It was a heart-wrenching sight.
"I'll leave it to you. She needs you more than she needs me."
Haruna watched Raize walk forward slowly, said this, then left space for the two of them. She led the Manjuus out and gently closed the door.
After experiencing more and growing accustomed to life in Raize's home, Haruna had become somewhat more well-behaved.
At the very least, she no longer ignored others' feelings and acted solely on her own impulses.
As for Haruna's change, Raize viewed the girl more favorably. Who wouldn't like a sensible, well-behaved girl? But at that moment, Haruna suddenly popped back up like a mole, stared expressionlessly at Raize, and said, "Don't do H things to the necromancer."
After all, what Raize had done to her last time could easily be misunderstood.
He immediately took that thought back—this girl still needed more improvement.
Whoosh!
"Mmph…"
Just as Haruna was about to add more warnings, Raize glanced at her with an emotionless expression. Pink tentacles extended from behind her, covering her mouth and dragging her out, carefully closing the door behind them.
The Manjuus looked at the closed door with pity. This time, Haruna was truly gone.
Raize wasn't the type to take advantage. Eu was indeed cute and beautiful, and aside from a bit of mischievous cunning, her personality was genuinely wonderful. The more one got to know her, the more one would cherish this kind-hearted girl.
If Raize's beginning hadn't been derailed by tragedy, he might have pursued this beautiful girl. But even with several beautiful girls in his home now, he didn't have much energy for such matters.
From then until now, his focus had been on growing stronger. Even though he deeply cared about Eu, he only detested those who shamelessly harassed her.
He had grown accustomed to having Eu at home. Not seeing her quiet figure in the living room when he returned felt strangely unsettling.
Looking at the sleeping Eu, the girl in Raize's eyes overlapped with his sister in his memories. When sick with a cold, they shared the same heart-aching appearance.
Sitting by the bed, Raize's gaze softened. He extended his right hand and gently placed it over Eu's small hand that was gripping the blanket, releasing golden spirit-particle energy.
The powers of Reject Phenomena and Healing formed a domain, manifesting as a faint golden membrane that enveloped Eu.
"Mmm…"
Eu's tightly furrowed brows gradually relaxed, as if the pain and discomfort were easing.
However, this time, due to Eu's immense magical power, Reject Phenomena couldn't restore her as quickly as usual.
The vast magic within her was unstable because of her condition, so the process wasn't smooth. He could only slowly relieve her discomfort.
Raize didn't mind the slow pace. As long as it worked, he had plenty of time to stay by the girl's side.
Eu's heavy breathing gradually became steady, and her hands loosened their grip on the blanket.
But the girl seemed to sense something. Her relaxed, fair, and delicate hand gently rested on Raize's—the one channeling the ability.
"?"
Raize raised an eyebrow. The sudden, subtle movement didn't disturb him, but the smooth touch against his hand surprised him slightly.
At the moment, Eu was like an infant, unconsciously clinging to whatever made her feel less uncomfortable in her sleep.
Poof!
Glancing at the Manjuus nearby, Raize formed a seal with one hand. A puff of white smoke appeared, and a shadow clone of Raize gestured for the Manjuus to follow him out.
They complied silently.
Now alone in the room, Raize remained motionless like a statue, maintaining the energy output to ease Eu's condition.
He didn't know how much time passed. Outside the curtains, the sky had completely darkened. Not wanting to turn on the lights and disturb her sleep, Raize supported his face with his free hand, closed his eyes, and waited.
Suddenly, without any warning, he felt someone touching his head and immediately opened his eyes.
"…Eu? You're awake. How's your body? Still uncomfortable? You must be hungry. I made dinner for you."
As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw the beautiful girl before him—her bright, gem-blue eyes and flushed cheeks. Raize spoke like a worried parent as he gently removed the ice pack from her head.
"Not so uncomfortable anymore. Thank you, mmph…"
A soft, pleasant voice came from Eu's lips, but before she could finish, Raize lightly covered her mouth with a frown. The girl blinked her bright eyes, looking at him with a slightly moist gaze.
Just waking up, she didn't understand his behavior.
"Don't speak while the magic is still inside you. Nod or shake your head. Are you hungry?"
Raize withdrew his hand and said with a frown. With magic still in her body, speaking casually would cause pain. In her weakened state, additional pain would only make things worse.
This attentiveness warmed Eu's heart. In response, she nodded lightly, but after hesitating for a moment, she shyly shook her head again.
That meant… what?
"Is there something else you want to do? Like going to the bathroom?"
Raize stared intently into Eu's beautiful eyes, his thoughts racing as he roughly deduced her meaning. After all, she had been sleeping for who knows how long; needing the restroom was perfectly normal.
Sure enough, upon hearing this, the blush on Eu's face deepened slightly, and her eyes showed embarrassment.
As if feeling shy, she gently pulled the blanket up over her head, then extended the familiar little notebook.
(There's no strength in my body yet… I want to go to the bathroom…)
Having her thoughts guessed so easily made Eu feel very shy. But before that embarrassment could subside, something even more mortifying happened.
"I'll take you."
Seeing that the girl might be desperate, Raize gently pulled back the blanket—but his eyes widened slightly in surprise.
Seeing Eu's flustered, embarrassed gaze, he had assumed she would be wearing proper pajamas. Instead, she was only wearing an oversized white top.
Her two smooth, fair, and enticing slender legs, tinged faintly with pink, were completely exposed. Noticing Raize's surprised look, the cute, rounded toes on her feet curled slightly.
The hem of the top barely covered the upper thighs, revealing a hint of blue and white beneath…
It seemed that because of the fever, her body had been too warm, so she had only worn the top.
"Ahem, sorry—and pardon me."
Clearing his throat to suppress the strange feeling in his chest, Raize dispelled the other emotions from his eyes. Before Eu could react, he extended both arms and lifted her into a princess carry.
Feeling the smooth touch of Eu's thighs and the girl's fragrance at such close proximity, Raize silently suppressed the stirrings in his heart.
As if to comfort Eu, holy radiance bloomed from his back, shining with golden, sacred light. With a soft whoosh, a pair of broad wings formed from warm energy and dense golden feathers appeared, gently covering Eu in his arms.
They blocked the spring scenery of her legs and draped over her like a blanket.
"..."