My love game with them that will lead to certain death

"I take it back. You better die, Toru."

Actually, this skill of being able to see what the other person is thinking without verbal communication is a bit too cunning. In this case, wouldn't all my thoughts be exposed in front of my brother?

No, the most important thing right now should be how to deal with the second daughter of the Yukinoshita family as a brother, and the bassist Yamada Ryo who may end the performance and come to talk to them at any time.

"It's okay."

Just when Eriri was feeling a little restless and didn't know how to respond, her brother beside her used her body to give her a reassuring look.

"I'll help you get out of this at the critical moment, but before that just play the role of me well" - his calming gaze seemed to express such a sentiment.

With her brother's comfort and encouragement, Ying Lili no longer nervously grabbed her trouser legs and calmed down a little.

Miss Yukinoshita Yukino, who was sitting opposite them, just looked at them exchanging glances with some confusion, completely unaware of what the brother and sister were communicating with their eyes that only they could understand.

"If you want to order something to eat, please feel free to do so. Archer and I have already agreed to treat you, so please don't hesitate to do so, sister."

But despite this, Ms. Yukinoshita Yukino still showed the margin of freedom that comes with being an elder.

"Ok, ok, thank you."

The curly-haired boy took the menu with some trepidation and began to carefully select the items. The blonde girl sitting next to him also came to his side naturally and put her head on his elbow, and began to pick out the food and drinks she liked without hesitation. However, what neither of them noticed was——

"Please add a vegetable salad for me, too, thank you."

"?!"

Eriri quickly shrank towards her brother. The culprit was the cold voice that suddenly appeared in her ear.

Only then did she realize that the performance in the music restaurant and bar had ended long ago. Yamada Ryoya, who had taken the bass off his shoulders, came to her side and placed an order without any hesitation.

"This must be the friend Archer was talking about."

Yukinoshita Yukino had already noticed her presence and calmly made room for her to sit.

"The performance just now was very pleasant. He is a very talented bassist."

"Hmm? Xiao Hai's friend?"

Yamada Ryo moved his eyes away from the menu and looked at Yukinoshita Yukino, blinking his confused eyes.

"Oh, it seems that this guy really has an indissoluble bond with women no matter where he goes."

And he spoke his mind without any reservation.

"I'm Yukino Yukinoshita who invited Toru and his siblings to dinner. Nice to meet you, Miss Yamada Ryo."

Yukinoshita Yukino smiled and was not angry at Yamada's frankness.

"Of course, if you are Archer's friend, then Miss Yamada's account will naturally be counted on me - but I have a curiosity, I wonder if it is convenient for you to ask."

"Would you like to treat me to a meal? Fine, fine, I will answer whatever the noble man who can save me from eating grass asks me."

Yamada, who was well aware of the principle of being grateful to someone for what he had received, sat next to Yukinoshita exceptionally obediently. Eriri, who was sitting opposite them, could only maintain an awkward yet polite smile and became the center of their discussion.

"Just now you called Archer... Xiao Hai?"

"Ah, what's wrong? Sister Yukinoshita, don't you also call my little Hai "Atoru"? "

"No, I'm just a little curious...why Ms. Yamada called him that."

"If you want to know why..."

The two of them simultaneously turned their gazes to the curly-haired boy who was sitting upright, and their expressions gradually became subtle.

"I know this~ because the friend that Yamada-nee used to play with very well looks a lot like her brother, right!"

Just when Eriri felt that the truth could no longer be hidden, "Eriri" at the side came to the rescue with an innocent expression.

There are many things that are inconvenient for Ming Hai to explain himself. If he explains them as Eriri and "polishes" them a little bit, he won't arouse suspicion.

"what……"

When Eriri noticed this, there was a hint of surprise in her eyes. She looked at her brother who was playing the role of a younger sister with ease and trying to make excuses for herself, and her expression gradually became complicated.

"So this was also part of your calculations, brother...!"

Chapter 44: Are all your partners dead?

Speaking of which, in real life, Nagisa was also curious. If Yukinoshita Yukino or Yukinoshita Haruno, who had experienced various simulated situations with him, met Yamada Ryo or Goto Ichiri in the real world, what kind of sparks would fly between them?

However, from his perspective, real life did not develop as he expected, so it was a bit of a pity. However, the considerate system probably noticed his regret, so it added this surprise gift package in the third simulation -

[The person who had been separated from you in the previous two simulations appears in front of you again. Isn’t it a very interesting and nostalgic Easter egg? 】

The system's voice became unusually excited and boastful, as if it was seeking credit.

"Ah, I can't wait to see the expressions on both of their faces when they discover that the dead person they knew had an unforgettable experience with someone else."

This was actually one of the reasons why he brought Yukinoshita Yukino and Yamada Ryo together, and he could observe them from a completely safe angle as Eriri, just like watching an opera performance on stage in a VIP box, which was extremely pleasing to the eye.

But this is a bit tough for Eriri, as she can only temporarily deal with Yukino and Yamada as Toru. If she wants to achieve this goal, there is definitely no way to inform her in advance - otherwise, she would never be willing to get involved in the relationship between her brother and the other two women, and she might even get so angry that she wants to drag her brother away as well.

[Is this where you find pleasure? What a strange focus...]

It seems that the system still finds it difficult to realize how happy it is to watch the fun without getting involved.

"But System Master, I have a question."

If he could also visualize himself in his mind, the image of Ming Hai sitting in front of the desk and raising his right hand neatly like a good student to ask a question would be vividly depicted on paper.

“Wouldn’t this be a bug? They all knew the same “me”, and in every way they were the same person, but they participated in their different lives at different times – if such an unreasonable phenomenon existed, wouldn’t the world line determine it as a bug that should be fixed?”

[These two are just "easter eggs" I prepared so that you can have some unexpected surprises in the third simulation. To be more precise, they are just "slices" of people who have had interactions with you before. The impact they can have on this simulation is minimal and they are under my full management, so you don't have to worry about being corrected - I don't know if you can understand this explanation. ]

Well... in short, it is similar to the little easter eggs in a stand-alone game that are linked to another game.

[Of course, if the current topic will cause trouble to your progress, I believe that with your intelligence and eloquence, you will be able to easily get through it without any effort. ]

"Well, it seems so easy for you to set a flag for me, System-kun."

[Alas, it is your freedom to perform as wonderfully as you want on stage. Just give it your best. Good luck. ]

After saying this, the system stopped talking, and Ming Hai's originally detached mind was pulled back to reality.

In the beautiful music restaurant and bar, the topic of the Sawamura siblings, Yukinoshita Yukino, and Yamada Ryo is progressing to Yamada's dead old friend.

Eriri, who was occupying his body beside him, kept sending a distress signal to Minghai, "How should I talk to them?", and after thinking for a moment, Minghai also joined in the discussion they were just having.

"So Yamada-san's good friend, Xiao Hai, was a bassist who died young, right? It feels very similar to the experience of rock musicians. It seems that there are many rock musicians who end their lives by suicide."

“Don’t call her ‘Yamada-san’ in my voice! It’s too coquettish and makes me uncomfortable!”

Of course, when using Eriri's body to test him, he should also ignore Eriri herself who is protesting with a vicious look beside him.

"Yeah... that's right. You know something about rock music, too. I thought you had no interest in it at all."

Yamada, who called Eriri "sister-chan", blinked. Although she usually looked confused and out of focus, she was extremely sensitive at such critical moments.

"Oh, because my brother always listens to rock music from the 60s and 70s in his free time, so I was also influenced by it... But compared to you, Sister Yamada, I definitely know only a little bit."

"Wow, you lie so easily..."

Eriri could only nod woodenly in agreement using her brother's body, and inwardly she was slightly amazed at Toru's cleverness.

She was so sure that if she was cheated by her brother one day, she would not notice anything.

"Even the fact that he likes rock music... is the same as my stupid friend who died young."

Yamada expressed this calmly, and it was impossible to tell whether her tone was one of regret or melancholy.

"So, Archer, do you usually have a hobby of writing novels? Or, are you interested in movies or something like that?"

Yukino realized that Yamada was testing something, and quickly joined in the conversation, which made Eriri, who felt as if she was being watched behind her back, feel very uncomfortable.

"Didn't Sister Yukinoshita have another question just now?"

"Eri" expressed her doubts with a sincere and innocent expression, and her words successfully diverted the attention of Yukino and Yamada without making any noise.

"What are you talking about, Xiao Hai... Although my brother's name is Toru, his full name is Sawamura Spencer Toru. What's the name of the person who looks like him that you are talking about?"

"Hmm, my senior..."

"Hey, you said Xiao Hai's full name..."

The two of them said the same name at the same time.

"His name is Narumi Toru—eh?"

Yukino and Yamada were both stunned at the same time, Eriri was also confused and didn't understand the situation. Only Nagisa, using Eriri's body, showed an expression of "as expected".

Finally brought the topic here.

If this contradiction is not dealt with sooner or later, it might interfere with the progress of the simulation, so Ming Hai chose this day to deal with this problem personally.

"Same name, same surname...and looks very similar...maybe they are the same person."

Eriri used Toru's body to make inferences. Of course, since she herself was not clear about the situation, her reasoning had big loopholes.

"Of course, this has nothing to do with Toru, ahem, me, Sawamura Spencer Toru."

Neither Yukinoshita Yukino nor Yamada Ryo said anything, but they also remained silent and looked at each other - after all, the Toru Narumi they knew died at different times, so it definitely couldn't be the same person.

However, the question that follows is how it is possible for there to be two people in the world who are so similar.

"Ahem... I've heard of this anecdote. I wonder if you two sisters remember it."

It was at this moment that the blonde girl cleared her throat and solemnly gave a possibility.

"The Face-Splitting Monster - have you ever heard of it before?"

Chapter 45: Don’t Become Someone Else’s Property

"The world is full of surprises. The combinations of genetic traits remain the same despite all the changes. In life, we often see people with similar faces - people in the industry call them similar-faced monsters."

The girl with long golden hair rubbed the hair and face of the curly-haired boy beside her seriously, and explained to the confused Yukinoshita Yukino and Yamada Ryo.

"Although my brother is handsome, well-mannered, and has sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, he is very handsome - but it does not rule out the possibility that there are people in the world who look similar to him but are slightly inferior to him."

"You guy..."

Eriri used the boy's body to give Ming Hai a fierce look, with an expression that said "stop flattering yourself" written all over her face.

"I guess the guy you two are thinking about is also a handsome guy, right? Although he may not be as handsome as my brother."

"You're even taking advantage of me."

Eriri stared helplessly at her brother who was confident of his plan, but after Yukinoshita Yukino and Yamada Ryo looked at each other, they came to different conclusions.

"Actually... my novelist senior can only be described as having a delicate and attractive appearance. It's just that he gives people a very comfortable feeling."

"Yeah, although my Xiao Hai has the same curly hair and looks as this Xiao Hai, the hair color is different... and the feeling he gives is also different. To say that he is a handsome guy... is a bit of an exaggeration."

“Hmm…! So that’s how it is!!”

[Realize that you have received real damage in the simulation, and get the achievement: A heart-wrenching evaluation that crosses virtuality and reality. ]

Just don't jump around in such a weird place!

"Ahem, what I want to say is that the Narumi Toru you two mentioned may not be the same person, even though they look a lot like my brother. But as you just said, there are still differences. There are so many people with the same name in the world, and it's not hard to understand that there are one or two look-alikes among them."

Ming Hai was trying to use this argument to distance himself in the third simulation from the people he met in the first two simulations.

After all, no matter what, he is now Eriri's brother, the promising Toru Sawamura Spencer, neither a down-and-out novelist nor a rebellious bassist.

Giving others unnecessary expectations with an inappropriate identity is a sinful act.

Seeing the two people's expressions visibly change from hesitation and hope to disappointment, Ming Hai actually felt a little reluctant.

But at the moment, he has a "mission" to fulfill in this simulation.

"Besides, your two sisters' deceased friends have passed away a long time ago, right? Please accept my condolences."

Let's wait until I can get rid of my current identity and meet these two people again as the original "Murakami Toru", and then we can reminisce about the past.

"Okay - take my brother away for a while, I see he has been wanting to go to the toilet for a long time~!"

After she finished explaining it in one breath, the girl with long golden hair smiled and pulled up her brother who was indeed a little restless (but not because he was holding his pee), nodded to Yukino and Yamada who were still taking a break, and then pulled him towards the bathroom.

“…I thought Xiao Hai was just Xiao Hai.”

As the two left, Yamada Ryo slowly withdrew her gaze and took a sip of the coffee on the table. Although she always liked caffeine, she now felt that this cup of coffee was extremely bitter.

"After all, I just know...that's obviously Xiao Hai."