If You Have an Illness, Don't Ask Baidu

(Sun Yao)

Back home...

Uh, it was already almost eight by the time I got back to Yezi's door.

The door to my own place beside his had been splashed with shocking red paint, with spatters even reaching the wall. Insulting words had been scrawled there too, and the hallway reeked of formaldehyde.

Thinking back to the battle that afternoon, and to how Miluno had lost consciousness because of me, my mood grew even heavier.

Ding-dong—

Ding, ding-dong—

Di, di, di, Decade—

Huh? The doorbell sounded kind of strange when pressed too quickly.

But nobody was home. Had he gone out for dinner?

Just as I was thinking that, Yezi emerged from the elevator lobby carrying clothing bags in both hands. He looked like he was struggling, and every step he took was exceptionally heavy.

I'd bought quite a lot of clothes, but was it really that exaggerated?

He looked up, saw me, and greeted me. "Yo~! Have you been back long? I'll go in and get you the spare key."

"No, I just got here too... Were you out all afternoon?"

"Wasn't I getting your clothes? They were heavy as hell."

Yezi set the clothing bags on the floor, then fished out his keys and opened the door. As he did, he said, "When I evacuated, I stuffed all your clothes into a storage locker. After the alert was lifted, I forgot all about them. I only remembered this afternoon and hurried over to get them, then grabbed something to eat while I was out..."

Being this careless didn't really seem like Yezi's style.

He pushed open the door and asked, "Oh, have you eaten?"

"...Not yet. I just came back from the treatment facility."

"Huh? A treatment facility? Were you hurt?"

Yezi circled around me anxiously. I hurriedly explained, "No, I'm fine... It's just that Miss Miluno, because of me..."

Just saying her name made the guilt surge up again.

But Yezi asked, "She died because of you?"

"Huh? D-Died? Don't talk nonsense!"

I refuted him heatedly. His guess was way too much!

"Then she was seriously injured?"

"Not exactly... It's just..."

"She got a few scratches, then was knocked unconscious?"

"That's true, but the way you put it is really annoying, Yezi."

I took off my shoes and followed Yezi into the house.

He tossed the clothing bags onto the sofa, put on an apron, and went into the kitchen.

"Ceruno, if you haven't eaten, I'll just make something simple with whatever we have at home. Or should we order takeout?"

"No need for takeout. Sorry to trouble you."

"Okay, then how about noodles?"

"Sure. Just make something simple."

Busy sounds came from the kitchen, along with Yezi's voice.

"Come to think of it, this afternoon's battle wasn't livestreamed or recorded. Was it something that needed to be kept secret?"

Remembering Miss SpiCa's instructions, I merely nodded.

"Yeah. It's confidential. I can't tell you."

"Can't you tell me?"

"No."

"Heh, you've only been a Magical Girl for a few days and you already have secrets?"

"No means no. Stop asking!"

Even if it was Yezi, I couldn't let him know about the existence of Witches.

If I were ever captured by the Other Side too, would I also be transformed into a Witch?

Would Yezi still recognize me then?

As I pondered that, a faint crackling sound came from the kitchen.

I rushed into the kitchen. Noodles were boiling in the pot on the stove, while Yezi crouched on the floor, picking up shattered pieces of a bowl.

"You broke a bowl? How could you be so careless..."

Only when I stepped closer did I realize that his hands were trembling uncontrollably.

"...Yezi, what's wrong with you?"

"Nothing. The stuff I carried earlier was just too heavy."

"Are you hurt somewhere?"

"I didn't fight any Monsters, so how could I be injured? Dummy, go wait at the table."

Something was clearly wrong with him.

"Liar! It's not like I'm blind. That expression obviously means you're in pain and enduring it. Why are you hiding it from me? Aren't we brothers?"

"I said I'm fine. Do you see any injuries on me?"

After cleaning up the broken bowl, he even turned around in front of me—there really weren't any visible wounds.

"Yezi, if you're in any trouble, you have to tell me."

"Mm, go sort out those clothes of yours first~"

He insisted on saying nothing and even pushed me out of the kitchen.

It wasn't an external injury, so could it be... some terminal illness?

The thought scared me so badly that I took out my phone and searched Baidu. The results made my palms break out in sweat.

"What illness causes trembling hands... C-cancer?!"

My heart sank as I read the descriptions.

Yezi might have some kind of cancer.

He was refusing to tell me because he didn't want me to worry, but when had he been diagnosed? As his closest friend, I'd never noticed. He was already in this condition, yet I'd made him carry such heavy paper bags... Not only was I unqualified as a Magical Girl, I was failing as a brother too.

Sigh, cancer treatment must be expensive, right?

But I was a Magical Girl. As long as I kept fighting, I'd find a way to get money. I had to convince him to get treatment; the earlier he started, the more hope there was.

"The noodles are ready, dummy. Come eat."

Yezi carried a tray of noodles to the dining table. The clear noodle soup was topped with pickled mustard greens, shredded pork, and a fried egg, but quite a bit of broth had spilled onto the tray. He must have endured considerable pain walking all the way from the kitchen.

He was about to lift the bowl from the tray onto the table, but I hurried forward and stopped him.

"I can do it myself! Yezi, sit down and rest first!"

"Huh? I don't know what you're worrying about, but it's really nothing."

I untied the apron from his chest, then turned him around by the shoulders and made him sit in the chair across from me.

"No, we need to have a proper talk! Sit down!"

I stirred the noodles and stared at him with a stern face. Perhaps because I was rarely this forceful, he sat up obediently despite his helpless expression.

"...Yezi, um... Do you have some kind of illness?"

Though I wanted to sound stern, I lost my nerve as soon as I asked.

"No."

Of course he wouldn't admit it so easily.

I continued trying to persuade him. "Yezi, if you don't have enough money for treatment, I can help you."

"It isn't about money. I'm really not sick. My hands are shaking because I carried too many heavy things today."

"These clothes aren't even that heavy!"

"Please don't use the strength of a Magical Girl as your standard. Even Magical Girls who specialize in magic are stronger than ordinary people."

"But you couldn't even hold a bowl. That's strange even for an ordinary person, isn't it?"

Even now, I could see an expression of pain on Yezi's face.

"Dummy, I carried all those bags back from the C4 Area... Hurry up and eat. The noodles will get soggy."

Yezi stood as if to leave. To keep him from going, I stood too, but when I reached out, I grabbed the back of his collar and pulled the shirt draped over him down from behind.

"Y-Yezi?!"

Under the plain shirt was a white cotton T-shirt, but spots of blood were seeping through it.

He was obviously injured. It had only been hidden by the shirt draped over him.

"What happened?"

His back...

The location of that wound looked strangely familiar.