Beep, beep, beep—
The alarm clock’s ringing was especially noisy inside the ten-square-meter apartment.
Kiryu Kazusuke reached out and shut it off, rubbing his eyes as he sat up in bed.
Even though he had slept for more than eight hours, his brain was still extremely sluggish, as if he had just been fished out of formalin.
This was the price of a twenty-four-hour shift.
Outside the window, it was already pitch-black.
After handing over his shift this morning, he had dragged his heavy body back to his apartment.
So Kiryu Kazusuke had no idea what had happened at the hospital today, nor did he know that Suzuki Shinya’s recovery had given both the rehabilitation and radiology departments quite a scare.
When he returned to the apartment building, he happened to run into Saionji Mina, who was just heading out to work.
The two of them merely nodded at each other, and that counted as a greeting.
Although in traditional Japanese social norms, when moving in, one was supposed to bring soba noodles or sweets and visit the neighbors, in this sort of single-person apartment building, that old Showa-era custom had long since been thrown out.
Everyone was working hard just to stay alive. No one had extra energy to maintain neighborly relations.
Not bothering one another was already the highest etiquette of interpersonal relationships.
Kiryu Kazusuke walked into the bathroom, turned on the faucet, and splashed cold water over his face.
The haziness in his mind finally receded a little.
When he raised his head and looked into the mirror, he found that his complexion was somewhat pale, with faint dark circles beneath his eyes.
This sort of sub-healthy state was basically the norm for every resident doctor.
After tidying himself up briefly, Kiryu Kazusuke prepared to head out to the hospital to start his shift.
Tonight he was helping out in the emergency department, so he did not have to work another full night and day.
He grabbed his jacket, intending to first go downstairs to the Lawson convenience store and buy a bento for dinner.
His total assets had now reached more than two hundred thousand yen. Even though he was much better off than when he had first started, he still was not at the point where he could spend recklessly.
It was still because he had been poor for too long.
Kiryu Kazusuke put on his dark gray hoodie and pushed the door open.
Just as he locked the door and was about to turn to go downstairs—
Bang—
From the room next door, Apartment 301, there was suddenly a muffled thud.
“Ah!”
It was followed by a short cry of surprise.
Kiryu Kazusuke stopped in his tracks.
If it had been any other time, he probably would have chosen to ignore it.
But that muffled sound had seemed like something heavy falling, or someone collapsing.
Knock, knock, knock—
Out of a doctor’s professional instinct, or perhaps merely the most basic concern one should have as a neighbor, he walked over and raised his hand to knock on the metal door.
The inside immediately went quiet.
“Hey, are you all right?”
But he did not seem to hear footsteps coming to open the door, so Kiryu Kazusuke knocked again.
“Coming… I’ll be right there!”
Only after several seconds did a girl’s voice come from inside, sounding somewhat flustered.
When the door was pulled open a crack—
A girl who looked nothing like an office worker and more like a high school student skipping class poked her head out from behind the door.
She was wearing loose loungewear, her hair was a little messy, and there was still a trace of lingering fright on her face.
She looked rather disheveled.
Saionji Mina asked timidly, “Um… is something the matter?”
“I heard quite a loud noise from inside just now.” Kiryu Kazusuke pointed into the room. “Are you okay?”
“Ah, no, I’m fine!” Saionji Mina waved her hands repeatedly. “Um… I was cooking and accidentally messed up.”
Then, as if she suddenly realized something, she pulled the door open.
After that, under Kiryu Kazusuke’s puzzled gaze, she bent straight down at the waist. “I’m very sorry! Did I disturb you? I’m truly very sorry!”
This was one of those quintessential Japanese things.
Even if one’s own home was on fire, the first reaction would be to apologize to the neighbors for causing them trouble.
“As long as you’re fine.”
Seeing that she could still speak and that her limbs were moving normally, Kiryu Kazusuke did not want to ask any more questions.
Since it was only a noise caused by cooking, it had nothing to do with him.
He turned around and was about to go fill his stomach.
Beep, beep, beep—
However, from inside Apartment 301, a sudden alarm rang out.
It was the smoke detector.
“Ah! The pizza!”
Saionji Mina’s expression changed drastically. She cried out and turned to run back inside, completely forgetting about closing the door.
Kiryu Kazusuke immediately pushed the door open and followed her in.
Since he had already seen it, he could not very well watch the place next door burn down.
It was a single-person apartment with a layout similar to his. Upon entering was a narrow corridor, and at the end was an open kitchen.
At this moment, the kitchen was already filled with smoke.
Saionji Mina was standing in front of the oven in a fluster, waving her hands helplessly in an attempt to disperse the smoke, yet she did not dare touch the oven that was currently emitting black smoke.
All she could do was stamp her feet anxiously on the spot.
“Unplug it!”
Kiryu Kazusuke barked and quickly stepped forward.
He moved past Saionji Mina and directly reached out to pull the plug from the wall.
Then he picked up a wet rag from the counter, yanked open the oven door, dragged out the unidentifiable object inside that had already turned into black charcoal, and tossed it into the sink.
Hiss—
Cold water poured over it, sending up a cloud of white smoke.
It was at that very moment that a familiar pale red color surfaced in the depths of his eyes.
[Saionji Mina: I clearly set the temperature and time, so why did the timer get stuck? Why wouldn’t it turn off no matter what! I want to smash the alarm, I want to smash this lousy oven, aaaaaah!]
[Collapsible Worldline—]
[Branch One: Play the gentle and considerate good neighbor, comfort her, and help her clean up the mess. (Reward: A pleasant sense of self-satisfaction)]
[Branch Two: If she keeps suppressing it, she’s going to break. She’s already like this, so why don’t you go along with her? (Reward: Slight enhancement to physical fitness)]
Kiryu Kazusuke looked at the words on the screen of light, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly.
The first time he saw this neighbor, she had acted like a frightened rabbit, yet her inner monologue was this violent as well.
What a rock-solid character setting.
On the surface, she seemed timid and afraid of strangers, but inside, she was extremely irritable.
He quickly swept his gaze over the two options.
Branch One’s reward was “a pleasant sense of self-satisfaction.”
To be honest, he felt that was somewhat unnecessary. After all, a warm and considerate man did not need a reward; he would have a pleasant sense of self-satisfaction to begin with.
In that case—
Kiryu Kazusuke’s gaze landed on Branch Two.
Although it was only a slight enhancement to physical fitness, this was a genuine benefit.
According to statistics from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, doctors were a high-risk group for death from overwork, especially resident doctors like him at the bottom of the food chain.
In this high-intensity work environment, a strong physique was the greatest capital for survival.
Since she wanted to smash the world—
Then what else was there to say?
Smash it, then.
Kiryu Kazusuke turned his head to look at the oven that was still emitting black smoke. “Do you still want this thing?”
Saionji Mina froze for a moment.
She looked at the appliance that had already been burned beyond recognition. Inside, there was a lump of pitch-black charcoal giving off a pungent burnt smell. Clearly, even the circuit board had been destroyed.
Saionji Mina shook her head. “It’s already broken to this extent, so it definitely can’t be used anymore. And I’ve long felt that its heat was uneven. I was planning to replace it with a new one…”
As Kiryu Kazusuke listened, he took a step forward. “Step aside and cover your ears.”
Saionji Mina did not understand why, but she still subconsciously retreated to the side.
Bang—
A tremendous crash suddenly exploded in the kitchen.
Kiryu Kazusuke directly raised his foot and delivered a powerful, heavy side kick straight into the side of the oven.