"Ay ay, why even waste emotional words on a piece of rock like you," Butler James finally said, his voice a mix of frustration and humour after a long silence in the room. He stood up and began walking toward the door, preparing to leave the hospital room.
"Where are you going?" Kyoji asked.
"What, missing me already?" Butler James replied with a chuckle, but Kyoji didn't respond, making the old man sigh again.
"I'm just going ahead to prepare for your discharge," Butler James added when he saw Kyoji wasn't reacting to his teasing.
"Discharge?" Kyoji muttered, his voice barely audible. "How long have I been out?"
"Two days now, I guess. Today makes it the third," Butler James replied.
"Two days..." Kyoji repeated in a quiet voice, his brows furrowing slightly.
So it had only been two days. He had thought it had been more.
He wasn't surprised by how well he had recovered. In this day and age, with enough money, anyone could get top-class healers, and potions that healed internal injuries in minutes weren't rare at all.
What caught his attention, though, was the fact that his discharge had already been scheduled for today. That was earlier than usual.
Normally, anyone under supervision for chaos corruption had to be held for at least a week before being released. It was done to make sure the chaos energy inside them had fully cleared.
Studies showed that chaos energy usually did its work within a week.
In fact, in most normal people, corruption happened within the first hour of contact. As for the Chosen, the faith energy in them resisted the chaos energy, so the corruption process took longer.
Depending on how much resistance there was, the corruption might take a few hours, maybe a day or a bit more.
But after one full week with no signs of corruption, the chaos energy would lose its effectiveness and disperse on its own.
No one really understood why, but that rule had become the standard. Anyone under supervision of chaos corruption had to be held under close watch for a full week to avoid any unexpected accidents.
So why was he being released without even reaching half that time?
As if reading his thoughts, Butler James spoke up. "Well, I managed to strike a deal with the two agents. They agreed to let us leave early. But they will still keep an eye on you for the rest of the week."
"Oh. So I'll still be monitored at all times," Kyoji muttered, his voice cold and flat.
He had been looking forward to leaving. Not because of the change of scenery, but because he wanted time to explore the changes going on inside his body—something he couldn't do properly under constant watch here.
But if he was still going to be monitored, whether in the hospital or at home, it didn't really change anything.
"Well, not quite like that," Butler James replied. "The deal says they can keep watch from a distance. They won't be following you around. Most likely, they'll just hang around outside the mansion or nearby. As long as they get to see you at the end of the week to confirm you're clean of corruption, we're good," he added with a smile.
"Oh, well, that's nice," Kyoji muttered.
It was nice, actually. As long as he had the time and space to handle things without worrying about being caught, he was fine with it.
As for the deal Butler James made, he couldn't care less.
"Thank you," Kyoji said quietly. He couldn't feel it, but he understood that he was supposed to show gratitude.
The old man had been more than just a butler—he had taken the place of a parent, showing care when the two people meant to be there for him had left him behind.
"Ay ay, getting all emotional now, I see. I'm touched," Butler James said with a grin, placing a hand over his chest. "Right here," he added dramatically.
"Shut up," Kyoji muttered.
That only made the old man laugh—loud and long. Kyoji didn't react. His mind was already wandering somewhere else.
Once Butler James was finally done laughing, he turned and continued toward the door. But just as he reached it, he paused and glanced back.
"Oh, by the way, while you were out, you had two visitors," butler James muttered.
"Oh? Who were they?" Kyoji snapped out of his thoughts and focused his attention on the butler.
"Your friend Ethan, and another annoying brat with silver eyes," butler James replied.
"Oh, must be Frederick," Kyoji muttered. He couldn't think of anyone else who would fit that description.
"Thanks for informing me," Kyoji said.
Butler James hummed in response, then opened the door and left, leaving Kyoji alone in the room.
As the door closed, silence settled in the hospital room, except for the constant, soft hum coming from the machines strapped to Kyoji's body.
At this point, he had likely recovered most of the way. The only thing remaining were a few internal injuries, which the blue liquid flowing through the tubes inside him was meant to heal.
Sighing, Kyoji leaned back in the bed. The lack of activity and stimulation was starting to get to him. He couldn't wait to leave the hospital and put into action everything that was on his mind.
Another sigh escaped his lips, and Kyoji closed his eyes, deciding to sleep for a while since there wasn't much else to do.
Despite having been unconscious for two days and having done nothing but sleep, he was still in recovery, so it didn't take long for him to drift off. Sleep took him quickly, pulling him into the world of dreams.
---
Meanwhile, outside the hospital room, butler James stood, unaware to Kyoji who was already settling into sleep.
The smile that had been on his face earlier had vanished, replaced with a deep frown.
"That aura... is that..." he muttered, his frown deepening.
"No, it can't be. I must be mixing it up," he muttered again, as if trying to convince himself he was mistaken, but the frown remained.
The aura coming from Kyoji earlier was unmistakable—very familiar. It was an aura he couldn't forget, no matter how hard he tried.
Chaos Energy.
Not just any Chaos Energy, though. This one felt different, special. It seemed mixed with some unknown energy emanating from Kyoji.
Butler James was certain of it, and there was no denying it.
"What really happened? He's changed so much... in every way," he muttered. "I hope it's not what I'm thinking."
He truly hoped it wasn't what he feared. Deep down, he wished he was wrong.
Sighing, a cold look appeared on his face as he muttered, "You better be who I think you are, kid. You better be."
He then placed his sunglasses back on, covering his eyes, and began walking toward the elevator, his frown slowly clearing.
---
Meanwhile, Kyoji was deeply asleep, unaware of the conversation happening outside his room.
It wasn't until a few hours later that a nurse woke him, indicating it was time for him to be discharged.
With the nurse's help, all the machines and devices connected to Kyoji were carefully removed. Afterward, he used the bathroom in the room to freshen up before getting dressed in a finely tailored black suit.
His younger self had been quite fond of suits, and they made up about 90% of his wardrobe. However, the current Kyoji wasn't as fond of them anymore.
In his previous life, before he had died, he'd become more and more drawn to lighter materials. Though he didn't lose his sense of fashion, thick clothes like suits had become less appealing. Wearing it now, it felt a little suffocating, but he didn't complain.
He knew his life had changed significantly over the ten years, and he had gained more experience. Though he didn't want to make it too obvious that he was now a completely different person, the change was undeniable.
Still, it wasn't all bad. After all, it was a finely tailored suit.
It was worth a little discomfort.