“Danger!”
Olesia, who had been watching closely, drew her sword almost instantly, but someone was faster.
A pink figure, swift as lightning, arrived in front of Nomily before the attack landed and pulled her into a tight embrace.
**[Body Enhancement]**
**[Defense Enhancement]**
In that instant, Yuriko utilized her most frequently used spells.
After temporarily strengthening herself with magic, she raised her arm and blocked the Rock Giant’s attack with raw strength.
The stone blade collided with her arm, and blood splattered. The sharp, stony blade sliced through Yuriko’s flesh, finally coming to a halt against her bone.
She had physically halted the Rock Giant’s massive arm. The creature raised its other hand, intending to launch another attack.
The moment it tried to strike again, a rapier shining with golden light swept across its body, delivering several slashes in the blink of an eye.
Olesia’s swordsmanship was like a magnificent dance, using the Rock Giant’s body as a stage to showcase its charm to everyone.
Everyone was captivated by the brilliant skill. Even though this was not the first time Olesia had displayed her swordsmanship, the students were still left in awe.
Except for Nomily. After witnessing Yuriko take the blow for her, her gaze remained fixed on Yuriko’s face.
The Rock Giant’s body shattered into countless fragments of rock, and Olesia sheathed her sword.
She looked worriedly at Nomily in Yuriko’s arms. After seeing that she was unharmed, she breathed a sigh of relief.
“Classmate Ruri, your hand is injured. Let me treat it for you,” Olesia said.
“There’s no need. I can handle a minor injury like this myself.”
An emerald **[Magic Circle]** appeared on Yuriko’s injured arm, beginning to heal the wound.
‘Ouch, that really hurts. This Rock Giant is incredibly strong; it almost cut my hand right off.’
Though the wound was painful, it was within Yuriko’s limit of endurance.
As the injury gradually began to recover, Yuriko looked down at Nomily in her arms.
“Classmate Kipling, you aren’t hurt, are you?”
Nomily finally came to her senses. Only then did she notice her heart was racing wildly, likely frightened by the Rock Giant’s sudden assault.
She looked at Yuriko’s face.
Why hadn’t she noticed before how beautiful Yuriko was?
She wasn’t inferior to her Elder Sister at all, though her Elder Sister would definitely be more popular.
“I’m fine… thank you…”
Nomily seemed a bit dazed, as if her soul hadn’t quite returned to her body.
She looked down at Yuriko’s arm. Because of the Rock Giant’s attack, the sleeve of her school uniform had been sliced open.
Although the wound was nearly healed by the magic, one look was enough to tell how deep it had been.
“Does it hurt?”
Nomily asked blankly.
“It definitely hurts. But seeing that you’re okay, Classmate Kipling, it doesn’t feel quite as bad.”
Yuriko gave her signature gentle smile. Nomily had seen it many times before, but this time, she felt Yuriko looked exceptionally beautiful when she smiled.
‘What’s going on? Why is my heart beating even faster?’
Nomily’s cheeks flushed with a hint of red. She didn’t know what was happening to her; she only felt that Yuriko had become much more pleasing to the eye.
After confirming Nomily was fine, Yuriko helped her to her feet.
Before class ended, the old teacher criticized Nomily’s behavior.
He explained that because she had drawn the **[Magic Circle]** incorrectly, the step for the creature to acknowledge its master was missing, leading the Rock Giant to treat Nomily as an enemy.
As punishment, Nomily was required to clean up the area alone and was not allowed to leave until the scene was restored.
Yuriko’s act of selflessly protecting Nomily became a hot topic within the class. Yuriko herself was surrounded by her peers.
Regardless of what she actually thought about it, her popularity in class had certainly increased further.
“Alright, I’m really fine now. Look, it looks no different from my other arm~”
Yuriko showed her arm to Carmilla. She had already done this countless times, but Carmilla was still worried and suggested she visit the **[Infirmary]** for another look.
“You should still have it checked. The wound went all the way to the bone; there might be some hidden issues.”
“I’m really okay. I’m actually quite good at healing, so nothing will happen.”
Yuriko had already asked the Phantom to check for her. Ultimately, the cut had been very clean, making it easy to treat.
If the wound had been jagged, it would have been much more difficult.
However, Carmilla continued to look at her with worried eyes. Yuriko hadn’t expected her to be so unexpectedly stubborn about this.
Unable to withstand the staring, she finally gave in.
“Alright, I’ll go get it checked one more time.”
She really couldn’t bear to see Carmilla making that kind of expression.
Accompanied by Carmilla, Yuriko headed to the **[Infirmary]** for an inspection.
“The doctor happens to be out on business. Why don’t you wait inside for a moment?”
After receiving this answer, Yuriko and Carmilla walked into the **[Infirmary]**.
While waiting for the doctor, the two began to chat.
“Actually, the way you acted earlier was very cool, Ruri. I wouldn’t be able to do something like that. If I had been the one next to Classmate Kipling, I definitely couldn’t have protected her like you did.”
Carmilla’s strength was considered weak even among ordinary people; she wasn’t even as strong as Nomily.
Thus, Carmilla felt a bit of envy toward Yuriko, who could use her own body to protect a classmate.
“I believe that if you had the same power as me, Carmilla, you would have rushed out just like I did,” Yuriko said.
She believed Carmilla was a kind person. However, she added, “But if that happened, I would be worried about you. After all, I can’t bear to see you get hurt, either.”
“I-is that so? I might have been so scared that I’d run away, you know?”
Though she said that, Carmilla felt happy hearing Yuriko say she didn’t want her to get hurt.
After chatting for a while longer, the doctor finally returned. She performed an examination on Yuriko and confirmed there were no major issues for the time being.
“It looks fine for now. If you feel anything unusual with your arm later, remember to go to the hospital immediately.”
“I understand. Thank you, Doctor~”
Just as Yuriko was preparing to leave the **[Infirmary]**, someone pushed the door open.
Yuriko thought it was another student coming to see the doctor, but the person who appeared at the door was actually her cheap sister, Yun Jianlan.
“Ol—”
Yuriko started to call out as she usually did but remembered Carmilla was right beside her.
She instantly changed her tune.
“Sister~ What are you doing here?”
Yun Jianlan was a bit surprised by Yuriko’s attitude.
She remembered that her younger sister’s attitude toward her wasn’t usually this pleasant.
“I happened to be in the area for something. I heard you were injured, so I stopped by to check on you.”