I tried to confess my feelings to the girl I like, but I got too excited and ended up proposing. Was her response OK?! ~ - Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Upon arriving home, I headed straight to the kitchen.

Since Mana is probably asleep, I’ll quietly make some porridge.

As I began to prepare, I realized something.

…How do you even make porridge?

Come to think of it, when I was at my parents’ house, my mother always made rice for me, and since we started living together, Mana took over cooking rice instead of my mother.

I’ve hardly ever cooked myself, and the last time I remember holding a knife was during elementary school cooking class.

This is bad.

No, wait, I have something for this now, don’t I?

The greatest tool of civilization, which almost no one around me doesn’t have. Yes, my smartphone!

If I search on a website, I can instantly find out how to make porridge!

Plus, if it’s a recipe on the internet, it’s bound to taste better than if I try to come up with it myself.

Decision made, let’s get started immediately!

Now, porridge is made with rice, but Mana was making dinner until a little while ago, so the rice should already be cooked.

First, I’ll need to get a pot…

Several tens of minutes later, I somehow managed to complete the porridge.

This time, I made porridge using pickled plums.

“Porridge is done, now let’s go check on Mana.”

Quietly heading towards the bedroom, I slowly opened the door.

From inside the room, I could hear her peaceful breathing.

It seems like she’s sleeping soundly without any nightmares.

Ah, I should leave a drink next to the bed for when Mana wakes up.

Thinking so, I returned to the kitchen once and took out a sports drink from the fridge, then headed back to the bedroom.

Entering the room quietly, I sat down on the chair next to the bed and placed the sports drink on the table.

Mana seemed to be sleeping peacefully, but her face was still red, and there were beads of sweat on her forehead.

I wet a towel with water, which I had prepared before going to the convenience store, and gently placed it on her forehead.

For a moment, Mana looked like she was feeling good and then quickly fell back asleep.

With her condition like this, it seems she won’t wake up today.

Maybe I should go to bed now too.

Thinking so, as I was about to get up and leave the room, I was suddenly pulled back by my sleeve.

Looking back, I saw Mana holding onto my sleeve.

However, she wasn’t awake. She probably grabbed it unconsciously in her sleep.

…This is troublesome.

If I forcibly shake her off, she might wake up.

Well, it’s fine for today.

It’s not like I’ll die from sleeping on a chair for a day.

So I sat back down on the chair and gently put Mana’s hand back under the blanket.

“Goodnight, Mana. Get well soon.”

Saying so, I patted Mana’s head a few times and quietly closed my eyes.

I felt something touching my cheek.

A sensation like being poked.

My consciousness emerged from the sea of sleep.

“Hmm…? Huh?”

Slowly opening my eyes, I found Mana staring at me for some reason.

“Good morning. How are you feeling? Your face still looks red, but should I take your temperature?”

As I spoke, for some reason, Mana buried herself in the blanket.

“Mana?”

“G-Good morning, Sora-kun. It’s still the middle of the night, are you okay being awake?”

Speaking rapidly from within the blanket.

“No, I was sound asleep, but I felt like something was touching my cheek, so I woke up.”

As I conveyed this, for some reason, Mana shivered visibly even through the blanket.

What’s wrong? Mana seems a little strange. Is her fever still not down?

While thinking about that, I glanced at the clock hanging on the wall, and it wasn’t even two in the morning yet.

“It really is still the middle of the night. Are you going back to sleep? Oh, by the way, I made some porridge. Want some?”

Mana poked her head out from under the blanket.

“I’d like some. My body still feels heavy, so could you bring it to me?”

“Sure, understood. Wait a moment, I’ll go get it. But come to think of it, did you do something while I was asleep?”

I was curious about the sensation on my cheek while I was sleeping.

“N-No! I didn’t do anything at all!”

For some reason, she vehemently denied it loudly. Something definitely happened.

We live together after all. I’m starting to understand these things.

“Hmm? Alright then. Well, forget about it. I’ll bring the porridge.”

Saying so, I left the room.

From her reaction and flushed face, something definitely happened. But if she denies it, I shouldn’t press further.

After that, I reheated the porridge and returned to the bedroom with a spoon.

“Did you check your temperature?”

“Yes, it was 37.5 degrees. I feel much better now.”

“That’s good. Stop prioritizing others over yourself. I’ll collapse from worrying about you.”

“I’m sorry for causing you trouble. Really.”

“I don’t think of it as trouble. It’s just a little payback for everything you always do for me. But from now on, I don’t want to repay you like this.”

Mana looked apologetic and promised to be more careful from now on.

“Alright, let’s stop here and eat. The porridge will get cold if we don’t.”

I placed what I brought on the small table next to the bed and urged Mana to eat.

“Then, I’ll gratefully accept.”

“Go ahead.”

Mana scooped up some porridge with the spoon and slowly brought it to her mouth.

After taking a bite, there was a moment of silence.

I felt nervous, wondering what if it didn’t taste good.

“It’s delicious! Did you use pickled plums?”

Thank goodness. It seems Mana liked it.

“Yeah, I did. I thought just placing pickled plums on top of the porridge would be good, but I decided to try my best to infuse the flavor into the rice.”

“Thank you so much for going through all that trouble for me. It’s really delicious.”

“That’s just obvious. If something happens to you, it’s my duty to do anything. Of course, even if nothing happens.”

…? Mana is staring at me silently for some reason.

“Mana? Hey.”

Waving my hand in front of her face, I called out to her.

“Oh, sorry, I spaced out. Sora-kun, can I ask you a favor?”

It’s rare for Mana to say something like that. Did something I said cause this?

“Of course, anything. I’ll do whatever I can.”

“T-Then, um… Well…”

“Hm? What’s wrong? You can tell me anything.”

Even though she started this conversation, for some reason, Mana’s words were stuck.

Maybe her fever has her brain not working properly.

While thinking that, Mana opened her mouth.

“Please feed me the porridge!”