"How does it feel?"
"...!"
Rotsard asked. His voice, dangerously close to Justin's ear, caused the future hero to flinch, making him unable to properly respond as his head became a mess.
"W-wait…!"
"?"
Right then, as if Justin remembered that he does have control over his own body, the future hero cried out and grabbed onto Rotsard's wrist.
…although he did not make any attempt at pushing Rotsard's hand away…
"A-at least… could you at least… tell me I'm cute first…?"
"..."
Justin muttered in an exasperated whisper, blushing, trembling, and closing his eyes in extreme embarrassment, momentarily stunning the bleached-blond-haired boy.
"...t-tell you you're cu…?"
The next moment, Rotsard leaned away, taken aback, and shook his head, trying to understand what in the world the future hero just said to him.
"Commoner… what the hel do you think is happening right now?!"
"...!?"
Rotsard asked in disbelief, but at first Justin merely glanced at him, bashfully opening his mouth, only to close it and hurriedly and prudently avert his gaze.
"Commoner. I want to make a cold compress for you, and I'm trying to figure out the right temperature. I am asking you once again. How does it feel? Is my hand too cold or not cold enough?"
"..."
Rotsard let out a short, deeply troubled sigh before speaking up loudly and clearly, although at first that only made Justin tremble some more.
"...hmm…? Eh? C-cold compress…?"
Only a couple of moments later, Justin relaxed a bit and whimpered, opening one eye and taking a peek at Rotsard's hand on his stomach.
"...yes… that's. Right. How. Is. The. Temperature?"
It really took all of Rotsard's self-control to remain calm, although it did make him push every word through his clenched teeth, but he managed.
…after closing his eyes and unleashing the deepest sigh in his life…
"O-oh…? OH! U-umm…! I… I think it would be better if it was a bit… colder…?"
Justin finally realized how mistaken he was about the situation, but, to his defense, he did try to be helpful and give proper feedback despite the scorching flames of shame burning him from within.
"Like this?"
"Nn…! Y-yesh… I…! I mean, yes! I'm sorry!"
Rotsard asked as he made the adjustment, slightly increasing the flow of mana into his palm, which caused Justin to let out an embarrassing high-pitched voice that not even the most naive person could mistake for anything other than a moan. At least the future hero had the decency to add a prepper response and an apology right after.
…although it was too late to save Rotsard from suffering mental damage…
"Alright. Wait here."
"Eh…?"
Rotsard's next words confused Justin, and he could only remain in the stall with his shirt pulled up while his bleached-bond-haired benefactor walked out.
Truth be told, Rotsard simply didn't want Justin to continue acting strange, especially with his next move.
That move being unrolling the towel from his shoulder, holding it between his palms, and using it as a medium to channel mana through it.
Well, the part about him being concerned, the part that might have made the future hero misunderstand something else, was Rotsard breathing into the towel and shaking it.
It was a trick that he accidentally discovered when Mira asked him about making her a cold compress for menstrual pains…
…even though that idea ended up being discarded, as warm ones were the answer in Mira's case…
But since Justin's situation was completely different, that accidental discovery came in pretty handy.
"..."
Rotsard ended up breathing into the towel and shaking it a couple of times more before achieving the desired result, before turning back and entering the stall again.
"Here. This will stay at that exact temperature for a couple of hours. At least it should be enough to get you through the practical magic exam."
"...y-yesh… Thank you…"
Rotsard handed the towel over to the future hero, who absolutely refused to make eye contact with him and even bit his tongue and stuttered while expressing his gratitude.
"You can figure out how to affix it yourself, right?"
"Thank you. Y-yes. Thank you."
At the inquiry, the future hero flinched and started bowing his head repeatedly before storming out of the stall and the restroom…
"...!"
…only to return to the restroom with a face burning in great shame and washing his hands, and then running away with quivering lips and tears about to burst.
"What a weird guy. But I guess someone normal wouldn't be enough to save the world."
Rotsard scoffed before snickering and smirking to himself and leaving the restroom…
"!!!"
"...?"
…and stopping abruptly, about to bump heads with the pale-faced Amelia Edemsworth.
"I… I-I…"
"Hmm? Oh, don't worry. It's functional. I put it up because I like privacy. You can powder your nose to your heart's content, no worries."
Still pale as a ghost and wide-eyed, Amelia was mumbling her words, but since Rotsard had no reason to pick a fight with her at the moment, at least not yet, he simply smiled, grabbed the 'Out of Order' sign, and put it inside the restroom before stepping to the side and leaving after nodding at the stunned girl.
"One got hemorrhoids, the other has either the runs or is constipated. Perfect couple."
Rotsard didn't bother to even glance over at the pale girl, instead chuckling mockingly to himself while walking away.
"...did… did I hear him right…? No… no way…"
Meanwhile, Amelia Edemsworth was straight-up staring in pure disbelief at Rotsard's back, muttering to herself after eavesdropping on most of what happened in the restroom between the two boys, especially on what Rotsard said at the very end.