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Chapter 298 – You Have Completed an Almost Perfect Simulation
🕑 Added 2025-04-20 09:47:45 +0000 UTCTL music Rec: Dreamy Date Drive
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And with that, the simulation came to a complete end.
Minami, who had been watching the entire simulation, fell into silence.
At the same time, he finally understood.
Why, even though he—the primary subject of the simulation—had already died, the simulation had continued.
Because the story wasn't over.
Because Satou—his wife—still had a story to tell.
Minami had never expected it.
That she would hold onto a promise spoken so casually.
A promise that could no longer be fulfilled.
"…Idiot."
He sighed, his voice tinged with helplessness.
He had seen it all.
The way Satou had left this world, completely at peace.
She really was an idiot...
If she had simply rested in bed, she might have lived a little longer.
But instead, she chose to push forward—to fulfill a promise that no longer mattered—shortening her time even more.
To Minami, it was foolish.
And yet—
"…That's just like her."
He murmured softly.
Yes.
That was exactly who Satou was.
She was the kind of girl who, just because she liked someone, would wait in the cold rain without an umbrella, hoping to see them.
The kind of girl who, just because she liked someone, would choose the same university, walk the same path.
Everything she did, everything she lived for—was because of one simple word.
Love.
And everything, too, had ended because of that same word.
Satou had spent her whole life chasing love.
In this simulation—had she finally reached it?
Minami let the thought linger.
Then, with a slow breath, he raised a hand—
And lightly tapped the screen.
[Simulation Complete]
[System Evaluation: 98 Points.]
[System Notification: You have achieved an almost perfect ending. A special reward has been unlocked.]
"98 points?"
An almost perfect ending?
Minami raised an eyebrow.
This was the highest score he had ever achieved in a simulation.
Even when he had personally simulated a life alongside Kessoku Band, their journey had only earned a 96-point ending.
But this time—it was 98.
Far beyond what he had expected.
Still, what intrigued him even more was the so-called special reward.
Without thinking, he reached out and tapped the notification, eager to see what it was.
Yet, unlike before—
Nothing appeared.
No item details. No instructions.
The special part of this reward seemed to be that he couldn't examine it.
Minami frowned.
What the hell did that mean?
But…
"Forget it."
He shook his head.
If he couldn't check it, then so be it.
There were other things to focus on.
Shifting his gaze downward, he found the full simulation evaluation waiting for him.
[Your meeting with her began in the rain.]
[She wandered the streets like a ghost, lost and alone.]
[Your biggest flaw is your soft heart. You brought the unconscious girl to the hospital, and in that moment—she fell in love at first sight.]
[Love is a strange thing.]
[For some people, one glance is enough to forge an unbreakable bond.]
[She clung to you. At first, you were helpless, even annoyed by her presence.]
[But as time passed, you saw the loneliness in her heart.]
[When she reached for you, it wasn't just to bask in your light—she wanted to walk beside you.]
[You made up your mind to help her, to mend the wounds in her heart.]
[Step by step, with careful planning, you guided her forward. You even brought in her aunt to aid in the process.]
[Slowly, under your influence, her heart began to change. She grew capable of feeling. She blushed when you teased her. She grew anxious when your attention wavered.]
[And then, jealousy took root in her heart.]
[She feared that this jealousy would consume her, feared that she would do something foolish—so she tried to distance herself.]
[She meticulously planned a journey, choosing to leave on the day of your entrance exams.]
[But you saw through her plan.]
[That day, you carried her through the snow on your bike.
[The world around you turned into a fairy tale—pure white snow, a knight embracing his princess. To her, it was the most beautiful sight she had ever seen.]
[With your comfort, she finally let go of the burdens in her heart.]
[And so, she made a new decision—to move forward with you. Her first goal: getting into Tokyo University.]
[Tokyo University's entrance exams were cruel. Her first attempt ended in failure.]
[But as long as you were with her, she had the strength to try again.]
[On her second attempt, she succeeded. She was accepted into Tokyo University.]
[That spring, when the cherry blossoms bloomed, it was the most beautiful sight you had ever seen together.]
[Under your guidance, she began her journey into writing.]
[With your support and her dedication, she created novels that touched the hearts of many.]
[And when she earned her first fortune, she didn't hesitate—she split it in half and handed half to you.]
[She had seen everything you had done for her. And now, finally, she could start repaying some of the debt she felt she owed you.]
[You never asked for anything in return. But hearing her words, you found yourself unable to refuse.]
[Time moved forward.]
[The story didn't just belong to you and her anymore. It belonged to all of you.]
[Kessoku Band began to rise in the rock scene.]
[LycoReco became one of Tokyo's most famous cafés.]
[That year, the names Nami and Sugar topped bookstore charts and online sales rankings.]
[That year, Akane Shinjo's tokusatsu company took its first steps forward.]
[That year, a genius girl named Futaba Rio entered one of the world's top physics laboratories.]
[Your dreams and careers flourished, soaring toward success.]
[But at some point, as your names and statuses grew, each of you began to feel it—
[The weight of it all.]
[The exhaustion that came with endless growth.]
[To ease your hearts, you all chose to travel.]
[For an entire year, your footsteps covered all of Japan, until you finally arrived at Mount Fuji.]
[As you gazed at the countless stars above, you knew—it was time to return home.]
[Yet, the journey home was not the end of your lives.]
[Three months into your travels, you all made a decision—to marry.]
[The endless variety of wedding ceremonies nearly exhausted you, but in the end, you fulfilled every one of your wives' wishes.]
[Time continued to move forward.]
[One year into your marriage, your wives became pregnant.]
[One after another, new life began to grow within them.]
[That year, you set aside your writing, dedicating yourself entirely to caring for them.]
[Under your watchful care, nine daughters were born—marking the beginning of a new chapter in your lives.]
[Your daughters grew up healthy, watched over by your love, while you and your wives slowly aged before their eyes.]
[You made a decision—before your lives ended, you would take one final journey together.]
[This time, you traveled even further, leaving no corner of Japan unexplored.]
[At last, perhaps out of exhaustion or simply drawn to the beauty before you, you stopped at an unknown field.]
[As the burning sunset bathed the land in golden light, you made a promise—to embark on another journey next year.]
[Perhaps, such reckless words angered the beast known as time.]
[It took Chisato and Takina from your side. Then, as you drowned in grief, it stole away Hitori and Ryo.]
[What followed was the most painful time of your life.]
[One by one, your wives passed away.]
[Years passed, yet it felt as though only days had gone by.]
[When you looked back, only Satou remained at your side.]
[But by then, you no longer had the strength to embark on another journey.]
[Under Satou's quiet gaze, you, too, closed your eyes for the last time.]
[Time is merciless—it erases everything in its path.]
[But to fulfill your final promise, she chose to embark on one last journey, dragging along her frail body.]
[This time, she was not accompanied by you, but by your daughters.]
[They took her to see the northernmost seas of Japan.]
[They brought her to Okinawa, where she watched the summer fireworks bloom in the night sky.]
[They let her hold the burning red leaves of autumn in her hands.]
[Can love transcend time?]
[It is a question countless people have asked.]
[Your daughters pondered the same thing.]
[Time will pass, things will decay, and the endless march of days will consume everything with an expiration date.]
[Human beings cannot resist it. They cannot stop it.]
[Yet, you and your wives gave an answer.]
[The body may wither, but love is not bound by physical form. It breaks through the chains of time and becomes eternal.]
[Though you and your wives had indeed passed on, in that moment—]
[That moment when she pulled out the old photographs—]
[Love had, without a doubt, transcended time.]
Even though Minami had already experienced the story firsthand through the simulation—
Reading through it in full still left him at a loss for words.
Unlike his previous simulations, where he had only interacted with one key figure, this time, he had been deeply connected to all of them.
If his past experiences were a singular love, then this simulation was the sum of love split into nine equal parts.
"…No wonder the score was so high."
His eyes flickered back to the 98-point evaluation.
The missing two points…
Most likely, it was because, at the very end, he and his wives were no longer the ones by Satou's side.
Perhaps, some small part of her had felt a lingering regret.
"…But this is enough."
There is no such thing as perfect love.
When two people meet, connect, and fall in love—there will always be regrets, no matter how small.
But that's not necessarily a bad thing.
Regret makes love more precious.
Yes.
There was nothing to regret at all.
Just because he hadn't achieved a 100-point perfect ending—
.
.
…LIKE HELL THAT WAS FINE!
Minami couldn't even pretend to comfort himself anymore.
His head snapped to the side, eyes locking onto Nishikigi Chisato, sitting right beside him.
Then, without hesitation, he reached out—
And pinched the cheek of the one responsible for dying first every single time.
Seriously, what was her problem?!
Why was it always Chisato who died first?
If it weren't for her body failing so suddenly—
This simulation shouldn't have had any regrets at all.
Next year, they could have simply started another journey, making up for every single regret in their lives.
And yet, it was because of Nishikigi Chisato's failing body…
That Inoue Takina—her sister in arms, her closest friend—was emotionally shaken.
That grief, in turn, affected her health, pulling her down along with Chisato.
It was like a chain reaction.
One by one, over the following years, his wives all passed away.
That could have been a perfect 100-point ending!
A perfect ending—gone, just like that!
How are you even sleeping right now?!
Glaring at the criminal mastermind that was Nishikigi Chisato, Minami pinched her soft, delicate cheeks.
And just as he did—
A soft murmur escaped her lips, and her crimson-red eyes slowly fluttered open.
She blinked up at him, still half-asleep.
Dazed, confused, her expression blank.
"…Huh? What's wrong, Minami-kun?"
"Nothing. Just go back to sleep. It's late."
Minami said it without hesitation.
"…Hah?"
Chisato stared at him, dumbfounded.
She wanted to say, Aren't you the one who woke me up in the first place?!
And yet—now he had the audacity to act like she was the one staying up too late?
She hadn't expected this at all.
But…
For some reason, she kind of understood what he was feeling.
Because just moments ago—
She had a dream.
In that dream, she, Inoue Takina, Kessoku Band, Shinjo Akane, Futaba Rio, and a pink-haired girl named Matsuzaka Satou had all married Minami.
It was the most beautiful wedding of her life.
Wrapped in warmth, in happiness, they had all become his brides.
Yet, her body had betrayed her.
Once again, she was the first to die.
And that set off the same chain reaction.
Which meant their promise to Minami—the future they were supposed to share—had collapsed into nothing.
Even in the dream, it was an unbearable regret.
And now, even after waking up, she couldn't shake the weight of it.
Taking a deep breath, as if trying to chase away the lingering sadness of her dream, Chisato closed her eyes.
Then, slowly—
She leaned against Minami's back.
"…Huh?"
Minami, who had just been about to check his simulation results, froze.
He turned to glance at her, puzzled.
"…Just let me lean on you for a little while, Minami-kun."
Her voice was small, almost fragile.
And she didn't loosen her grip on him at all.
As if sensing the emotions swirling inside her, Minami was silent for a moment—
Then, he gave a slight nod, reaching up to gently pat her head.
