The next morning.
The atmosphere inside the apartment still felt quiet, but from the direction of the kitchen, a strong and tantalizing aroma of spices began to waft out, breaking the silence of dawn.
Charlie was standing in front of the stove, having decided to cook something different today: Indonesian-style fried rice.
Turning the stove to high heat, he let the oil inside the wok heat up quickly.
With deft hand movements, he tossed a finely ground paste of shallots, garlic, and chili peppers into the pan.
A loud, sharp sizzling sound was heard immediately as the spices clashed with the hot oil, releasing a pungent, fragrant aroma.
A moment later, he threw in a full plate of cold white rice, poured an appropriate amount of sweet soy sauce, and then flipped the wok with a skilled wok toss technique.
The rice and spices swirled in the air before returning to the pan, mixing evenly until the color changed to an appetizing golden brown.
Before turning off the heat, Charlie took a small spoonful of fried rice directly from the wok to taste it. He chewed for a moment, then smiled with satisfaction.
"Hmm, the taste hasn't changed. It's still exactly the same as the one I usually make."
After turning off the stove, he immediately divided the fried rice, which was still billowing hot steam, into two porcelain plates.
Charlie walked over to the dining table, placed both plates there, then took off the cloth apron he was wearing and hung it back on the kitchen wall.
With calm footsteps, he walked toward the inner corridor and stopped right in front of Mahiru's bedroom door.
"..."
Charlie did not immediately knock on the wooden door in front of him. Instead, he activated Senrigan.
Instantly, the visual barrier of the thick door seemed to fade, allowing his vision to pierce right into the dimly lit interior of the room.
Through his special sight, Charlie saw that Mahiru was actually already awake from her sleep.
The girl was sitting silently on the edge of the bed in a curled-up position, staring blankly at the floor with a dazed expression.
From her gloomy facial expression and the thin dark circles under her eyes, she was most likely drowning in regret and constantly blaming herself for the deaths of tens of thousands of people yesterday.
That was the psychological conclusion Charlie managed to draw.
Charlie deactivated Senrigan, then knocked on the bedroom door a few times with a gentle rhythm.
"Mahiru, I've cooked breakfast. Let's eat together outside."
"..."
A pause of silence hung for a few moments before a reply was finally heard from inside the room.
Mahiru's voice sounded incredibly listless, raspy, and devoid of all life energy.
"I... I don't have an appetite right now, Charlie-kun. Just eat by yourself..."
Hearing the rejection, Charlie exhaled a long breath and sighed heavily.
He knew very well that a passive situation like this absolutely could not be allowed to continue any longer.
If he kept letting Mahiru shut herself away in guilt, then even if he succeeded in protecting the girl's physical body from the Abyssal Devourer, his Quest would still end in failure if her mind collapsed and she chose the extreme path of suicide.
After all, Mahiru was just an ordinary teenage girl who wasn't as strong as she appeared on the outside.
Furthermore, Japan historically ranked among the countries with the highest suicide rates in the world.
Whether caused by the pressure of depression at work, bullying at school, or other psychological issues, people in this rigid society often easily chose to end their own lives when they had lost hope.
Charlie realized that he had to act quickly before Mahiru stepped too far into that darkness.
(I have to take somewhat rough measures if this is how it's going to be.)
In a world full of unpredictable variables, one had to be flexible in life.
Gentleness couldn't always be used in every situation, especially when dealing with someone whose soul was sinking to the brink of the abyss of despair.
After firming up his decision, Charlie grabbed the doorknob and tried to turn it, but the metal object held fast.
The room was locked from the inside.
Of course, a locked door was no big deal at all for someone like him.
—Hundred Gauntlets!
Without causing any cracking sound or physical damage, Charlie reversed the concept of cause and effect on the lock mechanism.
The next second, miraculously, the wooden door was no longer locked and opened slowly with a single gentle push.
*CREEEAK...!*
Mahiru, who was curling up, spontaneously flinched the moment she heard the sound of the door hinges moving.
Looking up, she stared at the figure of Charlie stepping into her private area with a bewildered gaze.
Trying to cover up her mental fragility, Mahiru looked at the man with a dissatisfied and raspy tone of voice.
"Charlie-kun?! How did you... get in? Don't you know that entering a girl's room without permission like this is a crime?!"
"..."
Charlie had absolutely no intention of arguing. He maintained his flat facial expression and kept stepping forward toward the bed, closing the distance between them.
Seeing him continue to approach without paying heed to her warning, Mahiru began to feel afraid.
Her negative thoughts suddenly ran wild, thinking that this man in front of her might intend to commit an indecent act or vent his depraved desires on her while she was helpless.
Mahiru's slender body trembled violently; she shifted backward on the mattress until her back hit the cold corner of the bedroom wall.
"Get out... please get out of my room, Charlie-kun!"
"I... I just want to be alone right now! Please leave!"
Charlie finally stopped his footsteps right at the edge of the bed, towering in front of Mahiru, who looked so small and fragile. Without saying a single word, he bent his body and extended his two robust hands toward the girl.
Seeing that pair of hands moving toward her, Mahiru reflexively closed both of her eyes tightly, resigned.
She knew very well that putting up a physical resistance right now was completely futile.
From the very beginning, there was a fundamental difference between the physical strength of women and men, not to mention the fact that Charlie was a supernatural being whose power was beyond comprehension.
In front of this man, Mahiru understood very well that she was completely helpless.
However, the horrific scenario she feared most in her head turned out to never happen.
"Eh...?"
A small exclamation full of confusion spontaneously escaped Mahiru's lips.
Both of her eyes opened again, and she was instantly stunned.
Instead of committing an indecent act, Charlie casually wrapped one of his strong arms around Mahiru's slender waist, then lifted the girl's body into the air with one hand—exactly the way someone would lift a kitten or a pet that was refusing to walk.
Charlie turned around casually and began to take wide strides out of the bedroom while carrying Mahiru's body under his arm.
Once her awareness and sanity returned after the brief shock, Mahiru's face flushed ripe with overwhelming embarrassment. She began to struggle lightly, hitting Charlie's back with her small, powerless fists.
"Charlie-kun! What is the meaning of this?! Put me down! This way of holding me... this is really too much! You're lifting me up as if I were an animal!"
"..."
Charlie kept his ears tightly shut, ignoring all the protests and helpless struggles from the girl under his armpit.
With steady steps, he brought Mahiru in that highly unusual manner straight toward the bathroom.
Charlie lowered Mahiru onto the clean tiled floor of the bathroom very carefully.
As soon as both of her feet touched the floor again, Mahiru immediately took a step back, tidied her slightly rumpled clothes, and then looked at the man in front of her with an extremely deep pout.
Her beautiful eyes glared sharply, radiating a combination of annoyance, embarrassment, and the lingering remnants of sadness that still hung over her.
Charlie was completely unfazed by that intimidating gaze. He folded both arms in front of his chest, then looked straight at Mahiru.
"Take a shower. You've shut yourself away for two whole days and haven't bathed. Honestly, your body is starting to stink."
"...!!!"
The blunt words instantly provoked Mahiru.
After all, for a teenage girl—especially a girl who held the title of 'Angel' at school because of her perfection—being told she had body odor was an insult.
Mahiru's face, which had been pale earlier, instantly flushed crimson with intense embarrassment.
Even though her heart was boiling with anger, her rationality could not deny the truth of Charlie's words.
After two days of wrestling on the bed in a state of stress, her body indeed already felt uncomfortable.
"I... I don't stink!" Mahiru retorted, half-shouting in a hoarse voice, trying to defend her wounded pride. She then pointed toward the outer door with her trembling, slender finger. "Now, hurry up and get out of here, Charlie-kun! I'm going to take a shower!"
Charlie nodded slowly, feeling that his small provocation had successfully drawn out a life emotion from the girl who had been temporarily numb.
However, just when Charlie was only one step away from crossing the threshold of the bathroom door, Mahiru's voice was heard again, this time with a much softer and awkward tone.
"W-Wait... Charlie-kun..." Mahiru squeezed the hem of her shirt, not daring to look into his eyes. "Please... bring me a change of clothes from my closet. I didn't bring anything just now."
"Understood."
Charlie only nodded calmly and then pulled the bathroom door until it was tightly closed, giving full privacy to the girl.
He stepped back into Mahiru's bedroom, which still retained the girl's signature fragrance.
He walked over to the wardrobe in the corner of the room and opened it without hesitation.
As he slid the closet door open, his gaze was immediately greeted by rows of clothes arranged very neatly, including several pieces of women's underwear located in a specific drawer that was halfway open.
Seeing that, Charlie felt a slight, natural sense of awkwardness as a normal man.
Even so, his mentality, which was fully seasoned by life's ups and downs, kept him composed. He didn't lose his cool at all or suddenly throw a hysterical tantrum like those harem protagonists who would immediately get a nosebleed or scream frantically when placed in this position.
Charlie also did not let his mind be distracted by dirty fantasies like a weak character such as Kinoshita Kazuya usually would.
With efficient movements, he randomly selected a casual pastel-colored house dress, then took a set of underwear without looking at it for too long.
Charlie returned to the bathroom, knocked on the door once, then opened it slightly just to place the pile of changing clothes on top of the hanging rack located in the dry area near the entrance.
As he placed the clothes down, Charlie's gaze accidentally caught a silhouette from behind the frosted glass wall that separated the shower area.
Behind the thickly steamed glass, he could faintly see the curves of Mahiru's body, which was currently in a 'newborn' state, meaning without clothing, standing under the gush of warm water.
Glancing only for a split second to ensure that the girl was fine, Charlie immediately turned his body around without the slightest hidden intention and stepped away, leaving the bathroom area and closing the door tightly behind him.
Not long after Charlie's footsteps faded into the distance and the atmosphere outside became quiet again, the frosted glass door inside the bathroom slowly slid open.
Mahiru poked her head out slightly, showing only up to her face and her wet hair that was dripping water.
She cast her gaze around the empty room, then looked at the pile of changing clothes on top of the rack with a sense of relief.
Mahiru exhaled a long breath, letting the tension in her shoulders relax completely.
"Charlie-kun... is really a good man." She murmured in a very soft voice, almost a whisper amidst the hiss of the warm water vapor.
There was a deep sense of gratitude and admiration slipping into her heart.
"If it were another man in that position just now... I'd be really worried that they wouldn't be able to resist this temptation, and in an instant, I might have changed from a girl into a woman."
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