Chapter 36, page 35

Buying ingredients early in the morning to cook for the girl I like may not be romantic, but the sense of satisfaction is irreplaceable.

After wasting a lot of ingredients, the final product tasted barely acceptable, mainly because his tongue wasn't interested in any flavor other than sweet. Airi didn't like sweet things, and salty flavors... it was really putting him in a difficult position.

Never mind, if she likes it, we can improve the recipe later.

Both he and Airi have quite large appetites. He prefers mental exertion, since with Six Eyes around, he's more of a passive thinker. Airi is very smart, but there's no need for her to use her brain right now; physical training will only increase her appetite.

Yesterday's promised seafood congee, two slices of cheese-filled toast, half an apple and a slice of orange, a dish of cherry tomatoes, and a glass of sweet milk every morning without fail.

He glanced at the time; it was already 7:30. Airi would be sitting in her usual spot every morning at 7:00 sharp, waiting for him to prepare breakfast. Today, she was half an hour late because she wanted to change the menu…

strangeness.

Gojo Satoru stared into thought at the dishes on the counter, his fingers still damp with water, lightly tapping the marble surface with his fingertips.

Da da da...

Half an hour had passed since seven o'clock. Even if it was his first time cooking for someone else today and he needed some time... Airi should have been impatient and told him to hurry up long ago. It was unusually quiet today.

It's too quiet.

This is very unusual.

Was she still sleeping because she played games too late last night? Midnight isn't too late for Airi...

Let's go take a look.

He picked up a clean towel hanging on the side and carefully wiped the water droplets off each finger. Realizing his actions, he paused for a few seconds, and a smile gradually spread from the corners of his mouth to his entire expression.

Ah, I did it subconsciously.

Airi is so clean; if someone touches her with wet hands, she will definitely jump up and grab them.

He didn't know if Airi was grumpy in the morning, because he had never woken her up.

Airi usually wakes him up to prepare breakfast.

Pushing open the door, the room was dimly lit, with heavy, dark curtains completely blocking out the sunlight. On the bed…

Huh? Where did they go?

It's early summer and I'm already covered with a thin air-conditioning blanket. When the temperature drops a bit, I wrap myself in another air-conditioning blanket. This is really not a very adult thing to do.

She looks two or three years younger than her actual age.

It's very exciting to date a minor.

The light blue floral quilt was barely hanging over the edge of the bed; no one was visible...

How did he fall?

Gojo Satoru walked to the other side of the bed to look. Two slender legs were bare and exposed outside the blanket, while the rest of the body was covered by the blanket.

Yes, it fell down.

He imagined Airi sleeping soundly—and then suddenly falling off the bed…

Pfft... Hahahaha, hold it in.

But in this weather, won't it be hard to breathe if you cover your head while sleeping?

Gojo Satoru kicked his slippers aside, lay down on his side next to her, and hooked his finger to slowly pull down the blanket covering Airi's face.

"Airi—"

He paused, pulled off his blindfold, and leaned closer to observe the blush on Airi's face.

My face is so red.

Are you sick?

After admiring Airi's rare display of vulnerability for a while, he decided to test her warmth. He shortened the distance between them and pressed his forehead against hers to feel her temperature.

Low-grade fever.

He stepped back slightly, reached out and brushed the hair from Airi's face behind her ear, then placed the back of his hand against her cheek to check her temperature again.

Is your face so red just because you have a low-grade fever?

How could I have a fever?

She's still in a deep sleep, her mind still foggy, so I guess she'll sleep for another two hours.

Sigh... Today was the first time he had prepared breakfast for someone else, and she just slept through it.

How did I get a fever?

Gojo Satoru wrapped her two exposed legs with the blanket, laid her down on the bed, and tucked the blanket in. She rolled over halfway through, and Gojo Satoru almost missed her.

"If it falls down, I'll be angry when I wake up..."

They just call him trash, useless, and say his arms are just wasted and he should just be cut off.

He had just tucked the blanket in when Airi pulled it off. He tucked it in again, and a moment later she pulled it off again. He was starting to suspect that Airi was deliberately trying to spite him.

She goes against him when he's awake, and she goes against him when he's asleep. Okay, that's very Matsuzaka Airi.

This time, I pressed it down manually.

Hey~ You're still moving?

She simply rolled over and went to sleep face down.

"Sigh..." Gojo Satoru reached under the covers to turn her back over, then sat down next to her. His hands had been dipped in water not long ago, so they were cool and not dry. When he wiped her cheek, she grabbed his fingers and used them to cool her face.

Airi must rarely get sick, otherwise she would have called him over to take care of her as soon as she noticed she was feeling unwell.

Are we already worrying about these things before we're even married? Airi is so boisterous, will she calm down a bit after we get married...?

It seems highly unlikely.

On the low table beside the bed were a game console, a mobile phone, and a water glass that Airi often used.

You have to take medicine when you're sick, right? He's never been sick before, so there's no medicine in his room. Oh well, a low-grade fever shouldn't be a problem without medicine.

Airi doesn't like taking medicine either.

It's so noisy.

The curtains blocked out the light and heat, the door was closed, and the person next to me was asleep, breathing softly, but it was still...so noisy.

Her breathing echoed in his mind, and the warmth of her hand seemed to burn him as well. Gojo Satoru leaned against the soft pillows, his gaze unfocused, trying to clear his mind and reduce his thoughts.

Airi, Airi, Airi—

I want to call her by her name.

She is sleeping.

She has a fever.

Don't wake her up.

"Airi..."

Gojo Satoru couldn't resist the name lingering on his tongue. He slid down onto the bed, pulling Airi completely into his arms, placing his hands on her waist and hips, and nuzzling closer, whispering her name in a coquettish tone in her ear.

Wanting a response from her but not wanting to wake her is inherently a contradiction.

Whatever happens, Gojo Satoru didn't think that far ahead.

If she's still sleepy after waking up, he'll coax her back to sleep; if she's still asleep, he'll keep calling her. He couldn't resist anymore. Even though Airi is very noisy and prone to causing trouble, Gojo Satoru couldn't help but come and check on her as soon as she closed her eyes and became quiet.

The moment she closed her eyes, she fell into a world that Gojo Satoru could not access.

Is it the past, or a dream?

There was nowhere for him to set foot.

Her quietness only made Gojo Satoru's mind more chaotic.

When asleep, one's presence becomes intermittent, like a phantom or a mist.

A weak or insignificant presence?

Gojo Satoru pulled off his blindfold and focused his attention on Airi's face. After a while, he exclaimed in surprise.

I wasn't mistaken, the curse of love has weakened.

"Airi Airi~"

Completely forgetting that the other person was still sleeping with a fever, Gojo Satoru pinched her face and shook it from side to side, wanting to let her know the good news immediately.

"..."

Airi Matsuzaka opened her eyes and saw his magnified face before closing them again.

How did Gojo Satoru end up in her bed? Is my new day going to start collapsing the moment I see Gojo Satoru?

...Wait, she wasn't wearing sunglasses. Why does Gojo Satoru look perfectly normal?

She reached for the sunglasses next to the pillow, and Gojo Satoru watched with a smile as she took them in her hand.

"Airi, haven't you noticed yet?"

"……What?"

His voice was a little hoarse from just waking up, but it sounded nice. He wished he could hear Airi calling his name and waking him up in that voice every morning.

"The curse of love is almost gone~"

...

The girl lowered her head, her slender fingers loosely gripping the frame of her sunglasses. Gojo Satoru suddenly became curious and wanted to see her expression; he did just that.

But she raised her head first, her expression indifferent, neither sad nor happy. The red marks from sleeping on her side still lingered at the corners of her eyes—beautiful, alluring, yet fragile enough to withstand the slightest caress.

What you see may not be the truth. Her delicate and boneless appearance is a mixture of truth and falsehood, as is her sweet and charming smile.

She is a lily, a rose, and a thorn.

Hugging her will inevitably hurt you, but that's okay.

Of course it doesn't matter.

I will break all the thorns off you.

You can point the knife at me, that's fine too~

"Is dinner ready?"

She didn't mention the curse again, and her lowered eyebrows and blinked with a calm tone, as if it were the most normal thing in the world, the lazy mood of waking up in the morning.

Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he stared intently at Airi's appearance at that moment, imprinting it deeply into his mind.

Remember this scene, and be able to clearly recall this moment, no matter how much time has passed—the feeling of his heart fluttering for her.

Gentleness is like using chopsticks to pick up tofu (1).

Gojo Satoru didn't know what that feeling was like, but perhaps there was more than just this one rigid answer.

Perhaps... just like her red hair brushing against her eyelashes.

Like her eyes gazing upon her own drifting.

Like the moonlight scattered overhead as they strolled through the night.

As long as she is there, all five senses are filled with gentleness.

"I've been waiting for you for so long, are you going to keep sleeping?"

It doesn't matter if the seafood porridge gets cold; he's decided to stay home with Airi all day.

Airi Matsuzaka raised her arm, feeling weak and sore. "I'm not going to class."

"Okay, no problem~"

"New game pre-orders..."

"I remember."

The girl, whose face still showed a slight weariness, slowly blinked her eyes, and Gojo Satoru felt as if she was winking at him.

His beautiful lips curved upwards, and he stared at those full, rosy lower lips, his mind only focused on how to bite them.

Airi's lip color is very bright; she actually doesn't need to wear lipstick.

But to personally apply lipstick to her and then eat that lip color myself... Hmm, maybe I should buy berry sweets, or grape flavored ones, Airi might lick them too.

"Game console—"

"This won't do. Get up when you're awake." Gojo Satoru took the game console and got out of bed, also grabbing the water glass from the low table. "Hurry up, the cheese toast is getting cold."

Um?

I feel like I've heard something similar before.

Airi, if you don't get up soon, your favorite cheese toast will get cold...

Ah, it's Yuichi.

It turns out that so much time has passed.

"Okay, sure."

The imagery that suddenly appeared in her mind was a response to the little knight from more than ten years ago, a response that transcended time and space.

I'll be fine soon!

"I'll be fine soon... Gojo Satoru."

He tightened his grip on the door frame by an inch, then naturally let go.

Would you like a glass of water?

"Yes, I want it."

He went out, closed the door, but didn't go far.

Who was she thinking about just now?