Chương 46: Chapter 45: Bad Dreams Are Papa Problems

By noon, Hikari's fever had gone down slightly, which was probably the first piece of good news I had received since waking up with a Demon Queen wrapped around me like an expensive body pillow. I was choosing to focus on the fever. The other problem could wait. Hikari was asleep on the living room couch, curled beneath the blanket Ria had placed over her.

Tiny spoon rested beside her pillow like some kind of miniature guard captain, while one of Hikari's hands remained loosely wrapped around the edge of the blanket. Her cheeks were still a little flushed, but her breathing had become deeper and more comfortable. Ria sat at the far end of the couch pretending not to watch her. That would have been more convincing if she had not checked Hikari's temperature four times in the past hour and adjusted the same blanket six times.

On the fifth adjustment, I had pointed out that the blanket had not moved. Ria had looked at me like I was the stupidest creature ever produced by nature and replied, "Your eyes are unreliable." I decided not to argue. Ruruka occupied the armchair nearby, still under strict recovery orders. She had a phone resting facedown on her lap and was trying very hard to look innocent, which immediately made me suspicious. Meanwhile, I sat at the dining table with Aaron's latest report open on my tablet.

I had been staring at the same page for several minutes. The old sealed dungeon was still fluctuating. Nothing catastrophic had happened yet. No breach. No enormous mana explosion. No emergency sirens. No dungeon gate suddenly opening above a kindergarten or something equally offensive to my remaining patience. But the fluctuations had become more frequent. That alone bothered me. Several minor dungeon irregularities had also appeared across nearby regions over the last few weeks.

Individually, they were small enough that guild branches were handling them quietly. Together, though, they had started creating a pattern that my brain refused to ignore. I hated patterns. Patterns eventually became problems, and problems eventually became paperwork. Ruruka finally broke the silence.

"Nii-sama, you have been staring at the same report for almost ten minutes." I looked up at her.

"I'm thinking." Ruruka's lips curved into a faint smile.

"That explains why nothing is moving." My eyes narrowed. Before I could answer, Ria spoke from the couch without even turning her head.

"The swordswoman is correct." I leaned back in my chair.

"This house has become hostile." Ria finally looked at me, one elegant eyebrow lifting slightly.

"This house has become functional."

"That is exactly what dictators say." Ruruka immediately covered her mouth with one hand, but her shoulders still shook slightly. Ria noticed. Her eyes shifted toward my sister.

"You are still recovering." Ruruka straightened as much as her ribs allowed.

"I am only smiling quietly. Ruri said that was acceptable." Ria's expression tightened.

"That loophole should not exist."

"It exists now." I watched the two of them for a moment, then looked back down at my tablet. Somehow, my former enemy and my younger sister had developed their own strange language over the last few days. Ria ordered her to rest. Ruruka pretended to obey. Ria caught her lying. Ruruka tried again. It was almost comforting. Almost. Ria eventually noticed that I had gone back to staring at the anomaly map.

"You are doing it again," she said. I glanced toward her.

"Doing what?"

"Making that face."

"What face?" Ria folded her arms.

"The one you make when you discover a problem and immediately decide that it belongs to you." I stared at her for a second.

"That was oddly specific."

"I have observed you."

"That sounds threatening."

"It should." Ruruka nodded from the chair.

"She's right, Nii-sama. You already said we should prepare. That does not mean you need to solve everything before lunch." I looked at her phone.

"You're one to talk." Ruruka immediately placed one hand over the device.

"I'm resting."

"With your phone."

"It is emotionally supportive." Ria's eyes dropped toward the device. Ruruka quietly turned the phone facedown again.

"Very supportive," my sister added. I rubbed both hands over my face and stood.

"Fine. I need to pick up Ruri and Karin soon anyway." Ria's attention immediately returned to Hikari.

"I will stay here."

"That was the plan."

"And you will not stop by the guild."

"I wasn't going to." Ria gave me a long look. I hesitated. She continued staring.

"... Maybe for five minutes."

"No."

"Three?"

"No."

"One?"

"Mage."

"Right. School." Ruruka laughed softly, then quickly pressed one hand against her ribs when she regretted it.

"You really are trained now, Nii-sama." I pointed at her while reaching for my keys.

"You almost died last week. Don't get comfortable." Ruruka smiled sweetly.

"Still your little sister."

"Unfortunately."

"Love you too." I was already heading toward the door when Ria called after me.

"Mage." I stopped and looked back. Her expression had changed slightly. The irritation was still there because, well, Ria existed, but there was concern underneath it now.

"Do not tell the other two about Hikari's dream yet," she said.

"I know."

"They will worry."

"I know."

"And do not look suspicious when you pick them up." I stared at her. She stared back.

"You are asking too much." Ruruka started laughing again. Ria closed her eyes and inhaled slowly through her nose.

"Go." So I went. The drive to school was uneventful. That should have been relaxing. Unfortunately, uneventful drives gave my brain time to work, and my brain had already become a problem. By the time I reached the school gate, I had mentally redesigned the condominium's barrier network twice, identified three weaknesses in the school's evacuation routes, mapped several possible emergency teleport points around the district, and decided Fluffy needed better structural protection. This was not paranoia.

It was preparation. There was a difference. Probably. Ruri spotted me first. She came through the school gate carrying her bag neatly over one shoulder, but the moment her eyes found me, her pace quickened. Karin followed half a step behind her, looking energetic enough to fight the pavement if it happened to offend her. Ruri reached me first.

"Papa, how is Hikari?"

"Better," I answered.

"Her fever went down a little." The tension in her shoulders eased immediately.

"Did she eat?"

"Some porridge."

"Medicine?"

"Yes."

"Water?"

"Yes, Nurse Ruri." Her cheeks turned slightly pink.

"I'm just asking."

"I know." Karin finally stopped in front of me and looked directly into my eyes with grave seriousness.

"Is Hikari dying?" Ruri's head snapped toward her.

"Karin!"

"What?" Karin protested.

"I need threat assessment."

"No," I said before Ruri could start lecturing her.

"Hikari is not dying." Karin nodded once, visibly relieved.

"Good." Then she lightly punched my arm. I blinked.

"What was that for?"

"You should have said that first."

"You asked second."

"That is inefficient." Ruri sighed beside her. I looked at Karin for a long moment and wondered which parent she had inherited that logic from. Then I remembered who lived in my house. Never mind. The ride home was mostly questions. Ruri held Hikari's homework carefully on her lap and asked about her temperature twice. Karin wanted to know whether fever could be defeated with exercise, shouting encouragement, or what she called "controlled battle spirit." The answer was no to all three.

When we reached the condominium, the girls removed their shoes at record speed.

"Quietly," I warned as they started toward the living room. Both slowed immediately. Not much. But enough. Hikari was awake now. She remained wrapped in the blanket, but she looked more alert than when I left. Ria sat beside her holding a bowl of cut fruit, while Ruruka had somehow migrated from the armchair to the couch. I noticed. She noticed me noticing. We both decided to postpone that argument. Ruri crouched beside Hikari first.

"How do you feel?" Hikari smiled weakly.

"Hikari feels less floaty." Karin dropped down on the other side.

"Are you dying?" Ruri immediately slapped her sister's shoulder.

"Karin!"

"I confirmed with Papa already!" Hikari giggled softly beneath the blanket.

"Hikari is not dying."

"Good," Karin said. Then she leaned in and hugged her carefully. Ruri joined from the other side, and Hikari disappeared between her sisters for a few seconds. Ria watched them. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Her expression softened. It was subtle. Most people probably would not have noticed it. I did. Then she realized I was looking at her. Her entire face returned to royal neutrality.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"You are smiling."

"No."

"You are."

"Maybe I'm happy the kids are home." Ria lifted her chin slightly.

"Then look at them."

"Hm." Ruruka was watching both of us now. I decided not to acknowledge her existence. The afternoon was supposed to be normal. That lasted twenty minutes. I waited until the girls were settled in the living room. Hikari remained under her blanket while Ruri explained everything that happened at school. Karin kept interrupting to improve the story with unnecessary combat terminology. Ria sat nearby folding laundry while Ruruka pretended to read. I quietly moved toward the entrance. Then I crouched.

A thin layer of Arcane Manipulation gathered around my fingertips. Blue light traced itself along the bottom of the doorframe as I began constructing another detection array. Simple. Subtle. Responsible.

"Mage." I stopped. Slowly, I looked over my shoulder. Ria stood behind me with folded clothes resting against one hip. Her eyes dropped to the glowing formation beneath my hand. Then back to my face.

"What are you doing?"

"Cleaning." Her stare became completely flat.

"The floor is glowing."

"Advanced cleaning."

"You are reinforcing the barrier." I looked down at the half-finished formation. Then back at her.

"... Cleaning the mana." Behind her, Ruruka lowered her book.

"Nii-sama, you are terrible at lying to your wife."

"She's not—" I stopped myself. Ria's eyebrow lifted. I changed direction immediately.

"She is extremely observant." Ria nodded once.

"Better." I returned to the formation.

"This is precautionary."

"You already reinforced the entrance."

"Different layer."

"You installed another layer last month."

"Outdated."

"It is one month old."

"Ancient." Ria closed her eyes briefly. When she opened them again, I finished the last line of the array. The formation pulsed once before disappearing beneath the floor. Ria crouched beside me and examined the residual structure.

"What does this one do?"

"It detects hostile mana crossing the threshold," I explained.

"The old barrier catches generic threats. This one separates demonic signatures, corrupted dungeon mana, spatial interference, and disguised summoning marks." Her expression became more serious.

"And if something forces entry?"

"The hallway locks for three seconds."

"Only three?"

"That's enough."

"For you."

"For us." Ria looked at me. For a moment, neither of us said anything. Then her gaze dropped back toward the formation.

"The eastern side is weaker." I frowned.

"No, it isn't."

"It is."

"The output is balanced."

"The geometry is narrow."

"That only matters if something attacks at an angle." Ria looked at me like I had disappointed her ancestors.

"An intelligent enemy attacks from an angle." I stared back. Then sighed.

"You're helping."

"I am correcting you."

"That's helping."

"It is not."

"You literally identified a weakness."

"A weakness caused by your laziness."

"Still helping." Ria stood.

"I will not argue with a fool."

"Then this relationship is in trouble." Her eyes snapped toward me. From the living room, Karin called out, "Papa! Why is Mama glaring at you?" I answered without thinking.

"Marriage." Ria smacked the back of my head. It was not hard. Still rude. By late afternoon, I had reinforced the entrance, balcony doors, windows, and several internal emergency points. Then I moved on to personal protection. Ruri caught me halfway through enchanting her school bag. She appeared in the hallway holding a glass of water and stopped when she saw the small arcane circle glowing beneath my hand.

"Papa?" I froze. She looked at the bag. Then at me.

"What are you doing?"

"Decoration." Ruri stared. I stared back. The rune pulsed blue between us.

"Papa."

"... Safety decoration." Her eyebrows pulled together. There was no point continuing. That child could read guilt better than Aaron read mana patterns. I sat back on my heels.

"Some dungeons have been behaving strangely lately." Ruri stepped closer.

"Like Hikari's dream?" I looked up sharply. She lowered her eyes.

"She told us a little after we came home." Of course she did. Classified information had lasted less than one afternoon. I kept my voice calm.

"Maybe. We don't know." Ruri tightened both hands around the glass.

"Is something dangerous happening?" There it was. The question I hated. Not because I lacked an answer. Because I had too many.

"There's a chance something strange might happen," I said carefully.

"Probably nothing near you." Ruri looked straight at me.

"Probably?" Dammit. I rubbed the back of my neck.

"A small possibility." Her fingers tightened slightly.

"What do we do?" That was Ruri. Not why. Not how bad. What do we do? I reached out and rested one hand on top of her head.

"If anything happens at school, you don't fight. You stay with your sisters. Follow your teachers. Get somewhere safe. If you can call me or Mama, do it." Ruri nodded.

"And if we can't?"

"The ward in your bag will tell me." Her eyes moved to the glowing mark.

"So you can find us."

"Yeah." Ruri stayed quiet for a second, then suddenly leaned forward and wrapped her arms around my shoulders. I rested one hand against her back.

"Your job isn't protecting the world."

"I know."

"Just your sisters."

"I know."

"And yourself." She hesitated. I narrowed my eyes.

"Ruri."

"Yes, Papa."

"Good." Karin discovered her own enchanted bag six minutes later. Her reaction was much less subtle.

"Does this make me stronger?"

"No." She crouched next to me and examined the glowing rune.

"Faster?"

"No."

"Can it explode?"

"No."

"Can you make it explode?"

"Absolutely not." Ria happened to walk past carrying vegetables toward the kitchen.

"Do not give her ideas," she said. Karin looked up at her.

"I already had the idea."

"That," I replied, "is exactly what concerns me." Karin ignored our concern and pointed at the rune.

"What does it do?"

"Tracks your location if something dangerous happens. It also creates a barrier if something hits you."

"How strong?"

"Strong enough."

"That's vague."

"You're six."

"That's also vague." Ria stopped walking. Slowly, she looked at Karin. Then at me.

"She sounds like you."

"That's insulting." Ria's lips curved faintly.

"To which one?"

"... Yes." Karin leaned closer to the bag.

"If something happens at school, can I fight?"

"No." Her face immediately fell.

"What?"

"You take Ruri and Hikari and follow evacuation."

"But what if monsters are there?"

"Run." Karin frowned harder.

"That feels cowardly." I stopped working. She was serious now. So was I. I turned fully toward her.

"Running while protecting your sisters isn't cowardly." Karin's expression shifted slightly.

"It feels like leaving the fight."

"It's choosing a more important fight." She looked at me for several seconds. Then asked, "What if we can't run?" I sighed.

"If something reaches you and there's no way out, then yes. Fight." Her eyes immediately brightened. Ria stepped closer.

"Within reason." Karin looked between us.

"Whose reason?" Ria and I answered at the exact same time.

"Ours." Karin blinked. Then grinned. Ria and I looked at each other. I sighed.

"Terrifying teamwork."

"Do not become accustomed to it." Too late. Hikari's protection took longer. Not because the spell was difficult. Because Hikari noticed what I was doing immediately. She sat on the couch wrapped in her blanket while I held tiny spoon between two fingers. A small tracking rune shimmered along the metal handle. Hikari's eyes widened.

"Papa is giving tiny spoon magic?"

"Emergency magic."

"Can tiny spoon fight now?"

"No." From the dining table, Karin shouted, "Ask if it can explode!"

"No!" I called back. Ria pinched the bridge of her nose. Hikari giggled, then coughed lightly. My chest tightened. She looked down at tiny spoon.

"Is this because Hikari had bad dream?" I paused. There was no point lying.

"A little." Her expression changed.

"Did Hikari make Papa scared?" That hit harder than I expected. I sat beside her.

"No." She looked at me. I sighed.

"Okay. Maybe a little." Hikari's face immediately became guilty. I tapped her forehead gently.

"But that isn't your fault."

"Hikari did not mean to scare Papa."

"I know."

"Hikari wants Mama and Papa safe."

"And Mama and Papa want you safe." She hugged tiny spoon against her chest.

"What if Hikari dreams again?"

"Then tell us if you want."

"What if Hikari forgets?"

"Then you forget." She blinked.

"That is okay?"

"Yeah." I leaned back into the couch.

"You don't have to solve anything you saw. You don't have to remember every monster. You definitely don't need to protect us from your dream." Hikari watched me carefully. I gave her a tired smile.

"Bad dreams are Papa problems now." Ria stood nearby with folded laundry in her arms. She looked at me. Her expression softened for a moment. I pretended not to notice. Hikari nodded seriously.

"Then Hikari has mission."

"What mission?"

"Medicine. Water. Rest."

"Exactly." She raised tiny spoon weakly.

"Highest rank mission."

"SSS-rank." Her eyes widened.

"Hikari will succeed."

"That's my girl." By evening, I had enchanted the girls' bags, watches, shoes, phones, and tiny spoon. Then Ria caught me heading toward the elevator.

"Where are you going?"

"Fluffy." Her eyes narrowed.

"What about Fluffy?"

"Routine maintenance."

"You are lying again."

"Preventive maintenance." She followed me downstairs anyway. Of course she did. Once we reached the parking area, I placed one hand against Fluffy's hood and began reinforcing the existing barrier matrix. Ria stood beside me.

"You already placed a barrier around this vehicle."

"Old barrier."

"You installed it recently."

"Ancient."

"Mage."

"Better safe than exploded."

"That is not a normal comparison." I added impact dispersion, a secondary mana shield, spatial anchoring, and another emergency marker. Ria watched in silence for several minutes before walking around the passenger side. Then she stopped near the rear.

"The right section is weak." I looked over.

"It's fine."

"The mana distribution dips." I checked. It did. Barely. I looked at her.

"You're helping again." Ria crossed her arms.

"I am correcting your lazy work."

"That phrase is carrying this relationship."

"Add another layer."

"That'll increase mana consumption."

"If the children are inside, who cares?" I stopped. Ria seemed to realize what she had said because her expression tightened slightly. Then she lifted her chin.

"I mean strategically."

"Of course."

"Do not smile."

"I'm not."

"You are." I added the extra layer. Back upstairs, I caught Ruruka on her phone. She was whispering. Suspicious.

"What are you doing?" She looked up.

"Resting."

"With guild personnel?"

"Social resting." Ria's voice came from the kitchen.

"Swordswoman." Ruruka immediately lowered the phone.

"... Resting." I walked closer.

"Who were you talking to?"

"A few people I trust."

"For what?"

"Quiet observation," she explained.

"Chiba school district, some Saitama routes, a few people near recent anomaly sites. Nothing dramatic. I only told them dungeon activity may be unstable and asked them to stay alert." I crossed my arms.

"You're injured."

"I'm sitting."

"That isn't the same as resting." Ruruka smiled.

"Runs in the family." I hated genetics. Ria entered carrying two cups of tea.

"At least she has been useful from the couch." Ruruka looked offended.

"I am always useful."

"You attempted to carry laundry this morning."

"It was light."

"You winced."

"That was unrelated." Ria placed the tea down.

"Liar." I looked between them.

"This is exhausting." Both women looked at me at once. I reconsidered immediately.

"Never mind." Night arrived quietly. The girls eventually went to sleep. Hikari's fever dropped another fraction. Ruruka had finally been bullied into proper rest. The condominium barriers were stronger. Fluffy could probably survive a small monster stampede. Everything was normal. Completely normal. Which was why I was standing on the balcony constructing a family emergency teleportation array.

The formation floated between my hands, layered rings of blue arcane light rotating slowly around a central coordinate matrix. If one of the girls' emergency wards activated, I would immediately receive their location. If spatial conditions allowed it, I could force a direct jump to them. Expensive. Dangerous. Worth it. Ria found me before I finished.

"Mage." I did not turn.

"Before you ask, I'm not cleaning."

"At least your lies are improving." She stepped beside me and studied the formation. Her expression changed almost immediately.

"That will consume too much mana."

"Only if triggered."

"You are still functioning on a fraction of your original strength."

"I know."

"And if all three activate simultaneously?" I did not answer. Ria's face hardened.

"Mage."

"Then I deal with it."

"No." I looked at her. Ria stepped closer.

"We deal with it." That stopped me. The words were simple. Quiet. But they stayed. I looked back at the formation. Ria folded her arms.

"If you collapse while reaching one child, what happens to the other two?"

"I figure it out."

"That is not a plan."

"I'm improvisational."

"You are suicidal with vocabulary."

"That feels harsh."

"It is accurate." Then she extended one hand. Dark mana gathered around her fingertips. I frowned.

"What are you doing?"

"Move."

"Ria."

"Your array recognizes only your resonance." I understood. Slowly, I shifted aside. Ria placed two fingers against the outer ring of the formation. Her dark mana flowed carefully into the array beneath my Arcane Concealment. The formation pulsed. Blue and black. Arcane and sovereign. Two signatures. Two emergency anchors. If I could not reach the girls... Ria could. I looked at her. She noticed immediately.

"Do not make that face."

"What face?"

"The grateful one."

"I was going to say teamwork."

"That is worse."

"You're becoming domesticated." Her eyes sharpened.

"Mage." I smiled slightly. She flicked my forehead.

"Ow."

"Deserved." Later that night, Aaron sent another map. The fluctuations around the sealed dungeon had increased slightly again. More importantly, several minor anomalies seemed to be clustering around it. Or moving toward it. I could not tell yet. Ria stood beside me while I studied the screen.

"That dungeon is becoming the center," she said.

"Yeah."

"When are we going?" I thought about Hikari sleeping in the other room, about Ruri hugging me earlier, about Karin asking when she was allowed to fight.

"Two days." Ria nodded.

"Good." No argument. That worried me more than an argument would have. I closed the tablet and finally went to my room. Then stopped in the doorway. Ria was already there. Sitting against the headboard. Reading. I stared at her. She looked up from the book.

"What?"

"What are you doing?"

"Reading."

"I meant here."

"Sleeping."

"Here?" Ria raised one eyebrow.

"The children cleaned the room."

"That was yesterday."

"And?" I stared at her. She stared back. Then I noticed something. The blanket border was gone. My diplomatic wall. My peace treaty. My one line of defense.

"Where's the border?" Ria turned another page.

"Hikari took it."

"Why?"

"She said it was separating Mama and Papa." I closed my eyes. Of course she did. Ria lowered the book slightly and looked at me like she had already lost patience with a conversation I had barely started.

"The bed is large, Mage. Stop behaving like a virgin prince." My eyes opened.

"That sentence did not help."

"It was not meant to."

"You threatened to break my arm yesterday."

"And you survived."

"Barely."

"You complain too much." I walked to the far side of the bed and lay down as close to the edge as possible. Ria looked over the top of her book.

"You are going to fall."

"Strategic positioning."

"Stupidity."

"Defensive sleeping."

"Cowardice."

"Experience." She rolled her eyes and returned to her book. I stared at the ceiling. Somewhere outside the city, dungeons were behaving strangely. Ancient demonic scripts were appearing. The old sealed dungeon was pulsing like something had remembered how to breathe. Hikari had dreamed of monsters entering the world. And here I was, lying on the edge of my own bed because my wife had apparently decided room-sharing was normal now. I sighed. Ria did not look up.

"What now?"

"Nothing."

"You sighed."

"I do that."

"Excessively."

"It is part of my personality."

"Hmph." I closed my eyes and tried to sleep. Honestly, preparing for a possible invasion had been easier than figuring out where to put my arms. That was worrying. Very worrying.

End of Chapter 25 Arclight Parenting Status: Parents: Ren Arclight — Retired Archmage / Dragon Dad / Paranoid Security Contractor Ria Arclight — Former Demon Queen / Dragon Mom / "I Am Only Correcting Him" Current Family Objective: Protect the children from a threat that may not exist yet Prepare without frightening them Keep Hikari resting Prevent Ren from turning Chiba into a fortress Children Under Protection: Ruri — Ice / Emotional Anchor / Emergency Coordinator Karin — Fire / Combat Enthusiast / Evacuation Policy Critic Hikari — Light / Possible Prophet / Highest-Rank Recovery Mission Today's Activities: Monitored Hikari's recovering fever Investigated increasing dungeon fluctuations Successfully retrieved Ruri and Karin from school Failed to keep Hikari's dream classified for even one afternoon Reinforced condominium entrance barriers Reinforced windows and balcony defenses Enchanted Ruri's school bag Explained that protecting herself is also part of protecting her sisters Enchanted Karin's school bag Rejected multiple requests for explosive functionality Established emergency combat rules Enchanted Hikari's tiny spoon Upgraded watches, shoes, phones, and personal protection wards Reinforced Fluffy beyond reasonable civilian standards Established quiet surveillance around possible anomaly zones Created emergency family teleportation array Added Ria as second emergency anchor Confirmed sealed dungeon anomalies are increasing Scheduled dungeon investigation in two days Accidentally established permanent room-sharing New Developments: Dungeon irregularities beginning to form a pattern Sealed dungeon increasingly appears to be the center All daughters now carry emergency tracking and defensive wards Ruri understands basic emergency procedure Karin officially instructed that retreat can be protection Hikari's tiny spoon is now magically trackable Fluffy may now be more heavily defended than some guild vehicles Ren can immediately locate the girls during an emergency Ria can now independently respond through the family teleportation array Ren and Ria officially operating as dual parental emergency anchors Investigation of sealed dungeon begins in two days Bed Border Treaty has been permanently abolished by Hikari Household Status: Fortified Prepared Suspiciously Domestic Parents Stress Levels: Ren Paranoid Overprepared Pretending This Is Normal Ria Vigilant Protective Increasingly Cooperative Parenting Skill Growth: Ren: 81.

7% (Emergency Preparedness Bonus Applied) Ria: 79. 8% (Shared Protection Responsibility Bonus Applied) Family Synergy: 93.

6% (Dual Emergency Anchor Established) Current Parents Status: Ren Active Preparing Definitely Not Paranoid Ria Active Correcting Definitely Not Domesticated Immediate Priorities: Continue monitoring Hikari Track dungeon fluctuations Maintain normal routine for the children Strengthen school emergency plans Investigate sealed dungeon in two days Prevent Ren from enchanting household furniture Determine acceptable sleeping-arm placement Operational Assessment: Mission Type: Family Defense + Preemptive Threat Preparation Difficulty: Unknown and Therefore Annoying Emotional Status: Ren Protective — Anxious — Determined Ria Protective — Alert — Quietly Committed Future Outlook: Sealed dungeon investigation approaching Hikari's dream becoming increasingly difficult to dismiss Family defenses nearing unreasonable levels Ren and Ria's combat coordination increasing Domestic coordination increasing even faster Separate bedrooms officially becoming ancient history Ren expected to continue denying obvious developments Parents Personal Statement: Ren:"Bad dreams are Papa problems now."

Ria:"We deal with it." Reality's Response:"One nightmare was enough. Mom and Dad started preparing for war."