Chapter 30: A Small Way of Being Spoiled on a Sick Day

“Mi–Hikari, cut it out…!”
“What!? Yousuke!? I haven’t even done anything yet!?”

I jolted up with a shout, and Hikari let out a startled scream, leaping away in a flash.
Her eyes were wide in surprise, but I didn’t have the presence of mind to care.
Clutching my chest, I was too busy trying to calm my pounding heart.

“Morning… huh…”

My back was soaked in sweat, and I felt utterly awful waking up like this.
Still, as the sunlight streamed in through the window, I began to feel a little more grounded, and muttered under my breath.

“It’s already noon, actually.”

Hikari pointed at the clock as she spoke.
Sure enough, it was just past lunchtime, confirming that she was telling the truth.

“You looked pretty out of it yesterday, so I figured it’d be bad to wake you up too early. But then you weren’t getting up at all, and that got me worried. So I came to check on you, and found you moaning in your sleep… I thought I’d wake you up.”
“S-sorry…”

So basically, even if I was half-asleep, I’d ended up yelling at someone who came out of genuine concern.

On top of feeling guilty for oversleeping, I lowered my head.
Not that she seemed particularly upset—she just reached over and gently touched her forehead to mine.

“Whoa! Yep, that’s a serious fever! I’m pretty sure it’s worse than yesterday!”

Now that she mentioned it, the headache definitely felt worse than it did last night.
And even though it was early autumn, I still felt chilly under the blankets.

Which meant that weird dream earlier probably came from being delirious with fever.

As time passed and I started to feel a little clearer, that explanation began to sound more and more reasonable… but still—

“...Hey. Hikari, you didn’t go out last night, did you?”

There was this lingering sense of unease clinging to the back of my mind, and even though I knew it was dumb, the question just slipped out.

“I was home the whole time, you know? I mean, I had no reason to go out. Besides, if a beautiful girl like me wandered around alone at night, it wouldn’t be strange if some creep tried something, right?”
“Right. Yeah… sorry. That was a weird thing to ask.”

Her answer was shameless as always.
But somehow, that very shamelessness was so her, it actually reassured me.

“Hmph. You’re thinking something rude right now, aren’t you?”

Maybe she saw right through me—Hikari puffed out her cheeks in a pout.

Now then.
After that, I took my temperature, and it came out to thirty-eight degrees.

For someone like me, who could barely remember ever catching a cold since I was a kid, this counted as a pretty intense fever.

Thankfully, I still had an appetite.

So I figured I’d just head to the kitchen and grab whatever leftovers I could find—

“No way! That stuff’s hard to digest, and you need something nutritious!”

—only for Hikari to immediately shut that idea down.

“…Then what do you suggest I do?”

As luck would have it, Mom had apparently gone out to the supermarket just before I woke up.

That meant, at this point, I was the only one who could cook.
I figured there was no other option, but then Hikari gave her flat chest a confident thump.

“Fufufu. I came prepared, you know? I’ll whip up something tasty for you! So just relax, Yousuke—lie down and get some rest!”

With that declaration, she dashed out of the room with full force.

…Honestly, I was more than a little worried.

Sure, cuts and burns can be healed with recovery magic, but that doesn’t mean the pain just disappears.
And if she ended up starting a fire or something, it’d be a total disaster.

I lay in bed, nervously imagining the worst—
But contrary to my expectations, a mouthwatering aroma began drifting into the room, making my stomach growl in anticipation.

Not long after, she returned carrying a clay pot filled with egg porridge.

“Here, say ‘ahh’!”
“…Why would I?”

I wasn’t a kid, and I didn’t need that kind of treatment.
I snatched the spoon from her and took a bite.

…A bit hot.
Even so, the words slipped out on their own.

“…This is good.”

My nose was stuffed up, so I couldn’t say I tasted it perfectly, but the seasoning was just right—easy to eat even with a fever.
The gentle flavor of dashi mixed with the softness of the egg made it a simple, comforting dish—something that felt safe to eat while sick.

“Really!? I’m so glad!”
“Why would I lie about that? It’s seriously good. I could eat this all day.”

To prove it, I polished off the whole bowl in one go.
Hikari’s face lit up with a bright smile.

Then she said—

“…My mom used to make this for me when I was sick. But being sick always made me feel really lonely, and I hated being stuck in my room by myself. So I’d beg to sleep in the living room instead. And even though she wasn’t a great cook, she made this for me every time. I ended up memorizing the recipe, just from eating it so much. So if it suits your taste, Yousuke, that really makes me happy.”

…That made sense.

I’d visited Hikari whenever she came down with a cold, but I never stayed long, thinking it’d be a burden.
So this was a story I’d never have known—something shared only between her and her parents.

And that unusually content look on her face now was probably because I’d complimented something that held a special meaning to her.

“Being cared for or caring for someone—either way, you can’t do it without someone else. It doesn’t work if you’re alone. That’s why I’ll take full responsibility for nursing you back to health, Yousuke!”

Her words carried a quiet, unwavering determination.

“…Just don’t overdo it, okay?”

I couldn’t bring myself to turn her down.
So I accepted it—gratefully, and without protest.