Chapter 3: Rescuing Shoko
"..."
What was there to say?
Haruka didn't know what to say either.
All he knew was that he had likely made the wrong choice.
Furthermore, one shouldn't go too hard when studying; it was apparently easy to drop dead from it.
"Two memory fragments, and neither had anything to do with studying. This simulation was basically a waste. So, does that mean if I want to retain memories from the simulation, I need to get a higher rating?"
Although he phrased it as a question, Haruka was already fairly certain in his heart. That had to be the case.
A Love Simulator was, after all, a Love Simulator. It wasn't going to let him exploit such a massive loophole to just grind academics.
What a pity.
Haruka sighed.
"If I want to improve the evaluation, the key must lie with the simulation target. Thinking about it that way, my performance in the simulation was indeed terrible. I had basically zero interaction with Shoko Nishimiya. And that choice was obviously wrong—I should have gone out for a walk. Maybe then I would have known what happened to Shoko that made the class act so weird the next day. Also, I can't just blindly focus on studying anymore. Lesson learned. Lesson learned!"
"But how is the simulation score graded? Is 'Extremely Poor' the absolute bottom?" Haruka looked at the rating with intense focus, wondering.
A line of annotations appeared below it.
[Extremely Poor, Poor, Bad, Good, Excellent, Perfect]
"Six distinct evaluations. So I really did get the worst one."
On second thought, he tried to be optimistic. Didn't this mean there was plenty of room for improvement?
"No time to delay. I'll change my mindset and test it out with the second simulation."
Select Simulation Target: Shoko Nishimiya.
[Today's simulation attempts have been exhausted. Please return after 12:00 AM.]
Ugh.
He forgot it was one simulation per day.
Haruka checked the time. It was a little past ten.
If he stayed up a bit, midnight would arrive soon enough.
Haruka picked up a book and started memorizing vocabulary.
Time slipped by quickly, and soon, the clock struck twelve.
Haruka sat up straight, his expression serious.
[Simulation Start]
[Awakening your memories, you established a study plan. However, you also know you can't overdo it. You decide to...]
[1. Go for a walk behind the school building.]
[2. Go for a walk outside the school.]
[3. Sleep on the desk for a while.]
[4. Real Simulation.]
Sure enough.
The options had changed.
The "self" inside the simulation shifted according to his mindset before entering it. That was why his behavior and choices could be altered.
This time, Haruka directly chose to go for a walk behind the school building.
[Exhausted from studying, you decided to go for a walk to relax.]
[You arrived behind the school building. You saw Shoko Nishimiya.]
[She was holding her communication notebook and conversing with someone. It was Yumiko Miura. You recognize her—she belongs to the class's popular clique and seems to have a crush on Hayama. Under your gaze, they chatted and laughed. Yumiko Miura was communicating with her, albeit with some difficulty.]
[You watched for a while, finding it rather boring. Just as you were about to leave, the situation seemed to change. Yumiko Miura hurried off, leaving Shoko Nishimiya standing there waiting. At that moment, several of the school's notorious delinquents approached. Their expressions were frivolous and curious, circling Shoko Nishimiya as if they were observing a rare animal.]
[Shoko Nishimiya kept a smile on her face and wrote something on her notebook. The delinquents seemed to think of something and spoke to her, appearing to demand that she do something.]
[The smile on Shoko Nishimiya's face became strained. She wrote frantically on the board, but the delinquents' expressions grew impatient. At this moment, you decide to...]
[1. Step forward to stop them.]
[2. Leave.]
Did this even need to be a choice?
It was a no-brainer.
Haruka naturally selected Option 1.
***
"Hey, hey, come on. Sing for us. We're classmates, aren't we? It's just a song. You're not even willing to do that?" The red-haired delinquent spoke with a clumsy, rolling tongue, trying to sound tough.
The two other boys next to him, sporting similarly colored hair, chimed in agreement.
In reality, they were just bored. They heard there was a deaf-mute girl in school and wanted to come see. After all, a deaf-mute person? That was rare.
But upon seeing her, they felt disappointed. She looked completely ordinary. However, on second thought, they became curious about whether a deaf person could actually make sound. And if she did, what would it sound like? Would it sound like a donkey braying? They were genuinely curious!
That was right.
There was no complex reason. It was just curiosity.
Like a stray cat that had already eaten its fill playing with a mouse.
As for whether it was malicious or hurtful?
Heh. If they cared about other people's feelings, they wouldn't be delinquents.
Shoko Nishimiya's slender fingers gripped her communication board tightly.
Her mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out.
She didn't want to make a sound.
Because she knew what that would lead to. Just like when she was little...
"Are you going to sing or not?!"
The Redhead stepped forward with a ferocious expression, backing her into the corner of the wall.
Shoko looked at them in terror. Trembling, she began to put her notebook back into her bag, closed her eyes, and opened her mouth—
Bang!
A vicious elbow strike slammed into one delinquent's shoulder.
Followed immediately by a kick straight to another delinquent's crotch.
Snap!
It sounded like eggs cracking.
What followed was a wailing scream of pure agony.
Finally, Haruka looked at the Redhead. With an expressionless face, he reached out and clamped his hand around the guy's throat.
"Ghk... Uggh..."
The Redhead's face turned purple as he struggled desperately.
But Haruka's arm was like an iron vice, choking him with terrifying strength.
That face, usually so plain and devoid of expression, that expressionless face now looked like a demon's to him.
Thud!
The demonic arm finally let go.
The Redhead collapsed, gasping for air. "You... You..."
Smack!
A foot stomped onto his head, grinding left and right, producing a sickening crunching sound.
"What did you want to say?"
"So... Sorry... I'm sorry... Ugh..."
"What were you guys trying to do just now?"
"We... We didn't want to do anything! We were just curious! Just curious, ahhh!"
The rubber sole of the shoe forced the Redhead's face into intimate contact with the ground, the rough gravel grating against his skin.
"We... We just wanted to hear her talk, record it, and post it for everyone to laugh at!" Under the severe pain, the Redhead blurted out his true intentions.
"For a laugh? Heh."
Haruka let out a cold laugh and kicked the Redhead again.
"If there's a next time, I'll throw you all into Tokyo Bay."
Watching the three of them scramble away in a pathetic state, Haruka turned back around.
He saw Shoko Nishimiya holding her communication notebook high, her eyes slightly red and trembling.
Written on the board in large letters was the word: THANK YOU.
Haruka opened his mouth, but he didn't know what to say. He had always been clumsy with words.
"Don't go to deserted places like this anymore." That was the only dry sentence he could squeeze out.
Shoko nodded vigorously.
"Let's go. Back to the classroom."
However, Shoko shook her head. She pointed in a specific direction and then wrote on her board.
Waiting for someone.
Just then, Yumiko Miura came hurried back, arriving late to the scene.
[Image : Yumiko Miura]
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