Arisu in Turmoil (4.5k) / There Is No Oxygen on the Moon (4.5k)

I've caught a cold, my throat is so sore I'm swallowing razor blades, and I'm forced to rest. I hope I'll feel better tomorrow.

Everyone should also take care to keep warm, as it's too easy to catch a cold in this weather.

Thank you all for your continued reading and support. The First Year arc is scheduled to conclude this year, with only a few chapters left to wrap things up. The second-year arc should be released in a new volume. It's already 2025 before we know it, time flies.

Chapter 518: Confused Arisu (4k5)

With the completion of the First Year End-of-Year Special Exam, the Class Points for the four classes have changed accordingly:

Class 1-A, Grade 1: 919 points (formerly 969 points).

Class 1-B: 1213 points (originally 963 points).

Class 1-C: 509 points (formerly 559 points).

Class 1-D, Grade 1: 560 points (originally 310 points).

Class B and Class D, which were in the lower ranks, took this opportunity to advance to the next rank. Class A and Class C, which failed in the final round, also suffered defeat and each dropped one rank.

However, for the current First Year students, changes in Class Points and class rankings are not their most pressing concerns at the moment, because the penalty for failing the End-of-Year Special Exam is expulsion.

So, did the Commander himself resign from school to take responsibility?

Or should we pick two scapegoats from the losers' bracket?

Horikita Suzune, the Commander of Class 1-A (or rather, Class 1-B) in the first year, chose the former without hesitation.

Then, with the support of Kitagawa Ryo, Amasawa Ichika, Sakayanagi Arisu, and Sakura Airi, they quickly used another 20 million Private Points to offset the punishment of expulsion, thus successfully passing the test.

Unfortunately, Class 1-B is already riddled with problems. If two more students were to drop out, the situation would undoubtedly become even worse.

However, the former Class C, which had already fallen to Class D, chose a different approach.

After Katsuragi Kohei, acting as the Commander, stated that he would not accept the punishment of expulsion, the vote from the winners' bracket was naturally opened, and the result was no exception: more than half of the students voted in favor, saving the Commander while distributing the punishment among the losers' bracket.

As the target of everyone's criticism, Hashimoto Masayoshi was undoubtedly voted out.

However, the remaining random selection inevitably made the students in the loser's bracket nervous, even Commander Kohei Katsuragi, who was no longer at risk of being expelled.

After all, both Kushida Kikyo and Kamuro Masumi from the class were in the losers' bracket, making them potential targets for selection. The latter would be fine, but if the former were actually selected, the overall strength of Class 1-D would undoubtedly decline significantly.

In a sense, Kushida Kikyo's position in Class D was truly irreplaceable; otherwise, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka wouldn't have chosen to win her over even knowing she had betrayed the class, instead of kicking her out like he did with Hashimoto Masayoshi.

However, Kushida Kikyo herself didn't seem particularly nervous. She was even gently comforting her classmates who were either anxious or disappointed, continuing to play her role as the class's Tian.

It can only be said that Class 1-D really can't come up with the Twenty Million Personal Points to redeem the student. Class B was able to come up with so many Private Points to cancel Horikita Suzune's expulsion punishment mainly because Sakura Airi had been saving up 10 million. 20 million is not so easy to save up. Ayanokoji Kiyotaka only had Miyabi Nagumo forgive Class D' s debt, but didn't give Class D millions of Private Points back.

Just as Katsuragi Kohei was feeling uneasy, the second expulsion result was also announced. According to the school's random selection, Motodoi Chikako from Class 1-D became the victim and would be expelled along with Hashimoto Masayoshi.

Upon seeing this result, Katsuragi Kohei breathed a sigh of relief. Firstly Motodoi Chikako herself wasn't particularly outstanding in Class D, and secondly, he actually felt that dropping out of school was a relief for her.

After all, she had suffered consecutive major setbacks in her relationships with both Hashimoto Masayoshi and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, and the former had been particularly attentive to spreading a lot of erotic rumors about her. Perhaps leaving the environment of ANHS was a better choice for her.

Thinking of Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, Katsuragi Kohei sighed helplessly once again.

He had always felt that if the other side were in Commander, they should be able to see through Class C's plan when confirming the official projects and turn it against them. But assumptions are just assumptions. Maybe Ayanokoji Kiyotaka originally wanted Class D to experience this kind of failure due to underestimating their opponent in their First Year.

Looking back now in hindsight, the project setup and personnel arrangements should have been based on the assumption that Masayoshi Hashimoto, a bombshell of dissatisfaction with the class, would Hashimoto Masayoshi.

In the end, Katsuragi Kohei could only helplessly define this Special Exam:

There is no doubt that there is a considerable gap in strength between Class C and Class D. Given that Class D was tricked and Class C had a clear advantage in luck, especially in the sixth round of Rock Paper Scissors, they were able to drag the game to a narrow 3-4 defeat despite being slightly less lucky. If they do not underestimate Class C next time, they should still win.

But Ryuen Kakeru was sitting opposite him, clearly didn't think so.

While Class 1-C's victory over Class D in this Special Exam certainly involved a degree of luck, it cannot be said to be entirely due to chance.

He had a lot of luck on top of that, but he also did a lot of work on it.

For example, there was more than just Hashimoto Masayoshi as a traitor in Class 1-D's End-of-Year Special Exam.

In this respect, the girl named Kushida Kikyo did indeed possess an extraordinary ruthlessness.

Because if the Commander standing here at this moment who lost the match were Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, who was originally planned to be there, then half of the students in the winner's group of Class 1-D would be instantly incited to mutiny, and the Commander would be expelled from school on the spot.

Unfortunately, the Commander standing here at this moment is not Ayanokoji Kiyotaka himself.

Moreover, Ryuen Kakeru didn't believe that Kushida Kikyo's plan would succeed if Ayanokoji Kiyotaka were to take Commander.

Overall, Class C won this Special Exam and returned to its original position as Class C.

Yes, that's good.

Ryuen Kakeru kicked back his chair and stood up. Although there were still a series of activities to come, including the Graduation Ceremony, graduation performance, etc., for him personally—

He has finished his First Year at Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School.

The indoor area of Student Council Activities Department at Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School.

"... Why did you come to the Student Council to work overtime right after losing the Special Exam?"

"Isn't this because someone made grand promises to everyone during their Student Council President? The election officially starts tomorrow, and if we don't work overtime to do a final check now, it'll be too late tomorrow."

"It's alright, it's alright. Today, Ichika and I will be your helpers."

"Yes, the supreme former acting Student Council has finally returned to his loyal Student Council activity room. Congratulations, congratulations!"

"Airi just reported from the scene that there seems to be a problem with the lighting in Zone C."

"Yes, yes—I'll explain it to the staff right away."

"That Ayanokoji is still on sick leave. He's barely even been to the Student Council since he became vice president, sir."

Even though the Special Exam at the end of the school year had just ended and students were officially beginning their wonderful spring break, the Student Council's activity room was still bustling with activity.

Just an hour ago, Horikita Suzune, Sakayanagi Arisu, Amasawa Ichika, and Kitagawa Ryo were back and forth as competitors, but now they were all extremely busy, checking for any potential problems or malfunctions with Sakura Airi, who was on stage for a pre-show rehearsal, via remote connection.

"Phew... that's pretty much it for now. The lighting and sound equipment have all been checked, and we're just waiting for the show to start tomorrow."

After working for a while, the newly elected Student Council, Horikita Suzune, stretched in her office chair and got up to loosen her limbs.

"Thank you for your hard work, everyone."

After finishing all the Student Council work, Horikita Suzune didn't announce the disbandment and go home as usual. Instead, she glanced at Sakayanagi Arisu and Amasawa Ichika in turn, then sat back down, resting her chin on her hand as if she were listening attentively.

"So, can you two explain what happened this afternoon?"

"Well, this is quite a long story."

"It's alright, I don't have anything else to do for the rest of the day anyway. You can take your time telling me and I'll listen attentively. Just make sure you don't miss anything and explain the whole story clearly, otherwise I definitely won't be able to sleep tonight."

"Too."

Knowing she was in the wrong, Amasawa Ichika smiled sheepishly, then sat down opposite Horikita Suzune, lost in thought.

Where to begin?

Knowing that Horikita Suzune shared similar experiences with her in the Sims, Amasawa Ichika saved herself a lot of trouble. After thinking for a moment, she continued:

"Suzune should know about the White Room, right? I myself am Fifth Generation of the White Room."

"Um."

"So, what I'm going to talk about next is what Arisu and I experienced back then, when Ryo was also Fifth Generation of the White Room in the same year as me."

Half an hour later.

"... Let's get straight to the point. It's been thirty minutes and I still haven't heard Arisu appear. And do kids really remember how old they are?"

After listening to Amasawa Ichika's kindergarten diary for a full half hour, Horikita Suzune rubbed her forehead.

"Yes, yes, after all, they are children of the White Room. It's quite normal for them to be precocious. In fact, it's more accurate to say that if they weren't precocious, they wouldn't be able to survive in that kind of environment."

Amasawa Ichika nodded as if it were a matter of course:

"Since Suzune said she wanted to hear the whole story, I naturally have to explain it in detail. Besides, Arisu any objections, did she?"

"That's true, but I'm just more interested in what kind of life Liang led before I went to the White Room."

Upon hearing this, Sakayanagi Arisu gently shook her head. Ever since losing the final Chess match of this Special Exam, her mood seemed a bit strange. It couldn't be described as listless or disappointed, but rather as a feeling of bewilderment and contemplation.

"However, I'm tired of hearing the story about little Amasawa Ichika and her caretaker Kitagawa Ryo. Ichika, you should speed things up a bit and tell me why Ryo looked the way she did when I went there. You should know what I mean."

"... I really didn't want to talk about this topic. Actually, I only found out about this later. The cause of the incident was actually the human variant experiments on Harlow's Monkey Experiment, which were strongly advocated by Suzukake, a researcher in the White Room."

After briefly explaining the principles and process of the Harlow's Monkey Experiment, Amasawa Ichika stood up again, spun around, ran behind Kitagawa Ryo, leaned on his back, rested her head on his shoulder, and pointed with her hand:

"So, Ryo was the chosen Cloth Mother, but I only saw him as an older brother back then, since Ryo is a boy."

"Oh, right, I later found out that Ryota has a younger sister, and her eye color is exactly the same as mine! Doesn't it feel like Fate?"

"... I think that apart from this aspect, Ichika and Hotaru have absolutely nothing in common."

"No way, they're all such cute girls, okay? And they're around the same age too. It's just a pity I only saw them from afar last time..."

"Stop, stop, stop. We can talk about that later. Let's get back to the story of the White Room. If we keep going on like this, we won't be able to finish talking tonight."

Faced with the topic heading in a somewhat off track, Horikita Suzune, who simply wanted to know the truth, immediately spoke up to stop it.

"Okay, okay."

Amasawa Ichika pouted. In essence, she just wanted to lighten the atmosphere on the field, or rather, to make herself feel a little better. After all, it is never easy to dig out the deepest scar in one's heart and show it again to unsuspecting outsiders, even if it has almost healed and no longer shows any blurry flesh.

So, Amasawa Ichika calmly peeled back the disguise of the White Room and explained the measures taken against Kitagawa Ryo inside, Horikita Suzune's expression lost its initial composure. After all, these were things she had never known before, things she had never imagined that the person she cared about most had once experienced such brutal abuse.

"That's all in the past."

Noticing Horikita Suzune's unusual expression, Kitagawa Ryo also offered her a word of comfort. For Horikita Suzune, whose biggest challenge in the Confessions was how to confess her feelings, this was probably an unexpected development, as if she had jumped into another world with a different worldview.

In terms of sheer difficulty, Arisu's chapter is undoubtedly the most challenging of the four. Both simulations tormented him to the point where he was either on his last breath or completely drained of energy.

Meanwhile, Amasawa Ichika's narration continues:

"And so, under those circumstances, I had a Chess match with Arisu had come to visit the White Room. In the end, I lost the game, and Ryo was taken away from the White Room by Arisu."

"The rest of the story is too long to tell in a short time, and it's also related to snow, but if we get to this point, Suzune should be able to understand part of what happened today."

"... perhaps."

By the second half, Horikita Suzune had almost forgotten about Chess, her attention still almost entirely focused on Kitagawa Ryo in the story. Suddenly, she realized the weight behind her joking remark earlier that day, "Ryo has it tough sometimes too."

But before she could speak, Kitagawa Ryo calmly shared his thoughts:

"But no matter what, I hope that my encounter with everyone is to create one new happiness after another in the future, to be able to talk about and escape the old sorrows of the past, but not to keep remembering them."

As he said this, Kitagawa Ryo looked at Sakayanagi Arisu.

But the other person, quite unusually, avoided his gaze.

Many years later, she once again experienced the discomfort of her heart beating so heavily and wearily in her chest.

This time, however, the loud and rough noises surrounding it did not originate from any physiological lesion.

Chapter 519: There Is No Oxygen on the Moon (4k5)

"I'm back."

After helping with Student Council affairs and attending Amasawa Ichika's storytelling session, around ** o'clock in the evening, Kitagawa Ryo finally ended his busy day in every sense of the word and returned to his Dormitory 408, where he habitually greeted Hotaru, who was staying behind.

"Meow meow meow--"

As usual, Hotaru stood on the shoe cabinet near the entrance. After Kitagawa Ryo closed the door, she jumped into his arms and affectionately rubbed her face against his hand.

"By the way, I have a question for Ying."

As Kitagawa Ryo changed into his indoor shoes and walked into the room, he took off his coat and casually placed it on the sofa next to him, asking Hotaru as he did so:

"Is there a way for Ying to bring those simulations of my past experiences to life in reality?"

Having experienced today's Special Exam and tonight's storytelling session, Kitagawa Ryo has become increasingly aware that the numerous information gaps have inevitably become the root of conflicts and estrangement among the girls. If he can resolve this issue, it will undoubtedly be of great help in handling his interpersonal relationships with girls in the future.

Hotaru didn't answer Kitagawa Ryo's question immediately. After pondering for a while with her head down, she first shook her head, then nodded, conveying a sense of 'it's not impossible, but I have to tinker with it first'.

"Well, then I'll have to trouble you, Ying. If it really comes true, I'll call all the people involved over and have them sit in a row to watch it together. It sounds like it would be quite interesting."

Gently scratching the kitten's chin, Kitagawa Ryo put Hotaru aside again, grabbed his change of clothes, and went into the bathroom to take a shower, leaving Hotaru alone there, tilting her little head and thinking about how to fulfill her brother's new wish.

Frankly speaking, apart from one or two rather short simulations, most of the simulations span a long period of time, truly representing another life in name and in fact. Therefore, it is impossible to simply present the entire simulation process in its original form.

So--

The final answer should be the director's cut.

The pure white kitten raised its front paw and pretended to adjust glasses that didn't actually exist, feeling that it had successfully found the answer.

Of course, this was her first time doing something like this, and considering the final product, she knew she needed to find an audience to judge it first.