The Past Within Dreams (夢の中に在る過去, Yume no Naka ni Aru Kako?) is the fourth chapter of Volume 5 of the fifth My Happy Marriage novel.
Summary[]
On the tenth day of their stay, Kazushi arrives late to a meeting with Kiyoka, Jakuji Unan and Godou at the vanguard camp. Unan shares the research discovery that some of the captured Grotesqueries are physical beings, unlike the purely spiritual beings they encountered before. He presents a small, transparent sphere with fragments of a human fingernail inside it found within one of these Grotesqueries. This sphere acts as a delicate barrier, with its inner part affecting the physical entity of the Grotesquerie, and the outer part influencing its spiritual aspect. This method allows Grotesqueries to manifest as physical beings. As a result, Gifts and techniques aimed at destroying the spiritual entity are ineffective against their physical bodies, making them a formidable challenge for Gift-users and technique-users. The key to dealing with these physical Grotesqueries is to break the barrier inside them. Kazushi promptly dispels the barrier, causing the sphere to disappear. Kiyoka immediately orders Godou to instruct all unit members to dispel this barrier when encountering such Grotesqueries. If no member is capable of doing so on the spot, they are to attempt to destroy the barrier with brute force or capture the Grotesquerie through the barrier.
Miyo dreams of Sumi sitting alone outside the Usuba estate, but feels that something is amiss. A young Usui appears, explaining that these scenes are not actual moments from the past but dreams he's created by revisiting the past. Unable to wake up due to her inexperience with Dream-Sight, Miyo decides to use this opportunity to extract information from Usui since he can't harm her in dreams. She questions him why he hurts people, but Usui claims he has no responsibility for the choices others make that hurt them. When Miyo tells him that his actions with the Gifted Communion are wrong, Usui explains that he believes that power should be held by those with equal strength, yet in the current system, outstanding Gifted people like the Usuba family are marginalized, while ordinary people arrogantly cling to power. He deems the current system unjust, with the emperor, whose Divine Revelation is inferior to Dream-Sight, mistreating and oppressing other Gifted people. Usui proposes that she become the queen of his envisioned new world that is led by Gifted people, given her possession of the strongest Gift. He argues that she should understand the injustice as someone being abused for over a decade. However, Miyo rejects this offer, asserting that she doesn't seek such power. Usui contends that if those she cares about suffer harm, she will wish for more power to prevent it. While Miyo struggles to refute his argument, she firmly declines his proposal, but Usui is determined to carry out his plan, one that he initiated before Miyo's birth, and insists that no one, including Miyo, will stop him. He reveals that he'll target Kiyoka to get Miyo to join him, but doesn't elaborate further. Miyo attempts to imprison him within her dream, hoping to delay him, but wakes up.
After getting up, Miyo notices that snow is imminent, making it urgent for her to talk to Kiyoka. However, she can't walk around without her bodyguard, Arata, who hasn't returned. Hazuki sends a familiar to ask Kiyoka to come over, and find all the guards and courtiers strangely uncooperative when they try to look for a boyguard. While waiting for Kiyoka, the Minister of Education's secretary appears and behaves suspiciously. He suddenly pushes Hazuki aside and seizes Miyo. When Hazuki tries to intervene, he throws her to the ground. Miyo realizes he's an artificial Gift-user, as his eyes turned from brown to glowing dark red. He summons Grotesqueries with the intention to attack Takaihito's residence. Miyo deploys familiars in self-defense, but they are quickly destroyed by the Grotesqueries. When the man is about to attack Hazuki, Miyo uses her body weight to free herself and shield Hazuki from the upcoming impact by lying on top of her. Kiyoka arrives in time to stop the man using lightning. In an ensuing battle, the man attacks Kiyoka using self-created ice bullets, but Kiyoka easily disarms him and arrests him. The man reveals that he infiltrate the government as a secretary on orders of the Founder and there are more government collaborators aiding the Gifted Communion, including Hasebe and Hasebe's relative in the Ministry of Communications who tampered with the intelligence system. In the meantime, Kazushi dispels the barrier inside the Grotesqueries, after which unit members, including Godou, use their powers to eliminate them. Miyo shares her dream with Kiyoka, who believes Usui's plan to target him is probably not limited to just this secretary. They then realize that Arata is still missing.
The Gifted Communion has gained control of the Imperial Army, imprisoning those in the General Staff who opposed Naoshi and replacing them with supporters. They also increasingly gain popularity among the population, and have a firm hold on the Emperor's authority. Hasebe, who was enticed to join him by the promise of a prominent role in the new government, eagerly expresses that their time has finally come. Usui informs him that they are about to launch an operation and leaves the VIP room at the military headquarters. Houjou, waiting for him, reports that everything is going according to plan, including the unit's discovery of their Grotesquerie creation method, and the arrest of the secretary and Hasebe's relative. Usui then reflects on the long journey that has brought him to this point, which began when Sumi was forced into marriage with the Saimoris by the Emperor. Discussing the Emperor's condition with Houjou, Usui intends to continue torturing him until he's of no use, at which point he will kill him personally. Due to Miyo becoming Kiyoka's fiancée, Naoshi had to accelerate his plan. While this revised plan isn't as certain as his initial one, he remains confident that it will ultimately succeed. They head to a special detention center in the headquarters. The detained Gifted Communion members eagerly welcome his arrival, as he had informed them in advance of their impending release. After Usui breaks a wooden altar used to hinder Gift usage, Houjou opens all cell doors. They plan to utilize these artificial Gift-users and the Grotesqueries they've created, to overwhelm the unit with their huge numbers.
While Miyo and the others work to clean up and check for hidden Grotesqueries after the commotion earlier, Miyo is worried about Arata's absence. A unit member informs Kiyoka that the detained Gifted Communion members have been released on the Emperor's orders. Suddenly, a large Imperial Army military force led by Arata surrounds them and point their sabers towards them. Arata announces that Kiyoka is a suspect of various crimes, including kidnapping the Emperor and attempting to subvert the empire. When Kiyoka argues with Arata, the latter points a gun at him and explains that the Emperor, who is found with the help of the Gifted Communion, personally stated that Kiyoka participated in his kidnapping and ordered his immediate arrest. The unit's camps and station have been suppressed, putting everyone's lives at risk if Kiyoka resists. On Arata's order, soldiers handcuffs Kiyoka, who doesn't resist. Miyo calls to Arata, but he coldly tells her to be silent. She's frightened by his drastic change and asks him why he's doing this. Arata says his support of Usui benefits the Usubas, a reason that Miyo finds unbelievable. Before he's taken away, Kiyoka whispers his love for Miyo and asks her to wait for him at their home. Miyo, in tears, blames herself for not expressing her feelings sooner, fearing she may never have the chance.
Characters in Order of Appearance[]
- Kiyoka Kudou
- Kazushi Tatsuishi
- Yoshito Godou
- Jakuji Unan
- Miyo Saimori
- Naoshi Usui
- Sumi Usuba (dream)
- Hazuki Kudou
- Yurie
- Minister of Education's secretary
- Kazushi Tatsuishi
- Yoshito Godou
- Hasebe
- Houjou
- Arata Usuba
Mentioned characters[]
- Takaihito
- Lord Chamberlain
- Minister of the Imperial Household
- Emperor
- Masashi Ookaito
Chapter Notes[]
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