Chapter 56
Recovery Time ⭐↑↑
Cup noodles. It's a great instant food that supports those who aren't good at cooking and can be stored for a long time. When it's too much of a hassle to eat out, "Ah well, it's a good thing I have that!", I feel saved.
What a revolutionary food. I can't help but praise you. If it wasn't for you, I would be eating corned beef and expensive SPAM* right now. Yes, they're both good too.
(TL Note: SPAM is a brand of salty and canned processed pork from Japan).
"The best of the best indeed..."
Cheese seafood, huh... ...Are you trying to kill me when I have a cold? My mouth is happy, but... are you sure this won't work against my cold? I can't go to school, can I? Oops, my nose is running. Where are the tissues?
It was late afternoon on the workday - and I was drenched in cough and cold, so I was absent from school because I had a cold. There was no headache anymore. I still had a slight fever, but my sleepiness had subsided.
The newest type of sound that went "Fi-i-n" came from my game console as I launched it. As I looked at the home screen that appeared, the sense of excitement that rose from within my body made the rest of my body hot. Ah, what a good life for my body...
Just as I was forgetting my guilt for being so engrossed in laziness, my smartphone made a banging sound. I looked and found incoming messages from someone on the notification screen. Who are the people making my smartphone bang?
[Are you still alive, Sajocchi?]
I'm so sorry, Ashida.
Is it lunch break already? I'm sure she sent me a message because she was worried about me. But what if I tell her the truth? It would probably be a joke to say that a sick person is playing a game while sipping cup-packed noodles. Let's show our gratitude while pretending to still be sick.
[It's great to be alive.]
I feel so wrong.
I didn't get a reply back. The read count kept increasing in response to my reply... -What, read count? Oh no. It turned out to be a group message, huh? Isn't this what all of the classmates saw...?
[You shouldn't sleep, then.]
[He's relaxing in his free time, isn't he?]
[I didn't know that math is that hard.]
Hey, stop it, Iwata, Iihoshi-san and Yamazaki. Don't remind me about math, I'll get a headache again.
No need to worry. ...Math, which is not based on memorization, is a magical subject where even people who can't learn can achieve high grades. Math is still easier to learn than subjects that require you to read a lot of text.
That's right! Just thinking about it gives me a headache! Now I'm going to empty my mind, empty my head and look at the *ss of the game character in front of me! Hey, kiddo! You have a nice *ss!
Ah, I should take a pill before my lunch...
♦
'...What the hell were you thinking-?'
'But...'
"-Huh...!?"
I woke up because I heard a slight noise. On the television screen in front of me were the words 'GAME OVER'. Uh, the game is over? It's an RPG, but... ...well, is this the pattern where the chat takes care of itself, the battle starts and you get unwarranted kills? Ah, I fell asleep. ...I sat up like a monk and fell. Oops, drool, drool.
I looked at my watch and it was already nighttime. I remembered that I took some medicine in the afternoon, drank some juice, and came back and continued to the fourth town, so it felt like I had slept for... ...four and a half hours? Thanks to that, I felt refreshed now.
"Alright, ...hmm?"
As I stood up and felt uncomfortable with the sweat pouring down my back, I heard the sound of the intercom ringing. I haven't heard anything from outside the room since then, is it Mom who went out...? Ah well, I guess I should answer that.
"...Eh?"
I checked the camera on the intercom, there were two girls there. It's not Big Sis at all, and why wouldn't you press the intercom in your own house? Does that mean... ...huh? Was it just an illusion? There was a girl on the other side of the screen who looked like the Goddess of my dreams. ...Why? What's going on?
"Wh-What are you guys doing...?"
'Ah-.'
What a terrible time. I called out to the two girls who were just about to turn around from my house. My voice must have reached them because they ran towards the camera and brought their faces closer to the camera... - Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! What the hell is this? Oh my God, what is this? Can I kiss the screen? Is that going to spread my cold germs!!?
...Okay, I'll wear a mask, then.
♦
"Welcome."
"Welcome... your *ss!"
"Eh?"
After I opened the door, I was greeted with a smartphone held in front of my face. As I looked at it, I saw the chaotic group message history... - Wh-What is this? What's with all these shocking reactions from everyone?
"What do you mean 'It's great to be alive'? If you want to joke around, just joke around, and finish with a joking reply."
"Well, actually, I was a bit worried. You just typed that one sentence and then you left, Sajocchi. Our classmates were worried because your cold started from fainting."
"What?"
I went to get my smartphone from my room and checked it. When I opened the messaging app, some notifications lingered there. There were also some missed calls. From what started as an atmosphere of, [Are you kidding me?] to [What could it be? ...What? Are you kidding me?] turned into, [Wait, this isn't good, this is bad, right?]. No matter what happened, the worst thing was that I was just playing the game normally at first.
"[I overslept.] period."
[I'm going to kill you.]
[Just go to sleep, there. No need to get up again.]
[You suck at Math.]
"Wow."
"Serves you right!"
There are so many words you shouldn't say to a sick person that came out. This is horrible, can I skip school for two more weeks? ...Isn't it summer vacation soon...?
"No need to cry out loud... ...It's a good thing Aichi knows where Sajocchi lives. I mean, how did you know?"
"No-No strange reason, really, I just asked Yamazaki-kun about it before...!"
"Huh!? You found out, Aichi? Why!?"
"I had a little business to finish here!"
That was the last time you came to my house, wasn't it? You asked me a question when there was a possibility that it would give rise to some strange rumors. After all, she is a Goddess. I mean, is Yamazaki the person she said 'I heard it from a boy who still has club activities'?
"Um, I'm sorry if I made you girls worry... not to mention that you girls might get infected."
"Ah well, I'll probably call Sajocchi to take care of me later."
"I will take care of you girls. I will do whatever you want."
"Heh..."
Yes, anything... ...like wiping your sweaty, steaming body- Mufufufu! Damn... ...evil thoughts that block my immunity...! Shut up, my cold germs! And, my heated blood! Stay away from my lower abdomen!
"..."
"..."
"...Um, what?"
Before I realized it, Natsukawa and Ashida were looking at me as if they were taking precautions. What? You girls don't like a guy with a cough, even if he's wearing a mask? Ah, my face? My face must be disgusting. I looked carefully, I pretended to be disgusting, but they acted as usual. Huft.
"──You want to do whatever I want...?"
"Eh?"
Eh? Natsukawa? What kind of question is that? Are you going to let me do that? If it's Natsukawa, I'll do my best to do whatever you want. If you want, I'll pay you.
"Sa-Sajocchi, are you still feeling pain?"
"No, I'm not sick anymore...!? Oh, ah... ...I'm just a bit tired."
"Ah, you look fine, don't do anything because it's not good for your heart."
"What...?"
Just when I thought that I would be blamed for making a scene again if I said that I had recovered, the cold-faced Ashida also returned sharp words to me. No, don't say something cold all of a sudden. ....What a maximum rejection. Is offering myself to take care of you until you recover a deadly level of disgust? I'm not proud of anything. I'm not so weird to make porridge with this. Flowering rice!
"Ah, don't say something that misled people!"
"Misled people... hmm?"
'Misled people'? What made you misled me? I don't remember saying that with such connotations. ...I don't think you girls have ever taken such precautions before.
"Well, I'm sorry that something happened to you, and... I'll at least come see you guys. I can help peel apples or something."
"I don't need apples, just Hägen ice cream because it's delicious."
"Don't let sick people try to eat ice cream."
"Well, I'll help... ...take care of Airi-chan instead..."
"Uh, is it okay?"
Other than Ashida, Natsukawa seems to have softened her attitude somewhat compared to the last time she came to my house. Yes, not just to me, but also to the people around me. Natsukawa-san has turned into a popular girl and is getting harder to talk to in class day by day. It's like the difference between the world we live in is starting to show...
"Yeah, you know, it was Aichi who invited me to visit your house..."
"H-Hey, Kei...!"
"..."
Kyun. Someone please hit me ten seconds ago. You can do that at the starting point. I'm guilty of doubting Natsukawa's conscience even for a moment. I've known for a long time that Natsukawa is kind and not arrogant.
"Natsukawa... ...I knew it, she's a Goddess, after all."
"What the hell are you talking about, geez..."
"Ah? Ah? Like before, Sajocchi still loves Aichi, huh..."
"...? Ah."
There was something strange. I didn't expect that Ashida, who was talking with her friends, would bring up a story like that. Yes, it was indeed a commonly known fact about me and Natsukawa, and I couldn't deny that it had become like a joke.
"Wh-What the hell are you talking about?"
"What?"
"Th-Therefore..."
"Isn't it too late for that? You also look cute today, Natsukawa."
This is a boon for me even though I've been rejected so many times. It's if I can say "cute" to Natsukawa without embarrassment. I have nothing to worry about right now because she already knows that I think so. After all, there was no time when Natsukawa wasn't cute.
"Wh-What...?"
"Eh? Natsukawa?"
"Ah, sorry, sorry, it was my bad. I just wanted to make sure that Sajocchi was still alive, so I guess we'll end it here. Here's some yogurt for you."
"Ah, thank you. Are you guys going home already?"
"What, you don't want us to go home?"
"No, I don't want you guys to get infected, so I don't mind."
Ashida, who was very dumbfounded for a moment, went home, and hugged Natsukawa's shoulder while saying a fatherly phrase like, 'I'm so tired of all this.' Wait, what is that feeling? Natsukawa-san, are you going to carry her home? Your father won't let you do that!
Eh? You guys are kidding, uh, hey. ...They just went straight home...
TL: Reeze27
ED: Reeze27
PR: Reeze27
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