A Dream Drawn with a Single Stroke

There were a few unbelievable encounters, but let's just delete them from our feeds.

Oei, while we're walking, would you mind telling us something? I'm just curious...

If we never find your Toto-sama, what happens to you?

If we can't find him? Well, you know...

Our client here is the shogun; we're doing this for the top man here in Japan. This is a whole other game from just mouthing off to the police.

If we offend him, we'll be getting off easy if all he demands is seppuku.

At worst, he could have us executed, our assets seized, and our family line ended.

Seppuku!? That, like, kills you!

？！

I know! Hey, Oei...

Even if we can't find Toto-sama, why can't you go up in front of the lord?

Sick, right? That was, like, the best idea!

D-don't be ridiculous! The invitation was for Toto-sama... The actual Katsushika Hokusai!

Unlike you, I can't just do a magic quick change and show up saying I'm Hokusai...

...!

...

Eh, what!? I don't want any stink eye.

I can't believe it... Well, I had a suspicion...

An eboshi hat, that dance costume ...and your swordsmanship...!

Suzuka...are you THE Suzuka Gozen!? The beautiful thief of Mt. Suzuka...!?

Hm? I am. I didn't mention that?

？！

Course I do! I'm a painter, after all!

Legends and lore from all eras and lands are the tools of the trade for painters like us!

Toto-sama was always so passionate in collecting reference materials like that.

Not only does he have popular picture books, but also tons of scrolls, illustrations, and art from Karakuni.

When I was a child, I enjoyed reading them at his side.

Then I learned that the reason money's always tight no matter how many paintings get sold...

...is the vast amount Toto-sama spends on all those reference materials and the cost of paint. Anything left over goes to the disciples' wages.

After I learned about our situation, I felt a bit conflicted. Haha.

I see, I didn't realize you were actually Suzuka Gozen. I'm impressed.

If that's the case...Fujimaru? That just means you must be some sort of famous sage.

Master's not really a sage; he's a mage.

Master? You shouldn't use that name so casually around me.

？！

Hee hee. Mr. Master, is it?

Is that Dutch? It means..."mentor" or "lordship," right?

I had a feeling that the people playing Mito Koumon were just messing around...

But the fact that a sage named Mr. Master is traveling with the real Suzuka Gozen...

...and the fact that my body moved in an unbelievable fashion and my brush danced with surreal movements...

...definitely proves that this is all a real dream...

Ha. A "real" dream... Sure sounds odd to say.

Don't you think so, Suzuka Gozen? Welcome back to the world of the living.

...

？！

You're actually stupid, aren't you, Fujimaru?

Are you seriously asking a question like that to a painter?

If you saw a plate of delicious food, even if you were dreaming or the world was ending, you'd still want to eat it, wouldn't you?

If a real beauty appeared in front of you, you'd fall in love and want to do things with them, right?

Nothing changes. Birds will fly, butterflies will flutter, fish will swim. And a painter will always want to paint, no matter where they are.

Oei...you're...

(Master, I need to talk to you.)

？！

Come on, we're almost there. Hosshou Temple's right over that hill!

...What's wrong? Out of breath already?

If you're going to dawdle, I'm going ahead of you.

？！

Master. Don't you think this is all weird AF? Like, something might happen...

...It's faint, but I sense a divine presence from Oei.

And it's getting stronger. When she went into that half-naked courtesan mode... That was just the beginning.

I'm not talking about logic here. My Divine Power is telling me so.

I can't say for sure, but that's probs the correct assessment.

？！

People talk about "false dreams," or how if you dream something the opposite will happen, right?

What that means is that not everything will necessarily go in your favor in a dream.

Sometimes dreams attract things that a person is subconsciously afraid of...things they never want to happen.

Master, you get affected by dreams a lot, right? You should be aware of that by now.

I have a sense that whatever is happening in this dream is ultimately not good for you.

If this super realistic and super detailed dream turns into a nightmare...

...we may end up in over our heads here.

Not only would there be mental corruption, but any spiritual injuries we suffer here in the dream could also affect our physical bodies in Chaldea.

Or, even worse...we may not be able to return at all...

Yeah...I have nothing but bad vibes about this...

？！

Hey, I don't want to flame Oei either...

...but my job is to warn you, right?

That's how I roll! And getting advice from a high school girl's gonna cost you!

...Why do you look so surprised?

When we get back to Chaldea, I'm gonna make a special New Year's request that'll be big enough to cover whatever work I do here!

Riiight!? This is totally helpful and literal Clairvoyance on my part!

...Oh, one request though: solve this whole mess quick, 'kay?

Don't make me...draw my sword on one of my own...

？！

Okay! We need to catch up to Oei! Hm? Something on your mind, Master?

？！

Not Oei's, but Hokusai's dream?

...That's a good point.

That would make total sense, as Hokusai himself hasn't made an appearance.

So what do you think Hokusai wants to do? Is he afraid that something's gonna break if he does turn up?

So, here we are at Hosshou Temple. Where did Oei go?

？！

Master? Over there! Oei's getting flamed by a real boomer.

...Wait, whaaa!? Isn't that...!?

Oh my. I thought I smelled a fake high school girl lurking around. Should've expected you, Suzuka Gozen.

Why're you here!? You're totally ruining the vibes around here!

A-and my high school girl energy is just low because the sitch is so realtalk! I'm in an adaptive mode!

Awww, what's up with that vague explanation!? That's mean!

BB is definitely and always will be the final boss, and I have the aura of a superstrong character...

If Senpai's memory is all mushy like that, then I'm just going to change your thought channels into mashed potatoes☆

...BB...

It's BB-chan☆ Don't forget the "-chan" at the end.

Yes! Your omnipotent kouhai, the Great Devil BB-chan☆ That's me!

？！

They tried to make me play a courtesan who works in Yoshiwara under the name of "Sumizome"...

...but never underestimate my special processing power. The moment the calculation spits out void numbers will be the moment I wield my true power!

Know that I have resistance against things like character corruption!

But...I see... Suzuka Gozen on Master's side...

This is getting interesting... Tee hee...

Hey, Fujimaru... Is this thing a friend of yours?

Thing...!?

I have no idea what these guys are talking about, especially this "bee-bee" one.

When I mentioned that I was looking for Toto-sama, they suddenly got really angry and started saying that they won't let me get away with this. Whatever "this" is.

？！

Huh? Oh, right! Let me introduce you to this guy...

So, according to our scenario here, this guy is a playboy who is one of my most loyal patrons. And then there's his "bodyguard"...

Sumizome...come back here! Don't just blunder over into that woman!

It's BB-chan! And don't boss me around!

I have business with that individual.

？！

Fool! Call me Mr. Gold!!! It's New Year's, for crying out loud! Where's your sense of whimsy?

Mr. Gold, the playboy, you say?

You've been awfully loud...laughing and shouting like that!

You need to be quiet on temple grounds!

You and that bee-bee... Why're you all so high-and-mighty?

Ain't there someone in Edo city who I can talk to like a normal person?

I-I'm terribly sorry...

Oh. You're awfully quiet...even though you look really valiant...

That dignified stance, that melancholy expression... I don't know why, but I have a feeling I know you from somewhere too...

That's my retainer and bodyguard, Omoe. At least in this fleeting dream nonsense, that's how it is.

S-so there you have it... I am Omoe...

Fujimaru. Sorry, but this place turned out to be a dud too.

It looks like Toto-sama isn't here in this temple either.

And so we've no business here anymore. Let's just get going.

No. I will not allow that individual to return.

Or at the least, you will stay here, with me, until tomorrow.

...!?

？！

Don't tell me GilI mean, Mr. Gold is a part of the Utagawa school scheme, too!? Ugh, I always knew you were a piece of shit.

Nonsense! How dare you throw such plebian insults!!!

I've already sent the Utagawa school's publisher, Hoeidou, to the magistrate's office!

Is that true!?

For real!? That was fast!

It is indeed the truth.

Some under-the-table transactions were found to have happened, and it turns out that Hoeidou and other Utagawa-related publishers were involved.

And as they have been charged with disrupting the peace and morals of the city, they are currently under investigation by officials.

Their intent and purpose was likely to undermine the currently missing painter, Katsushika Hokusai.

That's not surprising.

？！

Correct.

However, we instead find none other than Hokusai's daughter, Katsushika Oui.

I do not consider this a coincidence.

...Hm?

I'm grateful that you took care of some of the issues for us.

I'm not sure if you're some kind of chivalrous figure or something, but this isn't good, Mr. Gold.

In fact, it's really bad.

During tomorrow's viewing with the shogun, the painters from the Utagawa school were supposed to demonstrate with Toto-sama.

But you've turned them in to the authorities...

Oh, I know, me, me! It was supposed to be with the up-and-coming painter named Utagawa Hiroshige, right?

He's very famous even in Yoshiwara!

He's the one who's released a series of ukiyo-e titled "The Fifty-three Stations of the Toukaidou!" He's become indispensable to the Utagawa school!

Don't worry. He's going to make his appearance in front of the shogun tomorrow.

What do you mean? Now the entire Utagawa clique sounds sketch to me!

Sending some creeper out in front of the great lord would be such a disgrace!

I agree. But hold your tongue, daughter of the Demon King. If you have sense enough to understand this situation, surely you know what happens next.

Listen, mongrel. Go back to Chaldea. And take that fox-maiden-schoolgirl thing with you too.

How dare you rate me so low!

Because everything about your appearance and behavior is an imitation.

On the other hand, BB-chan is one hundred percent pure kouhai, inside and out...from the tips of my toes to the end of my pointer!

What are you talking about? You are a pretender to the position of kouhai! You are the most bizarre imitation present today!

No, enough bickering. Fujimaru. Leave the rest to me.

？！

I also, wholeheartedly, ask that you leave. This is for your own good. For your own sake.

B-but...you can't just drop that on us like a surprise album...

Even Oei...

...

？！

All you need to do is to say the words "I'm leaving everything in your hands." By doing so, you should be able to wake up from this dream.

Listen well, Fujimaru. This situation we face is a true and dire threat to humanity.

The heretical Demon God Pillar that was separated from the inhuman beast...

...has bored a hole into the natural laws of this world with its obsession and distress.

And from that Abyss, a dread, eldritch creature peered into the real world, and found the perfect madman.

Namely the extraordinary painter...Hokusai.

Just as Divinity fills the body of a saint for an instant to manifest a miracle....

...crystalized evil has sought an appropriate vessel to inhabit.

This...entity could be described as an evil god, crawling out of the Abyss. A stain upon the world almost as terrible as BB here.

？！

Ah-ha. I think I'm getting the big picture now.

So you're telling me that Toto-sama's been possessed by some kind of evil, hellish demon-thing?

Is that why he suddenly disappeared!?

Impossible! That doesn't even make sense!

A god possessing a human? That's like the sun inhabiting a tree branch or something!

There's no way a human could stay sane through that! Their mind would burn out in an instant! Like, poof!

A fire? No, thanks. They're fun to watch, but not when I'm the one burning.

Burn out in an instant, huh?

Do you really think so? I don't think so.

A candle's wick, for instance, is within the flames, but it continues to glow and doesn't burn up.

Isn't it human nature to try to push oneself beyond logic?

？！

Hmmm, for example...

A Foreigner...an individual who has descended from superstition...is perhaps something to consider?

One who keeps their purity even in the heart of madness. Or perhaps...

...one who is swallowed up by madness, but then turns around and consumes the madness in turn. Such an individual, I believe, could manage it...

That's so cryptic.

Even if that were true, what are you planning to do, Mr. Gold?

It's obvious! I will break the arm of this dream's owner...I will render Katsushika Hokusai useless!

So that he will never paint again!

!?

The hell you will!!! Toto-sama would still paint, even if it meant he had to hold the brush with his teeth!

And if he loses his teeth, he'll paint with his feet! If he lost his legs, he'd paint with his belly button!

Even if Edo burned to the ground, or if the world ended, it wouldn't matter!

What hogwash. You sure say some terrible things.

If you dare try to take Toto-sama's brush, I'll never forgive you...and I'll never let you!

Do you fail to see that that unworldly frame of mind itself, was what invited the evil god here!?

I will not allow anything that came from the Abyss walk this land. Just leave everything to me.

Master!

Any dude bro Gil who says things like that is definitely not a Servant of Master's!

HE'S the evil god's underling! Definitely!

Exactly! I don't wanna hear any sob stories! And even your theory's true...

As a Heroic Spirit representing this nation, I will not allow the threat of breaking Hokusai's arm to stand!

...!!! After...Toto-sama's...dream...

？！

Fujimaru... Thank you.

I suppose fools will always be fools until they die.

Fine. Very well then. I shall take matters into my own hands!

Hey! Mongrels! Open those puny eyes and behold!

You won't scatter my Spirit Origin like golden cherry blossoms!

There you have it. It is officially your turn to work, BB! Just do some of those special effects of yours!

Whaaa!?

Wh-what the heck is this!? Whaaa!? Nobody told me anything about special effects!

That's right... Cherry blossoms are raining down, thick as snow! This is a Blossom Blizzard!

So "BB" stands for "Blossom Blizzard"! Finally, a solution to our longstanding mystery!

Actually, isn't that just a rip-off of my Tower Storm?

N-no it's not! And please stop this!!!

Fu...

Fuhahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!

？！

I see...so that's what's going on!!!

I can't believe I didn't realize!

Five seconds ago we were seriously going at it, but he just stopped... Some eureka moment?

I get it, Oeior rather, Katsushika Oui. I have witnessed both the doubts and the hidden ambition of your giant brush.

I cannot clearly see the fate of this father and daughter... As such, I have no right to make a decision.

Honestly, I am keenly interested in this Foreigner situation as well.

A nation that treats all visitors and outsiders as evil surely has no future.

So show me. Which will come first? Will humanity crumble away, or will your singular resolve create a new fate?

I watch in anticipation!

？！

Of course you are. Enjoy it, mongrel.

After all, what are humanity and cultural advances worth if one can't keep a sense of humor?

A man unparalleled in human history. A man who perfected a pathless road, reaching for the place where truth and fiction meet...

...is saying, "Wait."

That wish must be answered.

...Huh!?

...

Listen. About that exhibition tomorrow...

I will personally tell the shogun that a painter with great skill will come in place of Hokusai.

After all, my reputation hangs in the balance as well.

Wha... To the shogun!? A painter... You're not talking about me, are you!?

There's no way the shogun would entertain such an absurd request! It would take a magistrate of Edo or something to get him to listen...!

It will be all right. Leave the rest of the arrangements to us.

And that's why we would like you to continue protecting Oei, Lord Fujimaru.

What a dignified response. I like it.

If that self-proclaimed (?) Wise King has given up on it, then I suggest you follow suit.

？！

(Sigh) I had a feeling I wasn't going to make much of an appearance...

...but I guess I shouldn't be surprised, because if BB-chan went all out, this whole thing would be over in a snap, and that would ruin everything.

It's best that Fujimaru take care of it, right? If you want something to flail about, that is.

I bet you were going to run away when things got hairy!

Why can't you drop more hints about this Foreigner thing! Come on, if you're really the almighty kouhai!

Ehhh? But that's such a pain. This isn't even a story route where I'm the heroine.

Why don't YOU go all out? Huh!? Suzuka Gozen of the True Clairvoyant Eyes!?

Gungh...I didn't want you to go there...

Be prepared, mongrel. If you really want to understand Katsushika Hokusai's abyss...

...know that both great madness and slumbering destruction dwell under the same roof.

Always be mindful of where the stars align. Know that, should you make a mistake, Edo will not be all that sinks.

Heh. I told you, I'm Mr. Gold.

I only did what a protector of a city is supposed to do. But you know what...Edo has some interesting architecture... What's thisa wooden house...?

Is it made of wood because of the weather? Or is it built with the belief that it is going to be rebuilt soon? Well, I suppose its only weakness would be against fire...

But if your INT's high, that's totally bad!

Then do as you please.

Being wise and intelligent are two separate things. There are foolish wise men out there somewhere.

？！

Well then...um, my lord. Case closed! ...Right?

Since we're done with work, should we go out shopping? I saw this board game that seemed pretty new and excit

Nonsense, nothing has been concluded yet, fool! You're so earnest, yet why do you seek pleasure so much!?

Ouch☆ I-I'm sorry...

...Whew. They're finally gone.

They were an eccentric bunch, just like how ink can behave unpredictably on paper...

Oops, how embarrassing. My clothes got messed up when I went berserk again.

Oei...

Ahaha...what a strange dream. Don't make that face, Suzuka.

Guess I have no choice. You all hungry? Let's go home and order some mochi soup, fit for New Year's!

Tomorrow is another day. You know the saying... The seeds of thoughts grow overnight and all that!