LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 73: Masato Matsuda’s Quiet Chaos
A Subtle Disquiet
Masato Matsuda (Asclepius) awoke on his futon, bathed in the soft morning light, yet a heavy sense of unease stirred deep within him. The overwhelming revelations from ADAM weighed on his mind, casting a shadow over his thoughts.
His home, an old Japanese-style house with tatami mat rooms, usually exuded a peaceful quietude, but this morning, that stillness felt strangely oppressive. Matsuda slowly sat up, blinking away his grogginess as he surveyed the room. Sunlight filtered through the windows, gently illuminating the trees and flowers in the garden, but even the beauty of the morning couldn’t bring him the tranquility he sought.
As he went about his morning routine, Matsuda’s thoughts circled endlessly around the information he had learned from ADAM. The realization that the seemingly peaceful world he lived in stood on a precarious balance gnawed at his mind, a quiet storm brewing beneath the surface.
After finishing breakfast, Matsuda folded his futon and slipped into his white coat. Today was a weekday, and as a psychiatrist, he was scheduled to make his rounds in the closed psychiatric ward. Pausing at the entrance, he took a deep breath, trying to calm the turmoil inside, but the anxiety gnawing at his core remained stubbornly unresolved.
On his way to the train station, Matsuda walked along the cobbled streets, nodding politely to the people he passed. The shopkeepers in the small shopping district prepared for the day, and schoolchildren hurried along their way. Yet, to Matsuda, these everyday scenes felt strangely hollow. He couldn’t stop thinking about how the truth he had uncovered could render all of this serenity fragile and fleeting.
When he reached the station, Matsuda boarded the train. The carriage was filled with salarymen in suits and students, and Matsuda blended in among them. Yet his mind remained preoccupied, replaying ADAM’s words over and over as he struggled to process their significance. The passing scenery outside the train window seemed distant and unreal.
Upon arriving at the hospital, Matsuda made his way to the psychiatric ward. His job was to care for patients with mental health challenges, a heavy responsibility he took seriously. But today, his mind felt unsteady, and the weight of his role pressed on him more than usual.
As he began his rounds in the ward, Matsuda interacted with each patient, checking on their condition with his usual care. However, internally, he was distracted—caught between the knowledge he had gained in the alternate world and the realities of the present. The delicate balance between these two realms created an undercurrent of tension, making it harder for him to focus on his patients’ needs.
As the day drew to a close, Matsuda found himself on the train again, heading home. The sunset painted the sky a brilliant orange, and the city gradually returned to its evening quiet. But even as the world outside grew calm, his thoughts remained turbulent. The truth he now carried, and the burden of maintaining his day-to-day life despite that truth, weighed heavily on his soul.
Returning home, Matsuda lay on his futon, trying to make sense of his thoughts. The gap between his peaceful daily life and the reality he now knew existed gnawed at him, pulling him into a deeper sense of tension. As he closed his eyes, preparing for another day to come, he wasn’t sure how restful his sleep would be, or if true peace was even possible anymore.