ffered such a terrible wound.

And that was not all. The wounds she had inflicted on Nozomu until now were probably nothing compared to this.

It wasn't Nozomu who betrayed him, but she who betrayed him. Regret and guilt swirled in the depths of her mind.

The next thing she knew, she was biting her lip hard. Before she knew it, her outstretched hand was clasped tightly on her own chest, and she was quivering.

She couldn't be by his side anymore. There was no way she was allowed to touch him.

(I'm sorry I ran away. I'm sorry I didn't notice you ...)

Just as these thoughts were about to envelop Lisa's mind, Nozomu's words passed through her mind.

(I thought what I did was the best for you, but I ran away and didn't want to face you. I thought that if I continued to train diligently, you would someday believe that the rumors were not true. It was stupid, wasn't it? I want you to see me even though I ran away and wouldn't face you...)

The words he had once directed at Lisa when they had met by chance on their way back to the dormitory.

He knew better than anyone else who the traitor was, but he never threw cursing words at her.

The only thing he said to Lisa was that he thought of her future.

Nozomu must have felt a wave of burning anger in his heart. He must have felt conflicted. Surely it was nothing compared to what Lisa went through. Because he had been falsely accused and had been despised all this time.

But he still came to save Lisa, who had betrayed him. Even to the point of being tattered.

She remembered the time when Nozomu had saved her.

Ken, who had become one with the black demon beast, had captured her and struck her with countless denunciations.

Just the coldness and loneliness that enveloped her whole body. And from the guilt of hurting Nozomu, Lisa closed her mind. It was the only thing she could do.

The coldness that covered her entire body made her dazed, and most of her senses were numb.

However, she could still clearly remember Nozomu's face and arms holding her up.

She remembered Nozomu's face as he peered at her with concern. Despite his intense fatigue, there was no hatred on his face, just relief that he was able to save her.

She could feel Nozomu's warmth through his tattered clothes. Like water seeping into a desert. She could still clearly remember Nozomu's heat flowing from where he touched her.

Thanks to that warmth, Lisa's heart did not freeze.

"What should I do ..."

Lisa hung her hands down helplessly and then she put her hand on her arm where Nozomu had touched her. They had been drifting apart for far too long.

Guilt and regret still ached in Lisa's chest. She was hesitant to even touch Nozomu's body.

However, in the midst of her guilt and regret, a contradictory warmth flickered in the depths of her chest.

Bound by her complex and intertwined feelings, Lisa could only look at his face.

"Ah...."

At that moment, Lisa's eyes fell on the towel on Nozomu's forehead. The towel was completely dry as if it had been there for a long time.

"The towel, it's dry. I need to get it wet ... B-but ..."

In order to wet the towel, she would naturally have to remove the towel from Nozomu's forehead.

If she did, she might touch Nozomu's skin.

Lisa reached out to take the towel off but she felt guilty and remorseful about Nozomu, so she quickly pulled it back.

She stretched it out, then pulled it back, then stretched it out.

After repeating the process several times, she muttered "I'm sorry" in the inside of her mind as she reached out while still hesitating and finally managed to take the dry towel.

She then dipped the dry towel into the tub of water on the side of the bed. However, the water in the tub had already become quite warm, probably because it had been there for a long time.

"It looks like the water needs to be changed ..."

Lisa left Nozomu's room with a water tub.

She trotted down the corridor, trying to find a place to fill it. However, at that time, she saw several figures at the end of the corridor.

"Hey, you! What are you doing !?"

"Eh !?"

A loud voice suddenly rang out, making Lisa stiffen her shoulders involuntarily.

A figure at the end of the corridor walked up to her, her shoulders heaving with anger.

"Why are you getting up from bed !? You're a sick person, you should stay in bed and behave yourself!"

The one with the raised eyebrows was a woman in a white coat. Apparently, she was in charge of Lisa's treatment. Behind the doctor, there were also Camilla and Norn.

"Eh, but Nozomu's towel ..."

"It's okay! Let's just get back!"

With a slightly nervous look in her eyes, the doctor grabbed the water tub that Lisa was holding.

Shīna, who can sense the presence of the Abyss Grief, had completed a thorough examination. As a result, it was confirmed that there was no residue of Abyss Grief left.

But even so, because of Jibin's case, she didn't want Lisa to move around too much right now.

Therefore, the doctor was planning to bring Lisa back to the hospital room, even if it was a bit forceful. However, the doctor's uncompromising actions caused Lisa to unconsciously put pressure on her hand which was still holding the water tub.

"... Please, let it go."

"A-as I said, Nozomu's towel ..."

"I'll take care of it! Leave it to me and you go back to your room!"

Two women grab a tub of water in the middle of the hallway and fight over it.

The doctor was trying to force Lisa with a strong tone, and Lisa was reluctant to let go of the tub. The two women were engaged in an incomprehensible fight to the death.

"Muu ..."

"Kuu ..."

The two women who were fighting over the tub, who had become unable to pull away from each other, glared at each other face to face.

"What should we do? ......"

"It can't be helped. Let's intercede for a moment."

Camilla sighed and asked Norn for help.

"Both of you, Nozomu-kun hasn't woken up yet, so be quiet ......."

Norn also intervened with an astonished expression on her face. However, at that moment, when Lisa heard Nozomu's name, she inadvertently relaxed the power in her hand.

If one of the two forces that had been balancing each other suddenly disappeared, the result would be obvious.

""Ah~....""

The dumbfounded voices of Norn and Camilla echoed in the corridor.

The female doctor fell backward with great force, and the contents of the tub fly through the air according to inertia. The contents spread out like an umbrella, following gravity and falling on the two people below.

A second later, with the sound of water splashing, a lovely scream echoed throughout the corridor.