Early spring.
The temperature is still slightly cool.
Outside the half-open window, the moonlight is bright and clear. A few strands of moonlight pass through the paper screen and shine into the tatami room.
This hot spring inn is in an excellent location, overlooking distant mountains. Nestled deep in the mountains, night falls quickly, and pale mist gradually rises around the area.
Inside the tatami room.
An orange floor lamp with an antique design lights up a small area.
Because of the heavy moisture in the air, the tatami mats carry a faint moldy smell, mixed with the scent of desiccant.
Toru gazes at the distant mountains.
It is not until footsteps sound at the doorway that he comes back to his senses.
His wife had just gone to the hot spring. It should be time for her to return.
The sliding door of the tatami room is pushed open.
The first thing that enters his sight is a vivid splash of pink. Looking closer, Toru realizes it is the obi of a kimono, patterned with butterflies.
What follows is the sight of his wife, dressed in an entirely white kimono tinged with a hint of violet, its hem trimmed with pale yellow, pure and captivating beyond words.
At that moment.
Wisps of white mist drift in through the window, setting her off like a snow woman from a legend, shrouded in mysterious beauty.
"Master…"
His wife parts her lips, her voice soft and plaintive. "What tune would you like to hear?"
...
...
◇
[The long sleeves of your kimono sway gently. Two snowflakes embroidered upon them quietly bloom in the dimly lit tatami room, cool and elegant, with a touch of youthful innocence.]
[You raise a folding fan to cover half your face, cherry lips opening and closing.]
[Your singing voice is gentle and lingering, filled with affection, yet tinged with a trace of sorrow.]
[After a long while.]
[The song ends.]
[You take out the sake and small drinking cups from the room. Imitating the geisha who serve shoguns in historical dramas, you kneel before your husband. As you pour him a drink, you speak softly: "Master, please have some sake."]
[As he lifts the cup and drinks.]
[You ask again:]
["Are you satisfied with this humble girl's dancing?"]
[Toru nods.]
["Not bad."]
["Hehe, as long as Master likes it."]
[You hide your face behind the fan, thinking that this master is truly hard to please. You trained your dancing for a full month just for him, yet he does not even praise you properly.]
[After finishing a whole flask of sake.]
[Toru pretends to be drunk and beckons to you.]
["Come, into my arms."]
[Hearing this.]
[A panicked expression appears on your face as you hurriedly say: "Master, this humble girl only sells her art, not her body…"]
[Your husband refuses to let it go: "I can redeem you."]
[You retreat to the edge of the bedroom, trembling.]
["Master, this humble girl is still of tender age…"]
["That's fine. I like them young."]
[Your husband pulls open your kimono, loosening your clothes and revealing snow-white shoulders beneath, and delicate peaks that fit perfectly in his grasp.]
[You struggle for a few seconds at first.]
[Then gradually give up resisting…]
["Master, please be gentle with this humble girl."]
...
...
Tachibana Kanade returns to reality and glances around the hospital room, her small face flushing red.
The gift mentioned in the choices.
Turned out to be a couple's role-play.
And it was a geisha and customer role-play.
Without realizing it, she went all the way along with the atmosphere.
Too embarrassing.
Luckily, it was only a simulation.
Toru, the person involved, does not know.
[The next day, due to the pain of losing your virginity, you feel slightly unwell and rest at the inn for the day.]
[Toru stays by your side, planning the remaining itinerary of the honeymoon.]
[In the days that follow.]
[You tour the entirety of Izu Island, not missing a single attraction.]
[Traveling without a wheelchair is even more joyful than you imagined.]
[In the past, your husband always had to help you move around when going out.]
[This time is different.]
[You can go wherever you want, no longer restrained by your legs.]
[The trip to Izu comes to an end.]
[You then travel to Paris, as well as several other European countries.]
[The Mona Lisa in the Louvre is not particularly stunning, and the Eiffel Tower is much the same.]
[The honeymoon ends.]
[University life is about to begin.]
[The preference form Toru filled out back then was similar to yours, entering the same school as you.]
[Daily life at university is very plain.]
[Yet within that plainness lies a sense of happiness.]
[This is exactly what you hoped for.]
[This year.]
[Kessoku Band steps onto a grand stage watched by countless people.]
[Their shining figures on stage draws your gaze.]
[You do not feel envy.]
[Your dream has always been simple.]
[To live like an ordinary person.]
[Besides.]
[The most precious treasure in your heart has long been firmly held in your hands.]
[No one can take it away.]
[On the first day you turned eighteen.]
[You registered your marriage with Toru and became his lawful wife.]
[In your third year of university.]
[You picked up the piano again, something you once gave up.]
[After graduation.]
[You became an ordinary housewife, living a calm and happy life.]
[In the fourth year after marriage.]
[You begin to consider the matter of having children.]
[You are already twenty-five, the age at which you can have children.]
[After hearing your suggestion, Toru thinks for a long time.]
[To be honest.]
[He does not really want a baby.]
Why?
[Before you have had enough of your life as a couple.]
[Wouldn't having a daughter just be asking for trouble?]
A daughter…
Could it not be a boy?
Tachibana Kanade notices something strange.
[You do not quite understand your husband's way of thinking.]
[At this moment.]
[You suddenly recall a dream Toru once spoke of.]
[He wanted to conquer all the mountains, oceans, and forests, to set foot in places rarely visited by humans, and explore the mysteries of the world.]
[Your husband saved you, shattered the gilded cage, and let you soar freely beneath the blue sky.]
[And just now, you almost used another cage to trap him.]
[After understanding his dream.]
[You no longer accompany your husband in discussing the topic of children.]
I think…
That might not be the reason.
As for what the real reason is.
Tachibana Kanade cannot figure it out.
...
The reason Toru refused is actually very simple. He is afraid that another daughter who defies her father will appear. The original six are already absurd enough.
If he really got overpowered by his daughter, his lifetime reputation would be completely ruined.
[In the fifth year after marriage.]
[You attend Kessoku Band's graduation performance.]
[After their disbandment, the members of the band begin to eye your husband with renewed interest.]
[Their interactions grow increasingly close.]
[Only then do you realize.]
[The reason you were able to become Toru's girlfriend back then was entirely because the members of Kessoku Band gave up competing, devoting themselves to dreams and careers, with no time for romance.]
[So it turns out.]
[Marriage is not a once-and-for-all solution.]
[You still have to guard against rivals stealing your love.]
...