vision that the goblin-turned-monsters were burned black and turned into shreds before getting blown sky high.

“It’s not… over yet…!”

Space distorted in front of my eyes. A Mana Burst was occurring.

A high-pitched screech echoes throughout the battlefield. The impact of space distorting was felt even this far away.

This Mana Burst was called “Disintegrate”. Like its name implies, it destroyed the target from inside out, ignoring its physical defenses, to the point of complete annihilation… It’s a low-range, extremely lethal Mana Burst.

And yet, I was still afraid that it wasn’t enough to take down the troll, as he was powerful enough to shatter the floor of the tunnels with his bare hands. I merely wanted to inflict as much pain as possible before we engaged him in combat. If possible, I wanted to dismember one of his limbs.

I stared at the cloud of dust that had been raised by the storm with bated breath.

Emerging from the cloud was…

…the troll’s huge body, still in one piece.

“No way! That thing survived a direct Disintegrate unharmed?!”

“T-That’s impossible! It definitely worked!”

I took a look at the troll again.

Parts of its crystal armor were starting to peel off and losing their luster. Could it be that the armor could store magic power within before consuming it to deploy some kind of protection magic…?

“Don’t tell me… that he’s capable of using A.R.M.A?!” (A.R.M.A stands for Absolute Magic Reactive Armor)

“What the heck, nya?! That’s cheating, Absolute Cheating Plot Armor!”

Back in the game, it was something that only high-level raid bosses possessed, an absolute barrier that prevents magic damage up to a certain level within a certain period of time… How was this even happening?!

The troll irritably gave an order to attack in a language no one could understand. But anything that was supposed to follow his order had already been crushed.

Realizing that fact, he shook his body in anger.

Suddenly, his eyes met with mine, or so I thought.

Something’s coming!

I saw him taking a deep breath.

It’s a bad premonition. And ever since I came to this world, I had learned firsthand many times that whenever a bad premonition sent chills down my spine, it’s almost one hundred percent correct.

“The light that rejects all malice, manifest yourself… Wide Protection!”

Immediately, the magic I unleashed spread across the battlefield and enveloped the soldiers.

By the time I realized the cost of this failure, that I had lost the opportunity to plug my ears, it was already too late.

“GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!”

“Ugh…!”

A tremendous shock pierced and shook my brain.

The moment the hastily released protection magic reached everyone on the battlefield, a deafening roar exploded.

But the magic offered little resistance to a sound bomb whose vibrations penetrated my ears into my brain, robbing me of my balance.

I barely prevented myself from falling down by clutching on the handrails, but that’s as far as I got. I slipped and slumped along the wall.

I’m feeling terrible. My vision’s spinning…!

My whole body felt like being drowned in icy water.

My strength was being drained away… my consciousness… fading… It’s just like the shadowy monster we once fought…

…A… curse…?

I found myself standing in a dark place.

It’s not completely dark, however. When I looked up, the sky was full of stars all around. As my eyes became accustomed, enough light was pouring down from the moon and stars in the sky. A rustling sensation tickled my feet.

I was at the top of a hill where a pleasant soft breeze blew, and a grassy field spread out.

“…Where am… I…?”

I had a faint, but familiar feeling, about this place.

The dream of a boy and girl I once saw. A girl whose silver hair was similar to mine, was cuddled up with a boy, looking up at the starlit sky.

“Sorry for calling you here at such a bad time.”

Someone else was here before I knew it.

The silver-haired girl whom I saw in the dream was right in front of me.

Wearing a pure white dress adorned with lace and frills, she stood gracefully with a soft smile on her face, looking much more like a princess than me.

Inexplicably, the contents of the dreams that all fizzled out and became forgotten when I woke up could be vividly recalled in this place.

She was much more mature than I remembered from my dream. She looked like she was in her mid-twenties.

But that smile of hers, filled with youthful mischief, yet so reassuring to look at, unmistakably belonged to the girl in the dream.

“Hehe, we finally met. You’re the girl who accessed my memories several times, aren’t you?”

“Acc…ess…? I-I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to intrude!”

So the dreams were actually me peeking in her privacy all along?!

I was filled with guilt when I found out about this fact.

“Oh my, it’s nothing worth worrying about. Without it, I wouldn’t be able to meet and talk with you like this.”

I breathed a sigh of relief when she said that with a soft laugh.

“…Besides, you already have the rights to do that.”

“…Privilege? Who are you exactly…”

“Before we get to that, let me ask you something.”

Her smile quickly faded, and her expression became serious.

“Have you ever thought about abandoning everything and running away?”

“That’s…!”

I raised my voice, but the words quickly trailed off in my mouth.

I did want to run away.

No matter how much I tried to hide it, I was afraid to go into battle.

Even though I tried desperately to inspire myself, all the while, I wanted to run away.

However…

“…That would be irresponsible of me, so I can’t do that…”

“Why?”

“Why… you ask…?”

“You aren’t exactly that attached to all those people, are you? Why are you, who feel foreign in this world, thinking that you’re responsible for all their lives?”

I was at a loss for words.

She was completely correct. It was perfectly acceptable if Reiji-san, Ayame and I just focused on finding a way to return to our original world without getting involved with the people of this world.

If that’s the case… what are we fighting for?

“Because if I don’t… it’ll leave a bad taste in my mouth… I think?”

In the end, I could only give such a vague answer to her question.

I simply couldn’t abandon someone in need before me. Call it my arrogant selfishness, if you will.

“…Then allow me to give you an advice. The path you take will be full of thorns. There will surely be a time when you have to make a cruel choice. Do you still want to walk on this path?”

“……Yes.”

“*sigh* You’re too self-sacrificing for your own good… Who did you inherit that trait from, I wonder?”

She put her hand on her cheek and smiled bitterly. But there’s a tinge of exhaustion and resignation on her face that couldn’t be hidden.

I’m sure she herself had been responsible for the lives of many people too, because she was too kind.

“…It’s a pain, isn’t it?”

“It really is… There’s no need for us to resemble each other so much.”

“…Eh?”

I couldn’t quite make out her mumblings, which gradually got smaller and smaller.

However, I couldn’t help but feel that something was not quite right, so I asked back.

“Um, it was nothing. Anyway, I shouldn’t keep you here for too long.”

She nonchalantly brushed me off, and then moved forward to press her finger against my forehead. From there, I felt something warm and tender.

“With my authority, I hereby appoint you as the next Sacred Daughter.”

Come to think of it, I’d never gotten her name.

But somehow, I was convinced. That she’s actually my…

Before such thoughts could clearly take shape, she withdrew her finger.

Apparently, some sort of ritual had been completed.

“It’s done. Your power as the Sacred Power should be awakened properly now… Be careful, it’ll take some time for you to get used to your new power.”

Her expression turned serious again, and she grabbed both of my shoulders.

“Do not become trapped by your duty. Do not think of anything stupid like abandoning yourself for some greater good. Do not become like us.”

“…Yes.”

“Good girl, good girl.”

She then pulled me into a hug and patted my head. It’s comforting.

I was being treated as if I were a little girl, but strangely, I didn’t feel repulsed. Rather, I wanted this woman to pamper me as much as she liked. Such feelings were welling up within me.

“…Um! Can I ask you something else?!”

I’d always wondered about it.

The White Book… It was said that the soul of the last Sacred Daughter was sealed within it.

Until now, I’d assumed that the woman in front of me was said sealed soul.

But… what if she wasn’t?

Then whose soul was sealed inside the White Book?

If this woman wasn’t the last, then someone else must have come after her… but who was she?

When I looked at her, I felt a sense of nostalgia and loneliness that makes me want to cry… I felt like I longed for her presence… Why?

“Are you… actually… my mo-”

“No.”

She firmly rejected the idea, as if putting a lid on it.

However, her hand, which gently reached out and placed on my cheek, gently caressed my face. As if she wanted to confirm whether I was still here with her.

“Don’t you have someone actually deserving to be called that? Someone who carried you in her aching belly and gave birth to you? I… I couldn’t do that… I don’t deserve that name…”

There were tears in her eyes.

Please… I beg you… Return my… my baby to me! Please…!

“…?!”

What came to my mind was the scene of that dream I had a while ago.

In that memory, she was so distraught and desperate to reach for something that she bore no resemblance to the woman talking to me so calmly at the moment.

“That’s not it at all! You deserve it too! You’re my… my…”

I couldn’t stop myself anymore. Overcome with emotions akin to rage, I put together my words frantically.

“There’s… there’s no way that someone who thought of me, cried out for me like that even though she was in so much anguish could be a stranger!”

She was by no means a stranger to me. I don’t want her to think of herself in that way.

I continued to sob and cry into her arms.

“…I see, so you’d seen that memory too… Then, how about you listen to my little request?”

“Yes… Of course I will! If there’s anything I can do to help, please tell me…!”

And thus she told me about her request… a really mundane one at that.

She’s really a troubled person, isn’t she?

I managed to crack a smile with tears still streaming down my face.

Then I did just what she asked… From the bottom of my heart, I called her by that name.

“…This is pretty embarrassing, now that I’ve done it…”

Truth be told, I was very nervous inside. I never thought I would meet someone I could call by that name again.

“…But I’m really happy because I’ve done it.”

With a shy smile on my face, I frankly expressed my opinion… She began to shed tears herself. Very warm tears.

“…Thank you. That word alone is enough of a salvation for me.”

Even as she cried, her smile was like a blooming flower.

We embraced each other like that for a while… before her hand that was caressing me moved away. I felt sad that the warmth of her touch was disappearing… but I had to go back now.

I still had things I need to do in reality.

I shook off the feeling of desolation and took a step backward. Immediately, my vision blurred, and the world lost its outline.

This was only a dream, after all.

I’m sure I would barely remember her when I woke up.

This was literally a dreamlike encounter that last only for a moment.

But I’m sure that we’ll meet again someday.

“Well then, I’ll pray for our next encounter. That aside…”

Suddenly, she spoke with a stern voice.

“Watch out for those ruling over Acropolis. There’s no doubt that they want to protect the world… but they can and will trample over your happiness in doing so.”

I tried to respond to the warning, but I couldn’t even speak anymore. I gave her a nod instead.

If someone as kind as her warned me to beware of them, then I should take her warning seriously.

I would probably forget most of what I did here when I return, but I would strongly imprint it in my mind so that I could remember even a small part of it.

“It’s goodbye for now. May the path you take lead you to happiness. I sincerely hope you could do what all of us couldn’t…”

…And I’m so glad that I get to see you, my cute… dau…