Fresh blood.

　Running through the earth and advancing through this twilight world. It feels like a long time ago now. But I was indeed in that twilight for two years.


"....die.


　I pierced the goblin's head with the Invisible Blade, and I continued on my way. But the further I went, the more I felt as if I was trapped by something. And the tingling in my right arm never stopped. The more time passed, the more the imprint on my right arm proceeded to erode. I felt as if I was ceasing to be human. Now that I think about it, I've been progressing in such a state for a long time.


''........''


　I hear someone's voice. But I don't know who it is.


　What in the world am I.........




"....U........or a dream.......


　I wake up. I think I was dreaming of something. But now I can't remember it clearly. But if I can't remember it, then it's probably not that important.

　I'll be getting ready soon. By the way, I'm planning to visit Ellie again today. Sherry is planning to go hunting with Gil-san at dusk, but he's going to stay at the base this time because he's afraid of becoming overpowered if I'm there. I'm not sure if it's on the way, but I'm supposed to accompany Ellie-san's research for a bit.



'Excuse me.
''Um ... yeah ... no, no, that's not food ...''


　What a goofy sleeper.....................and now I have to wake up Ellie. She says, "I think she's probably asleep, so you can wake her up on your own". So I shake her shoulder. As usual, she's not sleeping in her bed, she's propped up on her desk...............but I'm sure she's sleeping soundly.


'....Five more minutes.
No, that's the one that goes on forever.
...coffee.
What?
I want to make coffee...
Okay.


　When I was told that, I poured instant coffee powder into a cup in the room and poured boiling water into it. For some reason, there seems to be a large stock of coffee in this room, and I can clearly see that they are always drinking it.


''Yes, I brewed it,''
Yeah, thanks.


　Still in a daze, Ellie's eyes are still not fully focused. Even so, perhaps because of the smell of coffee, she manages to raise her body and drink the freshly brewed coffee with Zuzu.

''........Yulia-kun, you're good at brewing.
No. You just put in the flour and pour hot water, so anyone can do it.
'Well, that's true, too. It's a different feeling when someone lets you in.


　He's finally awake, and is starting to be able to talk properly.


'Well, I'm going to go take a bath then,'
There's your underwear and a change of clothes in there, so bring them all together.
What, wait...


　Ms. Ellie took off all her clothes, and her underwear on the spot and put them in the throw away basket, and then went straight to the next room. As I had guessed from yesterday's incident, she seems to live here completely. No, depending on how you look at it, it may seem like she's isolated...but now is not the time to think about that.

　I took out my underwear and clothes at random from the place I was instructed to go and put them in front of the bathroom. I know I shouldn't be looking at a lot of things, but I still knew I'd get in a lot of trouble if I didn't, so I had no choice but to do as I was told.

　Then we talked about Dusk again.


'So, about the twilight, are you on to something?
It's all in my submission, but...
'Of course I read it. But I want to hear it in your own words. Actually, there are things I may have forgotten.
'Although...'
When did the Twilight Syndrome erosion begin?
'It's been a few days since we went out into the twilight.
You don't see any signs until then?
'Yes. That was the first time.
Yeah. So, what else...


　I then told Ellie more about the events at Twilight. She takes notes as she listens to it. Incidentally, Ellie-san is a special class anti-magician, but her main focus is on research. It seems that her combat skills are also quite high, but it seems that her own personality makes it more suitable for her nature to stay indoors and study. I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this in the article.


　And when I was talking with Ellie-san, several hours had already passed.


''........Okay. So that's what it's like. Thank you, for keeping up with the long story.
No, you've been very helpful to me.
Speaking of which, you're going to another city tomorrow, right?
Yes, sir.
Yeah. Well, I'll see you later.


　We shook hands for the last time and I said goodbye to Ellie.



　◇



Hey, Julia!
Gil, hi.


　When I come to the dining room, I just run into Gil.


'You've been to Ellie's?'
'Yes. I was called in.
Isn't he the same guy?　I've been cooped up in my study for years.
Haha but, well, it's important to study about twilight.
That's true. Well, it's kind of pissing me off that I'm fighting in the twilight for that guy, too.


　After receiving our meals, we sat down at a nearby table and chatted. By the way, I have a steady curry and Gil has a daily set meal.


I'm not going to be able to get it right. I'm not going to be able to get it right.
'What?　Is that so?
He looked nervous at first, but he was the strongest of our group. I tried to support you, but you were totally fine on your own. I was doing just fine at level three.
''I see. Even at level 3, it's normal....


　I know Shelly has gotten stronger, but I haven't seen the bottom of it yet. But Gil's praise of her must be considerable.


'I wondered what it would be like to be Bell's apprentice, but that's a monster.
Is it a monster?
Oh. You look just like Belle. Honestly, I don't think I can beat Belle, only in combat within a three-meter radius. But Sherry felt the same way as Belle. That spacing strength is uncommon. Maybe, just maybe.
'You mean Sherry is a special class anti-magician...?
'Well, yeah. There are more and more special class anti-magicians who are young these days, but I'm not against it. Even if they do.
Well....


　Sherry will be a special class of anti-magician. I'm sure that would be a delight. But I'm sure that if that happens, we'll be stepping into something more dangerous. Special Class Counter-Magicians are indeed strong. It is a realm that only the strongest of humanity can reach. However, the Special Class Counter-Magician is not invincible. In the past, many special-grade demons have died in battles. Some of them have been killed by demons.


　It would be superfluous to worry here, but I couldn't rejoice with my hands.


''Come to think of it, did Yuria ever meet with a higher level demon race when she was in the twilight?
''Well I have encountered intelligent demons before, just in case.
What about the demons?
Are you a demon? No, I haven't seen her in those two years.
'It's funny to think about it. I haven't encountered any demons in the past few years. Especially at level 4 or 5, I've encountered demons. When it comes to a special level versus a mage losing, it's almost always against a demon. But.........after all, there hasn't been any movement in the past few years......what's going on......


　The last part of the article was like talking to myself, but I've never met a demon race called demons. In the documents, they have an appearance close to humans, but they are ranked high among the demon race, and there are individuals whose abilities surpass those of special-grade anti-magicians....

　I've fought a high-level demon race with high intelligence in those two years, but I don't know about the existence of demons. What does that have to do with anything........