Chapter 3
Monday, June 10th.
Everyday life ruthlessly continued, regardless of such extraordinary events as yesterday's attack that was used from across the sea.
Although Miyuki could not stop worrying about Minami, she, as usual, went to First High.
"Is Tatsuya not busy with all kinds of things...?" Minami apologetically asked Tatsuya. She was laying in the hospital bed in a bent state. She has not yet been able to move her body, so her upper half was clad in a supportive exoskeleton (A trusted medical device to aid her strength).
"I am exempted from classes. So you don't have to worry about me."
"But..."
"Wouldn’t it be better if you lied down and rested a little?"
No matter how much she said it, Minami's "Don't worry" was not convincing. To stop any other useless questions, Tatsuya forcibly changed the subject. Apart from the goal of sending the conversation in a different direction, he was also bothered by the exoskeleton.
No. The doctor advised that if you use this support, and not just lie down, you can quickly return to everyday life.
But it's not a very comfortable thing to look at.
Tatsuya was familiar with this kind of strength aid because of his mobile suit. This system had a high rate of feedback, so he knew that it did not complicate movement. Of course, there could be differences in performance with the latest military equipment, but at least no stiffness could be felt in your movements.
Since the weight of the exoskeleton is maintained by contact with the surface of the floor or earth, the person wearing it should not feel this weight.
However, it is tightly attached to the body, so a certain sense of pressure could not be avoided. So it is not absolutely convenient.
Tatsuya speculated so, but...
"It's all right. My skin’s sensitivity is not completely back, so for the most part I do not feel that I am wearing it."
...He unwittingly rounded his eyes after hearing the unexpected response from Minami.
"Are you paralyzed...?" with a quiet voice Tatsuya asked, quickly recovering from his surprise. But this tone of voice was chosen unconsciously.
"To call this being paralyzed is an exaggeration... It just feels a bit intrusive."
With the serious voice of Tatsuya, Minami did not know what to say as if she was under psychological pressure. But she clearly didn't mind the anxiety about the anomalies in her own body.
"What did the doctor say?"
"I was told that neither the brain nor the nervous system is damaged, so it is a temporary anomaly due to exhaustion."
"If that is it, that’s good."
Although he said that, a disturbed look could still be seen on his face.
"Tatsuya-sama... Can I ask one question?"
Looking back at it, Minami was not be able to understand why she asked this question.
"Ask away."
However, at that moment she, for some reason, could not keep her doubts to herself.
"Why is Tatsuya-sama so worried about me?"
First, Tatsuya slightly frowned his eyebrows, not understanding the meaning behind the question. But his face quickly changed to an
"Understanding" look, and a reproaching bitter smile also came with it.
"Yes, it must seem strange that I, who lacks emotions, could care about strangers."
"N-no, that's not what I meant!"
Minami hurriedly tried to correct Tatsuya’s mistake.
"It's okay. You got it right."
Even though he said so, Minami realized what kind of impression he was hiding behind this statement. Minami felt ashamed of her impoliteness. So much so that apologizing won't help her any more.
"What is wrong with your assumption, is that you thought I was a stranger to you."
Minami unwittingly burst out a bewildered "Huh...?". Such a reaction could also be considered to be rude. However, Tatsuya did not take it as rude.
"Minami, how much do you know about me?" Tatsuya followed with a question of his own.
But Minami could not answer this question. Tatsuya understood that. So he gave the correct answer to this question.
"Except for any cases related to Miyuki, I cannot have real emotions.
Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that I cannot have strong emotions."
This was known to Minami. That's why she didn't say anything. It was too important a secret that strangers could not know.
"But Miyuki thinks of you as a sister. Minami, you're family for Miyuki.
And I also understand that yhe girl named Sakurai Minami is deeply associated with Miyuki-san. I'm worried about you, because Miyuki worries about you from the bottom of her heart. Maybe it'll sound rude to you, but through Miyuki, I'm really worried about you."
"...I am very grateful, this is an honour for me."
Miyuki thinks of her as a sister. For this Minami was "grateful."
Tatsuya worries about her through his affection for Miyuki. This was an honor for Minami. Minami understood that, as Tatsuya-sama said, any emotions accompanying his attachment to Miyuki were real.
"I didn’t know the meaning behind it, but..."
It seems that Tatsuya was not be able to understand what kind of mental processes could have led to such words by Minami.
"...I beg your pardon."
"Don't pay attention to it."
Minami could not explain her thoughts. She preferred to withdraw her answer rather than to respond against her will.
"...In the evening, I will come again with Miyuki. So, forget about your duty and just focus on healing."
Tatsuya did not particularly care about getting an answer.
"Yes. I'll follow your advice."
Minami bowed to Tatsuya with a barely noticeable faint movement of her head.
Frankly speaking, Miyuki wanted to miss school today.
She was not sure how she would be able to concentrate on her studies with what Minami was going through. Instead, she wanted to be near Minami.
However, she could not help her treatment, even if she was there. On the contrary, she was not allowed to be there. She was told that by staying near her for a long period of time, she could unconsciously emit Psion waves that could awaken Minami’s Magic Calculation Area, which would prevent her treatment.
She did not intend to emit Psion waves on accident. This could have happened up to before the day that the Pledge, which halved her power, was broken. But her present self had the ability to control her magic, so she would not recklessly exert any pressure on other magicians.
However, she could not disagree that in comparison with Tatsuya’s ability to completely control his Psions, her control was still weak.
Miyuki realized that her Psion count did not reach the level of Tatsuya's, but she still had a much higher amount than the average magicians, so she could not deny the possibility of negatively impacting Minami’s health.
For this reason, Miyuki abandoned the side of Minami and, as usual, went to school.
As soon as she entered the classroom, Honoka and Shizuku came to her with anxious faces.
"Miyuki, are you all right?"
"What are you talking about?"
She didn't pretend to not understand. Because just the sudden question
"Are you okay?", was not clear enough for her to respond with anything but with the question "What is it about?". If it was a question about something else, it could be a mistake to reveal information that should be kept secret.
In this particular case, however, such vigilance was futile.
"The place mentioned in yesterday's statement of the government, this is the villa where Tatsuya-sama stays at!? Miyuki, you said you were going there last night!"
It turns out that both Honoka and Shizuku realized that the target of the Magic was Tatsuya.
"Yes... Tatsuya and I are fine, but Minami-chan had to go to the hospital." Miyuki said and sat down in her seat.
"Huh!?"
"...Is she hurt?"
Honoka froze in shock, and Shizuku asked, sitting at her seat, with her back turned around. Shizuku’s seat was right in front of Miyuki’s.
"It's not a wound, but... Something like that."
Miyuki gave a vague answer to the question of Shizuku. The overheating of the Magic Calculation Area is only found in magicians, but it still does not apply as a normal illness or injury. Although the body and mind are different things, there is no difference between them in the notion of "something similar to a wound", so her words could not be called a lie.
"I see... How bad is it?"
Shizuku did not interrogate her about Minami’s condition. She just asked if it was a serious injury or a light one.
"It is not yet known how long she will be in the hospital..."
The face of Miyuki looked worried.
"Understood... I'm worried about her."
Worry was also on the faces of Honoka and Shizuku.
"Can we go and see her?"
"It's not an infectious disease, so I guess it won't be a problem. I'll have to ask her doctor."
Miyuki did not immediately responded to the request of Shizuku.
Miyuki was glad that they wanted to visit Minami, but, given the circumstances, she could not give consent herself.
"Okay."
"Please tell me when you get her doctor's permission."
"Of course." With a slight smile Miyuki nodded to Honoka, who was crouching at the edge of her desk.
"Who's there?" Minami asked, having heard a knock on the door of the room dedicated to her. It's about 11 o’clock now, so Tatsuya should be in Izu and Miyuki at school.
This hospital was under the control of the Yotsuba family, but it was not exclusively used for the Yotsuba family. As a clinic, it could also take on regular patients. However, Minami has heard that in the block where her room is located, people are only allowed to pass after a strict check.
Minami believed that the likelihood of any suspicious people appearing to be very low. So she thought that someone associated with the Yotsuba came to see how she was, but she was wrong.
"It's Kudou Minoru."
The answer that came from behind the door was completely unexpected to Minami.
"Mi-Minoru!!"
The only thing Minami could do was give this little sensible phrase to maintain the dialogue, but in her mind she was shouting "What!".
But this exclamation was not because of meaningful questions such as
"How does Minoru know that I was in the hospital" or "How did Minoru learn about this hospital", but because her consciousness was clouded from embarrassment.
However, she was only confused for a moment. Her upbringing, corresponding to a girl of her age, reminded her of her position right now.
In the morning, before Tatsuya came, she managed to clean herself up.
However, from that moment on she has been lying down in a half-asleep state, and her hair was certainly a mess. In addition, she could not meet Minoru in such a grubby posture...
"Please wait a bit!"
Minami’s reaction was fast, but her right hand moved slowly. With this hand, she pressed the big button on the wired control bed.
The bed bent, lifting the upper half of Minami’s body.
Supported by the auxiliary exoskeleton, Minami slightly pushed her back away from the bed. This was done so there was a small gap between the bed and Minami’s back. Using this gap, she disconnected the right and left half of her exoskeleton.
The auxiliary exoskeleton was worn only on Minami’s upper half of the body, supporting it.
Using the exoskeleton she could help the movements of her hands.
Minami took a mirror and comb and hurriedly removed the mess that was her hair, while looking in the mirror.
In fact, she also wanted to do her make-up, but in the hospital room, there was a limit to what she could do to change her look.
"...Sorry for making you wait. Please come in."
The AI in the room analyzed Minami’s voice and opened the door.
"Sorry for the intrusion..."
Answering with an indecisive voice, Minoru entered the chamber.
At that moment the room was filled with a sacred light.
It was as if the room was filled with a pure white light that came down from the skies.
...Of course, this spectacle only unfolded in the imagination of Minami.
"Sakurai-san, um... How are you feeling?" Minoru asked with a shy smile, not noticing the strange look directed at him by Minami. Or maybe, at the moment, he didn’t care about such trifling matters.
With the help of Minoru, the usual conversation began, and Minami was able to escape from the world of fantasies back to reality.
When her mind returned to the realization of what was happening, the previously foggy questions finally began to surface.
(...How does Minoru know I was in the hospital?) (...How did Minoru determine that I was being treated here?) But she did not ask Minoru about this.
"Yes. I don't feel any discomfort, like pain or suffering. The doctor said that even though the body’s strength has not returned, I will soon get better."
Minami responded humbly to his question.
"That's good."
Minoru smiled widely. Minami’s pale cheeks reddened.
If the smile of Minoru had lasted a little longer, Minami would've lost consciousness for a reason different than fatigue.
Minoru looked at Minami with serious eyes.
Minami did not even realize that her consciousness was gradually fading away. Even such trivial questions as "Why are you not at school" flew out of her head the moment when she heard his voice outside the door.
"...Sakurai-san. Besides that, is there anything wrong with you?"
"Other than what?"
He had asked her just like a doctor. Minami felt this suspicion from his words.
"For example, is your sight blurry or can you hear everything well?"
"..."
She really only had the symptom of a weakened touch. But is it possible to talk about this to Minoru? That's not a simple concern, is it? ...For this reason, Minami was hesitant to respond.
"There is no need to answer someone like me. Of course if you think that. But this is an important matter. Sakurai-san, I want you to answer me honestly!"
?
(
However, she was not able to hesitate with the serious gaze of Minoru upon her.
"...My sense of touch is a bit..."
"Your touch has weakened!?"
The face of Minoru approached the face of Minami. Minami, who was unable to withstand it, looked away. At that moment, she had the strong feeling that "I can't keep looking at his face", and not that "I can't stand the shame". Needless to say, the fact that she could turn her face away from hostility, did not mean she could also do this with her speech.
"Yes, it has... Now, Minoru. As I said earlier, please call me Minami."
Due to the unexpected request, Minoru’s attention slightly deviated from Minami’s condition. Because of this, Minoru noticed the dubious position that he now occupied, and quickly withdrew himself.
Realizing that this is what Minami wanted, he moved to an appropriate distance.
"Uh, but..."
Minoru was an incomparably handsome young guy, but his experience in dealing with the opposite sex was zero. His mysterious beauty forced girls to retreat, and not approach him.
Although the cause for this was not because he is an "unpopular man", but for Minoru, being one of the "popular guys", it was still a bit difficult to "call a pretty girl by her name". When it was such a beautiful girl as Miyuki, this feeling of resistance was denied by himself, but for a high school student... No, for Minoru, Minami was a
"pretty cute girl", and he felt a bit embarrassed.
"Otherwise I will have no choice but to call you 'Kudou-sama'..."
Minami and Minoru exchanged looks, which made her face become even redder.
Given the status of Minami and Minoru, she, from the very beginning, had to say Kudou.
Miyuki weren’t present.
Minami might have understood this. But despite her understanding, she seemed to want to continue calling him “Minoru-sama“.
“I understand, Minami-san.”
But Minami began to call Minoru "Minoru-sama", when he had agreed to call Tatsuya and Miyuki by their name, because it was difficult to distinguish between them, since both of them are called "Shiba-san".
Therefore "Kudou-sama" was the right option to use when Tatsuya and Miyuki weren’t present.
Having seen the expression on Minami’s face, Minoru forgot about his embarrassment. And after hearing her words, he answered reflexively.
It seemed that Minoru also wanted her to continue to calling him by his name.
"Yes, Minoru."
"..."
"..."
But their feeling of embarrassment had not disappeared. And this time it was not just Minoru. The feelings of shame of one of them enhanced that feeling of the other, and the chamber was filled with an atmosphere of real youth.
"...Uh... Did the doctor say anything about your sense of touch?"
“Oh, yes, he did... I was told that since neither the brain nor the nervous system is damaged, it is a temporary anomaly..."
Minoru’s face became gloomy when he heard the answer of Minami.
When Minami saw a change in Minoru’s face, her anxiety began to grow. Although she behaved as if nothing had happened, she was actually frightened by the anomalies in her body.
The Yotsuba family told her about the instability of modified magicians. She knew that someday this fate would overtake her.
...It's possible that "someday" has already come.
It was a lie if you said that Minami was not thinking about this.
If it was just the natural deterioration of the body, it wouldn't really bother her. However, it was obvious that this is not the usual anomaly of the five senses. Minami knew this was caused by overloading the Magic Calculation Area. And she knew that the sudden death of modified people was also related to the excessive use of magic.
She gave all her strength to protect Miyuki. And she didn't regret it.
At that moment, she was not pretending, but she was really ready to give up her life, and even now she does not regret it.
But she was too afraid to think about death. So she tried not to think about it. She lied to herself and pretended to be cold-blooded about it.
However, now that Minami saw the serious face of Minoru, that alarm started to ring again.
"Minami-san, uh, can I touch your hand...?"
"...Yes please?"
If this was some other time, Minami would not have responded so quietly. The anxiety spread in her mind and weakened her embarrassment.
Using the help of the exoskeleton, Minami stretched her right hand to Minoru. The other side looked embarrassed. Despite the fact that it was his request, his white cheeks blushed slightly. Minoru carefully put his right palm under the stretched right palm of Minami. And he put his left hand on the back of her hand.
As expected, Minami was immediately flushed because of these actions.
Minoru slowly moved his left hand. His cheeks were still red, but his eyes were serious.
These intense eyes of Minoru were chained to Minami.
Minoru frowned his eyebrows several times, as if feeling that something that both the doctor and Minami did not know.
After about a minute, Minoru let go of Minami’s hand, took a deep breath and exhaled. Perhaps he was so concentrated that he forgot to breathe.
Minami quietly gasped at the same time, but this reaction was a show of tension, not relief. Minoru did not notice this action of Minami.
"...Minami-san. This may sound cruel, but Minami-san's wound hasn't healed yet. The Magic Calculation Area is still damaged. Even if the physical condition is restored, it is still unknown if you can lose consciousness again."
"... So that's how it is."
"I know it's hard to believe."
But Minami believed in the words of Minoru. On the contrary, she believed in herself. Minami thought this, when she realized that she knew the truth all along.
"However, I would like you to believe in me."
Minami mentally, and not out loud, made a surprised "Uh?" sound.
What does he want her to believe...? These words from Minoru were unexpected to Minami.
But her doubts were immediately answered.
"I will definitely find a way to treat you. That's why I don't want you to give up."
The question that now surfaced in Minami’s head was "why?". This morning, Minami asked the same question to Tatsuya. But she could not decide whether or not she wanted to ask Minoru this question as well.
"...Okay. I will rely on you, Minoru."
The answer she gave was unexpected, both for Minoru and for her.
When Tatsuya, who was preparing to move away from the villa in Izu, was interrupted during lunch, it was already 1 PM. He did not have to do things like packing and loading, but he could not entrust the transfer of important research data to other people.
The kitchen and all the kitchen utensils were originally part of the villa, so Pixie, as usual, prepared lunch. Not only the kitchen utensils, but most of the equipment and clothing in this villa was organized by the main house of the Yotsuba, so there wasn’t much luggage involved in the transfer to the multi-storied house in Chofu. Lunch was a bit late because he first decided to completely finish all his business.
At the table in the dining room, it was just Tatsuya. Other workers went to the truck to eat there with the lunches they brought with them in boxes. Tatsuya could understand their feelings, because they tried to avoid sitting with an "important person", so he did not force them to join his table.
"Tatsuya, I'm sorry to interrupt your meal."
When Tatsuya had already finished doing all the dishes and rested with an afternoon coffee, Hanabishi Hyougo entered. Today he was not in his usual three-piece suit, but in his working trousers and jacket, similar to the uniform of a courier to a company. Because of his young age, this appearance suited him well. But in the current situation, the phrase "suited well" meant "not feeling uncomfortable", and not "fashionable looks".
Therefore, when he, as usual, politely bowed, his appearance did not arouse a sense of irrelevance.
"No, I've already finished eating. What’s wrong?"
"I received a report from a person responsible for the Chofu Aoba Medical Clinic."
[Here, Aoba is not written like the name of Toudou Aoba, but knowing the author, this is clearly not a coincidence.]
The Chofu Aoba Medical Centre, the name of the hospital, is where Minami resided. Tatsuya felt anxious for a moment that the condition of Minami had worsened, but he quickly gave up on this thought. If that were so, the tone of Hyougo's voice would be more intense. In this respect, Hyougo definitely was a man who could be anxious.
"I'm listening."
"At about 11 o'clock, someone visited Sakurai in her room."
For Hyougo, Minami was one of the maids serving the Yotsuba family. As a butler, he had a higher status. So it was normal for him to call her that.
"Have you visited her? But I thought the amount of people allowed to visit were limited?" Tatsuya asked these questions.
"The hospital staff understands that. However, they could not just mindlessly throw this person out. They had filed a request to the main house, and from there on, he was given permission."
"Who was it?"
According to the words that he could not be thrown out, it was clear that it was not an ordinary visitor. Besides, he says that the man was given permission from the main house. Tatsuya had no idea who this visitor could be.
"The third son of the Kudou family, Kudou Minoru-sama."
Minoru was the youngest child of his five brothers and sisters. By seniority, he was the fifth to be born: First his sister, second his brother, afterwards his sister, then his other brother, and finally, he himself.
"Minoru...?”
The first thing that surfaced in Tatsuya’s head was the natural question, why did Minoru come on a weekday.
He didn't need to think very hard to understand how Minoru knew that Minami was in the hospital.
Fujibayashi told him... Tatsuya quickly came to this conclusion. In fact, this information had to remain within the army, but Fujibayashi to some extent was sympathetic towards Minoru. If Minoru had begged, something could have definitely been leaked. Moreover, for the Self-Defense Forces, this information does not need to be kept strictly confidential.
But having learned even this, Tatsuya could not understand the reason why he came to visit, skipping school today, as if in a hurry. Minoru spent less than three days with Minami in total. In fact, it looked like they had good compatibility, but he didn't notice that they really became friends.
In Kyoto, Minami cared for Minoru when he was sick, so the likelihood that he might have certain feelings, is not equal to zero. But even with that in mind, his vigor in this matter is too high.
Tatsuya did not know Minoru’s character well enough to say that it is not like the usual Minoru.
However, Tatsuya felt that the passionate desire to leave his bed in Tokyo and skip school, is not very consistent with the image he has of Minoru.
"By the way, is Minoru still at the hospital?"
If he is still in the Chofu Aoba Medical Centre, Tatsuya wanted to ask him directly what his intentions were.
"No, he's already gone. Looks like he spent about 20 minutes in the hospital room."
However, in fact, this did not go as Tatsuya thought.
Tatsuya thought that Minoru had spent too little time there. Still, Tatsuya could not decide if 20 minutes was too much or too little compared to the average time for visiting a patient. However, if you consider this passionate desire to visit a patient in the hospital, even skipping school, it could be concluded that he simply overdid himself.
It wasn't just a visit, right? Did he have any other purpose?
There was too little data to infer the true intentions of Minoru.
"I'm fine with Minoru. Anything else?"
"Nothing else."
With Tatsuya’s gesture, he deferentially dismissed the bowing Hyougo.
When they were alone, Tatsuya turned to Pixie, sitting in a corner of the dining room motionless, like a decoration.
"Pixie, get my information terminal."
"Yes."
Not answering telepathically, but through the built-in mechanical speaker, Pixie quickly brought his terminal.
Last autumn, Tatsuya exchanged contact information with Minoru.
After the case having to do with Zhou Gongjin, they never contacted each other, but if Minoru did not change his ID, he could be contacted.
However, Tatsuya’s expectations were not justified. Since from the speaker came the sound of someone being called, means that the ID was not invalid.
The link identifier (ID) attached to a particular information terminal cannot be re-used, so if you change the ID, the old ID becomes invalid. In other words, instead of the sound of a call, an invalid ID
message will be issued.
In case the terminal is turned off, the corresponding message will be voiced. In other words, either Minoru cannot take the phone now, or pretends that he is not around.
"...But pretending to not be there is not like him."
In the absence of data, there was only speculation. Tatsuya decided to temporarily postpone his suspicions for Minoru’s actions.
When Tatsuya called Minoru, he was already driving to Nara with a long-distance train, a so-called "trailer".
But this wasn't the reason why he didn't answer the phone.
A trailer is a subspecies of a road train carrying individual cabins.
Passengers can enter the cabins of the trailers and are not forced to sit with bent legs and hands in a cramped space.
Minoru did this.
A private cabin is like a closed room. If you call while you're in there, you're not going to annoy anyone.
Then why didn't Minoru answer his phone? Because Minoru just didn't notice the sound of the ringtone.
At this point, Minoru was having a mental conversation in his head.
It was not a technique of thinking in the form of having a conversation with himself. He was not able to hear any sound, when concentrating on the conversation he was having with his "knowledge", which once was the former ghost of Zhou Gongjin.
Minoru asked about a treatment method for Minami. The answer his
"knowledge" gave, was cruel.
("It will be difficult to restore her Magic Calculation Area.")
(That is, it cannot be cured? Why? After all, the Head of the Ichijou family successfully recovered, didn’t he?)
Despite the fact that the cause of Ichijou Gouki’s disease was supposed to be hidden, among the Ten Master Clans, they all understood that it was the overheating of the Magic Calculation Area.
There was an announcement from the Ichijou family that the recovery was successful, and the Kudou family concluded that this information was true.
("The damage received by Ichijou Gouki did not seem to be that serious.")
(You mean that the damage inflicted to Minami-san is more serious!?) ("I believe that she will be physically restored. The doctor didn't lie about that.")
(Physically?)
("If she rests for some time, the weakening of her physical body and the partial failure of her sense of touch should return to its original state in a relatively short time.")
Minoru became a little calmer when he heard this. However, his anxiety quickly returned.
(However, the cause of the injury to the physical body is the damage done in the Magic Calculation Area? If you don't deal with this cause, then it can happen again?)
("The probability that it will repeat naturally is rather small. Unlike
'me', she does not have to constantly support the excessive activity of Psions at a level that a physical body cannot withstand.") The harsh answer given by his "knowledge" only started to get on Minoru’s nerves. Usually a high activity of Psions is an indicator of an outstanding magician. But in the case of Minoru, these were shackles, binding him to his bed.
Minoru kept his wrath of despair in his mind. Now the priority should be a way to cure Minami.
It was not the time to discuss his own disadvantages, which nothing can be done about.
(Does that mean that the illness of the physical body will continue to happen if Psion activity increases?)
When you use magic, Psion activity occurs inside a magician. The stronger the magic, the more intense this activity. If the increased Psion activity will harm the physical body, it means that Minami could faint from the use of High level magic. Advanced magic would become practically useless to her now.
("That’s true. Compared to 'me', its conditions are clearly visible, so it will not interfere with her daily life. However, as well as 'me', her activity as a magician will be limited.")
Minoru unwittingly squeezed his teeth. He could not lead magicians in their current struggles. It was the one thing that constantly tormented Minoru. So this was absolutely unbearable.
(But what about Minami? Will she have to accept the misery of not being able to use magic? ...Will she be able to live normally without using magic?)
("Unfortunately, I cannot give a definite answer. She inherited the body of a modified person. Perhaps even both her parents came from modified descent. Even if she does not try to use magic herself, there may be a situation that her Magic Calculation Area will go out of control and exceed the permissible limits of her body.") (Just like 'mine'?)
("If this is the case, her situation is more serious than 'mine'. 'My' spirit is not strong enough, but it has a high regenerative ability. Therefore, even with frequent illnesses, it ends up not being fatal. However, in her case, the damage to her spirit can lead to the total exhaustion of her life.")
(...But she was saved this time.)
("Someone had restored her spirit on the spot.") Minoru’s intuition told him that it was Tatsuya.
Minoru did not know about all the magical abilities that Tatsuya possessed.
But he watched the Monolith Code Rookie Division on TV 2 years ago.
In that match, Tatsuya couldn’t dismiss Ichijou Masaki’s attack, strong enough to inflict deadly trauma, but he miraculously recovered and caused an unexpected turn during the battle.
Based on that situation, Tatsuya must have an advanced self-healing ability. He can probably use it on other people.
(Then what will happen if she 'faints' when that 'someone' is not there to help her...?)
("She won't be saved. This is the fate that people with modified bodies follow. I assume that in the case of 'Minami-san' this could also happen the next time.")
(So the method to cure her is the same as mine...?) ("Merging with a parasite. This seems to be the most effective.") Minoru completed the dialogue with his "knowledge".
To save Minami, he must infect her with a "parasite". Minoru thought that this was unthinkable. But he was in the same situation. Thinking about it, Minoru began to think that there was something attractive about that.
As Tatsuya promised, in the evening he and Miyuki came to visit Minami. During their conversation, Minami told them about Minoru’s visit.
"So Minoru said that he'd find a way to treat you?"
"Yes, Tatsuya-sama."
As he thought, it was not just a simple visit. Hearing the response of Minami, Tatsuya nodded slightly.
Although Tatsuya doubted the intentions of Minoru, hearing about them holding hands and him stroking the back of her hand, in the end he became convinced that the real intention of Minoru was to cure Minami.
"Onii-sama, does Minoru-kun have such knowledge?"
Miyuki, who listened to Minami’s story with him, asked an interesting question. The treatment of the Magic Calculation Area is a complex issue that the Yotsuba family has been exploring for many years and has not yet achieved its goal.
"I can't say that he doesn’t have it. As was seen at last year’s Thesis Competition, Minoru’s understanding of "Reason" far surpasses the level of a student. In addition, the magic of the former ninth laboratory, which has elements of Ancient Magic, also uses spells related to the system of Mental Interference Magic. It is probable that Minoru could find the key to the treatment of the Magic Calculation Area in the studies of the former Ninth laboratory.
"However, Yotsuba researchers have not ceased to study the Magic Calculation Area since the former fourth laboratory. But despite this, the method of treatment has not yet been found. In addition, Minoru-kun has an imbalance between his Magic Calculation Area and his physical body. If he had such knowledge, wouldn't he start with treating himself?"
"He could learn more about it because he has a similar problem."
Tatsuya shook his head and rejected Miyuki’s objection.
"There is no point in discussing the abilities of Minoru here and now.
He said he'd find a way to treat Minami. Let us perceive the good intentions of Minoru precisely as good intentions."
"...Right. Sorry for such useless doubts."
Tatsuya nodded to Miyuki and looked at Minami again.
"Local doctors are also making a lot of efforts to treat Minami. The main house seems to be sending their research here, and I'm not going to sit around either. Be calm and wait for good news." Tatsuya said to calm Minami down.
"Well. Uhm, Tatsuya..."
However, Minami responded with an alarming voice as if it "caused the opposite effect".
"What is it?"
He did not, of course, show any signs of anxiety on his part. With a calm face and a calm voice, he asked Minami to continue.
"Could you please ask Minoru yourself so that he doesn't try to do the impossible?"
Really? Tatsuya mentally muttered. It seems that the anxiety that Minami showed was not about the success of her treatment, but about the same Minoru that they were discussing.
"Did you feel that there was something wrong with Minoru?"
"Yes... He seemed very tense. He looked... As if he was not just worried about me, but as if he was hiding some other, more serious suffering..."
"Did Minoru give off such bad feelings?"
"No. He didn't look overworked or weakened."
"...I'm worried, Onii-sama."
Miyuki looked disturbed at Tatsuya, as if she had been infected by Minami’s anxiety
"Minoru is a smart guy. I think he won't do anything reckless..."
Although Tatsuya said so, he himself was not entirely sure of this.
He did not know Minoru’s character. He could have said that if it was the Minoru he had met last Fall, he wouldn't do anything stupid.
However, the behavior of the current Minoru did not correspond to the image he had of Minoru from that time. Therefore Tatsuya felt such uncertainty.
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