Seeing that the doctor was present, Shirogane was ready to explain his situation.
But then, he noticed a girl's voice coming from the doorway and turned to look.
Standing there was a silver-haired girl—unbelievably cute.
Objectively speaking, she was stunning.
Her skin was pale and flawless, and her features were delicate and adorable.
Her short, silvery-white hair looked smooth and silky.
Perhaps due to her health, she was holding a cane in her right hand.
[A fragile beauty, small and delicate, with a weak body that makes people want to protect her. This is a type of girl you've never encountered before.]
[Are you expecting some dramatic development now?]
Not at all.
Though it might have been his imagination, the voice in his head sounded a bit more excited than before.
"Sakayanagi-san, would you like to be checked first? How are you feeling? Any chest tightness?"
The doctor, who had just been talking to Shirogane, immediately turned her attention to the girl with the cane.
Shirogane quickly realized—this doctor probably knew her.
Judging from their conversation, she seemed like a frequent visitor to the infirmary.
"I'm not feeling any discomfort at the moment, so there's no rush. You can see this student first." The girl with the cane had already gripped it and walked in from the doorway.
As she got closer, Shirogane realized that not only was this girl very cute, but she also had a great sense of style.
The boys' uniform consisted of a red jacket with trim, paired with green trousers.
The girls, on the other hand, wore pleated skirts. Along the way, he had seen girls wearing white socks, black socks, or black stockings. But this girl was different.
She was wearing garter stockings.
She was petite, but her thighs were soft and full. Paired with the garter stockings, she gave off both an innocent and slightly alluring vibe.
"..."
Shirogane wondered if the auditory hallucinations were messing with his head—he actually found himself checking someone out.
"You can go first." He said the words, but his body reacted differently. He had been sitting, but now he stood up right away.
Despite the dark circles under his eyes making him look intimidating, Shirogane was actually a kind person.
Compared to his own condition, the girl in front of him seemed to be in worse shape.
Shirogane could tell that this female doctor and the girl with the cane knew each other. If she was familiar with a doctor, it was probably because she had health problems and needed medical attention often.
Looking at her silver hair, he suddenly thought of his younger sister.
His little sister had the same silvery-white hair as this girl.
At home, Shirogane was the older brother. He had a younger sister who was still in middle school—her name was Shirogane Kei. She was about the same size as the girl with the cane.
Because he cared so much about his sister, his mind was now filled with thoughts of her.
He had already prepared himself to spend three years at this school, but he still wondered if his sister was doing okay out there.
After all, their dad was completely unreliable.
Shirogane refocused his attention and noticed how weak the girl with the cane looked.
Since she was wearing the school uniform, she must be a high school student, but she was even smaller and thinner than his sister.
Growing this slowly… her health must be bad.
Yeah.
Looking at her, Shirogane couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for her.
"Your gaze is a little rude." The girl with the cane suddenly spoke. "But judging from your uniform, you're a new student, right?"
"I'm a first-year, Class C—Shirogane Miyuki. I just started today."
"Oh." The girl responded politely but didn't continue the conversation. Instead, she simply walked over to the doctor and sat down quietly.
That reaction was unexpected.
She had been the one to ask the question, but as soon as he answered, she lost interest and moved on.
More importantly, if she had asked for his name, shouldn't she introduce herself as well?
Shirogane remained polite and stood quietly to the side.
Her check-up didn't take long. After checking her heart rate, pulse, and breathing, the doctor let her go.
"Congenital heart disease." The girl told Shirogane. "My body is fine for the most part, but I'm basically banned from all physical activity."
Now it made sense why she was so familiar with the nurse's office.
With a condition like that, the school would definitely keep a close eye on her. She was probably a regular here.
"So, now that you know all this about me, what's your issue?"
Even though she was sitting, she blinked lightly.
"Hearing things?"
"What did you hear?"
"Could it be… the voice of another world?"
Shirogane finally realized that this girl had heard his conversation with the doctor from the doorway. More precisely, she was interested in his condition, which was why she had started talking to him in the first place.
Earlier, he cooperated with the check-up on purpose, just to leak some information to him. And now, his attitude seemed to say, "You know my information, so you have to share yours in return if you want to keep up."
"..." Shirogane.
This girl was a bit tricky to deal with.
During middle school, Shirogane worked hard to earn a scholarship so he could get into a tuition-free high school.
So his entire middle school life was basically just studying, studying, and more studying. He probably hadn't even talked to girls more than ten times.
He wouldn't exactly freeze up when talking to girls, but the girl in front of him was definitely a challenge.
"Now, let's talk about your situation," the female doctor said, beginning her questions.
"..." Shirogane.
But what was he supposed to say now?
Because ever since earlier, the only thing echoing in his mind was this—
[This girl is super cute, right? She seems to have some interest in you.]
[Don't be fooled by how quiet and mature she looks—today is actually the first time she's trying out thigh-high stockings. It's her first time, but she thinks she looks pretty cute in them. She knows exactly how cute she is.]
[She's not in great health and always needs her cane. She looks calm now, but if you were to snatch her cane away, she might actually cry.]
[It's rare to see her cry.]
[I suggest you take this chance!]
"..." Shirogane.
Take what chance, exactly?
He opened his mouth, but there was no way he could say that the voices in his head were all about how to win over and make the sickly girl in front of him cry.
That wouldn't just be rude—it could even get him expelled on the spot.
"I've been hearing some voices ever since I entered this school, but I'm not really sure what they're saying," Shirogane forced himself to say.
"Is this the first time something like this has happened?" the female doctor asked.
"Yeah, first time," Shirogane nodded.
"What time did you sleep last night?" she asked next.
"I went to bed at 2 AM and woke up at 6 AM," Shirogane answered.
"Got it," the doctor nodded.
"What's wrong with him?" The girl with the cane didn't seem to understand.
"Look at his dark circles. And his sleep schedule. He's just suffering from extreme lack of sleep—it's sleep deprivation syndrome," the doctor explained.
So, it was just caused by not getting enough sleep. Basically, he just needed to rest more, and it would go away.
"How boring," the cane girl muttered, standing up as if disappointed.
For someone like her, who got ten hours of sleep every day, staying up late was something completely foreign.
The doctor was still doing her job properly, though.
"Was staying up late yesterday just a one-time thing, or do you do this regularly?" she asked.
"I've been doing this for the past three years. I study for about 12 hours a day," Shirogane answered honestly. "I was a little nervous about starting a new school today, so I stayed up late to study last night."
Huh?
A hard worker?
And not just any hard worker—he was a super hard worker who studied 12 hours a day.
The cane girl, who had been about to leave, decided to stay and listen a little longer.