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Chapter 41: Settlement
🕑 Added 2025-10-02 13:40:43 +0000 UTCOST: Innocence
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[During the two years when Toru's body gradually weakened, he stayed by his daughter's side until the very end.
Before he passed away, he left her a large inheritance, along with ninety-six recordings, one for each month. He entrusted his phone to Ryo Yamada, asking her to call his daughter once a month and play the recordings he had prepared in advance.
He told his daughter a lie, saying that he had gotten a good job that required him to travel all year, and that their family flower shop would be looked after by "Mama Ryo."
Shio was very obedient. She did not beg him to stay. Perhaps, deep down, she had already known something, but simply could not face it.
Seeing his daughter's loneliness, Toru also prepared ten boxes for her, each labeled with an age, one for every year until she turned eighteen. Inside were birthday gifts, things a girl might need as she grew up:
A new school bag, a hand-sewn kimono, makeup, a notebook filled with their memories, and more…
After his death, there was no grand funeral. Ryo Yamada handled the arrangements and buried him beside your grave.
At the funeral his daughter did not attend, perhaps Toru could say, from the depths of his heart, that he had not let his wife down. Their daughter would grow up healthy. The only regret was not being able to see her in a wedding dress, which, as a father, left him with a touch of loneliness.
At that moment, Toru could also have told Seika Ijichi that he was neither cowardly nor useless. Failing to save you had been his weakness, but that did not mean he could not protect what he cherished. At least for his daughter, he had done everything.
Just as he had promised, for his daughter, he gave everything he had.
Ordinary, plain, yet not so ordinary... that was his life.]
[This simulation has ended.]
It was over.
Nijika Ijichi stared blankly at the simulator screen as it dimmed.
There was no reversal. Toru had truly died.
She could not understand. She had only wanted a child.
For a loving couple, was that really too much to ask?
Why had the story turned out this way?
If she had known it would end like this, she never would have married him. If she had known it would leave Toru so haggard, she never would have chased any dreams.
If not for me…
If Toru had dated and married Ryo, perhaps he would have lived a much happier life.
In that moment, Nijika understood why Miss Ryo's stomach always hurt.
Her own stomach now churned with acid, pained beyond words.
[Entering settlement screen.]
[In this simulation, you had one child:
[Shio Kitahara]
[Inherited traits: Learning ability (3 stars), Musical genius (4 stars), High attractiveness (2 stars), Angel's Heart (limited trait), Manga genius (4 stars), Writing genius (4 stars).]
[Talent: Center of attention.]
[Now drawing inherited traits…]
[You have obtained - Musical Genius (4 stars).]
[Talent upgraded from Common to One in a Hundred.]
Nijika Ijichi read these lines without the slightest joy.
Exchanging her husband's death and her daughter's lonely life for an upgraded talent, how could she be happy about that?
[You have received a gift from your child -Shio Kitahara's Longing (Support Card).]
Shio's gift?
For a moment, Nijika felt her spirits lift.
Support Card: Shio Kitahara's Longing.
Formed from Shio's longing for her late mother. When used before a simulation, increases your talent by one level. Note: only three support cards can be used per simulation.
After a long silence, Nijika rose from the sofa and, sobbing, walked upstairs.
"Nijika? What's wrong?"
Seika Ijichi, seeing her younger sister cover her face and cry as she went upstairs, panicked.
Who had bullied her Nijika?
——
Meanwhile.
Toru sat in silence for a long time.
This time, it seemed he had gotten too caught up in the role.
Even after the simulation ended, even after adjusting himself for several hours, his heart could not settle. He could not forget the wedding ceremony with his wife at Meiji Shrine, their sweet honeymoon, their three happy years of married life.
Nor could he forget the despair of learning she could not be saved.
Phew.
It's fine. Nijika in reality is still alive.
That was the one thing he could feel relieved about.
This was only a simulation.
All fake. A 2D bride might have died, but next time he could start over.
After much self-hypnosis, Toru began the game's settlement.
He wondered how it would evaluate this life.
[Game over!]
[Your life was beautiful, yet filled with deep despair, rising and falling. But is that not the truest reflection of an ordinary person? Like a mayfly between heaven and earth, a mere speck in the vast sea, you seem to have understood what it means to be ordinary.]
[Only after tasting despair can one understand the preciousness of everyday life. Player, you may have obtained something far more important than godlike skill.]
[Some gaze at the moon, yet forget the sixpence coin at their feet. To give up dreams and focus on family and life, you are truly breathtaking.]
[This simulation's rating: X (Magnificent).]
[For your perfect performance, you may select five out of the following eight rewards—
1. Development of a god-level immunity drug (your miracle medicine can benefit all of humanity, restoring the sick and raising the dead).
2. Nijika Ijichi Perfect Ending Unlock Card (use to mend the regrets of this life in your next simulation; your wife and daughter's illnesses will vanish).
3. Ryo Yamada Pure Love Card (use to ensure no other women besides Ryo develop feelings for you in your next simulation).
4. Sketchbook of Doodles drawn by Shio Kitahara (a young daughter's gift to her departed father).
5. Your engagement rings with your wife (long gathering dust in your old home; can shield the wearer once from a fatal injury).
6. Talent Upgrade Card (raises one talent level higher).
7. One billion yen (overwhelming financial power).
8. Physical Strength Doubled (the foundation of revolution).
It seemed… a little difficult to choose.
No, actually, it wasn't.
"Two, four, five, six, eight."
Toru studied the simulation's message. He knew this time he hadn't achieved true perfection. After all, how could an ordinary man develop a miracle drug in just three years?
The X rating was purely the result of a multiplier effect.
As for why he left behind the god-level drug development? Simply put, its scope of use was too narrow, merely a small category within medicine. Toru didn't believe it compared in value with the other options.
His daughter's sketchbook... though he might reach the perfect ending later, it still carried deep sentimental meaning.
... Fine, no point pretending. Toru just loved the daughter Nijika had borne for him, and could not let it go.
As for the engagement rings, perhaps the Toru of the previous simulation would not have chosen them, afraid of painful reminders, of blurring simulation with reality. But after this one, he had nothing left to fear.
The Talent Upgrade Card... its effect spoke for itself.
Three years to research a miracle drug. Even Toru himself thought it absurd, yet he had done it.
And as for doubling physical strength, that was essential preparation for even more extreme tasks ahead. A choice he could not avoid.
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P.S: Didn't expect this route to go hard. My bad fam, I wasn't familiar with your game. Also, sorry for the late upload. I'll try to keep up with the promises!
