I have a life simulator.

After finishing the cotton candy in her hand, facing the vast Tokyo Advanced Educational Junior High School campus, Arisu Sakayanagi hesitated and slowed her pace.

"Actually, this is my first time participating in a cultural festival."

"...I thought Arisu's practiced manner meant she was prepared in advance."

"Because I was also discharged from the hospital not long ago, and to be honest, I had only seen some descriptions of cultural festivals in books before."

Sakayanagi Arisu cast her gaze upon the bustling crowd in the distance:

"Now it seems that not only do we need more people to participate, but we also need more people to visit."

"Ok?"

"I was thinking that if it weren't for the cold, I would probably get bored very quickly if I came alone."

Sakayanagi Arisu extended her free right hand and made a large circle in the air:

"For example, I definitely wouldn't buy that cotton candy by myself, because I couldn't finish it."

"That's right."

Kitagawa Ryo nodded. Generally speaking, the guests attending the cultural festival are families with adults and children. However, as the chairman of the board, Sakayanagi Arisu's father also needs to coordinate some work even on the day of the cultural festival. Most of the time, Sakayanagi Arisu can only stroll around here alone.

Actually, both he and Sakayanagi Arisu were children who escaped from the cage of the "White Room".

Perhaps this is why Sakayanagi Arisu had a good impression of him from the beginning. After all, Sakayanagi Arisu has fully experienced the predicament of being confined to one place and limited by her physical condition throughout her life.

"Then let's have a good time! I heard that the other classes' activities are all scheduled in the special teaching building."

Thinking of this, Kitagawa Ryo's gaze softened a little, and he took Sakayanagi Arisu's hand and walked towards the special teaching building.

After being pulled along by Kitagawa Ryo for quite a distance, Sakayanagi Arisu finally realized what was happening, quickened her pace to catch up with Kitagawa Ryo, and said with some dissatisfaction:

"I should be the older sister; I should be the one leading Liang away."

A biting wind blew by, and Kitagawa Ryo felt his mind become exceptionally clear. He looked up and happened to hear Sakayanagi Arisu's words, so he smiled silently, shook his head, and denied it:

“Isn’t this Arisu’s first time here too? It’s my first time here as well, so there’s no question of anyone leading anyone else.”

It's unclear whether something in those words touched on something that Arisu Sakayanagi was concerned about, but she didn't say another word until the two entered the special teaching building. She just frowned and seemed to be thinking seriously about something.

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

The maid café of Class 3-B is located on the first floor of the special teaching building. Although it cost a considerable amount of money, the entire Class 3-B is quite confident. Especially after witnessing the girls dressed in maid outfits, the boys also said that if they were guests, they would definitely spend all their points here.

"welcome!"

Hoshinomiya Chie's energetic voice rang out in the classroom—no, in the maid café.

Yuda, who had been distributing flyers and coordinating the class at the entrance of the special teaching building, immediately turned his attention to the first customer who entered the store. The first customer was a man who looked to be in his forties.

The six maids carefully selected from the class had begun to greet customers in an orderly manner, just as they had been trained. Hoshinomiya Chie, the most lively and cheerful of the six, stepped forward with a warm smile as she served as the receptionist.

"Let me show you to your seat."

After confirming the seating, Chabashira Sae served the prepared warm water and menu together:

"Hello, today's special recommendations are crepes and chocolate bananas."

Although he didn't mispronounce any lines, Chaju, whose tension hadn't completely subsided, appeared to move very stiffly.

However, thanks to adequate prior preparations and the fact that the customer didn't intend to make things too difficult for the high school student, coupled with Hoshinomiya's mediation, the order was proceeding smoothly.

Upon noticing this, Tomoda breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps it was because of what Hoshinomiya had said to him a few days ago, but recently he had unconsciously begun to pay more attention to Chabashira Sae.

Even disregarding the advantage of her appearance, Tomoda believes that Chabashira Sae is a very important talent in Class B. Although she seems a bit aloof, her will and determination to be promoted to Class A are quite firm.

All along, in his eyes, Chabashira Sae had been completely devoted to the competition at this school, with only one goal in mind: to get into Class A. Therefore, he was somewhat concerned when he heard Hoshinomiya Chie say that Chabashira Sae had feelings for him.

However, Tomoda quickly snapped out of her thoughts, realizing that it was currently the cultural festival.

He took his phone out of his pocket and received calls and reports from classmates scattered throughout the school almost every few minutes.

Where there are many customers at a stall, and where there are few customers.

Knowing yourself and your enemy is the key to victory in every battle. With this principle in mind, Yuda also assigned the task of investigating other classes when arranging projects for his own class.

Since the sales figures for each class are not released until the end of the school festival, this is the only way to gather information.

Perhaps because the cultural festival has just begun, there is no particularly important information so far.

After turning off his phone, Yuda tidied his clothes slightly and started handing out flyers again.

"Can I have a copy?"

"of course."

Suddenly, a question came from the side, and Yuda subconsciously agreed. When he turned around, he found that the person tugging at his clothes and asking him for a flyer was a child who looked no more than six or seven years old.

"...?"

Even the seasoned and knowledgeable Tomita fell into a long-absent silence. So far, the maid café in Class 3-B had served middle-aged men in their forties, young men in their twenties, and high school students of similar age, but customers like these…

"Little friend, are you lost from your parents? Do you need my help?"

Crouching down, Yuda gave what he thought was a friendly smile.

But the child in front of him simply shook his head, then stared intently at the flyer in his hand, and repeated it again in a childish voice:

"Could I have a flyer?"

Yuda glanced at the flyer in his hand. It was a layout he had carefully designed. Six maids were depicted, some making heart shapes with their hands, some sitting like ducks, and some pointing their fingers at their red lips. The layout was designed to precisely target a specific user type.

There's no blue Doraemon, no blonde princess, and no Kamen Rider who can transform.

So what exactly is it about this age group that attracts children?

While Yuda was distracted, Kitagawa Ryo had already unceremoniously stood on tiptoe and snatched a flyer from his hand, leaving him with only a dashing back view.

This child truly has a limitless future.

Yuda watched him leave and nodded thoughtfully.

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

"Maid cafe?"

"Arisu seems to be gritting his teeth."

"...I just didn't expect Liang to want to go to a place like this."

Struggling to maintain a smile, Sakayanagi Arisu stiffly waved the flyer that Kitagawa Ryo had just brought back.

"I just think it looks interesting. Come to think of it, it's the first time I've ever seen a maid outfit."

Kitagawa Ryo couldn't very well admit that he had seen the names of Chabashira Sae and Hoshinomiya Chie, so he could only pretend to be completely clueless.

"..."

Sakayanagi Arisu glanced at the flyer in her hand again. The maid outfits at this store didn't have any suggestive or revealing parts at all, and looked quite wholesome. It was difficult to voice some of her previous accusations.

"No no no."

Even Sakayanagi Arisu couldn't quite find a reason for it, and faced with Kitagawa Ryo's completely clueless and curious gaze, she could only nod reluctantly in agreement:

"But I want to go with Ryo."

"Good."

After Sakayanagi Arisu agreed, Kitagawa Ryo walked into the maid café of Class 3-B without any hesitation. Compared to Sakayanagi Arisu, who was muttering and looking around, his demeanor was full of the naturalness of someone who had been through many battles.

"welcome!"

Although the combination of the two children looked rather odd, Hoshinomiya Chie dutifully stepped forward, knelt down, and kindly asked:

Are you two here to rest or to make a purchase?

Although Kitagawa Ryo could understand the other person's decision to squat down to talk, he also wanted to remind her that while the maid outfit was perfectly acceptable, looking down from above...

Well, Sakayanagi Arisu's hands moved faster than Kitagawa Ryo's eyes.

Misaka Yanagi covered Kitagawa Ryo's eyes warily, and Hoshinomiya Chie realized what was happening. She straightened up a little awkwardly, but fortunately, she had a good attitude and was dealing with a child, so she asked the same question again without changing her expression.

"Let's order."

Although she saw the other person get up, Sakayanagi Arisu still didn't put her hand down and explained quite decisively.

"Okay, please follow me."

Hoshinomiya Chie led the two to an empty seat and thoughtfully lowered the table and raised the chair.

Chabashira Sae was serving another table at the time, so Hoshinomiya brought the menu herself.

"What would you like to eat, Liang?"

"...I feel like I can't answer in this situation."

"I can open your fingers a little."

"How about it?"

Just as Kitagawa Ryo was momentarily speechless, a greeting from another table came to his rescue.

"You must be Miss Arisu, the daughter of the Sakayanagi family."

The man who walked over was a middle-aged man in his thirties or forties. He was holding the hand of a boy who looked to be about the same age as Sakayanagi Arisu and had a somewhat gloomy appearance.

"So it's Uncle Kanzaki. Father will be very happy to know that you can take the time to attend the cultural festival."

Sakayanagi Arisu released her hand in an instant, stood up, and responded with a charming smile, her manners impeccable.

Kitagawa Ryo twitched the corner of his mouth.

It seems that no matter which timeline it is, Sakayanagi Arisu's fundamental nature has never changed.

Chapter Ninety-Six: Opening the Book!

"Mr. Kanzaki is the representative of Kanzaki Engineering Co., Ltd."

After quietly explaining to Kitagawa Ryo behind her, Sakayanagi Arisu turned around and greeted Kanzaki-san with a smile.

“This is my son, Ryuji.”

After letting go of his hand, Mr. Kanzaki nodded, gesturing for his son to step forward.

"Hello, I am Ryuji Kanzaki."

Urged by his father, Ryuji Kanzaki reluctantly gave a brief self-introduction, though he seemed somewhat unwilling.

Although he was not entirely satisfied with his son's performance, Mr. Kanzaki was also aware of his son's personality. His son was quite talented, but he was not very good at interpersonal communication, especially in stark contrast to Sakayanagi Arisu.

With a barely perceptible sigh, Mr. Kanzaki turned his gaze to Kitagawa Ryo behind Sakayanagi Arisu. The two had acted very intimately just now, but Mr. Kanzaki knew that Sakayanagi Narimori only had Sakayanagi Arisu as his child, so he was somewhat unsure of the other's identity.

"Who is this?"

Seeing the curious look on Kanzaki's face, Sakayanagi Arisu casually brushed it off:

“He is a distant cousin of mine.”

"I see."

Kanzaki nodded, not paying much attention to Kitagawa Ryo. The Sakayanagi family was large and powerful, and indeed had many branches.

"Then I won't disturb you two any longer. I hope Ms. Arisu has a great time."

"I also hope that Mr. Kanzaki and Mr. Ryuji can fully enjoy this cultural festival."

After glancing at the time, Kanzaki politely said goodbye, and Sakayanagi Arisu nodded in response, replying earnestly.

Unexpectedly, Ryuji Kanzaki was also from a zaibatsu family. Ryo Kitagawa listened to the entire conversation with great interest.

Compared to Rokusuke Koenji, Ryuji Kanzaki was quite low-key at Tokyo Advanced Educational High School, showing absolutely no airs.

Having obtained another piece of intelligence, Kitagawa Ryo was in a fairly good mood.

"...I can already foresee the gatherings to come."

Compared to Kitagawa Ryo's joy, Sakayanagi Arisu seemed somewhat tired, propping her head up with her right arm and sighing.

The Sakayanagi family's prestige meant they frequently received invitations to various banquets and parties. Even the previously sickly Sakayanagi Arisu was forced to attend several of them. Now that she had recovered her health, it was almost impossible to predict what the future held for her.

However, this was just a minor incident, and Sakayanagi Arisu quickly recovered and began to study the menu with Kitagawa Ryo.

"The price is so high."

Kitagawa Ryo casually flipped through the menu. Although it mainly consisted of common desserts and coffees, the total cost was quite substantial.