I can manage on my own. That’s what I think.
But looking at how things are these days, it seems I can’t survive without the help of others.

“Okay, so this is how you wear it…”

I let Lena take care of me.
I don’t really have any other options.

“Since I know who you are, it’s okay not to hide your face.”

It wouldn’t really be well hidden anyway.

“Ah, is that so?”

“I’ll call you Lena.”

“You knew that…”

“I didn’t particularly plan to attack you. I was just a bit out of my mind from the medicine.”

That’s right.
I have no desire to attack Lena at all.
At least not right now.
And seeing her taking care of me shows she’s a good person.
There aren’t any bad characters among the heroines.

“I’m really sorry about last time.”

Lena bows her head in apology.

“I don’t have anything to say, but you… um, that is… you did something wrong!”

“It’s okay. All the wounds have healed.”

“Really?”

Is she saying that with so many injuries on my body?
There are indeed a lot.

“That’s because these were old wounds. The one from the sword has healed completely.”

The bruises aren’t Lena’s fault.
Showing her my injuries changes her expression.
It’s not her fault.
It’s the academy students’ fault.
But who was it again?
I feel like I’ve heard the name before.
But I’ve forgotten it.

“I’m really sorry. If you want, you can stab me once!”

“Ah, no…”

I have no intention of doing that.
Just because I got stabbed doesn’t mean I’ll stab someone else.
I don’t go around attacking people unless it’s due to the drugs.
I’m not bloodthirsty.

“But what about Si-hu?”

I’m curious about where Han Si-hu is.
Why is Lena taking his place?

“He went out to buy some necessary items.”

“Necessary items?”

“…Since I lived in the slums, I didn’t know much about it, but there are still a lot of things we need.”

I feel confident that as long as I have some medicine and food, I can manage.
I wouldn’t say I’m particularly picky.
So I didn’t intend to ask Han Si-hu for anything.
I’m somewhat satisfied with this situation.

“Si-hu probably doesn’t know what a girl needs, so I told him. You, Seo-ah, also left it to me, a girl.”

That seems to be the case.
After all, Han Si-hu must have felt burdened looking at my wounds.
In that respect, having someone like Lena around might be more comfortable for him.
If I’m lucky, it’s a good thing.

“Right.”

For a moment, I felt like I was a doll being dressed.
By the time I was waiting, it was all done.

[10 hours 2 minutes]

“Have you been staying with Si-hu all this time?”

“Here?”

“No, since before. I was a bit curious why Si-hu hid the fact that he had a friend like you.”

That was the right choice.
Yoo Seo-ah’s existence should have remained hidden.

“I’m just a trash human.”

Ah, I used harsh words.
My body is feeling sluggish, and my thoughts are becoming sluggish too.
Words that come out without filtering are stronger than I expected.

“…Don’t say that.”

She sounds just like Han Si-hu.
It seems friends are friends after all.
They match well and it’s nice.

“It’s true. Even now, it’s hard for me to keep myself together alone.”

“It’s just because of the medicine right now that you can’t help it. It’s fine. I heard you can be treated. You’ll get better.”

I believe that too.
Well, it’s medicine, so it should work for treatment.
Even if it works, I don’t know if it’ll be useful.

“I don’t want to hold you back like this.”

“It’s not like that.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll disappear someday. Just bear with it for a little longer.”

That’s probably the best consideration I can offer.
That’s what I think.
I had to seek out Han Si-hu because I needed the medicine.
I should have somehow prepared the medicine on my own.
But the doctor told me to kill Han Si-hu.

“No, it’s not a bother. I care about you more. No one wishes for you to disappear.”

Lena is struggling.
She’s trying hard to elevate my value in some way.

“Right.”

She’s a good person.
She’s lively and kind.
Even if she seems a bit thoughtless, she’s kind.

‘A superior version of Yoo Seo-ah?’

Right now, she’s a bit off and quiet.
Originally, Yoo Seo-ah had a similar vibe to Lena.
Yoo Seo-ah just had plain brown hair, but this girl has glossy silver hair and seems well-groomed, dressed nicely.
The difference between an extra and a heroine is this significant.

“I’ll repay you someday. Thanks for helping me.”

It’s better to express my gratitude.
It’s true that I will repay her.
When a threat approaches the academy, I might be able to help her at least once.
Maybe.

“No, you don’t have to repay anything. I heard that once vacation ends, strange people will start appearing a lot... I heard you’re going to the special class. I don’t know what that is, but you need to be careful.”

I hear warnings to be careful from everyone I meet.
How untrustworthy is the academy?
It’s probably because the state gathers students like conscription.
It’s because the country is in chaos.

“And be careful of the academy students too. There are some with terrible personalities who are strong, and the academy can’t handle them. Especially if they find out you’re friends with Si-hu... some may try to use you.”

The bruises on my stomach are from the academy students.
I’m well aware of the examples of people with strange personalities.
I also don’t want to encounter them.

[9 hours 51 minutes]

There’s still plenty of time left.

“Ah, are you going to sleep?”

I don’t know if all sedatives are like this.
I feel sleepy again.

“…No…”

I won’t sleep.
I’ll sit on the bed.
I need to think.

While I sit there in a daze, I always thought about what I had to do.
How to procure the medicine and when to use it.
How I could maximize the use of the medicine.

[9 hours]

This doesn’t disappear from before my eyes.
It may not be visible for a moment, but it reappears when I become conscious of it.

[8 hours 20 minutes]

My consciousness flickers.
Like a light bulb that has reached the end of its lifespan.
There’s nothing strange about it.

[7 hours 40 minutes]

The light bulb at home was like that.
I still like that shabby house.
Even if it seems like no one would live there.

[7 hours]

Is the battery dead?
I could say it’s an old robot.
It should be replaced with a new model, but it’s an old fan that has been used for decades.
The fan doesn’t spin, but the neck creaks as it turns.

[6 hours 20 minutes]

Even if I put in some lubricant, if the machine itself has defects, it’s meaningless.
It needs to be replaced.
Or it should be donated to a museum as an artifact.
But it’s more like scrap metal than an artifact.

[5 hours 40 minutes]

I think in intervals of 40 minutes.
Think for about a minute, then rest for 39 minutes.
That seems fine.
Maybe just resting deeply would be better than constantly waking up.

[1 hour 11 minutes]

“…Medicine.”

It’s midnight.
I need medicine again.

I feel bad for waking Han Si-hu, so I decide to wait.
He’s sleeping on the living room floor.
Should I cover him with a blanket?

I pull the blanket from the bed and bring it to the living room.
Then I cover him up.

—Thud.

That’s not a sound that should come from covering him with a blanket.
My wrist gets grabbed.
A bit forcefully.

“Si-hu?”

I shouldn’t have touched him unnecessarily.
It was a mistake to wake someone who is asleep.

“I’m sorry for waking you.”

It feels strange that he isn’t fully awake yet.
It seems he grabbed my wrist unconsciously.
I didn’t know he had a bad habit while sleeping.

I can guess something.
The ability to react even when asleep if a bad person comes near.
Maybe he could draw a sword even while asleep.

“Si-hu?”

But why is he doing this to me?

There hasn’t been a time when Yoo Seo-ah woke Han Si-hu up and this kind of thing happened.
Ah, is it because of the drugs?
The black magical energy.
It seems to feel quite threatening to other awakened individuals.

[51 minutes]

Time has decreased.
Just from my wrist being grabbed, this is the result.
I really need the medicine now.

My wrist doesn’t hurt.
There are some marks left, but it’s okay.
The effects of the drugs are still circulating.

I probably look like a monster to him.
I understand.
That could be possible.

Thud.

I somehow manage to pull my arm away.
The hand that was holding my wrist falls back.
That’s scary.
If I woke him, he might choke me.

[45 minutes]

A significant amount of time has been consumed.
Is he always keeping the purification skill active?
Maybe that’s why he instinctively grabbed me.
When I covered him with a blanket before, it was fine.
What’s different now?

Military-grade drug? Sedative?
I’ve taken a variety.

When it was the medicine the doctor gave me, it was fine.
Where did it go again?

[43 minutes]

The medicine.
The one the doctor gave me.
He said he brought it.
As long as Han Si-hu hasn’t put it somewhere else, it should be here.

“Is this it?”

I rummage through the bag that Han Si-hu brought.
It’s a rude action, but I can’t help it.
I’m scared of waking him up.
He must be really sleepy, so I’ll take care of it.

I have a syringe prepared for situations like this.
So I just need to find the medicine.

Even though it’s dark, I can’t turn on the living room light.
The light from the room is enough.

[40 minutes]

This is why I don’t like relying on others.
I’m scared that time will run out.
I liked the house where I could do whatever I wanted.

“I found it.”

It’s not in the bag but on a high shelf.
Standing on a chair, I can reach it.
The blue liquid inside swirls.
Somehow, it seems like there’s less than the last time I saw it.

I’ll go to the room and use it.
The living room is too dark.

[37 minutes]

I unwrap the bandage on my arm.
With trembling hands, I pick up the syringe.
I need to fill it with the medicine.

“Ah, my wrist.”

It’s not painful, but there seems to be a problem.
I don’t know how hard Han Si-hu grabbed it.
The right hand is the problem, so I’ll use my left.

I broke one syringe.
It’s okay; I have plenty of extras.
It seems a bit difficult to manage with just one hand.

[33 minutes]

The urgency rises due to time constraints.
Because the needle of the syringe bent, I can’t use it again.

“Seo-ah?”

“Uh?”

Han Si-hu is awake.
He’s looking at me with his hand propped against the door.

“What are you doing?”

“Hey, I’m going to use the medicine.”

I haven’t done anything wrong.
He said it’s okay to use it when necessary.

“How much have you used…?”

There are two syringes sprawled on the floor.
A small amount of medicine drips from them.

“I haven’t used any yet. So help me. It seems the syringe isn’t working well.”

“If you had said something, I would have given it to you.”

Why is he looking at me with a disappointed expression?
I haven’t done anything wrong.
I’m sorry for rummaging through the bag and the shelves, but it’s because of the medicine.

[29 minutes]

“There’s still time left. Can you give me the medicine from the academy? Even now.”

It’s not too late.
It’s still not too late.
Han Si-hu quietly grabs the medicine bottle.

“What about the medicine?”

“You’ve already used a lot. And I don’t even know what this is yet, so why are you taking it without saying anything…”

I was scared to wake him up.
It would have been better to say something before using it.
But more importantly, I still haven’t used it.

“Ah, I haven’t used it yet. My arm hurts. No, anyway, I haven’t used it yet, right? Are you not going to give it to me?”

[26 minutes]

There’s no time left.
I think there’s been a misunderstanding.
I must have confused something in my sleep.

“I’m sorry, but not now.”

That’s a lie, right?