87 Coffee Shop, the Girl, and Bare Feet

"If you don't mind, let me take a look at your foot. If it's serious, you might need to go to the hospital immediately."

Seeing the girl's expression change so suddenly, Hojou Kyousuke thought it might be due to the pain from her foot.

However, as soon as he mentioned the hospital, Eriri suddenly felt her foot's pain, which she had been ignoring in the midst of her worry about being recognized.

"Hospital? Isn't it just a sprained ankle? Don't I just need to ice it?"

The mention of a hospital brought back unsettling images of her injury becoming worse, even possibly leading to paralysis.

She immediately became nervous again.

"If it's a sprain, it could also result in fractures or other complications. We'll need to check for any deformities," Kyousuke said, not to scare her but because he'd seen much worse injuries at his swordsmanship club.

He didn't want to go into details to avoid making her uncomfortable.

Thankfully, from the way she was sitting and drinking soda, he figured it wasn't too serious.

'Fractures? Deformities?!'

Eriri shivered at those words, her mind racing. She quickly looked down at her foot.

Despite knowing it was a little rude to remove shoes in a café, she couldn't afford to care right now.

Carefully, she took off her shoes, staring intensely at her fair, delicate foot.

Fortunately, nothing seemed deformed!

Still feeling unsure, she turned to the boy, who seemed knowledgeable.

"Um, could you take a look at it for me?"

Her face flushed bright red as she shyly asked.

She wasn't sure why she was asking this of a complete stranger, but maybe it was because he had seemed so reliable earlier.

She was the one who had bumped into him after all, so it felt rude to keep asking for help.

She tried to suppress her embarrassment and keep her true feelings in check.

"One moment," Kyousuke replied. He finished the last sip of his cola, then placed the empty cup back on the table.

He stood up and walked over to the sofa where she was sitting, crouching down beside her.

What the… She's probably not worried about dirty feet, right? After all, it was his fault she sprained her ankle in the first place!

Eriri, seeing him approach, briefly thought he was worried about hygiene, but then her frustration faded. She knew it was her fault, and he wasn't obligated to help.

Trying to suppress her embarrassment, she raised her foot and extended it towards him.

What she didn't know was that the café employees, who had just served them, were watching them closely from the counter.

The manager had even been stopped by one of the waitresses from intervening—they were totally captivated by the scene.

The girl's elegant and shy demeanor, combined with the handsome boy carefully handling her foot, made it impossible to break up.

The scene was captivating, and some even began fantasizing about the storyline unfolding in front of them.

Kyousuke carefully cradled her foot, treating it with the care one would give to an artwork, despite the redness creeping up Eriri's face.

After a brief silence, he said, "It's nothing serious, just ice it for now."

Eriri let out a sigh of relief and quickly retracted her foot.

"Do you want to contact someone to come pick you up?"

"While there's no fracture, it's best to avoid walking, and ice would help immediately," Kyousuke asked as he wiped his hands with the towel from the table.

Eriri thought for a moment, then replied, "I'll call my mom. My dad is at work, and my mom is at home preparing for an event... but she's still waiting for my dad to return home before coming to get me."

"Alright, I'll take you to a place where vehicles can pass, and you can wait there while icing your foot until your family arrives," Kyousuke suggested, clearly resigned to the delay.

At the counter, Kyousuke bought some ice cubes and also asked to take the towel he had used to wipe his hands.

The waitress, beaming with a smile, insisted that the ice and towel were free with the drink.

After paying and thanking the waitress, Kyousuke returned to the table, carefully putting the ice and towel into a bag.

"On my way here, I saw a game store with private rooms. Shall we go there?" Kyousuke asked.

"Sure!" Eriri responded eagerly, extending her hand to take the bag from him.

He passed her the bag with the ice and towel and then crouched down slightly to signal that she should hop onto his back.

Blushing, Eriri hesitated but then carefully climbed onto his back. She felt his strong arms steady her, and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Hold on tight, I'm about to stand up," Kyousuke warned.

With that, he stood up, his hand firmly supporting her. Eriri was light enough that he could easily carry her.

As they walked through Akihabara, the crowds grew thicker.

Eriri quietly leaned her face to the side, watching the people part as Kyousuke moved confidently through the crowd, carrying her on his back.

She felt a strange stir in her heart.

As someone who normally drew provocative scenes, she suddenly wondered what it would be like to be part of a pure love story.

"Sigh."

Even though Kyousuke had to push through the crowd while keeping her safe, he finally let out a relieved breath once they emerged.

He made his way to the game store and led her into a private room.

After carefully setting her down on a tatami mat, he took off his shoes.