Through the window of the Vagrance, Penaconi came into view. Even from a distance, it was already glowing. The entire planet was wrapped in a pale orange hue, and Sangatsu Nanoka thought the name "dream planet" was well-deserved. It was completely different from Yarilo-VI's world of white and gray. It was dazzling, and looked warm. "[excited]No way... that's incredible, right?" "[gentle]Yeah. Penaconi is always beautiful whenever you see it" Kafka answered while typing something into a terminal. A smile of composure. Always the same. But Sangatsu Nanoka still hadn't fully processed what happened last time—the text string [[Test Subject: Sangatsu Nanoka — Seal Status: Maintained]]. The profile that had murmured "if that child were like this too" after training. There were more and more things they wanted to know but couldn't ask. An announcement about approaching the port came through. Sangatsu Nanoka pulled out a camera and pointed it toward the window. They pressed the shutter. Light was captured. --- The moment they stepped into the lobby of the Luvia Grand Hotel, Sangatsu Nanoka involuntarily stopped. "Whoa" The word escaped their lips. The ceiling was too high. In a soaring atrium that might have been forty meters tall, several massive crystal chandeliers hung suspended, and above them, the ceiling displayed an artificial starfield. The constellations were reproduced with perfect accuracy, and to Sangatsu Nanoka's eyes—having seen the real thing in space—it looked more than beautiful enough. They raised their phone. Just as they were deciding on the composition— "Yo, newbie. Welcome to the chaos tour" The voice came from a silver-haired boy who had stood up from the sofa. Star-shaped golden eyes, blue mesh streaks, piercings in both ears. Holding a game console in one hand, he looked at Sangatsu Nanoka with a carefree smile. "[whispers]They really call it chaos themselves..." They couldn't help but mutter it quietly. Whether Silver Wolf heard or pretended not to hear, he simply said "I'm Silver Wolf. Nice to meet you" and returned his attention to his game. But that wasn't it. Another person who had stood up was walking straight toward Sangatsu Nanoka. A girl with long white hair tied in a single bundle—or rather, closer to indeterminate age. A slender frame around one hundred sixty-five centimeters tall. A crescent moon tattoo beneath her left eye. Most striking of all were her red eyes. A quiet red that revealed no emotion. Those eyes were looking directly at Sangatsu Nanoka. The footsteps didn't stop. Just as Sangatsu Nanoka tried to take a step back, white fingers gently touched their chin. The angle was adjusted. Their eyes met. The red eyes were very close. Something cold ran down their neck. They were being observed. Not appraised, but something else—something deeper was being seen. "[cold]...How interesting" A low, quiet voice. "[cold]You have very deep layers of memory within you" Something hardened in the depths of Sangatsu Nanoka's chest. They looked at Kafka. Kafka was looking back with their usual smile. But deep within those silver eyes—for just an instant, something moved. A subtle tremor that only Sangatsu Nanoka could perceive. "[sarcastic]I'm not supposed to be an observation subject" Their voice trembled slightly. Black Swan released their finger. "I'm Black Swan. Nice to meet you" They said it in a voice almost devoid of emotion, then turned on their heel. --- They moved to a room in the hotel. Kafka opened a terminal and stood in the center of the room. "[serious]Let me explain the job here on Penaconi. We need to recover memory data hidden in the deep layers of the dreamscape. That's all" Black Swan added a supplement. "[serious]Penaconi's dreamscape—the shared dream space accessible through the Dream Pool—is a special space that can access the user's memories deeply. To extract the data hidden there, we need a Mement—a memory crystal that I handle" Mement. A memory crystal. Sangatsu Nanoka was about to nod honestly— Kafka's gaze left Sangatsu Nanoka for just a moment. They exchanged a look with Black Swan. They understood. They saw it. They saw it clearly. The text [[Test Subject: Sangatsu Nanoka]] floated in their mind again. They tried to open their mouth. "Let's get started already. I prefer to finish troublesome things first" Silver Wolf cut in. They shoved the game console into their pocket and stood up. The timing was too perfect. "[serious]...Is it okay for me to go?" They asked Kafka. "[gentle]Of course. It'll be over quickly" The usual smile. Sangatsu Nanoka looked at that smile. They wanted to believe. They had decided to believe. "...Yeah" They nodded. --- The Dream Pool capsules were located in the basement floor of the hotel. Four cylindrical capsules, each about three meters in diameter, were lined up. The usage fee was two hundred Dream Credits per session. As Sangatsu Nanoka lay in the capsule, they thought absently that that was about twenty thousand yen per session. Consciousness slipped away. The moment they opened their eyes in the dreamscape, a voice escaped. "[excited]...Amazing" They were floating. Buildings were floating. In a sunset-colored sky, structures shaped like a city drifted weightlessly. Mirage Avenue—an ideal city constructed within the dreamscape. Beneath the ground there was nothing, only the stone pavement beneath their feet felt solid. The air was warm, and the sunset light was soft like a dream. "[serious]The target is the deep sector. First, let's confirm our current location" Kafka glanced around and nodded. Silver Wolf had already pulled out a terminal and was tapping something. Sangatsu Nanoka took a step onto the stone pavement. That was when it happened. The sunset turned white. —No. It didn't turn white. It was painted over. "[serious]—!" Black Swan's voice grew distant. The air temperature dropped sharply. Frost ran across the stone pavement. Spreading with each passing second. From beneath Sangatsu Nanoka's feet, in all directions. "[scared]Huh, what—" Their vision wavered. Images flooded into their mind. White. A completely white space. A frozen world. A place with only cold air. Someone crying—a child's voice, or maybe not, far away and close at the same time, spinning in their head— "The dreamscape is being pulled into Sangatsu Nanoka's memories!" "[serious]I'll stop it—" White mist filled Sangatsu Nanoka's vision. Someone was standing in the mist. Approaching. The outline became clearer. —It was them. A face exactly like their own. The same hair. But the eye color was different. Eyes far deeper than Sangatsu Nanoka's—eyes like ice, bottomless eyes. That other self slowly opened their mouth. "[cold]You're the fake" Something shattered. Deep within their chest, something that had been sealed shut burst open all at once. Ice. Uncontrollable cold poured out from Sangatsu Nanoka's entire body. The stone pavement froze solid with cracking sounds. The floating buildings turned white. The sunset color in the sky vanished in moments. "[serious]Get the Mement now—!" Black Swan raised a hand. The memory crystal—the Mement—shone with light, trying to break into Sangatsu Nanoka's memory. There was a sound like something being repelled. Black Swan took a step back. In those eyes—surprise flashed. Clear surprise. Emotion crossed Black Swan's expression. That Black Swan showed agitation. "[surprised]...Repelled. The memory manipulation was bounced back" Kafka ran. They grabbed Sangatsu Nanoka's shoulder. Their eyes narrowed. They tried to pour their mental manipulation power directly—that power they had used to rewrite the communications officer on the patrol ship. They were pushed back. Kafka's hand was knocked away from Sangatsu Nanoka's shoulder. "—" A short sound. A stifled voice. Kafka's voice was stifled. The power that had solved everything with a composed smile didn't work. The dreamscape began to collapse. The floating buildings fell. The stone pavement cracked. The sky was painted white. "Everyone evacuate!!" --- The Dream Pool capsules opened all at once. Silver Wolf jolted awake. Black Swan rose quietly. Kafka stood up. Only Sangatsu Nanoka's capsule didn't move. Kafka glanced at the three capsules and ran to the fourth. They grabbed the glass of the capsule. Opened the lid. Sangatsu Nanoka's eyes were closed and they weren't moving. They were breathing. But their eyes wouldn't open. A white pattern floated on their forehead. A shape like an ice crystal slowly spread across their skin. Kafka grabbed Sangatsu Nanoka's hand. "[whispers]...Wake up" Their voice was trembling. Silver Wolf saw it. It was completely different from the usual Kafka. They had never heard a voice like that. "Hey... Kafka, that" "[serious]I know" A short answer. But they didn't release Sangatsu Nanoka's hand. --- They carried Sangatsu Nanoka to a room in the hotel. They laid them on the bed. Black Swan quietly took out a Mement. They held it near Sangatsu Nanoka's forehead, carefully checking their condition. Taking time. Being thorough. Those red eyes narrowed each time they read something. After a while, Black Swan withdrew their hand. "[serious]...I'll give you a diagnosis" A quiet voice. A voice that stripped away emotion, conveying only facts. "[serious]This child's memory seal is beginning to unravel. If left as is, the memory rampage will accelerate and their mind will collapse. In the worst case—" They paused for a breath. "[serious]They could trigger indiscriminate freezing that engulfs their surroundings. The same phenomenon that froze Yarilo-VI—the permanent glaciation of that planet—could occur on this world" The room fell silent. Silver Wolf stopped their game console on their lap. "[serious]...That's not a funny story" An unusually serious voice. Silver Wolf, who usually joked around, spoke with genuine gravity. Kafka didn't answer. They sat on the edge of the bed. Looking at Sangatsu Nanoka's face. The smile that should always be there was gone. Completely gone. Their silver eyes held no composure, only fixed on the white pattern on Sangatsu Nanoka's forehead. "[serious]...Kafka" "I know" "[serious]You must have known something about this child's memories. Yet you still took them into the dreamscape" It wasn't an accusatory voice. Just a voice stating facts. That made it heavier. Kafka didn't answer. They still held Sangatsu Nanoka's hand. The ice pattern on the forehead didn't fade—it slowly spread. —Kafka had known. That Sangatsu Nanoka's memories were sealed. They had the text string [[Test Subject: Sangatsu Nanoka]] on their terminal. They knew the seal status. Yet they smiled and said "it'll be over quickly." They said "of course you'll be fine." Sangatsu Nanoka, who believed those words, now lay unconscious and unmoving. That fact couldn't reach the sleeping Sangatsu Nanoka. No one in the room said anything. Only Sangatsu Nanoka's quiet breathing continued. The white pattern slowly, steadily spread.