[ it's not as though he's running a fever after that, right? but maybe hizen is just acting upon his instincts anyway. it's natural to cool something down with water.

shylock once again shakes his head, careful not to let the washcloth fall from his forehead. he'll let hizen fuss over him this one time, for his own indulgence. ]

I'm serious, Hizen. There's nothing you could do, because the phenomenon you saw just now was my affliction. It was a curse given to us by the Great Calamity.

[ --ah, that's right. he hadn't explained to hizen about that in detail, had he? ]