756 This isnt a sad dream (1/2)

The wind blew past, bringing along many falling cherry blossoms.

Everything seemed hazy and unclear. Things seemed beautiful, yet unreal.

As if she was dreaming.

'No, I am probably dreaming.'

Chiaki had this faint realization.

She felt very comfortable here, and didn't want to continue thinking about it. She wanted to quietly enjoy this ethereal beauty as if she was a kitty cat sleeping under the warm sunlight.

A figure appeared in her field of vision. There was the sound of laughter and someone talking. A certain person was calling out her name. His voice sounded quite gentle and loving.

She knew that voice. It was extremely familiar to her. It was ———'s voice.

'…Who is ———?'

'Idiot, ——— is ———.'

'He's so familiar and important to me. I love him. …Who was he again?

'Why can't I remember?

'It should be quite easy for me to remember. I definitely shouldn't forget his name. Yet, I can't recall it.

'His words are so moving. The food he makes is so delicious. His hand is so warm. He has a beautiful smile… Why would I forget his name?'

'Why can't I remember ———'s name, ———'s existence…?'

”Chiaki…! Chiaki…!”

Chiaki slowly came to her senses and felt the world clear up around her when she heard her name being called.

She slowly opened her eyes and saw a familiar teenaged boy's face with a serious expression while looking directly at her.

”Seiji…”

”What's the matter?”

Chiaki blinked and wiped away the tears she found on her face and eyes.

”I don't know… I think I had a rather sad dream…”

”Do you remember what you dreamed of?”

”I can't remember…”

Something flashed in Seiji's eyes as he reached out and patted her on the head.

”Do you still want to sleep?”

”No…”

Chiaki grabbed her cell phone and checked the time. She then sat up on the bed she was in.

”Who brought me here?” Only now did Chiaki realize that this wasn't her bed in Seiji's apartment, so she asked this question.

”Houjou-senpai did. She saw you fall asleep on the sofa, so she brought you to a guest room to rest,” Seiji explained.

”How was your battle?”

”Our battle was a loss, but everything is alright since nobody was injured.”

After killing the Snake Demon and Samurai Demon and successfully winning against that boss wave, Seiji immediately chose to retreat from Kazuko's Domain.

If things had continued as they had and even more ”vicious demon” level spiritual monsters had arrived, that would have been bad.

The Domain's difficulty level had been increased too much. That difficulty level was a failure for training.

Although this time the Domain wasn't cleared out fully, Seiji still had a small harvest of Inner World Crystals, so it was alright.

Logically speaking, he should increase the difficulty level in order to obtain more crystals. But, if he increased the difficulty too much, things would become too dangerous for his knight order members and the training would be a failure, so he had to be cautious.

After the battle concluded, Seiji summarized the battle's results and handed everyone their ”homework” regarding what they wanted to do with their own equipment.

It was definitely necessary to level up their equipment as well. Everyone understood this all the more clearly after today's battle.

While their equipment's functions were important to improve, the equipment's appearance couldn't be ignored, either. Physical appearance was something that would affect morale. It was quite necessary to begin considering such factors.

Everyone had discussed the topic of equipment for a while before they all returned to their own respective homes.

...

'What did I dream of just earlier?'

Chiaki was unable to recall. However, she faintly felt that it was something important, so she did her best to remember.

Yet, all she could recall was that there were falling cherry blossoms, along with a hazy and seemingly beautiful atmosphere.

That didn't seem like such a sad dream, yet it had left her with a sad feeling. Why was that?