"Mmm..."
A faint, soft moan suddenly sounded, breaking the silence that had been drifting through the air.
Mahiru Shiina felt as if she had surfaced from the deep, dark depths of the ocean. She felt incredibly weak, but she was no longer in as much pain as before. Her body didn't feel damp and cold anymore, only heavy. Though her head was still groggy, her vision wasn't blurry.
"I... where am...?"
Mahiru struggled to open her eyes. After a brief moment of disorientation, she slowly pieced together her surroundings. She realized she was lying in her own familiar bed; the scenery was unmistakable—this was her room. Naturally, being in her own home, the sense of strangeness vanished.
"...I'm back?"
Her sluggish consciousness finally registered this fact, and she instinctively tried to sit up. As she moved, a towel fell from her forehead, making her realize that someone had placed a cool compress there. Furthermore, the wet clothes she had been wearing were gone, replaced by her own familiar pajamas.
When she noticed this, Mahiru's expression finally changed.
She remembered what had happened. Even with a foggy mind and a body that felt like lead, she recalled being guided to her front door by Leon in the rain, only to lose consciousness right in front of him. Now, she had woken up at home, in her bed, with her clothes changed...
Mahiru couldn't help but let her mind wander toward the worst possibilities.
She immediately checked her body under the covers. After a long moment of scrutiny, she let out a subconscious sigh of relief. Fortunately, while her body was weak, there were no strange marks or sensations. The thing she feared most hadn't happened.
However, she was definitely home, and her clothes had been changed. She couldn't have done that herself. Thinking of this, Mahiru bit her lip and struggled out of bed.
With heavy footsteps, she opened the bedroom door and walked into the living room of her apartment. There, she saw the person who had been by her side before she blacked out.
"Yo, you're awake."
Leon was sitting on the sofa, legs crossed, scrolling through his phone. When he saw Mahiru emerge from her room, he merely glanced up, gave a casual greeting, and went back to his screen. He looked so comfortable, almost as if he were the master of the house, which sparked a strange surge of irritation in Mahiru.
"...Did you bring me back?" Mahiru asked after a long silence.
"Who else would it be?" Leon replied without looking up. His thumbs were moving quickly; he seemed to be in the middle of a mobile game. He spoke nonchalantly. "You fainted right in front of me. What was I supposed to do, leave you with the doorman downstairs?"
"Oh, the old guy at the desk is quite diligent, by the way. When he saw me carrying you in unconscious, he thought I was some suspicious character trying to take advantage of you. He almost detained me. It took quite a bit of effort to convince him I was your Senpai at school and that I was just bringing you home because you were unwell."
"By the way, he was the one who told me your apartment number. I found the keys in your school bag."
Leon explained a lot, clearing up some of Mahiru's confusion, but he didn't mention the one thing she cared about most.
"Then... my clothes..." Mahiru couldn't hold it back anymore. Tension was evident in her voice.
Leon looked up, saw her inexplicable nervousness, and couldn't help but chuckle.
"I know you're worried about that, but asking won't really change anything, will it?" Leon teased. "If I were the one who changed them, no amount of regret will turn back time. Changing the past is impossible; thinking about it only adds to your troubles."
"And if it wasn't me, I certainly wouldn't have called another man over to do it for you. So, you have nothing to worry about."
"Therefore, wouldn't it be better to just pretend it never happened and ignore it?"
His words provided no comfort at all; instead, they made Mahiru's heart sink. To her, all that talk was practically an admission that he had changed her clothes. If he had found a woman to do it, why not just say so directly instead of beating around the bush?
"You..."
Anger flared in Mahiru's eyes. She instinctively reached up to her collar, clutching it tightly.
"Hey now, what's with that reaction?" Leon said, sounding exasperated. "If I really wanted to do something to you, why would I wait until now?"
His logic was sound, but it didn't make Mahiru feel any better. She had gone out to walk in the rain because she was already in a bad mood. Because Leon had been following her, she hadn't turned back in time, leading to her collapse. Now, she had been cared for, but she suspected her body had been seen by a member of the opposite sex she barely knew. How could she possibly be in a good mood?
Combined with her physical weakness and what felt like a high fever, her emotions were fraying. These factors stacked up until Mahiru felt crushed by negativity. A misty glaze began to form over her caramel-colored eyes.
"Alright, stop looking like you're about to cry. I was just teasing you," Leon said, deciding to stop while he was ahead. "Relax. I didn't change your clothes. The doorman came up with me and asked a neighbor he knew in this building to help."
"A kind lady in her forties from the floor below."
"Can you relax now?"
Mahiru froze for a second, then her brow furrowed. "...Really?" she asked in a small voice.
"You can go ask her yourself later if you don't believe me." Leon rolled his eyes, seemingly finished with the conversation. He went back to his game while pointing toward the kitchen. "The only thing I did was use your kitchen to make some porridge and warm up some milk. Eat if you're hungry."
"Remember to take your temperature later. The neighbor checked it while you were out—39.5 degrees. she brought over some medicine from her place and helped you take it."
"You should go thank her properly later, okay?"
Hearing this, Mahiru's mood finally lightened. "I know that without you telling me."
After leaving those words, she hesitated for a moment before walking toward the kitchen. There was indeed a pot of warm porridge and a glass of hot milk waiting. Mahiru fell silent again, then sat down to eat in small, slow bites.
The warmth of the food spread through her, chasing away much of the weakness. Once she finished, her emotions had stabilized. she left the kitchen and returned to the living room.
"Um..." Mahiru looked at Leon, who was still on the sofa. "Thank you for bringing me back, Eligos-senpai."
"Don't mention it." Leon finally put his phone away. Looking at Mahiru's slightly flushed face, he smiled. "I'm partly to blame. I overdid the prank. If I hadn't followed you, you might not have ended up like this."
"...So you were doing it on purpose." The last doubt in Mahiru's mind was cleared, and her tone turned sharp again. "Why did you do that?"
"No particular reason," Leon said candidly. "I just happened to see you looking noticeably 'off,' so I followed to see what was up."
"I told you I was fine," Mahiru said coldly. "You were being nosy, Senpai."
"Then you should be glad there are still nosy people in this world, otherwise you wouldn't have made it home in one piece," Leon replied with a smirk. "If the 'nosy' person you ran into today was like those other guys who follow you with ulterior motives, it's impossible that you wouldn't have lost something precious."
"...That's still your fault." Mahiru seemed to realize the truth of his words but still spoke out of stubbornness. "If you hadn't suddenly appeared, I intended to go home before things got bad."
"Are you sure?" Leon glanced at her, his gaze seemingly peering straight into her heart. He spoke softly. "In that state, were you really rational enough to look after yourself? Could you really have stopped exactly when you needed to and returned home unscathed?"
Mahiru fell silent.
Her eyes cast downward, her caramel gaze turning dull. Just like when she was wandering in the rain, she looked lost and helpless.
It had to be said that Mahiru in this state was truly heart-wrenching. She possessed a strange sense of fragility. She was supposed to be the "Angel," gentle and perfect, but seeing that angelic face on the verge of tears created a sense of "brokenness" that could make anyone panic.
The people at school probably never imagined that their "Angel" could look so helpless. While others might not understand why, Leon knew exactly what was happening. It wasn't just because he possessed memories of his past life and knew her backstory, but because he had observed her and knew her circumstances.
He spoke from the heart.
"They say you 'Flowers on a High Peak' are perfect in every way—looks, body, brains, talent, and family. But who would have guessed the hidden bitterness that lies beneath your glaring brilliance?"
Leon's words made Mahiru look up at him.
Her eyes were filled with pure, stunned silence.
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