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After cleaning up the wreckage of the bed that Tengai had smashed in a fit of “I just lost my temper, no regrets—in fact, it wasn’t enough,” we pushed aside what furniture and luggage we could move. In the empty space, we laid down a mat and unceremoniously dumped Joey—still in his deep sleep (with parasitic tulip attached)—onto it.

“Even knowing it can’t be helped, it’s still irritating that the guy himself just keeps snoozing away while everyone else is in an uproar.”

As if mocking my complaint, the demonic tulip on Joey’s head squirmed and let out a ‘Ke-ke-ke-ke-ke!’

Ugh, I want to yank it out so bad!

At this point, I don’t even care if Joey’s brain turns into jelly; I just want to try ripping it out again by brute force. With Joey’s tiny brain capacity to begin with, maybe it wouldn’t make much difference anyway!

“Uuuu… Master, to think you’d end up in such a pitiful state…”

In contrast to me, brimming with resentment toward Joey, Fiore looked dejected, fussing over him—combing his bangs with her fingers, smoothing out the wrinkles in his pajamas, diligently tending to him.

Come to think of it, it’s been a few days since Joey ended up like this. Yet the fact that he still looks pretty healthy and has good color in his face is apparently thanks to Fiore feeding him liquid meals (not mouth-to-mouth—when she brings a spoonful of food to his lips, he unconsciously eats it greedily) and even changing his diapers to take care of his needs.

That’s literally being a housewife, huh. I can’t wait to see Joey’s reaction when he wakes up and realizes Fiore has seen absolutely everything laid bare.

“Well, that said, liquid food alone isn’t enough to maintain strength and health, so we’re using a special elixir alongside it to keep his condition stable.”

Mia added that in passing.

Ah, I see. On modern Earth, this would be the equivalent of needing life-support machines or IV drips, but here potions take that role.

“Hee, so potions can be used like that too. I thought they were just the go-to for adventurers… No, actually, maybe this is their original intended use?”

“Yes, that’s true. However, there’s also a problem… Although Joey is getting the adventurer’s discount, the potion being used on him now is normally the kind of expensive item that upper-rank adventurers buy only two or three of as insurance before diving into a dungeon. Since he’s been using them daily, his savings have already run dry, and he’s slipped into debt…”

Well, when one medicine can literally sustain life, it’s understandable the price matches the effect. Just like modern medicine—expensive, but necessary. Harsh world.

“…Well, fine, I’ll cover the money for now. Actually, didn’t Joey still have some of those rainbow coins I gave him before?”

I’d completely forgotten about it, but those were originally handed to Joey as payment anyway. If not for times like this, then when else would they be used?

“Are you sure about this?”

Vice Guildmaster Gald asked hesitantly, though with a hint of relief. I casually waved my hand and said, “It’s fine, it’s fine. It’s money I wouldn’t use otherwise.”

“…If we dip into Lady Hiyuki’s money here, that’ll just add another tie between Master and her, and then for sure she’ll end up taking Master away…”

Next to him, Fiore muttered with a conflicted look on her face.

Not that I’m trying to take him, though.

“For now, we can manage with this stopgap treatment, but unless we eliminate the root cause, it’s just a slow decline either way. No?”

Prompted by my words, everyone followed my gaze to where Joey was sprawled out, snoring loudly with his head resting on Mutsu’s flank.

“““““Hmmmm…””””

At once, brows furrowed, arms crossed, and sighs filled the room.

“And to do that, instead of treating it from the outside, we need to go inside. In other words, share the same dream and defeat the source within it, yes?”

Still lying flat, Mutsu explained drowsily:

“Yes~, that’s how it goes~. Buuut, since you’d be entering another’s mind and interfering~, naturally the culprit controlling this dream will~ try to obstruct you somehow~, and also~, the dreamer himself~, when faced with a foreign presence invading~, will unconsciously close his heart and resist~, or try to expel it~.”

As they spoke, Mutsu’s half-lidded eyes swept over us.

Finally, after looking at me, Fiore, and Mia, they gave a big nod.

“From what I can tell~, the only ones this boy would open his heart to and allow into his dream defenselessly~, are the princess, the young mage girl, and the cat girl~.”

“…Well, that’s nearly all young ladies, isn’t it.”
“Gahaha! He’s a guy, after all. You can guess why.”

Soujyu shook his head in exasperation, while Iki bared his fangs in a loud laugh.

“You b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲, Joey! After all the care I’ve given you, how dare you reject me like this!?”

Vice Guildmaster Gald—who, despite being Joey’s long-time acquaintance and former instructor at the adventurer training academy, had been unceremoniously excluded—was now furiously shaking Joey’s shoulders in frustration.

“Even if it’s only within the boy’s dream, I cannot overlook the idea of sending the princess somewhere beyond our sight. —If the culprit truly exists within the dream, wouldn’t it be simpler for you to just annihilate it yourself?”

Tengai asked bluntly, his tone clearly reluctant, as his eyes moved back and forth between the sleeping Joey and Mutsu.

“Well~, under normal circumstances~, that’d be no problem~, but this parasitic weed has already sunk its roots into the boy’s mind, binding it up tight. Sooo, if I try to force it off~, the weed will fight back. Then it’ll be me versus the weed versus the boy’s spirit all clashing together~, and when that happens, without a doubt the weakest one—the boy’s spirit—will be the first to break. Or rather, it’d probably just vanish altogether~. Wanna take the gamble?”

“Do it! I permit it.”
“I don’t permit it! Stop!!”

Tengai immediately gave his approval, and Mutsu was about to move at his word when I hastily stopped them.

“Trying to brute-force everything is not the right way! We have to try every other option first—and only then, as a very last resort, we use brute force!”

“““So it does come down to brute force in the end!?”””

Behind me, Vice Guildmaster Gald, Mia, and Fiore all spoke in trembling voices, for some reason horrified by the logic I had just carefully laid out.

♦♢♦♢

And so, we arranged ourselves around Joey: I lay down on his right side, Fiore on his left, and with Mutsu between us, Mia lay back-to-back with me.

Incidentally, Joey was the only one in pajamas; the rest of us were still in our everyday clothes.

Not like we were here to enjoy a nap, after all.

“—So if we just fall asleep like this, we’ll be able to enter Joey’s dream?”

It wasn’t that I doubted the words of the dream specialist, the White Tapir (a holy beast that reveals prophetic dreams or divine messages, unlike the baku, which shows nightmares), but I couldn’t help confirming again. After all, this wasn’t a solution that involved straightforward physical strength or magic—it was an indirect, roundabout method of having to literally step into someone else’s dream. It was only natural to feel skeptical.

“That’s right~. In dreams, the sense of time doesn’t really matter, so even if you all fall asleep at slightly different moments, you’ll still enter the same place at the same timing. But if the gap’s too wide—like several hours—there’s a chance you’ll miss each other. So ideally~, everyone should fall asleep around the same time~.”

“Yeah, well, sure, but… just instantly dozing off in broad daylight, in this kind of situation? Unless you’re an elementary schooler whose only talents are cat’s cradle and shooting games, that’s basically impossible.”

We had at least closed the curtains so the room was dim, but it was still morning. And with so many people watching us, trying to sleep like this felt less like a mission and more like some sort of public humiliation game.

Then, Tengai—who stood nearby with his usual sullen face, though with a faintly delighted air—stepped forward.

“Well then, if I may be so bold, I shall offer a lullaby to guide you into a pleasant slumber—”

So he proposed, producing a microphone from who-knows-where.

At once, every member of the Imperial Crimson entourage turned pale and recoiled in horror.

“EVERYONE, SLEEP NOWWWWW!! Cover your ears and be unconscious in three seconds flat!!”

My desperate scream left Vice Guildmaster Gald and the others—who didn’t know the circumstances—completely bewildered. The circumstances being, of course, that Tengai’s Recital was considered the greatest threat of the Imperial Crimson, and infamously the most disastrous of all events.

Before we could even clap our hands over our ears, Tengai’s vaunted throat (?!?!) unleashed its power, and our consciousnesses were instantly cleaved away at the root.

To add insult to injury, everyone else in the room collapsed soon after, and thanks to the impromptu four-hour-long “Tengai Recital” that followed, the capital city of Alra’s urban functions were reportedly brought to a near standstill that day.

And, of course, Mutsu—who was supposed to be the one supporting us—also rolled back his eyes and keeled over. Which meant, in the end, the three of us were left on our own, forced to somehow manage inside Joey’s dream world…