The deputy commander still hadn’t woken up.

The head of the outpost’s words were enough to stir a deep sense of unease within me. At this point, after so much time had passed, the deputy commander should have woken up by now.

People like the deputy commander, who are accustomed to constant fatigue, usually can’t sleep for more than 12 hours without waking up due to back pain, hunger, or other reasons.

"Have you tried waking him?"

"…That’s why I’m asking you. Was there anything strange that happened while you were dealing with that foreign shard?"

This wasn’t something we could overlook.

I headed straight to the deputy commander’s office at the knight's headquarters to check on him. The person who opened the door for me was the knight commander.

“Commander.”

I straightened my posture and saluted, but she tilted her head in confusion.

“Why do you greet me that way?”

Perhaps I had been a bit too rough when dealing with the chef earlier, but if I’d known she was the knight commander, I wouldn’t have acted like that.

She still didn’t seem to fully recognize her position as the knight commander. It was no use if she forgot everything right after turning around.

But that wasn’t the issue at hand.

I quickly explained that there was an urgent matter and asked for permission to enter. She stepped aside, allowing me to approach the deputy commander.

I placed my fingers near his nose, worried that he might be dead, but fortunately, he was still breathing.

“Deputy commander, it’s time for duty.”

I wasn’t exactly being polite, but given the circumstances, I felt it was necessary to shake him awake carefully. But just as the outpost head had said, the deputy commander showed no signs of waking up.

What should I do?

My head throbbed as I struggled to come up with a solution.

“Commander, how many people have been here to check on him?”

“Hmm.”

The commander thought for a moment, then nodded and said, “Those two who always travel together came by.”

…She must be referring to Alpha and Beta. As the deputy commander’s direct subordinates, they would have checked on him immediately.

At least the rest of the knight order wasn’t aware of the situation yet, which was a relief. If word got out that the deputy commander was unable to wake up due to the influence of a foreign shard, all of Rondan would descend into chaos.

Time was of the essence.

“Commander, I’ll be taking one of the sleeping potions with me.”

“Hmm? Understood.”

It was a formality to report my actions, but I did it nonetheless. Grabbing one of the sleeping potions, I hurried back to the knights’ resting quarters and quickly swallowed the potion before falling asleep.

Darkness enveloped my consciousness.

What should have been a typical dreamlike state—unconscious and drifting—was instead one where I had full control over my body and limbs.

The reason was clear.

“Well, you’re here already?”

Nytriche.

The foreign shard who managed dreams had intervened.

Nytriche approached me with a friendly smile, but I wasn’t in the mood for pleasantries. As she got closer, I grabbed her by the shoulders.

“Huh? What’s gotten into you?”

“The deputy commander still hasn’t woken up.”

I wasn’t sure why her face flushed for a moment, but her expression quickly turned serious when she heard my words.

“What?”

“I thought it might be the lingering effects of the sleeping potion, but no matter how much I shake him, he won’t wake up.”

Nytriche sighed heavily, running a hand over her forehead, her expression growing more somber.

“Now that you mention it, there’s one consciousness that still hasn’t disappeared. I figured it would resolve itself in time.”

“Could it be because I interfered with that dream earlier?”

I recalled the dream that had been blocking our path earlier. I’d intervened because I couldn’t just pass by it, but messing with someone’s unconscious mind wasn’t exactly a great idea.

It could easily lead to problems.

But Nytriche shook her head.

“No, that’s not it. The owner of the dream you interfered with has already woken up.”

“Oh, really?”

Knowing that I hadn’t caused any issues eased my guilt somewhat. But if that wasn’t the cause, then what was?

“The human unconscious isn’t something that’s invulnerable to disruption, even if it appears stable.”

Nytriche tossed out a new idea as she began to explain.

“Imagine a strong stream of water hitting a rock. At first, the rock might seem fine, just a little worn down. But if the water keeps hitting it, over time it erodes completely.”

Boom.

Nytriche stomped her foot, producing a loud sound as if to mimic the crash of a crumbling rock. I jumped a little at the noise—not that I’d admit it.

“…So, it would eventually break?”

“Exactly. It’ll split and collapse. The unconscious is no different. Just because someone can handle it now doesn’t mean they won’t eventually break. And it seems that’s what happened in this case.”

“Then what am I supposed to do?”

I now understood that the deputy commander had somehow fallen into a deep sleep because his unconscious mind had collapsed. But what was the solution?

Surely Nytriche had a plan, otherwise, she wouldn’t have explained all this.

Her expression grew even more serious.

“There’s only one way. It’s similar to what you did yesterday—you need to enter his dream directly.”

“…You want me to meddle with his unconscious mind?”

“That’s right. You’ve got it.”

Interfering with someone’s unconscious mind…

There’s a saying when dealing with depressed patients: you should simply listen to what they say without offering instructions or making decisions for them. Trying to control the situation can do more harm than good.

Wasn’t the deputy commander’s condition even worse than that?

A mental scar deep enough to cause the unconscious mind to collapse…

Was it really okay for me to enter his dream and meddle with his mind?

What if my interference only made things worse?

“You’re having foolish thoughts, aren’t you?”

It must have shown on my face, because Nytriche smirked at me with a mix of amusement and mockery.

“…What do you mean by foolish thoughts?”

“Let me guess, you’re thinking ‘who am I to mess with his unconscious mind?’ Right?”

“…Yeah, something like that.”

Nytriche sighed in exasperation.

“You just woke up after eating something made from the flesh of a foreign shard, didn’t you?”

“…That’s true.”

“And now, after putting your body through that, you’re hesitating? You’re like someone who cooks an elaborate meal, sits down at the table, and then suddenly says, ‘I don’t feel like eating.’ It’s ridiculous.”

…Nytriche had a real knack for using analogies that perfectly captured the situation. Her tone was lighthearted, and her expressions made the whole thing oddly entertaining.

Thanks to that, my worries began to fade a little.

“…You’re right. Thanks, Nytriche.”

“If you’re really thankful, start thinking of what we’ll do for fun next time. Words are nice, but actions are better.”

“Haha, got it. I’ll come up with something amazing.”

“Good. I’m looking forward to it.”

She flashed a bright smile and gave me a thumbs-up. I couldn’t help but smile back.

Nytriche took my hand, and we approached the black sphere that seemed a bit larger than before.

“This is it. Once you go inside, you’ll enter his consciousness—what you’d call a ‘dream.’”

Nytriche turned to me.

“Are you ready?”

“…Yeah, I’m ready.”

With the knight commander incapacitated, the future of the Rondan Knight Order depended on the deputy commander. He was the pillar holding everything together, and without him, we were in a state of emergency.

I had to restore him, no matter what.

“Alright, let’s go.”

Nytriche entered the black sphere first, pulling me along with the hand she held.

The moment we entered the black sphere, a fierce wind swept over us.

Or rather, that was the dream’s setting.

It was as if the sky had a gaping hole, dumping endless snow down onto the ground, making it nearly impossible to see.

“Is this…”

Something about this place felt familiar.

Yes.

This was the mountain before we reached the distant snowy giant—the snowy mountain.

“Commander, it’s too dangerous!”

A desperate voice echoed in the storm.

Piecing everything together, I realized what dream the deputy commander was trapped in.

The Snowy Mountain Expedition Disaster.

He was still stuck in the nightmare of that tragic event.