#kiichi saruwatari

[dreaming-translations]

[MAIN STORY] 3am, Inverted (Chapter 3)

chapter 3 of act I, part I of dream!ing’s second season ↓

A gunshot rang out.

Shigure: Ah—

Touji & Takaomi: !!

—— Pointed toward the ceiling, the gun’s muzzle went off in a spray of petals and colorful paint.

Male Student A: Hahaha! Oh man! I’m totally covered in pink!

Male Student B: With green and yellow petals on top! Hakka-senpai, this is great!

“We want more!” “Give us an even more exciting show!”

Paralyzed by the nightlife’s wild thrall, the students were charged up with a bizarre fervor. Some had even begun to dance, covered head-to-toe in paint.

Touji: Wha… Settle down, all of you…! Stop pushing me…!

Takaomi: They’re totally out of their minds. Out of the goddamn way…!

Taking advantage of the chaos, the masked man roughly shook himself free from Shigure’s arms and took off running.

Shigure: We musn’t let him get away. Shishimaru-kun, Harimiya-kun—!

Takaomi: Like I said, quit giving me orders!

Touji: We’ve managed to chase him this far. I shall see the moment the Heavens strike him down with my own eyes!

Touji: SECRET ART! SUPER LONG-DISTANCE SHOE CATAPULT—! (NAME CREDIT: NITO-KUN) (he literally says the parentheses here im dead)

Takaomi: HUH!?

Masked Man: —!

As he took Touji’s shoe right to the back of the head, the man’s fleeing footsteps faltered.

— Not a single eye in the room failed to notice that very moment.

Takaomi: Making us run around for no reason… You’d better remember to compensate us with a Live Ticket.

Shigure: I shall make sure of it. I swear on the Family’s name.

Touji: Accept your fate! You may hide your face with that mask, but you cannot hide your sins!

The three of them had him surrounded.

There was nowhere left for the masked man to run.

Shigure: I shall reveal your true identity.

Masked Man: ……

Shigure faced the man and took a step toward him — and just then.

As the quiet snap of the man’s fingers rang out, the floor beneath the three of them suddenly disappeared.

All 3: —!

With no way to resist the void that opened up ——

They fell deeper and deeper into the pitch darkness.

 ____________________________________________

Shigure: —— We will now begin our report on the “Illegal Dream World Organized by an Unknown Perpetrator”.

Mikage: Begiiin.

Hakka-san cast a cold gaze at me.

It seemed that my kindhearted attempt to lighten the suffocating atmosphere surrounding our three teachers wasn’t well-received. Bummer.

Shigure: Allow me to begin with a brief summary. If you log into the Yume System around 3:00 a.m., it is possible to enter this dream by inputting a specific operation code.

Saruwatari: Mhm, mhm. And?

Shigure:  Around the same time that students began summer vacation, an add-on for special app designed by Shinonome Gakuen that allows one to easily turn their smartphone into a Yume Mask began circulating.

Shigure: The ease of login combined with the students’ extended period of free time resulted in an explosive number of users joining the app craze.

Shigure: As we entered September and even up until present, the number of students logging in to this dream continues to increase.

Saruwatari: That’s wonderful!

Shigure: Eh…?

Saruwatari: I can see without a doubt that the developer is a brilliant person overflowing with curiosity, humor and entrepreneurial spirit! I can feel their passion.

Inoh: Should the acting chairman really be saying that...?

Saruwatari: Haha, sorry. I just couldn’t help getting worked up as I listened to that report.

Saruwatari: Certainly, it is a clear violation of the system’s fraud detection, but there’s something beautiful about it. Possessing such deep knowledge of the Yume System and using that knowledge so precisely, you can feel the attention to every evil detail, no?

Inoh: The work of someone familiar with the Yume System…

Inoh: —! … Don’t tell me this is your doing.

As he took a small jab from an elbow with a thwump, Kiritani-sensei furrowed his brow and looked carefully at the notebook laptop on his lap.

Kiritani: I’m analyzing the source code right now, but it’s encrypted so many times over you’d think they’re hiding the secrets to someone’s murder in there. What a pain in the ass.

Inoh: Don’t talk like that in front of your students. Always saying such things, it’s because you live such a lazy and undisciplined lifestyle that the culprit is looking down on us—

Turning toward Kiritani-sensei as he zoned out of Inoh’s scolding, I raised a finger and gave it a little wave.

Noticing the motion, Sensei sighed and let his gaze trail out the window.

Shigure: —Allow me to continue.

Shigure: The building’s exterior bears resemblance to the casinos in Las Vegas. Inside, there are various amusement areas on each floor.

Shigure: Just like a mobile game, players are given a common currency of play coins, and just by logging in every night, they can receive enough coins to keep playing throughout the entire night.

Shigure: And those who collect a large number of coins are granted access to the exclusive luxury VIP room on the top floor, where they can play even higher-stakes games.

Inoh: So it’s a system that makes you believe your worth is based on how much coin you possess.

Kiritani: Making people feel inferior even inside dreams, huh. Kids these days sure don’t have anything better to do.

Saruwatari: The dangerous point where dreams meet reality.

Shigure: This danger-filled dream has been hence nicknamed the “27club” (ninakurabu).

Shigure: Unfortunately, we failed to apprehend the suspicious figure last night, but the student council intends to continue its investigation to our fullest ability.

Mikage: Yes we dooo.

Saruwatari: We’re counting on you. If you make any progress in the investigation, however small, please tell me right away.

 TO BE CONTINUED