WVKWnovel Chapter 174 : Unknown Identity - 3
Chapter 174 : Unknown Identity - 3
I explained everything I'd discovered about the Tenth Quest without leaving anything out.Aina interrupted in surprise.
“Wait. Why are you telling those two? Aren't you being way too nice?”
“Aina, think about it. We haven't been able to find the board for the past three days.”
“That could just mean the game hasn't started yet...”
“Maybe. But judging purely by the timing, the Quest should have already started. It's been far too long since the last Quest.”
The others all nodded.
I continued,
“Let's assume the game has already begun. Then where did the board appear?”
“……?”
“What if it wasn't in reality, but inside our dreams? What if we'd already seen the board while dreaming?”
Sienne gasped.
“I see. People usually forget what they see in dreams almost immediately.”
“Exactly. Normally, we only vaguely remember the dream we had right before waking up. If the board appeared during deep sleep, it wouldn't be strange for us to forget it.”
“What an underhanded method. Just what you'd expect from that demon.”
“Of course, there's no guarantee this is the correct answer. Which is why we need to verify it.”
I changed my wording.
“No, we need Kaid's cooperation.”
“Too late.”
“Starting today, appear in our dreams. We may forget our dreams, but you're an Incubus. It'll be different for you, right?”
“……”
“No. Not just ours. Enter the dreams of every Participant you've ever touched. If the board appears in even one person's dream, memorize it exactly.”
Kaid tilted his head.
“If that's true, then the board should've already appeared in my own dream. As an Incubus, I'd remember it.”
“Ah... Right. You were a Participant too.”
Then was this theory wrong?
At that moment, Armelia spoke.
“No. I think the idea itself is correct. But perhaps the game simply hasn't started yet.”
“Hmm. You think so?”
“Since we don't have any better ideas, this is still our best option. We'll continue searching for the board in reality while Kaid searches in dreams.”
“Yes. That's a reasonable division of roles.”
I nodded before addressing everyone.
“Starting today, we'll take turns sleeping day and night. Whoever's awake will continue searching for the board in reality.”
“So we're basically reversing the night watch. Understood.”
“Who'll sleep first?”
“I'll go first. Aina, the medicine please.”
“Okay, Brother.”
We brought blankets from the room and spread them across the living room floor.
Aina soaked some cotton with medicine and handed it over.
Benjamin held it to his nose and quickly fell asleep.
At the same time, we all looked at Kaid.
Our expressions clearly asking, What are you waiting for?
Kaid stared at us in disbelief.
“I never actually agreed to this...”
Another week passed after we enlisted Kaid's... no, received Kaid's cooperation.
It had now been two weeks since we'd first learned about the Tenth Quest.
Yet we still had nothing.
The board hadn't appeared in reality.
Nor had it appeared in dreams.
At this point, even the excuse that “the game just hasn't started yet” no longer worked.
By timing and by instinct alike, I was certain.
The Tenth Quest had already begun.
We simply didn't know what the game itself was.
Growing increasingly anxious, Aina said,
“Kaid, are you slacking off?”
“That's pretty harsh toward a monster who's working this hard.”
“It's been a whole week and you still haven't found the board.”
“To begin with, Mason was only guessing that the board would appear in dreams. Don't blame me.”
Objectively, he was completely right.
But somehow, hearing it from Kaid just irritated me.
I tapped my finger against the table.
What should I do?
Edgar probably already knew the game's contents.
Even now, he was likely several steps ahead of us.
'I need to find that board as soon as possible... Hm? Wait.'
Something suddenly occurred to me.
I hurriedly spoke.
“Let's enter Edgar's dream.”
“Huh?”
“Edgar's dream. He already knows the information about the Tenth Quest. If he falls asleep, he might dream about it.”
Everyone slightly opened their mouths.
Apparently, the idea had never crossed their minds.
Kaid was the first to object.
“There's no way Edgar's just going to spill everything.”
“I wasn't planning to interrogate him. If he dreams about the Quest, we'll simply watch the dream.”
“That's incredibly inefficient. There's no guarantee he'll even have that kind of dream...”
“I'm not expecting to see the board itself in his dream. I don't even expect that much.”
Just a clue.
Even one tiny clue would be enough.
After thinking for a moment, Kaid nodded.
“Well, it's definitely better than blindly rummaging through random people's dreams. Let's do it.”
“Good. Then let's go.”
“...Huh? I'm not going.”
“……”
“I'll only send you into Edgar's dream. Why would I personally enter the dream of someone that dangerous...?”
Smack!
Someone suddenly chopped Kaid across the back of the neck.
His tongue stuck out as he collapsed unconscious.
Louis had done it.
Speaking cheerfully, she said,
“Finally, some peace and quiet. Now take him with you.”
Edgar's dream.
If I had to describe it in one phrase...
Magnificent.
I gazed upon mountains of glittering gold and silver treasures and towering buildings stretching toward the heavens.
Countless crowds surrounded us, waving flowers and banners while cheering.
'This looks like...'
A victory parade?
Just then, Kaid's voice sounded beside me.
“Ugh... My head hurts.”
“What's wrong? You sound like someone knocked you unconscious.”
“You do realize you have a terrible personality, don't you?”
“Nope.”
“Who exactly knocked me out? Aina? Karin?”
Rather than answering Louis, I changed the subject.
“So this is Edgar's dream?”
“Yeah. Looks that way.”
“……”
“Be careful. Neither you nor I can let the Edgar inside this dream notice us. If he sees us, he'll realize immediately that we've invaded his dream.”
And then he'd wake himself up.
We couldn't allow that before finding any clues.
Like Magireta, I pulled my hood low over my face.
Then I looked around.
“Where are we? You're an Incubus, so you should have a rough idea of the dream's setting.”
“The Imperial Capital. That building over there seems to be the Imperial Palace.”
“What?”
Then don't tell me...
At that moment—
“Ah! There! Over there!”
“His Majesty the Emperor! His Majesty!”
“Everyone, prostrate yourselves! Anyone who raises their head will die!”
As though rehearsed, every person in the crowd immediately threw themselves flat onto the ground.
As reluctant as I was, I did the same.
'Damn it.'
No matter the circumstances, bowing to Edgar left a bad taste in my mouth.
Thud. Thud.
The ground gradually began trembling.
The clanking of armor echoed through the streets.
Just as I'd expected, Edgar seemed to be returning victorious from some battlefield.
This dream had been created from his memories.
'Right.'
'This is a dream from when he was the First Emperor.'
The footsteps drew closer.
Timing it carefully, I slowly raised my gaze.
The first thing I saw was a magnificent order of silver knights.
And leading them...
“Huh? That's Ian.”
“For goodness' sake, keep your voice down. If we're discovered, the dream will end.”
“Why's Ian over there? He isn't from this era.”
“I don't know who Ian is, but dreams usually mix all kinds of memories together.”
Ah, so that was it.
In any case, I looked past Ian.
An enormous...
Throne?
That's right.
Edgar was sitting upon a throne.
Countless slaves struggled to carry it forward.
'Looks like he lived quite the noble life.'
To think that bastard had been the First Emperor.
The Empire had been doomed from the very beginning.
I carefully watched his face.
That's when I noticed him muttering something.
“Kaid.”
“Quiet. Quiet.”
“How much quieter can I get? Besides, you can manipulate dreams, can't you?”
“Yes. More or less.”
“Edgar's muttering something. Make it so only I can hear him.”
“Understood.”
Soon, Edgar's voice sounded as clearly as though he were speaking right beside me.
“Haa... How boring.”
“……”
“This world really is dull. When's Magireta's next game going to begin?”
Just as Kaid had said, dreams were a complete jumble.
If this truly was a victory parade from his time as the First Emperor, then Edgar shouldn't even know about the games yet.
But because memories had mixed together, he could say things like that.
Then—
“No... no. The next game already started.”
“……!”
My heart pounded.
That's right.
The Edgar inside the dream had clearly just recalled the Tenth Quest.
But that alone wasn't enough.
I still hadn't learned a single piece of information about it.
“……”
Holding my breath, I waited for another clue.
But Edgar said nothing else.
He passed right in front of me.
'What do I do?'
At this rate, we'd wake up without gaining anything.
...
To hell with it.
I'll take the risk.
If Edgar wasn't going to say anything else...
'Then I'll see it with my own eyes.'
I suddenly stood up.
Then I stared directly at Edgar seated upon that lofty throne.
“Ahhh! What are you doing?!”
I couldn't even hear Kaid anymore.
An extremely brief moment.
Five seconds at most.
Maybe only three.
Before Edgar noticed me and woke himself from the dream.
I had to find some kind of clue before then.
'Come on. Show me a clue, Edgar.'
You were just thinking about the Tenth Quest.
Show me something.
Your expression.
Your movements.
Your actions.
Anything.
'Huh?'
I looked at Edgar.
He was gazing up at the sky.
That was all.
Then he lowered his gaze and looked directly at me.
He had noticed me.
His pupils widened dramatically.
“You...!”
Crash!
With the sound of something shattering, the entire world began collapsing.
Kaid sighed.
“Oh dear. The dream's ending.”
“……”
“So what are you going to do about this? Huh? How are you going to compensate me?”
“Quiet.”
“Yes... Sorry.”
“Don't worry.”
I'd already found more than enough of a clue.
When I opened my eyes, I found my companions surrounding me and looking down.
Their eyes were filled with concern.
Armelia spoke.
“Mason, did you sleep well?”
“Yes. Good morning.”
“It's afternoon, actually. Anyway... did you learn anything?”
“Yes.”
I got to my feet.
Without saying a word, I walked outside the house.
The others followed behind me.
“What are you doing?”
“Looking at the sky.”
Just like Edgar had done in his dream.
More precisely, just like Edgar had done while recalling the Tenth Quest.
Karin spoke.
“That much is obvious. I'm asking why you're staring at the sky.”
“Thinking about it now, it was incredibly obvious.”
I let out a small laugh.
“In the future I saw, none of us even realized the Tenth Game had begun.”
“Right. Because we never saw the board...”
“Exactly. But was that really the only reason?”
“Huh?”
“Every single time a Quest began, we'd always been summoned somewhere.”
Whether it was the Great Plains.
Bucklet Forest.
The Tower of Knowledge.
Or the Imperial Palace.
Without fail, Magireta had always transported the Participants somewhere.
“But in the future, none of us were transported anywhere. That's why we never realized the game had started.”
“...! That makes sense.”
Exactly.
Even if the board never appeared, suddenly being transported to a game location would've been a clear sign that the game had begun.
But in the Future Diary, we never realized the game had started.
Because we were never summoned.
What did that mean?
“The stage for this game... is the world itself.”