(BONUS)Chapter 187: Five People Doing This and That Together 

"97 points, huh?"

Looking at the terrifying score in front of him, Minami stroked his chin.

It wasn't that the score was too high.

Rather, he felt…

"This seems a bit low, doesn't it?"

Minami muttered to himself.

He was confident—very confident.

When it came to whether he could make everyone happy, he never doubted himself, not even for a second.

But even with everyone happy, it still didn't reach that perfect 100-point ending.

That made Minami a little curious.

The conditions to reach 97 points were already so demanding—his wife, Shouji Hitori, had to approve; Ijichi Seika had to encourage him; and on top of that, all four women had to truly love him, and everyone had to find happiness.

So then…

What about that elusive 100-point ending?

How impossibly strict would the conditions need to be to reach a perfect conclusion?

Minami thought about it for a moment.

After some consideration, he simply chuckled and shook his head.

"Why am I even thinking about this…? A perfect 100-point ending is impossible."

That's right—it was impossible.

Just like how there was no such thing as perfection in this world.

Life would always have its tiny regrets.

Even if the overall melody was beautiful and joyful, there would always be small imperfections.

Not to mention, things like aging, illness, and death—unavoidable laws of nature—would inevitably bring sorrow to love.

So just by thinking about it for a moment, Minami already knew—

A perfect 100-point ending simply didn't exist.

If it did…

How pure would their love have to be?

Like something out of a fairy tale?

Minami didn't even want to think about it anymore.

"Yeah…"

Pushing aside thoughts of an impossible perfect ending, Minami took a sip of water and glanced at the clock.

Immersed in his direct simulation, half an hour had passed in real time.

Minami sat back at his round table, reviewing his gains.

"Even though I didn't get any material rewards this time, the mental rewards are huge."

Not just in the form of that tender time spent in bed with Hitori—

But more importantly, the realization that had settled in his heart.

"The path of everyone's happiness…"

Minami tapped his fingers on the table.

After hearing both Seika's and Hitori's perspectives, he had no choice but to seriously consider how he should actually treat these women in real life.

Minami opened up his simulation targets list.

Gotoh Hitori and Yamada Ryo's feelings toward him hadn't changed.

They still had terrifying levels of affection for him.

Terms like "love dependence" and "only you and no one else" filled their descriptions.

Since he had already seen them before, Minami only skimmed through their profiles before moving on.

Next up—Nishikigi Chisato and Shinjo Akane.

Minami opened Chisato's profile.

[Simulation Target: Nishikigi Chisato. Status: Love's Direction, Devotion's Path, None But You.]

Looks like after yesterday's school festival, her affection for him had grown even more.

Two new descriptions had even been added.

It seemed that giving her that gift had truly touched her heart.

Now, moving on to—

Minami clicked on Shinjo Akane's profile.

[Simulation Target: Shinjo Akane. Status: Love Like the Stars, Never-Ending, You Alone.]

"Hmm…"

Minami let out a thoughtful hum.

Not just Chisato, but Akane's feelings had also grown significantly after the festival.

But of course.

The school festival had allowed her to take her first step into the tokusatsu industry—her dream.

So it was only natural that her love for him had deepened.

Minami closed the list and fell back onto his bed.

The bright fluorescent light above him shone like a scorching sun.

But he didn't care.

Because right now—

Gotoh Hitori, Yamada Ryo, Nishikigi Chisato, and Shinjo Akane—

They were all just like the girls from his latest direct simulation.

Each and every one of them loved him with an intensity beyond words.

And Minami had no doubt—

If things continued as they were…

They would wait for him.

Just like in the simulation, they would wait for him for over ten years.

Gotoh Hitori was a given.

Her willingness to share their home with the other three spoke volumes.

Yamada Ryo… she was even more extreme.

She had failed in every simulation but never gave up—she was always there, waiting.

Nishikigi Chisato—her bright and cheerful personality made it seem like she could easily move on.

But ever since Minami had saved her life with the universal recovery pill, there had been no one else in her eyes.

And Shinjo Akane?

She seemed like the least likely to wait for him.

But Minami had been the first person to truly see her—to unmask her hidden self.

And now, he was the only one who had stepped into her tokusatsu dream.

So naturally—

She, too, wanted to take the second step with him.

Then the third.

Would he really make them wait another ten years?

Just like in the simulation?

Until he finally knocked on their doors?

Just imagining it—

Minami felt like he'd be the biggest idiot alive.

Sure, the whole "harem" thing was something no decent person would do.

But Minami never claimed to be a decent person in the first place.

He never pretended to be a kind-hearted saint.

And more importantly—

If he was going to go to them eventually—

Then why waste ten years of their lives?

That would be beyond stupid.

And more than that—

Making them wait for over ten years… wouldn't that be torture for them?

Minami rubbed his temples.

It was still early.

And with all these thoughts in his head, he wasn't sleepy at all.

After some consideration, he reached for his phone and opened LINE.

Scrolling through his contacts, he found an odd-looking clay doll icon—

Yamada Ryo's profile picture always stood out.

He tapped on it and sent a message.

[Tokyo's No.1 Pretty Boy: Ryo, you awake?]

[Lone Wolf Bass Freak: ?]

[Lone Wolf Bass Freak: Minami, what is it?]

Straight to the point, as always.

That's so like her.

Minami thought for a moment, then started typing.

Meanwhile—

"Why is he texting me at this hour?"

Yawning, Yamada Ryo lazily hugged her black-and-white pillow, curling up on her soft sofa.

Her smooth, pale legs wrapped around the pillow as she stared at her phone screen.

She was a little confused.

Usually, she was the one who initiated contact with Minami.

Him texting her first like this was rare.

If it were anyone else texting her this late?

She would probably glance at it once, get annoyed with typing, and just toss her phone aside—

Even if people got mad at her for "reading without replying," she wouldn't care.

But…

"It's Minami."

Ryo rested her smooth, white chin on her pillow, gazing at her phone.

For some reason, when it came to him, she had infinite patience.

But still—

"Minami was mine from the start."

A graceful yet lazy voice murmured those words.

So, waiting here for him and being a little more patient with him—was only natural.

Ryo perked up slightly, glancing at her phone screen.

She soon saw a message arrive.

[Tokyo's No.1 Pretty Boy: I wanted to ask your opinion on something.]

"Hm?"

Ryo tilted her head.

[Lone Wolf Bass Freak: What is it?]

[Tokyo's No.1 Pretty Boy: If one day… would you accept the idea of other girls being by my side?]

"..."

Ryo's expression didn't change in the slightest.

For most people, that question would have been an earth-shattering revelation.

But for Ryo—

[Lone Wolf Bass Freak: You're messaging me this late at night… just for something this minor?]

[Lone Wolf Bass Freak: Hmm… So who caught your eye? That gold-and-white-haired one? The pink-and-purple-haired one? Well, if you're making a move, the first one should be Hitori, right? She looks the easiest to push around. I can even help you bag her.]

Without hesitation, Ryo sent the message.

Then she yawned again, lazily stretching.

Meanwhile, on the receiving end of the message—

"As expected of Ryo…"

Seeing her response, Minami couldn't help but sigh in admiration.

This wasn't the first time he had been surprised by her.

But every single time, Ryo's replies always managed to catch him off guard.

It was as if the concept of 'playing by the rules' simply didn't exist in her mind.

But then again—

"That's exactly why I chose to talk to her about this."

Minami straightened up in his seat.

There were some things he could say to Ryo—

And only to Ryo.

Because she was the one who had always been running alongside him in this race—

Yet had never once given up.

Minami typed out another message.

[Tokyo's No.1 Pretty Boy: ? You really don't care?]

[Lone Wolf Bass Freak: Why would I care?]

[Lone Wolf Bass Freak: As long as you can make me happy, that's all that matters. How many girls you like, how many you want to be with—that has nothing to do with me. Just thinking about it feels like a hassle.]

Ryo stretched again, yawning adorably.

She hated thinking about complicated things.

For her, as long as her life was enjoyable and comfortable, that was all she needed.

Everything else…

She wouldn't bother worrying about, nor did she want to.

And more importantly—

[Lone Wolf Bass Freak: I don't know if it's just my imagination, but I feel like I've seen this happen countless times before.]

[Tokyo's No.1 Pretty Boy: Seen it countless times before?]

[Lone Wolf Bass Freak: Maybe in a dream? But I can't quite remember. I just have this vague feeling that in every love story with you, I lost over and over again. To all kinds of different women.]

[Tokyo's No.1 Pretty Boy: ...]

Minami's feelings were summed up perfectly by that single ellipsis.

As expected of the undisputed queen of getting sidelined in love.

Ryo… had already sensed it?

In all those countless simulations—

Where she had lost, again and again—

Where she had always been left waiting?

[Lone Wolf Bass Freak: If you wanna do it, just do it. I'll help you. I'm tired. Going to sleep.]

With that final message, Ryo stood up from the couch and collapsed onto her soft bed.

The girl drifted into sleep.

She never saw the last message sent to her phone—

From the contact labeled "The One I Like."

[Tokyo's No.1 Pretty Boy: Good night, Ryo.]

—

Minami waited a while after sending that message.

But there was no reply.

Guess Ryo had already fallen asleep.

Shaking his head at her carefree attitude, Minami set his phone down and glanced out the window.

From his room, he could see Tokyo's neon-lit skyline.

He wondered—

Would the memories from this altered simulation reach Gotoh Hitori?

If Ryo could vaguely sense something, then theoretically—

"Eh, whatever."

Minami pulled the covers over himself.

Thinking about it wouldn't change anything.

Instead of getting lost in thoughts about that, he should be wondering why Futaba Rio wanted to meet with him tomorrow.

That girl—whom he had temporarily removed from his simulation list…

What did she want?

With that question lingering in his mind, Minami closed his eyes.

—

"Eh? Uh? Eh…?"

Outside of Meguro Ward, inside the Gotoh household—

A certain pink-haired girl awoke from her sleep, her face burning red.

The shifted memories in her mind completely threw her off.

And the… things she and Minami had done together—

Just recalling them made her nose feel hot.

She almost had a nosebleed.

Especially since the memories felt so real.

As if it had actually happened—

As if she had truly experienced it.

Minami-kun's hands are so big… kinda soft—

No—No, wait!!

"Now's not the time to be thinking about that!!!"

Hitori violently shook her head.

That wasn't the issue here!!!

The real issue was—

That dream—no, those vivid memories in her mind—

"E-Everyone… was with me too?!"

Recalling what had happened in her memories, Hitori's face turned completely red.

Unlike before—

This time, those memories…

Included the other members of Kessoku Band.

She and Minami—

And the others…

Living together…?

Five people doing… this and that together?!