"It's best not to go in right now."
Sakayanagi Narimori gently stopped his daughter, who was about to enter the hospital room.
The day after bringing Kitagawa Ryo back, Sakayanagi Arisu had come to visit the hospital. It was the first time she had ever visited someone else in a hospital—in the past, it had always been others coming to see her. Seeing this familiar place from a new perspective felt oddly refreshing.
"Why not?"
Arisu stood on her tiptoes and tried to peer inside. But she was too short—even stretching as far as she could, the top of her head barely reached the bottom edge of the glass pane. She couldn't see anything.
"Ryo is currently in the physiological detox phase. This is the most critical stage."
Narimori patiently explained:
"He needs to overcome his physical dependence on the addictive drugs. This is a necessary part of recovery."
Physiological detoxification was the first and most painful step in addiction recovery. Although Narimori had arranged for professionals and round-the-clock medical supervision, it was ultimately a test of Ryo's own willpower.
"Withdrawal symptoms?"
Arisu remembered reading that term in a book once. Narimori nodded.
"Yes, withdrawal."
"Does it hurt?"
"A lot. Even many adults can't endure it. If someone offered them the drug again, they'd drop to their knees like dogs, sobbing and begging."
Narimori's knowledge far exceeded his daughter's. He'd seen friends ruin their lives after getting hooked. His tone darkened.
"One of them told me it felt like every bone in his body was being crushed."
Thanks to that experience, Narimori had come to understand this field well. Typically, addiction started with casual use, then progressed to intravenous injections when the high wasn't enough, and eventually escalated to arterial injections for the most extreme stimulation.
But Ryo had been forced into intravenous injections from the start. Just days ago, he had even undergone an arterial injection.
Add to that the fact that children had weaker immune systems and were more vulnerable to dependency—truthfully, even Narimori wasn't confident.
"But it's so quiet in there."
Arisu commented, unable to suppress her concern. Narimori was briefly taken aback.
He remembered his friend strapped to a restraint chair during withdrawal, screaming, crying, then laughing hysterically before finally begging for one last dose.
It was true. The silence inside was unsettling. If not for the nurse watching over Ryo, Narimori might have worried the boy had passed out.
Still, he patted his daughter's shoulder reassuringly.
"It'll be okay. Believe in him."
"Wait until he stabilizes, then you can visit."
"After the physical detox, he'll need psychological detox. That's where you come in."
"Help?"
Arisu tilted her head curiously.
"Yes."
Narimori crouched down and gently stroked her hair.
"Psychological detox goes better when the patient has friends or family to support them. It helps distract them and gives emotional strength. That makes it easier to reintegrate into society."
"I might not have much time myself, so I'm counting on you."
"Got it."
Arisu nodded seriously, accepting the request from her father.
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For Kitagawa Ryo, the hellish two weeks had finally come to an end.
Thanks to the medical system and support Sakayanagi Narimori had arranged for him, combined with his own willpower and the help of his golden talent [Perseverance], Ryo had successfully completed the physical detox stage. His body had mostly shed its dependence on the drugs.
Lying on the hospital bed drenched in sweat, Ryo felt like he'd lost even more weight than when he first arrived. His pale lips exhaled a shallow breath, his body limp and exhausted.
At moments like this, he couldn't help but miss the earliest versions of the text-based simulator. Back then, such a stage would've just been summarized as something like: [Day XX: Withdrawal symptoms triggered. Overcome.]
Unlike the agony of ALS in the last simulation—where he could only helplessly watch his body waste away—this time, it was a primal craving, pain and itch deep in his bones. In retrospect, the last simulation had toughened his mind just enough to let him barely push through this trial.
It had undoubtedly become one of the most unforgettable experiences in any of his simulations so far.
He habitually reached for the prescribed medicine on the table. Over the past two weeks, he'd practically lost the ability to fall asleep naturally. Only medication helped. Though effective in knocking him out, it never brought true rest—only mechanical, artificial sleep.
Just as Ryo was about to pop a pill and go to bed like every other night, the screen of his phone suddenly lit up.
It was the device Narimori had left behind, saying he could use it to reach out if he ever needed help. But this time, it wasn't Narimori calling—it was Sakayanagi Arisu.
"Hello."
Perhaps because of the overall tone of this simulation—or perhaps because of the exhaustion from the last two weeks—Ryo's voice was distant and cold.
Still, it matched his current persona. If he were all cheerful and carefree after what he just went through, Narimori would probably suspect something was seriously wrong with him.
"Hi... Ryo."
He heard her whisper softly, confirming the name, followed by the sound of pages flipping.
"I heard you've successfully completed the first stage, so... congratulations."
A gentle clapping sound followed.
This version of Arisu seemed livelier and more spirited than before. Probably thanks to being treated for her condition early on.
Over the last two weeks, Ryo had been actively talking with the doctors and nurses tending to him, trying to gather intel. Since they were professionals hired by the Sakayanagi family, they readily brought up the incident over a year ago involving Arisu's congenital heart disease. That's how Ryo found out she had been cured.
To the medical staff, it was just a lucky story involving a mysterious USB stick. But Ryo knew better.
That USB sounded way too familiar. It was likely the one containing the detailed pathological analysis and treatment plan for Arisu's condition—compiled painstakingly by him during a previous simulation.
Though he still needed to investigate further, he strongly suspected that Hotaru was involved.
After all, rumors claimed Arisu found the USB while following a cat.
Regardless, the fact that Arisu was treated in advance was a huge boon for his current route. Her psychological issues weren't solely caused by her illness, but it definitely played a role.
So, yes—one more favor owed to Hotaru.
"Meow."
And just as he thought of her, he heard a familiar cat sound through the phone, followed by Arisu's exasperated muttering about the overly affectionate feline.
After shoving the clingy cat away, Arisu—still in her pajamas—quickly added:
"Anyway, I'll be visiting you at the hospital tomorrow. Good night."
"Also, Papa said I'm older than you, so starting tomorrow, you'd better call me Onee-chan."
As if worried about interrupting his rest—or perhaps only intending to say that much—Arisu promptly hung up.
Ryo stared at the phone's busy tone and let out a dry chuckle as he lay back down.
In the Horikita Suzune simulation, he had been Arisu's older brother. Now, he was suddenly her younger one. Life sure was unpredictable.
What nagged at him more, though, was that neither Arisu nor Narimori had said a word about the engagement.
Yet the [Engagement Contract] item had already vanished from his inventory—used.
He'd have to find time to ask about that later.
Closing his eyes, Ryo reviewed everything that had happened in this simulation so far.
His next target: the White Room.
He'd only spent six or seven years there, but it was more than enough to understand the true nature of that organization. And given that he was already at odds with them in the real world, there was no hesitation in his desire to dismantle the entire project.
Even two weeks after leaving, he couldn't stop remembering the White Room.
And the people inside it.
Raising his left arm, the scars and needle marks were already beginning to fade. But traces of the trauma still lingered.
"There has to be a way."
He whispered to himself as he traced the past in his mind.
"Ayanokouji Kiyotaka escaped the White Room with help from Ayanokouji Atsuomi's butler."
That was information from long ago—from his third simulation with Ichinose Honami.
"It happened when Kiyotaka was fifteen—eight years from now. At that time, Atsuomi lost control over the White Room and had no choice but to entrust Kiyotaka to Matsuo for a year. The butler then advised him to enroll at Advanced Nurturing High School to escape their pursuit."
"Atsuomi likely isn't the real mastermind behind the White Room. Judging by the timeline, he would've only been around thirty when the project began—hardly enough time or resources to build such a thing."
"He clearly wants results. His use of me proves that. But his methods are crude and rushed. The White Room isn't the kind of project that yields quick results."
"That suggests whoever's backing him desperately wants this success—likely to gain political capital. Atsuomi has a high status, so whoever supports him must be aiming for serious power in this country."
Ryo could already guess who the real puppet master was, but with his current strength, going up against someone like that in the political arena was beyond laughable.
In fact, he strongly suspected the White Room project was suspended because that backer either lost influence—or died.
"Still... there's leverage here."
The White Room wouldn't change just because he left. More likely, he'd be branded as a failure, like so many others who simply disappeared without a trace.
But Horikita Suzune's simulation had given him a powerful idea.
If that's how they play...
Then he'd fight fire with fire.
-------------------------------------
"Are you planning to move your entire room over there?"
Sakayanagi Narimori asked with a pained look, watching his daughter command the moving crew as they loaded box after box of items into the back of the moving truck.
"Well, Papa never comes home to sleep anyway."
Sakayanagi Arisu blinked innocently as she picked books from the shelf one by one and stuffed them into a box, while also slipping her chess set into her backpack.
"Besides, I don't really know what he likes, so bringing more things seems safer."
"Chess, Go, poker... phone, laptop... and didn't you say recently he could only sleep with sleeping pills? I brought some storybooks too."
"Papa used to do this for me when I was sick, right?"
"I looked it up—psychological detox is a long process, so companionship is really important!"
It was rare for Narimori to see his daughter this invested in something. Still, he didn't interfere with her plans—just sighed and shook his head.
"You're just like your mother."
"To be compared to my mother is the highest compliment."
Arisu replied with a beaming smile as she tucked a thick stack of amusement park, zoo, and aquarium season passes—gifts from her father—into her pocket. Then she suddenly seemed to remember something.
"By the way, Papa, aren't you the new chairman of Advanced Nurturing High School?"
"Yeah, which is why I've been busy to death lately."
Narimori muttered helplessly.
Immediately, he saw his daughter sweetly extend her hand toward him.
"Then please hand over the Cultural Festival tickets too."
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