32 - A Vivid Dreamworld

“Riko? Riiiiko…”

“Uh…”

I open my eyes to a familiar ceiling, down to the woodwork patterns. I can feel the warm comfort from the blanket over my body; I’m in bed at home, a warm fire roaring in the kitchen.

“Wake up, sleepyhead. Your breakfast’s turning cold.”

I rub my stinging eyes, squinting from the piercing, freezing air to see a young woman standing at the end of my bed.

“… Ma… mama?”

“Hmm? What is it?” The woman smiles.

“MAMA!!” I dive out of bed, clutching onto her waist. “Bwaaah…!”

“Hmm?! W-what’s wrong, Riko? A nightmare, perhaps?”

“Uh-uh!” I slobber all over her front.

“There, there… mama’s not going anywhere, alright? Riko… Riko? Riko please, mama’s gonna have to do the laundry again if you keep this up.”

She leads me to the kitchen, holding onto my hand.

Is this real…? What happened? Where’s everyone?

Her touch is warm… is this a dream? But it feels oddly realistic…

I take my seat at the table, a simple plate of food oddly familiar to me; roasted fish with a side of berries and herbs, all of which I’d foraged enough times to know off the back of my head.

The smell is… aromatic. What about the taste? Mmm… delicious. Can you taste in a dream…?

Is this… reality? That entire year I spent alone in the highlands… meeting everyone, Granhilda, Estelle’s group… all a dream?

“What’s wrong, Riko? You’ve barely touched your food… you always devour everything with such gusto. Are you feeling unwell? Here, let me see your forehead.”

She presses her forehead against my own, feeling out my body temperature. It feels strangely soothing… but her words made me feel uneasy.

I’ve heard those words before…

“Oh my… you do have a fever. How’re you feeling, Riko? Any discomfort? Your face is flushed!”

“Huh…?”

I suddenly feel weak, as if afflicted out of nowhere with a disease. Fevers don’t hit you out of nowhere like that…

“Let’s get you back to bed, Riko-”

The world starts to spin around me, the dizzying colors too much to bear as I close my eyes- opening them again to find myself already in bed. The sky outside the window turned dark as I lay under my blanket, breathing heavily.

“That’s right, you’ll feel better after sweating it out. Please bear with it a little longer, alright?”

My gaze locks onto the woman squeezing a towel into a wooden basin, gently dabbing my face with it.

I’ve heard those words before too… ah, I see…

“Ugh… hic-”

“Riko? It’ll be fine. Mama’ll make sure you get better soon. I’ll bring you out to play with the moffas you adore so much once you’re well again, alright?”

“Uh… uh-huh…”

Ah, I see… this isn’t- this isn’t real… This is a dream…

“Don’t worry, Riko. Mama’s here, so go to sleep… I’ll stay by your side until you get better.”

I nod, sniffling. I’m afraid to close my eyes, that if I do everything will disappear again. But the woman’s consolation made me feel sleepy, her warm, kind hands…

I’m standing in the kitchen, my whole body’s shaking, tears running down my face.

“The forest… something’s wrong. You feel it too, don’t you? I must go, make sure everything is-”

“Mama, where’re you going?!” My mouth forms words I didn’t intend to say.

“Riko? What’s the matter? Aw… you’re such a crybaby. Don’t worry! Mama has to go somewhere to check on something for a few days. There’s enough food in the kitchen until I get back, and plenty of water in the barrel. Stay put, alright? Mama will be back soon-”

“No! I’m coming with you!”

This time, my mouth forms words with my own conviction.

“Riko… no,” she says sternly. “Stay here, okay? Mama needs to focus on her job, and you’ll get in the way if you tag along. Trust me, alright? Everything will be fine,” she smiles.

The woman steps outside the house. I make to follow, but my feet won’t budge. No matter how much I will myself to move forward, my legs won’t move.

The woman turns to a large figure outside. I can only see half its white body, so big the woman is completely under its shadow.

Though the woman speaks in a whisper, I’m able to hear every word.

“Please, take care of my daughter. I have a feeling this will take more than a few days… I know you have a duty to defend your home, but please…”

The door closes shut, leaving me alone in the house with nothing but the crackling of the kitchen fire to keep me company.

“Wait… don’t go…!”

If you go now, you won’t come back-

“Wait…! Mama! MAMA-”

*

“Mama…!” I gasped, forcing my eyes open.

“Riko?”

I panted, my arm outstretched reaching towards Estelle’s worried face.

“Riko…” Estelle frowned, wiping my face with a handkerchief.

“Owowow…” I felt the sensation of frost being ripped away from my cheeks.

“Here, let me.” Edelweiss nudged Estelle aside, slowly gesturing towards me while speaking single words. “You. Feel. Good. Yah? Feel. Bad. Nah?”

“… Yah.” I nodded.

“Good, those potions did the job.”

“Wow, you’re good at this, Edel.”

“Hmmhmm… they don’t call me a prodigy for nothing- oww… my stomach…!”

“You need to rest too! I told you to stay put at the lake!”

Wearily, I looked around to get my bearings. We were still at the entrance of the Tranquil Forest, but the tension in the air was gone. Mars was conversing with the captain of the Forehaven group, not a hint of animosity between them like before.

I pointed to the captain, mimicking the drawing of a bow and arrow with my hands.

“No. Arrow, pew pew- him, nah! Goblins, grr!” Edelweiss explained with the most expression I’d ever seen her face make.

I see, so it was a misunderstanding… they were just trying to help, but got spooked. Then everything spiraled out of control when I arrived.

I nodded, giving Edelweiss a thumbs up to show I understood, which she returned.

“How were you able to get all that…?” Estelle said, bemused.

I didn’t care too much about why they were here, as long as the Forehaven group didn’t cause more trouble. That’s leaves-

“Kikko!”

Realizing I’d been resting against Woolie’s woolly coat, I jumped up to see Kikko sitting not far away from the pack, her eyes closed with Fokko at her tail.

Her injured leg was cleanly bandaged; I could hardly see any red stains in her pure white fur.

“… Kikko.”

She opened her eyes as I walked up to her, her gaze settling onto my own, ready to cast her hypnotic spell.

“… What a coincidence. I also need to have a word with you.”

A nod was all I received for a reply, and I was immediately taken to a world of pure white—Kikko’s hypnotic world, a world where only the two of us exist.

“Kikko… you know my mother, don’t you?”

Correct.

“That dream I saw just now, that was your doing, wasn’t it?”

… Correct.

“That shadow at the door, on that day… you were there when my mother left, weren’t you?”

Correct.

“Why… why didn’t you stop her…?”

Duty.

“What do you mean, ‘duty’?!” I grasped her mane. “What could have been so important that you couldn’t have taken care of it?!”

Not my responsibility.

“What…?”

Remember.

“Nngh…!”

Memories flashed into my mind, forcing me to remember the events of that day.

“That…! Mama’s leaving the house…! She’s heading for the… Screeching Forest…?”

Kikko nodded.

Not my responsibility.

“… I see…”

I fell to my knees. It wasn’t that Kikko didn’t want to help, she couldn’t; Kikko had to take care of the Tranquil Forest.

“But why my mother…? Why’d she have to go?”

Highlander’s duty.

“What do you mean, highlander’s duty…?”

I suddenly recalled Granhilda’s words, “think of them as caretakers of the highlands.”

Correct.

“I… oh…”

I see. My mother had to leave to take care of something. A problem sprang up somewhere in the highlands, and as a highlander she was obligated to fix it.

“Where… where is she now?”

Unknown.

“…”

I’d only just noticed blood trickling from my fists, clenched so tightly they bled. I knew this world was one like my mind palace; I wasn’t actually bleeding. But I still felt the pain.

“Kikko… why didn’t you tell me when we met a year ago?”

Different. Different from before. Wary.

“Me?”

Kikko nodded.

I was different from before? Of course… I’d had my memories removed, replaced with my Earth memories instead. With Kikko’s ability to see into the minds of people, I must have appeared to be a completely different person. But now that my memories have returned…

“Alright, Kikko. I believe you.”

A wave of emotions flooded into me; anxiety, guilt, relief. Then I understood.

Kikko was just as worried as I was when my mother left. She felt guilt, as the last being to have seen her before she disappeared. And now, relief that she was finally able to reveal everything.

“Kikko, where was she headed to that day?”

Kikko hesitated, a wave of worry washing over me. But she relented.

“The Dark Forest, huh…”

I’d expected it, from the ominous feeling I got that time I almost entered the place. To think, I’d been so close at that time.

The reason I awoke so close at the time… was because I’d been out looking for her. Had I not received the revelation I was from Earth in exchange for my memories, I’d likely have entered the Dark Forest, and met my end at the hands of wolves.

“To think… that damned goddess inadvertently saved my life…”

Another wave of anxiety and worry washed over me.

“Haha, don’t worry, Kikko. I’m not planning anything. I just… wanted to know. I’m done now. I can figure out the rest myself.”

The world faded around me, and soon I found myself wobbling where I stood, a worried Estelle shaking me violently by the shoulders.

“Rikooo! What’s wrong with you? Wake up!”

“Y-yyEEeeeEsssSSS-”

It was a chaotic couple of days, but everything will turn out fine… I’m sure.