Aish, who was trapped in his nightmares reliving the nightmares, thought that he forgot. The 32 days trapped in his body, going through every moment of that pain again.
It was just as that clone of Nashi said, the nightmares he was having now were memories playing in front of him again, just like the time when he first died or when he saw Aish's memories. But the difference now is he can feel stuff again. So instead of watching a movie, he was living in it.
There was a 50-50 chance of it happening with either Aish's memories or Aish's. It was his bad luck that he got the sad side of the stick.
_
Myra, who stayed in the next room all night as per Artemis's order, came to call Aish for breakfast.
Knock, knock.
After knocking on the gate a few times and when she did not get any answer. Myra used her token to open the door.
As with the servant quarters, every room where Duke's family stays had many powerful arrays placed on them. To stop any assassin or other person from entering without permission. So, without the token with a certain mana signature, no one can open it. Breaking these arrays or bypassing them without attracting any attention is just a fool's dream.
When Myra came inside, she saw Aish still asleep on his bed, covered in blankets. She went ahead and opened the window curtains and then pulled his blanket, but Aish still did not have any reaction.
Myra gently shook Aish's shoulder, trying to wake him up. As he stirred, she noticed that he was drenched in sweat and tears stained his cheeks. She hesitated for a moment, unsure of how to approach the situation.
"Aish, wake up," she said softly, gently shaking his shoulder.
Suddenly bolted upright, Aish's eyes wide open with fear and anger. He swung his arm wildly, nearly hitting Myra in the process.
"Leave me the fuck alone," he barked.
Startled but quick on her feet, Myra jumped back and raised her hands defensively. "Aish, it's me," she said calmly, hoping to snap him out of his nightmare.
Aish blinked rapidly, looking around the room as if unsure of what was happening. "What... what's going on?" he muttered, his voice hoarse.
"You were having a nightmare," Myra said, trying to keep her tone as gentle as possible.
Aish slowly began to calm down, his breathing returning to normal. He looked up at Myra, his eyes still lost.
Aish took a deep breath and nodded, rubbing his eyes with the heel of his hand. "Sorry, I didn't mean to... thank you," he said, his voice still shaky.
Myra nodded back, relieved that he was finally coming back to reality. "Of course. Shall I help you get ready? It's almost time for breakfast."
"No, I'll be fine. Inform mother & Amy that I will be having my breakfast in the room today," said Aish, hoping to get some time alone.
Myra looked at him and nodded her head. "Ok. I will be outside, so if you need anything, call me." With that, Myra bowed and turned back to leave.
Aish lay back on the bed as he watched Myra leave. He looked at the ceiling and thought, 'What the hell was that? It looked like I was back on earth.
'Is this some kind of aftereffect as that guy said?'
'But what can I do now?
Aish closed his eyes, and the scene of her funeral started playing in his head again. He opened them again and, with a loud sigh, thought,
'So much for starting fresh in a new world.'
_
Aish got up from his bed and walked towards the bathroom; no maids or servants were assigned anywhere near him aside from Myra. He had to do all his little chores himself unless he wanted to have Myra peek. A 30-year-old guy getting help for bathing by a 20-year-old girl—that would be embarrassing.
A small chuckle came to his lips at the funny thought. But his face still had that coldness to it.
_
After a quick shower, Aish had a light breakfast. Which somehow was not as tasty as yesterdays, but that is to be expected since Chiron is in prison, having the time of his life.
'Well, it looks like Floren's needs a new chef. There was someone good at cooking in the plot. Should I get her to work for us?
'Nah, I should probably take care of my nightmares and Noah first'
'Both are the problems that would annoy me every day if not solved early.'
'And my best bet to fix both of them together is probably the awakening and the world system.'
'If I take care of Noah, I can avoid events resulting in my certain villainous doom, and after awakening, even if the system doesn't help with my brain, if I'm strong enough, I won't need to sleep daily, thus reducing these nightmares.'
'Not a permanent solution, but the best I have.
With his thoughts about future actions planned out, he looked at Myra, who was clearing out the plates and dishes from the table.
"Have you gathered all the ingredients from the list?" Aish said.
Myra looked at Aish and was surprised to see the calm look he had now, opposite of the vulnerable side he showed when he first woke up an hour ago.
'I wonder what kind of dream he had,' she thought, but did not find it important enough to question, knowing he would not tell her anything even if she asked.
"Yes, but are you sure about the recipe? Even Master was worried after learning about the ingredients. There are some books that are known for having some false or half information; maybe we can." Myra was voicing her worries.
But Aish just shook his head and cut her off. "You guys can try all you want once I'm done with it. And as for the information being a lie, you don't have to worry about it."
[As translation of singular books depends on luck and opportunities, the person who did it will always be the first one to get the rewards if he chose to use that knowledge.] If that book turned out to be a trap or contained half-truths, then that is their luck too. It is all a risky move, but people still do it, because no one can ignore the allure of a great gift that transcends common sense.
"As you wish, young master," Myra said. It was only her job to warn him. Besides the treasures Duke House has, there would still be no life-threatening risk for Aish even if he ate all that directly without making a potion.
"And Myra, go to the Belmont family. I need you to buy me a slave of theirs. Her name should be Megan Levette. She has short red hair and should be around the age of 18-20." Aish spoke, this time in a much more serious tone, and watched as Myra's face had a surprised look and eyes, which were scrutinizing him, hoping to ask for a reason. And before she could ask, Aish continued, "And you don't have to worry; I'll talk to Mother about it. So, you should just make the preparations."
Myra, still with her doubting gaze, looked at Aish, and when she noticed he had no intention of continuing or explaining anything else, she just nodded and said, "Fine, I'll send a letter."
But Aish shook his head and said in an authoritative tone, no longer acting as her friend or student but as the future heir of this house, "Maybe you didn't hear clearly what I said, Myra. I want YOU to personally go there and bring her to me. I don't care how you do it, but I need it done as soon as possible."
Myra, who for the first time saw him acting like this, was surprised, but as a trained shadow, she just nodded her head.
After saying this, Aish stood up and started walking out. He needed to explain all this to Artemis and talk about his awakening; he also needed to get permission to visit the prison.
It was time to free his shadow and let her be of some use.
'Fuck my luck for being this shy,' he thought as he kicked the floor.