When Horikita answered the call, the temporary chart on her terminal was still on Yamauchi's entry.
The wind on Sudo's end was howling.
"Tonomura has a fever. His hands are shaking, he can't stay on his feet. If he keeps walking, he might have to withdraw."
Ike Kanji's hands froze around the water pouch.
The restlessness that had only just been suppressed surged back through the group with that call.
Yukimura flipped open the rulebook, his fingertip stopping on the medical supplies page.
"Fever medicine, oral rehydration salts, temperature patches. Three points per set."
Three points was not a large number.
But once the medical station logged it, it meant Class D was voluntarily admitting that someone had already fallen out of normal marching condition. The later shift rotations, supplies, and watch posts would all need to be rearranged.
Ike Kanji was the first to go pale.
"Three points? We just lost points, and now this?"
"You're calculating that now?"
Sudo raised his voice over the phone.
"He's practically about to collapse!"
Hirata looked at Horikita first, then Gu Heng. His fingers had already pressed down on the spread-out temporary chart.
"Person first. I think we should get the medicine."
Horikita stared at Gu Heng without even lifting her eyelids.
"We can get it."
Only after clasping her terminal in her palm did she force out the rest.
"But where's the line?"
He closed the rulebook.
"For cases like Tonomura's, get the medicine."
"For mild discomfort, only adjust the load and shifts. Don't spend medical points directly."
"Judge three things first: can they move normally, can they respond clearly, and will they keep getting worse?"
Yukimura followed up.
"Who makes the call?"
Gu Heng lifted his eyes, his gaze landing directly on Horikita's face.
"You."
Ike Kanji's open mouth froze