"Hoo... hooo..."

The sound of an owl. Upon waking, one would expect to hear the chirping of birds to announce the morning, but an owl?

That was strange.

"...Are you awake?"

And another sound, faint like a hallucination. In my groggy state, I thought it might be a dream.

"This is the last time. Please get up."

However, the sharp voice that followed was too vivid to be part of a dream. The tone held no attempt to conceal its annoyance and slight anger.

I had no choice but to acknowledge that this wasn’t a dream, but reality.

Forcing my …