"Takamori-Sensei..."

"Take him upstairs, quick!" Takamori quaked loudly, unable to hold back his concern. It was enough for the guild leader to see the face color of Enatsu to realize that, if not treated carefully, his wounds could be fatal.

​​

Knowing that wasting breath on useless explanations would only increase the time it took to climb the stairs, the two tamers who had just returned from their mission carried the bodies of Enatsu and Rokuro to the upper floor.

The narrow staircase did not allow them any sudden movements and, being very careful not to let either the head or the legs of their wounded comrade hit the walls, they reached the lunchroom.

The large wooden table was clean and free of all junk, as it was every night. Without a second thought, Yoichi and Shioko, exhausted from their long journey and the many vicissitudes they had endured, gently placed Enatsu on its longer side.

A sound of quick footsteps echoed from the second staircase, and more people from the third floor came hurrying into the same room.

"Shioko! What is... who is that? Is that the merchant?" the voice of Toshi, the pale-looking man who had enjoyed teasing the newcomers during the first evening, broke the silence.

"Yoshiko! Where's Yoshiko?!" Takamori called, waving his arms as if to move Toshi away without touching him. In the guild leader's perpetually quiet voice, his warriors discerned a strong and unusual tension.

"Here I am, Sensei! What's the problem? What's..." - The beautiful Yoshiko's blue hair was illuminated by the faint light of the candles resting on the wooden shelves on either side of the room.

Although she had just woken up in the middle of the night, her appearance was precise and neat, as if after hours spent making herself pretty. "Enatsu! What happened to him?!" the tamer exclaimed, descending the steps of the staircase in quick succession and passing next to her companions.

The rest of the warriors stayed behind, sensing that they could not help. Among them, even the giant Rinji peeped out from the stairs of the third floor, looking wistfully at his two teammates, saddened by the news of Enatsu.

"Out of the way, let Yoshiko take care of him," Takamori ordered, extending his arms towards Shioko and Yoichi and inviting them to step aside.

"Takamori-Sensei... that wound... that wound is not like the others", Shioko tried to explain, interrupted by the guild leader's abrupt movements.

As Yoshiko walked past Yoichi, her long, blue hair floated in his direction. Each strand of her gorgeous hair smelled of wildflowers and lavender, leaving a trail so intense that it spread a pleasant vibe through the air.

Enatsu's eyes were still closed, and Rokuro, his mole demon, was lying on the table beside him. Yoshiko grabbed the gauze on his chest: after his companions had hastily carried his body into the tower, all the blood clotted inside the wound had leaked out, fouling the sterile gauze.

Spreading her elbows and holding the bandages tight, the blue-haired girl tore Enatsu's gauze off, revealing his wound still half-open.

"Holy fuck..." Yoshiko whispered, backing away for a moment. From her disgusted expression, she didn't look like she'd ever seen anything like it.

"What the hell is that black substance?" Takamori gulped, covering his mouth with a sleeve of his nightshirt.

"Shioko was trying to explain it, Takamori-sensei. It's a long story, but, for now, it's enough for Enatsu's wound to be treated like a normal wound. There are medical goods in the carriage if you need them, and..."

Shioko's hand touched her blonde-haired companion's shoulder, interrupting his words. "Enatsu is in excellent hands now. Let Yoshiko take care of him," the archer explained, trying to reassure him. "She is one of the best healers around", she added.

"Back off!" Yoshiko boomed. When Takamori also moved back a few steps back, Yoichi obeyed the orders, still skeptical of the blue-haired girl's healing abilities. "Gagrelin!" she shouted, summoning her Oracle in front of the cold wooden table in the dining room.

Several beams of bluish light weaved through her hair, descending to her chest and then hovering in the air. A small blue sphere floated for an instant over Enatsu's lying body, illuminating the entire room.

When the demon summoning phase was complete, the blue sphere broke apart, and a small squirrel-like mammal emerged from its inside. Yoichi marvelled at the sight of such a small and seemingly harmless demon, remembering that it wasn't the size that determined the magical powers of Lumya's magic monsters.

The small rodent landed on all fours on the table, just inches from Enatsu's hips. Its furry, coiled tail, small paws equipped with tiny claws, and large, black eyes made it identical to the classic rodent that inhabited the quieter woods of the region.

His fur was a deep blue, just like its tamer's hair. A squirrel? Yoichi thought. How could a squirrel help my friend? Does it possess healing powers?

As these questions swirled in his mind, his eyes witnessed something astonishing. Activating her demon's power, Yoshiko's hands began to glow with a blue light much like the one obtained during the summoning.

Simultaneously, the squirrel's tiny paws, equipped with opposable thumbs, clenched together. A little at a time, its fingers moved alternately, as if they were playing the harp, and the palms of its hands gradually spread apart.

A blue light began to shine between the rodent's front paws, and it was so focused that its eyes stayed closed. Suddenly, as that light decreased in intensity, an object appeared between its little hands as a result of Yoshiko's newly activated skill.

The Oracle squirrel of the Nightblades tamer was holding a tiny blue, glowing acorn in its hands, and its nails kept scratching against its surface.

"What the hell is going on?" Yoichi gulped aloud, rubbing his eyes in disbelief. The squirrel looked up at Enatsu and, running on its little paws across the table, got closer to his face.