Anmoku: "What that old lady said… Hikari, don't take it to heart, okay!"
Anmoku: "She's definitely one of those scammers who swindle people! How could you possibly run off abroad for no reason and burn out like a flame? Nonsense. It's definitely nonsense!"
Reading the messages from his trainee on his phone, Fujimura Hikari smiled and shook his head.
After that mysterious fortune-teller made her strange prophecy, his outing with Anmoku had ended early.
In that kind of mood, going anywhere else would have felt off—better to leave it and meet again another time.
But judging by how fast Anmoku was texting him, she clearly had quite a bit of resentment toward the old woman who had ruined their day.
As for that fortune-teller… Hikari didn't know what to say about the prophecy either.
Normally, fortune-tellers were the scammer type—reading people's faces and feeding them pleasing stock lines. That was how most "divinations" worked.
But that old woman wasn't like that.
She had accurately pointed out the possibility that Hikari might go abroad, to a foreign land—and even foretold that afterward he might end up as ashes, like a flame that burns itself out…
What is this, am I Joe Yabuki or something?
And yet, when it came to the word burn out, he wasn't completely clueless.
His illness was still there.
His finger slid lightly across the screen as he dug out an old message in his inbox.
It was a notice from the hospital, asking him to come in for a follow-up check.
To be honest, he still felt unreal about the fact that he had a terminal illness.
Over the past week, he'd either been fully focused on planning the girls' training—or pushing himself to the limit in his "Hidotou" state.
He'd been keeping himself busy to avoid facing the truth that his time was running out.
Did that kind of avoidance help?
Not really. The disease wouldn't disappear just because he refused to look at it.
But avoidance did let him keep a decent mindset—at least it kept him from living every day in constant anxiety.
Yet now, because of that sudden prophecy, the reality of his illness was laid bare again—raw and unavoidable.
Was he going to run from it again?
Staring at the hospital's black text on a white screen, Hikari felt it sting his eyes.
…No. Enough running.
He forced down his fear of learning the exact state of his body.
He had to face it eventually.
He looked at the phone number in the message and dialed.
"Hello… I'd like to make an appointment…"
—
Hospital.
"Mr. Fujimura Hikari, your condition has stabilized a little. I can't guarantee you'll recover, but the possibility of recovery still exists."
Inside the consultation room, an elderly doctor wearing reading glasses spoke to him.
"When you came in before, honestly speaking, your situation was more severe than it is now. There was always a chance of recovery, but the odds were extremely low. I don't know what you did this past week, but your condition has actually been brought somewhat under control. That's a very positive trend. If you cooperate with treatment now, I can say with confidence—there's at least a fifty percent chance you'll recover!"
Only fifty percent…?
Hikari sank into thought.
This week he hadn't done anything special. If he had to name something, it was simply raising Hidotou's stats step by step.
But from the hospital's results, it seemed the improvements he gained through boosting Hidotou's parameters had fed back into his own body and helped stabilize the illness.
Choosing to raise Hidotou's stats was the right call!
Seeing Hikari silent for so long, the old doctor frowned slightly, assuming the young man was worried about treatment costs, and spoke again.
"Mr. Fujimura Hikari, hospital treatment is expensive, yes—but your health is the most important thing. It's good that your condition has stabilized, but no one can guarantee it won't suddenly worsen… The sooner you begin treatment, the better."
Even so, the doctor understood: whether or not to proceed was something only this young man could decide.
If the patient himself gave up, then no matter how skilled the doctor was, it would all be meaningless.
Faced with that choice, Hikari hesitated.
Should he trust the hospital and gamble on that fifty-percent recovery rate?
Or should he keep using the system and bet on the reward from some "epic" achievement…?
The fortune-teller's words flashed through his mind again.
After you become a flame, you will meet the ending meant for flames. Ashes will be your road home.
"Ashes…"
Hikari murmured.
"What did you say?" the doctor asked, not quite hearing him.
"It's nothing, Doctor." Hikari waved a hand.
"I have one more question. If—hypothetically—my condition worsens again… how long would it take?"
"…Are you serious?" The doctor's brows knitted.
This was the first time he'd heard a patient ask a question like that.
Who starts by assuming their illness will get worse?
But professional ethics won out, and he answered.
"If you maintain the condition you've been in this week, it will take about three months before problems appear… If it's the worst-case scenario, it could worsen to an untreatable level in as little as one month."
"One month…"
Hikari fell silent again.
Next month was Anmoku's debut. He couldn't let her notice anything wrong then.
Which meant Hidotou's debut would have to be moved up.
This month—this month he had to make Hidotou debut. And he had to do it only after his stats reached the required threshold!
"I understand. I'll come back for another check-up later," Hikari said.
"…"
Watching Hikari prepare to leave, the old doctor sighed.
"Mr. Fujimura Hikari—one last question. You really won't begin treatment sooner?"
"Don't worry, Doctor."
With his back to the doctor, Hikari waved and spoke, his voice drifting in the room.
"I'm not giving up on myself."
…He just wasn't going to gamble his life on a fifty-percent chance in a hospital.
Of course, he didn't say that part out loud.
Compared to handing his fate over to someone else, Hikari would rather use his own decisions to carve out that sliver of hope.
"Ashes?"
"If I can't change this destiny… then so what if I burn to ash?"
-------
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