Outside Schale, Mari glanced at the starless sky before turning back to remind me:
"Sensei, it looks like it might rain later. If you're going far away, please make sure to bring an umbrella."
"Yeah, I know."
I smiled and waved.
"See you later, then."
"Okay, see you later."
Only after Mari's figure disappeared from sight did I turn around and take out the still-warm card.
Only someone as pure-hearted and kind as her, who had long since entrusted her feelings to me, would truly hand over her trust just because of a few meaningless words.
Sighing inwardly, I took out the card and checked the newly obtained authority.
...
Conversion Authority: [Holy Blood]
Description: The holder may consume lifespan to grant healing properties to the blood flowing from their wounds. The healing effect is proportional to the amount of lifespan consumed.
Source: Successful capture of Iochi Mari.
...
Another authority that uses lifespan as the price...
I could not help frowning.
And judging from the description, could this perhaps be used on others as well?
After imagining it slightly, a chill suddenly ran down my spine. I immediately abandoned the thought of reopening the wound on my abdomen that had not fully healed yet. Instead, I returned to the Schale building, charged the Shittim Chest from 99% to the final 1%, then searched out a spare sewing kit. After briefly sterilizing a needle, I pricked the tip of my finger.
The droplet of blood that emerged was infused, according to my will, with roughly one day's worth of lifespan, yet outwardly it still looked completely ordinary. Unable to observe anything unusual, I placed the finger into my mouth and sucked the blood away.
Then my brows rose slightly as I pulled my finger back out.
The wound had already quietly disappeared.
...But the injury on my abdomen showed almost no improvement.
Which made sense.
Under normal logic, conversion should naturally involve loss. The healing gained from sacrificing one day of lifespan should at most equal a single day of the body's natural recovery. Otherwise, it would be far too unreasonable.
For now, that was where my experiment ended.
Returning to the bedroom to check the Shittim Chest again, I saw it had fully recharged.
"Arona! Fully revived!"
The energetic cheers of the girl rang out from the tablet.
"Until I fall, I won't let anyone hurt Sensei!"
I praised her warmly.
"You're really dependable, Arona."
Though I very much wanted to enter the virtual space inside the Shittim Chest and confide some of the emotions I had been bottling up, I still had more important things to do.
When I went downstairs and reached the entrance, I subconsciously looked up at the night sky where clouds obscured both the moon and stars, recalling Mari's earlier reminder. Only then did I realize what I had forgotten.
"Right..."
I murmured.
"It's about to rain."
After saying that, I shook my head and went back to get an umbrella in the quiet night.
...
Boom, boom.
Inside a long-abandoned building in Trinity's ancient ruins district that had been repurposed as a base, after several consecutive explosions, a girl's miserable cry emerged from the lingering smoke.
"Th-this feels awful, it hurts so much... Why is life so..."
The sobbing voice gradually weakened until the dust slowly dispersed, revealing the green-haired girl collapsed motionless on the floor.
Looking at Hiyori, the weakest-minded among them, the only one who had panicked in the face of the sudden ambush and tried to flee right into a trap, the three members of Arius Squad all fell silent.
Had their faces not been hidden, they probably would have felt even more awkward after seeing each other's expressions.
After all, Saori had only just told everyone to stay calm.
"She clearly targeted Hiyori first."
Misaki spoke casually, placing all responsibility for the situation onto the enemy being too cunning.
"So she started with the sniper..."
Saori coldly made her judgment.
"...She wants close-quarters combat?"
Before she even finished speaking, a faint cracking sound suddenly came from the ceiling above.
For the highly trained Arius Squad, who were already on full alert, they reacted almost instantly.
"Above us, grenade!"
Misaki shouted sharply.
However, what dropped from the ceiling the next moment was a burst of explosive noise accompanied by an intense flash bright enough to blind someone.
It was not just a grenade, or rather, not only a grenade.
The real weapon was the flashbang deliberately thrown after predicting they would instinctively look upward once they noticed the attack.
Yet this cunning trick had also been anticipated by someone present.
After the blinding light faded, Saori opened her eyes and glared toward the white figure exposing her own position while retreating into the distance. She roared out the other girl's full name:
"Shirasu Azusa! Don't think you're getting away!"
"Leader."
Having received corresponding training, Misaki quickly recovered from the dizziness and immediately tried to stop her.
"If you chase her, that's exactly what she wants..."
However, before she could finish speaking, Saori had already rushed out.
Despite her confidence in her own strength, Saori, who had practically taught the other squad members how to fight, had also unconsciously passed down parts of her own thought process to them.
Especially Azusa, who likewise used an assault rifle as her primary weapon and specialized in guerrilla warfare, had been Saori's proudest student.
And earlier, when Saori criticized Azusa for "charging straight ahead without thinking," it would not be an exaggeration to say that behavior itself came entirely from Saori's influence.
In other words, despite her cold exterior, Saori was actually the one in Arius Squad whose combat style burned with the most passion.
"...Well, can't be helped."
Long aware of this, Misaki helplessly shrugged before glancing to the side.
"Princess, how's Hiyori doing?"
Atsuko gestured in sign language that there was no need to worry. Hiyori had merely fainted.
"I see."
Misaki nodded and interpreted Atsuko's next series of gestures.
"...This could turn into a prolonged fight? Well, if Azusa's actually serious, then yeah..."
But just then, a rapid series of gunshots rang out in the distance, sounds they knew all too well.
"...Already caught up to her?"
As if answering her question, another violent booby trap explosion sounded immediately afterward.
After that, gunfire and explosions intertwined continuously. Even an amateur could tell from the sounds alone how intense the battle had become.
"No helping it."
Misaki glanced at Hiyori lying on the floor.
"Let's head over too, Princess."
If they wanted to end this battle quickly, then the only option was to use their numerical advantage and try to cut off Azusa's escape routes.
The purple-haired girl wearing the mask nodded, stood up, and joined the fierce pursuit.
...
The train finally arrived at the station.
After sitting through the entire ride, I slowly stepped off the platform with my umbrella as a cane and waved toward the girl absentmindedly listening to music nearby.
"Ah, Sensei..."
Kayoko removed her headphones, but suddenly raised an eyebrow.