[Your father was unable to find a cure. Yōhei Nakajima had already spent the first half of his life seeking out the best doctors for his daughter, but he failed. Neither you nor the father could reverse this outcome.]
[Your father managed to contact a professor from the Faculty of Medicine at Misaki University. You accompanied Reina Nakajima to the affiliated hospital of Misaki University’s medical school for an examination.]
[The doctor in charge of the examination was a vice director. She predicted that, without surgery, Reina Nakajima would have only five years left to live, with the final year spent weakly confined amidst a host of medical devices. If she underwent surgery, the operation should ideally occur within the next three years. Given Reina Nakajima’s current physical condition, the chances of success were slim. If successful, she could live for another decade or so, but another surgery would be required at that time.]
[This type of low-success-rate, niche surgery was one that most doctors and hospitals were unwilling to perform. It was only due to Yōhei Nakajima’s connections with a vice director at Chigusa University Hospital that they had initially agreed to take on the procedure.]
[Now, thanks to your father’s influence, Misaki University Hospital is also willing to perform the surgery.]
[Although Chigusa University Hospital is not as renowned overall as Misaki University Hospital, the doctor handling this particular type of surgery is a leading expert in the field, on par with the doctors at Misaki University Hospital. This is why you haven’t yet considered transferring Reina Nakajima to another hospital.]
[You need to decide now. If you choose Misaki University Hospital, Reina Nakajima must immediately transfer there so that the attending physician can familiarize themselves with her condition and prepare a surgical plan.]
[Faced with this situation, you must choose…]
[1. Opt for Misaki University Hospital and proceed with the surgery at the optimal time.]
[2. Abandon the surgery and pursue conservative treatment.][3. Begin with conservative treatment and resort to surgery only when Reina Nakajima’s body can no longer hold out.]
[4. Free simulation.]
The options were presented.
Yuuki Minami shook off his fatigue and carefully read through the three choices.
The option to have surgery at Chigusa University Hospital wasn’t included—unsurprising, as in the previous life simulation, Reina Nakajima’s surgery at Chigusa University Hospital had failed.
He examined the first option. Misaki University Hospital was the best hospital in Japan, but would choosing it improve the chances of a successful surgery? Probably not. The simulation text had already explained that Misaki University Hospital held no clear advantage for this procedure.
Then he looked at the second option. If he gave up on the surgery, Reina Nakajima would have five years left to live. In the previous simulation, she had passed away two years later. Giving up the surgery would grant her an extra three years.
Finally, the third option. Delaying the surgery until the fourth or fifth year. By then, Reina Nakajima’s health would have deteriorated to the point where the chances of success were exceedingly slim.
Which one to choose? He went over the meaning of each option again.
Option 1 was the aggressive choice: proceed with the surgery in two years, when the chances of success were at their highest. If successful, the girl would live on. But if it failed, she would die, just as in the previous simulation.
Option 2 was the conservative choice: abandon the surgery and let the girl live for about three more years, but with no chance of survival beyond five years.
Option 3 was the middle-ground choice: delay the surgery until the fourth or fifth year. The girl could live one or two more years this way, but the chances of success would be very low.
Should he take a big gamble, refuse to gamble, or take a small one? He couldn’t make up his mind for a long time.
He didn’t want to give up the possibility of a successful surgery, nor did he want to gamble with the remainder of the girl’s life. How could he let her give up the chance to live? How could he let her risk what little time she had left? The three options turned into swirling clouds of varying shades in his mind, shrouding his thoughts and filling him with restless anxiety.
This was the first time he’d encountered such a difficult decision—one that felt wrong no matter what he chose. He didn’t want to touch any of these options!
He turned over in bed, shifting from lying on his back to lying on his side. He opened his eyes and looked at the room shrouded in the darkness of night.
The bedside lamp hadn’t been turned off. The faint light spilling from the corner of the bed wasn’t enough to illuminate the room, but it kept pure darkness at bay. The entire bedroom was bathed in a gray haze—neither fully lit nor fully dark, with black and white blurring together, the boundaries of up and down inverted—a scene as chaotic as his mind.
It was a most tormenting sight. The surroundings seemed shrouded in darkness, yet also seemed to hold traces of light, leaving one unsure whether to stay asleep or rise to greet the dawn.
Yuuki Minami closed his eyes again and took a deep breath.
When reading the options earlier, the emotions conveyed through the simulation text had affected him, filling him with sorrow. But in truth, he didn’t need to feel so conflicted.
In reality, this would be an unsolvable dilemma—a problem with no visible answers or hope. But this wasn’t reality. It was merely one possible future, a simulation of what might come. If one attempt failed, there would still be another chance. What he needed to do was explore the possibilities of the future and find the path that led to happiness.
Stepping back from the simulated life, the choice now seemed clear.
He clicked on Option 1.
If there was a door leading to happiness among the three choices, it had to be the option of proceeding with the surgery. Options 2 and 3 would inevitably lead to the girl’s death.
And if Option 1 also failed? Then it would prove that this particular route was incorrect, and he would need to try another path.
The simulation text began to advance, and he watched with unease.
[You decided to proceed with the surgery at Misaki University Hospital. Reina Nakajima and Yōhei Nakajima agreed with your choice. Reina Nakajima moved from the Chigusa University Hospital rehabilitation ward to a room at Misaki University Hospital.]
[The day before the transfer, you brought gifts to the nurses at the rehabilitation ward to thank them for their care.]
[The nurses were reluctant to see you go. Even after you moved her to Misaki University Hospital, they often came to visit her.]
[You were in charge of handling the transfer. After your father pulled the necessary strings, he stepped aside, showing little concern for your future. He didn’t hold much hope for what lay ahead.]
[Yōhei Nakajima was initially worried that his daughter might struggle to adjust to an unfamiliar place. But when he saw her enter the expensive private ward, his worries shifted in another direction.]
[The private ward offered meticulous care and flexible policies, designed entirely to serve the needs of patients and their families. There were no restrictions on visiting hours, and if a patient wanted to go home, a small medical team could even accompany them.]
[What now concerned Yōhei Nakajima was his wallet.]
[You were the one paying for Reina Nakajima’s hospital stay. You kept it quiet, and no one except the people at your firm knew where you had managed to get such a large sum of money.]
[At the payment counter, Yōhei Nakajima inquired about the costs and found that the majority of the hospital fees had already been covered for three years. He assumed it was thanks to your father’s help and felt grateful. When your father visited Reina Nakajima and saw the luxurious ward, he thought the Nakajima family was sparing no expense to care for their daughter and felt deeply moved.]
[Amid their mutual misunderstandings, you successfully concealed the truth about your finances.]
[The surgery was scheduled for the autumn of the year after next.]
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