When Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash woke up, they found themselves embracing each other inside a shell made of gemstones.
"This is..."
Fujimaru Ritsuka blinked, thinking it looked rather pretty.
"Master, are you... all right?" Mash first threw her arms around Fujimaru Ritsuka, then quickly let go and gripped his shoulders, asking with both excitement and concern.
"I'm fine. Mash, you're all right too, aren't you?"
Fujimaru Ritsuka grabbed Mash as well, carefully checking her over.
"That's great, Master. We must have succeeded." Mash clenched her fists, her voice slightly choked.
"Come to think of it, where's Miss Lawrence?" Fujimaru Ritsuka stood up within the gemstone shell and touched the gem wall in front of him.
This was clearly Lawrence's handiwork. Its purpose had probably been to protect Mash and him, but the problem was that Lawrence was not inside this gemstone shell.
"Senpai, Miss Lawrence seems to be over there."
Mash spotted something and called out to Fujimaru Ritsuka.
Outside the gemstone shell lay a field of ruins, and Lawrence's legs happened to be sticking out from behind a collapsed wall.
"Hyah—"
Mash swung her shield and shattered the gemstone shell before crawling out. Fujimaru Ritsuka followed through the opening she had made. The two ran toward Lawrence, only to discover that there was more than one person behind the rubble.
"Miss Lawrence! Miss Nanshe!"
Both were unconscious. Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash hurriedly helped them up and leaned them against the nearby wall.
"Ah... Ritsuka?"
Lawrence groggily woke up. Seeing Fujimaru Ritsuka half-kneeling before her, bathed in the morning light, she instinctively smiled.
"Looks like Merlin really did manage to save you."
"That's good, that's good..."
Lawrence wiped a smudge of dirt from Fujimaru Ritsuka's face, then promptly passed out again.
"Ah, Miss Lawrence!"
Startled, Fujimaru Ritsuka hurriedly reached for