When I came to my senses, the first thing in view was a school hallway.
A hallway where students chatted and laughed as if nothing were wrong.
"But when did I even come to school...?"
What bothered me was the strange sense that something was off about me being here in the first place.
No matter how hard I thought about the cause, I couldn’t figure it out.
"I’m pretty sure..."
I must have left home as usual and come to school alone.
And right now, it was the break after classes.
"Yeah, there’s nothing especially weird about this... right. Yeah."
It should have been the same ordinary daily routine as always, so why did it feel so wrong?
Was this that Gestalt collapse thing or whatever?
"...Ugh, forget it. If I keep thinking about it, I’m really going to be in trouble."
As soon as I stopped thinking, a strange sensation settled in.
Different from that unease, it felt like my head was going blank.
Jolt!
"Whoa!"
I nearly tripped because I’d slipped by accident.
Judging by how badly I couldn’t keep my body steady, my health was clearly a mess right now.
I’d been fine as usual, so why was I like this today?
"Hey~ Hieta, hi—whoa!"
"Ah, Tonomachi."
"What’s wrong, Hieta? Are you sick? You look awful. What the hell happened?"
Tonomachi, who spotted me while passing by, wore an unusually shocked expression instead of his usual teasing grin and asked about my condition.
If even Tonomachi was reacting like that, then my condition must be obvious on my face.
"No... I just feel kind of weird. My head’s a little dizzy, or—"
Before I could even finish, my vision tilted.
If Tonomachi hadn’t caught me, I would’ve fallen over right there.
"Seriously, what’s wrong with you? Did you not sleep?"
"I slept plenty, though..."
"Any other symptoms?"
"Hmm... I guess I’m a little chilly, my nose is running a bit, and my head hurts."
At my words, Tonomachi put on a serious expression and said,
"Hieta. I know what this is."
"What is it...?"
"It’s... a cold."
"Ah. Yeah, that does sound right."
Now that he mentioned it, those were definitely cold symptoms.
Had I caught a cold this morning...?
My head was so foggy I couldn’t think straight. That probably was because of the cold, too.
"You get colds too?"
"What kind of nonsense is that...?"
"You know~ People say Hieta never gets sick, right?"
"What am I, some kind of superhuman...?"
What ridiculous nonsense.
I’m human, so of course I can get sick.
I just happen to be a little healthier than most people, so it rarely happens.
"Achoo!"
"I knew it~ I knew it, it’s a cold~ So you really did catch a cold, huh. Mm-hm."
For some reason, Tonomachi seemed oddly happy.
That was a little annoying.
"Since my friend has come down with a cold, I, personally, have no choice but to escort you to the infirmary. Ah, I did have plans, but friendship comes first~ Beautiful~ Friendship is beautiful~ ...Guehehe."
"...You laughed just now, didn’t you? You laughed in that gross "guehehe" way, didn’t you!?"
He was standing there laughing at someone being sick.
Should I just punch him?
"What are you saying, Hieta! There’s no way I’d be happy when a friend is suffering from illness, is there?"
For Tonomachi, that was entirely possible.
"Come now, let us go together to the dream infirmary!"
"...Huh? What the hell is a dream infirmary all of a sudden?"
An infirmary is an infirmary. What kind of bullshit was a dream infirmary supposed to be?
"Are you an idiot, Hieta! If we’re talking about the infirmary, then of course it means Nurse Sachi!"
"...Nurse Sachi?"
"That’s right! The beautiful mistress of the infirmary, Nurse Higakieta Sachi!"
"Ah, ahh... right, yeah. There was definitely a young new teacher who came recently..."
Higakieta Sachi.
I couldn’t remember exactly when she’d arrived, but she was a young, beautiful school nurse who was extremely popular with the students.
When she first came, there were all sorts of rumors because we shared the same surname, but both I and the teacher herself denied them so aggressively that they didn’t last long.
Back then, there had been so much gossip that it was a pain in the ass.
Well, besides those rumors, there was also one about how it was hard to go to the infirmary, but I didn’t really know about that.
I’d never been there.
"Wow, you really do look bad. Forget any ulterior motives, I’ll go with you."
Maybe Tonomachi had noticed my condition getting worse in real time, because he offered to come with me.
So he really did have ulterior motives after all.
Now that I thought about it, he’d seemed a little too happy. He probably wanted to go with me so he could see Nurse Sachi.
His intentions were obvious.
"No, I can go to the infirmary by myself. Besides, class is about to start."
Ding-dong-dang-dong~
The moment I finished speaking, the class bell rang.
"B-but, Hieta! Really, are you okay?"
"Yeah, it’s not that bad."
"Tch, can’t be helped! Then I’ll tell the teacher you went to the infirmary. If you collapse, it’ll be a big problem."
Either way, it seemed he really was worried about me.
"Yeah, thanks. I’d appreciate that."
"Then take care of yourself. Tomorrow, I’m definitely asking you about Nurse Sachi!"
After shouting that, Tonomachi headed back to class.
So he had actually been worried about me, right?
"Haa, I think my fever’s getting worse."
Afraid I might collapse again, I pressed one hand against the wall and walked toward the infirmary, keeping myself steady.
******
By the time I reached the infirmary door, I was already exhausted just from walking this far.
Was that also because of the cold?
"Well, it’s just a cold anyway. If I take medicine and sleep for a bit, I’ll probably be fine."
Thinking that, I opened the door and went inside the infirmary.
"...Excuse me."
"Oh? Ah, Hii-kun. What brings you here?"
As soon as I stepped in, a woman with white hair and pale blue eyes welcomed me.
This woman was Nurse Higakieta Sachi.
She was beautiful and capable, and I’d heard she was also a very friendly, wonderful teacher.
"I think I may have caught a cold... May I rest here for a while?"
At the word cold, Nurse Sachi’s expression changed into one of concern.
"What, a cold? That’s serious."
"No, it’s just a simple cold, though."
After hearing me out, Nurse Sachi put on a grave expression and said,
"You mustn’t dismiss a simple cold. A cold is, you know. That thing. That... what was it again? Ah. The root of all evil."
"...Wasn’t it the root of all disease?"
"Ah, right! The root of all disease!"
...I was pretty sure she was supposed to be a capable teacher.
It felt like the image I’d had of her was cracking apart.
"But don’t worry. Leave it to me, Hii-kun!"
"I was already planning to do that from the moment I came in, but now I’m suddenly uneasy because of what just happened."
"Hmm. That’s not good. It must be because your cold is getting worse."
"No, no! No matter how you look at it, that has nothing to do with the cold!?"
What did my anxiety have to do with a cold!?
"Hehe... what are you saying, Hii-kun? Since I’m saying it, it must be right. Besides, I’m the school nurse. And I’m wearing glasses, too!"
"What do the glasses have to do with anything...?"
Watching Nurse Sachi push up her glasses with a proud look on her face left me speechless.
Was it really okay to leave my body in the care of a teacher like this?
"Well, that’s how it is. Stay still, okay?"
"Ah, yes..."
After hearing my answer, Nurse Sachi came closer and placed a hand on my forehead.
Thump!
The cool touch of her hand and the closeness of her body.
Maybe because she was already such a beauty, my heart refused to stay calm and kept making its presence known.
"...Hmm. You do seem to have a slight fever."
"I thought so... I’ve also got a headache, a runny nose, chills, and—atchoo!—sneezing, too."
As I listed my symptoms, Nurse Sachi nodded carefully and said,
"I see. It’s severe."
"Huh? Severe?"
"Yes. So we need to treat it as quickly as possible."
"Wouldn’t it be enough to just take cold medicine and sleep right now?"
Nurse Sachi shook her head as if my answer was wrong.
"No. We need to examine you first. Open your mouth."
"Ah, yes."
I felt like I was being dragged along by her pace, but she was the school nurse, so she should know better than I did.
"Ah..."
"Hmm... mm. No cavities, it seems."
"What exactly are you looking at!? Normally you check whether my throat is swollen or not!"
"Ah, right! Hmm, your throat isn’t swollen!"
Was it really okay to leave this to her?
She’d seemed suspicious from the start.
"Next, let’s take your temperature. You can’t measure it accurately with your hand."
"Yes. Then, the thermometer..."
Just as I moved my head to look for the thermometer, Nurse Sachi grabbed my cheek and pressed her forehead against mine.
"N-Nurse Sachi?"
With our faces so close, I could suddenly see her features in detail.
Pale but beautiful blue eyes.
Skin as white as Snow White’s, maybe even whiter.
And lips with a faint pink tint, full and soft, right in front of my eyes—back off, you demon!!!
"Stay still, Hii-kun. This is the most accurate way to measure it."
"No, there’s no way that—"
"Hmm. I think it’s 37.2 degrees."
"That’s exact!?"
The temperature she said matched the reading on the thermometer I’d brought just in case.
"Next, please lift your shirt."
"Haa... yes."
I had a lot I wanted to say about how she’d measured it so accurately, but Nurse Sachi had already picked up a stethoscope for the next exam, so I undid the buttons on my school shirt one by one and opened it.
Then Nurse Sachi brought the stethoscope to my chest...
"Where exactly are you trying to put that stethoscope!?"
"D-don’t worry. I-I’m a teacher, so. It’s fine to see Hii-kun’s naked body! I wasn’t t-thrilled at all!"
Wrong.
This teacher’s eyes had gone completely off the rails.
I quickly buttoned my shirt back up and returned it to normal.
"I-I’m done, so just give me some cold medicine. I’ll take that and sleep for a bit—atchoo!"
"As expected, Hii-kun is serious... Leave it to me! I’ll definitely treat you!"
With that, Nurse Sachi started pulling bandages from a shelf.
"No, why are you using bandages for a cold!?"
"It’s settled that severe cases get bandages and adhesive plasters, isn’t it? I’ll treat Hii-kun with these!"
Don’t say that so proudly!
"Come on, leave your body to me!"
Nurse Sachi took out the bandages and began moving them around in confusion.
"Like this... and then like this... huh? That’s weird...? No, maybe here...?"
"W-wait a second!"
In the end, Nurse Sachi made a mess of things.
She’d wrapped herself up in the bandages.
How on earth did she manage that?!
"Teacher! What are you doing!?"
"I-it’s okay! If I move this hand here... hngh! Ngh! That’s weird...! Ugh...! Hah! Haa... h-hah!"
"T-teacher! I’ll help you now."
She kept trying to untangle herself alone, but only made the bandages more complicated while letting out strange, ambiguous moans. Seeing that, I shook off the distracting thoughts creeping into my head and decided to help her.
"I-it’s okay! I’m a teacher...! Hii-kun, j-just stay there and watch...!"
I’m the one who’s not okay!
"What does being a teacher have to do with anything!? If someone needs help, you help them!"
I walked over to Nurse Sachi, who was lying on the floor tangled in bandages, and started unwrapping them.
"Hah...! There...! A little gentler...!"
"Oh, come on!"
Please stop making weird noises!
******
"Mm... th-thank you, Hii-kun."
"No. I’m fine—hhaaaaatchoo!!!"
Right.
I had a cold.
Using up all that strength to get the bandages off had made my condition even worse than before.
"Ah, my head..."
As the headache came crashing back, my skull throbbed.
"H-Hii-kun!?"
"J-just... some medicine..."
"Would medicine even help!?"
"T-this is when medicine is best..."
After a moment’s thought, Nurse Sachi reluctantly handed me some medicine.
I took the cold medicine, lay down on the infirmary bed, and closed my eyes.
"Finally... I can sleep..."
Just as I was happily thinking that I could finally rest, I heard Nurse Sachi’s voice softly from nearby.
"You have to get better soon, Hii-kun. I’ll be watching you properly."
"...Nurse Sachi really is kind."
The moment I thought that, my consciousness returned.
"Aaaah!"
"Kyaaah!"
Once again, I and the Fire Keeper opened our eyes at the same time.
We stared at each other in silence for a moment, then both blushed and turned away in opposite directions.
"My lord! That wasn’t intentional just now!"
"I-I know. Me too!"
I couldn’t see her face, but I somehow knew exactly what expression we were both making right now.
"That was quite an interesting reaction, Higakieta Hii. Especially observing Higakieta Sachi’s face in such detail—"
"Aaaah! Next! Let’s move on to the next one!"
Why were you even going to say that!!!
"...Yes. Understood."
Fortunately? Arus decided to listen to me and move on to the next event.
And just like that, I lost consciousness again.
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