Chapter 12.1 –  Dream and Vision

‘……What is this?’

Brienne jerked upright and hastily looked around.

She was sure she had just been in the temple, but there was no sign of Herace, Garzen, or Lusell.

Instead, there was only a wide, green field stretching out before her.

Panicked, Brienne clutched her throbbing head, trying to recall what had happened.

While passing through the temple’s corridor, she’d spotted a white bird above the door of Miragium.

A bird singing in a beautiful voice.

The song, which seemed to come from far away, still lingered in Brienne’s ears.

The moment she heard it, she felt as if her body moved on its own.

She saw the bird drop a key and fly inside the door, and she’d thought she needed to pick up that key. After that, her memory was hazy.

She had no idea what had happened.

‘Where is that bird?’

Brienne staggered to her feet and looked around. She even glanced up at the trees, but there was neither a bird nor a nest in sight.

At that moment—

“Miss Riela!”

Someone was running toward her from across the field.

“You can’t still be here! It’s almost time! And heavens, what are those dreadful clothes?”

“……Excuse me? Who, who are you?”

Brienne, backing away from the woman who’d stopped in front of her, looked behind. Of course, there was no one else around.

The woman sighed and approached.

“What’s wrong, Miss Riela? It’s me, Sally!”

“Ri—Riela? Did you just… call me that?”

“You’re acting so strange. Even speaking formally? Did you have a dream or something?”

A dream?

Brienne felt as if she’d been struck on the head.

‘……That dream.’

No wonder the scenery seemed familiar—it was exactly like the dream she’d had after reading [The Myth of Roeta].

‘Was I dreaming again?’

But something was different.

The vivid temperature, the wind, the humidity on her skin.

‘Where is this…….’

It felt too real to be a dream, and as she stood dazed, the woman grabbed her arm and started pulling her.

“Anyway, Miss Riela, let’s go change your clothes! You’ll be late for your wedding!”

“Wedding?”

Brienne stared at the woman in disbelief. The woman nodded.

“Yes, Arthur is looking for you too. Unless you plan to stand up your groom on your wedding day, let’s go, okay?”

‘Arthur?’

Brienne, bewildered, shook off the woman’s hand.

“Wait, just a moment… Could you give me a little time to think?”

“What? Think about what?! Don’t tell me you’re thinking of postponing the wedding now…?”

The woman looked at Brienne in disbelief, but Brienne couldn’t answer.

She simply couldn’t believe it.

Riela and Arthur’s wedding?

And she was Riela?

‘What is going on?’

Brienne pressed a hand to her aching forehead.

-……Ah, ah. Miss Brienne, can you hear me?!

A faint voice sounded nearby.

“……Lusell?”

Brienne’s head shot up as she looked around frantically. But there was no sign of Lusell anywhere in the vast field.

“Lusell? Where are you? I can’t see you!”

-It’s the communication device! Look at your neck, Miss!

“What? The communication device?”

Brienne hurriedly felt her neck. The communication device Garzen had given her at the temple entrance was in her hand.

Seeing the bright light, Brienne called out in relief.

“I found it! Can you hear me? What’s going on?”

-That’s what I want to ask! Are you all right? How did you get in there?

“Ah, well…….”

Brienne glanced at the woman standing in front of her.

But at that moment, Brienne stopped breathing.

Her name was Sally, wasn’t it? The middle-aged woman was frozen in place, her expression fixed mid-sentence.

Now that she noticed, the sound of the stream, the chirping of birds, even the rustling leaves—everything had gone silent.

Brienne, alarmed, took a step back.

-Miss! Why aren’t you answering? Are you all right?

Clutching the communication device as if it were a lifeline, Brienne realized that time in this place seemed to stop whenever she used it.

“I—I don’t know……. After I saw the white bird above the door, my memory is hazy. I suddenly came to and found myself in this strange place.”

Brienne looked down at the key she’d been holding all along.

“I also have this strange key…….”

-What? A key? What kind of key?

“The bird I mentioned earlier. I picked up what it dropped in front of the door.”

-Oh no, that’s probably the key to the door! You’re inside God Demekia’s vision. No wonder something felt off—there must have been a key only you could see……

“A v-vision? Then what should I do? Can I get out of here?”

Brienne whispered in a trembling voice, glancing at Sally.

Sally was still frozen, which was eerie and gave her goosebumps.

-Yes, if you resolve your ‘original sin,’ you can use the key to get out. Do you have any idea where you are?

“Yes, I think……”

Brienne hesitated a moment before continuing.

“I think this is the village where Riela lived.”

-What? Riela?

‘Should I tell the truth?’

Brienne hesitated.

“……I heard someone call me Riela. And the scenery looks old-fashioned.”

-Of all things, Riela… I have a bad feeling about this……. You should try to get out as soon as possible. Miss Brienne, do you see a door or a temple nearby?

“Ah, no. I don’t see a temple, but there’s no door either. I’m on a wide field right now, under a big tree with a well. But Lusell, what do you mean you have a bad feeling?”

Brienne lowered her voice as she waved a hand in front of Sally’s face, just in case.

At that moment, Zen’s voice came through the communication device.

-……Demekia’s god is said to hate Riela intensely. If this is a vision shown by that god, it won’t be a pleasant one. That’s why.

‘Oh my.’

Brienne, who had hoped for a reassuring answer, felt a chill run down her spine.

If that was the case, it seemed best to be honest.

“……Zen, Lusell. Then it’ll be even harder for me to get out of here.”

-What? Why?

“I’m not sure, but right now…… I think I’ve become Riela.”

-What?! You, Miss?

“Yes, me.”

But then—

-……Oh no, ……if this ……then ……probably not safe……. What should we……

‘What is this?’

The voices from the other side of the communication device turned into static. Brienne frowned, unable to make out the words.

“Lusell? What are you saying? I can’t hear you!”

-Miss, you probably ……need to figure out ……first, can you do that? There’s…… Find that mage first and get help……

“What?”

‘A mage?’

‘If the person Zen called a mage was here—’

‘Could that mean Herace is in this place?’

‘Miss Brienne, you must identify your “original sin”! Only then can you……!’

Just as Brienne wondered, Lusell’s voice, breaking up, was suddenly cut off.

At the same time, time resumed its flow in the world that had been frozen.

The woman who had been strangely frozen in front of Brienne began to move again in an instant.

“Miss Riela, hurry up and answer! Please?”

“Ah, um, well…….”

‘This won’t do.’

Brienne shook the communication device nervously, but no sound came from it anymore.

The sparkling light had completely faded.

Brienne gripped the device tightly and called out quickly.

“Zen, I don’t know if you can hear me, but I’m going to the wedding now! If you can hear me, answer!”

‘Please.’

She stared desperately at the device, but no reply came. What snapped Brienne out of her thoughts was the woman’s shocked voice, ringing out again.

“No way. You’re talking to yourself into a necklace…….”

The woman shook her head and sighed.

“Miss Riela, really, I’m starting to get truly scared now. You’re speaking so formally, and you seem far too nervous about the wedding. Or have you been bewitched by a witch? That won’t do. Hand over that necklace.”

‘She wanted the necklace?’

Startled, Brienne quickly stuffed the device inside her clothes. If she kept acting suspicious, she might lose the only lifeline she had.

She finished assessing the situation.

Her conversation with Zen and Lusell had been brief, but it wasn’t hard to guess what she needed to do.

Brienne recalled everything she could about Riela and hurried to speak.

“No, it’s just as you said, Sally, I’m too nervous, so I was trying to calm myself. I’m not losing my mind.”

“Then what about that necklace? Where did it suddenly come from?”

“Ah, this…….”

Brienne touched her neck with an awkward smile.

“It was a gift.”

“A gift? From whom?”

Sally narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

“Ah, Arthur gave it to me.”

‘Please let this pass.’

Brienne forced a smile, hiding her anxiety. Sally stared at her, clearly unconvinced.

Brienne quickly added,

“A wedding—wedding gift!”

Finally, Sally, though still dissatisfied, nodded.

“Well, I’ve never heard of that before, so it’s still suspicious…… but fine, I’ll keep it secret for now. But you must quietly go prepare for the wedding now. Understood?”

“……Yes, thank you, Sally.”

‘Thank goodness.’

As soon as Sally turned away, Brienne let out a sigh of relief. Her heart was pounding so loudly she thought she could hear it.

Going to prepare for a wedding.

She hadn’t even gotten engaged, and now she was getting married first.

Brienne shook her head, troubled.

In any case, to escape this absurd vision, she would have to put on a perfect act.