"A story about stealing for the sake of family, huh?"
"Looks like the chapter's mission is to erase that incident from Ichinose's past..."
After reading the "Guilty One" CG, Ryo had basically pieced together the timeline and what happened.
"The main reason I failed the first time was because I didn't build any meaningful relationship with the Ichinose family in the first ten days. So when the major incident hit, I had no standing to intervene."
He skimmed the notes he had written down in his notebook.
"'Stabbed to the Soul' basically did nothing. Even if it says it might affect the ending, if it doesn't help me progress the mission, it's useless—even for a purple-grade talent."
"'Taciturn' was a complete liability this time. Dropped."
"'Cat Owner' only helped me get close to Ichinose's sister, which gave me some indirect info... but I wasted a few days on that."
"'Charm' is good for building trust, but with just a green rating, it didn't extract anything valuable. Might've clashed with 'Taciturn.'"
"The key for 'Property Owner' is whether the apartment spawns near the Ichinose household. I'm also wondering how players are even supposed to approach the mission target without a talent like this."
After some thought, Ryo made his decision.
[You've chosen to retain 'Property Owner' (Blue)]
[Talent has been locked. Begin the second simulation?]
[Ding—Life Restart Simulator is now active.]
[Please enter a name for your character.]
[Random name selected.]
[Now beginning Chapter One: Ichinose Honami's Summer Replay]
[Five talents drawn for this run:]
[Gold – Bond of a Lifetime: You and the chapter heroine are childhood friends. Your lives are deeply entwined. No matter what happens, you will never abandon each other—even if it means being stubborn, shameless, or meddlesome. (From youth to maturity, through schools, rumors, and time—you walked together.)]
"A gold-grade talent, huh? Finally."
[Purple – Tokyo Pretty Boy: Your charm skyrockets. (This talent has potential side effects.)]
"Way more useful than that vague one last time. But... the downside sounds sketchy."
[Blue – Guardian Knight: You excel at protecting women. In emergencies, you unleash surprising power. ('Let go of that girl!')]
"Eh... would've preferred a cat again."
[Blue – Heir of Prestige: Your family has notable local influence. ('Reincarnated as the Rich Fool')]
"Wait, what is this, an ancient noble family trope? Shouldn't this be higher than blue?"
[Green – Younger Girl Magnet: Girls younger than you are strangely attracted to you. ('Straight-to-jail Protagonist')]
"...Nope. Refreshing this one."
Though he didn't get any white-grade talents this time, that green one was too cursed. Ryo used his recently acquired Talent Refresh Card.
[Refreshing 'Younger Girl Magnet'...]
[Success.]
[New Talent: 'Target of Younger Girls' Affection' (Green): Girls younger than you are still strangely attracted to you. ('Straight-to-jail Protagonist +1')]
"This one's basically the same thing... great."
[Locked Talent – 'Property Owner' (Blue): You own an 80m² apartment in Tokyo and have 5 million yen in savings.]
[Talent Selection Complete.]
[Objective for Chapter One: Identify and correct Ichinose Honami's life-defining incident.]
Ryo let out a breath.
Compared to his first run (1 purple, 2 blue, 1 green, 1 white), this new loadout of 1 gold, 1 purple, 3 blue, 1 green was a huge improvement. And that gold-grade Bond of a Lifetime? It basically solved the trust issue with Honami. This time, his odds of success were significantly better.
The CG scene still lingered in his mind. Even though it was just a game, something inside him genuinely wanted to save her. He chuckled self-deprecatingly.
Maybe that's the luxury of fiction—having the strength to care about someone else's pain.
Because in real life... he could barely save himself.
[Simulation Start]
[Day One: July 9th. The sweltering Tokyo summer was in full swing. People hurried through the streets, shielding themselves from the sun with umbrellas or walking along the shadowed edges of rooftops and trees. Air conditioners in cars ran at full blast. Glancing at your watch, you rolled down the window of your Mercedes S600 and whistled at Ichinose Honami as she exited a nearby convenience store.]
"Why does this feel like a sudden shift in tone...? A rich heir meets diligent girl kind of cliché."
Ryo blinked at the new scene. Still, it intrigued him. He sat back, poured himself a glass of water from the hot kettle, and kept reading with growing interest.
[Day Two: After dropping Ichinose Honami off at her new part-time job, you wandered the streets aimlessly. You remembered that her sister Maki's birthday was on July 22nd, just two days after Honami's own birthday. But unlike Maki, who still looked forward to her presents, Honami had long stopped caring—since she was seven, in fact.]
[Your relationship had long surpassed the stage of exchanging birthday gifts. You and Honami naturally shared parts of your lives. She used the umbrella you gave her whenever it rained, while the alarm clock she gave you still woke you up every morning. The white cat you once raised together had passed away and was buried in the park where you played as children. When you tried to gift her a new one, she'd simply said, "There'll never be another like her. One is enough." So you gave the kitten to Maki instead, as a birthday present. The little thing was probably still growing up healthily today.]
[Before you realized it, you had wandered into a department store. In the accessories section, you searched for a specific hair clip—the one Honami had wanted to buy for her sister. It cost over 10,000 yen, not a big deal for you, but Honami would never let you gift it to her sister. Raised well by her pragmatic mother, Honami had strong principles about money, especially in front of her younger sister. You didn't dislike that about her. In fact, you respected it.]
[Day Three: That morning, you received a text from your junior, Hirata Yosuke. Both he and Honami were in their third year of middle school, while you were one year ahead. Yosuke attended a private school owned by your family—your alma mater as well. You met him during a school bullying incident where his friend attempted suicide. You happened to be there and pulled him back from the edge, saving him from what could've been paralysis. Afterward, you cracked down on the bullying at school. No scandals leaked out, and Yosuke deeply admired you ever since. Overall, you had a decent relationship.]
[Yosuke's message invited you to a friendly soccer match between his school and a neighboring one. As the former student council president and soccer team captain, your influence still lingered even half a year after graduation. Since there was no rule banning alumni from playing, you agreed to join. You had nothing better to do anyway.]
[That night, after picking up Honami from work, you asked if she wanted to watch the match. She seemed unsure but said she'd come if she finished early. You could've arranged for her to get off work sooner, but knowing her personality—only earning what she worked for—you didn't interfere. You just smiled and said, "No worries."]
[Day Four: You returned to your alma mater's field for the first time in a while. Yosuke energetically introduced you to the new team members and freshmen. The match was far more extravagant than expected—maybe because it was summer break, the stands were packed with students from both schools. They had even prepared banners and cheer squads.]
[Thanks to your skills and stamina, you quickly became the center of attention. But the opposing team was strong too. After your early goal and assist, they adjusted their strategy, doubling their defense on you. By halftime, the score was 2–1 in your team's favor.]
[During the break, the cheerleaders performed. While replying to Honami's "I just got off work, be there soon" text, you noticed a girl in the rival squad moving stiffly and looking uneasy. You quietly memorized her face.]
[The second half was another intense clash. In the final moments, you scored the winning goal: 5–4. As the crowd erupted in cheers, a striker took the mic and confessed to a girl in the stands. Amid chants of "Say yes! Say yes!", she blushed and accepted.]
[Encouraged by the atmosphere, students all around began confessing—some serious, some joking. As you left the field, you ran into a crowd shoving someone your way. The vibrant yellow cheerleader uniforms caught everyone's eyes.]
[The leader of the group playfully pushed a girl toward you. "Hey, this girl has something to tell you!" she announced. Instantly, the crowd's attention shifted.]
[The girl they pushed out was the same one from earlier—the awkward one. You were sure you'd never seen her before.]
["I-I... I like you! Please go out with me!"]
[Her voice trembled. She bowed so deeply it was almost a right angle. Behind her, you heard whispers—"Ugly freak in heat," "Toad aiming for a swan." You instantly realized this was bullying.]
[You'd seen it before. Girls sometimes forced victims to confess to boys they didn't like, the sloppiest in class, or the most popular—just to humiliate them.]
["Hey, senpai, what do you say? Gonna accept her confession?"]
[They looked thrilled, ready to watch the drama unfold.]
[You remembered something Honami once said about bullying:]
["Once you see bullying, you can't look away. Because for the victim, a bystander is no different than an attacker."]
[So, you said yes.]
[New CG Unlocked: Pseudo-Love]
[Pseudo-Love: Intense emotion isn't proof of love—it only shows how lonely and bored those people once were.]
[Would you like to read this CG scene? It may help with future gameplay.]