Chapter 24: Necessities and Non-Necessities (Part 2)

Located in Kanagawa City, the largest hospital in Kanagawa City, the First Comprehensive Hospital of Kanagawa. This can be said to be the best hospital in the city, and also the best in the country. As a result, the hospital's medical facilities are very advanced, and the medical staff is also excellent.

In theory, the cost of treatment here should be high, but this is a hospital supported by the government. The government allocates a considerable amount of funding every year. Therefore, under the condition of having a poverty certificate, the cost that patients need to pay is only a small part. It is precisely because of this reason that a large part of the patients in this hospital belong to impoverished families.

As usual, Setsuhozawa Saki came to this hospital and stopped in front of room 305 on the third floor, where the special ward was located. The patient's name "Setsuhozawa" was written on the door.

Because it is a special ward, there is only one patient in this room, and it is a separate room. A middle-aged woman of about 40 years old should be lying on the bed in this room, but something is slightly different today. The middle-aged woman is sitting at the head of the bed, as if she is waiting for someone. Maybe it's because of the illness, her complexion is not good and she looks a bit pale.

After entering the ward, Setsuhozawa Saki placed the packaged items in her hand on the table next to the bed.

At this moment, the middle-aged woman sitting on the bed, Setsuhozawa, spoke up.

"Saki, sit down here."

With a glance, she gestured to the chair next to the bed. Although her voice was not loud, it was firm and not open to any resistance.

Setsuhozawa Saki didn't pay much attention to this and simply sat down as requested. Her expression remained unchanged, as if she was indifferent to everything in the world, like an iceberg.

"Did something happen at school today?"

Setsuhozawa turned her head to face Setsuhozawa Saki and asked.

Although she asks this question almost every day, today seemed slightly different, making people's nerves tense.

"Nothing special happened."

Setsuhozawa Saki replied casually, showing no signs of wavering.

Although a lot did happen today, Setsuhozawa Saki considered them insignificant.

"Is that so?"

Setsuhozawa asked again, with a slightly different tone compared to before. Maybe she didn't notice it herself, but Setsuhozawa Saki could see it clearly. Perhaps it was because Setsuhozawa Saki had a relatively cold and observant personality that she could see these changes in people's expressions clearly. After all, she was always an observer.

Despite this, Setsuhozawa Saki's answer remained unchanged.

"Yes."

Although it was only one word, it clearly expressed her meaning.

However, Setsuhozawa seemed to be impatient.

"Don't lie to me... The school just called a while ago and told me everything."

Setsuhozawa Saki fell silent, as expected. She had no intention of explaining.

Faced with her daughter's silence, Setsuhozawa shouted in a not-too-loud voice, like a raging flood.

"I should have taught you from a young age what things are not to be done."

Setsuhozawa Saki remained silent in the face of her mother's questioning, without any intention of defending herself. At this moment, Setsuhozawa seemed to realize something. She looked at the table next to her where Setsuhozawa Saki had placed the items she brought. Seeing the packaging, Setsuhozawa seemed to understand something, and her tone changed again. It wasn't as forceful as before.

"I'm glad you bought me a birthday gift, but if it was bought with stolen money, I would rather you didn't buy it."

After saying that, Setsuhozawa turned her face away and no longer looked at her daughter.

There was no blame in her words, only a faint sense of self-blame.

Setsuhozawa Saki, who had been silent with her head down, suddenly looked up at her mother. Her expression seemed unchanged, but her eyes seemed to contain something. How Setsuhozawa Saki was feeling at this moment, perhaps only she understood.

"I'm leaving now."

After a moment of pause, Setsuhozawa Saki got up and left.

The room was filled with only the faint sound of sobbing.