In this world, people no longer worried about the hardships of life; every soul greeted the dawn of a new day with lighthearted joy.
Crime in society had vanished like smoke, even the faintest traces of unkindness disappeared without a trace—
Here, everyone was the protagonist of their own stage.
People kept their distinct personalities and preferences, yet deep within flowed a gentle warmth.
Perhaps one might still see a solitary figure, but that was only because they enjoyed the quiet of solitude, or because others simply didn't know how to approach them—never because of malice or rejection.
This was a pure land where nothing was lost on the roads, and doors could remain open at night.
Even when someone made a mistake, what awaited them was a smile of understanding and an embrace of tolerance.
Here, laughter and tears, anger and sorrow still seasoned life, yet they no longer stemmed from malice, nor from the shadow of social injustice.
When people wanted to do something, to fulfill dreams or goals, the only limits were themselves.
For instance, feeling too tired or losing interest.
Not external causes—such as lacking money, or a gambling father, a sick mother, a younger brother in school, or a broken family.
Even choosing to live quietly as a shut-in, one could still find their own happiness and plenty in this high-welfare society.
And not only material plenty, but spiritual abundance.
There would be warm, passionate people to pull them from their rooms to experience the beauty of life—or countless excellent works to grant them joy and fulfillment online.
To put it in a more vivid metaphor, it was like those lighthearted slice-of-life anime, or a youthful girls' band—pure and warm.
Everyone was a good person, everyone deserved happiness, and indeed everyone had found happiness.
This was the world Zeroy longed for, the humanity she yearned for, the environment she dreamed of: her utopia.
So even imagining it filled her with drive.
Drive to build such a utopia—and drive to eradicate the pests that would ruin it.
Fueled by that drive, Zeroy once again burned with energy.
Around 1 a.m., after another failed simulation, while pondering a new problem, her body suddenly slumped.
"Ugh... no, I can't anymore..."
Her limp body instinctively fell to the side, leaning against something soft and fragrant.
A familiar scent!
Zeroy snapped alert, springing away from Patchouli's shoulder as though shocked by electricity.
Patchouli, who had been about to embrace her and let her rest, froze on the spot, her half-extended hand stiff in midair.
"..."
"Uh... Patchi, sorry, I accidentally bumped into you."
"...It's fine."
Something was definitely wrong!
"You should get some rest."
"Alright."
Back in her room, Patchouli intended to offer another lap pillow.
"Um... let's not. No need for the trouble."
"It's no trouble at all. Besides, the quicker you recover, the more energy you'll have for simulations, right?"
Zeroy hesitated to voice her objection, only for Patchouli to smoothly deflect it.
With Zeroy's personality, under normal circumstances, she couldn't refuse now.
If it was for something important, she didn't mind troubling Patchouli a little. Patchouli didn't mind being troubled either. Both knew this well and had always acted accordingly.
After all, magic was truly omnipotent—especially Patchouli's magic, supported by her immense reservoir of knowledge, capable of nearly anything.
While Zeroy had sheer strength, she lacked versatility.
To balk at such small trouble would make their relationship seem too distant.
Yet faced with Patchouli's reasoning, Zeroy had her own counter.
"No... it's just, last night I had a strange dream. Maybe... possibly... perhaps? It had something to do with your lap pillow, Patchi?"
"A strange dream?"
"Well... just a really strange dream. I don't remember the details."
That was Zeroy's tactic: find a plausible reason, then obscure the specifics!
Because it was a dream, it didn't matter! No need to dwell on it!
Because it was a dream, one would forget it upon waking!
"Alright then."
Patchouli didn't press further, only quietly watching Zeroy play dumb.
But wasn't it possible? At their level, they no longer dreamed casually, much less forgot them.
Waking and forgetting within five minutes—that was something only ordinary humans did.
Such was the flaw of one who had grown too fast.
Not knowing the basics of the abnormal quite as well.
"Then rest well."
"Okay~"
Bed, sleep, dreams—
"Patchi... hehehe, Patchi... little Patchi was born to be devoured by me!"
"..."
"I've always wanted to see this expression of yours—this face stripped of reason and calm~"
"..."
...
The next day—
"No!"
Early morning, Zeroy awoke with a cry, clutching her head in agony.
Why, why was she having such dreams again?! And why was her dream-self acting so bizarre?!
She couldn't understand! Didn't want to understand! Refused to understand!
Just how repressed was she? To dream two nights in a row of X-rated scenes with her dearest friend?! And clearly it was forbidden! Before bed, she had even sworn not to dream of such things again!
Skipping breakfast, she changed clothes and leapt straight out the window.
Time to kill pests!
Since Patchouli had been helping Zeroy with simulations, she too had consumed much energy and so had slept at night.
When she awoke in the morning to rouse Zeroy, she found only an empty room and an open window.
"..."
Patchouli narrowed her violet eyes.
Indeed, the dreams were her doing.
Not that she intended to use them to train or manipulate Zeroy.
She only wanted to see Zeroy's reaction. And now, she had her answer.
Zeroy had fled without a word...
So what was with this girl? Was she resisting or not? Why was she perfectly fine during the lap pillow?
At that moment, Patchouli suddenly received a magical message from Zeroy.
"Patchi, are you awake?"
"I'm awake. Where are you?"
"Uh... I went out to kill pests, but now I'm thinking of picking a fight with Azazel. Want to come?"
...
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