Conyers, behind you!

　At Marida's warning, the petite woman called Conia turned around.
　The color of astonishment flashed in her acorn-orange eyes for a moment.

'Ah ......!'

　The sound that spilled out of that small mouth was the last thing she would ever say.
　Before she could swing the dagger in her hand, blood poured out of the wound that had been slashed diagonally from its right shoulder to its left hip.

''Conia-san!''

　Kirill's screams echoed through the room.

　No one is there to support Conia's collapsing body.
　There is no one here who can afford it.

'The wind that cuts through is the music played by the White Lady ---- wind cutter (Shelwy)!

　The experienced Orphelia is unfazed by the desperation of her companions and immediately unleashes a counter-attack spell on the attacker.
　The intangible blade produced flies towards the attacker with a growl.

　But the magic blade, which is originally destructive enough to cut through the enemy's body, is prevented by the purple barrier in the face of Conia's avenger.

''Magic barrier!　You're not a magician!

　An opening is created for the red-headed sorcerer, who is wrapped up in surprise.

'Back up!'

　Which was faster, Nicole's voice telling her of the danger?
　The assailant approached Orphelia with a speed that didn't seem like human karma, swinging the sword in his hand carelessly.

''Orphelia!''

　As if to mock Nicole, who rushed in to stop them, the attacker's sword sliced off Orphelia's head.
　The head fell off with a thump, followed by the sorcerer who was supposed to be your companion a moment ago, falling to the floor while turning into a silent, bloody object.

'The crush that pierces is the unshakable contraption of a brave knight ---- rock (Dessel)!

　Kirill, who had been standing on a stick all of a sudden, finally casts a spell.
　Three rock bullets appeared in the air and spun around to leap at the attacker, but the attacker cowered and dodged two of the rock bullets, then flicked the last one away with his sword as it should have been.

''No way!''

　As Marida was startled by the impossible karma, the assailant seemed to take aim at Kirill as his next target, and he sat back down with his sword point pointed at her.

'Let him!

　Nicole stands in front of it.
　The attacker's sword and Nicole's sword clash with an unpleasant sound.

'Kirill!　You take your daughter and run!

But, Nicole!

　At the sound of Kirill's voice, which shows hesitation, Nicole changes the destination of her words to another person.

'Miss!'

　Deciding that the situation will only get worse if they continue to fight here, Marida immediately decides to retreat as Nicole says.
　Kirill can't even use large-scale magic in the small room, and Marida's presence here would be nothing more than a hindrance to Nicole.

　Of course, I know that the competence of the enemy who cut off the lives of Conia and Orphelia in an instant is not an opponent that even Nicole can cross easily.
　But even if Marida and Kirill are here, Nicole will only have more people to protect.
　I'm sure it's easier to fight by yourself because you don't have to worry about your back.

''I'll call for backup soon, so don't die!

Who do you think you're talking to?

　Marida relies on Nicole, who is able to answer to such a critical situation in a light manner.

　She has great faith in his ability to protect Marida despite the many times she has been in a desperate situation.
　And Nicole is Nicole, and she trusts that Marida won't make a mistake in her judgment based on easy emotions.
　It's because they are both like that that they are able to tell each other in a few words what the best choice to make now is.

''Kirill, the Greshees outside--!

　Marida gasps as she starts to say.

'Oh, ma, Marida .......'

　The light faded from Kirill's eyes as he turned to Marida.
　There was a slender silver blade growing in its throat.
　No, it had been pierced through from the back of his neck.

　Kirill's neck, which spat out blood with a gulp, hung forward without power.

''Kirilu!

Ugh!

　Nicole stumbled back with a cry of pain as it coincided with Marida's cry.
　If you look, his left arm has been slashed off his elbow.

'Nicole!'

Run, little girl!　They're not normally--

　The attacker's sword slid into Nicole's brow, who was worried about Marida until the end, like a fork thrust into a water pastry.

'Nicolou!'

　Marida's vision loses color.

　Nicole, who had always been aloof, fighting off enemies and complaining about them, had helped Marida.
　She had been hanging with her head impaled by a sword.

　Marida feels as if her mind has gone blank and something important has been plucked out of her body.

　It was never a short relationship.
　She hired him as an escort because he was a skilled mercenary, and for what it's worth, they've been walking together for nearly ten years.

　Their positions when they stand side by side, their strides when they walk together through the city, their coordination when they plunge into battle without warning--they've been working together for nearly ten years.
　One as a protector and the other as a guard, an unspoken understanding that had become commonplace before we knew it.

　The likes and dislikes of drinks and food, the grumpy faces they show when they wake up from sleep, their personalities that are surprisingly obsessed with details--they are all part of the same team.
　You don't need to know them, and yet if you spend a lot of time with them, you will know them naturally.

　When Marida's eyes, realizing the pain of losing it now, almost blurred with tears - a searing heat hit her left breast.

'Oh ......'

　Turning her eyes to her left chest, Marida notices for the first time that a bloody, thin sword is sticking out of it.

　She struggles to breathe.
　A warm liquid clogs her throat and rises to her mouth without her asking for it.

　Marida twists her head slowly in a puppet-like movement, looking behind her.
　The attacker who had just pierced Kirill's chest was there.

''Kahaha.''

　The body reflexively tries to expel the liquid in an attempt to clear the airway.
　An iron-flavored red liquid spills out of Marida's mouth, some of it splashing onto the attacker's face.

　The assailant's gentle face, without a scratch, doesn't even try to avoid it.
　There was no human-like light in his eyes, and his cheeks and mouth did not show any movement that would give him any expression.
　The white head crown that seemed to circle around the forehead seemed to be an extremely ornate ornament, and Marida felt a strange sense of ridiculousness at the discrepancy with the expressionless face.

　Her vision grew darker.

　Her body collided with something, and there was a loud thud.
　She realized, as if it were someone else's fault, that she had fallen to the floor.

　The sound of the footsteps of the assailants leaving the quiet room.
　The sounds of battle can be heard in the distance.
　It seems that Marida and the others were not the only ones attacked.

　They might not be the only two attackers.
　In her fading consciousness, Marida just felt the freezing cold and cried inside her heart.






''Hah, hah, hah ......''

　Marida jumps out of bed and catches her breath as her entire body is covered in cold sweat.
　Her gray bangs stuck to her forehead, and a single uncomfortable feeling flowed down the nape of her neck.
　The surroundings were dark and silent.

'Huh, hah ............. Which way is this ......?

　He mumbles without asking anyone.

'...... Laitin's, my room?'

　After calming down a bit, Marida looked around and picked up a thick, well-worn diary from the table near her bed.
　When she ran her hand over the cover, the cover glowed vaguely as if tracing its shape, and the diary, which had been snugly closed, opened softly.

　In the unlit room, I peeked at it, relying on the faint moonlight coming in from outside the window.
　On the first page that was opened, a short sentence was written in large letters: 'This is reality'.
　Seeing that, Marida finally understands that this is reality.

'I see. ....... So it didn't work again this time: ......'

　Marida turned on the light in her room and immediately opened her diary to write down the scene she had just witnessed.
　It was an unpleasant sight that she didn't want to remember, but if she didn't write it down while it was still fresh in her mind, she might make the same mistake again.

　The power of 'dreaming' to experience the premonition of reality in a dream.

　That power, which she never wished to have, is the reason why Marida is able to run one of the best trade associations in Laitin at a young age, and conversely, because of that power, she learns truths that she does not need to know.
　She doesn't have the power to change the future, nor does she have the power to make certain predictions.
　It's just the power to know what choices will have what consequences for possible future events.

'How many times did I have to do this?'

　Marida can only build up a record of her failures in this way, and then, through a process of elimination, reveal the path she should take.
　There are a few exceptions, but it is basically an ability that cannot be revealed to others.
　This is because even if Marida makes the same choice, if she tells someone else, the outcome will be changed by the actions she takes.

　She didn't know why she had this ability, but Marida never thought of it as a blessing or a talent.
　This was a curse.

'For goodness sake, I'm sick of being killed every night.

　It would be fine if all I dreamed was that I was going to die.
　But in this dream, I would see Nicole and Kirill killed in front of me every time.
　To put it mildly, I guess you could call it a nightmare.

　The people closest to him, the people he will be close to in the future, are killed one by one, and finally, his own life is taken from him.
　It was better than the dreams I had as a child when I foresaw the death of my parents, but it was still a nightmare.

'I don't have the luxury of telling you to dream a good dream, though: ......

　I have only had happy dreams when I was a child, when my parents were still alive.
　Since my awakening to this power, most of the dreams I have had are painful reminders of the filth and cruelty of human beings.

　More than once I have been killed in my dreams, dropped into slavery or property, or sold to a brothel.
　My body remains clean, but my mind is worn out thanks to being forcibly violated by the lust of men in my dreams.
　The reason why I haven't been able to find a partner for my life is not only because I am too busy running my business.

'I wish I could get a good night's sleep at least once every ten days.

　On top of that, there was no escaping the constant nightmares until she could figure out the best way forward.
　For Marida, the hours of sleep were not rest, but misery.

　Her mental exhaustion is extraordinary.

　The constant back and forth between reality and dreams, and the inability to perceive the difference between reality and dreams.
　Moreover, the dreams were so real that it was impossible to perceive any difference between them and reality.
　Sometimes Marida didn't know whether she was dreaming or in the real world.

'Come to think of it, was it about time for Aldis and the others to come from King's Landing?'

　I knew from my dreams that Aldis was coming to Leytin after being forced to leave King's Landing.
　But I couldn't see the reason for it in my dream and didn't understand it.

''But I didn't expect the reason for being chased out of King's Landing to be certified as heresy: ....... Really, Aldis, you're right, it's a useless power.

　A few days ago, Marida finally learned the reason for this when she heard the proclamation from the church.
　Had she known beforehand, she would have been more able to do something about it.

'The time is ...... and it's almost dawn.

　Marida gets out of bed and closes her diary and places it on her desk.
　As she takes off her sweat-sticky nightgown, she chants the words as if to suggest to herself.

'This is real. This is Laitin. I'm Marida, now the merchant chairman of the Litte Chamber of Commerce.'

　It was a ritual to draw a line between dreams and reality.

I'll do my best for the rest of the day ....... Tonight is the nightmare that will end.

　By daring to adopt a joking tone and attitude, you realize that you are living in reality by your own will.
　By doing so, you remind yourself that you are not in a dream where you can't do what you want.
　In order to protect her mind from this abominable ability, Marida did her best to resist this situation where reality and dreams might get mixed up.