Within the dream, Seia explained the situation to me.
Before falling asleep, she had already instructed the administrators assigned on Sanctum Tower to do their best to maintain order within the academy.
As for the Sisterhood, Sakurako, ever calm and dependable, had long prepared for emergencies as well. If something unexpected happened, a certain trustworthy person would temporarily take over and lead in her place.
Urawa Hanako.
Hearing that name, I almost said something.
On one hand, I did believe Hanako would indeed be extremely reliable in a crisis like this. But in the details...
Hopefully she would not take advantage of being in power to quietly revise the Sisterhood's standard daily outfit regulations, then come ask me for praise afterward.
After thinking for a moment, I shook my head.
"Even with preparations in place, Seia, you should return to reality as soon as possible. Nagisa was attacked, and Mika is trapped in prison. Right now, in the Tea Party, only you have the qualifications to unite all the factions."
"...You are correct."
Seia replied.
"However..."
"Indeed."
Kuzunoha interjected.
"This one also believes that compared to matters here, what thou should concern thyself with now are the calamities befalling the academy in the real world."
Though her words sounded utterly selfless, for some reason, I felt like she had ulterior motives.
Could it be that she was captivated by my beauty and wanted Seia to leave quickly so she could have me to herself?
Seia fell silent for a moment before turning to me.
"Sensei, then shall we return to reality together?"
"Hold!"
Kuzunoha immediately stopped her.
"Sensei's wounds have yet to heal. Rather than returning to reality and facing countless troubles in such a heavily injured state, it would be better for him to remain here temporarily and recuperate."
That was true enough...
Though I also wanted to wake up as soon as possible, my current physical condition did not seem capable of supporting that idea.
"You're right."
Seia paused.
"But if Sensei has become an injured patient despite normally not smoking, then smoke would bother him even more now, wouldn't it? Even in a dream."
"...Smoke? What smoke? Nothing here is burning, so where would smoke come from? Wait, could it be..."
Kuzunoha responded in confusion before narrowing her eyes in displeasure.
"Cease thy slander. This one is but twenty-eight years of age, in the very bloom of youth. How could this one possibly touch such vile things? Seia, even if this one felt immediate kinship with thee, such defamation cannot be tolerated!"
Even as she said that, she secretly signaled something toward Seia with her eyes.
"Heh."
Seia let out a cold laugh and immediately exposed her.
"Then what's tucked behind your waist?"
Unable to quite save face anymore, Kuzunoha glanced at me, suddenly putting on an expression of realization as she pulled out a kiseru pipe from behind her back and explained:
"No wonder thou misunderstood. This object possesses no practical function and serves merely as decoration. It is a Hyakkiyako tradition with a long and ancient history..."
"Just so you know, Sensei happens to know quite a lot of students from Hyakkiyako."
Seia leisurely remarked.
Kuzunoha's face fell. After hesitating for quite some time, she finally seemed to make up her mind. Gritting her teeth, she raised one slender leg and held each end of the pipe with both hands as she said shamefully:
"This one lacked the strength of will and became tainted by such vile indulgences. Fortunately, by taking a virtuous friend as an example, this one finally realized how deeply lost in pleasure she had become without noticing, truly shameful beyond words... Yet it is not too late for a prodigal to turn back. Here and now, this one swears to reform and henceforth stand irreconcilably opposed to tobacco. Should this vow be broken, may this pipe serve as example!"
With that, she pressed the pipe downward against her knee and snapped it cleanly in half.
Throwing the broken pieces aside, the fox-eared girl's eyes, already painted with vivid red shadow, became even redder. It was hard to tell whether the pain was in her heart or her body.
...So Kuzunoha had heard from Seia that I disliked the smell of smoke, and decisively chose to quit smoking because of that?
I wanted to clarify that, in principle, I respected harmless personal hobbies that neither affected others nor violated social norms, so even if Kuzunoha occasionally smoked in private, I would not actually dislike it.
But she was still a student after all, and smoking genuinely was unhealthy, so I quietly chose to accept things as they were.
Seeing how resolute Kuzunoha had been, Seia offered a few words of praise. Afterward, she left the dream first, leaving Kuzunoha and me alone together.
Yet after she departed, the atmosphere between us cooled somewhat.
After all, we had only just met.
Though objectively speaking, the same was true for Seia and Kuzunoha, Seia had foreseen a future where she and Kuzunoha became fairly close friends, so from her perspective they were already somewhat familiar.
Now that the mutual acquaintance unconsciously guiding the conversation was gone, someone had to start a new topic.
Since the white-haired fox-eared girl tinged faintly with pink seemed absorbed in silently admiring my beauty while looking me up and down, that responsibility naturally fell to me.
"By the way,"
I asked,
"What exactly is this place? Is it your dream?"
"Mm. Though not entirely, thou may think of it that way if thou wishest."
Kuzunoha subconsciously raised a hand, only to realize there was nothing in it anymore. Looking slightly awkward, she lowered it again before continuing her explanation:
"In any case, those capable of arriving here are either prophets, or those tied to prophets through fate. Though thou art exceptionally special, thou seemest not to possess the gift of prophecy. Which means either thou arrived through Seia's connection... or through this one... heh."
At that moment, I very much wanted to ask which possibility she preferred.
"Mm, speaking of which."
After carefully examining me, Kuzunoha raised a brow.
"Sensei, the speed at which thy wounds recover is rather extraordinary."
The condition of one's body within dreams generally remained synchronized with reality.
"Ahaha. Just a tiny, insignificant talent."
I answered modestly.
Clearly, I had already fulfilled the condition of being "asleep."
In other words, Nagisa's authority had begun functioning once more. That was also the primary reason I chose to lie down a little longer.
"And furthermore..."
After pondering briefly, Kuzunoha commented again:
"The positions of thy wounds are rather interesting as well."
As strange as it sounded, I actually thought so too.
Both wrists, both ankles, and my side.
Everything else had been blocked by the halo, leaving only the five gunshot wounds inflicted by Arius Squad as visible traces.
"Sensei, this one has an impolite request."
"Oh? Go ahead."
"Would thou be willing to call this one..."
Kuzunoha's smile suddenly became meaningful.
"'Mother'?"
...Not "become your mother"?
"Hehe, there is no need for concern. This one merely jested."
Just as I was growing uncertain, Kuzunoha smiled and said:
"Hm. Though the possibility is but slight, this one hath no desire to gain an enemy whose depths she cannot measure because of such a thing."
That only made me more confused.
"What does that mean?"
"Hehe, it is nothing. Thou need not concern thyself with it. After all, with thy talents, thou wilt not remain here for as long as three days."
Casually brushing aside the topic, the fox-eared girl enthusiastically began asking about my hobbies and interests again.
Quietly committing her cryptic words to memory, I looked at her two fluffy tails and eagerly gave my answer.