The crying continued for a while. Seiji retracted his hand, turned over, and enveloped Reo's warm and soft little body in his embrace.
Reo felt warmth and comfort from his firm chest muscles. Her crying gradually died down and eventually stopped.
The two of them slowly fell asleep in the silence. Feeling that something was abnormal, Seiji opened his eyes.
He noticed that the light was onno, the sky was lightand his room... felt somewhat strange.
He was astonished when he recognized where he was. This was Reo's bedroom from her soul realm!
"What the hell! It's here again!?"
'Why are things like this? I don't have that same mysterious power as her and Mayuzumi, nor did Natsuya cast a spell on me this time. Will even sleeping together with Reo-chan pull me into her soul realm again?'
Various thoughts flashed through Seiji's mind. He got out of bed and walked out the bedroom. There was nobody in the living room.
"Reo-chan, where are you?" he called.
He searched the residence for Reo but couldn't find her. He attempted to leave the residence but was unable to open the door. He was similarly unable to open the window.
When he tried to forcefully break the window, the glass absorbed his blow without even cracking. The scene outside the window was a normal blue sky. However, he couldn't see anything moving or living at all. He felt as if he were looking at a very realistic scenery painting.
He was unable to find Reo or leave this place. Nor did he know what was going on.
'How am I supposed to wake up and leave this place?' Seiji sat on the sofa and contemplated this question, using his palms to prop up his chin.
Then, an idea came to him, and he decided to try it. He found a foldable ladder in the storage room and placed it in front of the sofa.
He climbed to the top of the ladder, and then jumped off backwards from the top at an angle so that he would land on the sofa on his back!
*Plop!*
Seiji closed his eyes as he fell down onto the sofa, giving his body a jolt. When he reopened his eyes... he saw only darkness.
He was now sleeping in his own bed again, with Reo-chan in his arms.
He had woken up successfully!
Seiji heard before that intentionally falling down from a height was the best way to wake up from a lucid dream... and this actually worked!
If it worked, did it mean that entering that room was similar to having a lucid dream? Seiji looked towards Reo-chan again.
The little girl's breathing was calm. She seemed to be in a normal sleep, with nothing unusual about her condition. Seiji considered everything that had happened briefly before he closed his eyes and went back to sleep.
He remained asleep until he detected something abnormal again. Seiji opened his eyes once more. He had returned to Reo's room in her soul realm!
He walked out of the bedroom and saw the ladder still placed in the living room.
'Nothing changed about the condition. Is it because Reo-chan's been asleep for all this time? If she wakes up and then goes to sleep again... will the condition in this room be reset? Or will it become some other dimensional space?'
Seiji was now intrigued. Since he now knew how to wake up and exit this space, he started to wonder if this space could come in useful somehow...
When he attempted to open his system, Seiji's eyes instantly lit up! He was able to use his system.
All his options to train and increase his stats as well as grind for points were selectable, including... the ability to cultivate his Spiritual Power!
This was unlike his previous experience in Reo's soul realm. In that city, everything was grayed out; now everything was selectable!
He didn't know why this was, but it meant that he could cultivate in the room!
He didn't know what the time ratio here was. If it was still the same as before, with one hour in reality being half a year inside here, wouldn't this basically be... a super version of the Room of Time and Spirit!?
Seiji felt that this was rather unlikely.
The current situation was obviously different from his previous experience in Reo's soul realm, so he suspected that the time ratio was probably different as well. In fact, if it wasn't different, then his options would likely still be grayed out. Seiji had a feeling that his conjecture wasn't far from the truth.
At any rate, he decided to give things a try. And so, Seiji began cultivating in this place. After a while, Seiji's cell phone alarm rang, startling him awake.
"It's light outside..."
The time that he spent in that place... seemed equal to the time that passed in the real world. As he expected, the time ratio had changed. It was now basically 1:1.
He wasn't fatigued at all from cultivating while sleeping. As for his mental spirit... that felt unaffected as well.
Time-wise, it was the equivalent of pulling an all-nighter to cultivate, but in actuality, he had cultivated all night while still maintaining the benefits of having rested well all night.
Seiji looked towards Reo. The little girl was still asleep, so Seiji gently woke her up.
"Mmm... mew..." The loli slowly opened her eyes and blinked when she saw him.
"Good morning, Reo-chan."
"Good... morning, Brother Harano," she said rather groggily.
Seiji patted her head. "Did you sleep well last night?"
"Yes..."
"Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?"
"No..." Reo smiled adorably at him. "Brother Harano, you didn't move at all and slept so solidly. I want to keep sleeping together with Brother from now on!"
"...Sure, as long as want." Seiji smiled as he looked at her.
What he experienced hadn't caused any negative effects to Reo-chan... at least on the first night.
Being able to cultivate all night was a good thing, but he would give it up if there were any negative side effects for Reo-chan. It seemed that this wasn't the case—at least for the time being—so Seiji was relieved.
He got out of bed and drew back the curtains. Bright sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating everything.
Today was a bright and sunny day.
Seiji walked Reo to her elementary school. After Seiji ensured Reo arrived safely at her school, he took a bus to Genhana High School and barely managed to step into the classroom right before the bell rang.
Today was the first day of the high school final exams.
Seiji glanced over the questions after he received the test. He found that the questions were quite easy for him, as he had expected.
He immediately began filling out his answers.
Time passed, and the final exams for today came to a conclusion.
After the teachers collected the tests, everyone instantly started chattering and sighing.
"How'd you do, lolicon—whoops, I mean Seigo," Chiaki asked with a chuckle.
Seiji was rendered speechless for a moment.
"I think I did a pretty good job."
He gave up on saying anything about what she just called him. He felt that there couldn't possibly be a good end for him if everyone in the classroom heard that term.
"How about you, Chiaki?"
"I think I did alright. However—" the tomboy shifted her gaze to her friend—"it doesn't look so good for Mika."
Seiji looked over at Mika as well and saw that the pigtailed girl had collapsed listlessly on her desk.
'An expression like that makes it seem like she has nothing left to live for. But really? She even participated in our group study sessions with the drama club.'
The two of them walked up to her.
"Mika... how'd you do?" Seiji asked.
"Not good," Mika said softly. "I didn't know how to answer so many questions."
"You should at least be able to pass, right?"
"Wah..."
Seiji didn't know what to say anymore after seeing her expression.
"The questions this time were difficult, but it's alright, Mika," Chiaki comforted.
"Chiaki..."
"I bet that there are many people that aren't going to pass and will have to take makeup exams. You won't have to worry about being alone," Chiaki added with a grin.
"That's what you were talking about!?"
"With enough students taking makeup exams, it won't be any different from going to school on a normal day."
"I'm not reassured by that at all!"
"If you're walking on the road with a bookbag during school vacation, bystanders will think that you're an excellent, hard-working student and respect you."
"That won't happen at all! Even if that's true, I don't want to experience it!!"
Seiji looked towards Kaho who had also revised with the drama club study group while Mika was energetically retorting against Chiaki's jokes.
He saw that Kaho was sitting in her seat with a listless look in her eyes. She seemed to be as pale as a ghost.
'The study group seems to have been ineffective.' In his heart, Seiji smiled wryly.
As his thoughts went back to the study group, he couldn't help but recall that student named Hiroshi Fuuma, along with his younger sister Airi Fuuma.
How… was the Fuuma family doing now?
[TL note: For the readers who haven't seen my new novel yet, please check it out here, let me know what you think, and give it your power stones if you enjoy the story! https://www.webnovel.com/book/10330951406005605/Chronicles-of-the-Weakest-Wind-Mage]