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Chapter 275: "Are You Abandoning Me and Takina?"
🕑 Added 2025-04-08 08:26:55 +0000 UTC"Alright—"
After seeing Satou off, Minami went over his words one last time and nodded to himself.
"I don't think I said anything wrong."
He had a good reason to be this cautious.
After all, Matsuzaka Satou wasn't a normal girl.
When it came to teaching her about emotions, he had to be very careful.
Otherwise, one wrong step—
And who knew what this pink-haired girl might end up doing.
Fortunately, based on their conversation and his approach,
There shouldn't have been anything that could cause her to overthink or go down the wrong path.
That was a relief.
"Now that real-life Satou seems to be doing fine… I guess that means…"
Minami turned his gaze to the simulation screen next to him, deep in thought.
If the real Matsuzaka Satou was slowly learning about emotions,
Then the simulated version of her should be going through the same thing.
So—
Should he run a simulation to check?
"…Yeah. I should."
After about a minute of thinking, Minami made his decision.
By simulating Satou's progress,
He could monitor her state in real-time.
And since it was just a simulation,
There was no risk of affecting real life.
It was the perfect setup.
But before that—
Minami tapped on the affection points page.
He had spent 1,200 affection points earlier using the "The girl from the future" item card.
His original 1,890 points had plummeted.
However—
"I did have a lot of interactions with Satou recently…"
Minami muttered.
Judging by Satou's usual generosity,
He figured she had probably racked up a ton of affection points for him again.
Thinking this, he looked at the total—
And then—
"…Huh?"
A sound of disbelief escaped his lips.
On the screen, in pale blue font,
Only one number hung there—
850 affection points.
There was no huge increase.
No massive spike in numbers.
Nothing like what he had expected.
Minami frowned.
Because he hadn't forgotten, when he first met Satou,
She had given him nearly 1,000 points in one go.
And every time they met afterward,
She always contributed a large amount.
That was how he, a perpetual low-points player, had managed to afford the "The girl from the future" card.
But now?
After several meetings,
After multiple heart-racing moments, her affection points had actually decreased in growth?
Minami couldn't accept this.
It was like investing in a booming stock,
Expecting it to skyrocket,
Only to watch it crash out of nowhere.
His expectations and reality were completely misaligned.
"…Could it be because Satou is starting to understand 'love' and other emotions?"
After some deep thought, Minami arrived at a conclusion.
The reason Satou had contributed so many affection points before, was because she had no idea what love was.
Every time she felt something,
She lumped it all under "love" and funneled her emotions into the affection system.
However—
After spending time with him,
After their many conversations,
Satou was slowly learning what "love" actually meant.
And she was beginning to differentiate between love and other emotions.
Which meant—
Her affection points, instead of skyrocketing, had actually stabilized.
"…So that's why."
Minami pieced it together.
And honestly—
He wasn't that surprised.
He had expected this to happen eventually.
But—
That didn't mean he was okay with it.
SLAM!
Minami let out a long sigh, placing his palm down in resignation.
Originally, he had planned to let Satou fully grasp emotions before using the Random Daughter Summon Card again.
After all, based on her old affection point gain,
He had been sure he would have enough points by then.
But now?
That entire plan had fallen apart.
Still—
"…It's fine. I can accept this."
Minami took a deep breath, pulling himself together.
After all,
Seeing Satou grow was already a huge success.
A small drop in affection points was nothing in comparison,
…Or at least, that's what he wanted to believe.
But that was a damn lie.
Tch.
Minami clenched his jaw.
He had really been counting on those points…
But now, there was no guarantee he'd have enough to use the Random Daughter Summoning Card anytime soon.
Still—
"At least it's not the worst outcome."
Minami composed himself.
Satou's emotional growth proved that his efforts hadn't been wasted.
And with that in mind, "Let's start the simulation and see how things play out."
He settled into a comfortable position,
Half-lying inside the kotatsu,
And reached out to tap the simulation screen.
But—
Riiiiing, riiiiing—!
A sudden, crisp ringtone interrupted his movement.
Minami paused.
With a sigh, he picked up his phone.
Minami glanced at his phone screen and blinked in surprise.
"…Mika-san?"
Mika, the manager of LycoReco, where Nishikigi Chisato and Inoue Takina worked.
He rarely ever called.
Even when he did, it was usually about Chisato and Takina.
…Could something have happened to them?
With that thought, Minami didn't hesitate. He picked up the call.
"Hello?"
"Sorry to bother you, Minami-kun."
Mika's voice came through almost immediately.
"It's fine. But calling me out of the blue like this—did something happen, Mika-san?"
Minami got straight to the point.
"Ah… well… uh…"
Mika hesitated.
His voice sounded awkward, as if he wasn't sure how to phrase what he wanted to say.
But soon enough, he sighed and continued.
"…Anyway, can you come to LycoReco for a bit? Chisato and Takina are… how should I put it…"
Minami heard Mika shift, as if moving the phone closer to something.
And then—
From the other end of the line—
A loud, unmistakable voice erupted.
"NO! I'M NOT WORKING ANYMORE! I WANT TO SEE MINAMI-KUN! I WANT TO SEE MINAMI-KUN! NO ONE CAN STOP ME! I HAVE TO SEE HIM!!!"
That lively, easily recognizable voice—
Even through the phone, Minami knew exactly who it belonged to.
"…Chisato."
A small cough came from Mika's side as he pulled the phone back.
"…Yeah. So, that's the situation, Minami-kun."
"…."
Minami sighed, rubbing his forehead.
Here he was, still dealing with Matsuzaka Satou's situation.
And now Chisato was causing trouble too.
Seriously…
But—
Fine.
As he slipped on his coat, he responded, "I got it, Mika-san. I'll head over now."
"…That would really help."
Mika's voice held a trace of helplessness.
In Chisato's current rampaging state,
If there was anyone who could calm her down—
It was Minami.
After exchanging a few more words, Minami hung up and headed for the station.
LycoReco wasn't exactly close to Shimokitazawa.
Minami took the train, got off at the nearest station, then walked several hundred meters to reach the café.
It had been about half a month since his last visit.
With the Teen Music Festival coming up and everything going on with Matsuzaka Satou,
He had been too busy to drop by.
But now that he was here—
He could tell that LycoReco was doing much better than before.
Even on a weekday, customers were inside enjoying meals and coffee.
It was no longer the ghost town it had been not long ago.
And yet—
Despite this promising sight,
Inside the café, Mizuki, Kurumi, and Takina were all gathered in front of the break room—
Wearing identical expressions of exasperation.
The moment they saw Minami step inside,
Their eyes lit up like they had just found their savior.
"Minami, finally!"
Mizuki, adjusting her glasses, let out a relieved sigh and immediately pulled him over to the break room.
"…What exactly happened, Mizuki-san?"
"Who knows? That girl just snapped all of a sudden—kept saying she had to see you, that she couldn't stay in LycoReco for even another second."
Mizuki rubbed her temples.
"Even Takina tried to check on her, but Chisato wouldn't let anyone in."
Minami glanced at Takina for confirmation.
The black-haired girl's violet eyes trembled slightly before she nodded.
"Yes. Chisato refuses to let anyone inside. She locked the door."
After Takina's brief response,
The petite Kurumi grumbled, arms crossed.
"I tried to go in earlier too, but before I could even touch the doorknob, she yelled at me."
Clearly, Chisato's tone had scared her a little.
Otherwise, Kurumi wouldn't be this salty about it.
She sighed.
"Anyway, since you're here, Minami, maybe you can figure out what to do."
"…Figure out what to do?"
Minami blinked.
They had gone through the trouble of calling him over and they were still standing around at the door, clueless?
Minami couldn't help but think sometimes, when a bunch of girls put their heads together, their collective intelligence seemed to decrease.
Chisato wasn't the type to be that difficult to deal with.
They must've just approached her wrong.
Shaking his head, Minami stepped up to the door and knocked lightly.
His voice was gentle.
"Chisato—"
"NOPE! NOT LISTENING! I DON'T WANNA HEAR ANYTHING! STAY AWAY FROM ME! I WON'T LISTEN!"
…
She cut him off before he could even finish a sentence.
Well.
That was expected.
Minami took a deep breath.
He wasn't about to give up just yet.
So, he softened his voice even more.
"Chisato—"
"I SAID I DON'T WANNA HEAR IT! MINAMI-KUN, YOU'RE A BIG MEANIE!"
"…Chisato, you—"
He tried again, keeping his tone calm.
But—
"I ALREADY TOLD YOU! IF YOU REALLY WANT ME TO LISTEN, THEN GET DOWN ON YOUR KNEES AND BOW! MAYBE THEN I'LL CONSIDER IT!"
…
Huh?
Bow?
Was she serious?
Minami inhaled deeply.
He needed to take a different approach.
So—
"…Chisato."
His voice went completely flat.
"I'm giving you three seconds to open the door."
No emotions.
Just a simple statement.
"Hah! As if that kind of childish scare tactic would work on me!"
Chisato scoffed from behind the door.
"Yeah, seriously, Minami. The whole 'count to three' thing is just a trick adults use to scare little kids."
Mizuki folded her arms, looking skeptical.
They had tried everything—logic, persuasion, even emotional appeals.
Nothing had worked.
Did Minami really think counting to three would make a difference?
What a joke.
But Minami ignored them.
He simply started counting.
"One—"
CLICK!
The door immediately swung open.
Chisato, who had just been claiming she would never come out,
Was now standing there, pouting, looking very unhappy.
"…."
Mizuki.
Mizuki had nothing to say.
She was in disbelief.
This girl—
The one who had been screaming about how she wouldn't come out no matter what—
Had caved before Minami even finished saying "two."
Unbelievable.
She sighed.
At this rate, Chisato was doomed.
If she ended up marrying Minami,
She'd never win an argument in her life.
Meanwhile—
Chisato turned her head away, mumbling under her breath.
"'Counting to three' my ass… Minami-kun knows I can't say no to him, and he still pulled that move… So sneaky…"
"…Would you have come out otherwise?"
Minami gave her a look.
She didn't answer.
Instead, she put her hands on her hips and said,
"Well, it's not that big of a deal, really! It's just a simple topic—like, say, what to eat for breakfast!"
"…Oh?"
Minami raised an eyebrow.
If it was so simple,
Then why had she locked herself in the break room?
Under his gaze—
Nishikigi Chisato cleared her throat.
But her usual bright and cheerful expression didn't last.
Instead, she grabbed onto Minami's sleeve, her big red eyes brimming with tears as she looked up at him with an expression of pure betrayal.
"Minami-kun… do you not like me and Takina anymore? Are you going to abandon us?"
"…???"
Minami.
Hold on—
Chisato.
You call this a simple, lighthearted problem?! Something as easy as deciding breakfast?!
