6

“We Sleepwalkers have special powers that let us act freely while we sleep,” Ran began once everyone had their black tea and tea cakes. “Every human being is connected through sleep, and we travel through it like it's one world. You might say we’re walking around a collective consciousness.”

“The collective unconscious...”

Saya had heard of this somewhere before. If she remembered correctly, it was a theory that said every person was connected on an unconscious level, and that was why legends from around the world shared common symbols.

“Normal people lose their will during sleep. Even when their level of consciousness rises, they merely become aware of their situation as a dream. Ruled by memories and emotions, they are unable to control themselves. However, once in a while, someone regains their self while dreaming.”

“Haven’t you ever had a dream where you realized you were dreaming, Saya?” Hitsuji asked.

“I might have... maybe. I woke up right away, though.”

“Coming to the realization you’re dreaming, and then maintaining the state of sleep is not easy. However, with the appropriate training, the amount of time you can stay in the dream will grow longer. This makes lucid dreaming without time limits possible,” Ran continued. “Thus, once you’re able to act freely in your sleep, there is a vast world of dreams that opens up to you. The Australian aborigines referred to this as Dream Time. We distinguish the two by calling the world of sleep Nightland, and the waking world Dayland.”

“You can do anything in Nightland,” Kaede Tokishima, who was sitting cross-legged on the sofa, said while munching away at a Yuki no Yado rice cracker. “You know lucid dreams? When someone figures out they’re dreaming, they can control the dream. They can fly, make a character they like appear, even transform themselves. Anything they want. It’s insanely fun.”

“If they go overboard, they can lose control, and then lose lucidity as a result, though,” Midori Sakaimori said while blowing on her cup of black tea to cool it down. “Since you can do anything, you’d want to eat cakes and all the other stuff you like, right? But replicating the sense of taste is pretty hard. I try to do it every time I’m in Nightland, but there’s just no texture or taste. It’s like I’m eating tissues...”

“You just don’t have enough spirit, Tencho.”

“That’s not true. I give it my all, but nothing tastes good. It’s so, so frustrating...” Midori turned an upset look towards Kaede.

“We’re not putting ourselves in danger for all-you-can-eat cake. We Sleepwalkers have a proper mission we’ve set out to accomplish,” Ran said.

“And that’s where defeating the suiju comes in?” Saya asked. Ran nodded.

“Precisely. In Nightland, the suiju—the beings known as sandbeasts, run rampant.”

“Sandbeasts? Beasts of... sand?”

“They were called sandmen in past. The sandman is a fairy that shows up in German folklore — He casts sand into people's eyes, making them fall asleep...”

“Sounds like the old witch, Sunakake Baba,” Hitsuji interjected.

“I think Sunakake Baba just throws sand in your eyes, though... The suiju’s actions showed too little intelligence for them to be called sandmen, so at some point they came to be called sandbeasts instead.”

Beasts... The one Saya had witnessed had certainly taken a form that was far from anything that might be called human. That said, it didn’t look anything like a beast, either. “I don’t really care what you call them, but what exactly are the suiju?” she asked.

“They’re beings that put their roots down in humans, eating into their sleep, and spreading like mold across Nightland. You could call them autonomous dreams, or parasites of the psyche.”

“Eating into their sleep... Is that what’s causing my insomnia?”

“Yes. You most likely have an allergy to suiju. When there are suiju nearby, you are unable to get to sleep, and that drives you into a state of sleeplessness.”

“It’s like you were keeping a cat without ever knowing you were allergic.” Kaede’s metaphor left Ran was unamused.

“Cats are much cuter than suiju, you know.”

“What, that’s the problem?”

“Well, not that it matters... Anyway, those humans who are infected by suiju will have their spirits trapped in Nightland. Eventually, they enter a state where they have no self and act as carriers, spreading suiju across Dayland. If we leave them be, many humans will be infected, and they’ll begin to eat away at Nightland itself, so we need to stop the infection early.”

“So... Are you saying I was about to become one of those carriers, too? Saya asked, but Ran shook her head.

“I think you would have taken a different course, Hokage-san. Because of your suiju allergy, you were unable to enter Nightland, so the suiju parasite would have gone on wearing down your body and soul, and... sooner or later, you would have died.”

To Saya, those words didn’t sound like hyperbole at all. In fact, she was able to accept them pretty easily. What do you mean, “No one ever died from being unable to sleep?” Liars! I would’ve died after all!

“Um, are you all right?” Saya must have gone awfully pale or something of the sort, because Midori was staring at her with concern.

“Uhh, yeah... Thanks.”

“It’s amazing you made it half a year! I’d be dead in three days,” Hitsuji said.

“Nah, that’s way too soon. You gotta hang in there for a week, at least,” Kaede poked fun at Hitsuji.

“You had it rough, Hokage-san, but you’ll be fine now. We Sleepwalkers exist to help people like you!” Ran said, puffing her chest up with pride. “And on that note, I’d like to reintroduce everyone. The four of us here are this town’s Sleepwalkers. I’m the leader, Ran Aizome.”

Still sitting on the sofa, Ran began pointing to each of the other girls in turn and introducing them. “Konparu-san is a Blanket. When she lies side-by-side with someone, she can put them to sleep in no time. She’s a professional at putting people to sleep.”

“A professional at putting people to sleep...?”

“When I’m sleeping, the people around me fall asleep, too. There was even a time I drifted off in class, and when I woke up everyone else was out cold.”

“Whaa...? Why didn’t the teacher wake them?”

“Because the teacher was asleep, too.”

So that’s why she was sleeping in the health room and on the roof, not in class. One of Saya’s questions had been solved. The moment she was satisfied with that answer, words carelessly slipped out of her mouth. “So I’m not the only one who gets sleepy when they’re with Konparu-san, huh.”

“It happens to everyone. Why?”

“Er...”

When she was asked why, Saya didn’t really know.

I wonder why I said that. I mean, I wonder why I thought it would only be me...

“Is it a problem somehow if you’re not the only one?”

Hitsuji looked probingly at Saya.

“It’s not a problem, but... It’s nothing really.”

While Saya was still confused, Ran continued with introductions. “Tokishima-san is a Pillowfighter. That’s a Sleepwalker who’s skilled at fighting in Nightland.”

“F-Fighting?”

“That’s right. Suiju can be pretty aggressive, you know. You let your guard down, they’ll take you out. I’m a little better than everyone else at controlling dreams to fight, so I’ll show you the ropes, Sayacchi.” Kaede gave a flawless smile.

“Midori is a Bedmaker. Her job is to handle beds, bedding, and all the other related equipment. She works behind the scenes to arrange a good sleeping environment for us, as well as looking after us while we’re doing a Sleepwalk.”

“U-Um, if anything feels wrong while you’re sleeping, tell me. I think I can help,” Midori said humbly with a slight bow of her head.

With all four of them looking at her, Saya squirmed awkwardly on the sofa.

“Erm... Is this everyone? Just the four of you?”

“Right. We’ll have five if you join,” Ran said, leaning across the table. “Like I said yesterday, you have the potential to be a Neversleeper. That’s someone who’s lost sleep, and can enter dreams without being affected by them. Among the Nightkissed, the people who’ve been bitten by a suiju, sometimes a person will awaken special abilities.”

“...What are you telling me to do?”

When Saya faltered, Kaede didn’t hesitate in speaking up. “You don’t have to think hard about it — this is a respectable job people have been doing forever. We dive into Nightland and take out the suiju that infect people. We’re heroes!”

Is it that simple...? While Saya was hesitating, Ran rose from the sofa and began speaking.

“Well then, should we sleep together now?”

“Huh?”

“Whatever you’re ultimately going to do, Hokage-san, first we have to eliminate the suiju that’s infected you.”

“No, I’m fine with that, but what do you mean by sleep together...?”

“Didn’t I tell you? By sleeping side-by-side, Sleepwalkers are able to share their sleep. You’ve already experienced that, haven’t you?”