Interlude 3

YOLO Series - Operation Code-Red: Maou is Sick

“Kyrie, could you find the spare ink at the storage? My Ink’s about to run out…”

Unit6 was too busy as they were rushing a draft. Each of them was too busy at their designated works that only Ingrid was the one you could ask for help. But useless as she was, Fred didn’t relied she could remember where they put the ink at the storage so she pushed the order to Kyrie.

“Humu. Fred, you must realize I’m also tied up. Tied up to the extent that any delay you push onto me will delay you too.”

“Hey why not ask me for help Fred?” –Ingrid broke her silence, wanting Fred to rely on her more.

“Shush! Just cook!”

“Hmp!”

Dejected, Ingrid left the studio through the connecting doors and headed towards Fred’s unit. All she was tasked with was to cook a delicious dinner for them. Whenever Fred felt Ingrid could finish the job without causing any problems he would let her. Besides, Ingrid was only reliable during meetings and brainstorming. While she had been good at those parts, the opposite proved true with technical stuff.

“That’s not nice Fred. You can’t do that with your future wife.”

“Ingrid won’t be. Quit it with the jokes. Besides, my ink is still nearing its dead end. Please fetch me one.”

After that nobody answered him. All of them were busy doing their respective tasks. Fred let the situation go and stood up. Nothing much will affect the chapter they were working on. It would just be a few seconds of walk, take out the ink, and go back to work.

Ara looked at Fred’s face as he stood up. He was bright-red like he was blushing towards his high school crush. It looked like he was just trying to maintain his balance as he walked. Being worried, Ara lifted up the silence and asked him.

“Fred are you okay? You’re wobbling.”

“I’m fine, I’m fine. It was just my sudden stand suddenly blackened my vision. I’m fine now.”

“Well you don’t look like it.”

Fred reached out towards the innermost part of the cabinet where the ink was stored and got a bottle of refill.

“See? I told you I’m at my best condition, never better… I could still—”

THUD!*

Fred fell down the open area of the studio. The ink he got slipped from his hand and were thrown in front of him and spattered across the floor. His breathing was too heavy and his eyes were too focused looking at some non-existent object in front of him.

“Fred!!” –Both of her assistants shouted and panicked and immediately halted whatever they were doing. Rushing towards Fred, both of them immediately checked his body. Ara held his forehead with her right hand and checked his body temperature.

“He’s hot!”

“Humu. He’s hot. Do we get also our insurances if he dies?”

Ara lifted her arms in attempt to hit Kyrie.

“Just kidding, just kidding. But his temperature is too high. Should we bring him to the nearest hospital?”

It was true that Fred needed immediate medical attention as much as possible but Ara was too afraid to take that decision. One of Fred’s benefits at his line of work was a medical one. Ara by that time did not knew how any of those work yet so she did not took the responsibility.

“I think it would be better to consult Landlady with this.”

“Humu. I don’t think that’s a good idea… Oh speak of the devil.”

Kyrie looked towards the door connecting to Fred’s unit. Ingrid was standing there.

“Miss Landlady, please calm down. It’s just high fever.”

The two looked towards Ingrid. Kyrie, as calm as she was, tried to infect Ingrid with her calmness. She knew at first place that she will go hysterical once she saw Fred’s current state. Kyrie wished she never heard them at first place and just finished her cooking until they finished taking care of Fred.

“Uhm… Landlady?”

At that moment Ingrid’s eyes were filled with something out of this world. Ara and Kyrie knew whatever they say would not make any sense to her. Her ‘Fred-protector’ switch have activated. With a deep, cool, and calming sound, voice came out of her.

“Give me Fred.”

---

Fred was woken up with the smell of medicine. The room was dark and unrecognized by him. He was feeling too heavy and moving just an inch seemed to require every ounce of his strength that remained. He was covered with a blanket that felt like tons heavier than Yuusha’s swing of sword.

“Aaaaaaah! Someone.”

He spoke, but his throat was too dry it made minimal volume that even someone very near couldn’t hear.

“Need… Water… Somebody.”

He continued his futile struggle to call out to either of the three members of Maou Spence-sensei squad. He called, and called, and called until he gave up. He felt bad for the sorry state he currently was in. He could question himself ‘how could I not notice my own health. When did I became too invulnerable?’

“Aaah.”

Not having anyone by his side, he remembered the very first time he was sent at Earth. He was afraid, alone and unconcerned. But he wondered where the three went. Were they deliberating outside whether to bring him to the hospital, or were they out shopping for medicine and supplies? At the very first time at his Earth life Fred wished for them to immediately come back and take care of him.

His sickness had him too vulnerable that even his mental state was already being affected.

With clouded thoughts and longing for someone, he tried to sleep again and regain his health.

---

Fred woke up again. The light were now open. He took a look at the room again and saw Kyrie sitting at the chair beside his bed.

“Is this the hospital?”

“No this is your room. And don’t speak too much. We need to have you recover fast, Miss Landlady at most.”

Kyrie was too busy with what she was doing. Fred wondered if she was really watching over him. Will she immediately stop whatever it is if his condition worsened than how it is at the moment?

“Say Kyrie…”

“Humu. I’ll grant you an answer.”

“My insurance does not include you guys if I die by the way.” –Fred smirked and teased her which she just let go just because Fred was sick. It seemed that he heard Kyrie’s joke a while ago when he collapsed. Out of all the good things to remember, he picked the worst.

After peeling an apple Kyrie stuffed a piece at Fred’s mouth to just erase his annoying smirk.

“You’re good at this Kyrie. You would make a great classmate.”

“I’m good at everything Fred, you should’ve assured that by now.”

Fred noticed something.

Kyrie was not wearing her usual ‘Gothic Lolita’ outfit. Her straight long silver hair went down up to her waist. It had a quite unnatural color compared to natives on their country. Fred assumed she was either: a vampire, a foreigner, a summoned one from another world, or just dyed. He chose the latter.

Instead of wearing the frilly super-closed and tight black and white colored dress, she just wore her thin white long dress which looked like something someone would wear before she sleep while checked in at a five-star hotel.

Fred tried to remember any recollection he had the Kyrie wore this clothes. It was faint but he remembered something: was it their first meeting or was it somewhere that she was walking while holding a parasol at a bright sunny day at the wheat fields.

“Ah, you’re sweating. That’s a good thing.” –Kyrie got the towel at the table and tried to extend her hand towards his forehead.

Kyrie was not really a tall person and her length of reach were too short that she needed to support half of her body and went in the bed too just to reach out to Fred. Her long white dress was too loose that Fred could already see the ‘not-so-developed’ and sorry body of Kyrie inside it. He did not had any energy to produce any lewd thoughts even though he was directly looking at what’s inside that dress but one thing left a mark in his memory: Kyrie’s mole above her left chest.

“Hey… Your mole… It’s showing…”

Noticing her vulnerability, Kyrie immediately finished wiping off Fred’s sweat and went back to her seat.

“Tell me… Who are you? You’re not Kyrie.”

“Shut up. At times like this I could still act appropriately.”

“Well count me surprised. I suppose this will be the last time I get to see this side of Kyrie, huh?”

It was not even a once in a blue moon chance to see a ‘normal’ Kyrie so Fred asked for an extension.

“Am I the very first you’ve shown this side of yours besides your family?”

“Miss Landlady was the first.”

“Ah, Ingrid beat me to it, huh? Say, Kyrie, thanks for this.”

“Humu. Just make sure you feel better and recover fast. We don’t want you being sick for a long time… Besides…”

Embarrassed by her own statement, Ingrid looked at Fred again and caught him sleeping.

“Sigh… Besides…

Kyrie combed Fred’s shaggy bangs that were covering his forehead and placed a cooling patch.

“…how could I toy with you if you’re in this condition?”

Kyrie then continued to watch over Fred that time until she swapped out with Ara.

---

Fred woke up again. This time he was already feeling better, but was still weak due to the long time that he spent lying down at his bed. He could at least feel his muscles a bit. But most of them had been feeling numb ever since he woke up.

What’s this… How long have I been asleep? –He asked himself.

“Fred!! Fred!! Goodness you’re awake!!”

The voice he was hearing was supposed to be loud but his hearing had been cloudy too since he woke up. Again, he wondered if he was feeling better or he was injected with some anaesthetic solution to ease the pain he was feeling, as to whatever sickness he currently has.

After a few more seconds the sound became clear. He was thankful that his body had not been experimented for a newtype virus that might have developed on Earth’s surface. Knowing who the one shouting was, he stopped her. Shouting besides someone sick and just woke up was does not really make the patient’s condition better.

“I can hear you now Ara. It’s fine. I’m fine now. Why were you acting too frantic at the first place?”

“What do you mean?! You’ve been in comma for six months!!”

“Okay stop.”

Fred had another problem. This was one of the plot of those post-apocalyptic series that he had been watching. He was not ready for an announcement news that would tell him “Yaay you just wake up on a zombie apocalypse after being in comma for six months! Now let’s go hunt them dead but walking people.”

“Okay stop.” –he repeated himself to make sure Ara could understand him.

“You see, you see, you got this sickness, and then everything on your body failed and then, we thought you were going to die, and then…” –Ara was containing her tears as she tried to explain things to Fred which did not count as explaining properly.

“Okay stop Ara. I admit you’re getting better at acting. So please top already and tell me how much time had passed since I slept.”

“…”

Ara stared at her, then…

“…Fuhahahahaha!! I knew it! I could not fool you with this one. How sharp have you become?”

Fred’s question was still not answered. But at least his anxiousness regarding his current situation have alleviated. He knew of Ara’s nature and she’s always teased him whenever he was feeling better already. She was the type that carefully picks the proper time and place to do those kinds of things.

But what if…

That’s where Fred’s ‘what if’ filled his head. What if what Ara was saying at that moment was true? What if he really fell into a long-term comma? What happened to the girls he’s been treasuring since he went at Earth? It was not like he was building a harem of his own but he cherished each one of them as family.

“You know… that would be the last time you make a joke like that.”

“…Okay….” –Ara answered dejectedly.

“In any case… How could I believe you anyways…”

Fred noticed and smelled something: The scent of spring onion.

“…if there’s a spring onion wrapped around my neck?”

“Medicinal purposes.”

“No nonononono… you’re doing it wrong. It should be stuck at my butt… No nonononono… Why would you guys even bother anyway? I did not ask you anyways to give me a ‘mc is sick so visit him’ shoujo scenario anyways. I just needed normal medicine and good rest. Don’t let Kyrie’s ridiculousness infect you Ara. You got a bright future ahead of you.”

‘a bright future ahead of you’ Fred told her accidentally looking at her breasts. It was not really his intention.

“Hoooh.~~” –Ara immediately switched to her aneki-mode.

“No nononono… I really did not mean that. I mean… Why are you even flaunting those at the bed anyways!” –Fred’s thoughts were immediately put into a disarray as he tried to avoid being teased by Ara(aneki) again.

“Fufufu… Okay okay Fred. I’ll let you off the hook this time. Besides. You could not move your lower body right? It is because it’s not only your neck that received the spring onion treatment… Fufufu… I’ll leave that to your imagination.”

“No… NO… NOOOO!!!” –Fred had been protecting his chastity. That moment he was not sure whether his first time was none or was already taken by a spring onion.

Being in so much grief, Ara just laughed at him. She told him that she will let him off the hook from being teased that one moment but she could not resist. Fred’s plain innocent looking face really was a bait for Ara’s aneki-mode.

“Now, now, I’ll patch you up again and just take your time resting. We really need you alive and kicking again so we could not further delay our work. Promise your elder sister that one okay?”

Ara approached Fred’s forehead and gave it a sweet kiss. Her aneki-mode’s caring side was too much for him to handle that his head exploded in embarrassment. He was older than Ara but he could always not match her aneki-mode. Being pampered to much while he was sick made him wanted to sleep even more.

“Say… How long have I been sick already?”

“A whole day.” –Ara answered him as she approached the door and shut the lights off. It was time for Fred to sleep again and regain his life points as much as he needed.

---

Not much time after that Fred noticed the lights were on again. It must’ve mean that somebody was there to take care of him again. May it be Kyrie, or Ara, or even Ingrid. Anyone would be fine. He grew so much fond of the girls taking care of him while he was sick that he just wanted to stay sick forever.

He opened his eyes and looked at the girl with puppy-eyes… Or so he thought it was a ‘she’

The big-bodied, wielded with several years of experience, solid-cheekbones, forehead lines and appearing nerves, eye bags, and a look of someone who survived a long war man was sitting.

“I must be sick again and hallucinating… I should better sleep.”

Fred turned his back to Old man and covered himself with a blanket while finding himself a comfortable spot at his bed.

SMACK!!

“Hah! Better go sleep and die so I won’t have problems anymore! If you’re feeling better already you should draw again and meet your deadline!” –Old man smacked his head with a manuscript he was holding and stood up.

“Old man what are you doing!! Fred is sick! Quit it!!”

Having his head rang due to the shock that it received after being hit by a rolled manuscript, Fred went dizzy, and just heard faint sounds of the conversation that went after that. He knew it was very mean of him to do that to Old man but it was even meaner that he was physically hit by an object to the head while being sick. He wanted to shout back at old man but at his current condition he couldn’t.

“But honestly… If you got so much time to laze around the bed and joke around, you might as well watch yourself first or have these ladies protecting you look after your wellbeing. You Only Live Once. I know I’ve been rushing you with deadlines but don’t forsake your wellbeing just to meet everything in time. You could always consult me with these kinds of things too. Besides, I don’t want to be balled ‘an editor whose author died due to overwork’. Now please do me a favour and make a complete recovery so you could continue working on with the chapter. I’ll be the one to talk with the editor-in-chief with regards to this matter.”

Then Old man went out of Fred’s room.

Fred was too dizzy, but he absorbed most of what he said. He knew it was his fault at first place by not consulting him and pushing his limits just to meet the deadline. Lack of proper rest lowers someone’s resistances to sickness. He was not a doctor but he knew that much. It was a good thing that it was not Ara or Kyrie that experienced what he went through. He did not want to blame himself if their wellbeing was to be put to danger, so he tried to hog up most of the work for himself.

“Fred!! Fred!! Are you okay…” –was the last of the noise he heard.

Thinking that much while having just recuperated made him fall immediately asleep.

---

After another set of hours asleep, Fred finally woke up normally like it was just another same old morning. He smelled the joint scent medicine and all other stuff the three girls have used to him. As he removed his blanket, he felt the cool air of the AC, the filled the room. At the same time he could feel another source of her from the bed other than his.

It was Ingrid’s.

It was quite different from those generic ‘mc is sick so visit him’ scenes he knew from shoujo mangas whereas the lead femmc just stays beside the mc’s bed while seated, holding his hand until he made his full recovery. Those scenes were usually placed at the end of the chapter when the femmc already took care of the sick lead and flags for their romantic development had been set already.

Even in real life one does not simply sleep beside a sick person unless he/she aims to catch the other one’s colds. Those kinds of are only being done by extremely different level masochists. –is what Fred derived upon. Aside from thinking about why Ingrid slept beside him while he’s sick, he still had the chapter deadline he needed to meet.

Fred gave up. He did not want to strain himself too much just after he recovered.

“Hey. Hey. Wake up.” –Fred tried to wake up Ingrid while tapping her chubby cheeks being pressed by the weight of her head and the futon.

“MMMMMm stop it. I’m not feeling well…” –Ingrid wanted to escape reality and continue whatever she was dreaming.

Fred was fine already so he thought it what Ingrid did won’t catch herself a cold like Fred did.

–Or so he thought.

Ingrid’s last words struck on Fred’s ears like a static on a radio channel. He checked on Ingrid, put his hand on her forehead and checked her temperature.

Ingrid caught his colds.

Fred made a facepalm.

“Whatever you did was out of my responsibility already. You got it? Everything you did and get, you earned for yourself so don’t blame me as to why you caught my cold.” –Fred told the still half-asleep and half-awake drowsy Ingrid as he fixed her sleeping position, covered her with blanket and acted as a fatherly-like figure.

“There there. Make sure to drink medicine and take a rest okay?”

“Mmmmm. At least you’re fine now Fred… Make sure to meet your deadline.” –Ingrid mumbled an answer.

“Sigh”

Fred already got why Ingrid acted that way.

Seeing how strict Old man was even thought Fred was dead sick, Ingrid thought of a way to cure Fred fast, and that was to catch Fred’s cold for herself. It was not a surefire method at first place. She could catch Fred’s colds but it was not certain if Fred will recover right away after that. Fred was still puzzled as to why Ingrid were suddenly too caring of him. But he did not want to overexert his mind just after being sick so he let it go. He needed Ingrid to recover soon so she could cook them delicious meals while working.

“Jeez…”

---

After applying cold patches at her forehead Fred went to the connecting room: his studio. The scene that he ended up was quite different from what he

expected:

The other two assistant which he entrusted finishing the chapters were working diligently and will greet him back with a “Oh Fred you’re already recovered! Good to see you back here. We already finished the chapter so no worries.”

reality:

a dusty room without any spec of light entering it. There were traces of somebody working there but it looked like it was left unfinished a few days ago. Fred’s chapter did not made any progress.

That left Fred with a grimm premonition that what befell Ingrid happened to his two ‘very helpful’ assistants too.

There was another door at his front, a door connecting to unit8 which was Kyrie’s. Coming from inside the studio Kyrie did not bother locking the door so Fred and the others could easily enter her unit too.

Fred opened the door.

What welcomed him was a sight of ‘another Ingrid’ that was lying on the floor while heavily panting. It was still her long white dress that she wore when it was her turn to take care of Fred.

Giving a sigh, Fred approached her, lifted her light body and lay her down at the couch. He got another set of blanket from his unit and spare medicine that was supposed to be Ingrid’s and handed it over to the sick Kyrie with a glass of warm water. Unlike Ingrid who was a dead weight, Kyrie was able to stand up and supported herself. It seemed like she was already recovering. Fred wondered how long was she even lying at the floor already.

“Humu. I think I’ll be fine in a few hours. Thanks for coming. You know you were like a knight in shining armor.”

“No It was my fault for spreading this virus over to everyone. How’s Ara? I supposed she caught it too, now that you’re also infected.”

“No worries. Ara caught mine. She had been taking care of both of us for the first day that I was sick. Unlike the sickly you who underwent treatment for almost four days, mines just started yesterday. But taking care of two patients even defeated the ever healthy Ara amongst us. But no worries, she knew how to take care of herself too. She’s at her unit sleeping at the moment.”

Fred trusted Kyrie’s explanation. He knew Ara was someone he could depend on and at times like this he knew he could trust her on taking care of herself.

After having Kyrie sleep Fred stood and entered his studio.

He grabbed the sheets from Kyrie’s and Ara’s desk and arranged them at his.

With a long sickly week the four of them had, the only task left for him was to contact Old man. He took his phone and looked at the screen. He navigated to the contacts and find old man’s. He was shaking and trembling. How was he about to explain another set of misfortune that his team, Maou Spence-sensei’s team, encountered?

The phone rang and was immediately answered.

“Uhm… Old man?... You see… I got another set of bad news. Y.O.L.O., right?”