Chapter 16: Graduation, University, and the Company
[At the Nishimiya Residence.]
[You made a promise to face the future together—a promise that was practically a confession of love.]
"NO!!"
In reality.
Haruka let out a stifled howl, his voice cracking.
He knew it!
The "him" in the simulation wasn't him at all!
Just look at him. He was supposed to be an introverted, reserved guy. First, he goes up on stage to sing, and now he's saying lines like that in front of the girl's mother?
And most importantly... love?
Love after four months?
Love my ass!
Haruka felt like he was going to lose his mind. He truly couldn't comprehend anything his simulation self was doing.
No.
Actually, it wasn't impossible to imagine.
It was because of emotions.
Exactly.
Because of their different experiences, the "Haruka" inside the simulation had undergone an emotional shift.
So...
Was he really the type of person who had thick skin and guts of steel deep down?
Haruka instantly fell into a spiral of self-doubt regarding his own personality.
But no matter what Haruka thought, the simulation continued.
***
[Having gained the Nishimiya family's approval, you joined them for dinner. Afterward, in the living room, you were shown a large number of photos depicting dead animals.]
[They were grotesque, dripping with blood.]
[Shoko's younger sister suddenly walked over, took the photos off the board, and shoved them into your hands.]
"My sister has always had suicidal thoughts, so I took these photos to deter her. But now? I'm handing these over to you. Good luck, Brother-in-law."
Haruka looked a mix of astonished and embarrassed.
Click!
Yuzuru suddenly raised the camera hanging around her neck and snapped a photo of him. A mischievous grin appeared on her cool, boyish face.
Then, chin held high, she walked away with her camera.
[Seeing Yuzuru, you realized that the members of the Nishimiya family were all warm people. Perhaps that is exactly why Shoko developed such a gentle and considerate personality despite being in such a difficult situation.]
[Back at school.]
[Your relationship with Shoko made a breakthrough. She was often inseparable from you, clinging to your side, and you grew accustomed to her presence.]
[Because of the promise you made, you revised your life plan.]
[You decided to test into the business school of a top-tier university. Furthermore, you began paying attention to knowledge regarding hearing aids and speech therapy.]
[Day by day, time passed. Your relationship with Shoko grew stronger, and your friends were happy to see it happen.]
[In the blink of an eye, more than two years passed. Graduation was approaching.]
[Many things happened during this period.]
[To prevent Yukino Yukinoshita's club from being abolished, you and Shoko joined the Service Club as nominal members. With the help of a teacher named Shizuka Hiratsuka, the Service Club was saved. However, Yukino seemed to be holding onto some kind of stubborn ideal; aside from your small group, she had very few friends and never took the initiative to reach out. She remained solitary.]
[Yumiko Miura still hadn't become a couple with Hayama. Moreover, something seemed to have gone wrong within her clique; she and Yui Yuigahama appeared to have had a falling out that hasn't been resolved to this day.]
[The band formed by a girl named Hitori Gotoh seemed to have made quite a splash at the Cultural Festival.]
[Kazusa Touma, the daughter of the famous musician Youko Touma, quit the school music club and became a problem student who constantly skipped class.]
[Of course, these were all things you merely heard about. Aside from intervening in Yukino's affairs, you ignored everything else.]
[You simply studied quietly, exercised, and accepted Shoko Nishimiya's 'feeding.' Yes, feeding.]
[Shoko Nishimiya had developed excellent culinary skills. She now took care of lunch for both of you, causing your sister to suspect you had a girlfriend on the outside.]
[The relationship between you two was only one step away from being official.]
[Correct. You still hadn't officially become boyfriend and girlfriend.]
[Graduation arrived.]
[With upper-middle-class grades, you barely managed to get into the School of Commerce at Meiji University.]
[Meiji University is a top-tier institution, mentioned in the same breath as the University of Tokyo, Keio University, and Waseda University, boasting a massive alumni network.]
[You had stepped with one foot into the threshold of being a 'winner in life.']
[Shoko Nishimiya wasn't as academically strong as you; she was accepted into a second-tier university.]
[To have more time to spend with you, Shoko Nishimiya decided to drop out. You chose to advise against it, but Shoko was firm in her decision.]
[You agreed.]
[You rented an apartment together off-campus.]
[Your relationship naturally crossed the line, and you became lovers.]
[She didn't just stay at home, however. She frequently attended sign language classes to learn and make friends. She hoped to become a sign language teacher herself, perhaps even teaching sign language songs, just like the courage you once gave her.]
[In university, you did not slack off. Instead, you worked even harder, because you knew what burden you were carrying. You were no longer studying just for your own future.]
[Life at a top-tier university was different from what you imagined.]
[Everyone here was outstanding, geniuses. You were unremarkable. The resources available here were things you hadn't dared to dream of before. Relying on the scant useful knowledge remaining from your past life memories, you successfully used the internet to speculate on cryptocurrency, making a small amount of money and gaining a little attention from certain people.]
[You began to apply the knowledge you learned from books. You attempted to open a brick-and-mortar store. You failed.]
[After accumulating experience, you opened an online store focused on anime culture. Unexpectedly, this brought you a considerable amount of money, making you sigh that the 2D world had pointed out the way for you.]
[In your junior year, the university launched a special internship program. Everyone would receive certain resources from the school to conduct practical experiments. You chose to sign up, but you discovered that your resources were far greater than others. You asked your mentor, but only received the answer that someone was testing you.]
[You began to expand the online store, developing in the direction of cosplay costumes and figures. Because you had a backer, you secured collaborations with companies holding massive amounts of anime copyrights, such as Dengeki Bunko and Shueisha.]
[You established a shell company.]
[Your company's development gradually improved.]
[But your time was squeezed dry. You were not a genius; you had come this far entirely through hard work. Even now, in managing and developing the company, you were not as good as those monsters. You often had to put in more effort and time than anyone else.]
[This caused the time you spent with Shoko to gradually shorten.]
[But Shoko had no complaints. She simply continued to do what she could, as always. Only occasionally would she look at the busy you with a lonely expression.]
[Your company was operating well. It had moved beyond being a shell company and now had fifteen to twenty employees. It counted as a small business.]
[In your senior year, a newcomer named Ai Hayasaka joined your company. She started liking you—like, really liking you. You chose to reject her and kicked her out.]
[In the second half of your senior year, your internship was coming to an end. Your results were gratifying. Compared to your classmates who were working for others—even if some were executives in large corporations—you were doing well. At the very least, you had your own company, even if it wasn't big, and even if you had received help from certain people and it wasn't entirely your own effort.]
[You were better off than most, though not quite at the very top.]
Nighttime.
The first floor of an office building.
Haruka, dressed in a formal suit, took a weary sip of coffee and rubbed his temples.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed something.
Only then did he realize there was a thermal jar of Tom Yum soup sitting on his desk.
A warm, affectionate smile appeared on his face. "I almost forgot to drink the soup Shoko sent over."
----
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