Image Cleansing

Yamada Ryo waited for a few minutes.

What awaited her was an ending she didn't want to see…

[Kitahara Toru rejected your marriage proposal.]

Something's wrong, something's wrong!

Yamada Ryo grew anxious inside.

With a favorability score of 97, how could the proposal fail?

Isn't this a virtual world?

Isn't this a world made entirely of data?

Why would he refuse?

This was different from what the simulator had said!

Completely different!

He was supposed to accept.

———

[You sent your marriage proposal again...]

This time, the response came quickly and decisively—

[Kitahara Toru rejected your marriage proposal.]

Just accept it already!

I beg you, don't reject me again.

———

[You sent your marriage proposal again…]

[Kitahara Toru rejected your marriage proposal.]

———

Yamada Ryo fell silent.

The bad feeling in her heart grew stronger and stronger.

———

[Kitahara Toru has sent you a breakup request...]

What?

Why does he want to break up?

After more than ten years together, he wants to break up?

I know I was wrong.

I wasn't good.

I was inhuman.

I forced you to ruin your body for my own gain…

But don't say breakup.

I beg you.

———

[You rejected his breakup request.]

———

We agreed to grow old together.

Come back and stay with me.

I know I was wrong.

———

[Kitahara Toru has sent you a breakup request...]

[Rejected.]

———

Yamada Ryo stared at the simulator screen.

After confirming that her virtual boyfriend hadn't done anything drastic, she sighed in relief.

She knew that a relationship couldn't last long if only one side was making an effort.

But it didn't matter.

She hadn't taken care of Kitahara Toru properly in the first ten years.

But she could take care of him in the decades to come.

She could give him a beautiful and complete life!

"There's still time to fix things, still plenty of time," Yamada Ryo reassured herself.

This is just a game.

It's just a simulation.

Even though it felt so real, it was all simulated.

Even if something happened to him, there wouldn't actually be a problem for the real Kitahara Toru.

Just today, hadn't she talked with Bocchi?

Things hadn't reached the worst-case scenario.

———

[It seems he realized you were worried about him. Kitahara Toru returned to the country. After a few exchanges, you both decided to visit the places you used to go on dates during university.]

———

[April 23rd: You went with Kitahara Toru to the Tokyo Skytree. He said the warmest place in the world is at the top of the tower.]

[April 26th: You went with Kitahara Toru to Meiji Shrine. There was a wedding there, and he commented that he would love to see you in a white kimono someday.]

[April 25th: You went with Kitahara Toru to Disneyland. The haunted house was scary, but thanks to your presence, he didn't scream too much.]

[He said he was very happy to have you by his side. Even though you're already 30, your relationship remains the same as when you were in love during university.]

———

Phew, false alarm.

Yamada Ryo let out a relieved sigh.

———

[During this time, he occasionally covered his mouth and coughed, but after going to the hospital for an examination, no results were found. He was prescribed medication, though it didn't seem to work.]

Wait—

Yamada Ryo realized she had relaxed too soon.

Hey, you're not planning to leave me widowed, right?

Wait, we're not even married yet.

———

[Today, you finished visiting the aquarium. The atmosphere is very good. There's a love hotel nearby. You decide…]

Take him with you.Turn around and leave.Simulate it yourself.

Yamada Ryo thought for a few seconds and chose the first option.

Now that she had decided to make it up to Kitahara Toru, she still had to fulfill some of her responsibilities as a girlfriend.

———

[Asking Kitahara Toru for his opinion…]

A few seconds later—

———

[He refused.]

———

Yamada Ryo: "..."

Rejected?

He refused?

———

[He believes that the love between you two doesn't require physical contact. Perhaps because you never agreed to kiss him or be intimate with him in the past ten years, Kitahara Toru now thinks you're frigid.]

I…

———

Yamada Ryo was speechless for a moment, a slight blush appearing on her usually expressionless face.

Even if this is a simulator, leaving the purity to her virtual boyfriend for ten years was still extremely embarrassing.

And kissing?

Forget about it!

Of course, that was her initial thought.

Now, she just wanted to comfort Kitahara Toru and make sure her simulated self accompanied him through a perfect second half of life.

She no longer cared about sacrificing herself.

———

[You wrapped your arms around his neck, lightly stood on your tiptoes, and tried to kiss Kitahara Toru...]

A few seconds later—

———

[He pulled away.]

———

"?" Yamada Ryo.

———

Yamada Ryo never expected that her virtual boyfriend—

who had been dating her for more than ten years—

wouldn't even be willing to kiss her!

Alright—

I didn't treat you like a real person before.

I didn't take you seriously.

But you're getting back at me like this?

Do you want me to regret this for the rest of my life just to make yourself happy?

———

[Kitahara Toru took two steps back and coughed a few times. A trace of pain appeared on his face. Noticing your worried expression, he forced a weak smile. Kitahara Toru said he was fine, that it was just an old issue.]

Old issue?

Wait! Wait!

I didn't know anything about this!

Yamada Ryo realized all the time she had spent playing this simulator had been in vain.

———

[Migraine, he explained, to reassure you that the illness isn't fatal.]

Phew—

As long as it's not fatal, it's fine.

Playing this game really made Yamada Ryo feel uneasy—her heart felt like it was beating way too fast.

Kitahara Toru was like the goldfish she won at a temple festival when she was a child—

One day, it was alive and well, swimming happily—

The next day, it was floating belly-up.

———

[Time passes slowly—you have now been together for three years.]

[On your 34th birthday, he bought you a cake. But after the celebration, before giving you your gift, he coughed again—this time, violently.]

[You immediately took him to your private hospital.]

[The doctor said his body functions were slowly declining, and since the cause of his illness is unknown, there is currently no cure.]

[It is estimated that he will die within a year.]