“…Don’t startle me…”
As soon as I stepped out into the hallway, a black swirl launched an attack, but each one was halted by ‘Fixation.’ I can never afford to let my guard down.
《Chip content: Crawling Hands of the Night ×2》
If I could just learn the ‘Alertness’ skill, I’d be able to ward off ambushes even more reliably than relying on my senses alone. It’s a basic skill that jobs like ‘Thief’ acquire at level 3, so it might be better to pick it up as a secondary job.
“(Now, where should I go…? If this is a dream world, maybe even the forbidden room might open.)”
At the end of the east wing was the forbidden room—still locked, of course. Since this is a dream world, there’s no guarantee the resident would be inside, but to find the illusionist, I might have to check inside.
“Excuse me, this is Fujiwara. Is anyone in there?”
I didn’t expect a reply, but I knocked just in case—predictably, there was no sound from inside the room.
“(…Wait, I think I hear something…)”
I peered through the keyhole—a risky move, since it might be trapped. But I did it anyway.
I caught a brief glimpse of the room before darkness swallowed it again. Then, I heard faint breathing from inside the room—this suddenly felt like a scene out of a horror movie.
“Is… someone there?”
“…Read the room, idiot.”
“(Whoa…!?)”
A voice! Not loud, but clear enough to hear.
“So, you are there. It seems like I’m under some kind of illusion right now. Do you know anything about the caster?”
“If you think about who has infiltrated the dormitory’s barrier recently, you’ll figure it out.”
“Barrier… right, the monsters nearby would require a barrier to be set up.”
“I’m the one who set it up, so unless someone is a barrier specialist, they wouldn’t even notice. You seem pretty dull, though.”
“Ugh… I can’t argue with that…”
The voice, a little smug, sounded young—almost like a girl’s. But from the way they spoke, they clearly knew a lot about magic.
“…Well, I’ll leave dispelling the illusion to you. Come back if you’re still confused; I’ll help you out, a bit.”
“Understood, thank you.”
“Don’t get fooled too easily by whatever illusions you’re shown. If you fall for them, I’ll take you down myself.”
Their words were harsh, but I took them as encouragement. In other words, the person inside this forbidden room either wasn’t affected by the illusion, or they had a resistance to it.
Anyone else I encounter must be part of the illusion itself—knowing that makes it much easier to avoid defeat.
◆◇◆
The living room lights were on, and for some reason, a refined classical tune was playing—something I felt I had heard before. It was a standard BGM often used in streams.
(What’s next…?)
“…Thank you for coming so late at night, Master.”
(…??????)
I knew whose voice that was, but the words and the person just didn’t match up.
Someone emerged from the kitchen. Even as I saw them, I couldn’t believe my eyes.
“It’s getting quite late, so would you like a drink that won’t disturb your sleep?”
If I were to describe what I was seeing, it would be this: Kashino-senpai was dressed in a maid outfit. And not just any maid outfit—a fully authentic, traditional style.
Her hair was done up in twin-tails, topped with a headband, and she wore a black dress with a contrasting white apron. If I dismissed it as an illusion, that would explain it, but the ‘maid’ standing before me was flawless.
“Uh, no thank you. This is probably just another illusion.”
“…What?”
When dealing with illusions, it’s best to remain indifferent—taking even a sip of a drink could be the end of me.
“There’s no way Kashino-senpai would wait for me late at night dressed as a maid to serve me. That’s why this is an illusion.”
“Wha… I-I get that it sounds far-fetched, but you didn’t have to flat-out deny everything… Ahh! Now you’ve got me mad!”
Senpai jumped up from the couch—her hair fluttering and her skirt swaying as if she were dancing. I had to admit she looked good—too bad this was just an illusion.
“I’ll teach my cheeky underclassman the importance of respecting their seniors!”
So, it’s come to this—I’d prefer not to use the stored ‘Crawling Hands of the Night,’ so I’ll have to find another way to incapacitate her.
(—Wait, what?)
Suddenly, I noticed that my wrists and ankles were tied with something like a cord.
“K-Kashino-senpai… even if this is an illusion, tying me up without permission is a bit much…!”
“Heheh… In any situation, taking the initiative is key. I’m a ‘Spirit User.’ Binding objects with spirits and controlling them is easy for me.”
She had used her usual hair ribbon to tie me up—of course, ‘Spirit Users’ were one of the strongest backline roles in past lives.
I didn’t know if this Kashino-senpai in the dream world had the same job as the real one, but either way, she was formidable.
“Ugh… m-my strength is fading…”
“I can’t have you cutting the ribbons too easily, so I used the spirits’ power to reduce your strength—temporarily, of course.”
A weakening debuff attached to a restraint—so this is what an upperclassman ranked among the top second-years could do. I hadn’t expected this level of cunning from Kashino-senpai.
“…I just realized something, but promise you won’t freak out?”
“Well, this is an illusion, so I’ll probably forget whatever you say…”
“An illusion…? I don’t really get what you’re talking about, but seeing you tied up like this makes me feel…”
“F-feel what…?”
Senpai’s breathing started getting heavier—she even licked her lips.
“…Kind of cute. Maybe I’ve always thought that since the moment I stepped on you.”
“(This is bad… Dream Kashino-senpai is a high-level pervert…!)”
For some reason, Kashino-senpai began removing her knee-high socks—was she planning to step on me again? Was stepping on me barefoot supposed to be gentler, or was the act itself the problem?
I couldn’t let this end in some humiliating defeat where I get trampled and lose all my magic. Just when she thinks she’s won and lets her guard down—that’s my chance to turn things around.
