After Work, I Brought Home a Devilish Beauty - Chapter 77

Taking the basin of warm water from Chiba, Yuichi soaked the newly bought towel and carefully wiped Alice’s forehead.

“Are you feeling any better?”

The moment the words left his mouth, Yuichi regretted asking.

…I’m an idiot.

Alice might be a hero with physical abilities far beyond those of an ordinary person, but she currently had a fever of forty degrees Celsius.

There was no way she could recover that quickly.

If she were an ordinary person, she probably would have already been taken to the hospital.

Chiba stood nearby with her arms crossed, watching the scene with a complicated expression.

It was hard to believe that Alice—the hero who had once pushed herself and even Lucifer to their limits—was now lying helplessly in bed and relying on someone else to take care of her.

Of course, Chiba knew she was partly responsible for Alice’s current condition.

Still, seeing Alice like this made her feel guilty.

“I really can’t leave this to you. Let me help.”

Yuichi turned around in surprise.

“…Huh?”

Judging by his expression, Chiba realized that he genuinely didn’t understand what she meant.

This guy really doesn’t know how to take care of a sick person.

“Wiping her forehead isn’t enough. She’s sweating quite a bit. You should use the warm water to wipe her arms and neck as well. It’ll make her more comfortable.”

Chiba didn’t know much about human illnesses, but she had once read about treating fevers in a book about humans.

Wiping the body with warm water wouldn’t cure the illness immediately, but it could help reduce discomfort.

“You’re right. But it’s freezing outside. Wouldn’t opening the windows or exposing her to the cold make things worse?”

Yuichi was genuinely concerned.

Chiba looked at him as though he had just said something incredibly obvious.

“Then turn on the air conditioner.”

“…Right!”

Yuichi slapped his forehead.

I completely forgot about the air conditioner.

The last time he’d used it had been months ago, when the summer heat had become unbearable.

Normally, Yuichi tried to avoid using it because of the cost.

But considering Alice’s condition, there was no reason to worry about the electricity bill now.

After turning on the air conditioner, Yuichi prepared the room so that it would stay comfortably warm.

“All right. I’ll take care of the rest.”

Just as Yuichi was about to continue, Chiba stopped him.

“You can leave now.”

Yuichi tilted his head.

“What?”

Seeing his confused expression, Chiba became impatient.

“What are you waiting for? I’ll take care of Alice.”

Yuichi hesitated.

“Are you sure you’ll be all right?”

Chiba immediately raised an eyebrow.

“What does that mean? Are you looking down on me?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

Yuichi quickly waved his hands.

But he couldn’t help remembering what had happened the last time he’d been sick.

Chiba had wanted to cook something for him, only to accidentally cause a minor disaster in the kitchen.

She had also mixed up household items with things that were actually meant to be used for eating or cleaning.

There had been one mistake after another.

Yuichi still remembered the chaos clearly.

She’s really not very good at taking care of sick people.

But he didn’t want to start an argument.

So Yuichi carefully explained himself.

“I just mean that this is a special situation. I’ve taken care of sick people before, so maybe I can help you. You don’t have to handle everything alone.”

Chiba stared at him for a moment.

Then her expression suddenly changed.

“…I never noticed it before.”

“What?”

Chiba narrowed her eyes.

“But now that I think about it, you really are strange.”

“Why?!”

Yuichi immediately became nervous.

“Because you’re taking this way too seriously.”

“I’m just trying to help Alice!”

“That’s exactly why you’re suspicious.”

“What?!”

Yuichi looked completely wronged.

“That’s not it at all! I just want to help Alice.”

Yuichi looked close to tears.

“Do you want me to stay outside the room instead? I can even turn around and wait until you need something.”

Chiba ignored his desperate explanation.

“Did you ask Alice what she wanted?”

Yuichi paused.

Chiba continued,

“Making decisions for someone without asking them first isn’t very considerate.”

Before Yuichi could respond, Alice suddenly coughed from the bed.

“It’s okay…”

Both of them turned toward her.

Alice slowly opened her eyes.

“I don’t mind.”

Chiba was surprised.

She had assumed Alice was asleep.

Apparently, she’d been awake the entire time, quietly listening to their conversation.

Chiba looked at her.

“Alice, you should be careful. Yuichi can be dangerous sometimes.”

Alice quietly shook her head.

“I don’t think he’ll do anything bad.”

She paused before continuing.

“He’s always helped me when I’ve needed it. I trust him.”

Yuichi stared at her in surprise.

Chiba was also caught off guard by the answer.

For a moment, neither of them said anything.

Then Chiba crossed her arms and looked away.

“…Fine.”

Yuichi blinked.

“Really?”

“Yes. But don’t make things worse.”

“Of course!”

Yuichi immediately nodded.

Alice gave a faint smile from the bed.

“Thank you, Yuichi.”

Yuichi smiled back.

“Don’t worry about it. Just rest.”

Chiba sighed.

“I’ll stay here and help.”

Yuichi nodded.

“All right. I’ll get whatever you need.”

The misunderstanding was finally cleared up.

At least for now.

And although Yuichi still couldn’t understand why Chiba had suddenly become so suspicious of him, he decided it was better not to argue.

Alice needed to rest.

That was the only thing that mattered.