I was studying hard when the effect of the Unflavor hit me out of nowhere, and I ended up crouching in the toilet for quite a while, clutching my stomach in pain.
"Karen, you've been in the toilet for a long time. Are you okay?"
Lina's voice came from outside the door. I didn't want her to know that my stomachache was caused by the food she made. It had taken so much effort to cheer her up earlier, so I decided to change the story.
"I'm fine. My body's immune system is just… fighting off some invaders."
"Immune system? Fighting? Who are the invaders!? Are you lose!?"
Lina probably had no idea what an immune system was—this world wasn't exactly advanced in science. But honestly, I was too lazy to explain.
"I'm not telling you."
"Please tell me! I'm worried about you!"
Lina kept knocking on the door, even trying to twist the handle open. Thankfully, the lock was sturdy enough to hold. But the constant knocking was driving me crazy—it made it impossible to focus on surviving the pain.
"Stop knocking already! I'll tell you once I win the battle!"
"Then I'll cheer for you! Karen! You can do it! Karen! You can do it…!"
Lina actually started cheering for me. It felt like someone standing right behind you while you're trying to pee—you just can't do it when someone's watching.
"You don't need to cheer for me! It'll just turn into a long, drawn-out battle! Go back and read your book, don't worry about me."
"…Okay. But you have to win, alright?"
Lina finally walked away, and I held my head in my hands.
(This Unflavor is way too powerful…)
After a while, everything was finally out. I felt like I'd lost an entire size in the process. Weak and exhausted, I reached for the doorknob. As I slowly turned it open, Lina's face suddenly appeared right in front of me—only a few centimeters away.
"Whoa!"
Startled, I screamed and stumbled back, hitting the wall. My mind went completely blank.
(Who am I? Where am I? What am I even doing?)
The shock made me instinctively clutch my chest, feeling my heart pounding wildly beneath my palm. That jolt of pain brought me back to my senses, and I rubbed my chest a few times to calm down.
"Karen! What happened!? Are there more enemies!?"
Lina, seeing me jump in fright, immediately assumed we were under attack again. She started glancing around the room, searching for invisible foes.
By that time, I had managed to soothe my racing heart and looked at her with as much composure as I could gather.
"Lina, why are you standing here? Don't you know scaring people like that could actually kill someone?"
"I just wanted to see what kind of enemy you were fighting."
It was just poop. Nothing worth seeing. Still, having someone witness that was mortifying, so I said the only thing that could save a shred of dignity.
"It's gross, you know."
"Then I won't look. But… why did you scream just now?"
Luckily, Lina dislike gross things, so she didn't insist. Of course, the reason I screamed was that I was startled! I half expected it to be some horror movie scene—suddenly, someone is staring straight at you from the crack of the door.
"Because you scared me."
Lina tilted her head innocently, looking completely clueless.
"I didn't scare you, did I?"
Lina had no intention of frightening me at all. It was just her actions that startled me. Looks like a full explanation was needed.
"When I opened the door, you were just standing there… right in front of me. It was so sudden that I got scared, understand?"
"Got it! So… when you opened the door and saw me, you… got scared! And you before said I was…!"
Lina's voice suddenly faltered halfway through. Then her expression changed—she looked angry, and her cheeks turned red. That change happened so fast that she didn't even finish her sentence.
"Was… what?"
"Nothing… nothing at all!"
Then she spun around and went back to her chair, leaving me standing there, completely puzzled. I returned to my own chair and tried to recall the text I had memorized. But the stomach pain seemed to have erased all of it—I couldn't remember a single word. I had to start memorizing it all over again.
Later, Lina also walked into the toilet, clutching her stomach. It was probably the effect of the Unflavor too, but it wasn't anything to worry about, so I continued studying.
After a while, the light started to fade, and I could barely see the text anymore. I glanced outside and realized it was already evening. I went to the stove to start a fire and pulled out the ingredients to cook dinner. But there was no water, so I couldn't wash the food. My eyes wandered toward Lina, still in the bathroom.
(Lina probably won't be out anytime soon.)
I grabbed a bucket and headed outside, filling it with about three-quarters of the water from the field before starting back. With my strength, I definitely couldn't carry a full bucket.
As I got close to the house, I saw Lina standing at the doorway, looking around as if searching for something. So I called out loudly,
"Lina!"
When Lina heard me call her, she immediately panicked and ran over, colliding into me and hugging me tightly. But I didn't fall backward this time.
Having been knocked over before, I had naturally learned how to stay on my feet. As Lina ran toward me, I shifted my right foot back slightly, leaned my body forward, and braced myself with all my strength.
Now Lina was holding me tightly, but she wasn't crying or saying anything. I looked at her snow-white hair and realized why she had come to find me, so I told her the reason.
"Because I saw you were still in the toilet, I came out to get some water. I won't leave you."
"I know… but I'm still scared."
Long-term companionship would eventually ease Lina's anxiety, so I comforted her gently.
"Don't be scared. Come on, let's go back and make dinner."
"Mm."
Lina let go of me, and I started walking toward the house. But suddenly, a pair of hands wrapped around my stomach from behind, and I felt pressure on my back. It was Lina—hugging me tightly from behind, making it hard for me to walk.
Her head rested on my shoulder, and when I turned slightly, her cute face was right there beside me. It was… extremely distracting. So I tried to reason with her.
"Uh… Lina, it's hard for me to walk. Can you let go?"
"No. I'll let go when we're back inside."
What a clingy child. I told myself to act like the mature twenty‑three‑year‑old I was and just let her be. I'd be fine if I kept my eyes straight ahead.
"Alright then."
Once we got home, Lina finally released me. I poured the water from the bucket into the basin, washed all the ingredients, and started cooking dinner.
When everything was ready, I brought the dishes to the table. Three dishes and a soup—meat, vegetables, and broth. Quite a feast. I just wasn't sure how it would taste.
I took the first bite. It tasted much better than yesterday's. Lina also said it was delicious. Maybe it was because our tongues were finally tasting something normal again—it felt like the reward after suffering through bitterness.
After dinner, we washed the dishes together. When we finished, I told Lina,
"Lina, you go take a bath first. And while you're at it, could you fill up the water bucket again? Thanks."
"Mm."
While Lina was taking her bath, I quickly went back to studying. A while later, she came out of the toilet, drying her snow‑white hair with a white towel. If her hair didn't actually glow, I might've thought she was just playing with it.
After I finished my bath, I saw Lina still studying. I figured she was probably planning to try a new magic tomorrow, so I told her,
"Lina, if you're going to practice magic, make sure you do it somewhere wide and open, okay?"
"Mm."
We kept studying until it was time to sleep. Lying under the blanket, I suddenly felt something tugging at my clothes. I turned my head and saw Lina's hand gripping my shirt.
When she noticed me looking, she spoke in an adorably serious tone.
"So that when I wake up, I can see you. I'm holding on so you won't leave me."
Then she smiled—and that smile hit me right in the heart. I felt my face heat up instantly. To hide my embarrassment, I turned my back to her and said,
"I'll wake you up tomorrow morning. Good night."
"Mm, good night."
I closed my eyes, but my thoughts were in chaos.
(That line and that smile… too cute! It should be illegal!)
Just as I was silently screaming inside, a shy whisper brushed against my ear.
"Karen… you… you're… really handsome."
My eyes flew open in shock. Was that payback for this afternoon? I turned toward her—her eyes were closed, but her hand was still gripping my shirt. I suspected she wasn't asleep yet. I stared at her for a bit, then gave up and whispered back,
"Really? Thanks."
I closed my eyes again, replaying Lina's words in my head. The warmth under the blanket felt suffocatingly hot, so I quietly slipped one hand out to cool myself with the room's air.
(Two critical hits in a row… my heart can't take this!)
Still, Lina's words really startled me. I never imagined she'd call me handsome—something I wasn't remotely prepared for. Luckily, she didn't see my face; that gave me time to compose myself.
I must've gotten up too early today. Sleepiness crashed over me like a wave. Unable to fight it, I let it take me, and soon drifted into a deep, peaceful dream.