A scroll?
A scroll... left behind by Yukina?
His gaze fell on Yukina's other hand. Seeing the unfamiliar object in her grasp, Chiba's brow furrowed slightly.
At that moment, Yukina was holding a scroll in her left hand—an unfamiliar scroll.
Almost instinctively, Chiba reached out to pick it up.
But when he tried, he found that Yukina's grip was incredibly tight. With a tug, he actually lifted her already stiffened left hand.
Was this some important scroll? After a brief flicker of surprise, Chiba's expression immediately turned grave. Carefully placing the scroll back where it had been, he climbed down from the bed, circled around to Yukina's left side, and cautiously began prying open her hand, which was tightly clenched around the scroll.
Clearly, this scroll was truly important—at least, it was extremely important to Yukina. Chiba had to exert considerable effort before he could pry open her fingers and take the scroll.
Hmm? After carefully placing Yukina's left hand atop the right hand resting over her chest and abdomen, Chiba held the scroll, which had nearly been crushed deep enough to leave five finger marks, and his expression changed slightly. His solemn look gradually gave way to astonishment.
A scorching sensation traveled from the scroll. All at once, he could barely hold onto it.
"Crack, crack, crack!"
As the heat spread, Chiba rapidly covered his hand with a thin layer of Rock Hardening armor, barely managing to keep hold of the scroll.
So hot!
Once the burning pain in his hand subsided, Chiba finally let out a slight sigh of relief, that thought flashing through his mind.
But this scroll should have been made of ordinary paper. Hmm... no, it was sturdier than usual. It was the highest-grade paper used for techniques requiring paper as a medium in the