The three remained in the infirmary until the second afternoon period ended. During that time, not a single student came in.
By three o'clock, sunlight outside the windows had shifted west, turning bright gold with faint crimson at the edges.
For more than an hour, they simply sat near the desk, drinking tea and talking. Most of the time, it was Bokue and Raphaeline speaking—Bokue steadily filling in the gaps for a goddess whose "modern knowledge" was almost nonexistent, explaining the changes that had piled up over a thousand years.
"I see…" Raphaeline murmured, shocked in the best way. She held her now-empty cup in both hands and nodded again and again. "I never imagined the human world could change this much."
Chisato glanced at her sister's empty cup, then reached for the electric kettle on the desk. It felt light. After estimating the remaining water, she started to stand.
"I'll boil more water—"
Knock, knock, knock.
The sharp knocks at the infirmary door cut her off.
Bokue glanced toward the entrance, then—without a word—took the kettle from her. As he rose, he lightly tapped Chisato's round hip through her loose white coat with a familiar, teasing pat.
"Alright. I'll handle it."
"Mm…"
Even though she was long used to that level of closeness, the heat of his touch still made Chisato's cheeks warm a little. She bit her lower lip reflexively.
Bokue headed toward the water source. Chisato settled back onto the chair, cleared her throat, and called toward the door.
"Come in."
Creeeak—
The door opened. A pair of familiar golden twin-drills peeked in first, and the voice that followed sounded muffled and nasal.
"Sorry for interrupting…"
To her surprise, it was Ravel.
But compared to her usual bright, confident heiress energy, Ravel looked completely drained today. Her voice was stuffy, and a surgical mask hid most of her beautiful face.
In short: she had a cold.
"Hello," Chisato said, switching instantly into professional mode. "Where do you feel unwell?"
"Mm… I think I caught a chill," Ravel said weakly. "Cold symptoms…"
As tough as devils were, they weren't immune to everything. And when they did catch a cold, it was miserable.
For devils, it wasn't just fatigue and aches—magic could become unusable, as if their power source had been snuffed out entirely.
"I see. First, let's take your temperature—"
Chisato reached toward the disinfectant bucket beside the desk for a thermometer.
But at that moment, Bokue returned with the refilled kettle. He lifted his head, saw the golden-haired phoenix girl, and spoke on instinct.
"Ravel?"
"Uwah??"
Ravel's shoulders jolted. She had been stepping forward to receive the thermometer, but now she turned stiffly—slowly, inch by inch.
"Bo-Bokue-sama? Why are you here?"
"Slacking off."
Two words. A complete explanation.
Bokue placed the kettle on its base, switched it on, then walked over to Ravel.
"What's wrong?" he asked, voice calm. "Where do you feel bad?"
"Uh… mm, it's basically—"
"I get it."
Before she could finish, Bokue lifted a hand and brushed her bangs away from her forehead.
The sudden touch startled Ravel. The faint fever flush on her cheeks deepened into a full blaze, spreading across her ears.
"W-wait, this is—??"
"Don't move."
Two words again.
And Ravel actually stopped.
Bokue leaned in and gently pressed his forehead to hers.
"Mmm…!"
Their eyes met at point-blank range. Their breaths mingled. Ravel's face went dangerously close to maximum redness.
She hadn't expected to run into Bokue when she came in for a simple cold checkup—much less end up like this.
Bokue murmured, mostly to himself. "You're running a fever. It's pretty high."
Then he added, quietly: "Hold still. This'll be quick."
The next instant, a golden aura flashed from the point where their foreheads touched.
Ravel's eyes widened.
It felt like a healing potion slammed straight into her system. The dizziness in her head vanished. The stuffiness cleared. Even her magic—gone only a moment ago—returned like a door unlocking.
Bokue stepped back half a pace. "Better?"
"Uh… mm."
Ravel nodded blankly, still trying to process what just happened. She didn't understand how he did it—she only knew she felt dramatically better.
Bokue frowned, genuinely puzzled.
"If your fever was this high, you've felt awful since at least this morning, right?" he said. "Second period just ended. Why didn't you come earlier?"
"Because…" Ravel's lips trembled as she answered, voice small. "We had class…"
Bokue blinked, as if he wasn't sure he'd heard correctly.
'Class?' he thought. Ravel cares about attending class?
Logically, someone raised in the demon world should treat school attendance as optional at best. In most demon territories, grades didn't matter—strength did.
What Bokue didn't realize was that Ravel had swallowed the rest of the sentence.
Because the classroom is the only place I might see you.
Even when she felt miserable, she refused to miss the chance—however small—that she might catch a glimpse of him. So she forced herself through the school day before finally coming here.
Bokue sighed and rubbed his forehead.
"Honestly…"
He wasn't oblivious—he was just usually too lazy to spell things out. Even without asking, he could roughly guess her logic.
Then he asked, "By the way, Ravel, are you living in the dorms right now?"
"Uh… yes."
"In that case, how about moving to Keystone Gate instead?" Bokue said simply. "At least there, if you feel sick, you can contact me immediately. I don't come to campus much these days."
"Eh…?"
Ravel wasn't prepared for that turn at all.
A surge of happiness smacked her in the head so hard it almost made her dizzy again.
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