Chapter 31: How to Listen to a Bedtime Tale
And so, I left my care in Hikari’s hands and quietly laid down in bed—
—was the plan, at least.
“…Why are you trying to crawl into my bed?”
For some reason, Hikari started shimmying under my covers like it was the most natural thing in the world. I stopped her with one hand.
“Eh? Well, you looked cold. And there’s no way we’d have a kotatsu this time of year, right? So I figured body heat was the only way to keep you warm!”
“What kind of logic is that…?”
“You’re the one who hugged me so tight by the river! Isn’t it unfair if only you get to do that!?”
…I hugged her back then because it felt like if I didn’t, her life would flicker out like a dying flame. It wasn’t like that was the goal.
And yet, she puffed out her cheeks and glared at me with a sulky little stare.
“Ugh… I was unconscious, and you took advantage of me and did this and that… Now you have to take responsibility…”
“Pretty sure I’m the one being attacked right now…”
She even started fake crying next.
Absolutely unreasonable.
Though, considering the cheeky little tongue she stuck out mid-act, I doubt she was being serious.
“…Wait a sec. How do you even know about that? You were passed out cold. There’s no way you’d remember. Unless someone else saw and told you?”
“...I-I was just fishing for a reaction, okay!? Anyway! If you’re not feeling well, you really shouldn’t let yourself get cold!”
“…Fine. I’ll add another blanket so I don’t chill too much. But don’t get too close, alright? I do appreciate the nursing, but if you end up catching what I have, it’s all for nothing.”
Honestly, something about all this still didn’t sit right. But with the way my head was pounding, I couldn’t bring myself to think too deeply about it.
So for now, I focused on avoiding spreading the illness.
She might seem all full of energy, but she’d only just collapsed the other day too. There’s no way she was fully recovered.
But in response, Hikari snorted smugly through her nose.
“You don’t have to worry about me! I’m totally fine! I mean, I’m a vampire now. No way a human cold could take me down! …Oops. Wait, if I tell Yousuke that, I won’t be able to fake being sick to skip school anymore.”
“…Unbelievable.”
“Ahaha.”
I shot her a flat stare, which made her laugh nervously as she scratched her cheek. Then I threw a question at her—one that had just popped into my head.
“…Hey, what about that healing magic you used before? That should be enough to wipe out a cold, right?”
That spell of hers was seriously powerful.
After all, it completely erased an old injury I’d lived with for years—pain and all—like it had never existed.
It was something completely beyond human understanding.
If it could do that, then a simple cold shouldn’t stand a chance.
—Or so I thought.
“Sorry, that’s not gonna work.”
She said it without hesitation.
“Uh, see… I probably need to explain how healing magic actually works. But to put it simply, it injects mana into the body and forcibly boosts your life force. But a cold is caused by viruses or bacteria inside your body, right? So if you do that, you end up boosting those too. Worse, it might even make things more severe.”
“…I see. So magic can’t just fix everything after all.”
“Yep. That’s why the girl who taught me healing magic a year ago told me, ‘You mustn’t rely on it too much.’”
“You were taught? So that means—”
So in other words, Hikari didn’t learn how to use magic right after getting summoned to the other world.
Actually, that made perfect sense.
Even if she had the potential of a Hero, back in modern Japan she was just a regular middle schooler, nothing more.
…Which means, if someone teaches me too, maybe I could learn to use magic?
Was it curiosity, maybe?
That urge began to stir inside me—
“…No, never mind.”
—but I held it back.
Sure, magic would be convenient.
But my mana exists to be given to Hikari.
If I wasted it just studying magic, and couldn’t give her what she needed when it mattered most, that would defeat the whole purpose.
“…? You’re acting weird, Yousuke. Don’t tell me—your fever’s getting worse? I knew it! We really need to warm you up right away!”
Naturally, my sudden silence made Hikari look at me suspiciously.
And judging by her reaction, she was about to leap to some weird conclusion, so I quickly shifted gears and asked a different question.
“Uh… That girl who taught you magic—what was she like?”
“You mean… Lilia?”
“Yeah. And while we’re at it… would you mind telling me more about what happened after you were summoned to the other world?”
Just to clarify—it wasn’t just a desperate attempt to change the subject.
I’d genuinely been curious for a while now.
Who did Hikari meet over there? What kind of life did she live?
In the end, I only knew bits and pieces.
The first time she explained it, she mostly just gave me a rough timeline of events. She glossed over a lot.
“…I don’t mind, but… are you sure? You’ve got a cold. Isn’t it better to rest than listen to me ramble on?”
“I’ll be fine. I actually like your voice, Hikari. It’s… calming, somehow. Feels like I could listen to it forever.”
“Ugh… You always catch me off guard with those lines, you know that? I’ve actually never liked the way my voice sounds now. But… if you say that, then maybe I can start to accept it. Even just a little.”
“…Really?”
I was surprised by the unexpected insecurity.
Hikari’s voice had changed a lot—it was much higher than it used to be. Honestly, it almost sounded like someone else entirely.
But to me, it was pleasant. Comforting, even.
“Yeah… Well, anyway, let’s put that aside. So—where should I start…”
And then, Hikari slowly began to speak.
About that day—the day after she lost both her parents.
About how she was suddenly summoned as a Hero.
And how she made the decision to fight, no matter what it cost.
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