Mob Character Reincarnation Loner: As a Result of Supporting the Heroine Who Had Been Rejected, I Ended up Being the Recipient of Her Heavy Emotions…
“………”
After school, I stood in front of Hiyori’s house.
With Misuzu and Tsukimi-san’s help, I’d prepared the get-well gifts and already told Hiyori I’d be arriving soon. All that was left was to ring the doorbell.
All that was left, but ringing a girl’s doorbell felt like such a huge hurdle.
…………Dammit!! Here goes!!
With a desperate resolve, I pressed the button.
The doorbell chimed, and immediately after, Hiyori’s voice came through…
“I’ll open it now… just wait a sec.”
The door clicked open, and Hiyori, dressed in her pajamas, poked her head out.
“Welcome. Thanks for coming… Keho.”
As expected, her cheeks were flushed from the fever. Her expression lacked energy, her gaze somewhere distant and unfocused.
“I’m sorry about this, especially since you’re not feeling well.”
“No, don’t worry about it… Come on up for now.”
She led me straight up to her room on the second floor.
“Excuse… me…”
I cautiously entered the room of a girl for the first time.
“Oh, right. Here, have something to drink… Sports drink or water… Would you like some?”
“Well then… I’ll have some water, I guess.”
Hiyori took the plastic bottle and drank the water with a dazed look.
Feeling somewhat uneasy, she looked around nervously, her eyes darting about.
Hiyori’s room. It’s… really stylish… yeah. And it smells nice too.
Feeling pathetic about my lack of vocabulary, my eyes suddenly caught sight of a bear stuffed animal radiating presence.
Huh, that’s the ridiculously huge bear stuffed animal Misuzu and I bought as a surprise.
…She actually put it in her room.
On the desk sat two photo frames. One showed Hiyori, Misuzu, and Tsukimi-san smiling together. The other frame held a photo of me playing with cats at a cat cafe.
…Why am I the only one in a separate frame? Am I being left out?
“!? Keho! Keho!”
“Hiyori, are you okay!?”
It seemed she’d started coughing while drinking water. I gently rubbed her back as she coughed.
“…S-sorry. I’m fine now. Ahaha… I caused trouble for Bun-kun right after you came over.”
Hiyori looked downcast and dejected.
She seemed genuinely weak. I wanted to talk about the fake boyfriend thing with Misuzu, but she clearly wasn’t in the mood for that.
“…It’s okay. In fact, lean on me as much as you want today. That’s the sick person’s privilege! Don’t hold back. If there’s anything you want me to do, just say it. Any whim, no matter how selfish.”
“…No way. If you say that, I’ll turn into a bad girl, you know?”
“Ahaha, isn’t it okay to be a bad girl just this once?”
“…Huh. You’d say something like that… I might have to make you take responsibility, you know?”
“…Huh?”
The response to my lighthearted remark carried a hint of seriousness.
“…Just kidding.”
Oh, what? A joke? I’d genuinely panicked, wondering what kind of responsibility I’d have to take.
“Oh, right. If you’re feeling up to eating, should I make something?”
“Huh? Really? Actually, I haven’t eaten anything since this morning…”
“Sure. Leave it to me. I can make rice porridge at least.”
“Well then… I guess I’ll take you up on that.”
I stood up, left Hiyori’s room, and headed for the kitchen.
Alright, I microwaved the pack of rice I’d bought earlier… while that was heating, I filled a pot with water and added chicken stock and other seasonings.
Braving the heat of the pack, I transferred the rice into the pot and turned on the heat.
Once it looked right, I stirred in the beaten eggs, waited a bit, then added chopped green onions at the end to finish it.
I followed the recipe Tsukimi-san taught me, so it should taste good.
I served it on a plate, grabbed a spoon and the salt shaker, and headed back to Hiyori’s room.
“Hiyori, sorry to keep you waiting.”
“Thanks! Oh, it smells good.”
Hiyori sat up, perched on the edge of her bed, and opened her mouth wide.
“…Um? Hiyori-san?”
“Feed me, Bun-kun. All of it.”
“Huh, all of it!?”
“You’re the one who said you’d do anything I wanted, right?”
“Eh, that… well, yes, but…”
Yeah. I could see myself getting talked into anything she wanted, so I resigned myself to it.
I sprinkled salt and scooped up some rice porridge with a spoon.
…I should blow on it, right?
I let the porridge cool a bit before bringing it to Hiyori’s mouth.
“…Delicious. I think I can eat all of it then.”
“That’s good.”
Hiyori really did finish all the porridge, saying “Aaahnn” and took her medicine.
“Hmm… I wonder if my fever’s gone down? Bun-kun, could you check for me?”
“Eh, check…? Shouldn’t we just use a thermometer?”
“I lost the thermometer☆”
“Eh, but that thing on the desk over there—”
“That’s not a thermometer, you know?”
“Eh, but—”
“That’s not a thermometer, you know?”
“Ah, right.”
Oh, right. It looks exactly like a thermometer, but apparently it isn’t one. If the owner of this room says so, it must be true.
“Um, well then, I’ll just put my hand on your forehead—”
“That won’t give us an accurate reading~ We have to make sure our foreheads are touching properly.
What is she talking about…?
“You’ll grant me any whim today, right?”
“…………Yes.”
Sorry. Was that response too harsh?
Steeling myself, I press my forehead firmly against Hiyori’s.
……Fever. Still there. Probably.
“……Well? Bun-kun, do I still have a fever?”
“Uh, yeah, probably… I think…”
Yeah, I answer bluntly, feeling embarrassed.
“Well, well, I guess I should head home soon! I’ll leave some throat lozenges, sports drinks, and fruit jellies here, so eat them whenever you like.”
“Ehh~ You’re leaving already?”
“Well, it’s getting dark soon.”
“Nooo~ I don’t want you to go~ Stay here longer~”
Hiyori clings to me, whining like a child. Is this her way of being selfish too?
“…Alright. Then, just a little longer.”
“Ehehe, yay!”
Hiyori flashes a delighted, innocent smile. Seeing her like that, I can’t help but relax my own expression.
“Bun-kun—”
“What?”
“Hey, hey, can I be selfish some more?”
“Go ahead.”
“Well, you see…”
“Can I kiss you?”