The Mantis Stalks the Cicada, Unaware of the Oriole Behind / A Unique Talent

Kitagawa Ryo wasn't surprised by Shiina Hiyori's request to know the truth. After all, he had considered this several months ago and had Hotaru handle the matter. Therefore, when faced with the girl's almost confrontational 'questioning,' he readily agreed.

"Okay, I'll tell you everything when we get back to the hotel."

Perhaps it was because Kitagawa Ryo's response was completely without hesitation that Shiina Hiyori and Karuizawa Kei were somewhat bewildered. After all, in their prior expectations, it wouldn't be surprising if they were rejected after asking the question. In too many fables, there are countless examples of those who are blessed or Salvation miracles being punished for wanting to get to the bottom of the so-called truth.

Ultimately, even if Kitagawa Ryo really wasn't willing to reveal anything, Shiina Hiyori and Karuizawa Kei didn't really have any grounds to press him for answers. After all, in no way had he wronged them. That's why the latter, knowing that the mystery behind it all was still there, only hoped that she would be the first to know if he really wanted to talk. However, the former couldn't get over this hurdle in her heart, which is why she chose to ask him at this special time tonight.

"Huh? Can we really just say whatever we want? Aren't there any scenarios where revealing them would lead to being eliminated or prevent us from hearing about them?"

"What are you thinking about...?"

Shiina Hiyori Kitagawa Ryo lightly tapped Shiina Hiyori's forehead several times, then put his hands back in his pockets.

"However, the whole story is quite long, and you'll probably understand it better if you see it before I tell you. Let's go back now."

"What do you mean by 'play it once'? The videotape?"

Completely intrigued, Karuizawa Kei kept pressing for answers, while Shiina Hiyori Megumi, though not as exaggerated, also wore a very expectant expression.

Although the current situation is very similar to Shiina Hiyori a score of 13.0, and she seems to have won by default, how can being tied for first place not count as first place? There's absolutely no problem with that.

"It's not a videotape."

Kitagawa Ryo shook his head, then explained to Shiina Hiyori:

"Hiyori should still remember how you felt and experienced recalling your memories after receiving this ring, right? It was similar to a lucid dream, something like that."

"So Ryo can do this too?"

"It wasn't me, it was Ying. Never mind, you'll find out when we get back."

Feeling that experiencing something firsthand is better than explaining it a hundred times, Kitagawa Ryo stopped trying to explain and instead led the two thoughtful individuals back to the hotel, where they swiped their room cards to open their room door.

As the saying goes, "Raise a cat for a thousand days, use it for one." Upon entering, Kitagawa Ryo went straight to Hotaru, who was leisurely watching TV on the sofa. He used a simple neck grab to lift her up, bringing the bewildered kitten in front of them. He then spoke in a serious, even solemn tone, as if introducing some behind-the-scenes mastermind:

"This is the truth behind everything that Hiyori and Megumi wanted to know... cough, the truth itself."

Compared to Shiina Hiyori, who looked completely bewildered, Karuizawa Kei's attitude was more natural. After all, the various speculations about Neko Hotaru were always a hot topic among the heroines who had experienced life simulations.

Because everyone claimed that their exclusive memories with Ryo (although judging from the situations of Sakayanagi Arisu and Yuki, it's clear they weren't exclusive) also included the cat Hotaru, but not Hotaru's younger sister. Furthermore, based on the information revealed by Sakayanagi Arisu, it's clear that Hotaru wasn't just an ordinary kitten.

Considering that the other person and Ryo's sister both share the name Hotaru, it's reasonable to suggest that the cat is actually the sister's alter ego. The Sims games were never actually duos between Kitagawa Ryo and them, but rather trios including the sister. The other person simply tried to remain a Bystander and rarely interfered directly.

So what is the motivation for doing this?

By considering their own personal experiences, it's not difficult to make the corresponding inferences.

First and foremost, it must be acknowledged that the ultimate goal of these life simulations is to help them avoid inevitable bad endings and regrets in the real world. Kitagawa Ryo is like the protagonist in a light novel who seeks a perfect ending after countless deaths and time rewinds, and needs to find the most suitable ending among countless possible timelines.

Therefore, each of them actually avoided the Fate of the original world line. So what was Hotaru's Fate in the original world line?

Given the fact that the other party has suffered from a congenital disease since childhood, almost everyone can naturally deduce the story of the original world line that has never changed.

Of course, speculation is speculation, and Karuizawa Kei could not possibly have thought of all the details. Rather, it is only when Kitagawa Ryo placed Hotaru in front of her that the complete logical chain finally came together in her mind, which is what is commonly known as Zhuge Liang.

"Hiyori and Megumi must have always been curious about why I have a biological... cough, a biological younger sister Hotaru from a few years ago, and also a cat with the same name, because they are actually one individual."

"To put it simply, it's like the difference between the person you remember and the person you are now—the same person experiencing different events on two different timelines."

"If we want to explain the whole story clearly, then we'll have to trouble Hotaru. Megumi and Hiyori, please lie down on this bed for now; it should be more comfortable that way."

After the two finished preparing, Kitagawa Ryo nodded to Hotaru, giving an instruction similar to 'Please watch the video'.

The next instant, amidst the dazzling light emanating from the other's fluorescent pupils, his consciousness was transported to another void area as if he were actually there... but it only lasted for a brief moment before he withdrew.

Kitagawa Ryo initially thought something had gone wrong with Hotaru again, but in the blink of an eye, he saw Karuizawa Kei and Shiina Hiyori on the bed already having closed their eyes in a daze, as if they had fallen into some kind of dream.

In response to Kitagawa Ryo's confusion, Hotaru gently snuggled into his arms, rubbed her little head against his cheek twice, and placed her two front paws on his neck as if to comfort him, meowing twice.

Although he still couldn't understand what Hotaru was trying to say, Kitagawa Ryo immediately grasped her meaning.

If we were to explain everything from the very beginning, we would inevitably have to go through the initial Fate of the two of them, which is the timeline in which Hotaru died in front of him.

She didn't want to relive that Matoba, which is why she chose to isolate him alone.

"Thanks."

Despite not feeling it was necessary, Kitagawa Ryo accepted his sister's heartfelt kindness. He simply cuddled the kitten, lay down on the headboard of the other bed, closed his eyes, and took a nap, waiting for the two of them to wake up.

However, what he didn't see was that the moment he closed his eyes and pretended to doze off, the kitten in his arms had already revealed a mysterious expression with the corners of its mouth turned up, as if it had planned everything perfectly.

She knew, of course, that her brother had developed a resolute character through so many Sims games, and besides, the tragedy of the past had been rewritten, so witnessing it again wouldn't make a difference.

But--

If my brother were here.

How could she openly release her own director's cut, which she had added a ton of dubious personal touches?

All I can say is that you were the challengers who came later!

Even at this point, Hotaru still didn't forget to frantically send signals to her other self while multitasking:

The opportunity has arrived, come quickly!

While Karuizawa Kei and Shiina Hiyori were watching a director's masterpiece live from a first-person perspective, Horikita Suzune, who had left home a little earlier than Kitagawa Ryo, successfully ran into Amasawa Ichika.

All I can say is that working at your own company definitely doesn't give you that tired, numb "workplace vibe." Just like how my grandfather's Maybach cured my mental exhaustion after I went home for three days, Amasawa Ichika still has that innocent and carefree look, with her usual slightly mischievous smile on her face. Just by looking at her appearance, she is definitely a lovable and beautiful girl, and she is lightly getting out of the taxi.

Although taxi fares in Tokyo are outrageously expensive, it seems the company is Supply all the losses they've incurred over the past decade by paying her an incredibly high daily wage, almost like a free gift. So, taking a taxi is more than enough for her.

"Let's go sit in this shop."

As soon as the two met, before Horikita Suzune could even speak, Amasawa Ichika looked around and then took her hand, leading her directly into a coffee shop with a good view by the roadside.

"Why are you suddenly here for coffee...? Didn't Ichika call me over because of Megumi and Hiyori, and that bet between us?"

Amasawa Ichika Horikita Suzune was also a little taken aback when she was pulled into the coffee shop by Amaze Ichika. Only after he had already finished ordering did she belatedly ask a question.

I went to see Chun at her workplace today.

Instead of answering Horikita Suzune's question immediately, Amasawa Ichika suddenly brought up another person.

"Chun? Do you mean the older sister or the younger sister?"

"Little sister, please, if it were to see Xue, I would definitely just say her name."

Resting her chin on her hand, Ichika glanced at Amasawa Ichika Horikita Suzune, who seemed to still be thinking about the threesome, and then added:

"Suzune, let's not think about any bets for now. Based on what I know about Hiyori, we'll probably have to figure out everything about Ryo before we can start anything like a threesome. Speaking of which, why didn't I ask her back then... well, I guess it's because I wasn't even thinking about that kind of thing. I guess everyone has different things they care about. What about you, Suzune?"

"Pretty much. The main reason is that I've only met Liang's sister a few times in real life, and I can accept the explanation Liang gave before, so I won't try to find out more."

After answering subconsciously, Horikita Suzune frowned slightly and asked:

"So why are we going to find Tsubaki? Is she in the know? That's unlikely, right? Her relationship with Ryo isn't that close yet."

"It's not He Liang, it's He Ying."

Amasawa Ichika corrected Horikita Suzune's mistake, her fluorescent eyes, identical to that of the other person, constantly flickering with a look of speculation and contemplation:

"During the Club Special Exam in May, she had a private meeting with Hotaru. Does Suzune know about that?"

"... I was at the Student Council that day."

"It's alright, as long as Suzune knows about this. I suspect that Hotaru said something special to Tsubaki back then, since Tsubaki's behavior changed a lot after that. How can I describe it? It's almost like she found out that someone else was doing something even more outrageous than her, so she felt a little more at ease."

"That's why I chose to ask her about this in person today, because I've always felt that the secret about Ryo isn't actually with him, but with Hotaru. She's the key to the truth."

"Didn't Ichika just say that she didn't care about this at all?"

"Indeed, I didn't care at first, but later I found that there might be something very interesting hidden in it."

Amasawa Ichika smiled, revealing her small tiger teeth. It can only be said that among so many pretenses, Leziren is always the one who stands firm. However, she had no choice but to pretend like this before, but now it's almost become her true nature.

What does Suzune think of Ryo's sister?

"Even if you ask me that, I've only met her twice. If I had to describe her, she's probably a very lively girl, and she has a very good relationship with Ryo's siblings. It's just that Ryo's situation is a bit delicate right now because of her own change in identity."

Since Amasawa Ichika was treating, Horikita Suzune wasn't going to miss the chance to eat her fill. She ordered herself a drink and also pre-ordered a cocoa to take home for Ryo that evening.

"I had a similar view to Suzune a long time ago, but after seeing Hotaru in person, I had a new guess, and today I got confirmation from Tsubaki."

At this point, Amasawa Ichika stopped talking again, just as the waiter brought over their drinks. She took the opportunity to sip her drink while glancing through the one-way glass at the hotel across the street.

About twenty minutes later, just as the two of them had almost finished their drinks, Amasawa Ichika finally saw the person she had been waiting for.

After witnessing the other party enter the hotel without hesitation, Amasawa Ichika also gestured for Horikita Suzune to get up:

"Let's go, let's follow them."

Then, at the coffee shop counter, the two of them simultaneously reached out and each received a packaged drink from the server.

After a brief silence, Horikita Suzune broke the awkward silence:

"Two people should be fine, right?"

"... It would be great if there were only two."

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Chapter 77: Unique Talent

"Knock knock--"

About half an hour after Kitagawa Ryo was half asleep, cuddling his kitten and resting against the headboard, a slightly urgent knock on the door pulled him back to reality. He glanced instinctively at the other bed and saw that Karuizawa Kei and Shiina Hiyori still showed no signs of waking up. He then got up, put on the hotel's disposable slippers, and headed towards the entrance.

Through the peephole, Kitagawa Ryo easily recognized the person standing outside the door. He casually opened the door, and there stood his lovely younger sister, who playfully raised her hand in a salute upon seeing him.

Good evening, brother.

Even though it had only been a month or two since they last met, Kitagawa Ryo felt that something had changed about his sister. Of course, he didn't know that this was because the other Hotaru in his arms had been showing her several Sims movies in detail during this time. He only felt that she had matured a bit in terms of temperament. However, mixed with her real age and her simple, even plain, attire that still resembled that of a middle school student, she gave off an inexplicable and inexplicable attraction.

"It seems Suzune wasn't wrong about who we were during the day; she started following us back then?"

Although he knew that Karuizawa Kei and Shiina Hiyori inside the room weren't really in a state of deep sleep that could be disturbed, Kitagawa Ryo still unconsciously lowered his voice and gestured for his sister to keep her voice down as well.

"Yes, but my brother was probably taking Special Exam at the time, so I didn't disturb him. Besides, you and Suzune- neechan both seemed to be having a good time."

After entering the room, Hotaru naturally took her good ally from Kitagawa Ryo's hands, then glanced at the two people on the bed before finally taking off her shoes and sitting cross-legged on the sofa for guests.

Unlike the outfits of the boys and girls around her sister's age that Kitagawa Ryo saw on the streets of Shibuya tonight, Hotaru's current attire was quite unremarkable. She wore a simple, loose white T-shirt with a cat print on the chest and fitted light blue jeans. The only slightly unusual thing was that her hair wasn't naturally loose as before, but tied into a loose low ponytail, making her look much gentler and quieter.

Perhaps because there were two other girls lying nearby, or perhaps because everyone was tacitly pretending not to notice, after a brief exchange of pleasantries, the atmosphere between the siblings fell into an unusual silence. After a while, Hotaru looked back at Karuizawa Kei and Shiina Hiyori on the bed and took the initiative to start a conversation:

"Are they... also looking at my brother's and my past?"

"You don't want to?"

Kitagawa Ryo initially thought his sister also harbored that strange possessiveness—a desire to keep her memories private and not let others interfere—but she simply shook her head decisively.

"It's not that I'm unwilling, but rather that I'm very willing, because that's the beginning of my brother's life. If they don't even know that, even if they don't say it themselves, I won't really want to acknowledge their relationship with my brother."

"Conversely, only when they know and understand everything about my brother can I confidently hand him over."

Although she said that, Hotaru knew very well that her subtext was that if they didn't see this, how could they feel the deep affection between the siblings? She wanted to say something like, "Our bond is stronger than yours," and lay the groundwork for future plans.

"Hotaru, can you tell me how you felt when you saw these?"

Since he wasn't invited to today's screening, Kitagawa Ryo decided to interview another person involved.

"My feelings? I guess if my brother had been with me then, I definitely would have hugged you and cried without hesitation. In fact, I almost went to Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School to find you."

Undoubtedly, even if Hotaru saw the edited director's cut, because she was indeed one of the parties involved, she couldn't possibly view that period of her life from a normal Bystander's perspective as if it were a story. In a sense, it was the deepest nightmare.

Ultimately, no matter how the director edited, Hotaru didn't fabricate anything out of thin air. So, this process was essentially just finding sweetness in a pile of broken glass, just like the two duo in the White Room before, except now all the broken glass had been swept away.

In fact, if they were to relive that experience again, they would only feel endless anger, sadness, and lingering fear.

"I see..."

Kitagawa Ryo was about to ask a few more questions when he suddenly heard a knocking sound coming from the door. He got up and went to check, only to find Horikita Suzune had returned sometime earlier, accompanied by Amasawa Ichika.

"Looks like we came back at the wrong time?"

Seeing Hotaru already sitting on the sofa and the two who had taken up a large bed, Amasawa Ichika feigned surprise and covered his mouth, making a gesture as if to pull Horikita Suzune away, but was immediately stopped by Kitagawa Ryo, who was having a headache.

"Alright, since we're already here, let's all come in."

By this point, he naturally guessed that this was a deliberate counterattack by Amasawa Ichika and Horikita Suzune. However, since Karuizawa Kei and Shiina Hiyori had already begun their final showdown, Kitagawa Ryo adopted a "what's done is done" attitude and brought the two newcomers along as well.