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Chapter 105: Shouji Minami’s Romantic Writing Technique
🕑 Added 2025-02-10 04:55:11 +0000 UTC[Simulation Complete.]
Seeing this line, Minami, who had been resting his chin on his hand, couldn't help but glance sideways at the pale blue simulation screen.
He had always thought that this "love simulation system" was incredibly bizarre.
But now, he was certain.
"You're not just bizarre—you're a simulation system that lacks common sense."
Staring at the content of the simulation, Minami couldn't help but speak to the faint blue screen:
"Do you even know that the Nobel Prize generally isn't awarded posthumously?"
The system interface remained unchanged.
Minami stroked his chin in contemplation.
Indeed, the Nobel Prize is typically not given to deceased individuals, but there have been exceptions—cases where someone received the award after their passing.
Judging from the simulation's memories, he had been nominated for the Nobel Prize multiple times, but each time he had declined it for various reasons.
Even in the year he passed away, one of his works had already been selected as the winning piece and was officially awarded the Nobel Prize.
However, because he had dedicated himself entirely to completing Chisato and Takina, he never lived to accept the award.
Minami guessed that he had likely already been chosen as the recipient before his death, and since it was too late to select another winner within the same year, the committee had simply upheld their decision.
"Well—whatever. It doesn't really concern me anyway."
Minami nestled back into his blankets and continued reading.
After all, he still hadn't seen the final simulation results.
He was also quite curious—how exactly would the system classify this ending?
[Simulation Results]
[Simulation Complete.]
[System Score: 93 points. You have achieved a "Happy Ending."]
[System Evaluation: Three lives reached their end in peace, and the river of happiness flowed within you all. You never once felt regret.]
[They stormed into your world like a whirlwind—one bright and cheerful, stealing your heart with her warmth; the other cold and serious, making it impossible for your gaze to waver.]
[For them, you willingly dedicated your entire life. And for you, they bravely endured the scrutiny of the world.]
[Your love faced no hardships; everything progressed naturally, effortlessly.]
[In your youth, you worked tirelessly to improve their lives, guiding them through hardships, and from that, love blossomed.]
[For their sake, you never stopped striving. With unwavering determination, you climbed to the peak of literary excellence, clearing every obstacle in your path. For this, you endured relentless criticism, but your heart remained unchanged.]
[As time went on, you had children. Their lives and happiness became an extension of your own. The love between you and your wives was as delicate as cherry blossoms in the courtyard, yet as vast and unstoppable as a mighty river—love like flowers, love like mountains and rivers.]
[In middle age, you had long since looked past worldly matters. Simply gazing at each other was enough to make even the coldest winter seem endearing.]
[In your later years, you embraced and supported one another, but no one can defy the passage of time and the laws of nature.]
[Under your watchful gaze, they passed away one after the other, leaving you alone. But you found solace in this.]
[If you had gone first, how heartbroken would they have been?]
[After their passing, you poured your heart into writing Chisato and Takina.]
[Your longing for them burned through your very being, fueling your final moments with creative passion.]
[Not once did you regret falling in love with them. Even on your deathbed, in your fading memories, they remained as beautiful as ever.]
"A 93-point happy ending, huh…?"
Seeing the system notification, Minami was slightly surprised.
He had expected this happy ending to score lower than the one he achieved with Hitori Gotō.
But unexpectedly, this ending scored 93 points—one point higher than the one with Hitori Gotō.
A surprising yet unsurprising result.
Chisato Nishikigi and Takina Inoue were always the kind of people who would sacrifice everything for the ones they loved.
Whether before or after marriage, they had no regrets. Their love unfolded naturally, without any drama or obstacles.
The system's evaluation criteria were simple—it only judged the happiness level of Minami and the simulated individuals.
With that in mind, Minami completely understood the reasoning behind the score.
Rather than dwell on it, he turned his attention to the system's reward settlement.
[System Rewards]
[Settlement Complete: You have obtained the "Pure & Simple Romantic Writing Technique of Late-Life Minami" and a one-time-use character card, "Unrivaled Tracking – Chisato Nishikigi."]
[Your Writing (Romance) skill has leveled up to LV4.]
"Huh? Romantic writing technique? Chisato Nishikigi's… Unrivaled Tracking?"
"What the hell?"
Minami was beginning to notice that the system's reward descriptions were getting more and more abstract.
So abstract that he could barely make sense of them.
The "Romantic Writing Technique" was at least understandable.
It simply meant that in the simulation, his writing style in his later years had reached an unparalleled level of romanticism.
But…
What exactly was this "Unrivaled Tracking – Chisato Nishikigi" character card supposed to be?
Unable to comprehend it at first glance, he simply clicked on the item description.
["Unrivaled Tracking – Chisato Nishikigi" Character Card]
["Love is war. Showing mercy to outsiders is being cruel to yourself!"]
["With unmatched execution and decisiveness, she never believed that passivity or hesitation would lead to love. To her, only taking the initiative can secure victory."]
["I don't seem like the kind of woman who would stalk someone. But to win your heart, I specifically developed an unrivaled tracking method."]
— Chisato Nishikigi
[One-time-use character card. Upon activation, you will be able to perfectly conceal your presence—no human intuition or surveillance technology will be able to detect you. This ability allows you to flawlessly track a target of your choosing.]
"..."
Minami fell into silence.
"Wow."
Now he understood completely.
This was basically a stalking tool.
And seriously, Chisato—are you for real? How is this the ability that got turned into a character card?!
Do you even realize that stalking is illegal?!
At this moment, Minami genuinely felt that Chisato Nishikigi's mindset could be quite dangerous at times.
Probably because she came from the espionage-filled, terrorist-ridden, gunfight-packed world of Lycoris Recoil.
Still, despite how ridiculous this ability seemed, it could actually be useful if he ever needed to gather information on a simulation target.
That said, Minami thought to himself—
A righteous, kind, and virtuous young man like me…
Would never resort to using this kind of tool.
…Probably.
"Well, whatever. I'll just hold onto it for now."
He carefully stored the "Chisato Nishikigi" character card away and then turned to check the next reward.
[Elder Minami's Pure and Unembellished Romantic Writing Technique:]
[Countless days and nights of learning, an accumulation of countless works and manuscripts—on the path of literature, you advanced relentlessly, creating miracles in literary history with your own efforts.]
[The works you wrote for them carried a profound sense of romance, stripped of all superficial embellishments, yet undeniably beautiful. With this style, you left an indelible mark on world literary history.]
[Their passing stirred great waves in your heart, and through the interplay of life and death, your words were elevated to new heights. You never forgot them, and your works never did either.]
[A great novel can move its readers to tears. A truly powerful piece of writing can captivate them entirely, shake them to their core, and leave them weeping uncontrollably.]
[No need for elaborate rhetoric, no need for forced sentimentality—amidst the busyness and bleakness of life, have you ever truly been saved by a novel?]
[Your writing has the power to make people genuinely feel the most unforgettable romantic moments of their lives.]
"This is some real supernatural stuff."
Minami stared at the description of the newly acquired "Elder Minami's Pure and Unembellished Romantic Writing Technique" and his newly unlocked "Writing (Romance) LV4" skill.
Then, his gaze shifted to the "Regretful Life Guitar" resting nearby.
After that, he thoughtfully opened his skill list, scanning through [Shouji Hitori's Happy Cooking Skills].
Perhaps he had been influenced too much by this bizarre simulator.
A strange idea popped into Minami's head—
What if someone were to read a novel he wrote, while listening to a song he played on the "Regretful Life Guitar," and at the same time, enjoying a meal he cooked using [Shouji Hitori's Happy Cooking Skills]?
What kind of scene would that be?
The thought intrigued him, but he didn't immediately put it into action.
Because, at the moment, he was more interested in testing out [Elder Minami's Pure and Unembellished Romantic Writing Technique] and seeing what kind of writing it would produce.
"Might as well give it a shot."
Minami had always been the type to act on his ideas immediately.
Without hesitation, he grabbed a piece of paper and a pen from his bag.
[You have acquired the Special Trait: Action-Oriented LV1.]
He ignored the sudden system notification and pondered for a moment before casually jotting down a random "depressing quote" he had seen on the internet in his previous life.
Then, he set the pen down and carefully read what he had written.
He was curious to see how exactly this supernatural simulator was going to make him feel "romantic" about it.
He stared at the words intently.
He read them seriously.
But…
Nothing seemed to happen?
Minami scratched his head.
A depressing quote was still just a depressing quote.
There was no change whatsoever. It didn't stir any emotions in him.
After all, in his previous life, he had already seen countless variations of these types of phrases:
"He committed suicide."
"I'm just a kindergarten kid, but the weight of life is suffocating me."
He had seen them all before.
He shook his head and glanced at his writing again.
And then…
The more he looked at it, the harder it was to look away.
A strange, indescribable beauty and a surge of pure romantic sentiment rose from the depths of his heart.
Minami found himself thinking about a lot of things.
Reflecting on his life, he realized that he had always been working tirelessly, constantly chasing grand ambitions.
But was that really the right way to live?
A single tear rolled down from the corner of his eye.
He suddenly remembered—
His aunt's friend's uncle's adopted stray dog had passed away this winter.
It was just like human life—so insignificant, so aimless, just living and sleeping until death.
Was this truly what life should be?
No! This is not right!
He clenched his fists.
I can't waste my life like this! I must be more romantic! I need to confess my love! I need to share my life with someone!
I can't be a coward anymore! I can do this!
Romance and beauty exist in the faraway places!
Poetry and the ocean are also waiting for me!
And as for the practice target for his confession—
Let's use his aunt's friend's uncle's adopted stray dog.
…
"Wait, what?"
Minami violently shook his head, desperately banishing the overwhelming "urge to confess his love and find a life partner" from his mind.
Then, with a look of utter shock and disbelief, he stared at the words he had just written.
"What the hell kind of cursed ability is this?!"
This was even more ridiculous than the "Regrets of Life: Guitar."
And how was this "romantic" in any way?!
Recalling the uncontrollable thoughts that had just filled his mind—
"I must confess!"
"I need to fall in love!"
"The world is vast, I must go explore it!"
Minami rubbed his temples.
This so-called "Romantic Writing Technique" shouldn't even be called that.
It should be called—
"Love Confession Courage Amplifier."
"Though, I must admit… there really was a certain kind of 'romantic beauty' in it."
Minami flicked the paper on his desk, now treating it as if it were a dangerous nuclear weapon.
Yes.
It was that dangerous.
After using this skill, apart from the flood of emotions surging in his heart, Minami also experienced a pure, deeply felt realization—that the beauty of words could be so incredibly romantic.
He felt that his years of hard work in studying, leaving Akita Prefecture to pursue his education in Tokyo while carrying everyone's expectations, was also a form of arduous romance.
He also recalled the past simulations with Hitori Gotoh, Ryou Yamada, and others.
Every smile, every glance exchanged…
Meeting them, falling in love, and getting to know them… lingering in those moments, unwilling to leave.
So the beauty of life had been right beside him all along.
And perhaps because of his newly acquired "Writing (Romance) LV4" skill,
Minami realized that his handwriting now carried a certain charm, unlike his previously rigid, printed-like penmanship.
"Overall, it's not completely useless, I suppose."
Feeling satisfied with his newly acquired skill, Minami lay back down in bed.
As for everything else…
He didn't want to think about it for now.
Right now, he only wanted to sleep.
Because once this weekend break ended, it would be time for Shuka High School's routine monthly test.
And right after that, the school festival—the Shuka Festival—would take place.
Although Minami was certain that he would once again secure first place in the exam, out of respect for his fellow students, he decided to get some proper rest beforehand.
As for the Shuka Festival afterward?
That had nothing to do with him.
Whatever his classmates wanted to do, they could do it—
"I wonder what kind of event Hitori Gotou's class is planning this year…?"
And after achieving another "Happy Ending,"
Would Chisato Nishikigi and Takina Inoue—like Hitori Gotoh before them—also begin to recall fragments of their "happiness memories"?
With those thoughts swirling in his mind,
Minami gradually drifted into slumber.
