8

Saya could definitely sleep now.

Ever since they defeated the Suiju, sleep had returned to her nights once more. Her extensive struggles with it before seemed like a lie, and now she could easily get to sleep, be it at home, or at school; any time she felt sleepy.

In fact, she was almost too able to fall sleep.

Maybe it was the habit she had picked up in the last half year of trying to ride any wave of drowsiness that might come her way, but even staring off into space for a little bit during class could easily knock her right out. Still, that was way preferable to being stuck awake with a brain perpetually full of fog.

It took about a week for her body to readjust to sleep. It didn’t seem like she’d have an easy time catching up on all the subjects she was behind in, but when she spoke to the school doctor, she said she’d come with her to discuss things with her homeroom teacher. With catch-up lessons arranged and a study plan set up, she was finally able to face her family again.

“Hey, you’re looking a lot better,” her big sister Aya said after scrutinizing Saya as she was about to leave the house one morning.

“Really?”

“The bags under your eyes aren’t as dark as before.”

“Yeah, but they won’t go away entirely...”

“I kind of like them, you know. They look unhealthy.”

“They are unhealthy! That’s a fact!”

With a chuckle at Saya getting upset, her big sister retreated to the living room.

During her time as an insomniac, she’d felt like she was under assault from all directions, both at school and at home. But when she looked back at it with a clear head, that wasn’t really the case at all. If she could just sleep properly, life had a way of working itself out. That was the lesson Saya had learned after half a year in hell.

However, with each day that passed, Saya felt a sort of tension building inside her. A thirst, you might even say. She hadn’t understood the sensation at first, but when she realized it was a dissatisfaction with just sleeping ordinarily, Saya was shocked.

Compared to sleeping alone, the times she had slept side-by-side with Hitsuji Konparu had been deeper, most restful, and more pleasant. She couldn’t forget those three hours that the five of them had all slept together at that dodgy bed and bedding store.

She wanted to sleep alongside those girls again. She wanted to Sleepwalk.

When she became aware of that thirst, Saya’s feet took her to the Sakaimori Bed & Bedding on their own. It had been exactly two weeks since her last visit.

“Welcome. I trusted you’d come again.” When Saya knocked on the door, it was Ran who greeted her as if she’d been lying in wait. “How have you been?”

“Great, but... Somehow, it feels like I’m not sleeping enough.”

Ran nodded repeatedly. “I’ll bet. I can’t say I blame you.”

“Huh...?”

“Let’s talk inside. Everyone’s here.”

After passing by the rows of bedding and through the tall shelves, Saya set foot in the Sleepwalkers’ bedroom once more.

“Oh! Sayacchi!” Kaede noticed her quickly and waved to her with a grin. Midori and Hitsuji both turned to look at Saya, too, but neither of them looked surprised in the slightest. She took a seat at Ran’s suggestion. “You managed to hold off for a long time,” Midori said. “I guess you really are a Neversleeper, Hokage-san. You might have higher resistance than the rest of us.”

“What do you mean?”

“Once you’ve been on one Sleepwalk, you pick up the habit, because it feels so much better than just regular sleep.”

“Huh...” Looking at each of the other four’s faces, it seemed this wasn’t just them pulling her leg. “H-Hold on. You mean, this Sleepwalking stuff... It’s addictive?”

“Well, yes, I suppose it is,” Ran said nonchalantly.

“What have you done to me?!” Saya got up and shouted despite herself. “Were you all tricking me? Trying to get me hooked on Sleepwalking?! I can’t believe this, it’s like you’re all—”

“It was inevitable.” Hitsuji’s words made Saya go silent for a moment.

“...What do you mean, inevitable?”

“It happens to everyone. Everyone who sleeps side-by-side with me.”

“Everyone...”

Saya looked around the table to the other members once more. Ran, Kaede, Midori... Each of them nodded when her eyes met theirs.

“But, listen. Saya, we weren’t trying to trick you. I mean, you were the one who crawled into bed with me in the first place.”

“Huh? Uh, no, Konparu-san. When I was trying to sleep, you came to me on your—”

“You kissed me while I was sleeping, didn’t you, Saya?”

“That has nothing to do with this, right?!”

With an exasperated sigh, Hitsuji extended her hand towards Saya.

“...What?”

“Enough talk. The truth is, you wanted to rest in peace, right? And you still want to, right?”

“That’s...”

“It’s fine. Come here.” With that said, Hitsuji closed her eyes, and went limp.

With a pounding in her head, Saya’s vision shook.

“Ah, ah.”

The sound grew distant. Her vision darkened. Before she knew it, she’d taken Hitsuji’s hand. By the time she fell to the sofa, as if being sucked into it, Saya had already lost consciousness.

Riding on the swaying back of an elephant, it felt hard to remember how long we’d been doing this for. The elephant walked through a vast rice paddy, stepping on the coins and flowers that women threw in front of us as it strode along.

“It was horrible of you to trick me like that.”

I criticized her, but Hitsuji, who was cradling my head in her lap, giggled without the slightest sign of remorse.

“I never tricked you, my darling.”

“But you never told me, either.”

“You never asked.”

Hitsuji took a grape from the fruit bowl, putting it in my mouth as I kept trying to protest. The smooth, wet sensation passed between my lips, vanishing down my throat.

“There’s no taste.”

“Oh, my. What a shame.”

Having left the porcelain palace, our procession headed into the jungle. Tonight, we hunted a tiger. Vassals carrying tiger-shooting guns led the way, riding buffalo with ebony neck armor. In the distance, the sun dyed the snowy mountains red as it set, and in its place, torches lit up the shining gold coins on the road.

The lackadaisical trip brought on a wave of drowsiness. When I started drifting off, Crack, I was struck on the cheek.

When I looked, it seemed Ran and Midori had brought another elephant they were riding up alongside ours. Ran had hit me with the tip of a riding crop she was carrying.

“Ow. What was that for?”

“You can’t sleep, Hokage-san.”

“Why not?”

“If you go to sleep while Sleepwalking, you’ll be swallowed up by Nightland.”

“Swallowed up?”

“They say that Sleepwalkers who go to sleep in Nightland can never return to Dayland. So, please, be careful not to,” Midori said nonchalantly, despite it being a frightening prospect.

“Pull yourself together, would you? Today’s tiger is a tough one.”

I could already tell that when Ran said tiger, she meant was a Suiju. Ran was carrying a long gun with three barrels, and I had the same kind of weapon in my hands, too. Ran and I wore loose and comfortable men’s clothing, while Midori and Hitsuji were dressed in thin clothes and a veil—the outfit of a dancing girl.

“Where’s Kaede?” I asked.

“Right heeeere.”

Turning in the direction of the voice, I saw a blue-skinned goddess statue with crescent blades in each of her six hands. She walked up from the rear of the procession with earth-shaking steps.

“You look tough,” I pointed out.

“I know, right?”

When we stepped into the jungle, from the darkness beyond where our torchlight could reach, a Suiju that was much like the stars of the night sky tied together with silver thread to form a spiderweb appeared. It looked nothing like a tiger, but there was something bewitching and animal-like about the way it moved.

Kaede charged forward, having become a bloodthirsty goddess, and collided with the Suiju. Next, the guns all fired in unison, illuminating the forest with a flash of red.

“...You can’t just dodge the issue!”

No sooner than she had woken on the sofa, Saya started shouting. Hitsuji pushed her away with a look of exasperation.

“This, after I was kind enough to give you some restful sleep.”

“Thanks! Not that I asked!”

Any warm feelings she might have had for Hitsuji vanished from her heart like a fever dream, becoming hard to remember as the fever subsided. She had no love, or anything else, for this woman in her waking moments.

Hitsuji likewise pursed her lips, pouting as she distanced herself from Saya.

Kaede and Midori got up from the Sofa, too. Ran managed to get herself flipped over completely and fell to the floor. The way she’d tossed and turned in her sleep before was apparently not just a one-time thing.

Over coffee and snacks, her consciousness gradually grew sharper. Today’s treats were Bourbon’s Lumonde Cookies and Chocoliere biscuits.

“What are we doing here?” Saya asked while she sipped the dark, bitter liquid.

“What do you mean?” Ran responded.

“I get that we were taking out the Suiju that had infected me last time. But what about this time? Was that one infecting someone, too?”

“Well, Nightland is all connected, so I couldn’t tell you who, but when you think that someone’s been set free from insomnia or nightmares as a result, doesn’t it make you feel a little good?”

“There’s that many Suiju, huh.”

“Incubi, succubi, Bushyasta, the sandman... All around the world, there have always been tales of monsters that cause dreams. Formless beings that infest the dreams of humanity. Sleepwalkers have been fighting them all this time. My family, and Sakaimori-san’s family, too.”

Glaring at Ran who was telling her all of this with a composed face, Saya said, “I’m still seriously shocked you guys tricked me and turned me into an addict here,” Saya said, glaring at Ran as she told her all of this with a composed face

“Every human is a sleep addict. The moment you slept next to Konparu-san, your fate was sealed.”

Thinking quietly about it for a moment, Saya reluctantly opened her mouth. “Well... Fine, I was going to sleep anyway, and it beats not sleeping at all.” Looking from Ran to Midori, Kaede and finally Hitsuji, Saya sighed. “I get it, I’ll work with you... But you’re dragging me into this, so I’m not responsible for whatever happens. Got it?”