[If nothing else, the musical lilts and the stark changes in volume make for wonderful distraction from the fact that he's going to have to tell another person what happened.]

[Kieran finds the correct sequence of buttons that he needs to press to respond, sighs, and then returns Elleru's message (albeit with far less cheer).]

C-Congratulations, Elleru. And, uh, th-thanks fer thinkin' of me. I mean it.

[Monotone aside, Kieran truly is grateful that she thought of him. He wasn't exactly used to making a lasting impression on anyone, let alone a pretty lady.]

[But now here comes the hard part.]

As fer me feelin' better, I-I, I'm not coughin' or sneezin' anymore, so the cold's gone at least.

I'm in th-the medbay fer a different reason, though. N-Nothin' serious.

[Except it's very serious and Kieran is a terrible liar.]