What Nagasaki Soyo cared about wasn't the fact that Wakaba Mutsumi had been sprawled on top of Toyokawa Sakiko in her sleep.
Well—she wasn't not bothered, either. It was just that she'd seen it coming.
She'd replayed that exact scene in her head countless times, even imagined versions far worse than this.
Besides, Mutsumi and Sakiko had known each other since they were little. Soyo understood their bond better than anyone.
And with Mutsumi being what she was—an existence that ran on instinct—trying to judge her behavior by ordinary standards was a dead end.
Even if Mutsumi did something outrageous, Soyo wouldn't even know where to aim her dissatisfaction.
What really set her off was Sakiko shamelessly lying with a straight face.
If she'd just said she wasn't up yet—or even simply, "I just woke up"—then even if Soyo saw Mutsumi sleeping on top of her, Soyo would've only tossed out a couple of barbed comments. It would've blown over.
So why claim she was already up and eating breakfast?
And say it so righteously, like it was the most natural thing in the world?
What was the point?!
Soyo's breathing grew heavier.
Behind Sakiko, on the bed, Wakaba Mutsumi—still being stared at with Soyo's simmering glare—tilted her head, utterly calm.
And in the instant she tilted it, the last trace of light in her already-emotionless eyes faded away, as if her body had turned into an empty shell.
Her consciousness slipped into her Palace.
In the cognitive world—deep inside the Palace—Mutsumi walked to the bed within.
She stopped beside Mortis's bed.
Mortis's sleeping posture was atrocious. She was sprawled out like a starfish, half the blanket fallen to the floor, one leg kicked out over the edge. Half her face was buried in the pillow, and a carefree, inexplicable grin hung on her lips—like she was having the best dream of her life.
Mutsumi reached out, expressionless, grabbed Mortis by the shoulder, and shook her.
Hard.
Mortis's stupid smile froze, then twisted into a deep frown, her features scrunching together in irritation.
She struggled along the seam between dream and waking for a few seconds. Her eyes still weren't open, but her hands were already flailing in the air, trying to roll over and escape the disturbance.
In the end, Mutsumi forcibly shook her awake.
"Stop shaking! Stop shaking!"
Mortis yanked the blanket up, rolled over, and sat bolt upright. She rubbed her bleary eyes with both hands, voice thick with morning rage.
"What is it? Why are you calling me this early—ugh, wait—"
Mutsumi didn't acknowledge the complaint at all. She grabbed Mortis by the wrist.
Mortis's eyes widened in shock.
Then, with a sharp pull from the waist, Mutsumi yanked her straight off the bed.
With a blank face, Mutsumi swung Mortis in a full circle through the air—no mercy, no hesitation.
And before Mortis could finish her half-formed scream, Mutsumi used the centrifugal force like she was throwing a hammer—
And hurled her away.
Back in the real world—
Mutsumi, sitting on the bed, suddenly convulsed violently, like a sleeping person jolted by a sudden, brutal drop.
Then her face—previously doll-like and indifferent—shifted completely.
"Seriously… what the heck?"
She pouted, grabbed at her messy hair, rubbing her wrist as she grumbled. Then she lifted her head and looked past Sakiko's shoulder.
The moment her eyes landed on Nagasaki Soyo, the irritation vanished.
Her eyes lit up.
Without the slightest hesitation, she flung both arms wide, like a baby asking an adult to pick her up.
"Soyo. Help me wash up."
She said it with perfect righteousness.
Soyo's already-cracked smile locked into place. Her eye twitched.
She inhaled, closed her eyes, and let out a long, deeply resigned sigh.
When she opened them again, she raised her lids and shot a murderous look at Toyokawa Sakiko—who stood by the door wearing the same innocent, flat, dead-fish stare as ever.
Then Soyo stepped forward and entered the room that had been sealed all night with the air of "Sakiko + Mutsumi."
She reached the bedside, bent down with a stern face, and didn't accept the open-armed hug at all.
Instead, she slid both hands under the girl's armpits—practiced to the point of muscle memory.
With a small exertion, Soyo lifted her up like she was pulling a radish from the soil.
"Stand still."
Soyo's voice was strict, but her movements weren't rough.
Once the girl's feet were steady on the floor, Soyo took her hand and led her toward the washroom—half dragging, half carrying—like a helpless parent hauling along a child who couldn't manage basic self-care.
When the washroom door swung half shut and the faint sound of running water started, Shinobu Kocho finally stepped in from the balcony outside, unhurried.
Her gaze settled on Sakiko as she murmured,
"You three really have a… complicated relationship."
No teasing—just a factual observation.
Sakiko stood there in silence for a moment, completely unable to argue.
After Sakiko finished washing up and drove away the last of her lingering sleepiness, she dabbed the water off her face with a towel, hung it up, and walked out.
Mortis was sitting on the little round stool at the vanity.
She had been told to sit up straight, but her upper body still swayed gently left and right. Her feet dangled in midair and swung back and forth under the stool—like a little kid so happy she physically couldn't stay still.
Behind her stood Soyo, holding a wooden comb.
Seeing Mortis squirm, Soyo paused, brow faintly furrowed—annoyance and helplessness mixing together.
She placed her free hand atop Mortis's head, palm down.
"Don't move."
Her voice wasn't loud, but it carried unmistakable authority.
Mortis immediately shrank her neck. Her wiggling froze. Even her dangling feet obediently stopped.
Only her eyes kept rolling around in the mirror, her grin still bright.
Once she behaved, Soyo's expression softened.
She withdrew her hand and began combing through Mortis's slightly frizzy hair, slowly, carefully.
Her movements were gentle and practiced. When she encountered a knot, she'd first loosen it with her fingers, then smooth it out with the comb.
Before this, Mortis's daily life—washing, grooming, all of it—had always been handled by the Wakaba household staff.
But after Ave Mujica disbanded, Mortis's entire mind had been consumed by one thing: waking up Mutsumi's "real" self.
She'd sunk into a near-obsessive closed state, locking herself in her room and rejecting any contact.
So forget letting the staff help her wash and dress—she wouldn't even allow anyone inside to clean.
By the time Soyo came over out of worry, Mortis had already become, in the bluntest terms possible, a stinky kid.
From that day onward, for the next few days, it was Soyo who took over: washing, brushing hair, changing clothes.
She'd gotten a head start on what motherhood felt like.
Only… Soyo was deeply conflicted about it.
If her mental state had to be summed up into a single image, it would be:
A hopeless mother screaming online: [Help] My daughter likes calling me "husband" and "dad." Urgent. Please respond.
Thinking that, Soyo bit her lip. Her grip on the comb tightened, and she dragged it down a little too hard.
Mortis let out a tiny hiss.
Soyo said a stiff, dry "Sorry," patted her shoulder, and forced her mind back on track.
Once Sakiko and Mortis were both presentable, everyone went to the dining room for breakfast.
Soyo naturally pulled out a chair and sat down, then turned her head to the empty seat beside her.
Mortis had been walking over with a spring in her step, about to sit next to Soyo—
Her hand was just about to touch the chair back—
When her entire body jolted.
Violently.
The lively, childish face drained into emptiness and indifference.
Wakaba Mutsumi was back.
She didn't even glance at Soyo's carefully saved seat.
She calmly withdrew her hand from the air, turned her feet, and walked to the other side of the table.
She pulled out a chair beside Toyokawa Sakiko, sat down without a word, picked up her utensils, and began eating quietly, as though nothing had happened.
Across from them, Soyo stared at Mutsumi—who sat beside Sakiko like it was the most natural thing in the world—and a vein popped on her forehead.
Soyo drew a deep breath, trying to suppress the fire churning up inside.
When she spoke again, she forced her lips into a twisted, saccharine smile so sweet it made your skin crawl, and she put on that syrupy "cute voice."
"Muuutsumiii~"
The drawn-out tone sounded like it was being squeezed out through clenched teeth.
"Hiding behind Mortis like that isn't very nice~"
Mutsumi held her food with both hands and nibbled like a tiny hamster.
Her chewing was small but fast, cheeks puffing and shrinking with the rhythm.
Only after she swallowed did she stop and lift her head.
She met Soyo's terrifying smile with eyes as flat as still water and said,
"Soyo… you're like Mortis's mom."
Soyo blinked.
Then she gave a cold little snort.
Her broken smile gradually smoothed. The bulging vein faded.
Clearly, even if she wouldn't say it out loud, she was proud of how well she'd taken care of Mortis these past few days.
But then Mutsumi continued, just as calmly:
"Then… does that mean I'm Mortis's dad?"
Clink.
Someone's utensil slipped and struck their plate with a sharp, jarring sound.
Everyone froze.
Toyokawa Sakiko still had a bite of food in her mouth—mid-chew—locked in place as her brain attempted to process a relationship diagram so absurd it was somehow logically airtight.
Across from her, Soyo's mouth hung slightly open. The words she wanted to retort with caught in her throat and got swallowed back down.
Because if you followed the logic—
For Mortis, an existence born from Mutsumi's expectations…
Mutsumi was, in a sense, her biological parent.
And Soyo was, in a sense, her practical mother.
And Mortis's birth was tangled up with Sakiko too, in ways you couldn't begin to neatly untangle—
At the end of the table, Shinobu Kocho held a small piece of bread. She chewed slowly and calmly, eyes flicking left and right with the barest edge of her peripheral vision.
Mutsumi, who had calmly dropped that bomb.
Sakiko, frozen like a statue.
Soyo, whose expression had fully crashed.
Shinobu swallowed her bite, then sighed silently from the depths of her soul.
What a mess.
And Shinobu vaguely remembered Sakiko mentioning, offhand, that she'd been in two bands.
At this moment, Shinobu desperately wanted to know what the other band members were like—what kind of relationship they had with Toyokawa Sakiko.
Were they all like this?
Were they all tangled into the same kind of knot as Nagasaki Soyo and Wakaba Mutsumi?
Breakfast ended in that eerie, wordless atmosphere.
After eating, they sat on the living room sofa for a short rest. Once the food had settled a little, they stood, headed for the entryway, opened the front door, and stepped out together.
Morinami Minami—Wakaba Mutsumi's mother, and the true owner of this mansion—was, in reality, constantly busy.
Last night she'd returned late, drained by social obligations and work. And this morning, before dawn had fully lifted—before any of them woke up—she'd already left with brisk efficiency.
A full-blown workaholic. So driven it was almost like she'd forgotten her home existed.
To her, this mansion was less a home than a hotel—somewhere to return briefly, sleep, and leave again.
Here's an important rule about the cognitive world:
A person's Shadow isn't bound to their physical body at every second the way a literal shadow clings to your feet.
Nor does a Palace follow its owner around like luggage.
It's like ordinary people's Shadows: they're all gathered into the subway's Impression Space. They don't "sit inside" the body.
Even Shadows that have separated from the collective unconscious—strong enough to form an independent Palace—work similarly. They can choose where they remain. They aren't required to stick to the owner's flesh.
Sakiko had encountered two Palaces so far, and both were extreme special cases that could easily mislead you.
The first was Wakaba Mutsumi—whose entire existence was abnormal, because she herself was a Shadow. Even so, her Palace was still anchored to the Wakaba estate. It didn't wander.
The second was Sakiko's father, Toyokawa Seikoku.
His physical self had collapsed into a tiny life radius. He spent most of his time in the rundown apartment that also corresponded to his Palace, creating the illusion of perfect overlap.
But that overlap was coincidence—nothing more.
If Toyokawa Seikoku left the apartment one day to drink, his physical body would move through the real world, but his Shadow and Palace would still remain where they were: rooted to that shabby building.
So in the real world, you can't conclude someone is "normal" just because you meet them and the navigation app doesn't immediately pop up a Palace alert.
A Palace's location might be anchored somewhere else entirely—somewhere intensely tied to the person's identity and cognition.
That was why, even though Morinami Minami had already left for her company this morning, her Palace wouldn't disappear or relocate.
It would still remain anchored to the Wakaba estate.
So why not activate the navigation app inside the Wakaba mansion and enter from there?
Because if they triggered it from inside the Palace's coverage range, they'd be forced into the Palace in their real bodies immediately.
Without knowing what the inside looked like, that was reckless.
The safest procedure was: leave the coverage area first, then initiate entry from outside.
After confirming they'd fully left the estate grounds, Toyokawa Sakiko first pulled the other three into the narrow gap between reality and cognition.
The moment they slipped in—
A figure took shape in midair.
Mortis appeared too.
In this in-between space, she could separate from Mutsumi's body and manifest as her own individual form.
But because this wasn't a full cognitive domain, she looked more like a translucent projection—unable to wield real cognitive power here.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 165)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter220)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter125)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter250)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 220
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 185
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/20
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 248
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 230
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/40
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 125
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 145
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 120
I Can Copy Unique Skills 115
Summoning an Evil God, but the 75
Supernatural Multiverse 110
My Harem Is Indescribable 100
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 105
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 67
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 105
Still playing traditional Honk 80
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 85
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 78
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 55
Transmigrated as Sukuna 80
Checking In in Demon Slayer 85
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 100
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 85
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 80
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 90
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 75
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 80
Why did they assign me to Uma 75
MYGO Beauties 70
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 70
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 80
Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! 80
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 57
The Uma Musume Who Became 55
I'm Definitely Not the King of 60
After Maxing Out Every Class 45
Naruto: I'm Konoha's Local Men 35
Honkai: World Modulation Mode 34
I, the Elden Sword Saint 27
Dio Brando Is Challenging FGO 24
No One Knows Pokémon Better 18
I, Sakazuki, Won't Go Down Tha 20
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