Expectant joy turned into disappointing embarrassment, followed by heartbreaking waiting.
The loneliness and pain that filled her entire being were released without reservation the moment she saw Murakami Yuu appear before her.
Her reserved self-restraint was completely undone, like a dam broken by flood waters, losing all effectiveness.
"Eriri, let's go inside the room first."
After the disheveled, soaked young lady in his arms gradually stopped sobbing, Murakami Yuu loosened his embrace and appropriately suggested.
Eriri didn't lift her head buried in Murakami Yuu's chest, only nodded almost imperceptibly.
After initially venting her emotions, Eriri didn't know how to handle the current situation once she came to her senses.
Her tsundere personality, which had manifested since childhood, began to dominate her thinking again.
Why did she impulsively throw herself into Yuu's arms?!
So undignified! Extremely undignified!
Was she an idiot?!
"Eriri, if you hold onto me like this, I can't stand up."
Murakami Yuu said to her.
Hearing this, Eriri hesitated for a while before slowly loosening her hands, then lowered her head, pursed her lips, and silently stepped back.
She didn't need to look in a mirror to know her face must be very red right now, because she could feel the high temperature there.
Murakami Yuu stood up and opened the door, bent down to pick up the things Eriri had brought, then stepped back.
Eriri understood his meaning.
"Excuse me..."
She said this quietly and walked in first.
Murakami Yuu followed behind and closed the door.
The sound of rain and occasional thunder outside were shut out, becoming much quieter.
But in this reassuring environment, Eriri felt another kind of uneasy nervousness. After reaching the living room, she stood there somewhat at a loss.
She was completely soaked by the rain, and from her earlier fall, she had many mud spots on her body.
After placing the items on the dining table, Murakami Yuu noticed her restraint, walked over, and guided her to sit on the sofa by placing his hands on her shoulders.
"Wait, Yuu, I'm not clean."
"You're not a bad student being made to stand for being late or not turning in homework. Are you planning to stand in the room the whole time?"
"I'll dirty the sofa. I'll just sit on a chair—it'll be easier to clean later!"
"Alright, alright, don't think so much. Just listen to me."
Eriri was somewhat forcefully seated on the sofa by Murakami Yuu. She was about to stand up again, but after Murakami Yuu squinted his eyes, smiled at her, and said "be good,"
Her head began steaming like an old locomotive, and losing the ability to think, she obediently stayed there without resisting further.
Murakami Yuu noticed her knee—the knee-high sock was torn there.
"Wait here for me a moment."
He turned and went into the master bedroom. After finding the medical kit in the cabinet, Murakami Yuu crouched by Eriri's feet and reached out his hand.
"Wait, Yuu!"
Eriri's calf shrank back. Although she knew what he wanted to do, she still felt intensely shy.
"I-I'm fine! You don't need to go through the trouble of treating it specially."
"Oh?"
Murakami Yuu smiled, half-joking and half-threatening:
"If wounds aren't cleaned and sanitized promptly, small sand and gravel might get mixed in and cause infection. Ordinary inflammation is just a minor consequence—serious cases might leave ugly scars, or even grow new skin similar to toads, with those small protruding bumps."
The beautiful girl Eriri's reaction was uncertain suspicion, asking in an unsure tone:
"W-would it be that serious?"
Murakami Yuu suppressed his amusement:
"If not treated properly, there's always that possibility."
Eriri felt troubled and after a long while managed to squeeze out:
"Then, I'll do it myself."
"Doing it yourself is somewhat inconvenient. Even if it's to eliminate some guilt in my heart, please let me help."
Murakami Yuu took hold of Eriri's ankle without argument and placed it on his crossed legs.
Eriri came to her senses, looking at Murakami Yuu's focused expression with flickering eyes. Shame and another indescribable emotion intertwined in her heart, mixing into a strange, indescribable feeling.
She remembered a foot-focused doujin she had drawn before—a proud queen who had fallen on hard times was found by a knight searching for her. After her noble status was restored, she summoned the knight to her bedchamber, the implications clear.
But the knight, deeply aware of the status difference between them, didn't dare to overstep and hesitated to take that step.
The proud queen lost patience, so she forced her knight to kneel before her bed, extended her foot toward him, and commanded the knight to comply with her decision.
So the knight could only grasp that foot and, under conflicting psychological pressure, slowly lowered his head...
Eriri imagined the scene of Murakami Yuu lowering his head toward her foot and felt somewhat inexplicably excited.
"I'm going to take it off."
Murakami Yuu was referring to the knee-high sock on Eriri's leg—he couldn't treat the wound without removing it.
"Mm..."
Eriri's thoughts were somewhat confused. She could feel her heart beating wildly, and her body temperature was rapidly rising.
Murakami Yuu's fingers reached the top of Eriri's sock and pulled it down. When he reached the bottom, Eriri lifted her foot to help remove it completely.
"Fortunately, thanks to the sock at your knee blocking some of the friction with the ground, it's just minor scratches."
Murakami Yuu opened the medical kit beside him and took out medical disinfectant alcohol and cotton swabs.
"I'm going to start treating it now. It might hurt a little, please bear with it."
"Mm..."
Looking at Murakami Yuu sitting cross-legged and carefully treating her leg injury, Eriri's thinking nearly froze. She forgot to think and could only stare blankly at the beautiful sight before her.
His hair was slightly damp but not messy at all—instead adding a touch of laziness that was extraordinarily attractive.
His serious, focused eyes were clear, like the transparent, unobstructed Sargasso Sea visible all the way to the bottom, reaching straight to the heart.
His beautiful nose bridge became even more prominent under the indoor lighting's shadows. His eyes and brows were like a half-moon in the night sky, or like delicate willow branches hanging over a lake surface, creating gentle ripples.
The collar with the top two buttons undone was slightly open. Through it, she could see distinct collarbones—the combination of physique and appearance, handsomeness and gentleness intertwined. She wanted to look at him, to keep looking at him like this forever.
Eriri covered her chest area with her hand. A strong emotion was about to burst forth, yet she forcibly suppressed it.
"Yuu..."
"Mm?"
"If you have time in the future, could you please be my model?"
"No problem."
Murakami Yuu finished applying the last waterproof bandage, looked up to meet Eriri's restless and uneasy eyes, and smiled casually.
Inadvertently breaking through the girl's heart's defenses once again.
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