A reversal of fortune and victory in a world hated by all girls!

They didn't say anything directly, but instead exchanged heartwarming smiles in perfect unison.

Aoi Natsuki then lowered his head and looked at Rina, whose face was still pressed against his waist. At this age, her height has really increased rapidly after not seeing her for a while. He stared at Rina, his hands still moving gently.

"I'm back, Lina."

Extra Chapter 22. Could it be that the gods envy us?

……

Despite not having been home for a month, Aoi Natsuki didn't feel any sense of estrangement. At least in terms of liveliness, Rina was constantly excited and frequently started conversations. After spending a long time with him, the girls had also learned some simple sign language, and with Rina's writing board, their communication became very harmonious.

Kayano Karin sat alone on a small sofa on one side, looking somewhat reserved.

Now, Natsuki Aoi is away at school, while her parents are retired and stay home to take care of the children. Rina has become much rounder than she did two years ago. She used to be so petite, but now her cheeks are quite chubby.

Seeing her constantly smiling at him with her eyes narrowed and teeth showing, Aoi Natsuki's lips also turned up. Smiles really do have a magical power; being with someone who loves to smile, you don't even need to say anything to keep feeling happy.

"Who is this older sister?" Lina asked the pretty older sister for the first time, holding up her writing board.

In Lina's eyes, the all-black outfit—black tube top, black jacket, black wide-leg pants, and black Doc Martens—gave her a sense of déjà vu. Ah, it was like seeing a lead singer of a rock band.

"Rock?" Lina immediately wrote it down and then showed it to Natsuki Aoi.

"No, this is my senior from university, let's call her Kayano-neechan. She's on vacation right now, so she came back with us," said Aoi Natsuki.

Keiko Hayakawa, standing nearby, immediately chimed in, "Yeah, yeah, she's also the president of our university's game club! She's an incredibly amazing person!"

"Oh..." Lina's mouth gaped open in surprise. In her eyes, someone who could be admired by the academic genius Hayakawa must be a truly remarkable person, far beyond her imagination. Moreover, she was also very good-looking!

His eyes gleamed as he stared at Kayano.

Kayano Karin was already used to this kind of admiring gaze, after all, she was just a child who was not even ten years old. In the early part of the dating sim that Aoi Natsuki had watched, Rina was the first character to appear, so she had some impression of this girl. She remembered that it seemed that the first encounter between this girl and Aoi was caused by the senior. In a dating sim, there are usually many routes arranged for the protagonist, but she did not expect that Aoi Natsuki would actually conquer all of them in the end and win over all the women who could be pursued.

A well-developed family relationship can also cultivate the male protagonist's correct values ​​and sense of responsibility, thereby gaining him higher favorability among the women he can win over.

Kayano Karin, as a deity, was aware of all of this.

As long as the love game is completed, any method or approach is allowed. That's why the actions of the gods as a whole have made her rebel. Her senior once told her something that she has always agreed with: those gods are sick and will only face destruction in the end.

Kayano Karin glanced at Rina, ignoring her smile, and then continued to look down at her phone, playing her game.

Fortunately, this action did not provoke any resentment from the crowd. Aoi Natsuki seized the opportunity and quickly chimed in. Soon, Hayakawa put his arm around Rina, and the two of them started choosing an anime to watch. Sakurajima received a phone call and went to the market with Aoi's mother. Takahashi Midori looked around and was about to raise her hand to chat with Aoi Natsuki when she saw Aoi Natsuki suddenly strike up a conversation with Kayano Karin. She saw Aoi give her a wink, and Takahashi's raised left hand hovered in mid-air.

Kayano Karin nodded slightly, stood up, and the two walked together toward the balcony door, completely unaware of Takahashi Mito.

Eh?

Mito Takahashi was stunned. No matter how much time had passed, even though she had become Aoi's girlfriend, why did she still sometimes feel like a loser?

In the cool air conditioning, Mito Takahashi gradually became a gaunt pencil drawing, her hair disheveled...

On the other side, Aoi Natsuki opened the sliding door and followed Kayano out onto the balcony. She then closed the door and looked at Kayano, whose expression seemed much more serious than usual. She asked curiously, "You seemed fine at the door just now. Did something unpleasant happen?"

Kayano Karin glanced at him sideways, then took a deep breath, her gaze returning to the ground. She said slowly, "I just suddenly thought of some unhappy things from the past. Aoi, do you know that everything you've experienced might have been arranged by the gods?"

“I know.” Aoi Natsuki answered readily. He had learned everything from Yusuke, who was possessed by Hoshimi, on the school rooftop that year.

Kayano Karin was somewhat surprised, as she was unaware of this. Her eyes widened involuntarily, and she asked, "Don't you feel uneasy? It's very possible that from the beginning, the gods had already foreseen the entire story's trajectory. Can you bear the feeling of being manipulated?"

What she brought up was the reason she had always resisted the essence of this dating game. She only noticed that many gods, through their supreme divine power, arranged for the male protagonists of the dating game to follow their ideas step by step, just like puppets, using all sorts of bizarre means to achieve victory, which in the end was nothing more than a consolation for the loneliness in their hearts over the long years.

Everything could be fake.

When Aoi Natsuki heard this, he understood what Kayano meant. He had not experienced what Kayano had experienced, so he could not empathize with her. Hundreds of years is an extremely short time for gods, but it is a very young existence among the gods.

“I think there was manipulation involved, but I just lived the life that was most comfortable for me. Rather than manipulation, it's more like the gods had already anticipated that I would choose this path. Among thousands of options, I chose this one. I wasn't bound by any consciousness, so in my opinion, it shouldn't be considered manipulation. Besides, wasn't Hayakawa's victory also unexpected by Hoshimi?” Aoi Natsuki said calmly.

When this was mentioned, Kayano Karin paused for a moment, then nodded and said, "Choosing Hayakawa was indeed quite a sensation at the time. Hayakawa was just a C-rank passerby, not even in the options for romance. Even the senior only considered her a tool to increase other people's favorability. But I didn't expect you to insist on choosing Hayakawa. Although I didn't pay attention later, I still heard many gods mention this. They... began to gradually support the special options for passersby."

“That’s right, just choose what you think is right. How can you say that you’re being manipulated?” Aoi Natsuki smiled and beckoned to Ji-chan in the garden doghouse. Ji-chan, who had obviously gained weight, immediately stuck out its tongue, wagged its tail, and ran over. He squatted down and rubbed its head with both hands. It really liked being petted.

Choose only what you feel is right...

For the first time, Kayano Karin felt a strange emotion, as if she had been lectured. What a joke! She was a god!

She frowned and said, "I just subconsciously feel that these people are just characters in this dating game. In your human terms, they're just a string of data. You've experienced time stopping before, right? If you can stop time, you can also speed it up, rewind it, and change everyone's thoughts in this world. So I don't understand why anyone would want to find love in a world like this. This place isn't real at all..."

“I think it’s quite realistic.” Aoi Natsuki remained unaffected by Kayano’s words and continued to speak in her original state.

"That's why humans are so ignorant! They're being played like fools without even realizing it," Kayano said, his arms crossed, his tone growing increasingly dissatisfied.

"Yes, yes, just think of me as a self-satisfied person."

"Why is that? Did you even understand what I said? What I mean is that the world in front of you is just a game created by the gods. Don't you feel uncomfortable knowing all this?" Kayano Karin stared straight at Aoi Natsuki.

Seeing that she still wanted an answer, Aoi Natsuki slowly exhaled through her nose, pursed her lips, stood up, looked towards the outside of her own wall, gestured with her eyes, and said, "Try to calm down first and feel what you can smell right now?"

"what?"

"What do you smell?" Natsuki Aoi asked again.

This time, Kayano Karin actually exhaled, took a deep breath, thought for two seconds, and said, "It smells like the fragrance of some kind of flower."

"No, it's the scent of the old poplar tree outside and the surrounding greenery, a mixture of earth and soil."

"Oh, then what does this mean?" Kayano Karin asked, looking puzzled.

“Um… what I meant was, isn’t it better to live in the moment?” Aoi Natsuki turned to look at her, stared for a moment, and noticed her gradually furrowing brows. She immediately continued to explain, “Humans don’t have the long lifespan of gods. It’s already quite difficult to live to eighty years old. All that talk about gods manipulating us, about a pre-arranged life, and so on, actually has nothing to do with me. The idea of ​​rebelling against gods… isn’t that too unrealistic? This isn’t something an ordinary person like me can consider, is it? Since the problem itself can’t be solved, then let’s solve the person who raised the problem. I’m not going to think about it anymore. I’ll just live my life like this. Isn’t that pretty good?”

This theory seemed familiar. Kayano Karin was shocked, and a word quickly came to mind. Her eyes widened as she stared at Aoi Natsuki, and she said incredulously, "You... you've opened up?"

"Yes! Haha, I'm a little embarrassed to say this word myself. It would be great if you could say it for me." Aoi Natsuki rubbed her left cheek. She had been smiling ever since she came back, and now her face was stiff from smiling.

“When faced with problems that can’t be solved, sometimes opening up and running away can be a good option,” Natsuki Aoi shrugged.

Kayano Karin couldn't believe it. After she had just put forward those points, she thought that Aoi Natsuki would consider these issues deeply and eventually give her an answer. But she didn't expect that in less than a minute, the other party would give her the final answer, which was, I'm going to open up!

With his worldview shattered, in a sense, Aoi Natsuki once again placed his piece in an unexpected spot on the chessboard. No! He simply overturned the entire chessboard, shouted "I'm not playing anymore!" and then turned and left.

Kayano Karin kept mouthing the words, but couldn't utter a sound. Aoi Natsuki wasn't in a hurry. After she calmed down, an angry look appeared on Kayano Karin's usually calm face, and her voice involuntarily rose: "Isn't this a typical case of being sold out and still helping the seller count the money? Is this your idea of ​​living in the moment?"

"Yes, I really want to live like this forever. I can understand how you feel. If you had told me this two years ago, I would have been very angry and argued with Hoshimi face to face, and resisted for a while. However, since the mission was completed, I have heard some things she told me, including some things she told me in another dimension a while ago. This has made my mentality change a lot."

"A mentality of giving up when you can't win?" Kayano's tone was somewhat sarcastic; she was still finding it difficult to see things from a completely human perspective.

Aoi Natsuki wasn't affected by her words. Instead, her expression gradually became serious as she said, "It's not because of that. It's just that I suddenly realized something recently. Why do the gods keep holding endless love games? I've heard Hoshimi mention this before. Love games have existed since she was born, with countless participants, some successful and some not. What are they trying to achieve? What do they want to gain from love games? I've thought about it for a long time and come to my own conclusion."

"what?"

"I think that countless years ago, the ancient gods who first established this rule saw the special emotions of humankind, which caused them to experience an irresistible emotional fluctuation. Perhaps in the hearts of those ancient gods, they understood emotions. They made a pact to create a world of love games and carefully arranged it so that the gods born afterward could always relive that feeling!"

"Therefore, humans are definitely not toys for the gods to pass the time! In fact, the very rules of the dating game were created with the hope that the gods could learn something from humans!"

Kayano Karin was stunned by Aoi Natsuki's words. A god, to learn something from humans...

"Are you kidding me...?"

"I'm not joking. No matter how weak humans are, it is precisely because of this weakness that they hope to have someone to lean on and help each other. It is this inherent weakness that has built human civilization. This is something that you gods, with your supreme abilities, can never understand. You may be able to create countless humans, but they will never be just data. They possess something that you creators do not have, and that is emotion. How can a piece of data possess something beyond the creator's understanding? Therefore, in my opinion, humans have never been manipulated by the gods. They live freely. On the contrary, it is those gods who are truly suppressed to the point of almost breaking down. So tell me, as an ordinary human being, shouldn't I live in the present moment even more?"

As Aoi Natsuki finished speaking, a faint smile remained on her lips.

Kayano Karin fell completely silent. After blinking, the inexplicable emotion in her heart intensified. Suddenly, listening from the perspective of a deity, she unexpectedly found it quite reasonable.

Extra Chapter 23. Please, read the air.

"Hmm..." Kayano Karin let out a long, drawn-out sound, her gaze shifting downwards. She saw the golden retriever with its paws gripping the wooden walkway, panting at her. She stared at it for a while, then stepped forward and leaped from the walkway into the garden. At that moment, Ji-chan affectionately approached her, rubbing against her feet.

Without telepathy, even the simplest-thinking animals wouldn't know what they're thinking.

"Yoshi-chan!" Natsuki Aoi shouted as she saw Yoshi-chan getting so excited that she wanted to pounce on Kayano.

Ji-chan seemed to understand what was said, and was no longer so excited. She lowered herself down and obediently bent her limbs, lying on her side on the lawn.

"It's okay, I don't mind." Kayano glanced at Yoshi-chan again, then slowly squatted down and reached out to stroke Yoshi-chan's belly. When a dog exposes its belly, it wants someone to pet it. It seems that Yoshi-chan has a good impression of this person it just met.

"As expected, Aoi, you are a very special person. It's not without reason that you pay attention to me in every way." Kayano Karin's displeasure changed, her furrowed brows relaxed, and her whole demeanor became peaceful.

Seeing this, Natsuki Aoi nodded and said, "I don't really care what others think of me. I just want to live my own life well. What do you think of my guess just now?"

"That's somewhat interesting. At least for the first time, I was taken aback by you." Maoye smiled and said, "You even came up with the idea that gods envy humans. Your head is full of wonderful ideas."

Aoi Natsuki's cheeks flushed slightly. She coughed lightly and said, "It was just a sudden thought. If you think it's wrong, then just consider it a story I made up."

"Whether it's a story or the truth, I feel much better now. Thank you, Aoi. Maybe... this trip was really the right one, wasn't it?" Kayano glanced at Aoi Natsuki, raising her right eyebrow slightly. Aoi Natsuki's body trembled slightly, as if she understood what she was saying, but also as if she didn't.

However, since they are allies, some things still need to be made clear. Aoi Natsuki jumped down from the corridor and said to Kayano, "Remember our previous agreement, don't forget it later."

"I know, I know. Once I fall for you, we'll start a relationship. You'll still be you, and I'll still be me. I can promise you that. Is that okay?"

"Oh...that's good." Aoi Natsuki patted her chest. Her emotional life was already full, so she didn't need another person. She needed to convey her thoughts to Sakurajima again so that she wouldn't let her influence her any further.

……

"Sister Mido, you lost again!"

"Losing this game means losing five in a row, you're kidding me! Sister, you can't even beat an elementary school student?" Takahashi Ayano leaned forward and asked, chewing on an orange.

Rina was playing Othello with Takahashi. Othello seems simple, but there's actually a lot of skill involved. Rina loves playing it. Takahashi, a top student at Keio University, was confident that he could play a few games with Rina and let her win a little. But he never expected that he would lose five games in a row...

"It's okay, keep trying."

The words Rina wrote on the whiteboard were particularly glaring, at least to Mito Takahashi.

Takahashi blushed, unable to accept the fact that she had lost to an elementary school student. She turned her head sharply to Ayano and whispered angrily, "Sit down! I'll play against you again!"

“Alright! I accept your challenge!” Ayano clenched her fist, equally spirited.

Aoi's parents were home in the morning, but upon hearing that guests were coming in the afternoon, they went shopping together at a nearby mall after lunch. Since retiring, his mother's personality has changed quite a bit. She is no longer as strict as before. After taking care of Rina for a while, her maternal love has completely overflowed. Aoi Natsuki had thought he spoiled Rina enough before, but yesterday when he opened Rina's room, he realized he was wrong. The room was decorated with a girlish atmosphere, and the wardrobe was filled with clothes. Besides, Rina... have you gained weight?

Sitting on the sofa, Natsuki Aoi looked at Rina, but wasn't it too early to suggest that an elementary school student should pay attention to his weight?

"Chief Kayano, what would you like to play? We don't have much else here, but we have quite a lot of games," said Sakurajima An, sitting politely and smiling at Kayano Karin.

Kayano Karin wasn't interested in anything else, but as soon as she heard about games, she immediately became interested, nodding repeatedly and asking about the types of games.

Sakurajima Anne first mentioned visual novels (galgames), and Kayano's expression immediately brightened by half. But then Sakurajima brought up console games, specifically the newly released "Devil May Cry 7" for PS6. Upon hearing this, Kayano's eyes lit up immediately.

"Mmm, I have one at home, Aoi. Could you please go upstairs and get your PS6? It'll help Kayano-sama pass the time this afternoon." Sakurajima An's tone was coquettish. When Aoi Natsuki heard this, her right ear and the right side of her body went numb. The more she liked Sakurajima, the deeper her consciousness and body would sink. If she hadn't been completely unable to resist her, how could she have lost her virginity and given herself to her?

Natsuki Aoi knew what Sakurajima was up to: he wanted to recruit any pretty girl he fancied!

However, this time he really wanted to make Mao Ye fall in love with him, and the ultimate goal was almost the same, so he didn't say much this time. He reluctantly agreed and got up to slowly walk towards the door of the dining room.

A few minutes later, when Natsuki Aoi came down carrying the white PS6, Karin Kayano immediately stood up and walked over to look at her with a surprised expression.