My Romance Simulation with Them

Even at this point, this energetic girl still had the leisure to joke around in front of Nanxiang Shi.

Although I knew she was trying to lighten the mood with a joke.

Even so, this topic is far too heavy.

Moreover, to be honest, what Chizuka Nishiki said was quite different from the plot of "Lycoris" that Nango knew.

You can think about it carefully.

There are no vicious terrorists in this world, no Tokyo that is constantly plagued by attacks, and no Lycoris organization that makes money and gains power by killing people.

All that exists is an ordinary orphanage, and Chizuka Nishiki and Takina Inoue who are working hard for it.

In this world, they are just ordinary girls, and it is only natural that they would be bound by money.

Nanxiang fell into a brief silence.

The atmosphere was somewhat heavy.

For some reason, seeing him, who was usually so optimistic, fall silent, made Chizuki Nishiki feel a tightness in her chest.

This feeling... is probably the first time I've ever felt this way in front of a guy?

She didn't want to see Nanxiang's silent expression, so after thinking for a while, she simply made a funny "woo-woo" sound to liven up the atmosphere.

"Waaah, it's all over, Toki, you already know all this, come and have some sympathy for poor Chizuka-sama."

This was originally a joke, meant to lighten the mood.

but--

I will not pity you.

The sound of Nanxiang rang out.

These words stunned Nishiki Chizuka, who had just been making funny noises.

But Nanxiang seemed to ignore her expression.

Under her gaze, he continued speaking calmly, his eyes clear:

"I will not empathize with you."

He shook his head as he said this:

"To offer unsolicited sympathy or empathy is an insult to those of you who are trying to make a living. I will wish you well, but I will never sympathize with you, because you who are trying to make a living and improve your situation do not need anyone else's sympathy."

Yes.

Chizuka Nishiki does not need anyone's sympathy.

To presume to sympathize with someone or to empathize with them is simply disrespectful to those who are working hard.

Nanxiang Shi also believes that with such an optimistic and cheerful heart, she will definitely be able to overcome the difficulties on her own.

Nango spoke calmly, but every word resonated deeply within Nishiki Chizuka's heart.

She blinked, staring blankly at the young man in front of her for a long time, unable to speak.

Then, under his gaze, she turned around and hastily wiped her face with her sleeve.

"You cried?"

"No way!"

She patted Nango Toki's back hard, her eyes red-rimmed, and her cheeks puffed out in a huff: "Really... you always say things that make me feel embarrassed."

She complained, but the dissatisfaction in her voice was barely perceptible.

Nanxiang and she fell silent again.

But this time, the silence did not last long.

She suddenly looked up and muttered something under her breath, sounding a little annoyed.

"But how should I put it... thank you for saying that to me."

"What? I didn't hear that."

Nanxiang turned his head to the side, pretending not to hear.

"You bastard! You clearly heard everything!"

Chizuka Nishiki voiced her dissatisfaction.

"I really didn't hear it."

"Never mind then! Anyway, I won't say something so embarrassing a second time!"

"Hey? Say it again, this time I'll definitely listen carefully."

The sound of complaints from the southern countryside.

"That's stupid, so I won't say it a second time—"

This time, drawing out her words and with her hands on her hips, she once again showed Nanxiang her usual animated expression.

She stretched out her fair finger and made a cute face at him.

Looking at his somewhat unwilling expression.

She pursed her lips slightly upward and tilted her head to the side.

Laughed.

She was as beautiful as a flower in the early morning.

[You clearly recognized this, but at the same time, you didn't forget to ask if they had taken any measures to improve the orphanage's financial situation.]

She seemed quite confident about this, stating that the dean had already opened a coffee shop called 'RicoLico.' Besides coffee, it also serves desserts and other dishes.

They wanted to rely on the income from the 'Ricoric' café to stabilize the orphanage's finances.

"Relying on coffee shops to support the orphanage's finances?"

When Nanxiang saw this passage in real life, he felt it was extremely unreliable.

A small restaurant wants to support the expenses of an orphanage...

How popular does the business have to be?

It's a relatively niche hand-drip coffee shop... how could it possibly be so popular?

The text that followed in the simulation was exactly as Nango had imagined.

When you asked her about the coffee shop's income and expenses, her previously confident demeanor instantly turned dejected.

[It turns out that although the 'RicoLico' coffee shop opened successfully, its business performance was not particularly optimistic due to limitations such as its location.]

Of course, the most important reason is that 'RicoRico's' kitchen simply doesn't have a qualified head chef.

Although 'RicoRico' primarily runs a coffee and dessert business, she also operates a food service business to subsidize and improve the economic situation of the orphanage.

However, both Chizuka Nishiki and Takina Inoue's culinary skills were only at the level of being able to make a few decent home-style dishes. They were only assistants in the coffee shop, mainly serving as waitresses, and were simply not qualified to be head chefs.

Without a qualified head chef to take the lead, business at 'RicoRico,' a restaurant with an already mediocre location, has been stagnant—it relies mainly on a few regular customers who occasionally come in to play games.

In this situation, let alone subsidizing the orphanage, they might even lose money.

However, given their current financial situation, they don't have the extra money to hire a new, qualified chef. These past few days, she and Inoue Takina have actually been running around trying to solve this problem.

The result was predictable.

You listened quietly to her troubles, thought for a moment, and then suggested that perhaps you could try out for the position of head chef.

However, the usually optimistic Chizuka Nishiki seemed somewhat insecure about your self-recommendation.

Finding a head chef for a restaurant isn't easy; it's not simply a matter of knowing how to cook a few home-style dishes.

She tried to persuade you a little, but ultimately couldn't change your mind, and she finally agreed to let you try the 'Ricoric' café.

"The new scene is finally open."

Nanxiang breathed a sigh of relief as the memories surfaced in his mind.

Previously, the only place where he could cross paths with Nishiki Chizuka was Shimokitazawa Plaza.

With only one place to make contact, the resulting encounters are naturally quite limited.

Now, there's finally a new place where I can get up close to Chizuka Nishiki, and I'm sure I'll have an even better encounter here.

As for serving as head chef.

To be honest, Nanxiang wasn't particularly worried about this.

Although it's a simulation of myself, I still possess LV4 cooking skills.

Working as a head chef in a coffee shop is not difficult at all.

Everything seemed to be going so smoothly on the surface.

but...

"Although a new map has been opened, we still haven't figured out why Nishiki Chizuka left without saying goodbye in the last playthrough."

There was a hint of doubt in Nanxiang's eyes.

Yes.

Everything was moving in a positive direction, but the questions that had been troubling him remained unresolved.

He could only keep looking down.

Led by Chizuka Nishiki, you soon arrived at the 'Ricoric' café.

Here, you also meet several other people besides Inoue Takina, whom you already know.

[You met Mika, the manager of 'Ricorico', Mizuki Nakahara, and Kurumi.]

[The black-haired Inoue Takina was clearly surprised by your arrival. She looked at Nishiki Chizuka incredulously, as if asking what she was doing, but Nishiki Chizuka ultimately brushed this off with a tongue-out gesture.]

The others seemed a bit confused about your arrival.

After Chizuka Nishiki's explanation, their initial confusion turned into astonishment.

Your youthful appearance makes it hard for them to believe you have the ability to be the head chef of a coffee shop.

[You didn't offer any explanation for their questions; you simply washed your hands thoroughly, went to the bar, opened the refrigerator, and began selecting ingredients.]