"Kaede, did you sleep well? It's almost evening."
"Mmm... yawn... Oh, Big Brother?"
"Good morning, Kaede-chan."
"Big Sister too!"
Hachiman and Asuna called out to Kaede as she woke up. Kaede, seemingly a morning person, energetically jumped out of bed and hugged the two of them.
"Big Brother, Big Sister, you came to my house! Kaede is super happy!"
"There's one more person, Kaede. Look, over here."
Looking puzzled, Kaede toddled after them. When she found Kiyomori smiling in the living room, a beaming smile spread across her face, and she ran to hug him.
"Grandpa, you came too!"
"Yes. I thought we could have dinner together for the first time in a while today, Kaede."
"Really? Yay!"
Kaede rejoiced and plopped herself down on Kiyomori's lap. She looked around curiously, then asked Kiyomori:
"Grandpa, where's Mom?"
"Keiko is out shopping right now. She should be back soon."
"I see~ I wonder what dinner is today? I wonder, I wonder?"
Unable to wait, Kaede swayed her body happily from side to side on Kiyomori's knee.
Timing her entrance perfectly, Keiko appeared.
"Oh my, Kaede. You look like you're having so much fun with Grandpa, Big Brother, and Big Sister here."
"Yep!"
"Kaede-chan, do you want to cook with me and your mom today?"
"I do!"
Kaede nodded immediately at Asuna's words with an excited face.
"What are we making?"
"Today, I thought we'd make Grandma's curry. I want you to be able to make Grandma's curry soon, too."
"Hmm, but Kaede is going to disappear soon, so..."
Hearing those words, Hachiman immediately spoke to Kaede.
"Oh, Kaede is going to make it for us today? I'm really looking forward to that."
"Big Brother wants Kaede to make curry?"
"Yeah. Big Brother wants to eat Kaede's curry."
"Okay then! Kaede will do her best!"
"Right on. Grandpa and I will be waiting."
"Okay!"
With that, Kaede headed to the kitchen with Keiko and Asuna.
Fortunately, Kaede didn't look back. If she had, she would have discovered Kiyomori crying, which likely would have caused a bit of a commotion.
"...Sorry, boy."
"That surprise attack couldn't be helped. Don't worry about it, geezer. If I hadn't anticipated it beforehand, even I would have been in trouble. Still, why is Kaede so resigned to it?"
"Indeed..."
After Hachiman spoke to him, Kiyomori fell silent. The usual intensity was gone from his demeanor; Hachiman felt as though Kiyomori had become very small.
"Well, we have to find the cause by the time the surgery starts."
"Worst case, we might have to ask her directly."
With that, the two began making small talk, ready for Kaede to return at any moment. Sure enough, after a short while, Kaede came back. She sat on Kiyomori's lap again and spoke happily to him.
"Grandpa! Kaede cut the vegetables!"
"Oh, really? Were you able to cut them well?"
"Umm, some of them might have ended up a little funny shaped..."
"That's fine. Those are the ones that taste good."
"Really?"
"Yes. You'll understand when you eat them."
"Okay!"
A little later, Keiko and Asuna returned, carrying the finished curry. Kaede took one bite, and her eyes sparkled.
"It's true! It's Grandma's super delicious curry!"
"See? I told you. This curry is filled with Kaede's kindness—her wish to make it delicious."
"Does the taste change with feelings?"
"It does. Feelings are very important, Kaede."
"I see~ so feelings are important."
Kaede nodded, seemingly convinced of something. Seeing this, Hachiman hoped it would make her at least somewhat more positive.
The five of them finished a fun dinner and spent some time relaxing while watching TV. Eventually, Kaede grew sleepy and began nodding off on Kiyomori's lap.
Kiyomori gently lifted her up, carried her to the bed, and laid her down softly. Thus, the day ended in a calm atmosphere.
"Anyway, tomorrow is the decisive battle."
"Yeah."
"Let's do our best, Great-Uncle."
The next day, Hachiman and Asuna were woken up by a cheerful Kaede.
"Big Brother, Big Sister, it's morning!"
"Oh, morning already? Good morning, Kaede. You're up early today."
"Yep! But I slept a lot so I'm not sleepy at all!"
"I see. That's good then."
"Good morning, Kaede-chan."
"Big Sister, good morning!"
The three of them headed to the living room. Kiyomori was already there, and he smiled at Kaede.
"Good morning, Kaede. Did you sleep well last night?"
"Yep!"
"Good, good. That is wonderful."
After breakfast, Keiko logged out, claiming she had work—though in reality, it was to prepare for the surgery. The remaining four went out to the park, just like the other day.
『Har-bo, it's almost time for the surgery.』
Argo's voice spoke to Hachiman, inaudible to Kaede.
Kaede was playing very happily with Asuna and Kiyomori. Hachiman felt anxious, but he refused to give up. Focused on every single move Kaede made in an attempt to turn her mindset positive, he noticed something. Every time a large truck passed by, Kaede seemed to tense up slightly.
Hachiman tried to ask her about it casually.
"You seem a little nervous. Is Kaede not good with big trucks?"
"Y-yeah... Ever since Dad was hit by a big truck and died, Kaede has been a little scared of them."
"Is that so... Sorry for asking something bad. My bad, Kaede."
"No, it's okay, Big Brother. Big Brother doesn't say weird things to Kaede."
"Weird... things?"
"Yeah. At Dad's funeral, I heard the relatives talking."
Just as I suspected, Hachiman thought. Trying to keep Kaede's mood from sinking, he stroked her head and asked gently:
"I see. What were they saying?"
"Umm, they said Kaede is going to die from an illness soon too, and then the main family bloodline will end. So, I understood then that Kaede is going to die soon."
Hearing those words, Hachiman exchanged a glance with Kiyomori. Kiyomori nodded at the signal, showing an expression of pure fury.
"Kaede. It's true your illness is rare and hard to cure. But right now, Uncle Tomomori is trying his absolute hardest to cure it."
"But those people said the same thing at the Sleeping Forest too."
Hachiman desperately suppressed his urge to snap and spoke to Kaede as if admonishing her.
"Kaede. You don't have to believe what people like that say. Remember what Grandpa said when you made Grandma's curry? The most important thing is Kaede's feelings. Do you understand?"
"Kaede's feelings?"
『Har-bo, Tomomori-san says her vitals aren't stabilizing. He can't start the surgery like this.』
Argo's voice came through at the same time. Panicking internally, Hachiman desperately tried to push through with his conversation with Kaede.
"That's right. Grandpa and Big Sister believe from the bottom of their hearts that Kaede's illness will definitely be cured. Of course, I do too. So don't you think that feeling will cure your illness, just like Kaede's feelings made the curry delicious?"
"Ah... Is that the same thing Koma-Big Brother said?"
"Koma-Big Brother? You mean Komao?"
"Yeah, that Koma-Big Brother! He told Kaede a little while ago that he was trapped by bad people until just recently, but he believed he would definitely return home, so he was really able to come back!"
(Komao, that was too nice of you! You are a god!)
Seizing this chance, Hachiman called Asuna to his side and spoke to Kaede with a smile.
"Kaede. Actually, Big Brother and Big Sister were trapped by bad guys together with Koma-Big Brother too."
"R-really?"
Kaede looked surprised.
"Yep, it's true, Kaede-chan."
"I didn't know..."
"But look, Big Brother and Big Sister are here with Kaede right now, aren't we? Koma-Big Brother said we came back because we believed we would return, but actually, it's a little different, Kaede."
"R-really?"
"Yeah. We didn't just believe; we fought and won. That's why we are here now. We'll show you what we looked like then, just for you, Kaede."
"O-okay."
Hachiman requested Argo to change their avatars to look the way they did when they fought Kiyomori. Right before Kaede's eyes, Hachiman and Asuna transformed into their Knights of the Blood uniforms, just like the other day.
Seeing this, Kaede's eyes went wide.
"Wow! Big Brother and Big Sister transformed!"
"That's not all. Watch this, Kaede."
Hachiman and Asuna took their weapons and exchanged a few blows. Unnoticed, Kiyomori had moved next to Kaede. He stroked her head and said:
"How about it, Kaede? Those two are incredibly strong, aren't they?"
"Yeah, they're amazing, Grandpa!"
"Because they believed and believed and tried their hardest, those two were able to become that strong."
"Stronger than Grandpa?"
"Yes. Those two are stronger than Grandpa."
"Wow, wow!"
Kaede's eyes sparkled. To this Kaede, Kiyomori spoke.
"So, Kaede. Won't you tell Grandpa your true feelings now? What does Kaede want to do about her illness?"
"I... I... But, I think I'm going to die soon anyway..."
"If you truly think that, why are you crying right now, Kaede?"
"Eh?"
Pointed out by Kiyomori, Kaede realized she was crying.
"Huh? Huh? Why is Kaede crying...?"
Kiyomori spoke gently to her.
"You see, Kaede... in this place, tears cannot be held back. In other words, tears are coming out because Kaede truly feels sad right now."
"Sad...? Kaede is sad?"
"Yes... Come now, won't you tell Grandpa your true feelings?"
"Grandpa... Kaede... Kaede is..."
Kaede leaped into Kiyomori's chest and, wailing loudly, pleaded with him.
"Kaede doesn't want to die! I don't want to die! I want to keep playing and eating together with Mom, Grandpa, Big Brother, and Big Sister like this forever!"
"I see... It's okay. It's okay, Kaede. You have Grandpa, and that incredibly strong Big Brother and Big Sister on your side. We'll defeat an illness easily."
"Really?"
"Yes, really."
"Okay! Then Kaede will fight too!"
"That is reassuring. If Kaede fights with us, we will absolutely never lose."
"Yep!"
『Har-bo, vitals have stabilized. Commencing surgery now.』
Hearing that, Hachiman walked up to Kaede and smiled.
"You're a good girl, Kaede."
"Yeah! Kaede is a good girl, right?"
"A very good girl, Kaede-chan."
"Ehehe."
"Alright then, as a reward, let's play with Kaede to our hearts' content today."
"Reward?"
"Yeah, a reward."
"Yay! Thank you!"
From then until the surgery was over, Kaede's smile never faded.
By the time the surgery ended, Kaede finally succumbed to exhaustion and fell asleep on a bench. Just then, another announcement came from Argo.
『The surgery was a success. Well done, you three.』
"Alright!"
"We did it!"
"I see... A success... Well done. Well done, Tomomori!"
Hearing the news, the three of them exploded with joy.
Including Kaede, the four of them logged out right there.
A short while later, Kaede safely woke up in her bed at the Sleeping Forest.
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