"It's grown a little smaller again. It seems there aren't many uses left. I... need to make my decision soon."
After the [Nightmare] was reduced to ashes by the flame, Rosemary Rita frowned slightly as she looked at the lantern in her hand. The ghostly blue flame inside had diminished somewhat compared to before.
By comparing its current size to how large it had once been, Rosemary knew that this ghostly blue flame would soon be extinguished completely. When that happened, she would lose her final chance to save this dream world.
(It's fortunate that Lord Captain appeared. Otherwise, if I had continued using the lantern against the [Nightmares], the ghostly flame inside would probably be little more than a candle guttering in the wind by now~ But...)
As though something had occurred to her, Rosemary sighed helplessly and prepared to leave. However, the moment she turned around, she saw an exceedingly conspicuous white figure and a cabbage-headed girl with twin tails.
Elias: "..."
Ai: "..."
Rosemary: "..."
The three of them silently stared at one another. The atmosphere could not have been more awkward. However, Elias firmly believed in the principle that as long as he did not feel awkward, everyone else would be the one suffering instead, so he simply continued smiling at Rita without saying a word.
Even with Rosemary's exceptional composure, being stared at by those mismatched blue and golden eyes was enough to make her begin losing her nerve.
"Ahem. Lord Captain presumably didn't just happen to pass through this area, so... how did you find out?"
Rosemary had already realized what had happened. The location of this [Nightmare], which had appeared along the only path she could take home, was far too convenient. It was almost as though it had been deliberately placed there to wait for her.
Yet [Nightmares] possessed no reason. They relied on instinct even more heavily than wild beasts, and the only two people in the world capable of capturing a [Nightmare] alive and placing it here were currently standing before her.
Clearly, this had been a test for her.
And now her secret had been exposed.
Rosemary instinctively tightened her grip on the lantern.
"Don't be nervous, Rosemary. Your lantern is certainly interesting, but I have no intention of taking it. After all... it really is better for a girl to carry a light when walking alone at night."
As he spoke, Elias reached out and took Rosemary's basket. Compared to the lantern, he seemed far more interested in what they would be eating tonight.
"As for how I noticed, let's just say I'm widely experienced. The first time I saw your lantern, I knew it was no ordinary object. Besides, don't forget that I have a million puppets. Gathering a little information couldn't be easier."
With Elias' current reputation, if he wanted to ask the dream's residents for information, they would undoubtedly tell him everything they knew without holding anything back.
From those residents, Elias learned that before he and Ai arrived in this world, someone else had been fighting the [Nightmares]. That person was a witch-like woman with long hair who wielded a lantern and a scythe.
"...I made sure to disguise myself properly."
"Haha, you certainly did. Unfortunately for you, Rosemary, I asked too many people. My puppets questioned one million residents of the dream. Eighty percent said it was a woman, thirty percent mentioned a scythe, ten percent mentioned a lantern, and one percent said the witch was always accompanied by the fragrance of rosemary flowers."
Even if the information was fragmented like the pieces of an impossibly complex puzzle, gathering enough of it would eventually reveal the truth.
It was just like the police investigating a case. No matter how complicated the case might be, if there were a million eyewitnesses, then even the smallest piece of information from each person would ultimately add up to the truth.
This was brute-force crime solving through an overwhelming quantity of information.
Rosemary's eyes widened after hearing this. She did not know whether to laugh or cry. She could not help wondering why this man always did everything on such an absurd scale, yet Elias simply possessed the ability to effortlessly accomplish things beyond anyone else's imagination.
Meanwhile, Ai was already completely bewildered.
"Huh? What's going on? Why can Miss Rosemary defeat the [Nightmares]? Weren't the residents of this bubble world's dream supposed to be incapable of harming them?"
"Isn't it obvious after seeing that, Ai? The key is the lantern in Rita's hand. That thing is extraordinary, but you haven't traveled through the Sea of Quanta with me for very long, so it's only natural that you wouldn't recognize it."
"Miss Rosemary, what exactly is your lantern?"
"This... To tell the truth, I don't know much about it myself. I found it in a river within the dream when I was very young."
As Rosemary spoke, she raised the lantern. The ghostly blue flame within flickered gently, and if one brought an ear close enough, faint murmurs could be heard, like a mass of spectral fire whispering under its breath.
"At first, I didn't think there was anything particularly special about it. I merely dried flowers and placed them inside the lantern to burn, and it would release a fragrance that soothed the mind."
"It wasn't until the day I was attacked by a [Nightmare] that a spark separated from the flame inside the lantern and burned the [Nightmare] to ashes. Only then did I realize it was no ordinary object."
Rosemary spoke softly. She recalled how, at first, she had frequently replaced the candle to prevent the flame from going out, only to later discover that the fire would never extinguish even without a candle.
Yet in the next second, the lantern she had been gripping tightly suddenly vanished. Rosemary was startled. When she looked up, she discovered that it had already fallen into Elias' hands.
The white-haired youth seemed to be demonstrating through his actions that if he truly wanted to take it, Rosemary would be utterly incapable of stopping him.
"It's only natural that Rosemary wouldn't know. After all, you don't even understand what kind of world you're living in, much less the details of this lantern, which possesses value equal to the world itself."
"Value equal to the world itself?!"
"Mm-hm. It is this world's core. I call it an Ether Anchor. Every bubble world possesses an Ether Anchor, and they can take all manner of strange forms."
As Elias spoke, he began giving examples. He recalled the Ether Anchors he had discovered while wandering through bubble worlds in the past out of sheer boredom.
"Some Ether Anchors are compasses, some are baseball bats, some are clock towers, and some are swords. As for this bubble world's Ether Anchor... it is this lantern."
"Captain, what does this thing do?"
Ai curiously stared at the lantern as she scanned its data with the scanner built into her body.
"Hehe~ It has plenty of uses. Every Ether Anchor is the core of a bubble world. Controlling it is equivalent to possessing administrator privileges over that world, allowing its wielder to alter some of the bubble world's rules according to their will."
"For example, you could force time to repeat endlessly within a twenty-four-hour cycle, swap the sky and the earth, or transform humans into nonhumans. You can think of it as a world editor."
"However, every Ether Anchor contains a finite amount of energy. Once that energy is exhausted, it becomes no different from scrap. Moreover, a bubble world without an Ether Anchor will collapse even faster."
Elias shook the lantern lightly. Judging from its energy readings, this Ether Anchor was nearly depleted.
Rosemary had spent years using it to help the dream's residents resist the attacks of the [Nightmare] monsters, resulting in a considerable drain on the Ether Anchor. At most, this lantern could still be used another six or seven times.
Once the flame inside the lantern went out, this bubble world would lose all ability to resist the Sea of Quanta's decomposition and would rapidly collapse.
After inspecting it thoroughly, Elias returned the lantern to Rosemary.
"..."
Rosemary felt dizzy. With her limited understanding of the wider universe, she could not comprehend Elias' words at all. Bubble worlds? Ether Anchors? The Sea of Quanta? What were any of those things?
"Uh, but Captain, why did Miss Rosemary hide the lantern... the Ether Anchor from us?"
"What else could it be? Naturally, it's because Rosemary didn't trust us completely, Ai. In the end, we've known each other for less than three days, while this lantern possesses value equal to an entire bubble world. Would you reveal everything if you were in her position?"
"Ah... that's true."
Ai awkwardly scratched her cabbage-shaped head. This lantern could be called the most important treasure in the entire bubble world, while they were outsiders who had arrived less than three days ago.
Even though Rosemary did not understand what an Ether Anchor was, she had accompanied the lantern for many years and naturally knew how important it was. Of course she could not casually tell Elias and Ai about it.
"..."
The witch whose thoughts had been completely seen through no longer knew what to say. She only felt that all the caution she had exercised over the past few days had been pointless.
"Well~ Had the current me returned to three days ago, perhaps I would have immediately confessed everything to Lord Captain. I sincerely apologize for concealing this from you until now. However, this lantern represents the hope of saving our world, so Rita had no choice but to be cautious."
As she spoke, Rosemary bowed deeply to Elias.
Having relied on the lantern's power—the Ether Anchor's power—to fight the [Nightmares] for several years, she had also discovered that no matter how many [Nightmares] she defeated, more would continue appearing without end.
Therefore, no matter how hard Rosemary tried, all she could do was slow the rate at which the dream world was being consumed by the [Nightmares].
But Rosemary had never given up because of that.
She continuously explored the lantern's power—the Ether Anchor's power. After enduring unimaginable hardship, Rosemary finally found a way to save the dream world.
Yet just as Rosemary was hesitating over whether she should carry it out...
Elias and Ai appeared.
These two travelers from beyond the world were, truthfully, dangerous and unsettling variables to Rosemary. She would not and could not entrust her faith to Elias and Ai.
That was why she had not told them about the lantern. Rosemary understood that the flame burning within it was the fire of hope for her world. If Elias and Ai seized this lantern with its miraculous power... then their world would truly be finished.
Of course, Rosemary had also considered the possibility that Elias and Ai might help her resolve her world's crisis. However... Rita Rossweisse, no matter where or when, would never place all her hope in someone else's hands.
"Mm-hm~ Don't worry about it. I understand completely."
Elias raised a hand and gently patted Rosemary's head.
Had he been in Rosemary's position, he undoubtedly would have made the same choice.
After all, if he already possessed a plan capable of genuinely saving the world, he would never place even greater hope in two outsiders he had known for less than three days.
"But can you tell me what you intended to do? Since you're hesitating, Rosemary, that means..."
"Yes. My plan requires an enormous sacrifice. It will destroy the entire dream world."
"..."
Ai raised an eyebrow and glanced meaningfully between Elias and Rosemary. Are these two really that in sync? Is this another plan to achieve salvation through destruction?
"Could you be more specific? What exactly were you planning to do?" Elias asked curiously, his eyes lighting up.
"Well... I intended to use the remaining flame in this lantern to ignite and burn down the entire dream world, thereby sending everyone back to reality."
This time, Rosemary confessed everything honestly.
"Haha! That's certainly possible! Even though this Ether Anchor's energy is nearly exhausted, it still contains enough power to set the entire world ablaze."
Elias also revealed an excited expression. He found the young woman before him more and more to his liking.
After all, he had only planned to kill every resident of the dream.
Rosemary, on the other hand, intended to set the entire dream world on fire!
That was even more outrageous than his own idea!
Although their methods differed, the effect would be the same.
After all, once their souls lost the dream serving as their vessel, they would ultimately return to their bodies in reality.
But...
"The price is simply too great. Rita cannot imagine what the world will become once the dream ends. I was born within the dream, so I don't know what reality is like."
Rosemary's expression became conflicted as she spoke.
As someone from the dream world, she had never awakened before. Therefore, she had no idea what kind of world reality truly was.
In fact, this was true not only for Rosemary. Most people in the dream world had never awakened, and in this dream where anything they desired could be obtained, no one had ever considered returning to reality.
That was why Rosemary hesitated. It was the reason she possessed the flame yet had never brought herself to ignite the dream.
Whenever she attempted to do so...
A question would arise within Rosemary's heart.
Now, however, two travelers from beyond the world had appeared before her. Rosemary looked at Elias and involuntarily voiced the question she had never been able to answer.
Rosemary: "Lord Captain, please tell me... why does human life slumber?"