Chapter 367

Chapter 367: Chapter 367

When a person was awake, it was often difficult to determine what they were truly thinking.

Intentions could be hidden through willpower, experience, and carefully practiced behavior; that was why someone utterly treacherous could still appear perfectly loyal.

Dreams were different.

A person’s mouth could lie and their conscious mind could conceal things, but the subconscious was far less obedient.

Tiny thoughts someone desperately tried to hide, even desires they themselves had never consciously noticed, could all surface in dreams.

And that was exactly what Medusa wanted to see from Kiriya.

Who exactly was this man?

Why had he forcibly inserted himself into this Holy Grail War? And most importantly, what did he truly think about Sakura?

Medusa wanted answers to all of those questions.

Of course, even inside a dream, a sufficiently skilled Magus could still protect their secrets through various means.

If she wanted to pry open Kiriya’s defenses and reach the thoughts buried deepest inside him, she needed to weaken his resistance first.

In other words, she needed to exhaust him.

Thoroughly.

Once his energy had been drained, his mind muddled, and his willpower relaxed to its lowest point, Medusa would finally be able to harvest the information she wanted.

And so she resorted to one of her specialties—entering dreams.

As the spell unfolded, the tendrils of her consciousness silently spread outward until they gradually made contact with Kiriya’s sleeping mind.

...

Kiriya, who had been sleeping soundly, immediately sensed an unfamiliar mental force approaching and woke internally at once.

Once he realized the intruder was Medusa, however, he suppressed the instinct to retaliate.

The version of himself within his consciousness smiled slightly.

’Interesting. Let’s see what exactly you’re trying to pull.’

Recalling a certain little piece of "trivia" concerning Medusa, Kiriya even found himself becoming rather curious.

He quietly weakened his mental defenses and deliberately allowed her consciousness to "invade."

The scenery before him immediately changed.

He was now inside an enormous, luxurious room whose furnishings would not have looked out of place in the most extravagant five-star hotel.

The overall color scheme, however, was dominated by pink, giving the entire place an unmistakably suggestive atmosphere.

Kiriya found himself lying on a heart-shaped waterbed.

And crawling slowly toward him like a cat was Medusa.

Her usual mysterious black outfit and thigh-high boots were gone. Instead, she wore an oversized white men’s shirt that hung loosely from her body.

The garment shifted with every movement, and Kiriya’s attention was immediately drawn downward.

For a moment, he vividly demonstrated the classical principle that the greater the mass, the stronger the gravitational attraction.

"Master... would you like to do something enjoyable with me?"

Seeing his reaction, Medusa secretly celebrated.

She moved closer, settling herself over him as she straightened her posture and deliberately emphasized her figure. Biting her lower lip, she gave him a vulnerable look.

To her surprise, Kiriya’s expression changed immediately.

He placed a hand solemnly over his heart.

"Change it."

He still preferred Medusa’s usual demeanor—the outwardly cold, proud, difficult-to-approach woman who clearly disliked yielding to anyone.

That attitude inspired far more of a desire to conquer.

"Hm?"

Medusa blinked.

She had absolutely no idea what he meant.

Why had his mood changed so suddenly? She had barely even started.

Nevertheless, confused as she was, Medusa obediently changed the scenario.

Her outfit transformed.

This time, she appeared in a Japanese school uniform.

Kiriya’s eyes widened.

’Whoa. There are bonus options?’

He had merely intended for Medusa to adjust her expression and acting style.

He had not expected her to change the entire wardrobe and setting.

This dream ability was absurdly convenient.

It really was true—anything was possible in a dream.

"Change it again."

Kiriya suddenly felt as though a whole new world had opened before him.

There was no need to rush into the main event now; he might as well inspect a few more costumes first.

Medusa had no idea what he was trying to accomplish, but she changed again.

This time she wore a fitted skirt, black stockings, and black-framed glasses, with a teaching pointer held in one hand.

Her voice became low and pleasantly mature.

"Student, today we’ll be conducting a practical biology lesson. Are you ready?"

Kiriya nearly broke character.

’Where in the world did you learn lines like that, Rider?’

"Change it."

Outwardly, however, he remained completely serious.

Medusa stared at him.

She knew perfectly well how devastating this sort of approach was supposed to be against young men.

Yet this boy remained unmoved?

His self-control was terrifying.

At the same time, her competitive spirit was beginning to flare.

He was just one young man.

She refused to believe she couldn’t handle him.

Her outfit changed once again, this time becoming that of a diligent policewoman. A nervous expression appeared on her face.

"D-Don’t do anything reckless. I’m a police officer."

Kiriya fell silent for a moment.

"...Change it."

Medusa: "..."

Office worker.

Fitness instructor.

Beautiful older neighbor.

Medusa cycled through more than a dozen scenarios in one breath, yet every single time Kiriya gave her the same answer!

"Change it."

Eventually, she finally snapped.

Her original outfit returned, and she stared coldly at him.

"Are you playing with me?"

"Of course not."

Kiriya immediately adopted an entirely sincere expression.

"I simply wanted to increase the number of observational samples so I could give you a more objective and comprehensive evaluation."

He nodded thoughtfully.

"There’s nothing wrong with your costumes or presentation. The problem is your facial expressions."

Medusa’s stare became increasingly dangerous.

Kiriya continued as though he hadn’t noticed.

"That cold, aloof look—the contempt for the villain in front of you, combined with the frustration of being forced by circumstances to compromise against your will and gradually sink deeper into the situation..."

His eyes brightened.

"That feeling is perfect."

Medusa stared at him for several seconds.

"Are you some kind of director?"

"What are you standing around for? Hurry up. This director still needs to evaluate your acting range."

Kiriya even patted the bed impatiently.

Medusa’s expression changed.

Four parts coldness.

Three parts disdain.

Three parts contempt.

She straightened her upper body and looked down at him with unmistakable superiority.

She didn’t say a word.

Yet somehow, that expression seemed to say everything.

Kiriya’s eyes immediately lit up.

"Yes! That’s exactly it!"

He lunged forward.

"Wait—"

Medusa barely managed to get the word out.

"Wait for what? It’s just mana transfer. I’m very experienced with this sort of thing. I guarantee satisfaction!"

Kiriya cut off the rest of her sentence, and what followed was a prolonged session of the particularly infamous Type-Moon method of "mana transfer."

Nominally, it was supposed to replenish magical energy.

In practice, however, it was also an exhausting activity that consumed a considerable amount of physical and mental stamina.

Medusa soon felt as though her consciousness had become a tiny boat trapped in a violent storm, repeatedly tossed up and down by enormous waves.

By the time the ordeal finally slowed, she was mentally exhausted.

Utterly drained, Medusa immediately decided that she had gathered more than enough preliminary information and quietly attempted to cancel the spell and withdraw from Kiriya’s mental world.

Except—nothing happened.

She remained inside the same pink, suggestive room.

No matter how many times she tried to terminate the dream, she could not escape.

"Why...?"

A terrible feeling began creeping up Medusa’s spine.

"Hehehe..."

Kiriya’s smug voice sounded beside her.

"You thought you could provoke the God of Shinobi and just walk away?"

Medusa immediately felt a chill.

"You might get to decide when the war begins," Kiriya said with obvious satisfaction, "but when it ends?"

His grin widened.

"That decision belongs to me."