The sky before dawn was still pitch black. At the edge of Mizuho Village, near the well, Yomi pulled the cords of her pack tight. Without making a sound. So no one would wake. She left no note. If she left one, they would chase her. No—if Senkū chased her, it would only be because he didn't want to lose a physician. Because the number of patients was growing. Because she was necessary as combat strength. That was all. (If that's all it is, then what's the point?) Yomi shouldered her pack. Her deep purple long hair swayed in the night breeze. Her amber eyes looked once toward the direction where Senkū and the others were sleeping. Ever since Kazeru arrived, Kazeru had naturally settled beside Senkū, and Senkū had smiled with genuine joy, and Yomi—— (Even if it was just hypothetical, even if I came along because of that, doesn't it make me look stupid?) She passed through the village gate and entered the forest. The grass beneath her feet was wet with dew. The trees were dark, and she could barely see ahead. Still, she walked. She hadn't decided where to go. She just didn't want to be here anymore. After walking for a while, her feet stopped. At the base of a large tree, Yomi crouched down. No one was around. No one could hear. Because she was certain she was alone——for the first time, she let herself cry aloud. It was a gasping, choking kind of crying. Even trying to stifle her voice, she couldn't stop it. Words that couldn't be conveyed 3,700 years ago. All the time spent beside him without being noticed. Everything welled up and spilled out now. "……How stupid of me," Yomi whispered, speaking to no one in particular. Her voice dissolved into the night forest. --- Senkū opened his eyes while it was still dim. His hand flipping through the experiment notebook stopped. He'd meant to write the continuation from last night, but for some reason, Yomi's face floated into his mind. That expression that had changed without a sound. (……Hm?) Senkū looked at the place where Yomi had been sleeping. Her pack was gone. Well, she probably just went outside——he thought, but for some reason, he stood up anyway. He went outside the village. Morning dew soaked his shoes. There were footprints beyond the gate. They continued toward the forest. "[serious]……This is a pain," Saying that, he started running. The sample of Medusa's fragment was left sitting on the floor of the hut. His analysis notebook was still spread open. "[surprised]Big bro! The sample——! The data——!" Kazeru's shout came from behind. Senkū didn't look back once. A villager witnessed Kazeru's eyes going wide. "I've never seen that person chase after someone before research," the villager whispered. Others nodded along. The sound never reached Senkū's ears. He just kept running. Following the footprints into the forest. The calls of early morning birds and the smell of wet leaves. Senkū had the chemical formulas for plant aromatic compounds in the corner of his mind, but now wasn't the time for that. The footprints stopped at the base of a large tree. "[serious]Yomi," When she turned around, Yomi's eyes were completely red. She had been crying. She was wiping her sleeves, but it wasn't hiding anything. Her amber eyes were trembling. Senkū's face took on an expression he'd never shown before. Not anger, not confusion——just a face that had lost its composure. "[angry]Why'd you sneak out without saying anything?" He shouted. But in the next moment—— "[serious]……If you're not here, who's gonna treat the patients in the village?" ——he continued. Yomi laughed quietly. It was the kind of laugh that came right after crying. "[cold]For the patients. Yes, that's all it is, like I thought," Her voice was shaking. "I'm only needed as a physician……As Yomi the person, I've been nothing but air to you for 3,700 years," She said it all. Senkū couldn't immediately respond. He couldn't say "there's scientific evidence" or "from a data perspective." Yomi's voice was completely different from usual. It was a wounded voice. He understood that clearly. Senkū opened his mouth. "[serious]That's not true. I——" That was the moment. "[scared]Big brooooo!! The village is in trouble!! Three patients are convulsing at the same time!!" From beyond the forest, Kazeru came running at full speed. His white-silver short hair caught on tree branches, and he nearly tripped. His golden eyes were genuinely panicking. Senkū and Yomi both looked up at the same time. The next instant, they were both running toward the village. The words Senkū had been about to say hung in the morning forest air. Kazeru shouted as he ran. "[surprised]Oh, but big bro, were you two talking about something important?" "[serious]We'll deal with it later," "[serious]We'll deal with it later," Both at the same time. Their voices overlapped. Kazeru flinched and shrank back. --- When they returned to the village, it was chaos. Groans were coming from three houses. A young man was trembling violently on the floor. In the next house, two women were moaning with fever. Villagers were running about in panic. Yomi ran and dropped to her knees. She examined the patient's lips. She checked their skin. "[serious]……It's not an infection," She was calm. It was hard to believe it was the same person who had been crying moments ago. "Chemical poisoning symptoms. The color of the lips and the texture of the skin, plus this convulsion pattern——it's not inflammation. It's toxin accumulation," Senkū received that information and spread a mental map in his mind. The location of Mizuho Village's water source. The collection site where Kazeru had touched the Medusa fragment in the forest depths. The direction the river flowed. "[serious]……The river," "Huh?" "[serious]There's a fragment upstream. Yesterday's rain dissolved it and it mixed into the river. When stone-petrification particles dissolve in water and enter the body, this is what happens," Yomi looked up. Her eyes met Senkū's. There were no words. But both of them moved at the same time. Yomi gave the villagers instructions for cooling the patients and rehydrating them. Senkū pulled out what he could use from his pack. Immediate treatment. Dilute the toxin, cool the body, suppress convulsions. "[serious]Kazeru, tell every villager right now not to use river water. Drinking water only from rainwater or the well. Got it?" "[excited]For real!? Got it!" Kazeru took off running. The fingers on his right hand were still petrified. But he swung his left arm and shouted at the top of his lungs as he made his rounds. Senkū and Yomi moved without saying anything unnecessary. When Yomi said "the patient on the right needs more oxygen," Senkū changed their position. When Senkū said "this patient isn't getting enough water," Yomi calculated the amount. No shouting, no back-and-forth——just facing the same direction, moving in silence. The village began to recover from panic about two hours later. The three patients had stabilized. Their fevers hadn't completely broken, but the convulsions had stopped. Their breathing was steady. --- Evening came, and Senkū returned. He'd gone upstream to the river and surrounded the area around the Medusa fragment with sandbags. An emergency measure to block the flow into the river. Kazeru, acting as a "messenger," had repeated Senkū's instructions word for word to the villagers. "[sad]So I'm just a messenger……" He looked dejected for exactly one second. "[excited]But that means I get to hear big bro's instructions from the closest spot!? For real!?" His recovery was too fast. Senkū muttered, "……You really are something." Yomi heard that from beside him. "[cold]That kind of thinking power, I'll acknowledge," She said it quietly, but clearly. It was her first word of praise for Kazeru. Kazeru's golden eyes lit up brilliantly. "[excited]Yomi praised me!! For real!?" "I didn't praise you," "You totally did, right!? Right!?" "……Go to sleep," --- It was deep night. A small fire was burning. The villagers were already asleep. Kazeru had collapsed and fallen asleep partway through. When Senkū returned after consulting with the village chief about tomorrow's arrangements, Yomi was still awake. She sat in front of the fire, hugging a notebook to her lap. Senkū silently sat down beside her. Hesitantly, but definitely beside her. The flames swayed. Wood crackled. For a while, neither of them spoke. Senkū opened his mouth. "[serious]……What you were about to say in the forest," Yomi's movements stopped. "[serious]Will you tell me?" He said it without any scientific basis, without any logic. It wasn't like Senkū. But Yomi, who had watched all of tonight's events, understood that it was his true feelings. A long silence followed. Yomi didn't answer. She pressed the notebook cover tightly with her fingers. On that cover——"To Senkū——" was faintly visible as the opening line. Senkū's eyes stopped there. He'd seen that handwriting before. The same as the notebook he'd left at the Science Kingdom's lab—— "[surprised]……That notebook," He started to say, but Yomi pulled the notebook closer to her chest. Hiding it. But she didn't turn her back. The two of them were still facing the fire together. The flames swayed. Yomi's profile was there in that light. A small mole at the corner of her eye. Her lips pressed tightly together. And——her fingertips, trembling just slightly. Senkū still couldn't put a name to his own feelings. But for the first time, he thought that saying nothing would be wrong. Yomi's notebook still continued beyond "To Senkū——" but Senkū didn't know that yet.