A blazing summer day.
Inside a room filled with the faint scent of a young girl.
Kita Ikuyo was running a simulation.
The screen scrolled slowly.
[Spring. You're practicing guitar diligently, preparing for the upcoming live performance.]
[In this lovely season of blooming cherry blossoms.]
[Yamada Ryo and Kitahara Toru started dating.]
Kita rubbed her eyes.
Did I read that right?
Ryo-senpai and Toru-kun are dating?
She glanced at the in-game date, unable to believe it.
What the hell!
Ryo-senpai managed to win over Toru-kun in just five months?
What on earth happened between those two when I wasn't looking?
Ryo-senpai, why are you so experienced?
How many times have you secretly done this before?
How far ahead of me do you plan to run before you're satisfied?
Kita felt her whole body go numb.
It was as if she'd been hit by double the NTR damage. Her favorite man and Ryo-senpai getting married, what kind of hellish painting was that?
She suddenly remembered an old internet joke.
Recently, the Tokyo Art Museum displayed an oil painting titled Kita Practicing Guitar.
On the canvas, a man and a woman were entwined on a luxurious bed.
A reporter asked, "Who is the woman in the painting?"
The painter replied, "Ryo."
"And the man?"
"Toru."
The reporter frowned. "Then where's Kita?"
The painter smiled. "Kita is practicing guitar."
"Ahhhhhh!!!"
No, please, not that!
As the fantasy ended, Kita clutched her head, slammed it into her pillow several times, then collapsed face-first onto the bed.
Ryo-senpai and Kitahara-kun getting married? At least wait until ten years after I'm dead.
[Ryo and Toru's relationship didn't affect your friendship.]
[However, whenever Toru talks with you, he always ends up mentioning his cute little girlfriend.]
[You smile, but only you know the bitterness behind it.]
[You love him, yet he will never return your feelings. It hurts. It hurts so much.]
So I've been left out, huh?
Hehe~
Heh~
Kita's mental state was clearly unstable.
The shock was too much to bear.
Her thoughts turned into a chaotic whirlpool.
Haha, the guy I like is dating Ryo-senpai. What kind of dream is this?
She closed her eyes.
After a few seconds, she opened them again.
Oh, so it wasn't a dream.
Heh.
[It's alright, Kita. When those two have a child someday, you can help raise it!]
[Cheer up. A bright future is waiting for you!]
A… child?
The words struck her like a revelation.
Genius!
Absolute genius!
Such a clever simulator, how did I not think of that?
Right, right, there's still the child!
If I die early enough in the simulation, maybe—if I'm lucky—I could reincarnate as Ryo-senpai's baby, born from her womb!
Ah, amazing!
To be reborn as an idol's child, what a supreme honor!
As a devoted fan of Ryo-senpai, Kita seemed to be… well, not exactly normal.
[…Your friendship with Ryo is also steadily deepening.]
This time, her chosen simulation partner was Ryo. Logically, that should've brought her double the joy.
Instead, the simulator hit her with a double NTR combo.
[The other members of Kessoku Band had mixed reactions upon hearing the news.]
[Hitori clasped her hands together, her expression serene and divine like a Buddha.]
[To her, all things in the world are illusions. Nothing truly exists. All is emptiness.]
What a peaceful face.
It felt like Bocchi-chan was one step away from enlightenment.
Who did this to you?
Oh.
Ryo-senpai. Never mind then.
[Nijika looked pitiful as she begged Ryo to treat Toru well. When she got home, she hid under her blanket and cried for a long time.]
Poor thing.
Ijichi-senpai must really like Kitahara-kun too, right?
Then how about this, why don't we all just become Kitahara-kun's lovers?
Let's create a world where only Ryo-senpai gets hurt!
That's what she thought.
After all, if everyone's destined to be lonely in the simulation, might as well all become Toru's mistresses. At least then everyone could live happily ever after.
What, you're asking what Ryo thinks?
Come on, it's just a simulation. As long as we're having fun, who cares?
It's not like simulated Ryo-senpai can jump out of the screen and punch me, right?
Hehe, that would be so funny.
Alright, it's decided.
This time, she would put a nice big green hat on dear Ryo-senpai's head, so Ryo would never forget her.
As a fan, being remembered by your idol forever, even out of hatred, was such an honor.
[Time flows like water.]
[At the end of spring, when the cherry blossoms have fallen.]
[The school distributed the course survey forms for future plans.]
[While filling it out, you happened to hear Toru's goal—Tokyo University, Faculty of Medicine, Science III.]
[You decide to: ]
[1. Take the Tokyo University entrance exam with him. (Success rate: 5%)]
[2. Bring handcuffs and sleeping pills, wait for him on his way home, kidnap him, and lock him in the basement. "Toru-kun, I love you. Never leave me, okay?" (Yandere face)]
[3. Choose a different path—study the essential arts of seduction and bedroom skills that every blonde rival must master.]
[4. Confess your love sincerely, and when Toru rejects you, jump from the rooftop, splattering into a bloody mess, leaving him haunted with regret forever.]
[5. Jumping hurts too much. A speeding truck sounds better.]
[6. Simulate it yourself.]
Ah…
These options…
Kita's expression grew solemn.
"They're all irresistible. How am I supposed to choose?"
The first one—taking the Tokyo University exam—had a 5% success rate? That's ridiculously high.
Normal people have less than a one-in-ten-thousand chance!
Definitely a contender.
The second one—aww, that's great too!
Locking up your crush in a little dark room, that's classic yandere plot perfection.
If not this time, I'll try it later.
The third one, could I not pick that?
Using powerful bedroom skills to make Toru-kun drown in desire.
Turning into a puppy wagging her tail, begging for his affection. Hehe, so cute~
The fourth one.
Kita gasped sharply.
Terrifying.
Too tempting. She truly didn't know what to do.
Even knowing it would kill her, just imagining Toru living with lifelong regret made her heart race.
The fifth option.
A truck, huh? That's new territory.
If she got hit by a truck, maybe she'd get isekai'd to another world. Awesome!
"Can I pick all of them?" she asked carefully.
[…]
Why aren't you answering?
[The simulator believes it's best if you, uh… hold on. Updating options.]
[1. Take the Tokyo University exam with him. (Success rate: 5%)]
[2. Strive toward your own dream, and make Kessoku Band shine brighter than ever.]
[3. If I love you, it won't be like the climbing vine that leans on a tree to show off. The longest confession of love is silent companionship. Stay quietly by Toru's side.]
"Boring."
The new options were dull.
So Kita chose the least boring among the boring three.
Option 1.
Five percent. Pretty high. Worth a shot.
————