episode_0036

[Hmm, so what I want to say to Mr. Stay is this. Even though I never lose consciousness under normal circumstances and can be aware of anything done to me, if I faint due to Mr. Stay’s treatment, I won’t know what happened to me, right? So, as my private caregiver, Mr. Stay has an obligation to stay by my side. Do you understand?]

“To begin with, in order to enter this ward, you have to go through the duty room where I am. Is it really necessary?”

“Ah! You never know! Someone could break in through the window or use their abilities to sneak in. What if that happens?”

“If someone with the ability to intrude into this special ward does come in, as a Grade F hero, I can only be invaded.”

“You should resist! You’re my caregiver! Surely you wouldn’t just let them take me away, would you?”

Take me away? I’ve never even tried to take Mei Luina. How could I be accused of taking her? As I was about to voice my fundamental doubt, I realized that resistance would indeed be necessary. If I simply stood by while three heroes under my charge were kidnapped, the Central Information Bureau’s formidable monsters would surely hold me accountable. Since the price they would demand for that accountability would be my life, it seemed better to make an effort to resist, even if I was going to die anyway. Although I resisted until I was seriously injured, I had no choice but to say that I couldn’t help it due to the limits of my abilities, making it difficult for those heartless monsters, devoid of blood or tears, to hold me accountable. “Fine. After all, I just realized I don’t have much to do once I put Mei Luina into a state of unconsciousness. Rather than wasting time in the duty room or watching HeroTube videos, it’s better to just stay here with Mei Luina, isn’t it?”

“Hey, you promised! You said you wouldn’t leave even if I fell asleep! You said it with your own mouth, Stei!”

“Yes, I understand. From now on, I’ll do that.”

“Hehe!”

There was something about my words that seemed to delight Meiruina as she giggled like a young girl, her voice tinged with excitement. Hearing such a refreshing laughter, so unfamiliar from Meiruina, made me momentarily surprised. My hand, which had been gently stroking her soft cheek, paused.

“Hmm? Hey, Stei? Why did your hand stop? I clearly asked you to keep stroking, and yet you stopped without my permission. It’s just a simple thing, merely stroking my cheek, and yet, is it possible that Stei can’t even do this simple task properly? Is he really that incompetent?”

“Sigh.”

This is the Meiruina I know. Yes, that familiar and absurdly confrontational attitude. This is Meiruina.

Earlier, she greeted me with tears, and then, for the sake of future treatment, I simply looked at her squishy, bouncy, milk-filled chest, but when she heard those words, she suddenly got angry and demanded that I touch her cheek. It was a bit strange.

As an apology, touching the cheek—how could that possibly substitute for an apology? As far as I knew, for anger to be relieved by stroking the cheek, there needed to be at least a budding romantic relationship between the one stroking and the one being stroked. But I and Meiruina were not just lacking a romantic relationship; we were living in entirely different worlds, with a gap that far exceeded heaven and earth. So, when I heard the request to stroke her cheek to relieve her anger, I was truly confused. However, upon reflection, Meiruina’s sensitivity was clearly imprinted even on her cheeks. Among the three heroes of Stei, Meiruina, being the most perverted, even had sensitive cheeks. Yes, stroking sensitive cheeks could relieve anger. If you think about it that way, it makes sense. Although some doubts lingered, I somehow managed to convince myself, and thus, I continued to gently stroke Meiruina’s soft, squishy, bouncy, and yielding cheek with my fingertips.

And now, I could finally resolve my doubts after hearing Mei Luina’s voice, which had momentarily stopped.

As expected, Mei Luina couldn’t possibly have any feelings for me. She just wanted her cheek touched because she felt like it, not because she harbored any affection for me. I almost had a nightmare.

With a lighter heart, I earnestly caressed Mei Luina’s cheek once again.

[Huhu, that’s right. Until I tell you to stop, all you need to do, Mr. Stay, is to keep stroking my cheek.]

As the cheek-stroking resumed, Mei Luina seemed satisfied, ending her previous outburst and letting out a contented chuckle.

“Oh, Mr. Stay. It’s not too difficult for you, is it? Being with me all day long. Of course, being with me, Mei Luina, is an experience that even a millionaire couldn’t buy, and I’m sure Mr. Stay thinks so too, but I’m just asking out of courtesy, so please answer comfortably.”

How can one comfortably answer when asked out of courtesy? She really is a crazy woman.

Still, since there was no reason to uncomfortably respond when asked to answer comfortably, I just answered comfortably.

“Since I’ve already decided to invest my day in you when I made up my mind to schedule in rotation, there isn’t much changing.”

[…Rotation.]

“And, well, in terms of workload alone, it’s actually more comfortable for me to sit here quietly and look at your face than when I used to work as an ER assistant.”

[Ugh, my, my face…?]

“Besides, it doesn’t seem like the treatment will be prolonged anyway. Investing my entire day during the treatment period is really nothing for me.”

[T-Then I’m glad!]

When the word “rotation” came up, her voice momentarily darkened, which caught me off guard, but by the time I finished answering, Mei Luina’s voice was bright without a hint of shadow.

I was close to the right answer. Thank goodness.

As the voice brightened, confirming my improved mood, I took the opportunity to bring up something I hadn’t addressed earlier, when Mei Luina seemed upset.

“Oh, and about asking me to focus on treating you first while you were crying earlier, that’s just unreasonable, don’t you think?”

[······.]

Right after she commanded me to touch her cheek, Mei Luina, quite incongruously, pleaded with me, her voice strained. Something about how since she met herself first, she should be the first to receive treatment or some such nonsense. It was pointless chatter not worth hearing, even in passing.

So, I was going to just brush it off with a “What are you saying?” But at the time, Mei Luina seemed so unstable that I just swallowed my words. Now, she seems to be in a better mood, not as strained as before, so I can speak.

“I’ll just consider it as a sudden outburst due to emotional instability. After all, we all agreed to treat everyone fairly when we made the contract. So, how could we suddenly prioritize only Mei Luina? Let’s just pretend I didn’t hear that······.”

[Just.]

“Yes?”

[Please, can’t you just treat me first? I really hate being like this all the time.]

When I heard this much, although I hadn’t had any expectations to begin with, I was even more disappointed in Mei Luina’s humanity. It’s not just her alone in this situation; there are two other colleagues in the same predicament. How could she be so selfish?

Moreover, what Mei Luina is saying doesn’t even take my perspective into account. The others are still comatose, and if Mei Luina wakes up first, and the other two wake up later than Mei Luina, they will undoubtedly hold a grudge against me, and that resentment would lead to a dreadful outcome for me.

So, I removed my hand from Mei Luina’s cheek, looked at her seriously, and opened my mouth to rebuke her, telling her to stop talking nonsense.

“Mei······.”

[When Stay was beside me, it was okay, but… when I’m alone. It’s too scary. When I’m left alone, I can’t do anything. I’m just a crybaby who can only cry in the darkness where no one can hear. So, Stay, please… just cure me first…]

However, upon hearing Mei Luina’s sincere plea, I couldn’t bring myself to say what I had intended to say.

For an ordinary human being, being left alone as a helpless plant person, unable to do anything, would likely lead to a mental breakdown. Moreover, given the current situation with no apparent solution, it was natural for impatience to compound this dreadful circumstance.

After listening to Mei Luina, I somewhat understood why she had to voice such selfish words.

“But it can’t be that way. The day when all three of us wake up must be the same day. That’s what we decided.”

Understanding her, yet my prior decision remained unchanged. No matter how difficult it was for Mei Luina, or how dire the situation was for all three of us, ultimately, what mattered most to me were my own life and my dreams.

“T-That…! I don’t think I can bear being left alone anymore!”

“Instead, even if I’m not by your side, I’ll offer you one alternative so you won’t feel lonely.”

“An alternative…?”

However, being nothing more than a lowly Grade F, I couldn’t bring myself to refuse Mei Luina’s earnest request. So, I gently removed my hand from her soft, comforting cheek and proposed an alternative to her while stroking her smooth, silver hair.

“Even if I’m not physically present, you’ll always feel like I’m right there beside you. I’ll place a speaker near your head, Mei Luina. It will always stay connected, and though conversation might be challenging, you’ll still hear my voice, so you won’t be lonely.”

The alternative was to have a Bluetooth speaker set up so that I could receive real-time transmissions of the things I say when treating two people, even on days when I’m alone and feeling lonely.

“I’ll have calls connected when I’m treating others. You can just listen to my voice. That should make you feel a bit better, right?”

It was quite a good idea for something I came up with on the spot.