To Ziel,

Looks like Lililia somehow managed the large-scale reinforcement.

Just wanted to report that for now.

—Eunice

Ziel—who is known as the Dragon Slayer, the Re-Sealer, and an Exceptional Combatant, and who is rumored in places he has never even set foot in to turn all demons to lifeless husks with a single swing of his sword—

did not become this strong on his own.

In fact, quite the opposite—he strongly believes that without someone to teach him the sword, he would never have reached his current level of strength.

And the one who taught him was a man named Valdfried.

To put it plainly—he was a man who took Ziel in when he was wandering aimlessly, and for that, Ziel respects him deeply.

"Ohh, that bastard Saminato is actually asleep. Snoring away without a care in the world, huh?"

"—Could you show a little more consideration!?"

Since they had been traveling separately for a while, there hadn’t been many occasions for anger.

The three of them—Ziel, Valdfried, and Chikano—had come to Saminato’s room. As soon as they entered, Valdfried’s remark made Chikano’s face twitch.

"Snoring away, huh... This is the first time I’ve ever heard someone describe my father in this condition like that..."

"He’ll wake up sooner or later. Not much different from being asleep, really."

Well, in the meantime, I’ll keep getting stronger while he just lies there, getting weaker, widening the gap between us—he added, half-seriously.

Ziel listened to this, thinking—

That’s right.

Come to think of it, this guy had always been this laid-back.

It seemed that, over time, his memories had been polished and glorified, and his respect for Valdfried had only grown—but in reality, the man was as carefree, rough, and downright sloppy as ever. A middle-aged man who embodied irresponsibility.

After the deadly midnight battle, as dawn broke and things finally settled down, Valdfried had listened to all the explanations and nodded, saying, "I see," before unilaterally declaring, "Let’s go to Saminato’s room," and dragging them along.

And now, he was placing his large palm on Saminato’s forehead.

"Inner energy activation, huh? Not bad for your age. Especially you, brainy kid. You’re terrible at meticulous stuff like this, aren’t you?"

"I practiced with Chikano before. Thought it’d be useful."

"Cheeky little..."

"Just be happy about your disciple’s growth."

Valdfried let out a dismissive snort, then blurred his gaze as if searching for something.

"…He’ll last three weeks."

Ziel glanced sideways at Chikano at those words.

Three weeks. They had estimated two weeks between the two of them, but now they had gained an extra week.

Should they see it as a whole extra week?

Or as merely one more week?

"…I see," Chikano replied, her expression a mix of both perspectives.

"Thank you, Master."

"Don’t mention it. This kind of thing happens all the time. …But even so, if we don’t settle things within a week or so, it won’t matter."

Ziel sighed, pushing his glasses up and rubbing his forehead—another headache to deal with.

"Poison, lifespan, defense, external-class magical beasts, Oni… What else was there?"

"‘Phasing.’"

"Oh yeah, that. Man, there’s so much to do, it’s starting to get fun, damn it."

They still hadn’t solved the mystery of ‘Phasing.’

For some reason, Valdfried had been able to strike the Gate Beast with his secret sword technique in a situation where the ‘Phasing’ ability didn’t activate, and he had managed to slay it. But even the man himself said, "I don’t get it," so they were far from unraveling the secret.

To be honest—

Ziel had felt quite relieved the moment he knew Valdfried had arrived.

But in reality—

"Master, do you have any clue about ‘Phasing’?"

"Not a damn thing. Don’t expect me to think."

—This was the reality.

Ziel could only let out a long, deep sigh.

His sword had barely been useful this time. Missed chances, delays—once again, he was reminded that sheer strength wasn’t the sole key to combat. This, too, was part of his own immaturity.

He needed to reassess everything from the beginning—just as he was thinking that—

"But you know, I do have a clear idea of what we should do next."

Valdfried suddenly declared.

Ziel's eyes widened involuntarily.

"Really?"

"Have I ever lied to you?"

"Yes."

"Forget it. …Alright, I’ll turn it into a quiz. You young folks are so much sharper than us old-timers. So, what’s the first thing you should do in a situation like this?"

Tick, tick, tick.

Valdfried mimicked a countdown with his voice.

Ziel glanced at Chikano—but neither of them had an answer.

"Wrong."

Valdfried made an ‘X’ with his thick fingers.

"Lucky you. Still got something to learn from me."

In a tone far lighter than his swordsmanship, Valdfried declared—

"In times like this, you start by handling whatever’s within your reach.

I’ll give you some advice and make some time for you—so go scold those kids properly."

Late at night, after receiving treatment,

they had been told not to push themselves too hard and had been sent off by the clerics who had attended to them. Returning to the dojo—

they had gone together to thank Valdfried, the swordsman who had saved their lives.

But before they could,

he had ruffled their heads roughly and cut them off.

"—I guess I’m getting soft like a doting grandpa."

He murmured to himself.

"You must be exhausted, but wait in that room for a bit. Sleep if you need to—someone will come get you."

He spoke in a gentle voice.

And so now—

Klaha was sitting in a small room alongside Icca.

"…………"

"…………"

Both remained silent.

To say it wasn’t awkward would be a lie.

But no matter what, Klaha thought—

She would accept whatever Ziel had to say.

She had acted on her own, taken on a task beyond her abilities, failed, and put Icca’s life in danger.

She had to take responsibility.

Even if Ziel told her she was useless and no longer needed.

She would accept it.

Because it was the truth.