episode_0080

“······Now what should I do?”

After the long, arduous journey came to an end, I found myself at a loss on what to do next.

Opening a cafe in a quiet countryside to savor the tranquility and freedom of regained daily life was my ultimate goal and a dream that must be realized. However, it wasn’t something achievable immediately.

“To set up the cafe, I need to get money from Mei Luina first, but······.”

Still reeling from the aftermath and unsure of when they would wake up, all I could do for now was wait.

“······Well, just waiting around doesn’t feel right with how good I’m feeling now.”

Yet, amidst the achievement of the greatest feat in my life, breaking the curse of the “Eternal Prison,” I couldn’t simply sit idly by the three who had fainted as usual. The tension was too high to just wait passively.

Nevertheless, there was a need to do something.

But in this moment, there seemed to be no clear course of action, a dilemma of sorts······.

“Oh. Right. I should pack up.”

After a brief moment of pondering due to having nothing else to do, surprisingly, a task came to mind.

The task at hand was clearing out the room where I used to stay while working as a part-time janitor in the emergency room.

Although the belongings in the house were minimal compared to the time spent working in the ER, consisting mainly of bedding, pillows, toothpaste, and towels, sorting through them was still necessary.

“I was contacted to vacate the room by the end of this week.”

Because the room needed to be vacated soon.

It wasn’t about overdue rent or landlord harassment; it was merely a planned event since I had informed the landlord when I started treatment that I would vacate the room by the following month.

If the treatment extended beyond a month, I could sleep in a much better dormitory than the house, and if the treatment ended within a month, I could move to a peaceful place to fulfill my dream after receiving money from Mei Luina.

Therefore, vacating the room where I originally lived was a predetermined event from the day I signed the contract with the three individuals, and since their treatments had just concluded perfectly today, it was the perfect timing to pack up.

“Well then, shall we go and take care of that?”

Since there wasn’t much to pack, buying a large box from the post office and filling it up should suffice.

※

“·····Phew.”

After organizing the belongings, only enough items emerged to fill a single box.

“And even that box is mostly taken up by the bedding. ······What was my life all about?”

Thinking that the contents of this box were accumulated over four years, a cold wind blew through a corner of my heart.

“I worked so hard for this. ······It feels disgustingly light.”

Not only was the box containing my belongings light, but my bank account, wallet, and clothes felt endlessly weightless as well.

Of course, my current situation was entirely my fault, and once I received the promised compensation and severance pay from Mei Luina, I would have the foundation to pursue my dreams again, so there wasn’t an issue with my current situation.

However, realizing that after four years of toil, all I had left were these few possessions left me with an unavoidable sense of emptiness.

No, it wasn’t just about feeling empty because all I had left were these possessions······ Was it the emotions surfacing as I confronted the reality I had been avoiding?

For about a month, while caring for Mei Luina, Dain Adamas, and Mir Ryuin, I hadn’t set foot in this house even once.

The contract with the Central Information Bureau stipulated that I would work as a caregiver until the three patients could rise from their beds on their own.

In reality, my role as a caregiver was merely a superficial assignment, and I was confined to a special ward. Once it was time to leave, I could clock out without any repercussions.

Their health management was actually all taken care of by the bed-sized artifact where three people lay.

However, I hadn’t left work until now when their curse was completely lifted, and I had spent all my meals in the duty room of the special ward, staying there.

“I didn’t want to come back to this miserable room.”

Living life like fainting in a small room where your head touches the wall when you stretch your legs out, then getting up as if struck by lightning and going to work.

That had been the reality I had experienced for the past four years, the despair I had wanted to escape so desperately.

Therefore, the month-long caregiving with the three people had been an escape from reality for me, a way to break free from despair.

Living with those three people who were so different from me as a human being, like a creature of forgetfulness, made me momentarily forget the four years I had lived. But facing them now, the reality I had forgotten came crashing back, leaving me shocked and hollow.

“Was I also relying on those three people?”

Just like how the three people had waited only for my treatment days, just like how I relied on and clung to the only people I could communicate with in the world, in reality, I too had relied on those three…

“Well, no matter how much I think about it, that’s not true.”

I have no one else to rely on other than them? Those personality-disordered individuals?

“Gosh. Even if I’ve managed to raise them to at least the minimum level of humanity through intensive correction, they are still themselves. Their core hasn’t changed. But relying on those three? That doesn’t make sense.”

As I entertained such nonsensical thoughts, my rationality returned, and the reality that had been darkened by shadows of the past began to become clear.

The baggage I had accumulated so far was only as heavy as one box, but that didn’t mean my future was dark at all.

On the contrary, a brilliant and happy life beyond comparison awaited me.

Humans who dwell on the past can never progress.

I was no longer the F-rank Awakener Stay who didn’t know his place and boundaries in the past, but a social citizen Stay who clearly understood his rank, status, and limitations.

There is no throwing away life blinded by baseless expectations.

“Yes, I’ve changed. I’ve grown. Now I understand my place well, and I don’t dream of an excessive future. I will only do what I can do, only what I can handle.”

There is no more downfall; the four years I discarded were stepping stones for the next 60 years, filling the emptiness in my heart and straightening my hunched shoulders.

“Let’s go. Leaving behind the past as we carry our baggage. The Stay of the past and the Stay from now on are different. A true new beginning! Yes! I’m reborn today!”

After bidding farewell to the three people in the hospital room, receiving the money from Mei Luina, I immediately set out to find a rural cafe to open!

With these thoughts in mind, I grabbed the box filled with my belongings, leaving my foolish past behind in this filthy, cramped room, and turned the rusty doorknob.

Creak!

The creaking, rusty doorknob was in stark contrast to the soft, noiseless doorknob of the special ward.

It seemed to symbolize the difference between me and the three people I had cared for.

“Hehe.”

Come to think of it, what will happen with those three now?

Judging by the expressions the three people directed towards me during treatment, it seemed like our connection wouldn’t just end easily.

Especially Dain Adamas seemed to harbor special feelings towards me, almost confessing that she wanted me to continue working for her sake.

Of course, the likelihood of such fleeting emotions arising was highest when only I could converse with the three individuals under the curse.

They were mere plant-like beings incapable of lifting a finger on their own while under the curse. However, from the moment the curse was lifted, those three would once again become the greatest heroes in the world.

Could I, in any way, become someone special to those three who possessed unimaginable wealth, power, and strength?

“Well, that’s not likely. It doesn’t make sense.”

One of my strengths is objectivity, and the extreme level of objectivity in this situation highlighted the vast difference between me and those three.

But just maybe… if those three were to return to their daily lives and still wanted to maintain a connection with me…

“Well, it’s fine to have some sort of relationship remaining as acquaintances. After all, it was a grand project to fix that crazy girl.”

It was entirely up to them to maintain the relationship, not me, which stung my pride, but the inherent gap in status between them and me made it unsurprising.

Considering all that had happened over the past four years, it was hard to take such matters seriously, so I simply smiled and opened the door.

Now, it’s truly a fresh start! My life begins here!

“Oh, there you are. I waited as you seemed deeply engrossed in talking to yourself. Of course, if you had continued for another 5 minutes, I might have forcibly opened the door and walked in, but luckily that didn’t happen.”

“Uh?”

Why is this person here?

“It’s rude to make that face upon seeing someone, Mr. Stay. We’re in the same boat, right? So, besides looking surprised, don’t you have something else to say?”

“Uh, um…”

“Haah. Right. Before I say anything to Mr. Stay, I should lead by example. Nice to meet you, Mr. Stay.”

She greeted me with a bright smile, extending her hand for a handshake, but I couldn’t bring myself to take it.

“Is this the first time you’ve seen me since 39 days ago?”

Because the person offering her hand to me now was the one who had involuntarily assigned me the caretaking duties for the three individuals, the person I least wanted to meet: Nis from the Central Intelligence Division of the Awakened Society.

“Anyway, what you did for Ms. Mei Luina, Mr. Dain Adamas, and Ms. Mir Ryuin, that ‘treatment’ was very well… Well, it was quite an observation… No, no. It was quite impressive, wasn’t it?”

It seems like my new beginning in life has already gone downhill.