How exactly do people fall asleep?
This is something very curious.
Before falling asleep, Cid's mind would always first think of many things.
For example, what might happen on the journey ahead...
Or the continuation of the story in Liyue's Radiant Kingdom...
Occasionally, there would also be some official duties concerning Inazuma's tomorrow.
Generally speaking, Cid would gradually fall asleep amid the scenes he imagined. This process was so seamless that he himself wouldn't even realize when it happened.
He only knew that suddenly he was asleep, and by the time he reacted, his eyelids were still extremely heavy.
"Sir..."
It was a very unfamiliar yet gentle voice...
But somehow, it still felt a little familiar.
Cid opened his eyes...
His body felt somewhat light and buoyant. Right in front of him was a rather rough-looking wall...
Cid instinctively reached out his hand, only to discover that his hand seemed unexpectedly small and delicate...
But what truly surprised the old uncle was the pale blue-white long robe on his arm...
Lowering his gaze further, he saw that beneath his feet was a transparent pool of water.
He was floating above the water's surface...
And this attire on the woman in front of him felt incredibly familiar...
White stockings that were slightly ornate, a pale blue-white skirt, a white inner lining, and a light blue long robe...
Cid squatted down, and sure enough, through the reflection in the water, he saw a familiar face.
The Sage King, Stargazer.
For some reason, Cid only felt as if he had heard a voice from beneath the water.
"Please save me..."
It was not the voice of a child. Instead, it sounded more like a mature and gentle big sister...
Cid reached out and placed his hand on the water's surface.
In that instant, the originally calm water—without a single ripple—suddenly lost the power supporting Cid.
Cid could clearly sense himself falling, yet he felt no panic or loss of composure at all.
She calmly closed her eyes, feeling the embrace of the water...
She knew exactly what she had done.
At first, there was a somewhat icy cold current...
But after the cold passed, it became increasingly warm...
The speed of the fall was very slow, like an ant falling from a great height.
Yet as the descent slowed, Cid—who was lying flat and waiting for the fall to end—felt as though she was beginning to float upward again.
As the warmth faded, she began to feel her heavy eyelids that didn't want to open.
She had probably woken up.
At a time like this, she definitely had to try for some more sleep.
There was still plenty of time anyway.
A little nap before getting up would be nice.
As the sleepiness in her eyes gradually faded, the old uncle first chose to put on the Akasha Terminal by his ear.
"Good morning, Teacher Shura Anyakonsen-shou."
What reached the old uncle's ear was Nahida's voice full of passion for work.
"Good morning, Nahida. Outside of work hours, I still prefer when the children call me 'old uncle,' because that's the affectionate nickname the kids gave me..."
The old uncle got up, his voice sounding a bit overly lazy, and because he had just woken up, his thoughts were only just starting to turn.
Wait a minute—Nahida is so old; isn't it a bit inappropriate to call me "old uncle"?
But at that moment, Nahida had already spoken first.
"Is it a way of expressing affection? Then I'll call you that too when we're not in class—old uncle."
Nahida...
A smile appeared at the corner of the old uncle's mouth.
He then opened his eyes and began straightening his clothes.
Small foreshadowing: the old uncle always slept in his clothes.
So he only needed to smooth out the wrinkles in his outfit.
No need to worry about whether changing clothes would let Nahida see anything.
Thanks to this habit.
He hoped the brothers who sleep naked wouldn't encounter this kind of isekai method.