Chapter 591

"And then? Does Chihaya- san want to give me a gift?"

She winked at him expectantly, probably just wanting to tease him a little.

"That's not ready yet. I actually wanted to give you another solution, but that one might take a little longer." He tapped his head with his finger, looking troubled. "So I'll just tell you directly and let you decide."

"Huh?" She was even more surprised that he would nod directly, and her heart skipped a beat, all her emotions vanishing instantly.

Himemiya Chihaya snapped her fingers and held up two, "The first option is to give you the 'gift' directly, but it will leave scars and carry the risk of long-term rejection."

"The second option is to wait patiently for a while longer, and I will try my best to find another way as soon as possible to ensure that you can live a very healthy life."

"..." Makinohara Shoko remained silent for a long time, which made her parents behind her feel that something was wrong.

After a long silence, she parted her dry, cherry-like lips and said, "That... gift is..."

"I've found a source for the heart, but it still needs to be matched with yours. But that's okay; if it doesn't match, I'll think of other methods, and I'll continue searching."

Even if she has type AB blood, there are still several hurdles she needs to overcome to receive a heart transplant.

The donor's age and health, heart size, and the time required for transplantation are all acceptable, but HLA (hLA typing) matching and crossmatching for rejection still need to be tested.

The probability of crossmatch rejection is very small and can be ignored; in other words, there is actually only one influencing factor.

"Ah..." Upon hearing this answer, Makinohara Shoko's brain went blank, and she even felt like she was about to collapse.

"Don't fall here, okay? What if your parents think I'm bullying you?" he joked to ease the tension.

His words pulled her out of the atmosphere that had been enveloped by an inexplicable chill, and she looked up to stare at his face.

"Chihaya- san, you're joking with me, right?"

Do you think I'm a despicable guy who would deceive young girls?

"If it's true, then he's truly the most hateful kind of guy!"

I think so too.

She stared at his expression for a long time, trying to find evidence that he was lying, but to no avail. However, it could also be due to her lack of experience, or the other person being too cunning.

"Have you seen enough? I know I'm handsome, but this will make your parents misunderstand."

"!!!"

Hearing his joke, she immediately turned to the side, her Princess cut hair flying in the air.

"Silly girl, isn't this making it even more obvious..." He relaxed his brow and sighed helplessly. "Be prepared for your parents to ask you about it later. Think about how you're going to explain it."

"Ugh~~~" Makinohara Shoko cried out in anguish, her cheeks and ears turning bright red.

At his suggestion, the two sat down directly on the beach to avoid any further embarrassing situations later.

After a while, once she had calmed down enough, he pressed on, "So? Which one do you want to choose?"

Makinohara Shoko pursed her lips, her voice hesitant and strained as she asked, "If I accept, will anyone else lose their life because of it?"

"Although... I really want to live on, I don't want anyone else to suffer this pain for me..."

Is it kindness or naivety that someone is still thinking about such things at a time like this...?

He closed his eyes slightly. "I can assure you, that kind of thing won't happen."

Even if he himself cannot obtain them, he will acquire them through "open source" methods, rather than taking them directly from the existing pool.

Makinohara Shoko's body went limp, her upper body burying itself between her knees, thankful that she was sitting.

"Actually, Chihaya- san..." She forced her small face to tilt halfway towards him, squeezing out an ugly smile that she probably wouldn't see more than a few times in her life.

"I regretted it as soon as I said it... Waaah... I'm so scared! So scared that you'll say 'ee-ee'...!"

The choked sobs she deliberately suppressed with her throat reached his ears little by little, intermittently.

After memorizing her current image of weakness, vulnerability, dishevelment, and utter unlovability, he chose to go to the sea to avoid upsetting her later...

"I... I... am I being very... unfilial and uninnocent... cough..."

"Maybe," he said, placing his Hands behind his back and squinting at the gathering clouds in the sky, "But it feels very real to me, and I don't find it annoying at all."

Chapter 534 My parents' PDA is disgusting!

If Okita Sawa's dream was a higher pursuit of life built on the normal path;

So her dream was simply to desperately reach the starting line of an ordinary person, a starting line that couldn't be more normal.

That's right, just like before.

Even if it's just for this reason, he would spare no effort to help her; it's out of empathy for someone who shares the same plight.

The desire for salvation that a person in dire straits experiences is beyond the comprehension of ordinary people.

Even someone as strong as him has faced near collapse many times when all other methods have failed, hoping that someone else could save him—this is not weakness, but the only option when there is no other way out.

Even knowing it might be useless, it's still my last pillar of support.

Okita Sawa probably has no idea how much inner turmoil and pain Makinohara Shoko was going through while she was enthusiastically introducing her to Sabure Makinohara Shoko equestrian knowledge and talking at length about her own dreams and Mirai.

But he knew that, which is why he decided to tell her today that he had found a solution.

At least, it will allow her to relax the tension that has been building up since elementary school.

The anxiety and fear of an uncertain future that could end at any time is enough to make even the strongest person live in constant fear.

Even if your past life was successful and glorious in the eyes of others, what does it matter? The predetermined Mirai of ending it all early on makes it impossible to unleash your full potential.

He swore that these past few months had been the most he had worked in over a decade.

I used to be able to pursue sufficient sleep like a normal person, but lately... haha.

However, being able to feel my body getting better every day, even the hard work can't dampen my enthusiasm!

Because of her parents lingering around, she quickly composed herself despite the immense emotional impact.

It wasn't that they weren't tolerant enough of her; rather, it was precisely because they were so tolerant, kind, and gentle that she increasingly didn't want to trouble them.

Even just thinking about what would happen to them if she couldn't save them makes her hate herself for being useless.

Two minutes later, apart from a slight tremor in her back, she appeared to have returned to normal. Then, the first thing she did was—

"That's so mean, Chihaya- san! How could you stare at a crying girl for so long!"

She complained that he had seen her crying earlier.

"... I clearly looked away from the sea very quickly," said Himemiya Chihaya Himegami with a hint of resentment.

How can a girl be so unreasonable!

"That's been long enough for me. As a gentleman, you should just glance at it briefly and then look away!" She made a "galaxy at your fingertips" gesture.

He chose to remain silent.

After muttering to herself for a while, Makinohara Shoko's enthusiasm waned, indicating that she had only been bluffing.

"Hey~ Chihaya- san... why are you so gentle with me?"

He rolled his eyes, feeling that those words sounded familiar. Where had he heard them before?

"Someone I know once said he hates gentle people because gentle people are gentle to everyone... Do you hate me?"

"..." Makinohara Shoko stared at him, speechless and incredulous. "The person you know really has a twisted personality... Does he enjoy being looked down upon?"

"..." He didn't say that, Hachiman, you can't blame me.

"I don't know, maybe."

"The world is truly vast!"

She was probably implying: there are all kinds of people in the world—at least that's how he understood it.

After a moment of reflection, Makinohara Shoko sincerely said, "I don't dislike Chihaya- san at all. I was just thinking that if you were lying to me, I would hate you the most... but I don't feel that way anymore~"

Himemiya Chihaya opened her eyes in surprise. "Why?"

"Because no matter the reason or the outcome, I can feel that you, Chihaya- san, are genuinely worried about and care about me." She smoothed her hair, which was being blown by the sea breeze, and smiled gently.

"In that case, nothing else matters; there must be a reason."

He paused for a moment, then spoke, "... I will heal you, absolutely!"

"Yes, thank you."

With a soft, melodious laugh, she asked, "What is the second method?"

"Yes... I can't say right now."

"Eh~~~"

"Well, that won't work either. Just consider it a gift with a mysterious quality, but it can't be shown to you right now."

"All right..."

She lowered her head regretfully, which made him chuckle.

"So, which one do you choose?"

From his perspective, she would definitely choose the second option, since it's a one-time solution, even if it takes some time.

But after all, she had been plagued by illness and weakness for so many years, and he couldn't make the decision for her.

But Makinohara Shoko still didn't follow the usual path. "Which one would Chihaya- san want me to choose?"

"... The second option, but in that case, you'll have to persevere for a while longer."

"Okay, then I'll choose the second option!" She nodded firmly without the slightest hesitation.

"May I?"

"No problem~" She remembered something and giggled, "After all, good children should listen to 'Santa Claus'."

His outrageous claim that whoever gives him a present is Santa Claus really shocked and amused her.

"That's true," his smile relaxed, "Then good boy, look forward to the presents Santa Claus will bring!"

"Yes! I will... I'd like to say that, but how long will it take?"

"Hmm... maybe six months at most?"

The simplest way to treat her is, of course, to give her Spirit Crystal.

This might be the first person he wanted to offer Spirit Crystal to, perhaps because he truly empathized with them.

But if he can't resolve his problems within six months, then she'll have to resort to magic or other methods, since she doesn't have much time to delay.

"Six months... Hmm, I understand! I'll wait patiently!"

"Thanks a lot."

"Chihaya- san is the one~"

"Hehehe~" X 2

"..."

Half an hour later, perhaps worried that their daughter was tired from playing, Makinohara Shoko's parents called her name from afar, urging her to come home.

For her, who has a weak heart, even her time for activities and leisure is not entirely free.

Although she hadn't even engaged in any strenuous activities, her parents' concern arrived as expected, which was probably why she felt a little pressured.

After parting ways with her, he rode the Radiant Sanctuary to a secluded spot and then returned directly to the Sakura Mansion.

Originally, since he was already in Fujisawa, he was supposed to at least meet with Sakurajima Mai and the others, but this morning it was just an impromptu meeting; he hadn't made any prior arrangements, and he also had other appointments for lunch...

Sakura Mansion

"What?! This snow-white creature!"

"Is it a horse race? It's so beautiful~~~"

"Brother, what is this horse? This is the first time I've ever seen one."

"Talent Brother, what is this?"

"Reason tells me that riding a horse is a very dangerous thing, but—"

"Can I... can I ride it?"

"..."