When Hakuto opens his eyes, dusk has already deepened—it's almost night.
His body is still racked with sharp stabs of pain, though they are more bearable now. He feels stunned, disoriented. It takes him a moment to realize that he is wearing nothing but his underwear.
He looks around frantically, as much as his movements allow.
Shin, Chantal, and Itsu are also still unconscious. They too wear only their underwear, arranged neatly beside him on sheets. But there is no sign of Velshekar or Clarissa.
«Even with an incubus's energy running through you, it sure took you long enough to wake up. I was getting seriously bored. Another minute and I would've left you here—I can't spend the whole night playing nurse,» a woman's voice rings out behind him. A voice Hakuto is sure he has never heard before in his life.
With inhuman effort, and not without pain, he manages to drag himself just enough to glance back.
«A-And who are you…?» Hakuto asks in a faint voice—it's hard even to speak.
