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"Good night, Shiina."
They reached their doors before long. Blake gave a simple farewell and stepped inside.
"…Good night."
Mahiru Shiina's long lashes trembled. After a brief hesitation, she softly replied, her pink lips parting just a little.
The "angel's" mood felt… complicated.
From as far back as she could remember, her parents had never once told her good night. And now she was exchanging good nights with a boy… strangely, she didn't dislike it at all.
"Better message Yanami first…"
Back home, Blake pulled out his phone and sent Yanami a quick text to let her know he'd made it safely. Then he headed straight for the bathroom.
After showering, he returned to his room with a hint of excitement on his face.
That afternoon, purifying magic for the black cat and the fairy had earned him 200 experience points, just enough to push his [Game Design] skill to Level 3.
If he'd been grinding on his own, he'd only get a few dozen points a day at best. Nothing like this.
"Figures… the real way to use this system is farming witches…" Blake muttered, then confirmed in his mind, "Level up."
As the upgrade went through, a flood of techniques and experience quietly surfaced in his mind.
After resting for a moment, he opened his eyes again, visibly energized.
"Finally… I can start making a game for real."
It had been months since he'd awakened memories from his past life. Besides grinding skills nonstop, he'd also spent time comparing the two worlds, figuring out what overlapped and what didn't.
As everyone knows, the world runs like a messy stage crew. At key moments, even a tiny accident can completely change the course of history.
Take the Wuchang Uprising, for example. When it broke out, Sun Yat-sen was washing dishes in an American restaurant. If a customer hadn't just happened to leave behind a newspaper—and that paper hadn't just happened to report the uprising—he wouldn't have learned about it in time, and the presidency might've gone to someone else entirely.
Anyway, back to the point.
The two worlds were clearly different. Many games he knew from his previous life simply didn't exist here, and neither did their creators. So copyright wasn't a concern at all.
"What I need most right now is time and money." Blake spun a pencil between his fingers. "Stardew Valley is packed with content. No way I can finish something like that quickly… better go with something simpler."
He snapped his fingers.
"Got it. Plants Girls vs. Monsters!"
Of course, he wasn't planning to copy it outright. He'd keep the core gameplay but upgrade it.
"One of humanity's biggest driving forces is… well, sex appeal."
"Compared to plain old plants, cute plant girls are definitely more popular."
He turned on his computer and started drafting the proposal.
"Once the plan's ready, I'll need a team."
Having people to share the workload was crucial. Doing everything alone wasn't admirable, it was just dumb.
"Sagiri can handle chibi-style plant girl designs."
"If I remember right, Kuroneko knows some basic programming?"
"Yanami… can be in charge of eating and drinking."
"…"
Meanwhile, next door—
Mahiru Shiina stepped inside her apartment and, as usual, checked the doors and windows first to make sure there were no signs of intrusion. Then she headed to the bathroom.
The shower turned on with a rush.
Steam quickly filled the air.
"'Huaimin also couldn't sleep'… when Dad read that to me, did he know the story behind it?"
Lost in thought, Mahiru began to undress. Her skin was pale, almost luminous under the light, like a carefully crafted work of art.
"Or did he know… and just didn't want to tell me?"
She stepped under the shower and started washing up.
"…This feels weird."
Her delicate brows drew together slightly.
Without her sense of touch, she couldn't feel the temperature of the water at all. It was like being sealed inside an airtight suit. Everything felt off.
"I just have to endure it. The side effects will pass…"
She murmured to herself, but as she continued washing, she tilted her head in confusion.
"Huh… why is my nose suddenly blocked?"
"Usually that only happens when you catch a cold, but… wait—"
As if realizing something, she quickly lifted her face and looked toward the water heater.
The display screen was completely dark. Aside from the power switch, there was no temperature reading at all.
"…Oh no."
Her heart skipped.
"I got lost in thought and forgot to turn on the heater before showering…"
Back when she lived at home, a housemaid would prepare the bath for her every day. All she had to do was step in. She'd only just moved out recently and hadn't yet built the habit of turning on the water heater beforehand.
And because she'd used time stop and temporarily lost her sense of touch, she couldn't tell the water was cold.
So she'd been showering in cold water this entire time.
"My nose is blocked, I feel dizzy… I really did catch a cold, didn't I?"
She bit her lower lip, blaming herself.
At the park earlier, she'd thought losing her sense of touch wouldn't affect her life much. But now, thinking it through, she finally realized just how important it was.
Touch might seem insignificant, but it's essential. Unlike sight or hearing, it can't be turned on or off at will. It's instinctive. That's why most people overlook it. But temperature, pain, numbness, itchiness—all of it depends on touch.
It was late April. Nights were still cold. Maybe a boy could handle a cold shower, but Mahiru clearly didn't have that kind of resilience. Before she even finished washing, the symptoms had already set in.
"But I've only washed half my hair…"
She touched her still-soapy hair and bit her lip again. Then her eyes hardened with resolve.
"If I turn on the heater now, it'll take a few minutes… might as well finish quickly. I'm already sick anyway."
"I'll finish up, then go out and buy some cold medicine…"
…
A few minutes later, Mahiru pushed open the bathroom door and stepped out slowly.
A towel was wrapped around her head, and her face was flushed an unnatural red.
"Hah… hah…"
Her breathing was quick and weak.
She pressed a hand to her chest, clearly feeling her heart racing.
"Blocked nose, dizziness, no strength, and my heart's beating faster… the cold's getting worse. I need medicine as soon as possible."
Muttering to herself, she clenched her teeth and went to look for a home medical kit.
A moment later, the usually composed "angel" finally showed a trace of panic on her face.
"I… I forgot to buy any medicine…"
"....."