Chapter 2: The Angel’s Offer (1/2)

“Amane, your nose is noisy.”

“You’re noisy.”

The following day, it was Amane who caught a cold.

His classmate, or rather, bad friend Itsuki Akazawa, noted how noisy Amane was, and Amane wanted to snort back, only to fail.

Instead, he was sniffing while trying to breathe through the nose. In a sense, he was snorting away.

He was feeling utterly unwell, and his head was in stinging pain, either because his nose was blocked,  or because of the cold.

He had taken some medication he bought from a pharmacy, but the symptoms never faded, and he ended up like this.

His face contorted as his nose met the tissue again. Itsuki in particular looked more dumbfounded than worried.

“Weren’t you feeling fine yesterday?”

“Got caught in the rain.”

“You alright? You didn’t bring an umbrella yesterday?”

“…Lent it to someone.”

Naturally, he could not say that he lent it to Mahiru, so he vaguely brushed it off.

On a side note, he found Mahiru at school looking fine, somewhat vibrant. It was laughable for him given that he was the one who handed the umbrella to her.

But he truly deserved this, for he did not take a hot bath thereafter to warm his body.

“But seriously, lending an umbrella when the rain’s so heavy? Aren’t you too good a person?”

“Not like I got a choice. I just lent it to someone else.”

“Who did you lend to for you to even risk catching a cold?”

“…A kid who got lost?”

It was better than saying someone with a childlike stature. Actually, she was in the same year as he was.

…Ahh, I see. She had the look of a lost kid.

Only when he said it did he realize what it was.

Back then, Mahiru’s expression was that of a lost kid looking for her parents.

“You’re a good guy.”

Itsuki knew nothing of Amane’s current feelings as the latter thought about Mahiru, and giggled mischievously.

“Well, I don’t know who you lent the umbrella to, but you just wiped your body and left it at that, right? That’s why you caught a cold.”

“…How do you know?”

“Anyone can tell how little you care about yourself just by looking at your house.”

That’s why you caught a cold, you idiot. Once he was told off, Amane had to remain quiet.

As Itsuki said, Amane never cared about his own situation.

To add on, he was bad at cleaning up, and his room was in a mess. He usually ate bentos and supplements bought from the convenience stores outside, or ate out.

And you say you’re living alone. Itsuki stared dumbfoundedly.

To Itsuki, it was no wonder Amane caught a cold when his lifestyle was overly lax.

“Hurry back home and rest already. We have a weekend coming up. Get well soon.”

“Yeah…”

“Will be nice if you have a girlfriend who can take care of you.”

“You’re noisy. And you have a girlfriend. Shut up.”

Itsuki smiled proudly. Amane reached his hand into the tissue box, annoyed.

Time passed, and Amane’s health had worsened.

The cold symptoms he had were headache and runny nose, but now they were accompanied with sore throat and fatigue, crippling his entire body.

After school, he looked forward as he hurried home, but the cold was worse than he thought, his steps extremely heavy.