We started looking at houses three days ago. At some point, Alain found a real estate agency.
"Then, on the same day, the contract was negotiated. After that, we moved. Oh, the moving service was a complimentary gift from the agent."
Misha's account was a perfect match for Alain's fading memories of the dream.
However, he noticed a few problems.
The agent? Based on his hazy memories, Alain could vaguely see that the agent was a Mita. He hadn't noticed that in the dream? On the contrary, he had thought it was perfectly normal for a Mita to be a real estate agent...
"Was that agent a Mita?"
"Darling, what are you talking about?" Misha chuckled and shook her head. "This is reality. As far as I know, we three are the only Mitas who have come to reality."
The long-haired girl pointed to herself, then looked toward the other two dining in the living room. She noticed they were still talking, having not touched a single bite of breakfast.
"Hey! You two, just eat your food!"
Alain was puzzled. If she wasn't a Mita, it meant that the agent's appearance in his eyes was different from what Misha and the others saw.
"What did the agent look like?"
Alain pondered this appearance... He had no memory of anyone like that among the people he knew. Then again, he had signed for this house in a "dream." And dreams usually contain some false elements, so...
He swallowed hard.
Could it be that the price of this house is astronomical? After all, for a flat with these conditions, plus all those free gifts, it seemed unusually cheap no matter how you looked at it.
"Let me ask first, what is the rent?"
"Two thousand five hundred. It's so expensive..."
The discounted terms from the dream were actually real. Just how many people died here?
Alain added testing the place with luminol reagent to his to-do list.
He once again asked about the process of negotiating the rent with the agent.
Misha thought for two seconds, then said,
"At the time, the agent quoted a price. I remember the original price was 3k. You agreed on the spot, Alain. But..."
She seemed to recall something embarrassing.
"The agent then gave you a discount, and you even bullied her quite a bit. You wouldn't even let her sit on the sofa."
"Huh?"
"Then, after the contract was signed, she left in tears."
"Huh???"
He had no memory of the second half, but the first part... even as the dream grew hazy, Alain vaguely remembered it.
Taking a huge step back: let's say there's really nothing wrong with this abnormally cheap house. In that case, did he really take an agent with excellent professional conduct, one dedicated to her client's welfare, and...
He remembered something else he had to do this time in reality, besides finding a house.
Alain's gaze turned to Misha. She also seemed to realize what he was thinking, her cheeks flushing crimson.
Confess to Misha...
When that happens, will that secretary figure show up to meet him again...
A wave of guilt washed over him.
He let out a heavy breath and simply sat on the edge of the bed, mulling over the information he'd gathered.
First, he had definitely gone through the entire process of renting a house. But he didn't know when he had contacted the real estate agency. And his experience of this "process" had been through a dream. Alain felt one word fit perfectly:
"Sleepwalking."
He had been sleepwalking for a total of three days, which was clearly... not normal.
Alain couldn't help but think of the game world, and how he had similarly defeated that damn dark ghost while sleepwalking.
And this time, in reality, the people and events from the dream had all actually happened. But their appearances had been altered.
For example, that orange cat.
To Misha three days ago, it wasn't a fat orange cat, but a slender black cat.
Alain was pretty clear on the reason for this:
It was because the impression that big, fat orange cat had left on him was simply too profound.
A few days ago, when Misha had encountered the Failed Creation, she had held out until Alain's arrival by controlling the orange cat with the game controller. That was a scene he would never forget...
Perhaps the dream had simply extended that point: replacing the unremarkable black cat with the orange cat that had left such a strong impression.
Second—
was the real estate agent.
Alain felt that neither the agent in the dream nor the Agent Mita outside the dream was quite normal.
Ultimately, when did he even find an agent? And why did the agent look like a Mita?
Acting as his reliable partner, Misha quickly understood his thoughts and pulled out the housing contract.
On the contract were the phone numbers for both the agent and the agency.
Alain decided to first find out about the agent from outside the dream. He picked up his phone and dialed.
But after a few beeps, the line was dead.
"Not picking up? Did she flee to escape justice? Could this house be stolen property she's trying to offload?"
No. How do you offload stolen property by renting it? It wasn't like buying a house.
Alain's gaze fell on the agency's number, and he hit the dial button.
Misha sat beside him, watching with a hint of worry.
Soon, the call connected.
"Hello? Good day."
It went through... it was a man's voice.
Alain recounted his experience with the agent and the strange house to the person on the other end.
"Ah? One moment, let me check our records."
The sound of a keyboard clicking came through the receiver. A short while later, the man's voice returned.
"Hmm? That's a bit strange. We don't have her information here."
No information?
Did he mean they had no record of the agent he had guilt-tripped into running away?
"Er, by the way, don't you feel it's a shame? Such a great house at this price...."
Alain tried probing.
"Ah, please don't worry about that. Our commission wasn't reduced. It was the lessor who voluntarily lowered the price."
Alain spoke with him a while longer but couldn't get any information about the lessor.
It's like they've skipped town. Just like his deadbeat parents, did they run off abroad?
Alain checked the contract one more time. There really were no problems...
It was as if this house had been "gifted" to them.
After hanging up, completely baffled, he added this matter to his list of pending issues.
Too strange...
After that, he focused his attention on the agent from the dream.
According to Misha, the agent from outside the dream had never said anything to him like "the degree of hope for future happiness." So, that was the point of divergence between the agent in the dream and the one outside it.
They were not the same person.
The idea that someone in the real world would genuinely work for the benefit of others... Alain felt it was possible, but it probably wouldn't happen to him.
A surreal reality more dreamlike than any dream...
In the end, why did this kind of dream even happen? Was it a side effect left over by that damn dark ghost from the game? Or had some kind of trap been set for him without his knowledge?
Was the culprit that damn dark ghost after all, or was it someone else?
That damn dark ghost was the most likely possibility, but Alain still felt a sense of incongruity.
Her style was like that of a "mastermind" who enjoys a game of cat and mouse. She would lay out all the conditions and information before him without concealment, turning it into a game just to watch Alain struggle. Even though he had狠狠地 (fiercely) slapped her in the face (literally) afterward.
But the style of this dream was completely different; everything had happened without him noticing at all.
He sighed.
Based on the current information, the housing incident orchestrated by the dream's culprit could be considered a failure. But they would definitely be back for another round.
He remembered something else he had to do this time in reality, besides finding a house.
Alain's gaze turned to Misha. She also seemed to realize what he was thinking, her cheeks flushing crimson.
Confess to Misha...
When that happens, will that secretary figure show up to meet him again...
______
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