Love Comes After Simulation-Chapter 168 - The Skilled Hunter.
[Simulation Ended]
[Summary not provided due to excessive similarity in emotional progression]
The twilight sky cast the clouds in fiery hues as people came and went along the streets, seizing the last light of the setting sun to head out or return home.
Minami Yuuki awoke from the dream of free simulation. He walked onto the balcony and gazed into the distance. The silhouette of Mount Azuki was obscured by towering buildings, and there was no trace of Chikusa University Hospital.
He was thinking about Reina—her classical twelve-layered kimono, her modern props, and her response to that question.
The future Nakajima Reina had given a firm and resolute answer. She wanted that dreamlike movie. She longed for that future, even if that future could only become a memory.
[Would you like to claim the mysterious reward?]
Minami Yuuki had thought that after receiving Nakajima Reina’s answer, he would be able to make up his mind. However, as he looked at the prompt before him, he still hesitated.
Her words from the free simulation echoed in his mind—words that were almost a confession, making his heart pound violently.
Is it true that the truly pitiful thing is not loss, but never having had it at all? He pondered Nakajima Reina’s words and pressed his finger down.
[Mysterious reward has been issued]
[Mysterious reward has been issued]
The reward had already been granted. At this point, there was no room for regret, no need for further hesitation.
Minami Yuuki let out a breath of relief.
He looked to his left front side. The old Asano residence stood silently in the evening glow. It was time for dinner.
Returning to his bedroom, he locked the balcony door and left the apartment.
Tonight’s dinner was a combination of tonkatsu, mapo tofu, grilled salmon, and seafood miso soup.
During the meal, Minami Yuuki fixed his gaze on Asano Nao.
“What’s wrong?” Asano Nao touched her cheek, confirming that her glasses were still properly in place. She didn’t understand why the boy was suddenly scrutinizing her with such an intense gaze.
Could it be that the button camera under the microwave had been discovered? Her heart tensed with unease.
“I was just wondering... what exactly makes you so charming, Nee-san?” Minami Yuuki spoke his thoughts plainly.
“Eh?” Asano Nao’s face turned red, and from that shyness, a sweet feeling began to bloom.
What she didn’t know was that the reason Minami Yuuki was observing her was because of another woman.
Minami Yuuki was thinking about Nakajima Reina.
In the free simulation, after he asked that question, Nakajima Reina mistook it as a test of infidelity and broke into tears.
The first person she suspected and named was Asano Nao.
In other words, in Nakajima Reina’s mind, Asano Nao posed the greatest threat. If he were to cheat, Asano Nao would be the prime suspect, with Ibuki Yuko coming second.
But why? Asano Nao was just a socially anxious shut-in. How could she surpass the highly proactive Ibuki Yuko? In previous simulated lives, when faced with his emotional shift, all Asano Nao could do was dress up nicely and try to seduce him just a little.
Unlike Ibuki Yuko, who launched a ferocious, whirlwind-like offensive and even successfully NTR’d Nakajima Reina once.
Why did Nakajima Reina perceive Asano Nao as the greater threat?
Minami Yuuki’s gaze was too intense, and Asano Nao quickly found it unbearable. She hid her face behind her rice bowl and shoveled food into her mouth.
“Alright, I won’t stare at you anymore. Here, have some more food.” The boy smiled.
Asano Nao cautiously lowered her bowl and looked at Minami Yuuki. He really had stopped looking at her. Yet, an inexplicable sense of disappointment welled up in her heart.
After finishing dinner, they dumped the dishes in the sink. Minami Yuuki took her hand and led her outside for a stroll around the neighborhood.
Finally, he saw her off at her house, then walked back alone under the night sky.
And then, suddenly, he understood.
Asano Nao truly was the prime suspect.
This big sister was too much of a slacker—so harmless that it was difficult to remain wary of her. Without realizing it, he had grown too close to her.
Just like now. Even though he had no intention of favoring any particular simulation target, he had still spent several consecutive nights taking Asano Nao out for walks, hand in hand.
A truly skilled hunter often appears as prey. Asano Nao was not a skilled hunter—she was a born hunter.
In contrast, Ibuki Yuko’s approach was too aggressive, too sharp-edged, making people put up their guard.
Once prey becomes wary, the difficulty of the hunt increases exponentially.
Speaking of which, lately, Ibuki Yuko had only been coming to the classroom at noon to have lunch with him. Had she eased her offensive? Or was she preparing something?
Back at his apartment, Minami Yuuki read manga for a while. The moon hung high in the sky, casting a dreamlike, hazy glow that invited sleep. He fought against the drowsiness.
At first, he thought his stubbornness was just reluctance to put down the manga in his hands. But when the story started to decline, he closed the book—yet still, he refused to sleep.
He pondered the reason and quickly figured it out.
The mysterious reward would activate in his dreams. Once he fell asleep, he would inevitably face the dream-film with Nakajima Reina.
Nakajima Reina was the flower he had chosen—the one he wanted to plant in his own flowerpot. His resistance to the dream-film wasn’t resistance against Nakajima Reina herself; rather, it was resistance against a thought buried deep within him.
Yes, Nakajima Reina had chosen to accept the dream-film. But before her choice, he had chosen to make her choose.
A person skilled at reading minds like him had long known what Nakajima Reina’s answer would be.
Behind what seemed to be a pure intention—leaving the decision entirely up to her—there was a faint shadow of cunning, like sunlight casting shallow reflections through glass.
His thoughts perfectly aligned with Nakajima Reina’s words in the free simulation—
“I’d rather you cheat on me in secret—no, even openly if you must—but you cannot abandon me.”
His greed was at work.
He was unsatisfied with a flowerpot that could only hold a single flower. His gaze repeatedly drifted toward the backyard, where an entire flower garden could be planted.
Nao, Yuko, and Reina—each was a flower he desired, a flower he couldn’t bear to part with.
But his energy was limited. He probably couldn’t water too many flowers.
In this country, only flowerpots were recognized. Flower gardens were something illegal, something immoral.
Snuffing out that thought, he lay on his bed, forcing himself into sleep.
The moment his consciousness faded into darkness, he arrived at the long hallway once again. A third screening room had appeared.
On the screen, the film’s information was displayed:
[“Yuuki and Reina”]
[Directors: Minami Yuuki, Nakajima Reina]
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[Starring: Minami Yuuki, Nakajima Reina]
[Rating: 95]
A series of images flickered across the screen. Voices echoed from all directions. Emotions surged in his heart.
When the film ended, the screen suddenly went black. Then, a small light turned on.
...
Nakajima Reina touched her cheeks—her face was wet with tears.
What was this? A dream?
Why was she in the film? Why was this overwhelming emotion flooding her heart?
Minami Yuuki.
Just hearing his name brought forth a sensation of happiness.
Is this what love feels like? She placed a hand over her chest.
She turned to the screen, wanting to watch the film again. But the screen remained black, denying her another chance.
Disappointed, she glanced to the side—and saw a white VR headset resting on the small table beside the seat.
She put it on.
