The infirmary was unusually quiet.
Hitake opened his eyes to the bitter smell of mana herbs and disinfectant.
His entire torso was wrapped in bandages.
Three broken ribs.
A concussion.
Acid burns along his side.
The healer had called him lucky.
Hitake considered arguing, then decided breathing was already difficult enough.
“Stop moving.”
“I wasn't moving.”
“You were thinking about moving.”
Hitake stared at her.
“How did you—”
“Years of treating idiots.”
She walked away.
The bed beside him shifted.
Zena sat there with one arm bandaged, watching him.
“You nearly died.”
Hitake smiled weakly.
“But I didn't.”
“That isn't funny.”
He looked at her.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then John broke the silence.
“Everyone made it.”
Hitake turned.
John stood near the window, his cracked pauldron hanging from one arm.
“The twelve civilians,” he continued. “All alive.”
Hitake nodded.
“Good.”
John looked down at his damaged shield.
“You were right.”
“About what?”
“Protecting people doesn't mean dying for them.”
A small smile appeared on John's face.
“I think I'm starting to understand.”
Hitake smiled back.
Then the infirmary doors opened.
A girl walked inside.
Long black hair.
Perfect uniform.
Calm eyes.
Mirai.
Hitake recognized her immediately.
He also immediately looked away.
Zena noticed.
So did Mirai.
“Hitake.”
He didn't answer.
“Hitake.”
He sighed.
“What?”
“I came to see you.”
“I'm alive.”
Mirai stared at him.
“That isn't exactly a greeting.”
“It's an update.”
John suddenly became very interested in the window.
Zena's lips twitched.
Mirai stepped closer.
“I watched the mission recording.”
“Okay.”
“You fought a Level 8.”
“Barely.”
“You commanded the evacuation.”
“Team effort.”
“You've changed.”
Hitake finally looked at her.
“I know.”
There was no bitterness in his voice.
No anger.
Just indifference.
That seemed to bother her more than anything else.
Mirai folded her arms.
“I have an offer for you.”
“No.”
She blinked.
“You haven't heard it.”
“Still no.”
Zena looked away to hide her smile.
Mirai studied Hitake.
“You really aren't interested in me anymore.”
Hitake frowned.
“Why would I be?”
The question hung in the air.
Mirai's expression stiffened.
Hitake hadn't meant it cruelly.
He simply didn't understand why she expected him to care.
His life had become complicated enough.
He had Zena's terrifyingly possessive attention.
He had Nefertiti constantly watching him.
He had a mysterious bloodline.
A strange dungeon.
And a father whose past seemed increasingly dangerous.
Adding another problem sounded exhausting.
Mirai took a slow breath.
“In three months, a B-rank Gate will open.”
Hitake said nothing.
“My team will be involved.”
“Good luck.”
“I wanted you with us.”
“No.”
This time, Mirai's eyes narrowed.
“You're refusing without even asking what I can offer?”
“I don't need protection.”
“You might.”
“Then I'll get stronger.”
Mirai stared at him.
The boy who once followed her around the academy was gone.
She had expected resentment.
Instead, there was nothing.
That was worse.
She turned toward the door.
“Fine.”
She stopped before leaving.
“There is something else.”
Hitake didn't look at her.
“Your father.”
That changed everything.
His eyes opened.
“What about him?”
Mirai slowly turned around.
“Kael wasn't who the academy says he was.”
Zena's expression sharpened.
John looked confused.
Hitake sat a little straighter despite the pain.
“What do you know?”
Mirai's voice dropped.
“Enough to know that the Coalition has been watching the people connected to him.”
Hitake's stomach tightened.
“Why?”
“I don't know.”
“Then why tell me?”
Mirai smiled faintly.
“Because eventually, you're going to look for the truth.”
She walked toward the door.
“And when you do, you'll discover that your father's disappearance wasn't an accident.”
The door closed behind her.
Silence filled the room.
Hitake stared at the empty doorway.
Zena noticed his expression.
“You're thinking about following her.”
“No.”
She blinked.
“No?”
“I don't trust her.”
Zena's shoulders relaxed slightly.
“Good.”
Hitake looked at her.
“Why?”
“Because I don't trust her either.”
He smiled.
“You're jealous.”
Zena immediately looked away.
“I'm not.”
“You are.”
“Go back to sleep.”
Hitake laughed.
For the first time since Mirai had entered, the tension disappeared.
But only for a moment.
Because Nefertiti appeared beside his bed.
Her usual playful smile was gone.
“Darling.”
Hitake looked at her.
“What?”
“She wasn't lying.”
His smile vanished.
“You know something?”
“I know enough to tell you this.”
Nefertiti leaned closer.
“Someone has started looking for Kael.”
Hitake's eyes hardened.
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
That answer frightened him more than a name would have.
Nefertiti looked toward the closed door.
“But Mirai knows more than she's saying.”
Hitake stared at the door.
Outside, footsteps passed through the corridor.
Then stopped.
A shadow appeared beneath the infirmary door.
It remained there.
Five seconds.
Ten.
Then disappeared.
Zena noticed Hitake staring.
“What is it?”
“Nothing.”
But Hitake didn't believe that.
Neither did Nefertiti.
And somewhere beyond the infirmary walls, someone had just finished listening.
The first mission was over.
The Queen had retreated.
The civilians had survived.
But now someone inside the academy knew Hitake was connected to Kael.
And whoever it was—
wasn't waiting for Hitake to find the truth.
They were coming to find him.