“My other request is that I’d like to say goodbye to my family and friends. Since I died an unnatural death, I feel like that might leave some emotional scars... That’s why I want to let them know I’m all right, and to see them off with a smile. Oh, I’m not asking for something absurd like meeting with them in person of course. If I could have a minute or two to talk to them in their dreams, then that’d be enough. Even if they think it’s not real and it’s all just a dream, I’d be happy if I could make them feel even a little more at ease...”
God nodded in assent, promising to grant her requests.
“Then just as you asked, I will connect you to everyone’s dreams: one with your family, and the other with your two friends. It’s been ten days since the incident back on Earth, so please, take care not to leave any regrets behind. As soon as that’s over, I will transfer you to the new world. Once you arrive there, I will no longer be able to take any direct part in what happens, but I’ll be sure to tell the supervisor there to take care of you. I’m truly, truly sorry about all this. Now, may you have a good life!”
With those words, God saw Kaoru off with an amiable smile.
It’s only been ten days since then...
Koichi lay in bed, thinking about his little sister, who’d just passed away the other day.
The middle child of three siblings...it’d been half a year since she graduated from college. She loved to read, was knowledgeable of many things, and could be a bit of a tomboy. Though she looked like a cute girl, she always had this intense look in her eyes. She was more of a little brother to him, making it feel like he had both a little brother and a little sister instead of just two sisters.
Even though he’d recently been laughing and joking with her as she retold her “incredible tales of valor” about her time at school and in the workplace, he never thought she’d go off and die sooner than their parents. Not to mention she’d died a mysterious and unnatural death, where her body basically exploded in front of a bunch of witnesses while she was on her way back home. This caused an uproar, of course. People thought it could have been anything, from ultra-small explosives, a murder caused by stringing up piano wires, yōkai, or even the work of the devil. The insensitive mass media jumped on the unusual story, with a cult even trying to use it to scam people out of money, and so on and so forth...
Things had finally settled down a little, but it’d be a long time before they settled down for good. Koichi had kept himself distracted, because he’d been so busy, but now that he had some time to himself, the sadness was beginning to close in.
His parents and Yuki were probably going through the same thing. Even though they’d all gone to bed early, he kept hearing the sound of the toilet flushing or the refrigerator door being opened and closed. But now, everything was finally quiet.
Tears ran down his cheek as he thought about his little sister. A flood of different emotions washed over him. Maybe it was because of his continuous lack of sleep over the past few days, but, before he knew it, he’d fallen into a deep sleep...
“Aha, you’re here! You took forever to go to sleep, Koichi!”
Oh, a lucid dream...
I was sitting around a table with the other four members of my family. Looking at me with a smile on her face was my little sister, who should have no longer been with us. Though it had only been a mere ten days, I was overcome with a sense of sadness and longing.
“Let me get right to explaining now that everyone’s here. Basically, I died because God made a mistake, and, as an apology, he’s going to send me to another world with cheat powers!”
“What the hell kinda light novel is that supposed to be?!”
I couldn’t help but butt in with a sudden retort. Wait, this was my dream, so the lack of imagination would actually be my own fault. That was kinda sad, me.
“Did you make sure to have him take responsibility for what he did, Kaoru? You make sure to get him to compensate you!”
I smacked my head on the table at my mom’s stupid joke... Wait, why did it hurt?
“It’s all right, I made sure to have him promise me cheat powers, and some other stuff too! I’m getting resurrected in my own body, and I’m getting my youth back as well. I’m gonna make so many descendants for the Nagase household in this other world! Our family genes are gonna run rampant there!”
“Well, well, ain’t that somethin’... Then it looks like you’ll be competin’ with Yuki and Koichi here!”
Dad was almost as bad as Mom... No, maybe he was a bit worse.
“Hey, Sis, could you send a hot prince or some super-expensive diamond back to our world?”
Oh my god, Yuki...
“Sorry, it doesn’t seem like I can swing that. Ah, it’s almost time... All right, everyone, be good! I’m gonna be doing my best in my new world as well! Oh, and since I’m getting cheat powers, I can use them to keep myself safe and make some easy money! I’m pretty much guaranteed a stable future, so don’t worry about me, alright? Welp... Dad, Mom, Big Bro, Yuki... Take care, everyone! Thank you for everything, and goodbye!”
“Take care now!”
“I hope you’ll be happy!”
“Get yourself a good man, Big Sis!”
“...You know what to do, right, Kaoru? Keep information about yourself a secret, and keep yourself safe!”
“I got it, I got it! See ya!”
Morning... Haha, was I stupid or something? Why would I tell her that? As if Kaoru wouldn’t know something as basic as that... Wait, am I stupid?! That was my dream, so why was I reacting to it like that? You know what, I should just go ahead and grab some breakfast.
Getting out of bed, I headed straight down to the first floor. Everyone in our family wore pajamas to breakfast. We didn’t have to worry if we spilled food on them, and since we would go to the bathroom and brush our teeth afterward, we could avoid splattering our work clothes with toothpaste or getting them wrinkled. Very logical, if I say so myself.
Dad and Yuki were already sitting at the table, so I sat down in my seat as well. They were already downing some miso soup, and Mom was still getting the plates of grilled salmon ready for them. But something about everyone seemed a bit off. They were fidgeting around, sneaking peeks at each other’s faces. It was an indescribable feeling of restlessness. What was the matter with them...?
For some reason, at that time, part of the conversation from my dream had crossed my mind.
“Our family’s genes are gonna run rampant there!”
“Is our family a bunch of mice or cockroaches or something?!” I blurted out suddenly. What the heck was I even saying?!
PBFTTTTTT!!!
Miso soup suddenly came spurting out of Dad’s and Yuki’s mouths and noses. Ah, yes, our family’s habit of wearing pajamas to breakfast had been proven practical!
“Good grief, how nasty—OW, hot!!!”
Behind me, Mom was picking up a plate she had dropped. Aw man, my grilled salmon...
“Cheat powers in another world...” Dad murmured.
“A hot prince and a super-expensive diamond...”
“She told you that wasn’t going to happen...” Mom retorted to my sister’s mumbling.
...Silence. A hush fell over the room. Then...
“...Haha...”
“...Ahaha...”
“““Ahahahahahaha!”””
We laughed. The four of us laughed and laughed, and kept on laughing. Streams of water ran down our cheeks, but we paid it no mind and kept laughing. All of us were late for school and work that day.
“Hey, you’re here!”
There were two girls sitting around the small table in front of me.
Oh, a dream, huh...
One of the girls here was my close friend, who had passed away ten days ago, the other being a close friend I had known since middle school—and who was now my only close friend left. I had cried my eyes out every day since Kaoru’s accident, but I’d finally been able to calm down a little. Maybe it was because I was still lingering on what had happened, or maybe it was because I’d managed to sort out my feelings, but now I was beginning to see her in my dreams...
“I’m sorry for dying so soon, Kyo-chan. There was more I wanted to do with the three of us... I’m really sorry.”
Unable to hold myself back anymore, I threw myself around Kaoru’s slender body, tears streaming down my face.
“You stupid! Dumb! Dummy! Why did you have to go and die like that?! You big! Stupid! Idiot!!!” I kept crying my eyes out.
“Calm down, Kyoko. It wasn’t like Kaoru wanted to die. It doesn’t seem like we have much time, so let’s just listen to what she has to say.”
Reiko was acting like she usually did, always keeping her cool... Though this was my dream, so that was probably only because that was the type of person I saw her as.
Well, that aside, I finally got a chance to talk to Kaoru, even if it was only in a dream. I’d probably never get another opportunity to meet with her in a dream as vivid as this.
“Kaoru...”
“I’m sorry. It seems like the reason I died was because God kinda screwed up...”
“Huh? Then they can bring you back to life!”
“Yeah, they can...but not in this world, though. They said they were going to bring me back to life in another one, some place that’s kinda like medieval Europe.”
“Why?! Why can’t you come back to this world?! Why not...?!”
Reiko got up and patted me gently on the back, but I couldn’t stop sobbing.
“Ah, sorry girls, I don’t really have that much time... Anyway, I died because God made a mistake, but he’s going to revive me in another world with all my memories intact, so I plan on living a happy life there. Thanks for always being with me since middle school, I’ll never forget you two. Be happy!”
“Kaoru? Kaoru! Kaoruuuuuu!”