84: The Simulation You See Is Their Entire Life

"Not even this?"

Utaha asked playfully, her smile growing more pronounced. 

Chisato, on the other hand, started to regain some of the familiarity he had with her from their time together in the simulated life.

As the unfamiliarity faded away, he began to feel less constrained.

"You're really not afraid I'll pounce on you in the next second? There's no one else in your house," Chisato said, putting down his coffee.

Utaha's smile deepened.

"It's because I know you won't do that that I brought you home. Oh, and by the way, you're the first guy I've ever brought home."

"You're really confident in your judgment, but what was with that added explanation?"

"Don't play dumb. You're smiling pretty widely. Do you need me to bring you a mirror?"

"Ahem… Back to the point. I came here to discuss something serious with you, but seeing you like this, I've confirmed some of my thoughts."

"You mean that unusual dream?"

Chisato nodded.

"Hmm…"

Utaha adjusted her posture, crossing her hands on her lap, her fingers tapping lightly on her thighs from time to time.

"We really do need to talk about the unnatural things happening to us. Can you tell me about your dream?"

"I don't mind."

As he had planned, Chisato didn't mention the system he had, presenting himself as innocent and clueless, just like Utaha and Sawamura Eriri.

He briefly described the story of his dream from the last few days, explaining how he learned about the school Utaha and Eriri attended from other students and how he decided to verify things today.

After about twenty minutes of explaining, Utaha's remaining wariness disappeared completely.

As she suspected, he remembered the events of the dream, just like her.

The coffee had gone cold, so Chisato finished it in one gulp.

Utaha watched him drink it, noticing how his habits and mannerisms matched those of his dream self. Her eyes softened.

"If it's not enough, you can have mine. I haven't touched it."

"No, thanks."

"I see. But if you insist on drinking my leftovers, I wouldn't mind."

"Kasumigaoka…"

"Call me Utaha."

"…"

"Just Utaha is fine."

Meeting her smiling gaze, Chisato felt a bit flustered.

He had prepared himself for the possibility that they might be too deeply immersed in their dreams and might act in ways he couldn't handle. 

But no matter how much he anticipated, he hadn't expected things to be this intense.

Her legs, wrapped in knee-high socks, were tapping quickly, and her flushed cheeks revealed an uncontrollable excitement. 

Since she sat down, her eyes hadn't left his face for a moment.

At this moment, the seemingly harmless girl, with her particularly good figure, resembled not a restless house cat, but more a predator locking onto its prey.

In a way, she was exuding a strong sense of aggression.

And there was no question about who her target was.

"Kasumigaoka, this is our first time meeting."

Chisato took a deep breath, putting on a serious expression and speaking in the most formal tone he could muster. 

He hoped she would face reality, recognizing that they had just met and understanding the difference between dreams and reality.

Utaha pouted slightly but reluctantly toned down her emotions a bit.

"I understand."

"Good. I'd like to hear your thoughts on all this."

"I don't have any special thoughts." 

"The content of the dreams we experienced was nearly identical, which means the dreams were the same for both of us, with the only difference being our roles and perspectives."

She shared her theory.

"The situations, living places, schools, and relationships in the dream world are vastly different from reality, so I guess that this unnatural dream isn't connected to time, the past, or the future."

"It might be events that happened to us in another dimension, now being projected into our minds as dreams."

A parallel universe hypothesis.

It was a rather reasonable explanation.

But it wasn't the answer Chisato was hoping for.

If possible, he wanted to guide these dream-obsessed girls back to reality, helping them focus on what mattered in the real world.

So, Chisato offered a different perspective.

"Have you considered that these dreams might be illusions, all just made up?"

Utaha looked at him intently.

"You're saying that everything we experienced in the dreams didn't really happen?"

"I just want to consider more possibilities."

"There's no such possibility. It's all real, without a doubt."

"Why are you so sure?"

"Because I can cook now."

Utaha stood up and sat down beside him.

Their eyes met at a close distance, and their warm breaths mingled.

"Three days ago, I didn't even know how to hold a kitchen knife, but now I can make a three-course meal in forty minutes if the ingredients are available."

"I also know how to take care of a baby, like testing milk temperature with the back of my hand, or how to hold a baby so she can drink milk peacefully without burping." 

"I'm confident I could be a competent mother if I got pregnant right now."

"If you say that suddenly learning all this is just a coincidence of natural talent, then the fact that even Eriri, who's a bit of an idiot, learned it too proves that the dreams we experienced aren't fictional, as you suggested."

"…"

"Besides, you have a mole under your right shoulder blade, don't you? And if I'm not mistaken, right now, you're leaning slightly to the left, aren't you?"

"…"

Chisato gulped quietly, shifting slightly to the right to avoid the hand that Utaha was reaching towards his lap.

Facing this black-socked girl, he was drenched in cold sweat, feeling completely overwhelmed.

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