"Do you have a hairdryer at home?" Sora stood up. "If not, I'll go back and get one."
"I do." Mahiru looked up. "It's in the storage cabinet in the bathroom. You'll see it as soon as you open it, Sora-kun."
"I'll go get the hairdryer."
Sora turned and walked towards the bathroom.
Entering the bathroom.
A faint, fresh scent of body wash drifted into his nose.
The floor was still a bit damp; the steam hadn't fully dissipated.
Sora's gaze subconsciously swept across the bathroom, and then his eyes involuntarily fell on the laundry basket.
Inside the laundry basket were the clothes Angel-sama had taken off before her shower.
According to a normal person's undressing sequence, one usually takes off their outer clothes first, then their underwear.
Therefore...
"White little bears?"
At the very top of the laundry basket was a piece of cotton fabric embroidered with cartoon bears. It was clearly a style only elementary schoolers would wear!
"Phew..."
Watching Sora walk into the bathroom, Mahiru clutched her chest and quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
"So weird, if it were my normal self, I definitely wouldn't have agreed..."
The girl's gaze wandered due to shyness.
"It must be because of the cold and fever that I dizzyingly agreed, right?"
"Don't be nervous."
"I already let Sora-kun support me earlier... blow-drying my hair isn't really a big deal, right?"
Mahiru, who was in the middle of comforting herself, suddenly widened her beautiful eyes, as if recalling something terrifying, and almost cried out.
"C-Clothes...!"
Mahiru finally realized belatedly. After her shower, because she felt so terrible, she hadn't immediately thrown her clothes into the washing machine like she usually did.
Therefore...
"W-Will my panties be seen?"
"No, no, no..."
"Please, absolutely do not see them ahhhhh!"
"..."
The bathroom door was pushed open.
Sora walked out, holding the hairdryer, his expression composed.
"Sora-kun's expression is very normal..." Mahiru quietly looked up, shamefully observing Sora's face. "So he probably didn't see them, right?"
If Sora could hear Angel-sama's inner voice, he would definitely complain.
With such a childish white bear design, there's absolutely no way it could disturb my Daoist heart, alright!
"I got the hairdryer." Sora plugged it in and walked up behind Mahiru. "Shall I start blow-drying your hair now?"
"Please..."
Mahiru's pretty face flushed red. She shyly looked down at her toes, not daring to look at him.
Whirrrrrr—
Warm air rushed out of the hairdryer.
Sora took away the towel on top of the girl's head and began to help blow-dry her hair.
"Mmm..."
As the warm air blew against her head, Mahiru subconsciously narrowed her eyes, feeling her entire body warm up along with it.
"So comfortable..."
Time quietly slipped by.
Seeing that Mahiru-san didn't want to chat, Sora didn't speak. He simply focused on quietly helping to blow-dry her hair.
The girl's hair was smooth and silky, clearly meticulously maintained and cared for. The air was filled with a pleasant, fresh fragrance.
After a good while, Sora's arms began to ache before the girl's hair was finally completely dry.
"No wonder girls take so long to shower. Long hair really is troublesome..."
Sora couldn't help but complain internally. He turned off the hairdryer, and his right hand subconsciously rubbed the top of Mahiru's small head.
"Your hair is dry."
Angel-sama was petite. Looking from behind, she was just a tiny, super cute figure. People generally have no resistance to cute things. Just like seeing a stray cat by the roadside, one can't help but want to pet it. Therefore, Sora's head-patting action just now was completely subconscious.
"Sorry." Feeling Angel-sama's body noticeably tense up, Sora quickly pulled his hand away and apologized sincerely. "That was just a reflex, I really didn't mean to pat your head."
Mahiru didn't turn around. After a few seconds of silence, the girl's voice softly echoed:
"...It's okay."
Sora's mind eased. He turned and placed the hairdryer on the nearby dining table.
"Do you want some water?"
"A little, I'm a bit thirsty."
"Then I'll go pour some water."
"..."
Watching Sora walk into the kitchen, Mahiru raised her right hand. Her scallion-white fingertips gently combed the hair by her ear.
Angel-sama seemed composed, but if one looked closely, they would notice that the tips of the girl's ears had quietly flushed crimson at some point.
"So this is what it feels like to be patted on the head..."
Mahiru quietly pursed her delicate lips.
Although the headpat just now hadn't been with her permission, for some reason, she didn't hate it at all; she even found it inexplicably comfortable.
There's no need to say much about what happened next.
As her body temperature began to drop, the various uncomfortable sensations quietly dissipated. Combined with the mild sedative in the cold medicine, Mahiru felt drowsiness wash over her. Her eyelids grew heavier and heavier until she could no longer keep them open.
"She fell asleep just like that?"
Sora had just put the hairdryer away. Turning around, he saw that Mahiru had already fallen asleep leaning on the sofa. Angel-sama was curled up. Even in her sleep, her furrowed brows hadn't completely smoothed out, making one involuntarily want to cherish her.
"To think you'd just fall asleep like that. Have a little vigilance, won't you..."
While complaining, Sora went to grab a blanket and gently covered Mahiru with it.
After finishing, Sora sat silently for a while, then measured the girl's temperature again.
"Good, her temperature is back to normal. There shouldn't be any major problems..."
Sora set his mind at ease. He tore off a sticky note, wrote a message, then poured a glass of water and placed the sticky note under the glass. Having finished everything, he quietly left.
The night passed without words.
The next day.
"Mmm~"
Mahiru groggily opened her eyes, which were filled with the haziness of just waking up.
"Strange, why am I on the sofa..."
After spacing out for a few seconds, the confusion in the girl's mind quickly cleared, and the scenes from last night began to surface.
"I took medicine last night, and then... and then I fell asleep?!"
Mahiru hurriedly sat up. After confirming her body was fine, with no pain or discomfort, and that her pajamas were perfectly intact, she finally let out a quiet sigh of relief.
The cold symptoms had basically disappeared, and her whole body was now full of energy.
Catching sight of her phone on the chair beside her, Mahiru reached out to pick it up, her beautiful eyes widening in surprise.
"It's already 7 AM?"
"I actually slept through the whole night, unbelievable..."
Mahiru's gaze shifted, quickly landing on the glass of water not far away. Picking up the glass, the girl retrieved the sticky note underneath it. On it were a few lines of a message:
"I've headed back first. I've checked the doors, windows, water, and electricity, so there's no need to worry. Take your temperature again after you wake up. If your temperature rises again, don't hesitate to message me immediately."
Carefully reading the text on the sticky note a few times, the corners of Mahiru's pink lips gently curled up. She carefully folded the sticky note, then picked up the glass and quietly took a sip of water.
Even though it was just plain water, the tip of her tongue inexplicably tasted a faint sweetness.
Angel-sama looked up out the window. Outside was a calming azure sky, yet the figure of the boy involuntarily surfaced in her mind.
Although they had only known each other for a few days, she had already discovered many of the boy's virtues. Patient, meticulous, steady in his actions, making people feel reassured... Although he occasionally complained, it wasn't annoying.
Also, when helping to purify the magic power, he could have clearly made extra demands, yet he never sought anything in return, nor did he take the opportunity to coerce anyone.
"What is Sora-kun doing right now? Why is he able to help purify magic power? Did he go back very late last night?"
A phrase suddenly popped into Mahiru's head—
"Curiosity is the beginning of falling."
But... she truly did want to understand him more.