"Why?" she asked, looking somewhat puzzled.
Hikari, who had just failed to meet her idol, happened to pass by and rushed over excitedly: "What? So Mr. Yumi, you weren't actually fooled by the illusion! I thought you were even dumber than me, too dumb to see through this illusion... What's that called, a trick!"
"Who's as stupid as you!" I retorted, half annoyed, before earnestly explaining, "Hikari, do you know how many ways there are to break an illusion?"
"What is that?" Curious Hikari revealed her ignorance, a deep abyss of knowledge.
I couldn't help but feel a headache coming on: "...When you were in school, did you get zero in every subject?"
"I've never been to school." An even more troubling fact struck me like a hammer blow to my brain and common sense. "I only learned a few planting techniques and how to read from my elders. After my parents passed away, I learned the basics of two surgical procedures while running around with Sister Yao and the others. That's all I know."
“You… never mind, I’ll find you a few more books to read another day when I have time.” I sighed and steered the conversation back to the original topic. “If you want to break the illusion, there are two simple and basic ways: rely on external forces to break it, or successfully break through the illusion and dismantle its core to remove it.”
The idiot quickly raised his hand: "I understand this, it's one is brute force, and the other is puzzle-solving to complete the level."
"Yes. The former can be done by any means, whether from the outside or inside, with the help of props or by relying solely on oneself, whether it is destroying the structure or destroying the core logic, everything will be restored to its original state. The latter has higher requirements. Its primary premise is that the main body of the illusion does not harbor any malice towards the existence that wants to break through it."
"So, Miss [Aisha] is actually a very gentle being?" I couldn't understand Hikari's thought process at all. Then I saw her suddenly bow earnestly to the transparent woman next to her. "I'm sorry to have broken your illusion, and I'm also grateful that you were able to maintain that gentleness until you met us."
“No…I…I’m not actually that good…” [Aisha] waved her hands helplessly, her eyes pleading.
I shrugged and said, "In short, since this illusion doesn't resist those who fall into it exploring its interior, I'm not in a hurry to escape. I might as well go along with it and see what it wants to show me. Besides, I don't need to do anything extra; I can just treat it as watching a fully automated documentary film with someone else as the protagonist." I thought for a moment and added, "And it's free."
"Oh!" Hikari's eyes lit up with joy again. "Have you finished watching?"
That hits the nail on the head: "I almost speed-watched it, but... you know, someone suddenly barged into my theater and forced me to leave before the last scene finished."
"...So, it turns out, I made a mistake?"
The child's emotions were changing far too intensely. He was just making a casual joke when he was overcome with emotion and almost burst into soft sobs.
I felt a little helpless, but I couldn't bring myself to make this fool cry. So I could only kindly coax her and express my gratitude: "No, I want to thank you more. Although we haven't known each other for very long, thank you for thinking of me and for worrying about my safety."
The silly child was so happy he almost jumped for joy.
“Speaking of which, when I fell into the illusion, what happened in the outside world? What is my body doing now?” I asked.
Hikari shook her head: "I didn't do anything. Mr. Yumi, you were just walking along when you suddenly picked up a twig from the ground... no, it should be a paintbrush, and then you just stood there with your eyes wide open, ignoring me no matter how much I called or pulled you."
So that's how it is. It seems that this is the paintbrush that [Aisha] is currently attached to.
“Alright. Well then, I’ve answered your question. Now it’s your turn to answer mine.” I looked at the tired woman who had been sitting quietly to the side. “Is there anything you’d like to do next?”
"after……"
[Aisha] looked down at her palm with a bewildered expression, pondered for a long time, and then suddenly murmured from her tightly pursed lips: "If I could, I would still want to continue Aisha's last wish, to continue painting..."
This was exactly what I expected.
Having seen most of the memories in that illusion, I was able to somewhat understand some of the emotions that woman once possessed.
If I were to comment, although she once attributed everything to a curse passed down through her bloodline, there is no doubt that she possessed an immeasurable passion and dedication to painting. Otherwise, even under the coercion of others, she would not have been able to create such exquisite and sincere paintings.
"Well then, I have one last question."
I closed my eyes and reached out my hand to the artist's lingering regret: "Would you mind moving to my miniature garden?"
...
After breaking through the illusion, Hikari and I returned to Pis City for a day of rest, enjoying more delicious food before returning to the miniature garden.
Of course, the white fox also went to report that everything was alright.
Although the big white dog chased after him and scolded him for lingering in the illusion where the truth was still unclear, thankfully nothing serious happened.
The very next second after we stepped into the miniature garden, we saw Yao standing not far away, flipping through a book with a blank expression.
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