The tightly shut iron door swung ponderously open. Azi and Shei turned toward it.

At last, he and Tyrkanzyaka were emerging after three days of seclusion.

“Woof! Woof!”

“Hey! Where the hell have you been, and what have you been doing—!”

The two were striding toward the door when Tyrkanzyaka beat them to it, squeezing through the narrow gap and rushing out in a panic. She looked around, spotted Shei, and hurried toward her.

“Shei! Shei! Something terrible has happened! He—!”

Tyrkanzyaka always sat elegantly atop her coffin, taking everything at her leisure. She possessed a dignity befitting the Progenitor of vampires and the Queen of Shadows, yet here she was running, her face a mess.

Puzzled by this unfamiliar sight, Shei asked,

“Huh? What's wrong, Tyrkanzyaka? Where's the coffin you always ride around on? And that man...?”

Both questions were answered almost immediately. The iron door opened all the way, revealing a large coffin with the man sitting demurely on top.

The Instructor occupied Tyrkanzyaka's usual seat, staring blankly ahead as though his mind had gone elsewhere.

Shei was glad to see that shameless face, but fresh anger welled up all the same. She shouted at him.

“About time you showed up! What kind of ritual did you perform? And what was that stuff you wrote in the note supposed to mean? Get down here and...”

“That is not the problem, Shei!”

Tyrkanzyaka grabbed her with a haste utterly unlike her usual self.

What on earth was going on? Why was Tyrkanzyaka so flustered, and why was that man just sitting blankly on the coffin?

Just as these questions crossed Shei's mind,

“He has lost his memory!”

“Whaaat?”

Those words blew every thought out of her head.

Tyrkanzyaka explained what had happened. Since she knew little herself, the explanation was soon over.

Having heard the outcome, Shei asked skeptically,

“Your heart really is beating? That man actually did it?”

“Yes! It truly beat!”

“That's impossible. Even a mage couldn't do that, and he's not even a mage. How on earth did he... Is it really beating again? You're not mistaken?”

In a sense, it was a reasonable question. But for Tyrkanzyaka, caught between joy at having her wish fulfilled and worry for him, it was like a splash of cold water.

She erased the last faint traces of excitement from her face and glared at Shei.

“Do you imagine I would lie to you about something so important? Or are you saying he deceived me—and my blood manipulation? Must I show you my beating heart before you will believe me?”

“No, that's not what I meant. It's just, if reviving your heart was this easy...”

If it was this easy, why hadn't they managed it in a previous run? Shei nearly said it aloud, but stopped just in time. She wasn't ready to reveal that she was a Regressor.

Her words, however, only worsened Tyrkanzyaka's mood.

“Easy? You can look at the state that boy is in and still say that?!”

Shei flinched at her rebuke. Before she could offer an excuse, Tyrkanzyaka pointed at the man on the coffin and shouted,

“For three whole days, he did not drink so much as a sip of water. Not a morsel of food passed his lips. He went without sustenance, sitting utterly motionless, quieter than a vampire in a coffin! And in the end, he revived my heart and lost his memories in payment! After he risked something so reckless, you call it easy?”

But it was easy, considering he'd accomplished something no one had managed in twelve hundred years.

Tyrkanzyaka looked far too serious for Shei to voice that complaint. She shut her mouth and pretended to agree.

'Still... judging by how worked up she is, her heart really must be beating again.'

If her heart were still stopped, Tyrkanzyaka would at least have understood what Shei meant, even if she disagreed. Cold-blooded vampires did not get worked up easily; they observed everything from a step removed.

The very fact that she was this agitated proved she had regained her emotions.

'This is good. Let's get his memories back quickly and find out how he did it! Then it'll be much easier to persuade Tyrkanzyaka from the next run onward. Even if he never recovers his memories, I can just recruit him as an ally in the next run! Either way, finding a way to win her over is great news!'

Having finished her calculations as a Regressor, Shei allowed herself to be happy.

“Anyway, congratulations! Now we just have to snap him out of it!”

“Whew. Shei, you...”

Tyrkanzyaka started to say something, then closed her eyes and calmed herself.

When her heart had been stopped, she had never needed to do this. Now that it was restored, her emotions no longer obeyed her every wish.

Reflecting anew on what she had gained—what she had regained—she felt another surge of gratitude toward him and spoke.

“Never mind. I am not here to argue with you. Well? Is there any way to restore his memories?”

“Hmm. In my case, I tend to solve most things with the Heaven-Reversing Realm...”

The Heaven-Reversing Realm was the ultimate defensive energy art, engraving specific movements into the body so it could respond.

At lower levels of mastery, it merely produced reflexive counterattacks against unexpected approaches. Its true worth became apparent as mastery increased.

The mind naturally followed the body.

Repeating familiar movements could maintain one's composure and restore the mind and soul to a stable state. Thanks to the Heaven-Reversing Realm, Shei was free from mental attacks such as heart-stopping curses and soul extraction.

To defend against mental attacks and prevent sudden death while unconscious, mastering the Heaven-Reversing Realm to its utmost was her first priority in every run.

“... But he probably doesn't have anything like that. And even if he did, I wouldn't know what it was.”

Tyrkanzyaka's face crumpled in despair. Noting once again how remarkably expressive she had become for a vampire, Shei suddenly remembered the note she had received three days earlier.

Could those cryptic words have meant...?

While Shei rummaged through her Pocket, Tyrkanzyaka murmured hollowly.

“Then he will remain without his memories... Heavens, all to save me...”

“Hold on, Tyrkanzyaka. Wait a moment.”

“Truly, I have no words. I have robbed him of his future to fulfill my own foolish longing...”

“Take a look at this.”

“There is nothing for it... Since I have taken his whole life from him, I must make amends... I shall keep him by my side and care for him all his life...”

Trying to stop Tyrkanzyaka as her pronouncements grew increasingly grave, Shei took out the note and waved it.

“Wait! Hold on! He left me a note!”

Tyrkanzyaka looked at it. Shei unfolded it before her eyes and pointed.

“Here. There isn't much written on the note itself. It just says to look after Azi and stay away from the underground armory. But here, in the indentations, there's something else written!”

“Indentations? I cannot see them.”

“Oh, right. Then I'll read them to you.”

Do not go to the dining hall.

Even if there is something wrong with me afterward, do not interfere rashly.

Should supplies arrive, use them on yourself.

After carefully reading the words with her Depth-Seeing Eye, Shei folded the note again and declared smugly,

“He anticipated that something might happen to him. See? It says, 'Even if there is something wrong with me afterward.' He probably entrusted this to me for just such a situation.”

“... Why go to the trouble?”

“It says not to go to the dining hall, but telling someone not to go somewhere is practically the same as telling them they absolutely should. There's probably something in the dining hall...”

Shei was pointing at the note as she explained. When she happened to look up, Tyrkanzyaka was puffing out her cheeks sulkily.

Something about her attitude struck Shei as odd.

Shouldn't she be happy they had found a clue? Why did she look displeased?

“Why did he specifically give that note to you?”

Huh? The foolish sound slipped out before Shei could stop herself. Things were taking a strange turn.

Meanwhile, Tyrkanzyaka shot her a sidelong look and aired her grievances.

“He could simply have given it to me. Why complicate matters by involving you as an intermediary? I would have been the first person he saw upon opening his eyes. Had I known the contents beforehand, I would not have worried so.”

“Huh?”

Wait a minute. What on earth was that attitude supposed to mean?

Shei was so bewildered that she briefly lost the ability to speak. Tyrkanzyaka let out a deflated sigh, then struck her palm with her fist as realization dawned.

“Ah, now I understand. Shei, you must be the one who is not to go to the dining hall. He gave the note only to you to keep you from going there. Otherwise, there would be no reason to entrust it specifically to you.”

“Huuuh?”

“Besides, you were the only one remaining outside, Shei. Surely he simply took the opportunity to pass along the rest as well? Very well. I shall take him to the dining hall. We should find something there.”

Tyrkanzyaka looked ready to rush off immediately. Shaken from her daze, Shei hastily spoke up.

“Wait, Tyrkanzyaka. I'll come too! You'll probably have trouble finding—”

“Do you intend to disregard the note? Wait here. If I need help, I shall call for you.”

'Why are you treating that note like something you have to obey? He wrote it, that's all! Ignoring this much won't hurt!'

But Tyrkanzyaka was adamant. She clearly intended to leave Shei behind no matter what. Shei couldn't help feeling wronged.

'If I'd known this would happen, I'd have gone first myself. I shouldn't have followed the instructions in that note to the letter!'

Shei bitterly scolded her overly obedient self of three days earlier. If there was another run, she resolved not to do exactly as this man told her.

“Woof, woof! Woof, woof!”

Just then, Azi's cheerful barking reached them. It was the first time in days she had sounded so thoroughly content. Shei reflexively turned toward her.

Azi was playing with him.

He followed Azi with unfocused eyes and threw the ball. It rose feebly into the air, then fell. When Azi happily fetched it back in her mouth, he petted her, his expression still blank.

Then Azi leaned against him in her excitement. The impact made him stagger weakly and fall to the ground.

Startled, Azi barked.

“Woof, woof, woof! Woof, woof, woof!”

Tyrkanzyaka rushed over in a panic.

“K-King of Dogs. Leave him be for a moment!”

“Woof, woof, woof! What do I do? What do I do?”

“I said leave him be!”

Chaos ensued. Azi barked in alarm while Tyrkanzyaka didn't know what to do. The two circled round and round the fallen man.

Watching them, Shei murmured,

“Looks like he really has lost his memories... I had my doubts, but I guess this isn't a prank.”

As she said it, Shei found herself wondering whether it was a little cruel of her to remain suspicious even now.