The sky had lightened. Kiyoka awoke with the brightening of the room.
Feeling relief from the weight in his arms, he patted Miyo’s long and lustrous black hair. It appeared his wife was sleeping in this morning.
An early riser, she was normally awake by this time of day.
When he caressed her like this, she would wake up and immediately go red in the face, all while still nuzzling close to Kiyoka. He found this so adorable that he couldn’t stop himself from touching her as soon as he woke up.
But today, even when he touched her hair and cheeks or hugged her close, Miyo remained asleep… Her eyes never opened to reveal her obsidian pupils.
“Miyo.”
He tried calling to her. Even then, she remained asleep, not stirring in the slightest. No matter how many times he called her name, Miyo didn’t show any sort of reaction.
Something was clearly abnormal.
Kiyoka sat up and gently shook his wife by the shoulders.
“Miyo, get up. It’s morning.”
No response. The blood drained from his face. His slightly befuddled early-morning brain instantly snapped awake. Alarm bells began to ring in his head.
“Miyo, wake up! Miyo!”
No matter how much he shook her, Miyo continued to let out only faint sleeping breaths. At the moment, however, these small breaths were a comfort to him. It was clearly unusual for her to remain asleep through all of this. If Kiyoka hadn’t heard her breathing, he would’ve mistaken her as dead and fallen into even deeper despair.
He felt her wrist and checked her pulse. Her heartbeat was regular yet slightly weak.
“Miyo. Why?”
Was she sick? Or was this due to her Dream Sight? She wasn’t moaning in her sleep, so she probably wasn’t experiencing a nightmare, but Kiyoka was consumed with impatience.
What do I do?
Should he reach out to the Usubas? Right now, Miyo looked like she was simply sleeping, but what if she never woke up again? Unable to eat, she would eventually weaken and waste away.
This was serious.
Kiyoka tightly grasped Miyo’s hand. Her fingertips were freezing to the touch, and cold fear pierced his brain over and over again.
He needed to do something more—anything.
Amid his terrible panic, all Kiyoka could do was begin praying his beloved wife would wake up soon.
When Miyo woke up, she found herself in an unfamiliar place.
A forest. However, the atmosphere was a bit different from the forests Miyo was familiar with. The space around her was dim, the sky covered by dense tree growth, and when she looked deeper into the woods, it was nothing but darkness that seemed to suck her inward.
The air was damp, likely from all the vegetation, and the humidity clung to her skin along with the smell of the greenery. Upon closer inspection, even the plants around her seemed to be a bit different from the varieties she was familiar with.
It was undoubtedly a forest, yet something about it was off, as if she had been abandoned in a foreign land.
Miyo examined her surroundings, bewildered.
This has to be a dream.
Perhaps her Dream Sight had acted of its own accord to show her this dream.
Since she knew it was a vision, she didn’t feel very daunted by it. However, she was at a complete loss as to where, and what sort of situation, the dream depicted.
Was it the past, the present, or the future? She hadn’t the faintest idea from within the thick forest.
“Oh, so it was a success.”
A young man’s voice came from behind her. She had heard this voice and tone before. Very recently, in fact.
“You’re…”
When she turned around, the exact person she expected was standing there.
Despite only briefly exchanging a few words with her several days ago, the man had left a lasting impression on Miyo, perhaps because he was a foreigner, a rare sight for her. Either that, or because Miyo had been struck by the novelty of a man she had never met trying to court her.
Fine, silky hair and azure eyes like the ocean. Handsome features sculpted around a prominent nose. Tall and svelte. Though she was seeing him for the second time, Miyo still felt he resembled a prince straight out of a storybook.
Nevertheless, she now had feelings growing inside her that hadn’t been present during their first meeting.
Everything about him is a complete mystery…
Numerous whys and hows swirled in her head, to the point where she didn’t know what to say first.
“…Eugene, right?”
“Oh, milady. You were kind enough to remember my name? I’m delighted. This is but our second meeting.”
Eugene’s eyes watered, the man appearing deeply touched. With an exaggerated and theatrical motion, he placed his hand against his chest and took a polite bow.
“Um, where exactly is this?” Miyo asked warily, staying on her guard and keeping space between them.
“We are inside a dream. Though I am sure you don’t need me to confirm that, now do you?”
“I understand we’re inside a dream.”
“Then what, pray tell, were you looking to ask me?”
Miyo tightly pursed her lips at Eugene, who was smiling pleasantly while giving hollow, flippant responses.
“…Why exactly are you inside my dream?”
At first, she thought the memory of talking about Eugene had influenced her psyche, and he was simply appearing in her dream as a result.
However, even in the dream world, his presence was clear and vivid, and he said things Miyo’s mind could never have come up with. He didn’t seem to be an illusion she had created.
It felt like there was an alien object in the world she had created for herself.
“That is an unusual question, now isn’t it? This is your dream after all, so I am clearly a fantasy of your creation.”
“I’m asking because I know that isn’t the case.”
Miyo’s reply took Eugene aback, prompting his eyes to widen and his smile to fade.
“Impressive. So you can pick up on it after all… It seems you possess quite a mighty power.”
“What do you mean…?”
“Hang on a moment. I’ll explain it all from the beginning.”
The green undergrowth, sprouting up in heaps from the soil, crunched beneath Eugene’s heels as he advanced toward Miyo.
She took one, two steps back to keep her distance, but his strides were much larger, and it didn’t take long for him to catch up to her.
Eugene cast a gentle smile, charming and without any hint of hostility, at Miyo. Just as she wondered what he planned to do, he kneeled before her.
“What…?”
Eugene’s smile widened as he saw Miyo get caught off guard and arch her upper body away from him.
“Milady, please don’t be so frightened. I have no intentions of bringing you harm.”
As Miyo stood there perplexed, Eugene scooped up her right hand in a nonchalant, natural motion. He brought the back of Miyo’s hand to his face and, without any hesitation, brought it to his lips.
He kissed her.
The instant she understood what had transpired, Miyo yanked her hand away and hid it behind her.
“Wh-what are you doing?!”
“It was merely a greeting. I simply wanted to show you I mean no harm.”
Miyo couldn’t comprehend what he was talking about. Was this normal in other countries? Eugene didn’t appear offended at all, though, as he invited Miyo deeper into the forest.
“Instead of standing here, shall we take a stroll while we talk?”
Miyo wavered for a second. She had no idea who he really was or what his intentions were, so going along with him would be dangerous. But she changed her mind. They were inside a dream. Here, she could do whatever she wanted, however she wanted.
If she felt any danger, she could simply leave the dream. Either that, or she could cast Eugene out of the dream world instead.
Having made up her mind, Miyo accepted Eugene’s invitation and headed deeper into the forest.
Even as they advanced slowly through the woods, the scenery remained largely unchanged.
There were subtle differences, though. Occasionally they would see a massive, withered tree toppled over, or two trees that had tangled together halfway up their trunks. Sometimes, they would hear the trickling of a small stream.
“As I am sure you are already aware, my name is Eugene Wood.”
Miyo wasn’t shocked to hear Eugene’s last name.
It’s just as Kiyoka said.
In other words, the young man in front of her was indeed the foreign acquaintance Godou had mentioned. Godou had studied abroad in England before, so Miyo assumed he’d met the man there.
“…Are you from England?” Miyo asked tentatively, and Eugene blinked several times.
“I am, in fact… Who did you hear that from?”
“…”
“Oh, I don’t get an answer, do I? That’s perfectly fine. I have acquaintances from this country, so you undoubtedly heard it from one of them.” Eugene accepted the situation and continued, “In fact, I was born to a family of what your people call ‘Gift-users.’”
“What…? There are Gift-users in England, too?”
Miyo’s eyes widened at the revelation, something she had never even considered, and Eugene beamed back at her.