Love Comes After Simulation

[The woman’s surname was Asagiri. A year ago, she had been hospitalized due to kidney disease. She was divorced, and her only daughter was cared for by her aging grandmother, living in a remote rental apartment.]

[It was practically a slum—a five-story building divided into tiny single rooms, with no internal staircase. Instead, a rusty iron staircase clung to the outside, creaking loudly with every step.]

[You hired a private investigator to find out when the elderly woman usually took her granddaughter outside. Then, you waited on the street and finally saw the girl.]

[You were certain—that was Mako.]

[Back home, you confessed part of the truth to Reina. You told her that you owed a girl a great debt and needed to make amends.]

[Reina was startled. She had been watching a family drama recently, and for a moment, she thought the girl you mentioned was a romantic rival—that “making amends” meant starting a second family outside your home.]

[But when she saw the little two- or three-year-old girl, she was relieved. And after asking about the girl’s blood type, she relaxed even more.]

[The girl was playing on the swings in the park when Reina approached her and asked for her name.]

[Asagiri Mayu. That was Mako’s real name.]

[Mayu’s grandmother returned from the market and mistook you for prospective adoptive parents trying to take Mayu away. For months now, her daughter had been talking about putting Mayu up for adoption. Lowering her head, the old woman held Mayu tightly and quickly walked away from you.]

[You didn’t pursue Mayu further. Instead, you shifted your focus to her mother—the woman hospitalized at Takeomi General Hospital.]

[You reached out to a friend at Takeomi Hospital and asked about the woman’s condition.]

[She needed kidney surgery. Because of her frail constitution, what should have been a relatively affordable procedure had doubled in cost. The post-surgery recovery expenses were also overwhelming. She couldn’t afford it.]

[You paid for the surgery and the necessary medication for her recovery. The operation was scheduled for the following month, with the best doctor at Takeomi Hospital as the lead surgeon.]

[Two days later, your friend contacted you—there was a problem.]

[The surgery required the woman’s consent and signature. You hadn’t expected that she would refuse this heaven-sent opportunity.]

[A sudden gift from fate made her uneasy. She wanted to know who was helping her.]

[You thought of Mayu and brought Reina along to visit her in the hospital. You kept your explanation vague, saying it was just a whim. She was skeptical but ultimately accepted your goodwill.] Ṟ𝖆ƝȱᛒΕꞨ

[The surgery was a success. You and Reina visited her often. Sometimes, you ran into Mayu, who showed a level of maturity far beyond her years.]

[With Mako’s situation resolved, you and Reina started preparing for pregnancy.]

[In the spring of your thirty-fourth year, Reina gave birth to a baby girl at Misaki University Hospital. You didn’t name her “Mako”—instead, you named her Manatsu. Her nickname was Mana.]

[By then, Asagiri Mayu’s mother had fully recovered. She found a job at a kindergarten. On every holiday, she would send gifts and greetings without fail. Half of her salary was transferred into your account each month. You didn’t care about the money, but she did.]

[Reina noticed that you liked Asagiri Mayu a lot. She also adored the obedient and lovable girl, often inviting her to your home to play.]

[Reina didn’t like the idea of strangers in her home. You never hired housekeepers. But after Manatsu was born, Reina found herself overwhelmed, and the Asagiri mother and daughter—as well as both of your mothers—often came to help.]

[As Manatsu grew up, she and Mayu became as close as sisters, practically inseparable.]

[Mayu excelled in her studies. You convinced her mother to let you sponsor her to attend the best private high school. After graduating, she was accepted into Misaki University’s medical department. From an early age, the perceptive girl had learned from her observations and her mother’s teachings that you were their family’s benefactor. She admired you and wanted to follow in your footsteps.]

[Compared to Mayu, your own daughter, Manatsu, was far more energetic. Though she had inherited Reina’s beauty, she had not inherited her quiet nature.]

[In middle school, she joined the fishing club and the cycling club, disappearing every weekend. In high school, she joined the mountaineering club and the camping club, exploring every peak and campsite in Misaki.]

[You thought that perhaps she had inherited Reina’s unspoken wishes from her younger days. During her years spent in the hospital, Reina must have longed for a vibrant outdoor life.]

[After graduating from middle school, Manatsu insisted on studying abroad. She was drawn to the breathtaking scenery and countless activities overseas—and she wanted Mayu to go with her.]

[You didn’t think letting your daughter experience the world was a bad idea. If Mayu accompanied her, it would be even safer. Besides, you had many acquaintances in the European medical community who could help arrange for Mayu to continue her studies there.]

[But Mayu refused. Rather than going abroad, she wanted to stay by your side.]

[Her sister’s rejection devastated Manatsu. In the end, she went to a university in Hokkaido. After graduating, she joined a skiing club. A few years later, she won two silver medals at the Winter Olympics.]

[Mayu earned her doctorate and became your intern. By then, you had become the director of Misaki University Hospital.]

[Your expertise in cardiac surgery was world-renowned. Under your leadership, your research institute had successfully cultivated fully functional artificial biological organs based on heart valve technology. Except for complex organs like the heart and lungs, most organs could now be grown and replaced. This breakthrough revolutionized medicine, rendering many traditional procedures obsolete.]

[Yet, despite the immense profits from your research institute, you continued investing in what would inevitably become outdated—conventional cardiac treatments.]

[The medical community couldn’t understand your reasoning. But the funding you provided was substantial, and though artificial heart cultivation still had a long way to go, surgical advancements made it a promising field. Many scholars were willing to join your research efforts.]

[Mayu became part of this research.]

[Ichinose Shiori saw through your intentions. She asked if you could still travel back to the past. You confirmed her suspicions and asked if there was anything she wanted to say to her younger self. She shook her head, believing she needed no guidance from the future.]

[At sixty, you witnessed Ichinose Shiori being elected as Prime Minister. She held office for eight years before resigning due to political turmoil.]

[During her tenure, she once made a private visit to your home. Nakajima Youhei happened to see her. He thought back to over forty years ago—to how easily you had arranged Reina’s surgery, and to how you hadn’t been in the hospital on the day of her operation. A troubling realization formed in his mind.]

[He chose to forget it.]

[At sixty-eight, Nakajima Youhei and Honoka passed away.]

[At seventy-one, Ichinose Shiori made a political comeback and became Prime Minister once more.]

[At seventy-seven, your father passed away. The following year, your mother followed him.]

[At the end of your life, your research was finally complete. Under Mayu’s leadership, the medical team—supported by your research institute and guided by your surgical theories—used an unfinished artificial heart as a test subject. Through numerous surgical trials, they successfully demonstrated that surgery alone could have cured the heart condition that once plagued Reina.]

[At ninety-two, Reina passed away in your arms. An artificial valve could never compare to a healthy heart.]

[Together, you followed her into the world that had once loomed over her like a shadow.]

[Your gravestones were placed by the shores of Sora no Ike.]

[Simulation End.]