Classroom of the Elite, I Have a Life Simulator 15

Kitagawa Ryo pulled a beautifully wrapped box from his pocket:

"Here, take this. Consider it an acknowledgment of your acting skills from an audience member."

"Is it perfume?"

Karuizawa Kei took the box delicately, her fingers tracing the intricate and elegant patterns engraved on the surface:

"Won't rose scent be a bit too mature for me?"

"If you don't want it, I'll just throw it away."

Hearing Kitagawa Ryo's mutter, Karuizawa Kei quickly tucked it into her bag, her azure eyes curving into smiling crescents:

"That won't do. This counts as the first gift I've ever received from you, senpai."

"I told you, it's just a reward for your help today and compensation for getting cornered."

Kitagawa Ryo stood up and began walking downstairs side-by-side with Karuizawa Kei.

"Kei."

She heard him call her name and turned back.

"Thank you, really."

"Was that part of the act?"

"Of course not."

"Hehe, I believe you, senpai."

[Plot CG: Actor, read.]

Feeling under the weather, taking a day off.

I've been feeling a bit unwell in my stomach since yesterday. I took some medicine and managed to write yesterday's update, but I still felt terrible after waking up this morning. I've decided to take the day off. However, if I feel better by the afternoon, I might still update. In any case, I hope all my readers stay healthy. By the way, it's best not to leave the air conditioning on all night while sleeping. If you do, I hope you don't have the bad habit of kicking off your blankets like I do. (:з"∠)

Chapter 15: Hairpin, Hot Cocoa, and Sickness

[Day 9: Today is Ichinose Maki's birthday. Ichinose Maki secretly sent you an email last night, the gist being that she would sneak out after finishing dinner and cake with her mother and sister. She hopes you can come find her, as you are essentially forbidden from stepping foot into the Ichinose home due to her mother's prejudice against you—especially since you haven't even entered that building once since moving out of that apartment a year ago.]

[Although the idea is tempting and seems feasible, you still reject Ichinose Maki's request. You tell her that while a birthday is indeed a child's privilege to demand gifts, she must also remember that this day is a day of suffering for her mother. You have never held any disrespect toward her mother despite her prejudice against you; after all, having lived there since you were young, you are the person who understands this mother best, aside from Ichinose Honami.]

[You know that it's not just Ichinose Honami working hard for this long-awaited birthday party; in fact, Ichinose's mother, who has never been good at expressing herself, has also suddenly increased her work hours this month. If your guess is correct, she likely wants to save up enough money for a gift before her daughter's birthday.]

[Furthermore, according to your investigation, the item she is purchasing should be the same one Ichinose Honami intends to give her—that very hairpin which became a trendy item last year because of a certain idol. They had long since taken note of Ichinose Maki's wish.]

["Then won't the gifts clash? ?▽?"]

[Ichinose Maki sent this query. Although she has always acted very sensible, Maki is indeed longing for this gift. If her mother's gift and her sister's gift were to clash, it would feel a bit of a pity.]

["It's just like the text we studied in class last semester."]

["The Gift of the Magi?" You have, of course, read this famous short story by O. Henry. It tells the story of a wife who, on Christmas Eve, sells her prized hair to buy a platinum chain for her husband's heirloom gold watch, only to find that her husband had sold his gold watch to buy her the set of combs she had long desired. It is a story full of drama and warmth.]

["You can give the hairpin Honami gives you to Honami; her birthday is in two days, right? As for the hairpin your mother gives you, I think you can put it on for her yourself, then tell her, 'Thank you for your hard work.'"]

["Sounds good!"]

["But then won't I be left without a hairpin? 〒▽〒"]

[Her belated realization makes you feel a little amused. Even through the screen, you can imagine Maki's expression. You reply with a smile:]

["I'll give you one."]

["Is big brother going to put it on for me himself? (* /ω＼*)"]

["Put it on yourself. And, go to sleep early."]

[Both of you tacitly avoided mentioning today's events. After saying goodnight, you both went offline.]

[When you open your eyes again, the time has already reached nine in the morning. On this rare day without an early start, you stretch on the bed and pick up your phone, which has finished charging by the bedside, only to find a message from Karuizawa Kei.]

["Good morning, senpai! Hi~"]

["Maki-chan invited me to her birthday party, but I don't know her home address. Could you take me there, senpai?"]

["You haven't replied or even marked it as read—are you still sleeping? (o???)"]

[Even though you feel only a year older than Karuizawa Kei, you rarely use emoticons, and being bombarded with them right after waking up is a bit much. Come to think of it, Maki uses emoticons constantly when chatting, though Honami doesn't have that habit.]

[Checking the time, the latest message was sent half an hour ago, at 8:30. Just as you are about to reply, another message from Karuizawa Kei pops up on your phone:]

["Are you awake, senpai? The status changed to read! (o???)"]

[You rub your forehead and sigh. While you don't know if she stares at her phone twenty-four hours a day, you can at least be certain that Karuizawa Kei has changed since you first met her a few days ago. It seems that after the hiking incident yesterday, your interactions have become much more harmonious. You search your mind for a long time but cannot find a suitable word to describe it.]

[You aren't sure if this progress is good or bad. In fact, you have only known Karuizawa Kei for a few days. You have always upheld the principle of "never share deep thoughts with shallow acquaintances" when it comes to making friends, but when facing Karuizawa Kei, this principle is easily broken. Being trusted unconditionally by someone is certainly something to be proud of, but it also implies...]

[Thinking this, you dial Karuizawa Kei's number. Compared to text chatting, you prefer face-to-face communication. Judging someone by their demeanor, actions, and tone is a skill you learned and mastered from a young age as the heir to the Kitagawa family.]

[Perhaps she really does keep her phone by her side at all times; only two seconds later, the girl's lively yet slightly nervous voice comes through the receiver. You can hear a television news broadcast in the background—she must still be at home. You don't bother with pleasantries and directly ask Karuizawa Kei to meet up. The location is the same cafe where you met Maki. Although Karuizawa Kei has only been there once, her memory is quite good, and she keenly remembers the exact location.]

[Washing up and grabbing a quick piece of bread happens in one go. Half an hour later, you are ready and out the door. Because you have a car from home to pick you up, you arrive earlier than the agreed time. You order an iced Americano and sit at a table near the window, lazily observing the flow of people in the mall. Only today, there is no one sitting beside you, idly spinning stories with you.]

[The morning temperature isn't high yet. After taking a couple of sips of your iced Americano, you set the cup down and look up just in time to see Karuizawa Kei walking into the cafe. You wave at her, and she sits across from you with a smile. Since you don't know what she likes to drink, you don't take the liberty of ordering for her. Only after she is seated do you ask what she would like.]

["Cocoa. Hot."]

Karuizawa Kei replied as such. The steaming cocoa was served shortly after, and it was only then that she seemed to notice the iced Americano in front of you:

"Isn't it bad for your stomach to drink something iced so early in the morning, Senpai?"

She pointed to the hot cocoa she hadn't touched yet:

"I think you should have something warm in the morning."

"I haven't even had two sips yet, anyway." You shook your head, stirring the ice cubes with your straw while looking at the girl sitting across from you, who was sipping her hot cocoa in small mouthfuls. She seemed a bit afraid of the heat, and the way she blew on it before taking a sip looked rather cute.

"What kind of gift does Kei plan to give to Maki?"

Upon hearing your question, Karuizawa Kei pinched the tips of her hair, looking a bit embarrassed as she replied that she didn't have much money to buy anything, and there wasn't enough time to make anything elaborate, so she had just stayed up all night folding over a hundred little stars for her. After saying this, she took a transparent glass bottle out of her bag. Inside, sure enough, were numerous colorful, uniform-sized pentagrams that made a rustling sound when shaken.

After this topic ended, you and Karuizawa Kei fell into a silence. In the coffee shop, which was already sparsely populated in the morning, only the sound of the two of you boredly stirring your ice cubes or tapping the glass walls remained.

"Speaking of which, the fireworks festival is in two days. Are you going to watch it with Ichinose-san, Senpai?"

The way Karuizawa Kei tried hard to find a topic made you chuckle slightly.

"If you had asked this question a few days ago, my answer would have been an unhesitating yes."

You took a large sip of the iced Americano, the cold and bitter taste exploding on the tip of your tongue.

"If you can't find anyone to go with at that time, Senpai, you can try calling me! I'm really good at goldfish scooping, target practice, and ring toss!"

Karuizawa Kei, who had been speaking incoherently with the straw in her mouth, didn't even dare to look up at you. It was as if the outer wall of that hot cocoa cup was engraved with a treasure map; she almost wanted to bury her eyes into it. Of course, perhaps she was observing your reaction through the reflective surface of the table.

Karuizawa Kei was the type of girl who knew exactly where to draw the line. Occasionally, when she carefully crossed that line, she looked just like an abandoned little animal, staring at you with watery eyes and whimpering. But if you rejected her, she wouldn't actually cry. This feigned toughness, when displayed by a girl of her age, could be considered a special attack against men.

You stirred the ice in your cup, the cubes clinking against each other to produce a crisp sound. A strange thought suddenly popped into your head: would you get a stomachache if you drank iced Americano and hot cocoa together? What was the temperature difference between them, anyway?

"Senpai, you're spacing out. Are you not feeling well? Or did you leave the air conditioning on all night again?"

"I'm fine." It wasn't until Karuizawa Kei leaned forward and placed her fair right hand on your forehead that you snapped out of your daze. You used your right hand to grip her wrist and press her back into her seat. Looking at the concern in her matching azure eyes, you felt inexplicably annoyed.

"Whoa, Senpai's hand is so cold." Seeing you return to your usual self, Karuizawa Kei smiled and pulled her wrist away from your right hand. Well, that made sense; your right hand had been holding the iced Americano the whole time, so the sudden skin-to-skin contact would naturally feel exceptionally cold.

"My hand is very warm, it's the power of the hot cocoa!" You felt her warm, soft little hand take hold of your right hand again, pressing firmly against your palm. The excessive temperature difference made that warmth feel unexpectedly real. Karuizawa Kei looked up and said earnestly:

"If you drink iced Americano in the morning, your tongue and hands will both get cold, and then your stomach and blood will become just as cold. Girls don't like cold-hearted boys, so please drink hot milk or hot cocoa in the morning next time."

"Alright." Once your palm had warmed up again, Karuizawa Kei let go and drank her hot cocoa with satisfaction:

"Even though human body surface temperature is between 36 and 37 degrees, you can still clearly feel the difference when holding hands. Isn't it magical, Senpai?"

After that, you and Karuizawa Kei discussed some future arrangements. When the hot cocoa reached the bottom of the cup, your conversation came to an end. Unlike usual, you were left with about half a cup of iced Americano.

For the rest of the day, aside from liking the birthday photos Maki posted on social media that evening, you uncharacteristically did not contact Ichinose Honami at all. Although you really wanted to compliment her on how well that new hair clip suited her, you ultimately didn't send that message.

Day 10: You woke up feeling dizzy. Even though you had turned off the air conditioning before going to sleep last night, thinking back on it now, it was probably still the result of running wildly in the mountains the day before yesterday and then blowing the air conditioner at home. Perhaps that cup of iced Americano had also added insult to injury. You fumbled in the cupboard for a thermometer, placed it under your arm, and measured it groggily for a while. Blinking, you noticed the time was 37.9 degrees—just a low-grade fever.

You lived alone in this fairly spacious house. Although you hadn't had much contact with your parents growing up, you always maintained a respectful and close relationship with them. They worked overseas year-round; you spoke to them on the phone every three days and video-called once a week. At your strong insistence, aside from the butler who now served as your full-time driver, there were no other people in this house.

In any case, you were used to taking care of yourself, and the house was stocked with common medicines. After washing your face with hot water and taking cold medicine according to the instructions, you realized that while you could endure the bitterness of coffee, you were unexpectedly resistant to taking medicine. After finally finding a drinkable powder that was somewhat sweet, you downed it in one gulp, completely failing to notice its expiration date.

After taking the medicine, you crawled back into bed. Your throat began to ache, and you felt weak all over. Even though you considered your physical fitness to be enough to crush at least ninety percent of your peers, you didn't seem to last much longer than anyone else in the face of this sudden cold. By the time you woke up again due to thirst, it was already three in the afternoon.

You realized that you seemed to have only eaten a little bread in the morning. You stood up shakily, intending to call the butler. Surely there had never been a moment where you felt the iced Americano was so hateful. When you opened your phone, you noticed that Ichinose Maki and Karuizawa Kei had both sent you messages, but at this moment, you had neither the heart nor the energy to open them. After barely managing to send a message to the butler about your cold, you wobbled your way out of the room to find something to eat.

You clearly overestimated your willpower and your current physical condition. With a stumble, you fell by the bedroom door. As you fell, your arm seemed to knock something over, and a crisp sound echoed behind you.

Until the next melodious breeze blew in through the open window, you saw in a daze that there were colorful paper cranes dancing in front of you, then landing on your head, your back, and even right before your eyes.

So beautiful.

You thought this at the very moment you completely lost consciousness.

Chapter 16: The Approaching End

"Yes, the young master hasn't woken up yet. He is receiving an IV drip. The situation isn't particularly serious; it's just because he took expired cold medicine and didn't get enough rest. Yes, once the young master wakes up, I will have him call back."

"It is my dereliction of duty. What? Have the young master go over early? I recall the previously scheduled time was August 9th, two weeks early? Very well, I will relay this to him once the young master wakes up."

You seemed to be slowly regaining your body, and your six senses were recovering one by one. First, your nose caught the scent of disinfectant and medicine unique to a hospital. Since you were a child, you had stubbornly called this indescribable smell "medicine scent," as if you didn't need injections or IVs in a hospital, just by smelling this special odor, the germs in your body would all die off at once.

Next was your hearing. You seemed to hear someone talking on the phone outside the ward. Although the man's voice was deliberately lowered, you immediately recognized it as Mr. Izaki, the butler who had been with your family for twenty years. Judging by his tone, he should have been talking to your father or mother.

The remaining four senses also returned to your body all at once. You could feel the softness of the bedding beneath you, and looking up, you saw a pristine white ceiling. A bitter taste seemed to linger in your mouth. Your right hand, which was outside the quilt, was hooked up to an IV drip. One drop, then another, the liquid dripped from the infusion bottle, traveling along the tube and into your veins.

You finally remembered what happened before you lost consciousness. You remembered that you had a fever, called the butler, and then collapsed, knocking over a pile of... what was it? Your brain started to feel dizzy again, and your eyelids grew heavy. You bit your tongue to try and pull yourself together, swallowed to moisten your parched throat, and intended to call for the butler outside the door.

Coincidentally, the butler pushed the door open and entered. Mr. Izaki, who was already in his early fifties, looked a bit younger than his actual age. However, unlike the stereotypical image most people had of a butler, he neither wore a suit at all times nor kept his beard neatly trimmed. Aside from having smoother skin than the average old man, he looked like a completely ordinary elderly person.

"Young master, you're awake."

Seeing you open your eyes, he leaned in, pouring you a glass of hot water while pressing the button to call the doctor.

You could hear a pitter-patter sound coming from the window, and the occasional rumble of thunder made you realize that it might be raining. Summer rain was never subject to weather forecasts, and even the time for the fireworks festival had to be specifically chosen to avoid times with a high probability of precipitation.

Mr. Izaki took two steps forward and pulled the heavy curtains tighter. After some rustling, the sound of the wind and rain was completely shut out. After you finished the water, it was inconvenient for you to look at the clock on the wall, but it was already seven in the evening. By that calculation, you had been unconscious for about four hours.

"Cough, cough." Your throat felt like it was blocked by something, with a prickly, strange sensation. You couldn't help but cough a few times, then turned to ask the butler beside you:

"Has anyone been here?"

The reason you asked this was simple: right by the small cabinet next to your bed sat an umbrella that was clearly not yours, nor could it have been Mr. Izaki's. Your preferred color was always an unchanging black; even the one you once gave to Ichinose Honami was a large black umbrella. And Mr. Izaki... you looked at him strangely. Based on your understanding of him, he wouldn't go so far as to use this kind of pink little umbrella covered in flowers and plants.

"It was Karuizawa Kei-san."

"Furthermore, she arrived at your home earlier than we did, and she was the one who called the ambulance. By the time I arrived, they seemed to be on the verge of breaking down the door; I used the spare key to open it, and then I brought you to the hospital."

"Is that so? Where is my phone?" Feeling that your physical condition had improved slightly, you struggled to sit up. Izaki knew he could never win an argument with you, so he obediently propped up your pillows, helping you settle into a semi-reclined position as comfortably as possible.

"What you need right now, young master, is to rest properly. Otherwise, someone might just hop on a morning flight and show up in your hospital room tomorrow."

You understood the implication behind Izaki's words. Like a kitten held by the scruff of its neck by a mother cat, you twitched your lips, not daring to ask for your phone again.

"I heard something about going abroad early just now, didn't I?" You recalled the conversation you had overheard and tried to confirm the truth of the matter.

"That is merely the Madam's unilateral wish. If you feel you can persuade her one-on-one over the phone in a moment, I can fetch your phone for you right now. Or have you already organized your talking points?" Hearing Izaki's reply, you drank your hot water with a sense of frustration. You knew that the condition for being allowed to live alone was the guarantee that you could take care of yourself. Your mother's request wasn't unreasonable; after all, in her eyes, you were going abroad in early August anyway, so leaving two days early wouldn't make much of a difference.

The arrival of the doctor gave you time to think. While responding to the questions posed by the doctor in the white coat, you began to consider how to communicate with your mother later. When it came down to it, if she suggested you go early to spend a few days with them, you wouldn't have any reason to refute her.

"If your condition remains stable and continues to recover, you can be discharged in a couple of days," the doctor replied after a thorough examination. Izaki stood up to see him out, and the two exchanged a few more words in the hallway, though you were too focused on crafting your excuses to pay any attention.

"Senpai?" When you regained your focus, you found yourself staring directly into a pair of azure eyes. Her eye color was the same as hers, which left you momentarily dazed. A small, fair hand waved in front of your face, and Karuizawa Kei spoke with a tone that was a mix of pride and heartache:

"I told you not to drink iced Americanos in the morning, and you shouldn't leave the air conditioning on so late at night, either."

She was sitting on the edge of your bed. Perhaps because this was a luxury suite, the bed was a size larger than usual—let alone sitting on the side, there was more than enough room for another person to sleep there. Even so, you subconsciously shrank toward the inner side, despite the fact that there was a thirty-centimeter gap between your legs and her body, separated by the duvet.

"Izaki said you were the one who called the ambulance." For some reason, you averted your gaze. But when you were sick, everything you did could be forgiven; no small action would be scrutinized. Was this the privilege of being unwell, or was it a privilege you held in front of her?

"That's right. I sent you a message this morning and you didn't reply. At first, I thought maybe you'd just woken up late like yesterday, but by noon it still hadn't shown as read. I went to ask Maki, and when she called you, no one answered, so I asked for your address and went over."

"Because the window to your room was open, I saw you lying on the floor right away. I called out several times, but you didn't answer, so I dialed 120. The ambulance arrived a few minutes later, and that old gentleman drove up as well. After he opened the door, I came to the hospital with you."

"The doctor said you probably just had a simple low-grade fever at first, but taking the wrong medicine made your condition worse. Then, because you haven't been keeping a regular schedule or eating properly, you ended up fainting at home. Your clothes were soaked in sweat when you arrived, you know."

Karuizawa Kei sat by your bedside, speaking in a low voice. Your head began to swim again, to the point where her gentle voice became like a lullaby. It wound around you like intermittent spider silk, wrapping you layer by layer. You lay inside this thick cocoon, a sense of tipsy comfort rising from the depths of your soul.

"Help me turn on the TV." You didn't want to fall asleep here so easily—or rather, you had already slept for too long today—so you forced your eyes open and pointed at the television hanging on the opposite wall.