After saying what he needed to say—
Minami fell silent.
He wasn't the type to lecture people unless he had to.
But sotis, there was no avoiding it.
Like now, with Satou.
If he didn't point out her flawed thinking directly—
Who knew when she'd try another secret escape?
And he only had 1,200 Heartthrob Points.
Now that he had spent them, there was no guarantee he'd get another shot at this.
So, of course, he had to make sure she understood everything now.
As if sensing Minami's thoughts or perhaps finally coming to a realization of her own, Satou gave a small nod.
That one gesture—
It was as if, at that mont... she had finally made peace with her past self.
She accepted her imperfections. And, little by little, she would learn to control the noise in her heart.
Seeing that, Minami exhaled in slight relief.
Honestly, he wasn't worried about Satou running away.
What did worry him was if she refused to listen to reason.
Because if it was the forr, he could always stop her.
But if it was the latter, that was entirely up to her.
If he could get her to stop overthinking like this,
Then spending 1,200 Heartthrob Points on this simulation wouldn't feel like such a waste.
With that thought, Minami slowly stood up.
"Minami-senpai?"
Noticing his movent, Satou instinctively looked up.
"Are we heading back?"
"As if."
Minami glanced at Satou with a smirk.
"I just asked the staff—there's an onsen here. I reserved a private bath, so let's go soak for a bit before heading back."
He had been keeping his speed down the entire way, taking over two hours to reach this tourist area.
In the dead of winter, even his hands were turning red from the cold.
Although the warm al had helped a little, his body still felt chilled.
There was no reason not to take the chance to relax and warm up properly.
After his last experience catching a cold, Minami had started paying more attention to his health.
With that, he stood up without hesitation.
On the other side, Satou, hearing his words, obediently nodded.
"Soaking in the onsen, huh... I see... In that case, I-I'll just wait here for you to finish, Minami-senpai."
She spoke hesitantly.
But before she could even finish—
Minami gave her a very strange look.
"...Eh? What is it, Minami-senpai?"
Noticing his gaze, Satou was confused.
"What do you an what? What kind of nonsense are you saying?"
Minami shot her a sidelong glance, speaking matter-of-factly.
"Of course you're coming too. We rode here in the freezing wind—aren't you cold?"
"...Eh?"
His casual remark left Satou montarily frozen.
By the ti she processed what he ant—
Minami had already scooped her up into his arms.
She instinctively wanted to struggle.
But the mont she saw the warning in Minami's gaze, her outstretched hands hesitated—
Then timidly withdrew.
The onsen was paved with smooth river stones.
Through the massive floor-to-ceiling windows, a breathtaking view of mist-shrouded mountains stretched beyond.
The cold wind carried delicate snowflakes through the air.
Frost clung to the tree branches like spun sugar.
The sky was white.
The earth was white.
It was as if the entire world had been painted in shades of winter.
By the edge of the hot spring, a small ice bucket sat, holding a few chilled drinks.
Minami and Satou sank into the steaming water, gazing at the snowfall outside.
But—Satou's face was flushed red.
Half of her face was subrged beneath the water, leaving only her nose and eyes peeking out. Staring straight at Minami. Her fair, delicate face, tinted pink from the heat, looked like a porcelain doll misted with water. Shining beautifully, making it impossible to look away.
Seeing her so unbearably cute—Minami got an idea.
A rather wicked idea.
Still soaking in the warm water, he began moving toward her.
Satou, having been watching him the whole ti, imdiately noticed.
Her already-red face turned an even deeper shade.
She instinctively tried to retreat. But after only a few steps—
Her bare back pressed up against the smooth stone wall of the hot spring.
"...Why so shy?"
Minami chuckled, stepping closer.
Seeing her flustered, downcast expression, he couldn't help but tease her.
"Satou-san, is there any part of your body I haven't already seen? Rember last ti—"
"N-No! Stop talking about it!"
Satou, utterly embarrassed, reached out to cover Minami's mischievous mouth.
But Minami didn't even flinch.
Instead, he lightly bit down on her soft, delicate fingers.
"Ah—!"
She let out a startled yelp.
On instinct, she tried to stand up.
But then—
She rembered.
She wasn't wearing a single thing.
Flustered, she quickly sank back into the water, subrging herself further.
As Minami closed in—
Her eyes darted around in panic, avoiding his gaze.
Her voice was barely above a whisper.
"D-Don't... Minami-senpai..."
Minami raised an eyebrow.
"Is that an order, Satou-san?"
Minami put on a mock displeased expression.
"Mmm..."
Satou let out a small, drawn-out whimper before lifting her pale, flushed face slightly.
"P-Please, Minami-senpai... don't be like this."
Her eyes were misted over, looking as if she might burst into tears at any mont.
"Don't be like this... as in, don't be what, exactly?"
Minami leaned in closer, his persistence clear.
Feeling that he had no intention of letting her off the hook—
Satou lowered her head, whispering softly, "Minami-senpai already knows... and yet, you're still teasing ."
"How would I know if you don't say it?"
Minami's tone was completely self-assured.
So much so that Satou imdiately covered her face in embarrassnt.
After a long mont, she peeked through her fingers, her gaze awkwardly drifting down to Minami's collarbone.
She swallowed dryly, then hesitantly mumbled in a small voice.
"D-Don't... do anything... perverted..."
Even though, deep down, a part of her was anticipating what might happen next—
As a proper young lady, she still had to say it.
Besides, they had just gotten into the hot spring...
If sothing were to happen...
At the very least, they should soak a little longer first, loosen up their bodies, right?
Thinking this, she stole a cautious glance at Minami.
And imdiately—
She saw his teasing gaze, the mischievous glint in his eyes, and the playful lilt in his voice.
"Wow... I didn't expect this. Turns out Satou-san is more perverted than I thought... I was just trying to grab a drink."
"...Eh?"
The unexpected response made Satou let out a stunned sound.
Then—
She watched as Minami casually leaned over, half-rising from the water, and pulled a drink from the ice bucket at the edge of the hot spring.
For a mont, she was utterly dumbfounded.
And then—
She realized.
She had fallen for his teasing again.
Her already flushed face turned an even deeper shade of red, so much so that it looked like she might pass out in the hot spring at any mont.
Even her soft pink lips were now vividly colored, as if they had been completely filled with blood.
But Minami had no intention of letting her go so easily.
Popping open the drink, he grinned and spoke in an exaggerated tone.
"So this is what Satou-san is really like, huh? Get into a hot spring and imdiately start thinking about those things—"
"I-I wasn't!"
The red-faced girl hurriedly tried to shut him down.
"Oh? Weren't you?"
Minami blinked innocently.
"We just got in, and yet you're already thinking about those things. You're even faster than , and you're the one telling not to—"
He chuckled as he spoke.
That teasing, relentless attitude—
Finally pushed Satou over the edge.
She stood up—
And threw herself at him.
"Satou-san! Don't ss around! We're in a hot spring!"
"W-Who told Minami-senpai to keep teasing ?!"
She retaliated, refusing to back down.
"Wait— The drink! The drink's gonna spill—!"
Minami's voice echoed.
And as it did—
The white steam swirled, wrapping around them like a thick mist, enveloping everything.
Outside, the snow continued to fall...
When they finally erged from the private hot spring, Minami felt refreshed.
Unlike Satou, who had changed into the inn's provided yukata, he simply put on his own clothes.
He had always been wary of hotel-provided garnts—whether in Japan or anywhere else.
God knows how many people had worn them before.
After soaking in the hot spring, the next task was securing a room.
After all, it was a two-hour motorcycle ride back to Tokyo.
And with the heavy snowfall outside, there was a high chance the roads would ice over.
Riding a two-wheeled vehicle in such conditions was beyond dangerous.
Taking that into consideration, Minami decided not to rush back.
Instead, he would stay the night at the inn and figure things out in the morning.
In this simulation, his current self was eighteen. Which legally made him an adult.
There was absolutely no issue with booking a room to stay overnight.
With Satou by his side, he walked up to the front desk and began checking them in.
After that, he ordered a special Kagoshima black pork hot pot, one of the inn's signature dishes.
As he sat by the window, watching the snow fall while the konjac noodles, scallions, and slices of black pork bubbled in the steaming broth, Minami suddenly felt like this direct simulation wasn't such a bad deal after all.
At the very least, he got to enjoy things that he normally wouldn't in real life.
He gestured for Satou to sit down and eat.
The two of them chatted as they ate.
"By the way, Minami-senpai, when did you learn how to ride a motorcycle?"
"Ah... about three weeks ago, I guess."
Minami took a bite of pork, savoring its rich flavor before responding.
To be honest, the chef here wasn't all that skilled, nowhere near his level.
But the quality of the ingredients made up for it, so the food was still pretty good.
"Three weeks ago?"
Satou, still chewing, looked surprised.
Learning to ride a motorcycle wasn't too complicated but getting a license in just three weeks was still quite difficult.
Not to ntion... this was during exam season.
She paused, setting down her chopsticks.
Her pink eyes studied Minami's face as she spoke softly.
"...Was it because of , Minami-senpai?"
Their promise.
She had always thought it was just sothing Minami said on a whim, not sothing he actually ant.
But now—
It was clear.
Minami had never once treated their promise as a joke.
He had taken it seriously, fulfilling his word without hesitation.
Even during such a crucial ti, he had gone out of his way to make ti for this.
Teenage girls—
They had a way of getting emotional over the smallest things and Satou was exactly that kind of girl.
Minami only needed to glance at her to know exactly what she was thinking.
He chuckled.
"No choice, right? A promise is a promise. And if there's one thing I know for sure—I never break my promises."
Yes.
This was their little promise.
A matter of principle.
That was why even after learning about Satou's plan to run away, instead of stopping her imdiately, Minami chose to get his motorcycle license first.
Satou didn't say anything else.
She didn't need to.
Instead—
She reached out with her pale, delicate hand, turned slightly, and softly pressed her lips against Minami's cheek.
Everything she wanted to say.
Everything she wanted to express.
It was all in that one kiss.
No words were needed.
What followed was only natural.
Minami explained their plan for returning ho the next day and ntioned that they'd be staying the night at the inn.
Satou had no objections.
She simply nodded and agreed without hesitation.
And with that—
Minami finally breathed a sigh of relief.
It seed that through this direct simulation, the pink-haired girl had finally worked through the stubborn knots in her heart.
From now on, there was nothing left to worry about.
...
After an intimate night, once Satou had fallen into a deep sleep, Minami reached out his finger and tapped "Exit Direct Simulation."
In reality, his simulation ti was already running out.
A full thirty days.
He had spent nearly three weeks just learning how to ride a motorcycle.
Then another five or six days waiting for Satou to enact her plan so he could step in and stop her.
That left only about two or three days.
But rather than lingering for those last few days just to enjoy himself, Minami chose to exit without hesitation.
To put it more accurately—
"Riding a motorcycle in winter is way too damn cold..."
—
Back in Reality
Minami's consciousness slowly returned.
And the first thing he did upon waking—
Was complain.
Yes.
Riding a motorcycle through Tokyo's streets in the dead of winter—
Admiring the neon lights reflecting against the falling snow—
The image was romantic.
The mont was poetic.
It was a beautiful, picturesque scene.
But only if you weren't the one actually freezing your ass off.
Having personally experienced the bitter cold—
Minami had zero desire to go through that again.
"Haaah..."
He exhaled a long breath.
His mind had fully awakened.
But now—his body was missing the lingering warmth of the inn, the heat left behind from Satou's embrace.
It left him with an odd sense of loss.
Though, thankfully—
He glanced down at the girl still holding onto him.
Nishikigi Chisato.
Even if he had lost Satou's embrace in the simulation—
He had gained Chisato's warmth in reality.
Not bad, not bad.
Satisfied, he nodded to himself, adjusting his head to a more comfortable position.
Then, he turned back toward the simulation interface.
He was eager to see what had happened next.
—
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