Episode 54: The Meddlesome Goddess (Friend Ver.) Part 2

Listening to Takanashi-san’s breathing as he slept, I decided to keep my hand moving for just a little longer.

I was able to put the experience of Takanashi-san falling asleep when I gave him a lap pillow to good use.

Since he only just fell asleep, he might wake up if I let go now.

While it was nice to gaze at Takanashi-san’s cute sleeping face like this, this was a rare opportunity to do things around his house, so I should probably think about my schedule.

For now, I’ll clean up the kitchen and keep an eye on the time to prepare dinner.

Laundry and cleaning can wait until tomorrow.

There will be other small things to do, but checking Takanashi-san’s condition and taking care of his needs is the top priority…

Fufu… it looks like it’s going to be a busy weekend.

Takanashi-san seems fast asleep.

I’m a little reluctant, but I suppose it’s okay to let go now…

I’ll stroke Takanashi-san’s head just a bit more before I start working. Ah, come to think of it, Natsumi did warn me about something.

「Since you’re probably going to do all sorts of things while claiming to be nursing him, here’s one warning.」

「A warning? I don’t intend to do anything particularly strange, but…」

「Just listen. Got it? For a guy living alone, it’s actually normal if they haven’t done anything around the house at all. Think of it as the default.」

Even if Takanashi-san can’t keep up with the housework… that’s what she meant, right?

I intended to do that for him from the beginning, so I don’t think there’s a problem…

「And this is the important part! Um, if you find anything unusual, or rather, something weird, you absolutely must not get mad, okay?」

「? …Something weird?」

「…Maybe it’ll be fine if you don’t touch the PC… anyway! If you find something unusual while tidying the room, just pretend you didn’t see it.」

「? …I don’t quite understand, but basically, if I find something, I should just act like I didn’t know about it?」

「Exactly! And you absolutely can’t get mad. Got it?」

…Something「weird」is far too vague to understand, isn’t it?

Well, whatever.

I have no intention of overstepping my bounds and commenting on Takanashi-san’s possessions.

Now that I’ve remembered Natsumi’s warning, I’ll start cleaning the kitchen right away.

That said, as I thought while cooking earlier, it’s just not organized, it’s not actually dirty.

So, it’s more like tidying up rather than cleaning.

…By the way, as with the dishes, there aren’t many signs of the cooking tools being used.

I wonder how his relative is managing?

I’ll organize the seasonings and tools so that anyone else can understand them at a glance, and as for the ingredients…

…Oh, there are very few ingredients.

Pouch meals… instant food…

It’s not good for the body, but… well, since he doesn’t cook, it can’t be helped.

In that case, I should just make sure the content of his next bento is even more nutritionally balanced.

When I get home tonight, I’ll think of a menu.

There are ingredients here too… only instant stuff.

Seriously, this amount is…

I’ll try to talk to him about it later if I have time.

「Ugh… nnn…」

Oh, no, did I wake Takanashi-san up?

…It doesn’t look like he’s awake, but Takanashi-san seems to be having a restless sleep, so I’ll pause the tidying for a bit.

He still has a fever, so that might be the reason…

Using ice from the ice maker, I wring out a towel soaked in ice water and place it on Takanashi-san’s forehead.

I’ve heard the back of the neck is better, but that would wake him up.

Ah, his expression has become somewhat relieved.

It’s tough to be alone at times like this, isn’t it…

Speaking of being alone… Takanashi-san said he was isolated in his class before, and still is now.

If that’s the case, doesn’t it mean he has no close friends at that school…

「…Takanashi-san, you accepted me… even all my selfishness. I will show you that I can accept you too, including your painful past. So… please tell me about it someday…」

When I stroke Takanashi-san’s head, my heart settles down, and I feel a sense of peace.

「…You aren’t alone… I won’t let you be alone. Since you gave me permission to be selfish, I’m going to take proper care of you today and tomorrow.」

While being careful not to wake Takanashi-san, I repeated the process of organizing the kitchen and changing the towel, and before I knew it, it was evening.

Now then, shall I start preparing dinner?