Last night, I wonder just how much I clung to Efil. I poured out all my pent-up emotions, cried without caring about appearances, and eventually fell asleep. Ah, I fell asleep. In any case, I exhausted all the energy in my body and slept soundly for the first time in several days.
“…That’s how it should be, right?”
As I opened my eyes in Efil’s bed, having slept with Efil, a beautiful garden spread out before me. It felt somewhat like the courtyard of the mansion that Dahak maintained, and this fountain was very similar to Kuro’s favorite. However, there were objects here and there that contradicted my memories. For example, these stone statues that looked like something a shrine maiden would summon. They were lions, or angels. These stone statues asserted that this place was not the garden of the mansion.
“This scene… it’s like a mixture of memories taken randomly from me… Is it a dream?”
“As expected of you. Your comprehension is astonishingly fast.”
“…So, your appearance in my dreams, is that my own desire?”
“Well, I wonder about that. For my part, I wish it were so.”
It seems I’m much more of a weakling than I thought. Even after pouring out my feelings to Efil, I’m still a man with lingering feelings in my heart, a failure.
—After all, I even imagined Melfina in my dreams. She was smiling the same way she did that night she wore that dress before disappearing, or rather, wearing that dress from that time, sneaking into the kitchen because she was a little hungry, with that approachable atmosphere despite being a god. Hey, don’t show up in my dreams too. I’ll cry again, you know?
“Um, I think there’s been some misunderstanding, but I’m not a phantom or an illusion in your dream. I am, truly, the real Melfina.”
“…Huh?”
“That’s right, I’m your Mel♪”
Mel (tentative) struck a pose that seemed to be accompanied by a sound effect. For a moment, I thought it might be a mental attack from Kuromel, but I don’t think she would do something so ridiculous. More importantly, my senses told me that this was Mel.
“Are you… really Mel…?”
“You’re more suspicious than usual today. However, given how we parted, it’s understandable. I was so moved by you worrying so much for me—”
Without regard for whether she was in the middle of her words, I embraced Mel with all my strength. Mel’s body through the dress was soft, and the pleasant, faint scent of her hair hit my nose.
“—Hafuu—”
Then, I placed my palm on Mel’s cheek and confirmed its softness. Everything about it was Melfina’s.
“Mel, you are, Mel…!”
“As I was saying—”
Interrupting her words again, this time I kissed her. Mel seemed surprised by the suddenness, but when her mind caught up, she wrapped her arms around my back. We stayed like that, lips touching, for quite a long time. But my emotions were demanding more and more, as if an endless stream of desire was about to overflow.
“—You are truly honest with your desires. Even if you’re rumored to be a womanizer, you can’t be defended with this?”
“Let anyone who wants to say it, say it. What matters to me now is this moment.”
Honestly, I don’t care what the Adventurer’s Guild might write. To be able to touch Mel like this, that’s enough for me.
“I too, actually, wanted to contact you much sooner. However, well… as you know, I’m in a very precarious state right now. While I here am undoubtedly the real me, it’s also true that the other me has absorbed most of my power. This communication between us is probably only possible in dreams.”
“…Even so, why didn’t you reply until now? Do you know how worried I was for these past five days?”
“You were in such a desperate state that even your dreams were under a strong mental obstruction. I couldn’t interfere then. It’s only today that you’ve finally reached a stress-free state!”
…Eh, my mental state was the cause of this? Was being stoically tense actually a bad thing?
“When you wake up from this dream, please thank Efil!”
“Ah, uh… Wait. You, can you understand external circumstances in this state?”
“No, as a magical being, I’m mostly in a dormant state. I’m just reading information through you, not directly. However, um… I am intentionally looking away from things I should separate, so please be at ease about that. Well, I wonder if it’s right to do that to someone who is ill, I mean, never mind…”
“………”
—You’re clearly watching.
“A-Anyway. I’m glad I could talk to you, even if it’s just in a dream. Right now… ah, you’re aware of the situation. As you can see, I’m behind Kuromel. If I could do something to restore your body, nngh…?”
Suddenly, Melfina placed her index finger over my mouth. What, is this a repayment for earlier?
“Before we talk about that, there’s something I need to tell you.”
“Something to tell me?”
“Yes, first about my current state. While we’re communicating in dreams like this, it’s not something that can be done at any time. Please understand that this kind of conversation is only possible when Kuromel’s interference is weak, in other words, when Kuromel is asleep.”
“…She’s a god, isn’t she? Does she need sleep?”
“Of course she does, it’s absolutely essential! If gods didn’t need rest, I wouldn’t have been able to take paid leave either!”
Ah, that’s right… Come to think of it, the reason Mel came with me in the first place was an excuse for paid leave. In other words, it’s currently a time when Kuromel is also fast asleep. She looked like a child just by her appearance, so she probably needs that much sleep.
“Let’s get back to the topic. I’ve learned something about that Kuromel.”
Mel coughed and changed the subject.
“When my power was absorbed by Kuromel. In exchange for most of my power being taken, her memories… no, they were originally my memories. The memories I had forgotten flowed back to me through the Sacred Spear at that time. I remembered then. Your past life’s past life, and memories from before I became a god.”
“…Huh?”
My past life’s past life? My life before I was reincarnated in Japan, even further back? And what do you mean, memories from before you became a god? What’s the connection?
“………”
No, even if it’s just a vague feeling, I think I’ve already guessed. The painful cries of an unknown girl I glimpsed occasionally in my dreams. The gruesome remains with crimson flames spreading, rubble—I’ve seen such tragic situations dimly many, many times. The girl in the dream was holding a lifeless man, repeatedly uttering curses against the gods, and making a resolution. Those, those two…
“You seem to have dimly guessed as well.”
“…Dreams are convenient. They seem to voice what I’m thinking even more than usual. So, it’s true then?”
“Yes, the scenery you’ve seen several times in your dreams—it’s of me before I became a god, and you before you reincarnated in Japan.”
