Toothbrush set in hand, Eiji stepped through the doorway.
The fire in the hearth bathed the earthen floor in a warm orange glow. Crouched before it, Yuna was checking on the pot. Her humming trailed off the moment Eiji crossed the threshold.
"Thanks for the toothbrush. I washed it clean."
"Mm, thanks."
Yuna stood up and took the toothbrush set from him. Barely a step separated them as she tucked it away into her pouch.
Right then, that sweet fragrance drifted past him once more.
It was distinct from both soap and hair treatment—a noticeably sweeter aroma. The exact same scent he had breathed in while holding her in his arms last night. He had been far too overwhelmed to ask about it back then, but... he could ask now.
Having fastened the pouch, Yuna returned to the hearth and crouched back down. Speaking to her back, Eiji spoke up.
"Hey, Yuna."
"Hmm?"
"I was wondering about this last night too, but... why is it that only you smell so nice?"
Yuna's eyes went wide as she turned around from the fire.
"Huh?"
"I mean, I don't smell like that at all."
He had plenty of evidence to back it up. Yesterday, they had soaked in the same hot water and washed with the same soap. That soap had no scent even if you pressed your nose right against it. As for the shampoo and treatment, the two of them had used up every last drop together. Their conditions should have been identical from start to finish, yet this fragrance came only from her.
"Ah..."
Realization dawning on her, Yuna stood up. She pulled her bag from against the wall, retrieved something from inside, and held it out on her palm.
Sitting there was a roll-on deodorant.
With that, last night's events suddenly fell into place. Before getting into bed, Yuna had told him to "go on ahead for a second," slipped back to the earthen floor, and rustled through her bag. Apparently, this was what she had been doing.
"I had this on."
"Deodorant, huh?"
"Yeah. Because... since we were finally going to sleep together, I hated the thought of not smelling nice."
As she spoke, Yuna cast her eyes downward. Her cheeks flushed with a crimson that owed nothing to the fire.
The way she put it brought everything from last night flooding back into his mind, making his heart give a violent thump.
Yet the scent was lingering right now. It felt far too fresh to merely be leftover from last night. As he tilted his head in confusion, Yuna quietly added:
"Actually... I put some on this morning, too."
Her voice was barely above a whisper.
He decided not to ask why. If he did, she would only have to repeat her earlier answer while dying of embarrassment.
"I secretly put it on before bed the night before last, too, you know? Though that night, it was mostly because we hadn't been able to take a bath."
"Is that so...? I didn't notice."
"It's fine if you didn't."
With a bashful smile, Yuna tucked the deodorant back into her bag.
The night before last—that was the night they had slept side by side against the wall. A night before they were dating, before even the slightest hint of a confession had passed between them. Even then, she had secretly applied this before falling asleep next to him. And right beside her, Eiji had dozed off like a fool, utterly oblivious. Looking back, he really was dense about these things. Surely he had been doing the exact same thing over and over back in Japan. How pathetic.
After fastening the bag, Yuna turned back toward the hearth.
"What should we do about breakfast?"
The fire was going, and the pot was beginning to steam. If they were going to cook anything, their only option was the magic wolf meat in the Relicta Arca. There had only ever been one choice from the start.
"...Having that greasy meat first thing in the morning is a bit rough."
"Right? I was just about to say the same thing."
Magic wolf meat was not particularly breakfast-friendly.
It tasted great at first, but the more you ate, the more the gamy flavor coated your tongue, until they were both practically washing it down with water by the end. Neither of them had the stomach to take that on first thing in the morning.
A man who couldn't even drink water two days ago was now skipping a meal just because the meat was too rich. Talk about luxury.
"So, should we just skip breakfast?"
"Yeah. Instead, let's head straight for the forest. We need to make up for oversleeping."
Still, letting the water they had heated go to waste felt wrong. Yuna poured the hot water into a bowl, and the two of them passed it back and forth. The warmth settling into their stomachs quieted their hunger just a little. They packed the remainder into the waterskin, and Eiji smothered the hearth fire with ash.
"Where is the forest, though?"
"Uhh..."
Asked that, Eiji dredged through his memories. The only time he had properly seen the village outskirts was the morning they arrived.
...No, there was one place. The wagon trail.
"I'm pretty sure that just before the spot where they dropped us off, trees lined the side of the road for a while. The grass around there was still green, so I don't think it's contaminated."
"Ah, I remember. So we just head back in that direction."
The drop-off point was within sight of the village. A little before that would probably be a twenty- to thirty-minute walk. While he had nothing to go on beyond a passing memory, it was plenty good as a lead.
There might be woods elsewhere, but wandering around aimlessly without a map was a terrible idea.
Yuna spoke up.
"Hey, if we pick up stones and branches in the forest, can you make a kitchen knife and plates right away?"
"Yeah. Should be no problem."
"Then if we find edible herbs or something, why don't we have breakfast there? We have the meat, after all."
"Brunch, huh? Sounds like a plan."
When it came to practical everyday planning, Yuna was always one step ahead. She had been the first to bring up the idea of aromatic herbs, too. Excluding salt, half their pending tasks could be resolved in that single trip to the forest.
Their preparations were done in no time.
Eiji slung the Vent Fang across his back and hooked the waterskin to his waist. Yuna draped her bag over her shoulder. That was everything they owned.
Stepping outside, Eiji pulled the door shut.
His hand paused on the wood.
This house had no lock.
The crossbar could only be lowered from inside. Once they stepped out and shut it, the door was nothing more than a wooden plank that would swing open with a gentle push.
(...Well, it can't be helped, I guess.)
He doubted anyone would wander out to an abandoned village like this, and the only things they stood to lose were an iron pot and a blanket.
Even so, it remained defenseless, and leaving the place unlocked felt unsettled on an instinctual level.
In his mental checklist, he added a new line: a lock. The list he had organized just this morning had already grown after taking only ten steps from the house.
Just as he moved to walk on, a voice called out from behind.
"Eiji-kun."
"Hmm?"
Looking back, he saw Yuna standing a few paces behind him, staring intently at her palm.
"There's something I want to try... is that okay?"
When he nodded, Yuna stepped past him. She came to a stop in what served as the village square, halfway between the well and the house. With her bag still on her shoulder, she clasped her hands before her chest.
She drew a single, steady breath.
"Purify and protect this land—Sanctuary."
The moment the incantation ended, light erupted from beneath Yuna's feet.
Its movement was entirely different from yesterday's Holy Shield. That had been a single barrier standing upright before her. This crept across the ground, expanding outward in every direction.
The brilliant white light formed a ring, sweeping past the stone rim of the well. It crossed the foundation of the house, then the bathhouse. It traced the collapsed roofs of the ruined homes one by one, rippled across the faded gray grass, engulfed the plot that used to be a field, and finally came to a halt just past the gateposts at the village entrance.
Then, the light surged upward.
Retaining the outline of the village, it stretched into the sky like a thin, luminous membrane. The edges met overhead, sealing shut into a massive dome. Eiji stared upward, completely transfixed.
(I... I don't really get it, but this is incredible.)
He had no idea what was actually happening. Relicta Inspectio only worked on items that had fulfilled their purpose, meaning it provided zero insight into human skills. He couldn't grasp the mechanics, but the sheer spectacle took his breath away.
The well, the house, the bathhouse that had taken him three full days to rebuild—her light had swept over all of it in a single breath.
The moment it sealed at the apex, the light vanished in a flash.
Left behind was the exact same village as before. The color of the sky, the withered gray grass, the slant of the ruined buildings—nothing had visibly changed. Even when he squinted, only thin clouds drifted across the sky where the dome had been.
"Thank goodness. Looks like it worked."
Yuna let out a relieved breath and turned back toward him.
"What was that?"
"Hmm... what would you call it? A Barrier, I guess?"
A Barrier. He understood the word itself. What baffled him was the sheer scale. She had enclosed an entire village in one go.
"How does it actually work?"
"I set it so only people I permit can come inside. So you're fine, Eiji-kun. But anyone else... I think they'll just run into an invisible wall and won't be able to get through."
She explained it so casually, yet the implications were staggering.
Whether they were away or asleep, the village was now sealed tight. Right in front of a man who had just resigned himself to living without a simple door lock, the entire village had been secured. It was so absurd he couldn't help but chuckle.
"I mean, it'd be awful if someone came in while we were gone, right? Besides... thinking about monsters showing up like yesterday makes me nervous at night."
Yuna knitted her brows with concern.
She wasn't wrong. Yesterday, there had been six magic wolves. If there was a next time, it would happen while they were away or asleep. Being ambushed in their sleep was by far the terrifying scenario. Now, both concerns were handled in one stroke.
"That's amazing. You just figured out how to do that?"
"Yeah. While I was brushing my teeth earlier, I just kind of felt like, maybe I can do this~"
Eiji knew that feeling all too well. Relicta Collectio and Transcendence Reconstructio had both surfaced the exact moment he needed them. Her Holy Flame had also awakened right in front of the hearth. Apparently, that was simply how skills functioned in this world.
Then, Yuna added softly:
"I think... it's probably because this place has become precious to me. Because I really felt like... I don't want anyone ruining it."
A precious place.
Yuna didn't elaborate on whose place it was, or who made it special. He had a feeling she would tell him if he asked, but Eiji kept quiet.
Just moments ago, he had been thinking the exact same thing while brushing his teeth at that very well. On top of that, her resolve to protect this home had struck her at the same well, doing the same thing. They truly were childhood friends. It seemed they shared more similarities than he realized.
No words came to mind. In their place, he cleared his throat, the sound echoing awkwardly in the open air.
Before the lingering silence could settle, Yuna spoke up hesitantly.
"There's... a bit of a downside, though."
"What kind?"
"Now that I've cast it, I can tell it drains a ton of magic power. As long as Sanctuary is active, it's constantly consuming mana."
"A sustained drain, huh..."
Even though it was sustained just like Eiji's Relicta Armatura, the cost structure was reversed. His skill was paid for upfront with the sacrifice of a single magic wolf. Sanctuary, on the other hand, demanded a continuous toll.
"I see. That complicates things a bit. How long can you keep it up?"
"Hmm, I wonder... I think it should hold for about half a day, though."
Half a day.
He quickly reorganized today's schedule in his head. A twenty- to thirty-minute walk to the forest. Foraging, then cooking their brunch. The walk back. Even adding all of that together, it would easily fit within half a day. Still, if she had to recast it for the night once they returned, that would demand even more mana. While he knew her magical reserves were monstrous, they couldn't be infinite.
"In that case, let's only keep it up while we're out or while we're asleep for now. If it ever feels like too much, drop it immediately, okay?"
"Yeah. Got it."
Nodding, Yuna shifted the strap of her bag on her shoulder, the leather giving a soft bounce.
Together, they turned toward the gateposts.
After taking a few strides, Eiji glanced back at the village one last time. The well, the house, the bathhouse, and the leaning ruins stood exactly as they always had. There was no trace of the membrane anywhere. Yet he had seen with his own eyes that the light had sealed the perimeter shut.
Even if it looked no different on the surface, this village was no longer defenseless.
Leaving the lockless house behind them, the two set off toward the edge of the village.