"It's finally almost over."
Ryo glanced at the time beside her. It was already past one in the morning.
This simulation had taken even longer than she had expected.
Perhaps it was because…
Toru had opened a harem? And even conveniently produced a whole bunch of babies?
Speaking of babies, Sim Ryo also had a rather troublesome headache…
Her daughter, Kitahara Suzune, did not like her at all. Instead, she clung to Ikuyo every single day.
If she actually married Toru in reality, should she even give birth to that rebellious little girl who went against her own mother?
This needed serious consideration.
So as not to affect the relationship between husband and wife.
[After graduating from high school, your daughter followed her father's path and entered Todai to study medicine through a recommendation.]
[Because her father was far too famous, the daughters all hid their true identities. Ordinary passersby did not know who their parents were.]
[Even when some rumors circulated through back channels, there was never solid proof, and they usually faded away in the end.]
[Ijichi Seika's daughter, Kitahara Rei, began researching physics. In her first year of university, she flooded top-tier journals with her papers.]
[Kitahara Shio has recently been preparing for piano competitions. In private, she studies painting with her mother. She shows extraordinary talent in the arts.]
[Kitahara Yui formed a light music band during high school that sparked a huge trend. Inheriting her mother's talent, she is destined to become an unforgettable, dazzling presence in the music world.]
[Kitahara Amane began helping her father manage the company.]
[The youngest child, Kitahara Yuu, followed her father into computer science. As a multithreading prodigy, her talent is second only to Kitahara Rei.]
[After the children grew up.]
[Time seemed to speed up considerably.]
[You began to look back on the past, often reminiscing about the shy, fluttering feelings of your first year in love, and every little moment spent chasing musical dreams.]
[After turning fifty.]
[With nothing much to do, you opened a café near Shimokitazawa, entertaining friends and getting to know some new ones.]
[Most of your old acquaintances had formed families and gained irreplaceable treasures. Those who progressed faster were even holding their grandchildren already.]
[You had, in the end, grown old.]
[Though your appearance remained youthful, the aging of the heart was unavoidable.]
[Toru possessed a heart of pure sincerity. He was forever young, forever passionate, forever carrying dreams.]
[He had seen countless storms, yet returned still a kid at heart.]
[You, however, could not reach Toru's mindscape.]
[As you aged, you no longer had the energy to pursue individuality. Your hobbies gradually became more mainstream.]
[You began reading bestsellers, caring for flowers in your spare time, learning painting, tea ceremony, cooking…]
[After returning to a simpler mindset, you became better able to appreciate the beauty of everyday life.]
[At sixty.]
[With rapid technological progress, quantum computers emerged. Social productivity rose sharply, and intelligent machines replaced many basic jobs.]
[Large-scale mass demonstrations erupted across the world.]
[You sat inside the café, calm and unshaken.]
[At seventy.]
[The super artificial intelligence developed by your husband, the AI known as Skynet, Kitahara Rin (Aris), took over Japan's law enforcement system.]
[Under powerful network surveillance, crime rates dropped drastically.]
[You temporarily closed the café and began traveling with your husband, preparing for a pilgrimage to retrace the path of Kessoku Band's rise to fame, starting from the stars of Shimokitazawa and stepping onto ever greater stages.]
[After learning of your plans, Gotoh Hitori and the others put aside their work and joined in.]
[One year later, you wrote a memoir.]
[Thanks to your excellent writing and the ups and downs of the story's structure, it sold out immediately upon release.]
[After experiencing such a global journey, you no longer traveled much.]
[Your husband stayed by your side and became the café's hidden boss. Wearing glasses and a carefully groomed beard, he was mature and handsome, becoming the dream man of countless girls.]
[No one would imagine that this ordinary-looking handsome middle-aged man was actually the leading figure in global scientific research.]
[That same year.]
[Your husband privately gathered all of you together and asked whether you wished to live a little longer.]
[You answered—]
[1. "My life has already been wonderful enough. There's no need to extend it."]
[2. "You want to accompany him until the very last moment of life."]
[3. First, listen to what the others think.]
Three options…
There really was not much to think about, was there?
If this were the real world, Ryo would definitely choose 2…
Unfortunately, this was just a simulation.
If the game character lived on endlessly, she would not be sleeping tonight.
Choose 1.
[Everyone else chose a similar answer to yours.]
[Toru did not force the issue.]
[He only felt a slight sense of loneliness in his heart.]
[At eighty.]
[You noticed your body declining day by day.]
[The daughter who once disliked you gave up her work and began staying by your side.]
[Your body gradually lost its vitality, and you were eventually hospitalized.]
[Toru still showed little sign of aging.]
[He gently caressed your wrinkled, no-longer-smooth face, his gaze indescribably tender.]
[Toru reminisced about the past and asked the question he had buried deep in his heart—]
["Ryo, if I had loved only you my entire life, would you have been happier?"]
[You knew why your husband asked such a question…]
[He was merely afraid that he had not fulfilled everything an lover should have done.]
[Love cannot be quantified, but the love your husband gave you was more than enough to fill your heart.]
[That was enough.]
["Toru, I don't regret it… I have never regretted it."]
[Your voice was slightly weak, but without hesitation.]
["I see… that's good… I was always worried about you…"]
[In your ears, your husband's voice grew lighter and lighter, until you could no longer hear it clearly.]
[Fragments of memory appeared before your eyes.]
[A fleeting glance at life, yet there were hardly any sorrowful memories. Because of this man, you were happy.]
[That spring.]
[You left this world.]
[The following year.]
[Ijichi Nijika stopped breathing in Toru's arms.]
[In winter, Kita Ikuyo followed her.]
[The third year.]
[Ijichi Seika passed away.]
[The fifth year.]
[Gotoh Hitori played her final song at home.]
[The Guitar Hero account officially ceased operation.]
[Thirty years later.]
[Before his death, Toru led his team to achieve controlled nuclear fusion…]
[A hero who had struggled his entire life and brought countless blessings to humanity fell at the final moment before dawn.]
[Simulation complete.]