On the last page of the notebook, a single line remained. "The numerical value of life could not be rewritten." ユーティエ・シルヴァニス read those characters three times under the lamplight. She had written them herself. The events from last night in the abandoned mine—the death of a man she couldn't save, the single phrase Nila had carried with her, "I decided I would make it in time"—still caught somewhere inside her and wouldn't let go. She measured everything that could be measured by numbers. That was ユーティエ's way. But last night's death couldn't be measured. Couldn't be rewritten. (Should I add this to the record too?) She held the pen in her hand, but it wouldn't move. Beyond the window of the outpost, mist flowing from the Schwarze Forest was dyeing Glentzer's wooden palisade white. In the deep silence of night, all she could hear was the wind passing through the gaps in the palisade and the distant cry of something unseen. ユーティエ leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. Or tried to. Just before consciousness faded—《Appraisal》 activated. She hadn't intended it. The habit of her drowsy mind running the ability on autopilot had formed without her noticing. At the edge of her vision, numerical values along the palisade's perimeter began to spread faintly. The usual low nighttime readings—or so it should have been. 【《Appraisal》—Northeast direction・Threat Level Scan in progress】 【Abnormality Detected: Threat value elevation equivalent to several dozen times normal levels—ongoing】 【Target: Multiple armed personnel・Silent movement pattern—individual count confirmable only by silhouette due to mist】 Her eyes opened. (They're here.) ユーティエ stood up in one second. While pulling on her coat, another part of her brain confirmed the outpost's equipment. 【《Appraisal》—Emergency alarm bell・Metal fatigue scan】 【Remaining usable activations: 2】 Two. If she used it tonight, one would remain. That one remaining would be used somewhere. So should she use it tonight and preserve one? Or preserve it now and not use it tonight? —She calculated in one second. The answer came. ユーティエ pulled the alarm bell's rope. The metallic sound rang through Glentzer's night. Sharp, brief, twice—no, only once. Heavy footsteps descended the stairs. ダリオ・ヘルベック appeared. —She could tell immediately he hadn't been sleeping. His black hair streaked with gray wasn't disheveled, and his arm guards showed no signs of being retied. He stood in complete military dress, without a single gap in his readiness. The old scar on his left cheek caught the lamplight. His blue-gray eyes swept the room sharply, then fixed on ユーティエ. "Northeast," ダリオ said. "Yes. Multiple armed personnel in silent movement," ユーティエ replied. "Numbers?" "Silhouettes only due to mist. However, the threat level is consistent with the vanguard of the Red Scythe Gang." ダリオ nodded once. Without a word, he took sword and blade from the weapon rack by the door. The motion contained not a shred of wasted movement. Then the outpost door burst open. "ユーティエ! ダリオ!" ニーラ called out. ニーラ・ヴォルト rushed in. She held a tool bag in both arms. Her pale green hair was disheveled, her cheeks flushed red in the lamplight. She must have run from the clinic—her breathing was slightly elevated. Her golden eyes looked between the two of them alternately. "...I didn't call you," ユーティエ said. "I know," ニーラ replied. ニーラ spoke firmly and adjusted the tool bag more securely against her chest. "The stock of soul-calming grass ran out three days ago. So it has to be tonight. I brought all the equipment I can use for treatment," ニーラ said. ユーティエ and ダリオ looked at ニーラ simultaneously. "...That logic assumes casualties will occur tonight," ユーティエ said. "Yes. Because they will," ニーラ replied. ダリオ's mouth moved for just an instant—something close to a bitter smile. "Set up a treatment base at the clinic. Guide residents while providing care," he said. "Understood," ニーラ replied. ニーラ ran off. ユーティエ watched her back for just one second. 【ニーラ・ヴォルト—Life Force Value: 68/100・Fatigue trend continuing】 The numbers were as always. But the logic in the phrase "it has to be tonight" passed through her chest in a strangely peculiar way. Whether it was emotion or something else, ユーティエ couldn't classify it. "Let's go," ダリオ said. --- From beyond the palisade's northeast edge, residents' screams reached them. "They're here! Outside! Armed—!" ユーティエ ran alone. That ダリオ would handle constructing the interior defense line had been confirmed between them before they moved. She would handle external negotiations. ダリオ would pull residents back. Their roles needed no words. The moment she reached the northeast exit of the palisade, torchlight flooded her vision in backlighting. A figure stood beyond the mist. Only one. Approximately 185 centimeters tall. Fiery crimson hair bound at the back, a deep diagonal scar running down the right side of his face. The corner of his lips curved slightly upward—a cold smile habit, she assessed in less than a second. Multiple presences remained motionless in the mist behind him. He'd left his elite forces back and come forward alone. ユーティエ activated 《Appraisal》 immediately. 【《Appraisal》—Target: Adult male・ゴラン・ヴィーツ (estimated)】 【Combat Power Value: 89/100—highest value measured to date】 【Real combat experience density: Extremely high・Mercenary unit commander class】 The highest value yet. Higher than the pack of fang-jaw beasts. The memory of that night when she'd pushed to her limit suppressing the massive swarm of mist-wraiths came back slightly. The man opened his mouth. "The imperial standard, standing at the edge of such a remote frontier," ゴラン said. His voice was low and calm. Not threatening—closer to confirmation. "Are you ゴラン・ヴィーツ?" ユーティエ asked. "You know the name. A capable frontier police," ゴラン replied. A contained laugh mixed in. But that laugh wasn't emotionally mocking. It was calculated composure, ユーティエ judged. "We are remnants of the Fourteenth Mobile Strike Force," ゴラン said. The Fourteenth Mobile Strike Force—a mercenary unit deployed to the front lines of the empire's south during the southern frontier conflict. After the war ended, the empire abandoned them without paying their wages, erasing any record of involvement. The bandit gang called the Red Scythe Gang was organized by their remnants. ゴラン continued. His voice held no emotional fluctuation. Not anger—the words of a conviction that had accumulated and cooled over long years. "We fought for the empire. We shed blood. When it ended, we were discarded. That is what the Verschen Empire is. A human bearing that empire's standard stands in a frontier like a dumping ground," ゴラン said. While listening to ゴラン's words, ユーティエ reflexively tried to activate 《Appraisal》—to convert that anger, that hatred, into numbers. She couldn't. 【《Appraisal》—Emotional coefficient reading: Out of scope】 【Intervention beyond physical values: Impossible】 Physical values could be read. But "the dignity of one betrayed by the empire" didn't fit into the structure of numbers. ユーティエ turned her gaze inward for a beat. She too—had been judged "E-rank, non-combat type" at the imperial magic academy and systematically mistreated. With just the characters "Appraisal (Information E-rank)" written on her ability registration certificate, ninety percent of her future paths had been closed. Measured by numbers by the empire, sent to the frontier. The reasons, circumstances, and scale were all different from ゴラン's. But the structure of "being discarded by the empire"—that alone was the same. That fact shook ユーティエ—though it didn't show on her face. ゴラン turned his crimson eyes toward ユーティエ. "Will you protect the empire's remnants?" ゴラン asked. A beat. "My target of protection is people," ユーティエ replied. That was all she said. Short, stripped of anything unnecessary. The corner of ゴラン's mouth stopped for just a moment. Perhaps it was a word outside his prediction—for just an instant, the silence in the mist seemed to deepen. ゴラン raised his right hand to fill that gap. The elite in the mist began to move. --- The first wave came. The Red Scythe Gang's vanguard scattered around the palisade's perimeter moved simultaneously from three directions. ユーティエ ran back toward the interior while spreading 《Appraisal》. 【《Appraisal》—Weapon durability manipulation・Initiating】 【Target: Armed personnel in dispersed movement—simultaneous multi-point manipulation reaching its limits】 (It's like the mist-wraiths three nights ago.) The sensation of rewriting over three hundred magical beasts alone that night, consciousness scraped down to its edge, returned as memory. Tonight's opponents were fewer in number but higher in individual combat power. Scattered and melting into darkness, they were difficult to track visually. ダリオ's voice echoed from inside the palisade. "Hold the repair sectors. The old stakes on the north side will be breached. Concentrate the evacuation route there," ダリオ said. A judgment born from real combat experience in the southern frontier conflict. Where Glentzer's palisade was strong and where it was weak—ダリオ understood it and was limiting the places where enemies would likely advance. Residents retreated. Among them were several elderly men who appeared to be self-defense volunteers. "The imperial police are running away again, aren't they?" "The last officer ran after three days." ダリオ turned toward the elderly men once. "Fall back," he said. His voice held no emotion. Only weight. The elderly men fell silent. That was when it happened. One of the elderly men stepped back and his elbow caught the alarm bell's rope. Clang, the bell rang. Silence. ユーティエ unconsciously ran 《Appraisal》 on the alarm bell. 【《Appraisal》—Emergency alarm bell・Remaining usable activations: 0】 ユーティエ quickly wrote on the edge of her notebook. "Remaining: 0." ダリオ's gaze turned toward her. His forehead touched his fingertip for just an instant—a gesture of bitter smile or resignation. ユーティエ, without a word, returned to handling the first wave. From the north side's weak sector of the palisade, one of the vanguard attempted a breakthrough. She dropped the sword's durability to zero instantly. Metal groaned, the blade snapped at its root. Movement stopped. ダリオ's subordinates moved in from the interior to handle it. At the edge of her vision, she could see the direction of the clinic. The light was on. ニーラ was moving. Residents injured in the chaos of the first wave had already been brought in. ニーラ's small shadow moved without rest. 【ニーラ・ヴォルト—Life Force Value: 66/100・Treatment work in progress・Physical exhaustion continuing】 ユーティエ processed the battle situation while turning her gaze toward the clinic direction once more. The numbers held. The third time she turned to look, ユーティエ realized it had become a "habit." The action of confirming ニーラ's stamina value amid the chaos was repeating itself without intention. Why she was doing it—ユーティエ still had no answer. Without one, she returned her consciousness to the battle. --- The first wave reached stalemate. The Red Scythe Gang's vanguard stopped moving. The scent of withdrawal spread through the mist. ゴラン had pulled his elite back—it wasn't a war of attrition. Tonight was reconnaissance. Glentzer's defensive posture, the frontier police's response capability, the weak sectors that would become vulnerabilities—he'd come only to observe. The full-scale assault would be postponed to the following night or later. As he withdrew, ゴラン closed the distance between himself and ユーティエ just once. His footsteps were almost silent. Only his presence drew near through the mist. ユーティエ ran 《Appraisal》 while remaining still. "Your power is not something the empire's system knows of," ゴラン said. His low voice dissolved into the mist. "A power that was measured by numbers and discarded—blooming like this at the edge of a remote frontier," ゴラン said. ユーティエ