The night was beginning to pale when the corridors of Hayate Castle still held the smell of blood and smoke. Voices of soldiers drifted from a distance. "The north gate is secured." "Take the wounded to the kitchen." The night raid had apparently been repelled. Under Minamoto Yoshihayate's command, the ninja of the Togari had scattered——that much, at least, had reached Hina's ears as she ran through the corridors. But that wasn't what occupied her mind. It was Kagemaru. He had collided with her at a corner of the hallway, then vanished, drenched in blood. Blood was seeping from his left arm and his side. "I was ordered to take you with me. But I——" ——the rest of those words still caught in the back of her ears. Yoshihayate had told her to return to the inner palace. But her feet wouldn't stop. Hina ran toward the weapon storehouse. --- The weapon storehouse——a dim building tucked away in the innermost reaches of the Sanno-maru, used only for storing arms and armor——its door pushed open to release the smell of iron, oil, and dust into her nostrils. Spears leaned against the walls. Bows hung from the ceiling. A single lantern flame flickered in the darkness. Hina looked at the pillar in the very back. There. Kagemaru sat with his back against the pillar. Still in his black ninja garb, he pressed his left arm with his right hand while holding cloth against his side. That cloth was already stained a dark red. His sharp crimson right eye recognized her, then his gaze slid away to the side. "[cold] Don't come," Hina came. Without hesitation, she knelt beside him and drew a small vial of disinfectant from her pocket. This was something she had made in the castle's kitchen using materials purchased from Rin——the only pharmacist in the castle town——from the medicine shop "Yakumo-do." It was a liquid purified of impurities through distillation, and when applied to wounds, it prevented infection. In the modern world, this was commonplace. In this era, such knowledge did not yet exist. "[serious] Show me your arm," "[cold] ……It's fine," "[serious] It's not fine," Without allowing him to protest, Hina unwound the cloth that had been wrapped around Kagemaru's left arm. Two long cuts ran along the outside of his arm. Deep. They hadn't reached the bone, but without disinfection, infection was certain at this depth. Hina brought the mouth of the small vial close to the wound. "It will sting a little," She said this, then let the liquid fall. Kagemaru's brows drew together slightly. He made no sound. That was all. Hina wondered if ninja training produced such composure even in moments like this. For an ordinary person, this depth of wound would have drawn a cry of pain. Hina began wrapping the wound with torn cloth. Her fingers were trembling. Not from fear——she couldn't quite understand why they were shaking. It was quiet. Outside the storehouse, soldiers moved and made noise, but this small corner seemed cut off, isolated in silence. Hina moved to the wound on his side. She opened the overlap of his black garb and examined the injury. Not as deep as the arm wound, but the skin was split across a wide area. She applied the disinfectant in the same way, layering cloth over it. As she continued her work, Hina asked. "[whispers] ……Why did you cut down your comrades?" Silence came. Someone shouted outside the storehouse. The sound quickly faded. Silence returned. Kagemaru was looking at the wall. There was nothing on the wall. Yet keeping his gaze averted, taking a long time, he spoke in a voice that was barely a breath. "[whispers] ……Because you were here," Hina's hands nearly stopped. They didn't stop. She bit her lip and continued wrapping the bandage. "Because you were here"——just seven words. But their weight fell into Hina's chest and sank all the way to the bottom. A man who had undergone six years of training as a ninja of the Togari had prioritized emotion over duty. As payment for that, in this very moment, he bore wounds and bled. He had betrayed the organization. He had cut down his comrades. All of it because Hina existed——that's what he was saying. There were no more words after that. Kagemaru sealed his lips and looked at the wall again. But his ears were red. Even in the dim light of the storehouse, it was unmistakably clear. Hina made the final knot and secured the bandage. --- On the way back to the inner palace after leaving the storehouse, a retainer called out to her in the corridor. "[serious] Lady Minase. The lord has refused treatment for his left arm——" Hina stopped. "[serious] ……Where is he?" In the administrative chamber. Minamoto Yoshihayate sat alone in the large wooden hall. He was binding his left sleeve of his black kimono with cloth, doing it himself. The binding was rough. He must have done it with only his right hand. His deep indigo long hair flowed from his shoulders, and the sword scar on his left cheek floated in the pale morning light. He didn't turn around even when Hina entered. "[cold] You don't need to come," "[serious] I've come," Hina silently sat before Yoshihayate and drew out the small vial of disinfectant. She unwound the cloth he had bound. The wound ran deep along the inside of his arm. A sword wound. Binding alone wasn't enough. Without disinfection, at this depth, infection would set in. Even the castle pharmacist's herbal treatment might not be in time. The moment Hina tilted the vial to apply it. Yoshihayate's right hand reached out and grasped her wrist. It wasn't a strong grip. But it was the kind of grasp that had no intention of letting go. Hina stopped moving. Yoshihayate was looking at her. Not with his usual stone-like silver left eye. There was something——something Hina had no words to call——in the depths of that eye. "[serious] Don't go anywhere anymore," Just one sentence. The man called the Demon General grasped Hina's wrist and didn't avert his gaze. Not a command, not a plea——just that alone, conveyed. The very center of Hina's chest became warm, painfully warm. Her pulse beat in an irregular rhythm. Kagemaru's voice saying "Because you were here" still lingered in the back of her ears, yet the warmth of Yoshihayate's hand spread from her wrist through her entire body. Two emotions occupied her chest simultaneously, and she realized both were real, both were true. After remaining like that for a while, Hina slowly applied the disinfectant to Yoshihayate's wound. Yoshihayate didn't release her wrist. Hina didn't pull away. --- Past midday, Hina returned to the weapon storehouse. Kagemaru was still there. His back against the pillar, his eyes closed. He opened them when he heard Hina's footsteps. That was all——he didn't try to sit up. Hina sat beside him. She was about to tell him not to leave the castle. But Kagemaru spoke first. "[cold] I can't go back to Togari anymore," His voice was quiet. He wasn't afraid. It was a dry voice, as if simply stating a fact. "[cold] Gensai doesn't let traitors live. The pursuers are probably already out there," Gensai——the leader of the Togari, Tsukimori Gensai. A man who had built a mountain-based armed group over forty years, with a base north of Hayate territory. A man whose father had been killed by Yoshihayate's grandfather, Yoshiarashi, and who had been waiting for his chance at revenge ever since. It was under Gensai's orders that Kagemaru had infiltrated Hayate Castle, intending to take Hina away——as the "priestess from another world." But Kagemaru had broken his orders. "[whispers] ……Why would you go that far?" Hina began to ask. Kagemaru didn't answer. Instead, he looked away from her, toward the wall. His profile was expressionless. But his ears——they were stained that color again. Something became clear in Hina's mind. She belatedly realized that her feelings for Kagemaru had truly grown. At the same time, the sensation of Yoshihayate's hand hadn't faded. Both feelings were real, both were true——and that fact devastated her. She couldn't choose. She didn't know how to choose. After leaving the storehouse, Hina stood with her back against the corridor wall for a long time, unable to move. --- Past midday, Tae called for her. In a room of the inner palace. Tae, her white hair neatly tied back, sat waiting before the sliding door. Since that day of the council——the day Tae had stepped in alone and collapsed Sakura's trap with nothing but numbers——Hina had become unable to express in words how large a presence this woman had become in her heart. When Hina sat across from her, Tae looked at her with clear black eyes and opened her mouth quietly. "[serious] There are three things I must tell you," Hina nodded. "[serious] First. Gensai will not give up," Hina's back tensed slightly. "[serious] That man calls you the 'priestess from another world.' He believes that you, who came through time slip, possess some kind of power. Just because the first night raid failed doesn't mean he'll withdraw his hand. He will come again and again——think carefully on this," Hina bit her lip. "[serious] Second. Kagemaru cut down multiple comrades of the Togari. That means he will be formally treated as a traitor by the organization. The pursuers may already be in motion. Kagemaru's presence in this castle is a danger to this castle as well," Hina's voice wouldn't come. Kagemaru's life was being hunted because of Hina. That realization pierced her chest before fear could. "[serious] Third. The Nagashino family to the south has begun moving troops to the border in coordination with the Togari's movements. Last night, a report came from the scouts at Fumoto Fortress——the fortress at the southern edge of Hayate territory," The Nagashino family——the great lords who ruled the Nagashino Plain spreading south of Hayate territory. They had been enemies for fifty years, and were rumored to have made secret pacts with the Togari as well. The Togari to the north, the Nagashino to the south, and within the castle, Kagemaru hunted and pursued——everything was becoming entangled around Hina. Tae saw Hina fall silent and softened her tone slightly. "[gentle] The fact that you yourself have become the seed of conflict doesn't change. But if you've decided to live here——" Tae paused once. "[serious] Then hold resolve," She stood and left the room. Her footsteps faded down the corridor, and silence returned. Hina remained alone in that room. --- At dusk, Hina climbed to the castle tower platform. The very top of the three-tiered watchtower. Both hands gripping the stone railing, she looked down at the castle town. The autumn air was cold against her cheeks. The Hayate castle town was stained orange by the setting sun. The surface of the Kawase River gleamed with light. The ferry crossing, the medicine shop Yakumo-do, the tea house Kawase-tei——everything dissolved into that color. In the distance, the silhouette of the Kasumi Mountain Range was visible. Mountains ranging from eight hundred to fourteen hundred meters in elevation. Somewhere in those mountains lay the hidden village of the Togari. Where Gensai was. Where the pursuers hunting Kagemaru might already be moving. "Don't go anywhere anymore." Yoshihayate's voice repeated in her mind. "Because you were here." Kagemaru's voice overlapped it. They came in turns. Both were real, both wouldn't fade. Hina gripped the railing tightly. She still didn't know how to return. Her smartphone's battery was dead, useless for anything. Gensai wouldn't give up, the Nagashino family was moving, and Kagemaru was being hunted. There was no answer that could solve everything, not one that Hina possessed now. And yet. （Crying wouldn't help anyone——she had learned that on that first night） When she had first arrived through time slip, unable to speak the language, nearly executed, confined——she still hadn't given up. The Hina of now was different from that fi