"Sora-kun, how did you get injured?"
Disregarding the gazes of others, Angel-sama stepped right up to Sora. She tilted up her exquisite, cute, and flawless pretty face, inquiring about his condition with concern.
"I..."
Sora originally intended to find a random excuse, but looking into Angel-sama's clear eyes that seemed capable of seeing through people's hearts, the words suddenly caught in his throat.
For some reason.
He suddenly had an inexplicable feeling.
If his lie were seen through, Mahiru-san, who had just taken off her mask, would revert to that cold Angel-sama who could only be admired from afar.
So, Sora told the truth:
"I went out yesterday afternoon to do a commission..."
He spoke of the process and details without a word of falsehood, only temporarily withholding Kuroneko's true identity.
Mahiru listened quietly to the explanation. She gently pursed her moist pink lips, a hint of envy flashing in her eyes:
"If I had the choice, I'd also want the ability to communicate with cats."
Compared to Time Stop, Mahiru preferred the ability to converse and communicate with cats.
After all... being alone is truly too lonely.
"That's how it happened." Sora raised his right hand, his expression serious. "If there's a single lie, Mahiru-san can stomp on me ruthlessly."
Mahiru raised her hand to tuck the hair falling over her chest behind her ear, glaring affectionately with her bright eyes: "I'm sorry, I refuse to give Sora-kun a reward."
It's clearly a punishment, how is that a reward!
"Is the injury severe? Are you feeling unwell anywhere right now?"
Mahiru asked with concern.
"It's not severe, otherwise I wouldn't be at school, but lying in a hospital." Sora said softly. "Now that I've received Mahiru-san's care, my recovery speed has boosted to two hundred percent."
"I'm not a doctor, I don't have that kind of ability." Mahiru glared affectionately. Seeing that Sora still had the energy to joke around, she relaxed slightly and said nonchalantly, "...If you need help changing the sterile gauze, I could lend a hand."
"..."
As they spoke, a train slowly pulled in.
Sora and Mahiru ended their conversation and boarded the train together.
Previously, when they coincidentally met at the station, Angel-sama would deliberately keep her distance from him. But today, after boarding the train, Mahiru naturally stood right next to Sora.
In the stuffy train car, the girl's faint fragrance quietly drifted into Sora's nose.
They rode quietly like this for several stops. Then, the smoothly running train suddenly braked hard, throwing the entire car into chaos in an instant.
Thud.
Due to inertia, Mahiru uncontrollably crashed into Sora's embrace.
Sora also stumbled. His left hand hurriedly gripped the handrail tightly, while his right hand subconsciously pulled the colliding Angel-sama into his arms.
However, the others weren't so lucky.
Especially a girl who was playing on her phone with both hands. Caught off guard, she completely lost her balance and fell straight backward, her the back of her head moments away from smashing into the floor.
"P-Please move your hand..."
Angel-sama tilted up her pretty face. Her snow-white, flawless skin was currently flushed crimson, and her gentle, pleasant voice was also trembling slightly.
"What?"
Sora's right hand subconsciously gave a squeeze. An indescribably wonderful sensation instantly transmitted from his palm. Even through the clothes, it still made his heart pound.
"Mmm~ Nn—"
Angel-sama's trembling, suppressed hum sounded out, seemingly dyeing the air pink.
"I am incredibly..."
Sora finally realized that he had accidentally measured Angel-sama's conscience.
But before he could finish speaking, Mahiru's gaze suddenly caught sight of the unlucky girl whose head was about to hit the floor. In her panic, she instinctively used Time Stop.
Hum—
The entire world seemed to have had its pause button pressed.
The roar of the train, the exclamations of the passengers, the miscellaneous objects flying mid-air—everything came to an abrupt halt. The whole world instantly became suffocatingly silent.
This was why Mahiru didn't like Time Stop.
Once Time Stop was activated, the entire world would plunge into a terrifying, deathly stillness.
"Phew..."
Mahiru exhaled softly. With a blushing face, she escaped from Sora's embrace, preparing to go over and save the girl.
However, the next second.
In the deathly still, time-stopped world, a voice suddenly rang out:
"I am incredibly sorry..."
"Ehh?!"
Mahiru widened her beautiful eyes in shock, rapidly turning her head to look at Sora:
"Sora-kun... you can still move?!"
"I can't." Sora told the truth. He felt his current state was very peculiar. "My brain can still think, my eyes can see, and my mouth can speak, but my body can't move at all."
"You really can't move?"
Mahiru was skeptical.
Sora blinked. "If I'm lying, let my phone battery permanently be at one percent whenever I have an emergency."
"I believe you, Sora-kun." Mahiru pursed her moist pink lips, her eyes full of curiosity. "When I used Time Stop before, Sora-kun clearly couldn't speak, but now you can... Why is that?"
"I'm very surprised too." Sora tried hard to move, but unfortunately, his body felt as if it were encased in glue, completely immobile. "Speaking of which, why did Mahiru-san activate Time Stop?"
"Um, saving the person comes first..."
Mahiru snapped back to reality and hurriedly began her rescue operation.
First was the unlucky girl whose head was about to hit the floor. Mahiru painstakingly moved her to an empty seat to prevent her from hitting her head.
"I'll go check the other cars." Mahiru raised a hand to wipe her forehead and looked at Sora. "The sudden braking just now was too abrupt. Someone else might be in unexpected danger."
Sora reminded her, "There are surveillance cameras on the train. Wait until you return to my side before deactivating Time Stop."
"I know."
Mahiru waved her hand gently and quietly left.
"..."
Watching Angel-sama leave, Sora's mood was exceptionally subtle.
Good news.
The superpower of Time Stop exists in the world.
Bad news.
He was the one whose time was stopped...
Fortunately, the person who possessed the Time Stop ability was the noble-minded Angel-sama. If it were some dark-hearted villain, who knows how many people would lose their chastity!
"To think I can actually speak. Could it be related to the Witch game?"
Sora muttered in his heart, focusing his attention on the game panel in his mind.
[You have had intimate contact with the Witch of Time.]
[You have absorbed a portion of the Witch of Time's magic power.]
[You have recovered a slight amount of mobility...]
"So that's how it is..." Sora understood perfectly. "The reason I can speak is actually because of the intimate contact just now?"
A moment later.
Mahiru quietly returned and said softly:
"Sora-kun, I'm going to deactivate Time Stop."
Sora asked curiously:
"Why did the driver brake so suddenly?"
"I don't know." Mahiru gently shook her head. "There was clearly nothing on the tracks ahead... We'll have to wait for the announcement."
As Angel-sama gripped the handrail tightly, the Time Stop state quietly ended.
The next second.
The entire world abruptly 'came alive'.
Exclamations and sounds of panic rang out everywhere.
Especially that girl who was playing on her phone with both hands. Her brain had gone completely blank with panic, but the next second, she found herself sitting quietly on a seat. For a moment, she wore a bewildered expression, doubting her own existence.
Amidst the chaos, Sora and Mahiru stood quietly in the corner, hiding their merit and fame.