I have a life simulator.

"Let's look at the others—what do you think of this one, Ryo?"

As she spoke, Karuizawa Kei took a liking to a teacup made from a monkey head clam on the shelf next to her. The shops here are mostly filled with utensils and souvenirs made from shells.

"It looks good, let's buy a few more."

"Yes, the demand is indeed quite high, after all, a lot of people tend to gather in a cool room."

"...That's why sometimes I feel like my room isn't even my own anymore; it doesn't feel as private as Hotaru's little nest."

Kitagawa Ryo made this subtle comment while reaching for a large conch shell, thinking it would be nice to buy it for Hotaru as a claw sharpening toy.

"By the way, we've been away taking exams for so long, did Liang entrust Ying to someone's care? I hope nothing's happened to her?"

When Kitagawa Ryo mentioned Hotaru, Karuizawa Megumi asked her with great concern, as she quite liked the kitten that Kitagawa Ryo secretly kept at school.

"Ah, yes, someone has taken care of her. Anyway, Hui doesn't need to worry. Maybe Hotaru is doing better than us two unlucky guys who have been struggling on a deserted island for two weeks."

Because it was really difficult to explain to Karuizawa Kei the fact that the body of their pet cat actually housed a human, or rather, the soul of her own younger sister, Kitagawa Ryo could only vaguely gloss over the topic and reached out to take a seashell shaped like a lamp:

"How about using this as a substitute for the one we just had? Put it on the table as a desk lamp, and if you look up at it, it should remind you of this summer vacation."

"really."

Karuizawa Kei took the lamp from Kitagawa Ryo's hand, and suddenly, in a childlike manner, put her ear close to its opening. After a while, she pouted and said dejectedly:

"You can't hear the sound of the ocean at all."

"It was given to me by Liang, so I'll accept it."

After buying a few more novel trinkets, the two paid at the counter and left the store.

"Wow, there's a photo booth up ahead, Liang, want to come with me?"

"Okay."

They readily agreed to be dragged by Karuizawa Kei to the area for taking couple photos. After temporarily putting down their shopping bags and paying the required points, the two pressed their faces tightly together in front of the automatic camera.

Kitagawa Ryo initially intended to casually make a "V" sign, but after seeing Karuizawa Megumi raise her left arm and wrap it around her head to form the left half of a heart shape between them, he quickly realized what was going on and raised his right hand to complete the right half of the heart shape, which was slightly uneven.

Human thought and memory will eventually be overwhelmed by the torrent of time, which is why we need to solidify the most precious memories into reefs and then build castles. And this moment is a landmark that belongs only to him and Karuizawa Kei.

In the automatically captured shot, the silhouettes of the two, thrown into the most brilliant moment, were finally frozen in this instant, allowing Karuizawa Megumi to reveal a natural smile of satisfaction.

The girl's smile was like a rose that quietly bloomed, but not the delicate, fragile rose that the lonely Little Prince carefully tended and grew in a glass dome, unwilling to admit it. Rather, it was a rose that grew out of the soil on its own, a beautiful and vibrant rose that, despite the wind and rain, still blossomed beautifully.

After shopping, it was around 8 p.m., which was also the time when Kitagawa Ryo could check into the luxury suite he had booked.

"Put your things back first, then I'll wait for Hui over there."

When everything falls into place, any step will naturally follow.

However, it must be said that when Kitagawa Ryosuke stepped into the luxurious private room, which was much larger than the single room they had stayed in before, he couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

Then, he saw Karuizawa Megumi sitting on the edge of the large bed that evoked images of comfort and softness, having just put the last rabbit ear headdress on her.

This time, no one covered his eyes.

Wearing a bunny girl outfit with orange and yellow as the main colors, Karuizawa Kei stood up gracefully, deftly slipped on a pair of high heels, and raised her right hand in his direction, waving it from side to side in the air:

"How about that? This was bought with 10,000 personal points."

"I think this is the most cost-effective thing we spent today."

For the first time in reality, Kitagawa Ryo experienced the feeling of his rationality evaporating, and his voice became somewhat dry. When he came to his senses, Karuizawa Kei had already walked up to him with a soft 'tap tap tap' sound.

"I'm the first one, right?"

As she spoke, she reached out and stroked Kitagawa Ryo's face, from his eyebrows to the corners of his mouth.

Correspondingly, with Karuizawa Megumi's movement, that indescribable part below her collarbone lifted slightly, revealing a bit more of her fair and smooth skin from under her armpits. Combined with the two beautiful V-lines on her sides, it showcased the girl's health and vitality to him.

"Ah."

Kitagawa Ryo nodded instinctively, but he wasn't lying, because even with Amasawa Ichika, he hadn't truly taken that step with her.

Noticing Kitagawa Ryo's current state, Karuizawa Megumi, who had silently taken control, began to nuzzle Kitagawa Ryo's neck and chin with her nose, as if coaxing a child.

Their heartbeats gradually blended into one as their skin touched, and the close intimacy erased all sorts of wild thoughts, leaving only a primal desire.

This is the perfect ending to the first day of the holiday.

Take a day off

I have an urgent matter to attend to and need to take one day off.

The animation team released character designs for Honami's mother and younger sister, and they're quite cute. I'll share a couple of pictures with you all. It just so happens that I'm about to get into Honami's storyline, which is the summer vacation arc after the cruise ship arc.

All I can say is that I once had the talent to be attracted to younger men, but I didn't cherish it.



Chapter 247: Touching, Playing, and Movement (4k5)

On the second day of the rest day, it was noticeable that there were more students out and about. Kitagawa Ryo, who had once again made a reservation for breakfast at seven o'clock, looked at the crowd in front of him that was much larger than yesterday, and continued to put the man's gas station into his mouth without changing his expression. His thoughts inadvertently drifted back to the various scenes of last night.

Despite never being lovers with Karuizawa Megumi even once in the two simulations, in reality, the two of them were the first to truly get together, leaving Kitagawa Ryo somewhat dazed.

They finally accepted each other gently, marking a new stage in his relationship with Karuizawa Kei. Their future interactions would likely change slightly as a result, just like the promise he made during their tender time together last night after their passionate encounter.

If Karuizawa Megumi really manages to collect 20 million personal points in the following academic year, Kitagawa Ryo will not and cannot refuse her offer to transfer him to her class.

Just like the composition of Kitagawa Ryo's group in this special exam on the deserted island, the students in the same class will surely have closer interactions in their daily lives and in the still unknown special exams to come, and this is the kind of interaction that Karuizawa Megumi hopes for.

Reaching out to grab a tissue from the table, he wiped the sauce from the corner of his mouth. After finishing breakfast, Kitagawa Ryo habitually tidied up the mess on the table and the used tableware before getting up to leave. Although he had heard sayings like "there are only oxen that die from exhaustion, not land that is over-plowned," in his first experience last night, the oxen ultimately prevailed.

Unlike Karuizawa Kei, who had just finished a grueling trek that was even more exhausting than her previous fourteen-day trip to the deserted island and was now soundly asleep in her luxurious and comfortable bed, Kitagawa Ryo, despite being up late into the night, was still full of energy and had plenty of time to book and have breakfast at seven o'clock. In this respect, his physical condition was indeed heading in a superhuman direction.

In other words, this probably means that sometimes you don't know where your body's limits are until you push yourself.

As Kitagawa Ryo left the restaurant, he greeted a few classmates he encountered on the way with a friendly "good morning." After being promoted to Class B, the students in the class had completely shaken off their previous gloom and their mental outlook was completely different. However, perhaps because they were used to their previous frugal lifestyle, or perhaps because they had learned from their mistakes and were prepared for the future, most of the students did not exhibit any extreme imbalance or retaliatory spending behavior, which put Kitagawa Ryo at ease.

To be honest, he's the one who's spent the most money in the entire class, and even the entire grade, these past two days...

Thinking about this, Kitagawa Ryo almost missed the preferential treatment exam that the school had conducted on the cruise ship during his first-year summer vacation. It was a great opportunity to grab a lot of personal points from the school in one go. However, due to the changes in the timeline, this exam was also canceled after the special exam on the deserted island was drastically changed.

Just as Kitagawa Ryo was pondering this issue with some regret, a voice suddenly came from behind him, speaking to him:

"Good morning."

"Oh, good morning... It's you again."

He answered subconsciously, and when Kitagawa Ryo belatedly turned around, he realized that the person who greeted him was Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. If he remembered correctly, the two of them seemed to have had a similar encounter yesterday, but two days in a row, it didn't feel like a coincidence.

Are you following me?

Looking at the boy in front of her, who still had a calm expression and seemed undisturbed by anything, Kitagawa Ryo asked him this question directly, since he had been followed by him on the deserted island before.

"No, am I observing you, or rather, reading you? Anyway, that's the gist of it."

In response to Kitagawa Ryo's question, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka simply shook his head with a very slight movement, his gaze remaining fixed on him.

"You're going to be with Tianze today, right? I saw her waiting for someone on the first deck."

"Being so close to our students at this delicate time could easily arouse suspicion that you're an undercover agent, right?"

“I have never approached you two as students of Class 1-D at Tokyo Advanced Educational High School.”

Although Kiyotaka Ayanokouji's words were rather vague, Ryo Kitagawa quickly understood what he meant. Just like their brief exchange on the night of the thirteenth day of the special exam on the deserted island, Kiyotaka Ayanokouji was confirming something from Shiroya's perspective, or rather, searching for the answer to a certain question.

"Oh, and then? So what? Actually, I've always felt that if we set aside our status as classmates at Tokyo Advanced Educational High School, there's really nothing for us to talk about."

"Also, if you really remember your position and the mission you were given when you first came to this school, shouldn't you be worrying about that now? You've fallen from Class A to Class D, and the two reinforcements sent to help you have been wiped out. Maybe next semester, Ayanokouji Atsuomi will be unable to resist taking action again?"

Faced with Kitagawa Ryo's words, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka also silently lowered his eyes. He couldn't deny that the other party's words had indeed pulled him back to reality from the almost real dream of freedom on the deserted island.

However, he quickly regained his composure and replied calmly:

"There are still two and a half years left. As long as I am not voluntarily expelled, I can continue to stay here for a while."

"Hmm, and then what? After graduation, obediently return to the white room and continue to follow that man's orders?"

Noticing the slight change in Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's personality and behavior compared to when school started, Kitagawa Ryo continued to probe with interest. However, this time, the other party did not give him a clear answer, but instead looked up and asked him a question in return:

"You...you should know Xue, right?"

As the masterpiece of the White Room, Kiyotaka Ayanokouji was used to learning and analyzing everything with the most rational and rigorous attitude. While Amasawa Ichika's change of heart was somewhat unexpected, in the two days after the special exam on the deserted island, he inevitably began to wonder if the other person was just an isolated case, and whether Kitagawa Ryo was really the one who could end everything.

After all, even though he and Amaze Ichika were both outstanding graduates of the White Room, they were actually from the fourth and fifth classes respectively. The difficulty of their studies and the types of courses they took were quite different, especially in the area of ​​emotions and interpersonal communication, which were knowledge that Ayanokouji Kiyotaka had never encountered before.

Therefore, if he wanted to truly control the variables, Kiyotaka Ayanokouji would prefer to find a person among the White Room test subjects who were also in the fourth generation as a control group, and the most appropriate person was the name that Kitagawa Ryo had personally mentioned during the 'free fighting' topic in the special exam on the deserted island.

To be honest, before Kitagawa Ryo brought up the name, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka had almost forgotten about the person. After all, from the moment he was eliminated from the White Room, the person was essentially no different from the dead in his memory.

"It's not just a relationship of acquaintance."

Faced with Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's question, Kitagawa Ryo gave his answer quickly and decisively. Although he would not blame everything that happened to Yuki on Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, who was also a victim, his tone inevitably became more forceful and carried a bit of his own emotions.

After saying that, Kitagawa Ryo stopped talking to Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, said a brief goodbye, and left without waiting for a reply.

During his last trip outside of school, he and Xue made a promise to each other.

Around November this year, the other party will come to Tokyo Advanced Educational High School as a family member of a sponsor, and he will take her to happily stroll around the school's cultural festival all day long.

Then, next April, she will officially enroll as a freshman and become his junior.

In fact, when the future is so clearly visible and so wonderful, the waiting time doesn't seem so long.

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

To Kitagawa Ryo's surprise, when he arrived at the place he had arranged with Amasawa Ichika, he saw another girl there, Kushida Kikyo from Class 1-D.

However, unlike the innocent and angelic image she usually presents to the public, Kikyo Kushida now looks disheveled and on the verge of collapse. Although she is still trying her best to maintain a gentle smile that makes people feel like they are in a spring breeze, the occasional twitching of her lips and the faint bulging of veins on her forehead indicate that she is in a very bad mood.

And just as Kitagawa Ryo observed, because Katsuragi Kohei began searching for spies within the class after the special exam on the deserted island and because of the exam failures, most of the students in Class D were either full of anger or had been holding back their anger all day. Under these circumstances, Kushida Kikyo, who was known as the best listener and social expert in the class, also got up early with difficulty, preparing to boost her reputation and goodwill in the class through a team-building activity, and incidentally cover up the fact that she was one of the moles in the class.

But to Kushida Kikyo's surprise, when she had finally dressed herself up beautifully and arrived at the agreed location fifteen minutes early in a good mood, she suddenly bumped into Amasawa Ichika.

What's worse, the other person also seemed to be bored and waiting for someone. As soon as they saw her, they immediately seemed to have found some fun to pass the time and started clinging to her like glue.

"Kushida-san, you're all dressed up so nicely today, are you going on a date with someone?"

Because other students kept passing by, in order to maintain her usual public image, Kikyo Kushida could only force a normal smile:

"No, I just made plans to hang out with some friends from my class."

"Tianze, you..."

Just as Kikyo Kushida was about to retort with a question, trying her best to regain control of the conversation, Ichika Amasawa interrupted her directly. At the same time, he moved closer to her in a seemingly intimate manner, stretched out his right hand, and playfully poked Kikyo Kushida's cheek with his slender index finger.

"Huh? Really? Kushida-san is beautiful, has a great figure, and is pretty smart too, right? It should be easy for her to date people, right?"

"...I just don't have that idea for the time being."

Even though she wanted to show resistance, Kikyo Kushida felt pressured to save face in front of others, so she ultimately chose to brush off the topic with a forced laugh.

Just kidding. A large part of the reason why Kikyo Kushida is able to stand at the top of the social circle in her class and even the grade is because of her single persona of not dating anyone. The reason why Honami Ichinose and Airi Sakura have never been able to surpass her in popularity is because those two girls' one-sided love is too obvious, right?

To be honest, Kikyo Kushida doesn't really care whether she's in Class A or Class D. Social skills are deeply ingrained in her, etched into her very being.

This approach isn't necessarily wrong, because if students want to improve in high school or even university, the most basic paths are simply learning knowledge, developing skills (related to clubs), and building connections. Being able to maintain good relationships with anyone is a rare talent in itself.

Even if she doesn't graduate from Class A in the end, if a large portion of the students who do graduate from Class A are her good friends, then her three years at Tokyo Advanced Educational High School won't have been wasted.

However, it is clear that Amasawa Ichika is not within the scope of Kushida Kikyo's ability to deal with; rather, she can be classified as a natural enemy, even more troublesome than Horikita Suzune, whom she encountered in junior high school.

"Ah, I'm not going to talk to Kushida anymore, the person I'm waiting for has arrived, bye-bye."

Just as Kikyo Kushida was struggling to cope, Ichika Amasawa seemed to suddenly lose interest in her. In an instant, he left her side, skipped and hopped to another spot, and naturally hugged Ryo Kitagawa's arm, firmly pinning her to her breasts that didn't match her age.

Because it was summer, the soft, warm touch was transmitted to Kitagawa Ryo's mind almost instantly through his nerves, even through only a thin layer of fabric.

Immediately afterwards, seemingly feeling that the posture was not intimate enough, while holding Kitagawa Ryo's arm with her right hand, Amazu Ichika stubbornly stuffed her left hand into his palm, slowly separating his fingers, and then interlocking her fingers, hanging half of her body on Kitagawa Ryo like a koala.

The rhesus monkey experiments conducted in the white room, which were simulated, may still subconsciously influence the participants to this day, especially for Amaze Ichika and Yuki, whose minds were far less developed than his at the time.

However, precisely because of this, their behavior patterns are simpler and clearer. Just like the three needs for love proposed by Harlow, the founder of the experiment, as long as the three variables of 'touch, play and movement' can be provided, their desire to be loved can be satisfied.

Now it's touch.

Kitagawa Ryo also habitually reached out to pat Amasawa Ichika's head, a gesture he most often used to encourage and show affection to the fifth generation of students during simulations.

Then it was a whole day of playing.

Just like his date with Karuizawa Megumi yesterday, he and Amasawa Ichika will also spend the whole day having a great time on this luxury cruise ship, enjoying all the facilities.

Final words...