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shivalries) wrote2025-06-29 10:05 pm
shivalries) wrote2025-06-29 10:05 pm
Mesmerizing Modulation - Dazed, Dazzled, Dreaming Chapter 5
Season: Summer
---
Location: Overseas Street
Eichi: Hello, Tsumugi ♪ To think you'd be here—I've been searching for you everywhere.
Tsumugi: Eichi-kun...
Leo: What do you mean, you were looking for him? Oba-chan's an honorary citizen of my kingdom!
What are you even doing here, Tenshi?! Go away! Shoo!
Eichi: How cruel... I haven't done anything wrong.
Might you relax your guard a bit? We may not get along well, but I believe we can still have dialogue.
Leo: The way you try to soften things with words is exactly what's so bad about you, Tenshi. You know full well just how much the people have sacrificed.
Tsumugi: No need to be hostile, Tsukinaga-kun...
Leo: You don't have to cover for him, Oba-chan. After all, Tenshi is...
...King of the Kingdom of Labor.
Tsumugi: Kingdom of Labor?
Eichi: It's true. I have come to personally invite you to my country.
The Kingdom of Labor is where you were meant to belong.
The people of the Kingdom of Rest value chasing their own happiness above all else, but you, Tsumugi, have found fulfillment in working for the sake of others.
I know you would find this country suffocating. It may look like a sweet dream on the surface, but it is, in truth, a very lonely place.
Leo: But then nothing would change. Oba-chan's been doing nothing but working for other people this entire time.
What's wrong with living for himself from here on out?
Eichi: You don't need to flare up at me. I am not here to stand against you.
I know that you hold no ill will. Even I understand the importance of taking breaks.
But you see, Tsumugi has found his reason for being in nurturing other people's happiness. Denying him that would be tantamount to denying his very existence, don't you think?
Leo: You don't speak for him. Oba-chan gets to decide for himself where he belongs.
Eichi: Aren't you the one trying to make decisions for him?
You should return him to his proper place first, so that he can calm his mind and choose his path of his own volition.
Leo: Doesn't change the fact that you'd be taking him with you. Hey, Oba-chan, you don't have to listen this crap Tenshi's sayi—
...Huh? Where'd Oba-chan go?
You took him away already?! That's a dirty move, Tenshi!
Eichi: I would never do something so forceful. That would only make you angrier at me, would it not?
You and I were simply too enthralled in our debate to notice Tsumugi slipping away.
I wonder where he disappeared to...?
---
Location: Underground Passage
(A few minutes later, in a secret underground passage)
Mayoi: Phew... This should be far enough.
Tsumugi: I didn't say a word to Tsukinaga-kun or Eichi-kun about where I was going... Do you think it'll be okay?
Hokuto: It's fine. Those kings are always squabbling over potential new citizens.
Once one of them has his hands on you, it's very difficult to get away. That was the only opportunity we had to get you out of there.
Tsumugi: I see... Sorry to both of them, but I just didn't know what to do. I was honestly really relieved when you showed up.
Mayoi: Hehe. We have to help each other when we're in trouble... ♪
Hokuto: ...We belong to the underground society known as the Secret Summit. Have you heard of us before?
Tsumugi: Not at all. Tsukinaga-kun and Eichi-kun didn't mention anything.
Mayoi: I imagine so. We're something of an inconvenience to them.
Tsumugi: An inconvenience? Like... a group of misfits?
Mayoi: Hehe, well, something like that.
The Secret Summit is made up of people who couldn't find a place in either the Kingdom of Rest or the Kingdom of Labor. We live most of our lives down here in secrecy.
Hokuto: Living boldly above ground would be ideal... but I'd rather avoid getting caught up in the military conflicts between those two.
Mayoi: As for me, I'm more partial to living underground. I prefer dark places.
"Rest" and "labor" are both respectable ideologies. However... become too extreme either way, and you begin to fall apart at the seams.
Hokuto: Agreed. I used to work in the Kingdom of Labor, slaving away day in and day out.
But as I spent my days following orders, I had a thought: is there any meaning to walking a predetermined path?
I crossed the border to the Kingdom of Rest to escape it all, but in the end, I couldn't settle in there.
Mayoi: Rest and labor—lean too far one way, and you'll crush your body and soul.
So, we created this third option down here, for people like us who don't fit in either kingdom.
Strike a balance between rest and labor—that is the core philosophy of the Secret Summit.
Tsumugi: A balance, you say...
...
When I tried my best to rest... I couldn't.
Even with all this time, I couldn't find anything I wanted to do.
I've been so worried about work that I even dream about it, yet I'm not allowed to do it...
So I end up spending my time doing nothing, and it's excruciating. I'm so restless inside.
I keep having this feeling that I need to do something, but I have no idea what.
How do I find that "balance" you're talking about?
---
< Dazed, Dazzled, Dreaming Chapter 4 || Masterlist || Dazed, Dazzled, Dreaming Chapter 6 >
---
Location: Overseas Street
Eichi: Hello, Tsumugi ♪ To think you'd be here—I've been searching for you everywhere.
Tsumugi: Eichi-kun...
Leo: What do you mean, you were looking for him? Oba-chan's an honorary citizen of my kingdom!
What are you even doing here, Tenshi?! Go away! Shoo!
Eichi: How cruel... I haven't done anything wrong.
Might you relax your guard a bit? We may not get along well, but I believe we can still have dialogue.
Leo: The way you try to soften things with words is exactly what's so bad about you, Tenshi. You know full well just how much the people have sacrificed.
Tsumugi: No need to be hostile, Tsukinaga-kun...
Leo: You don't have to cover for him, Oba-chan. After all, Tenshi is...
...King of the Kingdom of Labor.
Tsumugi: Kingdom of Labor?
Eichi: It's true. I have come to personally invite you to my country.
The Kingdom of Labor is where you were meant to belong.
The people of the Kingdom of Rest value chasing their own happiness above all else, but you, Tsumugi, have found fulfillment in working for the sake of others.
I know you would find this country suffocating. It may look like a sweet dream on the surface, but it is, in truth, a very lonely place.
Leo: But then nothing would change. Oba-chan's been doing nothing but working for other people this entire time.
What's wrong with living for himself from here on out?
Eichi: You don't need to flare up at me. I am not here to stand against you.
I know that you hold no ill will. Even I understand the importance of taking breaks.
But you see, Tsumugi has found his reason for being in nurturing other people's happiness. Denying him that would be tantamount to denying his very existence, don't you think?
Leo: You don't speak for him. Oba-chan gets to decide for himself where he belongs.
Eichi: Aren't you the one trying to make decisions for him?
You should return him to his proper place first, so that he can calm his mind and choose his path of his own volition.
Leo: Doesn't change the fact that you'd be taking him with you. Hey, Oba-chan, you don't have to listen this crap Tenshi's sayi—
...Huh? Where'd Oba-chan go?
You took him away already?! That's a dirty move, Tenshi!
Eichi: I would never do something so forceful. That would only make you angrier at me, would it not?
You and I were simply too enthralled in our debate to notice Tsumugi slipping away.
I wonder where he disappeared to...?
---
Location: Underground Passage
(A few minutes later, in a secret underground passage)
Mayoi: Phew... This should be far enough.
Tsumugi: I didn't say a word to Tsukinaga-kun or Eichi-kun about where I was going... Do you think it'll be okay?
Hokuto: It's fine. Those kings are always squabbling over potential new citizens.
Once one of them has his hands on you, it's very difficult to get away. That was the only opportunity we had to get you out of there.
Tsumugi: I see... Sorry to both of them, but I just didn't know what to do. I was honestly really relieved when you showed up.
Mayoi: Hehe. We have to help each other when we're in trouble... ♪
Hokuto: ...We belong to the underground society known as the Secret Summit. Have you heard of us before?
Tsumugi: Not at all. Tsukinaga-kun and Eichi-kun didn't mention anything.
Mayoi: I imagine so. We're something of an inconvenience to them.
Tsumugi: An inconvenience? Like... a group of misfits?
Mayoi: Hehe, well, something like that.
The Secret Summit is made up of people who couldn't find a place in either the Kingdom of Rest or the Kingdom of Labor. We live most of our lives down here in secrecy.
Hokuto: Living boldly above ground would be ideal... but I'd rather avoid getting caught up in the military conflicts between those two.
Mayoi: As for me, I'm more partial to living underground. I prefer dark places.
"Rest" and "labor" are both respectable ideologies. However... become too extreme either way, and you begin to fall apart at the seams.
Hokuto: Agreed. I used to work in the Kingdom of Labor, slaving away day in and day out.
But as I spent my days following orders, I had a thought: is there any meaning to walking a predetermined path?
I crossed the border to the Kingdom of Rest to escape it all, but in the end, I couldn't settle in there.
Mayoi: Rest and labor—lean too far one way, and you'll crush your body and soul.
So, we created this third option down here, for people like us who don't fit in either kingdom.
Strike a balance between rest and labor—that is the core philosophy of the Secret Summit.
Tsumugi: A balance, you say...
...
When I tried my best to rest... I couldn't.
Even with all this time, I couldn't find anything I wanted to do.
I've been so worried about work that I even dream about it, yet I'm not allowed to do it...
So I end up spending my time doing nothing, and it's excruciating. I'm so restless inside.
I keep having this feeling that I need to do something, but I have no idea what.
How do I find that "balance" you're talking about?
---
< Dazed, Dazzled, Dreaming Chapter 4 || Masterlist || Dazed, Dazzled, Dreaming Chapter 6 >