Sunlight filtered through the trees.
It wasn’t the harsh light of midday.
Lower. Softer.
Not a light that warmed you, but one that stayed beside you.
Ren was leaning against me.
He didn’t say anything.
Neither did I.
One of his arms hung uselessly at his side.
With the other, he steadied himself against my shoulder.
I could feel how carefully he was holding back—
not putting too much weight on me,
not wanting to be a burden.
But every time his body trembled,
I adjusted my stride.
I don’t remember how long we walked.
It didn’t feel like time.
It felt like I was counting Ren’s breaths instead.
The mana that had flowed between us earlier was gone now.
But it hadn’t disappeared completely.
It was just sleeping.
As if it were giving us a little distance,
so we could return to being simply “the two of us.”
「…You’ve been holding it in this whole time, haven’t you?」
Ren didn’t answer right away.
He let out a deeper breath first.
「…I don’t intend to make you carry me.」
「I don’t intend to carry you either.」
「Then that’s fine.」
He said that—
and still didn’t move his shoulder away.
When we climbed a small slope, the forest opened slightly.
The temple wasn’t visible yet.
But the scent of the wind changed.
Air that told you: this is where you return.
「…Which hurts more? Your arm, or where you were bitten?」
「No idea. They’ve merged into a single, unified suffering.」
「…Then what about your pride?」
「That one was shattered by you first.」
I laughed.
He lifted the corner of his mouth, just a little.
「Thank you.」
He said it suddenly.
I didn’t ask what for.
I didn’t need to.
I just nodded.
We kept walking.
One step,
then another.
I wasn’t alone anymore.
The temple appeared without warning.
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As if there had never been a need to search for it.
We only had to arrive.
This time was different.
A small resonance. A single shared awareness.
That alone made the bell ring—not as a physical sound, but inside us.
The gate opened naturally.
It was nothing like that first day,
when we had clung to the entrance with wounded souls.
When we crossed the courtyard, the monks were already there.
They hadn’t been waiting.
They were simply there.
One monk stepped forward.
He saw Ren’s blood, the unnatural angle of his arm—
and didn’t change his expression.
He only nodded slightly.
As if the forest itself had informed him.
「Here.」
He pointed.
No one tried to carry Ren.
He wouldn’t have allowed it.
Leaning on me, he walked—
one step at a time,
slowly, stubbornly,
by his own will.
Nael came running in a little later.
His short apron—used for mixing oils—was splattered green.
He didn’t say anything.
Just looked at us.
And for the first time, his face turned serious.
「Can you sit?」
「I don’t think so… not without help.」
Ren groaned.
Not in anger.
It was the sound of pride.
Nael and I guided him to a long bench in a small, open treatment space enclosed by wooden walls.
The head monk was already bringing warm water.
Nael took a deep breath.
「I’ll try. But stay still.
Don’t act tough. Be quiet.」
Ren nodded.
I sat beside him.
And took his hand.
It was the first time we touched like this—
calmly, naturally.
And he didn’t let go.
Nael opened his pouch.
He took out a blue flower, and the moment it touched the air, a soft scent rose with steam.
He placed the leaves on pressure points.
Snapped the stem, spread the juice over Ren’s arm.
The liquid flowed over his skin as if guided.
Then Nael placed his fingers at Ren’s neck, closed his eyes, and sent mana through.
I saw it.
Sparks of magic.
From Nael—into Ren.
And this time—
it didn’t vanish.
Ren blinked and looked at me.
「Did that… go in?」
Nael sucked in a breath.
「Wait—seriously… did it work!?」
The head monk approached quietly.
「Of course.
Until a conduit completes a bond, external mana does not pass through them.
It is either absorbed—or nullified.」
「Then now?」
「There is a flow.」
「Why?」
「Because you are here.」
Selem answered while looking at me.
Not as an accusation.
As certainty.
Ren lowered his gaze.
He said nothing.
Nael, on the other hand, raised his voice.
「Yes! I’m legit this time!」
And went back to work.
He lifted Ren’s arm, rotated it.
A dull sound echoed.
Ren didn’t scream, but his whole body stiffened.
Nael sent more mana through, easing the pain.
He chopped dark roots, mixed them with seed oil, and made an ointment.
Applied it to the bite.
Wrapped it in thin dried leaves.
The moment they touched mana, the leaves adhered to the skin as if alive.
After that, Ren fell asleep.
The bond was quiet.
But it was there.
I stayed seated for a while.
Selem was beside me as well, silent.
「Nael… he’s quick, isn’t he.」
I said it while watching Nael’s back as he finished.
「To see with the heart—
that can’t be taught.
There are simply those who become that way.」
I nodded.
Not out of politeness.
Out of understanding.
Silence flowed again.
Then Selem spoke, without looking at me.
「You’ve changed too.」
「What do you mean?」
「From one who watches—
to one who acts.」
I didn’t answer.
Not because I didn’t want to.
But because his words were already the answer.
I don’t know if it’s a good change or a bad one.
But there was no need to ask.
That night, on the temple veranda,
I shared warm soup with Nael.
Ren was sleeping inside.
The sky was dyed red.
The forest was quiet.
「You feel different somehow.」
Nael said.
I looked at him. He raised a hand quickly.
「Not in a bad way.
It’s just… your eyes are open now.
You talk more too.」
「Is that a diagnosis?」
「Nah. Just a hunch.
Something good happen? You’re just not saying it.」
I thought for a moment.
Then I looked at both the soup bowl
and the road we had walked back on.
「…Maybe.」
「So? What was it?」
「Probably…
that I managed to carry something important,
and still come back.」
「“Something”? Or “someone”?」
「…What do you think?」
Nael laughed.
「You’re finally talking like a normal person.
That’s the scary part.」
「You’ll get used to it.」
「I hope so.」
I laughed too.
And for the first time in days,
words didn’t feel heavy.
