“Fufu, so this is the rumored cooperative play~”
“I think it’s probably different.”
If cooperative play came in this romantic comedy specification, sales would have gone up way more.
Actually, since I was having trouble because I can’t use my right hand, Shuna helping out is a plus plus super plus. I offered my gratitude to Shuna in my heart with a dogeza bow.
“Hm~ is something wrong~?”
“No, nothing. I’m leaving that side to you.”
“Okay! It’s our first collaborative work~”
“Yeah, it is.”
It’s factually true, but that “first” was emphasized quite strongly… Well, no point worrying about it.
From there, the heart-pounding game time continued in various senses, but fun times really do pass quickly. Since there’s nothing to do in the hospital, I must have been starved for entertainment. The end of visiting hours had already come.
“Ah~, it’s already over~”
“Too bad. Next time then.”
I turned off the power. I would regret the careless act of turning off the power a bit later. Hint: report.
“Is Shuna going to work after this?”
“Yeah. They give me a meal, so~. I’ll do my best until closing time~”
“That’s admirable.”
She’s pumping herself up with spirit, but is she really getting fired up? Rather, it seems like she’s letting her guard down.
Shuna wraps herself in a coat that’s worn on the surface with holes here and there. Strangely, it doesn’t feel shabby. Rather, it enhanced Shuna’s charm.
“Don’t push yourself too hard, okay? If you collapse, it defeats the purpose.”
“Thank you~, but I’m fine~. Being energetic is my only forte~”
She made a peace sign by her face. Apparently that’s her sign of being okay.
“If you say so. But if you’re ever in trouble, tell me anytime, okay? I’ll help you no matter what.”
“—Eh?”
Eh? What’s with that expression?
Shuna was staring at me blankly. I couldn’t tell what she was thinking from that expression alone. But she kept staring at me intently.
“Shuna?”
I’m not used to being stared at for so long. I called out to Shuna, trying not to step on any landmines.
“Hm? Ah, no, it’s nothing~”
“If you say so.”
She smiled weakly and waved her hand, saying it was nothing. I could tell there was something implied in that smile, but it seemed like she didn’t want me to press further. In that case, I have no particular intention of doing anything either.
But Shuna opened her mouth.
“…Recently~, my dad’s company has been doing well~. Thanks to that, I can go to university~”
“Oh! That’s great.”
“Yeah. Someone placed a large order~. We somehow managed to scrape together my tuition money~. It’s a blessing from heaven~”
That’s good. Then should I tell her the name of that benefactor? As usual, his name.
“Wasn’t that Sano? I heard him saying I’m going to the same university as Shuna! all fired up?”
Shuna’s parents’ company was seriously in a pinch this year. Just when it looked like they might really go bankrupt, they received a miraculous large order. That was Sano-kun. He used all his money and worked to earn what he was short.
“Hey, Satoshi-sama.”
“Hm?”
When I looked at Shuna, she had her usual smile, but there was no warmth. Smiling, yet expressionless.
I felt like contradictory things were coexisting. And she walked toward me.
“Can you lend me your ear for a moment~”
“? Well, okay.”
It’s not like there’s anyone else in the hospital room, so is there any point to this act? I inadvertently lent her my ear. Then,
“—Liar.”
“Eh?”
A ticklish whisper voice reached my ear. Even when I tried to ask the true meaning, she just looked at me with her usual smile.
“Also, Satoshi-kun. I’m not interested in that thing anymore, so please don’t be overly considerate~”
“Eh? Ah, yeah.”
Like Satsuki and the others, Shuna apparently has no interest in Sano either.
I don’t really care, but those girls who liked you are abandoning you one after another because of that terrible comment… though I feel good about it.
“The only one I’ll devote myself to is Satoshi-kun—until I die.”
“A-ah, yeah.”
So that’s why it’s heavy!?
Even though her drawn-out way of speaking is Shuna’s charm point, she clearly stated that last part. I felt the seriousness in it and became even more scared.
“Well then, I’ll be going~. Let’s play games together again~”
“A-ah. See you.”
Waving her hand, Shuna left the hospital room.
I want to get discharged soon…
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT GADGETIZEDPANDA.COM
After Shuna left, when I tried to continue playing, all the data had been reset to the beginning. Old games apparently don’t have autosave. All that time I worked hard with Shuna ended in futility.
I managed to recover by thinking that this emptiness is also part of the appeal of retro games… I think.
After all, I’m hospitalized. Something like this is just a trivial matter. Rather, you could say my time for killing boredom has increased.
Positive thinking is important. Discharge is just a little longer, so let’s hang in there.
“Still, Sano really got himself hated.”
It’s his own fault, so I don’t sympathize.
Serves him right.
I literally worked myself to death so that guy and the heroines could reach a happy ending.
If it could be solved with money, it would have been truly lukewarm. What was more painful than anything was achieving results while pretending to be Sano, or helping the heroines from the shadows and making it Sano’s achievement. Because no matter what I did, it became Sano’s achievement, and my only reward was the possibility of survival.
How many times was I tormented by that sense of emptiness…
I tried to think of the heroines’ smiles as my reward, but since we reached this bad ending, I’ll resent it forever.
Well, it was all difficult. The most troublesome thing was the world’s corrective force. If I deviated too much from [LoD]’s scenario, I’d be interfered with, so I couldn’t do anything overt and it was really difficult.
“No, seriously, if only that thing didn’t exist, how much easier would it have been…”
“That thing, you say?”
“Ah, the world’s… whoa!? When did you get here?”
I recoiled because there was a sculpture-like beautiful face right next to me.
“Fufu, just now. Since you seemed to be deep in thought, I thought I shouldn’t disturb you, so I entered silently.”
“Don’t do that, it’s bad for my heart… Just call out normally.”
“I will. Satoshi-sama.”
“…Please just call me normally. If the young lady of the Shinonomé Financial Group calls me with ‘-sama,’ it’ll be problematic in various ways, right?”
“Fufu, you’re right. Then, Satoshi-san.”
She covered her mouth and laughed happily. Like Satsuki, Reine, and Shuna, why do they all call me “Satoshi-sama”? Sure, I saved their lives. But that form of address is a bit much.
Just because I’m their lifesaver doesn’t mean they need to be this formal…
Besides, this girl is someone to whom I should be adding ‘-sama.’ It’s not right for me to be called with such an honorific.
“Please call me Shino as well. That’s too formal. Aren’t we close, Satoshi-san and I?”
“Ah, sorry. Shino.”
What kind of relationship is this exactly…
Having learned from the previous three, I’m not going to use her last name here. When they tell me to call them by their first names, I should do so. I’ve learned that’s how it is with girls.
Shinonomé Shino. The last heroine of [LoD].
A graceful beauty with deep, mysterious black hair that seems to have been cut from the night sky. She’s not just at the top of our grade; she boasts top-class grades nationwide—a genius. She’s well-versed in both literary and military arts and can do anything. It’s no exaggeration to say the term Yamato Nadeshiko exists for this girl.
As the young lady of the Shinonomé Financial Group, she was compared to Shuna, the poor scholarship student, as heroines in opposite positions.
I like both of them, so I can’t rank them.
“So, what were you thinking about?”
“Ah, well…”
I can’t talk about the world’s corrective force.
“Money. I think the company I’m currently investing in is about to hit its ceiling, so I was thinking of investing in a different company.”
Yeah. That’s a terrible way to change the subject.
This is the kind of thing that would just get a “Huh” and be done with. At the very least, it’s not content to discuss with a high school girl.
Normally, that is.
You can’t lump Shino together with your average girl.
“I see. In that case, how about Hoshinet? It’s a startup stock, developing a novel business called human resources dispatch service and growing rapidly. According to economic analysts’ predictions, in one year their sales will double, no, triple.”
So that’s how you’re coming at this…
“No, Hoshinet is no good. I don’t think they’ll continue growing like this.”
“Why is that? The new business model of human resources service is novel, and from an investor’s perspective, isn’t it a company with attractive returns?”
“There are several reasons, but first, the human resources service is an easily imitated business model. If a large company with capital, like the Shinonomé Financial Group for instance, simply copies this business model wholesale, won’t they stop making profits immediately?”
How’s that?
“Fufu, as expected of your keen insight. Splendid.”
She clapped, looking pleased.
You say that, but you were testing me.
It’s a common tactic used by large companies. When a good business model or product appears, they invest massive amounts of capital to create similar products. I don’t think it’s a cowardly method, but it must be unbearable for small and medium enterprises.
“As you’ve correctly surmised, our Shinonomé Financial Group is planning to establish a company with the same business model as Hoshinet. We plan to invest many times the capital and personnel that Hoshinet has.”
“That’s brutal… Well, I guess it’s the fault of the one who gets copied.”
“Yes. Society is survival of the fittest. It’s the fault of those who show weakness and profit.”
The fact that she can say that outright shows her common sense is worlds apart from ordinary people. She’s saying this knowing full well that if Hoshinet collapses, many people will be thrown onto the streets.
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