True Education: I Have a Life Simulator

"Ryo, will you leave again?"

When Karuizawa Kei asked this question, she resembled a trembling old woman. She gripped Kitagawa Ryo's shoulder tightly, as if his next words would decide her fate. The moment she sensed his hand, which had been stroking her hair, freeze mid-motion, Kei felt like even the air around them had solidified. Everything seemed so thick and sluggish that even opening her mouth and vibrating her vocal cords felt painfully difficult.

"I'll help Kei solve the problem. After that, they probably won't..."

Ryo tried to comfort her. He had truly only come back for a short return this time. His parents had already arranged his school and schedule in London, and although he might try to find time to visit Kei more often in the future or keep in touch through modern communication, those words ultimately never left his throat.

Kei's face turned pale. It was unclear if she hadn't yet understood what Ryo was saying or if she had already grasped the underlying meaning.

"Ryo… when are you leaving?"

The moment she asked that, Ryo knew she was making one last desperate attempt. He looked at her uneasy expression, and though he felt reluctant, he still answered honestly:

"About a week from now."

"Back to the UK?"

"Yeah."

Kei stared at Ryo's face for a few more seconds, as if trying to etch it into her memory, then collapsed as if her strength had been drained. It felt like the frozen ground beneath her had suddenly cracked and she was about to be swallowed whole.

Ryo noticed her mood and tried to comfort her.

"I promise, from now on, Kei will never go through those things again. I believe Kei can—"

"I don't believe."

Kei suddenly interrupted him, her voice louder than intended, startling even herself.

"I don't believe in myself, okay?"

A flood of thoughts surged through her mind—what if Ryo hadn't come back today? Maybe that would've been better. If he was only here for a short week, she couldn't accept that.

Compared to the painful truth, she'd rather keep Ryo forever preserved in her memories and in the framed photo beside her bed. That version of Ryo was the real one—the one who would never leave her.

"I don't want you to leave. You can't leave. If I'm alone... I won't make it."

Her voice became increasingly despairing, like she was speaking through a thick pane of frosted glass. Her fragmented words were soaked in desperation and pleading. She knew she was forcing Ryo into a corner, but she couldn't stop herself.

But Ryo didn't reply. Or rather, he couldn't. Should he promise her something? If he did, how would he keep it?

Perhaps outsiders couldn't fully grasp their bond, but for Ryo, Kei was the companion who had stayed by his side throughout his lonely childhood. Before he turned twelve, he had never once seen his parents. Izaki-san had always repeated that "when the time is right, your parents will come for you," but that was never something a child could believe. All Ryo could see was that he was a boy without parents.

Kei was the only one who would come close to him.

Perhaps it was because both of them were outcasts that they clung to each other. But Kei had taken up a large part of Ryo's heart.

So the two of them remained in a long silence—one that kept sinking deeper and deeper until it finally shattered.

"I..."

Ryo shook his head slightly, feeling a headache, and tried to look for another topic. When he lowered his gaze, he saw Kei's dress. Though he'd pulled her away just in time that afternoon, some coffee had still splashed onto her white one-piece. The brown stains were clearly visible.

"Kei's still wearing this dress, huh."

His attempt to change the subject was so abrupt that even he felt like he was running away. But unexpectedly, Kei was distracted. She quickly looked down and anxiously rubbed at the stains with her fingers.

"What a shame—it got dirty."

"It's okay. Actually, I think it doesn't quite fit you anymore this year."

Ryo motioned between their heights.

"You've grown a few centimeters since last year, probably three or four."

"R-Really?"

"Yeah. Why don't I take you to buy a new summer dress?"

Ryo gently took her hand and, a bit forcefully, led her into the elevator, pressing the button for the first floor.

Kei seemed a little afraid of the enclosed space. Even as people got in and out midway, she clung to Ryo's arm, hiding behind him. He could feel her body trembling—like a strange, silent craving conveyed through their contact.

For the next two hours, the two wandered through one clothing store after another like a real student couple, trying outfit after outfit. But Kei never seemed to settle on one, and Ryo just followed her into the next store.

Kei tried on a fiery red dress with her hair down.

She tied her hair in a ponytail and tried on a snowy white dress.

Her hair was long enough to handle both high and low ponytails with ease. Whenever she stood in front of the mirror beside Ryo, her honey-colored strands released a faint scent that drifted around his nose.

"I think this one looks great."

Ryo snapped back to reality and commented on the blue floral maxi dress she was currently wearing.

"Really?"

Kei stretched, revealing her beautiful figure.

"But maybe there's a better one."

She shook her head in the mirror and turned to return to the changing room.

"It's almost ten."

Ryo checked the time on his phone. Though he knew girls had a talent for shopping, spending over two hours without picking one dress did seem excessive.

"Then Ryo can come shopping with me again tomorrow."

Rustling came from behind the door. Kei's voice drifted through as she quickly changed.

It made Ryo laugh.

"If we can't decide, we'll just buy them all."

"N-No way."

Kei sounded flustered. She pressed against the door, denying his words while rapidly changing clothes.

"We have to find the one that suits me best."

Ryo sighed and leaned against the wall. He understood what she was trying to do.

He walked her to the base of her apartment. Just as he was about to wait for her to go inside, Kei, who had already reached the entrance, suddenly turned and ran back.

She said:

"Let's take a picture together."

Ryo didn't understand the timing. If they were going to take a photo, the well-lit street earlier would've been perfect. Here, under the old, yellowish streetlamp, everything was practically pitch black.

"Sure."

But he wouldn't refuse her. Ryo always felt a lingering guilt when looking at Kei—especially when she stared straight into his eyes.

They found a patch of light under the streetlamp. As they got closer, they saw two moths fluttering wildly around the bulb. Ryo extended his phone-holding arm as far as he could, but it still wasn't enough to fit them both well into the frame.

"Just get closer."

Kei suddenly pressed her face to his. Their cheeks were now touching, their breaths overlapping. Ryo had the illusion that they were sharing the same breath.

"Cheese!"

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kei looking seriously into the camera.

He tapped the shutter. In the bright flash, their second photo together was born.

"Feels like one of those sticker photo booth shots."

Kei browsed the photo and remarked with satisfaction. She headed up the stairs, and after a few steps, she turned back to look at Ryo standing below.

"Do you still remember the photo from our elementary school graduation?"

"We were secretly holding hands, hiding behind the crowd."

She smiled playfully, her voice calm and full of joy.

"I'm really glad you came back to find me, Ryo."

-------------------------------------

After watching Karuizawa Kei return home, Kitagawa Ryo dialed Horikita Manabu's number. With about an eight- to nine-hour time difference between London and Tokyo, it was already around 10 PM in Tokyo, which meant it should be around noon in London.

It was only then that Ryo realized he hadn't experienced any jet lag after traveling such a long distance today. As soon as he became aware of this, a wave of exhaustion washed over him, like a tightly wound string suddenly relaxing. Even his tone turned sluggish.

"Hello, this is Horikita Manabu."

"Ah, it's Kitagawa."

Ryo let out a heavy yawn. He answered half-heartedly while slowly making his way back toward the hotel. Tonight, he had deliberately told Izaki not to come pick him up. After all, Izaki had spent the entire afternoon gathering information for him and was probably already fast asleep in the hotel room.

"Ryo, you must be back in Tokyo now, right?"

Ryo heard the creak of a chair as Manabu seemed to stand up on the other end.

"Yeah, I've been back for half a day now. I also finished the task you asked me to do."

Ryo recalled his earlier encounter with Horikita Suzune.

"Your sister didn't seem out of the ordinary. She was eating and studying at the restaurant you mentioned, reading Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None."

"Hah, your sister sure has guts. At her age, I know kids who cry just from hearing the 'Ten Little Soldiers' nursery rhyme."

He yawned again.

Manabu noticed Ryo's state and asked with concern, "You sound tired."

"Yeah, Kei's situation has been draining. I haven't had a good rest yet."

"I see," Manabu said, recalling what Ryo had told him previously about Karuizawa Kei. "Did you manage to resolve it?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe. It seems resolved but not completely."

Ryo furrowed his brows and gave this vague answer.

"Enough about me. You, the escapist older brother, should be explaining things properly to me."

"...Come to think of it, aren't you a bit too interested in the 'younger sister' trope?"

"That's just the fantasy of an only child imagining familial bonds," Ryo admitted candidly. "Honestly, I used to hope my parents were hiding a little sister from me or something."

"You wouldn't think that way if you actually had one."

"Especially not after meeting you," Ryo joked.

He heard Manabu sigh over the phone.

"To be fair, I did have some influence on how Suzune turned out."

"What's her hair like now?"

"Uh, what do you mean? You want me to comment on its texture or whether she's balding?"

"Just asking whether it's long or short."

"Oh, definitely long. A classic, straight black hairstyle."

Ryo recalled the composed girl he had seen in the restaurant.

"It suits her well."

"Would you believe me if I said it's because I once casually mentioned I liked long hair?"

"Of course. After all, you've been driven all the way to London and soon to that rigid Advanced Nurturing High School because of her. If your influence wasn't that strong, you wouldn't be running away."

"...I thought that by leaving, her condition would improve."

"Enough. I don't want to hear any more of your sibling drama. I only called to let you know that I'm out of it now."

Ryo's mind was still wrapped up in Karuizawa Kei's situation, and he had no desire to get involved with what clearly seemed like a troublesome girl.

Though, Kei herself was also a problematic child.

Manabu was silent for a long while, clearly hesitating.

"Ryo, do you know why your parents allowed you to return to Tokyo this time?"

"Izaki mentioned something about a reason, but he didn't tell me."

"Well, the biggest reason was to have you meet Suzune."

A chill ran down Ryo's spine as he remembered how familiar the Horikita and Kitagawa families were. He had met Manabu precisely because the Horikita family frequently visited his home.

"Wait, wait, this isn't turning into a romance manga plot, is it?"

Manabu sighed.

"As unbelievable as it may sound, there really is an engagement arranged between you and Suzune."

Just as this bombshell dropped and scrambled Ryo's brain, he received a message from Karuizawa Kei:

"I'm home~! Ryo, you'll still be with me tomorrow, right? ノ( ◕ ‿ ◕ )ノ"

Immediately afterward, a second message came in from Shiina Hiyori:

"I finished reading Eight Million Ways to Die, the one Kitagawa-kun recommended. I really want to talk to you about it."

"Ah, sorry, I forgot you're currently in Tokyo. It must be late there. Please ignore this if it's a bad time."

With a snap, Kitagawa Ryo shut off his phone.