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Chapter 129: “Honestly… Minami…”
🕑 Added 2025-02-15 06:37:58 +0000 UTCThe rain outside continued to pour.
After washing the dishes, Minami brushed his teeth, preparing for bed.
Fortunately, he had a habit of keeping extra toiletries.
Finding a spare toothbrush for Akane wasn't a problem.
Once he was done, he naturally lay down on the bed—
Completely ignoring the way Akane was glowering at him from the floor.
Too bad.
He was already being generous by letting her stay the night.
And now she wanted to take his bed, too?
What a joke.
Minami wasn't some dense light novel protagonist.
He wasn't the kind of guy who'd sacrifice his own comfort just to let the heroine have the bed.
And besides—
Knowing Akane, she wouldn't appreciate it anyway.
No—
She'd probably just take it as further proof of her irresistible charm, thinking even he had fallen for her.
That wasn't just paranoia.
That was a conclusion based on observing her all day.
Akane wasn't like Ryo, Chisato, or even Bocchi.
She had a huge social circle, plenty of "friends," and a perfectly crafted outgoing persona.
To the outside world, she seemed like someone everyone adored.
Minami glanced at her.
She was gritting her teeth, muttering to herself as she sat on the futon, clearly frustrated by his complete indifference.
But the thing was—
That "perfect" smile?
That huge social circle?
It was all just a mask.
Her real self—
Was someone who had never truly opened up to anyone.
Minami suddenly understood why his first simulation failed.
He had been too much of a "background character."
Just like Akane's so-called "friends."
They indulged her whims.
They accepted her every little request without question.
They showered her with unconditional tolerance—
But that wasn't what she needed.
She didn't want someone who just went along with everything.
She had plenty of those.
If he had done the same, he would have just blended into the background—
And she would have forgotten about him.
To Akane, the Minami from the first simulation was no different from the people she never opened up to.
To really get through to her—
He had to stand out.
Then the first step was to not be like the others.
He had to be someone who stood out in her mind.
Even if that meant making a bad impression at first.
Blending into the background would only lead to repeating the same failure.
With that realization, Minami suddenly spoke up.
"Akane."
"Eh?"
She snapped out of her grumbling.
"I heard you have a lot of rare tokusatsu Blu-rays at home."
"…How do you know that?"
Akane blinked in confusion.
"I want to watch them. Bring some tomorrow—ones you think are good."
"Hah?!"
She stared at him like he was crazy.
Did this guy just demand she bring him movies?!
"Why the hell should I?!"
Akane opened her mouth, ready to refuse.
But then—
"Please, Akane."
Lying on the bed, Minami suddenly spoke to her with an unusually serious expression.
The bright white light in the room was glaring, but what caught Akane's attention even more were Minami's clear, almost piercingly pure eyes.
He was looking at her with complete seriousness.
That beautiful face, that untainted expression—he looked like an unworldly monk, the kind of man whose sheer purity could tempt women to sneak into a temple to test their resolve.
"..."
Akane.
For some reason, her heartbeat suddenly sped up.
She buried her face in the pillow, her voice muffled as she muttered, "Do whatever you want."
"Oh, and I don't have a player at home, so if you have an extra DVD player, lend me that too."
Minami added matter-of-factly.
"Hah?"
"Is there a problem?"
"..."
Akane.
She simply turned away, facing her back to him while wearing his oversized tracksuit.
It took a long moment before Minami finally heard her mutter, "Fine, I'll bring it all tomorrow."
——Perfect.
Getting to know Akane's interests was just another part of the plan.
Satisfied, Minami continued, "Oh, by the way, I'm kind of low on cash lately. If I take the train to your place to pick up the DVDs and Blu-rays…"
"I'LL PAY! I'LL PAY, OKAY?!"
Akane felt like she was going to explode from sheer frustration.
Puffing out her cheeks, she turned back to glare at him with those burning crimson eyes—Is there really a man like this?!
He's totally messing with me on purpose, right?!
She rolled around in her futon, kicking her legs in irritation.
Minami, already lying down and casually turning off the lights, couldn't be bothered to care.
As long as he built a solid relationship with simulated Akane, that was enough.
The real Akane? He had no interest in getting close to her.
If anything, a girl this troublesome was someone he wanted as far away from him as possible in real life.
This was simply a convenient opportunity—
She was stranded in the rain, so he took advantage of it, leveraged it, and made her work for him.
There wouldn't be another chance like this.
Besides—
"That whole conversation just now probably tanked my favorability with Akane. Sure, it might make the simulation harder… but leaving a bad impression is part of the plan, too."
Minami had been cold, dismissive—hell, even outright rude to Akane throughout the day.
It was only natural that her affection toward him dropped.
Thinking this, he casually opened his simulator system.
Time to move on to the second run.
[Would you like to begin the simulation?]
The prompt was as simple as ever.
Without hesitation, Minami opened the character list and selected Shinjou Akane as his simulation target.
Then—
"...Huh??"
Minami blinked.
The current status of Akane had changed.
It wasn't what he expected—her favorability didn't drop.
Instead, it was—
[Current Simulation Target: Shinjou Akane. Status: Slightly Moved, Slightly Respectful, Slightly Fearful]
"...What?"
Slightly moved?
Minami's lips parted slightly as he turned to look at Akane, who was lying on the floor with her back to him.
No—
Miss Akane?
What the hell are you doing?
Minami recalled every single interaction he'd had with her today.
Cold indifference.
Blatant disdain.
Extreme disdain.
Even a bit of straight-up bullying.
Honestly speaking—
Minami couldn't find a single reason why Akane would be moved by any of that.
His expression twisted into something odd.
…Akane.
Don't tell him—
Are you actually a masochist?
And not just any masochist—
The kind that acts tough but is actually super soft and fragile inside?
…Forget it.
Minami shook his head.
Thinking too much about this was pointless.
If her favorability went up, so be it.
It would only make the simulation easier.
Looking at the [Would you like to begin the simulation?] prompt, Minami clicked Yes.
[Current Simulation Target: Shinjou Akane.]
[Current Affection Points: 600]
Akane had given him quite a lot of points.
After deducting what he had already spent, he was left with 600—
Which meant a minimum of two more attempts.
Shifting his gaze away from the numbers, Minami let himself fully immerse into the simulation.
[Simulation Start.]
[The sudden downpour and approaching typhoon flooded the world—and trapped her in your home.]
[Your indifference angered her.]
[Your dismissiveness made her doubt her own charm.]
[Your commanding tone left her flustered.]
[She knew nothing about you, but you, having done your research, knew everything about her.]
[But you didn't care. Because you understood one thing—]
[To leave a lasting impression in the heart of a girl used to constant flattery, you had to take a more aggressive approach.]
[And you had absolute confidence—]
[That with your stunning looks and high-level social skills, you could break down her walls and seize her heart.]
[To do so, you decided to start by learning about her interests.]
[In your cramped apartment, you took advantage of her situation and asked to borrow her most treasured tokusatsu Blu-rays.]
[She protested at first, but in the end, she couldn't bring herself to refuse your request.]
[At the same time, you noticed something interesting—]
[Despite her outward display of resistance, she didn't actually seem to dislike the way you pushed her around.]
[In fact—she might even be slightly moved by it.]
[And so, you decided—]
[1. Wait, what kind of girl is into this?! Time to search the internet for more extreme ways to tease her. Clearly, this is the best way to win her over.]
[2. Everything in moderation. Maintain your current approach—push her, but not too far. At the same time, dig deeper to uncover the root of her twisted personality.]
[3. Ugh, why am I even bothering? No matter how you look at it, Yamada is still the best!]
[4. Personally Simulate.]
As usual, Minami ignored the free simulation mode and analyzed the remaining options.
Honestly—
This was a tough choice.
Option 3 was the usual safety net, leading back to the Yamada Ryo Route. That one could be ignored.
As for Option 1 and Option 2…
Option 1 sounded bad at first.
But if you looked closer, it simply meant doubling down on teasing Akane, fully using her odd personality against her.
A risky move—but one that could be incredibly effective.
On the other hand, Option 2 was the safe choice.
A slow, gradual approach.
More methodical, less forceful.
But also—less impactful.
Pausing, Minami glanced at Akane's "slightly moved" status.
Then, after a moment of thought—
He chose Option 1.
Facing someone like Akane, whose personality was both stubborn and unwilling to open up to anyone, perhaps a more aggressive approach was the key to making progress.
Then maybe a bold, direct approach was the only way to truly break through her shell.
And so—
The simulation continued.
[Having done some research on Akane's personality, you were well aware of her peculiar contradictions.]
[Surrounded by people, receiving fake compliments and applause—this was nothing more than her everyday routine.]
[You refused to fall into the same pattern as the rest, believing that only by applying pressure could you pry open the tightly locked doors of her heart.]
[So, you went online, studied various strategies, and began unapologetically teasing this seemingly strong-willed yet internally fragile girl.]
[You would occasionally make her treat you to meals, continue borrowing her beloved tokusatsu DVDs, and even, at times, ask her for money—to buy bass sheet music for Yamada Ryo.]
[At the same time, you didn't forget to show her genuine kindness in your daily interactions.]
[Although you frequently had her pay for meals, you would also invite her over to your place for dinner, watch tokusatsu together, and when in a good mood, play a pleasant tune on your guitar for her. Plus, every time you borrowed money, you always paid her back.]
[She was constantly caught between frustration at your shameless behavior and a strange sense of joy from the rare sincerity you showed her.]
[Because these were feelings she had never truly experienced before.]
Minami closed his eyes.
Scenes from the simulation—the memories—swirled in his mind.
The setting: his small rental apartment.
"Give me some money, Akane."
Taking out the completed Blu-ray disc of Kamen Rider Ryuki from the DVD player, Minami spoke without turning his head.
"Hah?"
Akane frowned. "Again? Didn't I just lend you 30,000 yen last time?"
"I can't help it. Lately, things have been a bit tight, so give me some cash."
Minami glanced at her, his tone completely natural, as if it were the most reasonable request in the world.
"Ha…? You mean 'lend,' right? Geez… You're impossible."
Akane furrowed her brows, letting out a sigh of exasperation.
Even though she sounded reluctant, she still pulled out her wallet, counted out 30,000 yen, and handed it over to him.
Watching as Minami ignored her, merely counting the bills in his hand...
For some reason, just seeing him like this made her lips curve into a faint smile.
"Thirty thousand yen isn't really enough, Akane."
"…You're impossible, Minami."
Akane blinked her crimson eyes, let out another sigh, and once again reached for her wallet.
