I have a life simulator.

He had only gone to another school's drama club for an exchange today, but unexpectedly he happened to come across a student jumping off a building. With his purple talent [Doctor], Kitagawa Ryo quickly performed first aid on the scene, and as a result, the student survived.

"Meow."

Firefly, lying at my feet, let out a lazy cry.

Overall, I'm in a pretty good mood.

Kitagawa Ryo watched the snowflakes fluttering outside the window as he put a spoonful of soup into his mouth.

To his relief, Lingyin finally stopped putting cilantro in her portion.

Congratulations, congratulations.

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"These are 5,000 personal points given to you by Tokyo Advanced Educational Junior High School. One point is equivalent to one yen. You can use these to make purchases at the cultural festival. Since they won't be exchanged for cash after the festival, try to use them all up."

Kiyotaka Ayanokoji held his phone, recalling the words of the school staff when he entered the area.

He turned on his phone screen, and sure enough, the mechanical-looking page displayed the number [5000] in the center.

"A marshmallow."

He spoke to a nearby stall owner, who completely ignored Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's indifferent expression, excitedly took a pre-made cotton candy from a nearby pole, and then handed him the card reader.

With a "ding" sound, the number 5000 in the center of the phone screen changed to 4820.

Points do indeed have purchasing power in this school.

Kiyotaka Ayanokoji pondered as he ate a cotton candy.

Moreover, based on what we just saw, the students at this school seem to be quite familiar with the point-based payment method, which means that they usually use points for transactions on campus.

After all, buildings resembling shopping malls and convenience stores were also discovered.

If points are equivalent to money in the outside world, then where do points come from?

If it's a school, the first thing that comes to mind is academic performance. I've also read stories in books about monetary rewards based on class ranking.

Setting that idea aside for the time being, Kiyotaka Ayanokouji continued to gather intelligence.

"The location we rented with so many personal points really worked out; all the kids are coming over."

"Yes, if all goes well, getting those 100 points from the top four classes shouldn't be a problem."

I overheard a conversation between two students next to me.

We can glean the important term "class points" from it.

It sounds like something that corresponds to the "personal points" we just talked about.

Moreover, it seems quite important; judging from their joyful tone, a class score of 100 doesn't seem like a small amount.

If class points and individual points have the same monetary value, then the conversion rate shouldn't be 1:1.

One to ten, or one to one hundred, or one thousand?

After finishing the cotton candy in his hand, Kiyotaka Ayanokouji decided to walk through the street again. He had just glanced at the entrance of the special building, which was full of shops, far less effective at gathering intelligence than the open-air stalls outside.

When Ayanokouji Kiyotaka noticed someone near the school gate again, his pupils contracted slightly, and he took two steps back to hide behind the surrounding trees.

He had seen the other person's photo in the documents.

Kitagawa Ryo.

-------------------------------------

"Rin's Cultural Festival Speedrun, Begin!"

"Our suggestion is to not change a single line of dialogue in order to maintain the original style."

Kitagawa Ryo stood beside Horikita Suzune, his right hand twirling the end of his hair, his voice deep and serious:

"Even I have things I want to choose for myself."

"I really like who I am right now."

Horikita Suzune tilted her head, her eyes peeking out from under her bangs with a murderous glint, but it quickly deflated.

"Stop fooling around, it's cold."

"Ok."

Kitagawa Ryo clapped his hands and returned to his normal expression.

"Actually, there's no need to be too nervous, because that guy is essentially a nasty siscon, and this time he'll have to rely on you for help."

"Actually, I think Ryo is also a siscon."

Horikita Suzune sighed, but after this banter, her nervousness eased considerably.

The girl walked steadily towards the goldfish scooping stall.

At this moment, the stall owner had no idea what was going to happen next. He smiled and counted out the paper nets for Horikita Suzune.

Thirty years to Hedong, thirty years to Hexi!

I'm going to speedrun today...

Snapped.

The water splashed from the goldfish's tail hit Horikita Suzune's face.

Chapter Thirty-Four: The First Unseen Encounter

"I think some things can't be forced."

Kitagawa Ryo took out a tissue from his pocket and handed it to Horikita Suzune, but he really didn't expect her to have such a terrible record in catching goldfish.

Although Horikita Suzune was still mumbling something about how she had never gone out to participate in festivals before and had hardly ever caught goldfish, she only managed to catch one after using a full thirty paper nets.

Ten of them were generously sponsored by Kitagawa Ryo.

The older students at the stall seemed to be hesitating about whether to offer two goldfish as a reward to their loyal customer, but Horikita Suzune shook her head and refused gracefully. Judging from her carefree back and the stall owner's relieved attitude, anyone who didn't know better would think that some master had left after accomplishing his task.

Actually, the goldfish scooping stall owner was just worried that Horikita Suzune's inability to catch fish would make other guests think there was something wrong with his net.

After following the two for a while, Kiyotaka Ayanokoji discovered that Ryo Kitagawa and Suzune Horikita seemed to be just ordinary visitors to the cultural festival, strolling between the various stalls and not being stingy with their points.

Feeling that continuing to follow them would risk exposure, and also believing that there was no intelligence value, Kiyotaka Ayanokouji entered the special building ahead of the other two. The facilities set up for the two classes on the first floor were a haunted house and a maze. Kiyotaka Ayanokouji accepted the leaflets but did not intend to go in.

The way these two shops were run did not fit his vision, and the shop owners seemed to be third-year students, a full five years apart in age. It was unlikely that they would listen to the advice of such a kid. After weighing his options, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka went straight to the second floor.

The second floor had a much wider variety of shops than the first floor. Dessert shops, idol concerts, maid cafes, and butler cafes filled Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's view all at once. After taking a flyer from all the shops, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka went into one of the maid cafes.

"Welcome, Master."

As soon as Ayanokouji Kiyotaka entered the store, a staff member dressed in a maid outfit immediately came forward. Most of the customers here were men in their forties or fifties and teenagers, so Ayanokouji Kiyotaka did not stand out. He was quickly and respectfully invited to a seat to the side.

"Excuse me, may I ask you something?"

"Would you like to order food, Master?"

"I'd like to meet with the person in charge here. I have a way to help him earn class points in this cultural festival."

Unsure whether the "one hundred" class points he had just heard were a particularly attractive number, Kiyotaka Ayanokouji cleverly omitted the specific number while observing the maid clerk's expression.

Sure enough, upon hearing the term "class points," the other person's expression visibly changed. Perhaps they hadn't expected a guest to use such a key term that only students within the school would understand. After a moment of surprise, the shop assistant didn't dare to be negligent.

"Okay, please wait a moment."

While the staff was away, Kiyotaka Ayanokouji took the opportunity to scan the entire shop. The flyer for this maid café featured photos and personal information of the maids, and based on their ages, Kiyotaka Ayanokouji deduced that the shop was opened by a first-year class.

Compared to the second and third years, dealing with the first year students and gathering information is the best option, both in terms of age and the time they entered the school.

The shop manager quickly approached Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. He was a rather burly young man who gave Ayanokouji Kiyotaka a suspicious look, but still extended his hand in a friendly manner.

"Hello, I am Ninomiya from Class C, Year 1."

"Hello, I am Kiyotaka Ayanokoji."

Kiyotaka Ayanokouji did not choose to use a pseudonym. According to the White Room, he would be enrolled in a little over a year, and the person in charge of Class 1-C should still be at the school by then. Perhaps he could be of use in the future, so it was better to leave an impression on the other party with his real name from the beginning.

On the other hand, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka wasn't trying to harm the other party this time, so there was no need for him to hide anything.

"I heard you have a way to help our Class 1-C win this cultural festival."

Ninomiya sat opposite Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, peering at his expression while tentatively asking a question.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's expression remained calm and composed, his voice equally indifferent:

"The final competition for this cultural festival will be based on each class's revenue. While the maid cafe is a very attractive idea, it doesn't guarantee that you will win and receive the final class points reward."

Extract the most valuable information from what you already know and combine it into sentences to create an illusion of atmosphere for the other party.

At the same time, by reading the other party's eyes, expressions, actions, and language, new information can be continuously analyzed to extend the topic further.

"Does Ayanokouji-san have any good suggestions?"

"I can pay you personal points..."

Realizing that Ayanokouji Kiyotaka was not a student at this school at all, Ninomiya stopped talking somewhat awkwardly.

In this school, personal points were indeed used as currency among students.

Having confirmed one of his earlier guesses, Kiyotaka Ayanokouji continued:

"I came here on behalf of a senior student at the school, but I cannot disclose his information at this time."

"So that's it."

Ninomiya nodded in sudden realization. He was also somewhat puzzled as to why outsiders would suddenly approach him, but it would make sense if it were instigated by upperclassmen. Recalling the rising popularity of Horikita Manabu from Class 1-A, whose influence within the student council was steadily increasing, and the rumors that the current student council president valued him and wanted him to become vice-president, Ninomiya lowered his voice even further.

"Is this targeting Horikita from Class 1-A?"

Although he didn't know who Horikita from Class 1-A was, Kiyotaka Ayanokoji nodded in a perfunctory manner.

"That's why I want your Class C to outperform their class in this cultural festival."

Seeing that his suspicions had been confirmed, Ninomiya rubbed his hands together and said:

"Actually, our BCD classes have already started working together against Class A, but if there's any better idea..."

"Lowering the competition is indeed a method, but it must be combined with improving oneself in order to narrow the gap in one go."

Kiyotaka Ayanokoji continued speaking, trying to elicit information from the other person.

"It's a pity that the four classes in the bottom tier of the cultural festival rankings won't have their class points deducted. Even if our class gets first place, we'll only catch up by 100 points."

Ninomiya said somewhat dejectedly.

[Catch up with].

Are there differences in academic level among the four classes?

Feeling he had gathered enough information, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka told Ninomiya about his hastily devised plan and then quickly left the scene.

"Creating a non-existent conflict as a gimmick to attract attention...that's a really good idea."

Ninomiya, who remained where he was, muttered to himself as he walked toward Class 1-D.

-------------------------------------

"Lingyin, I will be waiting for you outside the main gate in a year and a half."

"I'm really looking forward to that time."

“I came here, not to catch up with my brother, but to show a better version of myself.”

Kitagawa Ryo watched the rebroadcast segment featuring the brother and sister and lazily yawned.

However, Horikita Suzune was indeed quite excited. After all, she is the type of person who only feels at ease when everything is certain. Just like how some people are still moved even after watching a movie many times, Horikita Suzune should feel excited no matter how many times she has reconciled with her brother.

In other words, only after Horikita Suzune completely reconciled with Horikita Manabu was she truly "reborn" and completely freed from the shadows of the past.

Based on my observations in Karuizawa Megumi's second simulation, Horikita Suzune, without external interference, was unable to achieve this by the end of the first semester of her first year of high school.

Immediately afterwards, as if it were a rehearsal, an unexpected incident occurred, and Tachibana Akane hurriedly reported the incident about Class 1-A to Horikita Manabu.

The lead actor and pianist went missing, and some of the stage props were maliciously damaged.

"Can't get in touch by phone? Then contact the class teacher first and ask him to check the nearby surveillance footage. As for props, see if you can temporarily buy a similar replacement. Repair what can be repaired as much as possible, and ask the lighting technician to pay attention to concealing them."

Horikita Manabu was giving instructions methodically in the simulation. Just as Kitagawa Ryo and Horikita Suzune were about to offer their help, Tachibana Akane rushed back in a hurry:

"Class C, Class C and Class D..."