Chapter 80: Chapter 80: Her Flower is About to Wither
[You have become the first person she is willing to actively love.]
[This time, she embraces you tightly.]
[After this event, she finally understands her true feelings.]
[Escaping has no effect.]
[The outgoing her has decided to stop running away and stop being evasive.]
[You and Chisato became a couple.]
[And on the very night you became a couple, she took the initiative far beyond anyone else, even asking to stay at your house.]
[Although you were more than happy about such a good thing, you were still a bit surprised, wondering if things were moving too fast.]
[But in the end, you couldn't resist her persistence and agreed to her request.]
[You are not the typical protagonist from a Japanese light novel or manga who is only gentle and nothing else, and you are in the honeymoon phase, so what happened next came naturally.]
[That night, you and she didn't fall asleep until late.]
Scenes from that night began to emerge in his mind.
Minami woke up early the next morning.
He opened his eyes, and his gaze quickly softened.
What he saw was the smooth, fair back of the girl lying beside him.
Her back was graceful, her skin pale and delicate.
Chisato wasn't the kind of fragile girl. On the contrary, her body was fuller than most girls her age.
He lowered his head and couldn't resist planting a kiss on her, which caused the sleepy girl to gasp in surprise.
"Stop it..."
She turned her body back, waking up from her half-asleep state, and patted her boyfriend's head, softly complaining, "So early... It's all your fault last night, I still haven't gotten enough sleep."
"But you were the one who insisted on staying up so late last night."
Minami didn't hesitate to point out the flaw in her words and teased her with a smile: "I didn't expect Miss Chisato to be unexpectedly unsatisfied..."
"I don't care... I'm still a bit sleepy, let me sleep some more."
Ignoring her boyfriend's teasing, Chisato rubbed her eyes, then naturally wrapped her arms around Minami's waist, burying her head in his neck, and fell back to sleep.
Minami didn't move, letting her use him as a pillow as one should.
After about half an hour of cuddling, Miss Chisato finally woke up.
But her waking up was strange — it was like being both awake and still asleep at the same time.
She had pushed her body up from the bed, but her mouth couldn't open, and her eyelids fluttered as though she were in a battle with some unknown force.
Minami didn't pay her any mind.
He opened the window to let some fresh air in, then casually went to the bathroom for a quick wash, and began preparing breakfast.
While he was preparing breakfast, as if drawn by the smell, Chisato, now fully awake, suddenly hugged his waist from behind, her cute nose twitching as she curiously asked:
"Minami-kun, what's for breakfast today?"
"Just something simple, I made some Marseille fish soup, bread, and bacon."
Minami replied without even turning around while busy with the task.
"Okay—"
Chisato obediently responded, then spread the tablecloth on the low round table, sat down with both hands neatly placed on the table, and from time to time raised her little head to glance at Minami, waiting.
Her boyfriend's cooking was always so quick.
Even at home, it seemed to be the same.
And it was still incredibly delicious.
Chisato couldn't help but be curious. How could someone so young have cooking skills beyond their age?
But in the end, she didn't ask.
Because, compared to this, there was something more important she had to tell Minami.
Yes... something she absolutely had to tell him.
Recalling everything that had happened with Minami the day before, she raised her head and said:
"Minami-kun."
"Mm?"
Minami, who was washing the dishes, turned his head.
"There's something I need to talk to you about."
"...I see."
It seemed that Minami sensed a different atmosphere than usual. He put down the dishes and sat across from Chisato.
At the dining table, she was no longer her usual lively, energetic self.
She spoke calmly, telling him a fact that was hard for him to accept — that she had been suffering from congenital heart disease.
[Chisato's words caused your mind to momentarily crash.]
[But you quickly understood everything.]
[No wonder every time you talked about the future and dreams, the lively and outgoing her would always show a smile that seemed to let go of things.]
[No wonder every time you expressed your love, she would deflect it with a joke.]
[She told you that she had never intended to be dismissive of your love, she just didn't want to be a burden that slowed your pace.]
[When she reached this part, the usually outgoing and optimistic girl began to break down emotionally.]
[She had long been mentally prepared for the life-and-death decision, but when faced with you, her guilt and regret could no longer be hidden.]
[Tears began to uncontrollably flow from her eyes, and upon hearing everything, you quietly embraced her, gently kissing away the tears at the corner of her eyes.]
[You had no intention of blaming her.]
[She had already bared her heart to you, and how could you bring yourself to blame such a girl who needed your care?]
[You didn't comfort her. She just quietly sobbed in your embrace.]
[The two hearts, in resonance, needed no words.]
[She told you that she had been diagnosed with congenital heart disease when she was young. The fact that she had made it to 17 years old was due to her careful maintenance and her always optimistic attitude.]
[But the limits of external factors had already been reached.]
[A week ago, the doctor had already warned her that her congenital heart disease was very serious, and she had only one month left.]
[She also told you that recently, she had clearly felt her body growing weaker.]
[Her reluctance to leave you deepened her already calm fear of death.]
[She felt regret.]
[And faced with her words, all you could do was offer comfort.]
"...So that's what happened."
Minami snapped back from the simulation, shaking his head.
He had already anticipated this. In the previous loop, when Chisato had arranged to meet with him, it wasn't a deliberate cancelation, but rather that she simply couldn't come.
Even though he had expected it, facing the reality of the situation, he could only shake his head and sigh.
By now, the vague storyline he had regarding "Lycoris Recoil" started to come back to him.
It seemed that in the original "Lycoris Recoil," Chisato had heart issues, and through some surgery, she had been fitted with a high-tech mechanical heart to sustain her life.
But, as previously mentioned,
"This world doesn't have those sci-fi or other random organizations."
Minami leaned back against the bed, muttering to himself.
Yes.
In this world, there were no terrorists attacking, and no such thing as a black-tech mechanical heart.
What remained was just Chisato's still terrible health.
Although it was just a simulation, Minami, who shared an emotional resonance with the memory in the simulation, sighed deeply.
Fate had placed such heavy pressure on this girl.
But she remained bright and cheerful, like an optimistic spirit.
She had hidden it so well that even in the simulation, he had only vaguely sensed it.
Now, there was nothing left for him to do but continue observing the simulation's progress and wait for a change in the situation.
[You learned about Chisato's condition.]
[But she didn't want her worsening condition to affect "Riko-Riko" and the other friends, especially Inoue Takina, who was closest to her, like a sister.]
[If Inoue Takina found out about her condition, she couldn't imagine what the always serious black-haired girl might do.]
[Thus, she hoped that you would keep this secret for her.]
[This was the first time she had actively asked you for something, and you couldn't bring yourself to refuse.]
[You agreed to her request.]
[Time continued to pass, and to maintain "Riko-Riko" as the head chef. You also persuaded her to temporarily stop working as a waitress for the cafe and focus on her health.]
[She always smiled and said, for the last stretch of her life, she wanted to stand in the sunlight, not lie in bed quietly awaiting her body's decay.]
[She continued to work.]
[In front of her friends in "Riko-Riko," especially Inoue Takina, Chisato still tried her best to maintain her usual optimistic appearance.]
[You watched all this, and used your position to increase her rest time.]
[She never rejected your special care, always playfully leaning on you and smiling, sometimes even sneaking a kiss on your working face when no one was looking.]
[Her smile was still as beautiful, and she remained warm-hearted to everyone.]
[But during this month, you could clearly sense that her life was rapidly and irreversibly withering.]
[Though she still tried her best to disguise it, her body's oddities were becoming harder to conceal.]
[At "Riko-Riko," she frequently made mistakes, dropping plates and forgetting orders.]
[Her sleeping hours increased, and the alarm clock seemed to have lost its meaning. Sometimes, she even needed you to walk over and wake her up from her deep sleep.]
[But you had never done this.]
[When she was asleep, you would sit at the foot of her bed, quietly watching her, waiting for her to wake up.]
[You didn't want her to sleep for so long, but you also wanted her to rest enough.]
[Her daydreaming moments became longer. Sometimes, Inoue Takina had to call her several times before she would respond, then flash her usual bright smile.]
[But despite all this, she still tried her best to act as if nothing was wrong.]
[But all these facades were eventually broken the day she suddenly collapsed.]
[Her life entered its final countdown unguarded.]
[Everyone at "Riko-Riko" knew about Chisato's congenital heart disease, but they couldn't accept the sudden and unexplained change.]
[Faced with everyone's shock, knowing the situation could no longer be concealed, you finally revealed Chisato's deteriorating condition.]
[Inoue Takina was furious at your concealment. She wanted to reprimand you, but the words of reproach got stuck in her throat and turned into soft sobs.]
[Everyone understood that blaming you at this point was pointless.]
[For your concealment, you quietly apologized.]
[For the first time, the atheist shop manager Mika visited a shrine.]
[Neither Kurumi nor Nakahara Mizuki, who have never believed in random online rumors, spent the whole night researching treatments and possible remedies for congenital heart disease.]
[Inoue Takina and you kept vigil outside the hospital room all night.]
[Apart from that, there was nothing you could do.]
[When the tense surgery was over, the doctor's slightly regretful expression told all of you the result.]
[The doctor informed you that her life had only seven days left. Her fragile health had managed to last this long, which was, in fact, a miracle.]
[Inoue Takina, still unwilling to accept, hoped the doctors would continue trying.]
[But in the end, all they could offer was an apology, filled with regret.]
[You temporarily closed 'Rico Rico' and devoted yourself fully to taking care of her.]
[On the hospital bed, her body had become frail, and her once fair and pink face had lost all color, appearing extremely haggard. But perhaps the only thing that hadn't changed was her sunny, happy smile.]
[Even on the bed, she was still joking with you.]
"I order you! Minami-kun! Go learn medicine right now! Heal me!"
On the bed, she spoke with an air of authority, looking lively as ever. Even the elderly nearby were amused, smiling at her.
Every time you heard her jokes, you would just smile faintly and encourage her to eat.
Taking care of her was actually a torment for you.
You were helpless, unable to do anything, only watching as she grew weaker each day, her breath becoming more labored.
On the first day, she still had the strength to talk to you, to communicate, to eat.
But as the days went by, she could no longer eat. Even though she forced herself to do so, hoping to regain her health, her fragile body couldn't handle the food and would vomit it all out.
At times like these, lying on the bed with an IV in her arm, she could only look at you with an apologetic expression.
Her flower(Life) was about to wither.