"Although I'm a bit afraid... but I trust Sora-kun more..."
Angel-sama tilted up her pretty face, her eyes, clear as water, staring unblinkingly at him, filled with trust and reliance.
Thump-thump, thump-thump.
Sora could clearly hear his heart beating faster.
Oh no.
It was clearly just a very ordinary sentence, but spoken by Angel-sama, it possessed a magical charm that made his heart race and his mouth dry.
If this continues, I'll accidentally fall for her, won't I?
Sensing the subtle change in the boy's gaze, Mahiru's long eyelashes fluttered gently. She shyly averted her gaze, her pretty face thoroughly flushed:
"Sora-kun... you can put me down now..."
Sora took a deep breath: "I won't."
"Eh?"
Mahiru tilted her head up in confusion.
Sora turned his head toward the corner of the wall not far away, his tone faint: "There's gorilla poop on the ground. Mahiru wouldn't want to step in it, right?"
"Ehhhhh?!"
Mahiru quickly looked over. The unspeakable object instantly entered her sight. She hurriedly raised her arms, nervously wrapping them around Sora's neck:
"P-Please, absolutely do not put me down!"
"..."
The ground in the gorilla enclosure was uneven and made of dirt. You could spot unspeakable objects from time to time. Many beautiful things are best admired from a distance and not interacted with closely; this was exactly the reason.
"I'll take Mahiru to the staff corridor first."
Sora quickly made a decision. Carrying Angel-sama in a princess carry, he strode toward the staff corridor.
"I'm very sorry to cause you trouble, Sora-kun..."
Mahiru whispered her thanks, her hands wrapped around the boy's neck. Her pretty face was already thoroughly flushed, and even her snow-white, slender neck was tinged with crimson.
Being carried by a boy in a princess carry for the first time in her life, and in broad daylight no less, Angel-sama's sense of shame erupted like a volcano, making her too embarrassed to even lift her head.
(So this is what it feels like to be actively held in Sora-kun's arms. It's completely different from when I initiate a hug...)
(Although it's very embarrassing... I don't hate it at all.)
(I-If only it weren't at the zoo...)
The journey was silent.
Sora quickly reached the entrance of the staff corridor and set Angel-sama down.
"Thank you, Sora-kun..."
Mahiru quickly took two steps back. With her head lowered, she softly thanked him, simultaneously raising her right hand to tidy the stray hair by her ear to hide the blush on her face. Unfortunately, the tips of her ears and neck had already taken on a delicate, vibrant crimson hue.
Sora exhaled softly: "The movement time is almost up. Mahiru-sama, please help replenish my mana."
"..."
Hearing this sentence, the blush on Mahiru's face deepened. She gently bit her lower lip, her voice shy:
"Sora-kun... close your eyes."
"Yes."
"..."
Sora obediently closed his eyes.
Before long, a touch of softness and warmth once again kissed him.
Without any surprise, Angel-sama indeed had severe OCD. Every kiss had to be symmetrical.
"Mahiru, stay right here and don't move." Sora waved his hand and turned to walk outside.
"Wait for me to go carry that middle-aged uncle back."
Mahiru's tone was somewhat worried: "Will there be enough time?"
"It's enough."
Sora didn't look back, taking large strides away.
Quickly reaching the middle-aged man's side, Sora exerted force with his arms and hoisted him onto his back.
Carrying someone who won't cooperate is indeed dead heavy. Fortunately, his character level had increased, and his current physical fitness had surpassed that of an ordinary human. Although carrying him was heavy, it wouldn't hinder his movement.
Time quietly slipped by, minute by minute, second by second.
Just as the movement time was about to run out, Sora successfully entered the staff corridor with the middle-aged uncle on his back.
"Thank you for your hard work, Sora-kun."
Mahiru had already taken out her small round fan and was waiting expectantly at the corridor entrance. Seeing Sora return triumphant, she quickly raised the small fan to help cool him down.
The cool breeze carrying a faint fragrance quickly dispelled the heat from his body. Sora set the middle-aged man down from his back and exhaled softly:
"Should we leave him here in the staff corridor, or carry him directly back?"
"Umm..." Mahiru pursed her pink, moist lips, speaking softly.
"Let's carry him back. If he opens his eyes and doesn't see his child, he might turn around and rush right back in."
"Makes sense." Sora nodded in agreement. "Then we'll carry him directly back."
Mahiru gently bit her lower lip, her gaze shyly looking away:
"The movement time is about to run out... Sora-kun, close your eyes."
"..."
There's no need to say much about what happened next.
Angel-sama accompanied him the entire time, ready to help replenish mana at any moment. Sora walked and stopped, and after some effort, the two finally carried the middle-aged man out of the gorilla house.
"Finally over."
Sora exhaled softly, placing the middle-aged man next to the crying elementary schooler.
Although his body was slightly fatigued, his spirit was highly exhilarated.
From the start of Time Stop until now, he had received nearly ten kisses... He didn't feel tired at all.
"Sora-kun... shall I end the Time Stop now?"
Mahiru shamefully looked down at her toes, not daring to make eye contact.
"Wait a moment." Sora looked up and scanned his surroundings, his expression turning serious.
"This time, stopping time to rescue someone in front of a crowd caused too much of a commotion. Zoos generally have surveillance cameras. Better safe than sorry; if we're discovered, it'll be troublesome... Let's destroy the surveillance cameras first."
"Sora-kun makes a lot of sense." Mahiru looked up. "But we don't necessarily have to destroy public property... blocking the cameras would also work, right?"
"Then let's block the cameras."
Sora looked around and saw an elementary schooler not far away holding an ice cream cone. He simply stepped forward, snatched the elementary schooler's ice cream, slipped a coin into their pocket, and then, with Angel-sama, searched for the locations of the surveillance cameras.
"Found one."
Sora held up the ice cream in his hand, took aim to judge the distance, and with a smack, threw it right onto the camera lens. With his character level increased, his accuracy had naturally improved as well.
"Very good, a direct hit." Sora withdrew his gaze in satisfaction.
"Let's go back."
"Sora-kun, you've worked hard."
Mahiru took out a tissue and gently helped wipe the cream off Sora's hand.
In the deathly still time-stopped world, only the warmth of their fingertips was transmitted between them, as if the entire world consisted only of each other.
A moment later.
The two quietly walked back to Yamada Elf's side. Then, Angel-sama quietly deactivated the Time Stop.
The next second.
The paused world 'came alive' once more.
A cacophony of noises instantly flooded their ears. Having experienced the deathly stillness of the time-stopped world, Sora found the clamor at this moment exceptionally beautiful.
"That gorilla is charging!"
"Hurry, find a staff member!"
"It's over... Eh?"
"How did the people suddenly disappear?"
"..."
Immediately following that was the sound of crying, like survivors of a disaster.
The middle-aged man looked around with a blank expression. Upon discovering his child was right beside him, he wept tears of joy and hugged his child tightly.
Sora watched silently from a distance, feeling exceptionally peaceful inside.
The next second.
A slightly cool little hand suddenly grabbed the hem of his shirt.
"Sora-kun..."
Angel-sama's voice was a bit tense. Her caramel-colored eyes looked over blankly, already out of focus:
"I can't see anymore..."
"Don't be afraid, I'm here."
Sora quietly returned the grip on Angel-sama's soft hand.
When ordinary people lose their vision, it's very difficult to move. He had to help purify her magic power as soon as possible...
But the matter wasn't over.
The blonde loli, having 'come back to life', put her hands on her hips. Her pink cheeks puffed up quickly, and she glared resentfully at Sora:
"Idiot Servant... I saw everything!"