After hearing the stories of Illness-san’s past, we spent the rest of the tea party enjoying various bits of small talk. However, since we were simply sipping black tea and snacking on sweets, the time eventually came for the gathering to reach its natural conclusion.
At least, that would have been the case if we were stopping at just the tea party.
"Thank you for the treat. The tea and the sweets were both truly delicious."
"Kuhihi. Hearing you say that makes all the preparation worthwhile~."
"I suppose we should wrap things up here? You mentioned you were off duty today, Illness-san, so if you’re up for it, I was wondering if you’d like to go out somewhere... though, looking at the time, we probably don't have enough daylight left to go very far..."
Since we had started the tea party around snack time, it was honestly an appropriate hour to call it a day. The reason I suggested going out to play somewhere was likely because, deep down, I felt a twinge of loneliness at the thought of my time with Illness-san coming to an end.
"I see~. It might be difficult to head out given the hour~, but if it is convenient for you, Kaito-sama~, would you care to spend a little more time here in my room~?"
"Oh, yes. I’d love to... There are plenty of things we can do indoors together. Though, I have to warn you, I’m incredibly weak at board games..."
I felt a little guilty for essentially prompting her to ask me to stay, but Illness-san’s invitation made me genuinely happy. I didn't have a specific plan for what to do next, but I had various games and trinkets stored inside my Magic Box, so we wouldn't be bored.
Well, even as I said that, competitive games like Shogi or Chess were a bit of a problem. To give an idea of just how bad I was, Alice—who likely possesses the greatest intellect in this world—once told me, "If I’m not intentionally throwing the match and we actually want a fair fight... honestly, it would be impossible unless Kaito-san were allowed to take two turns for every one of mine."
Allowing one side to move twice in a game like Shogi crossed the line from a mere handicap into a different game entirely, yet it seemed that was the only way I could ever hope to win through skill alone.
"Actually~, there is something I have been wanting to try~. Would that be alright~?"
"Eh? Yes, of course. What is it?"
"It is something I happened to come across while reading a magazine~..."
As she spoke, Illness-san reached into the drawer of a dresser-like piece of furniture by the window and took something out. It was a long, thin wooden stick... an earpick?
Now, I felt like there was only one thing a person would do with an earpick in a situation like this.
"Um, could that be for an ear cleaning, by any chance?"
"Yes~. If you do not mind it, Kaito-sama~."
"I certainly don't mind, but are you sure you're okay with doing that, Illness-san?"
"Of course~. If anything~, I am the one asking this favor of you~."
"Oh, um... in that case, I'll be in your care."
"Yes~."
The fact that the thing she wanted to try was cleaning my ears was a proposal that felt very much like the devoted Illness-san. Still, it was quite unexpected, so I could only nod while feeling a bit flustered. Illness-san then moved over to the bed, sat down, and relaxed her legs before lightly patting her thighs.
Ah—um, so it was going to be like that. An ear cleaning while resting on a Lap Pillow... this was, well, a rather unexpected turn of events.
Serious-senpai: "Hie... t- this flow is..."