"Aoi, you still need to make sure you rest. Don't wear yourself out. If there's something on your mind you don't feel comfortable telling me, you can talk to Aunt Delia or Kanae and the others. Don't keep it all bottled up."
As Kanzaki Kumo spoke, he leaned forward a little and took the medicinal herbs from Aoi Kanzaki's hands.
"Ah! I'm sorry, Kumo-sama. I'll be careful. Thank you for your concern."
Thud.
"Ow!"
Only when the things in her hands were taken away did the distracted girl snap out of her daze. Flustered, she apologized and thanked him, only to misjudge her movement as she bowed and knock her head straight against the counter. It hurt so much that tears sprang to the corners of her eyes.
The girl held her forehead but kept her head slightly lowered, not daring to look up and meet Kanzaki Kumo's eyes.
"How could you be so careless? Let me see..."
Kanzaki Kumo gently lifted the girl's head and brushed aside her bangs to examine the injury on her forehead. Fortunately, she hadn't hit the sharp edge of the counter. Only the middle of her upper forehead was a little red and swollen; she hadn't struck anywhere else.
To be honest, apart from being as deft and efficient as usual while dispensing the herbs, none of the girl's reactions just now had resembled the capable, quick-witted Aoi Kanzaki she used to be. Instead, she was more like Mitsuri when she got worked up-adorable, but also a little clumsy.
"Shinobu, are you in there? Come out and give me a hand."
Although Kanzaki Kumo knew how to treat a simple external injury like this himself, merely examining it had already made Aoi Kanzaki blush crimson. He decided to leave any further application of medicine