Miracle Summoner

"I can save her."

When such a sentence came out of Rozen's mouth and entered everyone's ears, the entire space fell silent.

Yuuki's voice disappeared, but her astonishment could still be clearly felt.

Kurahashi stared at Rozen, dumbfounded, unable to respond for a long time.

Even Kikuoka Seijirou's eyebrows twitched visibly as he looked at Rozen with a more serious gaze.

"Wha...what?"

Only Asuna quickly turned her head to look at Rozen, her eyes filled with shock and joy.

"Is...is this true, Rozen?"

Asuna asked urgently.

However, apart from Asuna, no one else present would ask such a question.

And that was to be expected, wasn't it?

"Are you joking?" Kurahashi said, as though he had just heard something absurd. "This is late-stage AIDS. Given the current state of medicine, this falls squarely in the realm of incurable diseases. Unless there's a sudden breakthrough in medical science, it's absolutely impossible to cure. Please don't joke about this in front of Yuuki—it's really inappropriate."

Kurahashi said these words patiently, as if treating Rozen's statement as nothing more than a desperate exaggeration driven by his desire to save someone.

This caused Rozen to reevaluate Kurahashi slightly, but still, there was only one thing to say.

"Let me in, and you'll understand."

Rozen did not offer much explanation, intending instead to let the results speak for themselves.

But Kurahashi clearly wasn't ready to yield.

"With Yuuki's current condition, we must ensure that there are no viruses or bacteria in the vicinity to prolong her life as much as possible. Even we cannot enter without careful disinfection and protective clothing. Kirigaya-san, please reconsider your decision."

Kurahashi's tone was persuasive, with a hint of polite refusal.

It couldn't be helped.

As Yuuki's attending physician, Kurahashi was acutely aware of just how dire her condition was. With current medical technology, there was no possibility of saving her. If there were, the hospital wouldn't have already declared that she had roughly three months left to live.

Kurahashi was certain: unless medical science made a major breakthrough or a miracle drug to cure AIDS was developed, there was absolutely no way to save Yuuki.

This hospital was the only one in the country conducting research and experiments on the Medicuboid, equipped with the most advanced medical facilities and technology from both Japan and abroad. If even they had declared Yuuki's condition untreatable, then searching the world for a hospital that could save her would be futile.

And Rozen looked so young. For him to claim that he could save a terminally ill AIDS patient with only three months to live—who would believe him?

As a result, Kurahashi could only assume that Rozen was talking nonsense and politely reminded and declined him.

In contrast, Asuna completely believed in Rozen's words.

"Is it true?" Asuna looked at Rozen, her eyes filled with apprehension. "Can you really save Yuuki?"

To Asuna's question, Rozen responded with just one sentence:

"Trust me."

That was all Rozen said.

"Okay!"

Seeing Rozen like this, Asuna nodded heavily, choosing to believe in him.

"Doctor, please, let Rozen try!"

Asuna turned around and bowed deeply to Kurahashi, pleading with him.

"This…"

Kurahashi frowned deeply, looking troubled.

Meanwhile, Kikuoka Seijirou, who had been silently observing and seemingly lost in thought, suddenly noticed Rozen glancing at him. Startled for a moment, he quickly understood.

(So this is why he asked me to come here.)

Indeed, Rozen had invited Kikuoka Seijirou for this exact moment.

If Rozen merely wanted to visit Yuuki as a Medicuboid test subject, it wouldn't have been that difficult. As long as Yuuki requested it from Kurahashi, he would likely allow Rozen and Asuna to visit her. There would have been no need for Kikuoka to step in as a government agent.

But Rozen had specifically asked Kikuoka to come, for the sole purpose of this moment—to have him step forward and represent the government in agreeing to this.

This realization made Kikuoka smile wryly.

(He really is calculating, this guy.)

After all, if Kikuoka stepped forward to support Rozen's attempt to save Yuuki and Rozen failed or worsened her condition, the blame would be too heavy for Kikuoka to bear.

This was a matter of life and death. Caution was essential. Even with government backing, one wrong move could lead to public outcry and irreparable consequences.

(It seems that returning a favor to this guy is no easy task.)

Kikuoka could only swallow his frustration.

Then again, Rozen never let himself suffer losses. If he did, the government would have long since unearthed all his secrets. There was no way they would have continued this mutually beneficial relationship with a mere high school student.

(If he really does have some sort of secret...)

Perhaps he could actually solve this problem.

With that thought, Kikuoka made his decision.

"Let him in, Dr. Kurahashi," Kikuoka said, pushing up his glasses. "The government will take full responsibility for any consequences."

Kikuoka offered this assurance.

"..."

Kurahashi fell silent.

At this moment…

"Let Rozen in, Doctor."

Yuuki's voice rang out as well.

"I believe in Rozen. He wouldn't say such things without reason. Besides, I'm already like this—why not give it a try?"

Yuuki's deliberately lighthearted voice became the final straw that broke Kurahashi's resistance.

"...Alright." Kurahashi finally nodded. "Do you need disinfection or protective clothing prepared?"

"No need," Rozen replied, shaking his head. "This won't take long."

With that, Rozen stepped forward.

Seeing this, Kurahashi still felt uneasy but could only follow and operate the panel on the wall.

In the next moment, the sterile room's door opened.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Rozen walked inside.