Chapter 59: The Petite Senior Seems a Bit World-Weary.

[Ibuki Yuko expresses her gratitude for saving her in time, but you don't see any trace of fear or relief on the girl's face.]

[People on the roadside gather around, asking about your situation. You and Ibuki Yuko politely thank them and turn to leave.]

[You watch the girl's back. Despite the ordeal she just went through, her eyes remain calm and her steps steady.]

The memory scene appears.

Minami Yuuki follows Ibuki Yuko into the subway entrance. The summer heat is blocked outside, and the cool air conditioning brings a sigh of relief.

"Did I ruin your plan, senpai?" Minami Yuuki quickly takes two steps to catch up to the girl and looks down at her.

"I don't understand what you're talking about." Ibuki Yuko grips the shoulder strap of her canvas bag.

She's wearing a short-sleeved shirt, her exposed arms are pale and slender, like ivory porcelain, beautiful and fragile.

"Senpai never intended to dodge the truck, did you?" Minami Yuuki presses.

Ibuki Yuko stops in her tracks. She looks up, the white mask covering half her face. The eyes above the mask gleam as they stare at Minami Yuuki.

"That's a secret." She looks down again and continues walking.

Minami Yuuki keeps pace with her. "Since it's a secret, senpai doesn't want others to know, right? Can I use this to blackmail you?"

"No, you can't." The girl's calm response is delivered with such poise that even a threat can't disturb her elegance. Her elegance is her armor.

"Really? I was thinking of saying, 'If senpai doesn't go out with me, I'll spread this around!'"

"No one would believe you."

The girl swipes her subway card. The gate emits a cold beep, the plastic barrier opens, and after she passes, it closes, blocking Minami Yuuki.

Minami Yuuki swipes his card and catches up with her.

"This is indeed a problem. If no one believes me, I can't use it to blackmail you. I need evidence. There should be surveillance cameras at the intersection, but the cameras can only capture your appearance, not your inner thoughts. You could just claim you were scared."

He mutters to himself, observing Ibuki Yuko's expression. The girl doesn't respond to this topic.

"I think there's something else I need to clarify," he grabs Ibuki Yuko's wrist, "Senpai was just going with the flow, right? You wouldn't actively walk in front of a truck, would you?"

They stand in the middle of the subway platform, surrounded by the cold tiles on the floor and walls.

"Who knows?" Ibuki Yuko pulls her hand away and continues walking.

She doesn't look back at Minami Yuuki, but he seems to see a faint smile in her words.

This is the first time the girl has revealed her true feelings, but this casually spoken, emotionally unstruggled truth also becomes part of her elegance, a link in the chain of armor that resists others.

This petite senpai might be an even bigger problem than Asano Nao.

It's troublesome.

[You press Ibuki Yuko for the truth, and the girl tacitly acknowledges your suspicions. You ask if she would actively walk into the other side of life, and she tells you she doesn't know.]

"It's troublesome." Minami Yuuki rubs his forehead in reality.

That timid little wildcat from before was manageable, but now there's another problem girl!

A timid wildcat is easy to handle; just provide a comfortable environment and reasonable distance, and it will grow healthily.

But how to care for a world-weary Persian cat? It's elegant, not noisy, and not afraid of people, but this elegance is a dead elegance, born from detachment from the world, a transcendental elegance, a funeral dress cut by death.

How to tear off the girl's elegance and reach her heart?

Too lazy to think about it, trust the wisdom of his simulated life self!

Pausing his contemplation of the simulated life's direction, Minami Yuuki reviews the simulated life as a spectator and clicks his tongue in admiration.

"No wonder she's unaffected by my advances and blind to my beauty. It's not my problem, it's hers. Even a truck crashing into her doesn't faze her, let alone me. Though I hate to admit it, my beauty still belongs to this world, while her heart is on the edge, about to leave it."

Minami Yuuki opens the attribute panel, looking at his charm of 9: "A score of 9 should be nearing the limit of this world. I wonder what would happen if I added one more point."

But acquiring attribute points requires effort in the simulated life. What kind of life must he lead to increase his charm?

Become an artist? A model?

Speaking of which, he hasn't decided on his career in this simulated life yet.

Judging by Ibuki Yuko's demeanor, it doesn't seem like she'll let him live a peaceful life.

Minami Yuuki continues the simulation.

[Back at the apartment, you start thinking about your next move and decide...]

[Option 1: "Death is like the wind; I am the windbreaker."]

[Option 2: "Death is like the wind; I have a storm shelter."]

[Option 3: "Honoka is only in her thirties; she can still have children."]

[Option 4: Free Simulation]

Just as you were thinking about trusting your wisdom in the Simulation, options appeared.

Now you have to think for yourself.

Option 1 suggests staying by Ibuki Yuko's side and stopping her if she gets any dark thoughts.

Option 2 suggests finding a place to keep Ibuki Yuko confined, not letting her go out or approach death.

Option 3 suggests working hard with Ibuki Honoka, giving up the main game and starting a new one, having a little Yuko.

First, rule out Option 3.

Then, it's a matter of choosing between Option 1 and 2.

Option 1 is gentler, just following her around, while Option 2 is more aggressive, directly confining her.

Maybe Option 2 is better; Ibuki Yuko is already deeply troubled, so she needs a strong intervention.

But he has no experience confining people, though he was once confined by a woman.

Painful memories, Minami Yuuki brushed them aside and refocused on the options.

If he confines Ibuki Yuko, Ibuki Honoka will find out first, then the school will notice.

As for Ibuki Honoka, if he pleads, she might not intervene, but the school...

What should he choose?

After hesitating for a moment, Minami Yuuki clicked an option.

[You decide to keep Ibuki Yuko around you, preventing her from getting any dark thoughts while trying to get closer to her and touch her heart.]

He chose to confine Ibuki Yuko, not out of strong intervention, but because he felt it was a bad option that would lead to negative consequences.

But—since he could simulate again, being a little willful once in a while wouldn't hurt!

Option 2 is too tempting!

How could anyone give it up!

If Ibuki Honoka were more self-disciplined, Option 3 would actually be quite interesting.

Moreover, although Option 2 might lead to bad consequences, this strong intervention could bring him closer to Ibuki Yuko's heart, uncovering the hidden parts of her inner self!