Does Spring Come Even for a Dying Esper

“Guiding? We already did that before coming here today.”

Iberis looked at Lucas sitting next to him with confusion.

“You used your ability a little while ago.”

Lucas mentioned Iberis’s use of his power to subdue Carlos in the conference room as he extended his hand to Iberis.

“No, for that brief moment… That level doesn’t even cause after-effects.”

“I know. But I’m still concerned.”

The gray eyes flickered at the mention of concern. Lucas’s voice was laden with worry for him. Recognizing this, Iberis felt a tingling in his chest.

“…Alright.”

Finally, Iberis removed his glove and gently placed his hand on Lucas’s palm.

“I’m starting.”

As if he had been waiting for this, Lucas grasped Iberis’s hand and drew up his mana. As he injected mana through their joined hands, he could see the slender wrist twitch slightly.

Lucas gazed down at Iberis’s hand, covered in scars both large and small. Perhaps because he had seen the scabbed lips earlier, his attention was drawn to something he hadn’t particularly noticed before.

“Why are you looking like that? You’ll bore a hole through my hand.”

“There are so many scars.”

“Ah, it’s unsightly, isn’t it?”

Iberis wrinkled his nose with an embarrassed expression. Wearing gloves all day was largely to block the cold air that flowed out as naturally as breathing, but it was also intended to hide his scarred hands.

“With an S-class esper’s healing ability, scars shouldn’t remain easily. How did you get injured?”

“Well, these aren’t from fighting monsters, but from the after-effects.”

“Traces of the after-effects?”

“Yeah. After countless cycles of getting frostbite and recovering, my skin started tearing and flesh splitting. Seems even S-class recovery couldn’t prevent it.”

Iberis muttered bitterly, taking in the sight of his hand covered in countless scars.

“If it’s unpleasant to look at, we can do the guiding with your gloves on?”

While skin-to-skin contact is basic for guiding and more effective, hand-holding and hugging were possible even with clothes on. Lucas’s eyes hardened at Iberis’s suggestion.

“When did I say it was unpleasant to look at?”

“Huh?”

“Not even a single part of your hand is unsightly, Major. These are records of how hard you’ve lived and endured, so don’t be ashamed.”

Lucas retorted gruffly and interlaced their fingers demonstratively. His long, firm fingers dug between Iberis’s.

“Ah, Cap…tain?”

Iberis’s shoulders instinctively hunched at the warmth and mana tightly binding his hand as if never to let go. He made a startled expression, unconsciously letting out a shallow moan.

“Call me Luke. You use it well in front of others, why are you being formal now?”

For some reason irritated, Lucas pressed his nails against the rough scars under his fingertips.

“Ugh!”

Iberis flinched greatly at the tingling pain on the back of his hand. His body reacted even to slight stimulation due to being sensitized by the guiding.

“Wh-what, stop, ah.”

Iberis, who was trying to stop Lucas, tightly closed his eyes as the blunt thumb rubbed a recently formed scar. The sensation of mana seeping into the newly healed area was quite peculiar.

“Hmm, I can’t remove them all… but I think I can get rid of the recent ones. Guiding is effective even for wounds caused by after-effects.”

Lucas, after carefully examining the scars on Iberis’s hand, recalled effective regenerative ointments in his mind. He thought about buying several ointments along with lip balm when they go for the detailed examination tomorrow, as he finished the guiding. Then he looked at Iberis with satisfied eyes.

He quite liked how Iberis’s cheeks would turn slightly pink after guiding, as if a light flower dye had been applied to the previously colorless skin. He also enjoyed the faint warmth returning to the ice-cold skin.

“You must be tired, so get some rest. I’ll wake you when we arrive at the unit.”

“Aren’t you treating me too much like a baby?”

Iberis watched Lucas with a complex expression as he took out a prepared blanket and wrapped it around him. He felt strange about Lucas’s behavior of taking care of him like a child in every way after guiding. The problem was that Iberis didn’t dislike Lucas taking care of him like this.

“Taking care of a patient is a doctor’s duty.”

“You really…”

Should this be called strong sense of responsibility or obsessive? Iberis refused to think further and buried himself deeply in the car seat.

“If you can’t sleep, shall I sing you a lullaby?”

“No thanks.”

Iberis pouted his lower lip at Lucas’s joke and leaned his head on the broad shoulder.

“Just lend me your shoulder.”

“…Sure.”

Lucas, who had hesitated for a moment, answered casually as if nothing had happened. Then he raised his hand to lightly cover Iberis’s eyes.

* * *

Whirr…

Lucas frowned as he stared at the various readings appearing on the monitor. Although he hadn’t expected much since it had only been ten days since meeting Iberis, the results weren’t much different from the tests done at the unit on the first day.

“Should I be satisfied that it’s improved a little…”

The mana pollution level and mana circulation in the body had definitely improved. It was a natural result of clearing blocked mana circuits and removing residual mana throughout the body through guiding. However, the rate of physical damage remained unchanged.

“Tsk.”

Lucas clicked his tongue at the unsatisfactory results, his brow furrowing. Although he had prepared for a long battle, seeing numbers almost unchanged from ten days ago was disappointing. Instead of getting discouraged, he pondered what medicine to give Iberis. He was so focused that he didn’t notice Iberis coming out of the machine.

“Why the expression?”

“Ah.”

Lucas blinked as his concentration broke at the voice beside him. His vision cleared to see Iberis staring at him.

“When did you come out?”

“Just now.”

“Without calling me…”

“You seemed deep in thought… *cough*”

Iberis broke off his response with a small cough. The examination room was consistently cool due to the machines and equipment, and the patient gown was thinner than his usual clothes, making him feel the cold keenly.

“Are you cold?”

Lucas jumped up from his seat and quickly draped his coat over Iberis’s shoulders.

“You don’t have to go this far…”

Iberis awkwardly looked down at the doctor’s coat imbued with warmth. Due to their height difference, Lucas’s coat reached below Iberis’s knees, making him look like a child wearing adult clothes.

“We just have the matching rate test left, so please bear with it a little longer. Would you like some hot water?”

Remembering the remaining test, Lucas brought hot water from the water purifier. Then he sat Iberis down in a chair.

“Once the blood test results are out, we’ll move to the matching rate testing room.”

“Alright.”

Iberis sipped the hot water, blowing on it gently. Then he hesitantly spoke up.

“Today’s test results… no one else knows about them, right?”

Currently, the two were conducting detailed examinations at the military hospital within N-9 Unit. Perhaps due to the commotion in the conference room yesterday, Major Namia Berk, the commander of N-9 Unit, had personally come to greet them. This worried Iberis.

“Berk might be curious…”

Iberis muttered in a concerned voice. In principle, a patient’s medical records at a military hospital are only accessible to the patient and the treating doctor. Also, once a doctor enters a patient’s chart, a security code is immediately activated, making it impossible for anyone without authorization to view it.

But there are no perfect secrets in this world. While he could keep things hidden in his own unit, he was worried about being in another unit commander’s territory.

“There’s no need to worry too much, your information won’t leak out, Major.”

Lucas answered confidently. Since Iberis’s condition shouldn’t be known to anyone, Lucas had taken charge of all the tests alone today. Moreover, he had implanted a security program sent by Winfried into the computer, ensuring that nothing would remain in the military hospital’s records. Not even the fact that Iberis had visited today.

“It’s fine because no record will remain in the military hospital at all. As soon as we leave the hospital, an agent from the Central Intelligence Department waiting outside will clean the examination room computers once more.”

“Really? That’s a relief then.”

Only then did Iberis drink his water with a somewhat relieved expression. If the Central Intelligence Department was involved, he could feel at ease.

Lucas gazed at Iberis, who was now fiddling with his cup with a more relaxed face, with complicated eyes. From their first meeting until now, Iberis had been extremely averse to people finding out about his terminal condition.

Maybe there are many enemies targeting the Major.

The perceptive Lucas easily guessed Iberis’s circumstances. Remnants of villain organizations crushed by the defense forces, or guilds that had conflicts during missions… Living as an esper affiliated with the military inevitably created both friends and foes.

Considering Iberis’s history, there were bound to be quite a few people waiting for him to weaken or hoping for his downfall. Among them, Livio Logan would probably be the one holding the biggest grudge.