Not Mind Helping Others

Ayase's idea was very good, and Hoshiharu accepted it.

The girl's face and figure were also quite good, fitting his preferences.

But Hoshiharu had just started an affair with Kanata and had only recently begun a relationship with Touka. Being caught between the two women had made him anxious, and he didn't know how to handle it.

If he got involved with Ayase and Touka or Kanata found out...

It could only be said that Hoshiharu didn't want to be killed by Raikiri or Diamond Storm.

"But I didn't refuse... Ehehehe!"

The beauty of this move was that if Hoshiharu regretted it later or had the means to start a harem, he could go back and rekindle his relationship with Ayase.

Hoshiharu felt that he was gradually beginning to understand how to be a scoundrel.

"You're laughing so disgustingly."

Kiriko was holding a game controller and staring at the screen boredly while making her complaint.

This was her office lounge, and it was her break time now.

There were no patients in the room now, just the two of them.

"So, what's up with you coming back to see me again?"

Hoshiharu had left and then returned midway.

"Kiriko-san, do you have a portable Healing Capsule?"

Hoshiharu coughed lightly and tried to hold back the smile on his face, "Or is there some kind of potion that can heal all injuries as long as someone drinks it?"

"...Do you think I'm Doraemon, or do you think I'm playing a game?"

Kiriko looked at him oddly.

She started to feel that even though Hoshiharu's body had gotten better, there might be something wrong with his brain again.

"So, you don't?"

"If there were, I would have found someone to mass-produce it."

Kiriko was undoubtedly a great doctor.

If she had found a portable Healing Capsule or Elixir, she would have published it long ago and brought good news to suffering people around the world.

"Fine."

Hoshiharu could only sigh helplessly.

He was about to travel to another world next, but Noble Art was very physically demanding. Without powerful healing tools, he wouldn't dare use that power easily.

Healing Capsules in general were too large and consumed a lot of energy. They couldn't be moved at all and couldn't be used if relocated.

"Even so, I didn't expect you to be willing to help Ayatsuji and her father."

Kiriko put down the documents in her hand and looked at Hoshiharu oddly.

"In the past, you were really immersed in your own world, only thinking about recovery and becoming stronger. Isn't it different now?"

The two first met when Hoshiharu was seven and Kiriko was ten.

At that time, Kiriko was completely immersed in her research and didn't regard humans as humans. At that time, Hoshiharu was also immersed in his hatred of fate.

Back then, he only thought about becoming stronger, and all he saw was becoming stronger. His heart was filled with the fire of hatred, and there was no room for anything else.

At that stage, both were equally desperate.

"No, I haven't changed my mind now."

Hoshiharu shrugged, a very calm expression on his face.

Kiriko couldn't see a trace of the stubbornness of that time on his face.

"I just started to notice other things around me. When I became paranoid, Master didn't give up on me. Kiriko-san tried her best to save me, and Senior Sister took care of me gently..."

"—I can only understand the feelings of those who are weak and need help from others, so I don't mind helping others."

No one knew better than him how painful it was to be weak.

No one knew better than him how much the weak needed help from others.

Hoshiharu was able to thrive up to this day only with the help of others.

So then, why couldn't he help others when he met someone else who was weak?

Besides, it was just a little effort.

"We've all changed..."

Kiriko hummed and sighed as if she were sighing for a lifetime.

They had a tremendous influence on each other, like a couple holding hands on a suspension bridge.

There was no romance between them.

There was only pure respect for each other, pure and flawless, without the slightest impurity.

It was like being a confidant who understood everything about each other.

"By the way, Kiriko-san, aren't you going to participate in this year's Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival?"

Hoshiharu suddenly turned and asked a question that suddenly dampened her mood.

"Forget it, this year the teacher came to me and knelt directly, begging me to participate in the Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival. I couldn't refuse, so I had to sign up."

Kiriko groaned in pain.

She was 18 this year.

Even though she was Japan's first doctor and received many accolades, she was still a student.

A third-year student at Rentei Academy, one of the Seven Stars Academies.

Because she regarded herself as a doctor, she hadn't done much Knight activity, so she was only a B-Rank Blazer.

But she was truly excellent and had the strength of an A-Rank Blazer.

"Then this year's Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival seems to be a battle between experts."

Hoshiharu grinned and licked his lips in anticipation.

Before that, let him go to another world for training.

The obsession with becoming stronger had always been in his heart and had never wavered.

"Want to play a game?"

"Forgive me for declining!"

❀❀❀

Tuesday.

Hoshiharu participated in the third selection battle of Hagun Academy and easily defeated the other top ten contestants in the academy.

That afternoon, Hoshiharu left Hagun Academy carrying large and small bags.

A lonely wilderness.

Hoshiharu made sure no one was spying on him, then he took out the Nameless Sword.

A silver light emanated from his sword and enveloped his body, causing his perspective to gradually transcend this world.

At the same time, a dark door appeared before him again, and the golden writing on the door hadn't changed at all; it was still the name of the Earth World.

In the illusory silver space.

Hoshiharu carried a backpack filled with jewelry and outdoor gear.

Then he stepped forward, reached out his right hand, and carefully touched the dark door. His hand was cold, and there was no other abnormality.

With a bit of force, the dark door opened.

With a loud noise, the door opened, and the scene behind the door appeared in Hoshiharu's eyes.

It was clearly another world completely different from this one, also shrouded in illusory silver light.

Hoshiharu's eyes gradually brightened, and he didn't feel any danger.

He calmed himself for a moment, then took a deep breath to gradually steady his mood.

Then he stepped into the door.

The dark door swallowed Hoshiharu's figure, and then the door merged again and disappeared along with the silver space.