Hara Kei was the patient now, and someone had to take care of him.
Logically, that should have been straightforward.
Unfortunately, Miss Touma Kazusa had absolutely no clue how to care for a sick person.
That morning, she hadn't waited for Kei on the way to school. It wasn't until the bell signaling the start of class rang that she sauntered into the campus, naturally late.
For Touma, school lessons didn't really matter. She wasn't planning to rely on that knowledge for her future, after all. So class time and breaks were essentially for catching up on sleep. She would usually lie on her desk until lunchtime, after which she'd go to her personal practice room to eat and then play the piano for a while.
Afternoons followed the same pattern.
But today, for some reason, she couldn't sleep. She sat in her seat, scribbling and doodling in irritation. The already frigid classroom seemed to drop a few more degrees, making her classmates shiver in a way that might give Siberian potato harvesters a pang of sympathy.
As the students wondered what had put Touma in such a foul mood, the bell for the end of class finally rang.
She sprang up like a spring and, to the astonishment of her classmates, walked out of the classroom.
Kei was in Class A, right? Her mental map told her his seat was the second desk from the window in the sixth row…
Passing by Class A, she casually peeked inside. As expected, Kei's seat was empty.
Had he skipped school today, or just wasn't in the classroom?
With that question in mind, Touma quietly stationed herself by the window at Class A, seemingly ready to wait until the next period began.
She didn't see Kei—but she did see Shizuka Hiratsuka.
Carrying teaching materials to her class, Hiratsuka noticed Touma lingering near Class A. Although Touma didn't know her very well, Hiratsuka was quite familiar with her. Seeing her expression and movements, Hiratsuka quickly guessed her purpose.
Suppressing a sigh over how naturally flirtatious Kei seemed to be, she stepped forward.
"Excuse me, which student are you looking for?"
And that's how it had come to this situation.
Touma tried to recall any common sense or knowledge from books and videos she had seen, hoping to find some guidance.
Hmm… Kei didn't have a fever, just fatigue. So no need for hot towels. No need to take his temperature… then what else was there to do?
After thinking it over, she realized the best she could do was peel him an apple.
"Um…" Just as she was about to ask, Kei held up a finger to his lips in a "shhh" gesture. After listening carefully to ensure the voices of Yukinoshita and Chika had faded down the hall, he discreetly motioned for her to open a drawer on his bedside table.
Curious, Touma rose and pulled open the drawer. Inside was a small insulated box. She lifted the lid—and found it packed full of…
Puddings.
Mango pudding, yogurt pudding, chocolate pudding, cheese pudding…
It looked like some sort of pudding exhibition.
You like pudding that much?
Touma discovered yet another hidden side of Kei.
"Why did you wait until they left to take this out?" she whispered.
"I'm the patient," Kei replied in a low voice. "I know pudding isn't harmful, but knowing Yukinoshita, she wouldn't let me eat something cold like this. And Chika… well, she's like a nagging mother. She'd probably agree eventually, but she'd also fuss for a while. I didn't feel like listening to that."
And me?
Wouldn't I quietly help you without a single complaint? Touma thought, muttering under her breath, then asked:
"Which pudding would you like?"
"Mango pudding," Kei said.
Kei had a knack for judging people accurately.
…
As Touma handed him the mango pudding, a machine in the bedroom suddenly lit up, and a monotone mechanical voice slowly spoke:
"Tomorrow is October 23rd. In the Tokyo area, temperatures are expected to range from 17 to 23 degrees Celsius, with some areas reaching…"
Touma jumped, but Kei wasn't surprised.
"This is an AI speaker," he explained, opening the pudding lid. "I've set it to report the next day's weather at this time every day. Touma, you've never used one before?"
"…I'm just an old-fashioned pianist," she muttered. She had clearly never used one. At first, she seemed a little annoyed, but curiosity quickly got the better of her. "Besides reporting the weather, what else can it do?"
"It can do plenty. For example…" Kei addressed the device. "Hey, ri, any interesting news from Tokyo today?"
"In Minato Ward, Tokyo, at 10:36 this morning, a luxury car collision occurred. The location of the incident is—"
"Hey, ri. I'd like to hear some calm, relaxing music."
The news stopped mid-sentence, replaced by soft piano music. Touma recognized the piece immediately—it was Awaken the Dawn, a song she herself could play.
"It's also my alarm. It wakes me up every morning," Kei continued, breaking the pudding's plastic spoon. "This is my electronic butler. It helps me manage my day—from meals to sleep."
"I could do that too," Touma said, an unnecessary competitive streak creeping into her tone. "I can call you to wake up, tell you when to eat, give you weather and news updates, play piano… all of it. If you had a choice, who would you pick?"
"? That's obvious. The AI speaker."
"…I can't beat a machine."
Oh no, the pride of Touma Kazusa withered.
"No, it's precisely because it's a machine that I choose it."
"???"
"Because if I got all that thoughtful care from a person, I'd feel obligated to give something back. I don't like that." Kei scooped a spoonful of the cool, sweet pudding, savoring the flavor. "I don't like taking care of others, and I don't like being taken care of. Human interaction requires too much consideration."
"Machines do it perfectly. They belong entirely to me. I can do whatever I want with them."
"And if you ever didn't wake me up in the morning, I'd have to call you back to check if you overslept or were unwell," he continued, shaking his head. "Isn't that completely backwards?"
…If only AI speakers had never been invented.
Touma couldn't help thinking this.