I Stole the Heroines' Tragedy Flags-Chapter 36: The Edge of Shared Dreams

After the meeting with the emperor,

I calmly left through the back garden of the imperial palace.

"...Hah."

I sighed and took in the outside air.

The deal had been successfully made, according to plan.

'About a year left until I enter the academy...'

The emperor would likely take care of covering up my tracks.

That was the nature of our deal.

Thud.

Suddenly, a heavy downpour began.

It felt like it reflected my emotions.

The already gloomy mood deepened even more.

My clothes became drenched, and both my body and mind felt uncomfortable.

Especially my mind.

With my footsteps splashing through the puddles, I kept moving forward.

Meanwhile, the imperial palace behind me became noisy.

The sound of explosions echoed, so it seemed like Adel was still fighting with Lilith.

Thump!

‘Speak of the devil, and she shall appear.’

The noise stopped, and she returned.

"Good job, Lilith."

[That was close. That girl is incredibly skilled.]

"Adel can be a bit scary, right?"

[She was about to break through the wall. If we face off again, it won’t be as easy to defeat her.]

"Already that much?"

Soon, she’ll break through the wall.

Her strength would likely reach expert-level soon.

...While some are still struggling at the lower levels.

[Where are you going now?]

"Well... it seems difficult to keep moving around the empire. Even though the emperor is hiding things, if the Vatican gets serious about looking into it, things will get troublesome."

I had already done what I needed to in the empire.

And now, another matter had come up.

"I’m planning to visit the demon world. Near the Demon King’s castle."

[...Why there?]

"There are many reasons."

To investigate the location of the remaining fragment of the book I hold.

To obtain materials that can only be found in the demon world.

...And lastly, I want to visit the grave of an old friend.

"Ah, while I’m at it, I should let you meet other nightmare beings, Lilith."

[There’s no need to go that far...]

"It’s just a little detour. No trouble at all."

[Thank you.]

"It’s nothing. I’m the one who’s grateful."

Splash, splash.

I stepped through the water, moving forward absentmindedly.

The conversation stopped, and I began to reflect on my plans.

Then, out of nowhere, Lilith voiced a concern.

[Are you okay?]

"...Hm? What do you mean?"

[No, I just feel like you’re unusually calm today. It’s different from usual.]

"‥‥?"

Different?

I tilted my head in confusion at her question.

‘It’s not like that, though.’

I still had uncomfortable feelings, so it didn’t really feel like calmness.

Regrets and lingering attachments still remained. Certainly, those were emotions far from calmness.

But I could vaguely understand her question.

‘Is it because the emotions aren’t rising? It feels like someone else is consuming my feelings...’

Honestly, I’m not sure.

It’s more of a feeling. An intuitive, hard-to-define sense.

What should I say... Like a dream?

What was it like in my original memories? Was I more depressed? More at peace? More regretful?

"Ugh..."

[Did you hurt yourself?]

"...No. It’s just a little dizziness suddenly. Don’t worry about it."

I shook my head and continued walking quickly.

Soon, I would be out of the palace grounds.

Before that, there was a building in front of me.

"‥‥"

It was the annex.

A building far from the main palace.

A place filled with memories of a certain princess.

She was probably fast asleep there now.

‘...Let’s just pass by.’

I’m no longer her knight.

I’m certainly no longer her butler.

There was no need to wake her up and say hello.

Splash, splash.

I forcefully turned my gaze away from the building and continued walking.

I had to do this.

It should have been that way, from the beginning.

"Ah, Ain...!"

I heard a voice.

It came from the distant annex.

A familiar voice. That’s why it was so hard to turn my head.

Why? I was sure I hadn’t met her yet?

"...Ugh!"

The pounding headache worsened.

I instinctively furrowed my brows and slowly turned my body.

The owner of the voice was, as expected, her.

Her appearance had changed completely since the first time we met.

Her short hair had grown long, and her once small figure now seemed quite tall.

She now looked almost identical to her main game version.

‘Our princess... now has truly become a refined lady.’

That thought only lasted a moment.

Why was she here? She hadn’t made any noise.

She should have been asleep, completely unaware.

What was this? Why was she awake? In my memory... this wasn’t supposed to happen.

My head hurt.

But my vision was clear.

I could see Hella’s form clearly in front of me.

She stood there, drenched in the rain, looking pitiful.

She didn’t approach, just standing there in place.

Her expression was a mess.

It was hard to tell whether the streams running down her face were rain or tears.

But one thing was clear—her emotions were raw and evident.

...It was the first time.

The first time I saw her show such a sorrowful expression.

I had never seen her so disheveled before.

I likely never would again.

In my memories, Hella had never shown such an expression.

...

That's when I realized.

"...Ah."

This is a dream.

A ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) terrible nightmare.

As soon as I realized that, the pain that had been tormenting my head disappeared.

Soon after, my consciousness began to fade.

In the blur of my vision, Hella's sorrowful face kept spinning in my mind.

***

"...Ugh."

"Finally awake? I was about to die of boredom waiting."

When I opened my eyes, I saw a familiar ceiling.

Turning my head, I saw a girl with blue hair munching on candy.

"Principal?"

"Yeah, sleepyhead."

"Where am I?"

"Are you still half-asleep? Of course, you're in the principal’s office."

This wasn’t the thick forest I had been in earlier.

The soft sofa I was lying on confirmed that I was indeed in the principal’s office.

After confirming that, I quickly got up and asked her.

"...Hella. Where is Hella?"

"She’s right next to you."

"...Ah."

The sofa right next to me.

Lying neatly on it was a girl with red hair.

Her expression was far from peaceful, and it wasn’t just her sleeping—it was a serious expression.

"Why is she like this? Did something happen after I passed out?"

"Well, when I found you both, she was already like that."

"...How long has it been since we disappeared?"

"Just after the explosion at the research facility... about two hours?"

What? Only two hours?

Relieved, I looked at Hella’s unconscious form with a worried expression.

"Is she really okay? Is she sick again?"

"I’ve already treated both of you. It’s not a wound issue."

"Then what could it be...?"

"Maybe she’s having a dream? Like a nightmare or something~?"

Her tone had a hint of something else, like she was implying something.

At her words, something clicked in my mind as I looked at Hella.

'Lilith.'

There was no response, though.

Even when I checked her heart and the book, I couldn’t pinpoint her location.

Which meant—

'Could it be that she’s with Hella?'

Only then did the pieces of the puzzle fall into place.

The last meeting with Hella in the nightmare.

It was clearly a scene completely different from my memories.

Unlike the usual nightmares I had, this time I didn’t feel like the dream was consuming me.

'Did we share the curse? Hella and I?'

It seemed like something Lilith might have done.

She probably entered Hella’s dream to help her.

Once I realized the situation, a deep sigh left my lips, filled with meaning.

We had shared the curse.

That meant we shared the nightmare.

And that meant she had learned all the details of what happened with me.

"...Ah, this is really a mess."

"Yeah? I think things are actually looking pretty good."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, at least you’re both still alive, right? You especially—do you know how close you were to dying?"

"..."

Thud.

She continued moving the pieces, speaking nonchalantly.

When I shifted my gaze, she was playing chess alone, managing two roles by herself.

"Could’ve been you, not her, heading off to the grave first."

"Yeah... that’s true."

"Since we’re at it, why don’t you sit across from me?"

"I’m not playing chess."

"...Just sit down. We have things to talk about."

Her voice clearly showed disappointment.

I glanced at Hella and then sat down in front of the principal.

She continued with her game while immediately getting to the point.

"The explosion in the research facility. It was caused by the gate magic tool, right?"

"You know your stuff."

"The mastermind, well... you know who it is."

The mastermind.

The magic circle that triggered all of this.

There must have been someone who planted an additional magic circle within that magic tool.

That person had brought the fate closer than expected.

"...So, have you found the culprit?"

"No, I haven’t."

"...What?"

"I said I haven’t found him."

She sighed, almost in frustration.

"Ha... There were definitely traces left in the magic circle. But it’s impossible to track."

"Why? Why is that?"

"Because I couldn’t find him."

"How is that even possible?"

"Well~ if he’s on the continent, it’s hard to escape my eyes."

She was the one who managed the concept of space.

Everything that happened in this world was essentially under her control.

...Except for a few exceptions.

Thud.

She moved her last piece.

With that, one side's king fell, and the game was over.

"So, that means..."

"It’s likely someone from above."

She held the piece that attacked the king and pointed her finger upwards.

...Above. That referred to beings not from the middle realm where the continent was located, but those from higher realms.