"Thank you for coming today, Kitagawa-kun. I've kept you waiting."
As Kitagawa Ryo stepped out of the car, a middle-aged man who had been waiting came forward immediately. What stood out was the vase filled with fresh flowers he held in his hands.
Noticing the wary glances the two bodyguards beside Kitagawa kept shooting at the vase, the man smiled gently and explained:
"It's a decoration originally placed in that child's room. I happened to be changing the water before heading out. You see, Yuki really loves these white cherry blossoms. She even asked for the wallpaper and ceiling in her room to be adorned with their pattern."
"How is Yuki doing now?"
Stopping his guards from stepping forward to inspect the vase, Kitagawa took a step ahead and began walking with the man toward the mental health clinic.
Initially, Kitagawa thought he would need the support of the Sakayanagi family—and even the influential Kijima faction behind them—to exact revenge on the White Room. However, during the investigation, he unexpectedly discovered the hidden identity assigned to him in this simulation.
Without a doubt, it was the effect of the item [Engagement Contract].
Just as he had speculated before, [Engagement Contract] seemed to be an item based on foundational logic. It ensured the engagement appeared reasonable and plausible.
Sakayanagi Arisu was the only daughter of the Sakayanagi family, and Kitagawa Ryo was a test subject from the White Room. Thus, the only logical path to connect their engagement was by altering his background.
In other words, in this simulation, [Engagement Contract] functioned like a golden-tier talent called [Heir of a Noble Line].
This was also one of the reasons why the reckoning of the White Room and Ayanokouji Atsuomi happened so quickly.
Turning slightly to glance at the ever-present bodyguards behind him, Kitagawa frowned.
The Kitagawa family had acknowledged his identity the moment they learned the truth, but Kitagawa knew it was entirely based on his current display of capability.
Ayanokouji and the White Room were not wrong in their original assumptions. Even the most powerful conglomerates would not go out of their way to retaliate for a broken or discarded potential heir. Every one of them acted solely for their interests.
Kitagawa was sure that if he had turned out to be a mentally broken, drug-addicted child, the Kitagawa family would never have recognized him as their long-lost illegitimate son—let alone wage a public crusade against the White Room.
After a secret deal between the Naoe and Kijima factions, the White Room project was ordered to shut down. The facility was sealed off, and all children were either returned to their parents or sent to welfare organizations for adoption.
However, due to the involvement of many powerful parties, the Naoe faction did not want such a scandal to affect their reputation. Most of the incident was quietly buried. To the public, the White Room still existed—only Ayanokouji Atsuomi had been reassigned.
This was also one of the Naoe faction's conditions. They valued the attention and influence the White Room had garnered over the past year, rivaling that of Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School. Unless anything unexpected happened, the new head of the [New] White Room would be Naoe Jinnosuke's biological son.
All of Naoe Jinnosuke's dealings with the Kijima faction had one goal—to pave the way for his son, the future heir of the Naoe faction.
If nothing went wrong, this fortunate heir would inherit an immense political legacy at his father's funeral a few years later and begin his campaign for Prime Minister with the Kijima faction's support.
In truth, Naoe Jinnosuke never intended to raise Ayanokouji to the top of the nation. He merely saw him as a future aide for his son.
He understood his son well—he wasn't particularly capable, nor even a competent politician. But he bore the surname Naoe, and that was enough.
In politics, a politician's child becomes another politician—unchangeable.
Kitagawa shook off his thoughts as they stepped into the clinic. Over the ten-plus years of the White Room, nearly every child developed some level of psychological issues.
Thus, after the facility's dissolution, most parents opted for psychological treatment for their children—but in truth, they simply wanted to dump the kids somewhere else again.
Almost all the children who had parents and were sent to the White Room were illegitimate offspring. Returning to their original families was never easy—and that was before adding mental instability into the equation.
Kitagawa recalled the ending of his previous simulation.
As the child of a conglomerate, he could receive the best treatment, but he would still be confined to one room for the rest of his life, rarely visited by his own family.
"Yuki's condition... has somewhat improved, I suppose?"
The man walking beside Kitagawa—Yuki's biological father—answered.
Unlike the others, he took his daughter's condition very seriously. He not only ensured she received the best psychological care but also stayed by her side throughout.
"She still wants to see you, Kitagawa-kun, but she's much better than when she first came out."
He gave a bitter smile.
"At first, she was unresponsive—unable to interact or leave the house. She only thought about you."
"The doctor said her psychology is strange."
"On one hand, she shows strong rejection of the White Room. On the other, she subconsciously displays a kind of nostalgic attachment. It's like Stockholm syndrome, if that's a fair comparison."
"There's no doubt those years in the White Room caused her pain, yet she longs for something from it."
"Is it... me?"
Kitagawa stopped and turned to look at the man beside him.
But the man's reaction surprised him—he bowed deeply to Kitagawa, a child.
"I've learned some of the truths about the White Room, and I am very grateful."
"To others, you may be seen as a prodigy, a genius. But to me, you're a hero—someone who protected my daughter and destroyed that place."
"Because I, too, was a victim of that place. And because... I care deeply about her."
Kitagawa accepted the gratitude.
"Thank you for everything, including the police reports and statements. I'm sorry as well."
"Because, ultimately, I was the only one who could do it."
Kitagawa pressed his lips together. After the dissolution of the White Room, most children displayed intense resistance to speaking.
Only Kitagawa and Ayanokouji Kiyotaka were able to recall and recount the events inside.
Human rights violations, inhumane treatment, irrational and violent commands, sadistic experiments that went beyond abuse, trampling on dignity and toying with emotions.
Ayanokouji was a child so calm he seemed mechanical, and he hadn't suffered to the extent Kitagawa had. So in Yuki's father's eyes, Kitagawa was the biggest victim.
After all, recalling trauma meant re-experiencing it.
"We're almost there."
After a short silence, the man's expression grew pained again.
"Sometimes, I feel powerless. Yuki doesn't seem to hear what I, my wife, or our second daughter say."
"I just want her to have the happiness a girl her age should have. But it's hard."
As a father, he may have reached his limit.
Kitagawa still didn't understand why the man had once sent Yuki to the White Room—but now, he saw the vulnerability and desperation of a father.
"So I have one impolite request."
"Could you return to the relationship you once had with my daughter? Not a false one—a real one."
"What?"
Kitagawa blinked, instinctively looking at the man.
"Only when she's around you can she be considered a normal child."
"Her mind only stabilizes when she hears about you. We've confirmed it."
"My daughter, Yuki, has fallen in love with you."
"It wasn't brainwashing. Her feelings are genuine."
"So—"
-------------------------------------
"I already asked. Ryo went to the psychological clinic in the city center today."
Sakayanagi Narimori put down the phone, glancing helplessly at his daughter, who was getting ready to head out.
"I'll go with you."
"Mm."
Sakayanagi Arisu nodded, bending down to change her shoes. After seeing those images, she felt a long-lost impulse—an urgent desire to see him again.
What she wanted to say to Kitagawa Ryo was simple:
All of Kitagawa Ryo's past had nothing to do with her—nothing to do with Sakayanagi Arisu.
But from this point forward, every day would be different.
[Engagement].
A term like something from a fairytale or a stage play. It could be a promise binding two lovers or a tool used to tear them apart.
All along the way, Sakayanagi Arisu thought deeply.
When they arrived at the destination, she quickly made her way inside. After circling briefly, she caught sight of Kitagawa Ryo's back.
But she didn't get the chance to call out to him—because at that exact moment, she heard another sincere voice say:
"Would you be willing to enter into an engagement with my daughter?"
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