"Whoa,"

After staying inside the post office for just a little while, Klaha stepped outside to find that it had already turned into a heavy downpour.

Rather than a "pouring rain" sound, the term "gushing down" seemed more fitting. Like a water bucket being overturned, massive black clouds released torrents of raindrops. The rooftops of the houses being pelted by the rain looked as if they were in pain. Klaha stood still for a moment, watching the movement absentmindedly.

She was glad she had brought an umbrella.

She was relieved she hadn't been lazy, thinking she would only be outside for a short while… but then she suddenly remembered. Had Ziel taken an umbrella when he went out last night?

"……"

Maybe he was already completely soaked by now.

But it was about time for him to return.

Opening her umbrella, Klaha quickly started walking back to the dojo.

And as she walked, she decided she would grab another umbrella and go to meet him.

It had already been eight days since Saminato collapsed.

The sound of bells rang out—clang, clang—and the other team members began making the motions that signified the shift was over.

Ziel realized that his duty must have ended.

"Ugh, it just had to start pouring at the very end!"

"Mr. Ziel, do you have an umbrella?"

They weren’t in the town itself but patrolling a bamboo grove on the outskirts. It was a perimeter patrol route, one of the most dangerous areas. Thanks to support from the Magic Federation, a simple outpost had been set up here at the last minute. Now, they were standing beneath its roof.

Since this route was the most perilous, most of the members assigned here belonged to an age group where no one would argue against calling them "young." Perhaps because of that, they interacted with Ziel, who was close in age, in a friendly manner—

"No, I don’t carry one that often to begin with."

"Huh? Then what do you do when it rains?"

"Spring, summer, and autumn—I usually just get wet. It helps wash off the dirt too, so it’s a win-win."

"Ehh…""You're just like my dog."

"But doesn’t your body temperature drop dangerously?""Don’t you catch colds?"

Ziel responded, "I take shelter in winter, of course. And I haven’t caught a cold in about eight years." The others reacted with admiration—"Wow, that’s impressive. Seriously, just like my dog." But then, they added, "Still, you should warm up with a hot bath before bed."

Listening to the sound of the rain hammering against the outpost’s roof, enclosing them inside—

Ziel wondered how he should report this to Chikano.

He observed the expressions of each person present.

This one still looked energetic. That one was showing signs of exhaustion. These two could probably manage one more shift, but they hadn’t shaken off their fear yet—

He was gathering the information Chikano would need to decide the next duty roster.

"Mr. Ziel, do you know about magic stones? They can be used for baths and stuff."

"Yeah, I know about them."

"Oh, so you do know what a bath is.""Then why on earth would you think of just standing in the rain to clean off?""You must hate baths, just like my dog."

"Not because I hate them—it's just part of traveling," Ziel countered.

"Then at least live like a civilized person when you’re in town!" came a rebuttal so airtight he couldn’t argue back.

That settled it—this guy had been working back-to-back shifts and was reaching his limit.

"Mr. Ziel, why don’t you come bathe with us?"

"This guy has an umbrella, so we’re good."

"Oh, well then… wait, how many of you are planning to cram in?"

"With you, it’d be eight."

"They all forgot their umbrellas. Can you believe it? Oh, wait—you too, huh?"

Ziel scoffed, "At that point, it’s no different from not having one at all."

They laughed, agreeing, "Yeah, true."

But Ziel was thinking—one.

Out of these seven, only one would be able to do this shift again tomorrow. The only one who had remembered to bring an umbrella.

Depending on the circumstances, they might have to reduce the number of patrollers, even if it meant lowering the defense strength. He would discuss it with Chikano after returning and, if necessary, they would propose an adjustment to the joint alliance leadership.

With that in mind, Ziel muttered, "Alright then," and stood up.

"Let’s head ba—"

But he stopped mid-sentence.

Past the noisy disciples jostling for umbrella space at the edge of the roof—down the path, a single figure was approaching.

"Ah,"

"Looks like someone came to get you."

The confirmation from the disciples made it certain.

It was Klaha.

"We’ll head back first then."

"Looks like you don’t need a guide."

And that was true—Ziel usually avoided getting lost on the way back by sticking with the disciples on duty. But if Klaha was here, he didn’t need to rely on anyone else.

Besides, those seven were clearly about to dash off toward the dojo.

"…Take care."

"Will do!""Got it. You take care too!"

As expected, the seven took off running, splashing mud as they went.

Watching their retreating figures, Ziel couldn’t help but think, "With how they're running, the umbrellas are pointless…"

As they passed Klaha, all seven briefly paused. There was a short exchange, they bowed to each other, and finally, Klaha approached him.

"Um, I’m sorry. I actually brought two umbrellas, but…"

"I saw. You got mugged."

"Oh, no. I offered them myself…"

She had given away the umbrella she was holding to those seven.

Now, only the one she was using remained.

"I'm sorry. Please use this one, Mr. Ziel…"

"Ah, then I’ll hold onto it."

He ducked slightly to step under Klaha’s umbrella.

"Thanks," he said as he took hold of the handle and walked alongside her.

"Ah, um, I can hold it," she offered.

"Really? But I’m taller, so… Oh, do you want to hold it yourself?"

"No, it’s not that… It’s just, your shoulder on that side is getting wet…"

"Oh, that’s probably just water dripping from earlier."

He told her not to worry about it while, in his mind, deciding to tilt the umbrella slightly toward her.

And so, Ziel walked on, making sure she wouldn’t notice.

“Klaha, your feet are in quite a state too.”

“Huh? …Oh, you're right. It looks like this path is pretty loose and muddy.”

The hem of her clothes and her shoes.

He pointed out the mud splattered on them, making her lower her gaze. It was a way to keep her from looking up.

Then, slowly, he began to speak.

“Today, Klaha… you were on duty with Chikano from noon, right?”

“That’s right. While Chikano was up in the watchtower, I was patrolling below, checking for any minor disturbances.”

“And if I remember correctly, your shift ended when I woke up and came out at night… Sorry about that. You ended up looking after me even during your break.”

Ziel added that she didn’t have to worry about him.

Things were busy enough that he didn’t want her to feel obligated.

Right now, this town was operating under a 24-hour vigilance system, and both he and Klaha were fully integrated into it.

“No, it’s really nothing. Please, let me know if you need anything.”

“Is that so? I appreciate it, but…”

“More importantly, Ziel, are you all right? You’ve been on night patrols for twelve hours straight for the past eight days…”

When asked if he was exhausted, he answered honestly.

“…It’s tough. It wears me down.”

“I thought so…”

“But then again, there’s no such thing as an easy battle. Chikano and I are better at recovering our stamina than most, so it’s not as bad as it looks.”

Twelve hours.

That was Ziel’s daily shift.

And to cover the remaining twelve hours in his absence, Chikano took over—meaning her shift was also twelve hours long.

Chikano watched from the watchtower, while Ziel patrolled the outer bamboo forest with the gate guards.

Taking turns, always on high alert for magical beasts.

“Klaha, you’ve also been doing a lot of shifts, haven’t you?”

“Not as much as you two…”

“Even when mixed in with the other trainees, you’re still in the top five percent for hours worked. I’ve thought this before, but you have incredible stamina. Not just short bursts of endurance—you have long-term stamina too.”

Ziel appreciated that when teaching swordsmanship, he could skip over the basics of endurance training with her.

“But things will probably get tougher as we go. You should conserve your energy while you can.”

“Tougher… how?”

For a brief moment, Klaha glanced around the rain-misted path through the bamboo grove.

She was likely making sure no one else was around to overhear.

“…You mean things are going to get even worse?”

“…Yeah, they will. Don’t spread this around, though—it’ll lower morale.”

Ziel had no choice but to say it. It was nearly certain.

He too confirmed that no one else was nearby, then followed Klaha’s example and checked his surroundings before continuing.

“First off, the ‘Thirteen Gate Demon’ that defeated Saminato is still lurking. That alone makes things rough.”

Klaha nodded, fully understanding.

“That’s why you and Chikano have to take shifts. If neither of you is there, we have no way to fight back…”

“Honestly, even if it’s just me or Chikano alone, we could still lose one-on-one. That’s why I’d rather we fight together, but…”

Since they had no idea when the ‘Thirteen Gate Demon’ would appear, and since only Ziel and Chikano could stand against it—

They simply couldn’t afford to prioritize their own safety.

The burden of risk fell entirely on them.

“It hasn’t shown itself since then… but that just adds more pressure, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah… The trainees are wearing down mentally too.”

Ziel thought back to the seven people he had been patrolling with earlier.

They were among the best martial artists still remaining in the town.

But they were all young—just as Chikano had pointed out before. When this situation first began, many of the dojo’s top fighters had been sent off to different parts of the eastern country. The ones left behind were strong but still lacking in some way.

They had been kept here because they were not yet fully mature.

And naturally, the fact that their master, Saminato, had been killed—and that the beast that killed him was still lurking—shook them to their core.

“On top of that, the ‘Gate Beasts’ are still around.”

At Klaha’s words, Ziel nodded.

The rats that had attacked the town that day—the ‘Gate Beasts.’

It seemed as though they had been completely wiped out, but…

“There are other types…”

The letter from Lililia had contained a passage in an apocryphal text: ‘There are many.’

At first, Ziel had assumed that meant ‘many rats.’ But now, he realized it meant something else.

It meant—

‘There are many kinds.’

“Um, the first attack was followed by a day of quiet, and then…”

“Tigers.”

“Ah, right. That huge one.”

A specific magic circle designated for the ‘Gate Beasts.’

For some reason, it was also appearing on magical beasts that weren’t rats.

“Then rabbits. After that, we had two quiet days before the next attack. The day before yesterday, it was a horse, and yesterday before dawn, a goat. And today…”

“A monkey appeared. The battle was short, so we didn’t have to sound an alarm, at least.”

He let out a small complaint.

“We haven’t managed to take down a single one of them since then. It’s getting bad.”

In fact, Ziel wished more of them would appear—

So they could gather more information on their enemy.

“The mystery of ‘Phasing,’ huh?”

“Yeah. We still don’t get it. Even with help from the Magic Federation and the Church, there’s been no progress at all.”

It was something he had written to Lililia and Eunice as well.

‘Phasing’—the phenomenon that had tormented him and Chikano during their defense, and which the ‘Thirteen Gate Demon’ had used to grievously wound Saminato.

A nightmarish phenomenon where magical beasts simply ‘phased’ through attacks.

It remained unsolved.

In the past few days, while the ‘Thirteen Gate Demon’ had remained hidden, the ‘Gate Beasts’ had taken center stage. And Ziel—whose role was now dealing with them—

Had yet to defeat even one.

"The fact that there's no sign of them stepping into the town is a relief, but... in any case, we still don’t understand. We can’t risk chasing too deep in this situation."

"Without a decisive factor, it’s difficult to take the initiative from our side too, isn’t it…"

Just in case—

Klaha took out a small memo from her pocket.

"The tiger appeared northeast by east, the rabbit to the east, the horse to the north, and the goat to the north-northeast. From what I asked the disciples earlier, today’s monkey also appeared northeast by east. Considering that the Thirteen Gate Oni emerged from the northeast, I believe the lair of the Apocryphal Beasts might be somewhere around this area, but…"

“That’s impressive,” Ziel said, with a mix of admiration and surprise.

"You actually keep notes on these things?"

"Yes, just in case… Though in the case of the rats, they attacked from both the north and south, so the spawn locations could still be coincidental."

"No, no," Ziel denied her modesty.

Because that was something he could never do himself.

"If we could pinpoint a decisive factor, we might be able to use that data to conduct a hunt in that direction. …The problem is that we don’t have any leads yet."

"That’s true…"

With that, Klaha put away her memo.

The conversation lapsed into a brief silence.

The rain continued to fall heavily—perhaps because of that, no other sounds reached them at all. It was as if a curtain had been drawn around them by the rain, making it both noisy and silent at the same time. A strange kind of space, just the two of them under the umbrella.

A soft intake of breath from Klaha.

Then, as if she had just remembered something—

"Speaking of things we don’t understand… the Thirteen Gate Oni, as well."

"Hm?"

"Ah, no… I mean, being a mid-tier Apocryphal Beast, it’s naturally supposed to be incredibly powerful, right? …So why didn’t it show up on the night of the re-sealing?"

Her voice trailed off towards the end, as if she wasn’t entirely confident in her own words.

But Ziel thought she was absolutely right. He had considered the same thing multiple times before.

That night, when they confronted the Demon Sword Vanish—the night when the Ruin King nearly revived, a night of crisis.

If the Thirteen Gate Oni had participated in the attack on the town, the outcome might not have been the same.

So why was it only now appearing?

He couldn’t help but think about it.

"…Yeah. That’s really a good point."

And at the same time—

The most likely, and most unpleasant, answer came to mind.

That is—

There are Apocryphal Beasts here that were unable to participate on the night of the re-sealing.

Stray beasts that hadn’t yet regained their strength that night—now, just like the other stray beasts becoming active across the land, they too have regained their power.

The events of that night, which they had thought were over—

The terrifying series of incidents aimed at reviving the Ruin King—

Might not actually be over yet.

"It’s getting—"

He was about to say "It’s getting depressing, isn’t it?"

But then, Ziel—

"…Getting what?"

"Ah, no."

He realized he had been venting too much in front of her.

"I just thought I’ve been saying nothing but depressing things. Sorry about that, especially when you came all the way to pick me up."

He supposed it was because of how much she had been helping him.

It had already been a month since they left the central city. Not only did she cover for his disastrous sense of direction, but she also helped with countless everyday tasks.

And today, like now, she even came to pick him up because she figured he’d forget his umbrella.

Somewhere along the way, Ziel had come to rely on Klaha too much.

"Given the situation, it’s hard to have lighthearted conversations… But how about you? If anything’s troubling you, even the smallest thing, tell me. We haven’t been on duty together much lately, so we haven’t had many chances to talk."

After all, the things he had just spoken about—

They were things that he, as someone who specialized in combat, should be taking the lead in solving.

In battle, his role should be to reassure her, not burden her with more concerns.

So he couldn’t rely on her too much.

That was why he asked.

"…No, I’m fine! You have it much harder, Mr. Ziel, so please just focus on your end!"

But Klaha responded firmly.

Really, Ziel thought as he looked at her.

Compared to the seven disciples he had been with earlier—

Klaha showed no signs of the same mental exhaustion. From what he had heard about the Insto battle and the fight against the Gate Beasts, it was clear she had both the resilience and the ability to act. Even if she would only ever modestly downplay herself, the reality was evident.

Honestly, Ziel thought to himself—

Having a companion who was skilled, had stamina, and could make sound decisions—

That made things much easier on his mind.

And that was precisely why—

"…I see. I’ve left the sword training unfinished, yet I keep relying on you for everything. Thanks for everything. I promise I’ll make it up to you one day."

The promise he had made to teach her the sword—

He had to fulfill that commitment.

But survival came first. They had to overcome the dangers right in front of them before anything else.

"…No, really, once things settle down is fine! Ziel, if anything troubles you, please tell me anything, anytime."

She responded with a determined, "I’ll do my best."

It was something that both reassured and humbled him.

He still wasn’t sure if this was the right way to depend on someone.

But still—

"Thanks," he murmured.

He had lost count of how many times he had said that during this journey.

And, as always—

"It’s really no big deal," Klaha replied.