Chapter 232: Hikigaya Falls Sick, Ibuki Mio Rams the Door!
69 is Hikigaya's lucky number. But unfortunately, illness enters through the mouth.
"Cough, cough~"
As soon as Hikigaya woke up, he felt his head was heavy, accompanied by symptoms of nasal congestion and coughing.
'It seems I caught it from Hiyori when I visited her last night, right?'
He certainly couldn't say he caught it in a dream, could he? After all, the Hikigaya Hiyori in the dream was in a healthy state.
He pulled out his phone and sent a message requesting sick leave to his homeroom teacher, Chabashira Sae.
The latter approved it quickly and asked about his health with concern. After replying that it was just a common cold and nothing serious, Hikigaya closed the chat box.
He took his temperature with a thermometer: 38.7°C.
'Well, a low fever, not a big deal.'
Since both his parents were dual-income earners, Hikigaya was long used to taking care of himself even when he was sick at home. As for Komachi, he would of course keep it from her for now... though Komachi would undoubtedly give him a harsh scolding after school.
There was always a medical kit ready in the room, so there was no need to go out and buy anything. Naturally, he could skip the part about asking a friend to buy medicine. Hikigaya didn't want to trouble the friends he had finally managed to make over such a trivial matter.
Based on experience, he first used a cooling patch to attempt physical cooling.
Half an hour later.
Hikigaya used the thermometer to measure again. Temperature: 38.6°C.
'Well, it had a bit of an effect—literally.'
Hikigaya chose to adopt medicinal treatment. He took an Ibuprofen and felt as though he was doing a bit better. However, this was likely a psychological placebo effect; the medicine couldn't possibly take effect that quickly.
Next was the universal pharmacopeia used worldwide: Drink plenty of hot water!
"Beep, beep, beep~"
Messages kept coming through on his phone.
'Chabashira-sensei really has a loose tongue!'
Even though he had specifically told her not to make a fuss about him being sick. But thinking about it carefully, it was hard to keep it a secret.
After all, with one person missing from the classroom, a reasonable explanation had to be given no matter what.
This made Hikigaya involuntarily miss his days in elementary and middle school. Even if the teacher said something, his classmates wouldn't care.
They'd probably say things like, "Who was Hikigaya again?" "Is there such a person in our class?" "Maybe it's a new virus called the Hikigaya-germ, hahaha."
'Uh, that doesn't seem like a memory worth missing!'
Originally, Hikigaya didn't want to pay any attention to it, but his phone wouldn't stop beeping incessantly.
'Speaking of which, it's class time right now, isn't it? What's up with you guys playing with your phones during class?'
If he remembered correctly, the first period this morning was Mathematics.
'Eh? If it's Sakagami-sensei, then it doesn't matter...'
That teacher was a typical utilitarian. He believed that studying was the students' own business; his task was only to teach—whether you listened or not was up to you!
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Enduring his groggy head, Hikigaya picked up his phone and composed a concise message.
[It's just a common small cold, don't worry.]
One-click mass send.
At the same time, he set his phone to silent/do-not-disturb mode. Hikigaya tossed the phone onto the sofa and then sprawled out on the bed.
It wasn't long, however, before a knocking sound came from outside the door.
'Who is it?
It's class time right now, and they're still coming to find me?'
Hikigaya originally didn't want to answer, but the knocking outside grew increasingly violent. He had no choice but to drag his exhausted body up and stagger toward the door.
"Idiot... stop knocking!
I'm opening it now!"
Hikigaya grumpily twisted the doorknob. Unexpectedly, a figure crashed into him at extreme speed!
"Bang!"
The massive force of the impact directly knocked Hikigaya over onto the floor.
Oof~~
His muscles were already aching all over, and being hit so violently made Hikigaya feel as if his entire body was falling apart.
"Ah?! S-sorry!
I was originally planning to ram the door down!"
'Hey, hey? Where did this reckless brute come from?
You think ramming a door is normal, do you?'
Hikigaya really didn't have the strength to criticize her; he could only roll his eyes massively!
"Hey! Hikigaya, are you okay?
Wake up!!"
The one who had intended to ram her way in was none other than Ibuki Mio. Right now, she was looking down at Hikigaya beneath her with a worried face.
"...I say, Ibuki... could you... please... get off... me first?"
With the other person pressing down on his chest, Hikigaya suddenly felt a bout of difficulty breathing.
"What? I'm not even heavy!"
Ibuki Mio pouted. After moving off of him, she grabbed his arms with both hands and forcefully hauled him up.
"Hiss~~ Could you be a little gentler with a patient?"
Hikigaya's arms stung from the grip; his face was a picture of utter speechlessness.
"Oh, oh, sorry. I've never taken care of anyone before."
Ibuki Mio gave a sheepish smile, and only then did she gingerly lift him onto the bed.
"Ibuki, why did you come...?"
Hikigaya asked the question on his mind.
"I heard from Sakagami-sensei that you were sick, so I came over to see you."
Ibuki Mio explained.
'So, you skipped class? Is it that serious? This idiot!'
While Hikigaya criticized her in his mind, he was also somewhat touched.
'Speaking of which, could it be that this girl Ibuki also likes... cough cough!
Here we go again, the Three Great Delusions of Life!'
Hikigaya shook his head to divert his attention.
"Eh? Sakagami-sensei? I didn't expect him to care about students from other classes."
This truly surprised Hikigaya.
"Uh, it's not like that...
Sakagami-sensei pays a lot of attention to excellent students from other classes. He often announces their... status in the class group chat."
Ibuki Mio's eyes darted around as she spoke evasively.
"Oh, intel sharing."
Hikigaya saw through the truth at a glance.
He thought to himself that Sakagami-sensei was really going all out. As a teacher, participating in the competition between students was a serious violation! Once discovered by the upper management of Advanced Nurturing, he would definitely have hell to pay!
"Ahaha~ It seems you haven't fried your brain yet!"
Ibuki Mio gave an awkward laugh.
"Rest assured on that front. Even if half of my brain cells were fried, I'd still be smarter than you."
Hikigaya spoke the plain truth with a straight face.
"What did you say?!"
Ibuki Mio angrily raised her fist, but seeing Hikigaya's pale face, she could only hold herself back.
"Dammit! If you weren't sick, I'd definitely give you an uppercut!"
Hikigaya's lips curled: "That's a real pity then."
"Che! Just keep being cocky with that mouth of yours!!"
Ibuki Mio pulled out a bag containing all sorts of medicines: "Look at these, see if there's anything in here suitable for you to take."
"No need, I've already taken medicine."
"Eh?"
Hearing this, Ibuki Mio couldn't help but widen her eyes. She gritted her teeth with a look of pure frustration: "Could it be that someone was even faster than me?!"
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