After repelling Kanon and temporarily incapacitating Miyume, Kei and the others visited a hospital room.

The hospital room owned by Luka was also a special lab reputed to provide the highest level of treatment at the Zilnius Academy.

It was only natural that Miyume and Konie were brought there.

“Please lay Konie and Miyume on that bed. Fortunately, the previous patient was discharged this morning.”

They placed the two on the recently vacated bed.

One lay completely still as if lifeless, while the other seemed tormented by nightmares.

Watching the scene, Luka let out a sigh so faint that no one noticed.

(This happened because I couldn’t make a decision.)

Saying she treated everyone equally and kindly might sound admirable, but in reality, she had simply refused to acknowledge Kanon’s collapse and blindly believed in a convenient world.

Luka knew that truth better than anyone.

“Konie… Miyume…”

Looking at the sleeping two, Luka swallowed back her tears and took action.

For Miyume, she administered medication to suppress hunger. For Konie, she conducted an examination on her transformed Dataroid body.

For an ordinary person, handling just one of these would be overwhelming, but Luka managed both simultaneously.

Toa watched alongside Kei.

Sitting on a chair and gazing at Miyume on the bed, Toa spoke.

“I’m really glad you came. If Kei-kun hadn’t been here, surely…”
“It’s thanks to Sorciera. I was gathering information when I happened to meet her.”

Saying this, Kei’s eyes drifted into the distance as if recalling that moment.

“At first, I was surprised. But she agreed to cooperate. It seems she’s also pursuing the Mystic Eye.”
“I see… Sorciera, huh? She’s always been such a great help.”
“Yeah, that’s true. An elusive S-rank whose true identity remains unknown… just who is she?”

No one in the room could answer that question.

“I’ve done a lot of research. About Miyume-chan, and the Mystic Eye she possesses.”

Luka’s hands paused for a brief moment.

Then, in the next instant, she resumed moving and said, “Please, tell me.”

“If there are any mistakes, I’ll correct them. So please, share the truth you uncovered.”

Kei nodded and began his explanation.

“It all started ten years ago with an incident on the mainland. During a time when Apis’ control over dungeons was still incomplete, a small dungeon emerged in a minor town.”

As he spoke, Kei slid a window screen toward Toa.

It displayed collapsed buildings and a mountain with a section gouged out in a perfect circle.

“Explorers were dispatched and cleared it within three days. But by then, casualties had already occurred. That was the case of Kūna Yume.”
“…Yes. At first, she was still breathing, but she had been poisoned by magic and was nearing death.”
“It’s easy to forget in this academy city, but our cutting-edge technology is still in the experimental phase. Very few advancements have been implemented on the mainland. The same goes for advanced medical treatments.”

Since dungeons involved the manipulation of otherworldly laws, forces, and materials, their benefits had to be approached with extreme caution.

For humanity to coexist with dungeons, absolute rationality beyond mere greed was necessary.

Even if that meant accepting the death of a single girl.

“In the end, it took years before the mainland gained medical technology capable of saving Kūna Yume. And from here, the story truly begins.”

Kei, like a storyteller, turned to Toa.

“The Zilnius Academy cleared an A-rank dungeon three years ago. One of the sacred relics found there, the Mystic Eye of Logic, was discovered to have the ability to analyze and replicate the structure of objects.”
“The process is far more complicated than words can describe. But Kanon saw hope in it. No, she waited for hope to appear.”

Luka, having been at Kanon’s side, understood.

It was an almost pathological obsession that had driven Kanon forward, elevating her into the realm of genius.

“By using the Mystic Eye of Logic to reconstruct Kūna Yume’s body, she aimed to completely restore her, making her identical to her original self. In essence, she sought to resurrect Yume.”

As Kei displayed multiple files, Toa’s eyes darted through them, while Luka couldn’t help but be impressed.

For a single young man to gather this much information in just one day was remarkable.

“You certainly gathered a lot of data.”
“It’s thanks to Sorciera. …Honestly, more than half of it was just information she already knew and shared with me. On my own, I never could have uncovered this much.”

Lowering his gaze, Kei continued.

“The Deep Dream Project. That’s what Sorciera called it. The idea was to use a Dataroid, a virtual biological construct, as a vessel for the Mystic Eye of Logic, gradually refining it into a real, living body.”

Luka nodded without turning around.

“That’s exactly right. Miyume’s hunger functions like a program designed to accumulate biological data. If we continued supplying her with Dataroids regularly, she would have eventually become the real Yume. …At least, that was the plan. A way where no one had to suffer.”

That was why Luka and Konie had agreed to it.

If the dead could return without harming anyone or causing misfortune, what could be more wonderful?

“But it was all wrong from the start. Kanon had always been chasing nothing but the illusion of Yume. The only reason I was able to stay by her side was that I wasn’t an obstacle. If she ever had to choose between Yume and me, she would undoubtedly choose Yume.”

Kanon was logical.

That was precisely why her premises had been flawed from the beginning.

From the start, Kūna Kanon had only ever looked at one person.

(No one noticed that.)

And so, the girl’s wish twisted into a curse.

It had become nothing more than the remnants of a dream—an uncontrollable monster driven by desire.

A being that stood in complete opposition to Luka’s belief in rationality.

“Most of your information is correct. There are no errors. …Your curiosity is impressive, but the truly terrifying one is Sorciera.”
“Sorciera… she seemed like she already knew everything.”

Kei spoke with a tense expression.

It seemed Sorciera’s intelligence-gathering ability surpassed not only Luka’s but even that of Kanon, a doctor and researcher.

At that moment, a question arose in Luka’s mind.

“…Why did Sorciera need to investigate this project?”
“Huh?”
“This was, at its core, a purely personal experiment. There should have been no reason for her to be involved…”

She had claimed she was researching Mystic Eyes.

(Even with all that power, she was still investigating them? Was she trying to counter them, or did she need their power for something?)

The Mystic Eye of Logic was a high-rank sacred relic among Mystic Eyes.

For her to investigate it meant she had a profound interest in Mystic Eyes.

(Just what is Sorciera preparing to fight…?)

The more she thought about it, the less she understood Sorciera’s true objective.

Just then, Luka’s thoughts were interrupted by Miyume’s faint groans.

“Miyume!”
“…Ah… ugh…”

It was unclear if she could hear them.

But her expression had softened compared to before, indicating that the medicine was taking effect.

Luka exhaled in relief and wiped the sweat from Miyume’s forehead.

Then, looking at the sleeping Miyume and Konie, she made up her mind.

“Luka-san?”

Toa tilted her head as she watched Luka stand up and leave the bed.

Luka, standing in front of the exit, spoke without turning back.

“…We’ve run out of medicine for Miyume. There’s a spare in the student council room, so I’ll go get it.”

“Will you be okay alone? That person might attack again, so I’ll go with you.”

“…I see. Then let’s go together.”

Kei stood up, telling Toa, “Watch over the two of them,” before following Luka.

“Huh? Just me…? Eh, eh?”

Left alone, Toa stared blankly at the door they had exited through.

But soon, she snapped back to reality, hurried to the bed, and held Miyume and Konie’s hands.

“Get… better!”

It was her earnest attempt.

■

With Kanon possibly attacking at any moment, Kei and Luka cautiously made their way to the student council room.

The dim, empty student council room looked like an abandoned storage facility due to its disorderly state.

“Is it really here?”

“Yes. A bit further in. I’m sure it was around that area…”

Luka turned on the light and proceeded deeper inside.

Following behind, Kei stopped as soon as he took a look around.

The place where he first spoke with Luka was actually one of the tidier spots.

The only indication that this room also functioned as a lab was the countless cables crawling along the walls, the monitors, and the half-assembled devices scattered about.

Without those, Kei would have thought this was nothing but a junkyard.

“…Wait, we have to search through all this?”

“Yes. Ah, could you check over there? Look for a blue case. It’s about this size.”

Luka traced a small rectangular shape in the air with her fingers.

For a moment, Kei nearly lost hope at the daunting task, but he nodded seriously.

“Hmm, I don’t see it. I was sure I left it here…”

Not long after they started searching, Luka tilted her head in confusion.

“It’s really here, right?”

“Of course. I left it in Important Storage No. 27.”

With that many designated storage spots, it could hardly be called ‘organized’ anymore.

Kei wanted to say as much but held back.

“Let’s hurry and find it so we can get back to Miyume.”

“Yes… Thank you, for going this far for Miyume.”

“No need to thank me. She’s already an important friend to me.”

While rummaging through the room, they spoke with their backs turned to each other.

The medicine wasn’t turning up.

“…You intended to take Miyume to your academy, didn’t you?”

“Yes. Konie-senpai asked us to.”

“I see.”

Luka fell silent.

Only the sounds of them searching filled the air.

“…Please take care of Miyume.”

Luka’s sudden words made Kei pause.

Without turning around, he replied.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. I’ve decided it’s time to stop hesitating.”

“…I see. Got it—!”

A sharp shock ran through Kei’s neck.

The next moment, he collapsed into a pile of equipment.

Behind him, Luka tossed aside the rod she had been holding.

It was a powerful anti-detective stun weapon, something the student council had crafted at some point.

“Sorry for deceiving you. But if I didn’t, you would have followed me too.”

There was no medicine in the student council room.

It had been a lie from the beginning—just a ruse to incapacitate Kei.

After confirming that Kei was unconscious, Luka quietly bowed her head.

“…I’m sorry. But I’ll end this, no matter what. That is my duty.”

Placing Kei on the sofa she usually napped on, Luka left the student council room with determination.

As her footsteps faded, silence settled over the room.

A few seconds later—

“…Hah, that left my neck tingling.”

Kei sat up.

He touched his neck with curiosity, then stood up.

“Alright, I guess I’ll go too.”

In response to his voice, a teleportation magic circle unfolded.

Sorciera stepped into it and vanished.

And the student council room was finally enveloped in true silence.