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I felt like I was sleeping, but not really.

It felt as though my body was floating in the air, yet it wasn’t.

I wondered if this was what it would feel like to fall into a black hole.

With that thought, I carefully observed my current state.

Where am I flowing to, and where am I headed?

I tried to concentrate on that sudden thought, but my mind was so foggy that I couldn’t reach a conclusion.

It felt like being on a train heading toward the capital but never actually arriving.

What was I just doing until now?

In this hazy state of mind, my consciousness barely connected.

Oh, right. I definitely asked Lia to make the dandelions photosynthesize.

Suddenly, there was a strong light coming from the dandelion that had undergone photosynthesis, and the moment I witnessed it…

At that moment, when I finally realized why my state had turned out this way, my mind began to clear.

It felt refreshing, as if I had just woken up from a light nap, and I was able to move my body.

I cautiously opened my eyes, starting by moving my fingers, feeling the control of my body, and I was startled to find I was not in the familiar room I had imagined.

Wait, where am I?

“What?!”

What is going on here?

Why did I suddenly move to this strange place?

No matter how much I looked around, I couldn’t find any resemblance to the scenery I had seen until now.

What the heck, seriously.

Even when I stood up and looked up, I couldn’t tell where I was.

All I could see was a path that seemed to have opened up among the lush, overgrown grass.

“Lia! Where are you!”

Thinking of Lia, who had been with me, I urgently called out, but there was no response.

Was I the only one caught up in the light?

Should I feel relieved about that?

Then, perhaps I am the only one here.

Yeah, all alone.

*Clears throat.*

Alright!

This is a new space after a long time.

Nothing to panic about, right?

Let’s think positively!

Wasn’t it a similar situation when I rescued the cook?

Of course, Lia was there at that time.

*Hoo.*

“Aaaaah!”

Suddenly, my brain, which was running on happy circuits, overloaded.

Was it because of the sudden sensation of isolation?

I felt uneasy just staying put.

What to do?

Even if I said I was completely immune to the mental interference of outsiders, I couldn’t do anything alone.

For starters, I was outmatched in strength.

What if I met some creepy outsider here?!

“Nobody here?!”

Just as I was frantically scurrying to ease my anxiety.

“…What’s with all the noise all of a sudden.”

Came a gentle voice.

Stiffening my body, I stared at the direction of the voice, which sounded familiar.

The rustling of bushes and footsteps gradually got closer, and when that presence finally appeared, my heart was filled with joy.

“Gardener…!”

“Hmm? What, what’s going on?!”

I could tell that this being was the gardener, bringing peace to my heart.

It seemed like she had just woken up, as she was still wearing the deer skull on her head.

Noticing the absence of the skull because of my gaze, the gardener looked surprised and suddenly started fleeing somewhere.

“Wait, just a moment!”

“Don’t follow me!”

“Don’t leave me alone!!!”

“Stop following me!!”

I chased after the fleeing gardener, soaked in embarrassment.

Being left alone in this unknown place was the last thing I wanted.

Hey, stop running away!

In the end, the gardener sat down at a rocky mound, donning the deer skull again.

The reason she had been running away was just that.

Is that thing some sort of, um, regular human makeup or something?

…Is wearing bones on one’s head really that significant?

I truly don’t get it.

“…So what happened, then?”

The gardener crossed her arms, wearing a troubled expression, and asked me.

“Do you remember the dandelion you gave me?”

“Oh, that. Has it fully grown already?”

The gardener seemed surprised at my response.

“I periodically let Lia expose it to the hearth’s light. It actually bloomed a bit late.”

“…It seems that the hearth’s vitality is quite significant.”

The gardener nodded as if she understood, pondering deeply.

Can a dandelion really take that long to bloom when it’s not a different flower?

Of course, there was no sunlight.

Speaking of which, the gardener’s face seemed to be turning strangely red.

What’s going on?

Thinking she might be feeling unwell, I looked at her face, and she suddenly turned her head to the side.

Huh?

What’s up with that?

Before I could ask, the gardener spoke first.

“Uh, well. Just relax. You can’t leave right now anyway.”

“Huh, why?”

She doesn’t explain why this happened, and even says I can’t leave.

Is she hiding something?

I looked at the gardener with a suspicious gaze.

“…Ugh, what’s with that expression! I can’t do anything about it! There’s going to be a meeting soon.”

At that, the gardener seemed flustered and questioned me in a somewhat accusing tone.

A meeting?

Are the outsiders having a meeting?

What on earth is that supposed to mean?

*Swish.*

Suddenly there was a sound that seemed straight out of a sci-fi movie right when teleporting, and someone casually approached us.

Only an outsider would show up in a place like this.

The outsider had a face that was ordinarily pretty, but her hair seemed to be made of something like glass beads.

Thanks to her sparkling hair, what would normally look simple appeared incredibly glamorous.

With a face full of dissatisfaction, the outsider approached the gardener.

“You coughed.”

“Yeah.”

“But who is this human?”

At the outsider’s words, the gardener whispered something in her ear, and the outsider opened her mouth, exclaiming, “Ah.”

“Then, is this human the one?”

“Uh.”

“Huh, thinking about it, I have a lot to say regarding that. Would you like to join me inside?”

“Uh? Uh.”

The gardener, unable to take her eyes off me, was led away by the glass-haired spirit.

Should I just follow along?

Just as I was about to step forward, I suddenly heard someone else coming this way.

Turning my head to check the face of the newcomer.

“Oh.”

“Oh.”

A few seconds of silence followed.

I quickly tried to flee back to where the gardener was.

But in just one second, someone grabbed the back of my neck, leaving me unable to move.

“Oh ho, since you’re running away, you must know you did something wrong, right?”

“W-well…”

With an awkward smile, I turned my head to the Nutricha gripping my neck.

She was smiling, but the aura she gave off was somewhere between chilling and intimidating, leaving me trembling like a cat.

“So, where is the fun dream game you were talking about?”

“I-I’m sorry! Please let me go!”

“What do you mean, let you go! Anyone listening would think I’m a torturer or something!”

Even though she said that, her expression was incredibly sinister.

Lately, I’ve been so busy that I haven’t been able to dream, and I couldn’t keep my promise to Nutricha.

Given her personality, she was probably more upset about me not visiting than breaking the promise.

How am I going to get out of this one?

“Nutricha, I really will next time! I’ll bring something amazing for sure!”

“What?”

Just as I was about to make an excuse while calling her name, suddenly, a voice came from somewhere that wasn’t Nutricha.

Turning around, I found the gardener staring at me with a face devoid of expression.

Huh.

What’s with that face?

Looking back at Nutricha, she seemed frozen in shock, like a deer facing a lion.

Soon, Nutricha’s lips moved rapidly.

‘You crazy child! Why did you call my name?’

Ah.

In that moment, I realized what I had done.

Calling out the name of the outsider, when the outsiders had stated that their wish was to call their own names.

But I naturally called out the name of another outsider.

Getting caught in the act of acting so stern while treating others differently.

“…Hmm, that’s how it is.”

“No way.”

“That’s how it came out, huh.”

The gardener said that and quickly headed back down the path she had come from, looking somewhat sulky.

“Wait…!”

I tried to stop her, hoping for at least a conversation, but her footsteps did not stop.

I made eye contact with Nutricha at the same time.

I thought that her thoughts were probably not too different from mine.

I have absolutely screwed up.

Following Nutricha, I entered somewhere.

There really was a round table like a meeting room, and several outsiders were seated around it.

Could it be that only non-hostile outsiders were present? They were simply observing me with curiosity, without showing any hostility.

Thinking it might not be wise to sit elsewhere, I looked around to sit near the gardener, but I was startled to find her glaring at me as if fire was about to erupt from her eyes.

Oh no.

It would be a big deal if a plant got set on fire.

I would rather she said something to me, but the gardener kept her gaze on me and joined the conversation with other outsiders.

*Sigh.*

What do I do now?

 

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