Episode 197: Despair and Hope
Yuma’s mind went blank. He couldn’t understand what Rui was saying.
“Dead? Who… Kaede?”
Rui bit his lower lip with a pained expression.
The people around them didn’t say anything. They just silently hung their heads.
It was an ambiguous sensation, as if reality and fiction were mixed together. A bitter saliva flooded his mouth.
Yuma got out of bed and stood up unsteadily. The people around him tried to stop him, but he couldn’t hear their voices anymore.
He had no strength in his body. He didn’t know if it was because of his injuries or because his heart was screaming.
He just put his hand on the wall, supporting himself as he opened the door to the hospital room.
He had to go… to Kaede.
◇◇◇
He walked down the hospital corridor. Rui, who was beside him, lent him a shoulder.
From behind, the president, Aisha, Maika, and Tanaka followed silently. Yuma didn’t say anything and just kept moving forward.
Serizawa was waiting in his line of sight.
As if he knew Yuma was coming. He said, “This way,” and opened the door to the room.
It wasn’t a hospital room. It was a place like a mortuary.
In the center of the simple room, a bed was placed alone.
A thin white cloth was draped over it, covering the head. Yuma went to the side of the bed without thinking and stood there dumbfounded.
He took a breath and lifted the cloth.
There was the face of his childhood friend, with whom he had talked and laughed so many times.
It was a beautiful face. A very beautiful face that looked like she would wake up and smile at any moment.
“Kaede…”
Rui called out to Yuma, who said it in a whisper.
“Kaede participated in the government’s ‘Magic Gem Implantation’ experiment. She took a White Magic Gem into her body to use powerful Recovery Magic.”
Yuma turned around and looked at Rui’s face.
“Why would she do that?”
“To save you, Yuma.”
Rui’s words raced through his mind.
“To… save me?”
“You were badly injured. It was said that you wouldn’t last long as you were, so the government took a dangerous method to do something about it. In order to use a Magic Gem with a high Mana Index, they forcibly transplanted it into a human body.”
“And you’re saying Kaede participated in that?”
Yuma involuntarily reached out and grabbed Rui by the collar.
“Why didn’t you stop her!! With you there… why!?”
Rui gently grabbed Yuma’s arm.
“Kaede made the decision without telling anyone. Not me, not her parents… all alone. To save you.”
The hand gripping his collar lost its strength. Yuma turned around and looked at Kaede’s face again.
His childhood friend, who no longer said anything. A friend, and a woman he had always loved. Kaede, who risked her life for him.
“For someone like me? Why… you idiot…”
Yuma put his hands on the edge of the bed and cried silently. He fought to save everyone, but he let someone important die.
And it was because of him.
Sadness and anger that he didn’t know where to direct.
The people around him didn’t say anything, but only Aisha opened her mouth.
“Yuma-kun, it may be too early to give up.”
“Eh?”
Yuma raised his face and looked at Aisha. With her hands in the pockets of her white coat, Aisha stared at Yuma.
“I don’t trust it, but there has always been a whispered rumor about the ‘White Magic Gem’.”
“Rumor?”
Yuma wiped away his tears with his hand and looked at Aisha.
“It is said that if you take in a large amount of White Magic Gems and become able to use high-dimensional [Recovery Magic], you may be able to revive the dead.”
“Is it really… is something like that possible?”
Yuma asked with wide eyes, but Aisha shook her head.
“It’s just a rumor. No one knows if it’s actually possible. Because no one has ever done it. But–“
Aisha opened her mouth with a serious look.
“Don’t you have enough Mana to try it?”
Yuma felt like he had been hit in the back of the head.
–That’s right, I have more than enough “Mana”. If I can get my hands on Magic Gems, I can use as much magic as I want.
“Aisha-san. I’ll do it! I’ll take in the “White Magic Gem” and heal Kaede!!”
Aisha smirked. And immediately turned to Serizawa.
“Serizawa-san, how much “White Magic Gem” does the Japanese government possess?”
Serizawa, who was asked, gulped and said, “I’ll check immediately,” and left the room.
Aisha walked to the side of the bed where the body was placed and quietly looked down at Kaede.
“If a dead person is revived… this is amazing.”
◇◇◇
Guided by Serizawa, who had returned, Yuma and the others moved to the reception room.
“Almost… none?”
Yuma frowned at Serizawa’s explanation.
“Yes, the most powerful “White Magic Gem” was used on Ichinose-san, and the other Magic Gems have already been used. The ones that were in the private sector were burned by the Dragon’s flames, and now…”
Serizawa closed his mouth apologetically.
Yuma, Rui, Kanzaki, and Aisha were led into the room and sat on one side of the sofa. Serizawa was sitting across from them.
“There’s still some left, right?”
Kanzaki frowned.
“Even if you add up all the White Magic Gems that the government has, it would be about Mana Index 1000 to 2000.”
“That’s all…”
Yuma felt desperate. Just when he thought he could save Kaede, he felt like he was already running aground.
He didn’t know what to do, and his vision went black.
Rui called out to Yuma.
“It’s okay, Yuma. We can dive into the White Dungeon in Hokkaido. We can secure a large amount of Magic Gems there. I’ll help you, so let’s go together!”
Kanzaki also agreed, saying, “That’s a good idea!”
“I’ll help you too! If we attack with all our might, we can get Magic Gems–“
Just as Kanzaki raised his tension, Aisha clicked her tongue.
“Are you guys stupid? The “White Magic Gem” has the lowest generation rate. On top of that, the “White Dungeon” in Japan is quite large. If you’re going to conquer a place like that, I don’t know how long it will take!”
The three of them were discouraged by Aisha’s scolding.
If that’s the case, what other methods are there? Not only Yuma, but also Rui and Kanzaki were at a loss and fell silent. Among them, only Aisha shook her head, saying, “Oh dear.”
“There’s a more efficient way to collect “White Magic Gems”, right?”
Yuma’s face lit up at Aisha’s words.
“That means…”
“It’s easy. Just ask the governments around the world to release the “White Magic Gems” they possess.”