I have a life simulator.

She stole his time.

To put it simply, it's a trick involving time.

"It's Ayatsuji Yukito's 'The Clockwork Mansion Incident'."

Kitagawa Ryo revealed the answer to the mystery.

As the pinnacle of Yukito Ayatsuji's "Mansion Series" mystery novels, this classic work, which won the 45th Mystery Writers of Japan Award in the 1990s, employs a trick involving time, or rather, clocks.

If I had to summarize the book in one sentence, it would be a story about someone who wanted to manipulate and control time to show off their crazy love, but ended up causing an even greater tragedy.

The core trick of this work is the discrepancy between the time displayed on the clock and the actual time.

"The time on my phone must have been tampered with by you yesterday."

"The time it's displaying now is faster than the actual time."

Like the final chapter of every mystery novel, Kitagawa Ryo begins to explain his answer to Karuizawa Megumi and Shiina Hiyori, the one who set the question.

"While I don't know whether Hiyori had considered this from the beginning, or if it was just a coincidence, I have to admit that the time you chose was perfect."

In fact, on a normal day, Kitagawa Ryo was certain that he would discover the time display on his phone had been tampered with the moment he woke up.

Because he has a morning exercise agreement with Sakayanagi Arisu and an almost fixed biological clock.

But on Valentine's Day, both of these things are disrupted.

First, he canceled his morning workout with Sakayanagi Arisu in order to make up for his date with Ichinose Honami today.

Then, because he canceled his morning training with Arisu, Arisu Sakayanagi invaded his room this morning, which resulted in him not waking up naturally as usual, but being awakened by Arisu Sakayanagi riding on his back.

"However, I believe this was an event that Hiyori anticipated."

"Because during the special exam for the mixed training camp, you had a deep conversation with Arisu, or you heard some things from her. Based on this alone, Hiyori should be able to recognize and even grasp some aspects of Arisu's personality."

Hiyori Shiina nodded secretly behind the tree.

After all, Sakayanagi Arisu's somber expression that day was almost like gravity collapsing into a black hole. Therefore, if Kitagawa Ryo cancels his morning training with Ichinose Honami for the sake of her, Sakayanagi Arisu will definitely come knocking on his door first and make herself Kitagawa Ryo's first love on Valentine's Day.

"Then, it's time for my appointment with Fanbo."

"Actually, thinking about it now, I should have felt something was off when I met Fanbo this morning. Fanbo always arrives twenty or thirty minutes early when we meet. Even though I was delayed a bit this morning because other girls were giving me chocolates in the lobby on the first floor of the dormitory, Fanbo wouldn't have acted like he was waiting for me for a long time. This is because I was late from the start."

At this point, Kitagawa Ryo let out another long sigh:

"However, the most ingenious part of this time-based trick is that Hiyori had anticipated my predictions in advance, which is my arrangement for this Valentine's Day celebration."

"Hiyori knows that I must have made every detail of arrangements for Honami today, but she also deduced that I was also worried that I would be delayed by a lot of chocolates from the girls in the morning, so all the related arrangements in the morning and forenoon were not carried out according to the schedule."

To give a simple example, take the first flower surprise he gave Ichinose Honami. If Kitagawa Ryo had planned to trigger the mechanism at a fixed time, then he simply wouldn't be able to bring Ichinose Honami to the corresponding location on the exact time. The same applies to the subsequent lottery and photo taking.

In the morning session, the standard for starting the plan is based on people. That is, the staff who have been notified in advance will start the plan only after Kitagawa Ryo or Ichinose Honami arrive at their respective positions.

“But my lunch break is different.”

"Because Hiyori guessed that I would prepare everything for Honami in great detail, given my personality, lunch would naturally be no exception. However, the word 'lunch' itself carries a time element, so this would definitely make me notice something was wrong. Since the time was sped up, my first thought was that something went wrong with the staff and they weren't prepared. And since I couldn't tell Honami these things directly, I would just come and check it myself."

"Moreover, this trick not only schemed against me, but also completely took into account Fanbo's psychological state."

After all, Fanbo, who was still completely in the dark, hadn't even followed along and was still thinking that this was another pleasant surprise for him.

Of course, Honobu's calculations didn't stop there, because Shiina Hiyori also guessed that Ichinose Honobu would definitely not bring up the time today.

Putting aside the fact that people naturally forget about time when they're engrossed in having fun, bringing up questions like "What time is it?" during a romantic date sounds like complaining.

After revealing all of Shiina Hiyori's schemes, Kitagawa Ryo clapped his hands with a smile:

"And then, just like now, with my time stolen, I'll naturally fall into Hiyori's trap, right?"

At this point, Hiyori Shiina finally emerged from behind the tree, holding up her phone to show Ryo Kitagawa the real time:

Eleven o'clock sharp.

"Yeah, I stole half an hour of the cool stuff."

Shiina Hiyori readily admitted it, then playfully extended her hand to Kitagawa Ryo, a smile playing on her lips:

"I'll give you back half an hour of the fireworks display tonight, so remember to come and get it."

"Because, this is a unique moment that I received during this Valentine's Day, when every minute and every second belongs to Fanbo. It is a moment that belongs only to me."

Take a day off

I've been reading mystery novels for inspiration these past couple of days and I'm feeling a bit numb, so I'm taking a day off.

I actually thought of three ways to write the trick in the previous chapter alone, such as in "The Last Teleportation Magic", a story in "Rainbow Toothbrush", and finally, in "The Clockwork Mansion Incident".

However, mystery novels are indeed very good. Today I read "1367". If you are interested, you can check it out.

The new cover has been decided; it will feature the newly released Hiyori.


Chapter 474: What Was Missed and What Comes Again

"That's incredible! They actually cook right here on site?"

"It feels like we're filming some kind of reality TV show."

"The male and female guests are indeed a good match in terms of looks."

"When they first moved here, I thought it was some kind of new event at a booth, but when I went over to ask, I found out that it was a first-year student named Kitagawa who booked the whole place. I guess it must have cost a lot of personal points."

"Even if someone did manage to get points, it probably wouldn't work. After all, theoretically, this area around the stadium is all contracted out for this event. But who can blame them when they're the acting student council president? They probably found some vendor to impersonate them and set up a stall. They'll make sure you can't find any fault with the procedures."

That's why I said it's really exaggerated.

With Kitagawa Ryo's quiet return from Shiina Hiyori and the arrangements made in advance by the staff, in no time, to the somewhat shocked gazes of the other students and faculty, an outdoor kitchen, though open-air, was anything but simple. All the necessary equipment and ingredients were neatly arranged there.

Completely opposite to the boys' discussion, the girls' discussion was on a completely different note. Many seemed to recall similar scenes from shoujo manga they had read before. However, unlike those stories where every meal was prepared on the spot by a star chef, this scene featured the male protagonist himself.

In fact, although he had already made a name for himself as a culinary master at Tokyo Advanced Educational High School a long time ago, and had shown off his skills in front of a large audience during the special entrance exam for the mixed training camp last month, the breakfast portion of the last special entrance exam was only after the food was basically cooked, and the aroma of the food attracted other students. Therefore, for a considerable number of Tokyo Educational High School students, this was the first time they had seen Kitagawa Ryo's cooking up close and in its entirety.

Unlike the bento boxes that were usually fed to Shiina Hiyori, Kitagawa Ryo's cooking methods and dishes were naturally modified accordingly because the occasion, dining environment, and most importantly, the heroine had changed.

Although Ichinose Honami had shown her willingness to help from the beginning, she could only obediently sit at the table with a warm-colored tablecloth laid out, resting her chin on her hand and waiting, under Kitagawa Ryo's unusual stubbornness. Her blue eyes were fixed on Kitagawa Ryo, who was working in an orderly manner not far away, completely unaware that she and the other person had become another unforgettable scene for Valentine's Day in the eyes of the people around them.

Sakayanagi Arisu was munching on the whole-wheat toast that Matsushita Chiaki had bought for her in the crowd, radiating a lemony sourness that seemed to say, "What's the big deal? It's fine without it." She was still upset that Kitagawa Ryo had not only skipped her morning exercise but also their breakfast that morning.

Meanwhile, in the crowd, observing with mixed feelings, was Kikyo Kushida from Class C of the first year. Knowing that half of her attraction to boys came from the fact that she didn't have a boyfriend, Kikyo Kushida naturally wouldn't accept any boy's invitation on Valentine's Day, even though she received a lot of chocolates. In the end, she still chose to go out with other girls.

To be honest, Ichinosawa Honami, her former biggest rival (though this is just my own opinion), has always been somewhat puzzled and even disdainful of her 'unwise' behavior. After all, everyone knows that single girls are more popular in social situations than girls in relationships, especially among boys. But she still resolutely chose the most explosive way to confess during last year's sports festival, thus handing over the throne of the queen of popular freshmen to her.

However, seeing this scene before her, Kikyo Kushida couldn't help but feel a strange ripple in her heart. She inexplicably felt that if she could find a high-quality guy who was willing to go to such lengths for her, perhaps giving up those complicated and useless social relationships would be a good thing.

However, Kikyo Kushida quickly suppressed this sudden thought, as it contradicted her already established life philosophy. Moreover, there would never be another Ryo Kitagawa in the entire Tokyo Advanced Educational High School.

Thinking about this, Kikyo Kushida felt inexplicably irritated again.

After all, she had known Kitagawa Ryo for several years back in junior high school, even earlier than Horikita Suzune, who is now strongly supporting her in the student council election. As a result, she was suspected of being a spy by Katsuragi Kohei and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka in her class.

But the truth is that nothing happened between her and Kitagawa Ryo, and that was even though she wanted something to happen between them at that time.

Every time she thinks back on the past, Kikyo Kushida can't figure out where things went wrong. After they both enrolled in Tokyo Advanced Educational High School, this complex emotion, along with the passage of time and the activities of Ryo Kitagawa, turned into a subtle resentment that was hard to explain.

Just like in middle school, even though she later became a spy for the other side during the special exam on the deserted island, she still didn't feel any connection with Kitagawa Ryo. Even when the other side met with another spy, Hirata Yosuke, it was always one-on-one. But with her, it was only through Amasawa Ichika, that absolute violent maniac and paranoid madman.

Then, her little secret was discovered by Kiyotaka Ayanokouji during the mixed training camp special exam. He simply analyzed the pros and cons for her in a clear and logical manner, using both coaxing and intimidation, just like a trainer who follows a strategy to capture a Pokémon, and then switched her allegiance back to him.

No one cared or even asked her why she did it, or how her past stories, her psychological changes from childhood to adulthood, and her increasingly obsessive views on life were formed little by little.

Although Kikyo Kushida didn't really think she would want to tell others these things, being repeatedly ignored without concern still made her feel a bit frustrated.

Perhaps this is why she felt that strange resentment towards Kitagawa Ryo.

It's just like when you're being bullied at school, instead of resenting the bullies, you're more concerned about and unable to accept that the person you once secretly admired ignores your situation.

Why don't you try to... save me too?

Even today, though she is unwilling to admit it, Kikyo Kushida still lingers around this question.

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

Since it was lunchtime, the exclusive matchmaking event for faculty and staff temporarily came to an end. With the host's words, the first half of the event was declared over. The men and women who had been chatting for half the morning and were starting to hit it off were eager to find a nice restaurant to continue their conversation while they ate. However, most of the teachers still came up empty-handed. After all, matchmaking is a matter of more failures than successes.

It has to be said that at times like this, the fake sisterhood between Chabashira Sae and Hoshinomiya Chie comes in handy again.

Faced with a large number of lunch invitations from male teachers, both Sae Chabashira and Chie Hoshinomiya tacitly chose the excuse of "having lunch with Sae/Chie," thus naturally getting rid of those persistent pests.

"It's really troublesome."

Having just escaped the crowded throng, Hoshinomiya Chie's expression changed drastically, revealing a gloomy look once more. In a sense, she and Kushida Kikyo were quite similar, both forced to attend large events they didn't actually want to attend because of their usual personas.

"Let's just find somewhere to eat. The host said there's a second half in the afternoon, and apparently there will be some icebreaker games."

Perhaps having regained the element of trust from Kitagawa Ryo, Chabashira Sae now seems to have changed her image from the past ice queen compared to Hoshinomiya Chie beside her, and is much more talkative.

"whispering sound--"

Hoshinomiya Chie simply clicked her tongue in mockery.

"That cat wasn't yours at all."

If you were to find the person in Tokyo Advanced Educational High School who understands Sae Chabashira the most, it would undoubtedly be Chie Hoshinomiya. Therefore, the moment she heard the other person pretending to mention the lost cat notice that morning, she saw through the lie.

"Regardless of whose it is, it's mine now, at least in name."

Chabashira Sae was quite satisfied that Kitagawa Ryo had chosen her over Hoshinomiya Chie. After all, if she really had to find a teacher who could cover up her cat-keeping, Kitagawa's former homeroom teacher, Majima Tomoya, and her current homeroom teacher, Hoshinomiya Chie, would both seem to be better candidates.

But Kitagawa Ryo still didn't hesitate to tell her this secret.

what is this?

This is 100% trust.

This shows that the other party is still willing to maintain a cooperative relationship. As for why the promised class transfer has not been fulfilled yet, there must be someone causing trouble in the middle. Of course, there is no problem with being rejected.

"So whose cat is this? And why is it registered under your name?"

When Hoshinomiya Chie pressed for more information, Chabashira Sae fell silent again. In any case, ever since that physical hair-pulling incident during winter break, she and Hoshinomiya Chie had essentially broken off their friendship, and now they were just superficial best friends.

"Shall we go to the Beech Tree Shopping Center area, or do you just want to grab something near the stadium?"

When Chabashira Sae changed the subject, Hoshinomiya Chie just pouted.

"I don't mind, I'll just walk around and take a look."

As they walked and talked, Chabashira Sae and Hoshinomiya Chie quickly noticed the unusual scene ahead. Many students and faculty members were gathered around a certain spot, as if they were watching something.

Compared to the petite Hoshinomiya Chie, the tall Chabashira Sae was already wearing high heels today, so she only needed to tiptoe slightly to see what was inside:

"It looks like Kitagawa is on a date with Ichinose. I heard from someone nearby that she just cooked their lunch on the spot."

"Oh, I see. Then it's no wonder we're surrounded by so many people. After all, the smell is so enticing, I'd be tempted to shamelessly sneak in and take a bite myself. Teenage romances definitely tend to focus on these kinds of rituals..."

For Hoshinomiya Chie, who is already past that age and is practically just one step away from turning thirty, the saccharine smell of high school romance is indeed making her want to pinch her nose. After all, compared to the process of falling in love, she has already expanded her understanding to the level of sex and just wants to skip all the rituals that seem quite tedious to her and go straight to the essence of love.

However, Chabashira Sae did not answer her.

Just like Kitagawa Ryo's assessment of her, Chabashira Sae's psychological state was indeed stagnant during her senior year of high school, or rather, during that special exam, and she made no progress for the next ten years.

However, precisely because of this, compared to Hoshinomiya Chie, who no longer wants to or can experience these delicate emotions, Chabashira Sae, who only had a first love that lasted for 24 hours and ended without a trace, and who had nothing to do except confession, is more moved by the scene before her.

However, this may also be related to the fact that the male protagonist in the story is someone she cares about very much.

Chabashira Sae stood there watching the two of them clink glasses with smiles. It wasn't some fancy crystal goblet, just a simple, ordinary glass, filled with nothing special, but the kind of hot cocoa that felt especially warm in the winter.

Honami Ichinose savored the rich warmth and sweetness emanating from her lips and tongue, just like when they first met in reality, or rather, when they reunited, and the other person smiled and handed her a cup while she was inside a mascot costume.

That was also winter, but it was several years ago.

But no matter how much time passed, Kitagawa Ryo in front of her remained the same as she had seen countless times before, with clear and bright dark eyes, always looking at her with a gentle smile, as if she could see all the beauty in the world through them.

For a moment, Honami Ichinose even had the thought that it would be great if time could just stand still, but she quickly dismissed the idea.

After all, their story will only get more exciting from here on out. Just like what Kitagawa Ryo wrote in the birthday card he gave her, they will not end with who they are now. The rest of their lives are still long, and the future is still worth looking forward to.

For example, the fireworks display that starts after it gets dark.

A woman should look good to those who please her.

Honami Ichinose had already prepared different outfits for today's Valentine's Day.

The yukata I couldn't wear that time was the second one.

As for what follows—

That happened after the sky had darkened further.