Chapter 1

"Mr. Amamiya, it's time for the checkup." The nurse knocked on the door of the ward and called out from outside, "I'm coming in, huh?"

A gentle and somewhat weak voice came from the ward: "Please come in."

The nurse pushed the door open, put the medicine tray in her hand on the bedside table, walked to the window and opened the curtains. The sunlight outside illuminated the dim ward. The young man sitting on the bed reading a book squinted his eyes slightly, and said to the nurse as if complaining or acting coquettishly: "Ms. Mami, it's too dazzling, you'd better draw the curtains."

"No need to talk." Nurse Asami crossed her arms and stared at the person sitting on the bed. "Mr. Amami is about to become a vampire who never sees the sun. The doctor told you to get some sun."

"Because vampires will die if they see the light." The young man made a joke in line with Nurse Mami's meaning, but under his pale face, the smile on the corner of his mouth looked very weak.

He had sparse long gray hair, his blue eyes were dull due to long-term illness, his face was thin and pale, and he didn't look like a living person. After opening the curtains, the sunlight outside shone on his face, barely adding a little color to it.

Amemiya Reiji coughed twice, chatted with the nurse for a few words, then reached out to pick up the pills on the bedside table and swallowed them. The wrist that emerged from the loose hospital gown was so thin that even one hand could fully grasp it. The thin skin wrapped around the bones was so fragile that it seemed like it would break if it was bent.

Seeing him taking the medicine obediently, Nurse Mami sighed and said, "I'll go for the checkup in an hour. You can sleep for a while."

Amamiya Reisheng swallowed the pill and shook his head gently: "No, I've slept long enough."

He went to bed at nine o'clock last night, slept until he had breakfast in the morning, and slept until just after lunch. If he sleeps any longer, he won't be able to wake up.

"Ms. Mami, can you take me out for a walk?" Amamiya Leisheng thought for a moment and said with a smile, "I haven't been out for half a month."

Nurse Mami frowned and hesitated: "Is that so? Then I'll ask for permission, but I can't guarantee that you can go out."

"It's okay, sorry... Even if it's just a walk around the yard, it's okay if it doesn't work."

It was difficult for Amamiya Rei to speak. He took two breaths and said softly, "After all, I know my own body well. Even if it's just for a short while, I'll probably have to be sent to the emergency room."

The last time I went to the yard, I hadn't even breathed the outside air for long before I vomited blood and passed out in the emergency room.

“Please,” Amamiya Ruisei put his hands together, “After all, today is my birthday.”

"Oh..." Nurse Asami looked at Amamiya Keisei with a complicated look. She had been transferred to work in this government-owned hospital for five years. Five years ago, the young man in front of her was still a thirteen-year-old child, and he was already a frequent visitor to the emergency room. Even though he is an adult now, he is much thinner than his peers. He can only stay in the ward all day, and his greatest entertainment is reading.

Asami had never been seriously ill, so she couldn't quite understand this kind of pain, but she had great respect for Amamiya Ruisei.

After all, not everyone can endure the pain and live for so many years.

"Mr. Amemiya." She couldn't help but speak.

"Um?"

"I don't know what disease you have, but... you will definitely recover." Nurse Asami smiled and said, "Happy birthday to you."

Amamiya Leisheng was stunned for a moment, then he smiled and said, "Thank you very much. I will try my best."

After Asami left the ward temporarily, Amamiya Keisei picked up the book on his lap again, flipped through a few pages, and closed it again.

He looked out the window, closed his eyes, and listened to the faint voices of the children who came with their families to see the doctor. A comfortable and gentle expression gradually spread on his face. The warmth of the sun suppressed the irritability and depression in his heart. He controlled his emotions to calm down, and his fingers gripping the book tightened and unclenched.

Recovering health?

He can do it, he definitely can do it.

Amamiya Ruisheng took two deep breaths, then laughed wildly, coughing as he laughed.

Today is his eighteenth birthday. He has lived to be eighteen, which makes him much luckier than many seriously ill children. Even God is merciful to him, making him want to live more and more greedily every day. How could he not recover his health?

He would definitely be able to leave the ward that had trapped him for more than ten years.

The emotions that had originally calmed down began to rise again. To ordinary people, the daily happiness and excitement were like a death warrant burning his body. Amamiya Leisheng couldn't control his violent coughing while laughing. The pain made him curl up and cover his mouth tightly with both hands, but he couldn't stop the blood from flowing out of his throat.

The bright red color fell on the clothes and quilt, and even the long gray hair was stained with blood. Amamiya Leisheng began to feel dizzy and his mind went blank and he passed out.

Ms. Asami must be very worried. She will cause trouble for the doctors again...

He thought.

…

When Amamiya Keisei woke up again, it was no surprise that he was sent to the intensive care unit again.

He had no idea how many sophisticated instruments were hung on his body. The dim light from the ceiling was particularly dazzling in his eyes when he just woke up. As soon as Amamiya Leisei opened his eyes, he closed them again.

After a while, someone walked up to him and whispered, "Leisheng, are you awake? Are you feeling okay?"

Not Miss Asami.

Amemiya Leisheng opened his eyes slightly again and looked at the young man next to him who was wearing a sterile protective suit. The man's face could not be seen because he was wearing a mask. His eyes were full of fatigue and pain that could not be concealed.

"It's Mr. Sakaguchi..." Amamiya said weakly, "I'm sorry to trouble you again."

"Nothing is too much trouble."

Sakaguchi Ango sighed deeply. He looked at the person on the bed with a complicated expression: "After all, you don't want this to happen."

Who wants to end up in the emergency room on their birthday?

Amemiya Ruisheng closed his eyes.

"Mr. Sakaguchi, what time is it now?"

Sakaguchi Ango hesitated for a moment, but still said, "It's already night."

It's evening.

Amemiya Ruisheng looked a little dazed.

He spent his birthday in a coma.

I originally wanted to go out for a walk, but now I can forget about it for the next half month...

It’s such a pity, but, but once he recovers, he will have many more birthdays in the future, so it doesn’t matter.

Amamiya Raisei was still a little dizzy. He met Sakaguchi Ango's worried eyes and managed to curl his lips. The mist on the oxygen mask blurred his smile: "Why is Mr. Sakaguchi here?"

"Are you here to celebrate my birthday? You're so busy at work, actually, actually you don't have to come... It's not the first time I've fainted from vomiting blood anyway."

This attack seemed to be more serious than the previous ones. He had only said a few words when a fishy-sweet taste filled his throat. He forcefully swallowed the surging blood and meat. His stomach protested with a nauseating feeling, but he endured it again. The tearing pain in his body made his head dizzy and he almost passed out again.

"I got off work early today, and I bought a gift to come see you. I put it in your usual ward." Sakaguchi Ango smiled and curved his eyebrows. "You'll be able to see it when you leave here. Haven't you always wanted to play games? I bought a new game console, you'll like it."

"Fortunately you..." He paused and said harshly, "Fortunately your birthday hasn't come yet, so I can still say happy birthday to you."

"But I was in a hurry on the way here, so I didn't buy you a birthday cake. I'll buy you one later. What flavor do you like?"

Amamiya Leisei laughed: "Mr. Sakaguchi must have been too distracted by work. I, I can't eat the cake."

Sakaguchi Ango choked, his hands hanging at his sides trembling slightly: "Sorry, I'll give you more when you get better. You can eat as many as you want. Eat all the cakes of these years."

Anyone could tell that Sakaguchi Ango was forcing a smile: "Then you can not only walk around in the hospital yard, but also go to other places, in Japan or abroad, and eat a lot of delicious food."

"Even though there's no birthday cake, you can still make a wish even if it's not your birthday. What do you want? I'll help you..."

"Mr. Sakaguchi."

Amamiya Ruisei interrupted Sakaguchi Ango.

He stretched out his hand towards Sakaguchi Ango, his bloodless fingertips trembling, and he lifted it up from the bed with difficulty, as if he wanted to grab something.

"Am I..." Amamiya Rei's voice was so soft that he didn't even know if he had said it out loud. His dark pupils were covered with mist, which gathered into drops as his eyelashes trembled, sliding down from the corners of his eyes and sinking into his hair. "Am I going to die?"

This broken body has kept him alive until now, so how could he not know that he has reached his limit?

The pain this time was more intense than ever before. Amamiya Leisei felt as if he was split in half. The blunt knife was grinding his body bit by bit, chopping and chewing his bones and blood. Even if he opened his mouth to say a word or moved a finger, he felt as if he would be torn to pieces in the next second.

He had never felt so clearly that his body could not hold on any longer.

He was dying. He was dying soon.

Sakaguchi Ango quickly stepped forward and held his hand, his fingertips turning white from pinching himself, and his tone was filled with panic: "How could you die? You will be fine! Hang in there, you will definitely survive!"

"Mr. Sakaguchi..." Amemiya Rei was gasping for breath violently, and blood was flowing from the corners of his eyes uncontrollably. The instruments beside him made shrill screams, and the medical staff outside rushed in.

"I don't want to die, I don't want to..."

Amemiya Keisei murmured in pain. He used his last bit of strength to clench Sakaguchi Ango's fingers, instinctively grabbing something left in this world, as if that would allow him to stay here too.

"I want—"

I want to live.

[Drip—Drip—]

[Bindable target detected]

[Bind?]

In the midst of chaos and pain, Amamiya Leisei vaguely heard a mechanical sound. He tried hard to open his eyes, but could only vaguely see a little light.

[Host!] The mechanical voice sounded a little anxious, [Hurry up and say 'Agree to be bound', I can help you survive!]

Live...live on...

The voice echoing in his mind and the panicked calls of the people beside him overlapped together. Amamiya moved his lips, and an unprecedented desire to live rose in his heart.

[I agree, I agree to be bound...]

His consciousness fell into complete darkness.

…

…

"Mr. Amamiya, this way please."

A thin young man in kimono followed the maid slowly, walking through the quaint courtyard. He tied up his long gray hair with a hair rope and let it hang down behind his back, swaying gently. His long bangs covered one of his eyes, and the other eye was exposed, looking at the surrounding environment with a little curiosity.

He was like a child who had just come into this world. There was no trace of gloom in his pure eyes, and he had a strong curiosity about this new world. However, he did not ask the maid any questions, but just observed silently by himself.

[Host, please curb your curiosity. You are now a teacher.] A mechanical voice sounded in my mind, and the flat tone squeezed out a bit of helplessness.

[It's okay, some intellectuals always have some quirks.]

Amemiya Ruisei said.

He followed the maid's steps somewhat unnaturally. Occasionally he would move his hands and feet together or his left foot instead of his right foot. He also turned his wrists and neck from time to time. He did look a little strange, as if he had not walked for a long time.

However, the maid was obviously professionally trained and did not look at the teacher hired by the host family in any strange way. When she walked through the corridor, she did not even glance at anyone passing by. It was so quiet that only the sound of her footsteps could be heard faintly.

[Host, you are too careless. If you are chased away by the master, then this mission will be abandoned.] The system said, [I am in a disabled state now. There are only so many missions left. Be careful, host.]

[I know, I just haven’t walked on my own for a long time, so I’m not used to it.]

Amamiya Ruisei said: [I won’t make it difficult for you.]

Moreover, he hadn't felt the good health of his body for many years.

He can eat, drink, run and jump. He won't gasp after speaking a word, won't faint after leaving the ward, won't be awakened by pain in his sleep, and he doesn't have to worry about dying in the next second.

It was enough to make him cry with joy.

Amamiya Raisei took a look at the system interface.

[Mission Objective: Gain the trust of one of the pillars of the world

Progress: 0%]

On the night of his eighteenth birthday, this broken system came to him when he was about to die, seeking cooperation with him.

[I need energy to restore myself. If the host wants to survive, he can also use energy to repair his body.]

[I will provide you with a healthy body, and you will collect energy by completing tasks. We have a common goal, shall we cooperate?]

A healthy body... can be obtained simply by completing some tasks, so why doesn't he do it?

Amemiya Leisheng followed the maid to a house. After knocking on the door, someone soon opened the door, revealing a boy sitting inside.

"Hello, my name is Shuji Tsushima."

The black-haired boy looked to be about ten years old, and looked a little thin in his kimono. He didn't seem to be very interested in the teacher his family had found for him, and his expression was a little cold and uninterested. But after all, he was the young master of a large family, so he still stood up politely and greeted him, looking quite well-behaved.

He seems to be a good kid, so the days ahead shouldn't be too hard... But at least it won't be harder than being in the hospital.

Amamiya Ruisei looked at the boy in front of him, and his originally restless mood calmed down.

No matter whether this healthy body lasts for a year, a month, or an hour a day, it is the motivation that supports him to continue living.

Look, God was indeed merciful to him and cared for him. He lived to be eighteen years old and would live another eighteen years.

"Hello, Shuji-kun." Amamiya Rei smiled kindly, "I am Amamiya Rei, and I will be your teacher for the next period of time."

"Please advise me."