Epic Of Caterpillar

Chapter 2439: What Is Real And What Is Not?

Frank glanced at Matsuo and smiled slightly, feeling finally relieved his friend was safe and sound, and only just sleeping.

Lady Miwa, Matsuoʼs mother, a beautiful woman with long brown hair and bright yellow eyes smiled back at Frank, thanking him.

”Thank you so much for helping my son, Frank, youʼve been a real help so far,” she sighed in relief. ”Youʼre a true friend, and also a true member of this family as well...”

”Indeed,” nodded a tall, burly man with black hair and emerald eyes, Kensetsu, Matsuoʼs father. ”To think you ended fighting a Demon from all things, and one that was also an Incarnation of an Ancient Evil? Koga Saburo...”

Kensetsu was a strong magician that used the power of Paper Seals to fight; by imbuing magical seals into paper and creating powerful scrolls, he could create special Magical Formations, summon Familiars, create Barriers, or unleash devastating Magic Spells. However, his magic was also highly dependent in how much preparation time he could have, therefore, he wasnʼt good at adapting to battles as he could only fight with what he had already previously done.

”Not even I am sure I could have won, my Exorcizing Seals... I wonder if they would have even been enough to fight that monster,” he said. ”You and Harumi are incredibly strong, without you two, my son wouldnʼt had survived.”

”No, please, itʼs the contrary,” said Harumi. ”Thanks to Matsuo... we managed to survive, he healed us all the time, and keep up with Koga on his own. Heʼs incredible.”

”Yeah...” Frank nodded. ”I think he should take all the credit to be honest...”

”Hahaha! You two are too humble...” Matsuoʼs father laughed. ”Alright, alright... While we wait for that sleepy son of mine to rest, shall we go have a meal then? Youʼre invited! Right honey?”

”Sure!” nodded Miwa. ”If you donʼt mind, we would love you have you for dinner.”

”Nice! Iʼm going then!” nodded Erika, the third wheel that didnʼt even belong here.

”Whoʼs this brat?” Kensetsu wondered.

”T-Thatʼs the werewolf girl, the daughter of Beowulf, Erika,” said Miwa. ”I didnʼt know she was allowed here; I suppose sheʼs an ally as well?”

”Iʼm Harumiʼs friend,” Erika winked at Matsuoʼs parents. ”And I donʼt really like violence if I can help it either~!”

Harumi was cringing as she saw her friend acting all dumb in front of complete strangers to her, facepalming.

”I-Iʼm sorry for her behavior, she is like a dog you see,” Harumi sighed. ”And you know hwo dogs are, right?” she smiled a bit.

”Oh, hahahaha! I guess so!” laughed Kensetsu.

”D-Dear, I donʼt think you should have laughed at that joke...!” Miwa was a bit alarmed but couldnʼt help but giggle a bit.

”Geez! Harumi! Calling me a dog again... Youʼre quite the bully!” Erika laughed along.

”Hah...” Frank smiled slightly. ”I-I guess I could afford a bit of time for dinner, but I would rather get back home before night.”

”Itʼs alright, weʼll make something quick then,” nodded Matsuoʼs father. ”Come along son.” The man patted Frankʼs shoulders.

Matsuo and his family were very welcoming people, inviting Frank to eat with them. He, Harumi, and Erika entered their house where they ended meeting with Frankʼs sisters. ”Ah, itʼs Frank!”

”Frank!”

”Whereʼs Matsuo?”

”I guess they didnʼt know what happened?” wondered Frank.

As he was about to answer, their mother spoke first.

”Matsuo came back from a battle quite wounded, but heʼs healed now and resting in the infirmary,” said their mother. ”So donʼt bother your brother, alright?”

”Oh, okaaay!”

”Are we eating already? Iʼm hungry...”

”I want to eat mochi tonight!”

The girls were all cute and energetic, running around the city and leaving little time for Frank, Harumi, and Erika to talk with one another.

Eventually, once dinner was served, Matsuo came back, having recently woken up, he looked rather sleepy, but he seemed healthy.

”Iʼm home...” he muttered. ”Ah, Frank... Harumi and... Huh? Why is the wolf here?”

”How rude of you Matsuo!” Erika said. ”I came here to eat with your family, what else? And the grilled salted fish is really tasty!”

”Uh, okay,” Matsuo didnʼt had the energy to care. ”Iʼm starving...”

”Youʼre back faster than I imagined, son,” his father was surprised he was here already.

”Iʼll bring you something to eat right away!” meanwhile, his mother ran to the kitchen to bring Matsuo a huge bowl of white rice and three grilled fishes with lots of other side dishes and hot soup.

”Hmm, thank you mom,” he smiled in relief, eating to his heartʼs content.

The rest of the evening was spent eating and talking, as Frank felt relieved everything ended

okay.

Yet, despite everything, he couldnʼt relax.

The fight against Koga Saburo had shaken him to the core, and it would take some time for

him to recover.

And above all, those memories he recalled, those werenʼt dreams.

Despite how welcoming and warmth everything was...

He couldnʼt help but question everything.

Was this all real?

Was he truly not in a dream, or something else?

What was exactly happening?

From a point of perspective, this felt like his average daily life.

But at the same time, there was a part of him, deep down, that was slowly feeling more and

more detached.

”This canʼt be really a dream though...”

He was sure this wasnʼt a dream, he was living a real world, even if it might not be truly

authentically real.

But what was real?

What was false?

If someoneʼs perception of reality is the same thing until they die, even i someone else identifies it differently, then why does that matter?

The reality that person saw until they died was their reality anyways, and nobody else would

be able to stop them from believing so.

Truth.

Falsehood.

When these two elements melted together and merged into something else, which mixed

reality with imagination.

Dreams with the physical realm, illusions with the truth...

Could someone truly be able to identify everything was real or unreal?

”My dreams... they werenʼt prophetic,” he thought, looking sorrowful. ”They are just my

memories...”

Yet despite realizing these things, the world around didnʼt crumble.

Unlike when someone realized a dream was a dream and would wake up.

Frank didnʼt wake up.

He wasnʼt sleeping, he was wide awake.

”I need to find her...”

He looked at the sky.

”Kireina...”