(1P)
Beep—!
Beep beep—!!
The hinged coffin lids had barely opened when Aldebaran blew a whistle she had somehow procured from who knew where. It was shrill and unpleasant, reminding me of an elementary school PE teacher who hadn't yet become so frail and sickly.
As I sat up, Mono brought over drinks from the water bar.
Locust and Sophia also sat up in identical coffins on either side.
"Completely useless! Not a single one of you succeeded! Can't you recreate the feelings you had back then? Miluno! Didn't you say you'd found the trick?"
Standing before us was Aldebaran, a lollipop in her mouth as she berated us.
Just as she said, the small cans of darkness above the three coffins showed no signs of being converted.
"Even if I remember the trick now, the moment I enter that virtual reality, you block those memories! Can't you give us a hint in there?"
"The key to converting darkness is realism, immersion. Do you think completely real memories would pop up a hint window? What is this, a video game? Want little tags too?"
The plan wasn't progressing smoothly. Forget converting the Dark Seal—even these little cans of darkness couldn't be converted. Aldebaran's irritation was only natural.
Sophia, the Vampire Ninja, complained unhappily.
"No matter how realistic something virtual is, it's still fake. It can never evoke one hundred percent genuine emotions, so how could it possibly convert darkness?"
"You want me to point a gun at your little brothers and sisters and force you into a corner again?!"
Perhaps frustrated by their failure to live up to her expectations, Aldebaran, usually calm and composed, began swearing as well.
"This is bad!!"
At that moment, Xiao Qilan rushed upstairs in a panic and said anxiously,
"SpiCa's search squad is here!