บท 61: Chapter 61: I Leave It to You, Ichinose!
[After a brief self-introduction, Ichinose Shiori stated her purpose and asked if you forced Ibuki Yuko to date you.]
The memory scene appears.
After school, at the far end of the first-floor hallway of the school building, Minami Yuuki and Ichinose Shiori stood together. The classrooms on the first floor were all temporary ones, like the art room and the chemistry lab, making the area very quiet.
Ichinose Shiori wore a serious expression, arms crossed, standing straight with an imposing demeanor. However, her legs clad in black stockings were too eye-catching, making it hard to focus on her expression.
It was like in a zombie movie—moving corpses are scary, but a moving black-stockinged schoolgirl corpse evokes a peculiar feeling.
"Why are you asking this?" Minami Yuuki raised his eyes to look at Ichinose Shiori's face.
He thought that, given Ibuki Yuko's personality, she wouldn't voluntarily speak out about such matters, let alone tell Ichinose Shiori, who was a year younger than her.
"I've already asked Ibuki-senpai, and she confirmed my suspicions. Now, I want to hear your explanation." Ichinose Shiori stared into Minami Yuuki's eyes.
Her face was expressionless, instantly reminding Minami Yuuki of Ibuki Yuko. However, Ichinose Shiori's face showed a firm belief, a determination Minami Yuuki had never seen in Ibuki Yuko.
"What if I told you not to meddle in other people's bussiness, what would you do?" Minami Yuuki thought of the rumors he had heard in his simulated life—Ichinose Shiori's family seemed quite influential.
"I have investigated. Minami-san transferred to Tsukimori High School through the connection of the grade head. I can make sure you go back to Ino County."
Ichinose Shiori's words confirmed the rumors. To easily influence a school, the Ichinose family must be quite extraordinary.
"That is to say, if I don't stop, Ichinose-san will become my enemy?" Minami Yuuki found it amusing. Although he liked to take unconventional paths and be opportunistic, this was the first time he was being treated as a villain.
"Minami-san is handsome and socially adept. Not only did you plant a spy in Ibuki-senpai's class, but you also won over Class C's homeroom teacher. Your future seems promising. If a successful person like you seeks revenge, I might end up in big trouble."
"Then what makes you take the risk of questioning and stopping me, despite the possible retaliation? Is it your sense of justice?"
"Because I think there's more to it. With Minami-san's skills, you shouldn't lack a girlfriend."
"So, Ichnose's earlier threat to make me transfer was just a bluff?"
"In a sense, yes. But I've also prepared for the possibility that there's no hidden agenda, and Minami-san is just a simple pervert who intends to persist. In that case, it wouldn't be a bluff." Ichinose Shiori's logic was clear and her stance firm.
"I wish Ibuki Yuko was more like you," Minami Yuuki sighed.
"What do you mean by that?" Ichinose Shiori sensed something was amiss.
"Nothing. I won't bother Ibuki Yuko anymore." Minami Yuuki smiled, "Honestly, I've been worried about what to do with her next. It's a big help that Ichinose showed up."
Ichinose Shiori didn't respond, keeping her lips tightly shut, waiting for Minami Yuuki to explain further.
"Has Ichinose noticed any peculiarities about Ibuki Yuko?" Minami Yuuki asked.
"Reclusive, weak, and has no opinion of her own. Precisely because of these traits, she fell prey to your coercion, didn't she?"
"Tsk, your harsh words only show that you're already aware of something unsettling. You're just trying to vent your unease on me."
Minami Yuuki felt even more pleased.
"Reclusive, weak, and having no opinion of her own—these are just the shadows cast on the wall by the firelight. What is the reality behind this shadow?"
Ichinose Shiori's expression didn't change, but her tightly pressed lips revealed her emotions.
"Ichinose can ask her—if she falls into a river, would she choose to swim desperately, call for help loudly, or—sink to the bottom."
Minami Yuuki didn't wait for Ichinose Shiori's reaction and quickly walked towards the entrance.
"Since Ichinose is intervening, I'll leave her to you."
His last words reached Ichinose Shiori's ears.
The girl stood in place, frowning deeply.
[Facing an inquiry from Shiho Ichinose, you hesitated at first. After confirming she was a suitable person to take over, you entrusted Ayako Ibuki to her and withdrew from the situation.]
As expected of me!
Minami Yuuki nodded satisfactorily as he looked at the simulation interface.
Though weary of the puppet in his simulated life, his simple morality made it hard to ignore. Ichinose Shiori intervention was like a timely help in need. Entrusting trouble to her was the right move!
Given Ichinose Shiori's gender and authority, she was better suited than him to care for Ibuki Yuko. Her keen perception and strong sense of justice, as evidenced by her action against his coercion, made her trustworthy.
With the trouble now off his hands, what would happen next?
Would it be a successful companionship with Chitose Kazumi, or would Asano Nao make a comeback? Perhaps there might be some stories with Ichinose Shiori?
Wait, wasn't the goal of this love simulation Ibuki Yuko?
Never mind, it felt doomed to fail from the start. Understanding Ibuki Yuko's stubbornness and knowing Ichinose Shiori's character, he had already gained enough.
He continued reading the simulated text.
[You told your classmate who cared about your feelings that you were only pursuing Ibuki Yuko before, but now you've completely given up."
[Without Ibuki Yuko's presence, Chitose Kazumi's figure is now around you.]
[You still care about Ibuki Yuko's situation and occasionally go out to eat with Ibuki Honoka, asking about Ibuki Yuko's recent condition.]
[Ibuki Honoka tells you that she has been seeing her daughter less and less. A big shot through her company arranged for her to meet, asking her to stop worrying about her daughter, Ibuki Yuko.]
[At school, Ibuki Yuko is always with Ichinose Shiori.]
[One day in the first semester of the second year, you three meet in the corridor. You laugh at Ichinose Shiori's current actions that are exactly the same as what you did before.]
[After school that day, Ichinose Shiori blocked you at your seat.]
[Ibuki Yuko isn't by her side, and you walk to a quiet place where she tells you about Ibuki Yuko's recent situation.]
[She got Ibuki Yuko a psychologist, cut off her contact with her mother, and hoped to correct Ibuki Yuko's character. Her efforts were in vain.]
[She found that Ibuki Yuko was increasingly reliant on her. Perhaps not reliance, but mechanically taking her words as a guide. Previously, Ibuki Yuko's guide was her mother's demands.]
[Ibuki Yuko didn't follow her words out of liking or ideology, but because people are born to act, and action requires a guide, so she used her words to fill in.]
[Listening to Ichinose Shiori's complaints, you had no solution. She didn't want advice, but after saying it out loud, her mood improved. She thanked you and left.]
[You successfully developed emotional bonds with Chitose Kazumi, and you introduced her to Asano Nao, and the two became friends.]
[With no troubled girl to care for, you had plenty of time. Chitose Kazumi invited you to sprint for Misaki University, so you studied hard and, through connections with your father's old grade director and Ichinose Shiori, who often came to talk to you about Ibuki Yuko's matters, expanded your network.]
[Building on your grades and using your connections, you helped yourself and Chitose Kazumi secure a guaranteed spot at Misaki University. On the day you got the spot, Chitose Kazumi looked at the sprint plan she had made for herself, with mixed emotions.]
[During spring break after high school graduation, you learned from Ichinose Shiori about Ibuki Yuko's death.]
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