185 The Insane Black Mud Monster
When the sky was dyed orange-red by the setting sun, today's gourmet event officially concluded. The satisfied guests, who had heard beautiful singing and eaten enjoyable delicacies, laughed and walked out of the Paris branch school, heading home.
Inside the school, the teachers and students excitedly gathered around the heroine of the day's stunning performance.
"That was truly wonderful, Hiratsuka-sensei. I never knew you had such a singing voice. It was absolutely amazing. Our team's evaluation will definitely increase significantly this time," the team leader teacher said, very excited.
"Haha, Sensei, you flatter me," Hiratsuka Shizuka awkwardly accompanied the laughter. She also never expected that singing with Martha inside her would produce such an effect.
"Hiratsuka Shizuka-sensei, you look so beautiful in this outfit, just like a big star. Please take a picture with us," the girls from the Chiba school ran over, smiling.
"Ah, um, okay," Hiratsuka Shizuka paused, then agreed with a smile.
"Hiratsuka-sensei~! Us too..." The French girls from the Paris branch school also crowded around.
"It's okay. Don't rush, one by one," Hiratsuka Shizuka felt as if she had returned to her student days, the period when she was most popular.
Indeed, I am a good woman who can achieve things if I put my mind to it, she couldn't help but feel a little smug.
Although she didn't know why, the eyes of these girls were staring right into hers, just like that strange man earlier, but she decided to ignore it.
Hiratsuka Shizuka smiled and completed one group photo after another with the French girls, who hugged her tightly, whose hands kept wandering to awkward places, and whose eyes seemed to be giving off sparks.
After that, everyone worked together to clean up the area, covering the tools and cooking utensils with cloth and putting them all into the tent for use the next day. Other useful items were placed on carts and sent to where they needed to be.
The helping teachers and students also went back to their own places. Because they still had to prepare the ingredients for tomorrow, Shirou, Erina, and Hiratsuka Shizuka went to the cooking classroom assigned to them.
"Shirou, the dream world has undergone new changes. Your method was very effective," Da Vinci said approvingly.
"That's great!" Shirou said, clenching his fist.
"Shirou, you have really grown. The child who only knew how to rush in blindly can now find a solution on his own. I'm very happy," Da Vinci said with a sigh, wiping away non-existent tears.
"This is thanks to everyone's help. If it were just me alone, the only choice would be to go all out. And please stop deliberately talking to me in a tone like you're watching your own child grow up," Shirou retorted.
"Eh-heh, Da Vinci-chan is really not suited for that elderly woman role, huh," Da Vinci said, cupping her face with one hand.
Elderly is fine, but the "woman" part is still up for debate, Shirou thought to himself, but decided not to say it. He looked at the woman seriously and said, "Then we can launch a counterattack tonight, right?"
Da Vinci nodded. "Yes. Since we've cut off the black mud monster's access to infinite energy, the monster we are facing now is just a larger, more disgusting monster. With so many powerful helpers, it's absolutely no problem."
In the cooking classroom, Shirou explained the situation to Hiratsuka Shizuka and Erina.
"Tonight, I will go to that world to deal with the monster that created it, so I'll be relying on you, Sensei and Erina, here," Shirou said.
"Wait, Shirou! Are you planning to go and face that dangerous monster alone? I don't agree!" Hiratsuka Shizuka firmly refused.
"Sensei, there are many companions over there, including seven or eight Servants. It'll be fine," Shirou explained.
"Although I really don't want to touch disgusting monsters like that, and Chaldea has nothing to do with me. But if the enemy is a bad guy who will hurt my important guests, then I can't say it has absolutely nothing to do with me. I'll go too," Erina said, putting down the bowl of Hollandaise sauce she was adjusting.
"Exactly. Let's all go and deal with that monster as soon as possible. And Martha has a restraining effect on that monster, doesn't she?" Hiratsuka Shizuka said. Regardless of the reasons, as a teacher, she couldn't just let her student venture into danger alone.
"No, because that is a completely different world. Once you enter, you will soon have to fight, and there will be no time to adapt to the environment over there. Furthermore, Sensei and Erina, you both have a more important mission to do," Shirou said, looking at the two sincerely.
Indeed, today's results were very good. Anyone who participated in this event would probably not be sucked into the dream world again. However, for those who didn't come here, even if the black mud monster was defeated, their psychological trauma would not disappear.
After the word-of-mouth spread from the people who were healed today, more people with psychological wounds will surely come here tomorrow. As people from the same world, they have a responsibility to help them recover from the harm of the nightmares.
Shirou continued, "So I'm entrusting tomorrow's gourmet event and performance to you. Today's response was very good, so more people will probably come tomorrow. If they come, and we are delayed because of the dream world, they would be too pitiful."
"Fighting in the other world can be done with Chaldea and the Servants, but healing them with food and song is something only we in this world can do. Moreover, if we can alleviate the dream's influence on these people, it will make my fight over there easier, too."
"Since you put it that way, I understand, but you absolutely must ensure your safety and not take unnecessary risks! Otherwise, as your teacher, no matter what you say in the future, I will never let you run wild again," Hiratsuka Shizuka warned the young man seriously.
"I know. Thank you, Sensei," Shirou nodded solemnly, then looked at the blonde girl who was standing with her arms crossed and said, "If I don't make it back in time tomorrow morning, I'll be relying on you to do the cooking."
"Hmph, why should I care about you! As a chef, failing to let customers eat the delicious food they expect on time is third-rate," Erina huffed, turning her head away. She then added, "So I'll prepare the ingredients for the Takoyaki, pancakes, and the like for you. Just make sure you get back safely before the official start at nine o'clock!"
"Oh! Thank you! I promise!" Shirou agreed this time with a resolute smile.
After saying goodbye to the two, Shirou returned to his dormitory, lay down on his bed, and quickly fell asleep.
"Come with me." The silver-haired man's voice dragged Shirou into the dream. Along the transparent, infinitely stretching arms in the void, they arrived in the world of dreams.
Merlin grabbed the back of Shirou's clothing and carried him as they descended. They were falling directly from the sky into the dream world, currently thousands of meters high.
Shirou had already reinforced his body with magic power, barely resisting the cold and the strong wind. Because they were above the clouds, looking up showed a clear, unobstructed sky. It was night in this world as well, with a pale blue crescent moon hanging high, seemingly deep into the night.
"Merlin, what's the situation like inside now?" Shirou asked, turning his head to the silver-haired man whose long hair was billowing up due to the wind pressure of their descent.
"Don't be impatient, Shirou, you'll see when you look down," Merlin said.
As they rapidly descended, passing through layers of cloud sea formed by thick fog, the scenery below changed drastically. The black mud monster, blending into the night, roamed
back and forth on the ground. They could still see the magnificent, grand palace, but most of it was now destroyed.
The other areas were unrecognizable. The place where the tea party was held, the place where they had grilled fish for dinner, were all gone. The land was covered in black.
Shirou opened his Mystic Eyes and analyzed the structure of the new architecture below.
The former forest had been replaced by black city walls. High walls divided and enclosed the land, which was split into four districts.
The first street: The Street of Lost Dreams, for people whose excessive desires could not be realized, who wanted everything but eventually forgot what they truly wanted.
The second street: The Street of Desired Dreams, for people immersed in making people and making love, whose physiological reactions were uncontrollable.
The third street: The Street of Sorrowful Dreams, for people who were sad, heartbroken, cowardly, and depressed, unable to move on.
The fourth street: The Street of Nightmares, for people who were violent and destructive, unable to vent their feelings, and who sought to resolve everything with violence.
These areas were separated yet interconnected, and the only exit was through the black mud monster's belly.
"What exactly is going on?" Shirou frowned, looking at the space below. Even though he knew this was the world of dreams, and he had accepted the fairy tale, the current scene still gave him a sense of absurd ridicule.
"Ah, it's disgusting, isn't it? That monster is setting its own rules. Yes, it seems to be setting itself up as the master of this world, like a god that transcends everything in the outside world," Merlin said with a sarcastic, almost self-mocking laugh.
The black mud monster had arbitrarily created a city, divided it into various districts, and assigned people with different dreams to their respective areas. Sweet dreams satisfying unfulfilled desires in reality; erotic dreams immersed in love and lust; sorrowful dreams that made people cry; and nightmares of violence, killing, and being killed.
There are indeed people who insist on categorizing humans into different ranks. There are many who become smug simply because they are slightly stronger than the person in front of them.
But people who think like this are merely delusional; those who actually try to do this are fanatics, and they are inevitably headed for failure.
However, this black mud monster used the power of dreams and the energy of the Holy Grail to do just that. It is an arrogant lunatic attempting the work of a creator.