“…Um, Ziel-san.”

She thought it might be meddlesome, but she called out through the sliding door.

Beyond the dusk, Klaha could see a shadow shift.

“Huh? Oh. What’s up?”

“I thought it was about time for the night shift, so I came to wake you. Sorry for disturbing your rest.”

“Oh, crap,” she heard him mutter.

There was a flurry of heavy footsteps, followed by the sounds of something being slapped, then his voice: “Okay, got it, okay, picked it up.”

Finally, the door slid open.

“I completely overslept… Thanks for waking me. You saved me.”

“Not at all,” Klaha replied with a shake of her head.

After all, this wasn’t something she needed to do. If he had really been late, one of the disciples assigned to the night shift would have come to wake him.

Rather, had she woken him unnecessarily early just to put her own worries at ease? Ziel was the kind of person who could probably get to his post even if he woke up three minutes before his shift.

As she pondered this, she mentally added it to her “Things That Didn’t Go Well” list.

“Klaha, you didn’t have a daytime shift today, right? What were you up to?”

“Huh?”

The question came out of nowhere.

“Ah, no, I’m not trying to pry or anything,” he added quickly.

“No… um, I borrowed the training hall and practiced my swordsmanship for a bit.”

For about seven or eight hours.

There was the matter of fatigue carrying over to the next day, and compared to Ziel’s twelve-hour shifts, it was hardly anything at all.

“I figured… So, how’s it going? Anything on your mind? Anything you’d like to ask about?”

“Huh?”

“I mean, it could be about specific techniques, training methods, whatever. If there’s something you’re struggling with or something you want to do but can’t quite figure out yet. Oh, and of course, if there’s anything I’ve taught you before that isn’t working out or that you don’t fully understand.”

He asked again, “How about it?”

Ziel’s words made Klaha think, if only for a moment.

There were too many things she lacked.

Too many things she couldn’t do.

Too many things she wanted to be able to do.

“…Um, sorry. Could I take some time to sort through my thoughts first?”

“Ah, of course. Sorry. Every time I see you, I end up thinking about this stuff… If I really cared, I should just set aside proper time to teach you.”

He apologized.

All she could do was shrink her shoulders and say, “Not at all.”

“If it were something simpler… well, ‘simpler’ might not be the right word, but if it were a less complicated situation, I could stick around and teach you properly. But for now, could you wait just a little longer, until things settle down?”

“…Of course. Please, don’t worry about it.”

“That helps. Thanks,” Ziel said with a small smile.

She couldn’t find the words to respond.

All she could do was say, “I’ll show you to the meeting point.”

They stepped out into the hallway, where the sky was painted in an eerie red-purple sunset.

“Whoa… That’s some crazy color today.”

“It is.”

“The scenery doesn’t really change, but seeing the sky like this reminds you that the seasons are passing. Feels like spring.”

Klaha nodded.

Her response was so dull that she added it to her mental “Things That Didn’t Go Well” list.

She walked Ziel to the group of disciples he would be working with for the night shift. In return for her trivial, self-satisfying task, he bowed his head to her.

Watching them disappear toward the mountain, Klaha thought:

If I make him worry every time he sees me—

Then what’s the point of me being here?

She had nothing left to do.

Maybe she should just go to sleep.

She really wanted to practice more. She wanted to grow stronger, faster. But in this situation, it would be irresponsible not to conserve her strength in case something happened.

She laid out her futon, turned off the light, and in the deep blue darkness, she watched the faint shadows of raindrops trickling down the paper screen, like black ink.

Then she realized—

She had forgotten to give Ziel an umbrella.

Would it still be raining by morning? Should she go meet him? …No, that would just make him worry more.

Why hadn’t she done things properly when she had the chance?

Unable to shake off her frustration, she pulled the blanket over her head, already certain that tonight would bring nothing but bad dreams.

Unlike a bed, a futon was laid directly on the floor.

That was why—

She could feel the faint tremors of hurried footsteps far away, reverberating through the wood, reaching her eardrums.

“—What…?”

She opened her eyes.

She listened, straining her ears.

She didn’t know what was causing the noise, but she could at least tell which direction it was coming from.

She sat up.

Since she had gone to sleep in her regular clothes, she left the room just as she was.

The further she walked, the more she understood.

Something was off.

The footsteps were frantic, urgent.

Something bad was happening.

That thought spurred her forward.

And then—

She saw a group of disciples standing still in her path.

“Did something happen?”

“Whoa—”

At the sound of her voice from behind, they jolted in surprise.

Then, with uneasy expressions matching her own, they answered, "Something seems to have happened over there. But Chikano-sensei told us to stay put."

"Oh, but wait. We’re supposed to let church personnel through..."

Everyone present turned their eyes to Klaha.

She nearly took a step back from the weight of their stares.

"Does that mean... anyone who can use holy magic is allowed?"

"Then maybe Klaha should go. You can use it, right?"

"Yes. It's not very powerful, but..."

"We can't use it at all, so go ahead."

At that, she wasn’t sure if she really should be the one going. But after being told so much, it would feel wrong to refuse.

She gave a small "Excuse me" before slipping past them.

Even before reaching the room, she could already hear the voices.

"This is bad, this is bad, this is bad! Is backup still not here?!"

"They're sending word now—Chikano, suppress your strength! The antidote won’t work in time—"

There was no longer any doubt.

Klaha immediately understood that this was an emergency and broke into a run.

The door to the room was wide open—no need to hesitate before entering.

Inside, Chikano and a cleric were desperately working over a man.

Saminato.

One look at his deathly pale face was enough—even without formal training, Klaha could see it.

He was dying.

"Are you alright!? Is there anything I can do to help!?"

"Kla—"

From the voices I had just heard, I gathered that they were short on hands, so I spoke up. Chikano's eyes widened for a brief moment, but she quickly grasped the situation.

"Here!"

She pounded the tatami beside her with both hands.

"Sit down! Provide support!"

"Yes!"

"Use healing magic! Follow his instructions!"

The other cleric in the room didn't even lift his head.

But even so, he shot out orders without a moment's pause.

"How much can you use!? Can you handle fractures!?"

"Burns are my limit!"

"Then switch out with me and activate this detoxification charm! I'll take over the healing magic. Ready? One, two, three!"

"Yes!" I answered loudly.

Klaha took over from the cleric who had been handling it until now, channeling magic into the detoxification charm pressed against the wound, focusing on Saminato’s recovery.

Most of it was clear just by looking.

The wound on Saminato’s right side, inflicted by the Thirteen-Gate Oni—from there, poison was seeping out.

It wasn’t a toxin a human could endure… Seeing it up close, Klaha reaffirmed that fact. The detoxification charm in her hand was powerful; as long as she held it, most poisons would have little effect. Even knowing that, the sheer toxicity of this one was terrifying to behold.

Until now…

The fact that Saminato had survived with this poison in his body seemed like a miracle.

Which meant…

That miracle was now on the verge of expiring.

He had likely endured the poison thanks to his extraordinary internal energy. But for some reason, after nearly two weeks since the wound was inflicted, that balance had finally collapsed. What Chikano was doing beside him was an advanced technique, one only possible for highly skilled martial artists—stimulating and controlling his internal energy externally to keep it from failing.

"Sorry I’m late!"

With a burst of motion, another person arrived.

Klaha was so focused on maintaining the detoxification charm that she couldn’t spare a moment to look up and see who it was… But then, the person spoke.

"Okay. It's alright now. Thank you, I'll take over."

A gentle hand rested on the detoxification charm Klaha was holding.

When she caught a glimpse of the embroidery on their sleeve, she finally recognized who it was.

Reinforcement from the clergy.

"On the count of three, let go. One, two—"

They counted together—"Three."

From that moment on, it was the professional’s turn.

"Strengthen that side more. No, it's too weak. Match Chikano’s flow, or it’ll become unbalanced. Yes, yes, just like that. Now, I’m raising this one—"

Klaha recognized them immediately.

The priest in charge of this nearby branch… At present, the most skilled healer in the Anti-Beast Coalition.

She wondered if there was still anything else she could do.

But the priest’s instructions were meticulous, her demands high—it didn’t seem like there was a place for Klaha to step in.

Even asking if there was anything else she could help with felt like an interruption.

Ah, but… To keep the wound clearly visible, warm water and clean cloths—there could never be too many of those.

After retrieving them and returning, the priest looked up.

"You’re quick on the uptake! Just leave them there—no, wait! You can be my assistant! Join in!"

"Yes!"

Holding the detoxification charm with her right hand, while assisting with another task using her left, Klaha did everything she was told with utmost focus.

By the time the work was finished, the date had already changed.