บท 200: Ch 200. Wedding House, no, Castle
Seeing Kotoko's expression growing increasingly displeased, Hoshimi, still smiling, gently grasped her soft hand and gave it a light squeeze. "Come on, Kotoko, don't mind it. Back then, I was just teasing you."
"Tch~" Kotoko pursed her lips.
Was scaring someone so much that their heart raced really just teasing? Hoshimi really isn't suited to being human.
"By the way, Kotoko, what kind of monster did you initially think I was?" Hoshimi asked, interested, while gently kneading Kotoko's delicate hand.
Kotoko turned the tables, grabbed Hoshimi's large hand with both of hers, and rubbed it while saying, "What else could it be? Based on the abilities you showed, there were only a few options."
"At first, I thought you were using an illusion ability. Such a realistic and widespread illusion isn't something just any small monster could use. The possible options included famous big monsters like the White-haired Nine-tailed Fox and the Mirage."
"After leaving your dream on the first night, I asked some big monsters about it. The ones skilled in illusions were either dead, asleep, or had entered the Eastern Great Barrier. There wasn't a single big monster in the current world that was good at illusions."
"Then, after digging out from you that this place was your dream, I wondered if you might be a Tapir. But Tapir are known for devouring dreams, not creating them, so I basically ruled that out."
"Next, after investigating further, I found that the only ones with abilities similar to yours were the Western Succubi..."
Kotoko paused and stroked Hoshimi's cheek, her expression odd. "To be honest, I thought there was a good chance you were a Succubus. You're handsome, have a wicked personality, are good at bewitching, and only pull beautiful girls into your dreams. Plus, you don't act like a human—these traits fit perfectly."
"At that time, I almost concluded that you were either a rare male Succubus or a special anomaly."
"But..." Kotoko stopped, her expression becoming subtly different as she looked at Hoshimi.
"But what? Go on~" Hoshimi, engrossed, pressed his hand to Kotoko's chest, urging her.
"Mm~" Kotoko blushed slightly, playfully glared at Hoshimi, and continued, "But just before I reached a conclusion, I met with Siesta."
"Hoshimi, you should know when I first met Siesta, right? No need for me to elaborate?"
Hoshimi nodded. He had orchestrated the meeting between Kotoko and Siesta in the dream. How could he not know?
He was curious about what kind of sparks would fly between the seemingly scientific but not-so-scientific "Detective" Siesta and the mysterious "Goddess of Wisdom" Iwanaga Kotoko.
Honestly, from the friction between Kotoko and Siesta alone, he was already quite satisfied.
But when he thought about the various schemes they secretly plotted together afterward, he had some regrets. These two clever women were no pushovers, and after secretly forming an alliance, who knows how many of his dream secrets they uncovered.
"Hoshimi, I must remind you." Iwanaga Kotoko grew serious, turning to stare at Hoshimi. She spoke each word deliberately, "Hoshimi, you must be cautious of Siesta! If she appears, you must tell me immediately. She..."
Iwanaga Kotoko hesitated, not revealing the uncertain information.
"What about Siesta?" Hoshimi pressed his hand to Kotoko's chest, his smile unwavering. "Kotoko, since you've started, you might as well say everything. It's not a good habit to be secretive."
"Alright, I'll say it." Kotoko sighed, knowing that even if she kept quiet, Hoshimi would find a way to make her talk.
Given that, she might as well speak sooner and suffer less.
"Hoshimi," Kotoko chose her words carefully, speaking seriously, "Siesta is involved in many troublesome matters, and the organization behind her doesn't play by the rules. They're the type to do anything. Given your uniqueness, I'm afraid Siesta might drag you into a whirlpool of trouble."
"That's why I said if Siesta appears, you must inform me immediately. Don't sneak around and meet her. If something happens, I can catch on early and be prepared."
"I see..." Hoshimi mused, "I'll remember that. I won't keep it from you, Kotoko."
"Good, that's reassuring." Kotoko's expression relaxed.
The next moment, Kotoko's expression grew slightly odd. She discreetly shifted in Hoshimi's embrace, finding a more comfortable position to sit.
Using Hoshimi as a human sofa was nice, but after a while, the sofa would undergo strange changes, requiring her to adjust her position...
"Don't move; just stay like this." Noticing Kotoko shifting, Hoshimi wrapped his arm around her waist, firmly holding her in place.
"..." Kotoko blushed but didn't resist or speak, obediently going along with Hoshimi's wishes.
"Kotoko, back to what we were discussing earlier. You were about to reach a conclusion when you met Siesta, and then?" Hoshimi asked, holding Kotoko tightly.
"Then... Siesta told me something—something rather unsettling."
"Oh?" Hoshimi's interest piqued, he tightened his grip on Kotoko, eagerly asking, "Kotoko, tell me more."
"Okay, this is Siesta's exact words," Kotoko began to relay faithfully.
...
"Miss Iwanaga, Hoshimi isn't a demon or a supernatural being. He's just a pure human, a person of flesh, blood, and desire."
"No, no, Miss Iwanaga, I'm not denying your wisdom or theories. I'm just stating my opinion."
"Miss Iwanaga, let me tell you something that might dispel some of your doubts about Hoshimi's identity."
"Recently, there was an incident at a hospital where all the nurses mysteriously fell asleep. It was reported in the news, so you might have heard of it."
"Were you preoccupied with other matters and didn't pay attention? That's a shame. Perhaps tomorrow you could look up newspapers from about a month ago."
"Alright, I'll continue."
"I investigated this case and found it connected to a young woman named 'Asukai Kiki.'"
"I'll skip the detailed investigation process and go straight to the conclusion."
"Asukai Kiki has the ability to share dreams with others. Due to some unknown reason, her dream attracted a serial killer, and she was brutally murdered by them over and over in her dream."
"Some ambitious people took an interest in her ability and kidnapped her. The mass nurse fainting incident happened the night she was taken."
"Asukai Kiki's whereabouts are now unknown. At the same time, some things happened on my side that prevented me from continuing the investigation."
"Miss Iwanaga, I'm telling you this to help you understand that humans can awaken to unknown powers under certain conditions. This isn't something exclusive to supernatural beings."
"Also, don't worry about Hoshimi's safety. I'm sure you've seen his abilities in his dream world. We don't need to be concerned about his safety."
"If he's not harming others, we're already lucky. If those so-called serial killers stumbled into Hoshimi's dream, they'd probably turn into lambs to be slaughtered."
"Why didn't I tell Hoshimi about this?"
"I can't. If he found out, he'd definitely want to meet this woman who also has dream-related powers."
"Miss Iwanaga, you know how reckless ambitious people can be. If Hoshimi recklessly exposed his abilities, it wouldn't be good for him."
"While I trust Hoshimi's abilities in his dream world, his physical self might not be so reliable. Modern guns and drugs can't be defended against in a dream."
"This concludes our information exchange. Miss Iwanaga, would you be interested in working with me? Let's investigate the rules that govern Hoshimi's dream world and figure out how Hoshimi's dream resists outside intrusion."
...
As Kotoko finished relaying, she held Hoshimi's hand and earnestly said, "Hoshimi, if you want to live a peaceful life, don't reveal your dream abilities, and stay away from this 'Asukai Kiki' matter."
While she felt sympathy for Asukai Kiki's plight, it didn't mean she was going to save her.
She was the 'Goddess of Wisdom,' maintaining balance between humans and supernatural beings, not the merciful Virgin Mary. She didn't want to get involved in the darkness of human affairs, nor did she have the energy for it.
She was already busy enough resolving disputes between humans and supernatural beings.
"Don't worry, Kotoko. I'm not a reckless fool. I know what's important."
Regarding Asukai Kiki, Hoshimi was indeed quite curious, but he wouldn't disrupt his peaceful and leisurely life just because of curiosity.
Only when he had trained to a level where he no longer feared conventional firearms, or when he became invincible, would he consider meeting this woman who also possessed dream-related abilities.
Besides, was it really a problem with Asukai Kiki's dream abilities, or was it something about her herself?
How could someone with dream abilities be killed over and over again by outsiders? Wouldn't she fight back?
Hoshimi was puzzled, but he didn't delve deeper into it. Since she wouldn't be involved with him in the short term, there was no point in overthinking it.
"Hoshimi, let's stop talking about these things. I want to visit our old wedding house. I really miss that five-meter-wide bed~"
"Alright, let's go."
Though they called it a wedding house, it was actually a castle.
Created according to Kotoko's aesthetic, the castle was a dreamlike pure white.
The castle was situated by a riverside, with a dense forest behind it, a grassland in front, and snow-capped mountains far in the distance—a breathtaking scene rarely found in reality.
During the early days of their marriage, Hoshimi and Kotoko's favorite thing was to enjoy the beauty around the castle, using the earth as their bed, the sky as their canopy, and the morning dew and moonlight as their clothing, fully immersing themselves in the harmonious life of unity with nature.
Now that Kotoko mentioned the wedding house, she was certainly reminiscing about those wonderful times, wanting to relive some of that harmonious life once more.
Understanding Kotoko's thoughts, Hoshimi was, of course, eager to fulfill her wishes.
So, Hoshimi immediately transported Kotoko to the riverside where the pure white castle stood...
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