The door creaked open softly.
"Ah! You're back?!"
Joe's voice came quick and sharp, his body jerking upright despite the layers of bandages wrapped around him. The movement clearly pulled at his injuries, but he ignored it, eyes locked on me with barely restrained urgency.
"What's the situation?"
I closed the door behind me, taking a moment before answering.
"It seems your treatment went well."
Joe blinked, caught off guard for a second.
"…Yeah. Minor injuries, mostly. Nothing serious." He flexed his fingers as if proving the point, then his expression tightened. "But the seal—!"
There it was.
Not concern for the battle.
Not even for me.
For the artifact.
His gaze darted over me, scanning for any sign of it, like a child afraid his most prized possession had been taken.
I couldn't help but notice it—
that raw, unfiltered anxiety.
'Young,' I thought.
Even if he tried to act composed, it showed.
