"Yo."

"Yo."

On the watchtower, repaired by the Magic Federation.

As Ziel climbed up, he found Chikano standing there, bow in hand.

"The night shift is over, so here. The status report for the outer patrol group."

"Huh, what's this? You made this for me?"

"If I just say it verbally, you'd forget. It's easier to understand on paper. …Well, I didn’t write anything weird, and there’s nothing in here that would be a problem if the people themselves saw it."

Just in case.

Ziel handed over a thin sheet of paper—an organized chronological list of his observations regarding the health of the disciples he had patrolled with, from the first attack up to this morning.

"Whoa—this level of detail is a lifesaver… What's with these strange symbols next to the dates?"

"I asked Klaha about them just now. They're sketches of the Gate Beasts we encountered."

"These are way too shocking; I can’t show them to the people involved…"

"Just that one thing?"

Well, honestly, even while drawing them, he had thought, Why did I start doing this…?

As Chikano looked through the paper, Ziel leaned against the railing of the watchtower—only to be hit directly by the wind-driven rain and immediately pull away.

"What’s the plan?"

"We won’t last much longer."

"I know, I know. …Ugh, seriously. Is Kina this bad off too?"

"Her eyes aren’t steady during patrol. …Well, it’s mostly because neither of us have managed to take down a Gate Beast yet."

"Damn… Seriously? …Damn…"

"We’re out of time."

"I said I know… Damn, this is rough. What do we do…?"

As for an idea—

Ziel voiced what he had been considering on the way here.

"Wouldn’t it be better to just reduce the number of members in the outer patrol team? As long as I’m there with a guide, we can at least maintain minimal defense."

"Ah, yeah… But if we cut these six or seven down further, won’t they break down even more mentally?"

"That’s a possibility. But we can’t keep this up."

If members were going to inevitably drop out anyway, it would be better to make it look like a planned reduction.

Chikano fell silent, thinking.

"…If we cut numbers, we should stop expecting them to assist in combat and just have them focus on relaying messages while you fight. Can you handle that burden?"

"I’ll have to. I’m the only one with spare capacity in the ground unit."

"You’re a lifesaver~… You can have that bun over there."

With a simple "Thanks," Ziel took it without hesitation and popped it into his mouth.

As Chikano muttered, "Then I'll reassign the removed members here… That leaves a gap, so I'll pull this one from here…" while struggling over the paper, Ziel watched for a while.

"What do you think? Once it’s finalized, should I frame it as my proposal and push for adjustments with the federation?"

"Hmm, hmm… I mean, relying on our special combat asset isn’t a bad idea, but…"

"Stop calling me that."

"What? It sounds cool. …Since this involves the dojo members, I should probably do it myself. But if we want to change things starting from tonight's night shift, we need to send it out now…"

Ziel suggested, "How about we put it under both our names, with me as the acting responsible party?"

"I'll take that," Chikano said, immediately starting to write it out.

"Honestly, this is such a pain, isn't it?"

"Yeah, no kidding."

"Coordinating between the church, the Magic Federation, and the administration—I get why we have to do this, but… You know what? It’s fine! I get it! I get it now!"

"What’s with you all of a sudden?"

"Huh? Nothing."

Ziel thought to himself, This one's really at her limit too.

Once again, he reaffirmed it.

This system won’t last.

The number of available personnel is dwindling, and if either he or Chikano drops out, the whole thing will collapse. The crucial Thirteen Gate Demons have yet to show themselves, and even the lesser Gate Beasts—whom they should be able to defeat—remain undefeated. They were being worn down, little by little.

Major reinforcements.

He thought of it silently.

Lililia and Eunice. If what they were working on went well…

Or, before they hit their limit, they would need to find something decisive on their own.

But…

This wasn’t a situation that could be solved with sword skills alone.

"What do you think of this draft?"

"Looks good. We’ll need to test-run it anyway, so it works as a preliminary plan."

"I’ll just tidy up the document and submit it."

"Thanks," Chikano sighed, sounding utterly drained.

Then, Ziel remembered something.

"Icca should be about ready to return, right?"

"Ah… Hmm. Still thinking about that."

"Recovery issues?"

"Nah," Chikano shook her head.

"Mentally, I’m not so sure… Used to be so annoyingly energetic, but now even his responses are gloomy."

"…Yeah. Makes sense."

He had heard about it.

That when Saminato was defeated by the mid-tier Apocryphal Beast Thirteen Gate Oni—

Just before that, Icca had also challenged the oni and suffered a crushing defeat.

Ziel thought, I understand the feeling.

Ever since he had been defeated by Orchestra in the depths of the highest-difficulty labyrinth... the fear of advancing further had been overwhelming.

Or rather, even now—

It would be a lie to say he wasn't afraid of facing a beast strong enough to defeat a swordsman of Saminato’s caliber, with no knowledge of its tricks or weaknesses, possibly alone.

Of course, he wouldn't let that show.

"Besides, that kid probably likes my father more than me. My dad's the one who taught him how to handle magic crests."

"Ah, well..."

Ziel nodded, thinking, Yeah, I can understand that.

"So basically, it's best not to count on Icca?"

"I wouldn’t force him to fight... Martial arts are meant to protect oneself, after all. If there's room to spare, sure, you can protect those around you too. But when there's no room for that, turning your back and retreating is also a choice that should be respected."

Chikano sighed heavily—

Her shoulders slumped.

"Does this mean I'm lacking a sense of responsibility?"

"Resp...?"

Ziel almost crossed his arms in thought but nearly crumpled the paper in his hand. Catching himself just in time, he straightened it out.

Once more—

"Responsibility... huh..."

"Ah, sorry. Forget it. Shutting down logic circuits~!"

She poked him repeatedly in the back.

"Quit it, quit it," he swatted her hand away.

Then Chikano said, "Well, I'm counting on you," and he responded in kind before checking that no one was below the watchtower.

Then, with a leap—

As the wind caught him mid-air, Ziel found himself idly thinking.

Responsibility.

"Oh,"

"Huh,"

It happened during a break in the midday patrol.

Klaha, assigned to a team patrolling around the dojo estate, usually spent breaks under the eaves of the dojo.

But today, instead of idly passing the time, she thought about whether there was something useful she could do during the break.

Wandering near the garden—

She came across a woman washing a dog.

And Klaha recognized her face.

"Um, under the watchtower—"

"Thanks for lending me your umbrella earlier!"

They had met twice.

Once, on the day Saminato fell—when they defeated the rat-type Gate Beast, and she had raised her fist toward them.

And just now—

When Klaha had gone to fetch Ziel and handed an umbrella to the outer patrol team heading home.

"Did you notice I returned it?"

"Yes, as soon as I got back... Um, what are you doing now...?"

"Washing my dog. Since we were out for a walk anyway."

As she spoke, the woman ruffled the head of the medium-sized dog nestled between her legs. The dog, soaked from the rain but looking pleased, squinted its eyes.

"My dog loves water baths. Hates regular baths, though."

"Huh..."

That was all Klaha could say.

Washing a dog in the rain would just make it muddier... or so she thought, but relationships between people and their pets varied. So, for now—

"Thank you for your hard work," she bowed her head.

"Are you okay not resting? Night shifts are pretty tough, aren't they?"

"Yeah, but I actually just got taken off night duty."

"Huh?"

"Ziel-sensei is basically handling it alone now. Ugh, I hate it. Being not strong enough. Makes me wish I had trained more seriously. Even Chikano is—"

—doing her best, she murmured.

She glanced toward the watchtower.

Klaha followed her gaze but was more focused on her words.

Not strong enough. Should have trained harder.

Ziel is handling it alone. Doing her best.

Meanwhile, she—

"Oh? You already sick of it?"

The dog let out a small whimper.

Both the woman in front of her and Klaha turned their attention back.

"You’re the one who wanted to come out. How selfish, huh, little pup?"

She held her umbrella between her shoulder and neck, cupping the dog's face with both hands, rubbing vigorously.

"By the way, Klaha, you didn’t know about the schedule change?"

"Uh, no, I didn’t."

"I see. Your daytime shift probably hasn’t changed, but you can pick up the new night shift schedule at the office. Might be good to know Ziel-sensei’s schedule, just in case."

Wouldn’t it be?

Klaha nodded honestly, "It would. Thank you. I’ll go check right away."

"No problem! Alright, pup, time to head home."

"See ya," she waved, leading the dog away.

Klaha waved back and watched her leave.

Then—

Once again, for what must have been the umpteenth time today, she thought.

She had done nothing, and it was pathetic.