"Utaha, I'll go check the Central City First Hospital again. I'll be back in at most four hours…"
On the afternoon of April 1st, Haizaki gently stroked Utaha's head as he spoke.
He needed to go to the hospital and see if there was any way to suppress Utaha's illness, even though there were less than three days left before the end.
"Don't go… okay…"
This was already the fifth time Haizaki had suggested going out to the hospital.
Even if Haizaki found the cause of the illness, would he dare let her take medicine or receive injections? If it failed, her body would only deteriorate further.
Utaha understood that Haizaki was suffering even more than she was.
"I'll be back very soon…"
"Haizaki, don't go, okay… it's useless. Right now, I just want to spend more time with you…"
Haizaki stood there in silence.
"Just this once, just this last time, okay? There must be a way…"
Why didn't he understand medicine? Why hadn't he spent the past year learning more medical knowledge? He had already considered the possibility of illness long ago, hadn't he?
But what use was considering it?
What he had anticipated were only ordinary situations.
Why did Utaha fall seriously ill during the final half month?
This damned world—its trials should have been directed at him!
Why did it have to torment Utaha?
Inside, Haizaki was on the verge of madness. He wanted to tear the "Solitary Apocalypse" into pieces, roaring in fury even at the system itself. Yet on the surface, he remained calm.
If he lost control, Utaha would worry.
He couldn't let Utaha worry.
"But… cough, cough…"
Utaha coughed painfully.
In the end, Haizaki sighed in resignation. He chose to hold Utaha's hand and stay.
He understood the core of the problem.
He didn't dare use medicine recklessly on Utaha.
Given her current condition, she could hold on until April 4th. But if he used the wrong medicine, who knew what might happen…
"I'll stay by your side. Let's sleep properly, okay?"
"Mm… but I want to… see the cherry blossoms. I wonder if the cherry blossoms at Wuhua University… have bloomed yet!"
"They've bloomed. Once you get better, we'll go see them."
"Mm, let's… go see them tomorrow… okay?"
She looked at Haizaki with hopeful eyes, timid, afraid he might refuse.
Unable to bear it, Haizaki finally nodded.
"Okay…"
Receiving Haizaki's affirmation, Utaha felt the warmth coming from his hand and closed her heavy eyelids in peace.
Haizaki silently gazed at Utaha's pale face.
After guarding against everything, he still couldn't guard against Utaha falling ill.
Utaha's severe illness was absolutely connected to him, to the world, and to the system.
Haizaki repeatedly called out to the system spirit, Lin Lian, but the "Intertemporal Human Civilization Salvation System" remained silent, as if dead.
At this moment, there was nothing he could do except stay by Utaha's side.
A sense of powerlessness. A sense of frustration.
He couldn't even protect the girl he loved—how could he talk about saving the world? If someone truly had to be sacrificed, then let it be him.
Utaha was innocent.
She was just an ordinary girl.
…
"Haizaki-kun… Haizaki-kun, where are you…?!"
Utaha's startled voice suddenly rang out.
"I'm here. I'm right here…"
Haizaki, who had fallen asleep beside the bed, immediately woke up and responded when he heard her call.
"That's great… you're still here…"
Utaha, drenched in sweat, finally relaxed when she saw Haizaki beside her.
"I've always been by your side."
He tightly held her left hand and gently stroked it, calming her down.
"I thought Haizaki-kun didn't want me anymore, said he didn't know me, said I had nothing to do with him…"
In her dream, Haizaki was unfamiliar and cold. His strange, indifferent eyes chilled her heart.
And beside him were the cool, black-haired girl Yukinoshita Yukino and the brown-haired short-haired girl Isshiki Iroha.
Those two girls whom Haizaki still couldn't forget, even now.
"How could that be! How could I ever abandon you, Utaha!"
"Really… you won't?"
She asked eagerly for confirmation.
"No. Unless Utaha abandons me first, I will absolutely never abandon Utaha."
"How could I ever abandon Haizaki-kun!"
Utaha struggled closer to Haizaki, as if only his embrace could give her peace of mind.
"It's already six o'clock. What do you want to eat? I'll go make it…"
"I… I want boiled eggs, grilled sausages, pancakes… and, and…" She listed dish after dish that Haizaki had made before.
"Okay, I'll make them. Utaha, wait a little."
Haizaki stood up, preparing to leave, but the girl reached out and grabbed the corner of his clothes.
"I want to go downstairs with you… I'll just sit on the… sofa and watch you…"
She only wanted to stay with Haizaki as much as possible.
If Haizaki wasn't within her sight, she was afraid that she might never see him again.
"After breakfast, let's go… see the cherry blossoms, okay?"
She looked out the window. The sky was still dim, and she didn't know what the weather would be like today, but at least she didn't hear any rain.
"Okay. I'll help you get dressed first…"
Haizaki skillfully helped the girl change her clothes.
During the process, she was extremely cooperative, as gentle as a little kitten, simply watching him quietly, looking at him tenderly.
Carrying the girl on his back—her body growing thinner by the day—he went down to the first floor.
Turning on the heater and setting it to a comfortable temperature, Haizaki said to the girl leaning on the sofa,
"I'll be in the kitchen. Utaha, wait a bit."
Boiled eggs—hopefully those two hens would be kind enough to lay an egg.
"Whew, that's great. Thank you so much…"
Haizaki opened the door to a room on the first floor, and an egg reflecting a bright sheen entered his view.
He was so excited he almost cried.
They were truly amazing.
"Are they all over here now?"
After the door opened, faint sounds unique to chickens and ducks came from inside. Utaha asked curiously.
Had all the poultry been moved here?
"Yeah. For easier care, I brought them all over."
"The temperature dropped a few days ago. They… were they okay?"
She felt that the sounds of the poultry were much quieter.
At that moment, Haizaki fell silent, not knowing how to answer.
When Utaha didn't receive a response for a long time, her mind still somewhat muddled, she nevertheless realized something.
"They died… how many…"
"I'm sorry. I didn't protect them well."
"It's not… your… fault. It's all… the world's… problem."
Perhaps she, too, was a problem of this world.
Thinking of this, a bleak feeling passed through Utaha's heart.
"Two chickens and one duck died."
"Mm. Then the rest… I'll leave them… to you, Haizaki-kun."
As if she were entrusting something important.
"That's not my responsibility. Utaha, they need you to take care of them. If you don't, I think I might just slaughter them and roast them."
"How… can… you… say that…"
Utaha looked at Haizaki, forcing a smile onto her face. She understood the intention behind his words, but could she still take care of them?
"Of course you will. I mean what I say, Utaha. So you need to get better soon."
"I will get better. I still need to… take care of them."
Listening to the chirping sounds of chickens, ducks, and geese, Utaha responded softly.
…