Classroom of the Elite, I Have a Life Simulator

[You answered like this.]

[As long as I am with her, happiness is something that can be obtained very easily, just like a fruit candy you fed me when we were children, the taste of which I can no longer find.]

[Triggered Story CG: The Actor]

[The Actor: Forcing the person who loves you most to improvise.]

[Do you wish to view this story CG? (This may be helpful for your subsequent game progress)]

Chapter 12: The Actor (Part 1)

"Will Ryo stay by my side forever?"

"Hmm? Maybe."

"Eh?"

The little girl let out a small shriek, partly because of the answer, and partly because the boy had just unearthed a centipede at least seven or eight centimeters long from the dirt.

"Can you get rid of it, please?"

Seeming to realize that the girl beside him was genuinely angry, the boy hurriedly used his small shovel to cover the poor, confused centipede with dirt in a few quick motions. To express his apology, he even stomped on the spot twice for good measure.

He stood beside the pouting girl, feeling somewhat at a loss. He wanted to reach out and hold her hand, only to realize his own hands were covered in mud.

"Why won't Ryo stay by my side forever?"

"Because no one can be together forever," Kitagawa Ryo said as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"But I want Ryo to be with me forever."

She took a clean handkerchief from her pocket to wipe the boy's hands.

"A girl in our class moved to Hokkaido today. We were eating lunch together just a few days ago, but now I can't see her anymore."

Kitagawa Ryo roughly understood what the girl meant. He dug around in his pockets for a long time; at this age, a boy's pockets were always filled with all sorts of strange things—a stone that looked like a five-pointed star, a dead cicada, a perfect maple leaf, and so on. Finally, Kitagawa Ryo pulled out a small wooden stick.

"Here, for you."

He said this to Ichinose Honami.

The girl took it and, holding it up to the sunlight, saw four characters carved into the wood:

"Come--Again--For--One--More"

"This is from the popsicle I bought at noon today. I won."

The popsicle Kitagawa Ryo mentioned was a soda-flavored ice pop that could be bought at the entrance of their elementary school for just sixty yen. It had no packaging and a very mild flavor, but because of its low price and the chance to win a prize, it was undoubtedly the most popular item at that candy shop among the children.

"Why are you giving this to me?"

Ichinose Honami opened her eyes wide in confusion. She looked at it from every angle, but it was just a simple wooden stick in her hand.

"You said you wanted me to stay by your side forever, so I'm giving this to you."

Kitagawa Ryo seemed proud of the clever idea he had come up with. He explained to the girl in front of him:

"In case one day we stop playing together, and we both get really angry, and neither of us wants to talk to the other, and neither of us wants to apologize first, then this will come in handy."

"Because at that time, I definitely won't be able to help myself from coming to you for this thing. Maybe I'll find you and say, all fierce-like:

'Hey, Ichinose, give me back my stuff. I'm going to use it to get a free popsicle.'

If I do that, we'll have to see each other."

Kitagawa Ryo looked into Ichinose Honami's eyes and continued:

"As long as we see each other, we won't be separated."

"Why is that?"

Kitagawa Ryo turned his head away, feeling a bit shy, completely lacking the composure he had shown just minutes ago when facing the centipede:

"Because I wouldn't be able to bear it."

He snuck a look around, then leaned in close to Ichinose Honami's ear and whispered, as carefully as if he were showing a friend his most precious treasure:

"When I see you, I can't bear to leave."

[Ring-a-ling-a-ling----------!]

Kitagawa Ryo habitually slapped the alarm clock on his bedside table to silence it. He heard the low, rumbling sound of the air conditioner's outdoor unit; having forgotten to set a timer last night, it had been working diligently all along. Turning off the air conditioner, Kitagawa Ryo still felt the urge to hit the snooze button, so he lay there quietly for a while longer. The duvet he had been covered with last night had been kicked to the corner of the bed, and he hooked it back with his toes.

Nearly a full year had passed since he moved out of the apartment where the Ichinose family lived.

His gaze drifted upward, fixing on the slight seam between the wall and the ceiling caused by the wallpaper, until the sleepiness in his mind vanished completely. Only then did Kitagawa Ryo finally get out of bed.

[How many years ago? Eight years or seven years?]

As the first rays of the morning sun spilled in, Kitagawa Ryo pulled back the curtains. He rubbed his chin, recalling last night's dream while estimating the weather for the day. The Buddhist prayer beads on his right wrist shimmered in the sunlight. Just as the weather forecast had predicted, it was a beautiful day.

After a simple wash, he heated a large bottle of milk and drank it slowly before sitting on the sofa. He wasn't a person who enjoyed cooking, and he had no desire to cook this morning, so he grabbed a box of cookies from the cupboard—chocolate-filled ones.

[I should probably tidy up a bit]

Not knowing why he was reminded of his own sloppy childhood self, Kitagawa Ryo lingered at home for another half hour with that thought in mind.

By the time Kitagawa Ryo arrived downstairs from Ichinose Honami's apartment, there were less than five minutes left until their agreed-upon time. It was a well-calculated arrival; after all, meeting up isn't a case of "the earlier, the better," and showing up too early can often put unnecessary pressure on the other person.

"Ryo, wait just a second, I'll be right down."

The fourth-floor window opened, and Ichinose Honami poked her head out to wave at Kitagawa Ryo, who nodded in response.

Sure enough, less than a minute later, Kitagawa Ryo saw Ichinose Honami descending the stairs. By the time she reached the second-floor landing, he finally got a clear look at her outfit.

Ichinose Honami didn't have the habit of using hairbands or clips, so her long, gold-pink hair fell loosely as always. Her slender, fair wrists emerged from the sleeves of a cool, white shirt, and her chest was defined by a captivating curve that belied her actual age. A light blue pleated skirt reached just above her knees, and her plump, straight legs were encased in long white stockings, ending in small, pale-white leather shoes.

As she hurried down the stairs with her bag, the breeze slightly lifted her skirt, causing Kitagawa Ryo to awkwardly turn his head away.

"Good morning, Ryo."

It was a greeting as energetic as ever.

Realizing she was already standing beside him, Kitagawa Ryo pulled his gaze back from the scenery he had been pretending to admire:

"Good morning, Honami."

"Sorry about that. When I woke up this morning, I found that Maki was gone. I called her in a panic and only then found out she'd made plans to go hiking with friends, so it delayed me a bit."

Ichinose Honami explained softly, but Kitagawa Ryo didn't mind. At this moment, his entire focus was on the girl walking side-by-side with him along the path.

The irises in the roadside greenery were in full bloom, and the morning air was exceptionally refreshing, lifting Kitagawa Ryo's spirits.

"By the way, why did you choose to take this local bus?"

After boarding the first bus that arrived, Ichinose Honami took a thermos of lemon flower tea out of her bag and asked curiously.

"Because of the surprise."

"Life always needs a few unexpected surprises."

After finishing his tea, Kitagawa Ryo leaned his head toward Ichinose Honami. As he looked at the scenery outside the window, his nose brushed against her hair, catching the scent of fresh green-tangerine shampoo.

"Besides, it's quite interesting to stop and watch other people once in a while."

He looked at the hurried crowd on the roadside. Among them were people who were happy with radiant smiles, people who were sad and tear-streaked, some who were parting ways, and others who had just reunited.

The two of them began to make up stories for the people outside the window. Ichinose Honami guessed that a balding middle-aged man with a joyful expression might have just received news of a promotion at work, while Kitagawa Ryo guessed he had suddenly received notice that he had the day off. Ichinose Honami said that a distressed-looking elementary school student must not have finished his cram school homework, and Kitagawa Ryo countered that perhaps he had failed a confession last night and now had to face the person he confessed to...

Until they decided to get off at a park station further ahead, the two of them continued this childish game.

As soon as they stepped off the bus, they saw a massive stone signpost with the park's name carved in bright red paint. Although it was still early, many tourists and locals had already arrived, some exercising and others birdwatching. The lush forest seemed to stretch on forever, making one want to take a deep, refreshing breath.

"Shall we hold hands? It's quite crowded here."

Even though they could have held hands with fingers interlaced all day long without a second thought when they were children, now, Kitagawa Ryo could only offer a stiff right hand to the girl beside him with a flimsy, lame excuse.

"Have a fun day today."

Ichinose Honami took his hand openly. Her hand was a full size smaller than his, so he could easily wrap his palm around hers. His palm felt a bit cold, and he could clearly feel the heat radiating from her palm, as if warm blood were seeping from there into his own veins.

"Yeah, it'll be fun."

Kitagawa Ryo looked at the crowd ahead and tightened his grip on the girl's hand:

"We're crossing the crosswalk now."

From a distance, it hadn't seemed like much, but once they crossed the street and reached the park side, they realized the stone signpost was truly enormous. Seeing other tourists taking photos, Ichinose Honami became interested. Since there was a volunteer nearby responsible for taking pictures for tourists, Kitagawa Ryo handed over his phone. They struck a pose, simply holding hands, and with a click, the moment was frozen at the peak of their smiles.

After buying tickets and entering, they followed a winding bamboo path. The mountain was covered in bamboo forests surrounding a long flight of blue stone steps. Climbing to the summit would require significant stamina, but neither of them was out of shape; Kitagawa Ryo was the captain of the soccer club, and Ichinose Honami never slacked on her physical training. The two of them walked lightly until they reached a rest stop halfway up the mountain.

This was the souvenir street found in every tourist spot, though the scale was more extravagant than they had imagined. Snacks, clothing, and crafts were everywhere. The most common items on the stalls were lanterns, folding fans, sarongs, and essential oils. With the annual fireworks festival approaching, various yukata were also common.

Kitagawa Ryo wandered into a shop where the owner was a white-haired elderly man. The shelves were filled with a vast array of perfumes and essential oils—lily, lavender, rose, frangipani—with scents ranging from floral and fruity to woody and herbal. The meticulously packaged perfumes, sachets, and soaps were so charming that Kitagawa Ryo felt the urge to buy a few as gifts.

"Want some ice cream?"

While he was still pondering, he heard Ichinose's voice. Unlike Kitagawa Ryo, she seemed to have taken a liking to a nearby stall selling various types of simple ice cream. The ice cream she spoke of wasn't anything like Häagen-Dazs; it was the most basic style, scooped from large tubs by flavor.

"I'll have a chocolate one."

It was nearly noon, and the temperature was gradually rising, so Kitagawa Ryo didn't refuse.

"Then I'll have a mint one."

Hearing their requests, the stall owner, a woman in her forties, took out a large scoop and opened the freezer to retrieve the corresponding flavors. With a bit of force, the special scoop closed into a sphere, pressing the ice cream into a ball before placing it into a paper cup.

A moment later, Ichinose Honami walked over holding the paper cup with both chocolate and mint scoops. She used a small spoon to dig out a piece, her pale pink, glossy lips parting slightly, but she extended the spoon and the ice cream toward Kitagawa Ryo:

"Ah."

Kitagawa Ryo was still communicating with the perfume stall owner, so he instinctively turned his head to accept it. The refreshing, slightly bitter-sweet flavor quickly captivated his taste buds. He simply put down the perfume packaging he was holding and, under the somewhat gratified gaze of the elderly shopkeeper, followed suit by using his own spoon to dig out some of his ice cream and extend it toward Ichinose Honami.

The spoon's handle rotated twice in the air before Kitagawa Ryo pulled it back, now licked clean.

Feeding Ichinose Honami ice cream at such close range felt strangely, subtly erotic.

The two of them continued to feed each other until the ice cream was gone.

While Ichinose Honami went to throw away the trash, Kitagawa Ryo quietly signaled the shopkeeper to wrap up a rose-scented perfume. By the time Ichinose Honami returned, Kitagawa Ryo had already turned and walked out of the shop, pretending that the items were too expensive.

"Should we find a place to eat, or keep climbing to the summit? There should be facilities up there too."

Kitagawa Ryo sat on a stone bench under a tree, spreading out the tourist map and speaking to Ichinose Honami, who had been somewhat distracted since a moment ago.

"Ah? I... I'm fine with either."

Ichinose Honami still looked like she hadn't quite processed the situation; she scanned her surroundings before whispering to Kitagawa Ryo:

"Maki just posted an update on Instagram. Why do I get the feeling that she's in the exact same place as us?"

Upon hearing this, Kitagawa Ryo took out his phone, even though he had originally intended to keep it on silent for the entire day.

He opened the social media app, and before he could even find Ichinose Maki's account, he saw the photo update she had posted a minute ago.

In the picture, Ichinose Maki was holding a white cat, dressed in simple summer clothes, with the large landmark stone that Kitagawa Ryo had taken a photo of earlier that morning visible in the background.

Standing beside her was a girl wearing a small, round sun hat. She wore a blue and white short-sleeved casual shirt with a lapel, the lace trim along the buttons adding a touch of flair to the simple look. If one looked closely, they would notice the cuffs were cinched, with various small details that were quite exquisite. The back side of the shirt's hem was tucked casually into the waistband of her denim hot pants, while the front was tied into a sharp knot, making her look incredibly playful and lively.

Just like the girl beside her, her fair, straight legs were proudly on display, and she wore a pair of small sandals, flashing a V-sign at the camera.

Karuizawa Kei.

Chapter 12: The Actor (Part 2)

"There's no need to worry about them. If we actually run into them, we can just say hello then."

Kitagawa Ryo turned off his phone, the dark screen reflecting his indifferent expression.

"...Although I'm a little worried, if that's what Ryo says, then let's leave it at that for now."

Just like before, Ichinose Honami, who inexplicably became timid in front of Kitagawa Ryo, agreed to his suggestion. She sat down next to him and leaned her head in close to the map he was holding:

"If we go to the right, there's a temple, but we could also choose to continue up the mountain. Which path do you think is better?"

"How about best two out of three in rock-paper-scissors?"

Kitagawa Ryo recalled the game they often played as children and answered with interest:

"Whoever wins gets to decide."

Ichinose Honami did not refuse Kitagawa Ryo's proposal; she hid her right hand behind her back, trying to recall his habits when throwing his hand.