Konno Yuuki.
The name was somewhat unfamiliar to Luo Shu, but the alias "Absolute Sword Yuuki" left a deep impression on him.
A girl who made a fleeting appearance in one arc of the SAO anime series, a terminally ill teenager with an inexplicable bond to the heroine Asuna.
To be honest, Luo Shu hadn't expected the frail little girl he'd just seen to be her.
"She doesn't match the age you mentioned at all," Utaha said, her tone unusually heavy.
Utaha wasn't blind—the girl in the photo looked so thin and sickly that she barely resembled a twelve-year-old. It was understandable that Luo Shu had misjudged her age.
When Utaha's eyes scanned Konno Yuuki's medical records, she fell silent.
"Because of a blood transfusion error at birth... the entire family contracted an incurable disease..."
Though she'd never experienced it personally, someone as sensitive as Utaha couldn't help but empathise with Konno Yuuki's plight.
"Luo Shu, perhaps the assessment should..." Utaha began, only to be interrupted.
"The assessment is still necessary."
Luo Shu gave Utaha an advance warning:
"Unconditional compassion can cloud one's judgement."
"Rather than desperately begging to save someone, I'd much prefer laying all cards on the table for a clear, transactional exchange."
Here, Luo Shu paused before continuing:
"I can treat Konno Yuuki, even her entire family if needed, but the price is that Konno Yuuki's life from this point onward belongs to me."
Hearing Luo Shu's forceful tone, Utaha froze for a moment before bursting into laughter:
"Speaking so seriously, yet in the end, you're still rushing to save her, aren't you?"
"You've just wrapped it in the guise of a straightforward transaction."
'And besides you, this benevolent chief god, who would go out of their way to treat a patient for free?'
Utaha silently added in her mind.
Luo Shu could only stare at Utaha in speechless silence.
'Life is hard enough without you exposing me, Miss Utaha. Coming up with excuses is exhausting work.'
"Kindness is an excellent virtue, my adorable chief god."
"Shall I reward you with a kiss?"
Seeing this, Utaha could only glance around and, taking advantage of no one watching, quickly pecked Luo Shu's cheek.
"That one's complimentary."
After saying this, Utaha asked:
"So, then, kind-hearted Luo Shu, how do you plan to help our little miss?"
Luo Shu paused mid-step before replying:
"I looked up Konno Yuuki's situation using the Encyclopaedia."
This was an excuse, a prelude to what he would say next:
"Konno Yuuki's personality shows no major flaws, so we might as well proceed directly to the final step."
"Final step?" Utaha was puzzled, not understanding what Luo Shu meant.
At this, Luo Shu calmly explained: "The so-called final step is a direct confrontation—straightforwardly presenting the conditions to Konno Yuuki and letting her decide whether to accept!"
Utaha blinked in surprise before sighing:
"You mean laying out the mystic side's terms openly? Telling Konno Yuuki that joining your harem will save her entire family?"
She couldn't help but add:
"We'll be treated like chuunibyou cases."
"And that's only because we're decent-looking. If it were some unattractive middle-aged man, do you think that little girl wouldn't call the police?"
Luo Shu snapped his fingers with a smile: "Which is why we need a middleman—someone Konno Yuuki would trust."
"Faust!"
"Doctor Kurahashi!"
Unfortunately, their suggestions didn't align.
Utaha, who had proposed Doctor Kurahashi, couldn't resist complaining:
"Shouldn't it normally be Doctor Kurahashi? He's Konno Yuuki's attending physician, isn't he?"
Luo Shu rolled his eyes: "If we choose him, we'd have to convince him before we even get to Konno Yuuki."
"Who do you think is easier to persuade—a child or an adult?"
"Besides, a responsible doctor isn't what we're looking for here."
Simply put, Luo Shu worried that Doctor Kurahashi, having no exposure to the mystic side, might dismiss them as frauds, needlessly complicating matters.
After some thought, Utaha saw the logic but still muttered under her breath:
"It's truly baffling that the majority of frontline staff in an SDS-affiliated hospital remain completely unaware of the mystic side..."
She couldn't fathom the reasoning behind such an arrangement.
Luo Shu was aware of some inside information, knowing this was the activation condition of a certain terrifying Abyss Artefact. However, such matters were difficult to explain in the current situation, so he quickly changed the subject:
"Anyway, having Faust vouch for us and take us to meet Konno Yuuki is the fastest way to recruit new members."
At this point, Luo Shu paused: "After all, Faust's face just screams 'wizard'."
Hearing this, Utaha recalled Faust's purple eyeshadow makeup. With that look, he could easily pass as a fortune-telling wizard next door – it was more than sufficient, perfectly matching the profession.
"In a certain sense, that's completely undeniable."
...
"Konno Yuuki?"
In the office, Faust held his coffee cup, looking slightly confused at the two:
"That adorable little patient in the infectious disease ward? What do you want with her?"
As a long-term patient in the hospital, Faust had heard bits about Konno Yuuki – just an unlucky girl – hence his question.
"That girl has remarkable talent." Luo Shu explained succinctly: "Though she's underage, she could still serve as a reserve member."
"Is that so?" Faust fell silent for a moment before nodding: "I'll cooperate with you."
...
Infectious Disease Ward.
Konno Yuuki sat on her hospital bed, gazing out the window at the tree sprouting new buds.
Spring is passing by again...
Just then, a knock sounded at the door.