Chapter 38: Did you think it would be in your dreams

“How can not a single day pass quietly?”

Yoon Sihyun muttered as he returned home and laid Luna on the bed.

The girl was fast asleep.

The Princess of Ruin, possessing the most powerful strength, yet conversely, a delicate appearance.

‘Just now, thinking there was someone trying to mess with Luna, I acted without thinking. But come to think of it, didn’t I just grab something like an urban legend with my bare hands?’

He could still feel the sensation.

That strange feeling squirming in his hand!

He was reminded of the large earthworm he had carelessly grabbed while playing in the dirt with friends when he was young.

“Ugh. I still feel that slimy sensation!”

Yoon Sihyun immediately ran to the bathroom, intending to wash his hands.

Ding!

Just then, a notification window appeared, blocking his way.

[Sihyun! I have good news and bad news, which would you like to hear first?]

What is this, this typical cliché-ridden line?

“Nope. I don’t want to hear either.”

[Eh? Why, why not! There’s good news too!]

“How many times have you fooled me? You’ll say, ‘Oh no~ Actually, it wasn’t good news for Sihyun, but good news for me, oopsie~☆’ right?”

[Oopsie! I don’t use that kind of language! ……But how did you know?]

As expected.

Wasn’t it said that a dog at a school for three years can recite poetry?

It hadn’t been three years with this notification window, but he now had the eyes to see through its tricks.

“I have a real, real favor to ask. Can I just give you one good smack?”

Yoon Sihyun reached out his hand towards the notification window, just in case.

[Waaah! N-No violence!!]

“Haa, I have to hear it anyway, don’t I? Just tell me in order.”

[Then, the good news first! Thanks to that grey earthworm (?) you grabbed earlier, the condition has been met!]

A condition?

What condition was it talking about?

[I told you before, didn’t I? That you could do a lot when you got stronger. You’ve finally met the condition to raise the system level from 1 to 2!]

“The system levels up too? So that means I can do more now?”

It was definitely good news.

His precarious life, relying solely on the beginner package, was finally over!

‘This is more like it. Now I can really get into this.’

Finally, he would get to experience the clichés that frequently appear in web novels.

Wait a minute······.

But he clearly heard there was one more piece of news earlier.

Yoon Sihyun looked at the notification window with slightly uneasy eyes.

“Then what’s the bad news?”

[Actually, when the system levels up, it needs a separate synchronization time. So, during that time, you can’t use your abilities, which is why I gave you a [Self-Defense Right: 24 Hours]!]

“Huh? But why is that bad news? Isn’t that an awesome item?”

At Yoon Sihyun’s question, the notification window began to sweat profusely.

[Well… I actually wanted to be favored by Sihyun… so when Luna almost fell earlier following Sihyun, I used it on Luna so she wouldn’t get hurt…]

“What?”

Luna was a destruction-level urban legend, the owner of a body that couldn’t even be scratched by missiles.

But it used a [Self-Defense Right] on such a Luna?

It was like giving pocket money to a rich kid overflowing with cash.

“Ha, ha, hahahaha.”

My precious extra life token!!

‘W-Well, nothing is too much for our cute Luna, but this is a bit different, isn’t it!’

“Notification window… come to think of it, when we went out today, I tried to do something bad to you but couldn’t, right?”

[S-Sihyun. S-Surely nottt…?]

“Yeah. When I proudly declared myself a lolicon. What did you say… Oh, right. You asked me to do something naughty like in an erotic manga, didn’t you?”

[N-No…! I can’t have my first time so suddenly…!!!]

“Come here right now!!”

Yoon Sihyun did not forgive the notification window this time, as it had stolen his spare life.

****

What is an unforgettable memory?

A memory that remains in your heart for a long time, often resurfacing?

Or is it what people commonly call a cherished memory?

It might be impossible to define precisely, but if you vividly see it even in your dreams, perhaps that is an unforgettable memory.

“Warm… memories.”

The silver-haired girl realized she was dreaming.

A cold stone floor and a hollow black sky.

And shining fragments embroidered like stars in that sky.

Tap.

The girl carefully touched a fragment with her finger.

— “And I belong to Luna, right? I won’t disappear without a word.”

The moment he first said with his own mouth that he belonged to her flashed by.

From this point, the girl was able to let go of her anxiety about him leaving.

“It’s sparkling…”

Tap-tap.

The girl also pressed the adjacent fragment, which held a gently warm light.

— “Good night, Princess Luna.”

It contained the moment he first called her a princess.

“Are all the stars here…?”

In the black sky that had represented the girl’s hollow heart, the brightly embroidered star fragments were all memories created by one person.

The man who said he liked her, who said she was more precious than himself.

“Sihyun······.”

Repeating his name warmed her chest.

Sihyun was always by her side, whether she was awake or asleep.

Even in her dreams, she was with him.

“Always… stay by my side…”

The feeling of her body and mind being entirely dyed by one man.

No matter how much she filled it, the girl’s hollow heart was gradually filling with Sihyun.

As Luna was spending time looking at the shimmering fragments one by one.

Suddenly, a chilling voice tickled her ears.

[Hello, Luna?]

A soft yet cold tone.

It was the same voice she had heard from the doll earlier in the day.

“Who…?”

‘It’ stood a short distance from Luna.

[I am you.]

It certainly looked like the girl.

But something was different.

Unlike Luna’s moonlight-like hair, it had somewhat darkish silver hair.

Its eyes glowed with a dark golden light.

It was like a moon stained black.

“Me······?”

[Or perhaps… Luna’s desire.]

Unlike the girl who stood still, the black moon moved slightly.

Light footsteps.

As if dancing, it gently drew circles, filling the space with curves.

[Ah— what a refreshing feeling. Here, no one can interrupt our meeting.]

The black moon’s toes brushed the air, as if it would float up and fly.

A relieved expression, as if something good had happened, as if something it desired had been achieved.

“My desire…?”

[Of course. Look at me, I look exactly like Luna, don’t I?]

The girl felt the somewhat darkish black moon’s appearance was awkward.

It descended from the air and circled around Luna.

— Embrace.

The black moon carefully hugged the girl from behind.

[Luna, what are those fragments in the sky?]

The countless shimmering star fragments were memories created by Sihyun.

They were precious memories that Luna could never forget.

“Moments… I spent with Sihyun······.”

[That’s right. And moments when Luna learned emotions.]

The black moon took Luna’s hand and lightly floated into the air.

Sparkle.

Starlight etched like the Milky Way began to illuminate the girl and the black moon in turn.

[Luna, didn’t something fill up here every time you thought of him?]

The black moon pointed to the area near Luna’s heart with its finger.

The girl raised both hands, placed them on her chest, and closed her eyes.

— When he first called her ‘Luna’.

— When he first stroked her, saying she did well.

“It gets warm······.”

Her heart pounded every time she recalled her precious memories with him.

[That’s really nice, Luna?]

The black moon tilted its head slightly, observing Luna’s expression.

“Yes… I like Sihyun…”

[Haa~ How could our Luna be so cute?]

“Cute…?”

[Of course. That’s why Sihyun fell for Luna, isn’t it?]

Contrary to its initial impression, the black moon praised the girl and empathized with her.

However, its occasionally flicking tongue sometimes looked like a snake’s.

[But why does Sihyun sometimes come back with the scent of other women on him, despite having such a beautiful Luna?]

“That’s…”

[He clearly said he liked Luna, liked us. Why?]

It digs in.

The snake’s tongue unearthing past events, making it impossible for Luna to deny.

[Once is understandable. But it’s twice. Twice he met other women, leaving Luna behind.]

It’s cold.

A chilling sensation gradually spread to the hand she had placed on her chest.

Thinking of him laughing and being with other women, her heart froze.

“Sihyun… said he liked me…”

[But Luna, think about it. What if he gets tired of us and leaves?]

The black moon gently moved behind the girl and placed a hand on her shoulder.

The snake’s tongue slowly approached her ear.

[We can’t live without Sihyun. What if the man who gave us so many shining memories in that sky leaves our side…?]

“Sihyun… leaves…?”

The girl didn’t want to imagine it.

Her body and mind were already entirely his.

She surely wouldn’t be able to bear it if she couldn’t feel his touch for even a day.

Such a precious Sihyun would leave me…?

“If he leaves… I don’t want that.”

[Luna, he’s also responsible. It’s ridiculous for him to leave our side. You have to stop him from leaving, Luna.]

“Stop him… from leaving…?”

The black moon had waited for this moment.

Little by little, it had made Luna agree with its opinions, making her trust it.

For this very moment.

The black moon smiled kindly, took Luna’s hand, and intertwined their fingers.

[Luna, don’t you want to ‘collect’ him?]

“Collect…?”

[Yes. We can have anything we desire. Vast prairies, huge trees stretching endlessly towards the sky, and even sparkling stars and galaxies—we can have them all if we want.]

[Greed is our true nature. There is nothing in this world we cannot possess.]

[Don’t you want to feel warmth forever? If you collect him, you can feel it eternally.]

Luna’s golden eyes began to show a subtle tremor.

“With Sihyun… forever…”

Sihyun was precious to Luna.

That’s why she had refrained from using her abilities and lived like a normal girl, as he had instructed.

But the thought of him leaving her made her uncontrollably anxious.

[Yes. You can be together forever.]

The black moon thought it was almost done.

A little more, and Luna would move according to its will.

It believed so and egged Luna on.

However.

[Listen, Listen, I can’t listen]

An unidentified voice came from behind.

[No one but Luna and I should be able to enter here. Who in the—]

— Thump!

What stood where the black moon turned to look was.

“Ruru······?”

The small rabbit doll that Sihyun had won for Luna was glaring at the black moon with a very dignified posture.

[You… what are you…?]

The rabbit doll raised its small hand and began to introduce itself.

[If you ask who I am, it’s customary to answer. I am ‘Self-Defense Right’, who protects Luna from all threats for 24 hours.]

[I came to drive out the uninvited guest who intruded upon Luna’s happy dream.]

[Ha! How dare a mere thing like you—]

— Snap!

However, as soon as the black moon finished speaking, the rabbit doll snapped its fingers.

[······?!]

The black moon was instantly banished from Luna’s dream.

“Ruru… came to protect me…?”

The rabbit doll bowed with the utmost courtesy to the golden-eyed girl who was staring at it.

[Please call me Ruru, beautiful princess.]