I am the emotional sustenance of your deceased

Watching the rolled tobacco burn out bit by bit and turn into smoke, Lenai's heart died as well.

Noshiro Chitose, Kaizuka Chitose, Kaname Chitose.

Whether it's tobacco or bubbles... they all end up in the same place.

The bubble burst.

Tobacco also burns.

Tears slid down silently.

The story has come to an end.

After losing someone important to her for the third time, Kaname would never laugh again.

She stared stiffly at the sparks in her hand under the night sky, the brilliance in her eyes no longer as bright as before.

"age…"

Without you, how can I move forward?

If Lenai knew the answer, she knew it better than anyone else.

She will continue to move forward, step by step, towards where no one has ever set foot, towards her destiny.

She can also play guitar.

I will miss you all too.

Her heart was numb but full of vitality. In this night full of revelations and stars, Lenai closed her eyes quietly.

I’m so tired today.

years old, let me snuggle up to you and sleep for the last time.

……

The older we get, the more we fear sentimentality, because there are too many irreversible times and events.

However, we also encounter things that keep us away from sentimentality.

For example, guitar.

The guitar's tone embodies the helplessness and courage of heartbreaking moments.

[Simulation ends. 】

Volume 6: Tombstone Grey

Ch422. You and I will meet again

Having reached this point in our journey, how many [rivers] have we crossed? How many [rivers] will we have to cross next?

……

I can’t remember the first time I woke up from the simulation, but every time I did, I was left with a lingering feeling of tiredness.

Chitose Noshiro just wished a handful of lifespans would be dropped on her face so she wouldn't have to go to the simulation work.

It was a little after five in the morning again, and Noshiro Chitose opened her eyes and looked out the window.

The rising sun was right beside her, shining with golden light, but it was not as dazzling as the eight-ring golden ring in her eyes.

[Congratulations to the host, for once again successfully completing a mission that will leave you with lifelong regrets.]

Once again. A bit of black humor.

The system's voice arrived as expected. Chitose Noshiro, who was already an old player of the simulator, turned her head away. Kyomoto Haizuka in her arms was still struggling in his sleep.

[In this simulation, the host cleverly used his special abilities to complete a lifelong regret triple jump, appearing at a crucial moment in the life of the simulated subject, Kaname, and leaving a significant mark.]

[Each appearance of the host lays the groundwork for the future, and echoes with the previous stages, constructing a clever life dilemma, forcing Lena to be led by the nose invisibly.]

You are her life mentor, mother, companion, best friend, partner, spiritual support, guide, daughter, bait, and the lingering haze in her heart.

[Regret Index Calculation in Progress! Congratulations to the Host on obtaining a lifespan of nine years (no longer 46)]

[Remaining lifespan: 29 years, 4 months, 17 days]

【Overall evaluation: upper to lower】

[P.S.1. This has been a long simulation. Thank you for your hard work, host. Please continue to maintain your enthusiasm and actively participate in the next simulation after a brief adjustment.]

Compared to the previous simulation, this time the host filled in many elements at once, which was a good attempt.

The system's voice sounded in Noshiro Chitose's ears for the last time, and then disappeared.

"It's over, reality, I'm back."

Ugh.

Today is damn Monday. I should have started the simulation later.

When Chitose thought about having to go to school right after the simulation, he felt inexplicably tired.

She turned her eyes to the side. It was only five or six o'clock.

Let’s sleep a little longer…

"But I'm so energetic, I can't sleep at all."

His mind was full of bits and pieces of the simulation. This time when he gained life, Chitose Noshiro was not as happy as he had expected.

It seems that with each exciting simulation, her character is constantly being tempered.

But it’s still very touching.

"I don't want to go to school. Ugh."

Even though she has been reincarnated countless times, she is still as reluctant to go to school as she was when she was little. What does this mean?

This means that she is still the same person she was at the beginning.

"But there are so many people at school... Never mind, let's go to school."

A thousand years old turns over, and the body of a sixteen-year-old is full of energy.

She set the alarm and closed her eyes again, silently repeating the man's name in her heart in a daze.

【Kaname Rana…】

When will you and I meet again?

do not know.

But you and I will meet again.

……

"Xiao Sui...Xiao Sui!"

The nightmares that are linked one after another are a prison that tortures the human mind. When the prison collapses, Lenai has to open his eyes in the morning light.

"age!"

Kaname Rakuna jumped out of bed, completely ignoring the quilt she had kicked away, and looked around her room like a madman.

"My age...ah...here...I..."

Who am I? Where am I? I...

"I've been gone for so many years... Why can't I forget... I'm back? Am I in my room?"

I wiped away my tears, but they just kept flowing out tirelessly.

"..."

She sat back on the bed, and instead of wailing hysterically as expected, she fell silent.

She lay back on the bed, her head filled with the melody of "Escape Plan".

【As a qualified mother, you must not panic, but stay calm. 】

Whatever happened next, she felt it wouldn't be frightening.

She has accepted everything calmly, allowing all the negative emotions to surround her without struggling at all.

"..."

In just one night, her heart had completely changed.

"Is it a dream?"

It's a dream.

She did not meet Chitose Noshiro, did not become Chitose Haizuka's partner, and did not adopt Chitose Kaname.

It’s a dream…

everything is over.

It was just a dream.

A fleeting dream...Is that so?

【Is this really a dream?】

Reality hit her hard, and Rakuna realized that she was just a junior high school student. A third-year junior high school girl who hadn't even graduated yet.

She was just an ordinary girl, but if I had to say what made her different from others, it was that—

“I love playing guitar.”

The moment she finally woke up from the dream, Kaname collapsed on the bed and cried bitterly.

She felt both sad and grateful... sad that the ultimate romance in her life had ended, and grateful that her understanding of life had been reshaped by a nightmare.

"..."

Even though she has arrived in reality, she is still gazing at the starry sky in her dreams.

In that place where the stars are twinkling wildly, there are three people waiting for her and praying for her. Even though they are no longer in the same world, Yao Lenai can still feel their company and care from beginning to end.

I fell so many times in nightmares...

He traveled around and explored the two cities of Hida and Tokyo, experienced the ups and downs of life over the decades, made friends with a large group of bandmates and close friends, successfully completed a musical relay spanning more than a dozen years, and ended all the grievances.

When she finally faced her own farewell moment, what she heard was still the cheerful music that Noshiro Chitose played with all her heart when she was six years old and nestled in Noshiro Chitose's arms.

Then, facing death and the end calmly and with relief, Kaname closed his eyes amidst repeated performances, music, cheers and chants.

Just like those who went ahead.

I closed my eyes, ended the dream and returned to reality.

"Is it a dream...is it really a dream?"

I feel empty and depressed inside. I lost everything in twenty-two years, but now looking back I find that I was only fifteen years old.

Why is it so real? Why is it so painful?

"Never mind. It's not important."

Lenai blinked as her heterochromatic pupils became dilated.

This dream taught me a lot, such as sometimes I shouldn’t care too much, as it will only cause me pain.

Lenai opened the window, propped up her head with her arms and looked out.

What comes into view is the city gradually awakening.

The morning breeze caressed her cheeks, and she closed her eyes and felt the aching joy in her heart.

"No...it's a trip back in time...no...it's a parallel world...I remember everything...I remember her warmth, I remember her eyes...I can't forget the tears of the other her either."

Can love and courage span two worlds, a dozen or even dozens of years?

The answer is obvious.

"I know you, Chitose Noshiro."

You really exist in reality.

"So... I'm coming to see you..."