"..."

Klaus opened his eyes slowly and realized he was in a completely different place. Huh? His mind was muddled for a few moments as he tried to remember what had happened. He was certain that he had fought a presumably C-rank Draugr in his Personal Dimension. Another Draugr appeared, presumably another C-rank Draugr as well afterward.

What happened after that exactly?

"..."

"What's the matter Klaus? Is there something wrong with the soup? Did I put in too much salt in it?"

Klaus's mother nudged him with her chopsticks when Klaus didn't answer her inquiry. Was the soup she made felt too strange that her son didn't even indulge himself in it? She glanced at her daughter, Freda, who sat across the dining table, and Freda let out a sigh.

"Come on, Klaus, stop daydreaming!"

Freda kicked her brother in the knee, and he yelped from it. She grinned when Klaus glared at her, taking in the satisfaction of hitting her nerd-of-a-brother.

"What's that for!?" shouted Klaus.

"Mom was asking you if you're alright, idiot."

Klaus's eyes opened wide as he finally understood what was happening, an epiphany of some sort. He was looking at his family members in his past life. But this situation felt too out of place that he balked at the idea of it.

Again, from what he remembered, he was fighting a powerful Draugr and managed to defeat it in the end. Another Draugr made its appearance after that, but he was in no condition to go against another adversity. So, he gambled on his only escape route, which was to concentrate on leaving the Personal Dimension, and he accomplished this task in the nick of time.

Then, this situation he was in must be a dream.

Speaking of dreams, he hadn't had one for a long time.

"Hey, Klaus, are you hungry or not? If not, give me that soup, and don't eat dinner tomorrow. Mom made that soup because you asked her to, but now you're saying that you don't want it?"

"Hey, I didn't say that I don't want it. Just because Dad is not here today doesn't mean you can talk to me like that," said Klaus, somewhat annoyed by his sister jumping to a conclusion without thinking.

And what did she mean by him not being able to eat dinner tomorrow?

"Mom, sorry, but I know this is not real. I know I'd escaped from the Personal Dimension, so this must be a dream. I'll wake up sooner or later."

The mother's eyes drooped as she placed a hand at her cheek. She was confused by what Klaus meant. No, she didn't understand what he said at all. She noticed that Klaus was discontented to the point where he didn't want to eat dinner.

Did something happen to him at school? Her son's anger was visible to her eyes, preventing her from saying a word. Perhaps he felt indignant towards how Freda treated him?

"What's this nonsense you're talking about?" asked Freda with her arms crossed over her chest. "Do you want to eat dinner or not? I asked you a simple question, didn't I?"

"Look, I don't want to deal with you right now," warned Klaus. He was in no mood to fight with his sister, nor think about her.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I meant what I said, literally. What part of it that you don't understand?"

"I said, give me the soup if you don't want it. I kept asking you this question over and over!"

Klaus felt his emotions welling up inside him. First, he was attacked by that stupid Draugr and got himself injured. Now, he had to entertain this girl in front of him until he woke up.

If his injury does return, he has to treat it and endure the pain in the process. Thinking about what would happen and the thing he had to take care of stressed him. He had to explain his injury to Grandma and perhaps Aoi too. What sort of excuse could he come up with when that time comes?

A throbbing pain struck his head, and he winced from it. Thinking about the outcome put so much pressure on him that a part of him wished he didn't involve himself with Brynhildr and the Personal Dimension.

"...I don't want to argue with you, alright? Here, take my soup. I'm going upstairs. Don't bother me unless you have to."

Klaus stood up from his seat and turned around without looking at his mother nor Freda. These people were only a part of his memories that had been sealed by Brynhildr. He didn't have to care much about their opinion nor what they had to say about his actions.

"Hey, Klaus, are you sick or something?" asked Freda when she noticed Klaus put a hand on his stomach with a pained expression.

"..." Klaus didn't give her his reply as he strode out of the kitchen. Even though his injury wasn't there in plain sight, he could still feel the lingering pain. It coursed throughout his body and intensified when he was at the foot of the staircase.

"If I wake up, I'll just go to the clinic right away—no—a hospital. I can't go on like this. It hurts so much," Klaus mumbled under his breath.

"Klaus, are you alright?"

Freda stood behind him with a worried expression on her face. When her brother didn't give her a reply to her question, she went to his side quickly. She put a hand on his shoulder to get his attention, but he responded in an unfriendly manner.

He glared daggers at her, and she couldn't help but took a few steps back unconsciously.

"Why are you so annoying!? I said, don't bother me!! Why don't you understand!? Go away! I don't want to see you!"

"Klaus... I'm sorry, but you look like you're in so much pain that I—"

"GO AWAY!!"

Their mother ran to their side when she heard Klaus yelling at Freda. "Don't yell at your sister! She's just worried about you."

"I don't need her to worry about me! Just don't bother me right now, okay!?"

Freda lowered her head as she bit her lip. Was it her fault that her brother was angry at her? She recognized her flaw—that she always teased him without any regard to how he felt about it.

But, she wanted to do what she could to help him in any way possible. He was hurting and she knew she could do something about it.

"...Klaus, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Because of me, you pushed yourself and tried your best for my sake. And you got yourself hurt in the end. So, stop sacrificing yourself so that you could comfort me. It's for your own good."

"...Huh?"

The Freda before him apologized as if she knew what happened exactly. No, this wasn't right. He was in a dream, so there was no way she could be connected to the Freda in the new world.

"Freda, I—Ugh!"

"Klaus!" was the last word he heard from his sister before he fell unconscious, allowing himself to be taken from that place and back to reality.