Chapter 20
"First, a toast to you."
Kanzaki Tomomu set down the wine jar, raised his bowl, and drained it in one go.
Dragon Crystal didn't quite understand what was happening, so he simply stopped thinking about it and emptied his own bowl as well.
"Forty-something years have passed in the blink of an eye… and you still look so young. I really envy long-lived species…"
"You haven't changed much since nine years ago either. Also, I'm not a long-lived species." Kanzaki Tomomu refilled both bowls.
"That's true. Even I can maintain my appearance with cosmetic procedures. A miracle doctor like you must have far better methods, but unfortunately you never sell them." Dragon Crystal sighed with regret.
Kanzaki Tomomu said nothing and simply raised his bowl in invitation.
The bowls clinked together with a clear ring.
"That hits the spot!"
Dragon Crystal wiped the corner of his mouth and let out a satisfied sigh.
"Old Kanzaki, did you realize I'm about to die? That's why you finally brought out this plum blossom brew, isn't it?"
"…" This time it was Kanzaki Tomomu's turn to freeze.
When no answer came, Dragon Crystal didn't bother studying his expression. Taking the silence as confirmation, he continued on his own.
"I didn't come for medicine last year because I didn't think it was necessary anymore…"
"The side effects of artificially extending my life back then… I don't want to keep enduring them. I've lived 336 years and suffered those side effects for 247 of them. I'm tired."
"Well, to be precise, 204 years."
After all, once he found Kanzaki Tomomu, the medicine had given him 43 stable years.
A high-ranking company executive and one of the ten Stonehearts — what did all that prestige matter?
Only he knew the pain that felt like ten thousand ants gnawing at his heart every night.
"…I'm sorry. When it comes to the power of the Abundance Path, there's nothing I can do." Kanzaki Tomomu sighed.
"Hey, I didn't come here to hear an apology."
Dragon Crystal took another gulp of wine and spoke as if to himself.
"A massive company like this, even the Emanator of Preservation couldn't do anything, yet you can at least treat the symptoms. That's impressive enough, old Kanzaki."
"I came today to say goodbye. Waiting to die isn't my style. I've already chosen my day."
"Being able to drink your most treasured brew before I go… I have no regrets."
"The company is full of scheming and backstabbing. Countless people are just waiting for you to slip up. It's a constant life-or-death struggle…"
"I finally understand why you chose to live in seclusion in the mountains for peace and quiet. No need to watch your back for hidden blades every day, no need to worry about the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands or even millions of people under you. It must be nice."
"I'm really exhausted, old Kanzaki… I've gone through my entire contact list and can't find a single… friend I can talk to about what's really on my mind. Haha…"
"So before I die, I shamelessly came looking for you."
"I figured even if the miracle doctor Kanzaki Tomomu doesn't see me as a friend, at least I'm someone he can listen to when I need to vent."
"Listening to a lonely patient talk about what's weighing on his heart is part of a doctor's duty, right?"
"…" Kanzaki Tomomu remained silent. He simply refilled Dragon Crystal's bowl and listened quietly.
He didn't deny what Dragon Crystal had said.
Between friend and patient, Dragon Crystal had always been the latter — an equal exchange where each got what he needed.
He gave Dragon Crystal medicine to suppress the pain. Dragon Crystal used his position to handle important matters for him. That was all. There had never been any personal favors.
But at this moment, Dragon Crystal was a friend.
Friendship between men often needed no grand setup.
"My parents died early. They were beaten to death…"
"They stole and robbed just to feed me when I was barely eleven…"
"That world had no order left. The only rule was that the strong made the rules."
"I killed those people to avenge my parents. To leave no loose ends, I burned everything down. I didn't even spare the children who were younger than me…"
"I should have died too, but a blind woman saved me."
"When the company people arrived, I signed the contract without hesitation. After that, I fought my way up with everything I had."
"Because I knew only by climbing higher could I control my own fate."
"And I did manage it. But when I look back now, all I left behind was a mess — an absolute mess. Heh…"
"You might think I'm being dramatic, but I have to say it. From the moment that blind woman who saved me died in front of me, the real me probably died right then too."
"I never got to tell her I liked her, that I loved her, that I wanted to marry her…"
"I made her a promise… I made her a promise…"
"I would take her across the galaxy. Until her eyes were healed, I would be her eyes and show her every beautiful sight in the universe."
"But I broke that promise. Hahaha—"
"The story is cliché, isn't it? But that's my life. I'm a success and a complete failure all at once."
"When I grew old I desperately searched for ways to extend my life simply because I refused to accept that the failed version of myself would just die like that."
"…I see things clearly now, old Kanzaki."
"I've donated all my wealth to worlds as chaotic as my home planet. Now I can go find her with no attachments left."
"It's just… after so many years, she must have moved on long ago. She wouldn't still be waiting for me, would she…"
Kanzaki Tomomu lowered his gaze. He offered no opinion and felt he had no right to judge.
The only thing he could truly empathize with was the suffering of childhood.
"…At the fork in the road of fate, I was a little luckier than you."
"Tell me about it?"
"When I was dying in a pile of corpses, my teacher picked me up. Unlike the blind woman you mentioned, she was an incredibly skilled biologist."
"Those packages you send every year — they're for your teacher?"
"Yes."
"Then you really were luckier than me. At least you don't have any regrets." Dragon Crystal laughed or cried, it was hard to tell. He tilted his head back and drank straight from the bowl.
Kanzaki Tomomu's lips moved slightly. He wanted to say something, but in the end he simply closed his eyes.
Compared to what Dragon Crystal had gone through, failing to persuade his teacher felt like nothing.
But why…?
His heart suddenly ached as if someone had reached into his chest and squeezed it tightly.
Fragments of extremely blurry scenes flashed through his mind, the pain almost unbearable.
He couldn't see them clearly… none of them.
"Dragon Crystal."
"Hm?"
"I'm the same as you. I've already chosen my day."
"Don't tell me…"
"Yes. My lifespan is almost over. I only have a few days left. Actually, this is the real reason I brought out the plum blossom brew for you today."
Dragon Crystal stared blankly at the calm-faced Kanzaki Tomomu for a long moment, then let out a burst of laughter.
"You stingy old bastard. You only bring out your most treasured wine when you're about to die."
"You're one to talk. You only remembered to do good deeds and donate everything when you were about to die."
"Hahaha, true."
Dragon Crystal laughed loudly at first, then slowly grew quiet. He asked seriously, "So… how many days do you have left?"
"The day of Great Cold."
"Heh, I go one day earlier than you. Looks like neither of us will be able to see the other off."
"Today is goodbye. No regrets."
"Same here. But old Kanzaki, why have you stopped caring about this world? Do you really have no regrets left at all?"
"Precisely because I have no regrets, I feel no attachment."
"Is this what it looks like when a doctor has seen through life and death…? Never mind. Let's finish this bowl! To friendship!"
Life can be long or short, but it always passes in a hurry. Many people never get the chance to say goodbye.
But at least these two old men, who had only been friends for half a day, could say their final farewell to each other today.
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