Love Comes After Simulation

Nakajima Reina was also unaware of why her gaze always seemed to be drawn to Mount Azuki.

Whether it was a habit or an interest, she could no longer distinguish, but it was probably true that anyone stuck in one place would inevitably look around. And looking around requires a target, a focal point, and apart from the frequently visited garden, the tall and conspicuous Mount Azuki was the most suitable.

She had unwittingly memorized the appearance of Mount Azuki, just as she had with the garden.

At night, sitting on her bed, she looked out at the dim night through the window; although she could only see the outline of Mount Azuki, the entire mountain’s shape would appear vividly in her mind.

However, despite gazing at the mountain so many times, she had never entertained the fantasy of actually going there. So, when you suggested going to Mount Azuki together right then, she was taken aback.

A memory scene appears.

The entertainment room was about the size of two patient rooms, with a black LCD TV mounted on the wall and orange fabric sofas filling the space.

The longest sofa was in front of the TV, while the other sofas were either placed by the table or by the window. The window was a floor-to-ceiling one, with the upper half occupied by the blue sky and the lower half revealing the lush green mountains.

Minami Yuuki lay on the sofa in front of the TV, his neck resting on the armrest as he stretched out.

Nakajima Reina sat at the other end of the sofa, glancing nervously around to ensure that her actions would not be seen by anyone or cause any trouble. After confirming this, she lay down in the same manner as Yuuki.

She lifted her feet, still in her white cotton socks, out of her hospital blue slippers, placing them on the surface of the orange sofa.

Unlike Yuuki, she did not lie down as casually; her legs were initially curled up, and it took a while for her to stretch them out.

Her particularly quiet, elegantly curved, and adorably small feet came to rest in front of Yuuki’s feet. Yuuki, lowering himself, used his own black-socked feet to nudge Reina’s white-socked feet. Startled, her feet immediately retreated, and the girl curled her legs up, looking at the boy with a mix of shyness and irritation.

The boy smiled without a trace of remorse, his expression tinged with the childish joy of having successfully teased the girl.

He pushed himself up, used his waist to turn around on the sofa, his head and feet switching places. Kicking off the armrest of the sofa, he slid down to the girl’s feet like a swimmer making a turn in a pool.

“What are you doing?!” Nakajima Reina was startled and hurriedly sat up, trying to move her feet away from the boy’s head.

She was overwhelmed with embarrassment; it was incredibly rude and irritating to have her feet so close to someone’s head!

Minami Yuuki grabbed the “snow rabbit” that had leaped over his head, and the delicate rabbit could not escape his grasp. The warm, tender touch conveyed from his palm.

“Please let go.” Reina’s face turned red.

Although her heart was in turmoil, her voice didn’t show it; her reprimand was soft and lacked authority, imbued with a certain elegance.

Yuuki released her feet, still smiling.

The girl put on her slippers, feeling the lingering warmth from his hand on the top of her foot hidden inside the fabric. She was both embarrassed and annoyed.

Unversed in matters of intimacy and only familiar with relationships through TV shows and movies, she did not realize that every part of her skin was a temptation. She thought Yuuki was deliberately teasing her.

“Let’s go to Mount Azuki now.”

Yuuki’s suggestion came so suddenly and was so surprising that Reina immediately forgot about her feet and the boy’s teasing.

“But that’s outside the hospital!” She thought the suggestion was impractical.

“The hospital doesn’t have electric fences, machine guns, or bunkers; of course, we can sneak out,” Yuuki said.

“But…”

Reina’s mind was a mess.

She did care about Mount Azuki, but she had never considered actually going there.

Yuuki’s abrupt proposal shattered her purely observational view of the mountain, leaving her hesitating, just like the first time she went to the garden.

“The doctor never said we couldn’t leave the hospital, right?”

“Even though they didn’t say so, it’s common sense that you shouldn’t sneak out while hospitalized!”

“I think, since Princess Reina has stayed in Chikusa Palace and never interacted with society, she doesn’t have the right to say ‘common sense’. Trust me, if they didn’t say it, it means it’s allowed.”

Nakajima Reina was not good at handling verbal pressure.

In her panic, she couldn’t help but turn her gaze toward Mount Azuki, hoping that the distant peak would provide her with an answer.

“It’s too far, and such a high mountain, I can’t possibly climb it,” she said, her mood sinking as she looked at her blue slippers.

“Don’t worry. There are trails on that mountain. I’ve checked it out, and pushing a wheelchair up there is no problem at all. Today’s weather is cool; tomorrow it will get warmer, and climbing the mountain then would be a real ordeal. This is a unique opportunity,” Minami Yuuki said, standing up from the sofa and extending his hand to her.

Reina looked up at him, her sense of disappointment softened by his words.

She realized that Yuuki had researched Mount Azuki in advance, and choosing today was not a spontaneous decision but a thoughtful one.

She understood that behind this seemingly whimsical invitation was Yuuki’s sincere affection.

Before happiness could even take root, she was reminded of her current situation.

This was not the Chikusa Palace Yuuki referred to, but Chikusa Hospital. She was not a high-born princess but a renowned patient on the verge of death. The sense of disappointment returned, accompanied by sadness.

“I don’t want to see that mountain,” she said, lowering her head and speaking coldly.

“I know,” Yuuki said, taking her hand, “It’s not about wanting to see it. I want to take you there.”

[Nakajima Reina refused you once again, but you stubbornly took her hand and helped her out. You went down to the first floor, borrowed a wheelchair, and sneaked out of the hospital with her.]

[The feeling of sneaking out was more in your and Reina’s minds than in reality. In fact, you took out a light jacket from your backpack, helped Reina put it on, and walked out the side door with confidence. The security staff didn’t stop you, mistaking you both for discharged patients.]

[You pushed Reina onto the subway, where the crowd of passengers startled her. She had forgotten the last time she had seen so many people gathered together.]

[Instead of taking Reina to Mount Azuki, the subway headed in the opposite direction.]

[Reina asked you, puzzled, about where you were going. You joked about selling her off, and she laughed, thinking you were just teasing her.]

[You took her to your apartment and handed her a dress you had picked out with Chitose Kazumi’s help. The hospital gown was too conspicuous, and you were tired of seeing her in long pants and shirts.]

[Reina felt uncomfortable in the dress and kept adjusting its hem, finding it too breezy compared to pants.]

[When she asked if she could change back into pants, you refused her impolite request.]

[You placed a white sunhat on her head and took her back onto the subway. This time, you were heading toward Mount Azuki.]

[At first, Reina was anxious about sneaking out of the hospital, but soon that anxiety turned into joy. This unprecedented act of rebellion made her cheeks flush with excitement. If deceiving her father and wandering the garden were minor mischiefs, then escaping from the hospital was truly momentous.]

[She looked at you, the one who had led her into this grand adventure.]

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