Her body felt heavy. As did her eyelids.
When her consciousness returned, the very first thing her senses picked up were the sounds of summer cicadas and the sluggishness of her body. It was hot for morning, and the light she felt through her eyelids was harsh.
Miyo slowly opened her eyes.
Contrary to her expectations, the sunlight filtering into the room was clearly not the light of dawn. The air suggested it was already afternoon.
As her foggy mind began to grasp the situation, Miyo shot up from bed in shock.
Or at least, she tried to shoot up.
More accurately speaking, her body was so leaden that she couldn’t raise herself from bed.
“Nhh…ngh.”
It wasn’t simply that her body felt heavy, either. Her throat was parched and only capable of producing hoarse moans, and when she did try to sit up, her temples throbbed with pain.
Unable to get herself more than halfway out of bed, Miyo rested her elbows on her futon—anything to support her body as it threatened to tumble down again.
She couldn’t fathom what had happened to her.
Miyo froze in place for a short time, unable to move any farther. Before long, however, the sliding door to the room opened.
“Miyo! You’re awake.”
“Ah… M-Miyako.”
It was Miyako. She frantically rushed over to Miyo and helped her come to a full sitting position, firmly supporting Miyo’s back.
“Thank goodness you’re awake. Let me tell you, I was so worried.”
“U-um, what time is it…?”
“Ah, right. Of course you wouldn’t know that. It’s about four in the afternoon.”
Miyo had the wind knocked out of her. Now she was completely frozen; even her eyes were unable to blink. Not four in the morning, but four in the afternoon. It was practically evening.
Wh-what’s going on? Did I sleep in that late?!
This went far beyond just oversleeping—she had spent well over half the day asleep.
“I—I can’t believe it…”
Miyo had been careless. The passage of time in the dream world was different than in the real world. Typically, no matter how much time she spent in a dream, she would wake up to find everything had occurred in the span of a single night.
As such, she hadn’t remotely considered the possibility her conversation with Diana and Eugene would last beyond morning.
In reality, however, it had taken not just a single night but nearly an entire day.
Miyo unconsciously dropped her head into her hands.
“Um, where is Kiyoka…?”
“He stepped out. Told me, ‘Please look after her’ before he left.”
“Oh, Miyo’s awake. Phew, now that’s good news.”
Komon appeared in the open doorway.
“Lord Komon…”
“Apologies. I hate to peek into a lady’s bedchambers, but I need to make sure you’re doing all right and let Kiyoka know.”
While they had decided yesterday that Miyo would be left in the care of the Second Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit, they obviously couldn’t carry her to the station while she was locked in sleep.
It sounded like Kiyoka had directed Komon to protect her before he had left the estate.
…Bossing around the main family patriarch. I can’t believe it.
Komon was a truly good man to agree to such an unreasonable request, given how busy he must have been, too.
However, he was likely the only person Kiyoka could trust to keep Miyo safe.
“Looks to me like you’re doing just fine.”
“Y-yes, I’m all right.”
“Then I’ll let Kiyoka know right away. Miyako, I’m leaving her with you.”
“You can count on me.”
When Komon departed, Miyo heaved a sigh.
Why did things end up this way?
Miyo was sure Kiyoka must have been terribly worried when she didn’t wake up that morning. If their positions had been reversed, she would have been beside herself in terror—to have your spouse sleeping at your side, only to suddenly refuse to wake up.
Kiyoka, I’m sorry.
If she had known this would happen, she would have finished her conversation with Diana and Eugene much earlier and returned to the waking world. Especially since there was no way she would have agreed to their invitation.
“You all right, Miyo? No pain or anything?”
Miyako rubbed Miyo’s back out of concern. Still, Miyo could only shake her head.
When she imagined the unnecessary anxiety her own blunder had caused Kiyoka, the regret and guilt felt unbearable.
“Listen, Miyo, you hungry at all?”
“Oh…”
Now that she thought about it, Miyo had been asleep the whole day, so she hadn’t had a bite of anything since dinner the night before. While she had drunk that cup of black tea in the dream, it didn’t carry over into the real world.
“You haven’t eaten or drank the whole day, so even if you’re not feeling hungry, you should at least get some fluids in you.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
Now that she was conscious of it, her empty stomach suddenly started rumbling. Thankfully it didn’t growl audibly, but given how empty her belly was, there was no telling when that would start to happen.
Miyo finally managed to get out of her bed, and she changed from her nightwear into a casual tsumugi kimono.
As if she had perfectly estimated how long it would take Miyo to change, Miyako returned a moment later with water and a light meal.
“Help yourself. I tried to choose something that’d be easy on the stomach, but let me know what you think.”
Miyako had brought egg rice porridge in an earthenware pot and umeboshi plums. Upon closer inspection, there wasn’t just egg in the porridge, but tofu skin as well.
Miyo immediately brought her hands together to express gratitude for the meal and started eating.
“It’s delicious…!”
The thick egg porridge was at the perfect temperature, not piping hot yet not lukewarm. The soup stock flavor came through well, and it wasn’t too salty. Eating the porridge with the umeboshi added just the right amount of salty and sour, making the dish even more savory.
Impressed that the porridge was so much tastier than the kind she made, Miyo brought one spoonful after another up to her mouth, emptying the earthenware pot in the blink of an eye.
“Thank you very much.”
Miyo felt more like her usual self now that her stomach was full.
“Oh, it’s nothing. I’m glad to see your appetite’s still okay, at least.”
“The porridge was simply so delicious, I just couldn’t stop… How embarrassing.”
“Nonsense. If you’re able to eat, it means you’re fit and healthy.”
After fully indulging in Miyako’s considerate offering and regaining all her energy, Miyo waited for Kiyoka to return.
What would it be best for her to say when she first saw him? Surely she should apologize, right?
She didn’t want to leave Kiyoka feeling sad or hurt. As far as she was concerned, it was completely unacceptable for her to be reason he was upset.
Kiyoka told me not to listen to anything Eugene had to say; I should have never gone along with him in the first place. What a fool I am.
She had gone into the dream with the idea that it would be best to attempt to get more insight into who Eugene was, but since all she had accomplished was making Kiyoka worried, it seemed clear to her it was a mistake in the first place. No one was dearer to Miyo than Kiyoka.
Miyo wasn’t sure how long she spent agonizing like this.
All of a sudden, she heard the sound of the sliding door being pulled back, and she raised her head.
The sun was at the new arrival’s back, and it cast a long shadow over them, obscuring their face and figure. Nevertheless, there was no doubt in Miyo’s mind who this was.
She automatically stood up and threw her arms around the person—around Kiyoka.
“Kiyoka! I’m sorry, I—”
“Miyo.”
His voice was trembling. No, that wasn’t all—the fingers brushing Miyo’s cheek were shaking, too.