[Talent Acquired: Approachable (Blue)]
[Approachable (Blue)]: You naturally possess extraordinary charisma, making it easier to earn the favor and trust of others. (Effective on both males and females)
[Ichinose Honami's Self: Before each simulation begins, three random talents are upgraded. (Gold-tier talents cannot be upgraded, including initial and fixed talents)]
Talent [Approachable (Blue)] has been upgraded to [Spring Breeze Presence (Purple)]
[Spring Breeze Presence (Purple)]: You are innately kind-hearted and gentle. Everyone who interacts with you will develop a strong impression, unconsciously increasing their affection and evaluation of you. (Effective on both males and females)
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Today marked the fourth New Year since Sakayanagi Arisu met Kitagawa Ryo.
Now approaching twelve years old, Arisu had grown a bit taller but was still clearly a child. She had to stand on a chair just to reach the kitchen stove. As she watched the pot bubbling on the burner, her thoughts drifted back to a few years ago.
New Year's was considered the most important day of the year. Spending it with someone was better than being alone. Three people made it even more lively. When Arisu's father invited Kitagawa to join them for New Year's, he had that exact wish in mind.
Being alone could be endured on most days. But on New Year's Eve, with fireworks blooming in the sky and lights glittering in every home, the atmosphere seemed to act like a magic mirror, exposing the loneliness of those left behind, as if it insisted on turning them into wandering ghosts.
Arisu had always remembered her father's words. That year, she had looked forward to Kitagawa's visit with great anticipation. She had even planned a whole night of activities, taking advantage of the one night kids were allowed to stay up late with full justification.
But that night, Kitagawa didn't come. Though in the end, both kids did stay up all night. Arisu stayed by his hospital room until she eventually dozed off in the middle of the night.
The next morning, she followed her father to a shrine and prayed for a charm to protect the sick. Arisu had once thought little of such things, but later she understood: at that time, she simply needed something to hold on to. A charm was just one such thing. If someone had told her hanging a yak horn by the bed would help, she might have gone looking for one of those long-haired creatures she'd seen in books.
Starting the following year, a more mature Arisu stopped relying on charms. She instead sought out more practical New Year gifts—things that might actually help.
She remembered that it was lightly snowing that day. The snowflakes were small and fragile, melting into droplets upon hitting children's outstretched palms. It felt more like rain than snow.
Yet the festive New Year spirit made even that feeble snowfall seem romantic. Snow, like clouds in the sky, formed from vapor, but people often poured their emotions into such things.
Kids nearby were enthusiastically discussing the latest electronic greeting cards. Arisu had seen one during Christmas—a thick, foldable card that popped into a 3D castle when opened, playing a pre-set melody.
It was easily one of the most fascinating and desirable gifts for children.
Arisu decided to follow the trend. She went to a convenience store and bought the most expensive one. It wasn't about how tall the castle stood or how clear the sound was. What mattered most was its size—because it gave her more space to write.
Back home, she laid the large card on the table. After washing her hands, she returned to find the house cat, Hotaru, curiously pawing at it.
"Don't touch that. It's for Ryo."
She pulled out a chair and sat down, patting Hotaru on the head.
Since a newborn had arrived at the Kitagawa household, Hotaru's presence had become awkward. No one wanted a cat in the baby's room. So Arisu, using Ryo as an excuse, took the cat in herself.
In truth, she had been co-parenting Hotaru with Ryo for over half a year. Maybe that's why Hotaru felt close to her too.
Hearing Ryo's name, the cat obediently leapt off the table and affectionately rubbed against Arisu's palm before walking away.
With the cat issue settled, Arisu opened the greeting card. As the castle rose dramatically, a piano melody began playing at full volume.
Startled by the noise, Hotaru jumped into Arisu's lap. She couldn't find a way to turn off the music, so she simply held the cat and began writing.
Arisu was a skilled writer. The assignments at her age still involved writing based on pictures, so she thought it would be a quick task. But it was slower than expected. Half an hour passed on the wall clock, and she still hadn't written a word. Meanwhile, the card's electronic music had been playing the entire time.
Tapping her pen absentmindedly while listening, Arisu began to enjoy the tune. She used a song recognition app on her phone and quickly found the result, thanks to the card's surprisingly good sound quality.
It was Beethoven's piano classic:
"Für Elise".
Elise.
Seeing that name sparked inspiration. Arisu spread open the card, lifted her pen earnestly, and removed the scarf around her neck—it was getting in the way.
Feeling lighter, she began writing:
"When I reread Alice's Adventures in Wonderland recently, I realized my favorite part is still the mad tea party with the Mad Hatter, the March Hare, and the Dormouse.
Of course, I still don't understand why the Mad Hatter and Alice became a romantic couple in movie adaptations (I only learned the term 'CP' from classmates last month), nor why 'Why is a raven like a writing desk?' has become a coded way to say 'I like you.'
What I really care about is the punishment during that time.
The Mad Hatter was scolded by the Queen of Hearts for singing the wrong lyrics at a concert and was nearly beheaded for 'wasting time.' Though he escaped the beheading, he was punished by Time itself, doomed to live forever at six o'clock in the evening, making the tea party never-ending.
At first, I thought the Mad Hatter was a pitiful man. But then I realized, if time had stopped at midnight instead, wouldn't he have become a Sleeping Beauty who never wakes up?
I've read in many books the phrase 'I wish time could stop at this moment.' Maybe it's because we know what comes next that we make such wishes.
Freezing time at the best moment isn't such a bad ending.
Even if it repeats hundreds or thousands of times.
By the way, I'm currently studying medicine.
I may not be as good as Ryo in chess, Go, or poker, but I hope you'll still have a little faith in me.
From birth, ordinary people are destined to remain ordinary, no matter how hard they try.
But I, Sakayanagi Arisu, am a genius. Unlike the frauds in the White Room.
I will cure your illness.
That's all. Happy New Year, Ryo."
Though Arisu had kept a straight face while writing, she couldn't help feeling a little nervous when she handed the card to Ryo that night. Letting someone read your heartfelt message in front of you was such an odd feeling—and the more important that person was to you, the weirder it felt.
"Actually, I know a magic spell to freeze time."
After reading the card, Ryo placed the towering paper castle on the table. His leg muscles had begun to atrophy, so he usually stayed in bed. But today, at his insistence, the nurses helped move him to the couch.
"Eh?"
Arisu hadn't expected that to be Ryo's first response. She blinked in surprise.
Smiling, Ryo lifted his left hand with some effort and gently poked Arisu's cheek.
Click!
The sound of a camera shutter echoed from nearby. Arisu's father had been hiding just outside the door, kneeling with a camera in hand.
Their second New Year together was frozen in that moment.
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On the eve of their third New Year together, Kitagawa Ryo's condition worsened again. He began to experience difficulty swallowing and required a nurse to accompany him during meals. Around that time, most solid foods were gradually removed from his diet.
It was then that Sakayanagi Arisu began earnestly learning basic cooking techniques from the family chef.
Washing vegetables, picking them, chopping them—
Arisu learned step by step, carefully and seriously. She always recalled how she used to peel oranges for Ryo two years ago. She carried that same meticulousness into every slice of the ingredients on her cutting board.
Her father never stopped any of Arisu's actions over the years. He kept an eye on her safety while offering all the support he could. Just as Arisu had realized, he had gathered his own love together with the love once belonging to her mother, and passed it all on to her.
Hotaru sat quietly at the kitchen doorway. The cat had long since learned to never enter the kitchen.
That New Year, Sakayanagi Arisu brought Ryo a meal she had made entirely on her own.
She brought it into his hospital room and fed it to him spoonful by spoonful.
Ryo, who used to like putting on a mature act in front of her, now resembled a child.
"Hot."
She heard Ryo whisper softly. The sound felt like an electric jolt through her body, a thin, aching thread pulling tight—as if something had bitten her.
So she blew on the spoon a few more times, then lightly tested the silver edge with her lips. Once the temperature was just right, she fed it to Ryo again and quietly watched as he slowly moved his throat to swallow.
Long before she ever met Ryo, Arisu had imagined her mother—whom she'd never seen—based on the few words her father spoke and from what she'd read in books. In those dreams, this moment must have always existed.
She imagined her mother feeding her. Now, she mimicked that imagined, hazy figure she had seen so many times in dreams.
Arisu was never a child lacking in love, so she understood that love came in many forms:
Romantic love, familial love, compassion, affection…
The meal took a long time. At one point, she even had to reheat it. But Ryo finished every bite without complaint. He didn't offer any comment, and Arisu didn't ask for one.
After wiping his lips with a tissue, she leaned close and whispered into his ear:
"Happy New Year, Ryo."
"Happy New Year, Alice."
That was the last time Sakayanagi Arisu ever heard the words "Happy New Year."
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Half of ALS patients die within three years of diagnosis. Over 90% don't survive beyond five years. This year marked the fifth year since Kitagawa Ryo's diagnosis—and their fourth New Year together.
His condition was worse than during the first year. Though he was still conscious, he had lost the ability to speak. No matter how hard he tried, all that came from his throat were labored, raspy sounds.
In front of him, Sakayanagi Arisu began to present dish after dish, the result of a year of studying cuisine.
She spoke with care—sometimes explaining how many hours she had stewed a particular soup and how many times she had adjusted the heat, other times detailing how rare a certain ingredient was and how hard she had worked to find it. Occasionally, she would smile and share a funny story about accidentally swapping salt for sugar, sending her father's face pale with horror.
Kitagawa Ryo blinked at her attentively.
As she spoke, Arisu brought up the ocean. She reminisced about going to the beach many times with her father when she was younger. Even now, she missed that version of herself.
Her cane from a few years ago was now too small, but the wide-brimmed sunhat her father once gave her still shielded her from the sunlight. Arisu smiled and asked if Ryo wanted to go see the sea together in the summer. He nodded slightly—barely perceptible, but it was a promise.
So the two began planning a seaside trip. In truth, only Arisu did the talking. Ryo simply nodded or shook his head occasionally. Fortunately, his beautiful eyes still spoke volumes.
By the time they finished talking about the sea, the food Arisu had brought had already been processed by the hospital staff. Ground down to a near-fluid state, the meal had lost its original form. It flowed, bit by bit, through a nasal feeding tube into Ryo's stomach.
Ryo formed a word with his mouth:
"De-li-cious."
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