016

And so we solved the case of the vanishing restaurant-goers.

hiyoko

What do we do now?
We’re without a goal again.

nageki5

We should… probably go report to The King.
He must still be worried.

Aah, of course!

hiyoko

Let’s go back to the palace now, then.
We’ll be walking more… is that okay with you, Nageki?

nageki5

Yes.
I like walking with you.

He’s so quiet that I hadn’t realized! I’m glad he’s enjoying himself, anyway.

Come to think of it, being able to go on a journey and walk around like this must be like a dream come true for him.
(It is a dream, after all!)

hiyoko

Hmm… wouldn’t it be nice if this dream lasted forever, Nageki?

nageki5

We will wake up when morning comes.
It has to end eventually.

I know, I know…

nageki5

But until then, I want to keep walking around with you, Miss Tosaka.

hiyoko

Me too! For now we can walk back to The King’s palace.

???

The King said, that will not be necessary.

028

It’s the forward king!

hiyoko

You appear out of nowhere just like your citizens, Mister King!

nageki5

Your majesty. We defeated the owner of the restaurant. The restaurant is closed now, so there’s nothing more to worry about.

029

king3

The King is very grateful.
Thank you, guests from away.
Thank you.

hiyoko

You’re welcome!

king4

The King would like to reward you.
Please accept The King’s gift.

030

hiyoko

Waaah, what a pretty gem!
What kind is it?

nageki5

A garnet.
The name comes from the french word for “pomegranate.”

hiyoko

It… looks a little bit like a pomegranate, I guess?

king4

But, The King is still troubled.
The King asked, will you listen to The King’s next request?

nageki5

You must be having an awful lot of trouble, for how peaceful this planet seems.

hiyoko

Umm… what do you think, Nageki?

nageki5

We don’t have anything else to do, do we?
I’ll let you decide.

Well… heroes are supposed to complete the quests set before them, right?

hiyoko

What is your next request, Mister King?

king4

The flowers in the garden are going to be blown away.

hiyoko

Blown away?
Is there a typhoon coming?

king4

The garden is going to explode.

What kind of garden is this?!

king5

The King is very scared. The King is crying.

nageki5

Even I would be a little unsettled if the garden was going to explode.
Let’s help him, Miss Tosaka.

hiyoko

Leave it to us, Mister King!


 

011

We’re back in the city, but…

hiyoko

Where do you think this explosive garden is, exactly?

nageki3

Who knows?
I don’t see anything likely here. Maybe it’s on the outskirts of the town?

And this time we might not know it even if we see it… we should have gotten The King to show us the way.

citizen

The flowers blew up!

citizen

The garden exploded!

hiyoko

Nageki, look!
A crowd of panicking citizens trying to run away from something, like rats from a burning sewer pipe!

nageki3

That analogy is a little bit mean, Miss Tosaka.

…we’ll probably find the garden if we go towards whatever they’re running from.

031

032

sakuya2

What is this lunacy!?
Do you mean to tell me that blowing up gardens is common practice on this barbaric star?!

hiyoko

Sakuya!

Huh?
Didn’t something like this happen a few weeks ago?

nageki9

It’s a nice garden… aside from the holes.

hiyoko

And poor Sakuya! He gets to be the bombing victim even in dreamland…

sakuya2

It is dreadful!
And I have an important tea party scheduled for local celebrities today.
This disgrace will besmirch the Le Bel family name!

Oh, so he’s hosting a tea party here?

Geez, he should have invited me, too!
(Though I’m not a celebrity.)

hiyoko

Do you know who did this?

sakuya2

I haven’t the slightest.
There has been no suspicious activity.
The garden blew up by itself.

nageki9

So… timebombs, set before everyone get here?

That’s some awfully meticulous terrorism for a fairy-tale world!

hiyoko

Have you already made enemies who would want to ruin your name on this planet, Sakuya?

sakuya2

Do you mock me?!
Perhaps you have not noticed, but this is a dream. And it only just started!

I have barely been here for a few hours.
How could I possibly have made enemies?!

I think Sakuya’s snobby, aristocratic attitude could make him all kinds of enemies in a single conversation, but then again… none of the people here seem particularly short-tempered.

nageki9

If it’s not someone settling a grudge, then who? And why?

hiyoko

Hmm. Maybe they just have some other, far deeper motive that we’re just–

The screen flashes and shakes. The music stops.

hiyoko

Wah! What! What?!

sakuya2

Confound it! More explosions!?

nageki9

Miss Tosaka, get down!

Kaboom!

black

033

Wow! More holes!

sakuya2

Grrrr…. show yourselves, terrorists!
Cowards!

hiyoko

That’s right!
Come out and fight us like men!

nageki9

…wait.
Someone’s coming through.

034

yuuya1

-cough-… -cough-… aah, looks like I’ve arrived at last.

hiyoko

Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Yuuya?!

yuuya1

Salut, mon amie! So you’re here, too?

sakuya2

This is no time for ‘salut’! You! You insufferable mongrel! What have you done to my beautiful garden?!

yuuya1

Oh…

Looks like I blew most of it up.
Sorry, Sakuya!

sakuya2

“Looks like”? What do you mean, “looks like”?!

Take responsibility for your actions, you filthy mongrel! Cur!
Look at what you’ve done!
My garden is nothing but holes!

yuuya1

Sorry, sorry.
I had a little trouble finding the entrance, you see.

nageki9

There’s a gate right over there.

hiyoko

Yeah, Yuuya!
Why did you have to do all this?

yuuya1

Ahaha… I guess that’s what happens when you enjoy your job too much.

sakuya2

Stop laughing, you fiend!

One of the extra shorts coming up is basically about Yuuya being a paranoid over-protective brother, so don’t believe his lies about liking his job. He was off having a panic attack about what happened to Sakuya.

yuuya1

Anyway, I’m so happy to see you!
As a brother, I do worry about how you’re doing, even in dream–

035

Yuuya

Aaaaadieuuuuuuu….

sakuya2

Wha…?!

hiyoko

H-he disappeared?!

nageki9

…he just fell. Into the hole.

hiyoko

Y-Yuuya!
Are you all right?!

There’s no reply. It’s just a hole.
What was that all about?

sakuya2

Down a hole he created himself. Serves him right, the licentious cur!

Licentious means exactly what you think it means. I looked it up to make sure.

hiyoko

I wonder where he went…

nageki9

It looks like a rabbit hole.

hiyoko

So maybe he’s in Wonderland?

sakuya2

Can you hear me, Sakazaki!?
I want you to sit down there in the dark and think about what you’ve done!

033

It looks like the exploding garden was just Yuuya engaging in a little accidental terrorism while trying to find the entrance.

hiyoko

Do you think that’s all, Nageki?

nageki9

Probably. We don’t have to stick around any longer, anyway.

Yes! Quest complete!
On to the next one!


 

011

And so we solved another one of The King’s problems.

nageki3

We’ve been here for a while now.

hiyoko

Time always does pass strangely in dreams…

nageki3

Really?

hiyoko

You can have a dream that seems like it lasts for months in a single ten-minute nap after all, right?

nageki3

I don’t know.
I don’t usually remember my dreams.

hiyoko

Oh! Do ghosts dream at all?

nageki3

I can’t speak for other ghosts, but… I sleep, and I dream.

Is that so?

Migrant

Hello again! Is this the right way to the tea party?

036

hiyoko

Mister Migrant!

ryuuji2

I heard there’s a tea party in the garden just outside town.
And there’s supposed to be fine black tea and cake?

To tell the truth I prefer rice cookies and coffee, but any food sounds good right now!

nageki3

Unfortunately, the tea party is cancelled.

ryuuji2

Whaaaat?

hiyoko

The garden got targeted by a terrorist attack.

I think it was for celebrities anyway, so a guest as ratty as you would probably have gotten thrown out!

ryuuji2

Aaah… is that so…?
This city is a cold, heartless place…

hiyoko

Cheer up, Mister.
Common people like us are indomitable! The cruel upper classes can tread on us and grind us into the dirt, but we’ll always spring back up like weeds!

nageki3


It’s not much, but here.

ryuuji2

Oh?

Nageki hands the migrant three sugar cubes.

nageki3

I picked them up in the Milky Way.
They were mixed in with the stars.

ryuuji2

I’ve heard that diamonds and sugar cubes float through the Milky Way along with the stars. These must be some of those.

Are you sure?

nageki3

Yes.
They’re not much, but maybe they’ll be enough for now?

ryuuji2

Thank you!
Now I can continue my journey.
I’ll repay you someday, somehow!

The self-styled migrant jauntily flutters away.

nageki3

…he’s always just a little bit off.

hiyoko

I bet whenever he goes to the store the thing he’s looking for is sold out!

I can’t realized there were sugar cubes floating in the Milky Way, though!
If I’d known I would have looked for them while we were on the train.

hiyoko

Where to next?

nageki3

Hmm… we’ve completed our goal again.

The King

That’s The King’s cue. His Royal Highness, The King!

037

hiyoko

He’s here!

nageki3

The bird who was blowing up the garden fell down a hole and disappeared.

hiyoko

Though, there are a lot of holes in the garden now…

038

king7

king6

The King is relieved.
People who disturb the peace are scary.

Huh?

What happened to The King’s head?
Did I imagine that?
???

king6

It is time for The King’s reward.
Please accept The King’s jewel.

039

hiyoko

Aah, it’s so pretty! And blue!
What’s it called?

nageki3

Lapis lazuli.

He really does know everything.

king6

The King said, please listen to The King’s next request.

hiyoko

Fire away, highness!

nageki3

Don’t you think you should word yourself more carefully, Miss Tosaka?
Since you’re getting to play the heroine for once.

hiyoko

Should I?

king8

The King is very troubled.
It looks like it might rain, so The King is in a terrible position.

hiyoko

Rain?

nageki3

Have you considered an umbrella, sir?

king8

It has never rained here since this kingdom was created.

But there are dark clouds gathering at the summit of Mount Pudding.

hiyoko

Mount Pudding…?

I know who we’ll meet there already!

king8

Mount Pudding is a tall, tall mountain.
The clouds at its peak might slip off, and slide down, and come to The King’s palace.

hiyoko

And will it be a problem if the palace gets wet?

nageki3

It looks sturdy enough.
It would probably be just fine in a storm, let alone a little rain…

king8

The King is troubled.
If The King’s palace gets wet…

king7

king8

The King will cry.

H-he had another head again just now, didn’t he?!

But he looks normal now… I think?
It must have been my imagination.

nageki3

Why would you start crying just because it’s raining?

hiyoko

The heroine in a J-pop song or a shoujo manga might do something like that.
Maybe The King is a delicate maiden at heart?

Don’t worry, your highness! I will protect your fragile heart from the cruel weather!
To Mount Pudding!

Part 4>