Chapter 6: If You Catch a Cold, Take Care of Yourself

Chapter 6:
If You Catch a Cold, Take Care of Yourself

 

“YUUUUHI, goob morning…”

It was the morning after our fight, and the first words out of Filia’s mouth when she got out of bed didn’t sound right. Her voice was hoarse.

“Jeez, Filia, you sound like a zombie. And your face is kinda red.”

“Huugh…?” As that mysterious sound came out of Filia’s throat, I noticed that her cheeks were way flushed. Filia was usually still sleepy in the mornings, but today her eyes were even puffier than normal.

“Ah-choo! Ugh, I think I caught a cold.” Filia blew her nose with a tissue. “My head hurts…” A full-blown cold. Oof. “I might have gone a little overboard with my training…” she lamented as she laid down on her bed, placing a wet towel on her head.

“Wait, is that really how you get a cold? I’ve always pushed myself to the limit in training, and I’ve never caught one.” Sure, Filia had been training more seriously than before, but if that was all it took, why hadn’t I ever caught one?

“Ah, that’s right,” Filia mumbled, staring at me blankly. “They do say that idiots don’t catch colds, don’t they?”

“I’m an intellectual muscle man, though…”

“Then you’re an idiotic intellectual muscle man.”

I’m idiotic even though I’m an intellectual? What in the world could that even mean? I groaned. “Oh, man, my head’s starting to hurt just from trying to figure that one out.”

“Yeah, I’m sure you’ve got a case of head bombs.”

“Head bombs? What is that?”

“It’s a disease where your head suddenly explodes and you die.”

“Don’t say somethin’ so scary!” What a terrifying disease. I definitely did not want to die outside of battle!

“I’m sorry,” said Filia, exhaling a hot breath. “I’m a little tired. I’m going to rest today.” The mattress moved up and down along with the movement of her chest.

“Yeah. You make sure you get your sleep. Take it easy.”

“I’m…completely useless!” Filia moaned in a hoarse voice.

“What do you mean?”

Was it her illness making her feel weak? I’d heard it said that when your body is weak, your spirit feels weak too. Maybe it was time for some encouragement.

As I thought about that, Filia continued speaking, looking frustrated. “I just thought of the most brilliant way to tease you, Yuri, but…I can’t seem to get the words out.”

“It’s okay if you can’t get the words out. Better, even.”

“So disappointing…so, so disappointing,” Filia moaned. “I curse my lack of strength…” Heartbroken, she bit her lower lip so hard that it practically turned white.

It wasn’t normal for her to be that disappointed. Jeez, how much of her heart and soul did she pour into making fun of me, anyhow?

 

“Phew… Phew…”

After some time had passed, Filia had fallen asleep. She really had been exhausted after all. I figured I ought to replace the towel on her forehead. I picked up the towel and put it in ice water. When the towel was cold enough, I picked it back out from the water and wrung it out well.

“There we g—huh?”

It seemed I’d wrung the towel out too well, because now it was a tattered rag. Well, I didn’t have any other choice except to get a new towel and try again. Being extra careful paid off that time, and I successfully managed to wring out the excess water.

“Hey, Filia, this might be a little cold.” I placed the towel on her forehead.

She reacted for just a moment after I draped it on, letting out an “Mm…” But she didn’t wake up, and I soon heard her fall back to sleep.

Making sure not to look at her bare skin peeking through her slightly exposed pajamas, I adjusted her clothes.

“Guess I’ll head out then.”

After I double-checked that Filia was asleep, I left the room.

I was making my way down the main street of Jeepupp when I saw a girl running from the other direction, her red twin tails swaying as she ran. It was Ashley. As soon as her eyes met mine, she ran toward me as fast as her legs could carry her.

“Yuri! I heard that Big Sis is sick?!” asked Ashley, out of breath. She looked incredibly intense.

“Yeah, she—wait a minute. How do you know that?”

“Sister senses!” she said matter-of-factly. She was talking complete nonsense again, huh? “I can’t just wait around like this! I have to go watch over her!” With that, Ashley dashed off for the inn.

“H-hey!” I shouted as she ran off, but she was already fading from view. “She’s sleeping right now, so don’t disturb her! Don’t do anything to make Filia have to fuss over yooooou!”

I had already given Ashley a key to our room so she’d be able to get in, but I didn’t want her to make any trouble for Filia. I wasn’t super confident that just asking her not to bother Filia would help.

“I know!” Ashley shouted back, and she was gone.

Well, she clearly idolized Filia, so she probably wouldn’t do anything to cause her discomfort. Besides, with an S-Rank like Ashley on standby, the room would be well protected. With that comforting thought, I started off down the main street once again.

After a bit out on the town, I finished my business and returned to the inn. When I opened the front door, I sensed a different presence inside other than Filia. It seemed Ashley was still there. I came inside without saying a word so that I wouldn’t wake Filia up in case she was still sleeping.

“W-welcome back!”

The person to greet me was none other than Filia, still lying on the bed. She was already awake. Based on the sound of her voice, it seemed like she was feeling better than she had this morning. And there, draped over the edge of the bed, was a sleeping Ashley.

“She bother you at all?” I asked.

“No, no, Ashley is a very polite girl. She didn’t trouble me in the least. She even held my hand, which helped me sleep soundly.” Filia smiled fondly at Ashley, who seemed pretty deep into unconsciousness. Filia raised her arm to show me and, sure enough, Ashley was still firmly holding her hand.

“I see. That’s good.”

I studied Ashley for a moment. She gave off the impression of someone with an unyielding spirit, but she looked so gentle like this. I thanked her for taking care of Filia and laid a blanket over her.

A little while later, Ashley slid down from the bed and woke with a start. “Hm? Did I fall asleep?” She looked around the room as she yawned, scanning the surrounding area with her red eyes, her vision presumably still a little blurry.

“You were out like a light,” said Filia.

“I-I’m sorry, Big Sis. And here I was, thinking that I came all this way to take care of you when I ended up falling asleep myself. I didn’t even do anything…”

Filia waved away the apology. “No, no, I’m just happy that you came. Besides, it looks like you changed the towel on my head a few times, and you even held my hand. What you did for me made me very happy, Ashley. Don’t say you didn’t do anything, okay?”

“B-Big Sis!” Ashley’s nose twitched and her eyes began to water.

I winced. “Don’t cry…”

“I-I’m not crying!” she insisted. Nevertheless, a clear liquid was pouring out from Ashley’s eyes, though they (reportedly) were not tears.

“Well, then, I think it’s about time we eat,” I said. “Whaddya say?”

Now that Ashley was awake, I figured it was lunch o’clock. I couldn’t exactly leave it to Filia to handle the meal on account of her having a cold, so I headed for the kitchen. Cooking wasn’t my forte, but I wasn’t bad at it either. Filia and I had been cooking in shifts, after all. Just as I was about to start preparing to get cooking, Ashley came into the kitchen too.

“I suppose if you’re back, then I should be going,” said Ashley.

“What? Goin’ home already? Why don’t you stick around and have a bite to eat?” Given Ashley’s personality, I’d been expecting her to say that she wanted to stay over.

But Ashley turned down my offer with a serious look on her face. “No, I can’t. I know that sick people might feel a little lonely by themselves, but they can end up getting even sicker if things are too rowdy. I really do want to stick around, but…no matter how I feel, I don’t want to be a bother.”

Wow. I hadn’t thought of that at all. Was she actually really smart?

“You’ve really been giving this a lot of thought,” I observed.

“Unlike you, Yuri,” she replied, snorting.

“Rude. I give things a lot of thought too, you know.”

I showed her a book I’d bought while out on the town. A picture of rice porridge was displayed prominently on its cover. I’d gone out of my way to buy it. “I’ve been studying up the food you should feed people when they’re under the weather. I’m sure Filia could eat this without straining herself too much. Would you mind helping out a little?”

“Huh. You’ve really been quite thoughtful when it comes to Big Sis too.” Ashley blinked her red eyes in surprise. “To be honest, it’s improving my opinion of you.”

There wasn’t anything strange about that, to be clear: I was, after all, a gentle muscle man. Didn’t mean I wasn’t glad to have impressed her, even if just a little bit. “Filia is my invaluable partner. It’s only natural that I’d care for her.”

“Ngh! I-I’m not going to lose!”

“Uh. What?” I had absolutely no clue where this competitive stance was coming from.

“Grrr!” Ashley flashed her white teeth as she…growled? It looked like she was trying to intimidate me.

Well, whatever. Although I was slightly confused about whatever Ashley was doing, I started cooking.

Cooking itself wasn’t really all that difficult. Even though I’d never made food for a sick person before, I figured I could put something together. Ashley had admitted that she wasn’t very good at this kind of thing, so I asked her to take care of some miscellaneous preparation elements.

After I’d made a little bit progress, I called out to Ashley, who was still in the middle of her own task. “Hey, have you ever caught a cold before?”

“Well, yeah,” said Ashley, nodding as if it was only natural.

“I haven’t. Is it pretty rough? Catching a cold?”

“Well, when you’re sick, you’re sick, so…yeah? It’s pretty rough. Huh, I guess it’s really true what they say: Idiots don’t catch colds.”

“Hm. Filia told me the same thing.”

“Ohhh, does that mean that Big Sis and I think alike? That’s! So! Cool!”

“I…see.” Seriously, just how much did this girl idolize Filia?

I smiled wryly at her, and she smiled happily back. However, before long, it was time for Ashley to head out. The food was done, though, and Filia was up. Ashley waved to her on her way out.

“Well, I’ll be heading home now. See you later, Big Sis!”

“Mm-hm. Thank you for everything today, Ashley.”

With that, Ashley left, just as she’d said she would.

“Ashley really is such a good girl, isn’t she?”

“Yeah, I guess so.” At the very least, she wasn’t a bad person. Maybe a bit impudent, though. Well, she was just a little impudent, I supposed.

Food finished, I carried a tray over to Filia’s bed. When I laid it all out, she looked at me in surprise, then compared the different dishes.

“You…went through all the trouble of making this for me?”

“I am a gentle muscle man, after all.”

“I still have no idea what that means, but…thank you so much, truly.” Filia bowed her head to me. Then she started chowing down, though she had a few occasional coughing fits while chewing.

“Is it good?”

“It’s fairly tasty.”

Fairly, huh? Well, fairly was fair. It wasn’t like I was much of a cook myself. On top of that, I’d heard that food for sick people was designed more for ease of edibility than taste.

“I know it’s terribly rude to say this after you’ve just cooked for me,” said Filia, “but I do think regular food is tastier. Though I suppose I couldn’t bring myself to eat such a thing right now, even if I wanted to.”

“Then you need to get better soon.”

“I’ll do my best. I’ll eat this all up and be right as rain again.” Filia opened her mouth wide, stuffed her cheeks with food like a squirrel, chewed…and had an intense coughing fit.

“Don’t push yourself.”

Before long, Filia was clasping her hands together in front of the now-empty dishes. “Thank you for the meal.”

“Can I take these away, then?”

“Thank you very much, but…please don’t secretly lick those dishes behind my back or anything, even if they are the dishes this beautiful elf girl just used. Okay?”

“Like hell I’d do that!” Okay, how big of a pervert did she think I was, anyway?

After I finished washing the dishes, I sat down on my bed, beside Filia’s. It was still just past noon. I had enough time to go and handle a request, but I figured I might as well call it off for the day. Ashley had only gone back home because I was here. If I didn’t stay, it would’ve been a waste for her to leave.

Besides, I’d just learned that when someone is sick, they want someone by their side.

“Yuri. Do you mind if I touch your muscles?” asked Filia.

My eyes widened. “F- Filia?! So you’ve finally realized the splendor of muscle?!”

“Yuri, please be quiet…your voice is making my head split …”

“S-sorry…” I quickly lowered the volume of my voice as Filia held her head in her hands.

But wow, really? I’d never imagined that Filia would finally ask to touch my muscles.

“Let me be very clear, Yuri, so there isn’t any misunderstanding. I’m not some muscle fan now, okay? I just want to try siphoning some of your seemingly excessive amount of energy through your muscles.”

“Either way, that’s fine with me. Honestly, I am feeling absolutely, intensely moved right now.”

“H-huh…” Filia looked confused.

Regardless, I held my right arm out to her and partially released my muscles. When compared to my left arm, which was in its normal state, my right arm was about three or four times thicker now. “Go on, touch it. As much as you want.”

“All right then, if you insist.” Filia hesitantly stretched out her hand, placing it flat against my arm. Her skin was usually cool to the touch, but today, with her cold, her palm was hot. After holding her hand on my arm for some ten seconds or so, she took her hand away.

“Did you get any of my power?” I asked.

“Yes, I siphoned out a good chunk of your power for myself. I’ll be good as new tomorrow,” said Filia, smiling.

Her smile was beautiful, but it somehow seemed kind of forced. Maybe she was trying to put on a brave front so she wouldn’t worry me.

Hmm. If that was the case, my only option was to let her see more of my muscles so she could feel well again!

“My muscle power can’t be drained so easily. And for your proof—” I released every muscle in my body. My jacket exploded, exposing my well-trained upper torso. My muscles remained as strong and full of life as ever. “See?”

“Aaaaand now things are just uncomfortable. Please stop!”

“Um. Sorry.”

Cowed by the apologetic-yet-annoyed look on Filia’s face, I regained my composure and quickly gathered up the scattered remains of my clothes.

 

The next day, I checked on Filia first thing.

“Morning, Filia. How you feeling?” I asked, calling out to her just after she woken up.

Filia made an “ahh, ahh” sound in her throat, put her hand to her forehand, and did a ton of other things, but eventually, she opened her mouth to speak with a look of disbelief on her face. “I think I’m feeling better, somehow.”

“I see. I’m glad.” I didn’t really know much about how all this worked, on account of never having had a cold before, but getting over it in a day did seem pretty quick. I was just glad that it hadn’t lasted too long.

“Was it because I touched your muscles after all, Yuri?” she murmured.

“That’s what I’d think. Muscles are amazing, after all.”

Once again, it just went to show that anything was possible through muscle!

Filia, who had supposedly recovered from her cold, started hugging herself for some reason. “My word, could Yuri’s muscle power really have flowed into me? I’m getting chills just imagining it.” She was trembling hard enough that her whole body was shaking, though it looked a little put on.

“Well, now that you’re finally better, don’t worry yourself ’til you feel awful again. Besides, shouldn’t you be happy? I mean, it’s muscle power, you know?”

“Of course not. It’s muscle power, you know?”

Wow, even after being healed thanks to muscle power? How ungrateful! Well, at least she was better.

“I sure am!” Filia grinned. “And now that I’m better, I can eat all the delicious food!”

“Don’t just read my mind like it’s nothing!” I was glad that she was healthy again, but I had a feeling she was just going to start pushing me around again.

“Now I can play with Yuri to my heart’s content!” Filia crowed.

“Don’t play with me…”

My face contorted with exhaustion. Filia just smiled wickedly.