Divine Comforter (Behind the Scenes)

I slipped away from the party to check on my present from Tou-sama.

I glanced over at Kehma… I wouldn't mind lending it to Kehma too, but not until I use it first! After all, Tou-sama did say this was a present for me.

When I returned to my bedroom, I summoned the Divine Comforter I received from Tou-sama. It popped right out of the menu.

"Heeh, so this is the Divine Comforter… Nice feel to it. But maybe it's not all that special?"

An envelope and a box tumbled out along with it.

… A box? The envelope must be the instructions Tou-sama mentioned.

I set the Divine Comforter aside and opened the envelope first. Inside was an instruction manual in Tou-sama's handwriting.

"Let's see, what does it say?"

"T-these effects are amazing. As expected of the Divine Comforter… wait, eh, self-destruct?"

Right as I finished reading, the letter vanished with a poof.

"… As expected of Tou-sama. What a strange sense he has!"

Let's try using the Divine Comforter right away.

I placed my hand on the comforter with a poof… How exactly do I make a wish?

Let's try saying it out loud.

"… Oh Ofuton-sama, oh Ofuton-sama. I want to sleep with Kehma."

Saying it out loud like that was so embarrassing.

But the comforter sparkled with a flash. Looks like that worked.

"So with this, Kehma should be coming, right? I need to put it away in the present box…"

When I pressed the comforter against the present box, it slipped inside smoothly.

After that, I put the lid on. Preparations complete… Ah, I should put the present box in [Storage] just in case.

Wait, I haven't changed my clothes yet! I'm not done preparing! I have to change before he gets here.

Ummm, my usual jersey is no good. It'd be embarrassing if he noticed we're matching. There was a negligee that Haku-nee-sama prepared for me, so I'll change into that, and… hup, hah, pop! Done!

Huh, isn't this a little see-through? Nn… Well, it's fine! I'm wearing underwear after all.

Oh right, since it's Kehma, I need to wear cute socks. Aaah, I need to hurry or Kehma will get here! No, maybe I should just go barefoot? Actually, since we're going to sleep, barefoot might be better! Ichika said showing off your feet is the way to go!

I sat on the bed, fully prepared. I waited for Kehma while fidgeting.

After a while, there was a knock at the door.

"Who is it?"

"Me."

He came! Kehma really came!

I opened the door.

"Y-you're here, Kehma! I was waiting."

"Yeah, I'm here."

Kehma smoothly knelt before me, and then――

"So with that said, please let me see the divine bedding, please!"

He performed a flawless dogeza.

With Kehma, I honestly can't tell if this is just how he is or if his mind is confused.

 

＊ ＊ ＊

 

I'm in a dream.

Perhaps it's due to the Divine Comforter's effect, but I'm clearly aware that I'm inside a dream.

A white room like the Master Room. Actually, it is the Master Room. This is a place full of memories for Kehma and me, so maybe that's why it's reflected here?

In front of me was Kehma, bundled up in his beloved futon. He wasn't transformed into my appearance; he was just normal Kehma.

… This is Kehma, right? The real one? We're supposed to be sharing dreams, after all.

For now, since it would be embarrassing, I decided to have Kehma forget this dream.

Wait, why is Kehma sleeping even inside a dream!?

How much does he love sleeping, honestly? Humans have such short lifespans, so spending all of it sleeping is such a waste.

"Kehma, wake up. Kehma."

"… Zzz…"

He won't wake up!? Well, it's fine, I have plenty of time until morning!

"Hey, Kehma? Wake up. Wake uuup."

"Nnn… What is it, I told you before not to wake me up when I'm sleeping…"

"It's fine, this is a dream, so even if you wake up, you won't actually wake up."

"What kind of logic is that… Eh, this is a dream? Aah, you're right, it does feel that way. A lucid dream, huh."

Kehma sat up and rolled his shoulders around.

Then he abruptly held out his hand and, completely out of nowhere, fired a beam.

Pew, kaboom.

"Yep, there it is."

"Eh, what was that? Magic?"

"Ha ha ha, Rokuko. We're inside a dream, so you can do anything. There's a knack to it, though."

Saying that, Kehma floated up, futon and all.

"A flying futon. Pretty neat, huh."

"What's the knack? It looks fun, teach me too!"

"It's simple. You just have to think 'of course I can, it's a dream.'"

"I see! … That's hard though!?"

"Haah, amateurs… No wait, maybe that's just how she appears in this dream. This Rokuko is also a figment of my dream… If that's the case, I can do whatever I want, right?"

Kehma was mumbling something to himself.

Ah, right. He knows he's inside a dream, but he doesn't know we're sharing it… Eh? Then Kehma's going to do whatever he wants with me? I'm so curious what he'll do! What does Kehma want to do to me!

"Rokuko."

"W-what is it, Kehma? You can do whatever you want to me, you know?"

"… Is that so. Alright, get in the futon."

"Okay."

I slipped into the floating futon just as Kehma said. Ah, Kehma's scent.

… There's a little bit of Niku's scent too.

"And then?"

"… Zzz…"

He fell asleep… Seriously, why can you fall asleep again inside a dream!?

"Wake up, Kehma! Hey! Come on, I said wake up!"

"Ugh, you're so noisy, Rokuko. Let me sleep."

"I keep telling you, this is a dream! You're already asleep!"

"But sleep."

This is hopeless, I can't get through to him. And why did he have me get into the futon in the first place?

Eh, there's no deeper meaning?

"Fine then! If that's how you're going to be, Kehma, then I'm going to do whatever I want!"

"Eh, what are you planning, oi."

"Futon confiscated!"

When I shouted that, the futon disappeared. Is this the power of priority?

"Wha… What the… Oi, Rokuko. My futon just disappeared."

"What a coincidence. I just erased one."

"… Oi, Rokuko. Let's have a little C-H-A-T, yeah…?"

"Bring it."

And so, a C-H-A-T that was really a fistfight began.

We were inside a dream. No Golem Assist here. A genuine, bare-knuckle brawl. Kehma seemed to be holding back a little… no, he was pretty serious. I guess taking his futon away was that bad.

However, I won.

"Oww… I can't accept this. My dream power should be higher. So why…"

"There's one reason you lost, Kehma… You couldn't bring yourself to believe that 'it doesn't hurt because this is a dream!'"

"Tch… Defeated by the power of imagination, huh. It's my loss. Do what you want."

Kehma collapsed, spread-eagle.

… Do whatever I want, you say?

"Alright! Then first, let me change you into these clothes!"

"Oi wait, what are those clothes?"

"Eh? They were selling them at a clothing store in the Imperial Capital, weren't they?"

"Those are women's clothes, aren't they!?"

"I want to see how Kehma reacts wearing them! Don't worry, I'll wear the same ones too!"

"S-stoooop!?"

*** (Rokuko doing whatever she wanted) ***

Several hours later.

While I was doing whatever I wanted with Kehma, he suddenly disappeared.

He'd been saying things like "I can never be a bride now…" while staring off into the distance looking totally drained, but surely he didn't die… right?

"I see, it's morning… Bunny Kehma was so cute."

I still wasn't fully satisfied, but I'll call it good for this time. Yep, that was fun.

Now then, I should wake up too.