Project Necro is an official initiative by Re:Library.

I see a dream in my nap.
Memories of the past surface. I relive things that are already over, in the form of dreams.

The family into which I was born has always produced outstanding individuals.
Sports, science, pharmacology, politics, economics, education, archaeology… In every field imaginable, this family has consistently produced people who stand at the very top. That is the Kuon family.
The Kuon family moves the world. It is a world where everyone’s perception aligns with that reality. That was the place where I lived.
And the Kuon family was a house that recognized nothing but “excellence.”
In the Kuon family, there were only two categories: excellent or useless.
Only those deemed “excellent” were recognized as human; there was no place for anyone else.

And I was someone in the Kuon family who was never called “excellent.”
No matter what I did, I always fell short.
I wasn’t bad at anything, but I wasn’t good at anything either. That was just who I was.
If I had any redeeming quality, it was perhaps that I was unusually robust—a rarity in the Kuon family, where consanguineous marriages were common and frail constitutions were the norm.

Whether it was physical activity or sitting down to study,
I was neither exceptional nor lacking in any way—just an average, run-of-the-mill person.

It didn’t take long for my parents to give up on me.
I remember that day clearly—the day it all ended.
That day, a great many “caretakers” came to my room.
Not only those in charge of housework, but even the people who usually served as my parents’ personal bodyguards came rushing into my room.
Leading the large group of “caretakers” was the head of the staff, a middle-aged man named Haregi.
Despite his name, which sounds like it belongs to someone who wears traditional Japanese clothing, Haregi-san always wears a suit. Dressed as usual that day, he addressed me.

“Young master. Could you follow us?”
“Would it be all right if I change first? As you can see, I just woke up. I’m still in my pajamas.”
“No. Just come as you are, without bringing anything.”
“Is that so? All right.”

Though I felt reluctant to leave the bed, which still held my body heat, I got out of it.
It was a little funny that everyone was looking at me with wary eyes, and I couldn’t help but smile a little.
I understood why they had come here. So there was no need for them to look at me like that—I wasn’t going to run away.
I told the attendants, who looked puzzled, “It’s all right,” and followed them.
Surrounded and protected—or perhaps blocked off—by burly guards, I was led into a room I’d never entered before. It felt less like I was following them and more like I was being escorted by them.

I knew that place.
It wasn’t particularly a secret for insiders—that is, the members of the Kuon family—and it’s a place anyone could enter.
It was my first time setting foot inside, but I’d always known it existed.
It was the “dumping ground”—a place where those deemed unfit to be part of the Kuon clan were sent.

……Huh, it’s pretty normal.

The room partitioned by iron bars in the basement of the mansion was a surprisingly comfortable space.
Since I’d never seen it before, I’d imagined it would be a terrible environment, but it was a more ordinary space than I’d expected.
There were chairs and a desk, and even a bed. In the back, there was what looked like a kitchen. The floor was hardwood, and the walls were covered in white wallpaper.
Maybe this room is even more comfortable than my own. That was the assessment I made when I first saw the view beyond the iron bars back then.

“Is there a bath and a toilet?”
“Of course.”

Haregi-san pulled a bunch of keys from his pocket and unlocked the iron-barred door.
A high-pitched screech of metal grinding against metal rang out—a sound completely out of place in the otherwise ordinary scene beyond.
While I was wincing at the jarring noise, Haregi-san swung the door wide open and urged me forward.

“Please, young master.”

The entrance was just wide enough that I didn’t have to duck to get through. Following his prompt, I stepped inside.

“If there is anything you need, please let me know.”
“Yes, I understand.”
“…Young master. Don’t you find this strange?”
“What do you mean?”
“About the treatment you’re receiving. You just died, don’t you know of it? Why did you step inside so casually…?”

Haregi-san’s face—which had remained impassive and more expressionless than usual while carrying out his duties on the way here—clearly twisted.
What appeared on Haregi-san’s face wasn’t hatred or anger, but confusion.
My answer to that was simple. Just one sentence.

“It’s how it is in the Kuon household.”
“…Is that all?”
“Yes. Nobody questions throwing away parts that no longer work, do they?”
“You are killed without a single word of farewell from anyone! Yet you accept this without even a flicker of emotion—what kind of person are you?! There’s never been anyone like that in the Kuon household before! That’s why we’re here…!!”
“You brought so many people here to make sure I couldn’t escape, didn’t you?”

I knew everything.
I knew what would happen to me, a man who could accomplish nothing, and I knew how everyone brought here before me had reacted.
I also knew that no one in the Kuon household had ever given anything to those who were discarded.

Because I know it all, I feel no surprise, no anger, no sadness.
I know resistance is futile. I know it can’t be undone.
Above all, I myself understand that “I can never become a part of the Kuon family.”
That’s why it strikes me as strange that Haregi-san looks so puzzled.
I find it stranger that the “defective products”—who’ve put up meaningless resistance all this time and were still brought here—are the ones who seem odd.

“I came here fully understanding everything. So why shouldn’t I just accept it?”
“……!”

I still remember clearly how his gaze toward me changed distinctly at that moment.
Because the fear instantly erased the doubt that had been lingering there.

“…Perhaps you’re the most broken one in Kuon’s household.”
“I suppose so. I think I was sent here because I’m broken and useless.”
“Not in that… No. No. Let’s stop this. I’ve come to fear you, young master. In a way, even more than my master. So, I’ll take my leave here.”

The door slammed shut and was immediately locked.
Listening to the many footsteps receding into the distance, I thought about what lay ahead.
I no longer needed to study or hone my skills. There was nothing left I had to do out of duty.
Because I was already a dead man.

“…Well, I suppose I’ll just see how comfortable the bed is.”

Unable to think of anything else to do, I decided to take a nap.

……Maybe I’ll pick up a hobby or something.

Sinking into the bed, I thought about that and closed my eyes.
My dream self’s consciousness sank, and my real self’s consciousness rose.
As the dream ended, my memories faded away.

***

Mab:

You know what, I agree. Sure not being able to get out sounds terrible, but you’re telling me I’ll be fully provided and left alone? With all the time in the whole world for myself?? Count me in.