Novel Volume 6 Chapter 3

## TBA

**TBA** (閉じた夢の先, *Tojita Yume no Saki*?) is the third chapter of Volume 6 of the *My Happy Marriage* series.

## Summary

Miyo Saimori, accompanied by Kiyo and Kazushi Tatsuishi, arrives at the military headquarters just before sunset. She had foreseen that there would be no guards at this very moment, allowing the three to slip through the gate. Guided by her dream, she leads them to the prison area. When they find the entrance to the administration building locked, Kazushi opens a window on the side, and the three land in a data room. From there, they move into the corridor and proceed forward. Kazushi, feeling tense, is impressed by Miyo's aura as she leads the way. He reflects on how she has transformed from the haggard and gloomy person he had known since childhood into a beautiful and elegant woman. As they turn a corner, a door suddenly opens behind them, and Kazushi swiftly strangles him until he loses consciousness. They continue their journey until they reach a junction, which is closed off with a barbed wire fence. Using a key taken from the soldier, Kazushi opens the gateway, and they move from the outdoor corridor into the prison building.

As they reach the deepest part of the prison, Kazushi unlocks a fence, and they descend a dark, steep staircase to the underground dungeon, using lanterns from the data room. Everything unfolds in line with Miyo's dream, including finding necessary items. In the dungeon, they discover empty cells, except for one containing a wooden altar used to seal the usage of Gifts. Kazushi dispels the altar with a touch of his fan. Moving past the cells, they continue along the retaining wall. Miyo rushes forward when Kazushi senses a person ahead. She finds Kiyoka Kudou breaking free from his cell and escaping on his own. Hugging him, Miyo expresses her feelings for him that she couldn't articulate before due to confusion, and Kiyoka accepts her words, promising to stay by her side. Noticing his injuries, Miyo learns that he used a lot of energy to break the sealed chains through brute force. Kiyoka then places his hand on Kiyo's shoulder, who nods and disappears. When Miyo asks if she will see Kiyo again, Kiyoka is reluctant to respond. Kazushi reveals that Kiyoka has been controlling the familiar and sharing its vision and hearing for a long time. Miyo feels shame for how she treated Kiyo, but Kiyoka finds it refreshing and asks her to call him by his name properly in the future.

In order to conserve Kiyoka's energy, Kazushi sends a familiar on his behalf to inform Yoshito Godou of Kiyoka's rescue. Tadakiyo Kudou also reaches out, expressing that he will gather enough Gift-users to assist in the afternoon. After a loud rumbling sound signals the start of unit's attack, Miyo's group departs from the dungeon, crosses the outdoor corridor and sprints through the administration building. They encounter few soldiers on their way, who are quickly dealt with by Kiyoka and Kazushi. However, at the exit, they are confronted by Arata Usuba and his soldiers. Miyo once again questions Arata's actions, to which he explains that the vision of the Gifted Communion aligns with his desire for a future where the Usubas are treated fairly. He points his gun at them, coldly stating he received orders to take Miyo by force if necessary.

Behind Arata, Naoshi Usui appears, welcoming Miyo's group into his stronghold. When Kiyoka inquires about the Emperor's well-being, Naoshi orders his subordinates to throw the body of the Emperor before them. He reveals he has been torturing the Emperor and is almost ready to kill him. Kicking the man, he blames him for Sumi Usuba's death. Naoshi then questions Miyo about her desire for greater Usuba power and compares it to his own quest for more power to change destiny. Miyo initially struggles to respond, but ultimately states that unlike him, she won't use her powers to harm others. Naoshi reminds her that in order to save Kiyoka, she has already caused harm to soldiers they encountered and that she is now also planning to hurt him. Miyo then uses Dream-Sight to place everyone present in a dream where no one will be hurt. Naoshi asserts that Miyo, like in this dream, can create a world where no one will be hurt by standing at the top of the country. Kiyoka retorts that instead of dominating the world, Gift-users should adapt to the changing situation, as the numbers of Gifts and Grotesqueries are dwindling already, but Naoshi suggests artificially increasing the number of Gift-users to solve the issue. He questions whether they fear change or just blindly worship the Imperial family as the supreme monarch.

The discussion becomes heated when Naoshi once more brings up Miyo's desire for more power, irritating her. She angrily accuses him of usurping the status of other powerful people while she merely seeks the power rightfully hers. Naoshi becomes furious, shattering his glasses, while he argues how Miyo also took away the stable life of the Saimoris and elevated her own status to that of a Kudou fiancée. He believes that when someone becomes happy, others inevitably become unfortunate. However, Miyo counters by saying that it's still wrong to take other people's things or hurt others. Even if one is powerless, they can rely on their own strength to strive for survival within their means. She cites Arata's earlier attempt to change the fate of the Usubas as an example. Miyo accuses Naoshi of feigning actions for the benefit of others, while his motives are rooted in his own self-interest. Hearing this, Naoshi, who mutters to himself, reaches out to touch Miyo's neck, but she slaps him and replays Sumi's voice from the past when Sumi advises him to remember his true desire. Naoshi then turns away, bitterly saying he doesn't need a daughter who can't understand him and that she, as someone blissfully content, forces less unfortunate people to accept her perspective. As Naoshi and Arata use brute force to awaken themselves from the dream, Miyo urgently tells Kiyoka and Kazushi to stop them, but it's too late. The dream world disintegrates, and back in reality, Arata shoots Naoshi, who simultaneously throws his dagger. Both collapse on the ground. Kazushi confirms Naoshi's death, while the injured Arata asks the crying Miyo for forgiveness before closing his eyes.

Some time earlier, the unit launched an attack on the concentrated combat power of the headquarters. Ordinary soldiers of the Imperial Army retreated after being attacked with fire, snow, and water. However, the eighty Gifted Communion members with artificial powers, along with a hundred Grotesqueries fighting alongside them, had a numerical advantage over the thirty unit members. Yoshito believed they would have been defeated if not for the accumulated resentment of being locked up in the station. Yoshito used telekinesis in battle, while Mukadeyama relied on physical strength. The battle that began in the morning continued into the noon, when the reinforcements of twenty Gift-users led by Tadakiyo arrive. Seeing Tadakiyo quickly incapacitate multiple people using lightning, Yoshito finds his fighting style unsettling, more assassin-like compared to Kiyoka's. Kazushi joins them after arriving from the prison, while shortly later, Kiyoka walks out of the main building with a group of army generals and freezes all the water on the ground throughout the headquarters grounds. A general orders everyone to stop fighting. As weapons are lowered, a government loyalist force led by Masashi Ookaito enter through the main gate. Houjou orders his forces to continue fighting, but no one obeys, leading to the end of the conflict.

## Characters in Order of Appearance

* Miyo Saimori
* Kiyoka's familiar
* Kazushi Tatsuishi
* Imperial Army soldiers
* Kiyoka Kudou
* Arata Usuba
* Naoshi Usui
* Emperor
* Sumi Usuba (voice)
* Yoshito Godou
* Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit members
* Gifted Communion members
* Mukadeyama
* Tadakiyo Kudou
* Imperial Army generals
* Government fighting force
* Masashi Ookaito
* Houjou