Part-3 Ch-06 Ep-04

My worries that, even after coming all the way to Maki's house, I still might not actually be allowed inside were quickly swept away by Maki-mama's reluctant concession.

"Just fifteen minutes, alright? Any longer than that, and I'm worried you'll catch her cold too."

Apparently, even while tossing and turning with a fever, Maki had been constantly mumbling about wanting to see me.

Hearing that from Maki-mama made me feel a little embarrassed, but it also made me quietly happy.

I gently knocked on the door to the room where Maki was resting and slowly opened it. A faint "Eh?" reached my ears before I spotted her lying in bed.

Maki's eyes widened in shock, and in the very next instant, she yanked the blanket all the way over her head, completely hiding herself from sight.

From beneath the blanket came muffled groans like, "Ugh..." and, "Aah..." and, "Why..." but her voice was too smothered to make out properly.

"Maki, I came to visit you. I already gave the school handouts to Maki-mama."

For the time being, I addressed the cocoon-like lump bundled up in the bed, but after a muted "Thanks" drifted out from beneath the blanket, she fell silent again.

"What's wrong?" I asked as I grabbed hold of the blanket and gave it a tug, only to find that it wouldn't budge.

"......I can't show you my face right now," she muttered, along with things like, "I'm in my pajamas, and I'm all sweaty."

So this is what they call a maiden's heart, I thought vaguely to myself.

Without question, my timing couldn't have been worse.

But checking in on her wasn't the only reason I'd come to see her today. I also wanted to talk about university.

Besides, if I didn't bring it up at a time like this, Maki would probably just run away from the conversation again.

"I really don't mind," I tried telling her.

To which she immediately shot back, "Well, I mind!"

Hearing that, I gave a small nod of agreement. She did have a point.

Maki really is a girl too, after all, was the thought that drifted through my mind.

"How are you feeling? Are you doing a little better now?"

Temporarily giving up on peeling the blanket off her, I sat down beside the bed and asked the question instead.

"......Yeah, my fever still spikes a little in the evenings, but I think I'll be able to come to school the day after tomorrow."

"The day after tomorrow, huh..." I murmured unconsciously in response.

Which meant she'd still be absent tomorrow, just as I'd expected.

I'd have to spend yet another day in a classroom without Maki.

I still had other friends I could talk to, but I never imagined school without her there would feel this lonely.

"It's lonely without you, Maki."

The honest feelings in my heart slipped quietly from my lips before I could stop them.

"I'm lonely too," Maki replied in a tiny voice from beneath the blanket.

After that, a heavy silence settled over the room.

"――Hey, about university. I heard from Nitobe-sensei."

"Eh?"

"I dragged it out of him."

"......I see."

The moment I brought up the subject, Maki shifted uneasily beneath the blanket, and even without seeing her face, I could tell how shaken she was.

"――Listen, about university..."

"No."

"Don't just say 'no.'"

"I don't want to hear it."

Watching her throw such an openly childish tantrum made it feel as though we were discussing my future instead.

Even though the path we were talking about right now was hers.

Even though all I wanted was to give her a little push forward.

The girl at the center of the conversation, however, seemed utterly determined to reject the idea.

"Just go to the university you want to attend. I'll be fine, really."

After I said that, Maki remained completely silent for a while.

She'd been buried beneath the blanket this entire time, which made me start wondering whether she could even breathe properly under there. Her stamina was probably already drained from the fever too, and I found myself growing worried.

Just as I reached toward the blanket again to check on her, Maki suddenly thrust her head out before I could touch it.

"I hate... that part of you, Mari."

My hand, suspended halfway toward her, froze completely in midair.