Tokyo, 1994, starting with medical training

Chapter 58 will break.

Although Saionji Mina has a strange fondness for Kiryu Kazusuke and is grateful for his help in getting her out of trouble, isn't this progressing too fast?

"I want to watch TV, really."

"Besides, I have to go to work tomorrow. The city hall is very busy lately, and Section Chief Yoshino has been in a bad mood lately. I can't be late."

"Thank you so much for the invitation, but I really can't!"

She took a step back, pressed her back against the door, and shook her head desperately.

Instinctive defense mechanisms activated!

Kiryu Kazusuke saw her looking like she was facing a formidable enemy, and this was a reaction he had expected.

It's like a wounded stray cat.

When you try to feed it, it hisses at you.

"Saionji-san."

"You had a tough day, didn't you?"

"I really want to go back to this tiny room, barely six tatami mats in size, turn on the TV, watch other people's love stories, and pretend I'm part of the world too, right?"

"I really want to either laugh or cry, and end the day like this?"

"I just want to lie in bed and tell myself that tomorrow is a new day, and everything will be alright, right?"

"But, do we really have to keep deceiving ourselves like this?"

Kazusuke Kiryu's voice is steady and not aggressive, yet every word he utters is piercing.

With each sentence she spoke, Saionji Mina's body stiffened a little more.

This is a snapshot of her life over the past two years.

Loneliness is a tangible reality.

Like humid air, it seeps into every crevice, penetrating to the very marrow.

"I……"

She opened her mouth as if to refute, but her voice was dry and she couldn't say anything.

"It'll break if this continues."

As a doctor, Kiryu Kazusuke has seen many cases of people whose long-term repression led to psychological distortion and ultimately physical collapse.

People need to vent.

Just like a pressure cooker, if you don't unplug the pressure relief valve to release the pressure, it will explode if it exceeds the critical point.

Although he wasn't a psychology major, people couldn't resist asking him questions after they found out he worked at a hospital, regardless of whether it was the right diagnosis for them.

"It's broken..."

Mina Saionji murmured to herself.

She remembered the morning more than a week ago, the pleasure that surged through her spinal cord...

Is this the only time in the past few months that I've felt truly alive?

If I go back to watch TV now, I'll probably toss and turn in bed all night, unable to sleep.

"Then...where are we going?"

She looked up, a hint of hesitation in her eyes.

You'll find out when you get there.

Kiryu Kazusuke smiled and kept everyone in suspense for now.

In such situations, maintaining a bit of mystery can actually increase the other person's expectations and save you the trouble of being rejected on the spot if you're not satisfied.

Saionji Mina bit her lip, hesitating for a few seconds.

"it is good."

Finally, she nodded.

In any case, the worst outcome is just being made a fool of.

That's better than being alone in a room getting moldy and rotten.

"Um... what should I prepare?"

"Let's change our clothes."

Kazusuke Kiryu pointed to her room 301.

She was wearing a dark blue, thick wool coat, buttoned all the way up, over a gray office uniform skirt, and thick black tights.

This outfit is clearly unsuitable for what is about to happen.

Saionji Mina blinked.

Changing clothes?

If you're going to a nearby convenience store or just taking a walk downstairs, this outfit is perfectly fine.

Are you going to a high-class place where you need to dress up?

No, Dr. Kiryu himself was dressed very casually, just in an ordinary black coat.

Then... that's another possibility.

Her cheeks began to burn.

She remembered what her senior classmates often said when she was studying at university in Tokyo.

"Men, when they say they're going for a drive, what they're really thinking about is how to get you into that room with the rotating bed."

"They'll make you change your clothes because tearing stockings is too much trouble..."

"Or perhaps they prefer a particular type of uniform..."

Saionji Mina glanced down at her somewhat old-fashioned office suit.

Indeed, this outfit of mine has absolutely no femininity.

If that's the case...

Just as she was about to change her mind, Kiryu Kazusuke spoke first.

"I need something that's easy to move in. If you have any sportswear or hoodies, that would be best."

"Wear flat shoes, preferably sneakers."

After saying that, he turned around, pushed open the door to room 302, and went inside.

Click.

The door closed.

Only Saionji Mina remained in the corridor.

She looked at the tightly closed iron gate, somewhat confused.

Are they going for a night run?

Or should we go to the park to do gymnastics?

Or perhaps, like in the TV dramas, we could go to the beach to look at the stars?

But Qianqiao City is not located by the sea.

All sorts of outrageous speculations flashed through my mind.

Thinking back to her earlier wild thoughts, her cheeks seemed to get even hotter.

……

The lights were on in room 302.

As Kiryu Kazusuke just said, it does make one feel a little warmer.

However, that's all.

The layout of this apartment is exactly the same as that of the one next door belonging to Mina Saionji: narrow and cramped.

Minimalist style, or rather, poverty.

Kiryu Kazusuke casually pressed the switch on the wall and turned on the main light.

A pale red light curtain unfolded on his retina.

[Saionji Mina: A city hall like that should be flattened by a meteorite! Trash like Yoshino should be thrown into a meat grinder! Only Dr. Kiryu knows what it feels like to want to see flames and hear explosions, right?]

[Can converge world lines]

[Branch 1: Take her to a high-intensity physical activity to completely release pent-up negative emotions. (Reward: Slight improvement in physical fitness)]

[Branch Two: Nothing happens. Go home and sleep to prepare for your rare day off tomorrow. (Reward: 2 yen)]

[Branch 3: Watch TV with her while drinking, act as a caring older brother, and offer appropriate physical comfort. (Reward: 3 years later, she will bring your daughter to the clinic to see you.)]

This world line appeared the moment I returned to my apartment and went upstairs to see Saionji Mina.

Kiryu Kazusuke has also made his own choice, and the path has diverged.

The reason is simple—

First, the 2 yen for the second branch.

Although this means he has money without doing anything, everything has its limits.

He was still poor, but not so poor that he couldn't afford to eat.

So it's not that you can't choose, it's that you have to pay extra.

Secondly, the reward for branch three: multiple daughters after 3 years?

He glanced at it and immediately ruled it out.

It's not that Kiryu Kazusuke has a high sense of morality. In his view, this kind of thing is just like this, it's consensual, so there's no question of taking advantage of someone in distress.

The main problem was that it was too sudden; he wasn't ready to raise a daughter right away.

Yes, it is possible to try to take safety measures.

But this is a gamble, a gamble on whether "my fate is in my own hands, not in the heavens" or "the will of heaven is ultimately hard to defy."

However, he believed that in order to ensure the rewards were delivered in time for his worldline convergence plan, the umbrella would inevitably break and the medicine would inevitably become ineffective.

So he almost instantly chose the first branch.

After all, in the end, a surgeon's career is not about technical skills, but about physical strength.

Whoever can stand longer will have a more stable hand and will have the last laugh.

If this "slight" accumulation is sufficient, one day quantitative change will lead to qualitative change.

What if one day we could mold neutron stars with our bare hands?

I'm incredibly grateful for everyone's support, whether it's the monthly tickets, comments, recommendations, or simply following along. This book will be off the bestseller list in a few tens of thousands of words, and I really want to see what's ahead of it before I leave. Thank you all for your continued support.

(End of this chapter)