Several days had passed since the double gate incident, and the team had been grinding relentlessly. Sein had been pushing them harder than ever, determined to regain her lost strength. They had cleared gate after gate—C-ranks, B-ranks, even a few unstable anomalies that should have been above their pay grade. Andrey had lost count of how many monsters they had slain.

Their levels had soared. All four of them were now Level 46.

But the cost was visible on their faces.

Sarah slumped against the couch, her head tilted back, eyes staring at the ceiling with a hollow expression. Her brown hair was a mess, tangled from days of not bothering to comb it properly.

"Aaaargh!" she suddenly shouted, throwing her hands in the air. "I’ve had enough! These past few days gates, gates, and more gates! I want to rest! Just a little bit! Is that too much to ask?!"

Lisa, sitting beside her with her twintails slightly drooping from exhaustion, placed a gentle hand on Sarah’s arm. Her face was tired too, dark circles under her eyes, but she was trying to hold herself together.

"Sarah, calm down," Lisa said softly, her voice soothing despite her own fatigue. "It’s okay. We’ll buy something delicious to eat later, alright? Your favorite. Maybe some sushi?"

Sarah turned her head slowly, her eyes narrowing at Lisa. "Food won’t cure exhaustion, Lisa. Do you understand? Every single day, we wake up, we go to a gate, we kill monsters, we come home, we sleep, and then we do it again." Her voice cracked. "I’m dreaming about gates now. Last night, I dreamed a goblin was chasing me with a spreadsheet. A SPREADSHEET, Lisa! Do you know what that means?!"

Lisa blinked, unsure whether to laugh or be concerned. "That... sounds very specific..."

"It means my brain is broken!" Sarah wailed, flopping forward to bury her face in a cushion. "Please, no more gates. Just for one day. Let me sleep. Let me watch trashy TV. Let me be a normal unemployed person for twenty-four hours."

Sein, who had been leaning against the wall with her arms crossed and her orange hair tied back in a messy ponytail, raised an eyebrow. Her expression was flat, unimpressed.

"Dramatic, aren’t you?" she said dryly.

Sarah’s head snapped up from the cushion. Her eyes blazed. "What did you say?!"

"You heard me." Sein pushed off from the wall, walking toward the kitchen to pour herself a glass of water. "You’ve been whining for ten minutes straight. We’re Level 46 now. That’s thanks to the schedule I set. You should be grateful."

"Grateful?!" Sarah shot to her feet, the cushion dropping to the floor. "I’m exhausted! My bones are tired! My hair is tired! Even my mana pool is tired!"

Sein took a slow sip of water, utterly unbothered. "Then maybe you should train harder. Build up your stamina."

Sarah’s eye twitched violently. "I will end you."

Lisa quickly stepped between them, her hands raised. "Okay, okay! Both of you, please don’t fight! Sarah, deep breaths. Sein, maybe... maybe we could take a slightly lighter schedule tomorrow?"

Sein set down her glass, her expression unchanged. "We have a B-rank gate scheduled for 8 AM."

Sarah’s face went pale. "Eight in the morning?!"

"It’s the most efficient time," Sein said flatly. "Less civilian traffic. Fewer interruptions."

Sarah looked like she was about to explode.

Andrey, who had been sitting in his armchair observing the chaos with his usual calm, finally spoke. "Enough. Both of you."

Sarah and Sein turned to look at him. Lisa let out a small breath of relief.

Andrey adjusted his glasses, his gaze moving from Sarah’s exhausted face to Sein’s stubborn one, then to Lisa’s tired but gentle eyes. His internal thoughts surfaced: ’They’re both exhausted. Sarah’s at her breaking point, and even Lisa is struggling to keep up. Sein’s schedule is too aggressive. We’ve leveled up fast, yes, but if we keep this up, they’ll burn out before the real threats even appear.’

He stood up from the armchair, his movements deliberate.

"Sein," he said, his voice calm but firm, "your schedule has been effective. I won’t deny that. But we’re not machines. We need rest to recover properly."

Sein’s jaw tightened. "We don’t have time to rest. The artifacts—"

"The artifacts will still be there tomorrow," Andrey interrupted. "And the day after. But if Sarah collapses from exhaustion in the middle of a gate, or if Lisa’s barriers fail because she can’t concentrate, then we lose more than just time. We lose each other."

Sein’s mouth opened, then closed. Her arms uncrossed slowly.

Andrey continued, his voice gentler now. "We agreed to be a team. That means we look out for each other. Not just in battle, but outside of it too. Sarah needs rest. Lisa needs rest. Even you need rest, though you won’t admit it."

Sein looked away, her jaw still tight but her posture less rigid.

Sarah stared at Andrey, her anger slowly deflating. She sank back onto the couch, hugging the cushion to her chest.

"...Fine," she muttered. "But I’m sleeping in tomorrow. No alarms."

Lisa smiled weakly. "I think that’s reasonable."

Andrey nodded. "Then it’s settled. Tomorrow is a rest day."

Sein said nothing. She turned and walked toward her room, her footsteps quiet on the wooden floor. But before she disappeared through the doorway, she paused.

"...One day," she said, not looking back. "That’s all."

Then she closed the door behind her.

Sarah let out a long, shaky breath, her shoulders finally relaxing. "Thank you, Andrey."

Lisa reached over and squeezed Andrey’s hand, her smile warm despite her exhaustion. "You’re a good leader."

Andrey shook his head slightly. "I’m just trying to keep everyone alive."

He sat back down in his armchair, pulling up the system interface. The team’s levels glowed on the screen—all four of them at Level 46. It was impressive progress. But progress meant nothing if the people behind it were broken.

He dismissed the screen and leaned back, closing his eyes.

The next morning, sunlight streamed through the half-closed curtains, painting golden streaks across the living room floor.

Sarah was sprawled across the couch, one leg hanging off the edge, her face buried in a pillow. She wore an oversized t-shirt and shorts, her brown hair a tangled mess. She hadn’t moved in hours.

Lisa sat at the dining table, a cup of tea cooling in front of her. She was dressed in a soft lavender sweater and comfortable pants, her twintails loose and resting on her shoulders. Her eyes were still heavy with sleep, but she looked more relaxed than she had in days.

Sein emerged from her room, wearing a plain black hoodie and sweatpants. Her orange hair was damp from a shower, and she looked marginally less prickly than usual. She walked past Sarah without a word, grabbed a mug from the kitchen, and poured herself coffee.

Andrey sat in his armchair, a book open in his lap, though he hadn’t turned a page in twenty minutes. He was observing them and his inner voice said, ’This is good.’

Sarah stirred, groaning softly as she rolled over. Her eyes fluttered open, squinting against the sunlight.

"...What time is it?" she mumbled.

Lisa glanced at the clock on the wall. "Almost ten."

Sarah blinked. Then a slow, blissful smile spread across her face. "I slept for twelve hours." She stretched like a cat, her arms reaching above her head, her back arching. "Oh, that feels amazing."

Sein snorted into her coffee. "You wasted half the day."

Sarah’s smile didn’t waver. "Worth it."

Lisa giggled, the sound light and genuine. "I made tea, Sarah. Do you want some?"

"Mmm." Sarah pushed herself upright, her hair sticking up in every direction. "Yeah. Thanks, Lisa."

Andrey finally turned a page in his book, though he still wasn’t reading. ’One rest day,’ he thought. ’Then back to work. But maybe... we should do this more often.’

Andrey glanced at his phone, screen lighting up with a familiar name.

Hope: Tomorrow, 3 PM. Lumina Guild HQ, East Wing. Don’t be late.