"How strange... Asta, why are you putting your hand on my head?"
"Washing your mouth."
"Huh?"
"With cement."
Lin Nai looked at Asta and saw that her face had gone completely dark.
Why did she seem like she was turning evil?
Wait...
Asta, what are you doing?!
Sensing Asta suddenly exert force with her hand, Lin Nai hurriedly braced himself against the ground.
"Asta?!"
"Even the real Lin Nai has become unclean. He has to be washed clean."
"Huh?!"
Lin Nai held on stubbornly as he cursed Aha like mad in his heart.
A perfectly fine Asta had turned out like this! Damn it! That bastard deserved to die a thousand deaths!!
Lin Nai already wanted to unleash a million horses of magnetic force and fight that Aeon of Elation to the death.
Seeing that she truly could not press him down, Asta let go.
"Alright, I was joking. Get up already. Your clothes are all dirty, and I'm not helping you wash them."
"Because you don't even know how to use a washing machine, Asta."
"What are you talking about?! That's nonsense!"
The moment Lin Nai noticed Asta's hand move away, he decisively got to his feet without hesitation.
What a joke.
If he kept lying there, Asta might really wash his mouth with cement later.
It was better not to experience something like that.
Too terrifying.
His actual body had appeared in Asta's dream, not just his consciousness!
He had to be careful not to end up with a mouthful of cement.
"By the way, Asta, what did those things you said at the beginning mean?"
Lin Nai recalled that when he had first entered the dream, Asta had stretched out her hand and said something about being happy and finding happiness.
Something about it felt off.
Asta said with a smile, "That... you'd better not ask."
"...Fine."
Asta was not joking. He really should not ask.
Who knew what might happen afterward...
"Alright, Lin Nai, let's talk business."
Asta turned serious and steered the conversation back. "What exactly is going on?"
Lin Nai briefly explained everything that had happened over the past three days.
That included Aha's involvement.
"I see..." Asta gently stroked Lin Nai's head. "You must be exhausted, right?"
He had not slept for three days.
And while searching for a solution, he also had to handle matters at the Space Station.
Madam Herta had even left the Space Station, which had probably put even more pressure on Lin Nai.
Asta could feel the almost visible exhaustion radiating from him.
"I'm alright. Besides, this has something to do with me in the first place."
After all, Aha had set their sights on him.
The Space Station had been dragged into it as well, which was why most of the researchers had fallen unconscious.
"Now isn't the time to talk about that. I need to find a way to wake you up, Asta."
"But... how?"
"This..."
Lin Nai paused. Right, he had only been focused on getting in and had completely forgotten how to get Asta out.
"As expected, Lin Nai, you're as silly as ever," Asta said helplessly.
"If it's a dream, wouldn't enough stimulation be enough to wake you up?"
"It's useless."
"Why do you say that?"
Asta stared at Lin Nai with a resentful expression. "Over these three days, I've already gone through plenty of stimulation."
God knew how many times she had watched Lin Nai get taken away from her!!
Especially when those people, after taking him away, would put on those smug Dio-like expressions and ask whether Asta could manage it!
And that was not all.
She had also seen Lin Nai die in front of her many times.
As for how he died...
Rest assured.
They were not exactly proper ways to die.
For example, dying from overexertion, dying from overexertion, dying from overexertion, and so on.
Lin Nai: Aren't those all the same way of dying?!
"Then what do we do... Oh, it's not like there's absolutely no way."
Lin Nai stretched his body and instructed Asta beside him, "Be careful later. Stay a little farther away."
"Lin Nai, what are you going to do?"
"Find Aha. The only way now is to make that guy end this so-called game early!"
"...I understand. Be careful."
"Don't worry, Aha won't kill me... Uh, but I'll probably have a rough time later."
Aha had said they would wait for him in Asta's dream.
Then they had to be watching from somewhere in the dark.
Before Lin Nai could call out to Aha, a strange laugh echoed throughout the entire space.
The surroundings changed once again.
Hmm...
That baby-faced sun looked a little familiar...
Wait, wasn't he the one who was not dreaming?
"Hee→hee↘hee↗hee↗hee↘! What a wonderful battle and plot, my friend!"
A little black figure wearing a top hat and mask appeared before Lin Nai.
"Interesting?"
"Isn't it interesting? I, Aha, specially designed that scenario myself~"
"...Fuck, that Topaz wasn't you in disguise again, was she?!"
Lin Nai's pupils contracted. If he had known, he would have let Asta wash his mouth with cement.
"Of course not. It's just a tiny bit more complicated than that."
Aha made a universe between their fingertips.
Really.
Just a tiny bit complicated.
"By the way, what was that move you used to defeat the trap I set up?"
It was the first time they had seen something so interesting.
Drawing out of thin air?
A magic brush?
"No comment."
"Is that so..." Seeing that Lin Nai had no intention of explaining, Aha did not press the matter. "I'm actually quite curious how you got here so quickly."
Aha clasped their hands behind their back and asked in confusion,
"According to my plan, you should have entered this place by chance through my incarnation."
"But my incarnation never saw you at all. How did you get in, dear friend?"
"Just a little trick."
Lin Nai moved his arms. He was not sure whether this little black figure had some sort of teleportation ability.
He had the urge to slash at them.
"Hahahaha! Interesting!" Aha laughed heartily. "How very interesting."
An unexpected development in their plan was entertaining to Aha.
After all, to them,
the act of seeking amusement was amusing enough in itself.
If something unforeseen happened, they would only find it interesting.
Just as Lin Nai had expected.
Aha would not attack him, but they would inevitably cause a little trouble.
Just enough to give Lin Nai a headache.
Heh heh.
They had added quite a few people into Asta's dream.
Once Lin Nai set out on his journey in the future, things would surely become even more interesting, right?
"Although I don't know what you're trying to do, it definitely can't be anything good..."
Lin Nai took out an item the system had triggered last night.
According to the system,
that item had undergone a tiny modification and gained some additional uses.
However...
It could only be used three times.
Not because of the modification. The system had originally given him an item that could only be used three times.
Limited edition, huh.
Before you continue