Alain strode quickly towards the bathroom where Misha was, thinking about the time he spent searching for his 'learning materials'—roughly thirty to forty minutes. Afterwards, fooling around with Millie took another ten-plus minutes. Adding it up... Misha had been showering for almost an hour and still wasn't finished.
He knew girls didn't shower that quickly, but that was usually due to skincare products, body lotions, and such being included in their shower time. Misha herself was naturally beautiful and, to save money, didn't have the habit of buying these things.
Soon, Alain's steps halted at the bathroom door. Millie behind him sensed his seriousness and wiped the playful expression from her face.
"Bestie... did something happen?" The worried girl also stopped outside the door, looking with Alain towards the lit bathroom.
He knocked on the door. "Dear, are you done showering?" Alain glanced aside. "Millie says she wants to shower too."
Millie nodded. "Yeah, my body feels sticky, so uncomfortable..."
After speaking, they both listened closely for any possible sounds from within the bathroom.
Pat, tap. Soon, they heard the faint sound of wet footsteps.
"Showering... ah, sorry... I might, not be that..." An extremely weak voice drifted into Alain's ears. Frail, as if a mere puff of wind could blow her over.
Hearing this, he didn't hesitate, knocking again. "I'm coming in?"
"? Ah..." A horrified gasp came from the girl inside, still powerless, weak as a weeping willow. She fell silent for a long moment before softly replying, "Mm."
Alain pushed the door open. Perhaps because Misha held absolute trust in the two occupants of their small home, the door wasn't locked. The first sensation that hit Alain was the fragrant steam and humid heat.
Then, he saw the girl half-leaning against the glass of the shower stall. The damp mist enveloped her like a light veil, adding a touch of pitiable beauty to the frail girl. She tried desperately to support herself with the glass and handle, wanting to stand up. But her face, pale and weak even under the steam, clearly indicated she couldn't manage it.
"Bro... Bestie, she?" Millie hugged herself, unsure what to do for a moment. Such a thing happening on her first day in reality...
"It's okay, I'm here. Go get things ready first." Alain comforted her by patting her hat, then quickly walked to the shower stall. Millie promptly left.
He grabbed a bath towel, opened the shower door, and gently wrapped Misha's fragile body.
"Dear... did I hold you back? Make you worry..."
"Idiot, no." Alain carefully lifted Misha, letting her lean against his chest. In his peripheral vision... on the pure white floor of the shower stall, was a smear of deep red blood.
"?!" Alain felt his heart stop for an instant. Between him and her, besides the altered comradeship, there was also a relationship of mutual protection, cooperation, entrusting their lives to each other. In the game, he hadn't let Misha shed even a single drop of blood. Yet, back in the comfort zone of reality...
He frowned, realizing this wasn't the time to dwell on such things. Carrying Misha, he quickly left the bathroom.
The hat girl was already in the bedroom, awkwardly turning on the heater, closing the curtains, and switching on the light, having prepared everything. Alain entered the room as well, gently placing the girl on the bed, observing her body for possible wound locations.
"Dear, does it hurt anywhere?"
"Mm... I have no strength all over. And..." Her voice was soft as falling leaves, fingertips pointing to her abdomen, "...it hurts a lot here..."
"..." Internal pain? Is it unrelated to the game? Food poisoning? No... Misha and he ate the same things. Since he was fine, it proved it wasn't food poisoning. Alain continued observing Misha, suppressing his worried heartbeat.
"Bro, is there anything I can do?" Millie asked Alain, tightly holding her best friend's hand.
"Mm... can you help me find the first-aid kit? Get some bandages. If necessary..." Alain lowered his head, rubbing his brow. "...get me my phone. And my wallet."
"..." Millie left the bedroom. Alain continued examining Misha for possible wounds. But... he searched all over, unable to find the slightest trace of blood or injury. Could there be somewhere else I haven't checked?
Puzzled, Alain was just about to turn Misha over to check her back for anything unusual when he noticed bloodstains on the bedsheet, appearing seemingly out of nowhere, spreading like ink dots.
"How? Bleeding again?" He carefully checked the area where the blood soaked the sheet. "Why... here?" What kind of wound could possibly be located there?
Alain was perplexed. Just then, Millie ran back in, carrying the first-aid kit. "Bro! Got it! Is there anything else I can do?"
"Hold her hand, keep her calm." He placed the first-aid kit beside the bed, focusing on the most likely wound location. Thinking carefully, there was still one place he hadn't checked.
"Okay!" Millie went to the bedside, tightly holding her best friend's hand.
Then Alain sat down, forcefully suppressing his tense chest. He viewed this without any prejudice; compared to his dear's safety, such matters were trivial. The young man took a deep breath and carefully checked his suspicion.
"Hm?" Sure enough, under his gaze, the "wound" area showed deep red bloodstains, appearing especially vivid and piercing against her skin, like scarlet paint on white paper. Alain checked the inside of the "wound." As expected... still trickling deep red.
"..." Misha looked over at him, her eyes filled with heart-stopping shame.
"Don't worry, you're very beautiful." Alain thought she was worried about the severity of the injury and offered comfort.
"Mm... thank you. N-No... that's not what I meant..."
"Okay, just calm down first."
"...Oh." She seemed a bit sullen, her face red again, lost in thought.
Alain carefully examined Misha's "wound." Clearly... this was the source of the bloodstains. And he also thought of something he had consistently ignored, or rather, never considered at all.
The "wound" wasn't actually a wound, just a normal bodily reaction. Thinking carefully, since Misha obtained a body in the real world, she inevitably had to endure the trials of the real world. Psychological trials were one aspect; physiological trials... were another. This was truly his oversight.
Doesn't that make my earlier panic seem incredibly foolish?
"Alain, Bestie, she..." Millie beside him still looked worried and frightened, afraid of losing her friend.
Alain shook his head, reassuringly speaking those two words, "She's fine."
"...?"
______
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