Opening AN: Edited and extended Chapter 1 due to reasons listed in that chapter. For anyone who has read this fic before, I recommend that you read past the 1st chapter's original ending where Madotsuki suggests trying to get non-Dreamers into a Dreamer's dreams, as the beginning of this chapter won't make sense otherwise.
When the Sealing Club woke up from their unconsciousness, the first thing they saw was that they were on an apartment balcony with a night sky hanging above them. The apartment building and balcony are light gray, with the balcony railings being red, and single steel gray HVAC units are located to the left and right of the sliding balcony door. On the left corner of the balcony furthest from the apartment was an outdoor drying rack, and on the right corner was a potted plant of some kind.
"Ohmygodohmygodonymgod, we're actually in Maribel's dreams!" Sumireko exclaimed excitedly. "This is so damn cool!"
"Hey, Maribel, isn't this place your family's apartment?" Renko asked as she and everyone else but Maribel looked around.
"It is," Maribel answered, "I always wake up here when I dream."
"That's because when us Dreamers dream, you always 'wake up' in a dream version of your bedroom," explained Urotsuki.
"Hey, Maribel, look!" Sumireko said as she looked at Maribel's clothing. "You're not wearing the school's uniform!"
"Madotsuki and Urotsuki are also not wearing their school uniform," Renko commented.
Sure enough, instead of the school uniform the three Dreamers are currently wearing in the real world, they wore her usual casual clothing, with Maribel wearing a purple dress, a white mob cap, a red ribbon on the white collar of her dress, and black shoes that had a red ribbon, Madotsuki wearing a pink, long-sleeved shirt with a red-bordered 3x2 checker pattern, a purple skirt, and red shoes, and Urotsuki wearing a purple plaid shirt with solid-colored sleeves, a light blue skirt, black stockings, and brown shoes.
"I'm not sure why this happens," Maribel said. "Seeing as how you two are still in your school uniform," said Maribel as she pointed at the Usami sisters, "I can only assume that only Dreamers have their clothes changed when they dream."
"Aw, man, that's not fair!" Sumireko exclaimed. "I don't want to be stuck with the school uniform!"
"Unfortunately, Sumireko, we aren't dreamers," Renko responded, "so I can only assume that we're stuck with whatever clothes we're currently wearing in the waking world when we enter their dreams."
"Hey, Maribel," Urotsuki asked, "since this is your dream world, wanna give us a tour?"
"I'd like to, but I don't really know where to take you all," answered Maribel.
"Don't worry, I'm fine with meandering around your Dream Worlds," Urotsuki replied. "I also didn't know where to take others to when taking others on a tour, so I just had everyone that joined follow me while I meandered around my Dream Worlds."
"I'd recommend that everyone should stay within eyesight, however," Madotsuki added. "Some worlds are easy to get lost in, and while I can only assume that non-Dreamers can also wake up from these dreams, I'd rather not find out what might happen if we get separated."
"Hear that, Sumireko?" Said Renko. "I'm as excited as you are to explore Maribel's dream worlds, but I'd rather not have you get lost."
"Yeah, yeah, I hear ya," Sumireko replied.
"Oh, and another thing," Madotsuki said. "Some Dream Worlds are… sensitive to the Dreamer, so if Maribel tells you to not enter a connection that leads to said sensitive world, you listen to her."
"Understood," Said Renko. "I wouldn't want someone to pry into my secret thoughts, anyways."
"I got it," Sumireko chimed in.
"Hey, Maribel, you have any Chasers in your dreams?" Urotsuki asked. "Monsters that chase you and teleport you to a closed-off area?"
"Monsters?" Renko repeated with apprehension.
"Yeah, I do," Maribel said. "They look like people in medieval European clothing, except that they look more like walking shadows than actual people."
"Yeah, I'd keep an eye out for them," Urotsuki said. "While Chasers can be pretty dumb, as they generally follow the straightest path to you at all costs, even if it means they'll just keep on running into an unclimbable fence instead of going around through a gate, they can still catch you off-guard, especially the faster ones. While I'm pretty sure that non-Dreamers such as Renko and Sumireko can escape from the areas chasers teleport you into similarly to Dreamers just by waking up, I'd recommend that you'd not get caught in the first place."
"With those ground rules out of the way," Madotsuki said, "anyone have any questions?"
"No."/"Nope."/"None here," Renko, Sumireko, and Maribel answered respectively.
"In that case, lead the way, Maribel," Madotsuki said.
"If you don't have a particular destination in mind, I don't think everyone here minds if we just meander around," Urotsuki added. "I'm pretty sure that this is a new experience for Sumireko and Renko, so the novelty itself would be enough to make this dream tour enjoyable."
"Urotsuki's right, this is too cool to pass up on!" Sumireko said with excitement as Renko simply nodded in agreement.
Maribel took a deep breath to calm herself down, nervous at being put in the spotlight. Eventually, she took the first steps forward on leaving the balcony, and the rest of the Sealing club followed suit.
The Sealing Club soon entered Maribel's dream room proper. Maribel's dream room is small, but not cramped, and has a wooden floor and lavender-colored walls, as well as a few pastel-colored floor pillows scattered about and a simple, light purple-colored rug placed in the middle of the room. Facing inwards from the balcony entrance, a bed with a lavender-colored blanket and pillow is tucked in the far left corner. To the left of the bed is a table with dark-wooden legs and a light brown surface, with a light yellow desk lamp on it. To the left of the desk is a wooden cabinet filled with various books, and on the right wall was the room's door, which is simply wooden in color and material. To the right of the balcony door is a black CRT TV.
"Your dream room looks a bit different from your actual bedroom," Renko remarked.
"Yeah, where's your game console?" Sumireko asked.
"Yeah, the dream room's a bit different," Maribel answered. "I don't know why, it just is."
"Are your dream rooms slightly different from your actual bedrooms, as well, Urotsuki and Madotsuki?" Renko asked.
"Yes."/"Yep," Madotsuki and Urotsuki answered, respectively.
"Before you ask, Mado and I also have no clue as to why our dream rooms are different from our bedrooms," Urotsuki added.
"Can we go now?" Sumireko asked, a bit bored. "Renko and I already know what Maribel's bedroom looks like, even if it's slightly different here."
"Sumireko!" Renko said in a scolding tone.
"Sure, just follow me," Maribel said as she went to go to the dream room's door.
When Maribel reached the door, she opened it, revealing an open room with an intricate pattern covering the floor. In addition, there were seven human-sized objects arranged in a circle. Starting clockwise while facing from the entrance, the seven human-sized objects were a tree, a rainbow-patterned door, a red and upright closed book, a white-colored kanji for the word "dream", a Japanese sliding door, a white, lit candle, and a portrait with no picture in it.
"So this is the Nexus room you were talking about," Renko said as she and the rest of the Sealing Club entered The Nexus and looked around.
"It looks somewhat small for an open-looking room," Sumireko commented.
"The Nexus of dreamers tend to be somewhat small," Urotsuki informed, "though some, like mine, are looping."
"Looping?" Renko asked. "What do you mean by that?"
"Enter one end of my Nexus, and you end up on the other side," Urotsuki answered.
"Wow, that must feel strange to experience," Sumireko commented.
"You get used to it after a while," Madotsuki chimed in.
After a moment of silence, Maribel began to speak up. "I think I have some idea on where to take you all, so follow me," Maribel said as she approached the human-sized tree. Shortly after she touched the tree, she instantly disappeared without a trace.
"Whoa!" Sumireko exclaimed. "Did ya see that? Maribel just disappeared!"
"She probably got teleported somewhere," Renko deduced.
"That would be correct," Madotsuki said, confirming Renko's guess.
"Come on, let's not keep Maribel waiting any longer!" Urotsuki said as she approached the tree and touched it, disappearing afterward.
The remaining three members of the Sealing Club walked up to the tree and touched it, eventually disappearing and leaving Maribel's Nexus room behind.
(Begin: Yume 2kki OST: Forest Pier)
When Madotsuki and the Usami sisters caught up with Urotsuki and Maribel, the first thing they saw was that they were in a clearing in a forest covered in a hazy mist that was dotted with plants and mushrooms of various types and sizes and set during dusk, with a few pathways branching off from their current location.
"This place looks rather creepy," Renko commented.
"Despite how the Misty Forest looks, it's quite safe," Maribel said. "There aren't any chasers here, so we can just move at our leisure."
Renko turned around to take in the sights before noticing that Sumireko was walking towards a cluster of brown and waist-high mushrooms. "Sumireko, where are you going?" Renko asked. "We need to stick together so that we don't get lost."
"Come on, I'm only gonna look at these mushrooms!" Sumireko answered as she pointed at the cluster of mushrooms she was heading towards. "Just look at the size of them! They're certainly not any ordinary mushrooms, that's for sure."
When Sumireko finally reached the mushrooms she was heading towards, she crouched down and looked at them. "Hey, Maribel, are these safe to touch?" Sumireko said as she turned to face Maribel.
"Hm?" Maribel replied. "Oh yeah, the various plants and mushrooms you see here are safe to interact with, as the worst you might get is a sneeze from breathing in a mushroom's spores they sometimes release when interacted with."
With Maribel's information in Renko's mind, Renko went over to Sumireko to examine the mushrooms.
"Hey, Maribel, does the Misty Forest lead to anywhere?" Urotsuki asked as she looked around, content to just simply take in the sights.
"Yes, it does, with one place I intend to take you all to is the Bamboo Forest Manor," Maribel answered. "Once Renko and Sumireko had their fill of this world, I'll take you all there."
Meanwhile, at the mushroom cluster the Usami sisters were at, the two sisters were examining the mushroom cluster.
"They look somewhat like large Shiitake mushrooms with white spots on their top," Renko commented. "Were this not a product of Maribel's dreams, I'd wonder how a Shiitake would be able to grow to this size."
Shortly after Renko made her observation, Sumireko decided to poke one of the mushrooms, causing it to briefly glow a light, fluorescent yellow and emit a chime sound similar to a wind chime.
"Whoa!"/"What the?" The Usami sisters exclaimed as they moved back, surprised at the sound.
Sumireko poked the mushroom once more, causing it to glow and make a chime once again. "Sounds beautiful," Sumireko commented before she poked a different mushroom in the cluster, causing that mushroom to briefly glow and make a slightly lower-pitched chime.
"I wonder how a mushroom can glow and emit a chime when touched," Renko said out loud.
"Come on, Renko," Sumireko responded. "This is a dream, not everything has to make perfect sense. Plus, while I am a bit curious as to how these mushrooms work, Maribel has promised us to show off her Dream Worlds, and I wouldn't want to keep her waiting." Sumireko then turned and noticed that Maribel and the two dreamers were heading their way, so she waved at them.
"You two having fun so far?" Maribel asked.
"Of course I am!" Answered Sumireko as she got up. "Who wouldn't be having fun if they were able to explore someone else's dreams?"
"I am, yeah," Renko replied more succinctly as she also got up and dusted herself.
"There's more to this world than these plants and mushrooms, so why don't I show you around?" Maribel asked.
"If there's more to show, then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Sumireko responded as she regrouped with Maribel and the two dreamers, with Renko wordlessly following along.
After a few minutes of walking, the Sealing Club came across a purple food-dispensing vending machine that had a trash can and a bench next to it.
"Ooh, a vending machine!" Sumireko said as she ran up to it and reached into her pockets to obtain some money. However, when Sumireko took a closer look at the vending machine, she realized that while the drinks and snacks were made apparent, the vending machine itself had no obvious labels and only one button.
As the rest of the Sealing Club caught up with Sumireko, Sumireko turned towards the group in confusion. "How does this thing work, Maribel?"
"Oh, you just insert a coin into the machine," Maribel answered, "and after you do so, you press the button, which will then dispense a random food or drink for you to consume." Maribel then had a downcast look on her face. "I don't have any money on me, however."
"What do you mean, Maribel?" Renko asked. "Don't you have some money from the real world that you can use?"
"These vending machines only accept Dream Money," Madotsuki informed, "and since they are usually only randomly obtained from killing Projections, it would take a lot of bloodshed to obtain what only really amounts to pocket change."
"Projections?" Sumireko asked.
"They are creatures of all shapes and sizes that are kinda like NPCs in a video game," Madotsuki answered. "While they can be interacted with for the most part, don't expect them to be able to carry out a conversation."
"As for Maribel's money problems," Urotsuki said, "let me handle it." Urotsuki reached into her pockets and pulled out five silver-colored coins. "While I could just pay for all of you, I think it would be better if you all were to experience it yourself," Urotsuki said as she handed out one coin to each member of the Sealing Club and kept one herself.
"Are you sure you want to pay for us, Urotsuki?" Maribel asked as she and everyone else accepted Urotsuki's coins. "You don't have to if you don't want to."
"Yeah, I'm sure," Urotsuki answered. "After all, us bonding over this tour is more important than the dream money I'm handing out to you."
Maribel and the Usami sisters examined the coins Urotsuki gave them. On one side, there was the number one hundred in Hindu-Arabic numeral notation at the top, followed by the kanji for "dream" at the bottom. On the other side of the coin was a chibi version of Urotsuki's head in pixel art form.
"For a dream currency that holds no real value in the real world, these coins sure are intricately designed," Renko commented.
"From what I know, all dream coins start off very basic, with only the face value on both sides," Urotsuki informed. "Mine were initially similarly bland, and the first design I made was only a thought experiment. It wasn't until the next time I wanted to buy a snack at a vending machine that I noticed that the coin had changed to accommodate my design. The current design you see is the second design, and I don't plan to change it anytime soon."
"That sounds so cool," Sumireko said with amazement. "Are your coins similarly detailed, Maribel?"
"No, not really," Maribel answered. "I didn't even know it was possible, and even then, I see no real need to add my personal touch to them." Maribel then turned to Urotsuki. "Now that I think about it, Urotsuki, are you sure that your dream money works here?"
"Yep, the dream currency of all Dreamers can be used in someone else's dreams," Urotsuki answered. "It's just that as far as I'm aware, I'm the richest Dreamer around when it comes to Dream Money."
"Wait, Madotsuki said that you need to kill Projections to gain Dream Money," said Renko. "How much money do you have, and how many Projections did you kill?"
"I have about 120,000 Dream Money in my pockets," Urotsuki answered, "and before you ask, no, I didn't kill millions of Projections to gain that much money. There's one Projection in my dreams that has a higher chance than normal to drop 5,000 Dream Money, and there's also the piggy bank in my dream room that I break that gives me a relatively small amount of money every time I dream. Not only that, but there were a few nooks and crannies I found that had varying amounts of money just lying around, and there's even one Dream World where I can gamble for money. As for how many Projections I killed for money, I lost count, mostly because it's been so long since I haven't killed any Projection that wasn't the one worth 5,000 Dream Money."
"So just how do you kill these Projections?"
"With my Chainsaw Effect," Urotsuki answered. "Before you ask, no, killing projections isn't like killing an actual person, as they only spray out a single burst of blood before their dead body disappears, and despite appearances, all of that blood doesn't stain for long, as it seems that the dream eventually 'forgets' that it exists, just like how your normal dreams can sometimes 'forget' details after a certain period of time."
"I think we're getting a bit off topic here," Sumireko asked. "This was supposed to be a tour of Maribel's Dream Worlds, not a class of Dream Economics."
"Whoops, sorry about that," Urotsuki said. "I just got carried away with my explanations, that's all."
"Have you ever thought of becoming a teacher or a university professor?" Maribel asked. "You seem like you like to teach others on topics you're knowledgeable about."
"I have thought of it once or twice before," Urotsuki responded. "But I think that's enough talking, let's buy some snacks from this vending machine!"
Urotsuki walked up to the purple vending machine, inserted her coin into it, and pressed the "order" button. A moment later, a soda pop can was dispensed from the vending machine.
"Ah, soda," Urotsuki said to herself as she grabbed the soda can. "Can't beat the classics." Urotsuki then walked away from the vending machine and opened the soda can before drinking it.
"I'd like to go next!" Sumireko said as she ran to the vending machine and began to pay for it and order from it. Shortly afterward, Sumireko got a plate of caramel pudding and even a disposable spoon to go along with it.
"Oh, so you got some flan?" Urotsuki said. "How interesting."
"Why is it interesting?" Sumireko asked. "And this snack is called a 'flan'?"
"It's mostly because from what I know, most dreamers rarely have more than one type of snack or drink from a vending machine, much less two." Urotsuki briefly paused to finish the last of her soda before throwing the soda can away in the nearby trash bin. "I could be wrong on that front and the Dreamers I know might just be outliers in terms of their limited snack choices. Who knows? As for your snack, it is actually known under a few other names, 'caramel pudding' and 'caramel custard' being one of the few."
As Sumireko and Urotsuki had their brief discussion, Maribel was the next person to buy a random snack from the vending machine, which dispensed a cup of warm coffee. As she moved away from the vending machine to allow the next person to buy from it, she took a sip from her cup of coffee.
Renko was up next, and what she got from the vending machine was a cup of oolong tea. "So what did you get, Maribel?" Renko asked as she walked towards Maribel.
"I got a cup of coffee," Maribel replied before taking another sip. "What did you get?"
"Oolong tea for me," Renko replied. "Funny how you got my preferred caffeinated drink while you got mine, don't ya think?"
Maribel giggled in response. "It is."
Madotsuki was the last to buy from the vending machine, and what she got was a bottle of milk.
"So what did you get, Madotsuki?" Urotsuki asked as Madotsuki began to open and drink from her milk bottle. "I got some soda and Sumireko got flan."
"Hey, I wanted to reveal what I got!" Sumireko complained.
"Milk," Madotsuki simply replied before taking another drink of milk.
Overhearing Madotsuki and Urotsuki's conversation, Maribel turned to the two and decided to jump in. "I had coffee, while Renko had oolong tea," Maribel answered before she and Renko finished the last of their drinks and threw their cups away.
Urotsuki chuckled at Madotsuki's terse response as well as her realization that Sumireko was the only one who didn't get a drink. "Seems like Sumireko was the only one to not get a drink, huh?"
"Seems like it," Madotsuki answered before finishing the last of her milk and throwing the milk bottle away.
"Hey, Urotsuki, can you please lend me another coin?" Sumireko asked. "I want to buy another snack from the vending machine."
"Unless everyone wants another, no," Urotsuki replied. "So does anyone else here want another go at the vending machine? I, for one, don't."
"One snack is good enough for me," Maribel answered.
"Same here," Renko said in agreement.
"Nope," Madotsuki replied.
"Guess you're outnumbered, Sumireko," Urotsuki said as she turned to face Sumireko. "No more snacks for ya."
"Damn it," Sumireko said with a hint of disappointment. "Oh well. Guess there's always a next time."
"Now that everyone has had their snack, is everyone ready to resume the tour?" Maribel asked.
"Ready when you all are," Urotsuki answered.
"Yep," Sumireko replied.
"Yes, I am," Renko responded.
"Yes," Madotsuki answered.
"In that case, follow me," Maribel said as she began to walk as everyone else began to follow her.
Some time went by, and eventually, the Sealing Club came across the shore of a river, along with a single-seat row boat docked at a simple dock.
"Ok, this might be a problem," Maribel said as she saw the dock. "There's only one boat here, and it's single-seated."
"Don't worry about it, Maribel," said Urotsuki. "Dream Worlds tend to accommodate for more than one person should there be anyone tagging along with the Dreamer hosting a tour," Urotsuki informed. "Should one of us get on the rowing boat and row some distance away, another one will immediately appear. We'll definitely have to go one at a time, however."
"I presume that we're gonna cross this river, Maribel?" Renko asked.
"Yes, indeed, so get on a boat, everyone," Maribel said as she made her way to one of the boats.
"This river sure looks rather wide for a river," Sumireko asked as she and everyone else followed Maribel. "You sure it's a river, much less one we can cross?"
"I assure you that this is an actual river that we can cross, Sumireko," Maribel replied as she pushed a rowing boat into the river before hopping in."I wouldn't have taken you through this path if it was anything else but crossable."
Once the Sealing Club got their rowing boats into the river and hopped in them, they began to row across the river and towards their destination. After a few minutes of rowing, the mist that surrounded the forest and river began to thin out enough for the Sealing Club to see the reflection of the forest and more of the dawn sky in the river.
(End: Yume 2kki OST: Forest Pier)
(Begin: Yume 2kki OST: Midnight Lake)
"I wish I could take a picture of this," said Urotsuki as she and everyone else soaked in the scenery. "The reflections of the forest and stars look beautiful."
Shortly afterward, a fish jumped out of the water from a distance, causing everyone to look at the source of the sound.
"Sometimes, a fish will jump out of the water from a distance every now and then," Maribel explained. "Even more rarely, a mermaid might appear, so keep an eye out for some sight-seeing."
After a few more minutes of rowing, Madotsuki saw a mermaid with a blue tail and dark-colored clothing jump out of the river, though the mermaid's distance and the dark coloring of the mermaid's clothing blended in with the background of the twilight sky made it difficult to identify specifics beyond the clothing possibly being a dark shade of either blue or green. "It's the mermaid, look!" She said as she pointed at the mermaid.
Everyone turned to look at the mermaid, who went for a second and last jump. With the already picturesque scenery, the mermaid had only added to the beauty to the scene, causing everyone to gasp in awe.
"You were right, Urotsuki," Renko said. "This is beautiful to look at."
The Sealing Club eventually fell into silence as nothing more needed to be said.
(End: Yume 2kki OST: Midnight Lake)
After a while, the riverbank and forest where the Sealing Club came from began to disappear from view and the already thin morning mist began to disappear as the riverbank on the opposite side of the river, as well as a bamboo forest, began to be visible as the sun began to rise.
(Begin: Yume 2kki OST: Gakuran)
"We are nearing our next destination, which is the Bamboo Forest," Maribel said. "The dock is up ahead, so I assume that we should be fine on getting there, right, Urotsuki?"
"That would be correct, Maribel," Urotsuki said. "Just like how getting on a boat and rowing away will eventually spawn another boat, getting out of one will eventually despawn the boat right up until the last person gets out of their boat."
Eventually, the Sealing Club made it to the dock, and everyone soon left their rowboats.
"In the Bamboo Forest, there's a Japanese mansion, as well as a house and a stairway that extends to the sky and leads to a shrine, and that shrine leads to the Japanese Village," Maribel informed as she led the Sealing Club into the Bamboo Forest. "We won't be visiting the mansion and shrine however, as the place I want to take you has a shortcut through the house."
After a while of walking through the bamboo forest, Sumireko began to have a bored expression on her face. "This bamboo forest is kinda boring in comparison to the misty forest earlier," Sumireko commented as she looked around.
"Don't say that Sumireko, that's rude!" Renko said in a scolding tone.
"It's fine, Renko," said Maribel. "While I do admit that the Bamboo Forest itself isn't much to look at, especially since I got lost in it the first few times I traveled here, the 3 locations it does have does make up for the forest's relative blandness."
The Sealing Club eventually returned to traveling in silence for a few more minutes until Renko had a sudden question pop up in her head. "Say, Maribel?"
"Hm?" Said Maribel.
"Does time flow faster here compared to the real world like a normal dream?" Renko asked.
"Yes, it does, though I have no clue how fast it flows," Maribel answered. "I've done a few tests and only discovered that how much time has passed in the real world when dreaming fluctuates between each dream session."
"What about you two, Madotsuki and urotsuki?" Renko asked the two dreamers. "Do you know?"
"Nope, haven't really bothered to test that idea out," Urotsuki replied.
"I also have no clue," Madotsuki responded.
"Sorry we weren't able to answer your question, Renko," said Maribel.
"No worries Maribel, it was just a curiosity that popped up in my head, that's all," replied Renko.
The Sealing Club once more eventually resumed traveling in the Bamboo Forest, and after a few minutes of walking, Maribel and the others began to see an outline of a house.
"Is that a house I see?" Sumireko asked.
"Your eyes aren't fooling you Sumireko, that is indeed a house," Maribel asked. "Not only that, but that house is where we are going to."
As the Sealing Club got closer to the house, they were able to make out more details of it. It was a tan-colored, single-floor house with dark blue roof tiles, a porch, and a dark brown front door. Eventually, the Sealing Club stopped walking as they reached the house's porch and were right outside of the front door.
As Maribel opened the front door, The Usami sisters had a look of surprise on their faces.
"H-hey Maribel, aren't you supposed to knock?" Sumireko asked.
"You don't have to knock on the doors to let yourself in, or even need to, as any door that's unlocked in my dreams, and presumably in Madotsuki's and Urotsuki's dreams, as well, means that you can enter it as you please," Maribel answered as she entered the house.
Madotsuki and Urotsuki wordlessly followed Maribel, and after the two usami sisters briefly looked at each other, they also decided to enter the house, with Sumireko being the first of the two to go first.
(End: Yume 2kki OST: Gakuran)
(Begin: Yume 2kki OST: Bridged Swamp Islands/Fairy Forest(Apple House))
Eventually, all of the Sealing Club members entered the house, revealing the interior to be rather rustic and having one large room that contains a kitchen, a dining area, and a living area. In the living area itself was a fireplace with an active fire in it, as well as an empty cauldron and a metal bucket of water next to it. Some distance away from the fireplace was a couch with a wooden frame and dark blue cushions, and sitting on the couch was a brown-haired woman reading a book, though she briefly stopped to wordlessly greet the Sealing Club by waving at them before resuming to read, and wearing stereotypical witch clothes, pointy hat included. Leaning on one side of the couch was a broom, presumably belonging to the witch.
"Oh hi, miss!" Sumireko greeted the witch with excitement. "Say, are you an actual witch, by any chance?" Sumireko asked the witch, ignoring Renko.
"She is indeed a witch, though I don't exactly have a name for her," Maribel answered. "The Witch sometimes does a different thing every now and then whenever I dream, and right now, she's just reading a book."
"Hey, let the girl talk for herself," Sumireko said to Maribel.
"None of the characters in my dreams can talk, so trying to will only be met in silence," Maribel said.
"Hey, Madotsuki and Urotsuki, is what Maribel saying true?" Sumireko asked the two dreamers.
"What Maribel said is correct, Sumireko," answered Madotsuki.
"As far as we know, none of a Dreamer's Projections can talk," Urotsuki added.
"If that's the case, then it must seem lonely to be here," said Sumireko.
The Usami Sisters and the two dreamers then heard a sizzling sound and turned to the source, revealing that Maribel had put out the fire in the fireplace.
"Why did you put the fire?" Sumireko asked.
"Shortcut's through here," Maribel answered. "We'll have to crawl through it, however, so follow me." Maribel then suddenly transformed and became shorter, equipping her Child Effect. Asides from Maribel's height difference and a more child-like face and body, Maribel's appearance and clothing haven't changed. Maribel then began to crouch down and crawl in the tunnel that the fire in the fireplace obscured.
"Wait, Maribel!" Renko said, stopping Maribel in her tracks. "Sumireko and I don't exactly have effects, let alone any that can change our size."
"Oh, right, I forgot," said Maribel as she crawled out of the fireplace tunnel, her voice sounding more like a child's due to her Child Effect. "This is the first time that I haven't traveled these dreams alone, so you'll have to forgive me."
"Don't worry, Maribel, I forgive you, especially given how you currently look," Sumireko said before going in to playfully pinch at child Maribel's cheek.
"Cut it out, Sumireko!" Renko said in a scolding tone as she slapped Sumireko's hand away from Maribel.
"Come on, even you admit that Maribel looks cute, don't ya?" Sumireko asked.
"Well, yeah, but that's not the point!" Renko answered.
"Hey, Renko, Sumireko?" Maribel said, interrupting the Usami sisters' argument. "Can one of you try to see if one of you can fit in this tunnel?"
"Not it!" Sumireko immediately replied.
"I was planning to go first, anyways," Renko said as she went into a prone position and examined the fireplace tunnel. "Looks big enough for me to fit," Renko said to herself before beginning to crawl into the tunnel. After a few moments, Renko finally managed to fully crawl into the tunnel. "It's somewhat tight, but I can manage to crawl into it," Renko said before crawling out. Eventually, Renko got out of the tunnel, got up, and dusted herself off. "I assume that the tunnel won't change how small it is, right?"
"Your assumption is indeed correct," Maribel said as she nodded. The tunnel's rather uniform, so you shouldn't have to worry."
"Alright, guess I have to go now," Sumireko said as she also began to test the tunnel. After fully crawling in, Sumireko crawled out of the tunnel and dusted herself off. "Seems like I can also fit through it."
"You have any Effects that can shrink yourselves down, Madotsuki and Urotsuki?" Maribel asked the two Dreamers.
"I have two, actually," Maribel said as she equipped her Child Effect before switching to her Fairy Effect.
"I have one, as well," Madotsuki said before equipping her Midget Effect, which despite its name, the Effect shrinks her down to the height where her knees would be.
"Then I guess that settles it," Maribel said. "Without further ado, let's go," said Maribel as she went first and began to crawl into the tunnel, followed by Madotsuki, Urotsuki, Renko, and Sumireko.
(End: Yume 2kki OST: Bridged Swamp Islands/Fairy Forest(Apple House))
Eventually, the Sealing Club managed to get to the other side of the tunnel and got out of it. As they dusted themselves off, and in the case of the three dreamers, unequipped their Effects, they found themselves in an empty and somewhat dark Medieval European-style house, with the only source of light being the sunlight streaming through the windows.
"It's awfully quiet here," Renko commented. "A bit too quiet, if you ask me."
"There's a reason for that, with that reason being very apparent once we get outside," Maribel said with a hint of apprehension as she began to walk to the front door of the house.
"I don't like the sound of that," Sumireko commented as she and the rest of the Sealing Club followed Maribel.
Once the Sealing Club exited the house, they were greeted with the sight of a crowd huddling around a pyre, and on that pyre was a human body being burned at the stake.
Closing AN: I hope you liked the BGM I added.