The night was deep, and a crescent moon hung high in the sky.
In a remote, unknown forested mountain in Japan, a giant humanoid skeleton, several stories tall, was slowly moving through the valley between the mountains.
Under the cold moonlight, the giant skeleton appeared exceptionally terrifying, but upon closer inspection, one could see that the giant skeleton was holding a cute girl dressed in a white dress with wavy bobbed hair in its enormous hand.
The girl was petite, about 1.5 meters tall, with light blonde hair. She held a reddish-brown wooden cane in her hand.
In the bright moonlight, one could see her skin as smooth as porcelain, tender and delicate. Her small face, not yet fully mature, looked somewhat youthful, making one want to pinch her cheeks to see how they felt.
"Ah~~ Why are there so many issues to resolve at such a critical moment?! If I don't get back soon, what if my future husband gets taken by someone else?!"
At this moment, the girl's mood was very bad. She covered her head with her hands, complaining while stomping her feet.
Her tiny feet in round-toed shoes stomped rhythmically on the giant skeleton's hand, making crisp sounds that startled the nearby birds into flight.
"Princess, you must believe in your own charm. Your future husband won't be easily taken away."
The giant skeleton conveyed its comforting words directly into the girl's mind.
"Ah~~ You don't understand. Hoshimi and I haven't met in reality yet. I originally thought that as long as I entered the school Hoshimi attends, I could find him."
"But it turned out he never came to school! And just when I left to deal with some issues, Hoshimi finally came to school!"
"And look!"
The girl took out her phone and showed a photo sent by a classmate.
The phone screen clearly displayed Hoshimi and Yukinoshita sitting on a bench outside the tennis court, chatting and laughing.
"And this one!"
She swiped to the next photo.
It showed Hoshimi and Yukinoshita holding hands, walking intimately on the street.
"And this one!"
She continued swiping, revealing a photo of Hoshimi and Yukinoshita sitting in the classroom, smiling and talking.
"Ah~~ Do you see, the moment Hoshimi came to school, he got a beautiful deskmate! And they were already acquainted!"
"Now they're in the same school! In the same class! Who knows how fast things will progress!"
Suddenly, the girl covered her head, despairing, "Ah~~ Could it be that during the time I was away, Hoshimi and that beautiful deskmate have already done everything?!"
"Maybe when I get back, they'll be married with a certificate! Maybe even have kids!"
"Ah~~ I really want to go back now! But why is there a problem at this moment?! How unlucky!"
The giant skeleton silently listened to the girl's mixed fantasies and complaints.
When the girl calmed down and stopped complaining, the giant skeleton seized the opportunity to speak.
"Princess, if that's the case, why not have some small yokai keep an eye on him for you?"
"Ah~~ It's no use," the girl said, resting her chin on her hand, "Hoshimi is not simple. If the small yokai provoke him and he gets emotional, those small yokai might get 'eaten.'"
"Eaten? Isn't your future husband human?" the giant skeleton asked.
"No, Hoshimi is definitely human, but he possesses a terrifying ability." The girl grew serious, holding her wooden cane in one hand and supporting her chin with the other.
"Remember a while ago when you smelled a special scent from me? During that time, every time I slept, I entered Hoshimi's dream."
"His dream is very special. It not only has a reality-like authenticity, but the scary part is that Hoshimi is like a god in his dream, capable of anything."
"If, and I mean if, one day Hoshimi's dream invades reality, what would happen to the world and Hoshimi?"
"I can't be sure that Hoshimi's dream can invade reality, but I can't deny the possibility either."
"Fortunately, Hoshimi is quite indifferent. As long as he is content and happy, he doesn't think about other things. So, his exploration and understanding of his dream is not very deep."
"But one thing I can be sure of is that even if Hoshimi doesn't fully understand or care about his dream, his dream will still loyally protect him."
"That's why I said that if Hoshimi gets emotional, those small yokai will get 'eaten.'"
"Hoshimi's dream has the power to forcibly drag living beings' consciousness into it."
After the girl's lengthy explanation, the giant skeleton replied blankly, "I see."
The girl didn't bother to criticize the skeleton's limited understanding. She thoughtfully rubbed her chin.
She suddenly realized that Hoshimi's relationship with his beautiful deskmate might not be as close as her classmate said.
She had thoroughly investigated Hoshimi's situation. Plus, with the time spent in his dream, she understood Hoshimi's character very well.
Would Hoshimi, who pursues happiness, really fall for a girl so easily?
That carefree guy was genuinely heartless. Making him fall in love was not easy.
In the dream, they did everything they could, but one day, that bastard stopped pulling her into his dream.
Of course, she knew that Hoshimi didn't actively control his dream to pull people in.
But his dream pulling people in was based on his subconscious.
She not being pulled in anymore could only mean one thing.
That heartless guy lost interest in her after using her up!
How infuriating! How dare he lose interest in the charming 'Goddess of Wisdom'! When she sees Hoshimi again, she will make him regret it!
"Alright! I've decided! I'll swiftly resolve these issues! I must go back and see Hoshimi next week!"
The girl stood up, confidently gripping her reddish-brown wooden cane.
"Let's go, let's hurry to the next trial site!" she urged from the skeleton's hand.
"Yes, Princess," the skeleton replied, protecting her as it sped up, striding through the valley.
Amidst the jolts, the girl's eyes shone brightly as she gazed into the distance.
Hoshimi Kiyokawa, wait for me, I'm coming to see you soon!
Since you used your dream to consume me, take responsibility seriously!
I, Kotoko Iwanaga, the Goddess of Wisdom of Yokai and the mediator of their disputes, am not a woman you can discard so easily!
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