"I-I need to go to the hospital!"
Chizuru couldn't stand any longer and directly moved away from her seat, wishing to go to her grandmother's side as fast as possible, but due to how panicked she was and the unbalanced position of her seat, her chair dropped as she was about to fall, but fortunately, Nifuji quickly reacted and caught her.
"Watch out!"
"...."
Chizuru, who saw the floor, was right before her eyes, and felt so many emotions within her mind that she was in a daze for a moment until she heard his voice.
If Nifuji hadn't caught her before, there was no doubt that she would have been hurt, and even worse, bleeding and injured her face.
For someone whose work relied on appearance, if she lost her beauty, would her work be as easy as before?
"I am not saying you should calm down, but can you go with how you are? If you are hurt, what will happen to your grandmother?"
"...but, what should I do?"
The sudden news of her grandmother being admitted to the hospital left her at a loss and unable to properly react, as everything was just too much for someone who had just become an adult.
"Hello? Ichinose-san? Are you there? Can you answer us?"
"..." 2x
The voice from the smartphone also urged her to answer, but as she didn't know what to do, Nifuji asked after a moment of hesitation, "...should I answer it for you?"
Chizuru, who had been looking down, looked up and asked subconsiously, "...can you?"
Nifuji took a deep breath and helped her to sit down on the seat. "Take a deep breath, and calm yourselves first. I will answer this for you." After he helped Chizuru, he looked at his hand that was grasped by her tightly.
"....."
He didn't say anything, just looked at it for a while, and then took her smartphone as he answered the hospital call. "Hello, I am sorry. Can you tell me the details?"
"I am sorry, you are...?"
"I am her family."
Nifuji knew that he was lying, but this was the best answer for this problem, as disguising himself as a boyfriend was definitely out of the question, and the hospital staff definitely wouldn't say anything to him if he said that he was her boyfriend, as this relationship was still too distant to know what had happened.
"Is that so, then..."
As the hospital staff told him about what had happened, Nifuji also listened carefully to the condition of Chizuru's grandmother.
Then again, why did Chizuru react so much?
After all, while he knew it was a bit cold, it was normal for people of advanced age to occasionally enter the hospital, and instead of Chizuru, shouldn't the hospital staff have called her parents first?
Still, after he listened to everything, he looked at Chizuru and told her about everything.
"They told me that your grandmother is okay now. She is at the hospital, and they told me that she had just woken up."
It was lucky that her grandmother happened to be out with her friend, and when the incident happened, she was quickly helped, and the situation was stabilized, or rather, her grandmother was more or less okay, but as Chizuru was too panicked, she lost her calm and even almost hurt herself due to it.
"T-Thank you..."
Chizuru let out a sigh of relief when she heard that her grandmother was okay.
"You should call your parents. It must be tough for you to handle this alone, right?"
"...I don't have them."
"...."
Nifuji's words stuck, and he wasn't sure what to say for a while until he calmed himself and asked, "I am sorry."
"N-No, it's fine. You don't know, after all, and I am used to it..."
Chizuru, who saw his awkwardness, quickly tried to comfort him.
"....."
No, he felt awkward at this moment and wasn't sure what to say.
"...what about other families?"
Still, he forced himself to be cruel and decided to ask about her family, since even if nothing had happened to her grandmother, someone needed to stay by her grandmother's side.
"...no one else, I am alone with my grandmother."
"...." Nifuji.
"It's fine. You don't have to worry. I am used to doing this alone, so you should go back. Your girlfriend is waiting for you, right? You shouldn't stay with me."
"...." Nifuji.
If Chizuru said nothing, he wouldn't feel so awkward, but as she said those words, it made him feel guilty about leaving her.
It would be even better if he knew nothing about her situation, since it made it even harder for him to leave, so while he knew that he might be rejected as a meddlesome, he still asked, "Do you want me to accompany you?"
"...."
Chizuru, who had been looking down, stared at him with widened eyes.
"W-Why?"
"Why?" Nifuji looked at her weirdly and said, "Because I am worried about you."
What else was the reason for him to accompany her except to worry about her?
If he wasn't worried, he would just go home immediately.
Then again, he also understood why Chizuru worked at this job, as it made a lot of money, and he didn't need to do it a lot of times.
Yes, this job had a short lifespan as she grew older; as a woman, her charm would be reduced and lost to those who were young, but at this moment, when she was just a university student, and had no other skills, and advantages other than her thoughtfulness, professionalism, and beauty, she got nothing to offer, and the rental girlfriend gave the most money despite its nature that was similar to prostitution, yet better as she had no need to offer her body.
"But, won't I trouble you...?"
Still, it was hard for her to accept his help, as she thought it would trouble him.
To trouble others, the people in this country would rather die.
"I won't force you, but do you have the confidence to take care of your grandmother now?"
"...." Chizuru.
"If you are worried that you will trouble me, then don't be..."
"Why?"
"It's not, why? I mean, isn't it normal to help others?"
"...." Chizuru.
A certain part of her felt disappointed, but she let out a helpless sigh and said, "B-But, I can't feel comfortable if you do all of this even though I can't do anything for you."
"...."
Just how stubborn was this woman?
Yet, probably, as Chizuru had always lived alone and relied on herself to live, she felt uncomfortable if she gave nothing to him, even if he offered her help.
Still, Nifuji also grew tired of Chizuru's stubbornness and just casually said as a joke, "If you are worried about that, why don't you just borrow me as a rental boyfriend or something?"
"Can I?!"
"....." Nifuji.
As he saw Chizuru's shining, excited eyes, he wondered whether this was the right choice.
---
I have returned!