From darkness to light.

　Open your eyes.
　The ceiling looks familiar.
　This is........the school's medical room, huh?
　He must have been brought here after he broke the ban and lost consciousness.

　There is a weight around her stomach.

　The influence of the forbidden spell still lingers.
　That can't be helped.
　The body, which had become immobilized due to the burden of the four evil wars, was forcibly made to move by the noise potion, and then the use of more inhibitions was added to it.
　The question is how long I was asleep for, but--

Hmm?

　What is it?
　The area around my belly is not only heavy, but it feels somehow warm.
　A warmth close to human skin, or something like that.
　...................
　An unpleasant feeling.
　I rolled up the quilt with a flop.
　This is--

In the 2000s...

　Shana-san, who had been burrowing into the futon, was close to her body and was sobbing in her sleep.
　The weight of her belly seemed to be due to Shana-san's weight, not the load of the forbidden curse.
　Why are you sleeping here?
　And she's wearing quite thin.
　He shakes his body and calls out to her while trying hard to escape his consciousness from the brown breasts that are deformed from being pressed against him.

''What are you doing, Shana-san!　Please wake up.
Hmm?

　Shana, who opened her thin eyes, snapped them open.

''Oh--Oh!　You're awake, Kurohiko!
Well, look out!　Look out!　You're skipping out on your clothes too much, you know!　I mean, what is it?　Dressing like a shirt on top of that underwear, like you're aiming precisely at a specific demographic!
Sensational, isn't it?　I learned to dress like this from the latest books of the Empire.

　Shanna-san straddles me and strikes a s*xy pose while straddling me.
　Has the empire gone crazy from being beaten up by the Four Deadly Disasters?

''It's quite intriguing, isn't it?''

　A wink flew across the room.

It's a good thing that you're not the only one with a mature appearance," he said, "but when you think about it, when Makina and you are on good terms, it's obvious that a mature appearance is not necessary!

　Shana-san with a good face.
　From a while ago, a glimpse of black underwear came into view, and how can I say it....I'm having a very hard time finding a place to look at it.
　As for my breasts, they're barely hidden by a single shirt........

'There is a glimmer of hope,'
'I'm afraid I'm going to see something I shouldn't see along with a glimmer of hope, so could you do something about your clothes first?
No!

　Shana hides her front with a theatrical gesture.
　But her expression was too flirtatious.
　It was too obvious and had the opposite effect.
　I became rather calm.

''Huh........I won't answer any of Shana-san's questions until I get my clothes in order. Besides, I'd like to know how you got to where you are now, and what your current situation is.
He's so dull.

　Any sign of teasing from Shana disappears.

'Well, I think we're done playing around with this stuff.
How long have I been asleep?
Don't be surprised to hear that, okay?　You've been asleep for a week. He's been asleep for a week.
A week?

　Shana chuckles as she puts on the front button.

'You know, the Machina's handmaiden can't seem to do her job properly these days.

　Turning my back to Shana, I sit on my bed.

'When you've finished dressing, tell me about the past week I've been asleep.
Before that, I have to report to Machina that you are awake. The first thing to do is to inform the Machina that you are awake. It's a very good idea to have a good idea of what you're talking about.

　In the middle of listening to the sound of his clothes scraping, something occurred to me.

'By the way, Shana, why were you under my covers?'
No?　

　Shanna-san inadvertently pauses and sticks out her tongue in a pose with a teehee.

''Huh, I see........--hmm?

　What?
　What?
　While I was asleep what?

Okay, I'm done getting dressed.　Now, you can look at me now!　Well, now you have a problem with that?

　I faced Shana.
　She was properly back to looking like a military minidress.

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

　Yeah, you're right.
　Let's pretend you didn't hear that.


　...Shanatris Two Elves, be careful.


　　　　　　　　　　*

　Soon after.
　Lisa, the master of the sickroom, came in.

'Oh, you're awake?　I have a strange connection to this sickbay, Lord Cursed.
Miss Lisa.
''I'm just relieved that he's not going to sleep for years like those who died in the Holy Ruins. If that were to happen, it seems that the headmaster was planning to take them into his mansion to take care of them.

　Leesa, leaning on the edge of the desk, asked Shana.

'Apart from Sagara Kurohiko waking up, nothing in particular?
Hmm. And no one came to visit.
Okay. Thanks.
Where have you been, Lisa?
''Oh I was going to have lunch since Lord Shanatrice said he would watch you while I went to eat. He told me I could go and relax, so I guess it's been a while since I've had a leisurely meal. Shannatrice-dono seems to be a close friend of the headmaster, and he seems to know you as well, so I thought it wouldn't be a problem to leave it to him. Let's see, that expression on Kurohiko's face........did something go wrong?
No.

　Shanna-san sighs.

It's a good thing that we didn't get any good results because I fell asleep... Well, I guess we should take our time with the collection and look for opportunities. I think it's a bit problematic to do this without his consent, after all.

　I think it's a little too much.

"Collect?

　Lisa rolls her eyes.

'Were you going to take blood or something?'
Well, in terms of bodily fluids, yes, they are similar. By the way, Lisa, have you thought about coming to my laboratory in the Ruvell Argan?

　Shana-san changed the topic naturally.

''That story........If it wasn't for the Makina Renausphere in this school, I would have packed my bags immediately.
The Makina guy is really well-liked. This is the biggest obstacle to recruiting, but it makes me happy.

　From what I've heard, Lisa-san seems to be a better person than I thought.
　The other day, Shana-san invited her to come to Ruvel Argan as a researcher.

　To add to that, Shana-san also invited Clarice-san to join her.
　However, just like Lisa, Clarice politely declined the invitation because of Makina-san's presence.
　Shana said with a slumped shoulders, saying that she wanted that broad and deep knowledge on hand.

　After that, I received a light diagnosis from Lisa.

It seems there is no particular problem. If that's the case, you should be able to return to your normal life now and be fine.

　There doesn't seem to be any aftereffects.
　The animal didn't seem to take over my consciousness, and I managed to come back alive safely.
　After being silent for a while, Lisa-san became a bit mysterious.

''I suppose I should consider that left eye a medal.

　The words were a bit surprising.
　It was because so far, he had been given nothing but sympathetic words.

''You're probably tired of hearing words of sympathy by now so I'm going to send you some praise.

　I touch my left eye.
　I notice it now.
　The eye patch - and the construction seems to be reasonably solid.

"Makina told me the gist of it. You saved everyone in the world by trading your left eye for it. And, by extension, you may have saved this Christofia.
Oh, no, you're overreacting.
'No, you can be proud. And let me thank you again. Thank you for saving Christofia ... and Makina and the others.
But it was all thanks to you guys.
"You have a lot of nice people around you that you don't even dare to mention but, well, I'll tell you.

　Lisa snorted.

'It's fine to be humble, but excessive humility can be disrespectful to the other person's appreciation. If you go too far, you'll come across as mean-spirited. Sometimes it's better to accept frank and honest gratitude that should be received, rather than being humble about everything. Keep it in the corner ... somewhere in your heart.
Yes, I understand.

　Come to think of it, I think Makina-san told me something similar before.

'Sorry........not that I wanted to lecture you.
'No, I appreciate it. Because you're saying that for my sake, right?

　Lisa let out a long, thin breath and looked up at the ceiling.

'Not good at all. I haven't been getting much sleep lately either, and I'm feeling a bit tired.'

　Lisa tapped her temples twice with the bottom of her palm.

'Sometimes I forget the face I'm meant to put on for the surface and I'm the one who isn't. If I could, I'd try to be less preachy and more of a jolly older woman...'

　　　　　　　　　　*

Then I'll go tell the headmaster you're awake. Therefore, would you mind taking care of Kurohiko for a little while longer, Master Shanatrice?
Mm, you're on it. In the meantime, make sure we get our agreement this time.

　I smiled at Shana while being aware of that feeling of Cecily-san, I smiled at her.

'My chain prohibition ... you've seen it before, right?
Well, I guess the last good time was when I was asleep...

　Incidentally, the reason why Shana-san stayed in Renowthred for the past week instead of returning to Rouvelargan was apparently to examine the bodies of the Four Deadly Disasters.

　Lisa loosely folds her arms and smiles.

'But you've changed a lot since we met. It's not just that you're no longer overwhelmed, it's that you've changed in so many ways. People do change, don't they?

　Before she left the room, Lisa said, jokingly.

''So the headmaster had a good eye for things, I see. I guess I should have actively spit on him earlier on, too.''

　　　　　　　　　　*

　After Lisa left the room, I learned a little about the past week when she was unconscious from Shanna-san.

　The whereabouts of one of the four evildoers is still unknown, and although the Holy Tree Order spent three days searching all over the capital, they were never able to find him.
　It is believed that the Four Deadly Plagues may have escaped from the capital.
　The discovery of one of the cut off arms of the Four Deadly Sins seems to have helped to support the theory of their escape.
　However, even now, the vigilance itself has not been lifted.

　It seems that the damage to the buildings and the people of King's Landing was less than we had imagined.
　The purpose of the Four Deadly Disasters was not to destroy buildings, and the large number of golems that Noyes had summoned were going straight down the cobblestone streets because their purpose was to kill the people of the refugee areas.
　The only major damage would be the Great Clock Tower that was destroyed by the Four Deadly Disasters.
　Although some buildings and cobblestones needed repair, it was fortunate for Christofias that there was no damage to the extent that he could hold his head up.

　However, the human damage........mainly to the Holy Tree Knights was considerable.
　While the ordinary people of King's Landing were currently returning to their normal lives, the Holy Tree Knights could not return to normal even after the crisis had passed.
　Quite a few Holy Jews were killed in the battle against the Four Deadly Disasters, and five of the eight Holy Tree Eight Swords were also killed out of eight Holy Tree Knights.
　The Knights of the Sacred Tree are currently planning a plan to rebuild the Knights of the Sacred Tree while also considering the temporary recall of retired holy warriors.
　It is said that the attack on the Holy Ruins by the Knights will also not be carried out for some time.

　When I got that much information, the door to the medical bay opened.
　Makina-san, who looked a little out of breath, was standing there.
　Behind her, Lisa-san was also there.

'Makina-san,'
I heard you were awake.
As you can see, I'm full of energy. Lisa has given me her seal of approval.
It's good, really good.

　With a breath of relief, Makina-san looks at her pocket watch.

'Well, since we're here what... can I ask you to come to the Headmaster's office?　There's a lot of things I need to talk to you about... although we can talk a little later if it's not convenient for you.
No, I'm not...

　Gulp.
　My stomach bug rumbled.

'Oh, and if you're hungry, my untouched snacks are in the headmaster's office...'

　I'm embarrassed and get my face down and say in a whisper.

''Well then, I'll take that,''

　Then I left the medical bay with Makina-san.
　Shana-san and Lisa-san will remain in Sickbay.
　They were going to exchange some more ideas about the noise medicine.
　There was a small amount of medicine left in the bottom of the bottle, and Shana-san examined it a bit.

　By the way, those two guys seemed to be totally on the same page with each other....

''Huh?''
What?

　A short walk out of the Sickbay, we ran into a couple of guys who seemed to be heading for the Sickbay.

Kuro, Hiko is...awake?

　The red-haired child's eyes widened and

Eww!　That was great!　Kurohiko~!

　He ran up to me and jumped straight into my chest.

Ira-san I'm glad you're okay.

　I hold Ira-san in my arms just enough so that our bodies are not too close.

'I heard that, Kurohiko!　I was very active, but it was very, very hard....?

　Tears were pooling at the corners of his eyes.
　A mixed expression of happiness and pain.
　Ira-san fixed her gaze on my left eye with tears in her eyes.
　Then she made an expression as if she were gulping something down, and then said emphatically, "I've decided.

''I've made up my mind.''
Have you decided?

　Ira-san nodded his head yes.

''Until now, I wasn't positive about becoming a holy warrior and joining the Order, probably because of my relationship with the Arkwright family. But?　After what happened with the Four Deadly Disasters,........more specifically, when Currier and the Four Deadly Disasters were fighting, the fact that I wasn't able to be of any help to them made me very uncomfortable.......no, no, that's not all. I've realized that I like people who fight to protect others... So I'm going to work harder and make sure I join the Order of the Sacred Tree. And then, I'll work harder and harder to become someone who can protect the people of this country. I--

　Ira-san took my right hand, with both hands.
　Squeezing, she squeezes my hand.

''I'll become a holy warrior strong enough to protect the people I care about.......!

　You can feel the firm determination.
　It's not just kind.
　Ira is strong.
　She must have gone through a lot of scary experiences this time.
　Still, she was determined to become a holy warrior and defend her country.

''Yes.''

　Like Cecily, I think they're really strong kids, too.

'I'm sure Ira-san can be,'
'Yes!　Atashi, I'll do my best for both Kurohiko and the holy warrior!
Hmm?　Me?
Ha-ha, I'm out. The usual.

　It was senior Lei who said with a caracara laugh.
　It seems that the second and third year students who had been away from the royal capital have already returned.

It looks like you had a tough time while we were away in the capital. I don't know if it's right to say thank you for your hard work.......I don't know if I should say that lightly.

　After looking at Ira-san with a softened expression, Rei-senpai said.

'Thank you for protecting me, Kurohiko.
That's what I'm all about, sir.
I see. You're very brave.
Yeah, you can count on it.
Bye.

　Senior Ray came up to me and twined his arms around me.

''From now on, you can count on your onee-san, right?
Oh, um, Ray-senpai...?
Hey, hey, Ray!　Too much sticking!

　Ira-san tangled with the opposite side of her arm.

'Hey, why are you even hooking up with Ira-san!
It's a flower in your hand. You must be so jealous.

　Ha!
　Come to think of it, Makina-san was here too.

'S-Sorry, Makina-san!
No, you don't have to apologize, but I just wish you'd be more respectful of the time and place and occasion, you know?
''Ira-san, senior Ray, I have to go to the headmaster's office now.
Oh, sorry. Sorry. So, Ira, I guess we should go, shall we?
'Yeah, well I'm sorry, Headmaster.

　Makina-san smiles back at Ira-san, who bows her head posture correctly.

''It's okay. I can understand why you're so happy to see Kurohiko awake.

　Senior Ray looks at the back of the hallway.

''We're going to be in the cafeteria for a while, so if you finish your errands early and have some free time, I hope you'll be happy to show up.
'All right. I'll go to the dining room when I finish my errands early.
Well, I'll see you later, Kurohiko!

　Then we parted from Ira and the others who waved at us, and we headed back to the headmaster's office.