Layla, with her eyes wide open. Elise, with her arms crossed. Soliette, standing right next to me. Kain, seemingly uninterested. Asher, with a furrowed brow. Gerkhen, with a calm expression.
Among them, the impostor is…
"Who is it?!"
Layla asked urgently.
I raised my finger.
"Who is it?!"
"…I'm about to tell you."
While glaring at Layla, I pointed straight at my chest.
"The impostor is me."
"…?"
At that moment, everyone tilted their heads.
"Shion. What do you mean by that?"
"Are you an idiot?"
Soliette asked with a puzzled look, and Elise chuckled.
I didn't need to pay attention to them.
I turned to look at the stone statue.
"Everyone on this airship is a 'real' spirit. Therefore, the 'impostor', or human, is only me."
The stone statue narrowed its eyes at me.
It had clearly said,
'This is the airship of spirits. There's an 'impostor' among us!'
However, it only mentioned that there was an impostor on the spirit's airship, not which side was the impostor.
Whether the human was the impostor, or the spirit was the impostor.
"You said to identify the spirit before the airship takes off."
'We're about to take off! Successful takeoff!'
'…Identify the spirit before the airship takes off.'
The two statements from the stone statue seemed to contradict each other.
At first, I understood without much thought. Since we had already taken off, it must mean 'of course, before we land' – something like that.
But the stone statue answered that it only spoke the truth.
So.
"This fake airship has taken off, but the real airship hasn't even taken off yet?"
──…Hahahaha!
Then, the stone statue laughed loudly. The other seven lost their expressions. Their focus blurred, and their skin hardened like pale wax.
──Correct!
The stone statue shouted. Suddenly, the surroundings melted like a watercolor painting in the rain. The revealed scenery was the dark interior of the airship.
As expected, the airship was still stuck to the ground, and the others were sound asleep in their seats.
"…Are they experiencing the same thing?"
Next to me were Layla and Soliette. Right behind me was Elise. Gerkhen was lying on the floor for some reason.
"Indeed… Master Stone Statue… Shaba shaba…"
Just then, Layla next to me mumbled in her sleep.
"Hehehe…."
I don't know what kind of dream she's having.
I slapped her cheek once.
Slap-!
"Oops, sorry."
I failed to control my strength. I hit her too hard without realizing it. My wrist snap was perfectly wound.
"Hey, are you okay? I'm sorry."
"..."
There was no answer, and Layla's cheek, which I had slapped, gradually turned red. It quickly swelled up like a bun, and now it looked like she had several wisdom teeth removed at once.
She doesn't wake up even when I hit her like this?
– I thought for a moment.
"...Ah."
Layla reacted quite late.
"Ugh… Ahhh… Ahhh… Ahhh…"
She kept writhing as if the pain wouldn't stop. She trembled with pain, her eyelids fluttering, and her arms and legs shaking.
"Damn stone statue… You hit me…"
"I'm sorry."
"Crazy stone statue… Shit stone statue… I trusted you, but you betrayed me… Ahhhhh…."
I turned to look at the stone statue again.
"Stone statue. They're trapped in dreams, aren't they?"
──That's right!
'Dreams' are the most efficient way for spirits to seize the physical body.
They confine the original owners of the bodies to the other side of unconsciousness, that is, in dreams.
Those original owners who cannot escape from there fall into a coma, and the control of the external world of the dream—namely, the 'body'—is seized by the spirits.
"Can you help me? I want to enter their dreams."
──You've just escaped and you want to plunge back into danger?!
The stone statue asked. I nodded my head.
"Yes."
Entering isn't particularly dangerous, yet it is. My magic and magical interference are almost nullified, but souls that primarily utilize spiritual energy are a different category.
──Understood. But you must be careful! I won't be able to forcibly pull you out!
"I know."
The unconscious is not such an easy space.
It's not a phenomenon that can be shattered by shaking the body or slapping the cheek.
One must make oneself aware of one's 'reality'.
─It's simple! Just sleep next to them! Who will you enter first!
The stone statue asked. The first one I saw was Gerkhen. I don't know why, but he was lying on the floor.
"Him first."
* * *
Meanwhile, inside Gerkhen's dream.
"Cotton candy clouds, what a surprise."
Gerkhen had crash-landed on cotton candy clouds. In fact, it was an even more peculiar situation. His airship had gotten stuck in the cotton candy clouds.
So, the group had no choice but to descend onto the cotton candy.
The cotton candy clouds were real cotton candy, and when they tore it off and ate it, it tasted like sugar cotton candy.
"Exactly. Why cotton candy clouds of all things?"
Then someone spoke. It was Shion.
Gerkhen glanced at him, then lay back down. He chewed on the cotton candy while lying down.
Unable to bear it any longer, Shion spoke.
"Hey. You found the fake, didn't you?"
"..."
Gerkhen looked at Shion while eating cotton candy. He asked as if he was dumbfounded.
"Do you want to stay here forever?"
"It's not bad to enjoy it. If I can use it."
Gerkhen already knew that the current situation was a dream caused by the spirits. However, he had sent a false signal to the spirit that coveted him, creating this landscape.
This is a so-called lucid dream—'Lucid Dream'.
"But how did you know? That this is fake."
"I've always been training. As time goes by, there will be more guys coveting my mind."
Indeed, for him, whose future hope is to be a politician, this training is almost essential.
Shion shrugged his shoulders and spoke.
"Is that so? Then when are you going to come out?"
"...Hmm."
Gerkhen pondered and raised two fingers.
"20 minutes."
Shion's forehead furrowed.
"Are you going to eat an entire cloud… Well, come out in exactly 20 minutes. I'm leaving."
Gerkhen nodded his head, and Shion went outside.
* * *
I woke from Gerkhen's dream.
"What's with the cotton candy clouds?"
It was absurd, but I got up anyway.
"…Aaargh… betrayal… I won't forgive…"
Layla's face still looked as if she was being tortured.
"Should I wake her up?"
"Kraaa… Kyaak… Spit…"
"…"
I'll just leave her for last. She's practically turning into a beast.
I looked at Elise, who was sitting behind Layla.
"…What is she muttering about?"
She was smiling in her sleep.
Assuming the opponent is a spirit, it could be said that she's in the worst state. It's harder to wake from a good dream than a bad one, after all.
I went over and sat next to her.
I quietly closed my eyes.
I surrendered to the sleep that was gently creeping in.
…Whoosh!
Suddenly, a cold wind blew in.
I opened my eyes.
It was a sandy beach on an island.
Everywhere I looked was covered by the sea, and the salty smell of the sea tickled my nose.
"What is this place-"
"Isn't it obvious?"
I turned to look beside me. Elise was sitting hunched over on the beach. She was resting her chin on her hand, looking out at the horizon.
"If you don't allow proper takeoff and landing, it's fine."
She smirked.
"What?"
I looked around. There were remnants of a split-in-half airplane behind the island.
"What do you mean?"
Elise asked with a chuckle.
"Huh? Oh… yeah, that's right."
It seemed like Elise had crashed the plane. Preventing it from taking off or landing.
"Hey."
Under the dark night sky, looking out at the faint boundary of the sea, Elise asked me in a gentle voice.
"What do you think… about Petra?"
"…"
It seemed like Elise's dream situation had already progressed quite a bit. The atmosphere was quite base and emotional.
For now, I had to go along with her.
As the saying goes, 'This is a fake world, so wake up from your dream-' would have the opposite effect.
Not only that, the keyword 'wake from a dream' would only make the sleep deeper. Very few people know how to wake up voluntarily from a dream.
"…Petra?"
I asked Elise back.
"Yes."
Elise added in a small voice.
"My family."
"Hmm… I don't know."
The Petra family itself doesn't deviate much from the category of nobility.
They pretend not to look down on commoners while looking down on them, they don't hesitate to use any means for the prosperity of the family, and most importantly, they're the biggest culprit that led to the death of my mother, whom I don't even remember the face of.
"I don't like them."
"…"
Elise's expression hardened. She bowed her head deeply. She buried her face between her knees.
"…I'm sorry."
I didn't understand why Elise was apologizing.
"Why are you sorry?"
"…I can't tell you yet."
Elise murmured as if in pain.
I asked her casually.
"Well, did you find the fake?"
"Fake? Oh… the airplane? There's no need to find it now."
Elise pointed to the split airplane behind her.
"…"
I felt a chill run down my spine.
This doesn't look good.
Elise doesn't know what's real or fake. No, she's not even trying to figure it out.
The only way to wake her from this dream is to make her recognize the situation as 'fake'…
Suddenly.
A brilliant idea came to mind.
Right now, for some reason, aren't we the only two on this island?
"...That's right."
I gently looked into Elise's eyes. She met my gaze for a moment, then averted her eyes, biting her lip.
"What, why are you looking at me like that?"
I moved closer. I leaned into her, who was sitting huddled up.
"Elise."
"...What, what is it, why?"
"I like being with you."
"...?!"
Elise's face shook greatly. She licked her lips and asked again.
"What, what are you talking about, are you stupid?"
"Is it better because we're alone?"
"Crazy... Stop talking nonsense. I want to leave."
Elise tried to get up to run away. I grabbed her hand. I grabbed her shoulder and pushed her down onto the sandy beach.
"Ah!"
Elise's back hit the sand. I was on top of her, pressing her down. She looked up at me and shook her head.
"Let, let go of me. Now-"
"No. I want to be with you."
I slowly approached Elise. Almost overlapping our bodies.
"No... we can't. We... shouldn't be like this!"
She shouted out. I paused for a moment in front of her nose. I looked straight into her moist, shaking eyes and said.
"We can."
"We can't. I'm Petra... and you're Ascal, aren't you."
"..."
What the hell is she talking about? Is she filming a movie?
I almost gave up on the situation itself for a moment, but I forced myself to focus again.
"What does that matter? Whether you're Petra or some rug, it doesn't matter."
"...I understand, so let go of me first, gasp!"
I put my hand on Elise's cheek. I touched her soft earlobe and said.
"Stay with me..."
Our breaths intertwined, and our noses were about to touch.
"Let's stay here forever, Elise. Don't worry about anything else. Here, forever..."
"...Wait. Forever?"
"Yes. Forever."
"..."
For a moment, Elise's expression hardened. Her body stiffened as if she had realized something.
"You."
Her eyes, which had been shaking violently until a moment ago, froze as she looked up at me.
"Who are you."
A question of who I am.
I held back a laugh and replied.
"...Don't you know? I'm Shion Ascal."
"Hmph."
Elise gathered power in her palm. She looked at me as if mocking me and coldly muttered.
"Get lost. The Shion I know isn't this weak."
...I succeeded.
I was satisfied to get out of her dream.
* * *
Again, the airship.
"Phew."
When I woke up, I saw Elise. She was still asleep, but cold sweat was beading on her forehead.
"Ugh..."
Her face was pale as if she was in pain, and magic was sparking from her hand.
It meant she would wake up soon.
"Let's try this!"
Then a clear shout rang out.
I turned to look in that direction.
It was Layla. She was wildly waving her arms above her head, like one of those inflatable tube men used for advertising.
"Did you wake up too?"
"I can do this all day!"
"...?"
But her reaction was a bit strange. I approached Layla again.
"You damn bastard...! Bring it on!"
While shouting like this, Layla's eyes were tightly closed. She was flailing her arms as if swimming, and roaring loudly.
"Come at me!! Hit me again!"
"...."
Well, it seemed that slapping Layla was the best way to wake her up.
Just in case, I slapped her one more time.
This time, a little softer.
Smack.
"...Ah."
Layla flinched.
And then, huff──! Huff──! She trembled as if she was incredibly angry, hyperventilating.
"You're really dead."
"...She'll wake up on her own."
She seemed fine, no need to worry.
"Heh!"
In the meantime, a groan came from behind.
"Haah... Haah...."
Elise had woken up from her sleep. I turned to look at her.
"Did you wake up?"
"...You."
She pointed at me with her finger.
"...."
But she couldn't say anything, just licking her lips. Her face was slightly flushed.
"Why. What."
"No... I had a nightmare."
"What kind of nightmare."
"...Don't ask. It was terrible."
Elise looked around.
"It seems everyone is the same. When did you wake up?"
"Just now."
"...Really?"
"Yeah. I woke up about a minute ago."
"...Phew."
Then Elise let out a sigh of relief. I pretended not to know and asked.
"Do we have to wait until the others wake up?"
"No."
She wiped the sweat off her forehead and shook her head.
"We can go into the dream. We'll have to help. It would be hard for them alone."
"...You damn bastard!!"
"Kyah!"
Elise was startled by Layla's sudden outburst.
"Hey!! Come here!! You're dead!!
"What, why?"
She quickly checked Layla's face, but,
"Come here!!! I'll make your cheeks like mine!!"
Layla was still asleep.
"...What's with her? Why are her cheeks like this?"
Elise asked, looking at Layla's cheeks, which were swollen like a balloon.
"I don't know. I have no idea."
I shrugged.