Editing Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume6 Chapter5 (section)

===Part 3===

"A-Ahh... Ka... mito... Kamito, he..."

Claire was lying on a simple futon in a tent.

Sweating profusely from head to toe, she was calling Kamito's name with an exceptionally suffering expression.

Her consciousness was still quite fuzzy and there was no life in her eyes.

"How's Claire's condition?"

Rinslet brought warm soup and asked with worry.

"A very high fever... It seems like she was running all the way through the rain."

Fianna quietly shook her head.

Claire's smooth skin was covered all over with scratches from branches.

"The wounds on her body are nothing serious, but if we don't do something about this high fever..."

"...Kamito... If we don't save him..."

"Currently, the Captain is summoning wind spirits to conduct a search. Once morning arrives, we will join the search party."

"...After all, the forest at night is too dangerous."

Fianna bit her lip with regret.

After being carried to the tent, Claire reported what had happened under her semi-conscious state.

The encounter in the forest with Team Inferno's black knight -- Nepenthes Lore, and the resulting battle.

In the midst of battle, in order to protect Claire, Kamito had fallen down a waterfall.

After that, Claire barely managed to evade the pursuit of the darkness spirit and the black knight. Trying to search for Kamito, somehow she lost consciousness when her physical endurance reached its limits. By the time she came to again, she found herself back in their stronghold -- that was basically what happened.

Apparently, based on the situation, Scarlet had decided to bring the exhausted master back.

"If we don't, hurry up... Kamito will..."

"Wait a minute, what are you trying to do! You still can't move!"

Seeing Claire attempting to get up from bed, Fianna, uncharacteristically, scolded her loudly .

"But Kamito fell down a waterfall because he was protecting me..."

Normally quite strong-willed, Claire's eyes were now weeping with streams of tears.

Using the sleeve of her uniform, she kept rubbing her eyes.

"Seriously, you've returned to that crybaby from before."

"...N-Nothing like that, I am not a crybaby!"

Claire retorted angrily to Rinslet.

"Walking through the forest with a body in that condition, you will quickly turn into food for the beasts. Or are you trying to waste Kamito-san's wish to protect you?"

Rinslet reprimanded sternly, giving Claire no choice but to quiet down.

"But..."

"First thing in the morning, we will all set off together. But for now, you have to rest properly and recover your energy."

Fianna patted Claire on the head gently.

"This is specialized sweet medicinal soup. Ah, your favorite, peaches were also added!"

Rinslet handed over the hot soup, still steaming.

"...T-Thank you."

In a rare moment of obedience, Claire nodded and sipped a mouthful of the medicinal soup.

"Delicious..."

"Kamito-san will surely return."

"Yes, that's right..."

--Leaving the tent, Fianna and Rinslet silently exchanged glances.

Claire's sobbing could be heard coming from inside the tent.

Presumably after drinking the warm medicinal soup, her tension relaxed all of a sudden.

At this moment, Ellis arrived with a solemn expression.

"How is Claire's condition?"

"If she rests properly, she should probably recover by tomorrow. However, the fact that Kamito-kun fell down a waterfall right before her eyes seems to have given her a great shock."

"I see..."

"Any progress in the search for Kamito-san?"

"Although I have spread wind spirits all around, nothing of value has been reported as of yet."

Ellis bit her lip regretfully.

"Kamito-kun..."

"...He will be fine, right?"

The three girls fell silent.

Like Claire, they were all extremely worried about Kamito.

Blown by the chilly wind of the night, the leaves in the trees rustled and swayed.