"I'm so jealous of the class rep. He got to carry Kujou-san to the infirmary in a princess carry. Especially that hand—it was right on her thigh over those white silk stockings. I wonder how it felt?"
"Jealousy +1."
"I really wanted to say 'let go of that girl and let me do it,' but unfortunately, she didn't collapse next to me."
Chitoge Kirisaki couldn't listen to any more of this. Given her somewhat impulsive nature, she slammed her hand on the desk, stood up, and said, "Hey, that's enough, you guys! Kujou-san fell ill and fainted, and the class rep rushed her to the infirmary. How can you only think of such filthy things?"
"Uh..."
The boys who had just spoken noticed the hostile glares from the girls in class and lowered their heads, not daring to say another word.
"Well said, Kirisaki-san! I've been annoyed with these guys for a long time. Their heads are filled with nothing but filthy thoughts every day."
"Exactly! We girls aren't products. Why should we be looked at with such lewd eyes and have them comment on this and that?"
After Chitoge Kirisaki finished speaking, several other girls stood up to defend their rights, leaving the boys feeling quite ashamed under their sharp gazes.
Seeing the scene getting a bit chaotic, the Balding Teacher coughed. "Ahem, alright class. I'm sure Kujou-san will receive treatment soon since Shiraishi-san took her to the infirmary. Let's continue with the lesson."
..."What happened to me?"
On a bed in the infirmary, Alisa opened her eyes. The dizziness in her head had subsided significantly. As she propped herself up, she noticed Shiraishi Shin sitting by the bed, though he had his eyes closed as if he were asleep.
"Class Rep?"
Alisa remembered feeling dizzy and extremely uncomfortable during class, then everything went black as she fell to the ground. She vaguely recalled Shiraishi Shin's handsome face appearing in her vision and being carried by him before losing consciousness.
The movement of her sitting up woke Shiraishi Shin from his light nap. Seeing Alisa already awake, he asked, "You're awake. How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine now."
"Let me see."
Shiraishi Shin placed his left hand on Alisa's forehead and his right hand on his own to compare.
"Mmm~"
Alisa froze on the bed. Feeling the warmth of his palm on her forehead, the redness that had been fading from her face surged back up again.
Pulling his hand away, Shiraishi Shin looked into Alisa's beautiful eyes and said, "Not bad, the high fever has subsided. But you still have a slight low-grade fever, so you still need plenty of rest and medicine. This fever must have been caused by that heavy rain the night before last after all."
Alisa nodded with a bitter smile. She had felt a bit unwell yesterday, but she thought she'd be fine after taking some cold medicine to suppress it. She never expected it to turn into a high fever now.
She glanced around. Only the two of them were in the infirmary, with no one else in sight. She asked, "By the way, why is the class rep looking after me? Where's the school nurse?"
Shiraishi Shin shrugged. "The nurse wasn't here when I arrived, so I found some fever reducers for you to take myself and used a cold compress on your forehead with a towel."
"How long was I asleep?"
"About half an hour. Class isn't over yet anyway."
"So you've been here with... me the whole time?"
"Well, yeah. The nurse wasn't here, so if your condition got worse, I could call an ambulance. Fortunately, your fever has gone down."
"..."
Alisa didn't say anything else. Instead, she lowered her head and turned away, her eyes tearing up where Shiraishi Shin couldn't see.
She hadn't expected Shiraishi Shin to take care of her so gently. It warmed Alisa's heart, and his place in her heart expanded instantly.
Shiraishi Shin watched Alisa wipe her eyes and thought to himself that gentleness really was the most effective way to move someone. He was a man aspiring to become at least a six-winged angel—he wouldn't mind having ten wings if he worked a bit harder. After all, the bigger the net, the more fish you catch.
"Alisa, what's wrong?"
"Nothing. Thank you, Class Rep."
"You're calling me Class Rep, so there's no need for thanks. Kujou-san, your body hasn't fully recovered yet, so lie down and rest some more. I'll head back to the classroom first."
Alisa replied with a smile, "It's okay. Besides, I can't sleep, so I'll go back with you. By the way, Class Rep, from now on... you can just call me Alya."
"Alya?"
Alisa winked playfully and said, "Mm-hmm. Only my family uses that name."
Shiraishi Shin understood the hint. It seemed that even if he hadn't fully won her over, he was already at eighty or ninety percent. He said, "Then you don't need to call me Class Rep anymore either. Just call me by my name."
Calling Shiraishi Shin by his name for the first time made Alisa a bit shy, but that shyness quickly vanished. She said naturally, "Okay, Shin..."
Just as the two of them returned to the classroom, the bell rang for the end of class.
"Kujou-san, how are you?"
"Kujou-san, how's your health? If you're really not feeling well, you should go home and rest."
"Yeah, your health comes first. Don't push yourself."
Many girls gathered around to show their concern for Alisa. Feeling a warm current flow through her heart as she looked at her classmates, she replied, "Thank you for worrying. I just had a bit of a fever, but it's gone down now that I've taken some medicine."
An ordinary-looking girl said, "That's good. You suddenly collapsing really gave us a scare."
Just then, Tabata Hidenori's glasses glinted as he provided an assist. "Ah, it's great that you're okay. Kujou-san, you didn't see it, but Shin's face went pale with worry when you collapsed. Knowing he couldn't waste a second, he was quick as a flash and carried you out in his arms. The way he looked, someone who didn't know better would've thought there was something going on between you two."
Hey.
Shiraishi Shin watched his best friend talk nonsense with a straight face, but it was indeed a good assist. If he's going to talk, he should talk more.
Hearing this, Alisa turned to glance at Shiraishi Shin, her affection for him rising a bit more. Seeing him look back, she couldn't help but whisper softly to herself in russian, "It wouldn't be so bad to be mistaken for a couple."
A girl standing near Alisa asked, "Kujou-san, what did you just say?"
Alisa replied calmly, "I said the class rep is indeed a great class rep."
After that, the classroom returned to its usual bustle, and in the blink of an eye, it was time to go home.
Shiraishi Shin turned to Chitoge Kirisaki, who was packing her bag, and asked, "Kirisaki-san, are there any clubs you're interested in joining? If there are, I can take you to check them out."
"Clubs, huh? I haven't decided which club to join yet. Which club is Shiina-san in?"
Chitoge Kirisaki hadn't decided which club to join yet. Seeing Shiina Mahiru walking over, she asked her about her club.