CH 28

Suzu’s Warning (Bell)

“Fuu…”

After saying “See you tomorrow” to each other with Yumeji-kun in front of the house earlier, I let out a breath with a slightly different sense of satisfaction than before.

Today, I was able to redo and retrieve some precious memories that I had left behind that day when I was a child.

With Yumeji-kun…

“Fufu…… fufufu……”

For some reason, a smile naturally appeared on my face.

I feel like……. I was able to get rid of some of my childhood anxieties that remained until this age with this one day.

I involuntarily dive into the bed.

The languid, even satisfying feeling of fatigue is rather pleasant.

Let’s just go to sleep like this… The more I thought about it, the more an irresistible drowsiness came over me all at once.

It’s only 5:30 in the evening, though…

“Fufu… see you tomorrow, huh”

*　

That day, Amane went to sleep alone for the first time in a long time..

In fact, it was the first time since Yumeji had gotten his hands on the “Dream Book”.

Whether she was aware of it or not, Amane was always under the influence of the “Dream Book” and dreamed the same dreams as Yumeji every day.

Without even realizing that there was a meaning to that…

When it was time for dinner, Amane’s mother woke her up once, but when she didn’t wake up no matter how much she shook her, her mother thought that “she must be tired from playing” and chose to let her sleep.

At that time, Amane was in a state that “could not be woken up in a normal way by any means” … There’s no way she know…

[Finally… I’ll put myself in this girl’s dream…]

The room was empty except for Amane, who was sleeping after her mother left, and there was no figure, but it was eerie…… A voice leaked out that didn’t sound like a person.

*

At 8:00 PM, Already finished with dinner, I sat on my bed and looked out the window at Amane’s room.

…… The light isn’t on already.

“Did she already sleep?”

It’s too early for a high school student, no matter what…

“Hello, Suzu-nee? It’s rare, for you to call…”　

“Yumeji!? Great, we’re connected!!”

But Suzu-nee on the other end of the line said something far more unusual than the call.

In a tone of impatience and obvious panic… she called out me.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but she usually calls me “you” or “Yumeji-kun” or even my childhood nickname “Yume-chan” in a ridiculous way.

…… And I don’t know if it’s just my imagination, but her tone of voice seems strangely rough.

“What’s wrong? Is there something urgent?”

I tried to speak softly to calm her down, but it didn’t seem to have any effect, and Suzu-nee started to say unexpected things.

“No time to explain, now dive into Amane’s dream immediately! You could use a shared dream right now, right!?”

It was as if she knew that I could use the “Dream Book”.

The words that should not have come out if she did not know about the existence and power of the “Dream Book” before that.

Even though when I picked up this book at a coffee shop before, she clearly said “I didn’t know”.

“Wait a minute… what’s wrong…”

“Amane is now under a death curse! Moreover, if it’s executed, it’ll be a very bad one with a 100% fatality rate!!”

There were so many things I didn’t understand that I was confused, and Suzu-nee yelled at me over the phone.

“……………………Ha?”

“Now you don’t have to understand, just listen to the point. You saw the two bruises on Amane’s neck, right?”

Indeed, there was.

There are two bruises that look like two lines that I caught a glimpse of from Amane’s neck in the setting sun in the park.

“The triple curse is one of the most popular curses used by evil dream demon. Amane was haunted before she was pulled to “the other side”, which proves that she has already had two nightmares. If she has a third nightmare, she’ll be killed!!”

“Will be killed !?”

The story that she said in frustration, there are a few words that I don’t understand, such as “over there” and “dream demon”, but I know that Suzu-nee is definitely giving an important message.

If this continues, Amane will be in danger… That’s what she means.

There are many questions I would like to ask her, such as why Suzu-nee knows about such occult things, but I guess now is not the time to discuss it.

“I tried calling Amane earlier, but she didn’t answer, so I called her at home, but I was told, “No matter how many times I wake her up, she won’t wake up. Is tomorrow okay?” She may already be in danger!! Quickly!!”

“I got it… I’ll use shared dream right now!”

“I’ll be there as soon as I can, so make sure you hold on until then!!”

I did as I was told, and now the lights are out and it’s dark… I pointed the top of the book, the phoenix crest, at the second floor window of the house on the other side, where Amane was probably sleeping… I put my hand on the book.

At that moment, an intense drowsiness comes over me.

Then I heard Suzu-nee’s voice before my consciousness faded away.

“Listen? Anyway, somehow they’re going to try to create a third nightmare by creating fear. But Yumeji, a dream is only a dream, and a kind of dream demon is no match for “you guys”. Go kill him!!”

“Y-Yes, sir…”

A very forceful, aggressive, and violent encouragement.

I’ve never seen Suzu-nee’s like this before, but ……… Have I seen someone like her somewhere before? No, I feel we’ve met…