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| Chapter 126 | Book 7 • Chapter 127 | Chapter 128 |
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Savanaclaw Dorm
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...I spent that whole time blue-screening out of pure secondhand cringe. So that's what overly excited otaku look like from the outside... All the oofs... |
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What WAS that? He kept talking for five hours straight with nary a pause longer than 10 seconds at a stretch. |
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Even the real-world Rook ain't that bad. |
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What I'm confused about is why Pomefiore's vice housewarden is a Savanaclaw student. Does Rook harbor some secret wish to transfer to Savanaclaw or something? |
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Actually, Rook used to be in Savanaclaw. |
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What? So he transferred? |
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Yeah. He hit it off with Vil after meeting him and transferred to Pomefiore. |
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In this dream, Vil Schoenheit doesn't turn down projects to focus on his studies. Instead, he continues to act in long-term productions like films and TV dramas. |
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And he doesn't go to Night Raven College. So the Rook Hunt in this dream never became friends with Vil. |
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Ergo, he never transferred dorms, and he's still in Savanaclaw in his junior year. |
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...... |
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Does that mean Rook never really wanted to be friends with Vil? |
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Perhaps he wanted to see Vil remain active in show business more than he wanted to be friends. |
| ...IDK about that. |
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"Happiness," the way it's defined in the dreams Malleus makes, is kinda superficial in nature. It's low-res. No real in-depth understanding. |
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Let's use an example—suppose Rook wanted both Neige and Vil to be happy. So how do you accomplish that? By making a world with none of the cattiness or jealousy or sabotage of standard showbiz. |
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A kinder world where your two faves are always smiling... You get the idea. |
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I think you've got the right idea, Idia. But I doubt that's the only reason Rook's having this dream. |
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Why is that? |
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The real-world Vil feels a strong sense of rivalry toward Neige. During the SDC, Vil was on constant edge, driven to be the best in the world. To beat Neige. |
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Then... His drive was too powerful. That's why, on the day of the SDC... |
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He did something he'd never normally do. Something that would have ruined everything he'd built up for himself. In the end, after a bumpy road, we managed to keep it from escalating far enough to make the news. But... |
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Oh, right... Vil's records mentioned his overblot happened on the day of the SDC. |
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That's true. If Vil Schoenheit didn't view Neige LeBlanche as a rival... Maybe he never would've overblotted. |
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...... That day... |
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Vil wasn't the only one who got hit hard. It must have been an awful, heartbreaking experience for Rook, too. |
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I mean, he had more faith in Vil than anyone... |
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Oh yeah, when Rook tried to chug that cursed apple juice, he said it was 'cuz he wanted to believe in Vil. I just thought it was a weird thing he blurted out 'cuz he was all worked up... |
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I'm sure Rook wanted to stop Vil so badly, he was ready to risk himself to do it. And if I were to guess... He was so devastated, he actually WANTED to be cursed to sleep forever. |
| So in this dream, none of the days we spent together leading up to the SDC ever happened? | But even sad things can still be valuable memories... |
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See, THAT'S an in-depth understanding. Whether it's dreams or media, it's just dull when everything goes in your favor. But seriously... I have to hand it to Rook. The strength of his imagination is incredible. |
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Yeah. Rook Hunt's dream is elaborately constructed down to the minute details. Everything from the release dates of magazines to the content of DVDs is entirely plausible. |
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So true. Rook's enhancing Malleus's low-res vision to an absurd degree. |
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He didn't bat an eye at anything Epel said. There was no sign of the darkness showing up, either. If this is about more than just him living his best otaku life, waking him up might end up being pretty tough. |
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...... |
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...Epel, this is all a dream. |
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Malleus unilaterally judged some sad events and adverse experiences to be "tragedies"... So he locked away Rook's memory of them. |
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It doesn't mean Rook actually wants to erase the days he spent with you guys and Vil. |
Idia & Silver |
...... |
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Mmhm. Ortho's right. And remember, the darkness can react to negative emotions from people other than the dreamer. |
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So don't dwell on sorrowful thoughts, Epel. |
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Myahaha! Look at the guy who got dragged into the darkness wailin' and bawlin', tryin' to be a voice of authority now. |
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Wh... HEY! Don't bring that up, Grim! |
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Ortho... Sebek... You're right. I have to wake Rook up! |
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Heheh. That's the spirit, Epel. |
| Okay, let's get to work on a plan. | How can we get him to wake up? |
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Hmm... That guy ain't gonna wake up from some minor shock or gentle nudge. |
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Actually, um... I just got an idea. Would you all hear me out? |
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| Chapter 126 | Book 7 • Chapter 127 | Chapter 128 |
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