"Eri, are you... okay?" Natsukawa Kanade asked, his brows furrowing slightly with concern.
Something felt off about Eriri today.
It wasn't about the earlier interactions—those he could chalk up to her usual shyness or the fear of being judged by others. But this? This was different.
Even after he had reassured her, made it clear that he didn't mind her reactions or awkwardness, she still looked... hesitant? No, maybe a better word would be restrained.
That wasn't like her at all.
Kanade thought about it for a moment, sifting through possibilities. The conclusion he reached wasn't one he could dismiss easily: there was a chance Eriri wasn't feeling well.
Of course, this wasn't a baseless assumption. After all, this world—though his reality—was still very much anime-like in nature. And in anime, wasn't it common for characters to act strangely due to external factors?
Drunken girls suddenly becoming bold?
Cold-stricken heroines transforming into soft, defenseless versions of themselves?
Yeah. He'd seen it before. Kaguya was a prime example—normally a cold, calculating ojou-sama, but the moment she caught a cold? She turned into the embodiment of pure innocence.
So then, could Eriri be suffering from something similar?
He had to confirm it.
"Are you feeling unwell anywhere?" Kanade asked, his voice laced with genuine concern. "Or did you not sleep well last night?"
For him, sleeping in unfamiliar places was a pain, but he had long since adapted. If Eriri had trouble sleeping, though, it could explain her behavior.
She remained silent, her expression wavering.
Kanade's eyes narrowed slightly. "…Could it be a cold? A fever?"
Without thinking too much, he instinctively reached out, pressing the back of his hand gently against her forehead.
=================
Warm.
Not quite feverish, but definitely warm.
"How do you feel? Any dizziness?" he asked, his tone more serious now.
Eriri's lips parted slightly, her breath hitching. A furious blush spread across her face like wildfire, her pupils trembling as she finally processed what was happening.
So…so close?!
Ahhh, Kanade is way too close!!!
Her heartbeat pounded in her ears. His face—his face was right in front of hers!!
Wait, wait, wait! Their hands—
THEY WERE STILL HOLDING HANDS!?
She completely froze, her brain struggling to function. Was… was he about to—
Kiss her?!
No way, no way, no way! Not here! People were watching!
What was she supposed to do?!
"Uh… um…"
Her voice was barely a whisper.
Kanade, on the other hand, remained oblivious to the complete chaos raging inside her mind. Based on her expression alone, he assumed she was just being stubborn. Typical Eriri. And if she was pretending to be fine when she actually wasn't, he couldn't just sit back and ignore it.
"No, you need to go to the infirmary," he said firmly, his tone leaving no room for argument. "Your condition isn't normal, and if you really get sick, it's going to be a problem."
Thinking about it now, most of the girls around him had pretty terrible stamina. Eriri was a textbook otaku, the senior was even frailer, and only Kaguya seemed to have exceptional physical strength.
Seriously, that girl could probably outmatch most guys in arm wrestling.
He shook his head, pushing the thought aside. The priority was Eriri's health.
"I'm really fine. You're just overreacting," she muttered, crossing her arms in a poor attempt to look unimpressed.
But even as she said it, her voice lacked its usual bite.
And deep down—
She was actually kind of happy.
Kanade really cared about her.
He still had her in his heart.
That realization alone sent another wave of warmth surging through her, making her even more flustered than before.
She wouldn't let him go.
Not now. Not ever.
===============
Although it wasn't exactly kind to think this way, Eriri couldn't help but feel that Natsukawa Kanade's failed pursuit was a blessing in disguise. If things had gone differently, she might have never gotten a chance to stand by his side again.
"No, we have to check this out. We can't afford to be careless about this sort of thing," Kanade said firmly, his expression serious.
His resolve wasn't without reason—he had learned from experience. There was a time when Eriri, in her stubborn determination to impress him, had pushed herself too far. She stayed up all night drawing, her exhaustion eventually catching up to her. The result? A complete collapse, a nasty fever, and several bedridden days.
Back then, Kanade had gone to see her every day after school. He had tracked down her classmates, obtained their notes at some cost, and painstakingly copied everything by hand just to make sure she wouldn't fall behind. Thanks to that effort, she managed to scrape by on her midterms without failing.
From that point on, they had made an agreement—he would help her manage her workload, ensuring she didn't push herself too hard. Even after she had rejected his confession, Kanade never once wavered in his commitment. If Eriri ever needed him, he would be there, no matter what.
"Though it seems unlikely... you wouldn't happen to be working on that here, would you?" Kanade hesitated for a moment before lowering his voice. His eyes flickered toward Yukinoshita, who was seated across from them, before returning to Eriri.
"That?" Eriri blinked, momentarily confused.
A beat later, realization struck her like a bolt of lightning. Her face turned completely crimson, her expression a chaotic mix of embarrassment and outrage.
"Y-You... You IDIOT! What kind of terrible nonsense are you spouting?!" she screeched, nearly jumping out of her seat. "I-I-I would never do something like that here!"
Unable to contain her flustered state, she activated her signature technique—Twin Ponytail Slash!—whipping her long blonde pigtails straight at Kanade in a desperate attempt to divert attention from her burning cheeks.
Kanade, however, wasn't fazed. In fact, rather than reacting with annoyance, he simply nodded in approval.
Yes, this was the Eriri he knew—the feisty, energetic, impossibly tsundere golden-haired menace. That strange, melancholic look she had earlier had thrown him off, as if she were someone else entirely. But now, everything was back to normal.
Just as he was about to say something, a sharp voice cut through their playful back-and-forth.
"Can you two please end this ridiculous farce of flirtation?" Yukinoshita Yukino interjected, her gaze as frosty as ever. "Thanks to your shameless behavior, this entire place has become the center of attention."
Kanade and Eriri froze in place, suddenly hyper-aware of the many eyes now locked onto them from all directions.
Eriri stiffened, her pigtails still mid-swing, while Kanade instinctively straightened his posture.
A long, awkward silence followed.
"…Oops."