I have a life simulator.

Sakayanagi Arisu looked directly into Ichinose Honami's eyes and blurted out all her thoughts about him:

"If he does anything drastic tomorrow, don't stop him."

"An overreaction?"

Honami Ichinose asked, somewhat puzzled.

"...Although I don't know if it's because of me, Kitagawa Ryo hasn't really gotten rid of the influence of the White House on him yet."

Sakayanagi Arisu suddenly smiled, but unlike her usual faint smile, this time her smile carried a hint of bitterness:

"Two years ago, you found him on your own doorstep, didn't you?"

"...Didn't you already know that?"

"Yes, because I was the one who had him dumped there."

Sakayanagi Arisu said earnestly:

"Otherwise, how do you think someone who has almost lost all their memories could just walk out of the White House?"

She looked up at the ceiling, the light and shadow casting shadows on Arisu Sakayanagi's face.

"I don't know what I was thinking, that I would be trapped by such a terrible dream for more than two years."

"Actually, I never wanted to wake up from there, just because in the dream I won, Kitagawa Ryo didn't go to Tokyo to meet you until he was sixteen."

"So, in that dream, when we first met, you immediately let him enter your dream within a dream?"

Honami Ichinose recalled the dream she had witnessed, the dream experienced by Ryo Kitagawa, in which she was imprisoned by a false version of herself.

"...Perhaps I'm more jealous than I realize."

Sakayanagi Arisu muttered something under her breath, but Ichinose Honami didn't hear it:

"What did you say?"

"I said it seems that no matter how I modify that dream, I can't stop him from meeting you in the end, it's just a difference between fourteen and sixteen years old."

"She's like the leading lady destined for us."

For a moment, Honami Ichinose was unable to respond to her words. Arisu Sakayanagi sat there with her legs curled up, burying her face in the shadows.

"so."

Sakayanagi Arisu continued to speak, without even a change in her voice:

"If anything unexpected happens at the scene tomorrow, you just need to trust him."

"Of course I believe him."

"That would be best."

…………

"I want to go back."

Ichinose Honami waited a while longer until she was sure Sakayanagi Arisu had no intention of speaking again, then she stood up and walked out of the room.

"I don't have to worry about having strange dreams tonight. Goodnight."

"Good night."

Sakayanagi Arisu remained seated, replying to her without looking up.

Chapter Thirty-Five: The Third Ending (Part Two)

"Nice to meet you, I am Kiyotaka Ayanokoji."

"Nice to meet you, I am Kitagawa Ryo."

Kitagawa Ryo's first impression of Ayanokouji Kiyotaka wasn't bad. Whether it was his appearance, actions, or tone of voice, he seemed to be no different from a normal fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy, except that he was a little lazy and didn't seem interested in anything.

The two were strangers to begin with, so there was no need for small talk. Moreover, they had come here today to demonstrate two opposing ideologies, and in every sense, they were “enemies.”

Immediately afterwards, Kiyotaka Ayanokouji held the black and white weapons in his hands, casually shifted their positions where Kitagawa Ryo couldn't see, and then stretched out his hands again.

"I choose the left hand."

After Kitagawa Ryo finished speaking, a white soldier appeared in Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's outstretched left hand.

In other words, Kitagawa Ryo will play white and go first.

In the subsequent match, both Kitagawa Ryo and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka remained silent, letting time pass by.

In this empty room, only the sound of black and white chess pieces being placed echoed continuously.

“I originally thought that there would be no one stronger than me there, because everyone said that I was the only success story there, and my standard was the highest standard of the White Room.”

As the game of chess progressed into the middle game, Kiyotaka Ayanokoji began to think frequently.

His tone remained flat, giving the impression that although he was boasting, it was perfectly natural.

"Actually, I can't figure out why I'm so good at chess. Maybe I just learned it on my own after playing a lot with Sakayanagi?"

Kitagawa Ryoya responded with his usual sarcasm.

From the middle game onwards, Kitagawa Ryo's advantage gradually began to accumulate.

Kiyotaka Ayanokoji managed to maintain the situation, which was not yet in complete disarray, until the very end.

However, he still couldn't stop the overall trend on the board. Ayanokoji Kiyotaka stared at the board for a long time but couldn't find a way to escape the checkmate. He quietly put down the piece in his hand.

"I lost."

He didn't seem to have any complaints; in fact, one could say he calmly admitted defeat.

"Don't you feel frustrated even when you fail?"

"That kind of emotion is useless."

Kiyotaka Ayanokoji slowly shook his head:

"Let's begin the next match."

Kitagawa Ryo rubbed his wrists and knees in a mock manner:

"Why don't we take a break first? I always feel sore hands and numb legs after playing a game with that guy Matsuo, let alone playing a game with a player of your level today."

Upon hearing the familiar name, Kiyotaka Ayanokouji's tone underwent an almost imperceptible change:

"Then let's take a break first."

Kiyotaka Ayanokoji recalled what Matsuo, the butler who had been trying to help him escape the White House, had said to him yesterday:

"If the other party asks to rest for a while, you can take a short nap."

What are the benefits of granting this request?

"That person escaped the White House before you."

Kiyotaka Ayanokouji cast his golden eyes at Ryo Kitagawa. He was curious about the other's experiences, but he couldn't ask directly under the current surveillance.

About thirty minutes later, the two changed into light, close-fitting combat suits and stood face to face in the center of the ring.

"Please give me more advice."

"Please give me more advice."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka glanced at Kitagawa Ryo with some surprise:

"Your fundamentals don't seem to be particularly strong."

He had already expressed his opinion quite tactfully. Unlike chess, where skill level can only be judged after the game begins, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had already found at least three weaknesses in Kitagawa Ryo during the preparation stage of the match: a weak lower body, an unremarkable right forearm strength, and even the wrong points of force and center of gravity throughout his body.

The instant the device above the arena emitted the sharp start signal, Kiyotaka Ayanokouji had already rushed in front of Ryo Kitagawa at explosive speed. Although he was not sure whether Ryo Kitagawa had deliberately given him an opening, he would never miss such an excellent opportunity to attack.

The next second, his right hand transformed into a blade, striking Kitagawa Ryo's most vulnerable spot—his neck.

"One move?"

"Again."

……

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka blinked and turned his gaze back to Kitagawa Ryo, who was standing there.

"Please give me more advice."

"Please give me more advice."

The instant the starting signal rang in his ears, Kiyotaka Ayanokoji lunged forward and delivered a powerful whip kick to Ryo Kitagawa's head.

Kitagawa Ryo instinctively used his arms to block the attack, but the force transmitted through his arms still forced him to take a few steps back.

Taking advantage of his opponent's unstable lower body, Kiyotaka Ayanokouji launched a series of straight punches at Kitagawa Ryo's waist. Despite his hasty defense, several heavy punches still landed squarely on him.

The pain quickly traveled along his nerves to his brain. Kitagawa Ryo gritted his teeth and looked for an opportunity to defend and counterattack, but he was soon hit in the head by a powerful hook.

"Come again."

……

Kiyotaka Ayanokouji dodged Kitagawa Ryo's first attack by simply shifting his body slightly to the side. He then turned around and used his waist to swing his right leg at Kitagawa Ryo's shoulder, sending him staggering back several steps.

Immediately afterwards, he charged straight at Kitagawa Ryo like a cannonball, aiming for the bridge of his nose.

Even the slightest damage to this area will have an impact on the body, resulting in the unavoidable physiological reaction of "tears".

The effect was very successful. Then, when the opponent's vision was blurred, he threw an uppercut at the jaw.

Kitagawa Ryo's body fell to the ground for the third time.

"Hey, again."

-------------------------------------

To be honest, I have actually tried to see how many layers of dreams I can stack in the past.

The final result was that when the dream reached the fourth layer, that is, a dream within a dream within a dream, I found it very difficult to regain my consciousness from the deepest dream. Not only that, after that failed test, I lost a considerable amount of memory, like a large, visible blank space being cut out from the middle of a tape.

After contacting Matsuo's butler through Matsuo Eiichiro, I realized that tomorrow I would have only one chance to weave a dream for myself and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

To ensure my victory, I set the dream's level to...

Ninety-nine floors.

Of course, weaving a dream of two people fighting is much easier than weaving an entire world, but ninety-nine floors is indeed beyond my capabilities.

but.

Actually, I had already noticed when I was caught in Sakayanagi Arisu's dream within a dream that I had three nightmares about Ichinose Honami.

First, I watched as Honami Ichinose committed theft, and this guilt remained a shackle binding her throughout her high school years.

Second, Ichinose Honami accidentally stabbed me to death with a knife, and in the end, she not only had to face legal judgment, but also suffered a mental breakdown.

Third, the one I first saw: the Ichinose family was targeted by an unknown force, the mother lost her job, Honami was expelled from school for theft, and in the end, the mother died of burning coal at home in despair.

Actually, it wasn't until I woke up that I realized this was the end result of my failed rebellion against the White House.

Therefore, even to avoid this worst outcome, I must defeat them here to secure the future of Ichinose Honami and her family.

……

Kitagawa Ryo had lost count of how many times he had fallen, or rather, he had almost forgotten why he was standing here and fighting this... what was his name? From the fourteenth level of the dream, his memories had been slipping away little by little. The memories he had shared with Ichinose Honami over the past few years were falling away like grains of sand in his palm.

"You seem to know my fighting style very well. Did you do any research beforehand?"

After exchanging blows with Kitagawa Ryo for several rounds, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka asked calmly.

"Maybe it's because I've been through so many of these moves that my body has memorized them."

Kitagawa Ryo kept his eyes fixed on the opponent's movements while preparing to attack.

After falling twenty times, he was able to withstand Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's first three moves, and now he can even find an opportunity to launch an attack in the early stages.

[Perseverance (purple): Striving, working hard, and never giving up. (This is the cornerstone of success.)]

"call."

Kitagawa Ryo stuck out his tongue and licked his dry lips:

"Come again."

[The talent "Fighting Mastery (Green)" has reached its maximum proficiency level; upgrade to "Fighting Expert (Blue)"