With Lancer current strength, he only needed a few hours of sleep to restore his mental and physical energy. However, this near-total depletion of mana had plunged him into a deep sleep.
"Mmm... mm..."
Accompanied by a series of strange sounds, Lancer finally woke up. When he opened his eyes, he froze; he found three pairs of large eyes staring straight at him. The scene was like something out of a horror movie. Fortunately, he regained his senses quickly enough to stop himself from reflexively throwing a punch.
After all, even in a horror movie scenario, Lancer reaction wouldn't be to scream and run, but to pin the threat to the ground.
He could understand Mami and Kyoko being in the room, but why was "Zero" here?
Looking around and seeing Olga Marie was gone, he understood why Zero was present. But before Lancer could speak, he felt something bumping into his stomach. Looking down, he saw Zero drilling her non-lethal head into his abdomen repeatedly.
"It's afternoon."
Lancer, who had been confused, finally realized the situation. She was hungry.
Subsequently, Zero grabbed her "trophy" (the phone) and left the room in high spirits. Lancer, guessing his wallet was about to be obliterated, couldn't help but twitch his lip.
"Lancer/Dr. Lancer!"
"Yeah."
Hearing their exclamations, Lancer wasted no more time. He took out the "Grief Seed" and let his spirit permeate back inside via his mana.
This time, the girl wasn't sleeping as before. She was sitting with her head resting on her knees. When she sensed Lancer arrival, she let out a cry of joy and "floated" over with excitement.
"Onii-chan!!"
The address made Lancer freeze for a second before he processed it. His age had long passed "Big Brother" and moved up to "Uncle" territory. Even if his appearance was somehow fixed, his aura was unaffected; he usually gave strangers an "unapproachable" vibe. Naturally, no one ever called him "Onii-chan" affectionately. This sudden intimacy left him a bit flustered.
Before he could speak, she began to explain.
"Onii-chan is the person who woke Nagisa from the nightmare~ So Onii-chan is Nagisa benefactor~"
The brilliant smile on her face gradually calmed Lancer heart. He never expected rewards for his actions; he simply desired for his efforts not to be meaningless. Now, the girl's radiant smile was the best payment he could ask for.
"Heehee~ Onii-chan is really gentle~"
"?"
"Onii-chan, didn't you know? In here, if you think it, you say it~"
The world of the soul is different from the physical world. Just as Lancer current body was about 80% similar to his original yet was essentially just a model, she was in a similar state. That was why she wasn't shy about being without clothes; what they saw weren't physical bodies in the true sense, but forms created by the subconscious for communication—symbols, so to speak.
Communication happened directly between souls. The method wasn't talking, since there were no vocal cords; it was thoughts. Here, if thoughts weren't controlled, they would unintentionally radiate outward.
Under her guidance, Lancer learned how to communicate. He just wasn't used to the way she kept staring at him intently. Lancer suspected he might have unintentionally "said" something earlier, but being too embarrassed to ask, he pretended to know nothing.
"Nagisa... is it okay if I call you Nagisa?"
"It's okay~ Nagisa name is Nagisa Momoe. Mama said I shouldn't let boys get close too easily, but Onii-chan is a good person, so it's fine."
Having been unintentionally "friend-zoned," Lancer expression turned subtle, but knowing there was no malice, he chose to ignore it.
"Nagisa, do you remember what happened before?"
Lancer question made her shudder.
"The 'dream'?"
"The dream?"
Hearing her voice start to tremble, Lancer placed a hand on her. Following the method she taught him, he projected his goodwill toward her. Nagisa Momoe's voice eventually stabilized, and with a look of trepidation, she began to tell Lancer about her "dream."
"In the dream, Nagisa wasn't Nagisa, but other people. Sometimes a big sister, sometimes an old grandpa, sometimes a little kid. But every time... every time, 'they' would be lost..."
Her words were a bit jumbled, and her expression made it clear these "dreams" were unpleasant. But to confirm his theory, Lancer had to press on. After some effort, he finally summarized the meaning of her words.
According to Nagisa Momoe, she actually couldn't control herself. It was like watching movies in the first person—movies filled with negative things. People filled with greed for wealth, people with a morbid obsession with love, people with a controlling desire for power...
They seemed unrelated, but Lancer found the common thread.
They all possessed greed that far exceeded normal boundaries; only the target of that greed differed—money, love, power, etc.
Just as I thought. The negative emotions attracted by the Grief Seed are specific.
However, after reaching this conclusion, Lancer hesitated. His next questions would likely hurt her even more.
Lancer, who wouldn't flinch before any enemy, actually had the thought of "giving up." The girl's forced facade of strength made him reluctant to hurt her further.
But right then, a pair of hands reached up to his face.
"Onii-chan~ it's okay~ Nagisa... can still go on."
Though she looked like a young girl—even a "loli"—Nagisa Momoe was only 9 years old. She actually didn't have much of a grasp on good and evil, which was why she entered the "deal" so easily after being targeted by Kyubey, only to "die" in her very first battle.
But in this special world, she could sense things she previously couldn't notice.
Like the gentleness and pity Lancer had shown while his guard was down.
Perhaps like most men, due to responsibility or other reasons, they always give silently, hiding their hearts behind a tough exterior. Lancer was no different. And before this, Nagisa Momoe had heard something else.
'Is it the same for other 'Grief Seeds' after they are purified?'
Though it was just an unconscious fragment of a thought, Nagisa knew there were others in similar situations. She wanted to help Lancer, and to help others like herself.
Though young, her kind heart was blindingly bright.