"What's wrong?"
Seeing Shade stop short with the expression of someone who had suddenly remembered he'd left the gas on at home, the doctor asked in confusion.
"Doctor!"
Shade could barely control his voice. He looked anxiously at Doctor Schneider, standing in the warm yellow glow of the streetlamp.
"You mean things can be hidden in dreams?"
"Of course. Skilled Ring Arcanists who specialize in powers of the mind and dreams can all do that. But what exactly is wrong with you?"
Doctor Schneider looked quite worried.
"Is Kinwise's dream still affecting you? Do you need me to give you a simple examination?"
"No, I'm fine."
Shade was desperate for an answer.
"Doctor, when I enrolled, I used the Poet Level Relic Saint Byrens Comprehensive College's dream to confirm whether Saint Byrens Comprehensive College really existed. Has that relic existed since the Academy's earliest days?"
Shade had asked an entirely unrelated question. The doctor nodded in surprise.
"Of course it has. That was the dream of the Academy's founder, the legendary Thirteenth Ring Warlock, Miss Feliana. Naturally, it has existed since the Academy was founded."
An almost ecstatic expression appeared on Shade's face.
"Then, was the first time I heard Miss Mana Falianna's name when you introduced that relic to me?"
The doctor understood Shade even less, but he still nodded.
"Though I'm not you, I can answer that: yes. After all, hadn't you only just entered the field of mysticism at the time? You could even say you had only just gained your own ability to remember."
As he answered, he looked Shade over from head to toe in great concern, as though he truly feared Shade was still under the dream's influence.
Shade looked up at the mist over Tobesk, toward the Three Moons behind it. In a