After the school bell rang, Chitose Kazumi quickly packed her bag and stood up, turning to look at Minami Yuuki, intending to leave with him.
"Kazumi, you go ahead. I have to stop by the club," Minami Yuuki waved to her and then picked up his bag, catching up with Ichinose Shiori who was already leaving.
"See you tomorrow," Chitose Kazumi raised her hand and waved towards Minami Yuuki's departing figure, then sighed softly.
Oh right, Yuuki-kun mentioned that the homeroom teacher forced him to join a club. Starting from today, he'll be participating in club activities, huh?
Which means, from today onwards, she won't be able to walk home with Minami Yuuki anymore.
She lowered her head.
...
"Ichinose, how do you think those who are disillusioned with life feel?" Minami Yuuki followed Ichinose Shiori into the activity room of the Homecoming Club and asked this question.
Having taken over Ibuki Yuko's responsibility in the simulation life, Ichinose Shiori often confided in him, and now it was his turn to seek advice from her.
"When you say 'disillusioned,' to what extent do you mean? No longer feeling attached? Or actively disliking?" Ichinose Shiori looked up from her notebook, examining Minami Yuuki.
Thinking about Ibuki Yuko's symptoms, he replied, "It's probably not feeling attached anymore. If they see a truck coming towards them, they might choose to stay in place, but they wouldn't actively run towards the speeding truck."
"Anything else to add?"
"Every day, lacking expressions. Doing whatever her mother tells her without having her own opinion."
"Anything else?"
"Her parents divorced early, her mother is affectionate and fickle towards men, but very strict towards her daughter."
"Detailing it like this makes her seem like a real person." Ichinose Shiori set aside her notebook, revealing her fair knees previously obscured by her black knee-high socks.
"Ichinose's perspective isn't wrong." Minami Yuuki affirmed.
His straightforwardness, however, made Ichinose Shiori furrow her brows.
She asked, "Is this really okay? With this much information, I could easily figure out who this person is. Thoughts of disillusionment with life aren't a secret that can be easily exposed, right?"
"It's okay. I trust you, Ichinose," Minami Yuuki said.
Ichinose Shiori carefully scrutinized the boy's face. When he said those words, his handsome face showed no emotional fluctuations, suggesting either this matter was trivial or he genuinely trusted her a lot.
She felt it was the latter. This groundless trust left her perplexed.
"Have we met before?" she couldn't help but guess.
"That's something you'll have to investigate yourself, Ichinose." Minami Yuuki crossed his legs. "For now, tell me your view on such people. I'll add that she's a second-year high school student."
Disillusioned thoughts?
Ichinose Shiori had never thought about this question before. After a moment's contemplation, she gave her answer:
"Due to heavy studying, part-time work, or club activities, she lacks the energy and time to appreciate the joys of life. Life to her equals busy monotony, hence she feels bored."
Pausing, she continued, "Or perhaps she isn't inherently trapped in tedious busyness, but due to emotional deficiencies, she can't actively seek happiness without someone guiding her, thus feeling life is uninteresting."
"Or," Ichinose Shiori looked at Minami Yuuki, "she may have placed too much importance on one thing, suffered irreparable failure in that area, and subsequently believed her entire life to be bleak, losing faith in living."
"No wonder you're Ichinose. All three of those guesses are quite enlightening to me," Minami Yuuki rubbed his chin.
"There's another scenario," Ichinose Shiori adjusted her bangs, somewhat pleased. "The above guesses are based on the assumption that your information is accurate and unbiased. But is what you've seen truly genuine without prejudice?"
"In a detective novel, this would be a narrative trap."
"So, which do you think she is?"
"Who knows? I'll try to find out when I get home."
"If it were Ichinose, how would you help the other person?" Minami Yuuki asked again.
"I wouldn't intervene," Ichinose Shiori replied.
Minami Yuuki was surprised by Ichinose Shiori's response.
"Why?" he pressed on.
It was clear in the Ibuki Yuko's description that in the simulation life, Ichinose Shiori had taken away the treatment rights from Minami Yuuki.
"From your description, it's evident this guy is quite troublesome. I dislike situations where I don't have complete assurance. If it were something simple and easily resolved, I wouldn't mind lending a hand."
Ah, so that's why.
Upon reflection, in the simulation game, Ichinose Shiori had intervened because she believed Ibuki Yuko was being coerced by him.
Once Ichinose Shiori understood Ibuki Yuko's troubles, she ended up being blamed by Minami Yuuki and couldn't bear to leave Ibuki Yuko alone, thus taking over.
Her constant complaints to Minami Yuuki now had a different explanation. She had thought it would be a problem solved in a few minutes but ended up spending a lot of time on an illness that couldn't be cured.
"What if Ichinose was already dragged into this?" Minami Yuuki continued to ask.
"That's not possible," Ichinose Shiori replied arrogantly.
Minami Yuuki thought to himself, in the simulation life, not only did she foolishly get involved, but she also ended up mentally exhausted. After Ibuki Yuko's accidental death, she even cried her heart out at his house!
"What are you laughing at?" Ichinose Shiori keenly observed Minami Yuuki's expression.
"Nothing, thank you for your answers," Minami Yuuki stood up.
It was time to return home and continue the simulation.
With the information now at hand, he could take a completely different path from the previous simulation.
"Oh, by the way, are there any other members in this club?" he casually asked.
"There's Ibuki-senpai from the second year and Akane-senpai from the third year," Ichinose Shiori answered.
Ibuki-senpai? Ibuki Yuko? Minami Yuukiwas surprised. No wonder in the previous simulation life, Ichinose Shiori quickly noticed Ibuki Yuko's anomaly—they were in the same club, although it seemed Ibuki Yuko was a ghost member.
What an unexpected discovery.
After bidding farewell to Ichinose Shiori, Minami Yuuki returned home. There was still some time before dinner, so he decided to use up the remaining simulation attempt.
[Love Simulator]
[Player: Minami Yuuki]
[Remaining Simulation Attempts: 1]
[Simulatable Characters: Minami Ruri, Minami Airi, Minami Kotori, Asano Nao, Ibuki Yuko]
Ichinose Shiori did not appear as a simulatable character. Was their relationship not close enough? Or perhaps, she wasn't a simulatable character?
Not dwelling on this question, he clicked on Ibuki Yuko.
[Ibuki Yuko selected. Start simulation?]
Yes.
[Simulation starts]