Rentaro felt his entire world collapsing around him.
There was no screaming, no crying, and no fury.
The young man simply buried his face in his hands, staring blankly at the concrete floor below.
A Gastrea virus erosion rate starting from 40% was essentially a one-way ticket to death. At this point, even using Gastrea virus suppressant drugs could hardly keep the erosion percentage from advancing further.
It could be said that Enju's life could only be counted in months, or even days.
"Does she know about this?"
"No."
"That's... good, then."
At least the girl could be carefree for a little while longer.
Finally, Rentaro silently walked away.
He didn't ask Doctor Sumire any stupid questions like what to do to fix this, because if there was a method to solve it, Sumire would have already told him.
All he wanted now was... to go home.
When Rentaro walked out of the hospital, a storm broke out in the sky. Gloomy clouds covered the city, reflecting Rentaro's current state of mind.
He paid no mind to the heavy rain, just walked soaking in the rain. He wanted to go home, wanted to see Enju smile at him. Other than that, he didn't wish for anything else at the moment.
"Rentaro..."
Enju was at home, looking out the window, worried that Rentaro hadn't found shelter from the rain. Although Rentaro wasn't so foolish, her instinct was still uneasy.
And Enju wasn't the type of person who liked to dwell on things. Thinking quickly, she immediately put on her familiar rabbit raincoat, grabbed a large umbrella, and ran out into the rain.
Running back and forth for a while, using her speed, Enju could search very quickly even without activating her red-eye state.
Very soon, Enju saw a drenched figure, thoroughly soaked by the rain, listlessly walking on the street like a zombie.
"Rentaro! Rentaro!"
The girl anxiously ran toward him, shouting loudly.
Rentaro turned to look. A flash of light appeared in his eyes, and then his entire body suddenly collapsed.
"Rentaro!!!"
Enju cried out in shock. She opened the large umbrella and raced towards him. After sheltering his upper body with the umbrella, the girl quickly used one hand to lift Rentaro up, placing the other on his forehead.
"Oh my Rentaro, why didn't you find shelter from the rain?!"
Feeling the high temperature on his forehead, Enju became even more distressed. She placed Rentaro on her back, intending to quickly put him up on her back and carry him to the nearest medical center. However, just as she finished carrying him, Enju heard Rentaro talking in his sleep.
"Enju... home... home..."
Enju was momentarily distressed, unsure what to do.
But then she changed direction, taking Rentaro home.
On the way back, Enju met Kisara, who was also holding an umbrella and searching for Rentaro.
Kisara knew Rentaro had suffered a heavy mental blow and rushed out to look for him, afraid he might suffer harm. She hadn't expected to actually find him.
Without much communication, the two girls quickly "escorted" Rentaro home. They stripped off his soaked outer clothes, leaving him only in his underwear, and moved him near the fireplace to dry him off and prevent the rainwater from further soaking into his body. They then carefully tucked him into bed and applied a wet cloth to his forehead.
Since Rentaro was usually the one taking care of them, the two girls fumbled for a while before things settled down.
In contrast to the chaotic mess in reality, Rentaro's consciousness sank into a gentle dream.
In that place, Enju was still going to school and wasn't discriminated against. Kisara was no longer consumed by hatred for the Tendou family... everyone he knew had a happy life, at least a happy life from his perspective.
But that was all.
The Gastrea hadn't disappeared, the Cursed Children hadn't disappeared. The world in this dream was still just as suffering; only the things within his view were happy.
Rentaro realized that his heart wasn't as grand as he thought.
He turned out to be so mundane. Just a person with ordinary wishes. The so-called truth, the so-called great cause, were very, very far away from him.
"It's okay..."
Suddenly, a figure appeared opposite Rentaro.
The reason it wasn't described in detail was that it was truly just "a light shadow" that barely had a human form.
Rentaro didn't know what or who this was, but the figure's words transmitted into his consciousness.
"It's okay..."
"Accepting your own ordinariness is also part of an extraordinary journey."
"If we don't know where the starting line is, we won't know where the finish line is."
"When we fall to our lowest point, we will be ready for the biggest change. And then, you will discover that you have much more potential."
"So, wake up."
"Satomi Rentaro."
The figure dissipated, and Rentaro gradually regained his spirit.
The entire dream world slowly faded in Rentaro's gentle gaze. He wouldn't cling to this world, because it was only an illusion of his own.
The world outside was his world.
He was a mundane person, and also a greedy person.
He didn't just want this beautiful scene to be a dream, but he also wanted it to become a memory in reality.
Therefore, it was time to wake up.
...
Rentaro opened his eyes.
The first thing he clearly sensed wasn't his vision, but a scent. It smelled like hot pot broth.
Wait, hot pot broth?
Rentaro jumped up with a growling stomach, and casually carried his nearly naked body out of the room. Seeing Enju and Kisara setting the hot pot on the table, Rentaro raised his hand to greet them.
The response he received was two shrieks, and a kick flying straight into his stomach.
Another round of mayhem ensued. It took a while for Rentaro to finally sit down at the table, though certainly not in the nude.
"Itadakimasu!"
Rentaro pressed his hands together respectfully, then gently used his chopsticks to pick up a cooked piece of meat from the hot pot and put it in his mouth.
Feeling the sweetness of the meat and the broth flow across his tongue, Rentaro felt like he was melting. How long had it been since he'd eaten such a luxurious meal?
Rentaro felt utterly refreshed. Just as he was about to sigh in contentment, he suddenly noticed the atmosphere was silent.
"What's wrong, you two? It tastes great."
"Satomi... are you... okay?"
Kisara asked cautiously, her eyes still filled with worry, afraid of provoking Rentaro. Unexpectedly, he looked straight into her eyes without hesitation. Rentaro's blue pupils now looked like a deep ocean, captivating Kisara.
What... was this?
Kisara secretly covered her nose. Could sleeping actually increase one's charm?
In fact, Rentaro's appearance wasn't bad; one could even say he was quite handsome. It was just that his rotten/apathetic demeanor had practically covered it all up. Now that Rentaro had finally awakened, his presence had obviously changed greatly.
"What is it, Kisara?"
"Nothing! Let's eat!"
Hiding her loss of composure, Kisara quickly ate the meat, and was immediately overwhelmed by the flavor.
So delicious! She was sick of eating bean sprouts and tofu!