“Don't be scared, you can do it!”
Noticing Yurika's anxiousness through her expression, Koutarou encouraged her.
“Y-Yes!”
When he did, her expression returned to the sharp and serious one from before. Seeing those two like that left Shizuka astonished.
As expected of Satomi-kun... For good or for bad, he understands Yurika-chan really well
Koutarou had noticed the change in Yurika that no one else had. And with just a few words, Yurika had easily recovered. The powerful mutual trust witnessed from the two right now made their normal interactions seem like a lie.
Which in the end meant that the rough relationship they showed was just something on the surface. Deep inside, they had a clear and mutual trust for one another. Noticing that, Shizuka once again felt that only Koutarou would suffice as Yurika's guardian.
“Hey, Satomi-kun”
And Shizuka wanted to ask Koutarou about that.
“What is it, landlord-san?”
“...Actually I'll ask you later. This is a bad time”
But in the end, Shizuka decided not to ask. Even a gossip loving girl like herself realized that now was not the time for that. She couldn't ask him if he actually loved Yurika while Sanae's life was hanging in the balance.
“Is that so?”
Koutarou found Shizuka's behavior odd, but he quickly forgot about that for now. Like she said herself, now wasn't the time for that.
“Karama and Korama have almost reached their limit! Only 15 seconds left!”
“Please start, Yurika!”
“Okay!”
After nodding at Koutarou, Yurika readjusted her grasp on her cane one last time and spoke loudly.
“Encyclopedia! Release Invocation Delay! Recall – Precast – Energy Converter!”
At that moment, Yurika cast three spells.
The first was using her cane, Encyclopedia. Encyclopedia had the ability to read its user's mind and activate magic on its own. Yurika had entrusted this cane with the easiest of the three spells she needed; that was the spell to stabilize Sanae's body. Since this spell fell into the healing category, the cane emitted a blue light. The light enveloped Sanae and healed her body in place of Karama and Korama.
The next spell she activated was the spell that stole Koutarou and the other's spiritual energy and poured it into Sanae. Since it had been delayed in order to match the timing, it activated at the same time as Encyclopedia's spell.
The yellow light that emitted from Yurika wrapped around Koutarou and the others. In that moment, they were hit by a strong shock and could feel their strength leaving their bodies. At the same time, they were assaulted by a stabbing pain all over their body that made it hard to breathe.
“Ugh!?”
”Kyaa!?”
“S-So this... is the spell that steals spiritual energy...”
It felt something like being struck by a whip while running a marathon after being pushed to their very limits. Their bodies got heavy, and just standing became painful. Regardless of how much they breathed, they couldn't rid themselves of the sensation of choking. Having their spiritual energy drained was the same as having their very life force drained from their bodies. The acute pain and fatigue was a sign that their lives were in danger.
I see, no wonder Theia and Ruth-san are needed...
If Theia and Ruth hadn’t been there, that strain would be 50% worse, and the others probably wouldn't be standing. And since this would continue on for two minutes, the strain would be immeasurable. Koutarou supported his heavy body as he realized that Yurika had been right.
“Kuuuuh, you mustn't lose consciousness!”