After a moment of silence, there was finally a small reaction in the darkness.
It was a faint chuckle, carrying a sense of indifference.
No, perhaps it wasn't indifference, but a feeling of emptiness due to a lack of foundation, making the entire laugh seem very shallow.
"Sorry." After that light laugh, the figure in the darkness let out an apology that was equally filled with emptiness, making it impossible for Sirin to tell if it was sincere.
This voice... the other person must be Frélle, right?
Shaking her hands, Sirin came out of her defensive posture and then cautiously felt her way back.
This time, she merely held the other's hand and didn't advance any further.
Frélle's hand was a bit cold, letting Sirin hold it, like an immobile doll, she couldn't even feel a pulse.
This is a dream. It would be strange if I could feel a pulse...
Sirin let out a small sigh and then began to try and find the key component of this dream.
Unlike the real world, a dream has a core. The entire dream revolves around this core. Without this core, the dream will collapse and become pathological.
The core node of Sirin's dream was actually "magic." When Sirin believed that magic didn't exist, the normal dream began to collapse. And when "magic" reappeared, the entire dream became Shu's aid.
It was so dark here it was ridiculous. She couldn't see anything. Sirin could only feel her way around with her hands. At this rate, she would never figure out what the node of this dream was.
To successfully use her power, Sirin had to find the node and then cover it with her own power. And if there was any interference in this process, Sirin wouldn't even have a second chance.
Hearing that apology, it seemed this Frélle could be communicated with?
"Um... have you been here all along?" Sirin decided to try asking the "native."
No answer. The corner of Sirin's eye twitched.
She should have known. Would someone who could laugh like that really answer other people's questions?
Looks like she still had to rely on herself.
Sirin let go of her hand helplessly and then prepared to start a carpet search on the ground. This place wasn't big anyway. It shouldn't take long for her to feel her way through the entire area...
"To my left..."
Just as she let go, Frélle's voice suddenly came out.
Sirin looked up blankly, "Huh?"
"To my left... there's a light..." Frélle repeated in a small voice, then fell silent again.
Sirin understood this time and quickly felt her way to her left.
No, she said to HER left!
Changing direction and continuing to feel, it didn't take long for Sirin to really feel a cold sphere to Frélle's left. She quickly picked it up and, after fumbling in the dark for a while, successfully found a button on the sphere's base.
Click—
A faint light, barely qualifying as one, lit up in Sirin's hand. The light was so weak that if she extended her arm, she couldn't even illuminate her own face.
But it was a light nonetheless. With this glimmer, Sirin could finally see the outlines of the objects in this dark world. And by getting closer, Sirin could even see their true appearance.
Sirin immediately returned to Frélle's side and brought the light source, which was probably a crystal ball, closer to her.
As expected, the chains that had tripped Sirin were indeed connected to Frélle. Heavy shackles bound her hands and feet, and there was even a large collar on the girl's delicate neck...
But there were also unexpected things. Frélle, who was bound by these shackles, was still so exquisite, even more noble than the Frélle Sirin had seen in the outside world.
There wasn't much makeup on the train. Kiana and the others were basically bare-faced, at most using some face cream to feel more comfortable.
So the Frélle in the real world didn't have much to dress herself up with. Her exquisite appearance was entirely due to her own natural beauty and her noble demeanor.
And the Frélle here, although wearing humiliating chains, was in a gorgeous dress with exquisite makeup, giving the illusion that "the one imprisoned is a princess."
"Hello?" What hadn't Sirin seen in a dream? After a moment of surprise, she started to try and talk to her again.
Influenced by the light, Frélle slightly raised her bowed head to face Sirin's question.
"Hello."
The question finally got a response. Sirin immediately felt a sense of great accomplishment.
"Why are you trapped here?" Seeing that there was a possibility of development, Sirin quickly followed up.
"Why am I trapped here?" Frélle repeated Sirin's question blankly, a look of confusion on her face, even purer than Sirin's.
Sirin's heart sank. Looking at the confusion on Frélle's face, she had a bad feeling.
Why are you more confused than I am?!
After thinking for a moment, Frélle shook her head.
"Sorry, I don't know... I don't know why I'm trapped here..."
"Think carefully?" Sirin asked again, not giving up. Although she had a light in her hand, it was still very difficult to search the entire room with such a faint light.
Frélle listened seriously to Sirin's suggestion, but in the end, she was still completely confused.
"Did she forget..." Sirin sighed. There was nothing she could do. It seemed she still had to rely on herself..
"No."
Sirin looked at Frélle in astonishment, while Frélle's face remained just as confused.
Seeing her like this, a small guess formed in Sirin's mind. She decided to test it.
"Are you Frélle?"
"Yes."
"How old are you this year?"
"...Sorry, I don't know."
"Can you move?"
"No."
"Which do you prefer, cats or dogs?"
"Dogs."
"Cats are obviously cuter!"
After a few quick questions, Sirin already had her answer.
She took a deep breath and then asked the final question to confirm her guess.
"Are you eleven years old this year?" After speaking, Sirin stared intently at Frélle's face, waiting for her answer.
This question seemed to be a repeat of a previous one. She had asked Frélle if she knew how old she was, and Frélle's answer was that she didn't know her age.
Since she didn't know, she couldn't answer if she was eleven.
But after a brief silence, Frélle spoke.
"...Yes."
That's it!
A smile appeared on Sirin's face. Her guess was correct. The Frélle before her couldn't answer complex questions, only judgment and multiple-choice questions.
And this "complexity" didn't have a very high threshold. She couldn't even answer a question with a range of dozens of numbers.
It seems I can bring things to her one by one to confirm... no, why am I thinking like that?
Shaking her head, Sirin looked at Frélle and began to seriously consider the question she was about to ask.
"You've been trapped here for a long time, right?" First, she should confirm the severity of the situation.
"Yes..." Frélle nodded.
"Were you trapped here by someone?" Then, investigate the cause.
"...Yes." Frélle's answer was a bit hesitant. Sirin caught this, confirming that Frélle wasn't giving an absolute answer, but one based on her own perception.
In other words, she couldn't answer a question like whether a perpetual motion machine exists.
"Then are you willing to stay here?" Actually, Sirin wanted to ask if the person who locked Frélle in here had done so against her will, but she felt that asking like that was a bit strange.
This time, Frélle was silent for a longer time. After a long while, Frélle slowly shook her head, but the answer she gave was...
"Willing."
Sirin: ?
Do you want to think about it again, or maybe have your body and your words agree on an answer before you reply to me?
This question only had two answers, and Frélle's body and words had given two completely different ones. One of them must be lying.
Lying was normal, but the side that had to tell the truth in this situation... could it be that it could only tell the truth?
Then who was telling the truth? Should she test it again?
But how could she test it to find out? The lying side didn't just have to lie; it could give selective answers. In other words, any result could be a product of the other's disguise...
Sirin pondered for a moment. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration went through her mind.
There was another possibility... that neither of them was lying! It was just that the body and the mind really had different opinions!
The phenomenon of physical pain and mental pleasure was actually quite common. And in a dream, it was also normal for the two to have their own consciousness.
If this was the case, then verifying it would be much simpler!
"Do you want to go to school?" Sirin asked confidently. On this question, the difference between body and mind was the most common!
Frélle was taken aback for a moment, then nodded. "Want."
This is a monster!
Sirin's pupils quaked as she looked at Frélle. She couldn't imagine why anyone would willingly want to go to school, and their body could still find it enjoyable.
The body must be lying!
"Ahem... is it because... school is very important to you?"
Frélle shook her head. "No..."
Sirin wanted to ask more, but Frélle spoke on her own.
"Because... there are many people at school..."
"Huh?" Frélle's independent answer left Sirin a bit stunned. After pondering for a moment, Sirin suddenly looked at the chains that bound Frélle here, and then at the darkness where the chains extended.
The questions she had just asked began to connect in Sirin's mind.
Trapped here by someone, for a long time, and physically unwilling, but mentally very accepting...
Isn't this just like school? But this was obviously not school...
Then what was the contradictory essence of school?
It was "for your own good"...
Good medicine is bitter, and faithful words are harsh to the ear. Even though these things are not pleasant, people will still follow reason and do them, because they know in their hearts that it is beneficial to them.
Was Frélle in the same situation? In other words, she believed that being locked up here was beneficial to her, but her body didn't think so.
But... why?
Sirin racked her brains but couldn't figure out why anyone would think that being tied up with these chains in such a room was beneficial to them. Isn't this just pure masochism!
No, that's not right! If she were a masochist, then the opinions of the body and the mind should be reversed!
Sirin held the crystal ball in one hand and messed up her hair with the other.
"Aaargh... why on earth!!"
Sirin's mind was a mess. She stood up in a huff, deciding to walk away from the strange Frélle for now, to try and find the node herself and relax her brain a little.
With the light from the crystal ball in her hand, Sirin slowly felt her way to the wall, then began to feel her way along it.
As she had thought, this room was very small. And Sirin couldn't find a door. All four sides were walls, more like a prison cell than a prison cell. And with those chains, being here was pure imprisonment.
And it was a prison where you couldn't even get a meal.
After circling twice, Sirin returned to stand before Frélle. This time, there were no questions and answers, just the two of them sitting opposite each other, staring blankly.
Sirin still had no clue. She couldn't find anything. She couldn't just ask Frélle if this was a dream node, could she...
"Is this a dream node?"
"?"
Alright, this time there wasn't even an answer. Sirin didn't think it would be useful to explain to Frélle what a dream node was. She lay back in defeat, gently placing her hand on her forehead.
She felt her brain was a little fried...
"Hmm?"
Sirin suddenly felt her nose itch. The next moment, she sneezed violently.
Even the dust is bullying me...
Wait, dust?
Sirin suddenly opened her eyes, looking with some confusion at the ceiling hidden in the darkness.
Was there dust here? She had been feeling the ground for so long just now but hadn't felt any dust. And Frélle had said she had been here for a long time. Could a place where dust didn't accumulate on the ground have dust?
Then this dust was...
Sirin slowly moved her hand in front of her eyes.
There was some white ash in her fingernails...
"This is..." Sirin's pupils constricted. She shot up from the ground.
The faint glimmer of inspiration had now finally taken full form, becoming a single thread, stringing together all the pearls of wisdom she had obtained.
Reason was willing, the body refused, unwilling, for a long time... Learning was indeed the one thing that fit all these... but in reality? What was the reason why everyone's body resisted?
It was that school was like being in prison...
Prison!!
Sirin quickly stood up, turned, and looked behind her. In the darkness, Sirin's eyes glowed.
The way to leave the cage...
...was to break out of prison!