Looking back, it had been nothing but days of failure ever since meeting Ziel.

That’s what Klaha was thinking as she walked down the corridor toward the office.

The beginning needed no explanation.

Being abandoned in the highest-difficulty labyrinth… and then spending half a year unable to do anything.

Ziel had told her not to worry about it. When he invited her to join him on this journey, he had said so plainly. But of course, a memory like that, a failure like that, wasn’t something she could conveniently erase from her mind, nor should she.

Even now, Klaha dreamed of it every other night.

The person she had left behind that day… In her dreams, that adventurer never had Ziel’s face. It was always a vague black silhouette. Sometimes, it would perish helplessly within the labyrinth. Other times, it would return, seething with justified anger, to take her life in revenge.

Nightmares weren’t as convenient as reality.

Each time she woke up, she was crushed under the weight of what she had done.

And on top of that, her journey had been a series of disasters.

On the way to this town… she lost to a bear-type magic beast.

During the pursuit of the snake-type magic beast, she failed to quickly pinpoint its location, putting Ziel in danger.

And since arriving at the dojo, things had only gotten worse.

First, she lost to Icca. Then, when she was ambushed by a magic beast, she would have died if Icca hadn’t protected her. And when it came to the the Thirteen Gate Oni—nothing had changed. She had just stood there, watching. She had merely watched as Saminato was struck down.

Failure after failure, so utterly disgraceful, Klaha thought.

It was nowhere near enough to make up for everything Ziel had given her.

All she had done was act as a guide—something anyone could do. Even that, if Ziel simply followed Chikano’s arrows like he did when they fought the rat-type , he could move far faster than relying on her guidance. He didn’t need her. She lacked the necessary ability.

That’s why she had to improve as quickly as possible.

She had to grow stronger, to be useful—

“…Oh.”

She noticed just before she passed it.

She had nearly walked right past her destination, the office. She had barely caught herself, but if she had taken one more step, it would have been another failure to add to her “Things I Messed Up” list… Thinking that, Klaha paused briefly.

She composed herself, making sure none of her thoughts showed on her face.

She wouldn’t let others see them.

She wouldn’t invite pity or concern.

Then, she slowly raised her hand to knock.

“I told you, I’m fine!!!”

It happened in an instant.

A furious shout suddenly erupted from inside the office, loud enough to carry through the walls.

Klaha chose to open the door instead of knocking.

One reason was the sheer desperation in that voice.

The other was that she recognized it.

“I told you, I—”

“Calm down, Icca. This is an order from Chikano-sensei. Complaining to me won’t change anything.”

“——!!”

Icca.

The same Icca who had been struck down by the and had been in recovery…

Now stood there without a single bandage in sight.

He was leaning forward, pleading his case to a seated disciple.

“I know you’re upset, but if you really have a problem, you should—”

“—Forget it.”

Before the disciple could finish, Icca cut him off sharply and turned on his heel.

Which meant, of course, that he was now heading straight toward her.

“—Ah.”

“Ah, um. It’s been a while.”

Before Klaha could ask how he was feeling, Icca didn’t wait.

She couldn’t tell if he had bowed slightly in greeting or if he had simply lowered his gaze.

With his bangs shadowing his eyes, he silently brushed past her.

“Hey, wait! …Tch, that little—”

The disciple called after him, but Icca didn’t even acknowledge it.

All that remained was the disciple’s irritated voice echoing after him.

Then, the disciple turned toward her and raised an eyebrow.

“You’re Klaha, right? The one from the rumors. What’s up? Something happen?”

“Ah, well,”

She explained her reason for coming, about the night shift.

The disciple nodded in understanding and casually handed her the duty roster.

“You’ve got it rough too, huh.”

He added those words with a lighthearted chuckle.

“Well, at least Ziel-sensei is calm. A bit oblivious, sure, but he’s manageable… Unlike, well, you saw.”

“Did something happen?”

“It’s not that big of a deal,” he said.

But his tone clearly said, Please, ask me about it.

“He’s still recovering, right? So Chikano-sensei left Icca off the duty roster, saying he needed more rest. That made him snap.”

“Snap…”

So that’s why he had been so worked up just now.

Klaha hesitated, wondering if it was meddlesome to ask, but still, she found herself saying:

“Is it really okay not to go after him? You did call out to him earlier.”

“I’d love to, but if I leave this spot and something happens, I’ll be in trouble too. I’ll wait until the next shift change or ask a disciple who looks free.”

“I see.”

Klaha nodded.

First, she looked at the duty roster she had received. Then, she checked the clock on the wall—there was still time before her break ended.

After thanking him, she left the room.

And then, she started looking for Icca.

Of course, the question of what she could do weighed on her mind.

By all accounts, Chikano’s decision had been the right one. Someone still recovering shouldn’t be given heavy responsibilities. Ever since Saminato had collapsed, Chikano had managed everything brilliantly. It was impressive—hard to believe someone her age could handle things so well. Klaha couldn’t help but respect her.

So, she had no reason to argue against that decision.

And she never thought that someone like her could say anything that would actually help Icca.

But even so—she couldn’t just leave him alone.

The pain of being unable to do anything… Maybe it was arrogant to compare it to her own experience, but even so—

“…Maybe this way.”

The dojo was still as busy as ever since that day.

On rainy days like this, the hallways always had a few lingering water droplets left behind. Klaha examined them closely, determining which were the freshest and which direction they had splashed in as someone walked.

She moved forward, making her footsteps just loud enough to be noticed.

If Icca didn’t want to talk to anyone, this would give him the chance to slip away.

But—

Maybe he hadn’t noticed.

—

Turning the final corner, she found him.

Icca stood there alone, head lowered.

Silent. Motionless.

Had she seen him like this in the middle of the night, she might have mistaken him for a ghost.

His body wasn’t facing down the corridor.

Instead, he was turned toward the sliding door beside him—toward a closed room.

Klaha knew what room it was.

It was the room where Saminato was resting.

“—Um,”

“—!”

Before she realized it, she had spoken.

Icca spun around, his movements sharp.

He had been outside. The tips of his still-damp hair sent tiny droplets scattering onto the floor.

“…Do you need something?”

“Ah, um…”

She had spoken without thinking.

Now, she had no idea what to say.

What could she say? Was there anything she should say?

In the end, the only words that came out were utterly ordinary.

“Are you okay?”

“——”

She realized it was a mistake the moment she said it.

Tears welled up in Icca’s eyes.

He furrowed his brows deeply—probably trying to hold them back.

His pale throat trembled as he forced out the words.

“——I should have been the one to die.”

“Wha—”

She didn’t have time to ask what he meant.

With a sharp motion, Icca turned his back to her and strode away, his footsteps echoing loudly.

She wanted to call out, to stop him, but the words had no meaning.

She stood there, uncertain what to do with the hand she had half-raised.

Just standing there, frozen in place.

Four days later, Saminato’s condition took a sudden turn for the worse.