Kawaki Aoba leaped to her side and immediately pulled a bottle of red medicine from his small black pouch, holding it out to her. "This is a hemostatic medicine. Apply it quickly—it'll stop the bleeding fast and help heal the wound."
Yuhi Shinku took the hemostatic medicine, uncorked it, and applied it to the wound on her arm. The instant the medicine touched it, a cool sensation spread through her. The pain swiftly eased, and the bleeding soon stopped as well.
She raised her head to look at Kawaki Aoba, gratitude in her voice. "Thank you, Aoba. If you hadn't come to support me in time, I probably wouldn't have been able to hold on."
"Why be so polite with me?"
Kawaki Aoba smiled and reached out to straighten her disheveled hair. "We're partners. Helping each other is only natural. But you were too impulsive just now. That sentry was skilled at sneak attacks. You shouldn't have acted rashly—you should have waited for me so we could deal with him together."
Yuhi Shinku smiled sheepishly and lowered her head. "I know I was wrong. When I saw them heading deeper into the forest, I was worried they'd find the Azure Sky Flower. I panicked and couldn't stop myself from attacking without considering my own safety."
"It's fine. As long as you know you were wrong, just be more careful next time."
Kawaki Aoba shook his head, then looked at the mask on the ground. He bent down to pick it up and examined it closely. "There's a special mark on this mask. It looks like the emblem of some organization. Have you seen it before?"
Yuhi Shinku leaned over for a look, frowned, and shook her head. "No, I haven't. This mark is unfamiliar. It doesn't resemble the emblem of