“What do you mean?”
“There seems to be a surgery that may allow me to see again, but it’s not a surgery that can be done in j.a.pan, and since it’s extraordinarily expensive, it’s just not realistic at all for a commoner like me.”
A few years after he lost his sight, his mother picked up that story from the internet, and consulted their family physician at the time about it. His answer was the same as he just explained. There was no way the Konnou family supported on a salary man’s pay could afford it, and they needed the courage to fundraise. The possibility wasn’t zero. But the success rate wasn’t very high. The surgery cost tens of millions of yen whether it was a success or failure—there was no way he could ask his parents to dish out that sort of money, and it was difficult for his parents to confidently tell him to leave it to them. No matter how much he worked and saved money, he would never have enough. It was natural to give up.
“I’ve accepted being blind. For now.”
“&h.e.l.lip;&h.e.l.lip;so you can’t see anything now? Nothing at all?”
Being asked such direct questions shocked Tatsumi thoroughly. His questions from earlier were the same, but he had never experienced such frank questions as these from a sighted person before. More than shocking or upsetting, it was rather refreshing, and kind of funny.
—&h.e.l.lip;&h.e.l.lip;how can I put it, he seems like such an innocent person.