"Megumi, is something wrong?"
After being poked on the cheek by Megumi Kato, Kotomi instinctively asked.
However, Megumi didn't answer her question. Instead, she continued poking Kotomi's cheek with her fingertip, each poke carrying slightly more force, prompting Kotomi to shift her gaze to Megumi's hand.
As soon as she looked down, Kotomi noticed that Megumi's fingertip bore slight wounds, as if it had just recently bled.
"How did you manage to hurt yourself like this? You need to be more careful. Come on, I'll take you to the infirmary," Kotomi said with concern, reaching out to grab Megumi's hand.
But Megumi didn't get up. Instead, she lightly pressed down, signaling Kotomi to remain seated.
"I just accidentally cut myself while sharpening a pencil earlier. I already rinsed it with cold water, so there's nothing to worry about," Megumi said nonchalantly.
"Cold water isn't enough; you need proper disinfection. Come on, let's go to the infirmary."
"Trust me, I'm fine. I wasn't even planning to let you notice, but I should've known you'd catch on. Your observation skills are sharp, Kotomi~"
Megumi smirked playfully, acting as though she hadn't intentionally used her injured finger to poke Kotomi's cheek to get her attention.
Kotomi couldn't argue with her, but she still wasn't comfortable with Megumi just rinsing her wound with cold water. Suddenly, she remembered the small first-aid kit in her bag and took it out.
Seeing Kotomi pull out the kit, Megumi raised an eyebrow. "I never took you for someone so meticulous."
"It's because of Aimi. When I was in elementary school, I loved running around and playing, which often led to me dirtying my clothes and getting minor injuries—one day, I'd scrape my knee; the next, I'd bruise my elbow.
So, whenever we went out together, Aimi would always carry a small first-aid kit in her shoulder bag, just in case I got hurt and needed immediate treatment. Once I started middle school and she couldn't always be there to look after me, she put the kit in my bag and taught me how to use disinfectant and cotton balls properly."
As she spoke, Kotomi scratched her head in embarrassment. If Aimi hadn't insisted on teaching her how to use the first-aid kit in her first year of middle school, she probably wouldn't have known how to use it even by the time she graduated.
She had been a bit clumsy as a kid...
"Don't you think Aimi takes care of you a little too well? Sometimes, it feels like she's the older sister and you're the younger one."
"I'm not that unreliable!" Kotomi pouted in protest, her fair and smooth cheeks making her look even more endearing.
"Well then, I'll leave my wound in your capable hands. Please disinfect it using the method Aimi taught you~" Megumi extended her hand with an amused tone, hinting at something more.
Kotomi huffed proudly. Even though Aimi had taught her early on, this was her first time actually disinfecting someone else's wound. A mix of nervousness and excitement filled her as she opened the first-aid kit and neatly arranged the disinfectant on the table.
Megumi raised her eyebrow slightly and exhaled softly. It wasn't that she feared the sting of alcohol disinfectant—a minor wound like this wouldn't hurt much at all. But upon noticing something missing from Kotomi's kit, she couldn't help but chuckle.
At that moment, Kotomi hadn't yet realized something was missing from her first-aid kit.
After laying out the alcohol, tweezers, and bandages, she was just about to start when she finally noticed—where were the cotton balls?!
Kotomi rummaged through the small first-aid kit, but with such limited space, there weren't any hidden compartments. If she couldn't find them, there was only one explanation—she had forgotten to restock them!
Suddenly, she recalled a conversation with Aimi not long ago.
Aimi: "Onee-chan, do we still have cotton balls in the first-aid kit? If we're out, make sure to replace them right away."
At the time, Kotomi had been lying on her bed, fully engrossed in her Switch game, so her response had been a casual, "Yeah, yeah, I got it. I'll do it later."
Of course, she never actually did. She had been too focused on clearing the game.
She had completely forgotten about it—until today. When Megumi injured her finger and Kotomi wanted to treat the wound, she finally realized that the cotton balls had run out and she had never replenished them.
Even the cotton swabs, which could have been a substitute, had been used up during her regular ear-cleaning sessions.
This was exactly why Megumi had been laughing earlier—how was Kotomi going to clean a wound without cotton balls? But instead of pointing it out, she had waited for Kotomi to realize it on her own, watching with amusement.
Kotomi suddenly looked up at Megumi and instantly knew why she was laughing! Her face turned red as she pouted and warned, "You're not allowed to laugh at me!"
"I'm not laughing at you~" Megumi replied innocently, though the grin on her face said otherwise.
"Hmph!"
Embarrassed, Kotomi let out a small huff and firmly grabbed Megumi's injured finger. With her other hand, she twisted the alcohol bottle cap and poured the liquid directly onto the wound.
The moment the alcohol made contact, even though the wound was small, the sting made Megumi instinctively knit her brows. But as she saw Kotomi's focused expression while carefully treating her wound, her brows soon relaxed—as if Kotomi's skillful care had somehow made it painless.
"Pouring disinfectant straight onto the wound... that reminds me of the 'Hand Sanitizer War God' from Resident Evil," Megumi commented lightly.
Lately, she had been catching up on the Resident Evil series so she could have more topics to discuss with Kotomi. She hadn't played the games but had watched all the gameplay breakdowns and learned about the series' running jokes through commentary videos.
Every evening after dinner, she would lounge on her bed and watch them like movies—it had become a new pastime.
"You mean Ethan, right?" Kotomi followed up excitedly. She hadn't expected Megumi to be interested in Resident Evil, and it made her happy. The corners of her lips lifted into a sweet smile, as if she had just eaten a piece of candy.
After letting the wound air-dry for a bit, Kotomi carefully placed a bandage over it. Even though Megumi repeatedly insisted she didn't need one, Kotomi was stubborn and firmly pressed the bandage into place, leaving no room for argument.
Megumi glanced at her bandaged finger, then at Kotomi's soft, pink lips, and let out a quiet sigh.
This wasn't the way she had hoped Kotomi would take care of her wound...
Regardless of how Megumi had hoped Kotomi would treat her wound, in the end, Kotomi let out a long sigh of relief after successfully applying the bandage.
Her first time treating someone else's wound had gone smoothly.
By the time she was done, the break had already passed. Class time seemed to crawl by second by second, while break time always flew by in an instant.
As a well-recognized model student in the eyes of the disciplinary director and teachers, Kotomi quickly put away her first-aid kit and took out her physics textbook and notebook for the third period.
She stacked the two books together, placed her phone beside them, and skillfully adjusted the angle. As she powered on her phone, she asked, "Megumi, did you clear the dungeon for me?"
"Of course. I got a ton of rare materials. I thought it would be difficult at first, but it was actually pretty easy—just had to activate a few skills occasionally."
Megumi chuckled, making it seem like she had been focused on grinding for Kotomi the entire time, completely ignoring the unread message from Iroha Isshiki.
That's because my team is well-leveled, so it felt easy to you… Kotomi thought smugly to herself.
Opening the inventory, she checked the acquired materials. While the event dungeon required a significant amount of time per run, the rewards were substantial. For instance, Kotomi needed materials to evolve an SSR character. Based on past drop rates, even if she played at least ten runs per day, it would take at least a month to collect everything necessary for a max-level evolution.
Even hardcore players who dedicated themselves entirely to grinding would need at least half a month, playing for six or more hours daily.
But with the current event rewards, this timeframe was drastically shortened. If everything went well, she could max out an SSR character in just a week. Kotomi planned to take full advantage of the event and farm all the high-level materials available.
Just as Kotomi was fully engrossed in grinding, a notification suddenly appeared—it was a bank message from Shueisha regarding her manuscript payment for the week.
She opened the message, glanced at her steadily growing savings, and smiled. This was undoubtedly the best news of the day.
"Looks like next month, Volume 1 of 'Chainsaw Man' will finally begin its publication process."
Kotomi muttered to herself. Ever since she learned from Asuka Chizuru that 'Chainsaw Man' had been internally approved for a standalone volume, she had been more motivated than ever to complete her manuscript, eager to fill an entire volume's worth of content.
While serializing in a weekly magazine provided steady manuscript fees with occasional bonuses, the real earnings came after a standalone volume was published. If the sales were strong, even if she took a break from writing and drawing for a month to travel and gather inspiration, she would still earn a considerable income.
I hope every volume I publish sells like crazy! Kotomi prayed silently.
After closing the bank notification, just as she was about to exit the messaging app and resume grinding, something caught her attention.
A message from Iroha Isshiki—sent half an hour ago?!
How had she not noticed the notification?
Kotomi stared blankly at her screen. Normally, new messages would have a small red number displayed next to them. However, at that moment, Isshiki's message had no such indicator, despite having been sent thirty minutes ago…
Kotomi wasn't sure why, but she instinctively turned her head to look at Megumi, who was attentively listening to the teacher's lecture.
Noticing Kotomi's gaze, Megumi's lips curved into a gentle smile as she turned towards her. "Is there something strange on my face?" she asked softly.
"No, I just think my new phone might have a problem..." Kotomi mumbled.
"Oh? What kind of problem?" Megumi asked with a knowing smile, seemingly very interested in Kotomi's phone.
"Uh... It's just that someone sent me a few messages, but there were no new message notifications," Kotomi replied.
Megumi's smile remained as she spoke, her eyes hiding a mysterious glint.
"Oh~ I see. Hehe, my phone does that sometimes too. I think they call it 'message swallowing'? Even if it's a new phone, all devices are prone to occasional malfunctions."
Her voice suddenly lowered as she added, "Kotomi, you should pay more attention to this. A malfunction isn't scary, but if you repair it properly, it will always return to its original state."
"I see. I didn't think a new phone would start acting up so soon… Good thing I asked about the warranty when I bought it," Kotomi nodded in understanding.
"Once a malfunction appears, you must never ignore it. You have to fix it as soon as possible—restore it exactly as it was," Megumi said with a smile. Yet, for some reason, Kotomi felt that Megumi's smile now seemed more genuine than before.
Megumi twirled her pen lazily and turned her gaze back to the blackboard, looking as if she were focusing on the lesson again.
Kotomi took the opportunity to check Isshiki Iroha's message. As she read it, an unconscious smile formed on her lips.
She tapped the attached photo and saved it to her album.
That little devil can be unexpectedly cute sometimes...
Just as she was about to type a reply, Kotomi suddenly felt a piercing gaze, sharp like a blade, pressing against the side of her face. Her spine instantly chilled as if she had fallen into an icy abyss.
Was it just her imagination? She suddenly felt as though the side of her face was being pricked by the tip of a knife.
Kotomi's eyes widened as she cautiously scanned her surroundings, but she couldn't find the source of the eerie stare.
Did I sleep too late last night? Am I hallucinating? she wondered.
Instinctively, her eyes drifted back to Megumi. At that moment, Megumi was resting her chin on one hand, her half-lidded eyes seemingly relaxed. With her left hand, she idly held a mechanical pencil, as if adjusting her position for comfort.
Wait… Is Megumi left-handed? Kotomi was curious—she had never seen Megumi write with her left hand before.
After a few minutes of observation, finding nothing amiss, Kotomi straightened up and resumed typing her reply to Isshiki Iroha.
Meanwhile, Megumi continued to rest her chin on her hand, her half-lidded eyes exuding an air of drowsiness, as if she could fall asleep at any moment.
But just as Kotomi relaxed again, Megumi's lips curled ever so slightly. Her eyes, which had briefly resumed their normal position, once again drifted toward Kotomi. Hidden beneath the casual tilt of her head, her gaze remained fixed on Kotomi as she continued typing her message to Isshiki Iroha.
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