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　With her vision wet with tears, Tesfia ran on with an unstoppable gait. She had been so exhausted, but now she only wanted to run away, and she could keep running as if she were pushing.

　Why am I so sad, so pathetic...why can't I stop crying, my thoughts are so jumbled up that I can't think of any reason for it.
　My vision only wavered erratically as if I were looking at the surface of the water from the bottom of the water.

　Sad, frustrated, or disappointed in myself, I guess a little bit of all of these mixed emotions resulted in tears being shed. So, no matter how much you wipe them away, they just keep pouring out one after another...

　If I could just complain back, I would feel better.
　If I could talk back as I always do, the gulf would not have deepened. The reason I can't do that is probably because it's Ars.......if it wasn't Ars, I would have said it back, even if it wasn't out of spite. If this is the academy and not the outside world, that is, if this is the academy, Tesfia moves her feet to shake off the regret that passes.

　Stumbling, Tesfia went up the creek.
　How long did she run, it was a short run, but it may have been a long time in time. It was about the time she felt that way when the moon peeked occasionally in the sky and was hidden.

　The outside world was so far down in the night that she couldn't look around. Only the chilling sound of the creek shook her eardrums, and the area was tinged with a quiet night color. I don't know when we left the mountain stream, but the place where Tesfia was located was on a gentle slope, slightly off the creek.

　He didn't remember parting the trees, but Tesfia was clearly lost. Still, she was not so far from the sound of the creek that she did not feel impatient.
　Even when she shook her face, her spirits were heavy, and Tesfia's feet were terribly heavy against returning the way she had fled.

　The stinging wound on her cheek was keeping her in place as if it were a tail.

　Unable to move forward or backward, Tesfia was unable to move forward or backward, and she squatted down like a lost child.

''What should I do...''

　In the even colder outside air, Tesfia shrugged and rested her chin on her crossed arms in her lap. Words spat out from there, with no place to go, drifted through the air, accompanied by white breath.
　After wiping her eyes one last time, Tesfia opens her mouth in a small way to mock herself.

''Really, I'm a child........ but he's that guy too. You don't have to hit anything it hurts.....................it doesn't hurt.

　She didn't know if the seeping pain was really coming from her cheek or her heart. It was just a throbbing pain.
　And when she verbalized and reaffirmed the pain, her eyelashes got wet at the same time.

　She could strongly feel the cold air crawling over her shrunken body, stealing away her body heat. And I felt helplessly tiny as I tried to endure even that cold. It's not that he was stubborn, but his head and body were standing dumbfounded like a lost child.

　What snatched Tesfia's blocked-up consciousness was the expectation of what if, when he saw it.
　A small light flickered out of the corner of his eye, and he thought it was the one that had come for him.

　At the very least, he wiped the drops around his eyes so that they could be seen.
　Then, as she turned her head, Tesfia was struck with an intense sense of discomfort. Whether it was Ars or Loki, she would carry a light with her to walk out in the dimly lit outside. Naturally, they wouldn't be carrying any kind of artificial light.

　It was probably due to magic, and the little flame-like lights seemed to flicker faintly.
　The distance was still far away, and that place was across the valley where Tesfia would be now. It looks like a fireball hiding in the dense forest, but the problem is that the light is still far away.

　But the problem is that the light is not coming along the creek. More to the point, even if Ars and the others came for me, why from that direction.......

''What........''

　Clearing his small doubts, Tesfia hurriedly climbed up the slope to a high point. Trying not to lose sight of the flickering lights, she ran up the slope at once, reaching the top of the cliff.
　Poking her hand into the surface of the tree while catching her breath, Tesfia looked up.

''--!

　The small lights that we thought were one were coloring the forest, illuminating it in countless ways. There were so many of them that a hundred would not be enough, and they even seemed to be gradually moving towards us.

　No, they were definitely moving. Tesfia felt as if the entire area where the lights were lit was being moved by the oppressive feeling as if the entire ground was being moved, and Tesfia felt as if she was about to lose her back.
　It was here that she knew that it wasn't an artificial one. If it was, then there was only one possibility left.

''Demons--''

　The more I strained my eyes, the more I felt dazzled by the flickering lights. Small grains of light covered the surrounding area in a horrifying way. I'm not sure how far that light goes, but just thinking about it makes me cower.

　-- This is the 【Night Party】...?

　Tesfia slowly turned around at the hair-raising anticipation. She continued to follow the endless lights with her gaze. It straddled the ravine to the land where Tesfia was, and it was dyed bright red.

　From her place, she couldn't even see how many demons were behind her because the trees were in the way.

　Hiss, Tesfia, who quickly held her mouth as she started out like that, blocked it so that she wouldn't make any more noise, even if it was a scream. The lights that faintly crossed his vision from between the trees, unlike the small fireball he wanted in the distance, flickered at a distance far enough to be visible.

　It wasn't just one, either, and the eerie fireballs were increasing in number immediately after that as time ticked by. At this distance, they would be noticed with a single movement.
　Immediately after thinking that, a rough breath began to tremble in my throat.

　She didn't have the energy or strength left to fight it as it gradually approached, so she could only wait for it to find her.

　A moment later, apart from the fireball, an unexpectedly nearby bush made a crunching sound and something closed in on Tesfia.
　The hand that had been holding back the scream hung down as if it had given up, and the strong body reflexively squeezed out a voice.

　Cah................That high-pitched scream instantly conveyed a muffled sound to her ears.
　Yes, her mouth was covered as she pressed down. The hand that was pressed so forcefully that her back hit the trunk made Tesfia feel close to her.

　She gingerly meditated and flailed about, but in addition to her mouth, if her arms were grabbed and covered so closely that they were covered, the poor girl now couldn't resist.

''Mmmm....''
Shut up. Shut up and don't talk.

　When he opened his eyes in horror, there was a familiar face with a dumbfounded look in his eyes at Tesfia.
　It was Ars, pressing against the trunk, his hand covering Tesfia's mouth with his own. His forehead was covered in beads of sweat, perhaps from running, and his body was giving off heat.

''You really do love to get into trouble, don't you? But still.........''

　A subdued voice murmured in Tesfia's ear.
　Ars, who had skillfully slipped through the crowd of demons up to this point, came to this place and took it into view once again.

But even so, what is this number? Suddenly they pop up and make my head hurt.

　In the road to this point, Ars has only seen 【Nightwalker】 demons. In other words, other demons don't come into contact with [Night Walker] and hide.
　However, this demon was even said to be unable to escape if it encountered them in the outside world, so it has a nature that is excellent at tracking them.

I'm sorry, but you should keep your mouth shut for a while longer. If they find you, it will be quite troublesome.

　Even in this darkness, Tesfia looked back at Ars's eyes at close range, but she didn't get the cold impression that was directed at her earlier, and that's exactly what she saw in the small, hateful eyes that he usually showed.
　As he was told, Tesfia nodded.

''Listen carefully, the [Dark Night Prowler] detects magic power. Once they are detected, it's difficult to escape from them. So, consciously stop the magic power that naturally leaks out. Calm down, you can do it.

　The small sword she holds, 【Sukihime】, is one that collects and stores this leaked magic power, but unfortunately, once it leaks out of her body, it is detected.

　At Ars's eyes, which are staring straight ahead, Tesfia also nods a small nod.
　I lightly close my eyes and calm my mind. It's the same as training in magic manipulation, just hold the magic power consciously and hold it down so it doesn't leak out of your body.

　The breath that leaks from the space between Ars's hands begins to set a steady rhythm.

　The next time she opens her long-lashed eyes, the magic power that was constantly leaking out of Tesfia's body begins to converge.