Chapter 1: Honami Ichinose's Summer Reappearance
[Life Restart Simulator]
[Each life simulation will randomly draw five talents. Talent ranks are divided into white, green, blue, purple, and gold. After each simulation, players may select one talent to solidify and retain for the next simulation.]
[Note: Each chapter allows a maximum of five simulations. Failing all five simulations results in game over.]
[Upon completing a chapter, players permanently acquire all talents possessed at clearance and may use them in the next chapter's simulations.]
[Clearing all chapters grants a mysterious prize.]
[Wishing you an enjoyable gaming experience.]
[Ding—Life Restart Simulator simulation activated.]
[Please name your character]
[Player selected random naming]
[Naming completed]
[Proceeding with first simulation of Chapter 1.]
[Chapter: Honami Ichinose's Summer Reappearance]
[Five talents have been randomly selected for the player as follows:]
[Heart-Piercing Memories (Purple): You possess a mysterious past. (Highly likely to affect chapter outcome)]
[Cat Owner (Blue): You own an intelligent, well-behaved cat that understands human nature. (It's just a cat)]
[Modest Assets (Blue): You own an 80-square-meter property and 5 million yen in savings. (Property located in Tokyo)]
[Affability (Green): You naturally possess above-average charm, making it easier to gain others' trust. (Effective on both genders)]
[Taciturn (White): Your poor communication skills have gradually formed a reticent personality. (This hinders deeper social connections)]
[Talent selection completed]
[Chapter 1 Clearance Objective: Find and correct the turning point in Honami Ichinose's life]
"Huh, quite interesting."
In a dimly lit room, a young man tapped the [Start] button.
Sixteen-year-old Ryo let out a soft yawn. His mother had divorced his father and left when he was twelve, and two years later his father abandoned him too. Since then, he had discarded his original surname, keeping only a single character. Barely making ends meet by writing web novels, he had recently become obsessed with the Life Restart Simulator series.
Real-world edition, dark edition, magic edition, isekai edition...
He had tried every variation of the Life Restart Simulator without exception. On one hand, he genuinely enjoyed this type of text-based game with strong randomness, while on the other, he truly wished for his own life to restart someday.
"This version of Life Restart Simulator feels more like a puzzle and romance simulation game."
"In that case..."
[Simulation Started]
As the background music transitioned, text descriptions began generating in real-time across the screen.
Day One: The time is July 9th. Early July in Tokyo is scorching hot. Standing at a street intersection, you follow the directions on your phone's map navigation toward the property location. Everything here feels novel and fascinating. During summer vacation, you can see many peers dating in pairs on the streets. Large screens installed on the exteriors of surrounding buildings scroll through advertisements. The white cat on your shoulder taps your cheek with its paw pad, signaling that the light has turned green and you can cross.
"Ah, I really want to own a cat, though I can barely support myself right now..."
You've mostly forgotten your past. At sixteen years old, you've come to Tokyo solely to inherit your family's legacy—an eighty-square-meter property. Additionally, your bank card holds five million yen. These two things will be your only reliance for survival in this international metropolis.
Your property is located on the third floor of an apartment building. When you arrive, the moving company is already waiting downstairs. Worried about disturbing the neighbors at noon and also intending to pay an advance visit, you knock on the door of the neighbor across the hall.
A girl who appears to be around your age opens the door. Through mutual introductions, you learn her name is Honami Ichinose, currently in her third year of junior high school. Since her mother is out working, only she and her younger sister are home. Understanding her implication, you propose visiting again in the evening with a gift after you've finished unpacking.
Honami's poised and graceful demeanor leaves a deep impression on you. You also notice her younger sister behind her, about two years younger, who seems very interested in your cat, staring as if wanting to pet it.
The talent 'Affability' takes effect. Encouraged by your gaze, the first-year junior high school girl named Maki Ichinose successfully pets the white cat. Soon, they are happily playing together. You sense that Honami's attitude toward you has grown slightly warmer.
During the roughly half-hour move, you chat with Honami. To your surprise, despite being a year younger than you, she demonstrates remarkable affinity and inclusiveness in her choice of words and social interactions. She skillfully guides the conversation's pace without making you feel awkward, despite your own reticence. You acknowledge her excellence and also learn that Honami serves as the student council president at her school.
That evening, as the newly moved-in neighbor, you visit the Ichinose household with a gift. Honami's mother appears somewhat older than her age. You notice that the Ichinose family's financial situation isn't particularly favorable. Your relationship with the Ichinose family rises from strangers to acquaintances.
"Neighbors from the start, huh?"
"Hard to tell if this is the starting scenario brought by the 'Modest Assets' talent or if it's a fixed start that always places you near the mission target."
"Better jot it down for now."
Having decided from the outset to clear this game, Ryo had prepared pen and paper, noting down key information while reading the text.
Day 2: Your white cat wakes you up. After washing up, you realize you haven't given this little master a name yet. After brief consideration, you name her 'Hotaru' after her fluorite-like sparkling eyes. After breakfast, you give Hotaru a bath. The cat feels soft and fluffy to the touch, and you enjoy the pleasure of petting her. Happiness +1.
"Hey hey, can't you go out and gather some information?"
There was nothing worth recording in the second day's description. Ryo muttered subtly about the game's progress while fast-forwarding to the next day.
[Day 3: You're obsessed with petting your cat.]
[Day 4: You're obsessed with petting your cat.]
Two more consecutive days of brief descriptions. If not for the fact that the "Cat Owner" talent specifically noted this was just a cat, Ryo would have suspected the game's protagonist was being charmed by some cat-girl or similar creature.
"Get moving already, damn it."
[Day 5: You realize you can't always stay cooped up at home, so you decide to take your cat out for a walk.]
[You run into Maki. Although she seems to have awkwardly forgotten your name, she's deeply impressed by your cat. You're forced to accept the strange nickname 'Big Brother Who Owns a Cat'.]
[During casual conversation with Maki, she inadvertently mentions her past wish to own a cat. However, due to her family situation being unsuitable for keeping pets, she had to regretfully give up the idea. Her current wish is to own a certain style of hair clip that was popular last year.]
[Talent 'Taciturn' takes effect. Somehow, you sense this is crucial information, but being naturally poor with words, you give up on further questioning.]
"It's fine to test the waters in the first simulation run. At least we obtained one piece of information."
"Judging from the text description, the hair clip should be an important item."
[Day 6: You read the following news reports on TV:]
["Regarding the recent frequent school bullying incidents, experts point out that middle school years coincide with adolescents' physical and psychological sensitive periods. Relevant educators and parents should strengthen home-school collaboration to jointly address youth mental health issues."]
["Tokyo Kōdō Ikusei High School faces criticism for occupying excessive public resources. The school held a press conference yesterday to respond."]
["The annual fireworks festival will be held at the end of this month."]
[You find this boring and continue petting your cat.]
"Game world background information, I suppose?"
[Day 7: You meet Maki's mother while going out at night and greet her friendly. Since it's quite late, you curiously ask about her whereabouts.]
[Talent 'Affability' takes effect. She perceives no ill intent from you and tells you she's been busy with work recently, often working overtime at night. You nod and tell her to take care of her health.]
"So what kind of setting is this—both affable and taciturn? A straightforward, honest person?"
Ryo twirled his pen, falling back into his long-standing bad habit of talking to himself—a habit that had once earned him dirty looks when he muttered during a movie. But it didn't matter now, since he was home alone anyway.
[Day 8: While struggling with complicated trash sorting, you received help from Honami who happened to be heading out. She patiently taught you some useful tips and expressed gratitude for how her younger sister had been happily spending time playing with your cat recently.]
"Dialogue, quick, start the dialogue!"
Seeing the mission target reappear in the description after several days, Ryo immediately became serious.
[Honami curiously asked about your school. Due to your memory loss regarding the past, you scratched your head somewhat awkwardly and admitted you were currently unemployed and job hunting. For some reason, you felt Honami actually showed a hint of envy in her expression.]
"Is a good student envious of not having to attend classes?"
With limited descriptions about Honami, Ryo could only piece together her character using these few passages.
[Day 9: While wandering the streets, you coincidentally met Honami shopping for groceries at a department store. You found her posture while selecting vegetables from the shelves very feminine, causing your affection meter to rise.]
"So easily pleased? I don't remember having such a strange talent either."
[During a conversation with Honami, you learned that tomorrow is Maki's birthday. You expressed wanting to give a gift, but were politely declined. You noticed Honami had been somewhat obsessive lately.]
"July 9th plus nine days... so July 18th?"
[Day 10: While bathing Hotaru today, you noticed what seemed like a heated argument coming from the Ichinose residence next door. Leaving a confused, soap-covered Hotaru behind, you opened the door to check the situation.]
[The noise indeed came from the Ichinose residence across the hall. Considering your current relationship with the Ichinose family, you chose not to knock, deciding to ask about it in a couple days when you had time.]
"This should be an important decision point. The criteria being 'my' relationship with the Ichinose family. Since the previous text only established that 'I' know the family, at this Day 10 crucial moment, it would be judged as failure..."
"This simulation is probably done for. Let's see if we can get a couple more useful pieces of information."
Thoughts racing through his mind, as an experienced gamer, Ryo essentially declared this simulation doomed.
[Day 11: While walking your cat, you encountered Honami rushing out. You subtly inquired about yesterday's incident, but withdrew the topic upon sensing her reluctance to discuss it. Honami asked you to look after her sister for the next couple days, explaining their mother had been hospitalized due to work exhaustion and she might be unable to care for Maki properly. You sensed there might be more to the story, but being the quiet type, you didn't press further and simply nodded in agreement.]
"Argument plus hospitalization... something must have really blown up in the Ichinose household..."
[Day 12: Maki spent the entire day at your house playing with your cat. To reassure the Ichinose family, you left your front door wide open. Maki complained to you about her mother, and though you didn't know the full story, you still comforted her by saying mothers have their own difficulties. Unexpectedly, Maki also expressed that she had her own struggles. Just as her emotional outburst reached its peak, Honami happened to return home. She pulled her somewhat agitated sister back inside while apologizing to you. You noticed that Honami seemed mentally distracted and reminded her to get some rest.]
"This is the second time Honami's mental state has been mentioned. The first time was on Day 9, right before her sister's birthday, then the argument erupted on the sister's actual birthday, and the mother's hospitalization also happened on that day..."
[Day 13: Waking up at noon, you yawned and noticed the strong sunlight, so you decided to take your quilt out to air. On the balcony, you happened to see Maki skipping cheerfully on her way out. When you asked where she was going, she replied she was visiting her mother in the hospital.]
[You found it somewhat strange because just yesterday she had been angrily accusing her mother, yet today she could go visit with a smiling face. Although children's emotions come and go quickly, you sensed something slightly unusual.]
[You knocked on the Ichinose family's door to check if Honami was home, but there was no response.]
[It wasn't until three hours later that you were shocked to learn about a certain undeniable fact.]
[Mission failed. Your current simulation has ended.]
[This simulation lasted 13 days. You may choose one talent to retain, which will be automatically used in subsequent simulations.]
[Congratulations on achieving the achievement 'First Experience', obtaining one Talent Refresh Card (Green)]
[Talent Refresh Card: Can refresh any talent. The new talent will always be Green grade.]
[Congratulations on achieving the ending: Bystander]
[Bystander: Human joys and sorrows don't interconnect. We often overlook many causes, seeing only the effects.]
[Unlocked story CG: The Guilty One]
[The Guilty One: When you can't forgive yourself, even the kindness around you feels like heavier shackles.]
[Read this story CG? (This might help your subsequent gameplay)]