2

The inside of Saya’s head was a mess.

Still not entirely sure what to think, she ran for most of what was usually a twenty-minute walk home. The moment she opened the door and stepped inside, she ran into Aya—her sister, three years her senior—as she was coming out of the living room.

“Whoa.” Having apparently just gotten out of the bath, Aya, who had a towel wrapped around her head and an ice pop sticking out of her mouth, reacted to Saya’s momentum with shock. “Is something up...?”

Saya, still out of breath, just shook her head.

Looking dubiously at her little sister, Aya raised an eyebrow as she seemed to notice something.

“You’re not drowsy?”

“Huh... Why?”

“Your eyes are open in a way I haven’t seen from you lately. You look like a startled cat. Did something happen?”

“I guess... you could say something did,” Saya said, then went quiet. She lacked the words to describe her earlier experience.

“What’s up?”

“I dunno... I had a nightmare... or something like that.”

“What, you managed to sleep?”

“Huh? Well... Just a little...?”

“Hey, good for you. Your complexion’s kind of looking better. Although, you could also say your usual complexion’s not exactly the best.”

“Oh, shove off.”

“Huh, where’s your bag?”

When Aya pointed it out, Saya realized she was empty handed. She’d left it in her classroom.

“I forgot it...”

“What are you even doing? You gonna go back? Should I bring the car out?”

“Nah. Gonna rest a bit.”

She took off her shoes, entered the house, and went upstairs.

“At least wash your face!”

“I know.” With a half-hearted response to her big sister downstairs, she entered her second-floor bedroom. She closed the door, then collapsed onto her bed. Next to her pillow there were a number of stuffed animals she’d had since she was little; they were there to do what little they could to help her get restful sleep. Laying in a bed that smelled like her body scent, Saya’s mind wandered.

What was that, again...?

What happened to me?

Okay, calm down. Let’s sort this out, one bit at a time.

Fortunately, my head’s clear now... Like it hasn’t been for a while. Why? Because I slept.

I slept... Seriously? That’s amazing.

I thought I was going to just waste away and die of insomnia, but I managed to sleep.

Aw, yeah...

“Ohhhhh, thank goodness,” Saya whispered in a low voice.

Now that she could get some sleep again, she could start to piece her crumbling life back together. Her studies, her relationships... she’d need to work at it to redeem herself, but that was nothing compared with the long bout of sleeplessness she’d been through.

It’s really great... Yeah, this is totally good news.

So, what’s the other news?

I woke up, still thinking someone I didn’t know was my lover from the dream, and kissed her hard. Is that good news? Bad news?

Saya covered her face with both hands, letting out a deep sigh.

“That’s a sex crime...”

It wasn’t clear she’d be held accountable for her actions, but it had to be sexual harassment at the very least.

“Can we pretend it didn’t happen...? No...? Did she notice...? She did, didn’t she? No matter how I look at it...”

If that came to light, Saya could only guess that she might find herself in a difficult position going forward.

“I was convinced we were lovers at the time...”

That the love she had been so certain of in the dream went and rapidly dissipated about ten seconds after she woke up had been a shock, too. Thanks to that, she felt something like a sense of loss and lingering affection swirling around inside her chest. It was a completely baseless, unnecessary sense of loss, though.

That feeling of certainty that she was in love, and loved in return, that she tasted during the kiss... This had been the first time in the seventeen years of her life that she had experienced it.

Noticing that she had been unconsciously touching her lips, Saya moved her hand away from them, feeling awkward.

“Ugh, I dunno anymore.”

Hugging her pillow, Saya groaned powerlessly.

“None of this makes sense...”

No, enough. I’m done. Thinking about it isn’t helping.

There was one thing for certain, and that was that she could sleep again.

For now, just sleep. Sleep like before, and recover. Thinking about the difficult stuff can wait. The fact of the matter is, I’m already this tired...

Saya shut her eyes, shifting into an easier sleeping position, and breathed softly.

Breathe in... Breathe out...

Breathe in... Breathe out...

...

Not long after, Saya opened her eyes.

“...Huh?”

She couldn’t sleep.

No different from any time before this, slumber showed no sign of coming for her.

3

When Saya opened the door, the school doctor looked up from the sandwich she was eating.

“Oh, Hokage-san.”

“Heya.” After a cursory bow, Saya’s eyes darted around the room. The curtain around the bed inside was drawn back, so no one was sleeping there today.

The school doctor looked hard at Saya’s face, her expression darkening. “You look like you’re having a hard time. Still can’t sleep?”

“Yeah...”

It had been two days since then; Saya was once again stricken with insomnia.

For a fleeting moment, slumber had come, but try as she might, she couldn’t seem to replicate the experience. Ultimately, the drowsy days began once again. Having been robbed of restful sleep once more when it had been right before her eyes, Saya’s irritation was already at its limit.

The school doctor peeked at the clock. “You want to rest here for the afternoon?”

“Oh, no. Uh, I had something to ask you,” Saya said with some hesitance. “The last time I was resting here, a girl I don’t know came in. She kinda had airy, long hair, and was probably shorter than me...”

Saya made vague gestures with both hands as she described her, then lowered her hands. “...That’s about all I know, though,” she concluded weakly. The school doctor got a suspicious look on her face.

“Airy and short? Anything else?”

Other than that... She had been soft, and smelled like sunshine, but Saya obviously was hesitant to say either of those things.

“It was only for a moment, so... I dunno.”

“So, why ask about that girl?”

“She suddenly fell into bed with me and started sleeping. I wanted to ask if you had any clue who she might be, but... Now I think about it, you wouldn’t know from just that, would you? Sorry.”

Saya turned to leave, but the school doctor called out to her.

“Could it be Konparu-san, maybe?”

“Konparu?” When Saya turned back, the school doctor nodded.

“If it is, it’s unusual she’d come to the health room. I believe she’s a second-year, like you, but she’s your polar opposite, in a way.”

“My polar opposite... How so?”

“Konparu-san would fall asleep anywhere and everywhere.”

Anywhere and everywhere. In the classroom during lectures, in the courtyard during lunch, and in the library after school.

This Konparu didn’t need to go out of her way to sleep in the health room’s bed. She had apparently been sighted sleeping everywhere in the school.

How enviable.

When Saya left the health room, she wandered the school aimlessly. By the time she realized it, it had been more than ten minutes since afternoon classes began.

As she walked the empty halls, she could hear voices coming from the classes in each of the rooms she passed by. The windows were frosted, so she couldn’t see inside all that well. She could only see vague shadows and hear muffled voices. From beyond the wall came the noisy sounds of a gaggle of girls taking class— it felt similar to walking past a tank at the aquarium. The moment they noticed she was here, dozens of eyes would swivel in her direction.

Thinking about that made her feel awkward; with quiet footsteps, Saya walked through the classroom building.

She didn’t feel like returning to her own class at this point. She’d kill time somewhere until the next break. No, what am I even doing? she suddenly thought.

When she went from the classroom building into the corridor between buildings, the courtyard came into view. The rim of the dry fountain was a perfect height and width for sitting on, and would make the ideal spot for a midday nap, but it was visible from every window of the school building. It was class time, so if the teachers caught her, she’d be heading straight to the student guidance room.

While looking at the fountain—where no one was sitting—Saya remembered at last.

Right. I was searching for her.

Hitsuji Konparu... the airy girl.

In these two days of being tormented by insomnia once more, Saya had had a lot of time to think. Why had she been able to sleep just that one time? What was different about the situation?

Even with her mind dulled by drowsiness, the answer was clear. Hitsuji Konparu. The moment that girl had fallen into bed, she’d been suddenly dragged down into sleep.

Maybe I can sleep if it’s with someone else...? That thought had led her to ask her big sister to sleep with her last night.

Not only had she not been able to sleep, her sister’s tossing and turning caused her to fall out of bed.

That let her narrow down the answer even more.

“It has to be her,” Saya mumbled indistinctly.

Where was Hitsuji Konparu, who was said to sleep anywhere and everywhere, right now?

Did she have a secret place where the teachers wouldn’t find her? Or because it was class time, was she asleep at her desk? That would make what Saya was doing absolutely pointless, but looking around was still easier on her nerves.

Going through the corridor, she crossed over to the neighboring school building.

In the moment when her eyes were adjusting to moving from a bright place to a dark one, something strange appeared in Saya’s vision.

It was like the keys of a keyboard instrument had stretched to be long and thin, had turned into legs, and were walking. It was something she couldn’t quite place as a living being or a machine, and it was silently climbing the stairs.

“Hm?”

When she blinked and looked again, there was nothing left to see.

Was it an illusion?

It was true that when she had been deprived of sleep for a long time her eyes played more tricks on her, and she was plagued by strange visions, but something about it tugged at Saya’s frayed psyche.

That thing just now... I’ve seen it somewhere...

No, but how could I have? Where would I even see something like that?

A game? A video online? A manga? A movie? A museum?

If not, then... a dream, maybe?

When her train of thought reached that point, a vague memory resurfaced.

Right! I saw it! That thing—I saw it in a dream!

Two days ago. That short dream in the health room... Just before I woke up, it entered my vision, with all those legs in a horizontal line...

Unconsciously, Saya had been heading to the roof, but the thing from before was nowhere to be seen. She only saw it for an instant, but it had definitely been climbing the stairs.

From out of her foggy memory, a single name surfaced.

“...It’s a Suiju.”

That’s what she’d been calling it—a Suiju—though she had no idea what that meant.

Chasing after the Suiju, Saya climbed the stairs. The second floor was quiet and dimly lit, and the closest science room didn’t seem to be in use. Looking up, she could see it again. In the contrasting light of the dimly lit indoors and the bright outdoors, she caught sight of it for just a moment, many legs clicking along as it passed through the third floor and went even higher.

When she chased after it all the way up the stairs, she came to the door to the roof; it was bright on the other side of the frosted glass. She tried the doorknob and found it was unlocked, so she opened the door and went out on the roof.

There, Saya found Hitsuji Konparu.

5

Sleepwalker.

A patient who experiences sleepwalking, also referred to as somnambulism.

This is a condition in which the afflicted gets out of bed during sleep and wanders around in an unconscious state; it is one type of sleep disorder.

This was what Saya learned when she looked it up later, but what Ran Aizome was talking about didn’t sound like any mere gathering of people with sleep disorders.

“We Sleepwalkers act in secret to protect people as they sleep. This isn’t widely known, but the slumber of humanity is menaced by suiju.”

“Suiju...” Saya murmured.

“The thing you defeated in your sleep. It’s written with the kanji sui, which means sleep, and ju, which means beast.”

“Hey, Ran,” Hitsuji interrupted. “You know you can’t dump info on her all at once like that. Saya-chan will freeze up.”

“She’s not going to believe us easily, so rather than try and drip-feed it to her, it’s better to give her all of it at once.”

“Is that not a tad violent?” Hitsuji asked.

“This is a girl that kissed a total stranger like you out of nowhere,” Ran noted.

“I guess you’ve got a point.”

“Hey!” Saya tried to object, but Ran continued on, unconcerned.

“It’s a Sleepwalker’s duty to defeat suiju, but we each have different roles we’re suited to. You probably have the potential to be a Neversleeper. They’re the rare few who are not affected by dreams because they never sleep, which makes them a valuable asset in the battle against the suiju. That being said, Hokage-san... Won’t you work with us?”

“Th-This is all kind of sudden.”

As if she had anticipated Saya’s refusal, Ran nodded instantly. “Yes, of course. It’s too much to ask you believe us, and I don’t intend to spend time on persuading you, either. If you change your mind, come here.”

With that said, Ran passed her a point card made of thick paper. On it was written the name of a store—Sakaimori Beds & Bedding—along with its address and telephone number.

“Could you stand up for a bit? I want to fold up the blanket,” Hitsuji said, still looking vacantly at the card.

“Uh, sure...”

In front of Saya, who stood up on unsteady legs as she had been asked to, Hitsuji folded up her blanket with practiced technique and picked it up.

Turning to Saya, Ran smiled faintly. “Well, feel free to sleep on it. If you can sleep, that is.”

Leaving behind what sounded vaguely like a threat, Ran Aizome turned to go.

“Everyone will be there tomorrow. Later.”

Hitsuji followed after Ran, leaving Saya all alone on the rooftop.

“What’s with her...?” Saya mumbled.

While she stood there feeling mildly humiliated, the bell echoed across the rooftop. Looking over at the clock, Saya realized that sixth period had ended at some point.

The next day, after school, Saya was walking to the beds and bedding store that’s name was written on the point card she’d been given.

In the end, she hadn’t been able to sleep yesterday. It was frustrating, but things went exactly as Ran Aizome had said. Saya was as afflicted by insomnia as ever, and not only was she unable to attain the deep slumber she had tasted next to Hitsuji, she wasn’t even able to doze lightly.

If you cooperate with us, I think we can provide restful sleep—Those words of Ran’s lacked credibility on their own, but if Hitsuji was with her, that was another matter entirely.

Setting aside all that dodgy talk about suiju and Sleepwalkers, that sweet, beautiful sleep had been the truth. As if clinging desperately to it, Saya’s feet led her towards the address indicated on the card.

From what she’d been able to look up online, Sakaimori Bed & Bedding did, in fact, exist. She tried calling ahead, but the phone just kept ringing without even going to an answering machine.

With the address as her guide, she walked while looking down at a map app, gradually ending up in a more and more deserted area of town.

“Is this really the right way...?”

After passing through a dark shopping street lined with shuttered shops, she came to a deserted block of warehouses where a large truck would occasionally drive by, almost touching the sidewalk. Trudging along under a cloudy sky, she grew more and more worried.

Am I going to be okay? This doesn’t feel okay. I mean, huh? That stuff she was talking about yesterday... What WAS that? Sleepwalkers? Is that her... fictional setting?

Is it a game they’re really into...? Like some sort of acting? Well, they can do what they want, but I’m not really interested. If I can’t fix my insomnia, I’ll have bigger problems. She wants me to cooperate... but how, exactly? Will I really be able to get a good night’s sleep? If she was just making stuff up, I’m not going to let her get away with it.

But the whole kiss thing wasn’t good. Now they’ve got dirt on me...

Saya, who had been thinking gloomily to herself as she walked, raised her head and looked around.

Though it wasn’t all that different from the surrounding buildings, a large warehouse with a black roof caught her eye. It appeared as though that was the destination marked on her map. The shutter to the delivery entrance was down, and the concrete in the parking lot in front of the building was full of cracks with weeds growing out of them. Next to the shutter was a small door with an unremarkable sign that read “Sakaimori Beds & Bedding.”

She approached the door and tried to get a feel for the place. There was a glass window she could peer through, but the inside was too dark for her to see well.

There was an intercom by the door, so after a moment’s hesitation, Saya tried knocking.

There was no response, and no sign of anyone moving around inside, either.

When she tried testing the doorknob—it opened.

“Excuse meeee...”

Calling out timidly, she took a step inside.

“Helloooo...?”

On the other side of the door was a short hallway. Metal lockers, dead potted plants, and a dust-covered oil stove were gathered together against one of the walls. On the left side of the hallway was a sliding door, and it led into the area with the delivery entrance.

While she was squinting and looking for a light switch, someone called out from behind her.

“Saya!”

She jumped up into the air in surprise. Turning around to look, she saw Hitsuji Konparu standing at the entrance. The moment she saw Saya’s face, Hitsuji’s eyes went wide.

“Woah! Your face looks awful!”

“Huh?!”

That naturally-delivered insult pissed Saya off. Hitsuji reached and flicked the light switch, as if she was used to doing it. With the lights now on, she scrutinized Saya’s face once more.

“Those are some serious bags under your eyes. Couldn’t you sleep?”

“You heard my story yesterday, and you still ask that? I haven’t slept in forever, okay?!”

“You looked a lot more relaxed after sleeping with me.”

Saying that like it was no big deal, Hitsuji walked past Saya and went inside. The door closed behind the two of them.

“I’m glad you came. Usually, when we try to recruit a girl like you, they don’t believe us.”

“I don’t really believe you...”

At some point, Hitsuji had pulled out a key and used it to unlock the sliding door.

“Help me out. This door’s heavy.”

“Uh, okay.”

With Saya helping out as directed, the two of them pulled open the heavy door. Once the door opened with a rumbling sound, Hitsuji went into the darkness inside and flipped another switch.

Starting with the ones closest to them first, the lights hanging from the high ceiling flickered on.

It was like a trade exhibition for beds and bedding, or if it wasn’t that, something of a theme park. The massive warehouse was filled with beds, futons, hammock, and more, all of various sizes, and laid out such that there was a certain distance between each of them.

Hitsuji led Saya onward as they walked between the beds and bedding.

“Well? I bet you’ve never seen anything like this before, huh?” Hitsuji sounded a little proud.

“I have.”

“Huh? Where?”

“The beds and bedding department at IKEA.”

Hitsuji pursed her lips unhappily. “I don’t think you’re very cute, Saya.”

“Well, sorry.”

Although they continued to walk, the rows of beds and bedding showed no sign of ending, and even Saya was forced to admit the impressive scale of the place. When they finally reached the edge, there were shelves with still-wrapped mattresses and blankets that rose up all the way to the ceiling and formed a wall that stood in their way.

While walking through the passageways of shelves, which made Saya feel as though she had stepped into a labyrinth, they suddenly came out into a more open area. In the center of that space, surrounded by four shelves, there were three beds lined up. The bedside tables had reading lamps, manga, and textbooks laid out on them, and a little distance away there were bags of candy on the table of a sofa set. In the corner, there was a gas stove and a sink, along with a refrigerator and a cupboard for tableware.

“The toilet’s over there.” Hitsuji pointed to the edge of the shelf on their right then picked up a mug from the coffee table. Throwing her bag down on the sofa, she started washing the cup in the sink.

“Saya could you put on the kettle for me?”

“Huh?”

“Let’s have tea and wait for everyone else to come. If you prefer coffee, that’s fine, too.”

“...Okay.”

She put water in the kettle that was on top of the stove and turned on the flame. There were tea leaves and instant coffee in a basket on the table.

“Use whichever you like.”

Taking Hitsuji up on the offer, she chose chamomile. It was an herbal tea she’d heard was good for getting restful sleep... Not that the copious amounts of the stuff that she had consumed at home had done anything more than make her feel a little better.

The kettle started whistling, so she put the teabag into the teapot and poured the water in. Hitsuji, meanwhile, was putting rice crackers into a wooden sweets box.

“Yuki no Yado?” Saya asked.

“They’re sweet and salty, so they go with just about everything.”

Once Saya poured tea for the two of them, the fragrance of herbs filled the air. Hitsuji’s mug was gold-colored with a lamb character drawn on it. Saya’s mug was possibly meant for visitors, because it was a nondescript white. She felt like she’d seen ones like this being sold for cheap at IKEA.

Unable to take the silence as they sat facing each other, sipping tea on the sofa, Saya spoke up.

“What is this place?”

“Our bedroom. And our workplace, too.”

“By work, you mean as... Sleepwalkers, was it?”

“Yeah, that. We even earn money for it sometimes, so it really is work.”

Saya was surprised, and her eyes raced around the room once more. If it was true that they were just playing around, then this place was a bit much.

“So, it’s true, then. Uh, about the suiju, and all the other stuff.”

“Of course.”

“O-Oh, yeah?”

“You look worried,” Hitsuji said teasingly.

For a moment, Saya considered saying something back, but it was true that she had no idea what was going on, and that worried her. When Saya hung her head, Hitsuji continued in a somewhat gentler tone.

“When everyone’s here, we’ll explain. Don’t you worry.”

While she was munching away at the glazed rice crackers for lack of anything better to do, they eventually heard footsteps approaching from somewhere far off in the warehouse.

Not long after, a girl came out of the maze of shelves. It was a quiet-looking girl who wore glasses, and she was dressed in casual clothing.

“Ohh, I’m sorry I’m late... Wait, it’s just the two of you?”

“No need to panic, Tencho,” Hitsuji said.

“Konparu-san, you’re early today... Huh? Who is this?”

“Uh, hi...”

“This girl’s Saya. She’s nightkissed, and a candidate to become a new member.”

“Oh, so that’s it! Nice to meet you. I’m Midori Sakaimori.” The girl hurriedly bowed her head.

“You see, Midori-chan here, she’s next in line to inherit this bed and bedding store. That’s why we call her Tencho.”

Short for store manager, huh?

The next sound they heard approaching was of something rolling across the concrete.

When the next person slid in, it was a girl with a ponytail. She was wearing another school’s uniform with a parka over top. When Saya realized she was wearing roller shoes, the kind with a wheel in the heel, she was a little surprised. They were in style when she was in elementary school, but this was the first she’d ever seen someone in high school still wearing them.

“Yo. Huh, a new member?”

“Yep, that’s right. Saya, this girl is—”

“Kaede Tokishima. Nice to meet’cha.”

No sooner had she introduced herself when Ran Aizome came out from another passageway.

“Looks like everyone’s here.”

“Ahh!”

While the other four, which included Saya, were still surprised, Ran sat down on the sofa with an impassive look on her face. From the feeling the other girls around the table were giving off, Saya figured it out, too. Ran was the boss of this team.

6

“We Sleepwalkers have special powers that let us act freely while we sleep,” Ran began once everyone had their black tea and tea cakes. “Every human being is connected through sleep, and we travel through it like it's one world. You might say we’re walking around a collective consciousness.”

“The collective unconscious...”

Saya had heard of this somewhere before. If she remembered correctly, it was a theory that said every person was connected on an unconscious level, and that was why legends from around the world shared common symbols.

“Normal people lose their will during sleep. Even when their level of consciousness rises, they merely become aware of their situation as a dream. Ruled by memories and emotions, they are unable to control themselves. However, once in a while, someone regains their self while dreaming.”

“Haven’t you ever had a dream where you realized you were dreaming, Saya?” Hitsuji asked.

“I might have... maybe. I woke up right away, though.”

“Coming to the realization you’re dreaming, and then maintaining the state of sleep is not easy. However, with the appropriate training, the amount of time you can stay in the dream will grow longer. This makes lucid dreaming without time limits possible,” Ran continued. “Thus, once you’re able to act freely in your sleep, there is a vast world of dreams that opens up to you. The Australian aborigines referred to this as Dream Time. We distinguish the two by calling the world of sleep Nightland, and the waking world Dayland.”

“You can do anything in Nightland,” Kaede Tokishima, who was sitting cross-legged on the sofa, said while munching away at a Yuki no Yado rice cracker. “You know lucid dreams? When someone figures out they’re dreaming, they can control the dream. They can fly, make a character they like appear, even transform themselves. Anything they want. It’s insanely fun.”

“If they go overboard, they can lose control, and then lose lucidity as a result, though,” Midori Sakaimori said while blowing on her cup of black tea to cool it down. “Since you can do anything, you’d want to eat cakes and all the other stuff you like, right? But replicating the sense of taste is pretty hard. I try to do it every time I’m in Nightland, but there’s just no texture or taste. It’s like I’m eating tissues...”

“You just don’t have enough spirit, Tencho.”

“That’s not true. I give it my all, but nothing tastes good. It’s so, so frustrating...” Midori turned an upset look towards Kaede.

“We’re not putting ourselves in danger for all-you-can-eat cake. We Sleepwalkers have a proper mission we’ve set out to accomplish,” Ran said.

“And that’s where defeating the suiju comes in?” Saya asked. Ran nodded.

“Precisely. In Nightland, the suiju—the beings known as sandbeasts, run rampant.”

“Sandbeasts? Beasts of... sand?”

“They were called sandmen in past. The sandman is a fairy that shows up in German folklore — He casts sand into people's eyes, making them fall asleep...”

“Sounds like the old witch, Sunakake Baba,” Hitsuji interjected.

“I think Sunakake Baba just throws sand in your eyes, though... The suiju’s actions showed too little intelligence for them to be called sandmen, so at some point they came to be called sandbeasts instead.”

Beasts... The one Saya had witnessed had certainly taken a form that was far from anything that might be called human. That said, it didn’t look anything like a beast, either. “I don’t really care what you call them, but what exactly are the suiju?” she asked.

“They’re beings that put their roots down in humans, eating into their sleep, and spreading like mold across Nightland. You could call them autonomous dreams, or parasites of the psyche.”

“Eating into their sleep... Is that what’s causing my insomnia?”

“Yes. You most likely have an allergy to suiju. When there are suiju nearby, you are unable to get to sleep, and that drives you into a state of sleeplessness.”

“It’s like you were keeping a cat without ever knowing you were allergic.” Kaede’s metaphor left Ran was unamused.

“Cats are much cuter than suiju, you know.”

“What, that’s the problem?”

“Well, not that it matters... Anyway, those humans who are infected by suiju will have their spirits trapped in Nightland. Eventually, they enter a state where they have no self and act as carriers, spreading suiju across Dayland. If we leave them be, many humans will be infected, and they’ll begin to eat away at Nightland itself, so we need to stop the infection early.”

“So... Are you saying I was about to become one of those carriers, too? Saya asked, but Ran shook her head.

“I think you would have taken a different course, Hokage-san. Because of your suiju allergy, you were unable to enter Nightland, so the suiju parasite would have gone on wearing down your body and soul, and... sooner or later, you would have died.”

To Saya, those words didn’t sound like hyperbole at all. In fact, she was able to accept them pretty easily. What do you mean, “No one ever died from being unable to sleep?” Liars! I would’ve died after all!

“Um, are you all right?” Saya must have gone awfully pale or something of the sort, because Midori was staring at her with concern.

“Uhh, yeah... Thanks.”

“It’s amazing you made it half a year! I’d be dead in three days,” Hitsuji said.

“Nah, that’s way too soon. You gotta hang in there for a week, at least,” Kaede poked fun at Hitsuji.

“You had it rough, Hokage-san, but you’ll be fine now. We Sleepwalkers exist to help people like you!” Ran said, puffing her chest up with pride. “And on that note, I’d like to reintroduce everyone. The four of us here are this town’s Sleepwalkers. I’m the leader, Ran Aizome.”

Still sitting on the sofa, Ran began pointing to each of the other girls in turn and introducing them. “Konparu-san is a Blanket. When she lies side-by-side with someone, she can put them to sleep in no time. She’s a professional at putting people to sleep.”

“A professional at putting people to sleep...?”

“When I’m sleeping, the people around me fall asleep, too. There was even a time I drifted off in class, and when I woke up everyone else was out cold.”

“Whaa...? Why didn’t the teacher wake them?”

“Because the teacher was asleep, too.”

So that’s why she was sleeping in the health room and on the roof, not in class. One of Saya’s questions had been solved. The moment she was satisfied with that answer, words carelessly slipped out of her mouth. “So I’m not the only one who gets sleepy when they’re with Konparu-san, huh.”

“It happens to everyone. Why?”

“Er...”

When she was asked why, Saya didn’t really know.

I wonder why I said that. I mean, I wonder why I thought it would only be me...

“Is it a problem somehow if you’re not the only one?”

Hitsuji looked probingly at Saya.

“It’s not a problem, but... It’s nothing really.”

While Saya was still confused, Ran continued with introductions. “Tokishima-san is a Pillowfighter. That’s a Sleepwalker who’s skilled at fighting in Nightland.”

“F-Fighting?”

“That’s right. Suiju can be pretty aggressive, you know. You let your guard down, they’ll take you out. I’m a little better than everyone else at controlling dreams to fight, so I’ll show you the ropes, Sayacchi.” Kaede gave a flawless smile.

“Midori is a Bedmaker. Her job is to handle beds, bedding, and all the other related equipment. She works behind the scenes to arrange a good sleeping environment for us, as well as looking after us while we’re doing a Sleepwalk.”

“U-Um, if anything feels wrong while you’re sleeping, tell me. I think I can help,” Midori said humbly with a slight bow of her head.

With all four of them looking at her, Saya squirmed awkwardly on the sofa.

“Erm... Is this everyone? Just the four of you?”

“Right. We’ll have five if you join,” Ran said, leaning across the table. “Like I said yesterday, you have the potential to be a Neversleeper. That’s someone who’s lost sleep, and can enter dreams without being affected by them. Among the Nightkissed, the people who’ve been bitten by a suiju, sometimes a person will awaken special abilities.”

“...What are you telling me to do?”

When Saya faltered, Kaede didn’t hesitate in speaking up. “You don’t have to think hard about it — this is a respectable job people have been doing forever. We dive into Nightland and take out the suiju that infect people. We’re heroes!”

Is it that simple...? While Saya was hesitating, Ran rose from the sofa and began speaking.

“Well then, should we sleep together now?”

“Huh?”

“Whatever you’re ultimately going to do, Hokage-san, first we have to eliminate the suiju that’s infected you.”

“No, I’m fine with that, but what do you mean by sleep together...?”

“Didn’t I tell you? By sleeping side-by-side, Sleepwalkers are able to share their sleep. You’ve already experienced that, haven’t you?”