Chapter 93: Heaven-Gifted Dream Road

"Ze-ze-ze-ze… I’ll never forgive this!!!!!!!!"

──If there was ever a phrase to describe it, her anger shot straight through the heavens was exactly what it looked like.

That day, inside one of the faction’s usual hangouts—the research lab—Yumetsuki-san’s furious voice thundered across the room.

Beside her, Rinka-san tried to calm her down with a “come now, come now,” while a few others remained on edge as well. Chido-san and Konagi-san were moving around trying to mediate, several members looked confused and lost, Adabana-san watched silently from a distance, and then there was me… arms folded, eyes closed.

How had the situation spiraled into such chaos?

To explain that, I’ll need to rewind the clock about ten minutes.

Chapter 3 – The Value of a Soul Is Worthless  Double(Square)_Faith.
Episode 78: Heaven-Gifted Dream Road  Dream_Ranker.

"And so, that’s the situation."

After the Daibasai Festival, the compensatory holiday had passed, and today felt like the long-awaited return to a normal school day.

That afternoon, I brought along Adabana-san—in a maid outfit, no less—to the research lab where the rest of the faction members were waiting. Despite being dressed as a maid, she carried herself with a defiant air that was anything but servile. Yet, as I’d mentioned before, her etiquette and conduct left nothing to complain about.

Even Reicia-chan, who’s actually quite strict about manners and formality, hadn’t whispered any complaints in the back of my mind. Which meant she was indeed perfectly proper.

"For a while, we’ll be borrowing the support of Academy City’s official law enforcement organization to handle our security. She’s been dispatched as our liaison, and her name is Adabana-san."

"…Adabana. For this mission, my role will be to act as your point of contact with headquarters, as well as giving operational orders in emergencies."

"Th-that’s one serious setup you’ve got going on here…"

"Still, it’s all so sudden, don’t you think? Things are moving really fast…"

The faction members looked understandably confused, no doubt because of Adabana-san’s blunt introduction. Well, I couldn’t blame them. I had sent a message to everyone beforehand saying we’d be hiring bodyguards, and they’d all given their approval. But the detailed arrangements? I’d handled those myself.

"I realize this came up suddenly, and I understand your confusion. Still, while it couldn’t be helped, the announcement of an esper Level 5 came much earlier than expected. That meant we had to draw up countermeasures against external threats immediately. Fortunately, I was able to use my father’s connections."

"──That was the correct decision. A Level 5 esper is a status every researcher in Academy City covets. And rather than targeting the esper directly—who is far too powerful on their own—most people will aim for those around them. That’s why Level 5s tend to prefer operating alone. The only real exception is the Fifth, who can brainwash large groups to shape the environment around themselves."

Adabana-san added to my explanation. As expected from a mercenary, she was well-versed in the darker side of Level 5s. So that was why Shokuhou-san could keep leading such a huge faction…

"Which means—y-young ladies, you must be aware of the danger. If anyone is going to target the White-and-Black Sawblade Jagged Edge… then the ones put in the most danger first… will be you, young ladies."

Adabana-san declared this, though her face betrayed a trace of embarrassment.

This was a request from us. Since she was posing as a maid, it would’ve looked strange if she acted too arrogant toward us. Otherwise, her disguise would’ve been pointless. That’s why she addressed us all as “-jou” and used “ojousama” when speaking to us.

Of course, Adabana-san had been very reluctant about this condition. Honestly, she hadn’t even wanted to wear the maid outfit to begin with—“the clothes alone are bad enough,” so to speak. But with some persuasion from my father, she had accepted. Though… her speech pattern was, well, still a bit rough around the edges.

"Heh… danger, is it?"

At that moment, Yumetsuki-san reacted to Adabana-san’s words.

With her brows raised, she looked over Adabana-san as if weighing her up.

"So, just how ‘capable’ are you supposed to be, huh? We’re all ranked pretty high among Academy City espers, you know?"

Her sudden provocative tone made my eyes widen in surprise. I never expected Yumetsuki-san to size someone up like that. Usually, just looking at Adabana-san’s presence alone was enough to gauge her ability…

I glanced around, only to catch Rinka-san smiling wryly.

《…That girl Yumetsuki. She’s deliberately trying to provoke her.》

《Ah… so that’s what that was.》

《Not that she distrusts her. Probably more like… she likes to test people by clashing first, then getting along after. A style Yumetsuki enjoys, you could say.》

《Yup. Total hot-blooded type, that one.》

I’d heard how she’d initially tried to take down Reicia-chan, but at this point, I had to wonder. Maybe she thought Reicia had potential and decided to pick a fight just to build rapport.

"Hmm…"

Adabana-san, meanwhile, remained perfectly composed.

She shifted slightly, hiding the left side of her body from Yumetsuki-san.

"──!!!!"

The very next moment—

Out of nowhere, she drew what looked like a massive sword, holding it effortlessly as she leveled its tip straight at Yumetsuki-san.

Though calling it a sword wasn’t quite right. Its design was different. Imagine a long, white wooden shaft lined with countless small stone blades—like a primitive stone saw.

《Hey, Shiren…》

《…Yeah. I see it.》

Of course, that kind of thing is not the sort of tool you’d ever find on the Science Side.

Unless you were some antique-obsessed inventor who liked refurbishing ancient weapons, that had to be… a tool from the Magic Side.

…No, no, no, no. Don’t tell me the person I went out of my way to request as protection is actually a spy from the Magic Side!? What kind of murderous coincidence is that…? Or wait—maybe it’s not coincidence at all. Could this be Academy City’s upper management planting a traitor in our midst as some kind of harassment? But then again, if Adabana-san was from the Magic Side, she wouldn’t exactly have any reason to follow Academy City’s orders anyway… so maybe that would actually work out…?

"──Something like this is enough, isn’t it? At the very least, I’m confident I can protect you young ladies… in an emergency."

"E-er… honestly, that was more than I expected. Sorry for saying something so belittling before."

"I knew you weren’t speaking seriously."

Ah. Just as I was overthinking it, Adabana-san literally lowered her weapon. …Well, I guess I’ll ask more about her background later. For now, at least, she didn’t seem like someone directly hostile to us. (If she were, she wouldn’t have gone out of her way to reveal her spell weapon in front of me—the one person here who actually knows about magic.)

"And… I’ve already picked up on something concerning in the intel network regarding GMDW’s defense. I thought I should share it."

With that, Adabana-san produced a single card. …What the heck was that?

"Oh, isn’t that Indian Poker～?"

The one who reacted was Ichika-san, a second-year. Among the faction, she was the type with a lighter, more casual attitude, and she had a lot of connections outside of school. Because of that, she tended to know a lot about trendy or worldly topics.

"Indian Poker?"

"Yes. It’s a kind of toy you can make by combining several commercially available gadgets. Supposedly, you can seal the dreams you saw into a card."

Dreams…?
Is that even scientifically possible? Or is this another one of those cases where magicians are secretly pulling strings behind the scenes…?

《In principle, it should be possible. Think of it like using aromatherapy to improve the quality of dreams. If the card had a mechanism to interfere with the brain’s electrical signals, then manipulating dreams would be easy.》

《…………That in itself is worrying.》

《Exactly. The odds are high there’s something darker behind it than just a “dream-recording device.” The fact that only unregulated versions are spreading makes it all the more suspicious.》

"Saves me the trouble of explaining. As Tsumimi-jou guessed, this is Indian Poker. Simply put, it’s a card that lets you experience other people’s dreams. For now, it’s mostly spreading among small groups of friends, but recently ‘interesting dreams’ and ‘useful dreams’ have started to circulate."

Interesting dreams… useful dreams…?
…Ah. Right.

Dreams are just the replay of a person’s experiences and memories. Which means, if a professional in some field has a dream about their expertise, for outsiders, that becomes a “dream where you can learn specialized knowledge.” In that sense, it’s almost like a learning device, similar to Testament…

"So then, what kind of dream is on that one?"

Yumetsuki-san asked suspiciously, pointing at the card in Adabana-san’s hand.

It wasn’t like she’d just pulled out some random example. She had called it a “defensive concern for GMDW.” Which meant the card itself had to imply some sort of danger.

What could it be…? A dream about a terrorist plot against Tokiwadai Middle School? …Or maybe it’s that confidential information from the Garden of Learning is leaking out in the form of dreams.

If that were the case, then yes, it would be a serious problem. We’d probably need to coordinate with Shokuhou-san and hold countermeasure meetings…

"It’s the dream of Blackguard."

…Huh?

My… or rather, Reicia-chan’s dream? How does that count as a defensive concern for GMDW? I mean, so what if someone dreams about me? Doesn’t really matter, right? Unless they were studying White-Black Jagged Edge’s ability or something—that’d be different. …Wait. Is that what this is about?

"Well… how should I put this. The card came from a male Dream Ranker──one of those who can stably supply high-quality dreams. It was seized after being resold."

Adabana-san averted her gaze, looking a little embarrassed.

"……According to the buyer’s description… it’s a dream of Black Guard-jou wearing… a cow-print… bikini… serving… someone."

Eh゛.

"And apparently it even accounts for Black Guard-jou’s dual personality… something about ‘two sides’… I didn’t ask for the details."

……O-ohh… S-so that’s… I-I see… An… indecent dream… huh?

"I-I mean! N-no, no no no, th-that’s, um… I really don’t know what to say to that… but still, isn’t it not that big of a deal? It’s not like it’s meant to harm me directly or anything…"

"No. This kind of underground culture shouldn’t be underestimated. The biggest issue is that this card was being sold for 100,000 yen (~680$)—a ridiculously high price. In other words, arousal toward the ‘icon’ of Reicia = Black Guard is being commercially legitimized behind the scenes. In the long run, that could cause reputational damage not only to Black Guard-jou herself, but to GMDW as a whole, which she’s the foundation of. ──That’s our headquarters’ assessment."

…R-right. When you put it that way, it does make sense.

It’s kind of like an internet meme, I guess. If I get recognized as a meme that it’s “fine to use for lewd jokes,” then the fallout is going to hit the people around me too. It’s not just about whether anyone directly intends harm or not—that’s not the level this problem exists on.

"……This is troubling indeed."

I corrected my mindset and muttered seriously.

Still, the issue is… even if it’s bad, the people spreading it aren’t really acting out of malice, and they’re not doing it deliberately, either. Which makes it hard to do anything concrete about it. What to do…

"Zezeze-ze-! This is absolutely unforgivable!!!!!!!!"

──And that was when Yumetsuki-san snapped.

Whipping my head around at the sudden roar, I found her with her face flushed red, hair practically standing on end, fury blazing in her eyes.

"T-t-t-to think… khh! For someone to direct such vile lust at our Queen!! Filthy, absolutely filthy!! This is exactly why men are the worst!!!! We should track down that bastard who spawned such a dream and lynch him on the spot, then spread the word that anyone who dares sell such dreams will be made to pay dearly!!!!"

"Calm yourself, Sajika-jou. That’s just plain criminal."

"But—!"

"She’s right, Yumetsuki."

Reicia-chan interjected gently, trying to soothe Yumetsuki-san’s boiling rage.

"I too… cannot help but feel anger toward those who would exploit my charms for free, without any respect whatsoever."

…That feels like her anger’s pointed in a slightly different direction, though…

"To some extent, base lust and vulgar feelings are just part of the fame tax, as I see it. …However, if Indian Poker continues down this path of becoming a springboard for pornography involving real individuals, that does strike me as rather troublesome."

Reicia-chan folded her arms and fell silent.

And she had a point. We’re going to be doing more and more public work as Academy City’s poster team. In that light, the emergence of “consumable content” in the form of dreams—something outside the control of likeness rights—isn’t a threat we can just ignore.

"With that in mind… I don’t believe simply going after the ‘dreamers’ themselves would resolve the root problem. The situation is already chaotic enough as it is. Sooner or later, Anti-Skill and Judgment will move on it, but… we too should launch our own attack on the source of this nuisance."

It seemed that Reicia-chan’s proposed course of action was already in line with Adabana-san’s.

As if to say just as planned, Adabana-san nodded, setting the Indian Poker card down on the desk.

"I anticipated you’d say that. The investigation is already underway. With our network, the perpetrator should be identified within a few days──but the reason I bring this up here and now is because I want… you, Ojou-sama-tachi, to take command of that investigation."

…Take command?

Ah, right. That makes sense. Hiring Adabana-san and her fellow mercenaries was always meant as a stopgap until GMDW’s defenses were solidified. No matter how capable they are, if we just dumped everything on them, we’d never grow ourselves.

So this is about giving us the experience.

"As for Black Guard-jou, I’d like you to come to headquarters. It’s a good chance to meet the rest of our ‘members’ face-to-face."

"Very well. I’ve no objections."

Reicia-chan nodded to the proposal, then, with a casual motion, plucked the card off the desk.

"…? I’d intended to dispose of that myself. You don’t mind?"

"You must be joking. That card supposedly contains a record of me in compromising appearance, does it not? I’d prefer to see it destroyed with my own hands."

She shrugged as she tucked the card into her breast pocket.

Reasonable enough on the surface. But as someone who literally shares a body with her, I knew better. Reicia-chan was not the sort to lose sleep over a couple of indecent acts being recorded on a card.

《…Reicia-chan. What exactly do you plan to do with that?》

I asked, half not wanting to know the answer.

And in her usual breezy tone, she replied:

《Why, isn’t it obvious? I’ll wait for the right chance and slip it onto Touma’s forehead, so he can enjoy one of our indecent dreams firsthand.》

……………………

…Th-this woman… she’s completely insane, isn’t she!?!?!?