Does Spring Come Even for a Dying Esper

“Huh? Li- urk, cough!”

Iberis’s eyes widened as he had just taken a sip of the lukewarm chamomile tea. He swallowed a bit hastily and choked, bursting into a cough.

“Are you alright?”

“Cough, not alright, ah…”

Iberis stared at Lucas with bewildered eyes as he calmly offered a handkerchief after dropping such a bombshell.

“Cough, cough…! Whew, hah.”

Covering his mouth with Lucas’s handkerchief, Iberis coughed a few more times before finally catching his breath. Then, with a face of disbelief, he asked:

“What did you just say?”

“Didn’t you hear? Judging by your choking, it seems you heard me correctly.”

“No, I mean, really… live together?”

Plop. The handkerchief fell from Iberis’s hand. He had hoped it wasn’t true, but Lucas seemed to be serious.

“Yes. The room next to yours is vacant, isn’t it? If we break through the wall to make it one, it should be enough for two. Or since my quarters are right below yours, we could make it a duplex.”

Lucas explained fluently how they could combine their living spaces, as if he had been waiting for this. His manner was so natural that it seemed he had been planning this for a long time.

“Wait, wait a minute…”

Iberis, suddenly feeling dizzy, hurriedly raised his hand to stop Lucas. He couldn’t keep up with the conversation at all.

“Do we really have to do this?”

“We must.”

The answer came instantly as soon as the question ended. Iberis’s lips quivered with a bewildered expression. Judging by Lucas’s attitude, it seemed he had no right to refuse.

“Why…?”

“Because this is the best option.”

Lucas replied as if Iberis was asking the obvious. Then he began to explain what he had been organizing in his mind on the way to the office.

“As you know, Major, there are cases where guiding occurs even without directly injecting mana into an Esper. Ability users naturally emit mana when they breathe, so several studies have shown that there’s a slight guiding effect even when a compatible guide and Esper just hold hands or embrace each other. I aim to capitalize on this effect through living together.”

“…Huh.”

“You’ve experienced it yourself, haven’t you? When moving in my arms or in the car…”

“Stop! You don’t need to explain that far.”

Iberis hastily stopped Lucas from reminding him of embarrassing memories.

“As you said earlier, both you and I are in a situation where it’s difficult to spare more time from here. It would interfere with our respective duties.”

Fortunately, Lucas focused on persuading Iberis rather than recalling more past memories, as Iberis wished. Although he was currently only guiding Iberis as a guide, his duties as a military doctor hadn’t decreased.

With Iberis not being deployed for lower-grade rift operations, the number of injured using the N-0 unit’s medical office had increased over the past month. Lucas helped out as the head of the medical office. It was his responsibility, as his suggestion had increased the workload for unit members and led to more injuries.

For Iberis, while his field operations had decreased, his duties as unit commander were still numerous. In fact, they had even increased. There was a backlog of work that had accumulated while he had been focusing on field operations. As a result, he was quite busy reviewing and approving pending documents.

“So living together is the solution you found that won’t interfere with each other’s work?”

“Yes, if we live in the same space, wouldn’t the time we spend together naturally increase?”

“That’s true…”

Iberis nodded unconsciously, then quickly caught himself with a gasp. He had almost been swayed by Lucas’s words. He tensed the corners of his eyes, trying not to be mesmerized by Lucas’s eloquence.

“Even so, living together…”

Iberis muttered as if still incredulous. It was understandable, as he hadn’t lived with anyone since losing his mother at 10 and joining the Defense Force. It was difficult to find someone who could withstand the mana young Iberis unconsciously emitted, and he himself was reluctant to live with strangers. Even when he was in the special investigation team, he had a single room, so he was used to being alone.

“Captain, I’ve lived alone for well over 10 years. There’s no way I can live with someone else now…”

“Although not as long as you, I’ve also lived alone for quite some time. But humans are creatures of adaptation, so if we both make an effort, it should be fine.”

“Instead of forcing ourselves to make that effort, can’t we just live comfortably on our own? Or is there no other option besides living together?”

“Well, there is another option, but…”

Lucas’s gaze drifted to Iberis’s lips as he trailed off. His lips, moistened by the tea, seemed strangely stimulating today. Lucas swallowed hard and forcibly averted his eyes. He felt that if he kept looking, he might start imagining strange things again.

“You said there’s another option?”

“…It seems unrealistic to implement right away. At this point, I think living together is the most rational solution.”

“What is it?”

“It’s difficult to explain now… If it seems we need to proceed with that method later, I’ll let you know then.”

Lucas put up a wall, indicating he was reluctant to answer. He considered mentioning level 2 guiding but decided it wasn’t the right time. If Iberis agreed to level 2 guiding, it would put him in a difficult position. He wasn’t fully prepared for it himself yet.

“Living together is a recommendation I’m making as your attending physician. I’d appreciate your cooperation for smooth treatment.”

“…What if I refuse?”

“Hmm, from the moment you decided to receive treatment from me, you have an obligation to cooperate actively. Shall I recite the military doctor’s law again if you don’t remember?”

“Stop with that military doctor’s law talk. I’ll develop a neurosis at this rate.”

Usually, Iberis would have nodded in agreement by now, but he didn’t back down easily this time. Living with Lucas seemed burdensome.

“Try to put yourself in my shoes. Would you immediately say ‘yes’ if I suggested living together? It’s like a bolt from the blue… How many people do you think would agree to suddenly living together? It’s too sudden.”

“Hmm…”

Lucas hummed lowly as Iberis resisted much more strongly than expected. He understood the reaction but felt slightly hurt. He wondered if living with him was really such a leap.

“So tell me. What’s the other option besides living together? Hm?”

Iberis pressed on, sensing Lucas’s resolve weakening. He needed to know what other method Lucas had mentioned. Only then could he consider whether living together might be better or not.

“Luke.”

Iberis called him, looking directly at Lucas who was silent as if exercising his right to remain silent. Deliberately using his name instead of his rank made Lucas’s solid shoulders flinch. At the same time, golden eyes filled with deep perplexity turned towards Iberis.

Meeting Lucas’s gaze, Iberis silently urged him to answer, attempting to apply unspoken pressure.

“…Alright. I’ll tell you.”

Realizing he could no longer avoid it, Lucas sighed softly. He hesitated for a moment after averting his gaze first. He really seemed reluctant.

What could it be to make him act like this?

Iberis felt uneasy seeing Lucas’s expression of extreme reluctance to speak. But he couldn’t just let it go now.

“I considered two methods to break through the current situation. One is living together with you as I mentioned earlier… and the other is proceeding with level 2 guiding.”

“Level 2… guiding?”

The method that came out of Lucas’s mouth was something Iberis hadn’t considered at all. He was so surprised that he thought he might have misheard.

The reason Iberis didn’t think of level 2 guiding was simple. When they first met, while agreeing on the guiding method, Lucas had firmly stated he would only proceed with level 1.

To think that person would bring up level 2 guiding first. Iberis looked at Lucas with a dazed expression. He still couldn’t believe what he had heard.

“Yes. If we increase the intensity of guiding, the effect will be greater and the matching rate will rise. Honestly, it’s an easier method than living together.”

“Ah.”

A small exclamation escaped between his small lips at this confirmation. Iberis was even more flustered than when he heard about living together. Inevitably so, as level 2 guiding involved kissing and caressing.

“Has your curiosity been satisfied now, Major?”

Lucas gazed at the dazed Iberis with subdued eyes and slowly stood up. Even as he did so, his gaze remained fixed on the small lips that had opened in surprise.

“As you know, kissing is fundamental in level 2 guiding.”

Lucas approached Iberis with audible footsteps. Then he trapped him with both arms and leaned his upper body forward. His silver hair, tied high in a single ponytail, slipped down, creating a shadow over Iberis’s face.

“Well, do you think you could kiss me?”