Seeing Zach enter the room, my cat let out a grumpy sound before arrogantly getting up from its bed and jumping on mine.


    After the first day, my cat simply took control, so Alya and I didn''t even need to go through the process anymore.


    Well, I was needed for the first step of the process, but besides that, my ck cat could conduct it himself without any problems.


    As Zach hesitantly walked towards the bed, where my cat was already sitting, I headed to the kitchen.


    After the process, my ck cat would be extremely hungry and fatigued, sleeping more than usual, which I genuinely thought was impossible, so I needed to be ready.


    As I picked a piece of chicken from the fridge, Alya took a seat on the couch before asking.


    "So...this is thest day? And, then, he''ll be back to normal...?"


    Shrugging my shoulders, I replied.


    "I think so, but who knows? Don''t you know thatw? ''Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.'' "


    Shaking her head, Alya replied.


    "I''ve never heard that before...?"


    "*tsk* this shameless author, using the rule without even defining it in the book."


    Hearing my mumbling, Alya questioned.


    "What was that?"


    I replied, beginning to cook the steak over a small me of fire I had created using the blood-red substance in my body.


    "Nothing at all."


    As we finished our conversation, I heard the bed creak as Zach finally gathered the courage to sit down on the bed.


    Eventually, looking up from the ground, Zach turned to me and said.


    "...I think I''m ready."


    Ignoring him, I simply gestured to the cat as I had done the previous days and replied.


    "You''ll need some rest after this."


    Jumping off the bed, the cat slowly walked towards me, making sure to articte its every moment like it was a model on a runway.


    Shaking my head, I watched as the cat finally reached my shoes before slowly raising its paw to my leg.


    After a couple of seconds of holding its paw to my leg, the ck cat sat back down for a second before turning around.


    Then, just as before, the cat walked over to the bed before jumping on andnding right next to Zach, who was trembling.


    Sitting down on a chair next to Alya, I watched with interest as my cat simply sat there and stared at Zach.


    Sighing, I screamed out.


    "Zach, LAY DOWN!"


    Finally taking the hint, Zach nced at us onest time, his amber-brown sparkling with hope, before lying down on the bed.


    And, just likest time, the cat ced its paw right over Zach''s head, causing the lights in the room to turn off.


    Turning to me in the darkness, Alya asked.


    "...is the lights turning off part of whatever treatment method this is?"


    Peering through the darkness of the room, I pointed at my cat which was beginning to form the symbol.


    ''Nah, I think he just wants to look cool."


    "...it''s cat, how do y-"


    "Look, your friend is getting cured right now, is this what you want to think about!?"


    As the two of them nced back at Zach''s lying figure on the bed, the familiar symbol began to form on the ceiling.


    A moment or two after itspletion, the symbol slowly began to descend from the ceiling until it finally became interested in Zach''s face.


    *BZZT*


    Ignoring the vibrationing from my smartwatch, I watched Zach as the lights eventually turned out and the symbol disappeared.


    Then, like nothing even happened, my cat jumped off the bed before groggly walking to its food bowl.


    As my cat devoured the bits of chicken I made, Zach slowly got up from the bed, holding onto a nearby wall to stand.


    Breaking the silence, I got up from the chair and pped my hands.


    "All good?"


    Despite the exhaustion he was probably feeling from the ritual, Zach, with his hand holding him up straight, managed to let out a smile.


    "Yeah...I think I''m going to be alright."


    Depleted of most of his energy, Zach mustered just enough energy to lean downwards, bowing down right in front of me.


    "T-thank you."


    Stopping him before he could mutter another word, Alya turned to me, a smile also apparent on her face, and said.


    "Thank you for everything...I''ll repay you... somehow... eventually."


    As the two walked out of my dorm room, Zach limping and smiles beaming off both their faces, I sat down on the bed.


    Picking up my smartwatch from my desk, I scrolled on the inte for a bit, trying to distract myself.


    Tomorrow... was going to be interesting.


    Of course, though, I still had today to go.


    Checking my smartwatch, I finally opened the messages app and saw a message from a familiar sending waiting for me.


    [Charlotte: Where are you?]


    [Charlotte: You do know punctuality is a requirement for this Knight Order, right?]


    [Charlotte: ...alright then. I''ll wait inside; message me when you''re here.]


    "...why does thatst message sound so ominous?"


    After spending a couple more minutes simply lying on my bed and looking out of the window, I finally mustered up the energy to get up.


    Today would be another day when I could get some intel about the location around the faculty building.


    The royal dormitory was already close to the faculty building, so I could scout the outside, and Charlotte asionally would tell me to get things that her brother had "forgotten" to give her from her old room.


    A visual image of the hallways, vents, and window locations was already starting to form in my head.


    Seeing the documents on the receptionist''s desk also helped me keep up with the news around the academy.


    Leaving my dorm building, I brought a jacket with me as the sky above no longer held a clear sky with a sun.


    It was instead overcast with a dull, gray color, with wispy, thin clouds spread all throughout.


    "...snow huh? It''s been a while..."