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"Mr. Blake, how did you get hurt?"
Ignoring everyone else's stares, the "angel" stepped right up to Blake. She tilted her flawless, delicate face up at him, her clear eyes full of concern.
"I…"
He'd meant to brush it off with some random excuse. But looking into those crystal-clear eyes—eyes that felt like they could see straight through him—the words stuck in his throat.
For some reason, a strange feeling came over him.
If he lied and got caught… Mahiru Shiina, who had just taken off her "mask," might go right back to being that distant, untouchable angel.
So he told the truth.
"I went out yesterday afternoon to take on a job…"
He didn't hide anything about what happened—except for the black cat's real identity.
Mahiru listened quietly. She pressed her soft lips together, and a faint hint of envy flickered in her eyes.
"If I could choose… I'd want the ability to talk to cats."
Compared to stopping time, she preferred being able to communicate with cats.
After all… being alone was just too lonely.
"That's everything," Blake said, raising his right hand solemnly. "If I've told even one lie, you can stomp me a few times, Mahiru."
Mahiru brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and shot him a reproachful look. "Sorry, I refuse to give you a reward."
That's a punishment, not a reward!
"Are your injuries serious? Do you still feel uncomfortable anywhere?" she asked.
"Nothing serious. Otherwise I'd be in the hospital, not at school," Blake replied lightly. "And now that I've received your care, my recovery speed has increased to two hundred percent."
"I'm not a doctor," she said, giving him another look. Still, seeing that he could joke around put her at ease. Then, as if it were nothing, she added, "…If you need to change your sterile bandages, I can help."
"…"
Just then, the train pulled in.
They ended the conversation and boarded together.
Before, whenever they ran into each other at the station, Mahiru would deliberately keep her distance. But today, once they got on, she naturally stood right beside him.
In the stuffy carriage, a faint, pleasant scent drifted from her, slipping quietly into Blake's senses.
A few stops passed in silence.
Then suddenly—
The train slammed to a stop.
The entire carriage erupted into chaos.
Bang.
Driven by inertia, Mahiru lost her balance and crashed straight into Blake's arms.
He staggered too, grabbing a handrail with his left hand while instinctively wrapping his right arm around her to steady her.
Not everyone was so lucky.
A girl who had been holding her phone with both hands lost her balance completely. She tipped backward, about to smash the back of her head on the floor.
"P-please… take your hand off…"
Mahiru looked up at him, her snowy skin now flushed pink. Even her gentle voice trembled slightly.
"Huh?"
Blake reflexively tightened his grip—and immediately felt something indescribably soft in his palm. Even through the fabric, the sensation was… dangerously vivid.
"Mm—hn…"
A soft, trembling sound escaped her lips, as if the very air had turned rosy.
"I'm so—"
Blake finally realized what he'd done.
He had, quite accidentally, measured the "angel's"… assets.
But before he could finish apologizing, Mahiru's gaze flicked to the girl whose head was about to hit the ground.
Startled, she instinctively activated her power.
Buzz—
It was as if someone had pressed pause on the world.
The roar of the train, the passengers' cries, objects suspended midair—
Everything stopped.
A suffocating silence swallowed the world whole.
This was exactly why Mahiru didn't like using time stop.
Once activated, everything fell into a dead, eerie stillness.
"…Phew."
She let out a small breath, her face still red as she slipped out of Blake's arms, preparing to help.
Then—
In that frozen, silent world, a voice suddenly spoke.
"I'm really sorry…"
"Huh?!"
Mahiru's eyes widened in shock. She quickly turned to him.
"Mr. Blake… you can still move?!"
"No," he said honestly. "This feels really strange. My mind can think, my eyes can see, my mouth can talk… but my body won't move at all."
"You really can't move?"
She looked doubtful.
He blinked. "If I'm lying, then every time I rush out the door, my phone will always be stuck at one percent battery."
"…I believe you." She pressed her lips together, curiosity shining in her eyes. "Before, when I used time stop, you couldn't even speak. But now you can… why?"
"I'm surprised too." He tried to move, but his body felt like it was sealed in glue. "By the way, why did you activate it?"
"Oh—right, the rescue…"
Snapping back to reality, Mahiru hurried into action.
First, she carried the unlucky girl—whose head had nearly hit the floor—to an empty seat, preventing the injury.
"I'll check the other cars," she said, wiping her forehead before looking back at him. "That stop was too sudden. Someone else might be in danger."
"There are cameras on the train," Blake reminded her. "Come back to me before you release the time stop."
"Got it."
She gave a small wave and quietly left.
Blake watched her go, his mood complicated.
The good news: time-stopping powers exist in this world.
The bad news: he was the one being stopped.
Luckily, the person who had that power was a pure-hearted "angel." If it were someone with darker intentions… who knows how many people would've lost their innocence.
"…The fact that I can talk—could it be related to the witch game?"
Focusing his thoughts, Blake turned his attention to the game interface in his mind.
[You have made close contact with the Witch of Time]
[You have absorbed a portion of the Witch of Time's magic]
[You have regained a small degree of mobility…]
"I see…"
So the reason he could speak…
was because of that "close contact" just now.
A little while later, Mahiru returned quietly.
"Mr. Blake, I'm going to release the time stop."
"Why did the driver brake so suddenly?" he asked.
"I don't know." She shook her head. "There was nothing on the tracks… we'll have to wait for an announcement."
She tightened her grip on the handrail.
The time stop ended.
In the next instant—
The world came rushing back to life.
Shouts and confusion filled the carriage.
Especially the girl who had been on her phone—just moments ago, she'd been certain she was about to hit her head. Now she found herself sitting safely in a seat, her face blank with disbelief, like her entire reality had glitched.
Amid the chaos, Blake and Mahiru stood quietly in a corner—
their good deed unnoticed.
"....."