Chapter 31: Coal Mining City

『Dream』

A dream is a sequence of ideas and mental images that a person experiences during sleep as if they were real events. It is often said that dreams most commonly occur during a light stage of sleep known as REM.

Perhaps that’s why.

"Hey, what are you doing? Come on, let’s go."

A girl in a hoodie reaches out her hand toward me. A conspicuous scar marks her face—yet for some reason, I can’t see her features clearly.

I’ve had this same dream countless times before.

It must have been not long after I first became aware of my previous life in this world. I saw it so often that, even though dreams are usually forgotten quickly, I can still recall its contents with perfect clarity.

The dream unfolds like a proper story, complete with a beginning, development, twist, and conclusion—and that ending is always a tragedy.

"So? I thought it’d suit you."

For some reason, I understand. The girl awkwardly forces a present into “my” hands, wearing an unfamiliar smile. I don’t know what “I” felt toward her, nor what she felt toward “me.” But at the very least, we were more than friends. Not quite lovers, yet not merely companions either—something like partners, or perhaps family.

Eating breakfast, working, returning home to sleep. A repetition of a perfectly ordinary life.

That routine, however, is destined to collapse, just as I mentioned before.

What happened? What went wrong? The details are blurred, making it a disqualified story by any narrative standard. And yet, I think and ponder as though I have completely become the “me” within the dream.

I don’t know what we were doing. In the end, it’s just a dream—an impossible fantasy, a hallucination pieced together by a sleeping brain in the midst of sorting memories. I didn’t dwell on the specifics. But that “me” and the girl struggled desperately, as if resisting the fate bearing down on us.

Struggling, struggling, struggling—and in the end, always—

"...Please, may your future be filled with—"

In my arms, the girl lies cold, a pitch-black halo floating above her, stained completely dark.

A sudden rupture of the everyday. Resistance against the extraordinary, followed by a tragic finale. Beginning, development, twist, conclusion. It has the shape of a story, yet offers no explanation for why it ends this way—a failed work.

Eventually, I concluded that this nightmare I no longer dreamed was nothing more than a malformed product born from fragments of manga and other creative works cluttering my memory, and I dismissed it outright.

"……"

But was that really for the best? I don’t know.

"Is this… the place…?"

An alien presence stands alone amid a bleak landscape of endless silver. Houses—once filled with human life—are built in a ring around a small hill. One of the two locations discovered through exploration. The coal mining city, wrapped in snow, still retains its form.

"This is the coal mining city ruins. According to the information from the Black Suits, it could also be interpreted as the remains of an academy that was forced to shut down due to frequent blizzards."

"Wooow…"

Listening to Imo’s commentary as we walk, the four of us—Sensei, Ms. Kanna, Imo, and me—move deeper into the city. Why such an odd lineup? Because if another blizzard like the one we experienced in the fishing village were to strike, the currently crashed derelict ship wouldn’t be able to shelter us. We needed to split into a team investigating locations and a team building a temporary base.

…And more importantly, something mustn’t be forgotten. The “Sensei side,” which includes me and Ms. Kanna, and the “PMC side,” which includes the information broker, are technically in an adversarial relationship—one side capable of kidnapping the other. The Black Suits occupy an awkward middle ground, so let’s set them aside. If only we on the “Sensei side” acted alone, who knows what the PMC people might do. After all, I might secretly develop some new weapon.

So, just in case, one of the information brokers has been assigned as our watcher, and she’s also carrying a signal flare for emergency communication.

"Achoo."

"Oh—are you all right?"

That said, it’s not something to worry about too much right now. None of us are foolish enough to fight when our lives are at risk. Sensei must understand that too, given that they reluctantly teamed up with enemies like the Black Suits and a former director.

And besides—there’s no way you’d betray comrades you once wrestled with, right!?

…Well, Imo didn’t, but still.

"Hmm. The buildings haven’t collapsed, and many of them look like they could withstand a blizzard. Using this place as a base might actually be viable."

Director Kanna mutters from behind us. As she says, most of the surrounding buildings seem to remain intact, just as they were back then. Certainly, this looks like it would make for a better place to sleep than that crashed ship.

We have two objectives for this exploration. One is to search for a radio, or at least materials that could be used to repair one. The other is to determine whether this place can function as a base.

The crash-site team is rushing to prepare sleeping quarters, but there’s a limit to what they can accomplish. Given that, we decided it would be better to simultaneously search for a usable base in what was once an academy city. The abandoned fishing village was also considered, but there were lingering concerns about its ability to withstand blizzards.

Compared to that, what about this abandoned city? As you’d expect of a former academy, it still looks like a place where people could live without much trouble—as long as food and fuel are secured.

"Haa… haa… w-wait."

"...Sensei."

As I walk along lost in thought, a breathless, on-the-verge-of-death voice comes from behind me. It’s Sensei.

"I-I’m gonna die…"

"……Sensei, don’t you think your stamina is way too low? Are you really that famous ‘Sensei’ everyone talks about in Kivotos…?"

Imo watches Sensei—who is leaning on Ms. Kanna’s shoulder—with an exasperated look. And she’s absolutely right. Despite being the protagonist who has resolved countless crises plaguing Kivotos, Sensei is far too frail. Weak, pitiful, total small fry♡ That’s what he is.

"T-then what about you, Komori-chan…!!"

"...Me…? I’m not… out of breath…"

"That’s because you’re being carried! Obviously, right!?"

As he says that, Sensei points straight at me.

At me, clinging to Black Crystal Imo’s back like a remora.

"……I’m fine. I’m a shut-in."

"If you’re a shut-in, that’s even more reason to exercise."

"...Sensei’s a man, so you should try harder…!"

"It’s a genderless era now."

"Gnnnh…!"

Every answer has a comeback! I’m fine! Besides, it’s already amazing that a shut-in like me is even surviving in a frozen wasteland this far from my usual habitat—so any more than that is just—huh?

My viewpoint suddenly drops lower. I feel hands gripping my sides, and with a casual "Up you go," I’m peeled off Imo’s back.

"Komori-chan really is lacking in exercise. Spoiling her too much isn’t good."

Cruel words rain down on me as I stare up at Imo, now standing tall. I collapse into despair.

"...K-Kanna-san…"

"Gh…! N-no! Making that face won’t work! Please walk!"

"Nooo…"

God is dead.

Fine. If you’re going to say that much, I’ll walk properly on my own two feet. I’ll show you that even a shut-in can walk! That I’m the kind of shut-in who can move when it counts—

"...Nnpya!?"

"Komori-chan!?"

A strange sensation under my foot—where I should have been firmly planted. Then comes a floating feeling, followed by a view of a beautifully clear, translucent sky.

Before I can process what’s happening, a flood of information crashes into my stalled thoughts—and as the final blow, pain slams into my head.

I finally understand. I slipped and fell. No—this wasn’t just a fall. I tumbled down.

"K-Komori-chan disappeared!?"

"It looks like she just tripped on a step and fell. Are you okay?"

"Pfft—ahahahaha! Hah—! A-are you okay~? You didn’t break any bones or anything, did you~?"

"...Guhhh! Fuhhhh!! Stop it! Don’t be gently kind like that! Everyone’s concern is only accelerating my embarrassment. I’m starting to feel miserable. And Imo—you’re getting punched once I climb back up, so just wait."

Thinking that, I try to stand—and then I notice it.

"...What… is this…?"

It was the abnormality of the step I had tumbled down.

There was nearly a one-meter height difference between the ground above and the bottom below. And more than that, its shape was strange.

If I had to describe it… it looked as if a massive ball had rolled through the area, gouging out a perfectly straight groove along the side of the small mountain. Put more simply, this trough-shaped path had cleanly carved away part of the mountain, slicing straight through the city itself.

If that still doesn’t make sense, then imagine—or just look up—that Vanilla Ice Stand from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure.

"Can you climb up? I’ll give you a hand."

"Ah, th-thank you…"

With Ms. Kanna’s help, I manage to climb out of the drop.

"Hmm… what do you think this is? Sensei, what’s your take?"

"……Vanil◯ Ice’s Stand?"

"...What?"

"No, nothing."

"If we think about it seriously, doesn’t it look like something huge passed through here? Depending on how you look at it, it could even be the trace of something bullet-like moving at extreme speed, carving everything away."

"I see…"

"M-Ma◯falx, maybe…?"

"What was that?"

"N-no, nothing."

After discussing it for a while, we come to the conclusion that this must be the trace of something that moved through the area. There’s no way this was a natural phenomenon, and if the trail continues, there might be something waiting at the other end. With that in mind, we decide to investigate further.

"...Sensei, what if this was made by some gigantic creature?"

"Then that’d be… exciting!"

"...! Y-yeah…! The unknown! A giant creature in the snowy mountains… that might even make the news…!"

"You’re awfully relaxed, Ms. Kanna. Shall we play shiritori or something?"

"No."

"...I-I see…"

After walking for quite some time, we finally reach the deepest point of the trench.

"...O-oh… wow…"

What awaited us there was neither a giant creature nor a meteor—nor even a gigantic Vanil◯ Ice.

Radiating a heavy, imposing sheen, its enormous body lay half-buried in the ground, yet it concealed none of its overwhelming sense of grandeur. Twin-barreled turrets were deployed across its surface, and at its rear sat a massive afterburner that looked capable of spewing flames hot enough to melt even steel.

This was, unmistakably—

""A flying battleship!!""

The voices of an adult and a child rang out together across the snowfield.