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Chapter 120: A Slightly Hostile Simulation Target?
🕑 Added 2025-02-13 04:15:37 +0000 UTCMinami didn't bother with the rest.
After all, once he handed over his novel manuscript to Ishikawa Kento, his task from Okano Ryoko was considered complete.
After a polite farewell, Minami turned and left.
"Minami-kun is certainly not simple."
Watching his departing figure, Hiratsuka Shizuka couldn't help but sigh.
Now, she finally understood why Ishikawa Kento and Omiya Nagi praised this nationally ranked top student so highly.
Even in just a brief conversation, she could clearly feel how different he was from the students she usually interacted with.
There was indeed a certain level of maturity about him.
But more importantly—
"This novel is genuinely well-written."
Glancing at the manuscript in Ishikawa Kento's hands, Hiratsuka Shizuka couldn't suppress her admiration.
Yes.
It was truly good.
Just as she was about to take a closer look—
"Excuse me, sorry to interrupt. I'm Shinjo Akane from Class 3."
A slightly magnetic voice came from outside the office.
Hiratsuka Shizuka instinctively turned toward the door.
She saw a flicker of vibrant purple-pink hair and heard the next words from the girl.
"I'm here to submit my 'Shuka' school journal entry..."
As he walked toward his classroom, Minami was considering what to do next.
The issue with the "Riko-Riko" café had already been entrusted to Miss Ryo, who asked her father for help. The results should come soon.
His "Shuka" school journal submission was also more or less settled.
As for tutoring Gotoh Hitori and the others—there was no need to rush. He already had a plan.
After all, studying wasn't something that could be mastered overnight.
Thinking about this, Minami lifted his head.
Hmm…
"There's nothing urgent to do."
He murmured to himself.
Yes.
That was quite rare.
Aside from the tutoring plan, he realized he didn't have any pressing tasks at hand.
Suddenly having free time felt… unfamiliar.
Ever since acquiring this so-called "Love Simulator," he had always been juggling a pile of tasks.
Well, whatever.
Since there was nothing urgent, he might as well start thinking about Gotoh Hitori and the others' tutoring plan.
After all, a promise was a promise.
[You have discovered a new simulation target: Shinjo Akane.]
"Hm?"
The sudden system notification made Minami halt his steps.
He looked at the floating message in front of him with slight surprise.
A new simulation target?
Shinjo Akane?
Wasn't she ranked third in the year… or was it second?
Minami never really stored information about people he didn't care about, so his memory was vague.
He had a faint impression of the name… but couldn't recall any details.
More importantly—
"When did I even meet this Shinjo Akane?"
Returning to his seat, Minami was puzzled.
He had just gone to the office.
Inside, he only saw Hiratsuka Shizuka, Ishikawa Kento, and Omiya Nagi.
As for this so-called second or third-ranked girl…
He didn't recall running into her at all.
He hadn't even seen her.
So how did the system suddenly register her as a simulation target?
After all, the basic requirement for someone to become a simulation target was to have some level of real-life connection with him.
"Weird."
Minami tapped the system notification with the side of his hand.
Was his "Love Simulator" broken?
Maybe a few taps would fix it?
He tapped it twice.
The notification didn't change.
Shaking his head, he retracted his hand.
Unless…
Was Shinjo Akane, just like Gotoh Hitori, secretly "slightly admiring" him?
Minami stroked his chin.
It was very possible.
And no, this wasn't narcissism.
With a 9/10 appearance rating and excellent grades, it was only natural that he attracted attention from girls.
Thinking about this, Minami glanced back at the Love Simulator.
Nice.
Even this glitchy simulator seemed to agree with him this time.
It didn't pop up with that usual "Self-Admiration Slightly Increased" notification.
"Which means my guess is probably correct. This Shinjo Akane woman must secretly admire me for some reason."
Minami was confident.
But just thinking about it wasn't enough.
Without hesitation, he pulled up his status screen.
He was curious to see just how much this Shinjo Akane idolized him, enough to appear on his simulation candidate list.
Opening the status menu, he scanned the list of simulation targets.
[Current Simulation Targets: Shouji Naomi, Shouji Yuuko, Gotoh Hitori, Yamada Ryo, Nishikigi Chisato, Shinjo Akane.]
This time, the list had changed.
For the first time, Yamada Ryo's name appeared among the simulation candidates.
Unfortunately, her name was grayed out.
Apparently, he needed a "Yamada Ryo Simulation Item" before she could be simulated.
Skipping over Yamada Ryo, Minami turned his gaze to Shinjo Akane.
Alright.
"Woman, let's see what impression you have of me."
Without hesitation, he tapped her name.
And then—
[Candidate: Shinjo Akane. Status: Slightly Hostile.]
"…?"
Minami blinked.
He rubbed his eyes.
Confirmed that he hadn't read it wrong.
Then retracted his hand.
"What the hell?"
Now, he was genuinely surprised.
Not because he couldn't believe there was a woman in this world who didn't like him—though maybe that was part of it.
But mostly—
"I don't recall doing anything to make this woman hate me."
Minami frowned.
Seriously.
He didn't think he had done anything to offend Shinjo Akane.
Was it because he was always ranked first, constantly overshadowing her and making her resentful?
That theory didn't hold up.
If Shinjo Akane cared that much about rankings, she would've resented him long ago.
It wouldn't have dragged on until today.
After all, today was already the fourth day since the last exam results had been posted.
No matter how slow Shinjo Akane was, she wouldn't have only just found out her score today.
So, what was the reason?
Minami couldn't help but start thinking.
But no matter how he considered it, something felt off.
Because, simply put—
He and this new simulation target had no real-life connection whatsoever.
Counting today, Minami had never even met Shinjo Akane in person.
So how had he suddenly become the target of her hostility?
He shook his head.
At the same time, he glanced at his current Heartthrob Value.
[Current Heartthrob Value: 940.]
Thanks to Gotoh Hitori's ambush yesterday—the kiss, the physical contact, and even her heartfelt gratitude before parting—
She had unknowingly contributed 430 points to his Heartthrob Value.
Even Minami had to admit: Miss Gotoh was incredibly generous.
"Well then..."
Minami muttered.
940 points.
That translated to three simulation attempts.
Should he try simulating right away?
…No.
Instead of jumping into a simulation now, it would be wiser to gather some intel first.
Minami dismissed the idea of simulating immediately.
He had already suffered from lack of information before.
Back when he first simulated Gotoh Hitori, he completely missed his chance with her, ended up marrying Yamada Ryo, and wasted a simulation run with a zero-score result.
And now?
It was the same situation.
He knew nothing about Shinjo Akane—not even the basics.
What kind of person was she?
What impression did her classmates have of her?
What was her personality like?
300 Heartthrob Points per simulation was no small amount—he couldn't afford to waste them.
So, back to the main question—
How could Minami find out more about Shinjo Akane?
Actually, the answer was simple.
Without hesitation, Minami took out his phone.
He opened the LINE chat app and selected a contact.
[Tokyo's No.1 Pretty Boy: Kita-san, sorry to bother you, but I have something to ask.]
Yes.
He might not know Shinjo Akane,
but that didn't mean someone as well-connected as Kita Ikuyo didn't.
The third-ranked second-year student… or was she actually ranked third?
Either way, she should be fairly well-known among the underclassmen.
And with Kita Ikuyo's social connections…
Minami pondered.
Just then, a response arrived on LINE.
[Eek! Must Be the Brightest Star!: Senpai? I was just discussing ideas for the school festival with my friends. Sorry for the late reply! What's up? (Attached: Cute chibi girl emoji)]
As expected of Shuka High's social butterfly.
Minami glanced at her long, perfectly structured response and thought for a moment before replying.
[Tokyo's No.1 Pretty Boy: I wanted to ask you something. Do you know Shinjo Akane from my year?]
The message was sent without hesitation.
And then—
"Shinjo Akane?"
Kita Ikuyo blinked at the message from Minami.
Of course, she knew Shinjo Akane.
A super stunning beauty.
Not only was she academically gifted, but she also had great athletic ability. Combined with her perfect smile and strong social skills, she had countless admirers eager to slip her love letters.
But—
"Why is Minami-senpai asking about Shinjo-senpai?"
Kita glanced at the message, then at Gotoh Hitori, who was sitting nearby, looking down at her phone, giggling to herself.
After hesitating for a moment, she decided to reply.
[Eek! Must Be the Brightest Star!: What do you need to know about Shinjo-senpai, Senpai?]
[Tokyo's No.1 Pretty Boy: For the upcoming issue of the 'Shuka' school journal, my novel is being published alongside Shinjo's article. So… I'm just curious about her writing skills. I wanted to know what kind of person she is.]
"Oh, so that's why."
Seeing this message, Kita Ikuyo felt relieved.
[Eek! Must Be the Brightest Star!: I see! But since I'm a first-year, I don't know much about her. I can only share what I've heard. Hope that's okay!]
[Eek! Must Be the Brightest Star!: I heard that Shinjo-senpai is super smart, quite athletic—basically, she's an all-rounder! Oh, and apparently, she's really into tokusatsu shows.]
"Tokusatsu?"
On the other end, Minami raised an eyebrow in surprise.
Tokusatsu—referring to special-effects-driven live-action series, usually featuring actors in monster suits and flashy hero costumes—
It was a complicated genre to explain, but in reality—
Every boy had watched tokusatsu at some point.
For example, Japan's most famous series:
"Ultraman," "Kamen Rider," "Super Sentai," etc.
These all belonged to the tokusatsu genre.
Normally, stories about Ultraman fighting kaiju or Kamen Riders battling mutants were more popular among boys.
For a girl like Shinjo Akane to be a tokusatsu fan was definitely unexpected.
[Tokyo's No.1 Pretty Boy: What about her personality?]
[Eek! Must Be the Brightest Star!: Hmm… I haven't interacted with her personally, but my upperclassmen friends who have say she seems really nice!]
Nice personality?
Minami stared at that response.
Then, he glanced back at his simulation target status menu.
The "Slightly Hostile" label next to Shinjo Akane's name stood out like a sore thumb.
A person with a nice personality wouldn't hate someone they've never even met… right?
Minami couldn't quite understand.
But since Kita Ikuyo's knowledge of Shinjo Akane was also limited, he decided not to press further.
Instead, he simply responded:
[Tokyo's No.1 Pretty Boy: Got it. Thanks, Kita-san.]
[Eek! Must Be the Brightest Star!: No problem~ (Attached: Cute girl giving a thumbs-up emoji)]
End of conversation.
Kita Ikuyo put down her phone and glanced once more at Gotoh Hitori.
For some reason, Hitori was giggling to herself, completely absorbed in her own world.
After hesitating again, Kita decided not to mention that Minami had been asking about Shinjo Akane.
However—
"Publishing an article together in 'Shuka' and asking about Shinjo-senpai's personality… What's the connection between those two things?"
Tilting her head, Kita stared at the chat log.
She didn't get it.
But… whatever.
After a moment's thought, she casually sent Minami a photo of her friend with Shinjo Akane in the hopes it might help him.
