CH 41

(Why… why am I so nervous…)

He tried to suppress his heart, which felt like it was about to burst out, and pretended to be calm on the surface.

His heart was pounding intensely and quickly, sending a pulse throughout his body, surpassing even the heart rate he experienced when running 100 meters at full speed.

Just being in Mio’s room made him feel like there was no end to it, and in fact, it seemed to be getting worse.

(If only she had changed her clothes, I might have been able to calm down a bit…)

He hadn’t even imagined seeing Mio in her pajamas. Not to mention that her hair was different. She usually wears it down, but now it was tied up in a bun.

He had never seen Mio in casual clothes like this before.

“She’s cute…”

If he let his guard down, those words would easily slip out of his mouth.

(Nursing’s Angel… Who came up with such a nickname?)

It wasn’t a denial. It was a name that fit her so perfectly.

“Mio-san, is the temperature of the water okay?”

“It’s a little hot, but it feels good.”

“That’s good to hear.”

Mio is currently soaking her feet in a hot spring.

She has rolled up the cuffs of her pajamas to below her knees, exposing her white, unblemished legs like snow.

Even though he knows he shouldn’t look, his eyes are automatically drawn to her beautiful legs.

“……”

“Um, Toma-kun… If you keep looking, I’ll be embarrassed…”

“Ah! I’m sorry! They were just so beautiful…”

“Bea-beautiful?!”

“I mean, they’re your legs, Mio-san! …Ah!”

If he said “Your legs are beautiful,” she might have pulled them off. He quickly tried to replace the phrase with something else, but it was too shallow. He had blown it…

“What are you saying all of a sudden?!”

“Please forget what I just said!”

“I can’t just forget about it…”

“I’m really sorry…”

In this situation, all he could do was apologize.

If his previous self were in front of him right now, he would punch himself without hesitation.

“Beautiful…” he had said earlier. He realized now that it was a shallow and inappropriate comment. He had blown it completely.

“Y-You shouldn’t say things like that without considering the time and place. If you say things like that now…I won’t be able to control myself…”

“Control…yourself?”

“N-Nothing!”

(Is she talking about not being able to control herself around me…?)

Mio had her face down and her hands up in front of her. Now was not the time to ask that question, it was clear.

(But I can’t be thinking about that right now. I came here to take care of Mio-san. I have to do the bare minimum…)

He pushed aside his impure thoughts and tried to avoid looking at Mio in the footbath. If he looked down, the same thing that happened earlier would happen again.

Mio, who was nicknamed “Nursing’s Angel” would definitely understand the danger of letting a man into her apartment. Especially if he wasn’t her boyfriend or anything like that.

(Mio-san trusted me enough to let me into her room. I can’t do anything to betray that trust.)

Mio was suffering from typical female symptoms. If he didn’t do everything he could to make her feel better, then there was no point in coming here.

He painted his sense of duty and responsibility over his rationality. This was the best he could do.

“…Mio-san, have you pressed the Hegu point yet?”

“You really know a lot…”

“Well, um…”

The Hegu point is a pressure point located slightly on the index finger side of the crease between the thumb and index finger on the back of the hand.

Pressing this point can help restore the function of the autonomic nervous system that has been disrupted by stress. This can help alleviate the symptoms that Mio is currently experiencing.

“If I say I haven’t pressed it yet, what are you going to do, Toma-kun?”

“I’ll have you press it because I want to alleviate your symptoms.”

“I see…I haven’t pressed it yet, so I’ll have you do it for me.”

“Why do I have to do it!? Can’t you do it yourself!?”

“Pressing the point is more effective when someone else does it than when you do it yourself. Since you’re here as my caretaker, Toma-kun, I think it’s okay for me to be a little dependent on you.”

“…”

Mio looks at me with pleading eyes.

(Th-This is unfair. I can’t refuse that with kind of expression…)

My heart is pounding just from looking at Mio-san’s face.

“I, I understand… Then, I’ll start with your right hand.”

“Uh, okay…”

I moved my chair closer to Mio-san and took her delicate, supple right hand as she gently offered it to me.

I held her hand with my left hand and stimulated the Hegu point with my dominant hand. Our hands naturally formed a handshake-like shape, and I could feel the sensation of her hand directly.

“If it hurts, please let me know.”

“Mmm, I’m okay…”

“Okay, then let’s continue.”

“Uh-huh…”

I aimed for about 30 repetitions of pressing and rubbing, making sure not to get distracted by the pleasant texture of Mio’s skin.

“…You’re used to this, aren’t you, Toma-kun?”

“Well, it’s from a long time ago… There was a time when my sister kept ordering me to do it.”

Mio brought up the topic very naturally, which made me wonder.

(Doesn’t Mio-san feel nervous… even though I’m holding her hand like this…)

I didn’t know why, but it frustrated me that I was the only one feeling nervous in this situation.

It was the first time I had ever felt this way in this situation.

“Your younger sister…isn’t she cute after all?”

“Ahaha…you’re really going to ask me that?”

“I’m an only child, so I’ve always been curious about what it’s like to have siblings.”

I’ve been asked a few times by my friends who are only children what it’s like to have siblings. It seems like living with siblings is something that people are curious about.

“Well…she’s cute. It might sound weird to say this, but I’m glad she’s there. She has a lot of parts that aren’t straightforward, but that’s what makes her like a little sister.”

“I see. Toma-kun, you really like your sister, don’t you you?”

“Wh-what are you talking about? I don’t like her in a romantic way or anything!”

When I praised my sister, I felt like Mio-san pursed her lips. So I chose my words carefully to avoid any misunderstandings.

“Alright, then let’s move on…please give me your left hand this time.”

“Okay, thank you…”

In order to change the topic of conversation, I began pressing on the Hegu point on her left hand. Maybe her blood circulation had improved from soaking in the foot bath, because her left hand felt warmer than her right hand, which I had held earlier.

“Um, Mio-san?”

“W-What?”

While moving my hand, I spoke to fill the silence.

“It’s a bit late to ask, but weren’t you scared about bringing a man into your room?”

“No, I wasn’t scared.”

“Is that so…?”

“Yeah. I mean, if you’re bringing a man into your room, you have to be prepared for all sorts of things. If something happens, it’s your responsibility, right?”

She stated her reason in an unwavering voice, as if it was obvious.

It was very much like Mio-san. It should have ended there, but I couldn’t let it go.

“That may be true, but it’s not okay. You can’t just see it so simply.”

“I understand.”

“Do you believe those words?”

I didn’t understand why I was emphasizing so much that it was not okay.

I hated it. I hated the thought of Mio-san bringing another man into her room.

Mio-san’s mindset that it would be okay even if something unpleasant happened after bringing him into her room was also something I disliked.

(This feeling… is it possessiveness?)

“…”

“Toma-kun?”

“Oh, sorry. My hand stopped moving…”

Called by Mio-san, I switched my focus back and started moving my hand again.

(Am I… feeling like I don’t want Mio-san to be taken by another man?)

I put a question mark on my own question… but the answer came out before I could even think about it.

“I don’t want her to be taken by another man.”

That was the moment I came to that conclusion. The tightness in my chest suddenly disappeared, and I felt joy spread throughout my body.

“…Is that all? Do you feel a little better now?”

“Yes.”

I let go of Mio-san’s hand, suppressing the feeling of regret. If I had continued to hold on, I thought I might not be able to regain my sanity.

“Mio-san, is there anything else you want me to do?”

“Anything else?”

“Yes.”

Of course, I was worried about Mio-san. But my unconscious desire, “I don’t want her to be taken by another man,” came to mind, and I also had a motive to improve Mio-san’s evaluation of me…

“There is one thing I want to talk to you about, Toma-kun.”

“Just one thing?”

“Yeah…I know we talked about how you’re not afraid to have male visitors in your room, but there’s more to it. I want to tell you about that.”

“I-If it’s just that, then it’s okay…”

Mio’s expression was filled with seriousness, so I sensed that she had something important to say. I straightened my posture and prepared to listen.

“The reason why I’m not afraid to have male visitors in my room is because…you’re the only one, Toma-kun. I don’t have any intention of inviting any other men to my room.”

“Huh?”

I was dumbfounded. I thought I had misheard her.

“I don’t hold hands with anyone else or let them hold my hand. I wouldn’t even think of doing that with anyone other than you…I’m not that kind of girl, you know?”

Mio-san’s beautiful face slowly drew closer to mine. My body froze like a frog staring at a snake. Her angelic face filled my field of vision, and I even forgot to blink…

“So… I’m prepared. Because, if it’s you, Toma-kun… I’m okay with it.”

Mio-san’s right hand gently touched my cheek.

“I’m sorry, Toma-kun… I can’t take it anymore… You’ve been holding my hand for so long…”

“Mio-san…”

Mio-san pulled me in, her hand on the back of my head. I didn’t even have the consciousness to resist. I just let her do what she wanted…

“Because you’re special to me… Toma-kun.”

“Mmm…”

Mio closed her eyes, and then-

Smooch.

Her small lips gently touched mine…

It was a soft feeling I had never felt before. There was no way I didn’t understand what was happening to me…

At that moment, I realized my true feelings.

Without realizing it, I had fallen in love with Mio-san…