Chapter 122: Teardrop

Temporary Command Post—

Yukina and Hanasou Kotone each carried a first-aid kit as they walked down the corridor.

The kits weren’t heavy, so Kotone could hold hers steadily with just her uninjured hand.

Canary had been wounded and withdrawn from the battlefield, sent here to be protected by personnel dispatched by Fushihara Ayaka.

With nothing else to do, Yukina and Kotone had taken on the role of nurse’s assistants.

The noisy whirring of helicopter blades passed through the night sky.

The helicopter, its signal lights flashing, moved past the window and slowly landed nearby before disappearing from view.

“Ah…”

Hanasou Kotone let out a long sigh.

“There’s a parent-teacher conference tomorrow, too. This is the worst…”

“Yeah…”

Yukina responded in a low voice, pulling her gaze back from the window.

‘Parent-teacher conference…’

‘It would be nice if I could go with Sis tomorrow.’

‘It’s okay if we don’t go, too. As long as Sis comes back safely.’

“Shiomi-san, after the conference tomorrow, how about we go get shaved ice? I know a pretty good place that just opened.”

“I… might have other plans…”

Yukina gave a sheepish smile.

She already had a date with her sister to go buy autumn clothes after school.

“Is that so…”

Hanasou Kotone paused.

“Speaking of which… it’s really hard to imagine… Did you know, Shiomi-san? I was so shocked when I saw you and Yanase-san.”

Hanasou Kotone smiled faintly and sighed.

“Suddenly, I feel like this world is so far away from me… fighting and all… I’d never thought about it before. But honestly, I really admire you all. It’s because of you that this city can exist here so safely…”

Hearing Kotone say this, Yukina felt a bit embarrassed.

“Actually… I haven’t officially become an Agent yet. I haven’t really done anything…”

Yukina remembered when she first found out her sister was Ephnel.

Her reaction back then was probably even more dramatic than Kotone’s.

“Don’t be so modest. You went out to fight today. All I could do was sit here and cheer you on…” Kotone paused, then her tone suddenly changed. “By the way, Miss Canary looks about the same age as us, doesn’t she… She was so badly hurt… I hope she gets better soon…”

“I heard she’s a year older than us…”

Speaking of Canary, Yukina pursed her lips and lowered her gaze.

When she saw the blood-soaked figure being carried off the helicopter on a stretcher, Yukina’s heart had nearly stopped.

Today, Yukina had seen firsthand the kind of work Agents do.

At the same time, she had come to a profound understanding of its dangers.

That was why Ephnel had never wanted Yukina to become an Agent.

Just as Ephnel didn’t want to see Yukina fighting for her life, Yukina was also terrified that one day, Ephnel’s cold body would be lying in front of her.

The sound of footsteps came from the end of the corridor.

“Miss Shiomi?”

Hearing her name called, Yukina looked up.

It was Fushihara Ayaka.

Her face was grim as she raised her walkie-talkie, about to say something.

When she saw Yukina, she paused for a moment.

“I was just about to look for you… Come with me.”

“Miss Fushihara… You… Huh!?”

Without another word, Fushihara Ayaka grabbed Yukina’s hand and pulled her away.

Faced with this woman, Kotone was too afraid to speak.

She watched Yukina being led away, stood there stunned and unsure what to do for a moment, then followed them.

Yukina was taken to a temporarily cleared helipad where a helicopter had just landed.

The propeller blades created a deafening roar.

The cold night wind whipped Yukina’s hair. She held down her skirt with one hand and squinted.

Fushihara Ayaka walked forward, and Yukina followed.

At that moment, the helicopter’s cabin door was pushed open.

Oguri Aya’s (Ayse’s) slender figure appeared in Yukina’s vision.

Her arms were covered in dark blood as she carefully coordinated with Tachibana Sara (Erincia) to lower a stretcher.

On the stretcher was a small figure.

Her silvery-white hair was stained red with blood.

There was barely an untouched spot on her entire body; all that could be seen was crimson.

Hanasou Kotone’s face turned pale, and she covered her mouth.

“Y-Yanase-san!?”

Or rather, she should be called Ephnel right now…

The night wind carried the scent of blood, and the color red became the only thing in Hanasou Kotone’s eyes.

She fought back the urge to vomit and unconsciously took a step back.

Clatter—

The sound of something heavy hitting the ground came from behind her.

Kotone glanced over and saw that Yukina had frozen on the spot.

At her feet, the first-aid kit and its contents were scattered across the ground.

“Naoko…”

Yukina’s lips moved, and a single tear traced a path down her cheek.

“Sister…”

Seikyo City Joint Hospital, Special Care Unit, outside Operating Room 1—

Yukina, Hanasou Kotone, and Yonomori Nami sat in silence on the waiting chairs.

The Joint Hospital’s special care unit was now under the jurisdiction of the Order Organization, a specialized inpatient and treatment center managed by the Order’s medical department.

It was a dedicated medical institution serving Agents and related personnel, responsible for their routine check-ups and post-battle injury treatment.

The physicians here reported directly to the Order Organization.

But tonight, the Joint Hospital was exceptionally busy.

“Make way! Please make way!”

The sound of small, crisp, and hurried footsteps came from the other end of the corridor, growing closer, accompanied by the noise of wheels rolling on the floor.

Yukina raised her gaze.

Blurrily, she saw another blood-soaked soldier being pushed along, surrounded by nurses and doctors.

The soldier’s leg was severed, and the blood had been smeared into long streaks by the caster wheels.

A shocking red wound was left on the white floor.

He was rushed into another operating room.

In a fleeting glimpse, Yukina saw other soldiers lying on operating tables inside.

Beneath the green surgical drapes was a sea of blood.

Under the shadowless lamp, a surgeon was hunched over, his head dripping with sweat, his eyes fixed on slowly extracting something with a pair of forceps.

A nurse turned and slammed the door shut, blocking Yukina’s view.

Someone came over to wipe away the bloodstains on the floor.

Only the cold smell of blood lingered in the air.

The “In Surgery” sign remained lit in red, and the stream of wounded never stopped.

Since last night, Seikyo City Joint Hospital had suddenly entered a state of emergency, continuously receiving casualties from the western front.

The special care unit, now the medical department managed by the Order, had also temporarily opened its aid stations to those soldiers.

Similarly, all hospitals in the city had entered a state of emergency, sharing the burden according to their medical capabilities and proximity, and operating under the unified command of both the Order Organization and the Special Disaster Division.

In every battle, people get injured, and people die. It’s unavoidable.

But the number of injured this time was somewhat exaggerated.

Yukina belatedly realized that the battle she had participated in was merely an appetizer in the grand scheme of things.

She had fought alongside Naoko, and although she had stumbled a bit, Yukina had also used her own strength to stand by Ephnel’s side and help out a little.

Seeing her sister’s heroic figure, Yukina had felt happy from the bottom of her heart.

But she later learned that she had neither personally participated in nor witnessed the true bloody battle.

At that time, both she and Naoko had seen the injured Canary retreating to the temporary rendezvous point.

Then Naoko had insisted on sending Yukina back to the temporary command post.

Until the moment Yukina saw her own sister, grievously wounded.