My Love Simulation with Them

[At the moment you see her coming down the stairs, a perfect and just right look of "surprise" appears on your face.]

[Her face shows some confusion and suspicion at your sudden appearance and perfect timing encounter.]

[But even upon scrutinizing you, she can't sense anything from your usual expression.]

[Moreover, since you already have a close relationship with her, and her guard is fully down, she doesn't think about the tracker at all.]

[As if not noticing the change in her expression, you greet her in your usual tone and pace.]

[Your natural expression makes her feel inexplicably guilty for having doubted you earlier.]

[She couldn't believe she doubted her friend; she thought to herself, and completely let her guard down, greeting you with her usual sunny attitude.]

[You explain that you jog every morning and mention you wanted to try a longer route today. Meeting her was purely a coincidence.]

[Chisato, who already had little suspicion, fully accepted your explanation and believed that your encounter here was perhaps a delightful coincidence.]

[Besides, she wasn't opposed to interacting with you, and every conversation with you made her feel quite happy.]

[As you both walked and talked, you didn't forget to ask her why she was up so early and about the specifics of her situation.]

[She had always felt guilty for hiding such things from you, as you had been friends for quite a while, yet she never revealed any personal details.]

[She knew that this time, she probably couldn't hide it anymore, and finally decided to confess to you.]

In the simulation, various memories began to flash in Minami's mind.

Eventually, the scene froze at a civic park not far from Chisato's home.

"Ah, you should know that orphanages and similar care institutions in Japan are places that adopt orphans and take care of them until they grow up."

Standing on a swing in the park, swinging back and forth, Chisato tilted her head and spoke in a lively voice.

"I know a little."

Minami, sitting on a nearby swing, nodded and watched her swing.

"Heh... As expected of the well-informed Minami-san, since you know, that makes things easier."

The swing stopped, and immediately came Chisato's energetic voice:

"Takina and I were both adopted and raised by an orphanage nearby."

Upon hearing this, Minami quickly thought of the other black-haired girl who was often with Chisato Nishikigi—Takina Inoue.

So, there was actually such a hidden truth behind them.

Such matters are certainly not something one would easily reveal to others.

Chisato placed her finger on her pink lips:

"The orphanage that raised me provided my living expenses, and even my current dormitory."

At this point, she couldn't help but sigh.

Her usual energetic tone became low.

"But how should I put it... I guess it's because of poor management. Due to a long-term imbalance between income and expenditure, the orphanage has been struggling to make ends meet. In fact, even today, the orphanage's basic expenses are becoming difficult to cover—"

"To put it simply, we're pretty much doomed."

Thud!

Chisato gracefully and cutely jumped off the swing, standing in front of Minami. She clapped her fair hands and made a playful "oops, we're done for" gesture.

Even at this point, this energetic girl still had the presence of mind to joke in front of Minami.

Although Minami knew she was trying to lighten the mood with humor, the topic was still rather heavy.

And frankly speaking, what Chisato said didn't quite align with what Minami knew of the Lycoris Recoil storyline.

But upon further consideration…

In this world, there were no ruthless terrorists, no Tokyo constantly being attacked, and no organization making money from killings.

What existed here was just a normal orphanage, and Chisato Nishikigi and Takina Inoue, who were working hard for it.

In this world, they were just ordinary girls, naturally constrained by money.

Minami fell into a brief silence.

The atmosphere grew a bit heavy.

For some reason, when Chisato saw the usual optimistic Minami fall silent, her chest tightened.

This feeling... was probably her first time feeling this way facing a boy?

Not wanting to see Minami's silent expression, she thought for a while and decided to make a funny noise to liven up the mood.

"Wuwu, it's over, Minami-kun, now that you know all this, come pity poor Chisato-sama."

This was meant to be a teasing remark to lighten the mood.

But—

"I won't pity you."

Minami's voice sounded.

This made Chisato, who was still making funny noises, freeze.

But Minami seemed not to notice her expression.

Under her gaze, he calmly continued in a clear tone:

"I won't empathize with you either."

At this point, he shook his head:

"Sympathizing with you or empathizing with you is just an insult to your efforts in life. I will bless you, but I will never pity you because you, who are striving to improve your situation, don't need anyone's pity."

Yes.

Chisato Nishikigi didn't need anyone's pity.

Sympathizing with someone or empathizing with them without their consent would only be rude to those who were working hard.

Minami believed that with her optimistic and cheerful heart, Chisato would definitely be able to overcome the difficulties on her own.

Minami's words were very calm, but each word deeply impacted Chisato Nishikigi's heart.

She blinked and stared blankly at the young man in front of her for a long time, unable to say anything.

After a while, under his gaze, she turned her head and randomly wiped her face with her sleeve.

"Crying?"

"No, I'm not!"

She hit Minami on the back, her eyes red as she puffed up her cheeks angrily: "Honestly... you always say things that make me feel embarrassed."

She complained, but the dissatisfaction in her voice was almost unnoticeable.

Minami and she fell into silence again.

But this time, the silence didn't last long.

She suddenly looked up, mumbling in a small voice, somewhat awkwardly.

"But... thank you for saying something like that to me."

"What? I didn't hear that."

Minami tilted his head, pretending not to hear.

"You jerk! You clearly heard it!"

Chisato voiced her displeasure.

"I really didn't hear it."

"Forget it! I'm not saying it again, I'm too shy!"

"Eh? Say it again, I'll listen carefully this time."

Minami's teasing voice.

"It's too embarrassing, I'm not saying it again."

This time, she dragged out the words, hands on her hips, once again showing the lively sparkle in her eyes.

She extended her fair finger, making a cute face at him.

Seeing his unwilling expression, she slightly curved her lips, tilted her head, and smiled.

[She looked as beautiful as a flower in the early morning.]

[You clearly recognized this, but at the same time, you didn't forget to ask if she had taken any measures to improve the orphanage's financial situation.]

[In response, she seemed quite confident, stating that the headmaster had opened a café called 'Riko-Riko'. In addition to coffee, the café also served some desserts and dishes.]

[They hoped to stabilize the orphanage's financial situation by relying on the income from the 'Riko-Riko' café.]

(TL Notes: Lyco-Reco" (Riko-Riko) a Japanese-style café in the old downtown area of Tokyo. The cafe takes in orders for anything from delicious coffee to sugary sweets... and perhaps a little something extra like dealing with kids, business negotiations, love advice, one-on-ones about zombies and giant monsters, and more. "No matter what you order, we'll serve it up...!")

"Relying on a café to support the orphanage's finances?"

In the real world, Minami felt deeply skeptical as he read this passage.

How could a small restaurant support the expenses of an orphanage...?

How popular would the business need to be for that to happen?

A niche hand-drip coffee shop... could it really become that popular?

And the following text in the simulation confirmed Minami's thoughts.

[When you asked her about the café's financial situation, her previously confident demeanor suddenly turned gloomy.]

[It turned out that although the 'Riko-Riko' café had opened smoothly, its business wasn't very promising due to factors like its location.]

[Of course, the main reason was that the 'Riko-Riko' café didn't have a qualified head chef.]

[While 'Riko-Riko' mainly focused on coffee and desserts, it also tried to serve dishes to help supplement the orphanage's finances.]

[However, both Chisato Nishikigi and Takina Inoue could only cook a few passable home-style dishes, and at the café, they were mainly doing odd jobs as waiters, unable to fulfill the role of head chef.]

[Without a qualified head chef to take charge, the already mediocre business of 'Riko-Riko' was struggling—its operations mainly sustained by a few regular customers coming in to play games.]

[This situation meant that not only was the café unable to support the orphanage, it might even be losing money.]

[However, with their financial situation, they couldn't afford to hire a new qualified head chef. Over the past few days, both Chisato Nishikigi and Takina Inoue had been running around trying to solve this problem.]

[The result was, as expected, not great.]

[You quietly listened to her troubles, and after thinking for a moment, you suggested that perhaps you could try being the head chef.]

[Chisato Nishikigi, usually so optimistic, seemed a bit unsure about your self-recommendation.]

[Finding a restaurant head chef wasn't an easy task, and it wasn't simply about being able to cook a few home-style dishes.]

[She tried to talk you out of it, but in the end, she couldn't change your determined attitude and agreed to let you try working at 'Riko-Riko' café.]

"Finally, a new scene has opened up."

Minami breathed a sigh of relief as memories from the simulation resurfaced in his mind.

Until now, his interactions with Chisato had been limited to just a chance encounter at Shimokitazawa Square.

With only one place to meet, their encounters had been rather singular.

But now, there was a new place to interact with Chisato Nishikigi, and he expected there would be better encounters here.

As for being the head chef…

To be honest, Minami wasn't particularly worried about that.

Although it was his simulation self, he still had an LV4 cooking skill.

Being a head chef in a café—this wasn't a challenge.

Everything appeared to be going smoothly on the surface.

But...

"Although a new map has opened, the reason Chisato Nishikigi left without a word in the previous round is still unclear."

Minami's eyes were filled with confusion.

Yes.

Things were developing in a good direction, but the question that had been bothering him remained unresolved.

He could only continue reading.

[Under Chisato Nishikigi's lead, you soon arrived at the 'Riko-Riko' café.]

[Here, you also met several people, including Mika, the café's manager, Mizuki Nakahara, and Kurumi.]

[Takina Inoue, who you already knew, seemed surprised by your arrival, looking at Chisato Nishikigi in disbelief as if asking what was going on. But Chisato Nishikigi just shrugged and playfully stuck out her tongue to dismiss her concerns.]

[The others seemed confused about your arrival.]

[After Chisato Nishikigi introduced you, their confusion turned to surprise.]

[Your overly youthful appearance made them unable to believe that you could handle the role of head chef at a café.]

[You didn't explain much, simply washed your hands carefully, walked to the counter, opened the fridge, and started selecting ingredients.]

[Start cooking.]

[You made a well-prepared, perfectly cooked Spanish seafood paella, rated 4.3 stars.]

[Half an hour later, the frying pan containing your seafood paella was licked clean.]

[Your outstanding skills earned the recognition of all the members at 'Riko-Riko'.]

[However, before officially becoming the head chef, the café's manager, Mika, had a serious conversation with you.]

[He told you earnestly that the salary here wasn't as high as you might have expected, and with such skills, you could surely shine in a better restaurant.]

[In response, you didn't say much, just gave a deep look at Chisato Nishikigi, who was proudly showing off your presence to the other 'Riko-Riko' staff.]

[Chisato Nishikigi seemed to sense something, as she caught your gaze. Her usually outgoing demeanor made her pale face flush for the first time.]

[It seemed like she understood something from both of your gazes, and Mika, sensing the change, broke off the topic and didn't say anything more.]

[You officially started working as the head chef at 'Riko-Riko'.]