I chased Veronica’s life in a dream.
A girl running across the grassland with cute laughter. Beyond her, another tall girl was walking.
“Hehe, be careful.”
Could this be Veronica as a child? Even younger than when I first saw her. The two sat on the grass, talking happily.
“Hey, big sister, what do you want to be when you grow up?”
“Me? I want to go on adventures. Travel the outside world and find all sorts of treasures.”
“Wow, will you defeat bad dragons? And mean wizards? And cave trolls?”
“Yeah, I will. I’ll get strong and beat anything.”
Little Veronica hugged her older sister, her eyes shining.
“Amazing! Then I’ll be a princess. You’ll save me from a dragon, big sister. Then we’ll get married, have lots of family, and live together forever.”
“Huh? The prince is being captured? Not the princess?”
“Nfufu, it’s okay!”
Innocent laughter gently rustled the grassland. Veronica’s older sister, was she like this at first? An adventurous girl who dreamed of the outside world. And her younger sister, who was captivated by it. Why did they end up fighting?
“This is your place, stay by my side forever.”
This is bad, I’m being drawn into the dream. Was Veronica leading me to this space? The only sweet memory in a painful life. What should I do? If I don’t do something, she’ll nod.
There’s no choice, this is a forced measure! I grabbed little Veronica’s hand and ran in the opposite direction.
“N-no! It hurts! Big sister, help!”
I’m sorry, please forgive me. Behind me, I could hear a child crying, but I couldn’t look back. If I did, I’d surely let go of her hand. I left the grassland and stepped into a dark forest. Suddenly, the sense of her hand in mine disappeared.
When I turned around, there she was, twenty years old, standing alone in the darkness. Her back was to me, so I couldn’t see her face.
“Hey, you know, this is a dream world. No matter how many times you try to fix it, you can never go back.”
“…I know. I know things like that. Hah, it makes me want to laugh. You’re all cool, but deep down I’m expecting you to say something like, ‘The current you is fine.’ I hate that part of myself, it makes me sick.”
Everyone expects words of salvation. I’m trying hard too, hoping someone will say, ‘The current you is fine.’ We’re all the same, aren’t we? Telling you you’re not weak is too cheap.
Then what words should I say? A line that would bring her back from the dream world. ‘You’re needed,’ ‘Everyone’s waiting,’ no, that’s wrong too. Veronica wouldn’t want such gentle consolation.
“Hey, Veronica, aren’t you actually quite fond of yourself right now? Wearing dark makeup, wearing pants, punching anyone you don’t like. Isn’t that the best? Or do you want to go back to the princess you dreamed of? You’re the best version of yourself right now, so keep being the best until you die. You can’t do that while sleeping.”
When she turned around, she smelled of her usual tobacco.
“Hah, you’ve got some nerve, kid. That’s right, you understand well. The current me is the best. The best isn’t found in the past, I can only become the me of one second from now.”
I felt my body float. Gradually, the darkness cleared, like consciousness sinking to the bottom of the deep sea rising to the surface.
“N, ah… Sharin.”
As I slowly opened my eyes, Sharin was there, holding my dagger.
“Whoa! Hey, wait, wait! I told you not to go near me.”
“I’m sorry, but it was in case you didn’t wake up. This is enemy territory. We don’t know when they might attack.”
That’s true, but you’re so pushy. Right, where’s Veronica? When I turned my head, she had also woken up.
“Veronica, snap out of it.”
“Ah, damn it. I had the worst dream. Like suddenly remembering everything from the past. Ah, I’m exhausted. By the way, where is this? Is it the den of those cats?”
With everyone finally together, I looked around again. A cell in the dim light, probably made underground. There were no guards, so now is our chance to escape? Fortunately, the bars were made of wood. They were thick, but brittle with fire and could be kicked down.
“You’re already awake… It’s a failure.”
Where did that voice come from?! I looked at my companions, and it seemed they could all hear it too. A failure, which means someone was watching our situation from somewhere. Then the scenery distorted, and the location changed in an instant. This reminded me of a skill used by the Kooshi King.
We were teleported to a large space. A red carpet, a smooth floor, and a huge portrait displayed prominently in front of us. And beneath it sat the fat, King of Cats.
