Chapter 156: Yamada-san & Direct Simulation
His conversation with Gotoh Hitori didn't last long.
After her flustered message—
"A-Anyway… let's set it for Saturday."
The chat abruptly ended in a way that felt both awkward and rushed.
Though Shouji Minami had considered continuing the conversation,
He figured that Gotoh Hitori had already used up all her courage just to send that message.
Expecting her to keep talking until she fell asleep…
That was just unrealistic.
So, with a slight sense of regret,
Shouji Minami could only shake his head.
But—
"Even though I agreed to Hitori's request, time-wise…"
He began organizing his schedule for the Shuka Festival in his mind.
First, he had already promised to accompany Shinjo Akane at the festival.
Then, there was Gotoh Hitori's request.
At first glance, these plans seemed to overlap,
But in reality, there was still room to make it work.
The Shuka Festival lasted two days—
Saturday and Sunday of this week.
Shouji Minami figured that with some careful planning,
He could balance both of them perfectly.
For Shinjo Akane, he could spend time with her on Saturday morning from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM.
As for Gotoh Hitori, after factoring in his scheduled shift from 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM,
He could then accompany her until 4:30 PM.
From 4:30 PM onward,
The stage play (The Monster in the Human Heart) would be held in the gymnasium,
Followed by Kessoku Band's live performance.
After that, he would likely spend some time with the band members at the festival.
By that point, his Saturday would be pretty much packed.
This schedule should work perfectly.
Except—
There were two wild cards.
"Onee-san, and Second Sis…"
Shouji Minami sighed.
He had no idea when his older sisters were planning to arrive.
But if he factored in the travel time from Akita to Tokyo,
They should probably arrive around 5:00 or 6:00 PM.
Unless, of course, they left at the crack of dawn to get here.
But…
That seemed unlikely.
With that thought, Shouji Minami made his decision and nodded to himself.
If everything went according to plan,
Then his entire Saturday would be completely packed.
The so-called "relaxing festival" he had hoped for…
Was practically impossible at this point.
But—
"It's fine. At least I still have Sunday to rest."
Shouji Minami stretched his arms comfortably.
Since the Shuka Festival lasted two days and one night,
Even if Saturday was fully booked,
He would still have Sunday as his personal time.
Even though it was just one free day,
That was more than enough for him.
"Now then…"
Just as he was about to check his simulator,
Wondering if his chat with Gotoh Hitori had earned him any Heartthrob Points—
Ding-dong!
"Hm?"
Another LINE notification sound.
Shouji Minami paused mid-reach, feeling a little confused.
What was with tonight?
Why were so many people suddenly messaging him?
First, it was Gotoh Hitori.
Now…
Who could it be this time?
He picked up his phone.
[Hello, Always Stay Happy! (Nishikigi Chisato): Minami-kun! Minami-kun! Minami-kun! Minami-kun! Minami-kun!]
"Chisato?"
Shouji Minami rested his chin on his hand as he glanced at the message, then calmly replied—
[Tokyo's No.1 Pretty Boy: Got business? Got business? Got business? Got business? Got business?]
[Hello, Always Stay Happy! (Nishikigi Chisato): Yep! I got business! (Attached image: A chibi blonde girl with a mischievous smirk and a peace sign, resembling Chisato.)]
"..."
Shouji Minami chuckled, shaking his head.
Chisato Nishikigi—Just as cheerful as ever.
[Tokyo's No.1 Pretty Boy: What is it?]
[Hello, Always Stay Happy!: Take a guess!]
[Tokyo's No.1 Pretty Boy: I'm logging off. My phone's out of battery.]
[Hello, Always Stay Happy!: (Sent a voice recording)]
Shouji Minami raised an eyebrow and tapped the audio file.
Immediately, the lively, slightly husky voice of Chisato Nishikigi filled his ears.
"Nooo~! Minami-kun! You're so cold! After everything we've been through together, how could you treat me like this?! Waaaah~!"
"Come on, just take a guess! If you get it right, I'll give you a reward!"
[Tokyo's No.1 Pretty Boy: What kind of reward?]
[Hello, Always Stay Happy!: A special kiss from the great Chisato-sama~ 💋]
[Tokyo's No.1 Pretty Boy: I'm logging off. My phone's out of battery.]
[Hello, Always Stay Happy!: Nooooooo! Minami-kun! Just one guess! Just this once!]
"...Seriously."
Shouji Minami sighed, rubbing his temple as he scanned Chisato's messages.
After a moment of hesitation, he decided to just say what he was already thinking.
[Tokyo's No.1 Pretty Boy: You want me to walk around the Shuka Festival with you?]
[Hello, Always Stay Happy!: As expected of Minami-kun! The number one ranked brain in national mock exams is truly brilliant! You guessed it perfectly!]
"Guessed it perfectly?"
Shouji Minami felt a little speechless.
If only she knew—
She wasn't even the first, second, or third person to ask him this today.
Even before opening her message,
Shouji Minami had already thought, "I bet she's inviting me to the festival too."
And sure enough.
[Hello, Always Stay Happy!: So, what do you think? Wanna explore the festival with me and Takina?]
"..."
Shouji Minami exhaled, feeling a headache coming on.
To be honest—
His Saturday schedule was already completely full.
There was literally no space left.
But…
"I already agreed to Shinjo-san and Hitori… It'd be weird to refuse Chisato now."
Yeah.
Since he had already agreed to Shinjo Akane and Gotoh Hitori,
It would be unfair to turn down Chisato.
The thought of giving her special treatment—
Just thinking about it felt wrong.
With that in mind,
Shouji Minami typed his response.
[Tokyo's No.1 Pretty Boy: Sure.]
First, just agreeing.
Then, he would negotiate the schedule, aiming to push her to Sunday instead.
But—
[Hello, Always Stay Happy!: Yay! Then it's set for Saturday!]
"Hah?"
The message he was about to send immediately died in his drafts.
His eyebrow twitched as he stared at her text.
"Wait, wait, wait."
"Why Saturday?!"
"Hold on, hold on!"
If Chisato was also on Saturday,
Then his entire schedule would be thrown into chaos!
Shouji Minami was not some kind of time-management god
Who could miraculously fit four separate plans into one day.
Especially when he had already committed to spending time with Shinjo Akane and Gotoh Hitori.
"Why do all these girls have such an obsession with Saturday?!"
His expression stiffened as he prepared to type a message,
Trying to convince Chisato to move it to Sunday.
But before he could hit send—
[Hello, Always Stay Happy!: Oh, perfect! Takina and I are only free on Saturday! Minami-kun agreeing is such a relief! I already asked for time off at work! So it's settled! Anyway, it's getting late, I'm off to take a bath! Sleep well, Minami-kun! See you at the festival~!]
[Tokyo's No.1 Pretty Boy: ...]
The series of ellipses perfectly captured his current mood.
At the end of the day—
"Why?!"
Why was everything stacking up like this?!
Shouji Minami sucked in a sharp breath.
If this kept going,
The first day of the Shuka Festival was going to be an absolute nightmare.
He could already imagine it now.
Running all over campus, getting dragged around by one girl after another—
And if his two older sisters arrived that day…
He didn't even want to think about what would happen.
One was Yuko, his gentle yet serious older sister.
The other was Naomi, his hyperactive second sister,
Who always pried into his personal life like a detective.
Shouji Minami slumped into his chair, rubbing his forehead.
Just thinking about it was already giving him a headache.
This was a disaster in the making.
And the worst part?
There was no way to fix it.
It wasn't like he could clone himself
And send a copy to each of them.
"If only such a convenient ability existed…"
"Forget it."
"At this point, there's no point in overthinking."
Shouji Minami shoved all unnecessary thoughts out of his mind.
Right now, all he could do was take things one step at a time.
As for who to spend time with first…
That was something he would deal with on the spot.
After all, tonight had already taught him a valuable lesson—
"Plans never keep up with reality."
"Enough about Saturday. Let's check my Heartthrob Points instead."
Shifting his focus,
Shouji Minami opened the simulator menu.
Stretching out his hand, he pulled up his remaining points.
And then—
"Just as I thought…"
His eyes flickered as he looked at the screen.
His previous 1190 points
Had now jumped to 1250.
Curious, he opened the detailed log.
[You gained 30 Heartthrob Points from Nishikigi Chisato.]
[You gained 30 Heartthrob Points from Gotoh Hitori.]
"Of course, it was Chisato and Hitori."
Shouji Minami didn't even need to check the leaderboard—
He was sure that Gotoh Hitori had once again reclaimed her No.1 spot.
It was only natural.
He didn't want to say it,
But with Gotoh Hitori's self-esteem and social anxiety,
Even a simple conversation could trigger Heartthrob Points.
"I hope Hitori can overcome her anxiety soon, just like in the simulation."
Shouji Minami murmured.
Yes.
While gaining points was a nice bonus,
He didn't want to see her stay like this forever.
Shy, insecure girls were endearing, sure—
But he wanted her to truly improve…
To embrace her rockstar dreams with confidence.
That—
Was something that no amount of Heartthrob Points could replace.
With that final thought,
Shouji Minami lay down on his bed.
With 1200 points secured—
The conditions for Direct Simulation were now met.
All that was left was choosing his target.
[Available Simulation Targets:]
Gotoh Hitori
Nishikigi Chisato
Shinjo Akane
Yamada Ryo
"Now then…"
Who should he choose?
Shouji Minami fell deep into thought.
"Yuko and Naomi Are Obviously Out."
Shouji Minami immediately ruled out Shouji Yuko and Shouji Naomi .
After all—
They were his older sisters.
Even if someone broke his legs,
He would never go down that "forbidden path."
Not to mention—
He had never simulated them before.
So, they were completely out of the question.
Which left—
Gotoh Hitori, Nishikigi Chisato, and Shinjo Akane…
Shouji Minami fell into deep thought.
Should he pick Hitori?
Or maybe Chisato-san?
Or perhaps… Shinjo-san?
All three of them were valid simulation targets.
And to be honest—
He had no idea who to choose.
From a purely personal perspective,
Shouji Minami found it incredibly difficult to choose just one of them.
At times like this, he couldn't help but ask himself—
"Why am I so damn broke?"
If he had 3,600 Heartthrob Points,
He could simply run simulations for all three girls one after another.
And then—
There wouldn't be such a frustrating dilemma.
But—
"I still have to pick one."
Shouji Minami sighed,
His finger idly hovering over the three names.
And then, just as he absentmindedly swiped over the list—
Something unexpected caught his eye.
The name that was always grayed out—
The one person he had never been able to simulate—
Yamada Ryo.
For the first time ever—
Her name had turned white.
Meaning—
She was now a selectable simulation target.
"Huh…?"
Shouji Minami blinked in surprise at the change.
Before this, the only way to simulate Yamada Ryo
Was by using the "Yamada Ryo IF Route Card."
He had assumed that if he ever wanted to simulate her again,
He'd have to wait for her to once again fail in her route,
Earn another IF Route Card as a reward—
And then restart her simulation.
But now…
"I can't believe it… I can actually simulate Yamada-san again?"
Thinking it over, Shouji Minami realized something—
Apparently, the "Direct Simulation" function
Didn't just apply to Gotoh Hitori, Shinjo Akane, and Chisato Nishikigi.
It applied to Yamada Ryo as well.
After all, her route also had a "Direct Simulation" option.
Meaning—
As long as a target had that option,
They could be directly simulated into their world.
Which led to one final question—
"Who should I pick?"
With the sudden inclusion of Yamada Ryo as a choice,
Shouji Minami's decision became even harder.
He fell into deep thought.