Chapter 1: Nightmare ①

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Translator: Soafp

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My mornings start with opening my brokerage app on my smartphone.

I checked the movements of the foreign stocks I had set up, and I couldn't help but smirk.

(Alright, just like in the “nightmare.”)

A week ago, I had a dream.

As usual, I woke up and opened my portfolio, only to find that the stocks I held had plummeted due to unexpected troubles—that was the dream.

And now, that very trouble was breaking in the news, and the stock prices were swinging wildly.

(I anticipated this, so I had set up a short position.)

Most analysts were unanimously optimistic and recommending long positions.

But I trusted the nightmare I had a week ago and acted immediately.

I switched all my holdings to short sales and even added leverage.

The result?

—+237%

Just by sleeping through the night, I had made a huge sum of money.

When I checked Twitter, it was full of people lamenting how they had lost all their wealth due to unexpected negative news.

Of course, the amount I was moving wasn't just pocket money.

I had previously used this precognitive ability to win the lottery and secure a substantial starting capital.

(Technically, I can only foresee bad things, though.)

The dates aren't exact, but I see ominous events happening in the near future—at the earliest two days ahead, at the latest two years—in my dreams two or three times a week.

These nightmares only appear for things that relate to me.

For instance, events that hit Japan directly, like COVID, can be foreseen.

But events completely unrelated to my surroundings—like an Ebola outbreak overseas—are invisible to me.

(Unless Ebola suddenly causes my stocks to crash, I won't see it.)

However, this ability isn't omnipotent. It has limits.

I can peek into the future through my dreams and avoid some things.

But I can't change everything.

Pandemics, massive earthquakes, or incurable diseases are beyond my control.

I collectively call those things “fate.”

(Even so, this is more than enough.)

Thanks to this ability, I live a life far wealthier than most high school students.

I don't worry about money. My grades don't drop. Misfortunes around me are minimized.

Especially in human relationships, this precognition has saved me multiple times. For example—

“Ren! Hurry up, or we'll be late!!”

That was when I had just started dating my longtime childhood friend, Yuzuki.

She lives just one block away, and she stops by my place every morning before school.

“Got it, sorry!”

I had been so engrossed in the brokerage app that I lost track of time.

I hurriedly finished getting ready and went down to the first floor.

My mom, preparing breakfast, sighed the moment she saw me.

“Yuzuki's here to pick you up, so get moving. What are you even doing this early?”

“I was just checking stocks.”

“Making money is fine, but focus on your student duties first.”

Since I'm still in high school, I need parental consent to open a brokerage account, and my family knows I invest in stocks.

They don't know about my precognition or the actual amounts I handle.

Even when I won the lottery, I only told them I had won, keeping the amount hidden.

If it leaked through my parents, nothing good would come of it—I saw that in a nightmare.

“Oh, Ren, you're way too energetic this morning, maybe a quick—”

“If you say anything more, the second hit will replace breakfast.”

“Both of you, what are you talking about in front of the parent!”

““Sorry……””

My girlfriend, Yuzuki, surprisingly liked dirty jokes.

It probably started from the male-targeted manga and light novels I lent her.

…Although I think she always had that inclination.

“Anyway, Yuzuki, you really went all out with your fashion today. Cute.”

Her ash-black hair was lightly braided on one side, adding a subtle accent.

The rest flowed in gentle waves, tied low into two sections.

Yuzuki blushed and fiddled with her earlobe.

“R-Really? Th-Thanks…”

All that for just a compliment?

Even though I confessed in middle school and we've been dating, it's already the first semester of high school.

My mom placed bowls of breakfast in front of us and said,

“You two, it's fine to be lovey-dovey, but you'll really be late. I know this is a nice time, but still.”

“Ah, really, it's already this late! If we're late, it's Ren's fault!”

We hurriedly ate breakfast, held hands, and left the house.

We barely made it on time.

---

“See you later at my place!”

“Yeah.”

After school, Yuzuki went to club activities.

I'm in the non-club group, so I could just head home.

When she says “my place,” she means my room.

She promised to come over after club activities.

As I grabbed my bag to leave the classroom,

“Hey, Fukagawa.”

My friend Takagi, who I've known since middle school, called out.

“What is it?”

“You okay? That… your girlfriend, Kitayama?”

I was puzzled.

Why bring up Yuzuki here?

Takagi looked genuinely concerned.

He doesn't usually joke about things like this.

“Did something happen to Yuzuki?”

“Well… Kitayama is in the photography club, right?”

“Yeah.”

“There's a dangerous Senpai. Just came back after suspension.”

Takagi spoke cautiously.

Usually straightforward, but now unusually careful.

“What do you mean by dangerous?”

“Apparently, the reason for the suspension was a flashy fight in school…”

“So that's not the real reason?”

“Seems he was enjoying taking other girls. The boyfriend found out, they fought, and both got suspended…”

For a moment, my heart froze.

“Taking girls… for fun?”

“That senior is the type whose girlfriends change quickly. And according to his exes, once he's been with a girl, she can't forget it. His technique is amazing or something.”

So it's not just a simple love triangle.

He doesn't genuinely care about the girls—he just satisfies his desires.

Takagi noticed my expression and hurriedly added,

“Ah, it's just a rumor! Might not even be true.”

“…Yeah. Rumors always get exaggerated.”

“Exactly. You hear something like a rich guy from a normal household, just like you, and it spreads weirdly.”

Not entirely false… my house is ordinary, but my wealth isn't.

Takagi's offhand remark only amplified my anxiety.

“Maybe it was just a triangle over one girl. That seems more realistic.”

“Yeah, that's more believable.”

A guy skilled in bed, enjoying stealing someone else's girlfriend?

Something like an erotic doujin?

Impossible in real life.

I desperately tried to deny it in my mind.

“Anyway, thanks. I'll talk to Yuzuki today. Even if it's just a rumor, better safe than sorry.”

“Yeah, man. You're my lifesaver, so I told you.”

“Why act like it's top-secret just for telling a rumor?”

We both laughed.

---

After club activities, Yuzuki came over.

After dinner, she naturally came into my room.

She immediately flopped onto my bed as if it were her own.

“There's nowhere more comfortable. Weirdly, your bed is so cozy.”

Well, that's because I replaced it with a 1 million yen mattress I bought with stock profits.

Since she comes over often, I chose the best for her comfort.

“Don't lie down right after eating, you'll gain weight.”

“Ah, ‘gain weight' is a forbidden word for girls!”

“Girls?”

She glared at me, “…Ren?”

Not genuinely angry, more like pretending to sulk.

“Just joking.”

I got on the bed, pulled her between my legs, and grabbed her chest.

“I know for sure you're a girl.”

“Already did it yesterday… and now again? Ren, what's with your libido?”

“Don't like it?”

“Not saying I don't like it. But your mom is here today.”

“You just need to keep quiet.”

“That's impossible—”

I sealed her lips with mine.

By middle school graduation, we had already experienced our first time, so now we were completely comfortable, exchanging hot, intense kisses.

“Haa… haa… I love you, Ren.”

“I love you too.”

Twice, thrice, four times.

Repeatedly, lips met.

Hands moved, enjoying her ample chest.

After several tens of minutes, flushed with heat, Yuzuki squinted and stretched one arm behind the headboard.

From the mattress gap, she quietly retrieved something.

“You kissed me so much… so I'll return the favor orally.”

“Ah, please.”

I stroked her head.

A girl so cute and devoted… why would she go to another man?

No matter how dangerous that senior was, it couldn't happen.

I firmly believed it.

---

After we finished, I walked her home.

Returning to my room, I straightened the sheets and lay down again.

Before sleeping, I checked the stock app once more.

Then I fell asleep.

But that night, I had a dream.

—A nightmare in which Yuzuki was stolen away by that photography club Senpai.