Does Spring Come Even for a Dying Esper

Splash.

The sound of water splashing echoed in the warm bathroom. Iberis, soaking in the bathtub, sighed deeply for what seemed like the umpteenth time.

“Haaah…”

What should I do now? Overwhelmed by a sense of uncertainty, he stared blankly at the ceiling above the tub. Even though it was too late to take back what had happened, he felt uneasy.

Perhaps due to the events of the afternoon, dinner time with Lucas had passed somewhat awkwardly. Of course, Lucas acted as if nothing was wrong, nagging Iberis not to leave any food and making sure he took his medicine. Everything seemed normal, but only Iberis felt uncomfortable.

In the end, Iberis rushed back to his quarters as soon as dinner was over. To calm his unsettled heart, which felt as if he had indigestion, he took a half-body bath. Usually, soaking in hot water and organizing his thoughts would help him feel calm. But today, even the bath didn’t seem to have much effect.

“Sigh.”

Pull yourself together. Iberis slapped his cheeks repeatedly. Earlier, he had treated Lucas rudely out of frustration, but now that his emotions had settled somewhat, he regretted not being more mature about it.

After all, over the past month, Lucas’s actions, though sometimes forceful, had ultimately always been for Iberis’s benefit. This time was no different. He had proposed living together out of a desire to increase their matching rate, maximize the guiding effect, and improve Iberis’s health even a little.

But Iberis, surprised by the unwanted situation and Lucas pushing his agenda, had childishly lashed out.

“Idiot, fool…”

Iberis cursed himself as he splashed the now lukewarm bathwater on his face. As his thoughts became clearer, embarrassment washed over him.

“I should get out now.”

Feeling the water cooling, Iberis slowly rose. After roughly drying his hair with a towel and changing into pajamas, he came out to the living room. Just then, the doorbell rang, announcing a visitor.

“…Luke?”

Gray eyes widened as they confirmed the face on the intercom screen. Iberis hurriedly opened the door. It was the first time Lucas had visited at this hour.

“What’s the matter?”

“Excuse me. I have something to tell you, Major.”

“To me?”

“Yes, may I come in for a moment?”

“Come in.”

“Thank you.”

As Lucas entered with Iberis’s permission, he paused upon seeing Iberis looking as if he had just bathed. His gaze fixed on the still-damp hair.

“Did you just finish bathing?”

“Huh? Oh, yes. I took a half-body bath…”

“Your hair isn’t fully dry. Where’s the hair dryer?”

“Over there…”

“Just a moment.”

Lucas strode in the direction Iberis pointed and returned with the hair dryer.

“Please sit down. I’ll dry your hair for you.”

“No, it’s fine. I can do it myself.”

“Our conversation might be long. We can’t have you catching a cold with wet hair.”

“It’s really okay…”

Unable to refuse in the end, Iberis sat down in a chair. Once again, he felt swept up in Lucas’s pace, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Whirr…

As soon as Iberis sat down, Lucas turned on the hair dryer and skillfully dried his hair. His technique was impeccable, running his fingers through the hair to ensure it dried evenly and combing through it with hook-shaped fingers.

Well, he must be used to it, given how long his own hair is, reaching down to his waist. Iberis thought, glancing at the silver hair tied up neatly, just as he had last seen it. With hair that long, it must be hard to maintain, but Lucas always kept it in pristine condition.

“All done.”

“Thank you.”

Lucas, having dried Iberis’s hair in no time, put away the hair dryer. He seemed pleased with how fluffy the hair had become, secretly stroking it lightly with his hand without Iberis noticing.

“So, um, what did you want to talk about?”

Iberis moved to the sofa while Lucas was returning the hair dryer to its original place. Then he gestured for Lucas to sit beside him when he returned.

“First, I want to apologize for being so forceful with you, Major.”

Instead of sitting next to Iberis, Lucas bowed deeply towards him, apologizing.

“Huh?”

“In my eagerness and impatience, I failed to consider your feelings. Instead of pressuring you, I should have spoken more carefully… I’m truly sorry.”

“Captain…”

Iberis’s eyes trembled slightly at the sincere and solemn apology. He couldn’t remain upset in the face of such an apology.

“It’s okay. I’ll forgive you since it was for my sake.”

“Thank you.”

Only after Iberis accepted his apology did Lucas straighten up.

“Come here and sit down.”

“Yes.”

As Iberis watched Lucas sit beside him, he suddenly realized why he was weak to him.

Lucas was someone who cared about Iberis more than Iberis cared about himself. Whether it was due to his sense of duty as a doctor or for some other reason was still unclear, but one thing was certain: Lucas genuinely wanted to cure him.

The fact that he was concerned about figures and matching rates that Iberis himself didn’t care about, that he kept proposing new treatments and searching for solutions, that he pushed his agenda even if it meant conflicting with his superior—it was all because he wanted the patient in his care to escape his terminal condition as soon as possible.

And Iberis didn’t dislike Lucas’s attention. Of course, there were times when it felt burdensome or irritating, like excessive interference. But there were also many times when he felt greatly comforted and warmed by Lucas’s actions and words.

“Earlier… I think I wasn’t very mature either. I’m sorry.”

After hesitating for a moment, Iberis said what he had wanted to say since seeing Lucas.

“Not at all. You had every right to be upset.”

“When I think about it, living together would be inconvenient for you too, wouldn’t it? You made that decision for my sake, right? I think I missed that part.”

Iberis wrinkled his nose with an awkward expression. Cohabitation wasn’t just inconvenient and sacrificial for him. Lucas would have to give up his own lifestyle too. Yet he had decided to live with Iberis with the thought of improving their matching rate.

What doctor in the world would go this far? He wondered what Lucas was thinking. Especially since he felt he could never have done the same if he were in Lucas’s position.

“Anyway, I don’t intend to go back on the decision. I look forward to working with you.”

Having cleared all the resentment from his heart, Iberis extended his hand to Lucas. It was the first time he had initiated a handshake. It was possible because he knew it was okay to do this with Lucas.

“Likewise, I look forward to it.”

As always, Lucas took Iberis’s hand without a moment’s hesitation.

“I’ve been thinking a bit… for the remodeling, I think it would be better to open up the adjacent room. Connecting the upper and lower floors would be troublesome as we’d need to find a new place to stay during the construction.”

“Now that you mention it, you’re right.”

“Actually, I think we could live comfortably in the current house without going that far…”

Iberis trailed off, surveying his room. Befitting the quarters of a unit commander, his room was about twice as large as others. There were three rooms besides the bedroom: a study and a guest room. The kitchen and bathroom were also large enough for two people to use without issue.

“If you don’t want to, we don’t have to proceed with the remodeling. I only suggested it because I thought you might feel cramped when I move into your quarters.”

“Then let’s just not do the construction. I only sleep here anyway… It’s not like we’re going to live together forever, right?”

“Pardon?”

“I mean, the purpose of living together is to increase the matching rate and improve the guiding effect… Once we achieve that, we’ll go back to our separate lives, won’t we?”

“…That’s right.”

Lucas answered half a beat late. As Iberis said, the purpose of proposing cohabitation was to improve the stagnant matching rate. He didn’t intend to live with Iberis for months or years on end either.

But hearing Iberis say they weren’t going to live together forever made his mood plummet. He tensed the corners of his mouth to keep his expression from hardening.

“So I think you can just keep your quarters as they are and come and go from my room. How does that sound?”

“…That’s fine. Whatever you prefer, Major.”

“Then let’s do that. No need for troublesome construction.”

Iberis smiled faintly, seeming pleased that Lucas readily accepted his opinion. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he asked:

“So when do we start living together?”

“…How about starting from today?”

“Huh?”

“As they say, strike while the iron is hot. Since we don’t need to remodel, I think we could start from today.”

“Today? Now?”

Surprised by the unexpected proposal, Iberis blinked. He had thought they would start living together tomorrow at the earliest, but once again, Lucas shattered his expectations.