It might be unrefined to begin with the contents of a dream right off the bat, but after some deep reflection, it seems best to start from there. It’s better than ending with a dream, in any case.
In the dream, I was accusing a classmate, as a crowd of people watched on. It was that kind of situation.
“In other words, XX-kun, with all this proof, the truth is as clear as day. As I initially expected, it was resolved within a period of the timetable.
“Feel free to present any evidence if you refuse to admit that there is none that can help your case, but as they say, there is nowhere to run. I wouldn’t say that using the inline skates in your alibi was original, but it wasn’t a bad idea. It’s just too bad that you met the wrong opponent.
“Remember The Case of the Missing Bassist from a while ago? Did you know that the one who solved that case was me? Moreover, I was the one who saw through the case of the fallen vase in the music room, and understood that it wasn’t just an accident. And to tell you the truth, I was also the one who caused Sagawa’s Group to befall the miserable fate of receiving an official reprimand.
“Thus, I hereby declare my verdict. You were the one who framed her. Now, will you admit defeat? Or will you waste everyone’s time with your useless excuses?”
XX-kun hung his head, crestfallen. Hang on, who’s this guy again? That question flashed in my mind, but since he was just playing the villain in my dream, he wasn’t assigned a particular appearance. After looking down at him, I made a triumphant declaration.
“Well, it still isn’t too late to redeem yourself. If you still have a shred of sincerity left in you, you should follow it.”
And then I turned towards the audience. They were also faceless, but extolled my solution with thunderous applause.
“Wow, amazing!”
“I never thought of that.”
“I can’t believe he’s the culprit.”
“Wonderful as always!”
“As expected of Kobato Jougorou.”
“Brilliant, brilliant!”
I raised both my hands with a triumphant air towards them as response to the inexhaustible praise. Trying to deceive me with such a trick goes beyond shallow thinking, and is closer to the plotting of a monkey. That also makes me feel a little unsatisfied. Is there no one intelligent enough to at least cause a groan to escape from my mouth?
Those were the thoughts of dream self as he got caught in the moment, but watching him act so high-and-mighty made me feel awfully ashamed. Perhaps that sentiment affected my dream, for one person walked out of the crowd who was still cheering.
I wonder who that was? I had a few ideas about who would say those lines to me. He, or she, grinned and spoke.
“That was really magnificent. It was a brilliant deduction with clean evidence. But, um, well, how do I put it, it’s hard for me to say it, but I’ll say it clearly anyway.
“You’re being kind of annoying.”
Man, that was a horrible dream. When I woke up, my heart was pounding so noisily that I wondered if I was suffering from a heart disease.
Thankfully, since it was just a dream, my impression of it instantly became dimmer, and I became unable to recall the details. I had almost forgotten all about it, when I suddenly felt that I had had another dream. The protagonist was not me, but a really small girl. Besides that, I’d completely forgotten the contents of that dream, and not a single bit remained.
I rose up from my bed. There was a growing light on the other side of the curtain. I looked at the wall clock, but it was still too early for me to wake up. Since my eyes were clear and wide open, I decided to stay awake. Sitting by the edge of my bed, I ruminated upon the dream I was starting to forget.
It’ll be fine. I’m completely different from the me that appeared in my dream. With my ideal image in my heart and my smile as a weapon, I should be able to live the life I want to. If the going gets tough, I have a comrade, a reliable partner who shares the same goal.
When the time comes, I would set off for the high school. Well, it wasn’t my high school yet, but the entrance exam results would be released today, and if nothing went wrong, I would start going to that school in April.
There would be a change in environment from middle school to high school. Apparently, when those who have been obedient up till middle school start acting mischievous in high school, it’s called a high school debut.
We were also aiming for a high school debut, albeit with a different meaning. In the dim room where the curtains had been drawn, I didn’t stir an inch.
That’s right. With a change in environment, I’ll definitely be able to make it.
Captains (Tier 3) : SuperKatsu, Marieta Tan
Editors (Tier 2) : Joshua Fisher, Yazmin Arostegui, Slush56, Ashley Soffietti, Jen Murph
Assistants (Tier 1) : Karen Kronenberg, Anna, Definitelynotme, Rolando Sanchez, Kevin Kohn, _Maki
Thank you very much for all your support!
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Do you know who the artist is for this series? They did the cover for some Hoshi Shinichi volumes as well, but I’m having trouble finding an actual name.
Nevermind, found it. Wakako Katayama.