The Worldview Where Everyone is Destined to Die

“Huh!”

I got out of bed with the feeling that my whole body was falling apart.

My entire body was soaked in cold sweat, and my shirt and pants were all damp, as if drenched in water.

“…”

What just happened?

Was it because I was feeling so conscious of the dream in which Theodore appeared before me that I had another dream like this?

But the content of the dream was so detailed and odd; it was unbelievable that the person I had a crush on appeared.

“This, damn it… did I secretly lust for Judith’s ring?”

I think that's what I was aiming for in the dream— Judith’s hand. I fought with Judith even though I knew I was no match for her, and I ended up throwing myself off the cliff.

While I was dreaming, I had no idea why I was doing such a thing.

However, when I actually woke up from the dream, oddly enough, I could feel that I had been aiming for Judith's hand.

So now there is just one action I have to take.

Because it happened in the dream, although it wasn’t a real incident, it shows my vicious mental state and I wanted to go into my comfort zone.

-knock knock.

While I was wondering whether I should tie myself up to make this awesome fantasy come true, I heard a knock on the door.

I wiped the cold sweat that was running down my face and waited for the person outside the door to pass by.

Maybe because I just woke up from my dream, I kept thinking that I shouldn’t meet anyone.

-knock knock… knock knock…

Bang!

“Ack!”

The knocking sound finally died down, but then this loud thunder-like sound rang, and I was totally caught off guard and felt so startled that I screamed without realizing it.

“What? You are there. Why are you pretending not to then!”

Bang! Bang!

The voice coming from outside was Shirley, the most powerful woman in the academy. Usually, if the owner of the room doesn’t open the door, doesn’t it mean that he doesn’t want to meet?

Shirley was showing off her strength by violently punching the locked door, as if she had no idea how the world works.

“W-wait. I said wait.”

Did something horrendous happen outside that required me to open the door right away?

Well, I just hurriedly opened the door, and Shirley’s fist is what appeared in front of my eyes.

“….”

When I unconsciously held my palms up as a surrender sign, Shirley put her fists away, making this deflated sound.

Shirley, who was now dressed in some street style, looked flustered yet relieved at the same time.

“What happened? Did I do something?”

Because she came right after I dreamt about killing someone. I was worried that I had actually done it in real life, like this sleepwalking murder, which I never realized I had.

It might be due to my unique mental state that I was pushed to do such things.

“Ah-um. It isn’t that….”

Shirley’s eyes were trailing away like she was confused.

We looked at each other awkwardly in silence, and it was her who ended this odd standoff.

“I was worried.”

“Worried? Because I got kicked out of the class earlier?”

“Ah? Yes, yes. It was that. it is because your face didn’t look good.”

No matter how much I thought, I felt like she was just making excuses here.

Because by the time I left the classroom, I wasn’t in such a bad condition for Shirley to run after me.

The moment I was about to think about it, Shirley pulled me aside and hurried into the room. I promise, it is never recommended for a young woman who hasn’t been invited into the room officially to enter a man's room on her own.

Even if it's a lady who is stronger than me.

“W-why are you doing this? You cannot come in as you please into a man’s..”

“You are still avoiding.”

“Avoiding wha… wait, why lock the door?”

Shirley pushed me in like she didn’t even care about it.

Was this a dream too?

Was I gripped in madness, trying to kill Shirley in my dreams now?

It was this thought, but the current situation doesn’t have a reasonable development.

“Excuse me, senior.”

“W-what is it”

“Why are you being polite?”

This is the attitude anyone locked in their room right after waking up from a nightmare would have.

At my scared reaction, Shirley looked embarrassed, but a familiar smile appeared on her face.

“Ha, ridiculous. What are you imagining now?”

“Me? I imagined nothing. If there is something you want to say, say it and leave in a peaceful manner.”

“Ugh, so disgusting; let’s stop it now. Indeed, please sit down first. Do you have anything to drink?”

“Drink?... right, I will look for it.”

I felt relieved by Shirley’s calm attitude. At least I don’t think Shirley would react like this if I killed someone in my sleep.

I placed a pot on the small fireplace on the side of the room, boiled water, and made tea.

Eating and drinking in the dorm rooms is actually prohibited, but unless Shirley decides to report this, there wouldn’t be a problem…..I guess.

“So, what is happening?”

Even a helpless master who lived as if they didn’t know how to use their hands learned to make their own tea after spending 11 years at the academy, starting at the age of 13.

This is because if you don’t know how to do something on your own, you have no choice but to be left out of the group life in the academy.

I poured a roughly-looking tea into the cup and handed it to her.

“Puah! Oh my, did you put that volcano?”

Shirley, who tried to drink it in one go, wondered why she did it and crinkled her face as she placed the teacup down.

I was quite worried about Shirley breaking the tea table and the cup at the same time, but fortunately, she didn’t go that far.

Shirley rolled her eyes and roughed up her bangs with this frustrated expression of not knowing what to do.

“Did you ever do anything bad against me?”

“No, if you really have to ask, it isn’t me, senior… and it isn’t like that… Well, nothing has happened as of now.”

“Now?”

"I am very anxious, so please don't ask me such questions now."

I wasn’t sure if she was trying to interrogate me, but I was sure that Shirley sure loved to torture me.

Shirley twisted her body in various ways, crossing her legs, uncrossing them, and putting her arm on the table, and bending her back, and then, as if she thought it was time, she opened her mouth.

“One cannot go without sleep for 4 days right?”

“Who…?”

“Senior.”

“I…”

The series of explosive remarks made me dizzy.

But even after that confusion, I had doubts about the words she said. Because it seemed like it was all a continuation of the nightmare I was having.

“What does this mean?”

“…”

Shirley sat down and adjusted her posture, pursing her lips with a serious look.

It was rare for Shirley to look this serious, so I realized that the situation was much more serious than I thought.

“Such words, I know they sound stupid but…. Does it have anything to do with dreams?”

“…Yes.”

Shirley, who had been listening intently to the story of my dream in the morning, had her attitude change within a couple hours.

“I don’t know how to explain it. Actually, I don’t have much time…”

Shirley drank the rest of the tea, probably because she was thirsty, and then slammed the cup down.

“Theodore White has lost his memory and is in trouble. It isn’t Theo’s fault, though.”

And Shirley quickly added.

“Senior, everything that comes to your mind over the next four days is a ghost of the past.”

“Sigh… I have no idea what you are talking about. Ghost of the past? What are the four days?”

It was at the moment when Shirley was opening her mouth to respond that a suspicious ringing came from her pocket.

Shirley looked down confusedly, took out a pocket watch that was decorated with silver and gold, and stood up, checking something.

“Arma.”

It wasn’t her usual playful tone, but a serious and low one.

Shirley slowly lowered her head and made eye contact with me. At a glance, I could see my reflection in her deeply sunken eyes.

“It is something we all agreed on. We have decided to accept this death. So, don’t try to turn around; do not try to protect…. Live a normal life. You do not have to think of anything.”

It was truly the oddest thing to hear.

I usually have no sense of purpose and tend to do whatever Shirley tells me to do, but I can say that I couldn’t obey something like this.

The moment I frowned because of the dizzy feeling, Shirley poked right between my eyes to stop the wrinkle.

“Do not open the door now. And please have nice dreams.”

The moment I felt embarrassed by the intimate contact, which was somehow different from usual, I noticed that Shirley’s eyes were shining with an odd color.

And the moment I looked into those eyes, I woke up.

“…?”

I must have been holding my breath without realizing it, but when I came to senses, I found myself gasping for air.

I thought I had closed my eyes for a moment, but I guess I fell asleep before realizing it. Before I knew it, the window showed dusk coming.

I reluctantly got up and pulled the curtain back. As always, the near-night sight outside, with almost no shade of scarlet left, gave off the most eerie atmosphere.

‘Do not open the door?’

Perhaps, having one dream after another made my body feel a thousand pounds heavier.

Seeing my hands and feet shake slightly, this was a clear sign of ailment.

As I thought about Shirley, who disappeared without even saying goodbye, I felt a huge sense of loss.

And the next emotion I felt was fear.

I will never see Shirley again… it was a fear due to premonition of something wrong happening.

Strangely, the more he recalled the contents of the dream, the worse the condition turned out to be.

I calmed my thoughts, closed the curtains on the window, and tried to not think about Theodore, Judith, or Shirley.

“Damn it… I don’t think I should sleep now.”

It didn’t feel good, but I couldn’t just shake off the sleep which began to take over me. I felt like I was falling into this obvious trap made just for me.

I tried to lift my heavy eyelids, which were getting heavier and tried to walk a few steps, but it wasn't enough for me to resist the stress my body took.

-thud.

In the end, it was dark again.

Not long after that, the darkened vision turned bright.

Before I knew it, I was facing a man with a straight posture.

The cold looking man with a sword at the waist, and the black hair, which is usually tied back, cascaded on the forehead, was someone I knew well.

“… Arthur Usher.”

Arthur Usher made it to my dreams