After letting out a series of sharp complaints, Kanade finally felt a little less frustrated.
Truth be told, he had expected Eriri to chime in with something by now—maybe a retort or even just a bit of conversation to distract herself. But she stayed completely silent even as he calmed down, which only made Kanade assume that she was still shaken from the encounter.
"Eriri, are you okay? Are you sure you're not hurt?" he asked, his voice tinged with concern.
"Huh? Me? Oh, I'm fine… totally fine," she replied, snapping out of her trance after he had to call her several times.
Her half-dazed response only confirmed Kanade's suspicions.
"You don't sound fine at all…" Kanade frowned. He paused, then continued earnestly, "Maybe I should take you to the infirmary? At least somewhere safe where you can sit and relax for a bit."
Even though they had made it far enough to feel relatively safe, the unchanging scenery of weeds and overgrowth wasn't exactly comforting. If anything, it might just remind Eriri of what had just happened and make it harder for her to recover.
And Kanade had his own reasons for being on edge. The tense encounter with the wildcat had left his heart pounding long after the danger had passed. The image of the cat's final lunge—sharp claws extended, its movements frozen in his mind like an oil painting—refused to fade.
If that's how he felt, someone like Eriri, who was naturally more sensitive and anxious, would have had an even harder time shaking off the experience. He worried it might leave her with lingering trauma, something he wanted to help her avoid at all costs.
"Eriri, you don't have to stay so tense," he said, his voice soft as he tried to reassure her. "That wildcat isn't coming back. We're on a well-traveled path now, so the human activity alone would keep animals like that away. Plus, there's repellant sprayed around these areas to deter them. You're safe here, really."
"I said I'm fine! Besides… I wasn't even worried about that in the first place," Eriri muttered, barely audible.
She had no intention of wasting precious alone time with Kanade in some boring infirmary. That kind of setting wouldn't trigger any heart-fluttering moments or deepen their bond—it wasn't like it would suddenly unlock a secret event that would raise her affection level.
Eriri sighed to herself, weighing her options. Sure, the test of courage had been part of her plan to create heart-pounding moments, but maybe she didn't need the event at all? Just walking alongside Kanade, holding onto his arm and chatting leisurely, felt more than enough.
The problem was… she hadn't really stood out in their interactions lately. If anything, she felt like she was at risk of being reduced to the "pet-like" character—a cute, but ultimately hopeless, presence in Kanade's life.
No way! I can't let myself become the cliché 'golden-haired loser' trope!
If she wanted Kanade to notice her properly, she needed to find ways to demonstrate her charms, to make him see her in a new light. And if nothing worked… well, then she'd have to go all in. A confession might burn all her bridges, but it would at least be clear where they stood.
But she wasn't ready for that—not yet.
"So I just have to try harder," Eriri whispered under her breath, her determination rekindling.
"Huh? What was that?" Kanade turned to her, catching the faint murmur.
"Nothing!" Eriri shook her head quickly, then grabbed onto his arm, steering them both forward. "Let's just head back the way we came. We didn't get that far from the entrance anyway."
"Wait—" Kanade started, but then paused, his eyes narrowing slightly as he noticed something off.
"Hmm? What's wrong?" Eriri asked, tilting her head at him.
"Your foot… it's not hurting anymore?" He pointed toward her legs, his expression growing puzzled.
"…" Eriri froze.
Her mind raced. Oh no! I completely forgot I pretended to hurt my foot!
"Uh… um…"
She faltered for a moment, trying to come up with something believable, but nothing came to mind.
"Well, you see…"
"…"
"…It just stopped hurting! Yeah, I guess it healed all of a sudden, ahahaha…"
"…" Kanade stared at her, his expression utterly unreadable.
Busted.
He didn't need to call her out on the lie to know exactly what had happened. Eriri's overly transparent behavior made it easy for him to piece together the truth:
She hadn't been injured at all—she had just been too scared to keep going but didn't want to admit it. Pretending to have a hurt foot gave her an excuse to stop without losing face.
Still, he couldn't help but smile faintly. Despite the absurdity of the situation, her clumsy attempt to hide her fear was… oddly endearing.
"Alright, so your foot's fine now," Kanade said, his voice tinged with amusement. "What do you want to do next? Anywhere else you'd like to go after we leave the event grounds?"
Eriri blinked at him, surprised he hadn't pressed her on the lie.
Wait… does that mean he already knows?
She glanced at him cautiously, only to be met with his warm, reassuring smile.
Her cheeks flushed instantly.
"W-what are you grinning at?!" she stammered, her gaze darting away as her embarrassment bubbled over.
"Hmm? Did I do something wrong?" Kanade leaned in closer, his tone teasing.
"Don't get so close, you idiot!"
"But you're the one still holding onto my arm…"
"T-th-that's different! Just… just don't come any closer, okay?!"
Eriri's voice rose, both annoyed and flustered.
She clung tightly to his arm, silently hoping he couldn't hear how loudly her heart was pounding.