And so, after confidently entrusting Soyo Nagasaki to Kamijou Mutsuki, Mrs. Nagasaki hurried off to work overtime.
Right—Mrs. Nagasaki had to work overtime.
And now Mutsuki had overtime too.
He had just turned on infinite health, infinite mana, and infinite staff power in Black Myth: Wukong.
…Forget it. He'd just treat it as volunteer labor.
"Mom…?"
Since he had already stayed here for a night before, Mutsuki knew exactly which room Soyo was in.
As soon as he opened the door, he heard Soyo's weak voice.
She really did look seriously sick.
Her constitution was definitely fragile—diagnosis: long-term vegetarian diet.
"Soyo, that's awfully polite of you."
Holding a cucumber, Mutsuki walked over to the bedside.
"But getting someone's gender wrong isn't very nice."
Hearing Mutsuki's voice, Soyo frowned slightly.
Why did Mom's voice sound strange?
Did she get sick and ruin her throat too?
Only after hearing the rest of his sentence did Soyo realize what was going on.
"Why are you here?"
The girl widened her eyes slightly as she looked at the boy standing beside her bed.
"Where's Mom?"
"Your mom abandoned you," Mutsuki said with a smile as he sat down beside the bed.
"She left you with me."
"..."
Soyo didn't respond.
She simply stared at him with half-lidded eyes.
Are you trying to scare a child or something?
Also—who exactly are you calling Mom?
"Mutsumi Wakaba was worried about you, so she asked me to come check on you."
Seeing Soyo's reaction, Mutsuki didn't mind and explained the real reason for his visit.
"And this is the cucumber I brought you."
…Mutsumi.
When Soyo heard him mention Mutsumi, her expression became a little complicated.
Yesterday, the song sung by Mutsumi Wakaba had truly given Soyo Nagasaki quite a mental shock.
She never expected that the usually well-behaved Mutsumi would actually have such strong opinions about her.
Of course, what Soyo felt even more strongly was indignation.
Wasn't Mutsumi's song a bit too exaggerated?
Was she really that bad?
She admitted that she might, perhaps, maybe have slightly neglected Mutsumi sometimes—but it shouldn't have been to that degree, right?
Did they know how much psychological damage a song like that could cause to an ordinary, overly attached girl like her?
There was guilt in Soyo's heart, but even more than that were complicated feelings that she herself couldn't quite understand.
So when Kamijou Mutsuki handed over the paper bag containing cucumbers, the girl simply turned around and buried her face into the pillow.
"I don't need that!"
"So stingy with face, huh?"
Seeing her attitude, Kamijou Mutsuki stopped being polite.
"Looks like you really want to compete with me, huh?"
He sat directly on the edge of the bed and began listing the girl's "crimes."
"Well, well."
"When things didn't work out with me, you went looking for Mutsumi, right?"
"And you messed it up in the end."
"Even gave Mutsumi attitude?"
"No wonder Sakiko Togawa doesn't like you."
"Are you done yet?!"
Mutsuki's words clearly struck a nerve. Soyo turned around and glared at him.
But in her sick state, Soyo really had no presence at all. Her voice sounded weak, and even her glare looked more like she was pouting or acting spoiled.
"Of course I'm not done."
Faced with Soyo's frail appearance—she couldn't even intimidate a cucumber—there was no way she could stop Mutsuki.
"I told you it wouldn't work, but you didn't listen. Who can you blame now?"
"I really wonder what Sakiko thinks about you now."
"I just feel sorry for my Mutsumi…"
"Stop…"
Soyo finally couldn't take it anymore and had no choice but to soften and give in.
"I was wrong. I shouldn't have ignored your advice… and I shouldn't have treated Mutsumi like that."
"See? Wouldn't it have been easier if you'd said that earlier?"
Mutsuki smiled.
"Trying to compete with me—do you even have the strength for that?"
As he spoke, he reached out and rubbed the girl's head.
"But Soyo, at least you know when to recognize the situation."
"..."
Feeling the boy's words and the casual way he ruffled her hair, Soyo felt both angry and wronged inside.
Yet she didn't dare show it.
Inside her heart, Soyo Nagasaki grumbled bitterly.
That naturally evil brat Kamijou… once I recover from this illness, I'll personally—
"Soyo."
Kamijou Mutsuki withdrew his hand and suddenly sighed while looking at the girl lying in bed.
"In this life of yours, you've basically been ruined by Sakiko Togawa."
Mrs. Nagasaki: My daughter used to be perfectly fine—it was all ruined by Togawa Sakiko!
"You don't understand anything!"
Hearing that, Soyo's eyes instantly widened.
You could say things about her, but not about Sakiko!
"If it weren't for Sakiko, I—"
Wait.
Even while sick she was still working overtime emotionally?
Even Sakiko herself would feel inferior at that level of dedication.
"Go ahead, just keep revolving around Sakiko," Mutsuki said, folding his arms.
"Forget studying. Don't go to school anymore."
"Don't contact any of your band friends either."
"You might as well give up everything you like doing."
"Just spend every day bombing her on LINE, guessing her mood and wondering whether she hates you or not."
"..."
After that barrage from Mutsuki, Soyo suddenly found herself speechless.
Yes, she might be a little obsessed with Sakiko—
but it wasn't that bad, right?
And honestly, after chasing her for so long…
She was really starting to feel tired.
Sakiko's rejection at the villa had indeed hurtSoyo Nagasaki deeply.
But an obsession built up over such a long time wasn't something she could simply abandon just because someone told her to.
"If you're sick, just focus on resting."
Looking at Soyo's expression, Kamijou Mutsuki didn't continue the topic.
"Mrs. Nagasaki asked me to take care of you today."
After saying that, he simply sat beside the bed, leaned against the wall, and pulled out his phone to start scrolling.
Soyo: ?
Wait.
This is how you take care of someone?
A trace of annoyance rose in the girl's heart.
"I'm hungry."
Soyo tugged lightly at Mutsuki's sleeve and spoke softly.
Aren't you supposed to be taking care of me, not just sitting somewhere playing on your phone?
I need to give you something to do!
Of course, Soyo wasn't trying to deliberately make things difficult for him. Because she was sick and had no appetite earlier, she hadn't eaten breakfast at all.
Now she really was a little hungry.
"Then I'll order some takeout. What do you want to eat?"
Hearing her words, Mutsuki put down his phone and asked.
"..."
What kind of person orders takeout for a sick patient they're supposed to be caring for?
She had never heard of such a plot!
"No takeout. I want you to cook it yourself."
Soyo felt like Mutsuki was about to annoy her back to full health.
"Is takeout really that bad?"
Wait.
Did she just ask him to cook?
Seriously?
"I said no! I want you to make it yourself!"
Perhaps because she was sick and her mind wasn't as clear as usual, Soyo unconsciously dropped the calm, motherly persona she normally wore.
Instead, a more childish, cute side of the girl slipped out.
Of course, when she was in front of Kamijou Mutsuki, Soyo Nagasaki had never really bothered to keep up that act anyway.
"…Alright then."
Not wanting to argue with a sick person, Mutsuki knew that if he kept going back and forth with her, it would only drag on endlessly.
So he simply agreed.
And when she heard him give in to her request, Soyo looked as if she had just won some incredible victory.
A smug little smile appeared on the girl's face without her even realizing it.
.......................