The following day.
The bright morning sunlight pierced through the glass windows, illuminating the interior of Mahiru's apartment unit, which was always kept meticulously neat.
That morning, the atmosphere inside the home felt so alive and filled with a warm bustle.
The sizzling sound of oil on the pan, the rhythmic tapping of a kitchen knife clashing against the cutting board, and the savory aroma of miso soup broth wafting through the air served as the symphony that opened the day.
In the kitchen area, Mahiru appeared to move with immense dexterity.
The girl had only just finished bathing, making the long strands of her flaxen hair still look wet and slightly darkened by the remnants of the water. Instead of drying it first, her main priority was directed straight toward the stove.
With a small towel draped over her shoulders to catch the water droplets from her hair, her slender fingers diligently flipped the pieces of mackerel that were being grilled, ensuring the breakfast dish was cooked to perfection.
While Mahiru was busy wrestling with domestic affairs in the kitchen, Charlie was actually inside the bathroom, enjoying the relaxing sensation of soaking inside a tub of warm water.
Interestingly, the warm water filling the tub was not water that had just been freshly drawn, but rather the water that had been used by Mahiru just moments ago for her own soak.
Of course, initially, Charlie had intended to drain that water and refill the tub with fresh, clean water. However, that intention was thwarted by Mahiru's protests.
The girl opposed him on the grounds of energy conservation and the cost of the water utility bill, a way of thinking typical of a teenage girl who was highly calculating in managing household expenditures.
Mahiru had even shot him a scrutinizing look and asked in a somewhat offended tone, "Is Charlie-kun disgusted by having to use the leftover water from my soak?"
Faced with a trap question like that, there was no other choice for Charlie but to give in and accept the decision of the homeowner.
Fortunately, Charlie was a mature man who possessed highly well-developed self-control. He was not a depraved man who was easily overridden by lustful thoughts or wild fantasies simply because he had to soak inside the leftover water of a young girl.
To him, the warmth of the water purely functioned to loosen up his body muscles after a few tense days, though he could not deny that the faint aroma of the floral-scented soap that Mahiru usually used still lingered inside the room.
After feeling that his body was sufficiently refreshed and relaxed from soaking for a fairly long time, Charlie finally concluded his bathing activity.
He stood up, stepped out of the water tub, and began to dry his body using a clean towel.
Instead of bringing a change of clothes from the outside, Charlie retrieved a set of fresh, clean casual clothes from his Space-Time Cache, then put them on quickly.
The moment Charlie opened the door and stepped out of the steamy bathroom, the first sight that welcomed him was the figure of Mahiru, who coincidentally had also just turned off the stove.
The girl had completed the entirety of her cooking activities, ready to serve an appetizing morning breakfast menu on top of the dining table.
Turning toward the bathroom door upon hearing the sound of footsteps, Mahiru wiped the thin sweat on her forehead with the edge of her apron.
"Ah, Charlie-kun. The food is all ready. Have a seat, we can directly have breakfast right away."
Charlie stepped closer to the dining table, which by now was already filled with a bowl of warm miso soup, fragrant grilled mackerel, and a bowl of fluffy Koshihikari rice from their grocery shopping last night.
"Wow, it looks highly delicious." He said while pulling out a wooden chair in front of the table. "Eating your homemade cooking every day truly never makes me bored, Mahiru."
"It makes me a bit envious of whichever lucky man will receive this special treatment and taste these extraordinary dishes as your future husband."
Despite knowing perfectly well that the man in front of her was most likely only cracking a joke in the final part of his sentence, Mahiru's heart nonetheless stirred strangely.
There was a welling sense of pleasure because her cooking was praised, but at the same time, there was a sense of discomfort and a slight tightness that clogged her chest when imagining herself having to serve another man in the future.
Her face blushed a thin red as she placed the final bowl on top of the table with a slight, gentle thud.
"Don't start talking nonsense this early in the morning, Charlie-kun. Hurry up and finish your breakfast, then get ready to leave so we won't be late."
Charlie only chuckled softly upon seeing the girl's flustered reaction.
"Itadakimasu!"
"Itadakimasu!"
He sat across from Mahiru, pressed both his hands together, and uttered the sentence of gratitude simultaneously before they began to enjoy that peaceful morning breakfast.
At 8:10 AM, Charlie and Mahiru arrived at a fairly large hospital.
That day was the official schedule of their visit to undergo psychological counseling sessions held en masse by the government for everyone who was at Seijo High School.
This step was a mandatory post-disaster handling for the terrorism attack that occurred a few days ago.
The Japanese Government indeed placed great importance on the mental health of the victims, especially the teenagers, so they deployed the best resources to hold this kind of activity completely free of charge.
Because the lobby area and the corridors of the hospital were already filled with dozens of students wearing the exact same uniform as well as several other school staff, Charlie and Mahiru consciously began to maintain a safe distance.
They walked separated by a few steps and behaved like an ordinary teacher and student so that their closeness from living under one roof would not be suspected by anyone.
After all, it would be highly troublesome if any bad rumors or misunderstandings were to spread within the school environment.
As she stepped further into the hospital waiting room area, Mahiru crossed paths with several female students from her class who waved their hands.
After giving a subtle look of the eyes to Charlie as a signal, Mahiru separated herself and joined that group of her acquaintances to line up together.
On the other hand, Charlie, who was now walking alone down the hospital corridor that smelled distinctively of antiseptic, stepped slowly toward the psychologist's room that had been designated for the teaching staff.
While staring at the rows of ward doors and gurneys that occasionally passed beside him, Charlie murmured quietly in a low tone of voice:
"I really don't like the atmosphere of a hospital. In a place like this... the boundary between a person's life and death always feels as thin as a tissue."
"Oh dear~ I didn't expect you to be a melancholic person, Charlie~"
Hearing the amused response coming from behind him, Charlie stopped his steps and turned around.
He saw the figure of Elena walking closer with both her hands hidden behind her back, flaunting a thin, charming smile.
"You came too, Elena."
Charlie was not overly surprised by the appearance of his fellow Savior colleague.
"Um~ this is the first time in my life consulting with a psychologist, so I certainly didn't want to miss a rare opportunity to experience it." Elena said cheerfully while quickening her steps so she could walk parallel next to Charlie down the hospital corridor.
While staring straight ahead, Elena glanced at Charlie briefly with a sparkle of eyes full of curiosity.
"By the way, I'm curious about your words just now. Why do you consider the boundary of life and death in this place to be as thin as a tissue?"
"..."
Charlie fell silent for a moment. His gaze swept around the corridor, looking at an elderly person sitting in a wheelchair and a small child whose hand was pierced by an IV needle.
"I just suddenly remembered that a hospital is actually not a good place to come to if you want to look for peace." He answered with a heavy tone of voice. "A hospital is a place that is always full of people who are fighting hard just to be able to keep living. Meanwhile, on the other hand, a cemetery is a place full of people who previously thought that they still had plenty of time in this world."
Hearing the profound philosophy that came out of the mouth of the man beside her, Elena was momentarily stunned for a few seconds.
Her footsteps slowed down, staring at Charlie's side profile with a gaze that changed to become softer.
"Hearing that... makes me realize that you are a man who has many stories, Charlie." Elena curled a sincere, warm smile. "Anyway, if someday your burden becomes too full and you need a friend to just vent, just come to me anytime you want. The door to my house is always open for you."
Charlie turned toward Elena, then curled a thin, polite smile.
"Thank you for the offer, Elena. I appreciate your kindness."
As for whether he would truly go to that woman and lay bare the contents of his heart or not, only he himself knew the answer.
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